I believe in living life with passion and, apparently, the good people of the great city of Grand Rapids, Michigan do, too.

Watch this:

Newsweek reported the city as one of America’s dying cities and they made this video to prove them wrong.

I love it.

More details for you over here.

Fascinating. Beautiful.

I find this concept so intriguing, so interesting. Consider the potential. We are on the cusp of collaborative global efforts with endless possibilities.

We love Playmobil. Love Apple. Love ThinkGeek.

So when I saw this in my inbox today,* I knew it was something I would have to share with you.

I especially love the “optional line pack” to complete the experience.

Did not particularly love the part about the “design cliche and hubris” of Apple, but hey, it’s a parody. And it’s all in fun, right?

Well, yeah, ridiculously fun. Ha!

And just for my Angry Birds-loving spouse and friends, look at this:

Happy April Fool’s Day!

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* Thanks, Jessica, for sending it!

We loved it. All but the youngest child among us found it interesting, fascinating and entertaining. Based on the true story of the challenges faced by a stammering king, the film provided plenty of opportunities for history lessons over dinner. Heh.

The website for the film includes a link to the actual speech made by H.M. King George VI in 1939. Very interesting. Here it is.

As much as I loved The Social Network and Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg, I can see why Colin Firth won the Golden Globe. He was fabulous.

The “R” rating is mainly due to several scenes which included his spewing swear words as…part of his speech therapy, shall we say. I wouldn’t recommend it for your younger children, but it’s wonderful for teens and up.

This topic seems to ruffle feathers. Check out this wonderful clip from The Talk on CBS:

If you haven’t seen The Talk yet, give it a little bit of your time. It’s like sitting around your kitchen table with a bunch of girlfriends. Don’t expect The View. The women actually seem to respect each other and to honor each other’s different points of view.

Refreshing.

and if you enjoyed that and would like to see more, here you go:

Also, check out this comparison of the actors and the people they portray in a “fictionalized” manner:

Some have called it this generation’s Citizen Kane.

Here’s just a taste of “The Social Network.”

Kudos to Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive and everyone else at Apple.

Look how far you’ve come. People seem to forget your status as the underdog just a decade or two ago.

I remember.

I remember being reluctant to switch from the industry leader, to move from a PC to a (gasp!) Mac. The PC was king. IBM was a player — a blue chip/work-there-for-50-years-get-a-pension-and-a-gold-watch company. In fact, I remember having IBM as a client, touring a facility in Poughkeepsie, New York and marveling at the mainframes.

What a different world it was. It was all about the software. Or so some people thought.

Who predicted that you would be bigger than Microsoft?

Not many.

But you are. I consider it a magnificent accomplishment, worthy of some applause and respect.

Instead, you get an uproar over death grips and faulty antennas.

Many (most?) iPhone owners don’t mind a little frustration and imperfection.

My guess? The vast majority of iPhone 4 owners (okay, well, at least my husband and I) believe the product is marvelous. Beautiful and efficient. Elegant and powerful.

Yet some critics delight in their schadenfreude over a pseudo furor that’s actually relatively insignificant.

Why?

It leads me to wonder (with some degree of sadness) why people like to knock other peoples’ success. Why they expect (demand?) perfection and then pounce (shine a spotlight on it?) when they discover the slightest flaw.

I believe in a principle of abundance, where people support one another and trumpet the greatest achievements of friends, family members and respected colleagues, then support them and encourage them through hard times or whenever they stumble.

So I applaud you, Apple.

And you know what?

The iPhone has improved the quality of my life. I often forget that it’s a phone because that’s the least important part of the device. People who don’t use the iPhone don’t understand that fact. It’s not about the telephone. Even the word, telephone, is so…last millennium.

Now, it’s all about the apps…and the developers’ passions. Not to mention the passion of each and every iPhone owner. Each device is so customized, so specific to each user that it becomes special. Each owner makes it special, depending on his/her own interests, needs and passions.

Oh, and FaceTime?

It’s now. It’s tomorrow. It’s very Jetsons. And it works. Simply. It helped me endure some recent trips away from my family. Heck, it made them feel as if they were right there with me. It affected our quality of life. It brought us immeasurable joy.

So forget about those naysayers, haters and foes.

Congratulations on another extraordinary creation.

http://media.theonion.com/flash/video/onn_player.swf
Google Opt Out Feature Lets Users Protect Privacy By Moving To Remote Village

No, seriously though, what do you think about the burgeoning privacy issues? No big deal or the beginning of a world ruled by potentially corrupt mega-corps-as-big-brother(s)? Or something somewhere in between? Heh.