Julie Pippert: Using My Words

I always found the song "Que sera, sera," a little ironic. I never wondered too much about what I was going to be when I grew up until adults continually asked me---and I started to get worried that maybe this was a question that ought to have an answer; after all they asked it expecting an answer, anticipating that I would know, and other children seemed quite definitive. I was not. I'd start answering in the moment: * a private investigator like Kelly Garrett (the Charlie's Angels phase) * a spy kicking Russian ass (the rebelling against duck and cover phase) * a back up dancer for a rock star (the Tony Orlando and the Dawns phase) * a scientist who studied and found medicine in the backyard (the backyard botany phase, and yes, I tasted every item in the yard) (boiled it in water, dried it out, and so forth) * a famous writer like Carolyn Keene (the Nancy Drew phase, coordinated well with the PI and spy phases) * a psychologist who treats people with multiple person...

Photo of Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult in About a Boy from allmoviephotos.com and Universal Pictures. BADLY DRAWN BOY "Walking Out Of Stride" You and me we could never hide Too busy walking out of stride You and me could never hide Too busy walking out of stride Take 1,2,3 then 4 or 5 People talking keeps us alive You and me could never hide Too busy walking out of stride Take 1,2,3 then 4 or 5 People talking keeps us alive What does it mean to you: walking out of stride? Does it mean at cross-purposes with yourself, or is it more of a cross-purposes with the norm, with general expectations? Is it a light issue or a deep one? Do you embrace walking out of stride? Endeavor to stand out? Or are you more the type of person who does your best to keep pace, remain part of the anonymous crowd? It's said that the desire to stand out from the crowd is innate. When I researched this, I found just as much written about the other side of the coin: the fear of standing out is innate...

(So. I didn't get this done in advance, as planned/hoped. Apologies. I will therefore put up the linky deal later today and will keep it up for more than just a day, and will repeat it. Okay?) I know someone who was murdered. Considering the murder rate, it seems like everyone ought to know someone who was murdered, and yet, when this (rarely) happens to come up, people are shocked and appalled---most people seem not to know anyone who was murdered. The victim is someone who was close to us. So is the murderer. The murder was brutal. I expect all murder is always brutal, but because I know this one, it seems especially so. Since it happened---and it's been a few years now---I've had a lot of thoughts. Initially, I had frequent thoughts and feelings about it---including anger, especially anger, along with disbelief, horror, sadness, and more---but as is typical, with time, it's slowed down, until something happens that brings it back up. That happens less and less now. E...

The first and biggest mistake that people make about my beloved country is that it is one country, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I realize that there is this pledge that we ourselves use to perpetuate this misunderstanding. But seriously, you know you can't take these advertisements literally. I mean, think of food photography, for example. When you buy those little frozen meals (and I do...I'm like a Lean Cuisine-a-holic), do they come out of the microwave (because we all know nuking food is the healthiest method of preparation) looking as pictured? No. They do not. For one thing, I don't even own that style of plate. For another, notice the little caveat on the image: Serving Suggestion. I found out about food photography ages ago when I first began my career. I was working for the production company and we had a professional photographer on retainer. In fact, we had two. One who specialized in people and one who specialized in objects. These a...