Cool Words and Other Stuff

Paul Stanley Interview on Fox Business Network - 12/30/2010

2012-03-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

How to Define Yourself as a Photographer – PictureCorrect

2012-02-20T08:23:00.001-08:00

How to Define Yourself as a Photographer – PictureCorrect
There comes a point in time when you will need to decide what type of photography you like and the specific genres you want to focus on. Most of us start out as generalists, shooting anything and everything that tickles our fancies. But there comes a time when you need to decide on what type of photographer you are or want to be.

"Toronto at Front" captured by Tom Maslowski (Click Image to See More From Tom Maslowski)

Pretty soon after my journey into SLR photography I decided what I liked and what I wanted to focus on. The world of close-up and macro photography was passion. The worlds within worlds and the finer details of those worlds intrigued me. So I gradually bought the equipment that would help me create better close-ups. I began defining myself as a photographer.
Your photographs are a very personal thing as they reflect how you see the world and what interests you. So there are a few things you need to do in order to define yourself as a photographer. We are not talking professionals here but ordinary people.

1. A little introspection

You need to look inside yourself and examine who you are and what you like. What pushes your buttons and what inspires you to create photos. The better you know yourself the better photographer you will become. I am a detail man and so close-ups really make me come alive. Whatever makes you come alive will help define you as a photographer.

"Carefree Afternoon" captured by Ji Yeon So (Click Image to See More From Ji Yeon So)

2. Shoot what you like

All of us have very clear likes and dislikes so many of us already know what things in life we like. So with this in mind identify all of your likes. Sit down with a piece of paper and jot down everything that you enjoy in life. Then work through this list and see if you would enjoy shooting photos of the likes. Cross out all the ones you don’t want to shoot and there you have your list.

3. Study the pros

This is as simple as going to a library or bookstore and looking at the type of books that interest you. If it’s wildlife photography then look at the photo books by great wildlife photographers. If it’s cars or trucks then study those books. See the angles, lighting and compositions they use and get an idea of how they have created their images. You will learn a huge amount from the pros.

4. Allow yourself to dream

Visualising what you like and what you want to shoot will help motivate and distil in your own mind the specifics you want to shoot. Vision, plan and set goals. This can be what type of images and perhaps what kind of equipment you want to own. Working towards a goal will really allow you to become what you want to and help define you as a photographer. Which of the pro photographers would you like to become? Knowing this will help clarify what type of photographer you define yourself as.

5. Define your audience

By defining your audience you will also define yourself. If you want your photographs to be appreciated by people, what type of audience should they be? As a car photographer the bulk of your audience will be men of a certain economic class who pride themselves in having a great car. A pet photographer will have a different audience to wildlife photographer and so it will go on.

You may ask the question why it’s necessary to define yourself. It may not be essential for you to know this, but most photographers who are successful having an in depth understanding which is reflected in their images. If you don’t know your definition as a photographer it will be hard to concentrate on a genre and make a success of it.
About the Author
Wayne Turner has been teaching photography for 25 years and has written three books on photography. Do you want to learn more about photography in a digital world? I’ve just completed a brand new e-course delivered by e-mail. Download it here for free by clicking here: http://www.21steps2perfectphotos.com/ To learn how you can take your photography from ordinary to outstanding click here – http://www.21steps2perfectphotos.com/21steps.htm

Time Management for Creative People by Mark McGuinness

2011-12-25T10:48:00.001-08:00

Get Organised! from FuelRCA on Vimeo.

sporadic obsessions

2011-12-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

The Recipe for Magical Partnerships - puttylike.com

2011-12-18T15:48:00.000-08:00

A Disturbing Trend in the Blogosphere...

2011-12-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

Nick Williams, Coaching Connect and Renaissance Soul

2011-12-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

What is a Renaissance Soul?

2011-12-18T12:11:00.000-08:00

Job & Career Search Myths (Part 1)

2011-12-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

2011-12-15T08:42:00.001-08:00

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”, says Albert Einstein.

2011-12-13T17:58:00.000-08:00

The Asian Paradox

This probably deserves a full post, but I’ll briefly discuss it here. I’m not going to sit here and claim that Asians don’t actually eat rice. They do. And they have for centuries while maintaining pretty good health and staying fairly lean. That’s changing nowadays, though, with the Westernization of their food. They’re eating more sugar and using vegetable oils for cooking, rather than traditional animal fats. These factors are deranging their metabolisms, turning the relatively benign rice starch into an enemy. It just suggests that carbs, in and of themselves, are benign in a metabolic vacuum. If you have everything else going right – insulin sensitivity, regular activity, absence of metabolic deranging foods like fructose, lectins, and excessive linoleic acid – pure starchy carbs aren’t going to be a big problem. But, especially in the States, we live in anything but a nutritional vacuum. We aren’t starting from ground zero. The overweight perimenopausal wife and mother of three working 50 hours a week is not starting from square one. She has an issue with glucose, one that might not be cured in a lifetime. For a person like that, avoidance of rice is recommended and probably necessary.
We have to face facts. Deranged has become normal. Glucose intolerance – or perhaps “mishandling” is better – has become standard. Where rice belongs in your life depends on where you fall on the metabolic derangement continuum.
What are your views on rice? Do you avoid it like the plague? Have a little in certain dishes? Let me know in the comment board on Grok on!

2011-12-11T19:45:00.001-08:00

Marinating Meat In Alcohol Found To Remove Carcinogens

Researchers found that steeping meat in alcohol for several hours cut the high levels of carcinogenic compounds triggered by frying it. In addition, they discovered that beer was more effective than wine at lowering the cancer-forming chemicals, and also made for a better-looking and tastier meal.
Cooking food increases its levels of chemical compounds called heterocyclic amines (HAs), which can cause cancerous tumours. Frying and grilling meat is particularly dangerous, because the intense heat turns the sugars and amino acids of muscle tissue into high levels of the compounds. However scientists are gathering increasing amounts of evidence to show that the levels of HAs in cooked meat can be lowered by treating the food beforehand. Marinating steak in red wine or beer before frying – for six hours – cut levels of two types of HA by up to 90 per cent compared with untreated meat.
Beer was more efficient at reducing a third type of HA than wine, cutting levels significantly in four hours instead of six.
The researchers from the University of Porto in Portugal believe the alcoholic sauce cuts levels of the carcinogen by acting as a barrier preventing water-soluble molecules moving to the surface of the steak where they would be turned into HAs by the high temperature.
Previous research has shown that a red wine marinade has a similar effect on HA levels in fried chicken. A sauce made of olive oil, lemon juice and garlic lowered HA levels in grilled chicken by as much as 90 per cent.
Cooking meat on lower heat and for a shorter period of time also prevents dangerous levels of HAs forming.

2011-12-11T19:42:00.001-08:00

DREAMING IT ALL UP AGAIN

you reach a certain point where you have some competence to what you are doing you have to stop and look and see where do you want to go. Many times the original idea or dream that got you started might not be where you want to continue.
I don't feel the same about photography as when I first started. I am becoming or I am realizing that I am more right brain that I thought and well the structure and routine of treating photography as a business does not really interest me since I already have a job and there is so much competition out there.

I learning that I like more abstract more emotional types of creativity and that photography in itself is too rigid in its form and rules and even by mechanics alone of the way a photo is created. There are just too many boundaries that I really need to blur or dissolve or simply just destroy.

So in order to compete with the millions out there doing what I'm doing I have to really look and see what I bring to the table. Not what I do to make it the same shit that everyone else is doing but what is so unique about my life experience that can be incorporated in my creativity.

Toilet Seat

2011-12-11T12:32:00.001-08:00

“I'm sick of this shit, Every fucking day is the same shit you leaving the toilet seat up Harold. Sick of it, sick sick sick.”

Harold opened his eyes to see Mary standing over him naked. He shuddered a bit but then realized that it wasn't all bad. Mary was up to something. Maybe she wanted to play hide the willy before she went off to work but then again he quickly remembered that her screaming at him had woken him up. He grabbed her ankles and smiled and gave a lets get in on look.

“Not this time lover boy.” mary said and she bent down over him with her crotch hovering over his face and began to urinate

Harold jumped up

“What the hell

“See how you like it.”

“You crazy I never peed on you.

“Sure you did you peed in the toilet then didn't flush and when I went in this morning I sat down and landed in your piss because you fucking left the seat up.”

Mary hit Harold on the stomach and got off the bed.

“Next time you do it its coming off.”

“it

“you know Willy and his two friends.”

2011-12-11T12:28:00.000-08:00

Right Brain

Those with a right-side dominant brain depend more on visual references for understanding and are often times visual learners.
They are more emotional, swayed by feelings, and are able to better understand and reflect on these feelings. Furthermore, right-brained thinkers are very intuitive and curious about the world.
Finally, as a down side, they tend to be disorganized, lacking in time-management, and unable to prioritize well.

Abstraction = Right Brain

Right brained people may lean more towards abstract art, because of its lack of order and disorganization. Abstraction also gives no boundaries, so it can be considered more ‘outside-the-box’, or creative.
Abstract art is also known to portray emotion, even with no hard visual evidence. A right brained person may more easily be able to pick up on an abstract piece’s deeper meaning.

2011-12-10T20:26:00.001-08:00

The definite departure of planet Neptune from your sign in 2012 is good news to you. Neptune might have been the main culprit for you feeling debilitated physically and mentally in the previous years. It might have brought you a lot of confusion and disappointment in your life. This year Neptune will leave your sign and will allow you to regroup your forces, to assess more objectively the situations around you and enter a more fulfilling and succesful road. Overall this year shows a significant amelioration on the socio-professional level. In the first half is likely to change some things in relation to your house and your family environment. From June on you will probably become more vigorous, optimistic, full of vitality and a burning desire to “create” (from artifacts to children)!

2011-12-07T07:58:00.001-08:00

The Pineal Gland secretes various hormones, two of which have been identified as Melatonin and Serotonin. Melatonin is secreted between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and Serotonin between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Both are anti-aging in nature and effect, especially Melatonin. Serotonin is a natural anti-depressant. Serotonin is secreted during sunlight hours. When melanated individuals (Black people) don?Ã„Ã´t get enough sunlight, they naturally get depressed. This is due to lack of Serotonin. When melanated individuals don?Ã„Ã´t get enough sleep during night- time, they prematurely age, the exception being the very creative people (e.g. Quaquaverals). People who get off into deep and vivid dreams secrete a lot of Melatonin.

our frequency of consciousness

2011-12-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

Unhealthy, junk, foods lower our frequency of consciousness

Research has proven that healthy bodies vibrate at 60 MHz or higher. (Yes, they can finally measure it!) At lower frequencies, dis-eases can manifest and a person can experience struggle, illness, accidents, victimhood, anger, shame, guilt, feeling separated from Creator - the list goes on. At high frequency, a person can experience joy, happiness, balance, unconditional love, feeling a part of all things (Creator). Synchronicity and the ability to manifest what you desire are greatly increased at a higher frequency.

A few of the things that lower frequency and keep you stuck where you are include: heavy, processed, and junk foods; negative words, thoughts, actions, and feelings; negative people and situations; artificial synthesized materials such as fluorescent lights, synthetic fabrics, synthetic foods, vitamins, and medicines; working at a job you hate; and mainstream radio, television, and newspapers - particularly the news.
Try to avoid the above as much as possible.

Higher consciousness

2011-12-06T22:54:00.000-08:00

Manifesting - The Secret

2011-12-04T22:58:00.000-08:00

Everythings Amazing & Nobodys Happy

2011-11-30T22:29:00.000-08:00

2011-11-30T20:57:00.001-08:00

Advice for Right Brain Students

Choose to do personal essays
Watch your daydreaming—keep it under control
Let your imagination work for you in the arts
Let your intuition work for you in social situations
Let your deep thinking work for you during essay tests—but don’t ponder too long
Be creative with essays. You can use colorful language well
Use images and charts when you study
Write down directions
Try to be more organized!
Don’t be overly suspicious of others
Make outlines to organize your thoughts.
Choose fiction in reading assignments
Try to avoid teachers who lecture a lot; choose teachers who use activities
You tell stories well, so write some!
Put information into categories for better understanding
Avoid getting bogged down by thinking of all possibilities when answering questions
Finish things! You have so much talent, but you don’t always complete things.

2011-11-30T20:55:00.000-08:00

To flourish in this age, we'll need to supplement our well-developed high tech abilities with aptitudes that are "high concept" and "high touch." High concept involves the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, to detect patterns and opportunities, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to come up with inventions the world didn't know it was missing. High touch involves the capacity to empathize, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one's self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning.

The Visual Spatial Learner (Part 2 of 3)

2011-11-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

The Visual Spatial Learner (Part 3 of 3)

2011-11-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

The Visual Spatial Learner (Pt. 1 of 3)

2011-11-30T08:55:00.000-08:00

Teaching Tip: Right Brain Dominant Children and ADD/ADHD - Part 2

2011-11-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

Characteristics: Left and Right Brain Students in the Classroom - Part 1

2011-11-30T08:45:00.000-08:00

2011-11-28T05:08:00.000-08:00

A negative Neptune transit in your natal chart could get you hooked on drugs, alcohol, prescribed pain pills, gambling, or some other addictive vice. You could literally fade away in some way, or knowingly disappear from a life that no longer holds any meaning for you. You could fall into a coma from an accident. You could become a hermit, or recluse because you find the world too harsh or too cruel. You could become a nun, monk, priest, minister, or rabbi or turn yourself over to a cult. All these things are ruled by Neptune.

Thomas Edison said it best

2011-11-26T07:39:00.001-08:00

Thomas Edison said it best, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

If you want to be a great writer, then you have to work hard to learn to express yourself clearly

The One-Minute Writer

2011-11-23T19:00:00.000-08:00

Today's Writing Prompt: Mountain

Write about a memory you have involving a mountain.

Summer time in the Rockies age 12: fishing, camping, roasting marsh-mellows, sliding down the leaf ridden mountain side on card board boxes. Counting stars, seeing the fox, the deer, and picking my nose and wiping it on my friends shirt while he slept. Well that's what he did to me anyway, but it was his shirt. So, ha ha.

2011-11-23T06:58:00.001-08:00

By giving our power away to physicality we sacrifice a part of our spirit (Neptune) to the material world (Saturn), this is where we over-strategize and overindulge materially without regard for spirit.

By giving our power away to the ideal (Neptune) we lose sight of practical requirements necessary to efficient functioning in physical reality. Both planets reflect the illusion of dis-empowerment.

Better said you become too materialistic you lose your soul you become too spiritual the bills don't get paid.

November 14th Creative Writing Prompt

2011-11-22T19:31:00.000-08:00

Megan Sanders stepped out of the cab on the worst day of her life. She had been laid off from her job she'd been at for ten years and early this morning she got a call from the mechanic telling her her car needed a new transmission and would cost 1200 dollars to fix. Add the severe rain Chicago had been having all week.

She paid the driver ten dollars and gave him a five dollar tip. She was a sweet girl who always tipped even when she needed the money herself but she figured she would do without Starbucks today.

She turned around with the naive notion that things could not get any worse in her life and that good fortune would soon have to visit her. Then she saw...Harry.

http://creativewriting.ie/2011/11/14/november-14th-creative-writing-prompt-2/

Creative Writing Prompt – November 21st

2011-11-22T19:17:00.000-08:00

We sat out over looking the world. It seemed so small from where we sat and Sally giggled a bit at the fact that the people down below looked like ants and we were as big as God. I put my arm around her and smiled. She had a way of saying things just right from time to time.

2011-11-21T15:25:00.000-08:00

Writer's block the Neptunian conflict

Creativity is said to stem from a Neptune planetary influence. Neptune is symbolize by the sea. In my creativity I struggle with creative blocks. I have these wild expansive ideas but when it comes to turning them into tangible art I can not do it. It is like pulling teeth with tweezers. Impossible, painful, insane, and something that makes creating something to fear. I had to think about what I was trying to do for a second. Creativity, the ideas that come to me are so floating and boundless and any time of bounding such as photography or writing is simply trying to put structure on a massive ocean that cannot and will not be contained for the very moment you put the words down on the page for a novel you begin to kill the creative vision. It does not want to be captured. It would be like trying to contain an ocean with a dixie cup. Impossible.

Saturn in the planet of structure boudning boundaires and limitations. Neptune is beyond breaking the boundaries of Uranus it is beyond anything it is int he mystical. The dream In a totally different dimension. Still to live on this earth we have to deal with Saturn aspects the reality of life. Some how there has to be a compromise

Neptune in 2nd money and income troubles

2011-11-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

You may prefer not to attach too much value to money, but if this is overdone, there can be quite a few problems in life concerning money and ownership. You might make money through artistic pursuits, but must avoid the potential pitfalls of putting too much faith in ideas that don't have enough grounding in reality. Financial advice is important to obtain. You may have developed a non-materialistic personal philosophy. This might work well for you, but it could also lead to impractical attitudes and money problems. When it comes to making money, you tend to act on hunches and intuition. You might have faith that you will come into money one day, or daydream a lot about being wealthy. The trick is to have faith in your own self-worth. If you frequently have money problems, you might want to examine whether you truly are not attached to material things, or if it stems from undervaluing your own worth or value. When Neptune is in good condition in the second house, there can be a sense that you are wealthy no matter what you actually have, and this faith can bring you exactly what you need. If Neptune is challenged, you may be glossing over practical details and money can too easily slip through your fingers. You might be especially generous, but avoid situations where you get the short end of the stick financially speaking if they lead to feelings of resentment.

Neptune in 2nd llusions about money and income and how to make it

2011-11-16T07:04:00.000-08:00

Depending on the aspects, people with Neptune in 2nd in their natal charts may have illusions about money and income and how to make it. They may not put too much actual action and thought into making money or neither how to spend it. And this is the reason why usually people with this placement have money problems and don't usually have a lot of material weatlh. It could be also that these people don't find money interesting or anyway necessary for their happiness, but still when they have money problems, they are not in alignment to make changes in their thinking towards money and think that their thoughts about money could be the source of these money problems.

But this is not the case always. With great aspects, people with this aspect could make money by forming illusions to other people - like making movies or writing books, performing arts etc.

2011-10-25T07:44:00.001-07:00

On a path that stunts your growth.

2011-10-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

time to plant some new seeds of intention that resonate with letting go of the deadwood and making new use of the gifts you need to own or re-claim.

2011-10-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

We don't appreciate a good thing when we have it

2011-10-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

Death -- even in the form of small changes -- is

the most dramatic teacher of all

2011-10-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

The more we cling to outworn attachments, the more pain we’re certain to suffer

2011-10-21T19:35:00.001-07:00

Rebirth happens in the transformative waters of letting go

2011-10-21T19:33:00.001-07:00

shed that which no longer serves our highest good.

2011-10-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

why are we hanging on for dear life to something that is killing us?

The Face of Saturn

2011-09-27T06:21:00.001-07:00

Saturn represents the intensity of one’s ambition, the inner pressure to become or accomplish something. Saturn also indicates the Achilles heel, the mind-set in which doubt and fear or an overly conservative attitude works against success. When Saturn is strong in a businessperson’s chart, they run a tight ship with an authoritarian management style and excellent administrative abilities.

How to find your passion...she knows here stuff

2011-09-26T08:09:00.001-07:00

Passion Webinar: Jen Gresham on Careers from Leo Babauta on Vimeo.

I like to re watch this just to remember about finding my passions and finding out what I don't like. A lot of things are out of sight and out of mind in this life and if you don't keep them right there are you doorstep they get shoved in that little back corner in the closet where the moth balls gather. We have to keep our goals in sight.

Pretty fucking unappreciated

2011-09-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

Hey, Roy, How You Feeling?

The Cars Heartbeat City

2011-09-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

The first album I ever bought. Kenny Rogers the Gambler was the first album that I got. It was an eight track that I broke my dad's eight track player because I listned to it so much.

Great Depression Cooking - Dandelion Salad

2011-09-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

SEBASTIAN'S VOODOO

2011-09-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

Ira Glass on Storytelling, part 1 of 4

2011-09-08T22:39:00.000-07:00

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

2011-09-08T22:38:00.001-07:00

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

THE MARGIN OF ERROR - mistakes human nature

2011-09-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

How munch of a margin of error do you have in your life

Do you give yourself room to, to put it bluntly, fuck up.

Giving yourself little or no room to mess up can make you a total fucking nut job you will become so tightly wound that you will stress out over the simplest things
the littlest things

A this just creates more and more anxiety there are things that probably require a zero margin of error like rocket science flying and landing a air plane and preforming surgery

but most of us are not doing these thing we are simply living our lives stressed over not messing up

if you fail badly or totally screw something up it is not the end of the world

as u can see doctors do make mistake that go bad

rocket scientists do screw up ad space shuttle,s break at the wrong time
truth making mistakes and errors is human nature we are not robots and computers where everything is so measures and precise we have to have room to breathe and make errors no matter how much we want perfection

QUOTES ON MISTAKES

If one wants to be active, one must not be afraid of going wrong, one must not be afraid of making mistakes now and then. Many people think that they will become good just by doing no harm -- but that's a lie.... That way lies stagnation, mediocrity.

VINCENT VAN GOGH, letter to Theo van Gogh, Oct. 1884

The errors of a man are what make him really lovable.

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, The Maxims and Reflections of Goethe

It is much easier at all times to prevent an evil than to rectify mistakes.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, letter to James McHenry, Aug. 10, 1798

If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person.

BILL CLINTON

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

OSCAR WILDE, Lady Windermere's Fan

It is with pleasure I receive reproof, when reproof is due, because no person can be readier to accuse me, than I am to acknowledge an error, when I am guilty of one; nor more desirous of atoning for a crime, when I am sensible of having committed it.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, letter to Governor Dinwiddie, Aug. 27, 1757

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

If common sense were as unerring as calculus, as some suggest, I don't understand why so many mistakes are made so often by so many people.

CARY WINKEL, as quoted in Explaining One's Self to Others: Reason-Giving in a Social Context

To err is human, but it feels divine.

MAE WEST, The Wit and Wisdom of Mae West

A double error sometimes sets us right.

PHILIP JAMES BAILEY, Festus

To rectify past blunders is impossible, but we might profit by the experience of them.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, letter to Fielding Lewis, Jul. 6, 1780

Hindsight is of little value in the decision-making process. It distorts our memory for events that occurred at the time of the decision so that the actual consequence seems to have been a "foregone conclusion." Thus, it may be difficult to learn from our mistakes.

DIANE F. HALPERN, Thought and Knowledge

An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject and how to avoid them.

WERNER HEISENBERG, Physics and Beyond

I can bear to hear of imputed or real errors. The man who wishes to stand well in the opinion of others must do this; because he is thereby enabled to correct his faults, or remove prejudices which are imbibed against him.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, letter to Joseph Reed, Jan. 14, 1776

All men may err; but he that keepeth not his folly, but repenteth, doeth well; but stubbornness cometh to great trouble.

SOPHOCLES, Antigone

Hindsight, or our ability to see our past clearly, is a learning function that, when damaged ... renders us unable to look at the past to guide ourselves through the present and into the future. Without this ability, we cannot learn from our mistakes. We cannot clean up the wreckage of our actions. We are locked into a cycle of repeating the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. This is commonly known as the definition of insanity.

BARBARA S. COLE, The Gifts of Sobriety

We ought not to look back, unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear bought experience. To enveigh against things that are past and irremediable, is unpleasing; but to steer clear of the shelves and rocks we have struck upon, is the part of wisdom, equally as incumbent on political as other men, who have their own little bark, or that of others, to navigate through the intricate paths of life, or the trackless ocean, to the haven of security and rest.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, letter to Major-General Armstrong, Mar. 26, 1781

It's a good deal easier to resist the first step on the road to ruin than any of the thousand that inevitably follow.

MARK FROST, The List of Seven

If you don't have a margin for error, error kills you.

S. M. STIRLING, The Sunrise Lands

There are people who make no mistakes because they never wish to do anything worth doing.

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, The Maxims and Reflections of Goethe

Mistakes occur through haste, never through doing a thing leisurely.

CHINESE PROVERB

No error is infused into the young mind, to lie there dormant, or to be reproduced only when the subject of thought or action recurs to which the error belongs; but the error becomes a model or archetype, after whose likeness the active powers of the mind create a thousand other errors.

HORACE MANN, Thoughts

If you insist on disavowing that which is ugly about what you do ... you will never learn from your mistakes.

CASSANDRA CLARE, City of Bones

To make mistakes is human, but to profit from them is divine.

ELBERT HUBBARD, The American Bible

The best lessons a man ever learns are from his mistakes. It is not for want of schoolmasters that we are still ignorant.

HENRY WARD BEECHER, Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit

It is not so difficult a task to plant new truths, as to root out old errors; for there is this paradox in men, they run after that which is new, but are prejudiced in favour of that which is old.

CHARLES CALEB COLTON, Lacon

Though you may be last to discover your follies, be always first to correct them.

NORMAN MACDONALD, Maxims and Moral Reflections

It is a very hard and troublesome thing to dispose of whole, half, and quarter-mistakes; to sift them and assign the portion of truth to its proper place.

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, The Maxims and Reflections of Goethe

We are never so liable to fall into an error, as when we have just escaped from one.

NORMAN MACDONALD, Maxims and Moral Reflections

Even honest men mistake oftener in their own favor than in other peoples.

FULKE GREVILLE, Maxims, Characters and Reflections

I prefer being wrong in my own way to being right in someone else's.

YEVGENY ZAMYATIN, Contemporary Russian Literature

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

Fearless - Jet Li - tea & martial arts

2011-09-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

Grading things...destroys them

2011-09-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Mr Huo, according to what you say, you really don't know the nature of tea.
It's not that I don't know, I really don't want to know, because I don't care about evaluating teas. Tea is tea. But each tea has its own character and properties. What is the purpose of grading ? These many teas are grown in nature, all of them. Is there a discernable difference ?
Yes, once you learn this, you can tell the difference between the teas.
What you say may be right, but the way I see it, the tea does not judge itself. It's people that judge its grading. Different people chose different things. As for me, as far as I'm concerned, I just don't want to make any choice.
Is that so ?
Drinking tea is a mood, really. If you are in a good mood, the grade of tea doesn't matter.
I've never looked at it like that. I understand that there are many wushu fighting styles. Are you saying no style is greater than another ?
That's what I'm saying.
If that's true, I want to ask you, if wushu does not differ in any way, why then do we fight each other ?
I believe for all the styles of wushu, there is no single one that is superior. All of those who practice different styles of wushu, they would naturally have a different level of skill. Through competition, we can discover ourselves.
What you just said makes me have more respect for you. Enjoy
You first

its hard to enjoy life when their is so much grading. I've come across people who grade this computer is better or that camera is the best, but to say this is better than that one when it really doesn't matter. All that matters is that you enjoy them.

For the items themselves don't grade themselves, it is people who say this is good and that is bad when in reality there is no good nor bad...as everything has a strength and everything has a weakness.

If you are enjoying what your doing with what you have then that is all that matters. When we start grading we begin to be unhappy.

Metallica - Fuel for becoming more Yang

2011-09-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

I must say when it comes to the world being so Yin these days listening to Metallica really gets the chi going and creates an intense surge of Yang energy....

Yin foods.

2011-09-02T10:42:00.001-07:00

Raw vegetables, and even more so fruits, juices, sugars, alcohol and drugs are more yin (watery and expansive).

Also, anything made with water is much more yin such as soups, smoothies, and watery foods such as eggplant and all fruits.

Dried fruits are less watery, but are still extremely yin due to their sugar content. Most raw plants and herbs are also very yin.

Also, chopping a food into tiny parts, grinding it up, blending it, pureeing it, or juicing it also causes the substance to become much more yin in nature.

In contrast, whole foods that are not chopped up are more yang. Let us discuss specific types of foods:

WHY ARE SO MANY BODIES YIN?

2011-09-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

Traditional Chinese medical practitioners would say the reason for so many yin bodies is deficient chi or vital energy. Many factors can deplete the chi including one's diet, lifestyle, stress and other factors.

In particular, since 1940 or so, several factors have combined to render most bodies extremely yin.

· Ionizing radiation. The atomic bomb, through testing and accidents, has spread radioactive fallout all over the planet. Low-level emissions occur from nuclear power plants, smoke detectors, computer monitors, television sets and fluorescent lamps. Widespread medical and dental use of x-rays, radioactive dyes and radiation therapy add to radiation exposure. Uranium mining is another source of low-level contamination. Fortunately, humanity has learned a lot about radioactive fallout and the safety is improving. However, the problem of rogue nations developing weapons and using them remains a serious problem.

· Electromagnetic pollution. This is also very yin and growing at an astronomical rate with the advent of cell phone towers everywhere, computers in every home, especially laptop computers and hand-held devices like portable telephones. These all give off fields that are very yin and chaotic. Riding in airplanes with large spinning turbines in them near your head, and even riding in automobiles with large alternators spinning nearby also give off electromagnetic waves of varying degrees of chaos. Even house wiring and common radio and TV signals are quite yin, though not nearly as bad as cell phone radiation.

· Toxic metals and chemicals everywhere. Industrial development and growth of the chemical industry has spread thousands of yin toxic chemicals throughout the environment. These include toxic metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum and beryllium. It also includes thousands of toxic chemicals such as solvents, pesticides, plastics and many other classes of compounds.

· Changes in the food supply. These have been massive in the 20^th and 21^st century, and almost all are more yin. They include: soils depleted of minerals due to soil mining, essentially, use of hybrid crops, use of pesticides, use of superphosphate fertilizers. For example, wild fruit, like crab apples, are small, hard and not too sweet. Cultivated fruit is often larger and sweeter (more yin).
Also, food is grown far away and transported thousands of miles in many cases to get to you. Also, some is irradiated, another very yin procedure.

· Food refining. Most food processing and refining have made food far more yin. This includes refining of wheat, sugar, rice and other grains. It also includes adding thousands of toxic chemicals to prepared food, most of which are yin or have a yin effect.

· Dietary changes. The diets have also become more yin, with the consumption of much more white sugar, white flour instead of whole grains, and less red meat and fat consumption. Items like soda pop, beer and wine are also far more yin than water, tea or coffee. Sugar-eating is probably the most important of all of these dietary shifts.

· Medical drug use. This is a more yang approach to health care than some types, but now has turned yin because it is so overused. Especially the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in America in 1967 and similar socialized programs in other nations, have resulted in tremendous use of yin chemicals as medicines. Almost all prescription drugs are yin. This includes most popular drugs such as antibiotics, anti depressants and many others. Surgery and radiation therapy are also extremely yin.

· Recreational drug and alcohol use. This includes marijuana, heroine, alcohol, tobacco, ecstasy and other psychedelics, all of which are very yin.

· Planetary pollution. This has caused a mixture of more yin and more yang conditions. As explained earlier, toxic metals are yang, of themselves, but they cause chaos in the bodies, making them much more yin. Oxygen in the air is reduced in the cities, which is more yang. However, this also causes disease that is yin. Polluted air, water and food, overall, has a very yin effect on mankind today.

· Planetary cycles play a role. "The age of Aquarius" is not just the name of a song. It is a planetary position in the 25,000-year cycle of our solar system through the Milky Way as the galaxy revolves around our central sun located in the Pleiades. It will last about 2000 years. Its qualities are a time of change, reflection, questioning and the chaos that goes with it. It began around 1940 and will last until about 3100.
It is a time when a more yang approach to life and yangizing influences are needed to offset new ideas and concepts which tend to be yin. It is also an age of information which is yin and it is a radioactive age – with nuclear weapons and so on, which is also very yin and these must be balanced with a more yang diet and lifestyle and attitudes that are more yang such as taking responsibility for oneself. The former age, the Piscean age, by contrast was a more yang time with lead in the environment, for instance, and required more fruit and juices and salads in the diet than is required today.

With these rather severe changes have come new diseases, while some older ones such as tuberculosis and typhoid fever are not as prevalent. This is how yin and yang, as well as nutrition, interact with disease states, another complex topic for another article.

Slash & David Lee Roth - Welcome To The Jungle Spoof

2011-08-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Needing the Big Void...Universe will fill it

2011-08-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

Astrology and Breaking Destructive Psychological Patterns In Relationship

Elsa talks about the big void...we all need it to bring the good and new. as she says if you create a void in your life the universe will fill it.

Are You A Sugar Junkie?

2011-08-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of looking good on the outside but feeling bad on the inside?

Maybe you have a lot of potential, but you can be moody, impulsive, angry, tired, restless, overwhelmed and stressed out. Or you are overweight, flirting with diabetes, struggling with depression, drinking more than you want to or working hard to keep your eating disorder hidden from others. Are you plagued with low self-esteem and hopelessness even though you act like everything is all right?

Are you driven by cravings and need sugar, alcohol or excitement to keep you from feeling helpless or hopeless? You probably tell yourself things aren’t so bad and you can stop anytime. But you can’t and things keep getting worse.

you probably think your sugar addiction is about lack of willpower or discipline or motivation. It is not. It is about your biochemistry. You were born with a body that responds to sugar, alcohol and refined carbohydrates differently than other people

. You are sugar sensitive. Sugar acts like a drug in your body. In fact, it affects the very same brain chemicals that morphine, heroin and amphetamines do.

Because you have a sugar-sensitive body, you can be addicted to sugar. You can’t NOT eat it. And because you are sugar sensitive, the “high” you get from eating sugar is actually heightened.

Sugar addiction is not a joke or a fad. It is a serious problem for your health and happiness.

Being sugar sensitive means you have unstable blood sugar, low serotonin and low beta endorphin. All three are out of balance. When this happens, you feel bad and you cannot will or medicate or talk your way into feeling better. Therapy, self-help or 12-step programs alone cannot heal you either because they do not heal the cause of your addiction: your sugar-sensitive biochemistry.

If you are sugar sensitive, what and when you eat has a huge impact on how you feel. Eating a diet high in sugar, refined flour, alcohol and junk foods makes your sugar sensitivity - and your moods - out of control.

When your sugar-sensitive body is in balance, life is good. When it is out of balance, life is miserable.

hypoglycemia is responsible for the overproduction of adrenaline.

2011-08-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

Sugar addiction means that you are hypoglycemic and hypoglycemia is responsible for the overproduction of adrenaline.

When the brain is starved of glucose (glucose ---> biological energy) it will rely on adrenaline to raise blood sugar levels.

coming off days or weeks of sugar addiction a person can get tence and anxious. The ability to relax or turn off repetitive thoughts is diminished as well as the ability to sleep as the body is surging with adreanaline.

Some claim to fo feel wired with adrenalin and might spend hours and hours on the computer madly focused on nothing in particular.

It takes some time for the body to be adapted to a more natural diet. It needs the missing vitamins and minerals to metabolize glucose into energy. It is very difficult to get these vitamins and minerals in our diet nowadays, because we don't eat a natural diet anymore. Everything is manufactured and polluted with chemicals in order to extend the shop life of food.

low sugar levels=BAD decisions

2011-08-22T20:25:00.001-07:00

Research studies say that low blood sugar levels are associated with LOWER overall blood flow to the brain, which means more BAD decisions

Processed white sugar is an addictive chemical

2011-08-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

processed white sugar has no nutritive value left. White sugar has been distilled from brown sugar which was distilled from molasses. The molasses came from sugar cane or sugar beets

Processed sugars such as white, powdered, brown, molasses, and even honey have had some or all of their chemical bonds broken down between their basic components due to the amount of processing .

Processed sugars present as a simple potent sugar which is easily and quickly absorbed by the body.

Continuous large doses of sugar and/or carbohydrates, overtime, usually cause the brain's endorphins sites to slow production or close sites to regulate the amount of endorphins in the brain.

When the body cuts back on endorphin production it reduces the amount of endorphins available in the body at any given time. The lack of enough endorphin in the brain causes slight to deep depression.

To maintain a normal level of endorphins in the brain the individual must eat more sugar and/or carbohydrates to get out of depression and maintain a normal mood level. This causes a vicious cycle of addiction

when processed sugar is stopped there are two chemical related reasons for the resulting depression. There is glut of insulin depressing the system and the lack of endorphins in the brain.

DOPAMINE single mindedness, focus, pursuing your goals.

2011-08-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

by pursuing certain behaviors--single-mindedly focusing on a project, for instance--a person might increase that dopamine drive.
goal-directed behavior (or the lack of it) tends to stand out as a major personality trait.

Put simply, some of us are motivated to pursue goals and others are not.

"When our dopamine system is active, we are more positive, excited, and eager to go after goals and rewards, whether it's food, sex, money, education, or professional achievement

people who are goal-directed are not only more motivated but are generally happier. have strong feelings of elation because you are moving toward achieving an important goal are biochemically based, though they can be modified by experience."

DOPAMINE can overtake the rational parts of your brain."

2011-08-22T15:23:00.001-07:00

Fisher suspects that the dopamine high of first love is meant to be a merely transient pleasure. "When I first started looking at the properties of infatuation, they had some of the same elements of a cocaine high: sleeplessness, loss of a sense of time, absolute focus on love to the detriment of all around you. People walk out of marriages, abandon children. Infatuation can overtake the rational parts of your brain."

Dopamice

2011-08-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

Much of what we know about the effects of dopamine comes from studies on rodents. Exposure to chronic mild stress leads to an "animal model of depression" characterized by decreased responsiveness to rewards and reduced sexual and aggressive behaviors. "Learned helplessness," the "forced swim test," and "effort expenditure" effectively brow-beat the little guys into a "what’s the use in trying" state, easily observable by decreased locomotion or lack of effort in going after rewards.

Move Over, Heroin: “Sugar Addiction” May Be a Reality | Discoblog | Discover Magazine

2011-08-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

Move Over, Heroin: “Sugar Addiction” May Be a Reality | Discoblog | Discover Magazine

Many people (Discoblog editors included) who crave that mid-afternoon cookie fix may joke that they have a sugar addiction, but now scientists have made it official. Researchers at Princeton University report that sugar-loving mice demonstrate all three criteria of addiction: increased intake, withdrawal, and cravings that lead to relapse.
Previous work has shown that mice deprived of food for several hours and then allowed to binge on sugar water (with concentrations similar to that of soft drinks) soon developed addictive behaviors. Sugar intake causes the release of dopamine in the brain, a reward chemical. After a month of sugar binging and increased dopamine levels, the rats’ brains developed fewer dopamine receptors and more opioid receptors—changes similar to those observed in mice on cocaine and heroine.
When their sugar supply was suddenly cut off, the mice exhibited signs of withdrawal, including teeth-chattering, anxiety, and refusing to leaving their tunnels. The latest research showed that when these mice were offered sugar once again, they worked harder to attain it and consumed more than ever.
Cookies today, cocaine tomorrow? We hope not, but that leftover Halloween stash could act as a sort of gateway drug, the researchers say. The changes in brain chemistry made the mice more susceptible to other forms of addiction: When the sugar-addicted mice were cut off from their sugar supply, they binged on alcohol instead.

Intro to Color Theory

2011-08-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

Living LIFE instead of Thinking LIFE

2011-08-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

For much time I've always had a plan for life. I had an outline of what I wanted to do, how I was going to do it, and how it was all destined to turn out.

At this point I can say that none of it has worked out the way I had planned, dreamed, or thought it would. I can honestly say that I have been thinking LIFE my whole life. Not simply living life where you no longer think about what you are going to do and how you are going to do it but simply do what you know how to do whether it works or doesn't you have to realize that you are not ever in control of the outcome. You are only in control of you...to some extent.

Bruce Lee practiced his moves till they became second nature. His kung-fu became a part of him and he no longer had to think about what he was doing, how he was suppose to do it; it just worked. His attacks were lighting quick and very effective because he didn't have to think about things.

Today I took over a co-workers equipment and saw how puzzled he was on how to execute the transfer. In my mind it was easy. Detach the camera from his neck, give to me, and I place camera around my neck. Easy. But he struggled with thinking. It froze him and it took him a while before he took action.

I think that thinking life is like playing chess. You say, if I do this then this might happen or if I do that then that might happen. Instead of just making a move. Sure you might lose but eventually you will become good at losing and eventually you will start to win. Thinking LIFE might be centered around fear of losing what ever we feel we might lose. So we hesitate and contemplate what the right move is.

Taoism teaches us wu wei to simply do what is needed to the best that we can. Letting the outcome unfold by itself the way nature intended for it to. This can be very scary for many people who have always been taught that losing or making mistakes is bad. Its bad if you are attached but perhaps the secret is simply to let go...let go of control...and go with the flow.

WU WEI

Last Supper Pac Man

2011-08-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Picture of Pac Man

Last Supper Mickey Mouse

2011-08-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

"It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.

2011-08-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

RED QUEEN PRINCIPLE

it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.

In reference to an evolutionary system, continuing adaptation is needed in order for a species to maintain its relative fitness amongst the systems being co-evolved with

Graphic design

2011-08-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form (i.e., printers, programmers, signmakers, etc.) – undertaken in order to convey a specific message (or messages) to a targeted audience. The term "graphic design" can also refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines that focus on visual communication and presentation. The field as a whole is also often referred to as Visual Communication or Communication Design. Various methods are used to create and combine words, symbols, and images to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to produce the final result. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated.
Common uses of graphic design include identity (logos and branding), web sites, publications (magazines, newspapers, and books), advertisements and product packaging. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece. Composition is one of the most important features of graphic design, especially when using pre-existing materials or diverse elements.

heavy government spending on education

2011-08-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

A Communist Youth League member at one of China's top science universities, she boasts enviable skills in calligraphy, piano, flute and pingpong.

Such gifted young women are increasingly common in China's cities and make up the most educated generation of women in Chinese history. Never have so many been in college or graduate school, and never has their ratio to male students been more balanced.

To thank for this, experts say, is three decades of steady Chinese economic growth, heavy government spending on education and a third, surprising, factor: the one-child policy.

People are the backbone of every society...to not invest in your people is...suicide

economic growth tends to reduce family size

2011-08-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Some demographers argue that China's fertility rate would have fallen sharply even without the one-child policy because economic growth tends to reduce family size. In that scenario, Chinese girls may have gotten more access to education anyway, though the gains may have been more gradual.

Perhaps this is why the American fertility rate is growing...and our economic growth is dwindling.

Managing Resources

2011-08-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

Managing Resources-- Often times, people automatically believe that I am referring to money when this point is raised. If your only resource is money, you are in dire trouble. If it is your first thought that resources is a euphemism for money, you are ignoring most of the value in your life. You will miss out as a result.

Resources refer to any value that you can trade or any substance you need for daily well-being.

In ancient times, it could have been Mammoth meat. In the modern era, it could be your brain power or the sweat of your brow. It could also be an entertaining story.

THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER: WLOQ 103.1FM ORLANDO DROPS SMOOTH JAZZ FORMAT

2011-08-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER: WLOQ 103.1FM ORLANDO DROPS SMOOTH JAZZ FORMAT: 103.1 FM / WLOQ in Orlando has recently been sold and is in the process of switching formats from Smooth Jazz to an unknown format. At midnight on August 1, WLOQ's smooth jazz format moved exclusively online, and the station began stunting as "Elvis 103.1" until the new format is unveiled. The station initially signed on the air in 1966 as WLOQ-FM and at the time the format was all instrumental “beautiful” music through 1977. The station programmed what became the Smooth Jazz format from 1977 to 2011. In 2011, after CEO John Gross retired for medical reasons, WLOQ was sold to TTB Media Corporation. Here is a message posted online from the CEO of the station:

Aging Diseases and Glutathione

2011-08-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

What's Glutathione (GSH) stay healthy and younger

2011-08-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

learning math gives better brain...myagi and danielson style

2011-07-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

All things are not as they seem in school. I remember in high school people wondering why they had to learn geometry, algebra, and calculus. While not to many people that I know got to learn the latter, the two fromers well I learned them and enjoyed it. But not all things are what they seem. Just like in the karate kid where Mr. Myagi had Daniel paint the fence, wash the car, and wax on and wax off, in order to teach karate, it seems that math in school teaches more than just match it also helps to develop the human brain in particular the frontal lobe where all higher cognitive functions take place. In a recent study it showed that people are becoming more violent due to under developed front lobes caused by video games which only stimulate the eyes and the hands. In contrast doing simple to answer match problems actually stimulates the frontal lobe more than video games. Frontal lobe is where planning, emotions, self control are all based. So doing math actually helps you become a better person. who knew.

Man talking about America

2011-07-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

I'm talking about a time where America stood for something...DAMN IT...
not this fucking shit,
Mc Donalds, iPADS, BULL crap but freedom...the right side of the wrong. We were the good guys everyone wanted to be us...now well we steered off course somehow...

The Essence of Taoism

2011-07-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

How to study Taoism and why it is a LIFE journey?

2011-07-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

What are the Basic Taoist Beliefs? - Bobba

2011-07-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

My oh my lenses

2011-07-27T20:02:00.001-07:00

My oh my lenses, a photo by rymndhng on Flickr.

REAL LIFE

Beauty's trapping...Illusions

2011-07-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

Zen will say all things are illusions since all things happen in everyone's' minds. Beauty for some can have a narcotic effect to the point were we can fall in love very quickly. Very quickly be brain washed really. Though there is no real magic like in Harry Potter one can say that falling in love in nothing more than a spell that is cast on us. If we are one of those people who fall in love with beautiful things because we tend to romanticize everything and not see the reality then we are under a spell. A spell that can lead to our down fall or just set us up for failure big time.

In the ODYSSEY Odysseus was coming home from war and he fell victim to the Sirens, the naked women singing on the rocks that cast spell on sailors and then destroy their ships as they crash into the large rocks they sit on. I beauty as this, not just a beautiful woman, but anything that creates a fantasy aspect in our lives. Music, food, television, people, the list goes on and on. We can become so hypnotized that we lose touch with reality and it affects our decision making. How can we make good smart and effective decisions when really can't see what is going on or maybe we really don't want to see what is going on.
One would need to learn to counter act this dark magic that effects our judgement with something like occlumency.

In Harry Potter, snape teaches Harry to block things from entering his mind by using a spell called occlumency.
In real life we simply need to remind ourselves that what we see is not always what we get and that simply relying on fantasy will surely makes us unhappy in reality.

courage...standing out amongst the drones

2011-07-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

There are aspects of my job that I really enjoy. In fact the job I have now is job I chose to do because it was something that I liked to do and wanted to do. It wasn't a job that I had to take to make a living. That was actually the job I left and i had been there for four and half years and new it was time to get out.

I think the fact that I enjoy my job puts me at a different level than many others. Sometimes I feel a bit of animosity from my co-workers because maybe:
they are old and could not find anything else to do
they are bitter and disappointed with life
they are not happy people
they feel intimidated by me
they are simply negative people
they don't like me because...(there could be a million reason why)

but in the end it doesn't matter. In the end we all need to have the courage to stand out and be different if different is who we really are.
After watching xmen first class the message was pretty much loud and clear, accept yourself, be who you really are and don't give a damn what other people think because if you are so different then maybe you have special abilities that other don't and these special abilities can help others...change the world...save humanity...etc.
At my job I do have more abilities than others and I do feel a bit of alienation from it. Whether it be my computer skills or my camera and photography skills sometimes I just feel like I have to dumb myself down in order to fit in.

I don't want to do that anymore. I don't' want to have to live up to the lower standards of the drones around me. If I am as odd as a mutant on xmen...I choose to be a wolverine...then I should be who I really am and stop trying to fit in with the dummies where I don't belong. Be I left alone because of it so be it. Why should I have to dumb myself down and pretend I am something that I am not in order to fit it. We all want to fit it but are we brave enough to be ourselves to be all that we can be and live to our full potential.????!!!!!

Mac OS X Lion vs. Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, OS's all suck

2011-07-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

Total Control...Perfectionism and failure

2011-07-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

As a writer and creative person there is always some invisisble force the helps or hinders in the creative process.
As I have not written in a long time there is that initial inertia that keeps me from getting started. Then there is my solid destructive belief that I need to control everything in life. I want and need things to be perfect. I suppose its nothing more than fear keeping me from experiencing the real life in an attempt to make things easy and avoid complications. This fear to avoid the bad or the negatives of live really does keep us from living a free full life. I have a lot of anticipation and expectation about what I am going to create, write, etc. I have set idea of what it is going to be and seldom does it ever come out the way I wanted to or expected which leads to disappointment.

For me the greatest obstacle will have to learn to put perfectionism away and simply let remind myself that I can handle what ever comes along good or bad and I dont' have to control everything by having it to be perfect. If I can just accept things as they really are and appreciate what I write or create no matter how bad I feel it is.

Alternative

2011-07-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

When going after what seems to be the normal, the right, the correct thing maybe you better choice is the going after the alternative.

I'm not typical by any means even though I try to be. I couldn't be ordinary if I tried and I do try and most of the I just feel like an outside even amongst a band of misfits I just don't fit.

But I also realize there are those things that do work for me that I never thought they would. Like going to school wasn't doing any thing for me. So I became a writer, artist, photograper and it has worked out.

I notice with this people. There are always those people that seem to be the coolest, the normals, the mainstream kids.. I don't click with those. I like odd balls who walk to a different drum beat. Sure i"m not going to get along with every lunatic out there because there are a lot of them out there but I am always going to find those people who are just a little bit off and whole lot of fun because they don't take life so serious.-

I tried nine to five, office, wearing a suit and tie, and having weekends off. Hated it. I left it to be a cab driver for a month. Then almost became a dance instructor but settled for a retail job with more money and more areas to grow and learn.

So maybe when we, us humans, feel trapped by the lack of choices, maybe we need to seek alternatives to the normal and easy and overly done ones. Trying something new and different might be just what we need.

Seelng all your opportunities

2011-07-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

Gosh living in the world these days often seems so confusing with all the information and misinformation out there. At times I am so bombarded with so many things going on that I fail to recognize, spot, see any if any all of the opportunities and doors to be opened that are in front of me.

I spend so much time focused, maybe a little tunnel vision, but many times it feels more like the zone. You know that place where runners and artists hit where reality disappears and all that is left is them and their action. They or enjoying, loving, creating, being, etc all in one.

I think this definitely gets int he way of me knowing what is all around me. Perhaps I am dumb to it, blind to it, or I'm just so our of touch with it that things just pass me by.

I love to work but at times I get so caught up in working that I fail to be human. to simply have a chat with someone. There are a lot of barriers in life.

Maybe its good to for a moment in your day to stop what you are doing and just see what is going on all around. The people around you, the things going on all around. YOu might notice something you never knew was there.
Children alwasy seem to be more opened to this type of awareness. Sometimes it can lead them to trouble but most times it gives them a new path to explore that other wise would have been missed.

There is also the idea of the rabbit hole like in Alice in Wonderland. Maybe there are times we are aware of new paths try but we are so scared to do anything new because we don't know what we will find. It takes a bit of courage to change I guess.

Food allergies can cause depression, panic attacks and anger, Joan Mathe...

2011-06-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

Panic attacks and blood diet

2011-06-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Becky!

Your panic attacks should improve if you are allergic to something and stop eating that product.

Here is why:

All reactions in our bodies are chemical. Your emotions are neuro-chemical. Panic attacks are caused by chemicals surging through your body.

When you consume something your body cannot process, you are having improper chemical reactions. Basically, when you eat wheat - your body chemicals (ALL OF THEM) are outta whack!

So yes, your panic attacks should improve. Panic attacks are fear. When I stopped eating wheat (I'm a type O - allergic to wheat) this crazy constant emotion of fear I had always had stopped. I'm not scared anymore.

For some reason I find that fear, panic, etc. is common with food allergens.

Give yourself 1-3 months. And allow your mind to process the change. :)

All the best,
Kate

Re: Just what exactly is Lifestyle photography?

2011-06-23T07:01:00.001-07:00

Dale,

I hope I was not too cynical. Lifestyle is a legitamate category, but it is often (at least in my experiance) used to cover whatever the AD can't actually describe or visualize very well. I do understand the problem since I have had to sit on the other side of the table and figure out how to visualize vague or difficult concepts for ad design. Even so, I get a little irritated when scenes that are clearly staged with actors/models in fully dressed high end locations are called 'lifestyle'. I would just call them 'advertising' and leave it at that.

Don't think you can't or shouldn't get experiance doing this sort of thing. Even if you don't have a big budget you can get good shots of people in activities that can add to your portfolio. I just took a quick tour of a couple members sites cruising for 'lifestyle' stuff. There are some very high end shots that you could still replicate on some scale for little money. Several sites show people playing golf/tennis, shopping, excercising, etc...Of course in many cases these shots were staged with several people, lighting, and crew, but version (good looking ones) could be re-staged with one or two models (friends or work-trade models) as long as you can get the location to allow you to shoot. You may have to go available light or just use a fill light/reflector, but it can be done. Take a look at what good portait guys do on locations - they find the light and background, then exploit it.

Balancing people and setting is tough. That is why photographers and cinematographers who do it well are sought after, but learning to do this sort of shot is important. Often architecture without people is just an empty stage. Sure some of it is worthy as art alone, but much only comes to life when people enter the picture. You may also find oportunities to build your skills on shots for non-profits or other groups that need help - a donation of some images might be less expensive than a seminar, and can build good relationships for you as well.

Good Luck,

Cecil

everyone is just scared and wants to fit in

2011-06-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

I believe that too that there are no coincidences. I also think if someone is supposed to be in your life they will be brought into your life one way or another you dont have to do anything it will just happen

Without a doubt. This has been true my whole life. I'm really glad to have found threads such as this...connecting with others who are like me. I've felt so different all my life... realizing now, that maybe it's the "others" that are diffent...not us.

One of my favorite things to say is that Im not fucked up its the rest of the world thats fucked,lol

I have always felt like I was different and I kind of just went with that. I have taught my kids to be different
I mean really why be just like everyone else. I like to think of it as thinking outside of the box.

Now that Im an adult(Im 40) I notice that everyone is just scared and wants to fit in with everyone else but no one is really sure of what they want to fit into, especially when I do my readings alot of people are just lost outside of themselves. I wish I knew all of this when I was growing up it may not of been so painful

I was answering to this...

The sun always sets

2011-06-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

No matter how the day is, the sun will set and tomorrow it will rise again. Tomorrow is another chance.

Freinds in business

2011-05-20T07:29:00.003-07:00

In Business, sir, one has no friends only correspondents.

The Pig with a Wooden Leg

2011-05-09T21:07:00.001-07:00

A traveler was driving through Arkansas when he lost his way and got off the main highway. As he drove by, he saw rows and rows of pigsties and pigpens and pigs running in fields and pigs wallowing in mud. Suddenly, his eye caught something really strange. He did a double take, muttered to himself and then looked a third time. He wondered if he had seen correctly - it looked like a pig with a wooden leg!
He found the lane to the farm and drove up into the farmyard, where he was met by the farmer. "Excuse me," the traveler said. "I was just driving by and looking at all your pigs, and I noticed something that I just had to stop and ask about. Tell me, did I see right? Is there really a pig out there with a wooden leg?" The farmer smiled. "Oh, that would be old Caesar you saw. He's the finest pig a man could ever hope to have - and smart! Well, let me tell you a little about that pig. You see that barge down there on the river? That's a mining dredge, taking out platinum ore. Old Caesar sniffed out the vein and showed us how to set it up. Now that dredge brings me in about $120,000 every year.
"There's another thing, too, a little more personal. One night a couple of years ago I got to drinking and I guess I had more than I should have. I passed out drunk, fell down and knocked over a lamp. That started a fire in the house and old Caesar smelled the smoke. He came in the back door, got the wife and kid out, roused me up and got me out. "There is no question about it - that night old Caesar saved all our lives and you know that is not the sort of thing a man is going to forget too easily."
"Why," the traveler said, "this is all amazing! I have never heard of a pig like this before! This is fantastic! But tell me, how did he get that wooden leg? Was he in a wreck or something?"
The farmer laughed and said, "Well, naturally, when you have a pig that smart, you don't want to eat him all at one time!"