I believe that we can create a poverty-free world by unleashing the creativity of the poor.

In a culture of suffocating sameness, who challenges the norms?Have you ever rented the movie Pleasantville? It is a very witty look at the 1950s. It's Hollywood's back handed slap at the silly nostalgia that goes on suggesting our current culture is going to hell in a hand basket. It highlights the oppression of sameness and how that squeezes the life out of creativity and moments of spontaneity.

What would we be doing if we weren't afraid?

Suddenly Gabe was not my little boy any more. Where does that leave me?

Christmas is a season where we put a giant amnesty on being sentimental.I have a small confession to make and I say it looking over my shoulder: Last year I bought a Diana Krall album.

You must understand that up until now I have hitherto demonstrated no earthly interest in Diana Krall. I find her too much what people think their idea of a sexy jazz singer should be, as opposed to being an actually sexy jazz singer. I can't stand her.

However, I have an excuse: I bought Diana Krall's Christmas album.

As the ulcers beneath my creamy silk bodice could attest to, marriage for my generation is extremely complicated.It was your typical left-coast wedding"”totally haunted by the spectre of baby-boomer divorce. My mom and first dad, who broke up 25 years before, walked me down the aisle. My fiancé's parents, divorced for a decade, walked him down the aisle.

Tackling global warming is not about saving the whales or some such thing; it's about not being stupid.

Everyone should have someone who listens to them. I had Mary Poppins.