I’ve spent the last part of this week in a fog because yet again, there has been another act of senseless violence in our schools. I am sickened and horrified and FED UP. I’m in awe of the student survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. They are eloquent and powerful and ANGRY, and they have every right to be. They’ve been failed by the people who were supposed to protect them. I’m ashamed. I’m disgusted. And I’m deeply distressed for the parents and family of the seventeen people who lost their lives INSIDE A HIGH SCHOOL. No one should lose a child. No one should lose a loved one to preventable violence. And NO ONE should be satisfied with the status quo. These brave student survivors are leading the way, but they should never have had to. We can’t keep living like this, America! I shouldn’t be scared to send my children to school every day! No one should be afraid at a church, or a concert, or a movie theater. The town I live in now is so much like Parkland, Florida. It’s tight-knit and very safe, yet every day I pray, “Please don’t let the world learn the name of my town because of a shooting.” I have a feeling I’m not the only one who does that, and to quote Douglas HS senior Emma Gonzalez, “that’s BS.” We have to do better. NOW.

Around The ‘Net

~The lives lost in the Parkland school shooting

~Furious students who survived school shooting call for tougher gun laws

~These young survivors of the Parkland shooting give voice to a nation’s outrage

~A loud, new voice after the latest school shooting: Kids wanting to know why adults hadn’t done more

~Mental Health Fixes Won’t Stop Mass Shootings, Experts Warn

~‘Resist White Supremacy’: A sign. A farm. And the fury that followed.

~He Predicted The 2016 Fake News Crisis. Now He’s Worried About An Information Apocalypse.

~Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on ‘Black Panther’: All This Fuss Over a Superhero Movie?

~The Peculiar Position of India’s Third Gender

~Airline Employee Saves Young Girls from Alleged Sex Trafficking Plot

~Inside Facebook’s Hellish Two Years—and Mark Zuckerberg’s Struggle to Fix it All

~For These New Yorkers, Pigeons Aren’t a Hobby—They’re a Lifestyle

~Where Do You Go When You Die? The Increasing Signs That Human Consciousness Remains After Death

~What Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?

~Why Trying to Be Less Awkward Never Works

~Supertall Towers Are Driving an Elevator Revolution

~That’s team spirit! Heartwarming moment rival cheer squad comes to the aid of embarrassed solo cheerleader at basketball tournament

~The Secret to Being a Productive Human: Take More Breaks (and Naps!)

~How Would We React to Finding Aliens?

~Absurdist Dialogues with Siri

Disney Dreams

It’s honestly been hard to focus on getting ready for our Disney trip with all the horrible news surrounding us, but I’ve been leaning into the kids’ excitement while I’ve put together the piles of stuff to pack. Thank you to everyone who emailed and left comments with awesome suggestions for what to bring to the parks and on the cruise. I picked up my prescription for the seasick patch, and basically bought everything you all suggested (Ponchos – check. Micky Mouse insect repellant bracelets – check.)! Next time any of you have a trip planned to Disneyland, hit me up and I’ll return the advice!

Ceiling Sports

My friend Mike has a really fun new product that he’s currently trying to fund on Kickstarter. It’s called the CeilingSport Original Swish, and as the name suggests, it’s a game you play on your ceiling. My kids will loooove this in their rooms. I’ve pledged and can’t wait to get ours. Mike has been working on this for three years, and it definitely deserves to be funded. Spread the word!

 

Happy Sunday, everyone. Be safe, you are precious to me.