Archive - 2008

(quote)

Matt Harding is a 32-year-old deadbeat from Connecticut who used to think that all he ever wanted to do in life was make and play videogames. Matt achieved this goal pretty early and enjoyed it for a while, but eventually realized there might be other stuff he was missing out on.

In February of 2003, he quit his job in Brisbane, Australia and used the money he'd saved to wander around Asia until it ran out. He made this site so he could keep his family and friends updated about where he is. A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said "Hey, why don't you stand over there and do that dance. I'll record it." He was referring to a particular dance Matt does.

 read more »

Poet in solitude. Voice out of silence.
Journey after journey, over decades, along a lonely path
filled with perilous adventures and distinct accomplishments
paralleling constant pondering in various schools of thought.
Thus,
the poems are wide-ranging in topics,
many inspired by true events, by true stories
while alongside, photographs and art, by nature.
Uncommon.

Poet in solitude.
Voice out of silence.
For years, LuCxeed has led a mostly solitary
existence, dedicating life and passion to thought,
paying homage to philosophy & poetry, photography & art.

In equanimity, and more than often, the poet travels
back and forth, between West and East,
back and forth, between nature and society.

Journey after journey, over decades, along a lonely path
filled with perilous adventures and distinct accomplishments
paralleling constant pondering in various schools of thought.
Thus, the poems are
wide-ranging in topics,
many inspired by true events, by true stories while
alongside, photographs and art, by nature.

Poetry from life is presented to Life - the release of
more than 100 poems in five books by LuCxeed,
inviting readers to enjoy Poem in Art, Poetry in Gallery,
voice and visual art under one roof. Each page
delivers a surprise, refreshing and appealing,

imbued with the poet’s philosophy for Truth, for Simplicity, for Beauty.  read more »

TimeAhead^TM Calendar
"For Kids, the Future of Our World"
January 2009 - December 2009

Click here to view larger image and download the 8.5"x11" letter-size printable calendar (pdf file).

(quote)

Cheops Pyramid – Egypt, finished in 2,600 BC (481 ft - 146 m)

The Cheops Pyramid at Giza, Egypt, was finished in the year (approx) 2,600 BC and reigned as the world's tallest building / structure for another 4,000 years. How the Great Pyramid was built is a question that may never be answered. This pyramid is thought to have been built between 2589 - 2566 BC. It would have taken over 2,300,000 blocks of stone with an average weight of 2.5 tons each. These stones were brought from Aswan and Tura and the water would have brought the stones right to the pyramid. The total weight would have been 6,000,000 tons and a height of 482 feet (140m). The Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) is the largest and the oldest of the Pyramids of Giza. It wasn't until the 13th Century that Egypt lost the title to a cathedral that was constructed in the U.K. at Lincoln.

Lincoln Cathedral, U.K., completed in 1311 AD (525 ft - 160 m)

Construction of the Cathedral finished in the year 1311 AD, and the Cathedral maintained the title of the world's tallest building for 238 years until 1549 AD, when the central spire was destroyed in a storm. The central spire was never re-built.

 read more »

If “Habit is the nursery of errors”, let ThinkAhead^TM Calendar be the nursery of greatness.

ThinkAhead^TM Calendar is vision in visuals, visual vision.
Nature tosses lives into the constant flow of time.
Think ahead for Life ahead. Vision delivers options to embrace the near future with choices.

The traditional calendar presents dates based on the position of the sun.
The planner is more about “planning” events, schedules by the hour.
ThinkAhead^TM Calendar is a visual presentation of your own vision, choices for a better life in a better world, to mark inspired ideas for the near future on the seasonally-renewed always-12-months-ahead calendar.

Vision in visuals, visual vision.
Concept having been told, here are the design features -
◊ always 12 months ahead, dynamic, seasonally-renewed, i.e.
   January 2009 - December 2009;
   April 2009 - March 2010;
   July 2009 - June 2010; …
   October 2010 - September 2011 and so on
◊ downloadable pdf file, ready to print (letter size)
◊ background & foreground images with area for notes
◊ foldable, easy to jot notes on and carry around
◊ inexpensive & replaceable, convenient to be filed away,
   impressive for handing out

Destiny is a mystery.  read more »

TimeAhead^TM Calendar
"To a Greener Earth"
January 2009 - December 2009

Click here to view larger image and download the 8.5"x11" letter-size printable calendar (pdf file).

(quote)

Christmas is the most popular holiday of the year in the whole world. About 400 millions people celebrates Christmas holiday each year in winter. In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday. The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America.

From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident. After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America’s new constitution.  read more »

(quote)

Caroline Kennedy

This card, from the US Senate-hopeful, read: "In this season of Joy, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum thanks you for your friendship and good will and we wish you a year of peace and happiness."

In the photo, President Kennedy fed bread to a deer in Lassen National Park, Calif., in September 1963. The next morning when the president asked why there was no toast with his breakfast, he was told he had fed the entire supply to the deer.

(unquote)

Photos courtesy of Cecil Stoughton

Original Source: Boston Globe

(quote)

WHISTLER, B.C. - Vancouver 2010 Olympic organizers are considering canceling the evening award ceremonies and giving the medals out at sport venues to save money.

Gary Lunn, the minister of state for sport, said that in tough economic times the Vancouver Organizing Committee has to look at its bottom line.

"They are looking at all of their options and that is the right thing to do in today's economic climate . . . They have to prepare for the unknown," he said.

But Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed said residents do not support the cancellation.

"We know there are challenges but this would be a huge blow to Whistler," he said.

Whistler is planning to throw a $18.5-million party, slated to run 24 hours a day for the duration of the Olympics, which will include concerts, shows and celebrations.

The party will be held at Whistler Village and at the Celebration Plaza Olympic venue, the construction of which is due to be completed in September.  read more »

“Development” or destruction of the planet? The value of a standing forest could be more than the value of a forest burned and logged in the name of development. How many more trees would be cut, forests burned down in the name of development in days not far behind us, and time ahead?

(quote)

RIO DE JANEIRO — Twenty years ago, a Brazilian environmental activist and rubber tapper was shot to death at his home in Acre State by ranchers opposed to his efforts to save the Amazon rain forest. After his death at age 44, Francisco Alves Mendes, better known as Chico, became a martyr for a concept that is only now gaining mainstream support here: that the value of a standing forest could be more than the value of a forest burned and logged in the name of development.

This month, Brazil took what environmentalists hope will be a big step forward in realizing Mr. Mendes’s vision. The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva introduced ambitious targets for reducing deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions in a nation that is one of the world’s top emitters of this heat-trapping gas.

 read more »

(quote)

By December of 1957, Elvis Presley was twenty-three years old, healthy, rich, and more famous than he could ever dreamed. Everything he touched turned to gold. It was as if nothing could get in his way. That is, until December 10, 1957, when Elvis received a letter from the Memphis Draft Board notifying him that he was up for the next military draft. Army, Navy, and Air Force recruiters immediately called to offer him special enlistment opportunities if he signed up before being drafted. The Navy even offered to form an "Elvis Presley Company" that would include soldiers from the Memphis area. Elvis declined all the enlistment offers and decided to take his changes with the draft. On December 19, nine days after he received his initial draft notification, Elvis got final word from the Memphis Draft Board; he was to report for induction into the Army on January 20, 1958, the very same day he was scheduled to start filming King Creole.

 read more »

(quote)

Zurich, Switzerland
Mercer score: 108
GDP: $300.9 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 7,581,520 (total country); 347,517 (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.74 years

Vienna, Austria
Mercer score: 107.9
GDP: $319.7 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 8,205,533 (total country); 1,825,287 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.36 years

Vancouver, Canada
Mercer score: 107.6
GDP: $1.274 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 33,212,696 (total country); 560,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 81.16 years

Auckland, New Zealand
Mercer score: 107.3
GDP: $112.6 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 4,173,460 (total country); 1.18 million (total city)
Life expectancy: 80.24 years

Munich, Germany
Mercer score: 107
GDP: $2.833 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 82,369,548 (total country); 1,332,650 (total city)
Life expectancy: 79.1 years

Sydney, Australia
Mercer score: 106.3
GDP: $766.8 billion (2007 est.)
Population: 20,600,856 (total country); 4,297,100 (total city)  read more »

Images courtesy of John Klossner, Mike Peters / Dayton Daily News / King Features Syndicate, P.C. Vey, humor-in-photos-and-pictures.blogspot.com, Nick Anderson / Houston Chronicle, Hajo / CWS, and Riber / Cagle Cartoons