Touching Father's Day Video

WestJet is a Canadian airline, so I've never flown them. But I've heard great things about them. Last week they posted this video on YouTube about a way they helped a father with a sick son. (And yes, it is great PR for them, just as other companies reap the benefits for humanitarian efforts, but it's still good to see someone who needs help receiving it).

I Can't Believe I'm Thinking About Christmas Already...But I Am

The other day the first calendar of the season arrived at my house, and I know that the Christmas catalogs will soon be filling up my mailbox. There won't be as many as there have been in the past. The internet has taken care of that, but still, they'll come.

Don't get me wrong. I love catalogs (at least I love thumbing through them) and I love Christmas with the music and the gatherings and the whole spirit of things, but...I'm ready to be less of a gift recipient these days. I like simplicity. I don't have a lot of space, I don't actually need anything, and I don't buy a lot of things beyond books. So, I was talking to a relative and reminding them that a couple of years ago, my niece and I wanted to have everyone in the family contribute to charity in lieu of giving each other gifts. Somehow we never got that going. I realized that I couldn't orchestrate everyone else's ideals or interfere with their ideas of what constituted the perfect Christmas. But I finally realized that I could control my own Christmas. Sort of.

Where I've Been - From Bicyclists to Pink Martini

I've been in and out for the past few days. Over the weekend (well, really Monday into Tuesday, not counting prep work), we hosted the Illini 4000, the group of University of Illinois students who bicycle from New York to San Francisco raising money for cancer research. This is our sixth year hosting them and it's always an honor and a lot of fun. They're interesting people doing something important and useful. This year there are 21 riders.

Then tonight, we headed to downtown Chicago's Millennium Park (beautiful place with great acoustics). We picnicked, drank a little wine and were treated to a concert by the wonderful group Pink Martini.

They're from Portland, Oregon, but they perform internationally and in various languages. Here's a preview of a song that will be on their upcoming album (it's fun, so I wanted to include it).

And a shot of Millennium Park's Cloud Gate (commonly called "the Bean").

And the band shell

Source

It's the Season for Giving, But...

Maybe it would be better to spread some of our giving to other parts of the year. In this video, Can Money Buy Happiness? by Asap Science, the concept of what we do with our money and how that affects our sense of well being is explored.

A Man Who Pays It Forward

This story is from 4 years ago, but this is the second time in two days that I've heard people discussing "paying it forward," so I just had to post it:

A Father Sings Let It Be to Raise Money to Cover His Child's Treatment

When Mike Massé's 11-month-old son was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, the Cover Cows suggested that he record a song to raise money for the cause.

Passing Kindness On, One Kind Act at a Time

This video by Life Vest Inside (music by Matisyahu) encourages us to be kind. What a nice message!

A World Record, A Christmas Treat and the Spirit of Giving...

All of that comes in one package. This house in Australia has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the house having the most Christmas lights in the entire world (330,000 lights). To get into the driveway, guests are asked to donate a gold coin, and 100% of the proceeds go to the SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and Kids charity.

Stand Up to Cancer

Stand Up to Cancer (or S↑2C) enlists Emma Stone, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen and other celebrities to recreate scenes from Star Wars.