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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Verse of the Day For Thursday, December 13, 2012

Matthew 2:4-6“When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’””

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Quote of the Day For Thursday, December 13, 2012


Quote of the Day:
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.
--George Santayana

The Influences of the Beatles

paulAhh, the fascination of The Beatles! These four lads from Liverpool have got to be the best rock group to ever come from anywhere! They were very inspirational and influential on everybody in the music scene! The Beatles were pioneers in the music industry, changing how we look at music forever.

Besides playing a few cover tunes that showed off who influenced them, The Beatles recorded their own material, this material was also recorded by many other artists from the mersey beat. Later on, other artists covered the Beatles also. "Yesterday" is probably the most covered tune ever. This same material was mainly written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney as a partnership, but George Harrison wrote quite a few great songs too as a Beatle.

Some of Paul's best written Beatle songs include "Yesterday", "Blackbird", ringo"Eleanor Rigby", and "When I'm Sixty-Four". Some of John's include "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Benefit of Mr. Kite", "I Am The Walrus", and "Lucy In The Sky". George's include "For You Blue", "Something", "Here Comes The Sun" and "Taxman" and this list of their greatest songs isn't even complete, but each and every one of their songs is definitely timeless.

If not the first, they at least were pioneers in recording technology in the studio, including - but not limited to - reverse tape loops, sound effects, and feedback. They were also one of the first to use music videos as a medium of advertisement to sell a song. Back than they called them "promo films."

For those of you who don't know me, I'm to be considered a Beatle Enthusiast who wishes he could have been around during there time just so I could've seen them play just once. I love the Beatles. I can't really say which song I love the most because I love them all but if I had to choose, it would probably be "LET IT BE" or “SOMETHING” and if recent songs count, "FREE AS A BIRD" and "REAL LOVE" also.

It's hard for me to say who may favorite Beatle is these days. George Harrison and I have a lot in common. He was always for world peace, and he cared for the world and did what he could to help out those who were in need. He also was always in search for God. He just reminds me johnof myself. I also seem to have things in common with John. he had a very creative mind, and was always searching for world peace and doing whatever he could to promote world peace, not necessarily an anarchist but didn't like what politics and the government does. I also love Paul. They are all extremely talented and extremely creative, but if I had to choose it would be John Lennon since he was the rebel of the group. LOL. The Beatles' music is definitely as timeless as Beethoven, Mozart or Tchaikovski.

The Beatles were such an inspiration and influence on everyone! The name of my media design firm was influenced by them (Strawberry Lane Media Design). My heavy interest in music was influenced by them! I remember it well. November 1995. I was only 15. Something told me I just had to watch ABC on the 3 nights that month! I don't know why. Those 3 nights was when the Beatles Anthology was on.

I often wonder if these 4 lads from Liverpool had intentions of making it big. John Lennon once said, "I met Paul and said, 'do you want to join me group?' Paul said sure. Than George joined, and than Ringo Joined. We were just a band that made it very very big, that's all."

Unfortunately two of them left us. I'm sure they are members of heaven's Beatles playing such great and peaceful music for God. We miss you John and George! Rest in Peace! george

(as published on my website on February 19, 2008)

(Photos used courtesy of Julie Taucher - A very talented artist and fellow Beatle enthusiast.  You can see some of her work at http://yamihoole.deviantart.com/.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Verse of the Day For Saturday, December 08, 2012

John 14:6“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

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Quote of the Day For Saturday, December 08, 2012


Quote of the Day:
Misery is optional.
--Abraham Lincoln

Frank Lloyd Wright

I was raised in Phoenix, Arizona and I remember while living in Phoenix passing by a street named Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.  At the time I didn’t even know who Frank Lloyd Wright was, but than soon after, I came across photos of some neat looking buildings and turns out he was the architect of those buildings.  They were photos of Falling Water in Pennsylvania and the Robie House in Chicago.  I later saw some more photos of his work and became more intrigued by his architecture.

Arizona-Biltmore

On June 08, 1867 he was born as Frank Lincoln Wright in Richland Center, Wisconsin to William Wright, a preacher and Anna Lloyd Jones, a teacher.  His mother’s Welsh family had settled the area near Spring Green, Wisconsin.  During the early part of his childhood he moved around a lot because his father traveled to several states taking up ministry until the family finally settled in Madison, Wisconsin in 1878.

According to one of his biographies, before he was born his mother once said that he would grow up to build beautiful buildings.  He was influenced to be an architect from an early age.  In 1876 his mom visited an exhibition in Philadelphia and saw an exhibit of educational blocks called Froebel Gifts which were created by Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel, the German educationist.  She bought a set of the blocks and brought them home to her young son who began building 3-Dimensional compositions with them and the blocks also influenced his approach to design.

His parents divorced in 1885 when he was 14 which caused some financial stress and so to help support the family, at age 18 he went to work for the dean of the department of engineering at the University of Wisconsin.  He also changed his middle name to “Lloyd” in honor of his mother’s family name.  He wanted to be an architect so two years later, in 1887, he left Madison bound for Chicago, Illinois.

When he got to Chicago he found work with a couple of firms before he got hired on by Dankmar Adler & Louis Sullivan where for six years he worked directly under Louis Sullivan despite the fact that Sullivan showed very little respect to his employees.  Sullivan gave Wright great design responsibility and so as a show of respect, Wright would refer to him later as Lieber Meister which is German for “Dear Master.”

At the age of Twenty-Two in 1889 he married his first wife, Catherine Lee Tobin, just 7 days before his birthday.  He met her a year earlier during activities at the All Souls Church.  Sullivan helped the new couple out  by granting Wright an employment contract for 5 years.

Gammage Auditorium-ASU-Arizona

In the Oak Park suburb of Chicago he built his first house which was for his new family in a wooded corner lot.  It is designed reminiscent of the East Coast shingle style with it’s prominent roof gable but has Wright’s ingenuity.  He would later add to the house as necessary for his ever growing family of six kids.  His children remembered it being very lively living there and it wasn’t long before the family’s expenses escalated that Wright was tempted to accept independent residential design jobs. 

He did these on his own time, but in 1893 Sullivan became aware of it and charged Wright with breach of contract.  Wright left the firm of Adler & Sullivan creating a rift between him and Sullivan for two decades but when one door closes, another one always opens and the closing of the door to him of Adler & Sullivan opened the door of opportunity for Wright to finally go out on his own and opened an office and began to design homes that truly belonged to the American prairie. 

His first independent commission was the William H. Winslow House in River Forest, Illinois and over the next sixteen years he set the standards for what would become known as the Prairie Style home which would reflct the long and low horizontal prairie the home would sit on.  The homes also had low pitched roofs, deep overhangs, deep overhangs, no basements or attics and usually long rows of casement windows that further emphasized the horizontal theme.

Some important residential works Wright designed at this time are the Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, New York; The Avery Coonley House in Riverside, Illinois; and the Fredrick C. Robie House in Chicago, Illinois.  Some important public buildings designed during this time were the Larkin Company Administration Building in Buffalo New York (which is now sadly demolished) and the Unity Temple in Oak Park.

Robie-House

He left his family in 1909 for a stay in Europe with Mamah Borthwick Cheney who was a client of his that he fell in love with.  During this time he worked on two publications of his work: one was The Wasmuth Portfolio which were drawings and the other was of photographs called the Ausgefuhrte Bauten und Entwurfe von Frank Lloyd Wright.  Both of these were published in 1911.  They brought him and his work international recognition and also influenced other architects.

He returned back to the states in 1911 and began construction of Taliesin near Spring Green which would be his home with Mamah Cheney.  He also earned jobs to design two more important buildings: Midway Gardens in Chichago, Illinois and the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan which would sadly be demolished in 1968.

In 1914 while working on Midway Gardens, a servant murdered Mamah Cheney and set fire to the living quarters of there home.  Emotionally distraught, he was only able to find solace while working and rebuilt Taliesin in Mamah’s memory.

1922 – 1934 were architecturally creative and financially catastrophic for Wright.  He got an office in Los Angelas, California but had trouble finding work when he returned from Japan in 1922.  He than left the west coast and went back to Taliesin.  Only some of his projects would go into construction during this decade and this decade was a time of great design innovation for him.  Among some of his unbuilt designs are the National Life Insurance Building in Chicago and the St. Mark’s In The Bowerie apartment towers for New York City.  He also married Olga Lazovich in 1928 and turned to writing and lecturing which introduced him to a larger national audience and wrote 2 important publications in 1932: “An Autobiography” and “The Disappearing City.”  He and his new wife founded an architectural school called “Taliesin Fellowship” at Taliesin at about this time as well.

He moved his new family and his new school to the warmer climate of Arizona in 1934.  Wright at this time was still considered by some to be a great architect but one whose time had come and gone.  He proved the critics wrong when in 1936 he staged a remarkable comeback by designing the S.C. Johnson and Son Company Administration Building in Racine, Wisconsin, and the Edgar Kaufman family house (which is also known as Falling Water) in Pennsylvania.

falling-Water

He decided he wanted a more permanent winter residence in Arizona so he purchased some land in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale, Arizona and began construction of Taliesin West.

In 1943, even though the world was at war he received a letter that initiated the most important and challenging job of his later years if not his entire career.  He was asked to design a building to house the Solomon R. Guggenheim collection of non-objective paintings.  The Guggenheim Museum is in New York City on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and still stands to this day and took over sixteen years to build.

Lloyd_Wright_Guggenheim_Museum_1955-59

With the end of the war in 1945, business boomed.  The Research Tower for the SC Johnson Company, a skyscraper in Oklahoma, and several buildings he 
designed for the Florida Southern College were built and some projects that never were developed beyond the design table were a sports club for Hollywood, California; a mile high tower for Chicago and a plan for greater Baghdad.

He was still actively involved in his work up until his death, including overseeing the construction of the Guggenheim in 1959 he was stricken by an illness that hospitalized him.  On April 9, 1959 he passed away just two months shy of turning 92 years old.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

This is an original article I wrote on one of my favorite architects, but I found my sources elsewhere, so just have to give credit where credit is due as always.

Frank Lloyd Wright - Wikipedia. n.d. 08 December 2012 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright>.

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation: Biography. n.d. 08 December 2012 <http://www.franklloydwright.org/about/FLLWBio.html>.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Quote of the Day For Friday, December 7, 2012


Quote of the Day:
After three days, fish and guests stink.
--John Lyly

Verse of the Day For Friday, December 7, 2012

John 11:25“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;”

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Verse of the Day for Tuesday, December 04, 2012

John 8:12“[Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony] When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

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Quote of the Day for Tuesday, December 4, 2012


Quote of the Day:
If we find a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday, December 2, 2012

John Mayer: Laurel Canyon

I once read a book about the famed Laurel Canyon.  very interesting short article about John Mayer’s “Born and Raised” album.  I never realized it’s supposed to have a California feel for the complete album, but in a way it does.  I really like the album as well.  Enjoy!

Hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood is a tranquil, woodsy neighborhood called Laurel Canyon. This small community, where the homes literally cling to steep canyon walls, occupies a special place in American music history.

John Mayer: Laurel Canyon

Verse of the Day for Sunday, December 02, 2012

Hebrews 1:1-2“[God’s Final Word: His Son] In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”

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Quote of the Day for Sunday, December 2, 2012


Quote of the Day:
Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.
--Epicurus, ancient Greek philosopher

Thursday, November 22, 2012

It’s Christmas Time Again

Well everyone, Thanksgiving day is almost over and you know what that typically means: later tonight and early tomorrow morning starts the official kickoff of the Christmas shopping season and the Christmas season itself has finally arrived again.  The only time of year where it seems that everyone is nice to everyone  for a change and very festive. As Tom Petty said “It’s Christmas All Over Again.”

“It’s Christmas All Over Again” by Tom Petty

Well it's Christmas time again, decorations are all hung by the fire
Everybody's singin', all the bells are ringing out
And it's Christmas all over again, yeah again

Long-distance relatives, haven't seen'em in a long, long time
Yeah I kind of missed 'em, I just don't wanna kiss 'em, no
It's Christmas all over again, yeah again

And all over town little kids gonna get down
And Christmas is a rockin' time, put your body next to mine
Underneath the mistletoe we go, we go

Everybodys singin', all the bells are ringin' out
It's Christmas all over again, yeah again

And right down our block little kids start to rock
And Christmas is a rockin' time, put your body next to mine
Underneath the mistletoe we go, we go

Merry Christmas time come and find you happy and there by your fire
I hope you have a good one, I hope momma gets her shoppin' done
And it's a Christmas all over again
Baby it's Christmas all over again
And it's Christmas all over again

Now let's see...I want a new Rickenbacker guitar,
two Fender bass-mans, Chuck Berry songbooks, xylophone...

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

I  hope you all have a very happy thanksgiving!!! and be thankful for what you have and your families – especially in these tough times we are in right now. today be thankful for our military veterans who aren’t able to be home with there families and be thankful to the proper politicians who really do care who are actually trying to make a difference to turn the country back around and getting it back on the right path.

be thankful for the retailers who use black Friday as a way to keep our poor economy going. and be thankful for God and Jesus for saving us all.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!

Quote of the Day For Thursday November 22, 2012 - Thanksgiving


Quote of the Day:
ARH!! I found it!
--vyacheslavkozlovfan

Verse of the Day For Thursday November 22, 2012 - Thanksgiving

Colossians 3:15“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Quote of the Day For Wednesday, November 21, 2012


Quote of the Day:
When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing.
--Enrique Jardiel Poncela

Verse of the Day For Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Colossians 3:15“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

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Friday, November 16, 2012

Quote of the Day for Friday, November 16, 2012


Quote of the Day:
Act as if it were impossible to fail.
--Dorothea Brande

Verse of the Day for Friday, November 16,2012

Psalm 119:18“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

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One corporation to go out of business, another to have a strike

With talk of this “Fiscal Cliff” to occur on January 1st, 2013 there is talks of businesses and there employees making drastic decisions because of the talks of obamacare and the economy. 

Since Obama’s re-election on November 06, several businesses have announced several layoffs because of the fear of the economy going down even more because of him being re-elected. 

Recently it’s been reported that Hostess (maker of such great snacks as Twinkies and Ho-Hos) is going out of business because of strikers recently.  They have been on bankruptcy status but the strikers didn’t help any.  it’s also been reported that some Wal-Mart employees formed there own union because of low wages and Wal-Mart lowering there pay on healthcare and those Wal-Mart employees also plan on striking on black Friday.  coincidence?

it definitely puts more people on un-employment and we think our economy is bad now?  I think it’s fixing to get a lot worse.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hostess-close-cites-nationwide-worker-123953115.html

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/wal-mart-workers-black-friday-110048819.html

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Verse of the Day For Saturday, November 10, 2012

Job 37:5-6“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’”

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Quote of the Day For Saturday, November 10, 2012


Quote of the Day:
For Sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
--William Shakespeare

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The Elections Are Over and Something To Ponder

It’s November 7th, 2012.  The elections and all the campaigning is finally over.  Obama gets re-elected and the conservatives now have to go back to the drawing board.  I’m a conservative as well  and voted for Mitt.  I just couldn’t fathom another 4 years with Obama as our president and raising our debt even more.  Other things I have heard is also scary enough to make one think “do we really want this idiot to stay in office?” 

While talking to my wife about some political stuff last night, it got me to thinking about all the “facts” and “pictures” that come our way.  We live in an age where anything can be printed by anyone and passed as fact.  We also live in an era where anyone can take a photograph and Dr it via photo editing software and pass it off as real.  How does one really know what is honestly real hard facts and what is passed off as facts but not real?

yes, you can go onto yahoo news and read articles, usa today, etc.  legitimate news sources and outlets and not blogs but one has to begin to wonder: how do we know the sources behind the legit articles are for real?  how do we know the pictures are real?

Yes, cold hard facts prove the country is in major debt right now.  but what about other facts?  I was told by a friend that if Obama won a 2nd term as president that the day after election day would be the biggest day for gun sales because of some bill the UN is trying to get passed.  however where are the stories of the major gun sales?  all I heard so far is the stock market was down but it could be pure coincidence.  there is also no rioting in the streets like I heard as well if he got the 2nd term.  lots of scary stuff I have heard would happen if obama got the second term.  people like Glenn Beck broadcast this stuff daily but where do they get there facts and how are they 100% sure it’s a cold hard fact though?  even if they show the research as coming from a legit site, how can anyone really prove the stuff is 100% legit?  am I saying Glenn Beck is lying about anything? No.  I’m just saying how do we honestly know real truth from fiction in an age where ANYONE can broadcast ANYTHING at the speed of light and call it fact. 

I guess we just got to take everything all in we see and hear and hope and pray for the best outcomes and prepare for the worst.  some scary things have been predicted if Obama got the 2nd term (which he did) even including dangerous issues going on in Europe right now that has been predicted will occur over here.  If our debt keeps going like it is now it’s guarenteed what is going on in europe (especially in greece) will happen also here.

Will all the scary predictions come true?  I guess only time will tell.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Quote of the Day For Sunday, November 4, 2012


Quote of the Day:
I never put on a pair of shoes until I've worn them for five years.
--Samuel Goldwyn

Verse of the Day For Sunday, November 4, 2012

2 Corinthians 3:6“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

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Saturday, November 3, 2012

Verse of the Day For Saturday, November 3, 2012

2 Corinthians 3:6“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

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Quote of the Day For Saturday, November 3, 2012


Quote of the Day:
I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
--Winston Churchill

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Quote of the Day for Sunday, October 28, 2012


Quote of the Day:
The company's most urgent task is to learn to welcome, beg for, demand - innovation from everyone
--Tom Peters

Verse of the Day for Sunday, October 28, 2012

1 Peter 1:24-25“For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.”

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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Verse of the Day for Saturday, October 27, 2012

Hebrews 4:12“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

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Quote of the Day for Saturday October 27, 2012


Quote of the Day:
I got a new keyboard!
--Al

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Merchandise For Sale

I have several things for sale if anyone is interested.  CDs, Books, magazines, records, some christmas lights that don’t work completely, etc.  Most items are under $5 and most items I’m willing to ship to anywhere in the world at an extra cost if anyone is interested in anything.  I accept PayPal or money orders only.  The following photo albums have pictures of what is available.  If you are not able to view the photo albums please let me know and I’ll post some other links you can try:

Records for sale: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152184094710341.920022.783165340&type=1&l=6d20a95a0b

General Merchandise for sale: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152184073880341.920017.783165340&type=1&l=4c9a37704e

CDs for sale: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152183979165341.920004.783165340&type=1&l=4ce4180180

Some pics of the things for sale:

 

Old issues of Guitar World, Guitar Player, Rolling Stone and Goldmine Magazines - 10 cents for regular issues or $1.00 for special issues or all of them for $30.  When I get a chance I'll take individual photos of these to share what I have  available.   laser light show - still works - $30   books - 10 cents each.  When I get a chance I will take individual pictures of these to share what exactly is available   100_1312   CDs For Sale!  $2 each!  Please see the "CDs For Sale" album to see what I have!  MOST ARE NEW!   100_1127  100_1062

Verse of the Day For Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Galatians 6:2“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

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Quote of the Day for Tuesday, October 23, 2012


Quote of the Day:
Hit any user to continue.
--Fuzzel Fish Administration Page

Monday, October 22, 2012

F.D.A. Receives Death Reports Citing Popular Energy Drink - Yahoo! Finance

I see no reason why we have or even need energy drinks.  Some may think I don’t like them because I don’t follow trends.  No that’s not it, I just think it’s silly.  We never needed them before so why now? 

With that being said, I think they are dangerous.  There was a reason the Coke product “Surge” was taken off the markets, folks.  It had way too much caffeine.  I remember in high school drinking a 20oz of Surge in 30minutes and it made me very shaky and jittery.  I couldn’t do my school work because I was so shaky, and one night after a bottle of Surge I had a migraine.  It had too much sugar.  they take it off of the market because of it’s caffeine/sugar content.  However shortly after it was taken off, these energy drinks started popping up.  I just don’t get it.  and parents allowing there kids to even drink them?  that’s just ridiculous!  I’m 32 and I have no desire to drink one for obvious reasons.  I may as well take speed pills.  the stuff will kill you!  common sense, people! 

should we ban them? no. we have enough laws.  however we should raise awareness to how bad these things are.  if people quit buying them companies will see that and stop making them, or at least put warning labels on them making people aware of the harms (which I haven’t seen on them yet) or at least make it like cigarettes or alcohol where you have to be a certain age to purchase one.

Five people may have died in recent years after drinking Monster Energy, a popular energy drink that is high in caffeine, according to incident reports recently released by the Food and Drug Administration.

F.D.A. Receives Death Reports Citing Popular Energy Drink - Yahoo! Finance

News flash: Huey Lewis and band are going strong | Music | Kentucky.com

Huey Lewis and the News is one of my favorite bands ever.  I remember the first album I ever had by them, and I’ll explain in a minute.

I first heard the band like most my generation have probably first heard the band:: “The Power of Love” when it was in the 1985 film “Back To The Future.”  I first saw the film in 1988 when I was 8 years old.  At the age of 10 there 1990 album “Hard At Play” came out and that was the first album of there’s I owned.  Sometime shortly after that I had purchased 1982’s “Picture This” and 1983’s “Sports”.  I love there cover of well known Stax recordings on there recent “Soulsville” album and there classic covers that are on the “Four Chord and Several Years Ago” album.  Such an amazing band, and very talented and gifted songwriters!  Glad to see that they are still performing.  Would be neat to see them live someday.

"To be honest, we're having a better time now than we ever have," said Lewis, 62, who will lead a rock and soul revue-style version of The News into Danville's Norton Center for the Arts on Friday for its first Central Kentucky performance in more than 25 years.

News flash: Huey Lewis and band are going strong | Music | Kentucky.com

I Voted

Today marks the first day of early voting in the state of Arkansas.  I live in Harrison, so right after my 1:00 Basic Design class I rushed over to the Durand Center and cast my vote and I’m not afraid to let everyone know who I voted for.  Mitt Romney.  I am conservative first, libertarian second and a republican third.  I believe in less control, less spending and more freedoms.  Mitt Romney will hopefully cut the spending spree America has been on.  There are several things we should cut out.

I wanted to vote for libertarian Gary Johnson but I heard that voting libertarian or other 3rd party formats you will just throw your vote away because those parties are just so small, so I will always vote for the republican person.  I don’t like where most republicans stand on issues but I do feel that for a freer America they are the best way to go.

Arkansas is also trying to get a bill passed for medical Marijuana.  I’m all for this.  Marijuana has some good medical usages.  look at all the folks with AIDS or MS or have an immune deficiency?  It can even help those with high stress and eating disorders.

Presidential-Election-2012

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Quote of the Day for Sunday, October 21, 2012


Quote of the Day:
A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.
--Samuel Goldwyn

Verse of the Day for Sunday, October 21, 2012

Psalm 40:8“I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.””

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Ansel Adams

Thumbing through various magazines as a kid, I saw some interesting black and white photos that I thought looked very interesting. One in particular was a night sky image taken in the desert that had a shot of the moon in the top right corner. I didn’t even really think of how famous the photograph was when I first saw it, I just knew I really enjoyed it. Some years later (2003) a friend of mine wanted to take me to an art museum in Springfield, Missouri to see a traveling exhibit. He mentioned it was an exhibit of Ansel Adams. I asked him who was that and he described him as a famous black and white photographer. I thought it was cool but didn’t take any interest at first because I didn’t recognize the photographer’s name at the time. When we got to the museum and I saw the Ansel Adams exhibit, I was shocked at how familiar I was to his photographs after all. I knew the artist’s work for years and didn’t even realize it! He’s an awesome photographer. I really enjoy his work.

He wasn’t just a photographer – he was also an environmentalist and was born on February 20, 1902 in San Francisco, California. His father was a businessman by the name of Charles Hitchcock Adams and his grandfather was a wealthy timber baron. When he was four years old, an aftershock of the great San Francisco Earthquake in 1906 threw him to the ground and broke his nose very badly which had distinctly marked him for life. Ansel was an only child and his mother was almost 40 years of age.

He had problems fitting in at school as a child due to his shyness, his nose and his genius. At one point later in his life he had noted that he might’ve been diagnosed as being hyperactive. He may have also suffered from dyslexia. His parents sent him to several different schools, but he wasn’t very successful. His dad and aunt ended up tutoring him. He got a “legitimizing diploma” from the Mrs. Kate M. Wilkins Private School, equivalent to completing 8th grade.

He had a very solitary childhood, and he found joy in nature. He took long walks to the Golden Gate Bridge, hiking the dunes and meandering along Lobos Creek.

At the age of 12, he taught himself how to play the piano and read music. This was his primary occupation and in 1920 became his intended profession. Even though eventually he gave up music for photography, the piano brought discipline to his frustrating and erratic youth. Also, the training as a musician profoundly informed his visual artistry as well as influential writings and teachings on photography.

His first camera was a Kodak No. 1 Box Brownie that his parents gave him and from 1916 to his death he spent a lot of time in the Yosemite Sierra. He had hiked and climbed and explored the area and he gained self-esteem and self-confidence and joined the sierra club in 1919. He met Virginia Best and they both were married in 1928 and had 2 children. The marriage ended his attempt at a music career.

The Sierra Club scene played an important role in Ansel’s early photography success. The club’s 1922 Bulletin featured his first published photographs and in 1928 he had his first one man exhibition at the club’s San Francisco headquarters. Also, each summer the club would have a month long hiking trip normally in the Sierra Nevada. The participants hiked each day to a new campsite, as the official photographer of the outings he realized he could earn enough to survive with his photographs.

In 1927 he made his first fully visualized photograph “The Face of Half Dome”. He also met San Francisco insurance magnate Albert M. Bender. Bender was also a patron of arts and artists. Right after they met, he literally set out to prepare and publish Adams’ first portfolio! This changed Ansel’s life tremendously! He than was able to pursue his dreams.

He also made several trips to the southwest where he collaborated with Mary Austin and together published a book titled “Taos Pueblo” in 1930. He also met Paul Strand who is another photographer that inspired him to move away from the pictorial style he favored to a more “straight photography.” Ansel was about to become straight photography’s mast articulate and insistent master.

Even though he was profoundly a man of the west, during the 1930s and 1940s he spent a good amount of time in New York where he met photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Ansel admired Alfred’s work and philosophy. The Stieglitz circle played an important role in Ansel’s artistic life. The Delphic Gallery gave him his first show in New York in 1933 and in 1935 his first widely distributed book “Making A Photograph” was published.

All the recognition though didn’t get rid of his financial pressure. In 1935 he stated in a letter “I’ve been busy, but broke.” He spent a lot of his time working for clients such as The National Park Service, Kodak, Zeiss, IBM, AT&T, Life Magazine, Fortune Magazine and Arizona Highways Magazine. In 1938 he wrote to a friend “I had to do something in the near future to regain the right track in photography. I am literally swamped with commercial work. It is very restraining to my creative work.” He constantly worried about how he was going to pay his next month’s bills. This was very stressful for him until late in his life.

Ansel’s technical mastery was legendary. He was probably to photography what Jimi Hendrix was to guitar playing. He was arguably, probably the greatest photographer there ever was. He was frequently consulted for technical advice and was the principal photographic consultant for Polaroid. He also developed the famous and highly complex “zone system” of controlling and relating exposure and development, enabling photographers to creatively visualize an image and produce a photograph that matched and expressed that visualization. Books he has written on the topic are the most influential ever written on the subject.

He endlessly travelled the country looking for natural beauty to photograph. He also felt an intense commitment to promoting photography as a fine art and played a major role in the establishment of the first museum department of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

He was a major activist in causes dealing with protecting the wilderness and the environment. Over the years he has been a part of several meetings and has written many letters in support of his conservation philosophy. However his greatest influence came from his photography. His pictures became the symbols of wild America. When people think about national parks or the nature of the environment itself, they often think about an Ansel Adams photograph.

Even though wilderness and the environment were his passions, photography was his calling but he never made a creative photograph specifically for environmental purposes. He was also criticized constantly for never including humans or evidence of them in his landscape pictures. French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson once said “The world is falling to pieces and all Ansel Adams photographs is rocks and trees!” Many national parks are preserved and protected to this day, mainly because of Ansel and his colleagues efforts.

In September of 1983, he was confined to his bed for four weeks after a leg surgery to a remove a tumor and on April 22, 1984 at the age of 82 he passed away from a heart attack. His vast archive of papers, memorabilia, negatives and proof prints are in the John P. Schaefer Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. He has received a number of awards during his lifetime and posthumously, even some have been named for him. In 1968 he was awarded the Conservation Service Award by the Department of the Interior and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. He was also inducted into the California Hall of Fame posthumously by Governor Arnold Shwarzenegger and in 1985 the Minarets Wilderness in the Inyo National Forest were renamed the Ansel Adams Wilderness and Mount Ansel Adams, and the Sierra Club’s Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography was created in 1971 and the Wilderness Society created the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation in 1980. In December of 1992, Abigail Foerstner wrote in an article in the Chicago Tribune about Ansel Adams: “He did for the national parks something comparable to what Homer’s epics did for Odysseus.”

1    2

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5        ansel-adams

This article is original, but I have to give credit where it’s due so here’s the bibliography.

Ansel Adams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 19th October 2012. 15th and 20th October 2012 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams>.

Turnage, William. ANSEL ADAMS BIOGRAPHY | | The Ansel Adams GalleryThe Ansel Adams Gallery. 2012. 15th and 21st October 2012 http://www.anseladams.com/ansel-adams-information/ansel-adams-biography/.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Verse of the Day For Saturday, October 20, 2012

Psalm 51:12“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

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Quote of the Day for Saturday, October 20, 2012


Quote of the Day:
Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.
--Albert Einstein

Friday, October 19, 2012

“I love Big Bird - But He’s Got To Go”

A few weeks ago during the first 2012 presidential debates, Mitt Romney said we should cut out funding for PBS even though he liked Big Bird.  Last week while in Little Rock with my mom, I was reading the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, and I saw an editorial that I thought was very funny so I thought I would share it on my blog.  I’m not too sure who the cartoonist was.  I do have some other comics and editorials over the years I have enjoyed enough to clip out also that I will eventually share when I find them.  maybe even put them in there own blog posting and facebook album as well when I find them.

"I Love Big Bird - But He's Got To Go" - LOL - classic!!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Monday, October 15, 2012

Verse of the Day for Monday, October 15, 2012

2 Samuel 7:22““How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”

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Quote of the Day for Monday, October 15, 2012


Quote of the Day:
To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.
--Theodore Roosevelt

Quote of the Day for Monday, October 15, 2012


Quote of the Day:
To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.
--Theodore Roosevelt

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Verse of the Day for Saturday, October 13, 2012

Jeremiah 29:11“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

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Quote of the Day for Saturday, October 13, 2012


Quote of the Day:
Sincerity is the highest compliment you can pay.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Amazed at the possibilities of Microsoft Office 2010

I’m really glad I decided to stay in my Introduction to Information Technology class even though I know the stuff pretty well.  This week for class I had to 3 chapters of work in Microsoft Word 2010.  I also been experimenting some with Microsoft Publisher.  Today I also did a small activity in Excel and Access and can’t wait to learn more about those programs.

Using Word I was able to print addresses directly onto an envelope.  very cool.  I sort of knew about this, but never thought to use it until I started learning about Word.  and the Mail Merge feature is really cool!  I am hoping to get a book sometime on MS Publisher and MS Onenotte.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Romney's 'Big Bird' comment goes viral - NYPOST.com

I’m all for PBS and Big Bird.  I think educational programming for children is important.  but as a libertarian I’m also thinking: should tax payers be paying for it? seriously?  I mean, PBS has regular telethons for a reason.  Cut out such subsidies!  cut out the GM subsidies as well!  Cut out the GE subsidies even!  You want to know why this country is so broke? it’s because we gone away from donations from investors and business people and donations from the kindness of our hearts to donations by force through taxes!  ridiculous!  You can learn a lot on how to save our economy by thinking and acting like a real libertarian.  I honestly don’t know how I really think about Romney, but I do agree with his statement about cutting out PBS funding.

The Republican candidate pledged to cut funding to PBS, the station that airs the puppet bird’s educational show “Sesame Street,” during Wednesday’s debate with President Obama. PBS also happens to be the longtime network of Jim Lehrer, the debate moderator.

“I’m sorry, Jim, I’m going to stop the subsidy to PBS,” Romney explained. “I like PBS, I love Big Bird. I actually like you too.”

Romney's 'Big Bird' comment goes viral - NYPOST.com

Verse of the Day for Thursday, October 11, 2012

Psalm 62:1“[Psalm 62] For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David. Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.”

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Quote of the Day for Thursday, October 11, 2012


Quote of the Day:
It is better to aim at perfection and miss, than to aim at imperfection and hit it
--Thomas J. Watson


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Quote of the Day for Wednesday, October 10, 2012


Quote of the Day:
Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.
--Franz Kafka


Verse of the Day For Wednesday October 10, 2012

Psalm 62:1“[Psalm 62] For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David. Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.”

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Monday, October 8, 2012

Pablo Picasso

I remember growing up thumbing through some art books and going to museums and coming across some Pablo Picasso paintings that I really found out that I enjoyed very much. I am really only familiar with two or three of his paintings, and one of them I learned was painted during his “blue period.” That painting was of course “The Old Guitarist” from 1903. I am an amateur musicologist so one of my hobbies is music and music history and so the painting represents a lot to me: with it’s dominant color being blue it could represent the blues genre. The way he’s strumming the guitar, it kind of looks like how someone might strum a classical song. Or a blues song even. He painted it in 1903, and so looking at it also makes me imagine the American roots stuff of that era. Another painting of his that I really like is “Three Musicians” from 1921. I think it’s a really colorful painting and in a way reminds me of the jazz era.

On October 25, 1881 Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso – Pablo Picasso – was born to Don Jose Ruiz y Blasco and Maria Picasso y Lopez. He was a painter, co-founding the Cubist movement and he was also a sculptor. His dad was also a painter and taught at the School of Crafts and ran a museum. He was born in Malaga, Spain.

He became interested in drawing at a very early age and painting realistically throughout his childhood and teenage years. “Piz”, which is a short form of the Spanish word for pencil “lapiz”, was his first word according to his mom and at seven years old his dad taught him figure drawing and oil painting.

Picasso’s family moved to LA Coruna, Spain in 1891 where his dad started teaching at the Instituto da Guarda art school and in 1892 Picasso joined his dad at the art school as a student. He attended the school for three years where he received a classical art education.

In 1895 Picasso’s father started to work at the La Lonja Art Academy in Barcelona joined once again by Picasso. With help from his uncles, he decided to move to Madrid, Spain in 1897. He dropped out of school around this time because his teachers couldn’t help him solve the technical problems he had. He wanted to be more like the classical painters Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and Diego Velazquez. No matter how great he was at such a young age, he couldn’t match the masters.

He realized he would not progress while in Madrid so he decided to quit his studies and with his father’s aid he was able to have two of his first paintings “The First Communion” and “Science and Charity” included in a large exhibition which made him a recognized artist in Spain, and he wasn’t even seventeen years old yet!

The organic forms that we associate Picasso with today were due to what he learned from a Catalan architect by the name of Antoni Gaudi when he lived in Barcelona, Spain. Picasso went from being “Picasso the traditionalist” to “Picasso the Great Innovator.” Also while staying in Barcelona he would visit the Els Quatre Gats Cafe (“The Four Cats”) often. On his visits to the café he met and befriended several artists that regularly made visits to Paris, France for work. Picasso soon followed suit.

At the turn of the 20th century, Paris had become the center of avant-garde art and Pablo Picasso had become an avant-garde artist and while still living in Barcelona he helped found a magazine with a writer by the name of Francesco de Asis Soler called “Arte Joven” (young art). When the magazine folded, Pablo moved to Paris.

Pablo Picasso was like the famous singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in a sense, as in his style of painting changed a lot over the years, just like Bob Dylan’s musical styles changed a lot over the years as well. Between 1899 and 1900 his painting style changed tremendously from a very dry style to a romantic style. The Picasso we know today was just starting to flourish. Some artworks by him from that era would remind you of work done by Henri de Toulouse-Latrec or Cornelis Theodorus Maria Van Dongen.

Picasso and an artist friend of his by the name of Carlos Casagemas got there first studio together in Montemarte, Paris, France in 1900. Around this time Picasso used a technique of oil painting that’s a bit blurred and reminds one of soft pastels. “Dancer In Blue” was painted around this time and shows off his fascination with the Paris night life. Another painting of the time is “Le Moulin Galette” which was an homage to Toulouse-Latrec.

Picasso changed his painting technique to divisionism in 1901. He also experimented with expressionism around this time. He also began to paint circus artists.

He found a way to use his imagination, poetry skills and ability to spot artistic innovations and use them in his work with modern art. While in Paris he had some difficult years where he didn’t earn enough from his work.

His “Blue Period” began around 1901 and ended about 1904. This was a time when he used the color blue as the dominant color in his work. At 20 years old he was an accomplished classicist painter and he was also dissatisfied with traditional art. Picasso and his contemporaries were experiencing the after-shock of an artistic eruption by the name of Vincent Van Gogh which hurdled the art world towards abstract art. Inspired by this, the blue period marked the end of his development and his work eventually would culminate into cubism and the first steps to modern abstract art.

On an interesting side note, he started painting in blue because his friend Carlos Casagemas committed suicide which caused Picasso some trauma which he found expression for in a series of sentimental paintings that he painted in blue. He also lived in poverty during part of his stay in Paris which may have contributed to the melancholy paintings.

Picasso’s next period was his “Rose Period,” which was an era where pink dominated his paintings, however he still continued his blue period work until his cubist period which followed his rose period. It wasn’t until the period after that – his “neo-classicist” period did his work begin to show playfulness that would remain a feature in his work the rest of his life. Picasso also had a “black period” which occurred from 1906 to 1907 and is an era where his work was heavily influenced by African art. One famous piece from this period is “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.”

Even though his blue period seems to be more popular, his rose period has greater importance to art history. In 1904 his work regained it’s romantic style with paintings that had warmer colors in them – many in pink, hence why the art world called it his “rose period.” The most expensive painting in the world from May 2004 to June 2006 was Picasso’s rose-era painting “Boy With Pipe” from 1905. It sold for a whopping $104,000,000!!

A constant theme in Pablo Picasso’s blue and rose periods was the desolation of social outsiders: prisoners, beggars, circus people or poverty stricken people. Paintings of the lower classes of society was a conscious move towards the political left. He also became commercially successful during his rose period.

One very interesting trait of Picasso’s was how he was able to emulate styles and methods of other painters and still create original paintings. For example: Paintings by Vincent Van Gogh were the influence for “The Death of Casagemas” and “Portrait of Jaime Sabartes (The Beer Glass)” and the work of Paul Gauguin were his influence for “The Absinthe Drinker.” He enjoyed imitating other artists like an actor enjoys portraying different people.

His Cubism period lasted from around 1909 to about 1912 and it refers to a style of painting he developed with Georges Braque using monochrome brownish and neutral colors. A further development in the genre was where cut paper pieces or even parts of newspapers were cut out and pasted into compositions – making it the first time the art of “collage” was used in fine art.

After World War I, Picasso was in his “Neo-classical” era. His works from this era were influenced by the work of renaissance painter Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael) and French neoclassical painter Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. In the 1930s, the minotaur became a common motif in his work. What is probably his most famous painting was painted in this era and was inspired by the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. This painting is called “Guernica.”

In the 1950s his style changed yet again: He made a series of works influenced by Diego Velazquez, Fracisco Goya, Nicolas Poussin, Edouard Manet, Gustave Courbet and Eugene Delacroix. He was also commissioned to sculpt a 50-foot high sculpture in Chicago, Illinois known as the “Chicago Picasso.” It is one of the most recognizable landmarks in downtown Chicago and was unveiled in 1967. He even donated it to the city, refusing the $100,000 offer the city offered him!

His final works were more daring, colorful and expressive. Some were even dismissed by most as pornographic fantasies of an impotent old man or as slapdash works from an artist who was past his prime.

He passed away from a heart attack at 91 years of age in Mougins, France on April 8, 1973 while entertaining friends with his wife Jacqueline, who committed suicide 13 years later at the age of 59 because she was very devastated and lonely after Picasso’s death. His final words were “Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can’t drink anymore.”

During his lifetime, Picasso had produced around 1,885 paintings; 1,228 sculptures; 2,880 ceramics, 12,000 drawings, and numerous tapestries and rugs. There are now museums that house his work exclusively: Musee Picasso in Paris, France; Museo Picasso Malaga in Malaga, Spain and Museu Picasso in Barcelona, Spain. He is also featured on several postage stamps around the world.

The following are some of his paintings:

clip_image002     clip_image004

The Old Guitarist                The Three Musicians

 

clip_image006    clip_image008

Dancer In Blue                                           Death of Casaemas

 

 clip_image010     clip_image012

Guernica                                                 Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

 

clip_image014     clip_image016

Science and Charity                                    The First Communion

 

This is an original article, but some research was made while writing it.

Bibliography:

Pablo Picasso – paintings, biography, and quotes of Pablo Picasso.
30 September 2012 and 08 October 2012. < http://www.pablopicasso.org/>.

Various authors. Pablo Picasso. Wikipedia.
08 October 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_picasso>.

BBC On This Day | 8 | 1973: Art Master Picasso dies. BBC.
30 September 2012 and 08 October 2012.<http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates
/stories/april/8/newsid_2523000/2523469.stm>.

Carsten-Peter Warncke and Ingo F. Walther. Pablo Picasso biography.
30 September 2012 and 08 October 2012.<http://pablopicasso.
paintings.name/biography/
>.

Pablo Picasso. Infoplease.
30 September 2012 and 08 October 2012. < http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ people/A0838929.html>.



Sunday, October 7, 2012

Verse of the Day for Sunday October 7th, 2012

Psalm 63:1“[Psalm 63] A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”

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Quote of the Day for Sunday October 7th, 2012


Quote of the Day:
All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific.
--Jane Wagner


My Online Presence

I will re-post this article every so often so that anyone who follows my blogs will be able to access my various social network profiles (yes, I do have a lot these days lol).  I used to believe in not having so many, but I found out that the best way to really promote your work is to be a part of as many social network sites as possible because some people may not be able to view your facebook stuff because they don’t have a facebook account but have a twitter account.  Or they may want to access your graphic portfolio or favorite paintings easier so they go to your flickr account page.  Or they may want to browse images that interest you that organized a bit better so they may want to access your pinterest account instead.  Or they may want to just read what you have to say so they just want to read your blogs or they may just want to watch your videos so they go to YouTube, etc.  Here are my various social network site profiles:



Saturday, October 6, 2012

Quote of the Day for Saturday October 6th, 2012


Quote of the Day:
True friends stay friends.
--Al


Verse of the Day for Saturday October 6th, 2012

Isaiah 26:4“Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.”

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I Am Going To College Because…

I am going to college because I have been out of school since 1999 and I have been working since than at minimum wage jobs and couldn’t find any jobs that pay well or any jobs that involve my hobbies or interests.

Last October I was visiting my wife at NorthArk (she was going to school at the time) and was looking at the choices of degrees northark had to offer, and decided to go for digital media but because I worked in Branson at the time and living in Harrison I was trying to figure out how to go to school and work in Branson for a while and than on February 29th, 2012 the tornado that went through Branson destroyed the store I was working at. Unfortunately that was too late to sign up for classes so I did everything I could to start this fall so I could better my digital media skills in hopes of after I graduate getting a job that pays well doing something I really like to do.

I have actually been flirting with the idea of going to college since 2004, but I was stuck at what I should go for. I didn’t want to spend money (whether my own or grant or loan money) on classes for a degree I may not even want. I wanted to go to school on my own terms and not on what others tell me I should go for. I also know I should go for something that would hopefully guarantee me some real work.

One time I wanted to go to film production school. There’s a really good one in New York. A few years ago I found out about FullSail University in Florida, which is my dream school but it’s not in my cards to go there. Probably never will be. I’m a firm believer that if you don’t go for the degree you want you are going to fail at your education. I want to be successful at college and my future endeavors.

All last spring my dad tried to convince me to go to college to be a nursing aide because my uncle does that and enjoys it. I never once had any desire to be a nurse’s aide. Yes, the pay is good but if it’s not what I want to do than I will fail at it. You have to go where your heart is. Do what you love to do, not something that you don’t want to do. I have always been into the digital arts – sound production, video production, graphic design etc. I know that jobs in that field are hard to find in Harrison, but I’ll figure that out when I get out of college. Maybe even go into business for myself if necessary. I have been trying to start a business doing that sort of thing since 2003 called “Strawberry Lane Media Design” and I’m hoping after I graduate college in a couple of years I will be able to be much better at my craft.

I’m 32 years old, it’s about time I do something to better myself and my lifestyle so I can support my family better. That’s why I’m going to college.dd



Friday, October 5, 2012

Quote of the Day for Friday October 5th, 2012


Quote of the Day:
Opinions are like armpits: Everybody has two of them and they stink most of the time.
--Anonymous


Verse of the Day for Friday October 5th, 2012

Isaiah 55:6“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”

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Thursday, October 4, 2012

How Big Bird won the first presidential debate of 2012 | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

I didn’t watch the debate but heard bits about it on Fox News this morning.  This was one I heard about on there and thought it was kind of funny - and Mitt Romney makes a very valid point: PBS gets donations from it’s viewers so why in the world is it one of America’s millions of subsidies?  I’m all for PBS but people should donate to it out of the kindness of their hearts, not by force.  Where is it in our US constitution does it state we have to pay for all the subsidies?

To the list of "unlikely subjects of political discussion, 2012," please add one beloved "Sesame Street" character. The 8'2" bird entered the conversation at Monday's first presidential debate in Denver, Colorado, when Republican candidate Mitt Romney answered a question about what he would cut from federal spending. He included the federal subsidy to PBS, which broadcasts "Sesame Street."

How Big Bird won the first presidential debate of 2012 | The Ticket - Yahoo! News