Yes, we can.

What a funny thing this life is. My morning started very badly, but now in the afternoon, I'm so incredibly inspired that I feel like crying.

I just heard the first single, Kings and Queens, from the upcoming album of my favorite band, 30 Seconds to Mars. I love it so much and I feel so energized that I could just write a whole book on one sitting. I've been following the band making this album throughout the year, and the road has been long and hard; they fell out with their record company and were slapped with a thirty million dollar lawsuit, but they continued working on the album in Jared's (lead singer) house despite having no funding and having the lawsuit hanging over them. They have such passion for what they do, and it inspires me in my own creative path. They've employed new, unique strategies on this album in order to engage the fans in their creative process, too. They're using photos of the fans on a batch of album covers and they arranged group recording sessions for the fans in the US and in Europe. The fruits of these singing sessions can be heard on the album, for example at the end of Kings and Queens. I love it, and I can't wait to get this album. And I can't wait to see how this music will inspire me in my writing.



The other thing that has inspired me has been Kiva. I'm passionate about helping people in the third world, and this is a wonderful way to do it. Kiva allows you to fund microloans to the working poor all across Asia, Africa and Latin America. They use the loan in their small businesses or farming, thus improving their own living conditions and income. In time, they pay the money back to you, and you can lend it to someone else. One loan can thus help people over and over again! It's active helping and encourages diligency and responsibility, and since 98.42 % of the loans are paid back in full, the financial risk is tiny. The smallest amount you can loan is $25, so you don't have to be rich to do this. So far, I've loaned to two entrepreneurs, a young widow with three children from the Philippines and a young man from Nicaragua. I'm hoping to find some women to lend to from Afghanistan next month. The situation in there is so sad that I absolutely want to do my little part to help. :-)