Recently someone asked me what “5 Things I Love for Friday” is all about. Most people misinterpret it as “Things…About Friday,” and it’s not. Instead of doing a predictably trite piece about why Friday is awesome, I wanted to do something a bit more, self-serving? After my honeymoon I decided that I really needed to change the eternally-pessimistic mindset that I was born with, and the best way that I’ve found to do that is to contemplate the good, small things that happen in my life, things rather inconsequential but that brighten my week nonetheless. So in an effort to add up tiny portions of goodness so as to equal a sum of larger goodness, FTILFF was born, and I picked Friday because it fit the alliteration, as well as giving me 6 days of material to focus on.

1. As Cruel As School Children by Gym Class Heroes - Damn I’m hooked on this album. I enjoyed The Papercut Chronicles last spring, but this album is in another league. Currently getting press for being moronically labeled “emo rap,” Travis McCoy and Company actually peddle a brand of hip hop that simply refuses to be categorized. Owing more to the culture of indie bands than to ghetto gangsters, the resulting music is just simply fun. They don’t take themselves too seriously, but their talent is nothing to joke about (their future, hopefully, as well). On this album, even the interludes demolish anything on modern hip hop radio.
2. The Power (and Peril) of Praising Your Kids - This NY Magazine article, though long and slightly dense, is pleasantly on-point. It presents the thesis that children that are raised being praised for their intelligence end up setting the bar low for themselves in an effort to not disappoint and ruin the illusion that their gifted. Very thoughtful and a great read for introspective purposes, as well as for anyone that has children, is thinking about having children, or teaches children.
3. Birdies - I was standing in my kitchen yesterday reading about sponge yeast starters when I was interrupted by a cacophony of birds. Live birds. Birds heralding a much-anticipated and impending spring season. It made me so happy (and Jonas as well, who was outside trying to figure out where the hell they were so he could play with them). Bring it on, spring!
4. Ira Glass on Storytelling - I’ve mentioned Ira Glass before, as the host of This American Life on NPR (soon to be Showtime as well). Glass, who’s program centers around the art of storytelling and short vignettes, speaks about the art behind this. I have miles to go before I even get to the lowest, “lameass storyteller” stage.
5. These brilliant billboard ads in San Francisco - This Flickr set shows several new billboards around the SF area that are promoting earthquake preparedness. Stunning. Startling. Definitely worth a look.

So after 60 weeks of FTILFF I think it is certainly fair to say that it has worked for it’s intended purpose. No longer do I have to search my cobwebbed brain to recall the slightest traces of happiness. Instead, I actually am able to recognize them for what they are, when I’m experiencing them. And as idiotic as that may sound, it’s a big step for me. Damnit, one of these day’s I’ll be more optimistic.

If only I didn’t suck do badly at it…