Cameras Also Capture Good…And It’s Happens Everywhere

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Carolyn

http://youtu.be/MGEiA80ZL08

Cruising through Reddit once again, I found a really great video from Russia that has a beautifully awesome and truthful sentiment:

“Any act is capable of becoming the best, if there is no self-interest in it. Accomplish good deeds!” – translation from YouTuber elmer2flp

The video comes from ArkadiTM93 whose channel seems to have a lot of dash cam videos, but this particular one is a timely reminder that good deeds translate across any language and to every person. This is literally five minutes of beautiful acts and gorgeous music that leaves you in tears because there really are a lot of good people out there who are willing to help at a moment’s notice. Whether those in needs are old, young, injured, or furry, someone is always looking out to ensure their safety during tense moments. So, no matter how much difference we see between nations, perhaps we need to think that underneath it all, we are ALL the same.

We have the same dreams, hopes, and needs that don’t change because someone is standing in a different land with different upbringing. How about we start to rid ourselves of those ideas that keep us separated, and start to embrace the idea that there are basic needs that we all share and can feel the same about. Bad expectations can be overcome by simply getting to know and caring about one another. It’s a simple concept and yet so hard to pursue in life. Why is that?

And another reminder that cameras also capture good and it really is happening everywhere around the world. We just need to spread it more evenly across the planet! And stop believing that the world only contains bad, no matter how much the evidence points to it. There is always more than just the presented evidence. Just like there is a lot more good that takes place from where this video leaves off.

-thanks to Reddit for a share that needs to make a circuit around the world!!!

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Being A Nerd Rocks

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Carolyn

So, a mom wanted someone to explain to her newly arrived daughter what it means to be a Nerd. Now, anyone who loves that list of things that most people find geeky (sorry, meant nerdy – it confuses me too) are usually lumped into the category of Nerd. Namely, anything that doesn’t seem cool. But then, what you consider to be cool might be radically different from what others deem cool. Leather jackets – cool (actually, really hot, as in my skin can’t breathe even when I tell myself I look cool). Comics – nerdy. Sports stars – cool to the “real world”. Sci Fi stars – NERDY to the “real” world.

Neil deGrasse Tyson – just plain cool (I’m so not worthy)!

So, who better to tell this little girl what it’s like to be a Nerd than Wil Wheaton of Wesley Crusher fame (amongst many other cool things). Listen to the short convo that Wil has with the future her who will understand what Wil’s trying to tell her. It’ll actually leaves you a bit teary. And it will allow you to embrace being a nerd. Because being a nerd is about being interested in the world around you in all of its forms, even if they are animated or computerized. Or scientific. Or awkward. Just as long as it keeps you loving the awesomeness that comes with the details…the many, many details that build that awesome holodeck called your mind.

So, don’t just Live Love and Prosper. Live Long and Accumulate (knowledge, ideas…anything that inspires creativity and is easy to carry within) to your heart’s content. The world’s a very big place and there’s just so much awesomeness to discover.

– thanks to Salon for this adorable moment

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Thought For The Day: Persevere

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Carolyn

Life throws changes at you at a rapid pace. Some days it feels like the tasks are just too big to handle. So what do you do? How do you get yourself through the never-ending changes?

In a nutshell: Whatever way you can.

 

 

 

Look back on every rough time that you managed to somehow make it through. Find a common thread. That thread will usually lead to a hidden strength that holds the key to your perseverance. I came across another Peale quote that opened my heart to my own truth: enthusiasm. It’s so second nature to me that I don’t even notice it anymore. And yet, when a colleague of mine mentioned how cheerful I am whenever he sees me, I had to think about that statement as I don’t consider myself to be an overly happy person. I look at the world through a BIG microscope, and that tends to stifle the cheerfulness. And yet, somehow, I’ve managed to retain my own brand of happy that has carried me through life.

Yep, enthusiasm is a big part of the fuel that keeps my fire going. It’s the reason why I started to keep this blog, and also how I pursue every project that I become deeply involved in.

What causes the fire to warm your soul? Is it colors? Sounds? Ideas? Feelings? Connections? Challenges? I can keep this list going on forever because for me it’s all of them and more. But then, it’s my list and it will continue to grow as long as I want it to.

So what would be on your list? Make a map of these connections and it just might lead you to the common link. Or you might already know the link and need to define what makes up your strength. Whatever you do, FIND YOUR STRENGTH. Embrace it. Know it so that it becomes a part of the definition of YOU. Trust me, your definition will never be simple. But you just might find out that you’re a whole lot stronger than you thought.

And here’s my new motto that will get me through my new set of challenges as I open up to a new road:

 

 

 

Kind of fits in with my goal of staying a misfit.

 

And a wonderful reminder to those who are misfits (I can never hear this enough):

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs

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Things Will Get Brighter

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Carolyn

http://youtu.be/zyTOD7IlyYg

I was watching Defiance on SyFy when I heard a song that really sums it all up. Wow, it’s been a long time since I heard it. This gorgeous rendition is by the amazing Beth Orton. Sotero Trinidad did an emotional video reminding us that even children have it tough. And sometimes we can feel like one of those children.

A reminder of what we need to be pushing ourselves for: A new and better world so that these faces will change to happy ones. As will ours.

 

Things will get brighter…but only if we want it bad enough.

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Happy B-day WWW

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Carolyn

So, it seems that we have a really BIG birthday to celebrate here, and it’s one that blows my mind. Yep, the WWW is 20 year old today and CERN wanted to celebrate it by revisiting the site that started it all (well, a 1992 copy of it). Their gift to the world that became the ungainly but much loved child (well, adolescent now) that we all go to on a daily (or a whole lot more) basis:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hyperlinks allowed us to connect the many disparate pages that already existed, but could not be easily connected to unless you knew the direct address. And Tim Berners-Lee gave us this gift which then CERN gifted to us all when they turned the whole project over to the public domain. The whole story is much more in-depth and exciting  than I could describe, so go check out a much better story told on ExtremeTech as well as the whole story as told by CERN itself. I really need to read more about its history as the Web really is a home for so many of us, and one that we cherish with all of our hearts and minds!

If you want to check it out, then click on this link to stroll down a little path in history that opened up the whole wide world to us all – or the ones who connected to it anyways.

 

HAPPY B-day WWW! 20 years and still going strong. May you always continue to grow, share, and inspire without the barriers that so many are trying to put into place.

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Allie’s Back!!!

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Carolyn

There are some things in this world that take precedence in the announcements department. Here’s one:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALLIE’S BACK!!!! If you’ve visited the site Hyperbole and a Half then you know who Allie Brosh is. If you haven’t, well, go visit Hyperbole and a Half. Allies’s a very whimsical girl who’s been through her share of rough times, and it looks like she’s back in control again (I hope). If you want to see some great news, well, look at the image above from Touchstone. YEP, Allie’s book is finally finished and it’s available for pre-sale on Amazon. Wouldn’t it be awesome if Allie woke up to find out that her book sold at insane quantities. I found the news on Reddit, and they are as excited as I am.

There are just some people that you root for, and Allie definitely has a lot of fans who want her to win the fight against her depression. Maybe this is a sign that she’s over the worst? Depression isn’t something that is cured overnight (trust me, there are a lot of people who suffer for YEARS), and it seems like the only way to gain the upper hand is to do something that fills you from the inside out. Here’s to hoping that Allie’s dreams finally come true. It’s been so quiet that I’ve been worried until this news came out. Hope you’re feeling better, Allie! No pressure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s one of my fav images from her story about moving with dogs. This is about to come true for us as we prepare for our own change. Hopefully, with a lot less flames since we don’t have a dog…

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A New Friend Has Arrived

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Carolyn

A while back, I had put in a little support (wish it had been more) for a particular Kickstarter campaign that tugged at my heart strings. I have found memories of cicadas as I had grown up in Japan during much of my childhood.

…Also having family there ensures to tie those strings pretty securely.

But back to cicadas: We’ve been getting a multitude of updates from the genius behind the film concept, Mauricio Baiocchi, and it has been really tremendous news for a group of extremely talented film makers (like a Special Jury Recognition at Aspen). Talk about exciting! So, when I opened my mail and saw a box with “Cicada Princess” inked on it, I couldn’t believe that I finally received a bridge bug from that extraordinary film.

Unlike the brief lives cicadas live, these cicadas have been immortalized forever by a loving heart. And now many of them have new homes with others who share in that love. So, let me introduce you to mine (isn’t his traveling cocoon lovely?):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking into that face, I see all of the inquisitiveness of a lovely bug who is curious about where he’s landed. I wonder where all of his other friends are now? Hope they’re happy! Thanks Mauricio and team for such a lovely memory to treasure, as well as for an extraordinary movie that left me in tears. I hope that Cicada Princess achieves so many accolades as it was truly a wondrous experience. It’s one that I will always hold close to my heart.

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SpaceX Has A Grasshopper

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Carolyn

We are so used to rocket launches that we rarely comment on them, but this launch of SpaceX’s Grasshopper is unlike any I’ve ever seen because it’s intentional. Seriously, this feat of control of a rocket is mind-boggling to witness. Yes, it’s a reusable rocket, and this is the 4th test which hovered to its highest height to date of 24-stories (80.1m or 262.8 ft). There’s another video going around Reddit with Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, but somehow just hearing the rocket sounds in conjunction with this controlled ascent/descent brings you closer to the action. SpaceX has been claiming one victory after another in the commercial space program, proving that people driven by a passion are indeed capable of amazing feats. It’s like the rebirth of a space program that we can all touch. Wow!

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Productivity? What is it

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Carolyn

As always, I can’t figure out how to deal with comments. Anyone with a blog will tell you about the dilemma. What is real? What is sales? In this money-obsessed world of ours, it’s almost impossible to separate the two. We find that success is intimately tied with returns. But what returns are really important to YOU?

I got a question that got me thinking: How long does it take for your website to get productive?

That question can’t be answered simply until I know what you mean by productivity. Is it the same as how a company would look at productivity? And what is the criteria? If we all had the same goal, then productivity would be simple to determine. But it’s obviously not, in this world where things can change faster than the speed of light. This connected world of ours never sleeps and we’re inundated with…everything.

Whether it’s blogging or technical communications, my productivity is never constant. The one constant that exists in both is this:

Researching. Mining. Thinking. Writing. Revising. Learning. Growing. Repeating the process endlessly.

 

 

There is simply no way that I can judge whether my site is productive, because this site was never intended to be measured. This site is my way of diving into the world around me so that I can become more well-rounded (no, not my weight…though I am working on that) by learning from others so that I can better express who I am. Does that make me productive? I really don’t know because I’m not actively following the rules of SEO so that I can be found. I’m just putting it out there so that others can also do what I’m doing. It’s how I’ve always been, whether it’s at work or just creating. For me, like many others, it’s about the creativity that fulfills the depths in me.

 

This is why I’ve become more focused on what’s happening on the Internet because so many others, including politicians, financiers, economists, and those who are seeking to impact the way that we can use this digital domain of ours. And it’s why I write about what I do.

Continue reading →

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Going Rogue On The World

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Carolyn

So, I got a friendly note from Urban Times regarding a new post. I was curious to see what it would be since it was addressed to a group of writers who are known to be “passionate”. I can only speak for myself when I say that losing it over certain topics because of this passion comes with the territory of being a writer. It’s not the words that we write that we defend (usually verbosely), it’s the idea behind them. Yes, I can be protective of ideas.

So, I turned on the video titled Weathergirl Goes Rogue, and lo and behold I find that I AM NOT ALONE (sniff). Alex must have really been feeling our pain when he posted these awesome videos of Pippa Mackie (here’s more about her on Huff Po). But the icing on this meltdown came in the form of her anchor counterpart who was played by none other than Kai Nagata. Kai has been in the spotlight before with his eloquent post on quitting his job that went viral. Needless to say, this video now means more than I originally thought. Now I have a new hero in a weathergirl who gives us all a reality report with an epic ending. OMG, do I understand how she feels!

I felt guilty for laughing, but the scene is just too familiar. And others who know me have been on the receiving end. Sorry guys. But there’s always love behind my “AAAAUUUGGGHH!!!!”

When the world’s problems keep getting addressed with the same tone as the anchor (or any anchor, politician, leader, etc.), you really just need to figure out how to deal with (stomp on) the stagnancy. Talk about it, write about, come up with some brilliant concept that no one has ever entertained. Or you just get your own segment:

Deep Rogue Ram brought us these videos and it looks like they have a whole lot more to comment on. Go check them out! And as always, go check out the latest on the Urban Times. Thanks again, Alex, for letting me know that I’m not the only one who does this. 😀

 

…Did you just cut my mike????

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