As always, thank you to all of our visitors and all the encouraging comments you left for us. For those of you who did, thank you for playing along with us.

Ok! Here’s catalyst number ninety:

What’s something that embarrasses you?

We’re overjoyed to have Katie Sokoler as this week’s Guest Artist.

I can’t even remember where I saw a link to Katie’s blog but I was instantly in love. Her whimsical style, her impeccable photography, all the color, her ideas, everything about Katie makes me happy.

And she has the most amazing ideas. I must do this amazing idea to my table at home, too. You will see from her photo for this week that Katie is incredible and I am really delighted to have her here.

If you haven’t seen Katie’s photography, make sure to visit her blog but only when you have a lot of free time because you will get lost in it instantly. I guarantee it.

Here is Katie’s art with this week’s catalyst. You can click on it to see a larger version.

Katie Says:

There are very few things that I find embarrassing but one of them is being caught in a windy storm and having my umbrella flip inside out. One moment I feel in complete control and then suddenly a strong gust of wind will get caught in my umbrella and pick my feet up off the ground. I look so silly being blown around and I have to struggle to get down! I think the next time this happens I will no longer struggle. Instead, I will close my eyes and fly away with the wind.

Technique Highlight:

I love to shoot with my 85mm 1.2 lens. It completely blurs the background and makes the colors all juicy and magical.

Thank you so much Katie; we’re so very very honored.

Here are some interpretations of the catalyst from members of our team.

Karen:

Karen Says:

I have a hard time accepting compliments. When someone says something nice, I am immediately embarrassed and start saying that it wasn’t that hard, or it’s not that great, or it looks better than it is. Anything. I’ll say anything to take the focus away from me and from the gratitude someone is showing me. One time, a friend to me to stop doing that and just to say thank you. I’m working on it.

Technique Highlight:

I wanted to create a bouquet of flowers (like someone presenting flowers to me.) with wire and beads. I learned this technique from the amazing Rebecca Sower. She inspires me endlessly.

Opal:

Opal Says:

As the years pass, I have found that there are few things that embarrass me. Maybe it has been a coming to terms within my skin…an acceptance of who I am and a bit of not caring what others may think. But there is one thing that makes me weep with embarrassment, and that is my memory. Forgetting where I put my glasses, or my cell phone, or the name of a neighbor, or my phone number….oh my goodness…where does it go? It is there one minute, and gone the next…only to come fluttering back in its own time.

My piece reflects the flight of such a memory…from the whole, to the fragmented parts…each held together with delicate threads of gold…more and more ‘tack downs’ to hold it in place as the memory dissipates….the key in the lower right hand corner is the key to remembering…or, the lost key. (If only I could remember what is was for.)

Lia:

Lia Says:

I hate talking about money – how much I earn, how I save, and especially how I spend. It’s an embarrassing and sensitive topic for me, one which I believe is too personal for casual talk. Which is why I do not approach the topic with others, not even a passing comment like “shopping again?” … and which I in turn do not accept from others.

Wendela:

Wendela Says:

Oohh when I’ve not much time for my kids….when I have to work a
lot, 3 days a week or more, or busy with other things…and my kids are alone or with a babysitter…My heart is crying a little…

This tag is on my week planner, and reminds me to make time for my kids when I’m busy with my work… happy time with my kids…I love them so much!!

Anita:

Anita Says:

I have such a hard time taking a compliment. I always have. I’m working on it though. It’s an ongoing thing. It just has always felt so awkward to me.

Rachel:

Journaling Reads:

I’m like an oval peg trying to fit into a round hole. I either fit with empty spaces, or I just can’t quite get through. And I am not even cliché enough to be a square trying to fit into that circle. My whole life I have felt like I didn’t quite fit in anywhere. Drifting back & forth between extremes… never quite feeling like I belonged in any group to be found, I’ve learned that I am just not quite a member of anything, at least 100%. I don’t want to want to belong, I don’t want to care. It’s embarrassing. But I do care. More than I care to admit.

Larissa:

Larissa Says:

I feel embarrassed when people sing “Happy Birthday” to me, so I decided to make myself a fool´s hat. First, I drew and painted with watercolor the fool´s face and torso. Next, I cut the cone shape and glue it and finished by adding my festive embellishments.

Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “What’s something that embarrasses you?” I urge you to give it a try. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.

Leave us comments with your work so we can share in your creative therapy, too. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group.

Remember, this is not a competition. If your art makes you feel even a bit better at the end, you’ve won.

Until next week, enjoy each and every moment.

Ein sehr gutes Einstiegsbeispiel für Adobe Flash Catalyst:

http://createordie.de/cod/artikel/Flash-Catalyst-2575.html

Nachdem man das Beispiel durchgespielt hat, versteht man auch warum die vielversprechende Software es noch nicht in die Ladenregale geschafft hat. Das Setzen der Eigenschaften der Komponenten funktionert noch nicht.

Gelangt man zum letzten Schritt, bei dem man “setProperty” setzen möchte um das mittlere Bild bei den Transitions vom 1. bis zum 3. Bild und umgehehrt auszublenden, stellt man fest dass eine BETA Software eben mal Mängel hat. Durch Klicken auf “Add Action” legt man zwar eine Aktion an, aber dann kann man die Properties im Property-Reiter nicht bearbeiten. Dieses Problem lässt sich durch folgende Code-Modifizierung (z.B. im Flash Builder) beheben.

Innerhalb der Transitions:  fromState=”Page3″ toState=”Page1″ und fromState=”Page1″ toState=”Page3″ fügt man noch eine Instanz der “Parallel  – Klasse” ein. Durch den Fade – Effekt kann man beispielsweise das mittlere Bild transparent schalten. Das “autoReverse” property macht dies rückgängig, sobald man zu einem anderen “State” wechselt.

Adobe Flash Catalyst

Ein sehr gutes Einstiegsbeispiel für Adobe Flash Catalyst:

http://createordie.de/cod/artikel/Flash-Catalyst-2575.html

Nachdem man das Beispiel durchgespielt hat, versteht man auch warum die vielversprechende Software es noch nicht in die Ladenregale geschafft hat. Das Setzen der Eigenschaften der Komponenten funktionert noch nicht.

Gelangt man zum letzten Schritt, bei dem man “setProperty” setzen möchte um das mittlere Bild bei den Transitions vom 1. bis zum 3. Bild und umgehehrt auszublenden, stellt man fest dass eine BETA Software eben mal Mängel hat. Durch Klicken auf “Add Action” legt man zwar eine Aktion an, aber dann kann man die Properties im Property-Reiter nicht bearbeiten. Dieses Problem lässt sich durch folgende Code-Modifizierung (z.B. im Flash Builder) beheben.

Innerhalb der Transitions:  fromState=”Page3″ toState=”Page1″ und fromState=”Page1″ toState=”Page3″ fügt man noch eine Instanz der “Parallel  – Klasse” ein. Durch den Fade – Effekt kann man beispielsweise das mittlere Bild transparent schalten. Das “autoReverse” property macht dies rückgängig, sobald man zu einem anderen “State” wechselt.

by @el__PAto

El 16 de noviembre del 2009 se llevo acabo en la Universidad Iberoamericana, el Latin Flash Tour. El primer dia se impartieron talleres y conferencias divididos por Área : Diseño Multimedia, Desarrollo, WorkFlows y Tips & Tricks.

La organización estuvo a cargo de Activ,Adobe e Influxis. Quisiera mencionar que Activ es un Agencia que se dedica principalmente a la capacitación y esta certificada por Adobe y a Edgar Parada que es parte de esta y tuvo mucho que ver con la organización del evento, e Influxis que fue patrocinadora de los grandes evangelistas de Adobe que nos visitaron, esta empresa se dedica principalmente al Host de video por Flash Media Server y principal partner de Adobe en ese ramo.

Ahora entrar en materia de las conferencias en el Area de Diseño multimedia se abarcaron temas como Flash Catalyst, efectos con After Effect, Actionscript 3 para animadores,por mencionar algunos.
En el área de desarrollo se tomaron en cuenta temas de Flash sobre mobiles, Flex, Flash Media server y Air.

En el area de WorkFlows se manejo un tema muy interesante “Integracion de la plataforma Flash con datos” , de la cual se observo la potencia de Flex sobre el manejo de datos sobre DashBoard; la integracion de herramientas de Diseño con Flash, aunque no es mi área lo presentado por Mariana Cabral (@marianacabralMX), se me hizo realmente practico y util, tan digerible que hasta yo siendo programador lo entendi a la perfección, menciono los puentes que podemos utilizar para optimizar Photosho, Illustrator, After Effects con Flash. Despues vino el tema de “Flash Player Internals”, un tema realmente interesante para aquellos que somos desarrolladores, se menciono la forma de como optimizar nuestra aplicacion flash en funcion del Flash Player y tambien menciono algunas de las mejoras que tendra el Flash Player 10.1 todo a cargo de Alberto González (@albertx).

En el area de Tips & Tricks, hubo una parte que se hablo de Redes Sociales, mas concretamente el uso del Api de Facebook para Flash, de lo cual se menciono lo mas basico.

The recession has become the catalyst for a new era in business focusing on greater collaboration, according to the CBI…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: are we in a recession. For a different topic see here. The blog is also related to: recession fears.

As always, thank you to all of our visitors and all the encouraging comments you left for us. For those of you who did, thank you for playing along with us.

Ok! Here’s catalyst number eighty-nine:

Tell us about a time when you realized you had the answer to something you were struggling with where you least expected.

We’re thrilled to have Denise Lynnette Andrade as this week’s Guest Artist.

Denise is another photographer whose work speaks to my soul and I am so delighted to have her here. Here’s a short bio for Denise:

Denise is a photographer and writer living in Southern California with her husband, son and two kitties. Her fine art photography style is very vintage and ethereal, capturing artists as their most alluring selves. Her writing is straight from the deepest parts of her soul. She is a bohemian, a tree hugger, an inspirer of authenticity and a gentle warrior in all the spaces she communes with in life.

If you haven’t seen Denise’s photography, make sure to visit her photography site, her website and blog and you too will see that Denise is one of those rare artists whose photos and words speak to your soul.

Here is Denise’s art with this week’s catalyst. You can click on them to see larger versions. Denise’s words this week are about her son and a specific period of time in her life and about looking within. So this week, she has three photographs for you. One of her taken during that time, one of her son’s and one recent photo of Elizabeth MacCrellish (creator of Squam Art Workshops) whom she believes is a wonderful emulation of someone feeling connected to their own voice and hushing out other voices that don’t resonate with them. Photos are presented in that order.

Denise Says:

Perhaps because it is still so fresh in my mind and heart, I would say it was during my fertility journey where I discovered I had the answers within. I think we all have the answers deep within the workings of our hearts if we are able to clear out the clutter, the muck, the gremlins, the voices that are not ours. It is a matter of distinguishing which voices are ours and which are not.

I believe my inner voice became more clear during my fertility journey mainly because of the tremendous amount of advice or opinions that came into my path (or our path…as it was my husband’s too) and I had no choice at one point but to find my center in the midst of chaos. My husband and I had gone through both Western and Eastern treatments and what we learned to do after each appointment (a few years into it) was to check in with our hearts…”does this feel peaceful? do we believe we’re not fertile? why am i feeling anxious about this? what is so unsettling? do i really believe my eggs are not healthy?”

We learned that it was okay to not agree with the “experts” that fell into our path if it didn’t feel right to us. It was okay to say no and move forward with something that resonated with our values and gentle way of walking in our worlds.

We went into this journey with very different expectations and after almost five years, our expectations melted away and we learned to not give away our power so easily and we also learned that our child was so near, as soon as we opened our hearts to the concept that what was most important was parenting a child, not so much getting pregnant and birthing one. This is when adoption came into our path.

The answers were there and once we truly listened without judgment, it all flowed so beautifully.

Thank you so much Denise; we’re so very very honored.

Alexis:

Journaling Reads:

For each ecstatic instant

We must an anguish pay

In keen and quivering ratio

To the ecstasy.

For each beloved hour

Sharp pittances of years,

Bitter contested farthings

And coffers heaped with tears.

-Emily Dickinson

Alexis Says:

Lately, I’ve been evaluating the choices I’ve made in my life and the reasons guiding those choices. I’ve wondered why certain things have happened the way they have. As I came to grips with the fact that there really are no absolute answers to my questions, I came across this poem by Emily Dickinson. I’ve always loved her poetry, but never had the connection I experienced after reading this particular one again. Although it doesn’t provide a definitive answer to my ponderings, it really helped me to make more sense of the events in my life.

Amy:

Amy Says:

Our struggles are not always life-sized in scope. Something I have wanted to do for about a year is learn to free-form quilt. When I first tried it, however, I found that it wasn’t something that was instinctive for me. Disheartened by my early attempts and frustrated by what felt like a lack of fluidity to my movements (and to the resulting quilted line), I haven’t practiced much or often. Determined, I started trying again recently. I have heard a friend tell me often that I have to think of the needle as my pen, but my line continued to be more angular and stilted than I wanted. But then it clicked. Suddenly I felt the difference when my arms worked together and took control, when I stopped trying to have the pen do the work… and realized I had to do the work with the paper. It was in explaining the process to my son, a young artist, that I really “understood” the difference… and why the arms mattered. The whole picture came into shape. I’m still practicing, but I’m on the right track now. The answer was there… I just had to look at the problem differently.

Katie:

Katie Says:

I have always struggled with what I wanted to do for a career. When I was 15 I worked for a lady that had a home crafting business. I worked in her garage and painted, glued, tied bows and packaged. I did that for 2 years. I used to design patterns for my Mom’s wood working business and also did craft shows with her.

I became a parent at age 19 so I didn’t get a lot of “finding me” time. I just had to jump into a job to make ends meet. I worked at a department store in the fashion jewelry department. I loved to do the display cases and used to bring in props from home and I would spend hours making beautiful displays. Then I got hired by one of the manufacturers that made the jewelry. They had seem my cases on a store walk through and were impressed with my work. I did that for 7 years and loved it. I traveled around to all the malls in San Diego and merchandised their product.

Fast forward. I met my husband, got married, had 2 little girls and have became a stay at home Mom for the last 11 years (dabbling in all kinds of arts and crafts that I sold on ebay and at shows). All the while the career question has haunted me. What will I do, who will I become? I try to think of jobs that have flexibility so I can be there for my family, I try to think of jobs that aren’t too physically strenuous as I have some medical conditions and I try to think of jobs that won’t squash my creativity. I’m almost 40 and I cannot figure out what to do. Many sleepless nights, many hours researching potential jobs, many doubts….and then one day as I sat in my studio looking around at all my stuff I realized something.

Where else could I have a flexible schedule? A job where if the school nurse calls and says my daughter is sick that I can say, “I’ll be there in 5 minutes”. Where else can I have a job that is not too physically hard, I can sit and stand at will and if I need to take a break, I can? Where else can I find a job that will allow me to be as creative as I want to be? Right here, that’s where.

The answer has been in front of me the whole time. All these years. l have it right here. I am sitting in it right now as I type this. This is where I need to work. Right here at home. Luckily, I don’t require a lot of money. I am willing to dye my own hair and trim my own bangs. So, for right now I just need to get it started. Figure it out. Take step one. I am just glad that I have figured out that my career is in my own hands. Pun intended.

My piece of work signifies this realization. It’s “Homemade with Love” which is exactly what everything I make is. I put my whole heart into it. I want to work at home, creating with my heart and my hands. I don’t know where this will take me but I have drive and spirit and Thank God a husband whose job comes along with medical insurance!

Karen:

Karen Says:

As I’ve written about several times before, in 2002, I quit my job on Wall St. to become a teacher for Teach for America. Relatively soon after I began teaching, I started having serious doubts about my ability to do this job justice. It was a very turbulent time in my life and I still struggle with it from time to time.

One of the things I did at the time was to take a course in the hopes that it would help me decide whether I was ready to quit the job or not. At the end of this intensive three day course, I had many answers to many other issues in my life but I still didn’t know if I should walk away.

A few weeks later, I was telling someone why I had originally chosen to go into the computer field (so I could work from home one day when I had kids) and then why I had quit the wall street career for a more altruistic one (so that what I did with my time away from my kids would be for a worthwhile cause). In talking to this person, I realized that I had made many significant decisions in my life on behalf of children I didn’t yet have. I also recognized that I had managed to setup my life such that I was working way too many hours to actually make room to have any kids.

As soon as I realized this, I quit my job, encouraged my unhappy husband to do the same (and pursue his dreams) and we moved across the country to setup a new life and within a year of moving we were expecting our first baby. I know that if it weren’t for the course, and for the struggles with my teaching job, I might have never stepped back enough to observe my life and notice how misaligned it was with my priorities.

Sometimes an unfortunate circumstance can be the catalyst to something wonderful and amazing.

Severine:

Severine Says:

Usually I find the answers to questions I can ask from me in a walk in nature and thinking of nothing. I’ve been thinking about this catalyst for over a week and I did not really have an answer or idea to put it on paper and also ran on Friday and I came upon these mushrooms alone beside the road with beautiful reds and oranges and I thought well here is my idea … I can say that it is in the nature that I find solutions or answers to my questions when I can walk alone in thinking of nothing.

In French:

Généralement je trouve les réponses aux questions que je peux me poser en allant me balader dans la nature et en ne pensant à rien. Ca fait plus d’une semaine que je réfléchis à ce Catalyst auquel je ne trouvais pas vraiment de réponse ni d’idée pour la mettre sur papier d’ailleurs et vendredi en allant courir je tombe sur ces champignons tout seul au bord de la route avec de belles couleurs rouges orangés et là je me suis dit bien là voilà mon idée … Je peux donc dire que c’est dans la nature que me viennent les solutions ou réponses à mes interrogations, quand je peux me balader tranquille en ne pensant à rien.

Rachel:

Rachel Says:

I created this canvas for this prompt because in looking back, the times I had the answers from where I least expected them has been when I was too busy looking outward to everyone and everything else to see that I had them all along, in myself, my heart. I just had to look there to find them. And find the courage and strength to act on the answers that I had all along.

Larissa:

Larissa Says:

I struggle a lot while working with my deadlines to make a scrapbooking task. Sometimes, an artistic work is so hard to be elaborated that I think it would be better to give it up. When that happens I realize there’s always an alternative, something in which I haven’t thought of before. I add an extra layer, leave it for the next day or just relax. When I do so, I find the answer I was looking for. Not so surprisingly, the answer is actually simple and it was already in my arsenal of possibilities.

For this catalyst, I wanted to let my emotions flow, without questioning much. I decided to work the circus theme. My page layout is called “Welcome to my life!” Take a sit, choose a role…

It shows the image of a pierrot. And it is weitten: “Pierrot was supposed to be very intelligent, very emotional and usually a very unhappy clown who hid his true feelings under a comic mask”.

Lori:

Lori Says:

The most difficult decision I have ever made was whether or not to send my 5 year-old to Kindergarten. We have two amazing schools in my town and are able to chose where we send our children, so I went to both orientations. The first one made me feel more conflicted and I expected the same from the second. Amazingly, it was at the second orientation that the light went on and I realized I needed to wait to send him. I never expected to feel such peace after leaving that orientation, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I’m so grateful I held him back one year. He is flourishing in school and is loving every second of it.

Journaling Reads:

Deciding to get married, buy a house and have a baby were nothing to deciding whether or not to send you to Kindergarten. This was the hardest decision I have ever made. I held you back one year and I am so grateful I did.

Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “Tell us about a time when you realized you had the answer to something you were struggling with where you least expected.” I urge you to give it a try. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.

Leave us comments with your work so we can share in your creative therapy, too. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group.

Remember, this is not a competition. If your art makes you feel even a bit better at the end, you’ve won.

Until next week, enjoy each and every moment.

1. The first Clash of the Titans trailer. I love movies like this.
2. John Piper on When you don’t want to do what you ought to do.
3. Is your church’s vision too small? I hope this can never be said of Revolution.
4. Two Interviews with Matt Chander:  Church planting, preaching and leadership & Celebrity, diversity & burnout.
5. Download a free chapter from Mark Batterson’s new book Primal. This book is going to be awesome, waiting for my copy, any day now.
6. Respecting doubts: An interview with Tim Keller. There is so much in here, so many great points.
7. Kevin DeYoung on Be yourself when you preach.

A key theme we’ve returned to over and over in this blog is the idea that the corporate model for communications is rapidly changing from one where communications leaders keep tight control of the message their company is putting out to a model where these same folks are instead the catalyst for the ensuring the brand message is delivered well– whether by them, by other employees, or by brand evangelists.

This communicator has the right idea. Conduct a symphony of communications rather than trying to play every instrument yourself.

Control to catalyst.

It’s happening whether we like it or not. So it is a good time to heed my friend Tom Rabon’s advice: “the train can’t run you over if you’re on it.”

How do you get on board? I keep coming back to the fabulous report by the Arthur W. Page Society, The Authentic Enterprise, which lays out this change in great detail. If you are in the communications field and haven’t read it, please do. It’ll help.

As formal communications channels like advertising and press releases become less relevant and things like social media and reputational capital become more relevant, marketing folks are simply going to have to make changes to where they put their money and effort if they want to continue to be successful.

A new study out today from The CMO Club and Hill & Knowlton (and reported on CMO.com) suggests Chief Marketing Officers are still running behind in moving their marketing dollars from the old model to the new one. According to the study, 84% of these folks spend less than 10% of their budgets on social media and non-traditional communications channels, and over 1/2 of them spend 5% or less.

That means they are still spending a lot of money on the old tools of the trade.

A quote from the CMO.com story:

“Marketing used to be a linear process, with a discussion flowing from the CMO to the target audience. In today’s digital age, communication has evolved into a new model that requires active listening and engaging in numerous conversations,” said Pete Krainik, CEO, The CMO Club. “CMOs are finding the additions to the job more challenging and the need to lead beyond the marketing department is critical for their success.”

Absolutely.

In terms of leading beyond the marketing department, being the brand message catalyst rather than controller, the study had some good data about how supportive most marketing departments are of internal and external communicators beyond themselves (the full report is here).

Only about 30% of companies surveyed have developed a social media policy that is widely adhered to, while almost 50% either don’t have a policy or are still developing one. About 2/3 of the companies surveyed encourage social media participation by evangelists in some way, while the other 1/3 do not encourage it or experiment “a little” with enabling commentary from outsiders.

Not great, but overall the data is reasonably encouraging regarding the move from control to catalyst on the experimentation side. Lots of folks are testing loosening the reins on brand message delivery. But the money to really support these programs hasn’t followed yet.

I don’t know about you, but my guess is this survey will look very different in a couple of years.

He was the guy who tried to dance into the End Zone in Super Bowl 27 and, like a goofball, got the ball knocked out of his hand inches from the line by Don Beebe. Anyone remember? Of course!! Leon Lett. That wasn’t his only slip-up–remember when he tried to grab the ball after a blocked field goal attempt against the Dolphins on Thanksgiving in 1993? The Cowboys lost that one, thanks to Lett.

Here’s the point: Lett was probably one of the best football players in the history of the sport–2 time Pro Bowler and 3 time Super Bowl winner. But Leon Lett will forever be remembered as the master of the football blunder.

So what will you be remembered for?

Generational theory acknowledges that the Baby Boomers have flexed their muscle so much over time that Generation X has responded with a generally laid-back, almost anti-power attitude. Conversely, Millennials are shaping up to excercise even more “power” than the Boomers, using technology and information-sharing to further globalize culture and change the world.

So it seems that Generation X is becoming the piece of bologna in a generational sandwich–sufficient to be a place-holder, but not enough meat to make things…tasty. The fact is that Generation X has the capacity and the position to assert massive influence, but despite all the talent, our unmemorable posture of malaise threatens to relegate us to the moniker “the Slacker Generation”–we are becoming the Leon Lett of modern human history.

How can we, Generation X, use our unique place in time, our talent, and our role in the Great Commission to effect change in the world?

We must find ways of becoming the generational catalyst. With the Boomers in the twilight of their influence and Gen Y charging over the horizon, Xers have an unprecedented opportunity to take the best of–and the lessons learned from–the Boomer’s reign and pass it on to the next generation. The key to this role is mentorship. Whether you’re reading this as an Xer or Millennial, I am challenging you to find someone from the generation older than you and proposition them to mentor you. If you’re a Boomer, select an Xer in your life to pour into–one who will turn around and invest in someone younger. Xers… you got it. Find a Millennial to coach. Position yourself as the hinge-pin between the two.

A friend said to me once (I think he was quoting someone else), “Everyone needs a Paul, everyone needs a Baranbas and everyone needs a Timothy. Can you imagine if we became the synapse that carried the greatness and filtered the mistakes for the future church? Can you imagine the impact that would have on the Kingdom of God? It’s amazing to think about…

What are you doing to become the generational catalyst? What have you seen work? What doesn’t work? Who is doing it better than anyone you know?

Gen X will leave it’s mark on history. It’s up to us and the choices we make to determine what that will look like. Leon Lett? Bologna.

Já me perguntaram qual o motivo para eu praticamente não publicar material recente do ST (notícias, entrevistas, vídeos etc). Primeiramente, é bom deixar claro que continuo gostando da banda em seus dias atuais. Mas prefiro fuçar no que não está disponível, não foi bem explicado, ninguém deu muita atenção. É por aí…

Feito o esclarecimento,  vou então contrariar a “regra”. Videos de um show recentíssimo do Suicidal, realizado no último sábado, dia 14, no clube Catalyst, em Santa Cruz, California. Dica do camarada Marcelo Gomes.

Ainda não tinha visto o batera Erico Moore em ação. O cara é um monstro mesmo, além de uma figuraça. Paradão na banqueta, Moore mexe os braços como um polvo. Destaque para ele saindo de trás da bandeira (sensacional) com a caveira da capa de Come Alive ao entrar no palco.

Posto aqui dois vídeos. No primeiro, a abetura tradicional, com You Can’t Bring Me Down.  E o segundo, da minha música preferida, Subliminal. Tempo mais do que suficiente para reparar como o ST está mais vivo do que nunca.

Quem quiser conferir mais dessa apresentação do ST fresquinha, basta seguir os links abaixo:

Ain’t Gonna Take It

War Inside My Head

Send Me Your Money

Come Alive

Possessed To Skate

Feel Like Shit… Deja Vu

Cyco Vision

I Saw Your Mommy

BÔNUS

Indicado nos comentários pelo xará André Fiscina, segue um link para baixar um show do ST na Espanha, também de 2009, puxado do blog DarkBattM14’s Videos.

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This week I (re)started using Catalyst.

I used Catalyst for a project around 2003-4, and can’t really remember anything.

At the time I used Tangram as ORM, but now I’m starting with DBIx::Class (mainly because docs are using that and I want to get on coding without need to check the docs as fast as possible).

Today, after fiddling yesterday with models, controllers and views with mock-up data for a while to get around the idea of Catalyst’s MVC perlish implementation I started developing the real project and stumbled upon encodings.

As I live in Japan, the DB is encoded in Shift-JIS, and HTML content must also be served using that encoding.

I found C::P::Charsets::Japanese, but all it does is simply change the encode of the response (to whatever you set as “in” -code, views, etc-, and “out” encodings). But is not really optimal, since the DB data is “in”, and already in SJIS.

Simply feeding the views with the DB data turns it into garbage. And I usually have the templates in SJIS.

Maybe when I retrieve data I must create a recordset what encodes it to utf to use it internally?
And user POST/GET data must be also re-encoded?

Hmm…
still not sure what the right approach is.

marco casario catalyst eseminar https://admin.emea.adobe.acrobat.com/_a203414349/p52638645/

swiss in 20 miuntes video http://www.firemoss.com/index.cfm/2009/10/21/Swiz-in-20-minutes-video–byebye-boilerplate

coldfusion 9 curse http://gregsramblings.com/cf9/

Some time ago we explored the idea of making pressure sensitive films from reactive acrylate functional monomers and liquid resins. These are basically plastisols. The process is very simple on a lab scale. Mix a resin/monomer blend with a high molecular weight polymer powder and cast a film from the still liquid mixture. The mixture will relatively quickly convert to a solid with the degree of pressure sensitivity dependent on the type and amount of polymer.  A PEGDMA type monomer can be converted to a solid with very low levels(8-10%) of poly(oxyethylene) polymer(PEO) of very high molecular weight. THe Polyox polymers are available with molecular weights in the millions. Unfortunately the PEO is very water-soluble and the resultant films will absorb moisture from the air and change properties very quickly. Polymethylmethacrylate polymers take a higher level to get a solid film (15-30%) but are much more pressure sensitive and do not change properties upon moisture exposure. These are available under the trade name Degalan, among others.

THe problems we were not able to overcome was generating the high cured adhesive strengths we would get with the unmodified adhesive. Apparently, allow the films were very sticky, the same degree of surface wetting was not achieved so although the cured films had similar properties, the adhesive strengths were much lower. For an unmodified PEGDMA adhesive we would expect 2500 psi on either glass or steel. With the polymer modified adhesive film it was difficult to achieve 1000 psi. They required the two surfaces to be primed with a copper based accelerator. An amine cure system could also be used with an adhesive formulated for it.

THe films themselves were quite stable- after a year on the release liner backing the film still had excellent pressure sensitivity and produced adhesive results similar to the initial results obtained.  Unfortunately we were never able to make a useful product from these materials.

In a bit, Nate Berry and I are heading to Baltimore for Catalyst One Day. We went to Catalyst this year, which was my first encounter with the leadership beast, and I am excited to hear from Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel about momentum.

Rumor has it that these two guys know a thing or two about momentum, so it should be a good learning experience.

My predictions for what they will be wearing:

Andy in a blue tucked in button down with jeans.

Craig with a well-pressed black button-down with the flap that covers the buttons, untucked with jeans.

As always, thank you to all of our visitors and all the encouraging comments you left for us. For those of you who did, thank you for playing along with us.

Ok! Here’s catalyst number eighty-eight:

What’s the best relationship you’ve had so far? It can be a romantic one, a family member, or a friendship. Why is it so special?

We’re thrilled to have Tracey Clark as this week’s Guest Artist.

When I started creative therapy, almost two years ago, my goal had always been to represent all mediums of art. While we have been lucky enough to have a lot of scrapbookers and mixed media artists both on our team and as guests, there are many mediums of art that have been under represented. Photography is one of them.

I’ve asked several photographers to join our team and was delighted when Michelle finally agreed. I’ve also asked several photographers to guest for us and am really happy to finally have a few lined up. It’s only appropriate that we start with Tracey who not only takes incredibly touching photographs that speak both to your soul and heart, but she also founded shutter sisters which is a collaborative photo blog that celebrates women with a passion for photography. Shutter sisters marries images and words beautifully and gives you food for thought and food for your soul daily.

If you haven’t seen Tracey’s photography, make sure to visit her blog where you can get a sneak at the amazing person she is.

Here is Tracey’s art with this week’s catalyst. You can click on it to see a larger version.

Tracey Says:

When I was asked to do this post — months ago — I was delighted by my own potential. Excited for the possibilities. What was the most important relationship of my life? My first thought was my children. To have a platform to celebrate them individually as well as us together in our complicated yet beautiful web of mother and daughters made me reels with possibilities. And to speak of this relationship with art? Oh, it seemed too good to be true. Deep, rich, lovely.

My mind pulsed with the visceral artist’s blood that runs through me. Photography, collage, paint, paper. Messy, thick, colorful, sticky, tangible. The art and my love for my daughters built up on canvas as an ode to who they are, of what they mean to me. Layers of medium would symbolize our history together, layers of emotion deep and intense. I gained even more momentum when I was inspired by some sister friends (Kelly Rae Roberts as our fearless leader) on a retreat where we got our hands dirty in the celebration of art and friendship and love. Yes, I knew what I wanted to create long before I had it on the canvas.

And then life got in the way. I got busy. I got nervous. I tried to chicken out until I was reminded that my photography is enough. Exhale. Oh yes. Of course it is. Portraits of my daughters through my lens, as seen by my eyes, and captured at a particular moment in time; of a gesture, an expression, a moment…that is indeed enough. Every time I pick up my camera I choose to express my profound love and connection to my amazing daughters. And that is enough. Thank you Karen.

Technique Highlight:

I chose to use my beloved Lensbaby SuperWide for these shots. I knew I wanted these images to feel celebratory and offer some texture and movement. The Lensbaby can be magic that way. Bio shot of me taken by my oldest daughter especially for this post.

Thank you so much Tracey; we’re so very very honored.

Iris:

Iris Says:

I can say that one of my best relationships was with my music. As a teenager it paved the way for me to travel and join music festivals. As a college student, it allowed me to earn and afford luxuries I may not have been able to afford otherwise. As a runner, it motivates me to keep going. As a scrapbooker, it calms me and is a constant companion whenever I create. I made this box to hold pictures that was taken during my years as a pianist. I doubt I will ever get to scrapbook those, so I thought this would at least make a nice home for those pictures.

Amy:

Amy Says:

This was a challenging catalyst. Distilling things that speak to a meaningful relationship, one that accepts and sees beyond, in graphic novel style was really wonderful to work on and to think about. The quote is from the lyrics of a song by Sara Groves called “Loving a Person.”

Dedra:

Journaling Reads:

The best and most important relationship I have ever had are with the three of you. Jon: I have never felt SO deeply for anyone. You complete me and make me whole. We have laughed, cried and everything in between. Raising the best daughters and going through our life together holding hands. Shelby and Ellie: You both have taught me to be a self-less person. The relationship I share with each of you is unique and will continue to change as you both get older. I have the honor of watching you blossom into the glorious women you will become. Relationships and life do not get any better than that. All my love to the three of you always!

Karen:

Journaling Reads:

These three men in my life have taught me what it means to love and to be loved. They are the reason I wake up in the morning and the reason I go to bed at night and feel happy and blessed every moment in between. Until I met Jake I didn’t know what it meant to be with someone who can love me just the way I am and who can make me feel whole. Until I had my boys, I didn’t know what it meant to love so much that it pysically hurt my heart. These men make me feel whole. They make me feel thankful and blessed and lucky. So so lucky.

I don’t know what I did to deserve this but I am not taking it for granted for one single moment. I hold them and kiss them and hug them as many times a day I can. Thank you, my boys.

Anita:

Anita Says:

June 22, 2009 I discovered the love of a grandparent. I never understood it until it happened. I have to say it is the most wonderful feeling and relationship one could have. I LOVE my children so much and never thought my heart could except anymore but once Marlee was born, God proved me wrong. I love this little girl so much!

Rachel:

Journaling Reads:

It’s the most important relationship, the most important thing in the whole world to me. Because of her I am better person, someone completely new… a mama. I look at her and even though it is me who is supposed to help guide and shape her, I find myself wanting to be like her. Pure, innocent, full of wonder and amazement… it’s the most important and awe-inspiring relationship of my life, the relationship we have as mother and daughter.

Lia:

Lia Says:

We were young when he and I began. Or at least I was. Through the years we’ve been together, he’s taught me so much. His belief in me and my capabilities has given me strength and confidence. His faith leads me to believe that there is a reason for everything, some we might see now and others will be revealed in time – we just need to be patient. His love assures me that no matter what, there will be someone who will not hurt me and who will be there for me no matter what.

We’ve had rough times, for sure. But when I look in his eyes or see his smile, all I see are the good ones, and how good he is for me and to me.

Wendela:

Wendela Says:

My kids, my 3 boys and daughter!! Journaling says “A child fills a place in your heart you never knew was empty.”

Kimmi:

Journaling Reads:

The best relationship that I’ve been in is being with you. You make me laugh on a daily basis. We can’t fight or argue without you crackign a joke and making me forget what we were bickering about to begin with. You support everything that I do and the decisions that I make. Having you in my life means everything to me.

Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “What’s the best relationship you’ve had so far? It can be a romantic one, a family member, or a friendship. Why is it so special?” I urge you to give it a try. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.

Leave us comments with your work so we can share in your creative therapy, too. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group.

Remember, this is not a competition. If your art makes you feel even a bit better at the end, you’ve won.

Until next week, enjoy each and every moment.