This week Dina at This Marriage Thing hosts our boomer carnival, and a fine job she does, too. For topics ranging from diet to dating, caring for elderly parents to politics and even a visit to the Sarasota Opera, the Carnival has something for you.
Category: Baby Boom
Walking in the Woods, Spring, Bruce and The Daily Show: Even Jon Stewart Couldn’t Resist
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M – Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Bruce Springsteen – Interview | ||||
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You probably saw this. Bruce Springsteen on The Daily Show; Jon Stewart interviewing him about his music and his life with the E Street Band. I wasn't going to write about it. But today, as I made my way through Rock Creek Park, Sherry Darlin' booming on my iPod, I thought about what Springsteen, over all these years, has meant to me. About giving away all our Bruce tapes when we were in Prague in 1985 and met a "behind the Iron Curtain" tour guide who told us that each sold for almost a month's pay in his part of the world, of a six-year-old in his dad's tee shirt. As I knotted the bottom (very 80s) so it would at least not drag on the ground, he asked "Do you think Bruce wears his this way?" Now he and his brother meet up to go to concerts together when the band tours. He's part of our family history.
So I understand, I really do. The music travels in our hearts, lifts us up. And in Stewart's case, lifted him right out of New Jersey, into Manhattan… and you know the rest. I was a little shocked to hear him talk about it on the air; (it's at the end of this video) it was the antithesis of the coolness dude he offers us most of the time. He couldn't resist…had to say it out loud. To offer his gratitude. It was surprising; moving and endearing.
Anyway, the other part of today, as I move toward Shabbat, is the beauty of the spring. The park is great; walking along the creek, over the bridges and paths was a real treat. Here's a little bit for you – some buttercups and the beginnings of green. Shabbat Shalom.
Obama Staffing Issues: Where IS Everybody?
How many times have you received an email with a signature including "Be the change you want to see in the world"? Gandhi said it and it's a treasured thought to many including my friend and sister blogger Catherine Morgan, who write a blog she calls "Be the Change You Want to See in Yourself." That's the feeling, the sense of purpose, that created so many committed Obama supporters, who surrendered their work, their time and their futures to make sure he was elected.
Today I read the following in the Washington Post:
This, about HHS:
After
Daschle's departure, other top prospects, such as neurosurgeon and television
reporter Sanjay Gupta, lost enthusiasm. That also may have been the case
withDonald Berwick, president of the Institute for Healthcare
Improvement, who had been talked about as a strong contender for the
Medicare-Medicaid job.
And
this, about finding a U.S. Ambassador to Mexico:
They've been trying: Clinton
administration transportation secretary and early Obama backer Federico Peña
turned down an offer, we hear, as did Clinton White House deputy chief of staff
Maria Echaveste. Given the Senate's upcoming two-week recess, there's
little chance an ambassador will be in Mexico City to greet Air Force One.
It's happening in the Treasury Department too, where is sounds like, in addition to the enormous challenges Secretary Geithner, he's also working without much substantial staff support. Between tax and other issues, several potential deputy and assistant secretary people have reportedly either dropped out or been eliminated.
Call me crazy but it seems to me that people should be knocking down doors, walls and White House fences to help. Those with great gifts should be volunteering the way GIs did in World War II. Yet at least from what's been reported, the opposite is true. People are pulling back, especially near the top.
I understand that much of this gap is not refusal to serve but instead the intense vetting process that makes it tough to get anything done. And that the Republicans in Congress are being so tough that often people wonder if it's worth it.
But this is an emergency. The Treasury Secretary is "making do" with a skeleton staff and, I''ll bet, some uncompensated patriots who are helping him until they can unscramble the nomination mess. And I'm a big girl. I understand that more than patriotism motivates many who choose to serve — or not to. But I keep thinking about my mom's funeral. I said to one of her friends, "You guys really were the Greatest Generation. You went through so much and were so brave."
His response: "We just did what we had to do. You will too." I hope he was right.
Blogging Boomers #108: the Economy Hits Home
The very wise John Agno of So Baby Boomer suggested at all the Carnivalistas write about the economy this week and so we have. For a Boomer perspective that, of course, mirrors what everyone is feeling, this is the place to go. It turns out we're a pretty wise bunch, writing about everything from the "alternative economy" to keeping things less stressful at home to dealing with the market. John ha a good idea and Carnival posts rose to the occasion.
Blogging Boomers Carnival #107! At Least as Good as It Usually Is
Yup – this week my friend Janet Wendy Spiegel is hosting the carnival. As usual, it's rich with content, including Facebook, bad hair days, Twitter, fashion, antique lighters and retirement envy. Don't miss it!
Blogging Boomers Carnival #106 and Still Full of Great New Ideas
Can a week have gone by already? Must have – Blogging Boomers carnival is back on this snowy Monday, hanging out this week at Wesley Hein's LifeTwo. True Love to 401Ks, innovation to blue jean fashion, Boomer women and Twitter – it's a wide swath of life covered this week. But then, that's always true at the Blogging Boomers, so don't miss it.
The Blogging Boomers Carnival (#105) Lands Here Once Again
It’s Carnival time again; the Blogging Boomers have landed here at Don’t Gel Too Soon, and they have plenty to offer. From Hole in the Donut, a story of how small the world really is – her blog helped a man discover his lost family roots when she published a present day photo of a storefront in Matten, Switzerland that had belonged to his grandfather. He was able to match it to a historical photo that ultimately led him to records that confirmed his ancestry.
Meanwhile, Rhea Becker tell us that she’s always dreamed of opening a restaurant. Would her Amish-concept restaurant survive in Boston? Learn more at The Boomer Chronicles.
Is it possible to go through menopause “naturally”? asks Wendy Lawson, who put that question to a well-respected herbalist and integrative medicine physician, and shares her advice at Menopause The Blog.
On another topic, were you part of the Oscar audience? Over at Fabulous After 40, they ask the question…How do the over 40 celebrities get to looking so sleek and perfect on the red carpet?
We all know that I Remember JFK comes up with some great memories. This time it’s a Buffalo Nickel, in typical 1960’s condition, that he found as a kid. As he puts it: “It wasn’t often that a kid of the 60’s had change in his pocket. At least it wasn’t often that I did. Come to think of it, I’m short of cash right now. Some things never change.
But go back to 1967, and if a fortunate youngster found himself with a chunk of change in his pocket, the odds were pretty favorable that among the coinage was a Buffalo Nickel or two.
And while we’re looking back — we all do it, but it’s got a bad name with most mental health professionals. That might be changing though. What are we talking about at LifeTwo? Nostalgia.
Here’s a nice simple one on Boomer life from the Midlife Crisis Queen: Behaviors to avoid when midlife crisis strikes!
In another take on life, Dina at This Marriage Thing says: Single? Here’s a bit of advice on choosing the purrfect mate..
After reading a magazine article about young entrepreneurs where only 3 of 16 were women, Andrea Stenberg wonders Are Young Women Less Likely to Be Entrepreneurs?
On the political side (sort of:) Feeling a bit Obamar-ific, Janet Wendy at Gen Plus, brings you some new online goodies from the White House
Add some technology to your politics: Barack Obama does it. So do William Shatner, Richard Branson and John Cleese… What is it? Twittering.
Tweating. Microblogging… If you want to get in on the act, head over to Contemporary Retirement.
Blogging Boomers Are at It Again!
I'm a bit late posting this week; life took over unexpectedly. But that doesn't diminish the usual value in the assembly known as Blogging Boomers Blog Carnival #103, this week posted by Ann Harrison at Contemporary Retirement. This time we have everything from the stimulus package to canned food to hormone replacement. And there's lots more. Don't miss it.
Blogging Boomers Move Forward to Carnival #102
We're up again! Those wonderful blogging boomers have posted some great material – from
life as a grandparent to job loss anxiety; fashion to the adjustment when suddenly unemployed adult kids move back home. Drop by and take a look!
Inaugural Reflections and Other Stuff at Blogging Boomers 102
Great minds definitely think in sync, at least some of them. Although this week's Blogging Boomers Carnival isn't "all inauguration, all the time" there's plenty of The Big Day top choose from, although the perspectives differ enormously. Beyond that there's everything from fashion to comic books to retirement in a bad economy. Stop on by.