Friday, September 28, 2007

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!

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

Monday, September 24, 2007

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
Consider adding Optimistic Voices to your RSS Reader of choice

Friday, September 21, 2007

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

Thursday, September 20, 2007

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!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

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.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

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!

Monday, September 17, 2007

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.

Friday, September 14, 2007

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, September 13, 2007

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

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.

Monday, September 10, 2007

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!

Friday, September 07, 2007

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!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

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.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

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!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

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!