Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Why we Speak English

Why We Speak English
by Lynn PedersenTheories of Rain)


Because when you say cup and spoon
your mouth moves the same way as your grandfather's
and his grandfather's before him.
It's Newton's first law: A person in motion
tends to stay in motion with the same speed
and direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force—
scarcity or greed.

Is there a word for greed in every language?
Because the ear first hearddyes furs pepper ginger tobacco cotton timber
silk freedom horizon
and the tongue wanted to taste all these fine things.
And when my son asks why his father speaks Danish
and he and I speak English and Carlos—at kindergarten—speaks Portuguese:

because Denmark is and has always been.
Our ancestors tracked north and Carlos'
tracked south. What's left in their wake
is language.

Because it comes down to want, to latitude and longitude as ways to measure
desire, invisible mover of ships—
great clockwise gyre of water in the sea—
like some amusement park ride where boats seem to sail
but run on tracks under the water.

Because to change course now would be like divertingthe Arno,
this centuries-long rut we've dug ourselves
into, and how would it be to wake up one morning
with bird oiseau or another word entirely?

"Why We Speak English" by Lynn Pedersen, from Theories of Rain. © Main Street Rag, 2009.

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Feeling bad blues


I haven't been feeling that great for the past couple of weeks. Nothing like a little illness to force introspection (is that even a word?...) I thought I was well on the road to recovery and had a little mishap today. Hopefully some sleep and antibiotics will do the trick.

Anyway, I did a couple of comfort things to make me feel better:

I signed up for a daily email from the Writers Almanac
I subscribed to several blogs.

I signed up for SparkPeople

Let me tell you a little more about Spark People:

A couple of people who started ebay decided to do something pretty awesome with some of the money they earned. The started an online community for people trying to loose weight and get healthy. Thisi s all for FREE! Check it out if you get the chance.

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Beethoven's Immortal Beloved

I stumbled upon this letter, it has been such a long while since I read it:

Good morning, on July 7

Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all - Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits - Yes, unhappily it must be so - You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves. And yet my life in V is now a wretched life - Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men - At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection? My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once - Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your
beloved.
ever thine
ever mine
ever ours

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Charleston Part Deux


A view from the trees of the battery.

I took this picture of Hannah at lunchtime. We had the best waitress. She looked just like Ashley Judd.





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Monday, March 30, 2009

The Jones go to Charleston


Oliver was going on his first big boy field trip--an overnight trip to Charleston, so naturally we decided to join him.

We received the royal treatment and everyone had a blast
We had lunch at the greatest little place in Mt. Pleasant called The Boulevard Diner. The food was fresh, hot and good!
We had to cross the Cooper River Bridge, the largest cable stay span bridge in North America. There is a faboulous bike and pedistrian lane. Next time we go, we are going to be sure to bring the bikes.
We met Oliver at the aquarium, where he and Hannah had the sweetest reunion.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Birthday Present


I was so happy to come home and find a suprise on my doorstep. One of my dearest friends in the whole wide world sent me a framed photograph she shot during a trip we had taken together to NYC. I immediately put it on my mantle and will cherish it always.

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Bedtime Stories




Hannah was adamant that she take pictures of her bedtime story books. I told her I would post them for everyone to enjoy. She liked that idea... I think I see a digital camera in her future.

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Dinner Outside




It was such a beautiful day that we decided to enjoy dinner outside tonight. Someone gifted me their old wrought iron patio set and I repainted it. I also used a couple of broken Buddhas as a centerpiece. Nothing like whole wheat spaghetti and wine.






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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

What the world needs now... Is Vodka Gummi Bears


From friends over at Mix that drink (anyone who can mix a drink and share all their yummy recipies is a friend of mine...) comes the ultimate recipe or science experiment of making vodka gummi bears.

Check out the details here.

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This Video took my breath away


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Cool Resources

I use so many programs and applications on a daily basis that sometimes it makes it hard to remember shortcuts and tricks. That is whay I compiles a list of resources to make my life easier.

Photoshop Tutorials

I use photoshop, I am not a master of photoshop. Sometimes, I need some reminding on how to ________________. Smashing Magazine developed a great list of where to go to recieve instruction on how to do cool things like:

skin retouching

glamour shots retouching

Faking HDR

movie effects

flaming hair...



Get the complete list here



Short Cuts and Cheat Sheets



Making life more efficient is my mantra... Webresourcedepot must have heard me chant... A list of hot keys for Adobe CS (just about every version), Quark, and Gimp.



It is also a great resource of cheats for:

photoshop black and white cheat sheet

photoshop brush tool cheat sheet

lasso tool cheat sheet

pen tool cheat sheet



3D Effects

Looking for a good way to kill a Saturday? Look no more, check out Smashing Apps list of 43 really useful photoshop tutorials for 3D effects.

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Monday, March 23, 2009

Rock Star


It has been a tough week and I am really glad to see a new one beginning. It isn't often that one looks forward to a Monday.

This past weekend wasn't all bad (just mostly...)

Take a look at my little rock star.

We are heading to Charleston this weekend. So, I am going to spend my energies planning memories.

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Salt Lamp


I am going to buy a salt lamp from Target.

Salt lamps are supposed to reduce stress and increase energy by releasing negative ions from the heated salt into the air, creating an effect similar to an ionizer.

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Kids eat free on Sundays at Hooters



No really, they eat free. They even get a free Frisbee. Just goes to show, you are never too young for hooters.

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Design Inspiration

Sometimes I need somewhere to go for inspiration. Simply looking at beauty makes me want to create.

I found some great online resources that provide inspiration:
100 Great Resources for Design

Take a look and get inspired.

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Monday, March 16, 2009

Operation Life Boat


I put together a little list in case the proverbial dookie hits the fan and the world as we know it comes to an end. And in the event modern life continues as usual, we will have a cute little getaway.

List:
-Buy land
-Buy Yurt
-Plant a garden
-Alternative power

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Urban Homesteading

I found a new site to help us be better urban homesteaders.

I can't wait until we can eat the produce out of our own Square Foot Garden.

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Cool New PR Tool

Free, powerful, and easy to use. If you are a PR professional, this is definitely something you want in your arsenal.

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Kite Flying

It's March! Spring is in the air, finally.


We enjoyed a weekend of fun flying kites. My son Oliver is now a pro!

I found this site of kite flying tricks and tips for him to perfect his new hobby. 

We have a trip to Charleston planned for later this month and he can't wait to fly his kite at the beach. 



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Four-Square

Did anyone else play four-square when they were a kid?


I did and it was a blast. I think I am going to introduce my son (now 11) to the wonders of 4 squares, some chalk, and a bouncy ball. 

If you haven't played or need a refreasher on the rules, check here


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Ebay

I have bought and bought from the online marketplace, but have never sold. 


This article with 9 excellent tools to sell things on ebay has given me the inspiration to get started. 

It is off to the garage to find suitable online wares.

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Freebies

Free is always good and nowadays you can't get enough of the no cost stuff. Take a look at a couple of places to get cool free stuff you might actually use:


From fonts to clip art. From photoshop to web design. Visit 100 sites to download free stuff: 

Want to create a new flash website? Disposable chat rooms... 26 Web Apps you probably didn't know about:

5 great Microsoft programs that are available for free that you probably aren't using:

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