Pre-Ramble:  I could be weighing in on the latest healthcare debate or lacing up my toe-shoes for the Big Dance, but a small article in the corner of Sunday’s NY Times caught my fancy and I must relay it to you. 

In an unprecedented move, the Museum of Modern Art has added a popular font symbol — the @ – to its esteemed collection of architecture and design. 

Wow!  I’ve always been fascinated by the ampersand (&), but have admittedly taken the @ pretty much for granted – until now.  Like the tomato soup can and floating basketball before it, this once lowly, overlooked item has become not only “a supernova of the digital age,” but now, also the darling of the art world. 

Apparently, the @ first appeared on the keyboard of the American Underwood typewriter, invented in 1885. It was used mainly in accounting documents as a shorthand for the phrase “at the rate of.”  It remained “an obscure keyboard character” until 1971 when an obscure American programmer, Raymond Tomlinson, used it in the address of the first email message.

Don’t fool yourself – it isn’t easy to slide just anything into the collection of one of the most renowned museums in the world. According to the MoMA’s senior architecture and design curator, new pieces can only be added after meeting the approval of a committee of 25 specialists who evaluate pieces around strict criteria …

“Does it possess excellent form and function? Does it embody the values of clarity, honesty and simplicity that MoMA considers essential to good design? Has it made an impact on our lives? Is it innovative?  If this object had never been designed or manufactured, would the world miss out?”

The museum specialists resoundingly approved acquisition of the @, citing the timely and dynamic nature of the design as well as its extraordinary elegance and economy. Further, the @ was recognized by the committee as an “act of contemporary design” like software, social design and performance art.

The Take-Away:  Clearly, we have underestimated the capacity of the @ to delight and innovate. Surely @ is headed down the same path blazed by the great purple one — The Artist Formerly Known As Prince became the artist as symbol, … and now, the @ is pioneering the symbol as art… Fabulous!

Pre-Ramble:  In another place in time that missive might have been directed at a carefree young child while strolling through a sunny pond-side park somewhere.  But actually, it was me chastising myself for kicking what I realized too late was not a small round rock in the center of our driveway.

Crap. Literally. All over the toe of my favorite Donald Pliner black microfiber wedge. Ordinarily, I would have been way more enraged by this … (I have a hot streak that doesn’t suffer foibles lightly), but I was far too distracted by a rabbit hole to engage with the goose poop in any meaningful way.

What started this jag is what always happens … I read a dangerously interesting article in one of my known vices – the NY Times, WSJ, Vanity Fair or a random snippet in the margins of some newsfeed, and before you know it, I’m careening down a slippery slope of anxiety-fed adrenalin.

It happens in bookstores too.  Surrounded by all of those thought-provoking perspectives and images, … it’s like I just want to HAVE IT ALL, … instantaneously, … in my head to keep and use and know.  And yet, at that exact moment, the idea of actually reading any of it is overwhelmingly exhausting.

Well, so, anyway, today I was working through a stack of newspapers when I came across a story about mommy-bloggers.  You know, those newly minted stay-at-home mothers who have so much frantically idling intellect that they sit in their kitchens, children at their feet, singlehandedly spinning day-to-day experiences into a living and breathing online entity. Turns out there are a whole bunch of them out there — it’s a virtual community. 

While I might spoof on these women at times, the truth is, I am secretly envious of them.  I covet the opportunity that they have to observe, ponder and preserve that particular time in their lives, both for themselves and for their children. I also covet the cutting-edge legitimacy that they have established for themselves, a place where they can actively participate in a greater social context while still standing front and center to raise their children. They get to publically indulge and leverage the motherhood experience in a way that was never available to my generation of moms … (or if it was, I was never aware of it).

Unlike many in my generation, these gals don’t appear to be conflicted about their stay-at-home status in the least. In fact, they’re in your face with it.  Beyond a quick soccer-mom chat over the back fence, mommy-bloggers are able to reach out and exchange their thoughts and ideas with people all over the world. Theirs is a unique and global clique built around the shared experiences of sleepless nights, strained organic peaches, and favorite plug-ins. They have catchy taglines and logos, … elaborate mastheads and Fan Pages, … they use cool Twitter-speak and worship their webmasters, … They are simultaneously “out there in it” AND at home doing the warm-cookies-and-milk-after-school thing. It’s awesome.

The Take-Away: Alas, have I come to the party too late?  My fabulous children are grown and nearly gone.  All of those cherished child-rearing moments have gone by — un-blogged.  … While I am no longer compelled to cry over spilled milk, I can still raise a sippy cup to the awesome mommy-bloggers out there and let them know that if they need any child-rearing advice, (… “Don’t kick goose poop in your good shoes …” ), I hope they know where they can find me.

Pre-Ramble:  So, time sure flies when you’re sunning and funning (it would appear that we have lost an entire hour, in fact).

Alas, the week-long Mexi-fest has come to an end, with many happy memories, none so precious as the sound of the surf and the warm ocean breeze blowing  through the palm trees in the sleepy midday sun (above).

It is amazing to experience the difference in pace between the non-vacation day — an endless series of to-do’s, errands, chores, letting the dog out, deadlines, obligations, cell phones, clocks, television, news, politics, laundry, letting the dog in – and the resort vacation day which involves none of these things. 

The world moves along on its own time … the sun comes up, … progresses slowly across the sky, … and finally slips down in a firey ball over the horizon. A steady string of minutes, hours and days make space for body, brain and spirit to recalibrate and refresh themselves in the freedom of mindless task-less-ness.

Que pasa?  If I was feeling ambitious right now, I would launch into the science behind down-time, toss out a few neurobiological factoids, and give a quick how-to on the relaxation response.  But, no-can-do!! … This would take waaaay too much time and energy… This Chica is still in vacation mode.  All things informative, useful and pithy will have to wait until margarita time is officially over … (tomorrow).

The Take-Away: If this was the pace of play every day, nothing of any substance would get done. Thankfully, the primary goal of this vacation was to get nothing of any substance done … Mission totally accomplished!

Pre-Ramble:  Greetings from the beach, Amigos! (Please forgive my poor Spanish here … four years of Latin isn’t really helping me in this momento … )

Just wanted to send a little note to let you know I’d be back at it next week.

Take-Away: For now, you can count on me to rock the 55 SPF, stay properly hydrated, and keep this lounge chair from blowing into the surf!

Pre-Ramble:  So, I was front and center for the Oscars last night … wouldn’t miss a chance to weigh in on the stunning red carpet fashion fanfare. 

Lots to love (Sandra Bullock, Sarah Jessica Parker) … and hate (Charlize Theron, twice). 

One thing I noticed this year was that the pit-stop interviewers would ask  an actress who had designed their dress, and maybe, if they had on some outrageous bling, who designed their jewelry. Sure … normal.

And then, they would turn to stand-by-significant-other and ask him who designed his tux.

Don’t read this, Tom Ford – Is it wrong of me … even sexist of me … to totally NOT CARE what kind of tux an actor is wearing? Armani, Prada, Tom Ford, J.C. Penny … HELLO!? … THEY ARE ALL WEARING BLACK JACKETS WITH BLACK PANTS AND WHITE SHIRTS!

Sure; there is no doubt that some actors look better in The Uniform than others. It is no coincidence that Bradley Cooper and Gerard Butler were co-presenters for “Best Visual Effects.” (And T-Bone Burnett would look beyond cool in anything he put on.)

The Take-Away:  Sorry guys, even if you look amazing, … even if you’re rockin’ a periwinkle pocket square, … even if you’re Griswold Lorillard at the annual Autumn Ball, … I still don’t care what brand of black suit you’re wearing.

Pre-Ramble:  As if I didn’t love coffee and parties enough already, it appears that there is a political movement afoot that is named after both — The Coffee Party.

The Coffee Party, floating the slogan, “Wake Up and Stand Up,” pledges to “support positive solutions and hold accountable those who obstruct them.” ( … Are you listening Senator Bunning?) Founder Annabel Park clearly articulates the Coffee Party civic participation model,

“The federal government is not the enemy of the people, but rather it is the expression of our collective will … We must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges we face …”

Established in response to the sniping, hyper-extended pinkies of the conservative Tea Party movement, the Coffee Party — a notion that has been brewing for a long time — appears to be more about process than a particular political agenda. With Sarah Palin at the head of the table wagging her finger at every Democratic tic that she can find in the cross-hairs, the conservative Tea Party seems to be steeped in the unrequited politics of a failed GOP platform, as much as it is about any kind of meaningful change.

Same old grind – Basically, whether we’re sipping coffee, tea or Kool Aid, nothing is going to get done in Washington, on either side of the aisle, until the folks we’ve elected to get stuff done stop bickering and posturing and titting and tatting and start actually getting stuff done.  … Are you listening, Senator Bunning?  Annabel Parks calls it again,

“We’ve got to send a message to people in Washington that you have to learn how to work together … You have to learn how to talk about issues without acting like you’re in [a face-off]. We need to roll up our sleeves, put our heads together and work it out … that’s the American way of doing this.”

The Take-Away: So, grab a cup o’Joe – it’s time to consider a broader concept of democracy. We need a more balanced, bi-partisan approach to our profoundly stuck, elitist and ineffective political scenario … and, We the People are the ones who need to step it up – individually and collectively, to own both the process and the outcome and do what we can to hold our elected public servants accountable for our agenda.