Perception Test

I was sent this video as a perception test. The presenter prefaced the video with remarks that there was a difference in how the sexes were able to catch the number of times the ball was passed between the people wearing white shirts.

Watch very carefully.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX2BJC12uXQ

This blew my mind away!

This isn't a political blog....

... but....

This blog was originally created to support my card-making venture on etsy. Then I got carried away adding in tidbits about the family and our goings on. I never really wanted to make any kind of political statements.

Until now.

I really hate being lied to, especially when it is so simple to check up on the facts.

When it was announced that Sarah Palin's teenage daughter was pregnant, I inwardly groaned. Another distraction from the things that really mattered! 

Then I was pleased when Barack Obama spoke against making this an issue. "Let me be as clear as possible," Obama said. "I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president." 

He further said that "if I ever thought there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they’d be fired."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/01/palin.daughter/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/us/politics/02PALINDAY.html?em

Finally, someone in politics takes the high road!

Imagine my surprise when I found out that Sarah Palin said this in an email solicitation after her nomination: "I  cannot tell you how special last night was for me and how enthused I am to be John McCain's running mate," Palin said in the email solicitation, adding: "Unfortunately, as you've seen this week, the Obama/Biden Democrats have been vicious in their attacks directed toward me, my family and John McCain. The misinformation and flat-out lies must be corrected."

Frankly, I was appalled. A search of reliable news stories online revealed her lie (and there's really no other way to characterize that statement) many times over:

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/04/1347741.aspx

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/04/Palin_ObamaBiden_Democrats__vicious/UPI-68551220578244/

http://mediamatters.org/items/200809050018

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/palin-accuses-o.html

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_212169879.shtml

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin

This is so disappointing to me. It is exciting to see a woman (and a mother) get ahead in the world, even if I may not agree with her views and policies, but when I see someone who should be an inspiration and a role model engaging in such outright falsehood, it makes me doubly discouraged.

It also disgusts me that a political figure has so little respect for the intelligence of the American public that they would tell a lie that is so easily checked upon.

I hope that these types of tactics do not prove effective!

School Days

Last week, Tad had told me that the first day of school was Thursday, so I blocked out that day on my calendar so that I could take the boys in and meet their teachers. I found it odd that every other parent I talked to thought that school started on Wednesday.

On the weekend, I asked him what sort of school supplies they would need on the first day of class. He told me that a list hadn't arrived with their teacher assignments and he assumed that we would receive a list when they showed up.

Luckily, over the weekend, we discovered the truth on both counts, otherwise, we would have shown up a day late, completely empty handed.

A fellow Glencoe School mom, Emily, pointed me to the Glencoe School Supply List online. (Emily and I both worked on the Glencoe School Foundation website over the summer, for which I am very grateful. Prior to that, we had launched her own website for her freelance writing after she purchased my services at the last foundation auction.)

The school supplies list is such a blend of old classics (24 count crayons, a Pink Pearl eraser (I remember wondering as a child WHY Pink Pearl???), wide-ruled paper, notebook) and new, unfamiliar ones (why do they need clipboards? What are the Post-it notes for?).

So, tomorrow's a big day for the kids! Third grade is when they get to go up to the second floor of the building, leaving the little kids behind on the ground floor.