Jika Anda ingin menjadi master di bidang tertentu ingatlah kata-kata ini: berfokuslah pada satu hal atau keterampilan dengan kesetiaan tanpa henti untuk terus melakukan perbaikan, dan berkeinginan kita menjadi yang terbaik.

Fokus, perbaikan tiada henti dan keinginan kuat menjadi yang terbaik adalah bahan bakar utama untuk menjadi seorang spesialis. Dan sebagian mayoritas orang besar berasal dari seorang spesialis.

Sekedar mengingatkan…

Thomas A Edison mendaftarkan 1.093 paten. Ia juga menemukan bola lampu hingga gramofon. Lelaki yang pernah dicap idiot oleh gurunya ini tidak mencoba untuk menjadi pedagang besar, penyair terkenal, dan musisi ternama.

Ia hanya berfokus pada penemuan-penemuannya.  Ia juga memperbaikinya setiap hari. Dan selalu terdorong untuk menjadi penemu
hebat dan memberi manfaat bagi dunia.

Selanjutnya, ia membiarkan waktu yang menciptakan keajaiban. Dan ternyata, keberhasilan mengetuk pintu bagi orang-orang yang memang fokus pada bidangnya.Yah…Mereka para spesialis!

Mungkin Anda ingat akan kisah Pablo Picasso. Suatu hari, seorang wanita melihatnya di pasar dan ia mengambil secarik kertas. ”Tuan
Picasso, saya adalah penggemar Anda. Maukah Anda menggambar sedikit untuk saya?”

Picasso dengan gembira memenuhi permintaan itu dan menggoreskan sebentuk seni di atas kertas yang diberikan. Sambil tersenyum ia mengembalikan kertas itu sambil berkata, ”Nilai kertas ini bisa jutaan dolar lho.”  Wanita itu bingung dan berkata, ”Tapi tuan Anda hanya perlu waktu 30 detik untuk menghasilkan mahakarya ini.” Sambil tertawa Picasso menjawab, ”Saya membutuhkan waktu 30 tahun agar dapat menghasilkan mahakarya dalam waktu 30 detik.”

Ketahuilah apa kelebihan Anda. Temukan talenta Anda, lalu berusaha keras sekuat tenaga untuk memoles talenta Anda. Ketahuilah apa yang menjadi bagian terbaik dalam hidup Anda. Anda sangat ahli dan menyenangi hal itu. Bahkan Anda terkadang gelisah ketika Anda tidak melakukan hal itu.

Mari bertaruh dengan saya. Jika Anda sudah menemukan talenta Anda dan mencurahkan waktu setiap hari untuk mengasah talenta itu dan terus menerus memperbaikinya  serta berkomitmenlah untuk menjadi yang terbaik di bidang itu, tak lebih dari 10 tahun yang akan datang Anda telah menjadi seorang yang hebat.

Ketika itu bawalah hadiah kepada saya, karena saya telah memenangkan pertaruhan ini.  Bila Anda gagal, itu karena Anda ingin hebat di semua hal sehingga fokus Anda pecah. Akhirnya Andapun tak mendapatkan semua hal itu.

modified from Jami azzaini (antarnews.com/http://www.timsuksesdbs.com/?id=widya)

Kualitas amal berbanding lurus dengan kualitas iman dan ibadah
Kualitas iman seseorang dapat dilihat dari kualitas amal yang dilakukannya.
Orang yang iman dan ibadahnya berkualitas maka amalnya pun berkualitas
Tutur katanya lembut tidak menyakiti
Pikirannya jernih tidak berburuk sangka
Tingkah lakunya sopan menyenangkan orang lain

Sesungguhnya amal itu bersifat halus
Sempurnanya amal itu hanya dapat dirasakan oleh orang yang melakukan dan Allah Tuhan yang Maha menyaksikan.
Begitu juga Ikhlasnya seseorang beramal hanya dapat dirasakan oleh yang bersangkutan dan Allah Tuhannya.

thanks..from my e-mail….

Dear readers,

I got this from my mail…

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. & while you walk, SMILE. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. When you wake up in the morning, Pray to ask God’s guidance for your purpose, today.’
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, and almonds.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Forgive them for everything !
11. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
14. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’
17. Help the needy,  Be generous ! Be a ‘Giver’ not a ‘Taker’
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. Time heals everything.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed, Pray to God and Be thankful for what you have accomplished, today !
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed!.
25. Please forward this to everyone you care about.!

May I cut this dance to introduce myself as
The chosen one to speak
Let me lay my hand across yours
And aim a kiss upon your cheek

This was the tune that kicked of my general obsession with popular music. I bought it on Cassingle and played it until the quality completely deteriorated. Here, I have included the album original, 3 English remixes and the original UK B-side (The wonderful ‘The Mack Daddy On The Left’).

During my research for this blog post I found a couple of covers, the first one is a charming live acoustic version by a gentleman from Edinburgh called The Original Greeno, sang in a Scottish brogue with Ukulele. The second cover is from the recent Mix tape (Mick Boogie & Terry Urban: ‘Le Da Soul: 20 Years of De La Soul) celebrating 20 years since De La Souls legendary début album ‘3ft High & Rising’. This modern adaptation is produced by one of the current breed of excellent Hip Hop producers 6th Sense.

Also included is four of the songs which were sampled for this song, or the song remixes. There weren’t many Hip Hop acts sampling Steely Dan back in 89′ and I hope that the (recently rumoured) possibility that De La re-record this song with Steely really comes off.

1. Eye Know. Album Version.

177kbps. 4min13secs. download HERE.

2. Eye Know. The Kiss Mix. (by Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh)

192kbps. 4min49secs. download HERE.

3. Eye Know. The Know It All Mix. (by Dave Dorrell & CJ Mackintosh)

198kbps. 7min12secs. download HERE.

4. Eye Know. The Daisy Bass Mix. (by Chad Jackson)

320kbps. 6min35secs. download HERE.

5. The Mack Daddy On The Left. featuring Chi-Ali (Original UK B-Side).

192kbps. 2min29secs. download HERE.

.

and a couple of covers…

6. The Original Greeno. Eye Know (Acoustic, Scottish, Ukulele)

128kbps. 4min26secs. 2009. download HERE.

7. Kid Daytona featuring Mike Maven. Eye Know. produced by 6th Sense

320kbps. 4min09secs. 2009. download HERE. from the Le Da Soul Mixtape.

.

and the songs that were sampled…

.

8. The Mad Lads. Make This Young Lady Mine.

312kbps. 2min23secs. 1969. download HERE.

9. Otis Redding. (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay.

320kbps. 2min45secs. 1968. download HERE.

10. Steely Dan. Peg.

320kbps. 4mins. 1978. download HERE.

11. Steely Dan. FM.

199kbps. 5min06secs. 1978. download HERE.

.

I also need to know where the actual drum break for Eye Know comes from. I heard it was a Lee Dorsey song which sounds about right, I wll include it here when I find it.

Mo’Kelly dares you young bucks to find anything on the radio today which even comes CLOSE in quality to Patrice Rushen’s Remind Me.  Mo’Kelly is here all day.  You won’t find it.  Mo’Kelly will give you all week and all month.  You won’t find it.  That’s because they stopped making real music long ago.

REAL music can evoke a myriad of emotions, a multitude far deeper than the fleeting erotic ones that dominate contemporary music.  Music did used to mean something more than sex and jewelry…really it did.

http://twitter.com/mrmokelly

Subscribe to The Mo’Kelly Report HERE

RELATED: Mo’Kelly Featured on Vanzant’s Website

Já que o momento é de flashback da década (e volto com a lista dos melhores discos no início da semana que vem, prometo), aí vai um clipe que descobri recentemente e entraria seguramente num top 20 meu. Criado pelo estúdio francês de animação H5, o vídeo de 2007 explica o mundo, a vida e tudo o mais num punhado de infográficos.

This time Im reviewing a great piece of software, its Remind Me V3.53 by MobiFun Soft. Im using a N97 for testing so its working for S60 5th edition, but it shall work on 3rd edition also. Something that I find funny is that I was just thinking about an app that would do what this one does just days before I knew this one existed. Cool!

So what is the premise for this software? As it name says so, Remind Me is going to remind you whether you have a new missed call, a SMS or email. You may say: But why would I need something like this if my phone already has homescreen popups, vibrations, breathing lights and tones?

can you see my breathing light?

Well, first of all, if you own a N97 you may have noted that the vibration alert is rather weak and the breathing light is too dim to be seen easily. So here is where Remind Me comes in. You can set up this app to make it in a way that, when receiving an SMS (ie) your custom tone and alert will play as usua l, but then Remind Me will vibrate every 2minutes until you check the new message. Also it can play a short beep, and the red and green button will blink until you have read the new items.

Everything can be edited, the time for beeping, the tone of the beep, time of vibration, everything! The interface is simple, after starting the application you will find a list; missed calls, sms, and email. These items can be edited in the following way

The alarm option is the master setting for the Remind Me, if you disable it, the app wont work in that section (ie SMS, or email) the period is the time in between every alarm. You can repeat this alarm in a preset time or indefinitely. Then you may choose what volume and what tone to play in every alarm and what profiles should it be played in. The vibration in every alarm may be edited, by profile and by times. The light alert is my favorite, you can choose in what profiles it should be used and what type of alert. You may choose the front keys for a more discrete alarm, or screen that will blink up if you have a new message.

On the setting tab you may choose to enable Remind Me completely. Then in what time it should be working, like say you don’t want it to be working at bedtimes and make it work while you at the office. Then you may choose what days should it be working, may it be weekend, always, etc. And then there is the option to stop alerts with a keypress or while reading the new message (or email or call).

So why is it usefull? Because imagine you are going to the bathroom and you receive a SMS, when you are back the first thing you are going to see is that green and red keys blinking, if you werent using the app you would only see the dimly breathing light trying to alert you. Another  case when you have your phone in your pocket and you receive another messager and you fail to feel the vibration or hear the tone, then the Remind Me app will remind you in 2 minutes (or any time you choose) that you have a new alert.

There are a few bugs but I’m thinking that it might be an issue with the phone firmware, rather than the software. When having an alert and unlocking the phone, the green and red keys will turn off and wont light up again until you lock/unlock again. The N97 has been having bugs with the lock/unlock key, so I wouldnt be surprised if it was a firmware issue.

Actually I have to confess that, before testing, I wasnt very convinced of the idea of this app because I thought it was redundant to have a 3rd party app to alert me when I have a new message. But I admit that I was wrong, this app has proven very usefull! I can go far to say that this app is a MUST HAVE.

If you want to test this great piece of software you may go to http://www.mobifunsoft.com/ and get a free trial, then you will know what I’m talking about

David Castro

An all time favorite of mine. And the vid is quite brilliant, too.

Of course, I was happy to be reminded that it was dinner time or supper time.

♫ : Röyksopp

For Miss Hannah W!! <3 by behindthe_sea featuring Converse shoes

This is for you Miss Hannah! I hope you make an account on Polyvore! I would make you sets all the time, I promise!

I thought I’d add pictures of William Beckett, Travis Clark (and Danny), and Alex Gaskarth because you met each of them!!! Those two books (“Twilight” and “City Of Bones“) remind me of you whenever I see them at Barnes and Noble (or in my house). We both have a hunger for the internet so I added a Dell computer, not a Mac. We share the same support for To Write Love On Her Arms, (by the way, I went to Hot Topic recently and they weren’t selling any of their gear, weird right?) and remember we’re jacket buddies ’cause we have the exact same hoodie… though mine is getting a little small. I know you like Buffy The Vampire Slayer; and Panic At The Disco is your favorite band (make sure you click the song link or whatever so you can hear thirty seconds of your favorite Panic At The Disco song play!). Well, I’m going to stop listing things out because I’m pretty sure you know what they stand for and why I added them to your set. But if you do have any questions feel free to ask! You’re one of my best friends, no lie. <3
– Nixie

Quem anda (muito) comigo de carro sabe que tem uma música que nunca sai do pen drive, a versão animalesca da “What Else Is There?“, do Röyksopp. Sabe aquelas músicas que tem o poder de te levar para outra dimensão? Pois então… é o que ocorre quando escuto.

O duo é cheio de coisas boas e também lançou a muito muito muito legal “Remind Me“, há tempos.

O último clip deles, The Girl & The Robot foi lançado no início da semana passada e traz a hot blonbdie girl Robyn. Clip igualmente delício!

Sente:

Orando pra um dia tocar em algum lugar que frequento. ORANDO!

John is one of my relationships that has probably touched me the most. For some reason after everything, all the heartache. I still have feelings for him. Everything reminds me of him.

Things that remind me of you

1. Listening to my iPod because I remember falling asleep on you’re chest listening to it, thinking about you.
2. Restaurants, because they were where we went every Friday and I don’t know one we didn’t manage to go to, if I did, I’d go there.
3. Gum, because you always chewed it and I didn’t. Till now.
4. BMW’s, because you drove one so whenever I see one I think of you.
5. Nice teeth, because yours were the nicest I’ve ever seen.
6. Shorter guys, because I never have dated a shorter guy, except you.
7. Twilight, Because it became my addiction while we were together.
8. The Chelsea Lately Show, I hated it you loved it. Now I watch it evrey night and hope you’re watching it too.
9. Sex, enough said.
10. Marriage and kids, because it was all we ever talked about.
11. Flowers, because you were the only guy who consistently gave them to me.
12. My bed, you lived there.
13. Web cam, it was our thing when we missed each other.
14. The Grand Canyon and white water rafting, I’ll never forget that day.
15. The new headlights on cars, I see one behind me and hope its you, it never is.

You see now why everything I do is somehow linked to everything that reminds me of him? I texted him today… I don’t know what I was hoping for… him to confess his undying love for me?

Do you remember the days when you would set your VCR to record the latest episode of Rap City or made sure you were at your TV for the worldwide premier of the newest music video? Well, at Rhymin & Stealin, we sure do. And while we grew up during the golden age of music videos, we always had a soft spot for those of the animated variety. Over the years, their have been a bunch of excellent animated videos attached to incredible songs and we have taken the time to revisit this lost art in order to bring you the Top 10 Animated Music Videos of All-Time. Enjoy.

Due to the record companies hoarding their music videos, we are unable to embed most of the actual videos into this post. Just click the image for each video and you will be taken to YouTube where you can watch the videos in all their glory.

10) Tom Petty – Runnin’ Down a Dream

One of Tom Petty’s best songs is also one of TP’s best videos. Released in July of 1989 and directed by Jim Lenahan, this black and white video takes its visual style from the early 20th century comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland. This is a song that has aged incredibly well and the video is no exception. Compared to some of the other music videos that came out in 1989, this one is a gem. And as a bonus, Tom Petty looks far less goofy in animated form.

9) Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass

This is the title track off Aesop Rock’s 2007 album and it was directed by San Francisco’s Ordinary Kids. It features the artwork of long-time Aesop collaborator Jeremy Fish (who also did all the album artwork). The two have collaborated on many projects since 2005, and we featured one of them a couple months back. Such a unique song needed a unique video, and Jeremy Fish never disappoints.

Radiohead – Paranoid Android

Radiohead are always on the cutting edge of everything, so it’s not a surprise that their foray into animated videos is so great. Released in 1997 and directed by Magnus Carlsson, this video really hits a high note for me around the 4:40 mark, when the fat man goes to town on a lamppost only to chop himself up and sink to the ocean where he is saved by two mermaids who leave him bundled in a tree. I wonder if any drugs were consumed in the storyboard process of this video’s creation?

7) Dire Straits – Money for Nothing

This is one of the first music videos I can remember watching and it was one of the biggest videos of the ’80s, no doubt helping to propel the music video as another medium for artists to connect with fans. Directed by Steve Barron, this video was released on July 1, 1985 and went on to win numerous accolades, including Video of the Year. It was also the first video aired when MTV Europe launched in 1987. Mark Knopfler didn’t want the video to feature computer animation but he was persuaded by Steve Barron and MTV, who said they loved the song but wouldn’t play it if the video was just Dire Straits playing live. Good call.

6) Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood

Any video with zombie apes dancing like Michael Jackson in “Thriller” is fine by me. Since the Gorillaz are a “virtual band”, they pretty much have to animate all of their videos, but this was their first (and best) attempt. Released in early 2001, this video propelled the Gorillaz to massive acclaim and sales and helped them sell 7 million copies of their first album. This particular song features Del tha Funkee Homosapien, who had worked with Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn previously on Del’s classic Deltron 3030 album and which heavily influenced the Gorillaz style.

5) Beastie Boys – Shadrach

The Beastie’s abstract impressionist version of Shadrach was released in 1989 and directed by none other than Nathanial Hörnblowér (aka MCA). The video is set to a live version of Shadrach, which was originally released on Paul’s Boutique. Each frame of this video was painted by hand and its immense creativity makes it a perfect companion to an album as revolutionary as Paul’s Boutique. The Beastie Boys are the kings of great music videos, and this might be the best of them all.

4) Röyksopp – Remind Me

Everyone’s favourite Norwegian electronic duo have a few videos that qualified for this list, but “Remind Me” is the cream of the crop. Presented as a day in the life of an average London female from the perspective of an educational brochure, this gem won the 2003 MTV Europe Video Award for Best Video. It was created by French firm H5 and benefits from having a damn catchy song to accompany it. Although I’m not going to lie, the first time I heard the song was in this Geico commercial.

3) Michael Jackson – Leave Me Alone

This is one of MJ’s hidden gems and is often overlooked when people talk of the Gloved Ones hits. Bad was an awesome album and this was the eighth single. It was only included on the CD version but the video made it another hit. It was one of MJ’s first F.U.’s to the media and the tabloid imagery resonates even more when you watch it today. Highlights include Jacko dancing with the Elephant Man, the wacky Elizabeth Taylor museum and Giant Jacko busting out of the Amusement Park at the end. This video was directed by Jim Blashfield and won the Best Video Grammy in 1990.

2) Pearl Jam – Do the Evolution

When this video came out in 1998, Pearl Jam hadn’t made a video since the award-winning “Jeremy“, successfully avoiding their fear of becoming known more for their videos than music. They got back into the game with Spawn creator Todd MacFarlane directing, and the resulting collaboration took over 16 weeks of production and the work of over 100 artists. When Pearl Jam released the video they stated:

As artists we are challenged to expand the meaning of our work and by utilizing this visual medium and working with a visionary like Todd, we were able to further explore some of the themes we depicted in the song “Do the Evolution”. Basically we’ve tried to make a good stoner video.

Mission accomplished. The video explores themes such as evolution, the Holocaust, the Crusades, the Great Depression, pollution and nuclear armageddon. It was nominated for a Best Video Grammy in 1999 and is a true showcase of the animated genre.

1) A-ha – Take on Me

This was actually the second video for this song and I’m sure they are glad they did it, because it won six MTV Music Video Awards in 1986. It remains one of the most iconic music videos of all-time and was extremely influential in heping MTV in its huge rise to prominence. It was directed by Steve Barron (who also directed video #7 on this list) and features pencil-sketching over live movement to create the animated effect. You pretty much can’t even talk about great music videos without mentioning this one. And it also gave us this hilarious clip.

That’s it. Vote for your choice below and let us know what you think of our list.

Or Slagsmålsklubben, if you’re into that sort of thing. Song is called Sponsored by Destiny.

Now, this video was just someone’s interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood and is, from what I can tell, not affiliated with the band.

Oh hey, it’s also inspired by Royksopp’s video for Remind Me, which I may have linked earlier.

Anyway, the music is hot. Full song:

Have I ever mentioned my love of synths?

Chapeuzinho Vermelho em infográfico! As revistas e jornais já adotaram a estratégia para os leitores preguiçosos, cada vez mais numerosos e impacientes.

Como trabalho como educador para crianças em alfabetização, o tal recurso pode ser utilíssimo, pois ao invés de estimular a letargia do leitor indolente, estimula a curiosidade do pré e futuro leitor.

Fantástico!

Ops! Esqueci de comentar que a idéia é inspirada no clipe Remind Me do Röyksopp que, aliás, esta de disco novo nas paradas.

]]> http://douglassonders.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/sweet-design-based-music-video-slagsmalsklubben-sponsored-by-destiny/ Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:13:30 +0000 Douglas Sonders http://douglassonders.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/sweet-design-based-music-video-slagsmalsklubben-sponsored-by-destiny/ http://energio.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/little-royksopp-riding-hood/ Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:36:46 +0000 Gio http://energio.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/little-royksopp-riding-hood/

Chi non ricorda il fantastico video per Remind Me di Royksopp?

Questo Cappuccetto Rosso è proprio fortemente ispirato.