WujWuj...No More Crappy Gifts

Party Time!! I don’t know about you but for almost all party occasions my friends and I use evite.com. Evite is easy to use, easy to manage the guest list, it’s cutesy-which of course is important, and it can be monitored from anywhere. So when planning a get together most of the time I go to that site to do it, but I was out there surfing the web again…I have no life, and I found a new site that I think is super cool!!

WujWuj.com is evite with group gifting (evite+egift)….how killer is that! WujWuj according to the website stands for With Upmost Joy – like it. You sign up, which is free, create your event, add your attendees, and you can then select a gift or gifts for everyone to contribute to. So if you have a graduation, special birthday, or anniversary, anything that you want to get some people in on a good gift for-now you can do it online. Hence the tag line... No More Crappy Gifts, you know you want to say that some times, but that would be rude. So now this website can say it for you.

My family is everywhere, California, Florida, Hawaii, Washington, Colorado, Maryland, the list goes on. Trying to get everyone coordinated to go in on a gift is difficult, who’s contributing, who collects, who purchases, who delivers the gift it is always such a pain to figure out. So this website looks great, you pick the gift it is included in the invitation, your invitees (is that a word?) go to the “event” page contribute to the gift, and WujWuj purchases it and sends it to the address listed.

I love the virtual world!!

So that’s today’s get smart tip, I would love to hear your feedback about the site….

Chris Abani on Ted

What an amazing man!!

Imprisoned three times by the Nigerian government, Chris Abani turned his experience into poems that Harold Pinter called "the most naked, harrowing expression of prison life and political torture... In this deeply personal talk, novelist and poet Chris Abani searches for the heart of Africa through poetry and narrative -- including his own story of artistic and political awakening, which began with an inventive teacher who taught him the forbidden history of his own people. How, he asks, can we reconcile stories of terror, war and corruption with one's enduring sense of pure wonder?

The Forgotten Dialect Of The Heart

How astonishing it is that language can almost mean,and frightening that it does not quite. Love, we say,God, we say, Rome and Michiko, we write, and the wordsget it all wrong. We say bread and it means accordingto which nation. French has no word for home,and we have no word for strict pleasure. A peoplein northern India is dying out because their ancienttongue has no words for endearment. I dream of lostvocabularies that might express some of whatwe no longer can. Maybe the Etruscan texts wouldfinally explain why the couples on their tombsare smiling. And maybe not. When the thousandsof mysterious Sumerian tablets were translated,they seemed to be business records. But what if theyare poems or psalms? My joy is the same as twelveEthiopian goats standing silent in the morning light.O Lord, thou art slabs of salt and ingots of copper,as grand as ripe barley lithe under the wind's labor.Her breasts are six white oxen loaded with boltsof long-fibered Egyptian cotton. My love is a hundredpitchers of honey. Shiploads of thuya are whatmy body wants to say to your body. Giraffes are thisdesire in the dark. Perhaps the spiral Minoan scriptis not laguage but a map. What we feel most hasno name but amber, archers, cinnamon, horses, and birds. -Jack Gilbert

Ode To The Drum

Gazelle, I killed you for your skin's exquisite touch, for how easy it is to be nailed to a board weathered raw as white butcher paper. Last night I heard my daughter praying for the meat here at my feet. You know it wasn't anger that made me stop my heart till the hammer fell. Weeks ago, I broke you as a woman once shattered me into a song beneath her weight, before you slouched into that grassy hush. But now I'm tightening lashes, shaping hide as if around a ribcage, stretched like five bowstrings. Ghosts cannot slip back inside the body's drum. You've been seasoned by wind, dusk & sunlight. Pressure can make everything whole again, brass nails tacked into the ebony wood your face has been carved five times. I have to drive trouble from the valley. Trouble in the hills. Trouble on the river too. There's no kola nut, palm wine, fish, salt, or calabash. Kadoom. Kadoom. Kadoom. Ka- doooom. Kadoom. Now I have beaten a song back into you, rise & walk away like a panther. -Yusef Komunyakaa

Daily Motion Video Widget

I was checking out a site the other day and they had this great video widget, always looking for the next best widget I clicked on it. The “videowall” that is what they call it was from Daily Motion, France’s provider of online video content from both user-generated and media partnership sources. Basically this site is a much much smaller version of Youtube, like Youtubes 2nd cousin, but the cool thing about it is no company stamp and the video wall.

Videowalls let you display a group of videos on your site with a slick interface. You can display up to 81 videos in a Videowall. You can create Videowalls from a user or group profile page by clicking the "Create a Videowall" button, located in the profile pane just beneath the user or group description.

The videowall has so many applications for blogs, social sites, websites, etc. you can use the wall to display marketing and advertising videos, company profiles, or just fun stuff. The wall is small like most widgets (but it can get rather large, up to 81 videos- wow) which means it can be displayed in a prominent location on your site, so people do not have search around to find your video content.

A couple of logistical points:

· MAXIMUM ALLOWED VIDEO DURATION: 20 minutes
· MAXIMUM ALLOWED FILE SIZE: 150MB
· ADVISED VIDEO SETTINGS:
o MP4 (H264), MOV, WMV, AVI formats (many are supported)
o 320x240, 640x480 or 1280x720 resolution
o 25 frames per second (framerate or fps)
If you want to upload videos longer than 20 minutes or in High Definition, become a motionmaker

What is a motionmaker you ask?

A MotionMaker is a creative user who does not have any limits to the length or file size of videos they can upload. The MotionMaker’s videos may be featured on the homepage, within channels, or elsewhere on the Dailymotion site.

In order to join the program, first register under the appropriate creative user category (filmmaker, reporter, musician, entertainer, or extreme) and accept the special terms and conditions. Once you have registered, label one of your videos as “creative content” on the video edit page. Your video will be transmitted to the Dailymotion team, which will review it for compliance with MotionMaker standards in order to validate your status.

So get out there and make some of those cool video walls and let me know how it goes. I am still building mine it should be up soon, check back.

Seven Deadly Sins.....Sloth

It is Terrible Tuesday again and I have another Seven Deadly Sin post to contribute to the carnival. I chose Gluttony last week and this week I am doing Sloth. I decided to participate in this carnival because it just sounded cool, but I have found in writing these posts that it is actually quite cathartic. I spent a year in Catholic prison (that is a Catholic high school) which I chose of my own accord because I wanted to learn something. I have to admit I learned a lot, but I also closed off to a lot, like some of the lessons in the Seven Deadly Sins. A sin for a Catholic (for the type of Catholic I was-don't want to offend anyone) is something to confess to your priest and then move on, I never looked at how these “sins” could impact personal growth, who knew I would get that lesson from a blog!!



Sloth is defined as spiritual and/or actual apathy or laziness. Sloth can also concern wasting due to lack of use or allowing entropy, expanding into almost any person, place, thing, skills, or intangible ideal that would require maintenance, refinement and/or support to continue to exist.

Sloth is a tricky one, because most people have a tendency to, at some point, want to slack off or shirk responsibilities. So when is a propensity to doing something actually considered a regularity or an overriding character flaw?


When I think of sloth I think of some slacker, with bad hygiene, living in a dump that spends their life just squeaking by. A slothful person is lazy, has no goals, no drive, no positive momentum, and really doesn’t contribute much to the whole scheme of things. But is it really that cut and dry?


Over the last 5 to 6 years work has gotten the majority of my attention, it has taken everything in me to remember that family, friends, and life outside of work is important. If there is apathy towards any portion of my life it is in my personal life, but that is perfectly acceptable right? Because I am a “successful” contributing member of society! I am single answerable to no one. I am a model to look up to in my work ethic and industry knowledge. I have a good portion of the material things that you are supposed to want to have, so I can’t possibly be slothful.


According to Tyler Durden (The beautiful chaos creator in Fight Club) “F*#k off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.”


I tend to put all my efforts into one direction, while neglecting everything else. Entropy, a lack of pattern or organization, a tendency for all matter and energy in the universe to evolve toward a state of inert uniformity -this definition would contradict my model life and actually prove that I am very slothful. In almost every area of my life outside of work I am stagnant; I have pushed life to tomorrow or the day after. I neglect myself, my family, and friends so I can fulfill some crazy dream to be the best most successful girl on the planet.


So now another Tyler Durden quote, “a question of etiquette - as I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch?” Ha ha…that one just makes me laugh the quote I really wanted to use is, “You have to know the answer to this question! If you died right now, how would you feel about your life?”


This is a question that I started asking myself after a kidney stone in 2006, after the mortgage meltdown in 2007, and have continued to ask myself over the last 5 months, I am a slow to act sometimes. This is a little scary because I can look back at major turning points, good and bad, in my life and they all started with that question. Even the road that lead me to my current situation was predicated by that query. So 5 months ago I looked at what we have now established as a very slothful existence, and decided I needed to make a change. If I died tomorrow I would feel that I had squandered, wasted, and misspent a good portion of the last 6 years (yes I know that all those words mean the same thing - I just thought I needed to say it three times).


I have made some major changes over the last 2 years / 3 months and I continue to push forward in my new less slothful life. It is truly hard though. It is so tantalizing to want to revert back to, an easy, work driven, uncomplicated, yet stressful existence. Life is messy, the more interaction you have with family, friends, and new people tends to bring overwhelming chaos to a rather dull but comfortable existence. I also hate cleaning my house so I need to make enough money to pay someone else to do it or I will still be slothful because my house won’t be clean. See the issues here….but I am striving to be more balanced and to be present in the lives of those around me.


Some of the changes:


I am strategically moving away from a job that I just exist in to a job I love


Taking time throughout the year to do things for myself and with my family and friends


Finding my purpose and passion and incorporating it in all that I do.


I can understand why sloth would be considered a sin, because it just seems like a travesty to squander life, and yet so easy to do. So check back in a year and let’s see if I have let the sloth monster gobble me back up or if I have continued on my “enlightened” path.



Don't forget to check out the other carnival members:



Huckdoll

Caffeine Court

Secrets of a Black Heart

CableGirl

Vertical Gardens by Patrick Blanc

The other day I got a comment from someone on my Activerain lender blog, of course when you get a comment you like to go check out what they are doing. He is an Eco Broker, for those of you who are new to that term, it means that he specializes in green real estate. Anyway, he had a great post about vertical gardens. I just thought it was the coolest thing! When I was ditching college backpacking through Europe I went to Monaco, you know to see where James Bond hung out, and the most intriguing thing besides the immense amount of wealth were the rooftop gardens. So many buildings had beautiful rootop sanctuariers, and I just thought it brought so much to that city. You have to check out this amazing vertical garden architecture. I would love to see this become the norm for our homes and communities!!

http://activerain.com/blogsview/499576/Vertical-Gardens-taking-green

http://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/

Now I don’t know anything about the logistics, types of plants, upkeep, maintenance issues, but I know that when I scrolled through the pictures on Patrick Blanc’s website I wanted to be there. I wanted to sit and have lunch in one of those buildings, I wanted be in my home and look at a beautiful garden wall. What could be more Zen or Fung Shui than that, really what could more uplifting than that!

The only potential problem I see is my lack of a green thumb, I can’t keep a cactus alive…but I am sure there is a way around that!!

Thanks Alex Mordas for doing a post about this!! http://activerain.com/alexmordas

25 Reasons I Owe My Mother

Another great email I had to share!! I wouldn't know much about this since I was such an angelic youth but I heard my mother & grandmother say these things to other kids. (If it was said to me it must have been by mistake there were a lot of kids growing up...easy to mix us up!)

It really was them I was just a conscientious instigator observer!!

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .
'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL .
'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
' Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC .
'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY
'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM .
'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE .
'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP.
'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
'When that lawn mower cuts off your foot, don't come running to me.'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .
'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE
'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.'

Today’s Techie Dictator Post

There are two tools I want to talk about today for you dictators. That is “dictators” that like to dictate rather than write….I do not have tools for you tyrannical leaders out there, sorry!

The first cool tool is Jott a voice to text service that allows you to call an 800 number and turn your spoken wisdom into emails, text reminders, a to-do list, or Twitter, post a blog, text a group, the list goes on and on. This technological marvel is the brainchild of two guys with long complicated names headquartered in Seattle, WA. The team is made up of all guys…figures! I am not saying anything derogatory by that it just suits guys…they are a little on the do less get more side of life. Since its introduction in late 2006, Jott has made world class voice transcription accessible to anyone with a cell phone. This is a free service.

Just in case you are looking for this same capability but do not want to call in to a number there is Dragon Naturally Speaking by Nuance, it starts at $99. Here is a little snippet from their website:

With Dragon NaturallySpeaking Standard you can talk to your computer and watch words quickly appear in documents, e-mails, instant messages and even surf the web simply by speaking! It's amazingly accurate - up to 99% - and really easy to use. There's no script reading or "voice training" required, so you can get started dictating right away. Perfect for the whole family - busy parents, kids just learning to type, and even grandparents!

Sounds super fun….huh? Actually it isn’t half bad, setting up is a bit of a pain but once you get the hang of it the program it works rather well. I am sure this was developed by guys too, but I have no proof of that.

Finally, this is not a dictation tool but once you have your voice turned into text you can go to this site below and translate it into another language. Cool!
http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/

Hopefully these toys tools will help you take some of the clutter out of your day. And for all of you guys out there I was only kidding about the truth wise cracks. Let me know what you think of these sources, would love to hear the feedback.