July 2010
7 posts
6 tags
Detours Welcome
I’ve never been fond of the Interstate. It quickly gets you where you want to go, but it’s just so boring. The topography might change a little, but a section of the Interstate running through North Carolina is essentially no different than one in Oklahoma: concrete and billboards. And it’s a sure thing you’re not there to appreciate the scenery; traveling at 75 mph, your only goal is to book it...
6 tags
Twitter Provides Pulse of the Nation
A team of researchers from Northeastern University and Harvard University, studying the characteristics and dynamics of Twitter, released this report a couple of days ago. Over 300 million tweets were utilized to infer mood and user location, creating a rich, time lapsed mood map of the US.
From the team’s website:
A number of interesting trends can be observed in the data. First,...
7 tags
What Dream Are You Living Right Now?
Image by Tela Chhe
Guest post by Leigh Ann Napier
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” Epicurus
I was standing at my kitchen sink…tidying up for the third time that day…and I looked out the window and what I saw grabbed my heart. I saw what I’ve seen so many times in...
8 tags
You Can't Plan Perfect
In Scotland, there is a pre-wedding tradition that involves the startled bride-to-be (and sometimes the groom), her supposed friends and buckets of eggs, feathers and anything slimy out of the refrigerator. The newly Blackened Bride is then escorted around town and, eventually, allowed a bath. I’m sometimes tempted to point out this cute little custom to certain individuals obsessing over their...
6 tags
How Do I See?
Guest post by Cheryl Nordyke
Two women are sitting in a park watching their children play on the playground. One of the other children on the play ground walks over to where the two women’s children are playing with trucks in the sand box. They smile at each other proud of how their children are letting this new child into their circle of play. The boy’s mom sits on a bench down from where they...
11 tags
Being in the Moment
In any given day there is always something you can find to worry you. I worry to the point of obsession about nearly everything: from my job performance and what social blunder I’ve committed lately to the likelihood of spontaneous combustion and whether or not the milk has gone bad (the sell-by-date says August, but food poisoning is nothing to kid about). Most often I have something specific...
5 tags
Looking on the Bright Side
It’s easy to be grateful when the sun’s out and your rose-colored glasses are not askew, but there are gloomier days when finding something to be thankful for becomes an almost impossible chore, especially when someone tells you that you should. How can you be thankful for anything when you’re lonely or heartbroken or hurting? When someone tells you to be grateful for small favors, even if they...