I'm not joking around, though sometimes it becomes necessary to make light of such a drawn out situation. 

But with all the sides trying to get their way, and everyone living in a biased, impenetrable bubble, there seems to be only one way to solve this age-old problem.  In the words of the doomed Marie Antoinette, "Let them eat cake!" 

Why you ask? Because, think about the last time you were shoved into a room full of people you despise, usually to celebrate some unnecessary or exaggerated occassion.   And you're all there usally for just one reason: cake (or a buffet or drinks or something.) 

So, we'll stick some Palestinians and Israelis (including all the media and political influencers) in a giant ballroom, office Christmas party style.   Because God knows that those force you into a room full of brown-nosers, lame jokes, and awkward situations.  But at the end of the day, you know you did your part to inch yourself closer to that promotion, smooth it over with a tense co-worker, and prove to your boss that killing it at karaoke is an indicator of your upcoming performance.

Ok, point number two.  Although I totally get the advantage of a two-state solution, I think that it completely misses the point of mutual respect, cooperation, and exceptance.  They need to LIVE together. Work together, pray together, eat together, be together.  They've supposedly been doing it for thousands of years before, and the only thing getting in their way now is politics and fear.  So if somehow we lift that veil of fear and assuage each side's doubts of the other's humanity, innocence, and good intentions, then maybe their lifestyles can truly return to the peaceful coexistence that all of their prophets have preached and lived for.   It's incredibly sad to see three religions with so much in common replace what should be their natural reality with the illusion of hatred and animosity.  The Muslims, Jews, and Christians of the region not only share common ancestry and traditions, but also have the same religious prophets and teachings up to Jesus.  That is pretty significant.   Who said that the way the story unfolded in the past thousand years hasn't been tweeked and refined to reflect their surroundings and political realities so that it seems none of the people have anything in common anymore?  What happens when you stick a yummy slice of chocolate cake in a room  full of siblings?  Has anyone seen four siblings fight over a piece of cake?  And that's why the only requirement necessary at the Holy Land Office Party is plenty of cake, and the rest will work itself out.

Either way, it's nice to see the initatives the Obama team is quickly taking.

Part 2 of the inauguration mayhem I experienced.

Random shots of the going ons of inauguration weekend.  I really feel lucky to have been a part of a connected and tight-knit community endeavor with so many backgrounds, beliefs, faces, and cultures. Truly beautiful and just human.

Thanks to Webon (my lovely blogging platform) for featuring me on this week's featured sites!  I've been telling all my virtual and real friends about this great site since I started blogging a few months ago.  So this will definitely give them a boost in my weekly advertising schpeel :)  Plus, they're on Twitter, and anyone on Twitter is automatically cool and in touch.  Keep up the good work Webon!

That melancholy feeling of winter's forward treck on starts to creep over me around this time.  Don't get me wrong. I love the snow and the bite of the crisp, cool air.   But there's no snow!  And that bite of cool air has turned into a devouring of my extremities.  Sigh, atleast this weekend brings the expected delight of a new beginning, a fresh start.  No, I'm not talking about the President!  It's supposed to snow, and I wanted to go skiing on that fresh layer of powder......

Happy Skiing

Here's the perfect excuse to play with your food.  You're doing it for arts sake. 

From annathered.wordpress.com, check out this craziness:

Check out more pictures and how to do it yourself at http://www.flickr.com/photos/annathered/ 

Sounds silly, I know.  But it's actually a phrase that is often searched for on the internet. Why? Because everyone's obsessed with the quickest way to lose weight.  I still can't believe it when I hear 12 and 13 year olds worry about their size and if they look skinny in those jeans.  Wow. I didn't even know what that meant at that age. Have we changed so much in less than a decade? What is up with all the obsession over size and weight and age? Are we that uncomfortable with ourselves that we waste our precious brain power on superficial problems? Yes. And I've fallen victim for it too. Who hasn't strolled down the promenade just to catch your reflection in the store window and then take a minute to figure out if you look okay without attracting any attention? And I bet you guys are victim to this thinking as well, but maybe in a different way.  Are we all wired to obsess over our attractiveness? Is evolution trumping our better judgement? Or is this the mentality that seems to plague the buzz of modern city life? Food for thought. Calorie-laden, fatty food.

Oh, and btw, there are 3500 calories in one pound. :)

Just recently came upon the film "The Celestine Prophecy" and was surprised after watching it that I hadn't seen or heard anything about the movie or the book before.  It was pretty good, if you're into the whole new age/spiritual journey genre, which I usually overlook.  I always like movies that get you thinking about things in a different perspective, even if it's not in your original line of thinking.  Although I haven't read the book, the movie (and the insights) attempted to link psychology, religion, sociology, and philosophy to explain the human condition and the meaning of life.  It's seems simplistic, but it's enjoyable to follow and try to twist your mind around the insights.  It also tends to satisfy almost any opinion by attempting to avoid a single perspective, religion, or philosophy.

Anyways, it got me thinking about the things that I'm passionate about, particularly the psychology of the mind, and why people are the way they are.  Why are there so many perspectives but so little patience?  Why is there so much fighting with so much in common?   Why do we hate each other when we love the same things?  Can't there be a middle ground?  Is it that hard to look into ourselves and see in others what we know in our hearts?  But then I think about myself, and how easy it is for my mind to get distracted with the little things.  Seriously.  Stuff that I would have never thought I would fret over when I was in my teens.  It's so easy to become numb; lose ourselves in the mindless hum of the everyday mundane.  Then we forget ourselves, forget our core.  The passions that dizzied our minds when we had endless time to sit and think about what it would be like to be grown up.  No wonder kids glow and buzz and daydream and laugh.   When we get those same impulses, we fight it or attempt to hide them from our "adult" peers.

It's becoming harder to find an excuse to focus on ourselves, heal our hearts, and nurture our minds.  We slowly let our heart's cries for freedom get lost in the buzz of traffic.  Our intuitive nature gives way to our doubting thoughts.  And if we let it, the routine drums of our everyday lives drown out our purpose, our passions, and our patience. 

So, maybe the movie came at the right time (exactly as it would have you believe in the movie I might add).