Ms. Bliss

Yesterday, as I was watching Cinderella with my toddlers, I remarked to my husband that the ugly step sister, Anastasia, sounded a lot like Smurfette. Today I received an IM from my husband which stated "Lucille Bliss played both Smurfette and Anastasia". Now this represents two things. 1. My husband and I clearly don't have enough real work today. 2. You can get all your questions answered on the Internet.

I thought, "wow, Cinderella and Smurfette were decades apart, this woman must have been doing cartoon voices for a long time". So, I took this a step further and looked up Lucille Bliss on Wikipedia. It took all of 30 seconds for me to learn that Lucille Bliss, a woman in her early 90s, has been actively working as a voice actor from 1950 through 2005 and has been a part of some of my favorite movies and TV shows including "The Smurfs" and "The Secret of NIMH". With a quick 45 second jump to IMDB, I learned that her Cinderella voice work was uncredited in the movie. How would I ever have known this without the Internet? Can you remember the days when if you didn't know an answer to something you just had to accept it? Can you remember a time when you had a question about some trivial minutia and you just had to accept not knowing the answer? It seems so distant and archaic.

I just love the Internet.

Freecycle

I just have to put in a plug for Freecycle. I think it is the best thing ever.Whether you are sending something you don't need anymore to a good home, or requesting something that you need very much and someone else may be able to part with, it is a win-win situation!

Everyone should go and join their local group now: http://www.freecycle.org.

Smile.

This Monday morning, as I am sluggishly driving into my parking lot under my office building – no make-up, no coffee - I flash my I.D. badge at the security guard as routine and policy dictates. Before the guard will grant me the wave that acknowledges I am free and clear to pass through the check mark, he looks at me disapprovingly, uses his two forefingers to draw a semi-circle upwards from his chin and commands me to “smile.” So, I begrudgingly grant him a small curve of the lips which I intend to imply not that I am happy, but that I am doing this only so he will leave me alone and let me pass without incident. As soon as I am out of his sight, my lips return to their comfortable pursed and intent position.

Why is it that men (and it is always men) feel the need to tell young women to smile. Is it our job to walk around with an artificial cheery disposition from the moment we awake for their viewing pleasure?

In the appropriate situation, I am all in favor of smiles. A smile is a wonderful thing, an expression of joy. But it should come from a sincere place: a smile reflecting happiness on a sunny spring day, a warm and reassuring smile to a stranger as you hold the elevator for them, a smile because it is Friday afternoon and you are free to enjoy the lovely weekend.

But in the appropriate situation, I am all in favor of not smiling. Whether it is a moment of deep deliberation regarding the state of your cash flow, or a time of mourning after finishing the last page of the 7th Harry Potter book, or simply because it is Monday morning and your weekend is over and you have not yet had your coffee…

Two Things

I just received this link for a little game called "Two Things". The concept is that every topic can be summed up to two main points. It is pretty funny...

http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/thetwothings.html

Here is mine. What's yours?

Two Things About Love
1. You can't get too much
2. You can't give too much

Carmen