"We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can."

President Barack Hussein Obama

Via SnorgTees.com

Last TBTL golden nugget for today...wait for it...TINY HOUSES! I can picture my sister Keeley, her husband Will, and their whippet Lola living in the Lusby model. Mind you they'd need a truck that *cough* wasn't cursed a.k.a. worked reliably.

I like the Z-Glass model. However, I would like to put two of them together to have at least two bedrooms. The Harbinger model has less square feet, but room for two beds. I'd most likely end up at Ikea designing the best possible storage arrangements. I would then upgrade to a walk-in tub with a shower curtain or one of these fancy showers.

I came across this lovely video while catching up on Too Beautiful To Live's blog. Once upon a time I was a theater geek. The bond lives on...somewhere deep inside...my mind.

I heard a reference to these lyrics on a podcast of Too Beautiful To Live when the producer, Jen Andrews, had written a rap to cheer up someone. I kept forgetting to look up the entire song until yesterday when I felt as though hope had buoyed me up if not to just keep my head up.

Anthem by Leonard Cohen

The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.

There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

As though I needed another reason to adore Eddie Izzard!

Izzard Gives Private Performance to Terror Victim

Via Jason Kottke

I have had spent quite a bit of time browsing the myriad of lovely things on Etsy. I even purchased several Christmas presents that all turned out to be received with great success. Here are a several things I adore:

Magnets

Harold and Maude finger-puppets

Bags

Prints

Jewelery, Jewelery, Jewelery!

NOT these items

"For what it’s worth, it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit... start whenever you want... you can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that stop you. I hope you feel things that you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

~The Curious Case of Benjamin Button