Acting...brilliant...thank you

I received the worst present ever on Valentine's Day. It was a book called Fearless Loving. My mom gave me a copy. It was my mom's way of saying, "I thought you might need some help not becoming a spinster." I donated my copy, unread, to the library. Even if I was a reader of self-help books, the stigma attached to that particular title was too much for me to ignore. As a rule, I think it is a bad idea to give anyone a self-help book unless they ask for it. Otherwise, it just seems like passive-aggressive judgment on their lives. I think we get enough unsolicited judgment from other outlets. When presed, though, I do recommend Cathryn Michon's The Grrl Genius Guide to Life. The book contains her funny stories lightly spun to be helpful advice, so I think the book is mostly just amusing. The premise behind the book, however, is important.

She points out that men are quick to call themselves geniuses for anything. "I'm a genius at the grill." "You should see me parallel park; it's genius." Women tend to demure and downplay their accomplishments. Her big lesson in the book is learning to talk yourself up, no matter how small or silly the achievement. It's a guide to self-aggrandizement. I think it is a great lesson for all women to learn.

With that in mind, I am going to say that my mediaserver is the most genius thing ever. Not only is it the first computer I built from scratch, but now that I have a working hi-def dvr on the machine, it is truly a thing of beauty. I'm just a blu-ray burner away from a lucrative piracy business on ebay.

I encourage all the girls and women out there to call themselves a genius at something today. Anything. It feels fantastic.