What's Fun About Breast Cancer Awareness? Check Out the Pink Glove Dance

This incredible effort by the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon deserves a Gold Star for time, energy and yes, dancing. They may not have the boldest and most coordinated moves in the universe, but hey, they brought down the house with their pink gloves.



Didn't you especially love the cafeteria and janitorial staff? Good stuff for a good cause. Let's applaud them by sharing it with others and doing what you need to do to protect those tatas.  Supposedly, when the video gets 1 million hits, Medline will be making a huge contribution to the hospital, as well as offering free mammograms for the community.

Girls & Beauty: Let's Teach Them the Truth

Maybe you never saw this. Or maybe you did but it's been a few years.



After taking a tour at Girls, Inc. on Wednesday, I see the need to keep educating our girls on the necessity of being strong, smart and bold. It seems as essential as vitamins and minerals. 

It's amazing that a girl can grow up empowered by her inner beauty with all of the messages she continues to see in advertisements, on television, in magazines and from her peers. 

As a step-parent of an energetic teenage boy, I'm ever aware of his perceptions of female beauty, hoping he will one day choose a mate who is attractive to him because of her unique perspective on the world, not her botox or her breasts. 

Let's keep strong as a united front, loving all of our female friends, of all heights, all weights, shapes, hair colors, pimply and flawless skin.  I love what Girls Inc is doing across the country. Let's all be mini-messengers.

I Had to Do It

I've debated and debated about this. But despite my best efforts to keep Gropius politics-neutral, this is after all my blog and I am afforded the opportunity to say what I want. (Just as you readers are afforded the opportunity to comment...)

So hear it is: I can't remember a time when I felt as hopeful, inspired, excited and frankly down right proud of my country as I was last night.

When I heard Barak Obama, our new leader speaking for the first time as president-elect, I could not keep a spot on my cheeks dry. The words, though reflective and carefully chosen, were secondary to the meaning behind our country's choice. And for once, I felt that the man was secondary to the message. It's the first time I can recall feeling the authenticity of a leader who is more about the voice of the people than himself.

In the eyes of the young voters, the old voters, the black voters and the white voters that the camera spanned, there wasn't a single cocky look of conquest. Instead there was a look of sincere gratitude, hope, eagerness and willingness to continue in being part of the change that needs to happen. You see, that is who Barak is for me. Not someone who will be that change, but who will help all of us be the change. From a campaign that thrived on small donations from many and from being the voice of people who have had enough of not being heard, real action rose out of what had become apathy. And it's just the beginning.

I will add that John McCain's concession speech was remarkably eloquent and beautiful. He and Obama complimented each other in presenting the need for unity bridging our differences, whether they are differences of party, color or religious beliefs.


There's hope if you're a McCain-lover...My Gropius message for you is three-fold:

1. Echoing Obama, who said in his acceptance speech that he will be your President too, I'm still your blogging friend. I hope you will still be mine.
2. A blogosphere is a terrible thing to waste: start your own and share.
3. You're always welcome to comment here.

And finally, if you're a fellow Obama fan, please be liberal in sharing your post-election thoughts on Gropius!

Local Campaign Humor

I've seen enough throw-away flyers, intersection lobbyists and yard signs to last me 10 centuries. When this flow of serious, hard core campaigning finally ends on Tuesday, it will not be too soon for me. But as with all important matters, if humor and jest don't fit in somewhere, no one is being serviced.

I'll be able to laugh at will when the Presidential candidate of my choice clearly wins on the 4th, but until then, enjoy this photo from a local contractor who kindly thinks of Gropius readers while cruising between site visits.

According to a small plot of land near the Waffle House on US 41 in Sarasota, the butler from the 80's sitcom Benson is running for a seat on the Florida House. Great stuff.

The other fave that I've come across is two warring households a couple of blocks away. One home has at least 10 McCain/Palin signs and the home beside it has just as many Obama/Biden signs. The most entertaining part is this: several signs were erected by both families directly against the property line, so that the McCain and Obama endorsements are facing each other, not the street. I'm hoping to get up enough nerve to knock on their doors and ask, "Hey, are you and your neighbor on speaking terms?"

Whatever your views, my friends, don't forget to vote.

The Week in Review

I'm having a slight case of blogger's block but have missed out on the therapeutic benefits of near-daily interaction with the screen, getting things off my chest. Here are my observations from this week in review:

• Telling the truth is so much easier than not telling the truth. Except for a few tiny white lies that slip out every now and then to protect the innocent from unnecessary insult, I avoid lying at all costs. I can't say the same for some kids, who insist on thinking they won't get busted while looking you right in the face, popping out a ginormous bald-faced lie. The same is true of politicians. They stare right into the camera and puke out a big one. Both kids and politicians know they're going to get busted in the inevitable fact-checking stage, but somehow keep the up the game. It's a mystery. And it's a mystery that greatly complicates the world, quite unnecessarily.
  
• People who repeatedly leave voice mail messages about non-urgent matters, on work voice mail and on cell phone voice mail, over 4 times in the same day, do not increase chances of getting called back. In fact, they actually trigger the opposite response. If you're not getting a call back, it either means I am very, very busy or that you have called me 47 times already about the same thing and we're not getting anywhere.
  
• I'd rather be in Gainesville this weekend. Hearing about a friend's trip to G'ville for a wedding reminded me that it's been too long since I've seen Payne's Prairie, Devil's Millhopper, El Indio and the Florida Museum of Natural History. I'm ready for a road trip.

On a Serious Palin Note

You know, one great thing about Sarasota is that our people are pretty conscious about animal rights. Whether or not you're a fan of PETA (which can be quite radical), if you live in Sarasota you're probably aware of what a vegan is, you might see more than just 2 vegetarian choices on restaurant menus, and you know how to adopt a dog or cat from a shelter instead of a pet store. I do love that about our town.

Gropius likes to make you laugh, but I have to get serious here for just a minute. There's something I want you to know about our VP candidate Sarah Palin. She's a true advocate for the hunting of wolves and bears from airplanes (coming from the state of Alaska's own press releases). Isn't that bizarre? I had no idea this sort of thing was even allowed in a civilized society.

If you're not an animal loving guy or gal, that's okay...just stay with me for a minute. This is not a minute detail to be overlooked; it represents the type of barbarism that most of us recognize as plain wrong. This video from Defenders of Wildlife is pretty disturbing, but if you're thinking of voting for the McCain-Palin ticket, at least look at it so you know what comes with your vote.

I'd love your comments to this one, whether you agree or not. It's all about a conversation. This is a conversation people should be having.

Campaign Funnies

Nerd passed on this cute one.

Enjoy:

www.peteyandpetunia.com/VoteHere/VoteHere.htm