An economics professor said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. The class had insisted that socialism worked - and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer for all, for society. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism.

"The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. -- I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. -- Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not."

Happy Independence Day!

"She was curious about love"... admitted one committed female student who attended Azar Nafisi's secret gathering to read forbidden Western literature in Iran. This small group of girls immersed themselves in the world of Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov... intertwining their personal experiences with the captivating stories and allowing themselves to feel emotions they could not admit to publicly. "Curiously, the novels we escaped into led us finally to question and prod on our own realities, about which we felt so helplessly speechless". The story is a "remarkable exploration of resilience in the face of tyranny and a celebration of the liberating power of literature." Reading Lolita In Tehran is a memoir about teaching western literature in revolutionary Iran... written by the teacher who kept faithful diaries on each of their meetings. The writing style of Azar Nafisi itself has captivated me and I'm only in the beginning chapters of the book. Her writing is deep and intellectual... I read through each paragraph slowly in order to not miss out on any of her provoking thoughts and analogies about life in Iran as a woman.

"Several months in the class, my girls and I discovered that almost every one of us had had at least one nightmare in some form or another in which we either had forgotten to wear our veil or had not worn it, and always in these dreams the dreamer was running, running away."



The severity of rebellion against the regime constantly haunted the girls. What will happen if they are found out? Who will be killed? When will they come?

In Iran, life is an invented world. Built upon the imaginations of men. A world where most things are forbidden... as it is either politically or sexually incorrect according to their strict regulations.

Can you imagine... living in such a world as these young girls do and yet reading about Mr. Knightley and how he wooed the spirited Emma Woodhouse... of the freedom to love and to choose. Of how women are treated in different cultures. Of how a woman could freely walk about a city without the requirement of a male relative escort. Of the ability to speak ones mind openly. Of how beauty is celebrated, not hidden.

Excerpt: "I would like to believe that all of this eagerness [to study forbidden text] meant something, that there was in the air, in Tehran, something not quite like spring but a breeze, an aura that promised spring was on its way. This is what I cling to, the faint whiff of a sustained and restrained excitement, reminding me of reading a book like Lolita in Tehran. I still find it in my former students' letters when, despite all their fears and anxieties for a future without jobs or security and a fragile and disloyal present, they write about their search for beauty."

Is spring finally coming to Iran?

This certain book has a great amount of impact upon me as I am emotionally involved with the current happenings in that country... the astonishing events have been forefront on my brain since June 13th. If you haven't read up on what has happened, you should definitely do so now:
The story + powerful pictures
Iran Live Blogging : the latest updates
Jon Stewart's capture on the story (bear in mind... its Jon Stewart. lol)

Here we have a man, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has worked the election to turn out in his favor. The results were fixed. All of the supposed votes were already in before polling booths were actually closed. And even in his opponents own hometown, Ahmadinejad somehow won an astonishing majority of the townspeople's votes. The Iranian government has disgraced itself in the eyes of the world by this shocking attempt to override the people's choice. Thousands of protesters (word on the streets reveal as many as 300,000) took to protesting and were only received with violence. A Twitter from a protester reinforced the reason for protesting: "[we] aren't seeking revolution. We want our votes to count because we want reforms, kindness, friendship with the world."

President Ahmadinejad's latest comment was sickening... "Every single Iranian is valuable. The government is at everyone's service. We like everyone." This comes from a President who had previously likened the protester's in Tehran to "dirt and dust".

We have the innocent bystander, Neda, who was brutally shot in the heart. She wasn't given a chance. Last week, I saw a candlelight vigil for Neda here in Kansas City. Many of the people there were of obvious Middle East dissent but dozens other concerned American's from all walks of life joined in. It had to be one of the most touching things I had ever seen... and you could see the heartbreak in the people's eyes. We all took Neda's death personally.

We have this young man who suffered the fatal blow of an ax to his heart. (Do NOT click on the link if you have a weak stomach)

This weekend, America will be celebrating its 233rd anniversary of our freedom. What a blessed and fortunate country we have! Yet my heart just aches as I read of freedom being squelched in Iran. They have themselves an interesting situation as the birth rate in Iran has grown significantly which makes for a very large young population (70% below age 30)... all of whom cannot relate to the revolution of '79. They look to Iraq, next door, and they're seeing what they want. Saddam Hussein has been thrown out and a democracy has been set in place. Iraq has started to become a beacon of hope in the Muslim world (as Cheney said) for unalienable rights of the people.

This generation of young people are caught between a rock and a hard place... between tradition and change. How bad do they want freedom? If they're anything like the strong and courageous ladies who met weekly in that little apartment to study and learn, then Iran really does have a continuing fight on their hands. They won't ever be able to truly suppress it... its the valiant spirit belonging to those who want to experience that taste of freedom they hear about, despite the censors... especially now that the youth have made Iran the largest nations of bloggers...



No matter who you are... you have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. My prayer is for those who are risking their lives for such a quest. "Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." - Leviticus 25:10... inscription on the Liberty Bell.

"Five years have passed since the time when the story began in a cloud-lit room where we read Madame Bovary and had chocolate from a wine-red dish on Thursday mornings. Hardly anything has changed in the nonstop sameness of our everyday life. But somewhere else I have changed. Each morning with the rising of the routine sun as I wake up and put on my veil before the mirror to go out and become a part of what is called reality. I also know of another "I" that has become naked on the pages of a book: in a fictional world, I have become fixed like a Rodin statue. And so I will remain as long as you keep me in your eyes, dear readers."

The past two weeks have been whirlwind! First off, I was absolutely amazed by the responses to my previous post on men.  Like, really amazed.  I appreciated those who shared their insights on the subject and those who simply offered encouragement... and to those who proposed Thank you all for contributing! :)

I am working in downtown Kansas City now. It's still very much a business world... there are suits wherever I go. I absolutely love this part of the city though :) It is being completely redeveloped... old buildings restored to their former grandeur... new theaters... fabulous restaurants... stunning hotels... etc. Everything is beautiful and I'm quite happy to be working in it. I'm also two blocks away from a Starbucks which is just handy dandy. The other day, I walked there and Phillip, the assistant manager, said, "You've been in here everyday this week, haven't you?" I sighed... "Yessss... should I cut back?" He laughed... "No... but this one's on me." What a delightful bloke! And he had even started brewing the tea that I had yet to ask for but he always knows what I order so it was just perfect perfect perfect. This morning I ordered an Americano though and rocked the world off its axis. Well... not exactly but I did hear shocked gasps around me because I ordered it hot on this rather hot day but that is only because the men I work with keep the temperature at an alarmingly high degree. Once I walked my goosebumps over to the thermostat and saw that it was set to 59! Shocking. I changed it to 71. I hoped they wouldn't notice. They noticed. lol And since I don't want to lose my job over a temperature war I am now wearing sweaters all the time. I should threaten to bring in the boots...

Lunch hour is my new treasured time of day. I mostly go to the grocery store just a few blocks away. It's not the type of grocery store you would normally conjure up in your mind when you hear the term. No... this is a Cosentino's Market which is a swanky place, if I may be so bold as to use that word. lol Its a lot like a Whole Foods but its much more intimate. There's a sushi bar where you can sit up there on the bar stools and order the specialties... everything is gourmet and usually imported and the staff is always friendly. Today, an employee even came up and asked if I needed anything to drink! That's like... table service almost. They have a cozy eating area, large flat-screen TV's (mostly tuned into FOX news - yay), and high-speed Wi-fi. So I snag a table and enjoy some delicious fare while I catch up on personal stuff and the news.

I also work just a couple of blocks from my dad's building so we often meet up for lunch at some place unique or we just take a long walk. The nearby City Market is our favorite destination and we always have a fabulous time there. Dad must know nearly all of the shopkeepers and restaurant owners by first name. We buy our produce at the stand owned by the Vietnamese lady (she's always there)... we love to peek into the Dutch floral shop which is owned by a young lady from Holland. Al Habashi is the authority on Middle Eastern cuisine in the area and they always provide free mint tea and ample conversation. They have a grocery attached to it which is where we get our saffron. The Italian market is next door to that and they serve up the finest muffaletto sandwiches and the freshest stock of ricotta cheese. Just in case you were wondering...

There are always events going on downtown in the new entertainment district. This week, there was an art fair and I was able to walk over there on a break and enjoy perusing the many booths. My favorite was this French man's collection... I was gazing at his modern take on impressionism when he came up and started conversing in his thick French accent. Of course his name was Gaston ;) He and I had an absolutely delightful chat! About travel, art, best places to tour in France, and how white I was and how I should really get in the sun more. lol Like... in Naples or something. Mhm. There was a booth across from Gaston's which belonged to an artist from Italy. He joined in on the conversation and Gaston and him went back and forth about how much better their country is than the other. It was positively hilarious... I thought I was in a movie... the best part being that I was in it for once ;) The Italian beamed when I said I was planning on going to Italy in 2010. He hails from Siena which is the BEST town in Italy. So we had a great talk about his hometown while Gaston kept inserting his Italian jokes into the conversation as well as his advice on Italians... "Watch out for those Italian boys! They're crazier than ze French!" You know an Italian with only one arm has a speech impediment. *nods* Gaston hadn't heard that one before and nearly died laughing...

Yesterday, I was walking towards a door. A man was walking in front of me. He opened the door for himself but let it shut in my face even though he was perfectly aware that I was right behind him. He didn't even bother to leave it open for me or to let me walk in first as he held it open! I stared at my reflection in the glass door in shock... thinking "insufferable man!"

Yet this isn't the first time an instance like this has happened. In fact, it occurs a great deal. Which got me thoroughly thinking...

It could be that these men are simply devoid of manners (reasonable presumption) but on top of that, I really believe the real reason is that women simply don't appreciate men anymore. I don't intend to put all women in a box by saying every single one of us are that way but I believe a majority of us are guilty of putting down men... being manipulative... not appreciating their small acts of service... etc. Why should we be surprised then when some men just lose the urge to be gentlemen?

On this Father's Day, I think about my own dad and how I've treated him. It absolutely boggles my mind how selfless he is. He has always been 100% loyal to the family. Always sacrificing. Always forgiving. Extremely generous with whatever he had. A true protector. Genuine listener. Avid learner. Quick to admit when wrong. Defender of truth. A servant in any capacity. And the guy who always roots for the underdog. lol He has his faults... but today I was realizing how almost endearing they are in spite of how annoying they can be sometimes. lol

Do I tell him these things? Unfortunately I don't. It has become slowly revealed to me more and more how much men need to hear words of affirmation from us. Women expect to be appreciated for every little thing... but some hardly utter a thank-you when a man sacrifices personal comfort or time to assist us. Its as if we think we just deserve that treatment when in reality, we don't.

Men give the woman the last chair. They hold her to let her feel protected. They wrap their coat around her shoulders (because she forgot to bring one ;). They fight their way through traffic to make sure she can be dropped off right at the front door. They allow her to go first. They're the ones who walk into the dark house or room first... making sure its safe. They walk on the street side of the sidewalk... protecting her from traffic. They work the late hours in order to remain successful in their job (who ever thought that working hard to make a decent living only meant working those 8-5 hours?). They offer to carry the heavy stuff. They pick up the tab or at least always offer to do so. They defend her honor. They tell her the areas of the city to avoid. They tell her how beautiful she looks. Its these little things that seem so small but each one should mean so much to the recipient. Each act of kindness should mean something so special.

It amazes me how we have turned society around from being a male focused society to almost spinning to the exact opposite. We wanted equality... why don't we give it? Men need to feel just as appreciated as women do. Equal in every realm.

Just as women need to hear that they're beautiful... men need to know that they are strong and manly and handsome.
Women need to hear "thank you" and other words of praise... men need to know when they've made excellent decisions or did the right thing.
Women need to hear that their effort is appreciated... so do men! They might even need to hear it more than women do.
Just as women want to hear that they're simply precious and unique... men need to know that they're irreplaceable. One in a million.

It is slowly dawning on me that men really are as emotional as women. They have a majority of the same feelings... they just do a fantastic job of hiding it 90% of the time. I wish I had the same ability! :)

Men need to feel that what they're fighting or working for is worth it. Even if that means working in a factory making light bulbs. It matters! It may not be his dream job, but what would we do without the Edison invention? We should look at the work they have accomplished and simply beam with pride.

There will always be another person after another who seemingly matches up to all of ones assumptions of perfection. Someone more attractive. Someone more intelligent. Someone more graceful. In talking with other girls, it is so entirely difficult for many of us to not compare one man to another. That is probably the greatest root problem there. Absolutely no man is perfect and its more than likely that they all have similar flaws. Not to say that men don't do the same when comparing a woman to another... but they don't voice it as much or let it cause a rift. They're loyal. And we could learn a lot from men about loyalty and respect.

Men can be equally guilty of not appreciating women as much as they should, but I'm just talking about women right now.

Women: please take time (especially today) to thank the men in your life for their love, support, and sacrifices.

Now I'm off to celebrate Father's Day with my dad and grandfather :)
Tomorrow evening, I'm taking him shopping for a new wardrobe :) While men are all-round wonderful creatures... they sometimes need a little nudge when it comes to fashion We'll have him looking dapper in no time.

Happy Father's Day!

This is our dog, Liberty, with our friend, Bryce.
We have no clue how this happened... but it made for a pretty interesting picture! lol

Photo by Cory Vetter

I was re-reading one diary that goes back to 2007. It begins with my travels to Morocco and I thoroughly enjoyed looking back over some of my illustrations. I wish I had kept this practice up... sketches add so much to each entry and make the re-reading of adventures far more magical.


A sketch of shutters in my hotel room.
On the side of that, I believe I was ranting slightly about how my male traveling partners were constantly getting us lost... ;)


Of tea time. My favorite part of the day.


Casablanca! And a little story off to the side about the Barbary pirates.
We have them to thank for getting the U.S. Navy started.


The famous Moroccan lanterns.


I was waiting somewhere and I saw the poster from the Broadway show so I copied it into my diary to pass the time.
"Practically Perfect In Every Way..." Indeed she was.


Ahm... If I should ever have a mantle of my own, this is what I put on it I suppose.
Another case of anti-boredom, I believe...


The art deco building in downtown Kansas City which is right outside my dad's office window.
Still have to finish the sketch. Though partly finished ones have some glam to them...


Copying the genius works of Hilary Knight. For personal use only.


Sketch of a knight statue that I purchased in Toledo, Spain.




A little faceless boy that I used to know.
Of course the boy that I knew had a face... I just couldn't properly capture it... so I left it blank.


Sermon notes. I thought you would benefit from reading them...


My new laptop. And my Twitter page which I don't really use. I can't possibly think of anyone wanting to read 140 character updates about my life constantly. I just enjoy following other people's updates like Glenn Beck, Megyn Kelly, the Heritage Foundation, the White House, Karl Rove, Onion News Network, etc.

One of Glenn's latest updates: "the older I get, the harder it is to sleep. If this keeps up by the time I'm 70, I will sleep from 4:11 to 4:13. Sometimes I hate nite."

Yeah... I don't know why I'm following that... lol

Two years ago, I posted the following names that were selected as being the top contender's for the 2008 presidential election (according to Rasmussen polling). Where are these gold-diggers today?

Democrat:
                                           
Hillary Rodham Clinton - recently sworn in as Secretary of State under the Obama administration after narrowly losing in the primaries. Back in the White House to throw more lamps around ;) It was a joke. Personally, I think she would be doing a much better job than Obama at being president.
Al Gore - worshiping the ice caps.                               
John Edwards - has a ruined political career following his affair (even while his wife is dying of cancer!) which resulted in an illegitimate child which he swore was not his but we know the truth. Just follow the money trail.
John Kerry - currently a senator in Massachusetts after winning the 2008 election. And still in debt after his 2004 bid for the presidency.                       
Joe Biden - the Vice President of the United States who we see very little of... ha               
Bill Richardson - withdrew his name as contender for head of the Commerce Department under Obama's administration because of the current investigations regarding some shady business dealings in New Mexico... apparently.                  
Mark Warner - chose not to run after all upon realizing how much it would disrupt his treasured family life. He then became a top contender for Obama's VP selection, but chose instead to be an incumbent senator in Virginia. He was a keynote speaker at the DNC.                       
Russ Feingold - incumbent senator in Wisconsin. He chose not to run partly because he feared the public and media would pry too deeply into his recent divorce which would "dismantle both my professional life (in the Senate) and my personal life."

Republican:

John McCain - fought hard but is now back in Arizona plugging away as senator as he opposes the Obama policies... when he feels like it.
Rudy Guliani - former mayor of New York City (who I have had the privilege of meeting! yay). He withdrew from the 2008 race after doing poorly early on. Now he has returned to work at both Guliani Partners and Bracewell & Guliani. He is still considering running again in 2010 (New York gubernatorial) and the 2012 presidential bid.
Condoleeza Rice - had a brilliant close to her years under the Bush administration and now plans to teach at Stanford and keep up her hobby of playing professional piano. At least that's what she told the ladies on The View.
Newt Gingrich - didn't make it very far. He doesn't seem very "presidential" to me. Yet its rumored that he has started planting seeds in Iowa for another go at it. Okayyy. Again, I don't think he'll make it very far... especially given his extramarital affair which he admitted to having during the Clinton years as speaker of the House. Today, he is currently maintaining a position as political analyst.
George Allen - lost his senate seat in the 2006 re-election. He presently serves on the Reagan Ranch Board of Governor's of Young America's Foundation where he is a Reagan Ranch Presidential Scholar. That's a long title.
Mitt Romney - fought but lost in the presidential primaries. I voted for him then since he seemed like the second best pick to McCain in terms of actually succeeding. After losing the primaries and narrowly missing out on the VP selection, he started racing around the country for McCain/Palin. He was the 70th Gov. of Massachusetts until his term expired in 2007. He plans on working outside of the administration (as most of us are lol) to fight for truth and honesty. In what capacity that lies I know not. He's not bad to look at. He does not plan to run EVER again. Supposedly. (I think this is outdated information)
Bill Frist - former U.S. Senator (and licensed physician) from Tennessee who served as Senate Majority Leader from '03 - '07. Now retired... he's worth $45 million.
Sam Brownback - current senator in Kansas being kept very busy voting "no" on everything (according to his press releases)

I hadn't even heard of Barack H. Obama two years ago. Very few people had.

Its a funny world we live in.

Who can resist exposed brick!!?
I want to live in a loft sometime... at least for a short while.


This kitchen would be fun to work in. Its so basic. I would know where everything was since everything is exposed. I have a great table as a workspace... and it would definitely glow at night with the soft yellow light fixtures and the candles.




I know that this would be my favorite chair if I lived there. People would always be able to find me... there. Sitting. Reading. Or just reflecting. And it would soon be called "Megan's chair". Not because it was my chair necessarily... but because Megan always sat in it.
Mhm :)

P.S. I, somehow, have just discovered Viva La Vida. I always knew about it, but I had never heard it really nor sought it out. Beautiful music. In a heartwrenching sort of way.

P.S.S. I still don't like Josh Groban that much.

My Latest Embarrassing Moment:

(The kind where you just want to hit your head against a wall afterwards)

I was at the library. Paying off fines ($4.65). Looking up film titles that I've always wanted to see (its summer break of course). Returning an enormous amount of books. And picking up a sizable stack of 80s albums (for a freelance project only).

Anyway.
As I'm about to walk out the door, this blond guy approaches me... scratching his nose.

Body language interpretation: he's nervous.

OR maybe his nose was itching. Anyway.

He asks "Hi... ahm... have I met you before?"

Absolutely not.

I reply, "I--I don't think so. You don't look familiar."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

"Ah."

Dead silence.

Awkwwwward.

He says, "Well I think I maybe have seen you before."

I smile weakly, "Oh really?"

I'm trying to think of what else to say. I'm really not even caring at the moment. I was a bit frazzled after having jumped out of bed no more than 35 minutes earlier (silly alarm clock didn't go off on time). I also had a huge list of errands to attend to and this was only stop #2...

Silence again.

I ask, "Do you come here often?"

Why did I just ask that???

He perks up... "Oh yes! I come here a lot!"

I reply (with a little too much enthusiasm)..."Well... I don't!"

I laughed awkwardly and then just twirled around and walked away.

I was told that I may have created the second Unabomber. (it was a joke)

It is in one of these situations where you really just want to tell the guy where to go but IN the moment of confusion (in which it is slowly dawning on you that you've just been approached by a perfect stranger and you have absolutely no clue as to what their intentions are) one can begin to say things that really don't make that much sense or they come off as being completely rude. Its an unnerving experience altogether. Especially if one hasn't had their Starbucks yet... which will now be stop #3...

So it is very possible that I may never be seen at that library branch again.

Most likely.

Especially as I also have it on good authority that the structure of the building is sinking anyway. So I think that seals the deal.

Indubitably.