Heaven forbid confrontation! Do you like confrontation? I do - in most cases. With that I mean, I'm not afraid to confront someone about something or call someone out... I'm reading a book right now entitled "Trust or Consequences," by Al Golin. Something that I found interesting so far: he talks about his fear that because of technology, we soon may be able to avoid real, live conversations. How many of us have "g-chatted" a friend instead of just calling them on the phone. Or call a co-worker instead of walking the 10 feet to their office.
Golin says: "This is like the old radio show in which one of the characters was an anxiety-ridden, door-to-door salesman who desperately hope that 'no one would be at home.'"
He goes on to say that a lot of businessmen love their high-tech tools not just for improved efficiency but because they too hope that no one is home. They don't want to face sticky situations that might lead to a discussion or even a confrontation.
Heaven forbid confrontation!
Unless a company (or a person) makes a commitment to humanizing relationships, the online culture will take over. Sophisticated technology is enticing and it's easy to forget what's being sacrificed when a culture is overly dependent on this form of communication.
The end.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Bombings in Moscow
So my sister is in Moscow on her mission. There were two bombings that took place this morning in the metro in Moscow - one of the most developed metro systems.
I woke up this morning to a couple e-mails from her mission president saying first, that they were trying to track down all the missionaries, and second, that they had contacted all the missionaries and everyone is okay.
I'm really grateful she is okay.
I woke up this morning to a couple e-mails from her mission president saying first, that they were trying to track down all the missionaries, and second, that they had contacted all the missionaries and everyone is okay.
I'm really grateful she is okay.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
A Toast to Moustaches...
Thanks to my ward talent show and my friend Paige for this youtube video... a tribute to the greatness of moustaches... ha ha ha!
Friday, March 26, 2010
My lunch
I made a wrap for myself for lunch yesterday. Here is what I put on it:
Sun dried tomato wrap
Creamy cilantro ranch dressing for a spread
Provolone cheese (probably one of my favorite cheeses)
Slices of ham for protein and flavor
Spinach...
Cucumbers (cut them into small bite size chunks)
Do you know what this is? It is called jicama. SO delicious. I don't think a lot of people know about jicama and that you can purchase it at basically any grocery store. Adds such a yummy crispness to any salad or wrap. Very mild, sweet taste. I cut these into small chunks.
Red pepper... again, just small chunks. Adds a lot of sweetness to the wrap.
Oh yes I did! I cut up chunks of Fuji apples into the wrap! SO YUMMY! I love Fuji apples because they are crisp and sweet. Can't go wrong with a Fuji.
And the grand finale... sunflower seeds! Delicious. Healthy. Protein. Crunch.
Wrap it all up and you have yourself a seriously delicious, healthy and beautiful lunch.
Was it good, you ask? Does a fat kid love candy? Yes, it was good.
Advocating Part 2
I was talking to my sister-in-law this afternoon and she mentioned that she had read my last post about advocating different causes. She reminded me that the most important role of advocate I can play is an advocate for the Church and my Savior. We don't have to go to far off places to do good... there is plenty of good that can be done here, where ever you are.
If we are first and foremost, acting as advocates for Him and His gospel, then we can continue and branch out to advocate different things, such as The United Way, microfinancing, or battered women in a far-off country.
There is so much good to be done and we have the power to do it.
Thanks for the reminder, Sis.
If we are first and foremost, acting as advocates for Him and His gospel, then we can continue and branch out to advocate different things, such as The United Way, microfinancing, or battered women in a far-off country.
There is so much good to be done and we have the power to do it.
Thanks for the reminder, Sis.
Chuffed to bits...
"Chuffed to bits by your ba-donka-donk!"
Differences in British and American slang with Ellen and Hugh...
Differences in British and American slang with Ellen and Hugh...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Advocating = Courage
I listened to a very engaging speaker the other night at my professor's home. Sterling Van Wagenen has worked with Robert Redford at the Sundance Film Festival and has worked on multiple other projects for independent films. He spoke a lot about advocacy and the courage it takes to sincerely advocate something. You have to personally find the things to which you truly can commit yourself. If you can't really give your all to it, don't do it.
He showed us a few examples of powerful advocates:
"The Cove": basically an illumination of the illegal killing of dolphins that is taking place in Taijii, Japan and the extent to which the directors and producers went to expose something they knew was wrong. I found it fascinating - there were a few parts that were a little hard to watch, (Japanese soldiers actually killing the dolphins) but overall, it was a fascinating look at how deeply committed these producers were to a cause.
"Triumph of the Will": I'm sure we have all heard of Hitler's propaganda films. We watched segments of this - one of the biggest propaganda films he made. I lived in Germany for 18 months and got to know a lot of Germans really well. I ached as I watched segments of this film. We discussed the differences between motivation and manipulation. What did Hitler use? Were his tactics a motivation toward something better or was he truly manipulating the people of Germany and the surrounding countries to believe and see things the way he saw them? I don't know. Either way, he was passionately advocating a cause which he saw was good.
"Small Fortunes": I was truly moved and inspired when I watched the segments of this film, produced by KBYU-TV. An economics professor saw a woman on the street weaving something out of bamboo and asked her how much money she was going to get from it - basically, she was living on less than $2 and was receiving hardly anything from her weaving because her money lenders were purchasing all her products and taking the money and giving her only a very small portion of it. (Too little for her to live on, save, or off of which to make any profit.)
So, he found a few other people with these problems and dished out $27 from his pocket. $27 provided these people a total change of life because they had at least $5 to thrive on. (Notice that I used the word "thrive" instead of "survive." That was intentional.) As little as $2 make the biggest difference from these people. What I found most amazing is that this is a trust-based credit. These people are given the credit and are simply "trusted" that they will pay back the loan. If I remember correctly, there is a 95 percent payback rate for women in the program. The percentage for men was a little lower than that. There are a lot of poor people out there that aren't poor just because they are lazy or haven't found a job yet - they are poor because they don't have any opportunities. This program is giving them those opportunities.
I want to advocate that. Find something in which you believe and are so passionate about and do something about it. This is the time of life that we can totally commit ourselves to something that we want to advocate. Honestly, if I could have it my way, I would work the next few months and save up money, pay off my car, (all the while getting involved in this micro-credit loan program) and then move to India or South America to work with the program. I would love that. I want to do something.
Well said, Mr. Van Wagenen.
He showed us a few examples of powerful advocates:
"The Cove": basically an illumination of the illegal killing of dolphins that is taking place in Taijii, Japan and the extent to which the directors and producers went to expose something they knew was wrong. I found it fascinating - there were a few parts that were a little hard to watch, (Japanese soldiers actually killing the dolphins) but overall, it was a fascinating look at how deeply committed these producers were to a cause.
"Triumph of the Will": I'm sure we have all heard of Hitler's propaganda films. We watched segments of this - one of the biggest propaganda films he made. I lived in Germany for 18 months and got to know a lot of Germans really well. I ached as I watched segments of this film. We discussed the differences between motivation and manipulation. What did Hitler use? Were his tactics a motivation toward something better or was he truly manipulating the people of Germany and the surrounding countries to believe and see things the way he saw them? I don't know. Either way, he was passionately advocating a cause which he saw was good.
"Small Fortunes": I was truly moved and inspired when I watched the segments of this film, produced by KBYU-TV. An economics professor saw a woman on the street weaving something out of bamboo and asked her how much money she was going to get from it - basically, she was living on less than $2 and was receiving hardly anything from her weaving because her money lenders were purchasing all her products and taking the money and giving her only a very small portion of it. (Too little for her to live on, save, or off of which to make any profit.)
So, he found a few other people with these problems and dished out $27 from his pocket. $27 provided these people a total change of life because they had at least $5 to thrive on. (Notice that I used the word "thrive" instead of "survive." That was intentional.) As little as $2 make the biggest difference from these people. What I found most amazing is that this is a trust-based credit. These people are given the credit and are simply "trusted" that they will pay back the loan. If I remember correctly, there is a 95 percent payback rate for women in the program. The percentage for men was a little lower than that. There are a lot of poor people out there that aren't poor just because they are lazy or haven't found a job yet - they are poor because they don't have any opportunities. This program is giving them those opportunities.
I want to advocate that. Find something in which you believe and are so passionate about and do something about it. This is the time of life that we can totally commit ourselves to something that we want to advocate. Honestly, if I could have it my way, I would work the next few months and save up money, pay off my car, (all the while getting involved in this micro-credit loan program) and then move to India or South America to work with the program. I would love that. I want to do something.
Well said, Mr. Van Wagenen.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Hot weather yoga for Bedouins
A few fabulous quotations for the week from "Life of Pi":
"Why, Islam is nothing but an easy sort of exercise, I thought. Hot-weather yoga for the Bedouins. Asanas without sweat, heaven without restraint..." "...I challenge anyone to understand Islam, its spirit, and not to love it. It is a beautiful religion of brotherhood and devotion." *[Please note that I do not have anything against Islam. I think it is a beautiful religion - I simply like the perspective of a young boy on this religion.]
"Our encounters always leave me weary of the glum contentment that characterizes my life." [Have you ever met anyone like that? I love people like this... they open my mind up. I find this quotation so beautiful.]
"I can well imagine an atheist's last words: "White, white! L-L-Love! My God!" -- and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeastless factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, "Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain," and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story."
"At the rate you're going, if you go to temple on Thursday, mosque on Friday, synagogue on Saturday and church on Sunday, you only need to convert to three more religions to be on holiday for the rest of your life."
I love reading.
"Why, Islam is nothing but an easy sort of exercise, I thought. Hot-weather yoga for the Bedouins. Asanas without sweat, heaven without restraint..." "...I challenge anyone to understand Islam, its spirit, and not to love it. It is a beautiful religion of brotherhood and devotion." *[Please note that I do not have anything against Islam. I think it is a beautiful religion - I simply like the perspective of a young boy on this religion.]
"Our encounters always leave me weary of the glum contentment that characterizes my life." [Have you ever met anyone like that? I love people like this... they open my mind up. I find this quotation so beautiful.]
"I can well imagine an atheist's last words: "White, white! L-L-Love! My God!" -- and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeastless factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, "Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain," and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story."
"At the rate you're going, if you go to temple on Thursday, mosque on Friday, synagogue on Saturday and church on Sunday, you only need to convert to three more religions to be on holiday for the rest of your life."
I love reading.
All Things Man
"It can be said many ways: “hombre, mies, muz, burri, homme, cz’owiek or mann.” But even with all the different languages across the globe, man has one thing no one else has: a Y chromosome."
I'm guessing that The Man Expo could be considered the equivalent of The Bridal Fair for women? I guess that is a fair comparison. One has an overload of testosterone... the other an overload of estrogen.
Highlights of the man expo coming up in Utah:
Rock Climbing Wall
Paintball shooting range
Mechanical Bull
Indoor Wake-boarding demonstrations
Skate Park with Skateboard demonstrations
Keynote Speakers
Musical Guests/Concert
Celebrity appearances
and... a lesson on handshaking... [of utmost importance for the male species... you're not accepted into the pack without it]
So, to all the dear men in my life: go experience "all things man."
Hey Ladies! April 9 & 10: Girls nights out!
I'm guessing that The Man Expo could be considered the equivalent of The Bridal Fair for women? I guess that is a fair comparison. One has an overload of testosterone... the other an overload of estrogen.
Highlights of the man expo coming up in Utah:
Rock Climbing Wall
Paintball shooting range
Mechanical Bull
Indoor Wake-boarding demonstrations
Skate Park with Skateboard demonstrations
Keynote Speakers
Musical Guests/Concert
Celebrity appearances
and... a lesson on handshaking... [of utmost importance for the male species... you're not accepted into the pack without it]
So, to all the dear men in my life: go experience "all things man."
Hey Ladies! April 9 & 10: Girls nights out!
Monday, March 22, 2010
GO!
In the midst of watching "30 Rock" on NBC, [no, that isn't a weekly thing for me... I was eating dinner alone and wanted a little mind-numbing entertainment/ noise in a quiet apartment] I heard something and had a thought. [Dangerous, I know.]
We are a consumeristic society. [Don't let that comment scare you from reading on... it gets better.]
Duh, Self. Everyone knows that.
So why don't we do something about it?
Why couldn't we become an "inventing society?" However weird that sounds, I think it is so true. We consume and limit ourselves to ideas that are just presented to us, instead of going out and creating and producing ourselves. We all have ideas... I know we do. We all have the innate desire to invent or create something. Right?
Invention confession corner with AEJones:
Since I was little I have always wanted to invent a little LED screen that you could hook up to the back window of your car. If you were in a crunch and realized you needed to get over into the other lane in a traffic jam, you could have the passenger in your car type in something (or have some kind of pre-loaded comment like you find on your phone for text messages) to the effect of, "Sorry, can I merge into your lane?"
Then, when the driver lets you in, you can send them a thank you message: "Thanks for letting me in! Appreciate it! Have a nice day!"
Isn't that great? A little naive, I know. BUT... this illustrates my point: we all have those crazy ideas! Some may be a little more crazy than others. But we are a "making/creating" people!
I have added a new word to my "favorite word" list. [I may or may not have just created this said list and added this word to it...] "Mommypreneuers." I have no idea where I first heard that, but I love it.
My sister, we'll refer to her as Mrs. Hatch, is the little image that pops into my head when I think of the word "Mommypreneur." She is a genius when it comes to stuff like this. She majored in Marketing at BYU and has really taken her major and whipped it into shape. She has so many ideas: organic baby food, home-made-whole-wheat bread, Picture to Portrait... She has a few more but these are three that she has started to really do something with. She had ideas and she did something about them. Another great example is Mrs. Fussypants. Love her.
I think we should let it [our desire to invent and create] out a little more and not stifle it so, by allowing our consumeristic society to push in on us.
GO! CREATE! Have fun with inventing and doing something with those ideas that have been floating around in your head for however long.
We are a consumeristic society. [Don't let that comment scare you from reading on... it gets better.]
Duh, Self. Everyone knows that.
So why don't we do something about it?
Why couldn't we become an "inventing society?" However weird that sounds, I think it is so true. We consume and limit ourselves to ideas that are just presented to us, instead of going out and creating and producing ourselves. We all have ideas... I know we do. We all have the innate desire to invent or create something. Right?
Invention confession corner with AEJones:
Since I was little I have always wanted to invent a little LED screen that you could hook up to the back window of your car. If you were in a crunch and realized you needed to get over into the other lane in a traffic jam, you could have the passenger in your car type in something (or have some kind of pre-loaded comment like you find on your phone for text messages) to the effect of, "Sorry, can I merge into your lane?"
Then, when the driver lets you in, you can send them a thank you message: "Thanks for letting me in! Appreciate it! Have a nice day!"
Isn't that great? A little naive, I know. BUT... this illustrates my point: we all have those crazy ideas! Some may be a little more crazy than others. But we are a "making/creating" people!
I have added a new word to my "favorite word" list. [I may or may not have just created this said list and added this word to it...] "Mommypreneuers." I have no idea where I first heard that, but I love it.
My sister, we'll refer to her as Mrs. Hatch, is the little image that pops into my head when I think of the word "Mommypreneur." She is a genius when it comes to stuff like this. She majored in Marketing at BYU and has really taken her major and whipped it into shape. She has so many ideas: organic baby food, home-made-whole-wheat bread, Picture to Portrait... She has a few more but these are three that she has started to really do something with. She had ideas and she did something about them. Another great example is Mrs. Fussypants. Love her.
I think we should let it [our desire to invent and create] out a little more and not stifle it so, by allowing our consumeristic society to push in on us.
GO! CREATE! Have fun with inventing and doing something with those ideas that have been floating around in your head for however long.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)