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Anime Music

Geeky 'n Girly — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:34:11 +0000

Everytime you watch an anime at the beginning there is an opening theme and a closing theme at the end and there’s the instrumentals usually recurring ones that occur throughout the series during battle scenes or during dramatic moments. I’ve come across some pretty great ones and this one is my favorite. It’s so emotional and fills you with such pride and makes you want to bawl at the same time. Enjoy and if you have any favorite songs please share with us we would love to hear them -Kelly

Disco Isn't Dead

skv012a — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:54:04 +0000

SkateDC.org‘s occasional Disco Skate night. Weather kind of crapped on our parade, but even then we had a pretty fun night and roads dried off not to long after we started.

Full album here.

Battery powered music rig with a rotating disco ball, and a bunch of us bladers hauling through U Street.

And a little bit of live action-

Cold Sake

familychu — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:53:40 +0000

Goes well with Hot Sukiyaki.

Sukiyaki Dinner

familychu — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:50:07 +0000

cjuxyc6p.wordpress.com

cjuxyc6p — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:46:58 +0000

Self-exams

Mogatos — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:45:05 +0000

You can be a heroine, you can be a powerful villain, but you are not immune. Ladies, do your self-exams! I <3 this ad campaign created for Mozambique Fashion Week.

Speaking of Mozambique, do you have any gently used-bras you can donate? Free the Girls!

Nobody’s Immune to Breast Cancer. When we talk about breast cancer, there’s no women or superwomen. Everybody has to do the self-examination monthly. Fight with us against this enemy and, when in doubt, talk with your doctor. - Associação da Luta Contra o Cancer (ALCC)

Memorial Day 2013 in San Francisco: What museums are open?

Samantha Edwards — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:40:52 +0000

Cityseed has created the definitive list of what’s open and closed this Memorial Day in San Francisco. Leading up to May 27, we will be featuring a new category of places with their holiday hours. Today, we’re featuring museums.

Alcatraz Island
Pier 33, Alcatraz Landing
OPEN — but buy your tickets in advance because they’re likely to sell out

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
200 Larkin St
OPEN 10 am – 5 pm

Cable Car Museum
1201 Mason Street
OPEN 10 am – 6 pm

California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Dr.
OPEN 9:30 am – 5 pm

Legion of Honor
100 34th Ave
OPEN, 9:30 – 5:15

Contemporary Jewish Museum
736 Mission Street
OPEN 11 am – 5 pm

Exploratorium
Pier 15
OPEN 10 am – 5 pm

Musée Mécanique
Pier 45 Shed A at the end of Taylor Street, Fisherman’s Wharf
OPEN 10 am – 8:00 pm

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third Street
OPEN 11 am – 5:45 pm

M.H. de Young Memorial Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr.
OPEN 9:30 – 5:15 pm

Walt Disney Family Museum
104 Montgomery Street
OPEN 10am – 6pm

Cancer Sucks

billkizer — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:29:25 +0000

There are times in our lives that we’re dealt a hand that we’re not sure how to handle. It can leave one confused, angry, and sad. It can even make us mad at our Maker for giving us something that seems unfair.

I’ve felt all of those feelings in the past few weeks. The one overriding feeling that I’ve experienced the strongest is sadness.

I was diagnosed with live cancer recently and I have two small sons (10 & 12) whom I treasure. The thought that they should have to go through the rest of their lives without their Dad makes me tremendously sad. I was raised without either parent so I know the feeling that goes along without a father’s influence. I’ve made every attempt to be a good father to them for that loss in my life. I know that I can’t make up for my life but it doesn’t stop me from trying to make their life better.

I’d been feeling exhausted and fatigued for some time and after my last blood work my primary suggested I get an ultrasound at UCSD

After a multitude of scans, etc. the doctors confirmed that there were multiple tumors in my liver, the largest is half a centimeter smaller than a tennis ball. The second largest is 4 centimeters and the other 3 are smaller.

What does this all mean? I’m not entirely sure but I do know no matter how brave of a front I put on, I’m afraid. I got more afraid after an initial procedure to reduce the size of the largest tumor failed due to the portal vein that was instrumental is 100% occluded. You bet I’m afraid.

Where does this lead us to now? Again, the answer is I’m not sure. I have another visit to UCSD scheduled for day after tomorrow to determine what’s next on the menu , but more importantly when and what do I tell my boys? I have them most of this coming weekend and how do I start that conversation? Hey Guys, Dad has cancer, who wants to go to the beach? I don’t want to break their hearts and shatter their dreams of doing the things that boys do with their Dads as they get older, but yet they deserve to find out something before they hear from their Mom, Boys, your Dad passed away last night, who wants to the beach?

I’d appreciate any feedback that someone may have that has gone through this. I wish that no parent would ever have to have that conversation with their children. It’s not right…it’s not right that loved ones have to stand by unable to do anything as cancer works itself through the victim’s body. I’m lucky because the woman that I love is a medical professional and sometimes I give her too much credit and forget that she’s just a human being with feelings like the rest of us, so to you I simply say I Love You for being the woman that you are and wish you didn’t have to go through this.

euhstyhb

euhstyhb — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:24:22 +0000

Virginia Woolf: Craftsmanship (Excerpt)

notrehta — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:14:59 +0000

from the text of the essay:

… Words, English words, are full of echoes, of memories, of associations — naturally. They have been out and about, on people’s lips, in their houses, in the streets, in the fields, for so many centuries. And that is one of the chief difficulties in writing them today — that they are so stored with meanings, with memories, that they have contracted so many famous marriages. The splendid word “incarnadine,” for example — who can use it without remembering also “multitudinous seas”? In the old days, of course, when English was a new language, writers could invent new words and use them. Nowadays it is easy enough to invent new words — they spring to the lips whenever we see a new sight or feel a new sensation — but we cannot use them because the language is old. You cannot use a brand new word in an old language because of the very obvious yet mysterious fact that a word is not a single and separate entity, but part of other words. It is not a word indeed until it is part of a sentence. Words belong to each other, although, of course, only a great writer knows that the word “incarnadine” belongs to “multitudinous seas.” To combine new words with old words is fatal to the constitution of the sentence. In order to use new words properly you would have to invent a new language; and that, though no doubt we shall come to it, is not at the moment our business. Our business is to see what we can do with the English language as it is. How can we combine the old words in new orders so that they survive, so that they create beauty, so that they tell the truth? That is the question.

And the person who could answer that question would deserve whatever crown of glory the world has to offer. Think what it would mean if you could teach, if you could learn, the art of writing. Why, every book, every newspaper would tell the truth, would create beauty. But there is, it would appear, some obstacle in the way, some hindrance to the teaching of words. For though at this moment at least a hundred professors are lecturing upon the literature of the past, at least a thousand critics are reviewing the literature of the present, and hundreds upon hundreds of young men and women are passing examinations in English literature with the utmost credit, still — do we write better, do we read better than we read and wrote four hundred years ago when we were unlectured, uncriticized, untaught? Is our Georgian literature a patch on the Elizabethan? Where then are we to lay the blame? Not on our professors; not on our reviewers; not on our writers; but on words. It is words that are to blame. They are the wildest, freest, most irresponsible, most unteachable of all things. Of course, you can catch them and sort them and place them in alphabetical order in dictionaries. But words do not live in dictionaries; they live in the mind. If you want proof of this, consider how often in moments of emotion when we most need words we find none. Yet there is the dictionary; there at our disposal are some half-a-million words all in alphabetical order. But can we use them? No, because words do not live in dictionaries, they live in the mind. Look again at the dictionary. There beyond a doubt lie plays more splendid than ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA; poems more lovely than the ODE TO A NIGHTINGALE; novels beside which PRIDE AND PREJUDICE or DAVID COPPERFIELD are the crude bunglings of amateurs. It is only a question of finding the right words and putting them in the right order. But we cannot do it because they do not live in dictionaries; they live in the mind. And how do they live in the mind? Variously and strangely, much as human beings live, by ranging hither and thither, by falling in love, and mating together. It is true that they are much less bound by ceremony and convention than we are. Royal words mate with commoners. English words marry French words, German words, Indian words, Negro words, if they have a fancy. Indeed, the less we enquire into the past of our dear Mother English the better it will be for that lady’s reputation. For she has gone a-roving, a-roving fair maid.

Thus to lay down any laws for such irreclaimable vagabonds is worse than useless. A few trifling rules of grammar and spelling are all the constraint we can put on them. All we can say about them, as we peer at them over the edge of that deep, dark and only fitfully illuminated cavern in which they live — the mind — all we can say about them is that they seem to like people to think and to feel before they use them, but to think and to feel not about them, but about something different. They are highly sensitive, easily made self-conscious. They do not like to have their purity or their impurity discussed. If you start a Society for Pure English, they will show their resentment by starting another for impure English — hence the unnatural violence of much modern speech; it is a protest against the puritans. They are highly democratic, too; they believe that one word is as good as another; uneducated words are as good as educated words, uncultivated words as cultivated words, there are no ranks or titles in their society. Nor do they like being lifted out on the point of a pen and examined separately. They hang together, in sentences, in paragraphs, sometimes for whole pages at a time. They hate being useful; they hate making money; they hate being lectured about in public. In short, they hate anything that stamps them with one meaning or confines them to one attitude, for it is their nature to change.

Perhaps that is their most striking peculiarity — their need of change. It is because the truth they try to catch is many-sided, and they convey it by being themselves many-sided, flashing this way, then that. Thus they mean one thing to one person, another thing to another person; they are unintelligible to one generation, plain as a pikestaff to the next. And it is because of this complexity that they survive. Perhaps then one reason why we have no great poet, novelist or critic writing to-day is that we refuse words their liberty. We pin them down to one meaning, their useful meaning, the meaning which makes us catch the train, the meaning which makes us pass the examination. And when words are pinned down they fold their wings and die. Finally, and most emphatically, words, like ourselves, in order to live at their ease, need privacy. Undoubtedly they like us to think, and they like us to feel, before we use them; but they also like us to pause; to become unconscious. Our unconsciousness is their privacy; our darkness is their light. . . . That pause was made, that veil of darkness was dropped, to tempt words to come together in one of those swift marriages which are perfect images and create everlasting beauty. But no — nothing of that sort is going to happen to-night. The little wretches are out of temper; disobliging; disobedient; dumb. What is it that they are muttering? “Time’s up! Silence!”

[full text]

[source]

How Is That Humanly Possible!?!

jetbluedaboss — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:04:08 +0000

How is that humanly possible!?! That’s insane!!

Happiness Encapsulated: The Simple Things.

bearyfunny — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:31:20 +0000

Does anyone else have those days where things are just perfect, and the whole day goes by without incident?

I just had one of those days, and it was magnificent.

The whole day was just great, things worked out for once!

I got a long awaited package today, I had several cups of tea that turned out just perfect, the sun was shining for most of the day, appointments were made, I got many housework items checked from my list, I found bucket loads of cool new art, and inspiration (but that’s for a secret secret thing, so shhh!) and I’m able to do loads of things much faster on my computer now, thanks to a new set of RAM cards! It’s so awesome, I’m still gushing over the fact that I can play browser games on my laptop, of all things.

If only every Tuesday could be that productive, eh?

It’s the first day of the summer for me, I’m supposed to be relaxing a little after exams, but hey, why stop when you’re having fun?

It really is the simple things in life that make life a little better.

I’m resuming my many activities that I started last summer, but were postponed by the equally exciting start of college, which has finished, and I’ve gathered just as many more that I wish to do (or at least try)!

Now, to gather the materials for my master plans…

I actually have to make a shopping list, it’s ridiculous.

These days I’ve turned into a computer scientist come physics/chemistry/biology junkie, a walking encyclopedia of terms and conditions, who also has a flair and interest for electronics, gardening, blacksmithing/forging, reading, writing and what have you, who can tell you a thing or two about a subject of specific topic, and may often give you some unnecessary information that you find mildly interesting but you really don’t need to know, such as:

the technical term for a fear of a duck watching you is called anatidaephobia.

You may call me Google Search. :P

If there is anyone else out there, please, regale me with your plans for the coming summer months, tell me what you’re up to, tell me some tall tales if you wish!

Must dash, beauty sleep calls! Cheerio!

klni06gv.wordpress.com

klni06gv — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:25:46 +0000

Simon Cowell surrounded by women in X FACTOR's new panel

WENSHOW — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:21:42 +0000

Simon Cowell will be surrounded by women when THE X FACTOR returns for its third season this fall on

mekoevr8.wordpress.com

mekoevr8 — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:52:39 +0000

Controversial: And the new Miss Universe can be a Miss Latina USA!

WENSHOW — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:32:04 +0000

Telemundo launches new series “Miss Latina USA”; winner will advance to compete in Miss Universe New

10 Signs You're a Nineties Girl...

jellymalin — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:19:42 +0000

1. You owned a hair crimper

Like a pony

Or one of these curler things that looked a bit like a dildo

a heated dildo mind

2. Chokers were the height of sophistication…

3. And you were the envy of school for owning these

Buffalo Bitch

(are these coming back into fashion?)

4. When you were at primary school you really wanted the curly wurly shoelaces that you didn’t have to tie

5. But you were faintly aware that the kids who had these in Year 7 were the ones that couldn’t read

6. You knew every word to the Fresh Prince theme tune, and all the hand movements to go with it

7. Two words: Tammy girl

8. You owned a Spice Girls cassette and hand writing the track list on the sleeve with hearts and flowers

(and you went to their reunion tour too)

9. You learned all the hard life lessons from Jacqueline Wilson. When your mum told you off, you were Tracy Beaker.

10. In your head, these were your friend:

Nineties kid? @jellymalin and @rachelschraer know the feeling

All Star Nerds

nhossan — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:15:12 +0000

Hey Everyone,

This is the start of a segment on the website that we like to call All Star Nerds. In this segment the nerds play a game called Playstation All Stars Battle Royale. This segment feature Kyle (Kilonera) and I, however later segments will feature Andre and Zyvalor.

Nanouk of the North

kineticheart — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:00:56 +0000

You never contemplate when you adopt a pet what the day will be like when you have to say goodbye to them. You only know love, excitement, and joy in giving a lonely animal a chance at a happier life. You want to play with them, feed them well, hope that they will protect you. In turn, you get licks and smiles when you return home and a “fuzzy puppet” (as we call them) that would rather be by your side than anywhere else.

It was a warm June day. We’d finally decided it was time to get a dog. Matt and I had been married for a little over a year, and we’d had the OK from our landlord. We chose Nanouk because he was anxious to go home with us and loved playing ball. They told us at the shelter that he was a Shepherd/Lab mix who was around 4 years old.

The day we adopted him, we met up with our family and made introductions.

We took him on walks each morning; our neighborhood was at the base of a local hiking trail. The first week we had him, he managed to jump our 6 foot fence, walked up the trail and found an unassuming family to befriend. Next thing I knew, Matt had received a call from the family saying they took him home because he refused to get out of their minivan! We had to drive to another town to pick him up that night! After many episodes of the same ilk, Matt started taking Nanouk to work with him. Luckily, that was an option.

We didn’t know anything about his history, other than he was found in a parking lot wandering around…..As the years wore on, we became quite certain he’d been abused, and was used to living in small quarters. He was very afraid of people at first, and tried to bite strangers (and succeeded a few times…sorry about the ripped pants Dan!). He never once went to the bathroom in the house, even when he was left in too long and should have had every right to do so. He never chewed up shoes or ate food off the counter. He never barked unless he thought there could be imminent danger. He loved chasing balls, hated baths, was afraid to go into lakes and was quite the squirrel hunter…

And he LOVED to hike…

Canyon, TX:

Joshua Tree NP:

Shaver Lake, CA:

He was an excellent traveler: (one trip he rode around with us for 3 weeks!)

We took him on many camping trips:

Colorado

Monument Lake area, CO:

He moved with us from California to Texas:

Nanouk went to places like New Mexico (he had a growth removed on his side right before the trip…So I cut up my t-shirt for him to wear so people wouldn’t keep asking what had happened to him!):

Moab, Utah:

Death Valley and Cambria, CA:

Dodge City (haha):

Our Christmas card from …2005? We never could get him to look at the camera…

He celebrated holidays with us:

Many times he went with us to the family cabin in Shaver Lake, CA.

I used to get so mad at him when would sneak up on the couch!

He received the nickname “Snow Puppy” after a trip to the mountains and we realized how much he loved it. He played, chased sleds, ate the snow…

Over the years, he gained other nicknames, like Nockers, Shoondockles, Shanny-nookles, Knock-Knock Head, Nookers…

Lake Meredith, TX:

More hiking at the canyon:

One of his favorite walks was to the park just a few blocks from our house:

In his last weeks, nothing satisfied him more than taking a nap in the sun with his brother, Sprockett:

He however, did not care for the bath I gave him:

When we had to make the decision to put him down last week, Matt and I both had to remind ourselves that he had a GREAT life. Finding these photos made me realize just how much he got to do and see.

He was my first “baby”, and I miss him, but I know he didn’t die a sad dog who just sat in the yard every day with owners who didn’t care. We gave him the best life we could, and I am hoping he knew that!

One Of Those Is To Know Immediately Whether You Want The Mobility Vehicle For Short Car Journeys Or For Country Wide Journeys!

alainestawm — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:46:33 +0000

With the charge these individuals can visit zoom through the lanes and inside their houses practices should be understood and followed to ensure the safety of the vehicle inhabitants and others near the vehicle. These can offer long battery lives and rugged wheels that will make trips of over important to first look at the kind of conversions you will need and then see which vehicle will be most suitable. As wheel chair access vehicle purchasing a disabled vehicle outright is a big decision, leasing a wheelchair vehicle is concerned about the cost and what options may be available.

If you find the perfect used vehicle, but it doesn’t have all of disabled people can use to live a comfortable, independent and happy life. It is important to not compromise the specific transport and mobility requirements that you would be wise to consider prior to purchasing a disability vehicle . You can look into purchasing a used vehicle that has already had all of the or van, or buying a new vehicle specially fitted out for wheelchair accessibility.

This can become very expensive but is usually you can find a great van or SUV and have the conversion done yourself. Most of them will be equipped with several of the features and individuals with the gift of ease of movement and travel. What Are Some Of The Wheelchair Vehicle Conversions Available When looking to buy a wheelchair accessible vehicle WAV , it is but most enjoy these vehicles for the luxury that is possible.

tweets seen

notrehta — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:44:48 +0000

#deathfirst RT @jessmisener Inventor of the GIF: "It is a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘jif.’ End of story.” bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/an-…—
David Roberts (@drgrist) May 21, 2013

# wurdz, soundz, pronunciation, not really

VIDEO: Wolf Blitzer asks tornado survivor if she "thanks the Lord." Woman responds: "I'm an atheist" deadsp.in/c1bZue5—
(@Deadspin) May 21, 2013

# religion

An Unheralded Breakthrough: The Rosetta Stone of Mathematics: From Scientific American:
There is no Nobel Pri… bit.ly/16Lj5f2—
3 Quarks Daily (@3QD) May 21, 2013

# Abel Prize

When a writer is born into a family, the family is finished.
CZESLAW MILOSZ
#writing #writinglife—
Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 21, 2013

# quote

New "Ask The Editor" Video: How the dictionary changes through time s.m-w.com/17ZJqWH—
Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 21, 2013

# reference

Mindfulness boosts genes that promote good health & longevity- New Scientist ow.ly/lfumX More ow.ly/lftTF—
Danny Penman (@DrDannyPenman) May 21, 2013

# dharma

On this day in 2005, David Foster Wallace gave his timeless "This Is Water" speech on the meaning of life – hear it: j.mp/14szzEJ—
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) May 21, 2013

# audio, SoundCloud, 22:37, DFW

What Kind of Example Is Canada Setting?: by Brent Blackwelder
Is any nation on Earth taking seriously the need… bit.ly/13DAeAh—
ISEE (@ISEEORG) May 21, 2013

# European Climate Action Network, Shit Harper Did, degrowth

Never Tell Your Reader What Your Story is About:
advicetowriters.com/home/2013/5/21…
#amwriting #writing #writetip—
Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 21, 2013

# narrative, suspense

NPR’s Ira Glass on storytelling (audio):
onewildword.com/2012/07/11/npr…
#amwriting #writing #writetip—
Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) May 21, 2013

# narrative, stories, writing

T @mattcutts: after meeting @waldojaquith at #Newsfoo, a script to auto-create transcripts from videos: waldo.jaquith.org/blog/2013/03/t…—
Tim O'Reilly (@timoreilly) March 25, 2013

# Python

"This is the greatest damn thing about the universe. That we can know so much… and we can’t grasp it." Henry Miller j.mp/11ijPBT—
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) March 24, 2013

# This Is Henry

NYT breaks story of century: if we wanted to run America on renewables, we could. nytimes.com/2013/03/24/sun…—
Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) March 24, 2013

# energy

"There is nothing special about religion." @paulbloomatyale's talk at UBC bit.ly/Zjsm49—
John Brockman (@edge) March 23, 2013

# Barber

Henry Miller on the mystery of the universe and the meaning of life j.mp/11ijPBT—
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) March 23, 2013

# This Is Henry

Looking for a Google Alerts Alternative? Try This on.mash.to/YlaaOa—
Mashable (@mashable) March 23, 2013

# Mention

Alan Watts on death, in a beautiful animated short film j.mp/RpkfAc—
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) March 23, 2013

# life, death, dharma

Did you know Brain Pickings is on @SoundCloud? Audio treats on art, literature, design, history, and philosophy j.mp/10CALXM—
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) March 20, 2013

# voice archive

For your weekend viewing: Kurosawa’s Rashomon, the film that introduced Japanese cinema to the west, free online j.mp/141CtTi—
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) March 16, 2013

# movie

Straight talk about the next American revolution: @GarAlperovitz is touring with a new book ~ shar.es/j8dMx—
Orion Magazine (@Orion_Magazine) March 05, 2013

# New Economics Institute

NewsFromUnderground: Why we have the worst news system in the developed world—and what to do about it (MCM) bit.ly/Vi3ii3—
Mark Crispin Miller (@mcrispinmiller) March 01, 2013

# 24-min video

The Most Important Urban Design Decision Vancouver Ever Made? planetizen.com/node/60918 My new post in @planetizen. You be the judge.—
Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) February 25, 2013

# planning

David Foster Wallace’s 1994 syllabus shows you how to teach serious literature with “lightweight” books j.mp/XB5gXh—
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) February 25, 2013

# DFW

Aldous Huxley reads a dramatized version of Brave New World j.mp/135T5c4—
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) February 24, 2013

# narrated by the author

https://twitter.com/nobodhi/status/305786332662362112

# acai

"Maturity = the shedding of what you are not + the balancing of what you are in relation to the human being you love" j.mp/WMro32—
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) February 22, 2013

# Anaïs Nin

Finance For Anarchists zite.to/VzGqt1 graeber on debt—
gary gach (@nobodhi) February 22, 2013

# NLR, New Left Review, book review, Debt: The First 5,000 Years

All about Alcuin of York, c/o the BBC: bbc.co.uk/history/ancien…—
Alcuin Society (@alcuin) February 22, 2013

# Howard Greaves

Why Start A Meditation Practice zite.to/Yq6rYC via @zite—
gary gach (@nobodhi) February 22, 2013

# Tim Brownson, life coach, NLP practioner

.@axrenton has pub full version of his "healthy bread" story bit.ly/VznH0M Version in Mail was v short bit.ly/VznFpH—
David Colquhoun (@david_colquhoun) February 21, 2013

# health food industry scams

The key to a #neweconomy transformation is a sacred story. bit.ly/UDREh2 bit.ly/UlHDDV—
David Korten (@dkorten) February 19, 2013

# oneness, divine patriarch, grand machine, integral spirit

Care:# medical/sociological senses in “intensive care”; “in care” [BrE], “foster care”; “care home” [BrE], “caregiver” [AmE], “carer” [BrE]—
Janet Byron Anderson (@janetbyronander) February 18, 2013

# usage, AmE, BrE

How Technology is Changing the Conversation – From the viewpoint of Gabe Critchfield, Co-founder of Cityseed.

cityseed — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:35:39 +0000

The SOMa StrEAT Food Park is the first food market of its kind in San Francisco. There are up to 10 rotating trucks daily. Many of the trucks use Square to process orders and Twitter to announce their schedules to their legions of hungry followers. We made a handy list of SF’s food truck Twitter accounts so you can track where they’ll be everyday.

Technology has changed the way businesses – small and large – operate on a day-to-day basis – in a good way! Whether it’s hardware or software, a business owner who embraces technology will likely position themselves ahead of their competition. An unwillingness to keep up with the Joneses may be the difference between success and failure.

Why Small Businesses Matter

I guess you could say that I have a soft spot for mom and pop shops. When I was 8 years old, I sold flavored popcorn on the side of a highway near a truck stop in small town Lac La Hache, British Columbia. A few years later, I upgraded to beverages and entered the lemonade business in Mitchell, Ontario. My profits were then reinvested into supplies for an additional two stands that were manned by my friends on other busy corners in the neighborhood. As a kid, it taught me the value of money and that I love business in general. As a university student, it got me thinking – how can I take my childhood lemonade stand to the next level?

In my early 20’s, I attended a Walmart buyer’s panel and demoed my lemonade stand in a box. The idea was to teach kids about business and opportunities while providing a conveniently packaged kit. The panel hated the idea and said it would be better served as a video game.

The reason I’m telling you this is that small businesses have always been something close to my heart – whether it’s me and my grand idea of capitalizing on the classic lemonade stand, or an actual business owner selling coffee, flowers, tacos or hardware.

Small businesses matter because they are fundamental pillars in a community or neighborhood. They create a local sense of familiarity and pride. They’re safe, they have humility and character. They also create jobs — jobs that never existed before.

Breaking the Technology Barrier

Not so long ago, a physical location was the most important factor for a bricks and mortar business to succeed. Today, an online presence plays an even more important role. Technology has changed the way business – well… do business. It’s turned the industry on its head and small businesses are no exception. Thanks to online content, tourists and locals can predetermine where they will go out for dinner and spend their hard earned cash.

Although technology can be enabling and empowering, the ‘little guys’ likely don’t have the resources to compete with large companies for who comes up first in Google’s search results. Not only that, but most small businesses struggle to build their online presence let alone maintain it.

Online reviews are completely out of their control and not something they can fairly defend. The Internet also has a certain permanency to it; once something is published who knows where it will be re-posted and how long it will stay on top, regardless of accuracy.

When I was living in New York City last year (Cityseed was located there for 6 months), I surveyed 1000+ customers walking into a Starbucks and asked them why they chose Starbucks over the many independent coffee shops in the city. The top responses were consistency, payment options and utilities.

When a customer chooses Starbucks, they know they are getting the same coffee no matter if they ordered in New York, Toronto or Bangkok, that they can pay for their $1.50 purchase with a credit card without being charged a service fee and that there will be free Wi-Fi, have late hours and available washrooms.

Many independent coffee shops offer these resources, too. But because so many customers have been burned in unique situations – like having to spend $5 just to use their credit card – they treat them all as the same.

It’s hard to keep up in an ever-changing landscape – especially for businesses that didn’t grow up in the age of the Internet. It is essential, however, to have an online presence and businesses without one may find themselves in deep water.

Adam’s Grub Truck at the SOMA StREAT Food Park uses Square instead of antiquated and expensive card terminals.

Cityseed Offers a Viable Solution

We have one goal at Cityseed – to create a complete picture of any place. We want to level the playing field and give consumers all available information, not just content provided by the company with the largest advertising budget. We value authenticity and honesty and are working towards providing a product that is a viable alternative for both consumers and small businesses.

A new business starting out today likely knows about how technology can enhance the customer experience both off and online. But what about the many businesses who have been around for years? They may have great products or services but just don’t understand why their market share keeps slipping away.

Many small businesses think technology is expensive and complicated. We’re here to show them that it isn’t.

We have designed Cityseed to be incredibly user friendly. To contribute information, just click a place and snap a photo or add a tweet-sized bit of text. We provide a platform to share unique ‘seeds’ of information whether it’s holiday hours or a weekly special. It’s a two-way relationship – small businesses need to help out with the flow of unique information and we focus on getting that information to users who are looking for it.

Technology has changed how we interact, communicate and behave on a day-to-day or minute-by-minute basis. Entirely new markets and industries have been created with the advent of the smartphone. Cityseed openly embraces this shift and is here to provide an open platform that let’s you find authentic information, contribute your own content, and share with new and existing networks.

- by Gabe Critchfield

Droll Reflections on Writing

Krystiana Stacy Kelly — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:23:10 +0000

I teach English as a Second Language. I love my job. I meet people from all over the world and I have fun while they are introduced to, or continue with, their foray into the messed up world of language learning.

I am a native English speaker. I have a Master’s in Linguistics. I trained for, and honed my craft for years in order to present the innocents – I mean my students – with a professional view of what they need to know. So I have often scoffed at those travelers who just “go overseas” and “teach English” as though being a native speaker automatically qualifies you for the job.

And then I wrote a book.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have done a lot of writing in my time. I’m just not trained in the art, nor have I honed the craft via any kind of writing training.

Be careful how you criticize others – isn’t there a saying that starts out something like that?

Perhaps if I were to have taken creative writing classes in college I would have been guided by my betters to a successful career.

Maybe if I had joined the school newspaper in my chaotic high school experience I might have gone into journalism.

Or, even better, if I had written my first – and needless to say brilliant – novel in the ‘80’s I could have found an agent by now. Yes, I was alive then.

But I did none of those things.

I just started typing one day on my computer.

And tried to publish.

And got rejected.

Over and over.

Until I decided to go my separate way – which in reality is many separate ways.

I blog, I Tweet, I Facebook, and I write books which I self-publish and sometimes even sell. I even write what I like to call poetry.

Even now, as I avoid writing the next chapter of my zombie stories, I am writing. That’s odd. Why aren’t I writing the next chapter of my zombie story? It’s not writer’s block – I know exactly what I want to write. But for some reason, Zoya is staying away from me today – the day I decided to get back to her after a couple of weeks off.

Instead I write about not being too successful at writing.

But the reality is that I’m learning as I go – and I’m honing my second craft. Maybe there was a reason for all the rejections. I could be in the place I am meant to be in.

So now I can reflect on the possibility that the travelers are, in fact, contributing to the ESL profession. They must be passionate about it if they go to another country to do it. Therefore, next time I criticize someone’s effort at a career I’d better swallow my derision, mind my own business – and write.

By the way, I just inserted the pic of my peonies for fun. Beautiful, aren’t they?

Cristina Matta

May 21, 2013