Friday I'm in Love

Here's what's making me tick this week:

John Hughes

I didn't have cable growing up, and didn't miss it, either. See, every Sunday afternoon on one of our six channels, I could count on one of them showing The Breakfast Club, and who really needs more than that? It was the first movie that struck me as a kid as being about something real, and become a film that would forever define "my" kind of people versus everyone else. John Hughes' world was one where we all had more in common than we thought, where being interesting meant more than being conventional, and where connections can happen anywhere, at any time, if you keep an open mind. That remains the kind of world that speaks to me, all these years later. Thank you, John Hughes; may you rest in peace.

Loveliness from Japan (with bizarre bonus clip!)

One of my greatest pleasures is seeing my far-flung and immensely talented group of friends do interesting things. One of those friends, my high school pal Saleem, has been writing fantastic sojourns from his international adventuring for years now, the most recent of which makes me equal parts happy he's returning to the U.S. soon, and sad for him that he's leaving. Check out Saleem's latest: The Place Where Pretty Girls Think You're Smart and Funny. That "suburban bar in NC" he writes about? It's my late, great "family bar" that my sister and brother-in-law decided to sell when she became pregnant (having a family bar, by the way? awesome for the family, but not as cool for the actual owners). So not only did I witness "Tutti Frutti," but since Saleem's extreme long distance meant that he couldn't attend our wedding, I think we deserve an encore back in NC in honor of our nuptials. Don't you? (Unrelated-but-loosely-Japanese-so-I'll-link-to-it: the most bizarre commercial I've ever seen. For sushi pillows.)


Bringing Transit to the People

As frustrating as my job sometimes is, when it's right, it's really right, and I'm really thankful for that this week. At the end of the day, we're trying to make communities more liveable, sidewalks more full of life, streets more dynamic, and the world a little less polluted. The bottom line is the greater good; it matters to me that better places can and do result from our efforts. I complain about my job as much as the next person, but the fact is, I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it mattered. Some weeks, it all just comes together. Now, if only every week could be like this one (only probably without the 15-hour workdays).