Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue — the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial neighbor.
A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.
"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the full moon right above you. It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.
The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.
However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse on New Year's Eve when part of the moon enters the Earth's shadow. The eclipse will not be visible in the Americas.
A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month — a blue moon — occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.
Blue moons have no astronomical significance, said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
"`Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a `hunter's moon' or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail.
The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misinterpreted the Maine Farmer's Almanac and labeled a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the almanac defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.
Though Sky & Telescope corrected the error decades later, the definition caught on. For purists, however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a blue moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.
In a tongue-in-cheek essay posted on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm out celebrating, I'll take a peek at that brilliant orb as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue. Or maybe I'll just howl."
Original story here: Yahoo
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Once in a 'blue moon' would I not have plans for NYE, looks like this year is an exception. Whats everyone else doing?
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Top 10 Worst (and supposedly best) Commercials of the Decade
Thanks to AOL Tv for this list.
10. Twix, Disfigured Face
We'd never buy a Twix after watching this commercial. For one thing, it features a guy with a horribly disfigured face. For another, you have to watch to the end to get the "invented a pause" gist. Someone should have invented a pause for the people who created this commercial. Maybe they could have come up with a better idea.
9. Tabasco, Singing Pepperoni
Hey, Kids! If you put Tabasco sauce on your pizza, you can experience the pure joy of eating these freaky heads, singing like a barbershop quartet!
8. Walmart, Let's Tie Up Santa
Here's an idea. Give kids the idea to lurk around the Christmas tree like a stalker and when Santa shows up, tie him up and steal his presents. Be sure to buy an iPod at Walmart, so the kids will have something to listen to while they're waiting.
7. Skittles, Taste the ... Depression
Instead of making us want to run out and buy some Skittles, this commercial goes horribly wrong. It's got us depressed over the poor guy who can't hold his newborn baby boy and kills people by shaking their hands.
6. Hardee's, Fist Girl
Awww, that's sweet. This girl can fit her whole fist in her mouth. We bet her mom is sooooo proud.
5. FreeCreditReport.com, Dream Girl
You know what? Instead of whining about your dream girl's poor credit, how about you kick the band out and go get a job, loser? Looks to us like she's doing all the work.
4. Boost Mobile, Bicycle
We realize the Boost Mobile commercials are supposed to make us see how wrong some things are. Sometimes they work, like this one about the Tony Soprano pig enjoying the delicious flavors of a fallen friend. But some are so disgusting, they make us want to turn the channel. Like this one with the girl and her gross armpit hair.
3. Burger King, Wake Up With the King
Yeah, seeing the plastic Burger King guy stalking outside your window is a perfect way to start your day. And apparently, the guy's oblivious wife walking by in the background has been drugged by the King. Then again, none of this is probably as bad as waking up in bed with him.
2. Quiznos Subs, Rats
You have to wonder what the ad people were smoking when they came up with this commercial featuring rats -- yes, rats! -- selling subs. Really?!
1. Head On, Apply Directly to the Forehead
Not only is this commercial the most annoying ever, it actually gives you a headache. If we knew for sure that Head On was for headaches, maybe we'd try it. Wait, where do we apply it again?
You can find the Top 10 Best Commercials of the Decade (VIDEO) Here!
Opinions please?
I know this isnt a commercial, but if it were it would be amazing!
My own personal most watched youtube video.
LoL
10. Twix, Disfigured Face
We'd never buy a Twix after watching this commercial. For one thing, it features a guy with a horribly disfigured face. For another, you have to watch to the end to get the "invented a pause" gist. Someone should have invented a pause for the people who created this commercial. Maybe they could have come up with a better idea.
9. Tabasco, Singing Pepperoni
Hey, Kids! If you put Tabasco sauce on your pizza, you can experience the pure joy of eating these freaky heads, singing like a barbershop quartet!
8. Walmart, Let's Tie Up Santa
Here's an idea. Give kids the idea to lurk around the Christmas tree like a stalker and when Santa shows up, tie him up and steal his presents. Be sure to buy an iPod at Walmart, so the kids will have something to listen to while they're waiting.
7. Skittles, Taste the ... Depression
Instead of making us want to run out and buy some Skittles, this commercial goes horribly wrong. It's got us depressed over the poor guy who can't hold his newborn baby boy and kills people by shaking their hands.
6. Hardee's, Fist Girl
Awww, that's sweet. This girl can fit her whole fist in her mouth. We bet her mom is sooooo proud.
5. FreeCreditReport.com, Dream Girl
You know what? Instead of whining about your dream girl's poor credit, how about you kick the band out and go get a job, loser? Looks to us like she's doing all the work.
4. Boost Mobile, Bicycle
We realize the Boost Mobile commercials are supposed to make us see how wrong some things are. Sometimes they work, like this one about the Tony Soprano pig enjoying the delicious flavors of a fallen friend. But some are so disgusting, they make us want to turn the channel. Like this one with the girl and her gross armpit hair.
3. Burger King, Wake Up With the King
Yeah, seeing the plastic Burger King guy stalking outside your window is a perfect way to start your day. And apparently, the guy's oblivious wife walking by in the background has been drugged by the King. Then again, none of this is probably as bad as waking up in bed with him.
2. Quiznos Subs, Rats
You have to wonder what the ad people were smoking when they came up with this commercial featuring rats -- yes, rats! -- selling subs. Really?!
1. Head On, Apply Directly to the Forehead
Not only is this commercial the most annoying ever, it actually gives you a headache. If we knew for sure that Head On was for headaches, maybe we'd try it. Wait, where do we apply it again?
You can find the Top 10 Best Commercials of the Decade (VIDEO) Here!
Opinions please?
I know this isnt a commercial, but if it were it would be amazing!
My own personal most watched youtube video.
LoL
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Haha!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Baby Name Trends of the Decade
Seems like I know about a dozen or so women about to "pop" right about now. Its the time of year. Spring fever sprung and now the babies are on the way. While some of them are choosing common names, a handful are picking names I could never consider naming a child of my own. Here's a story I came upon yesterday. Read!
Worst Baby Name Trends of the Decade
Most of them, even the woolliest, are chosen with love by well-meaning moms and dads. But a few name trends from the past decade have crossed the line. Here are the Name Lady's picks for the worst name trends of the decade:
Selling Your Baby's Name To The Highest Bidder
Did you hear about the expectant parents who put naming rights to their new baby up for auction on eBay? In fact, you've had plenty of chances to hear that since the year 2000. In the sell-from-home decade, several families have seen baby naming as an opportunity to pick up some quick cash. This year, one determined Arkansas mom re-listed her unborn son's name auction five times. Her goal (unmet) was $20,000 to help pay the household bills.
Some of the eBay parents have seemed genuinely desperate, while others may have just been out for attention. Before you write them all off, consider one thing they had in common: They were trying to sell a name that belonged to somebody else, not their own. That makes them fitting emblems for a decade when more and more parents started treating baby names as creative fashion accessories.
Giving Your Baby A Corporate Trademark Name
There's a natural overlap between product names and baby names. Parents may be attracted to a name like Sienna for a girl for the same reasons that Toyota was attracted to it for a minivan. But since the '90s, the brand naming of babies has reached new heights. Labels like Nautica, Lexus and Armani have joined the ranks of America's top 1,000 names, and almost no popular brand seems off limits. At last count, four American boys sported the name ESPN.
The U.S. doesn't regulate baby names, but the more we bestow corporate trademarks on children, the closer we come to a brave new world of naming law. What does it mean when a corporation owns the rights to your name? What will happen to little ESPN if he wants to be a sportswriter, or to Nautica if she tries to design clothes?
Using Names As An Excuse To Make Fun Of People
Name insults are as old as schoolyard taunts. In this decade, though, adults have elevated baby name bashing to the level of blood sport. Whenever a new celebrity baby is born, the world waits with bated breath to tear the name to shreds. (In reality, most celebrity babies have perfectly normal names -- Henry and Ava are favorites -- but what fun is that?)
The most toxic name bashing uses names, real or invented, as a sly way to make fun of whole segments of our society. For example, one of the hottest Internet stories of recent years is the dubious tale of the girl named Le-a, pronounced Ledasha because "the dash don't be silent." The most common version of that story concludes with the commentary, "And we let these people vote."
Making Your Baby's Name A Tool To Advance Your Agenda
In December 2008, the Campbell family of New Jersey made international headlines when a supermarket bakery refused to write their young son's name in icing on a birthday cake. The rejected name: Adolf Hitler.
The parents expressed shock and dismay at the store's decision, but it soon became clear that they knew the score. The supermarket had rejected the Campbells' requests before, and they had pointedly insisted on both first and middle names on the cake, not just Adolf. In short, the parents had set up a media event, using their child's name as bait. Their whole Nazi-named brood and swastika-filled living room were soon being beamed to news outlets across the globe. How long before more zealots of every stripe follow suit, naming their children as living billboards?
Here's wishing us all a new decade of loving, well-chosen names.
Source: Name Lady Blog
Read her blog Q & A's! Very insightful!
---
An exploration of how baby names rise and fall
In Slate's treatise on baby names, I wasn't surprised to see that only one name has remained at the top of the popularity charts consisently over the past three decades: "Sarah." I should know, as others yell my name in the park, in the grocery store, at the doctor's office (there were three of us in the waiting room last week). And they don't mean me.
The data exposes a few myths. Celebrity names, they say, do not start naming trends, but rather follow them - Britney Spears' name was simply a follow-on to an already established trend. Instead, families are more likely to copy the names of a higher-income family the next street over. The pattern goes something like this: "Once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder." The author predicts that the names among the most educated parents will become the most popular names of 2015; for girls, names like Ansley, Ava, Clementine and Lara; for boys, names like Anderson, Carter, Liam and Sander.
Source
Worst Baby Name Trends of the Decade
Most of them, even the woolliest, are chosen with love by well-meaning moms and dads. But a few name trends from the past decade have crossed the line. Here are the Name Lady's picks for the worst name trends of the decade:
Selling Your Baby's Name To The Highest Bidder
Did you hear about the expectant parents who put naming rights to their new baby up for auction on eBay? In fact, you've had plenty of chances to hear that since the year 2000. In the sell-from-home decade, several families have seen baby naming as an opportunity to pick up some quick cash. This year, one determined Arkansas mom re-listed her unborn son's name auction five times. Her goal (unmet) was $20,000 to help pay the household bills.
Some of the eBay parents have seemed genuinely desperate, while others may have just been out for attention. Before you write them all off, consider one thing they had in common: They were trying to sell a name that belonged to somebody else, not their own. That makes them fitting emblems for a decade when more and more parents started treating baby names as creative fashion accessories.
Giving Your Baby A Corporate Trademark Name
There's a natural overlap between product names and baby names. Parents may be attracted to a name like Sienna for a girl for the same reasons that Toyota was attracted to it for a minivan. But since the '90s, the brand naming of babies has reached new heights. Labels like Nautica, Lexus and Armani have joined the ranks of America's top 1,000 names, and almost no popular brand seems off limits. At last count, four American boys sported the name ESPN.
The U.S. doesn't regulate baby names, but the more we bestow corporate trademarks on children, the closer we come to a brave new world of naming law. What does it mean when a corporation owns the rights to your name? What will happen to little ESPN if he wants to be a sportswriter, or to Nautica if she tries to design clothes?
Using Names As An Excuse To Make Fun Of People
Name insults are as old as schoolyard taunts. In this decade, though, adults have elevated baby name bashing to the level of blood sport. Whenever a new celebrity baby is born, the world waits with bated breath to tear the name to shreds. (In reality, most celebrity babies have perfectly normal names -- Henry and Ava are favorites -- but what fun is that?)
The most toxic name bashing uses names, real or invented, as a sly way to make fun of whole segments of our society. For example, one of the hottest Internet stories of recent years is the dubious tale of the girl named Le-a, pronounced Ledasha because "the dash don't be silent." The most common version of that story concludes with the commentary, "And we let these people vote."
Making Your Baby's Name A Tool To Advance Your Agenda
In December 2008, the Campbell family of New Jersey made international headlines when a supermarket bakery refused to write their young son's name in icing on a birthday cake. The rejected name: Adolf Hitler.
The parents expressed shock and dismay at the store's decision, but it soon became clear that they knew the score. The supermarket had rejected the Campbells' requests before, and they had pointedly insisted on both first and middle names on the cake, not just Adolf. In short, the parents had set up a media event, using their child's name as bait. Their whole Nazi-named brood and swastika-filled living room were soon being beamed to news outlets across the globe. How long before more zealots of every stripe follow suit, naming their children as living billboards?
Here's wishing us all a new decade of loving, well-chosen names.
Source: Name Lady Blog
Read her blog Q & A's! Very insightful!
---
An exploration of how baby names rise and fall
In Slate's treatise on baby names, I wasn't surprised to see that only one name has remained at the top of the popularity charts consisently over the past three decades: "Sarah." I should know, as others yell my name in the park, in the grocery store, at the doctor's office (there were three of us in the waiting room last week). And they don't mean me.
The data exposes a few myths. Celebrity names, they say, do not start naming trends, but rather follow them - Britney Spears' name was simply a follow-on to an already established trend. Instead, families are more likely to copy the names of a higher-income family the next street over. The pattern goes something like this: "Once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder." The author predicts that the names among the most educated parents will become the most popular names of 2015; for girls, names like Ansley, Ava, Clementine and Lara; for boys, names like Anderson, Carter, Liam and Sander.
Source
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Amusing X-Mas Vids
The Dan Band - I Wanna Rock U Hard This Xmas
Christmas Prank On Louie
Watch his reaction afterwards too. Not as funny but pretty amusing :)
Mr Bean - Christmas Scene
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Most Epic Trolls of 2009
The Most Epic Trolls of 2009
In Internet parlance, a troll is defined as somebody who deliberately does or says something in order to provoke a response and create a disrupt.
Octomom
In January, Nadya Suleman made news by giving birth to a set of living octuplets (only the 2nd to have ever been born in the United States) despite being divorced, unemployed, and already having 6 young children. Controversy arose when the media began to question Suleman's mental stability and ability or provide her children with a secure future financially. It was suspected she was exploiting the octuplets for fame.
-
Kanye West
At the VMA music awards in September, while accepting the award for “Best Female Video”, Taylor Swift was interrupted by an inebriated Kanye West who insisted that Beyonce's “Single Ladies” was the best video of the year.
-
The Heene Family
In this case, the true trolls are Richard and Mayumi Heene, who claimed that their six-year-old son Falcon had climbed into a homemade balloon that spent the better part of a day floating across Colorado before coming down with no boy inside. The Heene family had created the hoax in order to promote themselves for reality TV fame.
-
Teabaggers
When President Obama outlined his plan for the national recovery stimulus package, it wasn't long before the ignorant masses assembled sporting offensive signs and misinformed ideals.
-
Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck is - hands down - the hardest working troll alive.
-
Jon Gosselin
When Jon and Kate Gosselin began having troubles in May, everyone's first instinct was to side with Jon Gosselin against his mean-spirited and over-bearing wife, Kate. However, over time Jon Gosselin proved himself to be the half worth hating when he began dating the daughter of his wife's surgeon, dressing like a douche bag, and acting out in pubic.
-
Carrie Prejean
While being crowned Miss California 2009, Carrie Prejean spoke out against gay marriage. She then lost her crown due to a breach of contract, but sued because she though her religious views had cost her the crown. Later it was revealed that a sex tape and nude photos of the model had surfaced, which lead to her being dethroned.
-
4Chan
It was a good year for the Internet underbelly known as 4Chan. The site's users rigged the “Time's Most Influential People” list to put the site's founder, Moot, in the number one spot, then proceeded to create an acrostic out of the rest of the list that read “marble cake also the game”.
-
Rep. Joe Wilson
South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson raised the level of discourse in the country by yelling out “you lie” at President Obama as he gave a speech on health care reform.
-
David Thorne
As proprietor of 27b/6, David Thorne makes a living of being a troll. His latest exploit pitted him against business tycoon Simon Edhouse, who had a great idea for a site that's like Twitter, except with pie charts and you have to pay for it.
-
Lady Gaga
She wears insane outfits, makes bizarre music videos, and when rumors started that she had a penis, she made it a point to not deny them.
-
The Salahis
When Tareq and Michaele Salahi's charity was going under, they did the only thing that could get the attention they needed to save themselves from poverty, they trolled the white house. The Salahis crashed an official White House event, showing up uninvited in hopes of gaining some notoriety and saving their charity (as well as helping their reality TV fame.)
-
Sen. Joseph Lieberman
As the US Senate attempted to pass a health care reform bill that would help insure millions of Americans, Joe Lieberman (who previously supported the Democratically backed bill) changed his mind, and supported a block of the bill lead by Republican members of Senate.
-
Oscar the Grouch
Sesame Street trolled Fox News when Oscar the Grouch's news channel wasn't trashy enough for his audience, and they decided to switch to Pox News to watch Spill O'Reilly instead.
-
Also see
Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009! Slideshow...
Some more Epic Trolls of 2009 ;)
In Internet parlance, a troll is defined as somebody who deliberately does or says something in order to provoke a response and create a disrupt.
Octomom
In January, Nadya Suleman made news by giving birth to a set of living octuplets (only the 2nd to have ever been born in the United States) despite being divorced, unemployed, and already having 6 young children. Controversy arose when the media began to question Suleman's mental stability and ability or provide her children with a secure future financially. It was suspected she was exploiting the octuplets for fame.
-
Kanye West
At the VMA music awards in September, while accepting the award for “Best Female Video”, Taylor Swift was interrupted by an inebriated Kanye West who insisted that Beyonce's “Single Ladies” was the best video of the year.
-
The Heene Family
In this case, the true trolls are Richard and Mayumi Heene, who claimed that their six-year-old son Falcon had climbed into a homemade balloon that spent the better part of a day floating across Colorado before coming down with no boy inside. The Heene family had created the hoax in order to promote themselves for reality TV fame.
-
Teabaggers
When President Obama outlined his plan for the national recovery stimulus package, it wasn't long before the ignorant masses assembled sporting offensive signs and misinformed ideals.
-
Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck is - hands down - the hardest working troll alive.
-
Jon Gosselin
When Jon and Kate Gosselin began having troubles in May, everyone's first instinct was to side with Jon Gosselin against his mean-spirited and over-bearing wife, Kate. However, over time Jon Gosselin proved himself to be the half worth hating when he began dating the daughter of his wife's surgeon, dressing like a douche bag, and acting out in pubic.
-
Carrie Prejean
While being crowned Miss California 2009, Carrie Prejean spoke out against gay marriage. She then lost her crown due to a breach of contract, but sued because she though her religious views had cost her the crown. Later it was revealed that a sex tape and nude photos of the model had surfaced, which lead to her being dethroned.
-
4Chan
It was a good year for the Internet underbelly known as 4Chan. The site's users rigged the “Time's Most Influential People” list to put the site's founder, Moot, in the number one spot, then proceeded to create an acrostic out of the rest of the list that read “marble cake also the game”.
-
Rep. Joe Wilson
South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson raised the level of discourse in the country by yelling out “you lie” at President Obama as he gave a speech on health care reform.
-
David Thorne
As proprietor of 27b/6, David Thorne makes a living of being a troll. His latest exploit pitted him against business tycoon Simon Edhouse, who had a great idea for a site that's like Twitter, except with pie charts and you have to pay for it.
-
Lady Gaga
She wears insane outfits, makes bizarre music videos, and when rumors started that she had a penis, she made it a point to not deny them.
-
The Salahis
When Tareq and Michaele Salahi's charity was going under, they did the only thing that could get the attention they needed to save themselves from poverty, they trolled the white house. The Salahis crashed an official White House event, showing up uninvited in hopes of gaining some notoriety and saving their charity (as well as helping their reality TV fame.)
-
Sen. Joseph Lieberman
As the US Senate attempted to pass a health care reform bill that would help insure millions of Americans, Joe Lieberman (who previously supported the Democratically backed bill) changed his mind, and supported a block of the bill lead by Republican members of Senate.
-
Oscar the Grouch
Sesame Street trolled Fox News when Oscar the Grouch's news channel wasn't trashy enough for his audience, and they decided to switch to Pox News to watch Spill O'Reilly instead.
-
Also see
Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009! Slideshow...
Some more Epic Trolls of 2009 ;)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
50 things that changed our lives in the aughts
NEW YORK – Was it only a decade ago that a blackberry was a mere summer fruit? That green was, well, a color, and reality TV was that one show sandwiched between music videos on MTV?
There were, of course, huge political and social upheavals that roiled our world in the past decade. But there were also the gradual lifestyle changes that you don't always notice when they're happening — kind of like watching a child grow older. Here's an alphabetical look at 50 things that changed our lives since the beginning of the millennium:
AIRPORTS: Remember when you didn't have to take your shoes off before getting on a plane? Remember when you could bring a bottled drink on board? Terrorism changed all that.
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: From acupuncture to herbal supplements to alternative ways of treating cancer, alternative medicine became more mainstream than ever.
APPS: There's an app for that! The phrase comes from Apple iPhone advertising, but could apply to the entire decade's gadget explosion, from laptops to GPS systems (want your car to give you directions to Mom's house in Chinese, or by a Frenchwoman named Virginie? There was an app for that.)
AARP cards ... for boomers! Some prominent Americans turned 50 this decade: Madonna. Prince. Ellen DeGeneres. The Smurfs. Michael Jackson — who also died at 50. And some prominent "early boomers" turned 60: Bruce Springsteen and Meryl Streep, for example.
AGING: Nobody seemed to look their age anymore: Clothes for 50-year-old women started looking more like clothes for 18-year-olds, tweens looked more like teens, long hair was popular for all ages, and in many ways women's fashion seemed to morph into one single age group.
BLOG: I blog, you blog, he blogs ... How did we spend our time before blogging? There are more than 100 million of these Web logs out there in cyberspace.
BLACKBERRIES: Considered essential by corporate CEOs and moms planning playdates. Introduced in 2002, the smartphone version is now used by more than 28 million people, according to its maker, Research In Motion Ltd.
BOOK CLUBS: Thanks in part to Oprah Winfrey, the decade saw not only a profusion in book discussion clubs but a growing reliance on them by publishers.
CABLE: Cable 24-hour news made the evening network news seem quaint, cable dramas reaped Emmys ... and at decade's end, even Oprah was making the move to cable.
CAMERAS: Remember those trips to get film developed? Nope? Even your grandmother has a digital camera, and she's probably e-mailing you photos right now or uploading them to a photo-sharing site.
CELEBRITY CULTURE: Celebrity magazines fed a growing obsession with celebrities and the everyday minutiae of their lives. By decade's end, we were still obsessed, though Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie had ceded many covers to reality stars like Jon and Kate Gosselin. Celebrity Web sites like TMZ took hold mid-decade.
CELL PHONES: Cell phones are now used by more than 85 percent of the U.S. population and for some have replaced land lines entirely. On the downside, they've made cheating on a spouse more difficult — just ask Tiger Woods.
CHEFS: Chefs are hot! The Food Network, whose viewership tripled this decade, reeled in viewers with high-voltage personalities like Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse and Giada De Laurentis. Meryl Streep starred in a cinematic pean to the late Julia Child.
CONNECTIVITY: As in, we're all expected to be connected, wirelessly, all the time. Boss e-mails you on a Sunday? Better answer, unless you're off in Antarctica — you have no excuse.
COUGARS: A new TV series called "Cougar Town" focuses on a phenomenon that gained its name this decade: women dating younger men.
CROCS: Those ubiquitous plastic clogs debuted in 2002 and became the shoes you loved to hate. Kids love 'em, but there are Web groups dedicated to their destruction. Not to be deterred: First lady Michelle Obama, who wore them on vacation in 2009.
DANCING: Dancing never went out of style, but this decade saw the huge popularity of dancing contests like "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing With the Stars."
DATING: Dating was transformed like everything else by Internet sites, rendering other ways of meeting people obsolete. And it wasn't just the territory of the relatively young: Seniors found love online, too.
DVRs: Suddenly, DVR-ing is a verb, and what it means is this: There's no reason to know anymore what channel your program is on, and what time.
EMBARRASSMENT ENTERTAINMENT: Embarrassment has always been part of comedy — you need only think of Don Rickles — but this is the decade of cringe-worthy Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Ricky Gervais, and of course Sacha Baron Cohen, who as Borat and Bruno shamed perhaps the entire country.
FACEBOOK: Can you believe this social networking site was once limited only to Harvard students? Now it's a time-sucking obsession for more than 300 million users globally and a whole new form of social etiquette: Who to friend on Facebook?
FAT: This was the decade that fat became the enemy of the state. New York City banned trans fats, and Alabama — second in national obesity rankings — introduced a tax on overweight state workers.
FOODIE: It's not just that guy in the White House who liked arugula — this was the decade of the foodie, when we all developed gourmet palates. Even a burger became a gourmet item — as in Daniel Boulud's truffle burger, stuffed with foie gras and short ribs.
GOING GREEN: From the kind of light bulbs we use to the kind of shopping bags we carry to the cars we drive, "going green" took hold this decade. Now, it's not strange to hear a schoolkid tell a parent to use a cloth grocery bag.
GOOGLE: This was the decade that Google became a part of our brain function. You know that guy who was in that movie — when was it? Just Google it.
GPS: We can't get lost anymore — or at least it's pretty hard, with the ubiquitous GPS systems. But you'd better type in your location carefully: One couple made a 400-mile mistake this year by typing "Carpi" rather than "Capri."
HELICOPTER PARENTING: Translation: helicopters hover, and so do many parents. After years of obsessive attention to safety and achievement of the youngest children, some said a backlash was under way.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD: An explosion in Internet use led to an overload of information about practically everything. It's at our fingertips, but is it accurate? Some call it part of a larger phenomenon, namely ...
INSTANT GRATIFICATION: Otherwise known as being able to get anything you want within an instant. Often referred to as a theme of the decade.
IPODS: An icon of the digital age, it's hard to believe this portable media player was first launched in 2001. Six years later the 100 millionth iPod was sold.
LIFE COACHES: In the aughts, there's a coach for everything! So why not life itself? Some say life coaches are merely therapists without the license or regulations.
MUSICALS: They've been around forever, but this decade musicals came back to film, starting with "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago." But for kids, it was Disney's extremely successful "High School Musical" franchise — three movies and counting — that brought back the musical magic.
NETFLIX: The DVD by mail service, established in 1997, announced its two-billionth DVD delivery this year. For many, those discs on top of the TV are just one more thing to procrastinate over.
ORGANIC: Americans rushed to fill their grocery carts with organic food, making it big business — now a $21 billion industry, up from $3.6 billion in 1997. At decade's end, Michelle Obama planted the first White House organic vegetable garden.
PREGNANCY CHIC: If you've got it, flaunt it: That was the new ethos of the pregnancy experience, with chic clothes that emphasized the bulging belly, personal pregnancy photos, and endless coverage of celebrity pregnancies.
REALITY TV: As a nation, we became addicted to reality TV, from the feuding Gosselins of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" to "American Idol" to "Project Runway." At decade's end, the Heenes of Balloon Boy fame and the Salahis of gatecrashing fame give reality TV some unwanted attention.
RECESSION CHIC: Fashion skewed to more severe styles — and much black — as so-called "recession chic" took hold in the latter part of the decade.
RETRO CHIC: Once you forget the smoking, the racism, the sexism and the homophobia, the early '60s depicted by the AMC series "Mad Men" sure looked good. The swinging Madison Avenue ad men make neckties cool again.
SEXTING: Combine texting with a cell phone's camera function and you get this parental nightmare. A survey from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that 15 percent of teens ages 12-17 with a cell phone had received sexually suggestive images or videos.
STARBUCKS: It's a cliche that there's one on every block, but sometimes it seemed like it — and millions now consider it normal to spend $4 or so on a coffee drink in the morning, perhaps a venti half-caf half-decaf vanilla latte with an extra shot.
TATTOOS: It started innocently enough — maybe a butterfly on the shoulder or a tribal symbol on the bicep. A few characters from the Chinese alphabet later it seemed any hipster who really meant it had a full sleeve of tattoos. The trend extended to middle-aged moms and even tween idol Miley Cyrus.
TEXTING: R u still rding this sty? Hope u r. This is the decade we start communicating in the shorthand of text messages. Get used to it: E-mail is so '00s.
TV SCREENS: Television screens became bigger and flatter, making some ordinary living rooms and dens the equivalent of big-studio screening rooms. At the same time, though, people were watching movies and videos on the tiniest screens imaginable — on their iPods other mobile devices.
TWEEN CULTURE: Tweens, especially girls, became an economic force to be reckoned with, buying everything from clothes to electronic devices to music to concert tickets.
TWITTER: The new social network introduced tweets, retweets, follows and trending topics — as long as it fit in 140 characters.
UGGS: Not since the Croc (see above) has functional footwear created such a frenzy. The fur-lined snowboots were everywhere, no matter the climate. Los Angelenos insisted on wearing them with shorts.
WII: In a sea of ever-more-sophisticated video games, this simple console became the decade's breakout hit by appealing to the non-gaming masses. Wiis became a center of family gaming, home fitness and even senior socializing.
WIKIPEDIA: A boon to lazy students everywhere, the open-source encyclopedia used the masses to police its entries and keep them (mostly) (sometimes) accurate.
YOGA: Madonna, Gwyneth and other bendy celebrities brought the eastern practice mainstream. By the end of the decade, even Grandma could do downward-facing dogs on her Wii Fit.
YOUTUBE: Let's end this list and go kill some time by watching ... YouTube videos! The video-sharing site was born in 2005. Political candidates in 2008 even had their on YouTube channels. The most popular video yet: "Charlie Bit My Finger," in which baby Charlie bites the finger of his brother Harry.
Original story:
AP News
There were, of course, huge political and social upheavals that roiled our world in the past decade. But there were also the gradual lifestyle changes that you don't always notice when they're happening — kind of like watching a child grow older. Here's an alphabetical look at 50 things that changed our lives since the beginning of the millennium:
AIRPORTS: Remember when you didn't have to take your shoes off before getting on a plane? Remember when you could bring a bottled drink on board? Terrorism changed all that.
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: From acupuncture to herbal supplements to alternative ways of treating cancer, alternative medicine became more mainstream than ever.
APPS: There's an app for that! The phrase comes from Apple iPhone advertising, but could apply to the entire decade's gadget explosion, from laptops to GPS systems (want your car to give you directions to Mom's house in Chinese, or by a Frenchwoman named Virginie? There was an app for that.)
AARP cards ... for boomers! Some prominent Americans turned 50 this decade: Madonna. Prince. Ellen DeGeneres. The Smurfs. Michael Jackson — who also died at 50. And some prominent "early boomers" turned 60: Bruce Springsteen and Meryl Streep, for example.
AGING: Nobody seemed to look their age anymore: Clothes for 50-year-old women started looking more like clothes for 18-year-olds, tweens looked more like teens, long hair was popular for all ages, and in many ways women's fashion seemed to morph into one single age group.
BLOG: I blog, you blog, he blogs ... How did we spend our time before blogging? There are more than 100 million of these Web logs out there in cyberspace.
BLACKBERRIES: Considered essential by corporate CEOs and moms planning playdates. Introduced in 2002, the smartphone version is now used by more than 28 million people, according to its maker, Research In Motion Ltd.
BOOK CLUBS: Thanks in part to Oprah Winfrey, the decade saw not only a profusion in book discussion clubs but a growing reliance on them by publishers.
CABLE: Cable 24-hour news made the evening network news seem quaint, cable dramas reaped Emmys ... and at decade's end, even Oprah was making the move to cable.
CAMERAS: Remember those trips to get film developed? Nope? Even your grandmother has a digital camera, and she's probably e-mailing you photos right now or uploading them to a photo-sharing site.
CELEBRITY CULTURE: Celebrity magazines fed a growing obsession with celebrities and the everyday minutiae of their lives. By decade's end, we were still obsessed, though Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie had ceded many covers to reality stars like Jon and Kate Gosselin. Celebrity Web sites like TMZ took hold mid-decade.
CELL PHONES: Cell phones are now used by more than 85 percent of the U.S. population and for some have replaced land lines entirely. On the downside, they've made cheating on a spouse more difficult — just ask Tiger Woods.
CHEFS: Chefs are hot! The Food Network, whose viewership tripled this decade, reeled in viewers with high-voltage personalities like Rachael Ray and Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse and Giada De Laurentis. Meryl Streep starred in a cinematic pean to the late Julia Child.
CONNECTIVITY: As in, we're all expected to be connected, wirelessly, all the time. Boss e-mails you on a Sunday? Better answer, unless you're off in Antarctica — you have no excuse.
COUGARS: A new TV series called "Cougar Town" focuses on a phenomenon that gained its name this decade: women dating younger men.
CROCS: Those ubiquitous plastic clogs debuted in 2002 and became the shoes you loved to hate. Kids love 'em, but there are Web groups dedicated to their destruction. Not to be deterred: First lady Michelle Obama, who wore them on vacation in 2009.
DANCING: Dancing never went out of style, but this decade saw the huge popularity of dancing contests like "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Dancing With the Stars."
DATING: Dating was transformed like everything else by Internet sites, rendering other ways of meeting people obsolete. And it wasn't just the territory of the relatively young: Seniors found love online, too.
DVRs: Suddenly, DVR-ing is a verb, and what it means is this: There's no reason to know anymore what channel your program is on, and what time.
EMBARRASSMENT ENTERTAINMENT: Embarrassment has always been part of comedy — you need only think of Don Rickles — but this is the decade of cringe-worthy Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Ricky Gervais, and of course Sacha Baron Cohen, who as Borat and Bruno shamed perhaps the entire country.
FACEBOOK: Can you believe this social networking site was once limited only to Harvard students? Now it's a time-sucking obsession for more than 300 million users globally and a whole new form of social etiquette: Who to friend on Facebook?
FAT: This was the decade that fat became the enemy of the state. New York City banned trans fats, and Alabama — second in national obesity rankings — introduced a tax on overweight state workers.
FOODIE: It's not just that guy in the White House who liked arugula — this was the decade of the foodie, when we all developed gourmet palates. Even a burger became a gourmet item — as in Daniel Boulud's truffle burger, stuffed with foie gras and short ribs.
GOING GREEN: From the kind of light bulbs we use to the kind of shopping bags we carry to the cars we drive, "going green" took hold this decade. Now, it's not strange to hear a schoolkid tell a parent to use a cloth grocery bag.
GOOGLE: This was the decade that Google became a part of our brain function. You know that guy who was in that movie — when was it? Just Google it.
GPS: We can't get lost anymore — or at least it's pretty hard, with the ubiquitous GPS systems. But you'd better type in your location carefully: One couple made a 400-mile mistake this year by typing "Carpi" rather than "Capri."
HELICOPTER PARENTING: Translation: helicopters hover, and so do many parents. After years of obsessive attention to safety and achievement of the youngest children, some said a backlash was under way.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD: An explosion in Internet use led to an overload of information about practically everything. It's at our fingertips, but is it accurate? Some call it part of a larger phenomenon, namely ...
INSTANT GRATIFICATION: Otherwise known as being able to get anything you want within an instant. Often referred to as a theme of the decade.
IPODS: An icon of the digital age, it's hard to believe this portable media player was first launched in 2001. Six years later the 100 millionth iPod was sold.
LIFE COACHES: In the aughts, there's a coach for everything! So why not life itself? Some say life coaches are merely therapists without the license or regulations.
MUSICALS: They've been around forever, but this decade musicals came back to film, starting with "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago." But for kids, it was Disney's extremely successful "High School Musical" franchise — three movies and counting — that brought back the musical magic.
NETFLIX: The DVD by mail service, established in 1997, announced its two-billionth DVD delivery this year. For many, those discs on top of the TV are just one more thing to procrastinate over.
ORGANIC: Americans rushed to fill their grocery carts with organic food, making it big business — now a $21 billion industry, up from $3.6 billion in 1997. At decade's end, Michelle Obama planted the first White House organic vegetable garden.
PREGNANCY CHIC: If you've got it, flaunt it: That was the new ethos of the pregnancy experience, with chic clothes that emphasized the bulging belly, personal pregnancy photos, and endless coverage of celebrity pregnancies.
REALITY TV: As a nation, we became addicted to reality TV, from the feuding Gosselins of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" to "American Idol" to "Project Runway." At decade's end, the Heenes of Balloon Boy fame and the Salahis of gatecrashing fame give reality TV some unwanted attention.
RECESSION CHIC: Fashion skewed to more severe styles — and much black — as so-called "recession chic" took hold in the latter part of the decade.
RETRO CHIC: Once you forget the smoking, the racism, the sexism and the homophobia, the early '60s depicted by the AMC series "Mad Men" sure looked good. The swinging Madison Avenue ad men make neckties cool again.
SEXTING: Combine texting with a cell phone's camera function and you get this parental nightmare. A survey from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that 15 percent of teens ages 12-17 with a cell phone had received sexually suggestive images or videos.
STARBUCKS: It's a cliche that there's one on every block, but sometimes it seemed like it — and millions now consider it normal to spend $4 or so on a coffee drink in the morning, perhaps a venti half-caf half-decaf vanilla latte with an extra shot.
TATTOOS: It started innocently enough — maybe a butterfly on the shoulder or a tribal symbol on the bicep. A few characters from the Chinese alphabet later it seemed any hipster who really meant it had a full sleeve of tattoos. The trend extended to middle-aged moms and even tween idol Miley Cyrus.
TEXTING: R u still rding this sty? Hope u r. This is the decade we start communicating in the shorthand of text messages. Get used to it: E-mail is so '00s.
TV SCREENS: Television screens became bigger and flatter, making some ordinary living rooms and dens the equivalent of big-studio screening rooms. At the same time, though, people were watching movies and videos on the tiniest screens imaginable — on their iPods other mobile devices.
TWEEN CULTURE: Tweens, especially girls, became an economic force to be reckoned with, buying everything from clothes to electronic devices to music to concert tickets.
TWITTER: The new social network introduced tweets, retweets, follows and trending topics — as long as it fit in 140 characters.
UGGS: Not since the Croc (see above) has functional footwear created such a frenzy. The fur-lined snowboots were everywhere, no matter the climate. Los Angelenos insisted on wearing them with shorts.
WII: In a sea of ever-more-sophisticated video games, this simple console became the decade's breakout hit by appealing to the non-gaming masses. Wiis became a center of family gaming, home fitness and even senior socializing.
WIKIPEDIA: A boon to lazy students everywhere, the open-source encyclopedia used the masses to police its entries and keep them (mostly) (sometimes) accurate.
YOGA: Madonna, Gwyneth and other bendy celebrities brought the eastern practice mainstream. By the end of the decade, even Grandma could do downward-facing dogs on her Wii Fit.
YOUTUBE: Let's end this list and go kill some time by watching ... YouTube videos! The video-sharing site was born in 2005. Political candidates in 2008 even had their on YouTube channels. The most popular video yet: "Charlie Bit My Finger," in which baby Charlie bites the finger of his brother Harry.
Original story:
AP News
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
More reasons to be thankful that I don't live in China
Crowded Train Stations in China
Millions of people in China are going home for holidays. That's why the train stations are so overcowded.
Only because of the holidays? Right! Asia is the most populated continent in the world, with China of being about 25% of the worlds population by itself. I bet the train stations look more like this more often than "Holidays".
I was driving around my town today, complaining about how many cars and people were out and about... but I'm thankful I don't live in China, or anywhere in Asia for that matter!
Millions of people in China are going home for holidays. That's why the train stations are so overcowded.
Only because of the holidays? Right! Asia is the most populated continent in the world, with China of being about 25% of the worlds population by itself. I bet the train stations look more like this more often than "Holidays".
I was driving around my town today, complaining about how many cars and people were out and about... but I'm thankful I don't live in China, or anywhere in Asia for that matter!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Piercings!
When I was younger I always wanted:
My nose pierced. Just something small and simple. No flashy ring or anything of that sorts.
I was just afraid it was going to hurt so bad I kept chickening out.
On my 18th Birthday I decided to go ahead and get my tongue pierced. I wanted my nose pierced but I knew that wouldn't really bother my parents. See my older brother had his tongue pierced and always made a clicking noise with it. My parents, especially our dad who I lived with at the time hated that sound and told me he would disown me if I got it done.
19th Birthday & my daddy still loves me!
I really wanted my
pierced after I got over the whole wanting my nose pierced phase. But I see it too much. Its super sexy, but I think its more of a man's piercing. Plus once I told a male friend of mine I thought that was the sexiest piercing, he magically had one a week later. Never would of figured this guy even getting his ear pierced let alone his labret/lip.
Experimenting
What was I thinking?
Well for the past few years I've really been contemplating on getting some more (Real) piercings. I've had some others, never on my face though, but let them close up. I really like the way these piercings look on other people and wonder how they would look on me.
My favorites:
Snakebite
or
Monroe piercing
Maybe even a double Monroe or a face piercing like this:
Imagine that would hurt like hell though and leave a bad scar if a mishap ever occurred.
I've had tons of piercings in my ears forever
I just want more, different and new.
I really want to do something. I've experimented with my hair enough. Tattoos are forever. I would want something completely unique that I haven't found yet and the ones I've drawn myself are already on other peoples skin. Also unlike a tattoo I can always take a piercing out and let it close up if I don't like it. I'm just not sure which I like better.
Any opinions?
P.S. Don't worry, I won't go this far lol.
But I will always remain weird ;)
My nose pierced. Just something small and simple. No flashy ring or anything of that sorts.
I was just afraid it was going to hurt so bad I kept chickening out.
On my 18th Birthday I decided to go ahead and get my tongue pierced. I wanted my nose pierced but I knew that wouldn't really bother my parents. See my older brother had his tongue pierced and always made a clicking noise with it. My parents, especially our dad who I lived with at the time hated that sound and told me he would disown me if I got it done.
19th Birthday & my daddy still loves me!
I really wanted my
pierced after I got over the whole wanting my nose pierced phase. But I see it too much. Its super sexy, but I think its more of a man's piercing. Plus once I told a male friend of mine I thought that was the sexiest piercing, he magically had one a week later. Never would of figured this guy even getting his ear pierced let alone his labret/lip.
Experimenting
What was I thinking?
Well for the past few years I've really been contemplating on getting some more (Real) piercings. I've had some others, never on my face though, but let them close up. I really like the way these piercings look on other people and wonder how they would look on me.
My favorites:
Snakebite
or
Monroe piercing
Maybe even a double Monroe or a face piercing like this:
Imagine that would hurt like hell though and leave a bad scar if a mishap ever occurred.
I've had tons of piercings in my ears forever
I just want more, different and new.
I really want to do something. I've experimented with my hair enough. Tattoos are forever. I would want something completely unique that I haven't found yet and the ones I've drawn myself are already on other peoples skin. Also unlike a tattoo I can always take a piercing out and let it close up if I don't like it. I'm just not sure which I like better.
Any opinions?
P.S. Don't worry, I won't go this far lol.
But I will always remain weird ;)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Talk to the Dead -- Intuition Expert Laura Day Tells Us How (Really!)
Laura Day is an "intuition expert" and author who has earned raves from the likes of Chris Rock, Brad Pitt and a little someone named Oprah.
Laura says you can use your brain to do almost anything -- get somebody to fall in love with you, lose weight or get a raise. We were skeptical -- until we spoke to her. So we asked her to write some stuff for us, and here, she tells us how you can communicate with the dead. For real.
This time of year we all get weird and nostalgic. We want to believe there is more to life and even, well, after life. We seek guidance, and assurance that we are not alone. Here is some strange but very real investigation that you can try by yourself and with friends this holiday season to communicate with the dead.
Skeptical? Me too. Don't ask me how this is possible. I do it and I still don't know. I do know that I get accurate information, but I'm still not convinced that it doesn't just come from somewhere in the collective unconscious we all share. It sounds crazy, but I love doing this. Of course, I keep it to myself, usually, so I don't embarrass my family or get put away "somewhere safe."
You don't have to believe in this for it to work, but if you don't believe in it, do it for someone else because they will tell you how right you are.
There are many ways to see, hear and feel the energy of someone who is dead. You can go on forever about what you really perceive, but the fact is, if you follow my directions, you will get information that verifies that you are picking up on something that really exists and can be confirmed!
The therapy, for you nonbelievers, is on you. Here's how.
Technique one
This one's for the nonbelievers. It's the least shocking way to talk to the dead, so let's start here.
Allow your eyes to go "soft focus" so that you are less aware of the details of what is around you. When you are comfortable with that state, stay there and allow all of you to go soft focus ... all of your senses, your thoughts, your physical awareness of the room and your body.
As you do this notice "what else" you see and sense in the room around you with this soft focus. Don't look for it. As you do this, the details of "other energy" will become sharper as the room and your awareness of yourself becomes softer. Many of you, on your first try, will "see" or "feel" presences in the room. You will notice that some are stronger than others and that as your attention goes to them, you begin to hear and experience dialogue from them. If you are with someone else, repeat this dialog or experience verbally. Names and situations may come to into awareness. You can ask questions, which they may or may not answer. They may show you things, scenes, items, experiences which you don't immediately understand. It often helps to take notes because someone in your family may recognize an energy that you do not.
Technique two
Here is the "beyond weird" way to talk to the dead, for the more open-minded among you.
First, really take a moment to feel what it feels like to be you in this moment in your life. Where are you, what time is it, what are you sensing around you? Orient yourself in time and space so that you know where to return your attention when the experience is over.
Now, allow your attention to go soft focus just like you did in the last experience. As you become aware of other presences in the room, allow yourself to soften even more and allow one of the presences to come into you as if you were merging with a shadow. Allow your attention to stay soft as you notice the shifts in your body, memories, mood, voice, impressions and experiences. Allow the person to speak through you. Even if you are doing this for yourself, you can record the experience and be two people at once. The energy you allowed inside of you and you, where you are in the here and now. This way you are able to have a dialogue.
How to Do This for a Friend
The instructions for this are in "How to Rule the World from Your Couch" under "Mediumship."
You can request that someone's energy come into you. It's helpful to resolve issues with someone who is dead, but, who has an effect on your life right now. This can also be helpful when learning a new skill. Ask a great painter, mathematician, writer, spiritual leader, investment guru, to become one with you and respond to your needs and questions. I have never experienced an energy say no!
This is also interesting to do as a group. The group can all become one person's energy, either someone who is requested or an energy that merely appears (which will usually be related to someone in the room). -- speak as one person but from different perspectives or times in the departed's life, or when a person is requested, one person in the group can "catch them" and become the medium as the others observe or ask questions.
Communicating With Yourself in a Past Life
Those of you who want to get really spiritual with this, you can use this exercise to speak with your angels, spirit guides or other teachers or a "you" you once were!
Use the same techniques in the preceding exercises but have your goal to bring in someone who has a message to help you now, whether it is you in a past life or one of your teachers.
Many books are channeled this way. The medium (that's you, folks) allows the energy of the being to come into them and they talk, write or respond to their own, or a groups questions.
When I wrote "The Circle" I was in big trouble. It was actually the first book that flew from my fingers and I didn't even know what I was writing when I was writing it. I then followed the directions I had written down, I didn't "remember" them and I actually still have to use the book to follow them, and it showed me how to save my hide and still works today. I didn't have any of that wisdom. It came through me.
The secrets to doing this -- and more -- are in my new book , "How to Rule the World From Your Couch."
Laura Day is an author, consultant and speaker who has been published in numerous magazines including Newsweek, New York Magazine and Cosmopolitan, and appeared on numerous shows including CNN, Good Morning America, The View, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She's acted as a personal adviser to scientists, celebs and business executives. You can follow her on twitter at @lauradayintuit.
---
What do you think about all of this?
I'm still sleepy and trying to comprehend this all. Will post more in the next few days!
Laura says you can use your brain to do almost anything -- get somebody to fall in love with you, lose weight or get a raise. We were skeptical -- until we spoke to her. So we asked her to write some stuff for us, and here, she tells us how you can communicate with the dead. For real.
This time of year we all get weird and nostalgic. We want to believe there is more to life and even, well, after life. We seek guidance, and assurance that we are not alone. Here is some strange but very real investigation that you can try by yourself and with friends this holiday season to communicate with the dead.
Skeptical? Me too. Don't ask me how this is possible. I do it and I still don't know. I do know that I get accurate information, but I'm still not convinced that it doesn't just come from somewhere in the collective unconscious we all share. It sounds crazy, but I love doing this. Of course, I keep it to myself, usually, so I don't embarrass my family or get put away "somewhere safe."
You don't have to believe in this for it to work, but if you don't believe in it, do it for someone else because they will tell you how right you are.
There are many ways to see, hear and feel the energy of someone who is dead. You can go on forever about what you really perceive, but the fact is, if you follow my directions, you will get information that verifies that you are picking up on something that really exists and can be confirmed!
The therapy, for you nonbelievers, is on you. Here's how.
Technique one
This one's for the nonbelievers. It's the least shocking way to talk to the dead, so let's start here.
Allow your eyes to go "soft focus" so that you are less aware of the details of what is around you. When you are comfortable with that state, stay there and allow all of you to go soft focus ... all of your senses, your thoughts, your physical awareness of the room and your body.
As you do this notice "what else" you see and sense in the room around you with this soft focus. Don't look for it. As you do this, the details of "other energy" will become sharper as the room and your awareness of yourself becomes softer. Many of you, on your first try, will "see" or "feel" presences in the room. You will notice that some are stronger than others and that as your attention goes to them, you begin to hear and experience dialogue from them. If you are with someone else, repeat this dialog or experience verbally. Names and situations may come to into awareness. You can ask questions, which they may or may not answer. They may show you things, scenes, items, experiences which you don't immediately understand. It often helps to take notes because someone in your family may recognize an energy that you do not.
Technique two
Here is the "beyond weird" way to talk to the dead, for the more open-minded among you.
First, really take a moment to feel what it feels like to be you in this moment in your life. Where are you, what time is it, what are you sensing around you? Orient yourself in time and space so that you know where to return your attention when the experience is over.
Now, allow your attention to go soft focus just like you did in the last experience. As you become aware of other presences in the room, allow yourself to soften even more and allow one of the presences to come into you as if you were merging with a shadow. Allow your attention to stay soft as you notice the shifts in your body, memories, mood, voice, impressions and experiences. Allow the person to speak through you. Even if you are doing this for yourself, you can record the experience and be two people at once. The energy you allowed inside of you and you, where you are in the here and now. This way you are able to have a dialogue.
How to Do This for a Friend
The instructions for this are in "How to Rule the World from Your Couch" under "Mediumship."
You can request that someone's energy come into you. It's helpful to resolve issues with someone who is dead, but, who has an effect on your life right now. This can also be helpful when learning a new skill. Ask a great painter, mathematician, writer, spiritual leader, investment guru, to become one with you and respond to your needs and questions. I have never experienced an energy say no!
This is also interesting to do as a group. The group can all become one person's energy, either someone who is requested or an energy that merely appears (which will usually be related to someone in the room). -- speak as one person but from different perspectives or times in the departed's life, or when a person is requested, one person in the group can "catch them" and become the medium as the others observe or ask questions.
Communicating With Yourself in a Past Life
Those of you who want to get really spiritual with this, you can use this exercise to speak with your angels, spirit guides or other teachers or a "you" you once were!
Use the same techniques in the preceding exercises but have your goal to bring in someone who has a message to help you now, whether it is you in a past life or one of your teachers.
Many books are channeled this way. The medium (that's you, folks) allows the energy of the being to come into them and they talk, write or respond to their own, or a groups questions.
When I wrote "The Circle" I was in big trouble. It was actually the first book that flew from my fingers and I didn't even know what I was writing when I was writing it. I then followed the directions I had written down, I didn't "remember" them and I actually still have to use the book to follow them, and it showed me how to save my hide and still works today. I didn't have any of that wisdom. It came through me.
The secrets to doing this -- and more -- are in my new book , "How to Rule the World From Your Couch."
Laura Day is an author, consultant and speaker who has been published in numerous magazines including Newsweek, New York Magazine and Cosmopolitan, and appeared on numerous shows including CNN, Good Morning America, The View, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She's acted as a personal adviser to scientists, celebs and business executives. You can follow her on twitter at @lauradayintuit.
---
What do you think about all of this?
I'm still sleepy and trying to comprehend this all. Will post more in the next few days!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Weather Changes Effects
60 degrees:
Californians put on sweaters (if they can find one in their wardrobe!)
50 degrees:
Miami residents turn on the heat
40 degrees:
You can see your breath
Californians shiver uncontrollably
Minnesotans go swimming
35 degrees:
Italian cars don't start
32 degrees:
Water freezes
30 degrees:
You plan your vacation to Australia
Minnesotans put on T-shirts
Politicians begin to worry about the homeless
British cars don't start
25 degrees:
Boston water freezes
Californians weep pitiably
Minnesotans eat ice cream
Canadians go swimming
20 degrees:
You can hear your breath
Politicians begin to talk about the homeless
New York City water freezes
Miami residents plan vacations farther South
15 degrees:
French cars don't start
You plan a vacation in Mexico
Cat insists on sleeping in your bed with you
10 degrees:
Too cold to ski
You need jumper cables to get the car going
5 degrees:
You plan your vacation in Houston
American cars don't start
0 degrees:
Alaskans put on T-shirts
Too cold to skate
-10 degrees:
German cars don't start
Eyes freeze shut when you blink
-15 degrees:
You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo
Arkansans stick tongue to metal objects
Miami residents cease to exist
-20 degrees:
Cat insists on sleeping in your pajamas with you
Politicians actually do something about the homeless
Minnesotans shovel snow off roof
Japanese cars don't start
-25 degrees:
Too cold to think
You need jumper cables to get the driver going
-30 degrees:
You plan a two-week hot bath
The Mighty Monongahela freezes
Swedish cars don't start
-40 degrees:
Californians disappear
Minnesotans button top button
Canadians put on sweaters
Your car helps you plan your trip South
-50 degrees:
Congressional hot air freezes
-80 degrees:
Hell freezes over
Alaskans close the bathroom window
Californians put on sweaters (if they can find one in their wardrobe!)
50 degrees:
Miami residents turn on the heat
40 degrees:
You can see your breath
Californians shiver uncontrollably
Minnesotans go swimming
35 degrees:
Italian cars don't start
32 degrees:
Water freezes
30 degrees:
You plan your vacation to Australia
Minnesotans put on T-shirts
Politicians begin to worry about the homeless
British cars don't start
25 degrees:
Boston water freezes
Californians weep pitiably
Minnesotans eat ice cream
Canadians go swimming
20 degrees:
You can hear your breath
Politicians begin to talk about the homeless
New York City water freezes
Miami residents plan vacations farther South
15 degrees:
French cars don't start
You plan a vacation in Mexico
Cat insists on sleeping in your bed with you
10 degrees:
Too cold to ski
You need jumper cables to get the car going
5 degrees:
You plan your vacation in Houston
American cars don't start
0 degrees:
Alaskans put on T-shirts
Too cold to skate
-10 degrees:
German cars don't start
Eyes freeze shut when you blink
-15 degrees:
You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo
Arkansans stick tongue to metal objects
Miami residents cease to exist
-20 degrees:
Cat insists on sleeping in your pajamas with you
Politicians actually do something about the homeless
Minnesotans shovel snow off roof
Japanese cars don't start
-25 degrees:
Too cold to think
You need jumper cables to get the driver going
-30 degrees:
You plan a two-week hot bath
The Mighty Monongahela freezes
Swedish cars don't start
-40 degrees:
Californians disappear
Minnesotans button top button
Canadians put on sweaters
Your car helps you plan your trip South
-50 degrees:
Congressional hot air freezes
-80 degrees:
Hell freezes over
Alaskans close the bathroom window
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
I finally opened up and told a few of my friends my bad news. I have the dreaded C word. I didn't want to tell many simply because I didn't want the pity party. However I'm glad I opened up and no longer have to hide my illness from those I care about.
Last night a friend of mine showed me this.
Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008) gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving presentation, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.
Last night a friend of mine showed me this.
Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008) gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving presentation, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Its snowing!
Was sitting at TGIFridays, looking outside the window, watching it snow when I decided to come home and look for some pictures to post on here. Have you ever done anything as crazy or elaborate as some of these?
Does anyone want to build a snow fort with me?!
Just bought this also! Can't wait to use it.
@Walmart of course
Does anyone want to build a snow fort with me?!
Just bought this also! Can't wait to use it.
@Walmart of course
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