5 for Friday

5 for Friday along the trail for passion.

1 - Let's start with a video clip:



From The Wardman Wire

2 - And what twist and turn in the trail brought me to Dangerously Irrelevant, I am not sure. But I have the feeling that I have been here before. I recognize the name Scott McLeod.

3 - And from the Agile Chronicles we read:

I've got a question for you... Do the same rules for leading volunteers apply when leading employees?

We pay people to come to work but can we buy their enthusiasm and creativity? What about their passion and excitement? Maybe we need to consider applying the same or similar leadership principles in our businesses that we've discussed for our volunteer organizations? Do we need to modify our list for business and employees? Let me know your thoughts and what's working for you.

4 - And we find Alun writing at Archaeoastronomy

I am currently a PhD student in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at Leicester University. My work seems to concentrate on the cross-over between science and humanities, in particular with work on Archaeoastronomy.

My current PhD in soundbite form is seeing whether there is an astronomical fingerprint for Greek settlement in the western Mediterranean which can help show the difference between Hellenised and non-Hellenised sites. It works from two perspectives. One is the Ancient Historical problem of whether or not the natives of Sicily and Italy did become Hellenised and how did it happen? The archaeoastronomical side is testing the assumption that cultures do exhibit shared orientations for superstructure or infrastructure.

5 - And we find Christine writing at chicken scratch.ca

Christine Stefanitsis, a founding member of little chick press, is a writer with poetry and fiction published in CV2, Fireweed and Emerge. Editing and publishing a Canadian literary magazine for women has been a life-long dream. Through her writing blog, chicken-scratch.ca, Christine anticipates coaxing her novel back to life.

Quite the variety today. I hope you will enjoy one or more of these and find time to enter them into your RSS Reader of choice.

Tap Dance Blog - Terrance "Taps"

As a life long runner, I have great appreciation for the physical abilities of dancers, especially tap dancers. So finding Terrence "Taps" cruising amongst the blogosphere was a real treat!

Terrence "Taps" began studying the art of tap dancing at the age of nineteen at Norma’s Academy. Within a year he had moved from the Adult Beginner’s Class to the Advanced Level. Within two years he began performing with the Senior Company, in addition to acting as a substitute teacher for all levels of tap dance classes. Since then he has gone on to teach classes at studios throughout the metro Atlanta area. He has built upon his abilities as a teacher & choreographer through each of these experiences.

Check out his video samples here

Great Tap Dance Blog Articles

• What is the Tap Dance Blog?
• 10 Reasons to Tap Dance
• Tap Dance Music
• The Horrible 4-Letter Word...
• Guide to Buying Tap Shoes
• 5 Things You Should Know...

And by this time, if you have not already added this site to your RSS Reader of choice, you probably should!

Fly Fishing Magazine Blog

Yes, the river runs through it. Or something like that. You know. The time honored fishing thing. Those who love it, love it dearly. Those who don't, have just about as much passion.

SNL staff writer, Jack Handley, of Deep Thoughts fame writes about his 2nd passion in this SFreporter article:

I can’t imagine someone trying fly-fishing and not loving it, but apparently that can happen. I know it’s a cliché, but fly-fishing is one of those meditative things. If the fishing is good, and you’re fishing hard, you can’t think of anything else but the fishing. Adding to the allure is that usually you’re in a beautiful outdoor spot, with flowing water. Also, you get to torture fish. Actually, I do feel guilty about that, but so far not enough to quit fishing.

Read the full posting here.

So if you have an inkling or passion for fly fishing, this site is for you!

The Success Blog

Well, to begin with, time, as we think about it, doesn’t even really exist. We think of weeks and hours and minutes and seconds, but these are completely human inventions. Days and years can be scientifically measured, of course, but these concepts as they’re familiar to us would mean nothing if we were on the surface of another planet. They’re simply subjective.

Now, sure, all of these labels present a convenient way for us to function as a society, but they are really just lies we agree upon. There is no such thing as an hour. Nine o’clock in the morning does not exist. And yet, to give you an example of how powerful a hold this lie of time can have over us, more people have heart attacks at 9:00 on Monday mornings than at any other hour. Think about that. They’d rather die than go to a job they hate. How’s that for processing time with an extraordinary psychology?

Read the remainder of the posting here.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Read the remainder of the post on Paradoxical Commandments from Kent Keith here.

Check this site out. Do you want to not be successful?

NewBCamp 2008

Hello World!

This is the announcement for NewBCamp 2008, which is being held from 9:00am - 4:00pm on February 23, 2008 in Providence, RI.

You are invited to use the 'Registration' button to RSVP for the event.

The Details:

• Saturday, February 23, 2008 from 9am to 4pm in Providence, RI
• Xavier Building on the Johnson & Wales campus
  
  259 Pine Street
  Providence, Rhode Island 02903
• After Party at AS220, 115 Empire Street, Providence from 5 PM - 7 PM
  

If you're looking to get the flyer for NewBCamp, here's a link to the PDF,

BeachWalks with Rox

We'll dispense with 5 for Friday to bring this site to you today. There are many, many video clips on the site so you will end up with possibly more ideas and connections from this one site than the 5 could have brought. At least, I think so. You can view this, visit BeachWalks.tv and let me know.

Enjoy!


Beach Walks with Rox #576 - Passion and Process with Carol Linlt;/a>

graphpaper.com

About Christopher Fahey

I am an artist, designer, teacher, and captain of industry living in Brooklyn, NY. I'm one of the co-founders of Behavior, an interaction design consultancy.

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Let’s begin with a simple premise that I think most practicing UX designers would agree with in a heartbeat: The worst possible way to employ user personas in a design process is for the designers themselves to have no role in the creation of the persona documents themselves.

Or to put it another way: It sucks when the creator of the research artifacts is not also the designer of the product. If personas are created by a specialized “research team” and then handed off to a specialized “design team”, that design team doesn’t actually experience the substantive benefits good personas can provide.

Read the remainder of the posting here.

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The following is in response to an interesting and thoughtful video and essay by Edward Tufte, posted on his blog/site, in which he argues, among other things, that many of the applications on the Apple iPhone do not adequately take advantage of the iPhone’s screen resolution and its compelling and easy-to-use zoomable UI paradigm.

In one specific case, he advocates replacing the iPhone’s Stocks application user interface with one that displays immensely more information in the same space. He critiques the Stocks app for the cartoonish UI design that wastes space with useless decorative graphic design.

Read the remainder of the posting here.

As a bonus for those paying attention, you also get a link to Edward Tufte's blog!

For anyone interested in design and user interfaces, this is a site to add to your RSS Reader of choice.

The Lingerie Post

Welcome to the Lingerie Post, the new home for lingerie and underwear fanatics on the web. We’ll be blogging about lingerie by the world’s most famous designers and brands. We’ll do our best to look for bargains, keep an eye on what’s hot and what’s not, and make sure you get to see the most beautiful lingerie there is¦

We’ll be updating daily, and we’ll try to accompany every single post with at least one photo. On catwalk occasions, we’ll try to get first-hand photos. On press conferences, we’ll try to be there¦

We’re not affiliated with any brand. We’re not payed by any designer. We give our opinion, whatever it is. We do have some favorite brands though, but you’ll surely find that out when you’re checking out our blog. Stay tuned!

For those readers who like to stay current with ladies ware, this will be a good site to mark with your favorite RSS Reader.

Latest posts:

» Willow Lingerie » Valentine’s Day Contest: Bubbles Bodywear » Millesia Lingerie Spring/Summer 2008 » Ambrielle Lingerie Spring 2008 » Valentine’s Day Contest: Gigi’s Closet » Roberto Cavalli 2008 Beachwear

Silona's Home

An interesting site layout.

She has links for where she plays, where she works, how to find her, her current projects, and her favorite tools.

Check out Silona!

3 for one Monday

Deb writes at Punctuality Rules! where she talks about grammar, book reviews, writing, and living in general.

Otherwise? I spend the rest of my time playing with my dog, knitting, spinning (yarns of the fibery variety as well as the fictional type), baking . . . all of which gets documented over at my other blog, Chappysmom.

.......

I run a weekly meme on reading, too, called Booking Through Thursday.

Now, go check them out and one amongst them will perhaps be what you are looking for!

Pigs WILL Fly?

Gail Plowman and her team believe that anything's possibly where there's a will. (Wait, I think I got that proverb wrong; oh well...)

I discovered fellow-Aussie Gail's site last year after a tip-off. Pigs Will Fly is an independent, self-funded, self-help website with a can-do attitude that provides an e-bulletin, Australia-wide jobs list, small business, tourism & community information with strong environmental and justice themes.

Here's a taste of the interesting posts available:

• ‘100 Miles To The Gallon’ US Bid To Resurrect Electric Car
• Waverley Industries - Employer Of Disabled People - Seeks New Clients
• Sustainable Indigenous Land-Sea Management Policy?
• ‘Weak democracy’…citizens have no real role

You get the idea...

Gail's bio reads:

Gail Plowman is an ex Melbourne French teacher who in the late 80s, with husband Ian and their three sons, moved to Sale in country Victoria, to build the Marina Hotel at Loch Sport on the Gippsland Lakes. They went for one year, stayed for ten, and the boys, now young men, all identify as ‘country kids’ - loved the community spirit, country living and the grassroots enthusiasm and creativity!

Reluctant to leave, Gail has now settled back into Kangaroo Ground on the outskirts of Melbourne. Through the Loch Sport business and country tourism association promotional efforts, it was a natural progression to become involved in grassroots community and tourism development, helping to set up the Loch Sport Community House and a ‘local rag’ “The Loch Sport Link” along the way.

[She now works] closely with Local Government and local communities trying to work out how, together, the public and private sectors could achieve more for all the effort everyone puts in.

To Gail and her team, keep up the awesome work!

Pay them a visit folks.

The Public Speaking Blog

On Eric's About Page we find:

Eric Feng is the go-to guy if you want to learn how to impress your customers, employers and investors through public speaking. Known for his generous dose of humor and incisive coaching ability, Eric has successfully helped over 3000 students, executives and entrepreneurs to become confident and compelling speakers.

As a celebrated Toastmaster in Singapore, Eric has won a number of national level speech competitions. In 2005, he won the championship title for the Division Level Humorous Contest in Philadelphia, United States. He was also a two-time winner of the International Speech Competition at Division Level. As acknowledgment for this speaking achievements, The Straits Times featured him as one of the top 25 alternate achievers in Singapore.

Apart from speech coaching, Eric also heads a training company (Area 9 Training International) that conducts corporate programs at the regional level. The successes he has created at his company got him recently featured on Business Week as one of the top 25 young entrepreneurs in Asia.

We also find these titles amongst recent posts:

Here’s The Formula To Winning The Toastmasters’ International Speech Contest

How To Craft A Powerful Speech In 60 Seconds Using Borden’s Method

The Best Speeches Are Never Written…

Here’s The Other 69 Public Speaking Blogs For You To Check It Out

If you are interested in public speaking, Eric's site is one place on the MUST visit list!

5 for Friday

A Billy Collins trail "5 for Friday" featuring

1 - Word Lovers Unite!

If you are a word lover, you are in the right place. Think of this blog as a virtual bulletin board for words that surprise, inspire, connect, and resonate.

2 - A lesson learned

I am a first year teacher at an "alternative school" for at-risk students in Santa Cruz CA. I am examining and reflecting on my practice and my life around it.

3 - Constant Growing Amazement

Amazed LDS wife, mother to 5, grandmother to a growing herd. Loves life. If it is creative, I love to do it!

4 - The Borrowed Poem

Be patient that I address you in a poem. There is no other fit medium.

5 - MPL's Blog where the top read posts in the last couple of days were:

• More Like "Lame Monster"
• The Biggest and Baddest Bear Ever
• Required Reading Before Seeing Pirates of Caribbean 3
• Big Bad Texas Gator
• 8 Ways Pirates of Carribean steals from Return of the Jedi

Enjoy!

Me~Tronome

Continuing the Billy Collins trail, we find ourselves in the Windy City with Larry Sawyer:

Poetry, essays, and reviews have appeared in publications such as the Chicago Tribune, Court Green, Vanitas, MiPOesias, The Prague Literary Review, Coconut, Exquisite Corpse, Ygdrasil, the Miami Sun Post, and Ocho. Poetry was recently anthologized in The City Visible: Chicago Poetry for the New Century (Cracked Slab Books, 2007). Larry Sawyer curates the Myopic Poetry Reading Series in Wicker Park, Chicago and edits the online literary magazine www.milkmag.org.

Enjoy!

Merisi's Vienna For Beginners

Continuing the Billy Collins trail, we find ourselves in Vienna where:

All images are original works copyright of Merisi, and are protected under International Copyright laws. They are for online viewing purposes only and may not be copied, saved to a computer hard drive, reproduced or distributed without her express permission.

The images are delightful, wonderful, dramatic... help me come up with additional adjectives for this wonderful photo site.

Recent posts reveal the following headlines:

• Promise of Spring
• Bewitching
• Metamorphosis
• Elephant in a Porcelain Store?
• Walking from Liliengasse to St. Stephan's Cathedra...
• Women in Vienna

Enjoy!

Days of the Insane - Cat Marsters/Kate Johnson

One of those unique sites where you get multiple viewpoints from the same individual:

Cat writes naughty books about vampires and werewolves and fae, oh my. Kate writes nutty books about blonde people being stupid. They both live inside the head of the same person, most of the time.

She writes On Beauty:

Fast-forward twenty or so years, and we've turned a corner so sharp we're facing back the other way. The beautiful heroine is No More. In her place is a gal with a few extra pounds, hair that's unmanageable, and tiny little flat bosoms. She doesn't have the time or money for designer togs and expensive manicures (but she can still go out without make-up, so she can't be truly ugly). She's meant to be like you and me. She's meant to be normal. But the gorgeous blonde with the dainty hips and giant bazoombas hasn't gone away. She's still there...as the Evil One.

She is quite the published author, be sure to check out her book list on the left column. And if you really want to do her a favor, buy one and see if you want to buy another!

In the meantime, consider adding her site to your RSS Reader of choice

Bibliolatry

On the Billy Collins trail, we find Bibliolatry:

I believe reading is essential to living a good life. This blog is my attempt to share my favorite (and not so favorite) works. Recommendations and opinions are welcome.

Where you can find the following recent posts:

• The Longest Title EVER
• Do you read a poem a day?
• The First Annual Bibliolatry Awards

Enjoy!

5 for Friday

Today, 5 for Friday is really covered with one site, one email that you can subscribe to and receive daily. Each day this week, my email subscription has brought a gem of a find to me.

Visit the Very Short List

Today I heard about a new film made in Iceland whose trailer is intriguing with beautiful photography.

Thursday it was about Val Newton, the producer behind the low budget horror films at RKO in the 1940's.

Wednesday it was a video using stop motion

Tuesday it was folk singer Basia Bulat

and Monday the week began with love stories

click through to their home page and subscribe so you can begin next week with the Very Short List

Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering

Sarah writes in her profile:

If I'm not off hiding somewhere with a good book, chances are I'm chasing a toddler or a Jack Russell (or sleeping, because every mom can use a nap!). I found Prince Charming and married him, and now we enjoy the idiosyncrasies of life in an old farmhouse. Oh yeah, and we root for the Buckeyes. Every time.

And of her December reading summary:

December was a month for reading series, and for remembering old loves. I read Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books and I started the Traveling Pants series. Then, because that to-read shelf is overflowing, I read a book that I just can't buy my own copy of right now (it's unavailable on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble!), though I certainly will. I was pretty amused to notice that in 2006 I read 57 books, but this year, I only got up to 40 - could that be the Lemony Snicket books? Perhaps the fact that I haven't listened to audio this year? Maybe that I've been otherwise engaged? Hard telling, really. And it's not really a matter of much importance, that final number - it's just interesting to someone who loves lists - and when you love lists and you love books, well, a list of books is a natural thing!

And of a new service she wants to share

There's a new service that I just have to share with you, because I find, in my current state of life, that I just don't have time to properly review things and check things out the way I used to. (Gee, I wonder why?) Catholic Media Review is a place where a few of my favorite Catholic bloggers (Jean from Catholic Fire, Leticia at causa nostrae laetitiae and Cause of Our Joy , Julie at Happy Catholic, Christine at The World IMHO) are focusing on reviewing "each film in the light of Catholic teaching and to warn parents about films that will present a danger to our youth. We also want to encourage people to see those films which we believe will have a positive impact on our society. ...Wouldn't it be wonderful if we as Catholic Christians could make a major impact on the type of films that come out? We have this power simply by purchasing tickets to those films that are of excellent quality. You can count on us to keep you informed."

Having read this far, you might want to add Sarah's site to your RSS Reader of choice.

Primal Sneeze

The sun is in Uranus or somewhere like that, the moon is out at night because it can and the first snows of winter have fallen, 1cm deep in places, bringing the country to a standstill. We are fast approaching the feast day of St. Brigid, patron saint of wide open spaces, large garments and arts & crafts. Other than that it is January, this all means it is time to make your nominations for the Irish Blog Awards.

But act fast! The deadline is … I don’t know, sometime. No one knows. So maybe don’t act fast. Think long and hard about your selections. Remember lives are at stake here. Egos and Ids can be shattered. Super-egos too*. Despite the pleas of the Irish Dental Association teeth will be gnashed and not only Black Tie will be renting garments. Make an error of judgment and children, even babies, will be wrenched from their mothers’ arms and thrown to small, but very hungry, fluffy house pets. All this and worse could have happened last year when Sweary was passed over were it not for the timely intervention of some peace-loving associates of a well known construction and refuse magnate.

Continue reading as he scrolls through the categories and shares his thoughts on the nominations for Irish blogging awards.

His tag line is in Latin: Noli nothis permittere te terere

What does that translate as? Check out the answer here

Check out his FAQ section

Check out his blog of the week section. Maybe he'll consider join the Hitchhiker Team?

Don't spend too much time on his about page and consider adding this site to your RSS Reader of choice!