Keli Carender: "The New Discontent: The Tea Party Movement from the Ground Up"

Tonight, as part of the Weissman Leadership Series, Keli Carender, Seattle resident and Tea Party Organizer came to Mount Holyoke College. I walked over to Chapin like most people curious to see what she had to say about the Tea Party Movement. A little rally with amusing signs was outside-in the freezing cold I might add, which is dedication in itself. One of my favorite was "I like tea but now you've ruined it for me".
           I have to say I was impressed by Keli's integrity, calm demeanor and emphasis on freedom of speech and dialogue about common issues rather than personal attacks. The questions were the most interesting part of the whole evening since she really got to answer some pointed questions. She made a couple things very clear: Keli Carender is part of the Tea Party Patriots which is a faction of the tea party. This is confusing because there are many Tea Party groups-some more radical, religious, or racist. The Tea Party Patriots are concerned with three main issues: 1. Fiscal issues 2. Constitutionality and 3. Free Markets. The majority of her beliefs I don't agree with her at all on the policy changes, but the way she approaches dialogue and how she is motivated for change to happen is admirable. Her blog can be found here. Its so frustrating--my current plan is to move to Scandinavia or Switzerland for part of the year. Hopefully, it will depress me less to be surrounded by socialists.
         It blows my mind (and she mentioned this in her talk) that a Seattlite, with liberal parents, fiancee and friends is so conservative in her principles. She is a pleasant, smart, engaging woman who is fiscally conservative. How her policy writings will differ from Republican policies? That she still has to prove.

Temple Grandin

I just finished watching Temple Grandin's talk when she came to Mount Holyoke this past week. I highly recommend you watch it. It's absolutely fascinating. She talked about autism, animals and the need to fight overly abstract thinking because often enough it doesn't relate at all to the field of study in practical terms. I kept thinking about Waldorf Education and how it really gives a strong foundation in all types of different fields. Temple Grandin supports hands-on learning and is really concerned about the  decrease of these classrooms in schools.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Almost the End

With all the Harry Potter hype surrounding me this Thanksgiving, it's impossible not to write a post talking about how Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 1 is amazing. I thought it was the best movie of the series excluding the first two movies. I absolutely adored it. It was smart, funny, quick-paced, sad, and scary and left you, unlike other of the films, satisfied that the director and the film team had accomplished their goal of telling a story. I didn't leave wishing this line had been added or that scene added. The film was concise, poignant and a brilliant finish to a wonderful Harry Potter era. I cannot wait to see the final installment in July. David Yates outshone himself and the way the characters were represented really illustrated their complexity.

Let it Go

Enough
by Jeffrey Harrison

It's a gift, this cloudless November morning
warm enough for you to walk without a jacket
along your favorite path. The rhythmic shushing
of your feet through fallen leaves should be 
enough to quiet the mind, so it surprises you 
when you catch yourself telling off your boss
for a decade of accumulated injustices,
all the things you've never said circling inside you.

It's the rising wind that pulls you out of it,
and you look up to see a cloud of leaves
swirling in sunlight, flickering against the blue
and rising above the treetops, as if the whole day
were sighing, Let it go, let it go,
for this moment at least, let it all go.

MHC Archives

The Mount Holyoke Archives are pretty amazing and fascinating, even though haven't visited them yet. It's on my to do list--I wish the college would do more classes that involved archival research on Mt. Holyoke because right now there is an exhibit in the library atrium that chronicles the use of food at MHC. Upon clicking the pictures I find that we have a growing digital collections of images. Here is a picture of a senior dance in 1941 and Chapin is packed to the brim.

Halloween

This morning at breakfast, on All Hallow's Eve, a black cat came up to me in the dining hall. Somehow, the cutie pie had sneaked in and wanted some attention. It was quickly put outside since cats cannot stay in dining halls and the dining workers were all talking how bizarre that a black cat on Halloween came into the building.

New York, New York

For fall break, I went for the first time to New York City! I stayed with my friend at Sarah Lawrence College and then one night in Brooklyn with a MHC friend. It was a fantastic weekend-taking in the feel of New York in all of its sunshine, fall glory. I absolutely loved it! The energy on the street is unique and Paris does not at all have the same feel. I felt actually more comfortable in NYC. There was a feeling of movement, change, everybody was transitory yet people were united in that transition from place to place. Also, there is a myth that New York people are quite unfriendly and I didn't find that the case at all. It felt easy to strike up conversations or ask questions to people right next to you because, hey, you will most likely never see them again!
      The weekend was spent hanging out with friends/cousin, walking around the city, standing in-line to get a discounted broadway ticket (we ended up going to see Mamma Mia!) and eating a lot of gyros. I also acquired some new pashminas--adding new color to my life parce que je le vaux bien!