Discover Amazon Daily

I am not at all surprised that my newest find in the blogosphere has a tradition steeped in books and showcasing people with something to say and share: Amazon Daily has quickly become a very addictive favorite for me.

I discovered it when fooling with my own author's/seller's account there and making a long-overdue update to my profile page. There was a new (well, new to me) field that asked if I had any feed to add to their blogger's aggregator. I did, and voila, my own Managing with Aloha Coaching now shows up on both Amazon Daily and on my own profile page.

• A side note on this if you are interested: You need an Amazon Advantage sellers account to start with, and there is an extra step where Amazon will verify your status as a published author with a third-party agent or publisher - you can specify who they can contact. If you are an author and a prospective reader happens upon your book title, this is a great way for them to know more about you. The program is called AmazonConnect- search for the link via your Advantage account.
  

In addition to the authors feeds, Amazon Daily is fed by a contingent of their own editors from all over the company. From their About Page:

Whether you're a die-hard fiction lover, a gadget geek, an avid collector of classic films or just a fan of what we sell, you'll find all sorts of entries that will interest you. Amazon Daily's home page contains all editorial posts (sorted so the most recent entries appear at the top); in the sidebar, they're sorted by topic, so you can browse one concept at a time instead of taking all of it in at once! Each post gives you the opportunity to provide private feedback to the editor as well as leave public comments for other customers to see.

However take note that the non-editor, independent authors feeds are not automatic: As a reader, you customize which authors you want aggregated for you, using a link at the top of the far right column of the blog's home page. You can scroll through their very lengthy address book, but I've found that tedious, and instead have added those authors whose books I have already read and am now following; a recent one for me is Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There. When I add them, I delete the dupe from my other feed reader.

In that respect I have been somewhat disappointed by the authors who are not taking advantage of this with Amazon (happily, Goldsmith does!) for I'd love to hear more from them, but I can certainly empathize, for look how long it took me to catch on!

The very pleasant surprise: My addiction to Amazon Daily is coming from their company of editors. Over this past Christmas season some terrific holiday recipes were shared by Amazon Al Dente and I learned about the latest and greatest gadgets and gear from Amazon Current's Bloggers. As you would hope, Omnivoracious is "hungry for the next good book" and regularly contributes book reviews. (Each of those last three links feature group blogs by at least a half dozen writers.)

Check it out: Whether you regularly order from Amazon or not (and it's no secret that's why they have Amazon Daily in the first place) you'll really open your horizons to different writer's interests with this single feed.
~ Rosa Say

Feed for Amazon Daily.
Lemme see the blog first.

Five for Friday

From the "Billy Collins" trail today we find these Five for Friday:

1 - Today I am happy (interpret that ecstatic if you want) to bring you my interview with Linda Urban. She is the author of A Crooked Kind Of Perfect, a novel that was so so so good, that I had to read it TWICE within the same week. You can read my review of A Crooked Kind of Perfect here. It has been nominated for a Cybils. And it appeared on the Amazon's Best of 2007 list. Be sure to visit her official site and her livejournal site.

Read the interview and then cruise around the rest of Becky's site

2 - I think it is time for me to accept the fact that 2007 will become the last year I read without reading glasses. My vision has always been 20/20 and is still good. However, during my last few annual eye exams, I seemed to "qualify for" reading glasses. I think I got my first pair 4-5 years ago. I'd wear them once in a while, mostly for fun. This last year, I noticed that I needed glasses to read small print directions, etc. Lately, I have noticed that reading in bed lasts about 10 minutes before I fall asleep.

Read the remainder of this post then cruise around A Year of Reading.

3 -Last night was our staff party. We normally have some sort of gift exchange with a theme to make it funny or thoughtful or whatever, like last year it was bring something to show what kind of super power you would like to have. The year before the theme was bring something that tells us something we don't know about you. These were fun and provided lots of laughs. However this year we were all talking about how we just wanted something easy. I suggested a book exchange. We did it and it was great. I am a friggin genius.

Everyone had to bring one of their favorite books. We did one of the ridiculous games to figure out who drew when. When you unwrapped the book you had to guess who brought it. When the person was guessed correctly they had to say why it was one of their favorite books.

Read the remainder of the book exchange and then more at Vindauga.

4 - I don't give out a wish list to friends or loved ones for myself. I share lists of needs my kids have, and one or two "wishes" b/c we just don't really do the Commercialized Christmas thing. My extended family is too huge, now...we all just get together for a family reunion, and that is a blessing in and of itself. The family has grown so that my Mom and Dad have 21 grandkids and 15 great grandkids, now.

Read the remainder of the 'wish list' and then more at Take Time to Smell the Coffee.

5 - Since I wrote why I don’t put a price tag on my poems and that I believe if people want to have a job full of monetary reward, the role of “poet” may not be the best job for you, I want to write the other side of this—that while I believe that if you are writing poetry *solely* to make money, you may have boarded the wrong train—I honestly do believe poets and all artists should be paid better AND well for their work.

What? You ask, You just wrote a whole post how you give away poems and you aren’t in this to make money. Yes. That is true. But do I believe a poem is worth as much as “The Break-Up” starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. Yes, I do. In fact, I think poets *should* be paid as much those two, and especially as much as Cameron Diaz—actually *I* should be paid for having to sit through a Cameron Diaz movie, but that’s another issue.

Read the rest of this posting and then more at First Draft: Leonardo likes Gulls

Merry Christmas

1 - This Christmas enjoy the holiday trains from South Station:



2 - follow this link to a great Christmas story (be patient for the first commercial, the story is worth waiting for)

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4003490&affil=wpvi

3 - and to recognize our countrymen and women serving in the military:



Merry Christmas to one and all!


PS - thanks to Joan at Songs of Experience for the link to ABC News

To Persevere - Eugene Huo

On the Twitter trail this time, we find Eugene writing about himself:

I’m a media producer. I’ve been a music recording engineer and producer for 10+ years. When I’m in the studio, a day seems like an hour. I track and mix, I produce artists. I’ve had the good fortune to work on Juno and Covenant award winning albums.

I make photographs and create images.

I write, and you can read it right here.

I’m a music pastor. I sing in front of people not to entertain, but to lead them in an experience of responding to the mind-blowing grace of God.

I’m a husband and a dad. My amazing wife is the love of my life. I have two daughters that keep us busy. And I love every minute of it.

Nice photography. Cool nick names for his kids. Cool website name. He is a media maker. I am sure if you explore a little more you'll find something you have in common too!

Between the Miles - Kara

I found Kara and her blog via one of my"vanity feeds". She follows my Passionate Runner blog. She is a masters runner from Oregon!

She has a cool feature on race t-shirts every Thursday. Click on over to view them. If you have a good one from a prior race, send her a picture or link and she'll include you in a future post.

Enjoy!

Five for Friday

1 -

At heart, Extensis is still a company where font geeks and design aficionados reign supreme. But nowadays, our ‘reign’ just happens to be subject to oversight by the likes of our Corporate Solutions folks, our General Manager, and so on. OK, so we admit we’ve grown up a bit over the last 14 years. But we’re still doing what we set out to do from Day One – make the lives of creatives easier (i.e., equip creatives with better tools to work faster and smarter.) So, how are we doing that exactly? Well, simply by making it easier to organize, find, select, share and distribute fonts and digital files. After all, in today’s age of digital workflows, these are the building blocks for creative design work. And with the average creative professional having to manage thousands of digital files and fonts, our font management and creative assets management software has never been more critical to ensuring that creatives still have that all-important time to… well, simply create.

Check out the Extensis blog

2 -

Paris Romance is a result of one of the most challenging times of my life. At seventeen, a high school drop-out, eighteen living on my own, in six months I was pregnant, by nineteen I was married, and at twenty a dignified mom. The whirlwind has left me feeling like I need to clear my throat and tell my honest story to the world- I decided that the blogosphere would suit me just fine. I find catharsis in knowing that I have put “it” out there. My ideas, thoughts, rants, and that somebody has scooped it up and acknowledged them. It’s like therapy without eye contact. You can judge me silently, in the privacy of your own space. I won’t have to see it. The name Paris Romance signifies the relationship I am ever searching for… the one that is perfection.The one that doesn’t exist. This blog is my middle finger to the reserved wallflower I can be in person. I also write a column for the successful womans online publication whoisisabella.com. Both outlets have quickly become my alter egos. When I thought I had the world in my palm, life began leading me down a path I never imagined going. So here I am, ripe with life experience, ready to speak volumes.

Click through to read Paris Romance.

3 - Recent posts are titled:

• Already Thinking.... Spring?
• Long Sleeve Tee's Sold Out!..New Shipment comes in...
• Rain or Shine!!! We Are Still Celebrating!!!

Click through to read Prairie Home

4 -

Back in 2005, Heather and I got pregnant. We decided to create an audio baby book, so that our great, great grandchildren could listen to how nuts we were (and understand why the family is so weird).

We both decided that it would be fun to turn the baby book into an Internet radio show, or podcast, so that we could share our trials and tribulations with all of you.

So, without further ado. Please sit back and relax and have a listen. You just might even learn something, or at least have some laughs at our expense.

Click through to listen to and ultimately subscribe to Two Boobs and a Baby!

5 -

Hi! My name’s Rich. Online I go by Rich G. and by simplerich. Both are names I’ll answer to online and in real life. I’m the oldest of three and I live within a couple hours of my parents now. I’m single, almost forty, and like watching the Riverkings (hockey). I’ve lived in Alabama first, then Germany until I graduated high school, then Iowa for the longest, and I live outside of Memphis, TN right now. I like geocaching and riding motorcycles (cruisers, not sport bikes).

I’ve been online steadily since the early 90’s. I was online briefly in the late 80s on Compuserve with an Atari and a 300 baud modem if you can believe it. I loved it even then at those speeds.

I’ve been in management for around fifteen years all together at one level or another. Currently I’m a supervisor of sorts with supervisors and managers under me. It’s not my favorite position, but if I ask those under and over me they say I’m doing it well. I guess that’s all I can go by right?

Click through to read more about Rich at SimpleRich

That's five for today, enjoy!

Read my Mind: Elaine Vigneault

Elaine admits that she is a

"compulsive writer. I write about changing the world: politics, philosophy, social commentary, feminism, veganism, animal rights, environmentalism... I write about changing the woman myself: egoism, a diary about my life, where I document my travels and adventures as well as my heartaches and depressions... I write about changing the web: blogging, social networking, internet trends and memes, new and useful technology, beginner tutorials, and more."

Her current posts highlights a fresh voice from London, check out Holly Hates Everything.

All things digital

Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for the The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau in 1997 and also wrote the BoomTown column about the sector. With Walt Mossberg, she co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a major high-tech and media conference.

For all things digital, you'll have a choice of feed to subscribe to. Click on over and pick the one for you.

Know It Alz!

Yes, approaching a serious problem (Alzheimer's) with a little sense of humor is a good thing!

Karen found my posting on Caring.com and left me a comment about her site, Know It Alz. In a recent post she writes:

Dad spent about two hours outside talking to each and every fireman as they walked by. I cannot imagine how many times he must have asked them what was going on (he asked me ten times before I suggested he go check it out), At least if he ever wanders off, every fireman in the county knows what he looks like!

Check out Know It Alz. It has good info and humor, a double treat!

Lookybook!

Found this site from a posting on one of the previously hitchhiked sites: Drawn.



Parents, grandparents, teachers, anyone wanting to look into a book to see more than the cover before choosing to purchase, should register (free) on this site.

5 From Bernie DeKoven - The Funsmith

Bernie DeKoven is always "having fun, just for fun". I stop by regularly and have accumulated a few of his highlights to share here. I think you'll enjoy!

1 - San Francisco in jello! Yes, check out the work of Liz Hickok

2 - The Hema department store has created what might arguably be the most playfully frame-breaking vision of an online catalog absolutely ever, so far. Click, watch, and, in a most Rubenesquely Goldebergish manner, be amused.

3 - Matthew White's site:

Basically, I'm not out to convince you of anything, so you don't have to believe me if you don't want to. I created this page for my own benifit. Maintaining an online atlas gives my research structure and direction. It brings up questions that I can then seek answers to, and let's face it, questions are always better than answers. I would hope that you come away from this site with fascinating questions rather than smug answers. It's the only way to learn

4 - The internet anagram server. Yes, you give it a word or two and it will produce the anagrams from it. For the several that I checked on, it seems to do them all by the dictionary and does it very well!

5 - Food art. Yes, lots of fun.

Enjoy!

Thanks to Bernie for finding these in his travels!

Caring.com

My father has had some recent health issues. Yes, he is getting as much older each day as I am. Hard as that is to believe as it is to accept, we are as young as we will ever be. This has forced my siblings and I to face some issues with his health, his driving, and his medical coverage. I found Caring.com and a quick read shows it to be a good source of information. For example:

1. figure out if my parent has Alzheimer's
2. understand why driving is such a charged issue
3. keep my parents from getting scammed
4. sort through the Medicare maze
5. move my parent to assisted living or a nursing home
6. understand my parent's cancer prognosis

If your parent or parents of friends have similar needs, let them know about this site.

Difficult Relationships

One of the places I've passed through many times in my cyber-wandering is the advice-column of Rod E Smith, a true gentleman who gives of his time and wisdom to help those navigating the turbulent waters of human relationships.

Rod's latest thoughts include these "times" when relationships suffer:

1. When being right (correct, moral, accurate) is so important, so insisted upon, that it is at the expense of being loving. A healthy person can sacrifice his or her need to be right in order to love.
2. When anxiety and love are confused. “I am anxious about you” is a far cry from “I love you” and are not the same thing. Anxious people often believe true love necessitates worry. “How will he know I love him if I don’t worry about him?” is the plea of the anxious partner or parent. A healthy person remains non-anxious.
3. When love and control are synonymous. “If you love me you will dress (speak, think, see, hear) according to my will,” says the controller, “or I will question your love for
   me.” Healthy love celebrates freedom.
4. When love means “melting” into each other, giving up individual identity in the name of love. “We’re so close we even think each other’s thoughts,” proclaims the unhealthy couple. Healthy love elevates separateness, space and individuality.

Of Rod himself, we learn:

Rod Smith has taught family therapy and courses on related topics for various institutions, primarily The University of the Nations, in many locations around the world. He is an excellent resource person for all kinds of troubled or Difficult Relationships. Rod is also a writer. His “YOU AND ME” newspaper column is widely enjoyed in South Africa where it has been published daily for almost to 7 years...

Rod Smith has presented seminars and retreats to professionals and lay audiences in over 20 countries. He is the Executive Director of Open Hand, Inc. an initiative which provides home-based counseling services to individuals and families in Marion County by referral from the Juvenile Court, the Office of Family and Children, and Child Protection Services. Rod no longer sees clients referred through these state run systems.

Recently, Rod has addressed topics from readers such as

• My wife and best friend had an affair…..
• We’re engaged but she and her ex still lean on each other…
• Invasive sister-in-law….
• Children do not want to visit father and stepmother…
• He vents and his venting gets out of control…..
• When is it time to cut “friendship” ties?
• Why are some dads so passive?
• Seven things healthy parents know about teenagers…
• I want to end my affair…

Advice and ideas worthy of the reading...

5 for Friday

On the Billy Collins trail today we find:

1 -

Like Donnell Alexander says, "It's about completing the task of living with enough spontaneity to splurge some of it on bystanders, to share with others working through their own travails a little of your bonus life."

But, it's mostly the kind of place that folks looking for "girls and cars" stumble across by accident.

Visit Tiny Cat Pants for more of this...

2 -

Regardless of their current eternal standing, people who leave shopping carts haphazardly in parking lots may end up going to hell. I know there’s no direct reference to intentionally orphaned buggies in scripture, but I think it may be implied.

read more of Michael Snyder, the author of My Name is Russell Fink, here

3 -

My new chapbook is out! Another Circle of Delight has hit the stands (well, okay this blog and my website). I did a preview reading in Crockett at Valona Cafe a couple months ago. Publisher David Alpaugh (Small Poetry Press) found the cover art, which thrilled me. Click on the cover art to see a bigger version. The title and cover art refer to the keynote poem (is that an actual term?), "A Walk After Reading Dante's Paradiso."

Find out more about the chapbook and author Rachel Dacus here.

4 -

An American woman, newly embarking on the second half of her century here on earth, reflects on Life in General, and her own in particular

Read more on Becca's Byline here.

5 -

"What it all comes to is a confused and incoherent mixture of stories which are as old as the hills but are still unfinished" Ward Six is a daily digest of book reviews, literary analysis, personal observations, anecdotes, and opinions.

visit Ward 6 here

All Things Sherlock - Scott Monty

Hey, that's my name! I need to be part of this.

You may recall that the Hitchhikers found A Study in Sherlock by Douglas Johnston.

Well at the recent PodCamp Boston, what do I find but a new podcast called "I hear of Sherlock everywhere".

I caught up with Scott Monty between sessions and we had a quick chat. If you like all things Sherlock Holmes, then this is one of a number of sites to keep in mind, heck mind, in your RSS Reader!

Baker Street Blog

It turns out that the game is really afoot: Douglas and Scott are getting together on this Sherlock stuff.

Stay tuned as the trail is still fresh!

Teaching for the Future - Dave LaMorte

Dave and I met during last years PodCamp Boston and worked together on the welcome/registration desk this time. We have a good deal in common.

• He is student teaching (I fondly recall those days).
• He is from NJ and will be going back to NJ sometime in the near future (we used to live in NJ).
• He is an artist (I appreciate and enjoy all kinds of art).
• We are both podcasters.

Click on over to check out his site and podcast. You'll be glad you did.

Something Used - Hugh McIntyre

I met Hugh at the welcome desk when he came by to volunteer for next year's event. As I cruise amongst the links on his MySpace pages, there is a good stuff going on there.

Hello there everyone! My name is Hugh McIntyre and I run Something Used. Something Used is a booking agency and soon to be a clothing line! I do much more than that, however. Every event I do has a purpose. There is always a cause that I try to educate people about, aide, or support in some way. I believe that educating people leads to action, which leads to a better world for everyone. While my end goal is to save the world, I know I am going to need a lot of help in doing it, so I appreciate all I can get :-)

Click through to his page and find more about Hugh and maybe you can help him.

"It's a Purl, Man" - Guido Stein

I wrote after last year's PodCamp Boston:

One of those PodCampers who came in as a relative unknown and made his mark big time. Guido knits and is proud of it. Read his site name slowly and you'll catch a wicked pun.

I got to spend more time with Guido this year as he helped out at the registration desk. I observed his teaching how to use the drop spindle (and did catch some video of that which I hope to share; assuming it came out successfully).

If you are interested in knitting, this is one podcast to subscribe to.

Even if you are not, Guido may very well get you interested!

Utterz - Simeon Margolis

One of the slick applications I found at PodCamp Boston was Utterz.

Chris Brogan included Simeon and myself in an Utterz that he posted while at PodCamp.
Note: The problem with Permalink and commenting is still there but Simeon is working on it.

Check out Utterz!

Norah Dooley

Norah was one of the unsung heroes of the recent PodCamp Boston. She went to attend a session on story telling and the presenter failed to show up. Since she was a story teller herself, she stepped up and lead the group in an impromptu session that according to what I heard in the hall was one of the better sessions there.

Nice work, Norah!

She stopped by the registration desk with a question and shared her own point of view on the experience, confirming that the story someone else did tell at the end of the session was a powerful one.

Check out her website to see her work!

Being one of the little people - Sara Streeter

I met Sara at the registration desk when she came by with some questions. She is putting together a NewBCamp for Providence in February 2008. She is on Twitter, on MeetUp, and her blog: Being One of the Little People. I get the distinct impression that she won't be one of the "little people" for long!

She did not have a business card but took time to carefully write out a handcrafted set of contact info on a folder yellow stickie note. Way to go, Sara!

Rural Free Media - Sharon Mahoney

I anticipate being on the PodCamp Boston trail for a bit, there were so many connections made during the event, I will try to cover them in a reasonable amount of time.

Sharon Mahoney, will be podcasting at Rural Free Media soon. We met at the Friday night party and had a good discussion. When we caught up during the day Saturday and Sunday, she was doing well and enjoying the conference.

You can bookmark her site and stay tuned for when she starts up.

Loud Mouth Man - Nick Butler

Yes, with a handle like loudmouthman, and the completely comfortable presence to wear a kilt, Nick is one cool dude. My tri-corner cap paled in comparison.

I had a good time talking with him at PodCamp Boston. I like his business card text: "social networker and opinioneer". His card is distinct; one of the small form factor type. I almost lost it amongst my pile.

Fear not, Nick. I did find it and hence this posting!

Media Shift Idea lab

From the About Idea Lab page:

MediaShift Idea Lab is a group weblog by innovators who are reinventing community news for the Digital Age. Each author won a grant in the Knight News Challenge to help fund a startup idea or to blog on a topic related to reshaping community news. The authors will use Idea Lab to explain their projects, share intelligence and interact with the new-media community online. If you're interested in joining them, and getting a grant from the Knight News Challenge, you can apply here. To see biographies of all Idea Lab bloggers, go to this page.

Idea Lab elements include:

Best of the Lab: Four of the most interesting recent blog posts from authors on the Lab, as chosen by the Idea Lab editors.

Readers' Faves: A running list of blog posts that readers have recommended the most.

Popular Tags: Each Idea Lab blogger will tag their post according to subject matter. You can find the most popular tags listed on the home page or a full tag cloud on this page.

Idea Lab is produced by MediaShift and hosted by PBS. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation provided a grant to MediaShift to produce Idea Lab and to upgrade MediaShift with audio, video and citizen journalism projects. Idea Lab bloggers post directly to the blog, with MediaShift and PBS providing editorial oversight. The Knight Foundation will be choosing future Idea Lab bloggers based on who wins the Knight News Challenge in future years.

An interesting site, I'll need to do some more exploring.

A Like Affair With Words

From the Billy Collins trail we find Rachel writing at A Like Affair with Words

Plenty of blogs claim they will help improve your writing.
Plenty of blogs are dedicated to helping you make money as a freelancer.
Still others review books, report on the world of journalism, or monitor trends in literature. No blog does it all--except A Like Affair With Words.
Tips, tools, and information every weekday, with a healthy leaven of trivia and fun thrown in for kicks.
Welcome to A Like Affair With Words.

In her About page, she says:

I’m Rachel. I’ve lived in a bunch of different places (Minnesota, New York, England, Pennsylvania), visited a bunch more, and would like to live in and visit even more. I’ve recently graduated from Adelphi University, which no longer has a money-embezzling president and is, really, quite a good small school.

Recent posts:

• Nanowrimo part 2
• This is an awful idea.
• Always carry a pencil
• Tuesday’s Tools: “Write the Perfect Book Proposal”
• Quickie: The origin of “to 86″ and other diner numbers

5 for Friday

This is a special bunch, not just any old 5 for Friday, but 5 for Friday times 20!

If you are into user experience this is the listing for you to explore. Some of these sites have already been "hiked" here but so many more have not. Rather than wait for the hikers to make their way, let's just share them all at once and let you go do the exploring.

Pick one to start with and have fun!

Internet Evolution

At Internet Evolution we believe that the next huge leap forward in the history of the Internet is happening now – and the goal of our site is to gauge its likely impact on every aspect of life as we know it.

It's obvious that something big is happening in terms of Internet usage: More than 1.1 billion people around the world now use the Internet... Usage is growing at 18 percent per year*... And in 2006 total digital content exceeded 160 exabytes – enough to fill 161 billion iPod shuffles.**

But the Internet is at a tipping point, not just in terms of the number of people using it, but also in terms of how they use it.

Over the last 30 or so years the communications industry has collaborated, often unwittingly, in developing the Internet that we have today – a low-cost, ubiquitous, multimedia network capable of carrying any type of traffic (voice, video, or data) anywhere, anytime. And that network is here, now.

So the BIG questions now are not about the network itself (been there, built that) but about how the network will be used.

Click through to see for yourself. There are a host of contributors and some posts are generating good conversations.

(Not) Your Average Joe

From Joe Weissbard writing at (Not) Your Average Joe

Even when I go out and run alone, I have a goal in mind before I even start. It may be a certain time or a certain terrain I want to conquer, but only I know what that is. When I achieve this goal, I am internally victorious and glorious.

I think you distance runners know exactly what I am talking about. Most people would not understand what I speak of. It is a self assurance that one can only get from not giving into the pain, from overcoming severe muscle aches, cramps and the feeling of your stomach and lungs collapsing.

Just know for the rest of your lives, you will take this work ethic with you. Every part of your life will be like a run. Sometimes you will feel like you are going to die and you cannot get over the hump. Other days you will be in the zone.

Read the remainder of the posting on Why do we run?

Joe writes on more than running from his base in El Paso, TX.

• Basketball
• Cross Country
• Food and Drink
• Football
• Track
• Weblogs

Consider adding this site to your RSS Reader.

Wen McNally - Photographer with a passion

Every once in a while one comes across an artist that is just stops you in your tracks.

Wen McNally is such a photographer.

She focuses on high school portraits but doesn't let that hold her from doing other photos.

Oh, that she were in your area. Someone would jump to have her photos.

Check out her portfolio and her blog.

Enjoy!

5 for Friday - PodCamp Boston 2

on the 5 for Friday PodCamp Boston 2 trail, with more folks to review before coming to meet and greet at PodCamp!


Daniel Steinberg, Producer Dim Sum Thinking http://dimsumthinking.com

Daphne Gould, Artist Daphne’s Designs http://www.daphnesdesigns.com

Dave Kawalec http://www.daveandmattshow.com

Dave Lamorte http://www.teachingforthefuture.com

David Cutler http://www.eatmedia.com


Visit their site.
See what and how they do what they do.
Prepare to meet them somewhere at PodCamp Boston

Political Game

Tara writes:

I am a student at Idaho State University, an intern responsible for the processing and preservation of the Stallings Congressional Collection, a member of Pocatello's Historic Preservation Commission, an avid reader, a lifelong fan of baseball, and a Democrat.

A blogger since 2004, this is one site to put on the list for continuity!

Check out the Political Game!

Glass Still Half Full

Do you like Dogs?

Interested in finding out what it is like to be a recent graduate?

Then the Glass Still Half Full is the site for you.

Click through and find out what Megan is up to.

Weber State - Weekly Poem Project

Not sure what this is other than a good poem published once a week.

Maybe a center point for a class discussion?

What do you think?

Pynchon List

Short term attention span disorder? Yes, that sounds reasonable.

See how Victoria begins to find her way with poetry!

Necessary Chocolate

Well with a title like "Necessary Chocolate", there is got to be some goodness there.

There is a bunch of goodness as a sampling of recent posts show:

• Coming soon to your national mall
• Club little house: the sewing addition
• Club little house: the diner edition
• Annie's dress - finished
• And the heavens smiled
• This Saturday at 7:30
• When you're alone, and life is making you lonely
• Stage fright and Hoover

So click on over and see if there really is Necessary Chocolate

5 for Friday - PodCamp Boston 2

on the 5 for Friday PodCamp Boston 2 trail, with more folks to review before coming to meet and greet at PodCamp!

• Connie Crosby Blogger & Librarian http://conniecrosby.blogspot.com
• Craig Murphy CEO thebestkidsbooksite.com http://www.thebestkidsbooksite.com
• Dan Gorgone Co-host/Producer Baby Time Podcast http://www.babytimeshow.com
• Dan Harper http://www.danielharper.org/blog
• Dan On Tap Host Life On Tap http://www.lifeontap.net

Visit their site.
See what and how they do what they do.
Prepare to meet them somewhere at PodCamp Boston

Optimistic Voices

Susan, another find along the Billy Collins trail, writes about herself:

I'm a committed-to-aging-well, unable-to-do-anything-in-25 words-or-less, ruby-slipper-wearing eternal optimist, attempting to figure out the circuitous journey I call my life: where I've been, where I am, where I'm going and who will be my traveling companions, continued or new. In my 5+ decades on this planet, I've realized that change is not necessarily worse, just different; I've learned that saying "I don't know" has become incredibly liberating; I've intuited that there is no such thing as perfection (whether it's another person or a seashell); I have become less demanding and more forgiving/flexible by the relaxation of my guidelines; and I've figured out that, even though I'll always be an Instant Gratification Leo, sometimes delaying the reward can heighten the pleasure, too. I am more discerning to minimize the negative influences in my daily dealings (while still understanding the importance of moral obligations), and attempt to surround myself with people, activities and things that bring me joy - I want to make every glorious moment count... and I'm committed to making this world a better place, one day at a time...

Recent posts are listed as

• Am I Too Blue? (Lucinda Williams)
• My Friends (Dar Williams)
• What Do You Love More Than Love (Dar Williams)
• The Last Fare of the Day (Richard Shindell)
• Seasons of Love (from the musical Rent)
• My Way (Paul Anka... sung by Frank Sinatra)
• Nightswimming (R.E.M.)
• If I Only Had a Brain (The Scarecrow)

Consider adding Optimistic Voices to your RSS Reader of choice

5 for Friday - PodCamp Boston 2

on the 5 for Friday PodCamp Boston 2 trail, with more folks to review before coming to meet and greet at PodCamp!

• Caroline Meeks Founder Solution Grove http://solutiongrove.com
• Charles Mcenerney Host + Producer Well-Rounded Radio http://www.wellroundedradio.net
• Christophe Perez Self-employed http://skatitude.com
• Christopher Abraham Founding Partner Abraham Harrison LLC http://ahllc.eu
• Christopher Johnston Blogger TechChris.com http://techchris.com

Visit their site.
See what and how they do what they do.
Prepare to meet them somewhere at PodCamp Boston

The Collective Blog of Stephen and Erin

a double hit today, another on the Thursday 13 meme that happened also happened to be found on the Billy Collins trail.

They have a published schedule:

• SUNDAY - HymnSunday (stephen)
• MONDAY - Favorite Poems (erin)
• TUESDAY - Weekly Poll (stephen/erin)
• WEDNESDAY - What We've Been Hearing/Watching/Reading (stephen/erin)
• THURSDAY - Thursday 13 (erin)
• FRIDAY - Pic o' the Week-o (stephen/erin)

So you can add this site to your RSS Reader and check in on your favorite day!

Third Mom - Margie

"Let me tell you about all of my mommies!" said my five-year-old son one day as we sat in our kitchen. He began counting: "There's my first mother in Korea, then Mrs. Cho (his foster mother), and then you - you're my third mom!"

So begins the tales you can find at Third Mom where Margie writes:

I'm Margie, mom of two amazing Korean teens, wife of 30+ years. Third Mom is where I think out loud about Korean adoption, which has profoundly changed the lives of my children, their families, and my life, too. All points of view are welcome.

And where she realizes:

I've been getting a lot of questions recently like these: "So how does it feel to have P away at college?" "What's the biggest difference you notice now that he's away?" "Have your family's dynamics changed?"

There are so many levels I can answer these on - the personal, the emotional, the mundane, for a start. And yes, adoption.

The personal - I just plain miss him. It's hard, REALLY hard, to accept that his wings are unfurled, and once in flight, he may end up far away from us. It's life, it's a good thing, it's the way it should be - but it's really hard for me to accept.

Read the remainder of Margie's post here.

I think you'll realize this is a place to stop frequently. Add Third Mom to your RSS Reader of choice.

RAPSU Blog

On the Billy Collins trail, we stop at the RAPSU blog:

A membership organization for anyone 50 and older, presenting programs of intellectual stimulation and fellowship.

A variety of postings like Sticks and Stones:

A fresh alphabet spells success

---

Jera and Brad Deal turned an inventive letter-hunting game with their daughter into a multimillion-dollar business. Sean Cole paid them a visit and did some alphabet searching.

---

Doug Krizner: The TV show Sesame Street's known for creative ways of introducing the alphabet to kids. One of my favorites was the Beetles singing, "Letter B." Then there was the muppet in the back alley with letters in his coat jacket: "Psst, wanna buy an O?"

Marketplace's Sean Cole actually stumbled onto a business that's kinda doing the same thing.

Read the remainder of the post here.

Or this one quoting Ben Franklin:

Benjamin Franklin once said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." What would this founding father think about our nation's current health care system, where the focus is on disease care rather than health, on paying bills and shifting costs rather than on preventing disease and dealing with the chronic conditions that are affecting more and more of our nation's population? Where insurance will pay for quadruple bypass heart surgery but not to encourage healthy behaviors that could prevent heart disease?

Read the full insightful post from the AARP on health care here.

For the 50-something crowd, this is a place to add to the RSS Reader of choice!

Figures of Speech Served Fresh

Do you know these figures of speech? I'll admit to knowing the first one.

Figure of Speech: analogy (an-AL-o-gy), the figure of parallel cases. From the Greek, meaning “proportion.” Read more here

Figure of Speech: syncrisis (SIN-crih-sis), the not- that- but- this figure. From the Greek, meaning “to compare.” Read more here

Figure of Speech: synonymia (sin-o-NIM-ia), the word pile-on. From the Greek, meaning “similar name.” Read more here

Written with humor and insights... easy to read.

Consider subscribing to the "Daily Figure" to receive it via email.

or add this site to your RSS Reader of choice and have some fun learning a figure of speech or two.

5 for Friday - PodCamp Boston 2 Participants

One Bill, three Brian's , and a fourth Bryan are all registered for PodCamp Boston 2.

Bill Jankowski, Completerunning.Com

Brian Alves, Executive Producer, The DV Show

Brian Hogg, Storyteller, Dotboom.Ca

Brian Polensky, Podcaster, Yamcast.Com

Bryan Person, Social media evangelist, Bryper.com


Visit their site.
See what and how they do what they do.
Prepare to meet them somewhere at PodCamp Boston

Thursday Thirteen - The Creekistan Blog

Amy has a series going on with "Thursday Thirteen".

• Thursday Thirteen #62
• Before and After
• Thursday Thirteen #61
• Sharing the Love for The Rock Chick
• Thursday Thirteen #61
• Thursday Thirteen #60 - SPOILER ALERT!

So this Thursday, the 13th of the month, the Hitchhikers had to stop!

My English Agenda

Ms Kusinitz writes:

1. I love reading and writing
2. Accepting and getting to know people from different cultures and with different beliefs is very important to me
3. I love my job more than chocolate (which is a lot), I want to be here, and I have high personal expectations
4. I truly care about my students
5. I like to challenge people to think outside the box and to be more creative
6. I get frustrated and grumpy when people call themselves “stupid” or “dumb” and assume they cannot do something without trying
7. I am usually (see #8 below) reasonable and fair
8. My brain does not work correctly before I eat something in the morning and drink at least one cup of coffee or tea
9. I truly believe in and practice the following mottos: “honesty is the best policy,” “quality over quantity,” and “look before you leap”
10. I love playing games and keeping myself and those around me active

Want to retake high school English? Join Ms. Kusinitz and her classes at Cumberland (RI) High School.

a day of silence

Remembering 9/11/2001

Summer Pierre

On Saturday, I listened to this AMAZING interview with Stuart Brown, founder and head of the National Institute for Play, on the importance of play in the development of humans and in daily life. I found it moving and inspiring. Dr. Brown said that if he doesn't get at least 3 hours of play--that is something that he enjoys and loses time in--by dinnertime he is not doing so well. I thought, what a GREAT philosophy--and it's something that I have already been researching in my ideas about creativity and the workplace. In any case, I've been feeling A LOT of pressure lately on various projects and Dr. Brown's interview reminded me that I need to play. So, for no reason, other than fun I dressed up like Frida Kahlo and used photo booth. It was literally just what the doctor ordered.

Click through to see the full post and photos!

Now that I've updated you on the gory details of wedding excitement and honeymoon relaxation, I can now get on to MORE PRESSING matters. Like the fact that a certain squirrel moved into our tree a week before we left and proceeded to fixate on our window and fire escape, tormenting the cats, peeing into the window, and trying to build a nest under the towel we left out to dry. I call him Jojo.

Read more of JoJo's exploits

Consider adding this site to your RSS Reader of choice!

5 for Friday - PodCamp Boston 2 Participants

As we approach PodCamp Boston 2, our 5 for Friday will pick out a few of the folks who have registered.

Visit their site.
See what and how they do what they do.
Prepare to meet them somewhere at PodCamp Boston,

Adam Farrah a business and technical writer

Adam Quirk, Producer of Wreck & Salvage

Alyssa Boehm, Producer of The Big Red Podcast

Amy Carpenter, "super fine artist", Welcome to Amyville

Andrea Lovett, storyteller

Enjoy!


PS - if you are impatient, you can head to the listing of registrants and cruise the listing ahead of my 5 for Friday spotlights. With over 700 already registered, I won't be able to cover them all anyway!

Anne Badillo

She finds a good quote:

Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the 'practice of freedom', the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world."

- Richard Shaull

And another quote:

"Being vulnerable doesn't have to be threatening. Just have the courage to be sincere, open and honest. This opens the door to deeper communication all around. It creates self-empowerment and the kind of connections with others we all want in life. Speaking from the heart frees us from the secrets that burden us. These secrets are what make us sick or fearful. Speaking truth helps you get clarity on your real heart directives."

Sara Paddison, The Hidden Power of the Heart

Anne writes about herself:

I am passionate about coaching and facilitating individuals and groups to tap dormant creativity which can help produce deep insights, decisions and actions.

My private practice include high performance leaders & individuals who want to take some part of their life or business to the next level. I act as their guide to support and plan these actions.

I am a seasoned business strategist and facilitator with corporate clients over the last 20 years. I previously served in leadership roles with early round start ups and with an edgy think tank in Palo Alto, California.

Consider adding this site to your RSS Reader of choice.

Jay Prickett

Greetings, and welcome to my new site. The latest entries of my blog can be found immediately below. If you want to wade through older posts, follow the archive link in the header. Or for a hand picked selection of entries that I thought were better than the rest, click the articles link above. For more information about me, visit the bio page, where you can find links to all the avenues of the internet I run through, as well as contact info, should you wish to drop me a line.

From his intro to the new template:

I made the decision to switch to the new version of Movable Type after some major issues with both installs of WordPress. This, combined with the decision to unite my blog and my front page, will mean little to you, dear reader. But I will explain the few differences anyway. The first difference is that there is no longer a front page and a blog, instead both are now a part of the main site. There is still a shortened version of the linkroll and my latest Twitter post are in the sidebar (and both are still pulled into my tumblelog, along with whatever random crap I run across on the net). The most recent blog posts are listed in truncated form on the front page.

Check out the template and consider adding this site to your RSS Reader!

Teen Literacy Tips - Nick Senger

Thanks to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, I now have a terrific “teachable moment” when I start school on Tuesday. When my students ask me what I did on my summer vacation I can tell them I was accused of violating copyright and learned all about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the SFWA and counter-notifications. I can tell them the reading list I just handed them is Internet contraband. I can tell them the president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America personally apologized to me on my blog.

I’ve been teaching my students about copyright for years, but now I have a personal experience to help make it real.

Read the complete post here.

Nick writes in his About page:

Nick has been teaching literature since 1990, and in 2001 he was named Distinguished Teacher of the Year by the National Catholic Education Association. He is a husband, father of four, Catholic school teacher and vice principal, and author of ROMAN Reading: 5 Practical Skills for Transforming Your Life through Literature.

He currently teaches eighth grade at All Saints Catholic School in Spokane, Washington, where he has worked since 1991. He is available for workshops, seminars and consultation.

Consider adding this site to your RSS Reader!

Special BlogDay 2007 - 5 for Friday

... there is something lost when forms are open. There is beauty found in submitting you're self to a guide, in giving yourself, your freedom, over to a master. May this be God or a form, either way, there is beauty is submission that is lost in the passion of free will. Yes e. e. cummings is sexy to read. Yes Billy Collins has great images. But both miss the beauty of Frost, Shakespeare and Milton who set out to say great things (both cummings and Collins have set out for this) and mindfully craft their words to the image and the form while doing so.

Read the remainder of this posting here. And then check out Chase Whittemore writing at nighthink

The origins of music, like the origins of poetry, are buried in the dust - make that the strata of dust- of time, but we know that they've been hand-in-hand, or perhaps heart-to-heart, for eons. The lyric voice of poetry is named for the lyre which, an age or two ago and an ocean away, often accompanied it; the term "lyric poetry" has been in use in English since at least 1581, and is used to denote, as the Oxford English Dictionary has it, poetry

adapted to the lyre, meant to be sung, pertaining to or characteristic of song. Now used as the name for short poems (whether or not intended to be sung), usually divided into stanzas or strophes, and directly expressing the poet's own thoughts or sentiments.

Read the remainder of the posting here. Then check out Jeff Davis writing at Natures

To Spite the Gloaming

When no great thoughts have I to tell or sing
I then to tomes and library retire
to fuel inspiration—reading’s the thing.

All seems said or written before. What sting
to burn for creations my own but tire
when no great thoughts have I to tell or sing!

Stories tell themselves of a calm evening,
and tale-tellers to tell but lies require
to fuel imagination. Reading thing

upon thing – story upon fable to cling
and struggle with the truth of life entire
when no great thoughts have we to tell or sing.

And so it is our fine-crafted lines fling
across blank pages – spread rhyme like fire
to fuel inspiration. Reading’s the thing

that makes us write of life winter to spring
throughout cycles unbounded. But we tire
when no great thoughts have we to tell or sing;
to fuel inspiration, reading’ the thing.

© 2004 David Pitchford

And then read more of David's writing at BitterHermit's Hideaway

David is

Museum Editor for the Illinois State Museum; President of Poets & Writers Literary Forum of Springfield, Illinois; MA recipient (UIS: English, emphasis in poetry); Founder and Publishing Editor of Prism Quarterly; Author of three novels and numerous poems; Bitter Hermit (SFReader.com); all around word artist, editor, consultant, pedant and purveyor.

I would put it in a nutshell, but I’m a few pounds overlimit . . .

And then shifting gears from verse to green

Green Wombat takes public transport to work, uses compact fluorescent light bulbs in the Berkeley burrow, and dries the washing on a clothesline. But when it comes to air travel, the wombat is a carbon criminal. The conundrum of being an environmental journalist for a national magazine with a global outlook is that the more I write about green technology the more I fly. So far this year, Green Wombat has logged more than 70,000 air miles, which according to some carbon calculators means I'm personally responsible for about 30,000 pounds of CO2 emissions from my frequent flying. In contrast, the average Californian's carbon footprint from all activities is 26,301 pounds, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Read the remainder of the posting here. Then click through to read more of Todd Woody writing at the Green Wombat.

And finally to complete this 5 for Friday, we head to the Far East to read about all things Shanghai, you need to read the Shanghaiist

You can read about

Prof Yu Dan (于丹), 38, now with cleavage
Probably the most popular exponent of Confucius ever, Yu Dan, has found her way back into the media spotlight -- this time in an IHT article which places her at the centre of the current rage for China's ancient philosophies. Her book has sold 4.2 million legal copies and about 6 million pirated versions. But wait a minute, Yu is not even a Confucian academic. She is a media professor at the Beijing Normal University, certainly one who understands that a bit of cleavage will do your popularity good, as this latest picture of her shows. We too ended up buying her DVD's and found her sounding shockingly similar to our pastor back home, except that she was preaching Confucius and quoting Hegel at the same time, and basically anything else that fit her message.

Zhang Huimin, 8, runs her way to the Olympics 2016
Little Zhang Huimin, who stands at just 1.25 meters tall and weighs a mere 20kg, has run from Sanya, Hainan all the way to Beijing, wearing out 20 pairs of shoes and covering a staggering 3,560 km in 55 days. That's an average of 1.5 marathons per day! Her goal is to win the marathon at the 2016 Olympic Games (and only God knows for now where that will be held). See that man next to her on the motorbike? That's her father, and her trainer who has made her wake up everyday at 3am for training since the day little girl could run. Starting with 3 km a day since she was three, Zhang was hitting 23 km daily by the time she was seven.

In Headliners. People who made the news this week.

5 for Friday

A name, like money, doesn't exist in the same way my hands and mouth do, but to treat names as simple identifiers instead of the textual embodiment of a whole person would put every human relationship I enjoy in peril.

From Paul Ford writing at the Ftrain. Read the whole post here.

People at the top of every profession share one quality — they get things done. This ability supercedes intelligence, talent, and connections in determining the size of your salary and the speed of your advancement.

Despite the simplicity of this concept there is a perpetual shortage of people who excel at getting results. The action habit — the habit of putting ideas into action now — is essential to getting things done.

From John Wesley at PickTheBrain. Read the full post here.

Company that I work in does some fantastic practices. I’ll give you one example.

We are publishing house, and our final clients are readers. Where do readers get our books? Of course in the book-stores! So every month we go to the book store (the biggest one in Moscow) and work there for 2-3 hours as a book consultants. We talk to customers, recommend them books. But understand me correctly - of course we recommend our books a bit more (because we are sure of their quality), but also we recommend ALL good business books even if they are published by our competitors.

This process involves all the people from the company, even our directors take part in it.

From Dimitri Linkov writing at Dimitri Linkov.

I’ve created a WordPress plugin which creates an iCal feed from your blog posts. It creates a calendar which can be added to pretty much any popular website (such as Google Calendar) or application (such as Microsoft Outlook).

I built this because I wanted to see when I made my WordPress posts, in a more graphical interface. I already used Google Calendar, so I would have loved to see my posts right in my calendar.

You can do that with my plugin - no configuration necessary! Just download it from me, upload it to your server, and then activate it in your WordPress plugins page.

From Gary King writing at King Gary. Read the remainder of this post here.

More than a year ago, I made a list of what I considered the 6 essential elements of a website widget in these web 2.0 days. It’s a simple list, but nonetheless I’ve used it multiple times when developing widgets, and it has in most cases helped to increase gains from pushing a widget. I then wanted to write about these 6 elements, but as with many of my other posts, I’m slow at finishing it.

From Stefan Juhl writing at Stefan Juhl. Read the full posting here.

Enjoy!

Media Nation - Dan Kennedy

Dan Kennedy writes his blog at Media Nation. He is

a visiting assistant professor at the Northeastern University School of Journalism. He writes for The Guardian, CommonWealth Magazine and the Boston Phoenix, and is a regular commentator for WGBH-TV's "Greater Boston with Emily Rooney".

A sampling of recent posts:

• A teaching moment
• Smearing Al Gore again (and again)
• Judge Murphy's latest money grab
• Analyzing the online news audience
• Debating the debates

For good insights on media, especially here in the metro Boston area, this is a must site to add to your RSS reader of choice.

Idaho Gardener

From cultivating the employees to cultivating your garden, in Idaho of all places!

All about gardening in Idaho and the Rocky Mountains, Zone 6 and I’m stickin to it

Mary writes about herself:

Hi and welcome to Idaho Gardener. My name is Mary Ann Newcomer. I also have several nicknames - the printable ones are M. A. , Auntie Mame , Dirt Diva, Princess Dew Sparkle and Duchess of Dirt.

A native daughter of Idaho, I have been gardening since I was a small child. My grandmother and grandfather were avid gardeners and I was given a 3′x3′ plot for starters. I was encouraged to grow radishes, I believe because they came up in just a couple of days (instant gratification for a 5 year old) and because the first sets of leaves were heart shaped (a message from my grandmother).

And she's thinking ahead:

Alright, we are planning our autumnal gatherings already! Mark you calendars for November 3, at the Grove, another symposium for “Rethinking the Idaho Landscape.” After many many days of 100 degree days, it is time to rethink lots of things.

Read the remainder here.

Assuming you like gardening and can pick up a few pointers here add this site to your RSS Reader of choice.

HR Horizons HR Blog

Human resources, the talked of, and in fact, most important asset a company has. Recent posts cover the following topics:

Reducing Employee Turnover Begins With Better Employee Selection

Retaining Key Employees When Closing a Facility

Seven Ways To Improve The Well Being of Your Team

and one that I like

The Kash Model

The KASH Model consists of four phases: knowledge of a better way, attitude, skillful application of the new knowledge, and habit. Knowledge of a better way is trying to get learners to accept that there is a better of doing things.

If this is your cup of tea, then click on over to add HR Horizons, HR Blog to your RSS Reader of choice.