Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved reading this book! It's a fast fun read, but it also addresses some very important ideas, like questioning authority, thinking for yourself, and defending freedom/civil rights. It is a book that encourages people to think, and also reflects the intelligence of kids/teenagers. It empowers young people, which is great… Something that never changes, no matter how old we get, is that “kids” ARE the future.
Reading the book, the voice/themes reminded me of a couple of my favorite films..
Hackers - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_...
and
Pump Up the Volume - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_Up_...
In both these films, kids/teenagers essentially find problems within “the system” and attempt to fight back against authority, in the name of what is right/good, and are oppressed and disregarded because they are young. Adults/people in authority do NOT always “know what’s best.” But many people stand by, afraid to fight for what’s right… just not having the courage to stand up for their beliefs… not having the courage or even an open enough mind sometimes to SEE and acknowledge that there is a problem.
"Little Brother" encourages people (young and old) to continue to THINK, to QUESTION, to find their voice and use it. Not always the easiest things to do, and it’s good to have a reminder… :)
The lyrics of the Green Day song “Warning” also come to mind…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da0JwK...
"This is a public service announcement, this is only a test
Emergency evacuation protest
May Impair your ability to operate machinery
Can't quite tell just what it means to me
Keep out of reach of children, don't you talk to strangers
Get your philosophy from a bumper sticker

Warning. Live without warning
I said warning. Live without warning
Without. Alright.

Better homes and safety-sealed communities
Did you remember to pay the utilities?
Caution: Police line, you better not cross!
Is it the cop, or am I the one that’s really dangerous?
Sanitation, expiration date...
Question Everything!
Or shut up and be a victim of authority…"

Some people may read this and think it juvenile that I’d reference films and song lyrics… I’m ok with that. I may be over 30, married with child and hold a 9-to-5 desk job, but I’ve got a lot of “kid” in me, and I’m damn proud of it ;)

*Talk hard.*


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Lunch For One

I found myself in the mood for company today, so invited a co-worker to join me for lunch. It wasn’t someone I knew very well, but she had stopped by desk a few times to chat me up about the Lakers, so I figured… what the hell? I was hoping to go sooner rather than later, as I was already starving, but she said she had some billing that had to be completed first, so I agreed to wait another half hour.

Finally, it was time to go, and she sent me an IM saying she was about to head over… I waited several minutes for her to come by and started to wonder where she was, when I saw her walking with the office HR lady. She saw me and walked over…  “Ready?” I asked.

“I can’t go to lunch after all…  they just let me go.”

 oh.

She looked a bit teary-eyed and I truly felt awful for her. She asked for my email so we could stay in touch and chat about basketball, so I said “Sure.”

Today ended up being a lunch-for-one kind of day after all…

 

 

"The pleasure, the privilege is mine.."

After watching the Morrissey interview and performance on the Colbert Report last week, I sent the links over to an old friend who I know loves Morrissey, in case she hadn’t seen it yet… (I knew she was a big fan from her posts on Facebook.. MOZ videos here and there and also a post about being super excited to have tickets to see him in concert in November).  Her response was essentially ‘thanks for thinkin of me and sending’ but she also let me know: “U know, it was a mixed tape from u that had The Smiths, There Is a Light… when I first heard him…”

How cool is that? I knew she was a huge fan, but I never knew that I had introduced her to The Smiths…  Learning this today totally made me smile :o)

And I’ve gotta give props to my big sister who is the one who introduced the Smiths to me! Still love this song (among several others) to this day! There is a Light That Never Goes Out…

You're a Beast, Baby!

Kief's groovie ghoulie-inspired drawing inspired my hunner to get some fresh ink... after a 7 year hiatus, he set up his appointment with Marc Durrant at MD Tattoo Studio.  So this a.m. we made our way north via ye olde 405, to meet up at Casa'Durrant. We sent the boys off for the tattoo fun, and my pie and I took the kids out for lunch at Follow Your Heart.

After lunch, we rolled in on the boys to see how the progress was going...

this is how far along they were... line work done...  beast-in-progress...

                                           

the little artist watching his papa gettin' tattooed...

 

my pie and i took the kiddos back to Casa'Durrant to play while our hubs finished up at the shop....  

then later that day...

The beast with five hands!!

 

fresh ink for hunner, the kiddos get to play, and i get to hang with my bestie...  what an awesome sunday!!