Here are the first three entries for "Guys Who Have 'Moral Hotness'". For info on what that is, see the previous post.
Name: Mr. Rogers
Why He's Awesome: I think this article in Mental Floss sums it up pretty well. From everything I've read, he was much the same person on-screen and off-screen. He genuinely cared about people, especially children, and went out of his way to make sure everyone knew that they were special.
Name: Fr. Hesburgh
Why He's Awesome: Fr. Hesburgh has an incredibly high degree of integrity. Perhaps my favorite story is how a bunch of people were invited to a rally initiated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A lot of them were afraid to go, but Fr. Hesburgh jumped right in his car and went to the demonstration. He's said that he didn't think twice about it - even though times were turbulent and it might have been a dangerous thing to do, it was the right thing to do. There's an awesome picture of him, arms linked with Dr. King, both of them singing at the demonstration.
Name: Nick Kristof
Why He's Awesome: In a world where the "news" often degenerates into celebrity gossip, one can always count on Nick Kristof to shine a spotlight on issues of importance. His editorials discuss human rights issues with anecdotes, statistics, and impassioned persuasion. This is a man who has been to the far reaches of the globe and wants his audience to understand how other people live. What I like best about his articles is that he also includes ways for his readers to help in a given situation. He'll provide information on organizations working to help those living in dire poverty, or suffering malnutrition, or whatever the issue of the day is. Through his writing, it's easy to see that he sincerely cares about people and wants to make the world a little bit better.
I've often said, "As long as there are people who care, I'll try not to worry too much." These men (and others like them) are the reason I sleep well at night. I know that there are men of integrity, compassion, and strong moral fiber who live the highest virtues. These men are an inspiration. And I'll take a Morally Hot guy over a Hollywood Hunk of the Week any day.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
"Moral Hotness"
I was thinking the other day about how unfair it seems that people with good looks get all the good publicity. Shouldn't other traits be more important? Case in point: once a year, People Magazine dedicates an issue to the "hottest" men. But I think having integrity and moral fiber is more important than being "hot."
So, I think I'll do a blog entry on men who are "morally hot." And, I'm asking for submissions! (I have two of my own who are making the list.) Here are the rules:
1) For now, it's men only. I will probably do a post at some point in the future on morally hot women. But now is not that time.
2) The man you nominate does not need to be physically attractive! Don't feel sheepish about nominating someone because you know he's not particularly cute. That's not what this is about. Moral hotness is the key.
3) The man you nominate must be currently alive. Going through the annals of history for morally hot men would take far too long.
4) The man you nominate must be nominally famous. Maybe your next-door-neighbor saves orphaned kittens after his day-job performing heart transplants on refugee children from Franistan. Don't nominate him. (Bonus points if you get the "Franistan" reference.) What qualifies as "nominally famous"? It's kind of subjective. If your guy has a fan page on facebook, that makes him at least nominally famous. Ditto if the New York Times has mentioned him (however briefly). You can always provide a reason with your submission as to why your guy should be considered.
5) Include in your submission a brief explanation of why your guy is morally hot. It can be an anecdote, a brief biography, whatever. If you have a picture of him, include it.
So, I think I'll do a blog entry on men who are "morally hot." And, I'm asking for submissions! (I have two of my own who are making the list.) Here are the rules:
1) For now, it's men only. I will probably do a post at some point in the future on morally hot women. But now is not that time.
2) The man you nominate does not need to be physically attractive! Don't feel sheepish about nominating someone because you know he's not particularly cute. That's not what this is about. Moral hotness is the key.
3) The man you nominate must be currently alive. Going through the annals of history for morally hot men would take far too long.
4) The man you nominate must be nominally famous. Maybe your next-door-neighbor saves orphaned kittens after his day-job performing heart transplants on refugee children from Franistan. Don't nominate him. (Bonus points if you get the "Franistan" reference.) What qualifies as "nominally famous"? It's kind of subjective. If your guy has a fan page on facebook, that makes him at least nominally famous. Ditto if the New York Times has mentioned him (however briefly). You can always provide a reason with your submission as to why your guy should be considered.
5) Include in your submission a brief explanation of why your guy is morally hot. It can be an anecdote, a brief biography, whatever. If you have a picture of him, include it.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Reading Rainbow
Reading Rainbow is going off the air. This makes me both sad and angry. Sad, because I have very fond memories of Reading Rainbow, and I always figured my kids would watch it. Angry, because of the reasons given for the show ending.
"According to research," what kids really need is to learn phonics. But as I recall, Sesame Street does a pretty good job of at least starting that process. My mom told me that when I was very small, I pointed to her "Hershey Chocolate" pillow case and said, "R." She looked, and I was indeed pointing to the letter R. Excited, she ran downstairs and gathered all the alphabet magnets from the fridge and brought them back to me. "Do you recognize any others?" she asked. I knew R, S, and W.
She hadn't started teaching me the alphabet yet (I was really young), but I knew a few letters from Sesame Street.
But Reading Rainbow filled a different void. It inspired a love of reading. Even the opening sequence was thrilling. Open a book and become an astronaut! An explorer! Open a book and open your imagination!
When I was a kid, the local library had a display in the children's section for "Books Recently Featured on Reading Rainbow." It was the first place to go every time we went to the library.
It seems that these days there's so much focus on standardized tests. When I was in school, we'd have a standardized test maybe every three years, and the test would last one or two days, maximum. And it wouldn't take up the whole day - just one or two periods. Now, it seems like there's a test every year, and they can take an entire week. All day, every day.
I understand that there's a need to measure students' learning, and that we need to make sure kids attain a certain level of aptitude. But I think all the additional focus on testing is superfluous. Teachers can't do anything but prepare students for the next test, and there's no time to instill a love of learning.
I don't really know if there's a solution to this. Can we measure student performance while still leaving room for inspired tangents in the classroom? Leave your thoughts in the comments (as well as your favorite Reading Rainbow memories).
"According to research," what kids really need is to learn phonics. But as I recall, Sesame Street does a pretty good job of at least starting that process. My mom told me that when I was very small, I pointed to her "Hershey Chocolate" pillow case and said, "R." She looked, and I was indeed pointing to the letter R. Excited, she ran downstairs and gathered all the alphabet magnets from the fridge and brought them back to me. "Do you recognize any others?" she asked. I knew R, S, and W.
She hadn't started teaching me the alphabet yet (I was really young), but I knew a few letters from Sesame Street.
But Reading Rainbow filled a different void. It inspired a love of reading. Even the opening sequence was thrilling. Open a book and become an astronaut! An explorer! Open a book and open your imagination!
When I was a kid, the local library had a display in the children's section for "Books Recently Featured on Reading Rainbow." It was the first place to go every time we went to the library.
It seems that these days there's so much focus on standardized tests. When I was in school, we'd have a standardized test maybe every three years, and the test would last one or two days, maximum. And it wouldn't take up the whole day - just one or two periods. Now, it seems like there's a test every year, and they can take an entire week. All day, every day.
I understand that there's a need to measure students' learning, and that we need to make sure kids attain a certain level of aptitude. But I think all the additional focus on testing is superfluous. Teachers can't do anything but prepare students for the next test, and there's no time to instill a love of learning.
I don't really know if there's a solution to this. Can we measure student performance while still leaving room for inspired tangents in the classroom? Leave your thoughts in the comments (as well as your favorite Reading Rainbow memories).
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Happiness Happens Month
Happy Happiness Happens Month, everyone!
Yup, I'm a member of the Secret Society of Happy People. Wishing you all a very happy August.
To celebrate the beginning of Happiness Happens Month, I did something that makes both me and someone else happy - I cut my hair and donated it to Locks of Love. So I get a cute new haircut, and a child fighting cancer gets new hair!
Spread the cheer...
Yup, I'm a member of the Secret Society of Happy People. Wishing you all a very happy August.
To celebrate the beginning of Happiness Happens Month, I did something that makes both me and someone else happy - I cut my hair and donated it to Locks of Love. So I get a cute new haircut, and a child fighting cancer gets new hair!
Spread the cheer...
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Feynman
This is my last day of work before my wedding, so naturally I was thinking about physics. (I'm trying to keep myself grounded and calm.) Earlier I was thinking, "Gee, it'd be nice to read an article or something either by or about Richard Feynman." And, lo and behold, Mental Floss posted several youTube videos of an interview of him. So I played them in the background while working. Nothing is quite as soothing as listening to a scientific explanation when you're all stressed out. At least if you're me. =) Perfect timing, Mental Floss.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A False Choice
I'm very annoyed at my congressman today.
A little background: I try to stay informed as to what my representatives are doing. One of the easiest (i.e. laziest) ways to do this is to sign up for electronic newsletters from my representatives. Obviously, they're going to try to spin things in their favor as much as possible, so I read the newsletters with a healthy amount of cynicism.
So I get the latest newsletter from my congressman, and he has a (fairly lengthy) article on why he opposed the current climate change legislation. Now, I understand there are legitimate grievances with this particular legislation (a lot of pork got stuffed on right at the end), but as far as I'm concerned that's normal politics. If you can find a piece of legislation that doesn't have pork stuffed in it, I've got some wonderful marshland in Texas you might be interested in.
Anyway, like I said, I understand some legitimate concerns with the legislation, but that's not why I'm upset. The major point my congressman was making was that he voted against the legislation because he wanted to protect his constituents from increased energy costs and business competition from overseas. I can understand why, as an elected representative, one might want to protect one's constituents (that's kinda the whole idea behind elected representatives...) but his article offered a false choice.
The choice is NOT "implement climate change legislation" or "protect constituents financially." One way or another, climate change legislation must be implemented; if not now, then later. And the longer we wait, the worse the pain will be. So the actual choice is "make constituents pay more now" or "make constituents pay a LOT more later." There will never be a time when climate change legislation is convenient or painless. (And, let's face facts, no one's going to save up for increased energy costs if we defer the change till later.)
There will never be a time when businesses will not suffer because of climate change legislation. Yet, it is necessary. The fact that my congressman does not see this (or at least pretends not to see this) demonstrates to me that he either 1) does not truly understand my interests or 2) does not particularly care about my interests. In either case, he will not get my vote.
A little background: I try to stay informed as to what my representatives are doing. One of the easiest (i.e. laziest) ways to do this is to sign up for electronic newsletters from my representatives. Obviously, they're going to try to spin things in their favor as much as possible, so I read the newsletters with a healthy amount of cynicism.
So I get the latest newsletter from my congressman, and he has a (fairly lengthy) article on why he opposed the current climate change legislation. Now, I understand there are legitimate grievances with this particular legislation (a lot of pork got stuffed on right at the end), but as far as I'm concerned that's normal politics. If you can find a piece of legislation that doesn't have pork stuffed in it, I've got some wonderful marshland in Texas you might be interested in.
Anyway, like I said, I understand some legitimate concerns with the legislation, but that's not why I'm upset. The major point my congressman was making was that he voted against the legislation because he wanted to protect his constituents from increased energy costs and business competition from overseas. I can understand why, as an elected representative, one might want to protect one's constituents (that's kinda the whole idea behind elected representatives...) but his article offered a false choice.
The choice is NOT "implement climate change legislation" or "protect constituents financially." One way or another, climate change legislation must be implemented; if not now, then later. And the longer we wait, the worse the pain will be. So the actual choice is "make constituents pay more now" or "make constituents pay a LOT more later." There will never be a time when climate change legislation is convenient or painless. (And, let's face facts, no one's going to save up for increased energy costs if we defer the change till later.)
There will never be a time when businesses will not suffer because of climate change legislation. Yet, it is necessary. The fact that my congressman does not see this (or at least pretends not to see this) demonstrates to me that he either 1) does not truly understand my interests or 2) does not particularly care about my interests. In either case, he will not get my vote.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Woman-cave
It's a trend for men to make "man-caves" (places in their home with lots of electronic equipment, a Lay-Z-Boy, and easy access to beer). These are supposedly places of retreat where no woman is allowed.
Well, today my fiance mentioned that the stock market is starting to go down again, and I thought, "I need a woman-cave to hide in when he and my dad start shrieking about the economy." So, what should I put in my woman-cave?
I'll definitely need lots of chocolate and books - pretty much everything by Jane Austen, plus some of my favorite Dumas titles (The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers). What else? Maybe some manicure/pedicure equipment: nail file, toe separators, and nail polish. Also some pillows and blankets so I can curl up as I read. I think an iPod, loaded with classical music, would not go amiss.
Any recommendations?
Well, today my fiance mentioned that the stock market is starting to go down again, and I thought, "I need a woman-cave to hide in when he and my dad start shrieking about the economy." So, what should I put in my woman-cave?
I'll definitely need lots of chocolate and books - pretty much everything by Jane Austen, plus some of my favorite Dumas titles (The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers). What else? Maybe some manicure/pedicure equipment: nail file, toe separators, and nail polish. Also some pillows and blankets so I can curl up as I read. I think an iPod, loaded with classical music, would not go amiss.
Any recommendations?
Friday, May 29, 2009
Driving rant
Let me say upfront: I do not like driving. If I could move to NYC and never have to drive again in my life, I'd be pretty happy about that. Overall, however, I just kinda deal with it. But sometimes things happen that make the experience pretty...horrible.
Now, I'm not sure if this is just my township or if there's some sort of traffic-sign-makers' strike going on, but there are three (count 'em, THREE) places nearby with road work, but no indications of said road work beforehand.
One of these places is a bridge that's out. I know that the bridge is out; my fiance and I have talked about how annoying it is to have to drive way out of the way to get around it. But one day I was driving and was distracted and so forgot to avoid that route. Until I saw a sign saying "Road ends in 500 feet" and a giant barrier. No warning at the previous intersection; no real way to turn around; just a dead end.
Today I stumbled across two more of these beauties. I was driving to school when traffic suddenly stopped. People were moving in the other direction, but going East was just stuck. Finally I (and a lot of other drivers) started pulling into shopping centers and turning around. (Luckily there are shopping center entrances about every 20 yards on this particular stretch of road.) As I turn around, I notice that there's road work blocking both lanes of traffic less than a block away. And this particular area has a pretty even gridwork of roads; it would have taken minimal effort to set up "Detour" signs at the previous intersection and routed traffic around the mess. But no; instead everyone got stuck.
As I was driving back home, I approached a green light and watched in wonder (horror?) as an SUV made a left into the intersection while he had a red light. Luckily I was paying attention and didn't hit him. But as I went through the intersection thinking "What the...?" I noticed yet another big "ROAD CLOSED" sign. The poor guy probably had no warning that his road was going to suddenly stop.
Now, I'm not sure if this is just my township or if there's some sort of traffic-sign-makers' strike going on, but there are three (count 'em, THREE) places nearby with road work, but no indications of said road work beforehand.
One of these places is a bridge that's out. I know that the bridge is out; my fiance and I have talked about how annoying it is to have to drive way out of the way to get around it. But one day I was driving and was distracted and so forgot to avoid that route. Until I saw a sign saying "Road ends in 500 feet" and a giant barrier. No warning at the previous intersection; no real way to turn around; just a dead end.
Today I stumbled across two more of these beauties. I was driving to school when traffic suddenly stopped. People were moving in the other direction, but going East was just stuck. Finally I (and a lot of other drivers) started pulling into shopping centers and turning around. (Luckily there are shopping center entrances about every 20 yards on this particular stretch of road.) As I turn around, I notice that there's road work blocking both lanes of traffic less than a block away. And this particular area has a pretty even gridwork of roads; it would have taken minimal effort to set up "Detour" signs at the previous intersection and routed traffic around the mess. But no; instead everyone got stuck.
As I was driving back home, I approached a green light and watched in wonder (horror?) as an SUV made a left into the intersection while he had a red light. Luckily I was paying attention and didn't hit him. But as I went through the intersection thinking "What the...?" I noticed yet another big "ROAD CLOSED" sign. The poor guy probably had no warning that his road was going to suddenly stop.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Grad school is like a pirate ship
My best friend is having a bridal shower this weekend. Back in January, when the bridal party (myself included) were trying to start getting things together, she emailed us and asked what weekend would be most convenient. I was just starting another semester and waited to get my class syllabi before responding. Looking at the schedule, I saw that this coming week was spring break, and I figured, "Great! I'll have no classes, so I should have plenty of time to fly in for the bridal shower and still do all my homework."
Come to find out, I now have two midterms next week. Despite the fact that the university is technically on "break". So what I've realized is that in grad school, a syllabus is more like guidelines than actual rules.
Come to find out, I now have two midterms next week. Despite the fact that the university is technically on "break". So what I've realized is that in grad school, a syllabus is more like guidelines than actual rules.
Monday, January 12, 2009
This semester's gonna suck
Between April and October, I have 6 weddings and 1 qualifying exam.
I may not sleep until next Thanksgiving...
- I will be a bridesmaid in 3 weddings
- 3 weddings require a plane trip
- One of the weddings is my own
I may not sleep until next Thanksgiving...
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