Melody Kramer

yenta: Falls.

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:08:37 -0400

Falls.

"Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as..."

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:50:54 -0400

“Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can”

- Louisa May Alcott, Rose In Bloom (via bookmania)

"I first made a mental list of all the parts of the movie I couldn’t cover for National Geographic:..."

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:33:00 -0400

“I first made a mental list of all the parts of the movie I couldn’t cover for National Geographic: it was long and graphic and involved many different bodily functions and fluids.”

- ‘This Is The End’ Has Everything Nat Geo Loves, from Sinkholes to Milky Way (Bars) – News Watch

"One victim of Google Glass: watch tans."

Thu, 30 May 2013 12:11:00 -0400

“One victim of Google Glass: watch tans.”

- Nat Geo let me live blog a Google Glass presentation. Here’s the result.

My interview with Alex Trebek, in which I phrased all questions...

Wed, 29 May 2013 15:41:25 -0400

My interview with Alex Trebek, in which I phrased all questions like questions and Alex Trebek phrased all answers like answers.

(via Alex Trebek: On Hosting the Geography Bee)

This is a trippy little piece I wrote about color-music...

Wed, 29 May 2013 15:40:22 -0400

This is a trippy little piece I wrote about color-music associations. Basically: happy music triggers a happy area of the brain, which then makes you see happy colors. You might say, “Well, yeah, that makes sense.” But now there’s research to back it up. (It could be useful for non-drug-based therapies.)

(via When You Listen To Bach, What Color Do You See? – News Watch)

I cannot believe they featured this…. on Flickr. This makes me...

Wed, 29 May 2013 08:11:00 -0400

I cannot believe they featured this…. on Flickr.

This makes me laugh every time I see it. Mainly because Penn only features one alumni snippet at the top of this page and I’m guessing it was the first time schwetty balls ever appeared in the alumni mag, no doubt.

An Update

Mon, 27 May 2013 08:30:00 -0400

I’ve been remiss in posting here lately, mostly because I’ve been so busy. Let’s recap. Since I decided to drop out of med school, I have:

Traveled to Boston (once), New York (twice), and Washington (six times!)
Attended two journalism conferences (in New York and Philadelphia)
celebrated my rolloversary (May 24)
consumed falafel in New York, Mexican food in Cambridge, and pho in DC. Slept in Somerville, Greenwich Village, Van Ness, Friendship Heights and in my apartment in Philadelphia.
moved to Washington DC
hosted several stoop chats in Philadelphia
written about 10 articles for National Geographic, my current place of employment
visited the Tidal Basin in DC, the public gardens in Boston, and Williamsburg in Brooklyn (it was my first time in Brooklyn)
crashed with many friends from college
won a “hair makeover” essay contest that’s taking place next Friday in Philadelphia.
definitively decided that I shouldn’t go to medical school ever again (this was something I contemplated for the better part of a decade, so it’s good to know.)

This summer, my plans are to bike around Washington, enjoy living in the present, cook healthily, read 10 books and write something that’s bigger than a tweet and smaller than a Robert Caro tomb.

Not everything is super, but life seems to be chugging along on an upward path. I was so unhappy in school and it just wasn’t getting any better — and I couldn’t see a way out of that unhappiness. It wasn’t the workload — that was tough, but manageable. It was the fact that I really couldn’t see myself doing what I was doing — and being happy.

In many ways, I wish I had never left my gig at Fresh Air. I regret that decision. But wallowing in regret is not healthy nor does it help in any way. And this summer is a chance to try a new publication (National Geographic) and a new city (Washington DC) and really just enjoy life.

So far, so good.

-Mel

Arrested Development Inside Jokes (Spoilers below read more)

Sun, 26 May 2013 22:36:16 -0400

I just finished watching the entire new season of Arrested Development. I need to rewatch it, but here are some of the clever things I noticed. (Enjoy, Internet/Buzzfeed.):

Ostriches:

In season one of Arrested Development, Lindsey says

Lindsay: I care deeply for nature.
Michael: You’re wearing ostrich-skin boots.
Lindsay: Well, I don’t care about ostriches.

The city where Lindsey and Tobias go in Indian, Shuturmurg, is Hindi for “ostrich”
The credit for the divine spirit is Rich Chrisandnost which is Chris and an Ost(rich)

Sue Storm:

Her armband was clearly the same armband that the SS wore in Germany. (Tobias offered the Feinbergs her armband. Also, there really was a Fantastic Four movie made that was never released.)

References to Old Episodes

In one scene, if you pause on Michael’s checkbook, you’ll see he spends $325 on juice boxes
One of the news crawls across the bottom of the TV screen reminds Ron Howard to go to his dermatology appointment. It also wishes his daughter a happy birthday.
The dorm room whiteboard says “Leave a Note!” (A reference to always leaving a note.)
Lucille’s jail number is 07734 which is hello upside down
There was a “feeling blue” ad in the methadone clinic (a reference to the Blue Man Group.)
Martin Mull played Colonel Mustard in Clue and plays Gene Parmesan. GOB eats mustard with parmesan.

Things that made me laugh:

Embryo Dan, the musical, the goat in the photo booth picture, Maria Bamford, the Ramen shiv, Sally Sitwell not needing to shave her legs, the Sound of Silence, George Michael has never met Lucille 2 (!!), George Maharis is a real actor who did get arrested for lewd acts in a rest room, they said C*** PUNT! which is a reference to that sorority girl letter, the Social Network references, Haliburton Teen.

everydayafrica: Boats finishing off Likoma Island in Lake...

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:05:56 -0400

everydayafrica:

Boats finishing off Likoma Island in Lake Malawi on May 10. Photo by @glennagordon in Malawi. #nofilter

she-works: RMO, Brooklyn, NY Maybe it’s time to find a...

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:08:04 -0400

she-works:

RMO, Brooklyn, NY

Maybe it’s time to find a new office.

she-works: kdc, Chicago, IL We want to hear from women: What’s...

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:51:39 -0400

she-works:

kdc, Chicago, IL

We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com

Clearly the entry from Talk of the Nation.

she-works: Melody Kramer, Philadelphia PA We want to hear from...

Tue, 07 May 2013 09:55:01 -0400

she-works:

Melody Kramer, Philadelphia PA

We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com

damn gurl, you meta.

she-works: MG, Dallas,TX We want to hear from women: What’s...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:37:23 -0400

she-works:

MG, Dallas,TX

We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com

Unless you have a clotting disorder.

she-works: LJ, Columbus, OH We want to hear from women: What’s...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:35:24 -0400

she-works:

LJ, Columbus, OH

We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com

Either this is decent advice or this person is warning you of a possible serial killer in your apartment.

she-works: ac, pocomoke city md We want to hear from women:...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:32:00 -0400

she-works:

ac, pocomoke city md

We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com

1) This is not advice 2) Remind me never to work for you, AC of Pocomoke City, MD.

she-works: Anonymous We want to hear from women: What’s your...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:30:36 -0400

she-works:

Anonymous

We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com

Uh. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is not the world’s best metric.

she-works: Melody Kramer, Philadelphia PA We want to hear from...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:25:01 -0400

she-works:

Melody Kramer, Philadelphia PA

We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com

Like my grandmother always said…#YOLO, Bubbeleh.

she-works: Melody Kramer, Philadelphia PA We want to hear from...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:20:46 -0400

she-works:

Melody Kramer, Philadelphia PA

We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com

Okay. I couldn’t help myself.

she-works: CBH, Columbus, OH We want to hear from women:...

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:17:17 -0400

she-works:

CBH, Columbus, OH

We want to hear from women: What’s your note to self – a piece of advice that’s helped you at work? Share your advice at http://she-works.tumblr.com

I absolutely love this project. My advice? If you have a kickass mentor or boss, take in absolutely everything you can from her.