2.27.14 … “discipline is the creation of boundaries that keep time and space open for God. Solitude requires discipline, worship requires discipline, caring for others requires discipline. They all ask us to set apart a time and a place where God’s gracious presence can be acknowledged and responded to.” …

Davidson College President Carol E. Quillen,  President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans, President Barack Obama, Davidson College:  If I get to pick and choose which executive orders to support, I support this one. Kudos to President Quillen.

President Barack Obama has appointed Davidson College President Carol E. Quillen as a member of the newly constituted President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans.

She was among 15 members named on Wednesday to the council. It will be chaired by John W. Rogers Jr., the Chair, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer of Ariel Investments. José Cisneros, the Treasurer of the City and County of San Francisco, will serve as vice-chair.

President Obama created the new President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans by signing Executive Order 13646 on June 25, 2013. The council is charged with advising the President and the Secretary of the Treasury on ways to promote financial capability among young Americans.

It will seek ways to encourage building the financial capability of young people at an early stage in schools, families, communities, and the workplace, and through use of technology.

The council will seek to identify ways to build public-private partnerships between various governmental agencies concerned with youth. It will support ongoing research and evaluation of financial education for young people, and determine and disseminate effective approaches. It will identify strategies to promote financial literacy in schools, test promising approaches to increase planning, saving and investing for retirement by young people, and promote the importance of planning for financial success.

The council will hold its first meeting on March 10.

Quillen was named President of Davidson in August 2011. Previously, she was Vice President for International and Interdisciplinary Initiatives at Rice University. Quillen also was a member of the Rice history faculty, director of its Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. She earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Chicago and a doctorate degree from Princeton University.

via Quillen Named to Presidential Advisory Council – Davidson College.

Glee, kith/kin: Glee is no fun without the Molls …

via ▶ Glee 5×09 Promo “Frenemies” (HD) – YouTube.

man’s best friend, LOL:

Atlanta History Center, Sam Inman, Swan House 1935, #wouldagrammed, kith/kin:  How cool … my kith uncle. My dad and “Uncle Sam” became friends when they were 9 or 10 years old. I think my dad had a bull dog as a kid, too.

Sam Inman playing with his dog at Swan House in 1935. #wouldagrammed

 Daily Meditation by Henri Nouwen, Henri Nouwen Society Blog, Creating Space for God, discipline v. discipleship:

Creating Space for God

Discipline is the other side of discipleship. Discipleship without discipline is like waiting to run in the marathon without ever practicing. Discipline without discipleship is like always practicing for the marathon but never participating. It is important, however, to realize that discipline in the spiritual life is not the same as discipline in sports. Discipline in sports is the concentrated effort to master the body so that it can obey the mind better. Discipline in the spiritual life is the concentrated effort to create the space and time where God can become our master and where we can respond freely to God’s guidance.

Thus, discipline is the creation of boundaries that keep time and space open for God. Solitude requires discipline, worship requires discipline, caring for others requires discipline. They all ask us to set apart a time and a place where God’s gracious presence can be acknowledged and responded to.

via Daily Meditation by Henri Nouwen | A Henri Nouwen Society Blog.

Paul Hunt, 1988 USA-USSR/Los Angeles, gymnastics comedy beam routine, YouTube:

I dare you not to laugh.

via ▶ 1988 Paul Hunt gymnastics comedy beam routine – YouTube.

Paul Hunt performs on balance beam at the 1988 USA-USSR display in Los Angeles.

via ▶ 1988 Paul Hunt gymnastics comedy beam routine – YouTube.

Snurk Beddengoed,  duvet set for space-loving kids, A Mighty Girl: Loved this from my NASA knowledgeable cousin! “That’s not a shuttle suit. It kinda looks like an old Apollo suit, except they weren’t blue. Maybe it’s a Russian suit. ‘

When the small Dutch bedding company, Snurk Beddengoed, released this amazing duvet set for space-loving kids last year, it was hugely popular online but not widely available outside of the Netherlands. Since we frequently receive inquiries from parents about bedding recommendations for Mighty Girls, we’re excited to share that it’s now available on Amazon at http://amzn.to/1hsSTZl — and if we add a bedding section to A Mighty Girl, we’ll certainly highlight this fun set there as well!

For more recommendations for space-oriented and girl-empowering books, toys, clothing and room decor, check out recent blog post, “Mighty Careers: I Want To Be An Astronaut!”, at http://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=5812

via A Mighty Girl.

Lenbrook, BINGO: 

1.6.14 … A few Epiphanies and a Polar Vortex … Happy Epiphany, BTW … God Bless!

Epiphany:  Every year I love the posts of this FB Page Advent!

January 6th is Epiphany, which means “to show” or “to make known” or even “to reveal”. On this day we as the body of Christ are reminded of our mission to seek to as best we can to be used by God to “reveal” Jesus to the world as Lord and King. With this we end the 12 days of Christmas and celebration of the Christmas Advent season. Next year we will start again. Hope this was a blessing to you. God bless!

via Advent – January 6th is Epiphany, which means “to show” or “to….

… and another good one from James Howell:

Usually I think of the word “Epiphany” in terms of looking up – to a star, a light in God’s immense sky; or perhaps we think of the dawn, the bright sun peering over the horizon, or a light bulb going off in your head.

But perhaps for there to be a real epiphany, a real revelation and discovery in our lives, we need to look down, deep, beneath the surface – like the iceberg, the bulk of the thing hidden, dangerous, very real even if unnoticed. Much of our life is lived on the surface – and sadly our religious life often is limited to some nice, observable acts: I go to church, say a quick prayer, volunteer once in a while, occasionally read my Bible.

But it’s only the tip of the iceberg; the bulk of my life remains untouched, submerged – and I may not even be familiar with the depth of my own life! But it’s down there. God is keenly interested in that submerged, unaddressed life. “Lord, you have searched me and known me” (Psalm 139:1).

Our goals in this series (and in life!)? To grow in emotional health, real compassion for others, to break free from destructive patterns, and be filled with grace; we can embrace weakness, accept the surprising gift of our limitations, learn to resolve conflicts, and forgive.

via Myers Park United Methodist Church | Charlotte Methodist Church, Methodist Churches Charlotte NC – Myers Park UMC.

holiday traditions, winter, paperwhite narcissus, kith/kin:

So if I stage it right, I have blooms from mid December to mid February. I friend who is not on FB gave me paper whites when I was in 8th grade. It has been a favorite winter and Christmas tradition ever since. Thanks, Marty!

 Polar Vortex:

Meteorologist Eric Holthaus just posted this insane video of him turning boiling water into snow.

Shot in Viroqua, WI, near La Crosse, it was -21°F with a wind chill of -51°F.

via Watch Boiling Water Turn Into Snow – Business Insider.

via ▶ Boiling water vs extreme cold – YouTube.

What is a polar vortex? What distinguishes it?

The polar vortex, as it sounds, is circulation of strong, upper-level winds that normally surround the northern pole in a counterclockwise direction — a polar low-pressure system.  These winds tend to keep the bitter cold air locked in the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is not a single storm. On occasion, this vortex can become distorted and dip much farther south than you would normally find it, allowing cold air to spill southward.

Photos: Winter weather grips U.S.

How frequently does this polar vortex distortion occur?

The upper-level winds that make up the polar vortex change in intensity from time to time. When those winds decrease significantly, it can allow the vortex to become distorted, and the result is a jet stream that plunges deep into southern latitudes, bringing the cold, dense Arctic air spilling down with it. This oscillation is known as the Arctic Oscillation and it can switch from a positive phase to negative phase a few times per year. This oscillation — namely the negative phase where the polar winds are weaker — tends to lead to major cold air outbreaks in one or more regions of the planet.

via Frigid air from the North Pole: What’s this polar vortex? – CNN.com.

Definitely … we are just mostly missing the Polar Vortex … on a relative basis …  Sorry.

.

Emotional Intelligence: Interesting.

Shining a light on this dark side of emotional intelligence is one mission of a research team led by University College London professor Martin Kilduff. According to these experts, emotional intelligence helps people disguise one set of emotions while expressing another for personal gain. Emotionally intelligent people “intentionally shape their emotions to fabricate favorable impressions of themselves,” Professor Kilduff’s team writes. “The strategic disguise of one’s own emotions and the manipulation of others’ emotions for strategic ends are behaviors evident not only on Shakespeare’s stage but also in the offices and corridors where power and influence are traded.”

…

Thanks to more rigorous research methods, there is growing recognition that emotional intelligence—like any skill—can be used for good or evil. So if we’re going to teach emotional intelligence in schools and develop it at work, we need to consider the values that go along with it and where it’s actually useful. As Professor Kilduff and colleagues put it, it is high time that emotional intelligence is “pried away from its association with desirable moral qualities.”

via The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence – Atlantic Mobile.

wine, Trader Joe’s, Two Buck Chuck,  Thrillist Nation: Potentially useful info? Ok, not really …

Whether you were throwing a dinner for people you felt compelled to not impress, or just hate paying $2.01 and up for literally anything, at some point you’ve likely been in a position to load up a shopping cart with a crapload of Two-Buck Chuck, pray nobody from church sees you, and party down.

Here’s the thing, though: some of it’s actually pretty damn good, and could easily be sold as Nine-to-Eleven-Buck Chuck without anyone being the wiser.

So we brought in two devoted tasters to blindly drink eight different types of Charles Shaw Blend, hit us with detailed notes, and determine 1) which bottles are totally palatable and even enjoyable, and 2) which should be avoided as if they were made by Chuck Woolery, who, it turns out, makes terrible wine.

…

HOW MANY THEY GOT RIGHT

Sommelier: 4/8

Girlfriend: 3/8

THE FINAL SCORES, FROM BEST TO WORST

Merlot: 8

Chardonnay: 7.5

Shiraz: 7.75

Cabernet Sauvignon: 7.25

Pinot Grigio: 6

Nouveau: 3

Sauvignon Blanc: 2.5

White Zinfandel: Technically 1, but not really even.

via Wines Under 5 Dollars at Trader Joe’s – Cheap Wine – Thrillist Nation.

A Mighty Girl, Jeannette Piccard, NASA: I follow A Mighty Girl on FB.  It is one of my favorite sites!  I would love to be a “mighty girl”!

Following the famous flight, Jeannette Piccard went on to work with NASA, acting as a consultant and speaking publicly about the space program from 1964 to 1970. At age 79, in 1974, she also fulfilled a childhood dream when she became an ordained Episcopal priest as one of the Philadelphia Eleven, a group of eleven women who were ordained as the first female priests in the Episcopal Church.

Piccard’s spirit of adventure is best summed up in this quote to her father, when he asked her why she wanted to fly: “There are many reasons, some of them so deep-seated emotionally as to be very difficult of expression. Possibly the simplest explanation is that we started along this road… and I cannot stop until I have won.”

via (2) A Mighty Girl.

5.26.13 … worth reading …

Merida, this Fight,  A Mighty Girl, worth reading: Worth reading …

As I have said before, Merida was created to be a different kind of princess — a princess with a strong will, a stubborn streak and a lot to learn. She makes mistakes along the way and learns from them. But she is not obsessed with what she wears or focused on looking good to attract a man. She’s a young girl — not remotely ready to think about romance or marriage. That doesn’t mean she never will. That doesn’t mean that those things are bad. It just means that she is an individual who has her own interests. And that’s not bad, either! In fact, that’s exactly the way that children should spend their childhood and adolescence — being kids and pursuing the things that make them happy. That’s why Merida has become such a beloved character for so many young girls — and even grown women. Why on Earth does that image need to be changed?

via Staying True to Merida: Why this Fight Matters / A Mighty Girl | A Mighty Girl.

2.4.13 … Becoming Kind …

King Richard III, anthropology, Shakespeare, Facebook: 500 Year-Old Skeleton Is King Richard III …   Just love this story …and all my friends on FB’s wonderful and sometimes erudite (sometime not) comments!

The University of Leicester unveiled an image Monday of the skeleton of Richard III, the English king who ruled between 1483 and 1485. The university said DNA analysis of the skeleton found at an archaeological dig in a parking lot in Leicester, England, confirmed his identity.

via Video – 500 Year-Old Skeleton Is King Richard III – WSJ.com.

Richard became king in 1483, taking power from his nephew, the 12-year-old Edward V. Richard said Edward was an illegitimate heir as the product of his father’s second marriage. Richard was said to have imprisoned his two nephews in the Tower of London. Within months of Richard’s taking the throne, the two nephews disappeared, and some assumed Richard had murdered them.

Some historians say Richard was an evil, power-hungry ruler who murdered family members to quicken his rise to the throne. William Shakespeare’s “Richard III” helped to popularize this depiction, describing Richard as a crippled villain who killed anyone in his path to the throne.

Others say this description is fictional, and one spread by Henry Tudor, Richard’s successor, whose army killed Richard in battle. Shakespeare was born about 80 years after Richard died and wrote during the Tudor dynasty. Pro-Richard enthusiasts say a closer look at Richard’s reign shows he was one of the most progressive rulers of his time and one who promoted foreign trade and books.

His death at the Battle of Bosworth Field, outside of Leicester, marked a pivotal moment in English history and in the struggle for power between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, known as the “The Wars of the Roses.” Richard was the last of the Plantagenet kings to rule and his defeat by Henry VII began the start of the Tudor dynasty, which lasted for more than a century.

via Richard III’s Grave Confirmed – WSJ.com.

MS:

All of the Richard III related status updates make me realize that when it comes to Facebook, I am way out of my league.

BC:

“Bloody thou art, bloody will be thy end;

Shame serves thy life and doth thy death attend.” — Shakespeare

Maybe this will allow for a modern-day rehabilitation of Richard’s reputation!!!

…

Which side are you on?

Richard III – villain or victim? – YouTube.

 

2013 Super Bowl blackout, FYI,  2013 Super Bowl ads,  Oreo ad, Twitter:

fyi … I still don’t have a clue what happened …

 

Super Bowl – Associated Press Interactive.

Loved this!

“We had a mission control set up at our office with the brand and 360i, and when the blackout happened, the team looked at it as an opportunity,” agency president Sarah Hofstetter told BuzzFeed. “Because the brand team was there, it was easy to get approvals and get it up in minutes.”

Oreo had already aired a solid TV ad with their “Cookie or Creme” spot. But they were ready to capitalize on social media as well when the lights went out.

“The big question is, what happens when everything changes, when you go off script?” Hofstetter said. “That was where it got fun.”

The key? Having Oreo executives in the room, ready to pull the trigger.

“You need a brave brand to approve content that quickly. When all of the stakeholders come together so quickly, you’ve got magic,” Hofstetter said.

via How Oreo Got That Twitter Ad Up So Fast.

New Yorker Cartoons, The New Yorker, cell phones, cone of shame, LOL:  I deserve a cone of shame  …

 Downton Abbey, Dowager, quotes:  The Dowager, she gets all the good quotes!

Albert Schweitzer, quotes, A Mighty Girl:  A Might Girl is one of my favorite source for quotes.

“Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” — Albert Schweitzer

via A Mighty Girl.

just a thought …, Henri Nouwen, Tolstoi, kindness:

 Here is the great challenge: All people, whatever their color, religion, or sex, belong to humankind and are called to be kind to one another, treating one another as brothers and sisters. There is hardly a day in our lives in which we are not called to this.

via Daily Meditation: Becoming Kind.

…

Nothing can make our lives, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness. – Leo Tolstoy in A Calendar of Wisdom

via Nothing can make our lives, or the lives of other… • literary jukebox.

when bad things happen …, What Gives 365:  From one of my favorite blogs …

I went to church this morning wanting to thank the universe for sparing us … but that assumes, of course, that the universe would have been punishing us had things turned out differently. And therein lies the shame and guilt when bad things happen. The truth is a terrible accident can happen to anyone, at any time, and often there is nobody to blame. But that reality is awfully terrifying to admit; we want our universe to make more sense than that and we want to feel as if our good intentions and conduct will spare us from tragedy.

via Up in smoke. | What Gives 365.

E.B. White, quotes, LOL:

source: Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.

2012 Beyonce Bowl, Twitter:  My personal favorite –

This is best new-mom half-time show ever. –

Arianna Huffington ✔ @ariannahuff

via Beyoncé: Our Favorite Tweets about the Super Bowl Halftime Show | Past Blue Ivy’s Bedtime | TIME.com.