Saturday, May 12, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
::LAZY THOUGHTS OF A LAZY GIRL::
::LAZY THOUGHTS OF A LAZY GIRL::
(clicking link above will take you to the html version of the book, this link will take you to other available formats )
12 humorous essays presented by pseudonymous, Jenny Wren. A response to the famous print of Jerome K Jerome, Idle Thoughts, of an Idle Fellow.
(clicking link above will take you to the html version of the book, this link will take you to other available formats )
12 humorous essays presented by pseudonymous, Jenny Wren. A response to the famous print of Jerome K Jerome, Idle Thoughts, of an Idle Fellow.
- On Love
- On Bills
- On Politics
- On Afternoon Tea
- On Dress
- On Christmas
- On the Country
- On Town
- On Children and Dogs
- On Concerts
- On Dancing
- On Watering Places
But, though slight, this is a refreshingly cynical and independent-minded account of Victorian society, written with a charm, wit and lightness of touch to rival Jerome himself.review on Lazy thoughts of a lazy girl
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
::Global Woman Discussion::
Saw this in a my blog feed, thought I share this opportunity for the readers of CHICAS::IN::POWER;
Call for Bloggers: www.TheConversation.tv is launching January 15th 2012
The Conversation Is a TV series premiering on Lifetime in Jan 2012 , a web site and online platform that addresses the universal language of women and invites a global discussion about what it means to be a woman in today’s world.And…here’s where you come in…We’re looking for bloggers — any interested writers — who want to be a part of the project.A glimpse of the editorial vision:If writing about being a girl or being a woman in any form appeals to you, we’d love for you to become a regular blogger. You will get a terrific platform and an opportunity to help shape the site. There really is no limit to what you can blog about, as long as it relates in some way to things that ladies care about .We are looking for honest, authentic voices to write about sex, wisdom, friendship, parenting , beauty and fashion , body image ( all sides of the story ) health ( mental and physical ) any anything I am missing that you think matters.Whatever it is please share from the heart as we are only interested in the real deal!!If you, or someone you know, is interested in becoming a blogger at The Conversation please contributions@theconversation.tv with a pitch. Please include what your particular slant is, what you want to write about, and how you expect to do it. Some sense of your writing (and life) experience would help too along with your social media platform, if you have one. But there are no particular requirements other than a good idea and brutal honesty and, hopefully, a sense of humor.Answers to FAQs: a) unpaid b) 1-2x per month minimum commitment c) you can always link back to your own blog d) does not need to be unique content e) we will have final editorial say.Thanks,Amanda de Cadenet— The Conversation
Monday, November 21, 2011
::Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong::
Kathryn Schulz
Kathryn Schulz is the author of "Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error," and writes "The Wrong Stuff," a Slate series featuring interviews with high-profile people about how they think and… Full bio and more links
Kathryn Schulz is the author of "Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error," and writes "The Wrong Stuff," a Slate series featuring interviews with high-profile people about how they think and… Full bio and more links
Sunday, November 20, 2011
::Minds Without Fear::
The Dewarists
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Imogen Heap teams up with prolific composer duo Vishal-Shekhar for a track inspired by the Tagore poem, ‘Where The Mind Is Without Fear’. This episode was filmed at the luxurious, 475-year-old Samode Palace on the outskirts of Jaipur in Rajasthan.
Minds without Fear (the music video alone)
Sunday, November 13, 2011
::Submit/Ask/Message::
Here is a place for you to submit anything that you would like to share
with the rest of the readers, maybe a poem maybe a photo,
maybe a photo of your own painting, maybe you would like to share
something about yourself, or maybe you just want to say hi.. whatever it
may be do so and help us inspire more young, talented women to create
and inspire. thank you for your submission.
Submit
Ask Us anything/Message Us
Submit
Ask Us anything/Message Us
::Seven Deadly Sins that Prevent Creative Thinking::
The seven most common reasons why people are not creative thinkers.
SIN ONE. WE DO NOT BELIEVE WE ARE CREATIVE
People do not believe they are creative. We have been taught that we are the product of our genes, our parents, our family history, our personal history, our I.Q., and our education. Consequently, we have been conditioned to have a fixed mindset about creativity and believe only a select few are born creative and the rest not. Because we believe we are not creative, we spend our lives observing only those things in our experiences that confirm this belief. We spend our lives knowing and living within the limitations we believe we have. We listen to our "inner" voice that keeps telling us not to pretend to be something we're not.
SIN TWO. WE BELIEVE THE MYTHS ABOUT CREATIVITY
We believe many of the myths about creativity that have been promulgated over the years. We're told creativity is rare, mysterious, magical and comes from a universal unconsciousness, a sudden spark of "Aha!" or the divine. We believe we cannot learn how to be creative. We believe creative types are depressed, crazy, unbalanced, special, different, abnormal, blessed, and trouble makers. Normal educated people cannot be creative and should not embarrass themselves by trying. Anything that has not been done before, cannot be done.
We even believe that the right brain is the source of creativity. This is not even slightly true. The brain hemisphere distinction is based largely on clinical studies of about 40 "split-brain" patients--people whose brains were severed surgically in order to treat seizures or other neurological problems. The initial studies of such patients, conducted in the 1960s, seemed to show significant functional differences between the left and right cerebral hemispheres. In the 1980s, however, scientists began to reinterpret the data. The problem is split-brain patients all have abnormal brains to begin with. As a practical matter, the right-hemisphere myth is nonsense because virtually no one has a split brain. The two halves of our brain are connected by an immense structure called the corpus callosum, and the hemispheres also communicate through the sense organs.
Remember an atom is an atom and cannot be anything else, and neither can you. You cannot learn how to be a creative thinker any more than an atom can learn how to become a banana.
SIN THREE. WE FEAR FAILURE
The most important thing for many people is to never make a mistake or fail. The fixed mind-set regards failure as a personal insult, and when they fail they withdraw, lie and try to avoid future challenges or risks.
At one time in America people believed that all a person was entitled to was a natural birth. Everything else was up to the person, and a person's pride and passion came from overcoming the adversities in life. Failure was seen as an opportunity rather than insult. Once Thomas Edison's assistant asked him why he didn't give up on the light bulb. After all, he failed 5,000 times. Edison's responded by saying he didn't know what his assistant meant by the word "failed," because Edison believed he discovered 5000 things that don't work. This was the era when creative thinking flourished in America. People like Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse did not know they could not think unconventionally and so they did.
After World War II, "Inevitability theories" flourished about how everyone's life was shaped by genetic or environmental factors that were beyond their control. There began a promiscuity of the teaching of helplessness that has dimmed the human spirit and has created a "culture of helplessness." It is this culture of helplessness that has cultivated the mindset that fears failure.
This fixed mindset of fear is grounded in the belief that talent is genetic-you're born an artist, writer, or entrepreneur. Consequently, many of us never try anything we haven't tried before. We attempt only those things where we have the past experience and knowledge and know we can succeed. Our culture of helplessness encourages us to believe that there are reasons why some things have never been done.
SIN FOUR. WE FAIL TO ACT
We believe we are not creative, we believe the myths about creativity and because we fear failure we do not act. We avoid taking action. If we don't act, we can't fail. If we are forced to take action, we do not do anything until we have a perfect plan which will take into account any and everything that can happen. We make sure the plan details all the human and material resources you need. We will seek the guidance and direction of every expert and authority we are able to approach. If any authority figure or expert expresses even the slightest doubt, we will not take the risk of failure and abandon the plan.
All art is a reaction to the first line drawn. If no line is drawn there will be no art. Similarly, if you don't take action when you need new ideas in your personal and business lives and do nothing, nothing bad can happen and nothing is the result. In our culture of helplessness, nothing is better than even the slightest chance of failure, because failure means we are worthless.
SIN FIVE. WE FAIL TO PRODUCE IDEAS
We are taught to be critical, judgmental, negative and reproductive thinkers. In our "culture of helplessness," we take pride in dissecting ideas and thoughts of others and demonstrating their flaws. The more negative we can be, the more intelligent we appear to others. In meetings, the person who is master of destroying ideas becomes the most dominant one. The first thought we have when confronted with a new idea is "Okay, now what's wrong with it?"
When forced to come up with ideas, we come up with a few. These are the ideas we always come up with because these are the old ideas that are closest to our consciousness. Then we spend our time looking for what's wrong and for reasons why the ideas can't work? Our judgmental mind will censor anything that is new, ambiguous or novel. We respond to new ideas the way our immune system responds to a deadly virus. Our inner voice will advise us to "Not look stupid," "Give up. You don't have the background or expertise," "it's not relevant," "If it was any good, it would already have been done before" "This will never be approved," "where's the proof? "This is not logical," "Don't be silly," and so on. Anything that is not verifiable by our past experiences and beliefs is not possible.
Remember, to always get the ideas you have always got, keep doing what you have always done over and over. Never look for different ways of thinking.
SIN SIX. WE FAIL TO LOOK AT THINGS IN DIFFERENT WAYS
One of the many ways in which people attempt to make thinking easier is to solve the first impression of the problem that they encounter. This enables them to approach the problem with predetermined concepts and they end up seeing what they expect to see based on their past experiences. Once you accept the initial perspective, you close off all other lines of thought. Certain kinds of ideas will occur to you, but only those kind and no others. Settling with the first perspective helps us avoid ambiguity. People believe they are thinking logically when they simplify thinking by avoiding ambiguity. Aristolean logic teaches it is either A or not-A, it cannot be both. The sky is either blue or not blue. It cannot be a billion different shades of blue. You are either right or wrong. You cannot be both right and wrong. There are no gray areas or in-betweens. The world is black or white.
People who are taught to follow a certain thinking process such as the scientific method must never entertain different ways of looking at the problem or different ways of thinking about it. Keep doing what you are doing. The more times you think the same way, the better you become at producing orderly and predictable ideas. Always avoid trying anything new.
SIN SEVEN. FAILURE TO ACCEPT PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
It is not our fault we are not creative. It's the teachers who are responsible and our parents, the churches, our genetics, the government, lack of time, lack of resources, lack of an inspiring environment, lack of suitable technology, lack of
encouragement, too much sugar, lack of financial rewards, the organization, the bosses, lack of entitlements, lack of knowledge about creative thinking strategies, lack of any guarantee of success, and, after all, most of us are left-brained in this culture. You can't expect people to be something they're not. In our "culture of helplessness," we have learned that we cannot change our attitude, behavior, or the way we think.
— Michael Michalko
People do not believe they are creative. We have been taught that we are the product of our genes, our parents, our family history, our personal history, our I.Q., and our education. Consequently, we have been conditioned to have a fixed mindset about creativity and believe only a select few are born creative and the rest not. Because we believe we are not creative, we spend our lives observing only those things in our experiences that confirm this belief. We spend our lives knowing and living within the limitations we believe we have. We listen to our "inner" voice that keeps telling us not to pretend to be something we're not.
SIN TWO. WE BELIEVE THE MYTHS ABOUT CREATIVITY
We believe many of the myths about creativity that have been promulgated over the years. We're told creativity is rare, mysterious, magical and comes from a universal unconsciousness, a sudden spark of "Aha!" or the divine. We believe we cannot learn how to be creative. We believe creative types are depressed, crazy, unbalanced, special, different, abnormal, blessed, and trouble makers. Normal educated people cannot be creative and should not embarrass themselves by trying. Anything that has not been done before, cannot be done.
We even believe that the right brain is the source of creativity. This is not even slightly true. The brain hemisphere distinction is based largely on clinical studies of about 40 "split-brain" patients--people whose brains were severed surgically in order to treat seizures or other neurological problems. The initial studies of such patients, conducted in the 1960s, seemed to show significant functional differences between the left and right cerebral hemispheres. In the 1980s, however, scientists began to reinterpret the data. The problem is split-brain patients all have abnormal brains to begin with. As a practical matter, the right-hemisphere myth is nonsense because virtually no one has a split brain. The two halves of our brain are connected by an immense structure called the corpus callosum, and the hemispheres also communicate through the sense organs.
Remember an atom is an atom and cannot be anything else, and neither can you. You cannot learn how to be a creative thinker any more than an atom can learn how to become a banana.
SIN THREE. WE FEAR FAILURE
The most important thing for many people is to never make a mistake or fail. The fixed mind-set regards failure as a personal insult, and when they fail they withdraw, lie and try to avoid future challenges or risks.
At one time in America people believed that all a person was entitled to was a natural birth. Everything else was up to the person, and a person's pride and passion came from overcoming the adversities in life. Failure was seen as an opportunity rather than insult. Once Thomas Edison's assistant asked him why he didn't give up on the light bulb. After all, he failed 5,000 times. Edison's responded by saying he didn't know what his assistant meant by the word "failed," because Edison believed he discovered 5000 things that don't work. This was the era when creative thinking flourished in America. People like Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse did not know they could not think unconventionally and so they did.
After World War II, "Inevitability theories" flourished about how everyone's life was shaped by genetic or environmental factors that were beyond their control. There began a promiscuity of the teaching of helplessness that has dimmed the human spirit and has created a "culture of helplessness." It is this culture of helplessness that has cultivated the mindset that fears failure.
This fixed mindset of fear is grounded in the belief that talent is genetic-you're born an artist, writer, or entrepreneur. Consequently, many of us never try anything we haven't tried before. We attempt only those things where we have the past experience and knowledge and know we can succeed. Our culture of helplessness encourages us to believe that there are reasons why some things have never been done.
SIN FOUR. WE FAIL TO ACT
We believe we are not creative, we believe the myths about creativity and because we fear failure we do not act. We avoid taking action. If we don't act, we can't fail. If we are forced to take action, we do not do anything until we have a perfect plan which will take into account any and everything that can happen. We make sure the plan details all the human and material resources you need. We will seek the guidance and direction of every expert and authority we are able to approach. If any authority figure or expert expresses even the slightest doubt, we will not take the risk of failure and abandon the plan.
All art is a reaction to the first line drawn. If no line is drawn there will be no art. Similarly, if you don't take action when you need new ideas in your personal and business lives and do nothing, nothing bad can happen and nothing is the result. In our culture of helplessness, nothing is better than even the slightest chance of failure, because failure means we are worthless.
SIN FIVE. WE FAIL TO PRODUCE IDEAS
We are taught to be critical, judgmental, negative and reproductive thinkers. In our "culture of helplessness," we take pride in dissecting ideas and thoughts of others and demonstrating their flaws. The more negative we can be, the more intelligent we appear to others. In meetings, the person who is master of destroying ideas becomes the most dominant one. The first thought we have when confronted with a new idea is "Okay, now what's wrong with it?"
When forced to come up with ideas, we come up with a few. These are the ideas we always come up with because these are the old ideas that are closest to our consciousness. Then we spend our time looking for what's wrong and for reasons why the ideas can't work? Our judgmental mind will censor anything that is new, ambiguous or novel. We respond to new ideas the way our immune system responds to a deadly virus. Our inner voice will advise us to "Not look stupid," "Give up. You don't have the background or expertise," "it's not relevant," "If it was any good, it would already have been done before" "This will never be approved," "where's the proof? "This is not logical," "Don't be silly," and so on. Anything that is not verifiable by our past experiences and beliefs is not possible.
Remember, to always get the ideas you have always got, keep doing what you have always done over and over. Never look for different ways of thinking.
SIN SIX. WE FAIL TO LOOK AT THINGS IN DIFFERENT WAYS
One of the many ways in which people attempt to make thinking easier is to solve the first impression of the problem that they encounter. This enables them to approach the problem with predetermined concepts and they end up seeing what they expect to see based on their past experiences. Once you accept the initial perspective, you close off all other lines of thought. Certain kinds of ideas will occur to you, but only those kind and no others. Settling with the first perspective helps us avoid ambiguity. People believe they are thinking logically when they simplify thinking by avoiding ambiguity. Aristolean logic teaches it is either A or not-A, it cannot be both. The sky is either blue or not blue. It cannot be a billion different shades of blue. You are either right or wrong. You cannot be both right and wrong. There are no gray areas or in-betweens. The world is black or white.
People who are taught to follow a certain thinking process such as the scientific method must never entertain different ways of looking at the problem or different ways of thinking about it. Keep doing what you are doing. The more times you think the same way, the better you become at producing orderly and predictable ideas. Always avoid trying anything new.
SIN SEVEN. FAILURE TO ACCEPT PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
It is not our fault we are not creative. It's the teachers who are responsible and our parents, the churches, our genetics, the government, lack of time, lack of resources, lack of an inspiring environment, lack of suitable technology, lack of
encouragement, too much sugar, lack of financial rewards, the organization, the bosses, lack of entitlements, lack of knowledge about creative thinking strategies, lack of any guarantee of success, and, after all, most of us are left-brained in this culture. You can't expect people to be something they're not. In our "culture of helplessness," we have learned that we cannot change our attitude, behavior, or the way we think.
— Michael Michalko
Thursday, November 3, 2011
::Béatrice Coron: Stories Cut From Paper::
Béatrice Coron: Stories cut from paper
On the creative process and narrating stories out of cut paper.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
::BeLoose Graphic Workshop::
Here is an incredible site for those that need more guidance in drawing:
Join today for excellent tips on how to help develop your already existing skills in drawing, learn new techniques, and if possible sign up for an upcoming workshop coming to a place near you.
BeLoose Graphic Workshop
"BeLoose is a workshop where the experience will definitely change people's lives and increase their confidence beyond their expectation."
Join today for excellent tips on how to help develop your already existing skills in drawing, learn new techniques, and if possible sign up for an upcoming workshop coming to a place near you.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
::The Fallen Woman::
Revile women never fall!
Nobody knows how much weight the overwhelmed,
and endured many struggles in life,
Until they finally fell!
Who has not seen women out of breath
zealously cling to virtue
and withstand the harsh wind of vice
with a calm attitude?
Drop of water hanging from a branch
the wind stirs and shakes;
Pearl the calyx of the flower sheds,
and that is mud to fall!
But you can still drop pilgrim
regain its lost purity,
and emerge from the dust, crystalline,
and before the light shine.
Let love women fall
let the dust of their vital heat,
because all regained new life
with light and love.
and endured many struggles in life,
Until they finally fell!
Who has not seen women out of breath
zealously cling to virtue
and withstand the harsh wind of vice
with a calm attitude?
Drop of water hanging from a branch
the wind stirs and shakes;
Pearl the calyx of the flower sheds,
and that is mud to fall!
But you can still drop pilgrim
regain its lost purity,
and emerge from the dust, crystalline,
and before the light shine.
Let love women fall
let the dust of their vital heat,
because all regained new life
with light and love.
— Victor Hugo
*(translated)
::La Mujer Caida::
¡Nunca insultéis a la mujer caída!
Nadie sabe qué peso la agobió,
ni cuántas luchas soportó en la vida,
¡hasta que al fin cayó!
¿Quién no ha visto mujeres sin aliento
asirse con afán a la virtud,
y resistir del vicio el duro viento
con serena actitud?
Gota de agua pendiente de una rama
que el viento agita y hace estremecer;
¡perla que el cáliz de la flor derrama,
y que es lodo al caer!
Pero aún puede la gota peregrina
su perdida pureza recobrar,
y resurgir del polvo, cristalina,
y ante la luz brillar.
Dejad amar a la mujer caída,
dejad al polvo su vital calor,
porque todo recobra nueva vida
con la luz y el amor.
— Victor Hugo
Manual Photography Cheat Sheet
livinginthestills.tumblr.com →
© Miguel Yatco Photography
Notes:
Exposure
- The light meter is different from the exposure setting.
- Keeping your light meter at “0” doesn’t necessarily mean
it’s the perfect setting. Just don’t stray too far from the “0”. Adjust
to your liking.
- Positive numbers on your exposure setting will make your photos brighter.
- Negative numbers make your photos darker.
Aperture
- Small numbers (like f/1.4) have larger openings, which let in more light.
- Big numbers (like f/16) have smaller openings, which let in less light.
Shutter Speed
- Seeing 100, 250, 320, etc. on your viewfinder means “1/(number seen)”, like “1/100”.
- Try not to use 1/60 or less when handheld, that’s when you use a tripod or look for something steady.
- Using longer exposure (slow shutter speed) will let in more light.
- Using shorter exposure (fast shutter speed) will let in less light.
ISO
- ISO is the sensitivity of your camera to light
- Lower numbers are less sensitive to light, which give smoother photos.
- Higher numbers are very sensitive to light, which give very grainy and noisy photos.
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