Who is Mafalda?

At the flea market today, I saw so many "Mafalda" items- t-shirts, bags, mugs, keychains, even refrigerator magnets. Clearly she was a character from a beloved Argentine cartoon that I knew nothing about. I thought I'd share with you my findings...

Mafalda is a cartoon character from the late 1960s to early 1970s, created by "Quino". She is a 6 year old girl, who "reflects the Latin American middle class and progressive youth, which is concerned about humanity and world peace and rebels against the world bequeathed by their elders". 






Aww! No wonder she is so beloved! I totally would have bought a t-shirt!

Update: I found Mafalda, La Pelicula with English subtitles on youtube, had to share!

Condors

I forgot to mention in my last post, the most spectacular sighting of the trip. Andean Condors! I just couldn't believe it. I thought condors were super rare and never seen, but we saw 20 of them over two days! What luck and joy. I spent more time enjoying the birds than photographing them, but here is a short clip showing one soaring over the valley. 

Sarah Préfère La Course

I attended my first film festival this Sunday. The Mill Valley Film Festival showed the American premiere of the Quebec Film "Sarah Préfère La Course", or in English, "Sarah Prefers to Run". The film is about a young woman who goes off to college and is disinterested in pretty much everything except running. My favorite part was the opening scene, starting with a track workout and then showing the competitors at the starting line of the race. It was in French with English subtitles, allowing me the opportunity to practice my French. I only wish they had taught the actress to run better. She kept swinging her arms too high in front of her and landing flat footed. Maybe next time recruit a runner?

After the film, we had the opportunity to meet the film's director, Chloé Robichaud, a demur 25 year old young woman with a strong French accent. I'm going to keep an eye out for the debut of her next film, "Country".  Looking forward to seeing Ben Stiller's premiere next Sunday. 

Sarah doing her thing

A grainy iphone selfie in the Sequoia Theater before the film began

Director Chloé Robichaud answering questions after the film. Photo © Jonathan Shensa

Weekly Goods

A good book...
Hilary Rodham Clinton's Living History
Finally finished it. My favorite part of the book was learning more about her younger days, at Wellesly College especially. It was also interesting to hear her opinions on the contrast between her image as First Lady when she tried to take on legislative roles vs advocate for women's rights internationally. Her China speech as Women's Rights being Human Rights is historic, a must watch, and an excellent call to arms. "If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all". I know that in the development world so many people are advocating for women's rights as a path towards development, and I think Hilary was the one who really set that agenda in action. I'd be proud to support her in 2016 if and when she decides to run. I couldn't think of a better candidate.

A good song...
Let Her Go
By Passenger, this is a beautiful song. I want to learn the guitar so I can play it myself.

A good film...
Miss Representation
A few facts I learned from this film... Cuba, Iraq, China, and Afghanistan have more women in politics than the U.S.... Did you know domestic abuse was acceptable denial of insurance as a "pre-existing condition?" (Thank goodness for Obamacare)...I also didn't know that the US is the only industrialized nation without paid family leave. Jennifer Newsom did a great job.

A good talk...
Stanford Population Health Symposium 
I attended Stanford's kick off conference debuting the new department of Population Health.  The best part was my lunch table conversation with Dr. Jack Rowe, former CEO of Aetna, and Dr. Mads Melbye, head of the Danish National BioBank -to say it was an interesting conversation is an understatement.

A good youtube..
Hitting the Wall
Paula Newby Frasier, one of the epic ironman triathletes in 1995 pushed herself beyond her limits. This is a heartbreaking and inspiring video illustrating her limits. "Totally surreal". It shows how dangerous athletics can be when we are strong enough to push ourselves beyond our limits. You get knocked down, but you get up again. That's the best 4th place finish I've ever seen.

Another good week in the books.

Weekly Goods

Attempting to get back in the blogging groove, here are a few highlights of last week.

A good movie...
La Misma Luna
A wonderful movie directed by Patricia Riggen about a boy and his mother.  An enticing summary can be found here. Spanish with english subtitles, so a great movie for improving your spanish language skills as well. It's also called Under the Same Sun. Watch the movie trailer for yourself.

A good song...
Pure Imagination
A hauntingly beautiful song remade by Fiona Apple. This is the song behind Chipotle's latest advertisement, The Scarecrow.

A good book...
The Thoughtful Dresser
A novel by Linda Grant taking a closer, and more serious look into our love of fashion. She intertwines many wonderful bits of fashion history, from Chanel to Christian Dior's New Look, while telling moving stories of the power of fashion and style in the face of of atrocities against humanity. Makes me like fashion even more then I did before. Quick and easy read, if you like fashion at all, this book is for you.

A good eat...
Boulevard
After making a reservation 3 weeks ago, we finally had dinner at Boulevard. If you are up for a gourmet meal, wonderful ambience and the best halibut I've ever tasted, Boulevard is where you should eat. Chef Nancy Oakes lives up to expectations, now I want to check out her other restaurant in town, Prospect.

A good talk...
ACA Town Hall Meeting 
I attended Stanford's Affordable Care Act Town Hall Meeting today. The guest speakers were Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, California Secretary of Health & Human Services Diana Dooley, and Stanford Pediatrician Paul Wise. Enrollment in "Covered California", our health insurance exchange begins next week. Thus why House Republicans are all in a fit this week. Diana Dooley did an excellent job breaking down the 3 legs of the ACA, the delivery and finance reform, prevention and wellness aspects, and expansion of coverage. My favorite quote from the event was via Anna Eshoo, "We love our history once it's been made, but we seldom embrace the fact that we're making it". Let's hope that with the bans on lifetime insurance caps and discrimination based on pre-existing conditions that health care stops being the number one cause of bankruptcy in the US.

A good run...
Palo Alto Moonlight Run
Stanford Med came out in full force, fundraising over $6k for our free clinics in honor of former Dean Phil Pizzo, aka Marathon Man and one of my idols. I entered the 5k race, and wasn't going to push myself, because I strained my calf earlier in the week (yes injuries still mar my existence). But, when the gun went off, I couldn't help myself and I went for it. The sheer joy of racing was felt in every ounce of my being. I was grinning from ear to ear for at least the first half of the run (don't worry shortly after I started to feel like I was going to die from lactic acid). Seriously though, such a joy to be out there with everyone. Racing is a spectacular feeling! Even though I was about 200 people back and took a solid 5 minutes before we were going faster than 10 min/mile pace, I somehow managed to win my age division? I didn't even know this until my advisor emailed me saying she picked up my medal for me. Sure enough, I am now in possession of a blue ribbon medal! A surprising highlight. I think I can run a pretty good 5k in the upcoming year. So here goes nothing...

Ok, first post in two months, have to start somewhere. This was certainly a good week, hopefully I"ll have something worthy of posting soon. Pass along any "goods" from your week.

The Hunger Games

I was compelled to go see The Hunger Games on the big screen during it's opening weekend. Not because I read the books, more because I was intrigued that such a popular movie had a female as its lead. Not too often that happens when the female is both the lead character and portrayed as a strong character audiences want to root for.

I liked it the movie, mostly because I really liked Katniss as a character. I liked that she stuck up for her younger sister, I liked that she had stellar bow and arrow skills, and I liked that she didn't give in to the killing mentality of the Games. Between the big sister mentality, my javelin skills and my general aversion to violence, I think I identified with Katniss.

With that said, I'll definitely be rooting for her again when the 2nd movie comes out.

December 14: Something You Need to To Do

Go watch Living in Emergency, the first uncensored documentary about Medicins Sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders) to bear witness to the extreme conditions of wartorn countries. It is a one-night event, find out where it is playing by you here



I just went to a lecture this morning given by Dr. Sherry Wren who shared her experience in the Congo over the last two summers. We must be better, we must do more.

American East

I watched the movie American East last night. It was about a Muslim-American family living in Los Angeles post 9/11. The main character was a widowed father struggling to make ends meet holding down multiple businesses, restaurant owner, taxi-cab owner, hair-salon owner. This movie had a bittersweet ending, and definitely makes you think about many different issues from a different perspective. In all, I really enjoyed it.

"Dear Talula" film

"Dear Talula" is an documentary produced by and starring Lori Benson about her experience with breast cancer. Lori was 38 at the time of her diagnosis and had a little one-year old girl named Talula.

The documentary came across as incredibly authentic, delving into the complexities of learning about treatment, losing your breast, the experience of facing so many unknowns, and the complications of being a mother all at the same time. I highly recommend taking the time to watch this 35 minute film.

www.DearTalula.com

Batman

Last night I went to see The Dark Knight on IMAX. I was scared to my bones. It's true, Heath Ledger was ridiculously creepy as the Joker. IMAX movies are a bit unbelievable, the sound is so intense I could barely handle it. Overall the movie was really well done, I was captivated the entire time, literally jumping out of my seat.

I miss the POW, KaZAAM, BOOM Batman shows I used to watch when I was a kid.