text:
Tag Archives: Twitter

When You Say the Very Wrong Thing

The incident was so awkward that Kristi’s people had to release this statement:

Yamaguchi’s rep has issued the following statement to E!, “Kristi loves Nancy and has nothing but respect for her. No ill will was intended with the tweet and Nancy herself has received and commented on the well wishes that were sent. Kristi is finding the reactions on social media humorous but unfortunately for those who want it to have been shady, that’s not the case.”

Wow, face palm.

Tagged , , , , , ,

Guys, Would You Wear It?

Nobody knows more than me that I love a good choker trend. We’ve been obsessing over them since the summer and we’re not slowing down any time soon. However, ASOS decided to put the trend to a serious test this week by releasing a choker for guys. So male readers of Yow Yow! … I have to know, would you wear it? Is this an accessory that you can get behind? How would you style it?

You can check out the full collection here . And before you scratch your head and say, “Katie, but aren’t these women’s chokers? How can you distinguish them?” Well the link I just included shows that the search results have indeed been filtered down to just “men.” Yep. So this is a real thing that’s happening. Then after I read this news, I came across this:

This is The Today Show’s Matt Lauer also wearing a choker. Except, we’re a little put off that he’s displaying it Superman style. Why not wear an outfit that will already allow it to stand out on its own instead of being hidden? Turns out he was wearing this because of the recent news about ASOS so let’s not expect him to be a regular.

Whatever the case, I think I’m okay with this trend. If a guy would like to wear a choker, they should just go ahead. I’m still going to wear mine. Maybe we can match. Let’s just end this post on a good note though:

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

A Collection Part 46

I always seem to have the most time to blog around the holidays, but it just so happens that I like being able to post for “A Collection” during this time too. We last did this post about 6 months ago so all of today’s photos are ones that I’ve been collecting and saving since then. Here’s hoping that these photographs tickle you, inspire you, or spark some kind of emotion within you the same way they do to us. Happy New Year! We’re excited for you 2017.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My Favorite Part of Twitter

Screen Shot 2016-07-17 at 5.54.38 PM

I love it when celebs shade other celebs on Twitter. It’s so great. This war with Taylor Swift is going to escalate!

Tagged , , ,

A Collection Part 44

I think I’ve always loved putting these posts together because these are the types of photos I’ve always wanted to take. They’re so simple and minimalistic, but yet they say so much and they say something different to everyone. I’ve asked Veronica a couple of times now why she enjoys these posts and now that I think about it – I’m not sure if I’ve ever gotten a real answer. Veronica, can you let us know so I can include it in the next post? All I know is that in college she would hound me to get these done and out. And then after she had spent some time scanning over the photos (a few minutes) she’d ask for another one. (DJ Khaled) I think I would always just laugh and say, “Veronica, these take time.” And they do! This one post took about three months to put together.

I’ve done 44 of these now. That’s an incredible number to me. And it’s interesting to me that each one of these tells a different story though I’m not sure what that story is. I look through some of the older “A Collection” posts and sometimes I wonder why I chose a certain photo. I’ll look at it and scrunch up my face and be like, “Why? What did this mean to me?” But I guess what it just means is that it was all about timing. In that exact moment that I saw that photo as I was scanning over lots of photos, that one spoke out enough to me that I had to include it. Maybe I was feeling sassy, meek, contemplative, curious…I’m not able to put my finger on it for every photo and I like that I don’t have to.

Sometimes I write posts on Yow Yow! that are very personal and I look at the words and I question if that’s what I actually wanted to convey or if people will interpret it in a different way than I attended. With these posts, I don’t have to worry as much, but these are just as personal because I’m really saying how I feel, but in the most visual way.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Models Take on Silicon Valley

I sort of stopped in my tracks the other day when I came across this editorial in Silicon Valley featuring Karlie Kloss, Gigi Hadid, and Kendall Jenner alongside a few CEOs in the tech industry. It’s one of those things where you feel like they just don’t go together, but then in a weird way they sort of do. If Eva Chen can pull it off, why can’t Gigi and Kendall? Karlie is probably the closest to tech out of those two (other than the fact that Kendall has a heavily followed Instagram user) because of her connection to Kode with Karlie – an organization that supports young girls coding. It’s actually really adorable. Anyways, we thought we’d share the editorial because here on Yow Yow! we love all things fashion and we have since the blog was born and I now currently work in tech so there’s that connection… you know.

To view the entire spread, click here!

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This Happened Tonight

Screen Shot 2016-01-14 at 10.50.07 PM

I typically reserve my outings to San Francisco for the weekends, but today was a rare treat because we happened to have an offsite in the afternoon and then decided to head out to dinner nearby afterwards. I had never been to Marlowe before, but oh my goodness that place is gorgeous. Also perfect date spot ;)

I was catching up with my team at the bar when a little someone caught my eye. We had just been talking about dating as a group so I nudged my co-worker and I was like “Hey, that guy behind me is kind of cute!”

“That’s B.J. Novak!”

For a second, we considered getting a photo with him as he was leaving, but how could we do that, right? So uncool…

Instead, we just go to Twitter.

I find situations like this to be pretty funny because I’m the worst at recognizing celebrities. It’s weird saying that because all we read is celebrity gossip, right? But I think if I were to run into them every day, it would never phase me because I would be completely aloof.

We forgot to mention this, but B.J. Novak is the ultimate dreamboat.

Tagged , , , , , ,

Yow Yow’s Yearly Recap

We didn’t intend to be as late on this post as we actually are, but unfortunately, we’ve just been a little bit under the weather. Also, if I’m being honest, I was actually dreading writing this post for the longest time because I knew how these stats would look and I wasn’t particularly excited about them. In 2015, these are the most dismal numbers we’ve ever seen. But instead of throwing ourselves a pity party, we’re going to share the numbers and then we’re going to move forward because I paid for another year on this domain and we’re not going to let it go to waste. I’m still really excited about Yow Yow! I went through each month in 2015 and quickly scanned through all of the posts that I wrote – some that I laughed at and some that I had forgotten I had even written this year. Writing in 2015 was hard and it’s often times difficult to juggle this and a full-time job that I really care about, but if we can do this for six years, we can do a 7th.

Stats from 2014 will be on the left and italicized while stats from 2015 will be right and bold:

1,400,602 total visits to Yow Yow! – – – – – – – – – – – 1,471,487 total visit to Yow Yow!

In just 2015 alone, we had 70,885 visits to Yow Yow!

10,113 Posts 2,878 Comments  – – – – – – – – – – – 11,003 Posts 2,989 comments (cumulative)

Top Post of 2015 – “Meet: Cathy Nguyen” 1,988 views (written back in 2009)

Top Post written in 2015 – “I Like Your Style…Kiernan Shipka” 303 views

Busiest month in terms of views – January 2014 (11,072 views)  – – – – – March 2015 (6,923 views)

Most popular day: Wednesday (probably due to Wedding Wednesdays!)

Most popular hour: 9:00 AM (5% of traffic)

Total WordPress.com followers: 1,476

Total daily subscribers: 2,027

Credits + References

Worked with

  • Sugar Brand Cosmetics

In 2015, we were reached out by a few brands and companies, but due to my work schedule and other time commitments, I was unable to fulfill certain requests and posts. We’ll try again in 2016!

Top Referring Sites in 2015 Were:

  • Facebook.com
  • Pinterest.com
  • Twitter.com
  • Quora.com
  • Bloglovin.com

Most of My Visitors Came From:

  • The United States
  • Canada
  • The United Kingdom
  • Germany
  • France
  • Australia

(same order as last year)

*In 2015, my friend Mandi got engaged and we gave her “Wedding Wednesdays” as a column to share her journey as she gets closer to walking down the aisle.

*We tied our Instagram account a little bit more closely to Yow Yow! And this was HUGE for us!

Screen Shot 2016-01-09 at 10.50.43 PM

*We had one of our photos used on Moorea Seal’s Instagram account.

*Things that we tried for the first time and wrote about: SoulCycle, Dry Bar, being a +1 at someone else’s wedding (also first holiday wedding on Halloween!), dyeing our hair, and attending our first Golden State Warriors game.

*Concerts we reviewed: Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift.

*We tried two places in LA that we had once blogged about on Yow Yow! previously: Eggslut + Milk Jar Cookies.

*We showed love to Smilebooth and Canyon Child.

*We got in front of the camera again to do our OOTD fashion posts – the first time since 2013.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tin Pot Shows #BlackMagic Love

Screen Shot 2015-08-24 at 10.47.34 PM

My favorite local ice cream shop loves Little Mix and Black Magic too. What? Must try. Even though this looks like goopy goop.

Tagged , , , , ,

Blog Roundup

– 5 of the best spots in Seattle to get your mac and cheese on [Seattle Refined]

– The profession that will get you the most dates and the professions that are attracted to each other [Refinery29]

– Careless tweeting and how it can change your life…for the worse. [NY Times]

– The time Taylor Swift gave breakup advice to a fan. [BuzzFeed]

– 9 Questions you wish you could ask Ariana Grande [Vox]

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yow Yow’s Yearly Recap

Everyone who knows me knows that I love data and statistics as long as it means that I don’t have to be one compiling all of it. This has always been one of my favorite posts to look back on, but boy is it just a little menace to put together. Lucky for me this time, I had Gossip Girl Season 1 to keep me company while I worked on this. It’s been quite the year for Yow Yow! We’ve focused on some new content mostly my transition from Seattle to the Bay Area and mostly just tried to do our best to keep up on all the news – the one thing that seems to keep me on my toes these days.

Yow Yow! is 6 years old now! Welcome to 1st grade, baby!

Stats from 2013 will be on the left and italicized while stats from 2014 will be right and bold.

1,294,886 total visits to Yow Yow! – – – – – – – – – – –  1,400,602 total visits to Yow Yow!

*In just 2014, there were 105,260 visits to Yow Yow!

9,167 Posts, 3,152 Comments 12,122 Tags – – – – –  10,113 Posts 2,878 Comments 12,926 Tags (cumulative)

Top Post of 2014 – “Hipster Disney Princesses In Real Life” – 5,133 views (written in 2012)

Top Post Written in 2013 – “18 Types of Asian Girls” – 1,552 views

Busiest Month in Terms of Views – January 2013 (24,905 views) – – – – – January 2014 (11,072 views)

Highest Average Visits Per Day – January 2013 (803 views) – – – – –  – January 2014 (357 views)

Credits + References

Worked with

  • Molly Moon’s Ice Cream

Top Referring Sites in 2013 Were:

  • Pinterest.com
  • Twitter.com
  • Facebook.com
  • Quora.com
  • holliswongwear.com

Most of My Visitors Came From:

  • The United States
  • Canada
  • The United Kingdom

Music Festivals Covered:

  • Treasure Island Music Fest

*We reached 1,000 posts for “Songs of the Day”

*We reached 10,000 overall posts!

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FAFSA Offends

We all know how easy it is to make a quick joke on social media these days, but oh how things can go sour fast. The federal financial aid agency which we know as FAFSA made a huge mistake today posting the following tweet above and naturally, people were offended. In fact, I’m offended. I get that they were trying to be clever, but categorizing those that fill out the FAFSA as poor is incorrect. Not everyone that fills out the FAFSA is poor and why shame those that do when tuition for higher education currently is as high as it is.

The tweet was up for an hour before it was taken down and followers had a lot to say in response.

Shame on you FAFSA.

Tagged , , , ,

sophia bush

The #YesAllWomen hashtag is by far one of the most powerful things I have ever seen spread on social media. I am loving the fact that women are stepping out and sharing their stories about what they have had to face. A woman will endure multiple cases of misogyny throughout their life and if there’s something we can learn from this incident it’s that we need to change the way people are taught to look at women.

A woman is an individual – a human being.

A woman does not owe a man anything.

Women are not to be blamed for being able to stand up to another man.

Women are not objects and do not deserve to be objectified.

It is exhausting to think that in this day and age, we haven’t come far enough in society. It’s heartbreaking that in 2014 Elliot Rodger could commit a crime as horrible as this one because of how he believed he should have been treated by women.

For some, it’s time to check your priv.

Tagged , , , ,


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
New Trailers

The Great Gatsby

This trailer looks so good. Tobey McGuire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton and Leonardo DiCaprio all in one movie, yes please. The movie is directed by Baz Luhrmann, who did one of my favorite Nicole Kidman movies, Moulin Rouge. It is based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald book most of us had to read in middle school or high school about “writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.” The movie hits theaters Christmas Day, 2012.

True Blood

Yesss my show is back. Season 4 was crazy and Season 5 looks even crazier. They had already released a trailer but that one was more of a teaser. This one finally shows who new cast member, Christopher Meloni (Stabler, Law & Order: SVU), will be playing. Last season ended with a blood bath. Jesus, Tara, Debbie, Marnie, Tommy, Nan and more were all taken out. Russell is going to be back (Yay love him). The new season is only 2 weeks away. It premieres June 10 at 9/8c.

Love Bond movies. All this trailer. It’s all fluff. Lots of things exploding and plenty of action scenes, plus it’s got the hot hot Daniel Craig in it. I will always watch Bond movies because I have watched them since I was a kid so they always have a special place in my heart. Skyfall hits theaters November 9, 2012.

Anchorman 2

Anchorman has to be one of Will Ferrell’s funniest movies and when I saw they were doing a sequel. I thought yes but ughh a sequel. After watching this teaser trailer, I can say that all my doubts have been removed. It was too funny. The movie hasn’t started shooting yet but it has a release date of sometime in 2013.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

This movie is produced by Tim Burton and I like him so I will most definitely be seeing this movie. It is based on the Seth Grahame-Smith novel by the same name about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, who discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He then makes it his mission to end them. This trailer is the new red band trailer with lots of blood, gore and killing. The movie hits theaters June 22,2012.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-148-41-166.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-30
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for July 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
365 Days Writing Prompt Challenge: Day 13

13. The Letter Poem:

As I read what he had written

In his letter to his dad,

I felt what he was feeling

And it made me really sad.

For he could not say it out loud

Yet he saw his father knew

That he loved his best friend, John

And his best friend loved him too.

So he sent the letter to him

And he waited anxiously

Convinced that he would hate him

For his ‘abnormality.’

But the father did not hate him

And he cried just like I had.

He loved his son no matter

And would always be his dad.

So the moral of this story

Is to love just who you are

And others will accept you

And in life you will go far.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Monday, March 3, 2014

What's Up in Alburnium?

So glad you asked!

I've not posted because there's several things going on all at the same time. First, I've been busting my behind trying to get the first draft of Emanate done before February ended. And I did it!! YaY me.

So, while I complete a couple of other projects I've scheduled for March, I'm going to let Emanate sit and cool off before I delve back into it to do edits.

However, I've nearly completed the first novella that will go along with this series. The title is Captivated and it's all about how Tarek and Alyra first met. That's right, you Tarek fans will love this one. I'm excited about getting it done and out there for you. And it's been fun and enlightening getting into Tarek's head.

While I've been slaving at the keyboard, I've also set up my very own author page over at Facebook. Here's the banner. Which still needs a little work, but it's good for now. If you're on facebook, search out Jackie Castle Author Page and like me. I gave away a little surprise when I reached 100 likes and will be giving another one when I reach 200!

Another reason I've not posted much on any of my blogs is that I'm hoping to move over to a website soon. It's in the works!

I've declared 2014 to be my year to get organized, start treating my writing as a business instead of a hobby, and to set up my little place on the world wild web. A more centralized place. Keeping up with three blogs is just too much!

On another note, Illuminated and Luminosity are doing well. I recently found Illuminated hanging out with some of my favorite books. I had to take a screen picture! All of these authors are favorites of mine. I was blown away. Truly.

So there you go, a quick up date. Look for Captured to be released hopefully by the end of March or early April. And Emanate will be close behind.

Happy Reading.
Oh, if you've read and liked book one or two, be sure to leave a review on Amazon, goodreads or share the book with your friends. I certainly appreciate it.

No comments:


text:
Another Rare Johnny Smith Cut

I was sent some tapes years ago from a guy in the US (Bill Kozakewich) and it’s taken a fair while but I’ve managed to get the cream of them onto Youtube. The latest I put up is the standard “Stella by Starlight” and he burns on it!

Feel free to click through to my YT channel and there is a playlist of the ones I’ve put up on the right hand side (just called Johnny Smith) Don’t forget to subscribe to me while you’re there and I will follow back.

  1. #1 by Mike Miller on March 16, 2012 - 3:35 pm

    Hi Dan,
    Thank you for uploading this rare live track of the great Johnny Smith.
    When I first heard his ‘Moonlight In Vermont’ version, I just had to work out his beautiful chord inversions.
    It inspired with a lot of new ideas for arranging chord melodies.

    • #2 by DJ on March 18, 2012 - 2:41 pm

      He had a great conception didn’t he? I too studied his chord forms and it unlocked a whole new world of exploration!

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this:


text:
A Sense Of Community

I spent the day at Further Performance as they assembled the rebuilt engine for my 1997 Golf GTI VR6.  Tristan has made his shop into more than a place to have an oil changed. So many people enjoy dropping by to see what new build is underway or just to chill out and tell hangar stories. There is a real sense of community among the people who gather at the shop. It is a community of people who share their collective knowledge of VW and Audi cars. The shop is also a place where it is not uncommon to see Tristan and everyone working at Further helping a new tuner find their way around an engine bay.

I have spent my life in the soccer coaching world, always willing to lend a hand and my equipment to young coaches or players. Despite their best intentions often my equipment did not come back in the same condition as it went out. For this reason I was amazed  when Tristan, in the spirt of true community, would willingly and with a smile, let tuners use the tools of his trade. I’m not talking about the tools of some giant unaware corporation, no, I am talking Tristan’s personal tools, the instruments of  his business. While I am sure, from time to time, a wrench or a socket went missing, mostly due to misplacement by the user, the vast majority of the time each tools was returned with care to its proper spot in the big blue toolbox. I guess in the end, when you trust the people who walk through your doors, it gives credence to the meaning of community.

One thought on “A Sense Of Community

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
My Day On The Ward

It’s just over a week now since I spent a day on the short stay ward of the eye unit, it was a long day particularly as I was sat there for about 4 hours waiting for it to be my turn.

Then when it was my turn all went well,  I didn’t see the needle coming towards my eye scream cry and then run, I was calm.

The whole op itself was about as horrific as I expected, my eye was numbed with drops and then rinsed out and then numbed and then rinsed a good few times.

Then I discovered there where actually two needles to go in the eye, needle number one was to numb it all and was supposed to sting, I love how oxymoronic that is!

I braced myself for the terror of the numbing needle and it was a complete anti climax didn’t sting at all really.

Then I got told to look left so the big gun, needle complete with Avastin could be inserted.

It hurt a lot!

My surgeon had to apply a lot of pressure to get the needle to pierce through my sclera (the white bit of the eye) and when the needle did get through it hurt a lot and there was a very odd popping sensation, I suppose you would expect that really but it was gross!

I can now conclude that the numbing injection number one did not work!

Due to the amount of pressure the surgeon had to apply my eyeball was very bruised and a lot of the surface blood vessels leaked so I left hospital with the white of my eyeball blood red.

As the numbing drops wore off I gradually got more and more pain in my eye, it streamed with tears constantly (which was irritating).

I had real big problems going outside in the sun and wind and stuff so I ended up having to patch my eye to make it  more comfortable. I can now safely say that I have heard every pirate joke going!

It’s taken a week for it to fully settle down and there is still some discolouration but I look less like a freak now.

I have to go back to see my specialist to discuss how it went and if it needs to be done again 4 weeks after it was done, its been 10 days and so far I have not had an appointment come through  so I think I will be chasing up the appointments system yet again!

2 thoughts on “My Day On The Ward

  1. Pingback: My Day On The Ward

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Super Adventurous Summer Bucket List 2016

◊  Get a dog!  Check √

Read about Milo here and here.

◊  Go to the Museum of Science and Industry.  We will be going in a few weeks.  Can’t wait to see the Lego Exhibit:  Brick by Brick.

◊  Spend lots of time with Troy!  In progress…

I’m loving every minute with him, even if he did beat me at mini-golf.

◊  Read!  In progress…

So far, I have finished…

Screen Shot 2016-06-30 at 11.43.12 AM
Knucklehead is a going to be a great mentor text for the Personal Narrative and Memoir units, since I will be teaching 5th grade next year.  GEORGE was phenomenal! And I have a lot of ideas for writing workshop after reading Write Like This.

And am currently reading…

6 thoughts on “Super Adventurous Summer Bucket List 2016”

  1. Milo is adorable! I am hoping next summer will be my dog summer- I absolutely adore them but just don’t have the time right now.

    Have fun at the MSI. I took my kids there on a field trip and we were so sad that we couldn’t go to the lego exhibit. It looked like a blast!

    Mrs. Garcia’s Super Scholars!

  2. Milo is adorable! My dachshund had a huge personality but he got sick and died this summer. I miss him like crazy!

  3. Cute pup! We got a new puppy a few weeks ago–they’re soooo much work, especially with two older dogs to contend with. And I LOVE Kelly Gallagher! He is my FAVE ELA consultant. Have a great summer!

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
This episode of Areté Today is completely inspired by a small event that occurred on a recent trip to California to visit my sister. I am often inspired by everyday moments that spawn massive enlightenment and this is definitely one of those instances. Today’s recording pays homage to the burdens we carry around with us.

Areté Today, a PodcastThe hurts.
The slights.
The insecurities.
The anger.
The resentment.
The frustration.

We are all carrying around some things that we can quickly and effectively let go of. This podcast will show you how and lead the way.

There are a couple Tweet-worthy quotes in this episode that you will NOT want to miss. Also, this episode marks the unveiling of the new Intro and Outro for the Areté Today podcast…I can’t wait to hear what you think! I think Craig did a wonderful job and the recordings lend a heightened level of professionalism to this show that wasn’t there before!

There’s MUCH more information over in the expanded show notes. So, head over there and keep the conversation going — post some comments. Visit the blog, stay connected, subscribe, and most importantly – SHARE on social media. This Podcast is BY me, but it is FOR you…so let me know how you are enjoying it.

Until next time, keep laughing, loving, and learning and I hope to see you and/or your children in one of my upcoming classes or workshops.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!


text:
Speechless Sunday #27

Click Here to read about the first man I’ve ever loved, and will forever be the man other men will have to [try] to live up to — This post is one of my proudest posts I’ve published and is dedicated to my amazing Dad:)

Life is precious, and I am very lucky to have my Dad in my life. I hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day, and that you get to spend it with all the amazing men in your life.

What is your favorite Daddy memory?

Link up below, if you’d like!

Jenn's Adventures

6 thoughts on “Speechless Sunday #27

  1. Wonderful post, girl! Unfortunately I only had 8 years with my old man and I don’t have too many memories but I do remember being a HUGE daddy’s girl. He lit my face up every time I saw him. I spent the day with other amazing men though. I hope you had a great weekend! Love ya!

Let's chat! Comment here..

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Monthly Archives: August 2015

End of Summer Sale: Solstice Island by Mae Clair is FREE 8/31 and 9/1

Today, I’m proud to host my friend and fellow-author, Mae Clair! She’s got a deal going on. Because I’ve read and loved her book that’s on sale, I can say THIS IS A GREAT DEAL! It doesn’t get much better … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

M.Q. Barber’s New Release Delivers What it Promises: A Shirtless Gentleman

Gentleman Removes Shirt; Romance Ensues M.Q. Barber is one of my insta-buy authors. I was so excited to learn she was working on a new series to be released with Kensington’s Lyrical imprint. It’s finally here! You’ll want to get … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Update Reckless is free almost everywhere now. Thanks for your patience, everyone! …Almost Confession time: I’ve never run a free promotion before, and I have learned a valuable lesson. Set price to free WAAAAYYYYY ahead of time. I scheduled some … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments


text:
Bench Press - How To Set Up –

Bench Press - How To Set Up

Jim Wendler Bench Press/ Jim Wendler Quote

Of the major lifts, the bench press and the press are always the last to mature. A lifter can enjoy five or more years of steady gains in the squat, power clean, and deadlift but still suffer numerous setbacks, plateaus, and frustration in the pressing game. This is the natural order of the lifting world, especially for those that aren't physically gifted in the bench press. I didn't press much for the first 10 years of training. Most of my training was dedicated to squatting, cleans, running, and jumping. Upper-body work was definitely low on the priority list. Like many people who are dedicated to athletics, performance on game day takes precedence over trying to impress others in the weight room.  While I did bench press, I didn't give it much thought. In hindsight, I probably should've, but I'm glad I put my effort where I believed it was needed. It did, however, take me seven years of training to go from 300 to a 400-pound bench press. That's a very long time – too long.  But after I pressed 400, it only took me three months to get to 455. I credit this to simply taking a step back and making my upper body stronger with simple, basic methods. Those seven years taught me if you want to lift big, you have to be strong. And you have to be strong everywhere, which is something gimmicks fail to provide you. Like life, success comes to those who persevere, not those who complain and give up. Here are some tips I've learned along the way that may help you.

Like anything in training, the key is to learn from the best and once you have adequate experience, tweak things to fit your own technique and style. Don't try something once and disregard it or start tinkering right away, especially if you don't have adequate experience. Years ago I had the privilege of attending a seminar taught by Mike Miller of Nazareth Barbell and Bill Crawford of the Metal Militia. These guys are both great pressers and had a very unique and disciplined way of setting up for the bench press. And if you learn from either of them, you'll develop a deeper understanding of just what being "tight" is all about. It's beyond uncomfortable, but it works extremely well, even for raw pressers. Here's a modified version of what I was taught and still use today. Do this on every set, especially the warm-ups. This will help reinforce the set-up, allow you to get used to the position, and get you ready for your heavier sets.

The Set-Up

  • Begin with your head off the bench press.
  • Tuck your feet underneath you.
  • Grab the bar with an underhand grip (it's much easier to pull yourself up and under the bar with an underhand grip), lift your body off the bench, and push yourself towards your feet. Do not let your feet move when you do this.
  • Make sure you push yourself towards your feet until your eyes are under the bar.
  • This is an uncomfortable position; get used to it!
  • Your lower and upper back should be arched hard and you should feel very solid and strong.
  • Take the weight off STRONG.  Make sure your hands are tight on the bar and you don't wimp the weight off the j-hooks.
  • When the bar is over your chest, make sure you drive your heels down to the ground.  Even if they don't touch the ground, the attempt to drive them down will stabilize your body and result in a very strong base.

However you choose to bench press, make sure every single rep, regardless of weight is done with perfection.  This goes for the squat, deadlift, press and any other big barbell lift.  I've never seen any strong, experienced lifter take any set lightly - they demand perfection from the bar to their max.  Think back to the last time you bench pressed - did you have a perfect set-up on the very first rep with the empty bar? Did you treat it with the same importance as your last max attempt?  The beginner still thinks there must be some kind of special secret or trick.  A veteran lifter always makes sure the simple things are taken care of; they aren't ever sexy but they always work.

You Might Also Be Interested In Reading:

Pressing The Bar Overhead- the ins and outs
Fasted Cardio
How You Know You're A Training A-Hole and more

**This Weekend**
Every Shipped $30+ order receives FREE Do What Is Necessary Magnet
Every Shipped $60+ order receives FREE Lifting Straps AND FREE Magnet

Training Programs- ebook versions available
Roman Hoodie- On Sale!
Discipline Over Motivation Hoodie
5/3/1 and NOV Christmas Guide: 13 Gifts $30 and under

Jim Wendler Discipline Over Motivation Banner


text:
Some cold realities about getting published, for your information

This is adapted from an e-mail I wrote to a client, when asked for advice about publication and marketing of one’s own books.

Most of the publishing world is parasitical. It wants you to do all the work and provide all the content so that it can make most of the money. It operates on the principle of the remora.

Your decision is between self-publishing, small press publishing and New York. The main difference between the three is that with New York, New York gets all the money and also locks up more of the rights. Small press probably treats you more humanely and pays you a little better. With self-publishing, you keep all the rights and make all the money.  Also, with New York and most small press, they want ‘exclusive submission.’ That means that they entertain the fantasy that you should pitch it to them, then wait for a reply before you pitch it to anyone else. I’ve seen more credible fantasies in Penthouse Variations.

Notice I didn’t specify any actual benefits from small press or New York. They confer mainly the ‘I made it’ prestige/legitimacy factor, a commodity that is fading faster than the big houses want you to believe. They will mostly do minimal to no editing or marketing for you. They will do a cover for you, but they will inflict it upon you without much input allowed from you. They will typeset it for you, but they can screw up real, real bad, such as accidentally publish an early draft rather than the one you worked so hard to refine. (I am not joking. It happened to a pretty respected author I sort of know, Allen Barra. When I wrote to him to ask, “Al, say it ain’t so, how did this get so screwed up?” he wrote back and told me what had happened. Since I was writing a review, he insisted on paying to send me a copy of the right version. If I was going to write a review, he wanted it to be his best work, which is not what the publisher fricking printed. Unbloodybelievable.)

Suppose it sells for $12. New York will pay you $1 per copy sold. You’re still on the hook for most of the marketing. If you self-publish, you keep $12 per copy sold minus the printing cost. This means that NY has to outsell you 12:1 just to break even, and you signed rights away to them. If you succeed well enough on your own, publishers may come calling. I’d be careful. Publishing is a business. The main reason for them to call is because they want some of the money. The burden is on them to demonstrate why you would make more money with them than you are now, and that that is worth the rights you sign away. Many of them count on you being so wowed that you won’t read the contract too carefully, much less send it to an intellectual property attorney for review.

Your odds of getting an agent are minimal; your odds of a lot of terse rejections are high. Publishers at least sometimes act like you are also a customer, which agents know you are not. Just as many publishers want to buy the home run best seller that will make them zillions for no work, many agents want to pitch the easily pitchable book that will make them thousands for no work.

There are exceptions to all of the above. These are trends, not universal realities.

If it’s a non-fiction book, in order to pitch it, you need a query letter, a book proposal and a copy of the current Writer’s Market. If you don’t know what any of that is, you need to learn, because not knowing what that stuff is would be akin to trying to breastfeed baby and unsure where Junior is supposed to find the spout.

Edit: this piece prompted Shawn Inmon, the self-published author of a compelling true love story, to put forth his own perspective about self-publishing. If you felt this was worth a read, I think you’ll feel Shawn’s post is also.

What's on your mind?

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
James McPherson's Media & Politics Blog

Observations of a patriotic progressive historian, media critic & former journalist

  • By the author of The Conservative Resurgence and the Press: The Media’s Role in the Rise of the Right and of Journalism at the End of the American Century, 1965-Present. A former journalist with a Ph.D. in journalism, history and political science, McPherson is a past president of the American Journalism Historians Association and a board member for the Northwest Alliance for Responsible Media.

  • Archives

  • July 2017
    S M T W T F S
    « Sep
  • Categories

  • Subscribe

Posts Tagged ‘Tina Brown’

‘Newsweak’: Plug pulled on comatose print magazine

Posted by James McPherson on October 19, 2012

Tina Brown has something else to swear about. Finally, mercifully, the once-proud print version of Newsweek will be allowed to die just short of its 80th birthday.

The magazine’s demise is no surprise. After all, the entire hemorrhaging operation sold two years ago for less than the cost of a single issue (one dollar), and then folks began refusing even free subscriptions because of an odd combination of controversialoutdated, lazy and juvenile editorial choices made by Brown and other editors in an apparent attempt to avoid the collapse.

So Brown will have another failure; sadder, more journalists will be out of work. Not that Brown didn’t try, apparently–like almost everyone else, she just happens to be clueless about how to make old-line media survive in a new media world. As noted by the New York Times, “Despite her best efforts to take a flagging product and rejuvenate it, much of what she tried fell flat, and her attempts to create buzz with cover articles that discussed sex addiction and called President Obama ‘the first gay president’ resulted mostly in puzzlement and, sometimes, ridicule.”

I remember having the same puzzled reaction to the first issue of another short-lived Brown project, Talk magazine. Launched with huge fanfare, the magazine was a disappointment from the start. That first issue (shown above, and I have a copy in my office) carried interviews of First Lady Hillary Clinton and presidential candidate George W. Bush, but highlighted glossy photos of Gwyneth Paltrow crawling across the floor in what appears to be black underwear.

Print magazines are not dead, as any visit to a bookstore or supermarket will show. But old “news” doesn’t sell in an internet age, and people interested in longer more literate analysis have a host of better magazines from which to choose.

Though I’m not sure it matters, perhaps the online version of Newsweek will hang around for a while, as U.S. News & World Report has since going entirely online (except for occasional special editions) at the end of last year. And with less competition, perhaps Time will have less reason to run stupid covers.

Posted in History, Journalism, Written elsewhere | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Now I’m part of ‘profanity police’

Posted by James McPherson on February 14, 2012

At the bottom of my most recent post, I noted a couple of days ago that New York Times media writer Elizabeth Jensen cited that post in an article. Her embedded link brought more than 3,300 readers to this blog yesterday–more than double the previous record (from a few years ago when a link to a post appeared at the bottom of a CNN story. That’s also more readers than I get most months, since I gave up blogging almost daily in April 2009.

Not surprisingly, among the new readers were some folks who found fault–including one who apparently didn’t read my post very closely, let alone anything else I’ve written, since in a comment he referred to my comments as “right wing.” That made some of my conservative friends chuckle. And now the Atlantic Wire blog  and the liberal blog Con Games, among others, are apparently lumping Jensen and me in together with the “profanity police.”

“McPherson may be shocked to discover that movie stars ‘come across as a group of hormonal middle school students’ as the foul-mouthed bunch did in the magazine’s Oscar Roundtable, that may just be because he hasn’t spent enough time on set,” offers Con Games. And that’s certainly true, if by “not enough” one means “none.”

But of course I’m not terribly surprised by the juvenile behavior–just that Newsweek writer David Ansen seemed to be so enthralled by that behavior. Maybe Ansen hasn’t spent enough time on sets if he is so fascinated by such juvenile pap. I’ll repeat my previous quote: “I have no doubt that the stars used that language. I do doubt that it’s representative of how most of them behave most of the time. If so, let’s hope they stick to acting–they’re just not very interesting, if this is a realistic depiction.”

In fact, previous editions of Newsweek’s “Oscar Roundtable” can easily be found online. And while I won’t take the time to check right now, I’d be willing to bet that none of them–despite the fact that they, too, involve “movie stars”–include the amount of profanity found in the most recent version. In fact, the “new” Newsweek is the problem. And perhaps, according to the blogs, it’s a Tina Brown problem. Both blogs contain this profanity-landen quote (I don’t know which is the original source):

“Tina Brown watchers with long memories might recall a similar complaint dogging the editor after she took over The New Yorker in 1992. On the occasion of her one year anniversary at the helm of that magazine, Spy Magazine ran an item headlined ‘Fuck Yes, The New Yorker,’ that compared some of the words that appeared in The New Yorker before and after Brown took over. Among the words used under Robert Gottlieb, the magazine’s previous editor: ‘Intransigent,’ ‘avuncular,’ ‘ballyhooed,’ and ‘panoply.’ Among the words used under Brown: ‘fuck,’ ‘masturbatory soft porn,’ ‘warm piss,’ ‘fart,’ and ‘bitch.'”

I can’t say that I’ve ever been as big a fan of Brown as many other media watchers, and a previous much-ballyhooed Brown effort, Talk, was awful and blessedly short-lived. I do appreciate her occasional book reviews on NPR’s “Morning Edition”–which, perhaps ironically, I listen to on the same radio station that provided my “free” subscription to Newsweek.

Same-day follow-up: The “others” who have commented on this issue, with links to this blog, now include a New York magazine blog, the conservative Accuracy in Media, a blog titled “Caffeinated Politics,” and another seemingly liberal media blog from Bemidji, Minn.

Feb. 16: Mediabistro, an American University blog about public media, and many in the Twitterverse also have commented on the issue. Perhaps my favorite from the latter: One that quotes Sarah Palin to seemingly compare me to GOP contraception goofballs.

Posted in Media literacy | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »


text:
Reception Teacher & Subject Leader

32000.00 - 49000.00 GBP Annual + GBP32000 - GBP49000/annum MPS/UPS Plus TLR - Inner London
10 May 2017
07 Jun 2017
Contract Type
Full Time
Are you an experienced Reception Teacher with a creative outlook to teaching the EYFS curriculum? Do you feel like you could prove your teaching ability by taking on additional subject leadership responsibility?

Are you a Reception Teacher who would relish the chance to work as part of close and efficient team?

•Reception Teacher Required
•NQTs Welcome! - Reception Teacher
•Good Primary School in Lambeth, South London
•September 2017 - Reception Teacher
•Creative EYFS Team - Reception Teacher
•Excellent Career Opportunity
•MPS/UPS Plus TLR - Inner London

An experienced, practical and creative Reception Teacher is required for a large and vibrant Primary School in Lambeth. The school are looking for an accomplished EYFS practitioner who can take on the challenge of delivering an excellent standard of teaching to a full Reception class. This class needs consistency and a Reception Teacher who can commit themselves, to the academic and pastoral development of the pupils.

As a Reception Teacher you must have the ability and determination to implement this ethos and create a safe environment of nurture and development.

This is a caring and supportive school that place every emphasis on delivering a programme of learning and development that will benefit their pupils for a lifetime. They provide breakfast and after school clubs and offer additional support for any vulnerable groups of pupils. The school believe that Children often learn best out of doors, so all pupils have the experience of going on educational trips and visits where they benefit from stimulating learning environments.

The Early Years Foundation Stage is well led and parents are pleased with the start their children make at school. There is a good balance between activities directed by adults and those where children can make their own choices. The school has worked hard to ensure a consistent approach to teaching children to link sounds and words through all activities. The class you will be taking over are already developing these skills, and it is hoped the successful candidate can continue this progress.

Please send us your CV if you are interested in this Reception Teacher position. This primary school is very excited to find the right fit for their 4-form entry environment in London - if you have any further question or queries surrounding this Reception Teacher role, please don't hesitate to get in touch..

Please note: due to the volume of applications, only successful applicants will be contacted


text:
CAD Technician - Architectural Building Products, Dorset

Premier Recruitment Solutions
£25k - 35k per year + benefits
08 Mar 2017
08 Apr 2017

CAD Technician - Architectural Building Products, Dorset

Our client is one of the South Coast's leading designers, manufacturers and installers of specialist architectural byuilding products.

They are looking to recruit an experienced Autocad Technician who has the capability of building an outstanding design team.

The candidate will be responsible for shop drawings, material takeoffs, set-outs and liaising with the Design Manager, clients and architects.

• Ideally a minimum of 5 years + experience using Autocad.
• Ability to draw complex arrangements and discuss design proposals directly with clients.
• Knowledge of the construction industry preferably with experience of specialist building products (eg glazing, curtain walling etc), including knowledge of current CDM regulations.
• Able to prepare shop drawings for a variety of specialist products including: windows, bi-fold doors, sliders, curtainwalling, roof lights, canopies, etc.
• Experience in extrusion and die design.
• Accurate, highly organised, excellent work ethic and ability to do overtime if required.
• Computer literate in Excel, Word and email, with working knowledge of Schuco and Smart Systems an advantage.

This job was originally posted as


text:
Try Yoshino in the winter?

We ended up going to Yoshino by complete chance. We received a message from a good friend earlier this month after she realized she had double booked some events of her own. The opportunity to get a tour going to Yoshino got scooted over to us and we took her up on it right away.
We had been to Yoshino on a previous trip, but that was only during the peak season, known for its incredibly pink cherry blossoms and many eager beavers wanting to try the sakura mochi under the trees.

This time, however, it would be in the middle of winter, which we soon realized was not even as half as popular during the blooming spring.

Although we were informed on the basics, the exact purpose for us being there were still unclear.

The journey to Yoshino was not as long as the distance our friends warned us about. After a couple of transfers and naps in the train, we were there.
We arrived first and found our tour guide waiting for us in front of the ticket gates of the station.
I remembered this place filled with lines upon lines of backpackers, all wearing hiking uniforms and carrying gear that seemed to come from the exact same store.

We were greeted by a pleasant smile and a brief rundown of what the next two days would be like.
The rest of the group slowly started to trickle in with the exception of one that would join later.

What they explained to us is that we were part of a trial tour, with the group promoting it called the Working Group. Those in the group were all business owners from different shops, restaurants, and other professions from the area. All of them had been born and raised in Yoshino and were school mates from elementary school. They all came to greet us at the station, eager to begin the day. It was quite the welcome. What would be was to give feedback, so they can get more people interested in what Yoshino has to offer outside of Spring.

After putting all the luggage in the car, we started the trek up the mountain. Along the way we got more acquainted with the guides and the area. They gave us random tidbits of information about the scenery along the way.

-The cable car there is the oldest in Japan.
-The elementary school is no longer standing, but all students that graduated would plant a cherry blossom tree.
-The tradition of planting started years ago and now you are able to see roughly 20,000 cherry trees from the top.

We would do our best to stick to the schedule, with a nice lunch awaiting us after a bit of talking at the gates in front of the temple.
We found the founder of Shugendo, En no Gyoja, right before the metal torii gate at the start of the tour. He was an ascetic and mystic, banished and banned because of the power he was said to have had.
His statue was everywhere, greeting us and guiding at each corner throughout the trip.

We walked up slowly to the main road that had shops filled with various sakura knickknacks and foods that also continued the theme.
We were able to taste test some sake that was being sold in the shop. The older gentleman seemed to be pleasantly taken aback by the sudden group that invaded his shop.

The weather was gorgeous and a godsend. It was supposed to snow that day but mother nature seemed to postpone the bad weather until we would leave the mountain.
In the warm sun we walked to the first shop to have lunch.

The restaurants name was Yako Sushi.
It is a soba restaurant that offers various meals with Saba or Salmon. The restaurant also accommodated to the diet my sister and I both share: vegetarian. They prepared a special plate for the both of us: switching the sushi wrapped in kaki leaves to delicious inarizushi.

We have not eaten such a hearty meal in a while, and left the shop in good spirits, ready to take on the rest of the day.

The first temple we found ourselves approaching sat majestically on the edge of the hill: Kinpusen-ji, founded by En no Gyoja.
It seemed so different from when we came two years ago in April when it was filled with tourists and energy. This time, quiet and people-less, we were able to see the temple clearly.
We would be coming here again at 6:30 the following morning for prayers.

The next thing that was awaiting us was the Kuzukiri experience at one of the local shops that sold it in different shapes and forms.
For those that are reading, I would love to explain all that we learned over the two-hour workshop, but would love it even more for you to go and experience it yourself.
In a nutshell, we got a science lesson, a cooking demonstration, with the cherry on top being us having a go at being the chef. We were able to learn about the Kuzu plant and then eat all of the delicious sweets throughout.

This particular shop can be found online at :

After the deliciously educational experience, we hopped back into the car to our accommodation for the night.

Dinner was at seven, so we had time to check out the bath area and our rooms. The sitting room was upstairs and we relaxed and drank roughly 100 cups of tea until the van picked us up to go to dinner.

At night the area seemed even more Spirited Away-esque with only the lights peeking out of the little shops and houses along the way to light our path.
Sakanaya was a cozy shop with the main options of dishes being either fish or freshly hunted boar meat from the area.
Both fantastically prepared I’m sure, but not choices for us.
Thanks to the wonderful cooks, however, a gorgeous vegetarian meal was prepared for us.
One thing we were very surprised by was how much they were able to cater to our food restrictions, and did it with complete flair.

After a lot of laughs, discussion, and jokes at the dinner table, we headed back to the hotel.
We had an early day the next morning, so we topped off the evening with Reylia leading a small yoga session with the people in our group.

One by one we all took our baths in the nice private ofuro. With our bodies all warmed up, we tucked ourselves into the futons they prepared for us. We had a great day behind us and only hoped we would wake up tomorrow at 6:00 on time.

Thankfully we did manage to hear the alarm. The sun had not yet risen. The chill air and silence in the room made an eerie pair, but slowly there was ruffling from the rooms across from ours — the others were emerging as well.

The morning prayers at Kimpusen-ji temple are held every morning, rain or shine at 6:30 in the morning.
They warned us ahead of time that the old wooden floors would be freezing, so bringing an extra pair of socks would be best to protect your feet from the cold. Sadly, we did not heed the advice and were left to putting Kairo(カイロ）in our socks.

The service was fascinating and like no other prayer service.
It started with a session of mantras with meanings that could not be made out by just listening. Sandwiched in between were more personal prayers for the people that were effected by the disasters in the past and for the people that are visiting the temple.
They gave us prayer books that we fumbled with and tried to follow along to what was being chanted. Quite tasking on the brain.
After a walk around the inside of the temple accompanied by more chanting and bowing to the deities, we said our thank yous to the monks. We were hungry and ready to scarf down our breakfast.

Nothing was better for that chilly morning than the ocyazuke they served. Warm porridge-like texture along with rice, tsukemono, and miso soup. A nice well-rounded Japanese breakfast right in front of us to dive into.

After picking up our bags from the hotel, we were informed that there would be a three hour hike in front of us.

We would go through various temples and then do a small purification ceremony to get any evil spirits out of us.

We visited various temples in the area with explanations on how many aspects of Shugendo were handed down from India. Although there are different parts that aren’t similar anymore, some offerings and ways of worship are identical.

Before heading to the last temple of the trip, we visited a small hut that monks come to purify themselves at. The ritual goes that you have to take your right hand and lay it on the thing in the middle and with everyone circling it in the dark while chanting. They closed the doors behind us and before we knew it it was pitch black. The man started and had us repeat what he had said. We circled it three times with people in the group poking each other and trying to give the other a scare. The ceremony ended with a loud gong that almost made us shit our pants. That was when the evil spirits are said to flee from your body. I wouldn’t be surprised. The sudden sharpness of the gong would shock anything out of anyone.
We made our way out of the hut and down the snowy path.

The second temple we visited apparently helps in aiding those prayers that hope for children and women that are infertile. We all laughed when one of us piped up with the line, “Yup! Sounds good to me! Let’s all get pregnant!”
One of those you-had-to-be-there hilarious moments.

We were thankful that the weather held up throughout the trip. Although it was still cold, the lunch that we had helped with that immensely. We popped into a tofu shop, famous in the area for having tofu in all their meals and foods. We received a little nabe on our tray so that we can slowly heat up the tofu ourselves. With a little dip in some ponzu sauce, you got a surprisingly filling meal. We topped it off with – of course – tofu ice-cream. Just plain heaven in the mountains of Yoshino.

The day was slowly coming to an end. We would have a conversation over coffee and cake for feedback.
Before that, however, they suggested one last treat to top off the experience: a dip in the one and only onsen in town. The guys decided to be squares, so it was just us girls who got in and soaked up the water from the rotenburo.
Sitting in the ofuro relaxes, refreshes, and brings about interesting conversation.
We had limited time before we would have to head back for the feedback session, but we managed to fit in some discussion about how a certain temple still doesn’t allow women up to the top. There is naturally a lot of debate around the topic and we went back and forth shooting down the reasons that the people in charge stand by.

After getting out of our birthday suits we headed back to the car. It seemed it had rained while we were enjoying the bath, and as soon as we step foot in the coffee shop, it started to rain once again.

It was hard to think of very good advice or talk about things we wish had been done differently because we had such a pleasant time. Nevertheless, we all took our turns in expressing our ideas and our newfound view of the area.
The delicious cake and coffee at the log cabin on top of Yoshino mountain wrapped up the day nicely. Everything had gone smoothly, and we got on the 5:07 train going back home. We shook hands, took pictures, and bid our farewells to the wonderful Working Group that let us experience such a fantastic weekend.

We got to know lovely people that we probably wouldn’t have met otherwise and shared this memorable trip together.

Gradually our new friends took their separate ways, and we made the hike back to our house.
We came home, made a green smoothie, and went on and about how cold it was.

The Burning Mountain

1036b68471670aad64d79247ccee84a1Yesterday, the Yamayaki. Once a year people gather in the city of Nara under Wakakusaiyama to watch the mountain burn up in great flames. The reason why the festival started in the beginning is uncertain, but some think that it was to drive the boars away from the city. Those boars just came back every year and kept terrorizing the people I guess.

Being only the second year watching the Yamayaki, I was uncertain of where the best viewing spot would be. Last year I watched from my friends attic with heaters and warm tea, not exactly up for experiencing the elements. What I learned from being in the midst of the people and the atmosphere is this: try to get up the mountain, as high as possible. Not only will you be able to warm yourself up slightly by being close-ish to the flames, but they have a Taiko, the Japanese drum, performance on the edge of the mountain. For those hoping to attend the festival in the future, abide by this.

I went with an Australian friend and a new friend from Malaysia. Unfortunately because of my limited knowledge, we missed out on the the drums by a minute or two, but we were able to watch the mountain burn from afar, also having a good view of the preceding fireworks.

Our hard work of standing in the cold for about an hour paid off with a hot bowl of Oden and the sweet sweet taste of Amazake.96_image

I’d say it was a good night for more than a few reasons, but there are two that stand out. The first one was the lovely pleasure of being in the company of a couple of fantastic humans. The second is that every time I go to these kinds of places I realize and am amazed at how little I know about the area that I live in. I love this place and I find it extremely difficult to talk about its history or even some random facts for even a few minutes. One of my new resolutions (Not New Years resolutions, mind you. Those I managed not to keep within the first week.) is to be able to give tours of my area and be able to know and explain to my friends that are traveling. Cheers to that, and Happy New Years!

He wrote a poem

photo-179In my last post, I talked about my first encounter with the artist, Mitsushita. Each time we met up until now has been conversations over two hours, the kinds of talks where you happen to glance at a watch and you jump out of your seat, surprised at how fast the time had gone by.

In the beginning, because I am a cheapskate, I had no intention of buying his art. After speaking to him however, I decided that I wanted a piece of this fantastic person.

He drew me —blue wig and all— but he also wrote me a poem. It was not what I had expected, and I was beaming.. As I read, I knew that during our marathon talks he had been listening with ears as well as heart. It was an amazing feeling to be heard.

I will write the Japanese and try my best to translate it into English.

You cried a lot coming here didn’t you.
You did your best and held in your tears.
These words I will write are to the kind one that lets her tears fall.
If you are scared, I want to change your fear into smile.
I want to change your tears of sadness into ones of joy.
Because your smile is the most beautiful. I will love all of your faults.
Your smile is my smile. I will always believe this.

The Snake Handler, Mr. Matsushita and a Blue Wig.

These days I have been getting into a funny new habit – selling postcards on the street after work. I haven’t been out this past week because I couldn’t find a place to sleep in the city, but I will get out again next week if the timing works out.

photo-178It all started when I finished a Chai tea and a sandwich at the coffee shop near Shinsaibashi-suji. One by one the shops in the area closed down for the night, leaving only the footsteps of those coming home from the office, or the ones on the way to their questionable midnight jobs. By this time it was around 11:00 PM and against the shutters of the medicine shop, I see the artist Matsushita on the street open for business. There hasn’t been a night that I haven’t seen him sitting there, yet I had never approached him. I didn’t like the idea of making small talk when I had no intention of making a purchase. This particular evening was different however, and I decided to go and ask if it would be okay for myself to start selling postcards along this road. He explained to me that it would be no problem as long as the shops around were not open. I was excited to start laying out my small postcard collection. I admired this artist and the stand that he started packing up after his long day. Matsushita and his snake-handler sidekick Daisuke were about to leave. With a few words of advice about selling and pricing, they reminded me to watch out for old drunk men, and left shortly after.
I was alone and some people actually came up and started a conversation, commenting on my art and the blue wig that I wore, which was an attempt to hide myself from any potential acquaintances that could walk by. I enjoyed meeting these new people of the night, feeling very incognito.
One man who spoke English came up and introduced himself. We talked for a good twenty minutes, and he decided that it was his job to help me get more customers. His business strategy began with trying to lure people to my little chair by practically harassing them in English. His theory was that people walking by would be more interested if I started speaking in English to them and leave out the Japanese. In my experience however, that is 100% not the case. In Japan, people are afraid of things that they are not interested in. I wish I could be as confident as he was, but I don’t think I could fall into that way of
After a while, and a few postcards lighter, Matsushita comes riding back on his bike. He was worried about me and came back to check on how I was doing. It was so thoughtful of him to go out of his way.
No other customers came to buy postcards after that, but we talked for hours about his life, what I do for a living, and our opinions of the conventional way of approaching work in Japanese society. His family had different expectations of him, but he choose to be a full-time artist. Now around 30, he questions his choices in a positive way and doesn’t regret them. He told me that he loves what he does and is glad even though he struggles doing it sometimes.
He has lead an interesting life, one very much opposite to the usual briefcase carrying salary-man you see all the time.  I admired his relaxed disposition, and desired his lifestyle.
What would your mind be like after meeting different personalities and observing the world all day?
I hope to go back to the shopping street and see my artist friend and his funky art very soon.

Mr. Morita brought potatoes

The first week of June is almost ready to bid us farewell. I woke up early this morning and grabbed my laptop first thing to check my messages and Facebook. Although I have a number of goals from here on end, I would say that killing my reflex of immediately reaching for my electronics would be high on the list.

Because we have been having lovely hot weather recently, I decided to take up a new challenge: Planting potatoes! I have been told that even if you have never worked with vegetables, the potato plant is a great place to begin. I bought healthy soil, followed the instructions I found on the internet, and after a month I was pleasantly surprised to find actual plants coming out of the ground. I showed them off to whoever stepped in the door and talked with neighbors to see if they could give me some tips. I was hoping to harvest my first crop this year, but after a trip to Korea I came back home to my house to find potatoes that had been long neglected while I was away. There was absolutely no rain while I was gone, and the potatoes started to rise out of the dirt, exposing themselves to the hot sun.

I was sad at the possibility of my potato planting efforts being in vain. However, as I was walking back home from the station this past week, I saw mypotato neighbor Morita-san walking up the mountain ahead of me. He lives two minutes down the hill and he loves to talk about gardening.  I ran up the mountain to catch up to him. In the beginning of my potato planting adventure, I mentioned often to him that I started making use of the big plot of land that I have. He would give me loads of advice and was excited about my new hobby. I was sad to have to let him know this time about the bad news. He immediately invited himself over to the house and told me he would check on them and give me a diagnosis.

He jumped right in and started covering the potatoes with dirt. He instructed me that no matter what you do, you have to hide them from the sun unless you want to eat very bitter vegetables. After a few minutes, he bid his farewell with a, “帰るわ！ Kaeruwa!”, and left as quickly as he came.

I followed his instructions and covered my precious potatoes with dirt and weeded the garden. I thought that that would be the end of gardening for this week, but this morning I heard a loud pounding on my front door at 8:00 AM. Who would that be at this time? My sisters? My mom?

I let out a timid, Hello? with no answer and slowly opened the door to find Morita-san with gloves and a little bag in hand. I was surprised to see him so early. He had come again to help with the garden and also had brought new sweet potato plants to grow. After working in the garden for a bit, he explained to me what I had to do, and again was quickly on his way.

After he left I watered my new sweet potatoes and headed back into the house with a smile on my face. I now have something better to do than going straight to the internet in the morning: working on my new potatoes from Morita-san.

My bosses’ name is Bunny

11220839_10152807117600778_7347434529073034128_nThe restaurant that I currently am working at is an interesting place. Located in the middle of Kita-horie(Osaka, Japan), the upperclass side of the city, it is a little gem on the right-hand corner coming from Yotsubashi Station. It is a Spanish restaurant, with Paella, Tortilla, Pil Pil, all of that great Spanish food that you know and love, cooked by the chef from India that has owned the place for about nine years.

I have only been there for about three months, but I have learned a lot. I remember the first day that I started, Bunny gave me a run-down of the ropes and it freaked me out for a minute because it was a lot more to remember than the previous shop that I had worked at. The challenge was super refreshing though, and coming home yesterday I realized that working there has been a dream come true.

I made a list in my head of what kind of place I would like to work at a couple of years ago.

  1. A place where have a friendly relationship with other staff and the boss
  2. A place that had food that I would really recommend to family and friends
  3. A place that didn’t seat too many people.

I had forgotten about the list I had made in my head, and walking home yesterday it floated back to my memory.

Bunny was born in India and grew up in Switzerland. His culinary career started in France and after coming to Japan worked in fancy places like the Hyatt before starting his own restaurant. He can speak seven languages, which I am sure is useful in the restaurant business(or any business for that matter) and likes hiking around on his free days with his two adorable children.

It is my favorite out of the three jobs that I have now, and hopefully I can be there for a while. The shop’s name is Poron Poron, and sadly will close at the end of July. Bunny is hoping to decide on a new place and have a different theme for a change. I am sure that anyone after nine years of Spanish food would be tired.

Let me know about the place you work. How is the boss? Is the atmosphere good? How did you remember the menu? Can you take peoples orders without writing it down? How much do you know about your co-workers? What have you learned from your job so far? Where is it? Will you be there a long time? What 10996036_10152723544795778_6108964435379518769_nmakes you a valuable employee there?

If anyone is in Japan, or is interested in coming please let me know and will treat you to a Paella!

Go find me on that corner

photo-144Yesterday I was particularly sad not to have had my camera or Itouch charged. It was a big day for me because I tried something new: Selling my postcards in the middle of the street in Osaka. I would only be on that corner for a short time however, after some lovely new friends from Senegal would pass by and be the first and last customers of the day.

They talked to me on that corner for an hour about law, the United States, the future of Japan, and predicted how my own future would pan out.

After treating me to a tomato water from the convenient store, the two brought me the bar that he plans renovate within the next few weeks. The shop used to be a bar, a hair dresser, and a kimono shop all in one, with a lot of the supplies still inside. He seemed excited about all of the leftover things that he found there that the owners had just left. I got to try on a few kimonos that was upstairs and told me to keep one along with a couple of tabi socks and a bright red tote bag. We talked while trying to fix a busted computer and I managed notice the time to catch my last train.

I was very glad that I had met them in that way. It was funny because I wasn’t going to sell postcards. If I did sell postcards it wasn’t going to be on that corner on the side of the street. Lastly, I was going to work at the Spanish restaurant that night so our paths probably wouldn’t have crossed had something been out of sync. I just might be selling postcards every Monday after work from now on to see who else will approach this girl sketching on the side of the road. Go find me on that corner!


text:
Sports vs eSports

My kids never really got into watching sports like baseball, basketball, football, etc. When I was their age (teens to eary 20s) my life revolved around watching all manner of sports whether it was live or on TV, but my kids would probably rather have their toenails removed than to be forced to sit through a couple of hours of game watching.

Actually I need to revise that last sentence; at least one of my kids LOVES watching video of other people playing the newest "sport" – eSports aka video games. According to this article he's not alone:

In October, some 15 million people tuned in to watch Major League Baseball’s World Series in the United States. But that’s nothing compared to the other big sporting tournament that took place around the same time: In late September and early October, 32 million people watched the League of Legends Season 3 World Championship, according to a new report (pdf) from SuperData, a games research company.

Indeed, the finals of the competitive tournament for players of the online multiplayer game resembled a major physical-world sporting event, with the 18,000 tickets to watch it live at the Staples Center in Los Angeles selling out in one hour. On the day, the capacity crowd gathered to watch teams do battle against each other as they spawned minions and unlocked glyphs.

I really am so0000 last-century.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
MOPS Craft: T-Shirt Scarf

I’m not a crafty person, so any of the crafty items you see around our home was made at MOPS. I love that I don’t actually have to go out to buy the materials. I’ve gotten compliments on all the things I’ve made. Thanks to our wonderful Creative Activities coordinators Monica and Genevieve for preparing all the great crafts! Today, we made t-shirt spaghetti scarves. They are super duper easy to make. I think I say this about all our crafts, but they was so simple I might make a couple more.

Sorry, this is not the best pic of me. I don’t know how people take such good self-portraits with their phones.

*an old t-shirt (one with no side seams works best)

  1. Cut the T-shirt straight across from armpit to armpit. Cut off the hem and save for later.
  2. Cut strips across, approx 1 1/2″ wide.
  3. Pull and stretch each strip individually until it rolls.
  4. Adjust to desired length.
  5. Cut a strip of the hem to secure the back of the scarf. Enjoy!

Here are some other websites that have visual instructions, as well as different kinds of spaghetti scarves you can make! 🙂
Walk in Love | Beauty Divine Design | 4 Little Fergusons | My Blessed Life

– Joyce

3 thoughts on “MOPS Craft: T-Shirt Scarf

  1. Pingback: Our Week in Photos (Week 43 of 52) | Keeping up with the Moys

  2. Pingback: Blog Year in Review – 2012 | Keeping up with the Moys

Your turn! Share your thoughts with us.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
The Blessing of Problems

“Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom.”  – Jim Rohn

We all dream of a life free from problems.  However, if we did not have problems, we would find few opportunities to grow and become greater than we are today.  Plus, most of us enjoying solving problems, whether they are ours or someone else’s. The bigger the problems we can solve, the greater value we bring to the world.

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” – Anne Bradstreet

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Volume 3 Supplement 1

Current and Future Applications of Focused Ultrasound 2014. 4th International Symposium: abstracts

Open Access

Preclinical ultrasound image-guided high intensity focused ultrasound robot system for breast cancer therapy

  • Takashi Azuma1,
  • Ryusuke Sugiyama1,
  • Kazuhiro Matsui1,
  • Keisuke Fujiwara2,
  • Hideki Takeuchi1,
  • Kazunori Itani2,
  • Kiyoshi Yoshinaka3,
  • Akira Sasaki1,
  • Shu Takagi1,
  • Ichiro Sakuma1,
  • Yoichiro Matsumoto1 and
  • Toshihide Iwahashi1
Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound20153(Suppl 1):P42

Published: 30 June 2015

Ultrasound imaging provides real-time feedback for highly accurate positioning and dosing control. In addition, spatial restriction of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) transducer position in the ultrasound image-guided system is less than that in the case of MRI-guided system. Therefore, wider beam approaching path can be used in the ultrasound image-guided system. To shorten the total treatment time, reducing the cooling time between sonication intervals is essential. Using a wide approach path promotes a reduction in both the cooling time and the risk of heat deposition to the body surface. The array in our preclinical HIFU system is supported by a 5-axis robotic system that enables motion with a pivot fixed at the focal point. In this report, we describe a HIFU beam imaging system that provides highly accurate pivoting motion and coagulation monitoring in real-time for dose control during HIFU treatment.

A 256-element concave array HIFU operating at 2 MHz was supported by a parallel link robot in a water tank. A 5-MHz linear imaging array was fixed in a hole in the center of the HIFU array. The HIFU beam was affected by acoustic inhomogeneous media. Beam refraction during pivoting motions can cause focal shift and reductions in average focal intensity. We thus developed an HIFU beam imaging method capable of adjusting the focal point in varying approach paths. In the HIFU beam imaging process, backscattered echoes of ultrasound pulses transmitted from the HIFU transducer were received by the imaging array, and an HIFU beam profile was visualized. The imaging array was connected to an ultrasound imaging scanner with a radio frequency (RF) data acquisition system and a ring buffer memory. The ring buffer memory made it possible for the signal processing operations to access the RF data during the acquiring and recording process. Thermal coagulation was able to be detected based on changes in stiffness of the focal tissue. In this prototype system, stiffness change could be monitored based on observation of focal tissue oscillation caused by the modulated HIFU radiation force.

Results and conclusions

The accuracy of the pivoting motion in our prototype system was evaluated by measuring the precessional radius of the focal point. The motion error was sufficiently-smaller than the width of the HIFU beam. To increase the positioning accuracy of the focal point estimated by the visualized HIFU beam, extraction method of HIFU beam from the distribution of scatter points was tested. For this purpose, the HIFU focal point was scanned and the fixed pattern noise reflecting scatters was strongly suppressed. In coagulation monitoring, the maximum and mean computation times for stiffness estimations from tissue oscillation caused by the acoustic radiation force were 0.85 s and 0.6 s, respectively. To measure tissue oscillation, 26 frames of data were obtained within 0.1 s; therefore, tissue coagulation monitoring with a sampling rate of 1 s was achieved in our prototype system. This sampling speed is considered adequate for enabling feedback control of the coagulation area.

Acknowledgements (Funding)

This work was supported by grants from TSBMI (Translational Systems Biology and Medicine Initiative, Japan).

Authors’ Affiliations

The University of Tokyo
Hitachi Aloka Medical
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

© Azuma et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2015

This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.


text:
so you say you think you are lonely
or for you the sun don’t shine
then let me take you by the hand
and take you through the streets of london
i’ll show you something
that’ll make you change your mind.

san francisco is fucking smelly. well, mission street is. how did i not know this previous to this morning? answer: usually if going to 24th street bart, i get off the bus and straight into the bart station. this morning i missed the 24th street stop and had to walk a whole two blocks (oh the pain, the agony) holding my breath (oh god why is life so hard).

One thought on “

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *