Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 157
December 20, 2012
2012 and the End of the World
I know this is normally not a video day, but tomorrow is the day that some people are claiming will be the end of the world as we know it. I don't believe this and I don't think the Mayans did either. So here's a video about the Not Apocalypse.
December 18, 2012
GPS Adventure
I've been using GPS since I moved down to Atlanta. Most of the times it's been the best thing ever. I'm directionally challenged and even with turn by turn instructions I've made wrong moves. It's true. ::Hangs head:: GPS usually recalculates fairly quickly and helps find me an alternate to get me back on track. But then there are the other times. Last Friday was one of those.
My department at work had our Christmas party at our boss's house. He lives out quite a way from Atlanta, so after the party, I went straight home and not back to work. (Of course, I had training to finish before Sunday, so I did some work at home, but that's beside the point.) This is where GPS became...interesting.
First off, my boss lives on a dirt road. I have never driven on a dirt road and I was in grade school the last time I rode in a car on a dirt road. GPS managed to get me within like 3 houses of his place, but it wasn't completely successful getting me to his house. Luckily, one of the guys painted a sign and put it in front of his house so I found it without having to turn around. If I even could have found somewhere to turn on this narrow dirt road.
But that was going there. On my way home, GPS managed to get me back to real roads admirably. And then the weirdness began. It would take me on a road for a little ways and then turn me off on another road. And then another and another. It took me down the road in front of the Atlanta Motor Speedway (or something like that). Sometimes I'd be on a road for all of about half a block and then it would turn me onto yet another road.
I was totally going WTH? But I dutifully followed my instructions. On narrow streets. Past COWS! I'd see signs now and then that pointed toward a freeway, and I was sure GPS was guiding me there, but nope. That wasn't what the computer decided was the fastest route.
What really freaked me out, though, was when I was on a road whose name I'd never seen before and GPS told me that I was five miles away from home. I was like, OMG, GPS has gotten me lost! This wouldn't be the first time. I was like, okay, just follow GPS and when the instructions end and you're not home, you can try again. I'm seriously map challenged so having this fail is a big problem.
And then the miracle happened. The street I was on suddenly changed names. This happens a lot in the Atlanta area. Don't ask me why, but the same road will have multiple names. It makes it really confusing to get around down here. It doesn't even have to cross a city or county line, the road will just change names. Anyway, this new street name was the one that goes past my turn off. I was saved!
Relieved, I pulled into the garage. I might have been on a cross-country adventure, but GPS did get me home safe and sound.
My department at work had our Christmas party at our boss's house. He lives out quite a way from Atlanta, so after the party, I went straight home and not back to work. (Of course, I had training to finish before Sunday, so I did some work at home, but that's beside the point.) This is where GPS became...interesting.
First off, my boss lives on a dirt road. I have never driven on a dirt road and I was in grade school the last time I rode in a car on a dirt road. GPS managed to get me within like 3 houses of his place, but it wasn't completely successful getting me to his house. Luckily, one of the guys painted a sign and put it in front of his house so I found it without having to turn around. If I even could have found somewhere to turn on this narrow dirt road.
But that was going there. On my way home, GPS managed to get me back to real roads admirably. And then the weirdness began. It would take me on a road for a little ways and then turn me off on another road. And then another and another. It took me down the road in front of the Atlanta Motor Speedway (or something like that). Sometimes I'd be on a road for all of about half a block and then it would turn me onto yet another road.
I was totally going WTH? But I dutifully followed my instructions. On narrow streets. Past COWS! I'd see signs now and then that pointed toward a freeway, and I was sure GPS was guiding me there, but nope. That wasn't what the computer decided was the fastest route.
What really freaked me out, though, was when I was on a road whose name I'd never seen before and GPS told me that I was five miles away from home. I was like, OMG, GPS has gotten me lost! This wouldn't be the first time. I was like, okay, just follow GPS and when the instructions end and you're not home, you can try again. I'm seriously map challenged so having this fail is a big problem.
And then the miracle happened. The street I was on suddenly changed names. This happens a lot in the Atlanta area. Don't ask me why, but the same road will have multiple names. It makes it really confusing to get around down here. It doesn't even have to cross a city or county line, the road will just change names. Anyway, this new street name was the one that goes past my turn off. I was saved!
Relieved, I pulled into the garage. I might have been on a cross-country adventure, but GPS did get me home safe and sound.
December 16, 2012
Paper Airplanes and Physics
This is a short video of a physics experiment. I don't have the patience to try it myself, but if I did, it might be kind of fun.
December 13, 2012
Staring At Death In the Rearview Mirror
Sometimes you just have a moment where you know angels were with you. I had that happen last Friday.
I was on my way home from work. The sun was shining, it was warm enough to open the sun roof, and I was happily singing along with some tunes. I was in a damn fine mood because some things had worked out that I hadn't expected and that eliminated some stress I was dealing with.
To say I hate driving in Atlanta, though, is understating things. People drive far too fast and usually fairly recklessly here and my entire commute has me white knuckled most days. In Minneapolis, I was nearly always in the left-hand lane and rarely had to move over to let someone get past me. In Atlanta, I drive on the right and still have idiots tailgating me closer than I've ever been tailgated in MN.
This is a slight digression, but not by too much.
So Friday afternoon, I'm driving in the exit only lane to get off the freeway. I have a car ahead of me and ahead of his is a semi without a trailer. I can't see beyond the truck because of how tall it is. Behind me is another semi and this one does have a trailer on it.
Suddenly, ahead of me brakes are slammed on and I step on mine, too. I knew I was going to stop in time to avoid hitting anyone, but the semi behind me was going much too fast. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw death heading at me.
Time slowed down then in that strange way it has sometimes. I thought about going onto the shoulder, but was afraid he'd do the same and I'd end up getting hit anyway.
Impact at 50mph or more would drive me very hard into the car ahead of me and I'd be smooshed. Probably killed.
I could smell his brakes as he stepped on them hard. The driver definitely burned some rubber. He knew he wasn't going to stop in time, too, but we both got a reprieve. The lane to our left was empty. He swerved out while he was braking. The trailer began to jackknife and he had to fight to keep it straight. He ended up in two lanes to our left, but the car in that lane was able to avoid getting hit.
And then it was over. The truck came to a stop and the rear end of his trailer was two vehicles ahead of me. The BACK end. There was no doubt how hard I would have been hit if he hadn't swerved.
I didn't fall apart in the car, but I kept the radio on and concentrated on singing the words to keep from freaking out. I was shaking when I got home, and though I drink rarely, I would have had one that night...if I'd had any alcohol in the house. My parents didn't even leave any open wine behind from their visit and I normally would never consider drinking wine.
When the worst of the reaction passed, I just went numb. I couldn't do anything and I stayed that way for about 24 hours. And then I was fine. Mostly.
Sometimes when I close my eyes, I can still see that semi with trailer barreling at me. I think I'll be seeing that for a long time.
But I know I was watched over and that it wasn't my time to leave. I'm grateful and humbled and I'm totally signing up for the van pool so that I don't have to drive here anymore than necessary.
I was on my way home from work. The sun was shining, it was warm enough to open the sun roof, and I was happily singing along with some tunes. I was in a damn fine mood because some things had worked out that I hadn't expected and that eliminated some stress I was dealing with.
To say I hate driving in Atlanta, though, is understating things. People drive far too fast and usually fairly recklessly here and my entire commute has me white knuckled most days. In Minneapolis, I was nearly always in the left-hand lane and rarely had to move over to let someone get past me. In Atlanta, I drive on the right and still have idiots tailgating me closer than I've ever been tailgated in MN.
This is a slight digression, but not by too much.
So Friday afternoon, I'm driving in the exit only lane to get off the freeway. I have a car ahead of me and ahead of his is a semi without a trailer. I can't see beyond the truck because of how tall it is. Behind me is another semi and this one does have a trailer on it.
Suddenly, ahead of me brakes are slammed on and I step on mine, too. I knew I was going to stop in time to avoid hitting anyone, but the semi behind me was going much too fast. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw death heading at me.
Time slowed down then in that strange way it has sometimes. I thought about going onto the shoulder, but was afraid he'd do the same and I'd end up getting hit anyway.
Impact at 50mph or more would drive me very hard into the car ahead of me and I'd be smooshed. Probably killed.
I could smell his brakes as he stepped on them hard. The driver definitely burned some rubber. He knew he wasn't going to stop in time, too, but we both got a reprieve. The lane to our left was empty. He swerved out while he was braking. The trailer began to jackknife and he had to fight to keep it straight. He ended up in two lanes to our left, but the car in that lane was able to avoid getting hit.
And then it was over. The truck came to a stop and the rear end of his trailer was two vehicles ahead of me. The BACK end. There was no doubt how hard I would have been hit if he hadn't swerved.
I didn't fall apart in the car, but I kept the radio on and concentrated on singing the words to keep from freaking out. I was shaking when I got home, and though I drink rarely, I would have had one that night...if I'd had any alcohol in the house. My parents didn't even leave any open wine behind from their visit and I normally would never consider drinking wine.
When the worst of the reaction passed, I just went numb. I couldn't do anything and I stayed that way for about 24 hours. And then I was fine. Mostly.
Sometimes when I close my eyes, I can still see that semi with trailer barreling at me. I think I'll be seeing that for a long time.
But I know I was watched over and that it wasn't my time to leave. I'm grateful and humbled and I'm totally signing up for the van pool so that I don't have to drive here anymore than necessary.
December 11, 2012
Influences Part 2
Last week I mentioned influences, but I realized I forgot some.
As a kid, I was fascinated by Star Trek reruns. I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm a Trekkie because I can take it or leave it now, but as a child? I couldn't get enough. Same thing with Star Wars. I watched it on television so many times that I had lines of dialogue memorized.
I think this formed a base for my love of science fiction. Before I even knew futuristic romance existed, I wanted to write it. And was told by my teacher that I had to pick either romance or SF because there was no such thing as a hybrid.
I also had a fascination with paranormal things, too. As a kid, I read a ton of stuff on ghosts, anything the library had...and spent time sleeping with the lights on because the books scared the heck out of me. But I also watched vampire movies and always sympathized with Count Dracula and wanted Harker and Van Helsing to lose. I also wanted the count to get the girl. :-) In fact, I never understood why anyone wanted Harker or Van Helsing to win.
I watched a ton of vampire movies and it didn't matter how bad they were. I watched Nick Knight and wrote my own story in my head of a female vampire from his past who returned to him and that he happily accepted what he was once his true heroine was there.
Lost Boys. I loved that movie. Loved! And I still thought Michael should have embraced being a vampire.
Well, you get the idea. I used to think I was alone. I sought out paranormal romance (and futuristic romance) once I discovered it, but there was almost nothing out there. I kept hunting out old titles so I could read more. When I first sold Ravyn's Flight in 2002 and was looking for an agent, a lot of literary agencies had a note next to their names: "No Paranormal Romance."
And then paranormal romance exploded and I finally had enough to read.
As a kid, I was fascinated by Star Trek reruns. I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm a Trekkie because I can take it or leave it now, but as a child? I couldn't get enough. Same thing with Star Wars. I watched it on television so many times that I had lines of dialogue memorized.
I think this formed a base for my love of science fiction. Before I even knew futuristic romance existed, I wanted to write it. And was told by my teacher that I had to pick either romance or SF because there was no such thing as a hybrid.
I also had a fascination with paranormal things, too. As a kid, I read a ton of stuff on ghosts, anything the library had...and spent time sleeping with the lights on because the books scared the heck out of me. But I also watched vampire movies and always sympathized with Count Dracula and wanted Harker and Van Helsing to lose. I also wanted the count to get the girl. :-) In fact, I never understood why anyone wanted Harker or Van Helsing to win.
I watched a ton of vampire movies and it didn't matter how bad they were. I watched Nick Knight and wrote my own story in my head of a female vampire from his past who returned to him and that he happily accepted what he was once his true heroine was there.
Lost Boys. I loved that movie. Loved! And I still thought Michael should have embraced being a vampire.
Well, you get the idea. I used to think I was alone. I sought out paranormal romance (and futuristic romance) once I discovered it, but there was almost nothing out there. I kept hunting out old titles so I could read more. When I first sold Ravyn's Flight in 2002 and was looking for an agent, a lot of literary agencies had a note next to their names: "No Paranormal Romance."
And then paranormal romance exploded and I finally had enough to read.
December 9, 2012
Star Trek 2: Into Darkness
I have a hard time watching movies because I pick at the plots, but Star Trek, the reboot from 2009, not only grabbed my attention, but left me hugely excited. So when I saw the trailer out for Star Trek 2: Into Darkness, I had to share.
This trailer, though, left me frustrated. What does it all mean? SFX took the trailer apart and speculated on who and what is going on. You can find the SFX story here.
This trailer, though, left me frustrated. What does it all mean? SFX took the trailer apart and speculated on who and what is going on. You can find the SFX story here.
December 6, 2012
Influences
When I was seeking blog topics, someone asked what movies, songs or books have influenced my writing. This is actually a fairly difficult question, although at a macro level, it's not bad. I know I have a deep love of action movies like The Terminator, Die Hard, Speed or The Mummy. In fact, Speed is probably my favorite romance movie ever. Yes, I know. It does need a little more romance, but I love it. Movies like Sleepless in Seattle or You've Got Mail leave me bored to tears.
So my love of action movies has no doubt influenced the fact that I prefer to write action/adventure romance. Actually, these are my favorite kinds of books to read, too. Occasionally, I'll read something that isn't filled with suspense, but that's rare unless it's nonfiction.
Also, I think it's a pretty sure bet that I can blame my childhood fascination with reruns of I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched for why I love my Gineal world with my magical troubleshooters. (In the Midnight Hour; In Twilight's Shadow; Edge of Dawn; and In the Darkest Night.) I always wanted to wiggle my nose like Samantha or blink like Jeannie and make things so. Fiction is the closest I'll ever get to that.
I'm not sure books have really influenced me, although I think I internalized story structure and pacing from all the reading I've done. I used to read a book a day so I've done an awful lot of reading. Maybe this counts as an indirect influence?
Music, well, I'm not sure that's influenced me at all. Oh, after the fact, or while I'm writing sometimes a piece of music will strike me as especially appropriate to the book I'm writing. It's how I've ended up with theme songs for my stories. It was totally an accident. IPod shuffled to Devo's Girl U Want while I was writing Ravyn's Flight and I was like, whoa, that fits this story perfectly. When I hear a song that fits the book rather than one I picked just to have something, the characters from that book return and hang out for a short bit. It's pretty cool.
As far as directly influencing at a micro level, I can't think of any examples. Things go weird sometimes, though. As an example, I'd never seen more than a few minutes of Predator, so it surprised me after Ravyn's Flight came out when people said I'd used something from that movie. Um, no, I didn't. Sure, I hit the movie when I was flipping through the channels, but as soon as I identified it, I moved to another channel because I had no interest in watching it.
I have no idea if anything like this has happened again because no one has said anything and I'm notoriously bad about watching films. I tried when I had Netflix, but movies would sit on my entertainment center for months and I'd end up sending it back unwatched far too many times.
Usually, when I write, the characters just tell me stuff and I write it down. Who knows where they're getting it from?
So my love of action movies has no doubt influenced the fact that I prefer to write action/adventure romance. Actually, these are my favorite kinds of books to read, too. Occasionally, I'll read something that isn't filled with suspense, but that's rare unless it's nonfiction.
Also, I think it's a pretty sure bet that I can blame my childhood fascination with reruns of I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched for why I love my Gineal world with my magical troubleshooters. (In the Midnight Hour; In Twilight's Shadow; Edge of Dawn; and In the Darkest Night.) I always wanted to wiggle my nose like Samantha or blink like Jeannie and make things so. Fiction is the closest I'll ever get to that.
I'm not sure books have really influenced me, although I think I internalized story structure and pacing from all the reading I've done. I used to read a book a day so I've done an awful lot of reading. Maybe this counts as an indirect influence?
Music, well, I'm not sure that's influenced me at all. Oh, after the fact, or while I'm writing sometimes a piece of music will strike me as especially appropriate to the book I'm writing. It's how I've ended up with theme songs for my stories. It was totally an accident. IPod shuffled to Devo's Girl U Want while I was writing Ravyn's Flight and I was like, whoa, that fits this story perfectly. When I hear a song that fits the book rather than one I picked just to have something, the characters from that book return and hang out for a short bit. It's pretty cool.
As far as directly influencing at a micro level, I can't think of any examples. Things go weird sometimes, though. As an example, I'd never seen more than a few minutes of Predator, so it surprised me after Ravyn's Flight came out when people said I'd used something from that movie. Um, no, I didn't. Sure, I hit the movie when I was flipping through the channels, but as soon as I identified it, I moved to another channel because I had no interest in watching it.
I have no idea if anything like this has happened again because no one has said anything and I'm notoriously bad about watching films. I tried when I had Netflix, but movies would sit on my entertainment center for months and I'd end up sending it back unwatched far too many times.
Usually, when I write, the characters just tell me stuff and I write it down. Who knows where they're getting it from?
December 4, 2012
Apocalypse Not
Sunday night I was looking for something to watch on TV. It's amazing how I can have hundreds of channels and yet nothing is on, but that's another story. Anyway, the only thing that sort of caught my interest was Countdown to the Apocalypse on H2. That's an offshoot of the History Channel for those who don't know.
I'm not really much for these end of the world shows, but I thought this one might be a little different. They were going to look at the Four Horsemen and that intrigued me.
I don't think I lasted ten minutes.
The first thing that annoyed me was all the fear mongering. I expected some of it because it was an apocalypse show, but this was more intense than usual. Even the Nostradamus shows were sunnier than this one and I didn't think that was possible.
Another turn off for me was the fire and brimstone preacher they showed. I'll leave this right here.
But what had me rolling my eyes and flipping back to reruns on MLB Network (Major League Baseball) was the so-called "preppers." These would be the people who are actively preparing for the imminent apocalypse.
Maybe they're the smart ones and the rest of us will be wishing we'd done the things they did, but I can't help but remember the Y2K preppers. These people were so positive that civilization would crumble as we headed into the year 2000 and the computers ran into date issues. I rolled my eyes at this one, too. Not just the people stockpiling supplies for the Y2K Armageddon, but also the television stations perpetuating fear.
And we all woke up on January 1, 2000, and guess what? No Y2K apocalypse.
I have the same kind of feeling about this Countdown to Apocalypse thing as I did for Y2K-much ado about nothing. If these people are prepping for the Mayan calendar ending, I'm pretty sure we're all going to wake up on Dec 22 and find not much has changed. If they're prepping from some more nebulous date, well, what a waste of their time and talents.
The worst thing, though, is what they're doing to their children. Not just the fear and paranoia they're teaching them, but costing these kids a chance to pursue their dreams. How do you become a star ballerina or the next great quarterback or a scientific genius if you're spending your time learning to survive the apocalypse?
Generation after generation has thought their time was the end times and guess what? We're still here! Things are still normal.
Sometimes I think people just need something to fear. The end of the cold war took away the communists and it's been relatively quiet on the terrorist front, so clearly we have to create something. The Mayans or the Book of Revelations or Nostradamus are merely handy. Personally, I'd recommend reading a classic Stephen King novel. A few hours of adrenaline-charged reading and then get back to real life.
I'm not really much for these end of the world shows, but I thought this one might be a little different. They were going to look at the Four Horsemen and that intrigued me.
I don't think I lasted ten minutes.
The first thing that annoyed me was all the fear mongering. I expected some of it because it was an apocalypse show, but this was more intense than usual. Even the Nostradamus shows were sunnier than this one and I didn't think that was possible.
Another turn off for me was the fire and brimstone preacher they showed. I'll leave this right here.
But what had me rolling my eyes and flipping back to reruns on MLB Network (Major League Baseball) was the so-called "preppers." These would be the people who are actively preparing for the imminent apocalypse.
Maybe they're the smart ones and the rest of us will be wishing we'd done the things they did, but I can't help but remember the Y2K preppers. These people were so positive that civilization would crumble as we headed into the year 2000 and the computers ran into date issues. I rolled my eyes at this one, too. Not just the people stockpiling supplies for the Y2K Armageddon, but also the television stations perpetuating fear.
And we all woke up on January 1, 2000, and guess what? No Y2K apocalypse.
I have the same kind of feeling about this Countdown to Apocalypse thing as I did for Y2K-much ado about nothing. If these people are prepping for the Mayan calendar ending, I'm pretty sure we're all going to wake up on Dec 22 and find not much has changed. If they're prepping from some more nebulous date, well, what a waste of their time and talents.
The worst thing, though, is what they're doing to their children. Not just the fear and paranoia they're teaching them, but costing these kids a chance to pursue their dreams. How do you become a star ballerina or the next great quarterback or a scientific genius if you're spending your time learning to survive the apocalypse?
Generation after generation has thought their time was the end times and guess what? We're still here! Things are still normal.
Sometimes I think people just need something to fear. The end of the cold war took away the communists and it's been relatively quiet on the terrorist front, so clearly we have to create something. The Mayans or the Book of Revelations or Nostradamus are merely handy. Personally, I'd recommend reading a classic Stephen King novel. A few hours of adrenaline-charged reading and then get back to real life.
December 2, 2012
Lava Meeting Ocean
Hawaii's volcano continues to grow the big island. Here's a video of lava sliding into the ocean on Nov 24, 2012.
November 29, 2012
Vote For Time Magazine's Person of the Year
Yesterday on Twitter there were a number of tweets about voting for Time magazine's Person of the Year Award. Curious as to who the nominees were, I clicked over to check it out. (You can vote for Time's Person of the Year, too.) To say I was amazed who was in the pool would be understating it.
I didn't have a problem with controversial figures or political leaders from regimes that are not held in a positive light by most of the world. The Person of the Year doesn't have to have a positive impact, just an impact. That's why it was so surprising to see some of the names. Celebrities who did nothing much, athletes who won gold medals, that stunt diver who jumped from space, and a host of others who had me going, huh?
The Olympic athletes are nice stories. I'm thrilled for them and their victories, but none of them really impacted much of anything outside their sport.
Then there's the singer who wrote a song for the Obama campaign. Um, yeah and? Oh, wait, he became a father this year, too. Clearly that puts him on the Person of the Year list because no one's ever been a father before-- Oh, wait. Maybe it's because no one ever wrote a political song before. Oh, wait, didn't a bunch of singers from the late 60s write a bunch of those types of songs?
Then there's the stuntman who jumped from what? 100,000 feet? Clearly, doing something like that must be worth Person of the Year even though he didn't impact anything except his wallet. I thought this was a ridiculous waste of news space while it was happening--Discovery News even live tweeted the thing for heaven's sake!--but person of the year is beyond ridiculous. That would be like putting Evel Knievel up for the award.
There were other choices that had me going, what the hell were y'all thinking???
There were also some choices that I thought were very good. Like the girl who lived in a pro Taliban area, but wanted the chance to go to school and get an education. She became a voice, and because the Taliban didn't like her message, a gunman got on her school bus, sought her out, and shot her in the head. She survived.
Or the duo from Myanmar who are trying to make things better for a country that had 50 years of brutal military rule. That's noteworthy and that's doing something that has more impact than jumping from space. This pair is having an impact on some 56 million people.
There are other political leaders on the least, some having a negative impact, some positive, but each far stronger candidates than the pop culture figures also put on this list.
Ultimately, Time's editors will pick their Person of the Year and I very much doubt that the voting will sway them. I just wish that the field to vote on only had candidates who deserved to be on there even if they are leaders of totalitarian regimes.
I didn't have a problem with controversial figures or political leaders from regimes that are not held in a positive light by most of the world. The Person of the Year doesn't have to have a positive impact, just an impact. That's why it was so surprising to see some of the names. Celebrities who did nothing much, athletes who won gold medals, that stunt diver who jumped from space, and a host of others who had me going, huh?
The Olympic athletes are nice stories. I'm thrilled for them and their victories, but none of them really impacted much of anything outside their sport.
Then there's the singer who wrote a song for the Obama campaign. Um, yeah and? Oh, wait, he became a father this year, too. Clearly that puts him on the Person of the Year list because no one's ever been a father before-- Oh, wait. Maybe it's because no one ever wrote a political song before. Oh, wait, didn't a bunch of singers from the late 60s write a bunch of those types of songs?
Then there's the stuntman who jumped from what? 100,000 feet? Clearly, doing something like that must be worth Person of the Year even though he didn't impact anything except his wallet. I thought this was a ridiculous waste of news space while it was happening--Discovery News even live tweeted the thing for heaven's sake!--but person of the year is beyond ridiculous. That would be like putting Evel Knievel up for the award.
There were other choices that had me going, what the hell were y'all thinking???
There were also some choices that I thought were very good. Like the girl who lived in a pro Taliban area, but wanted the chance to go to school and get an education. She became a voice, and because the Taliban didn't like her message, a gunman got on her school bus, sought her out, and shot her in the head. She survived.
Or the duo from Myanmar who are trying to make things better for a country that had 50 years of brutal military rule. That's noteworthy and that's doing something that has more impact than jumping from space. This pair is having an impact on some 56 million people.
There are other political leaders on the least, some having a negative impact, some positive, but each far stronger candidates than the pop culture figures also put on this list.
Ultimately, Time's editors will pick their Person of the Year and I very much doubt that the voting will sway them. I just wish that the field to vote on only had candidates who deserved to be on there even if they are leaders of totalitarian regimes.
