Wonderfully Personal Tweets from Faves

chrislhayes Uncostumed as usual. I feel little less guilty about never having a costume with each passing year. #gettingold (10/31/09).

"About to dig into Cheney stuff. Bad flashback," is from Matt Cooper (10/30/09).

jdickerson Under son's pillow: "Dear miss tooth fairy. I woud like a dog or a bunny becuse my frend got a turtle. Don't give me money give me a bunny" (10/29/09).

johndickerson On CBS Evening News tonight wearing my John Dickerson costume talking about Iraq bombing (10/25/09).

libbyspencer I keep my follow list small b/c I'm so OCD I read my entire stream every day-incl the links (10/25/09).

Hegemommy: (1)"OH FUN! One of my students is convinced the Obama election = end of days! And she's writing on it!" (2)"Okay, I am totally partnering up the rapture student with the student writing about getting Wiccan symbols on headstones for soldiers."

SCClemons Leaving Amman for Damascus to interview Khaled Mashal. Half the meeting is on the record and half is off. Going alone and a bit nervous (10/16/09).

libbyspencer For the record I think it would be great to #BeatCancer and big props to all the ppl out there who are battling it (10/16/09).

jeffjarvis This story is careening toward tragedy with the whole world watching. I am turning off the TV. It's unseemly. [regards "balloon boy"] (10/15/09).

"markknoller Notice Macy's has full-page ads in both the NY Times and Wash Post today of Cindy Crawford in her underwear. God bless the 1st Amendment. (10/14/09)

jdickerson Is there more or less kindness in the world than there appears to be? (10/7/09).

chrislhayes had an email forwarded to me just *shredding* the points I made in that video. Should be able to shrug it off, but can't quite. (10/6/09).

jdickerson Son wants a dog. He's up reading a dog care book learning to care for one. I'd make a bad president. If Iran did that I'd let 'em have nukes (10/6/09).

AlexGoodall RT @PierrePaperon: Goethe: A useless life is an early death. (10/5/09).

libbyspencer It's important to remember that every day about 295 million Americans get up and fail to tune in to Rush Limbaugh. ~Garry Trudeau (10/4/09).

"jdickerson I know the people at Seventh Generation want me to start a compost pile but making kitchen garbage bags that decompose on use is sneaky," (10/4/09).

pourmecoffee COOL: The oldest living things in the world (Photo Gallery, Map): http://bit.ly/JUJGh (10/4/09).

libbyspencer RT @WillendorfVenus Thinking abt callus on right middle finger. Used 2 B lot larger. Almost never write w/pen now.||Was thinking abt that 2 (10/3/09).

chrislhayes If I didn't have 600 pps of Ralph Nader's new book to get through, today would be a perfect Saturday. (10/3/09).

TheFix Henry the penguin on "Oswald" reminds me a lot of myself. Neurotic, hypochondriac, news addict (by Chris Cillizza, 9/30/09).

jdickerson "Shouldn't we be able to spell insouciant any way we please?," (9/30/09).

jdickerson These paragraphs seem to shoot from my fingers as if propelled by a benevolent and magic force. By noon I will delete them. (9/30/09).

SCClemons Is at the United Nations watching the sun rise over the East River. Excited to see Obama Security Council session this morning. (9/24/09).

chrislhayes Sometimes I think it'd be more transparent to just give major banks permnt seats on the relevant legislative committees: http://is.gd/3BAks. (9/23/09).

libbyspencer If only we had carried more commie/fascist signs + screamed abt crazy conspiracies, MSM would've *respected* us anti-war protesters too. (9/14/09).

chrislhayes Remember how in the days after 9/11 the whole country was united in wanting less government? Yeah, neither do I. (9/12/09).

libbyspencer RT @HoneyBearKelly RT @UtneReader: How Sept11 should be remembered http://bit.ly/10YM8g ||Great piece could only have been written by a NYer (9/11/09).

ChuckGrassley"Great Buy Danish Aebleskiver Dinner tonite at Fredsville Luthern at Dike. 5$ I went." (3/1/09).

They admired it so much . . .

What draws us to those who write or post online? What is it about the things we read that make us want to read words again from that writer?

So terrific they were re-tweeted -- A RT [re-tweet] is a compliment to the original author. The examples from Twitter that follow illustrate what it may have been about the original poster's words that merited posting it again, so others could also share it.

**********

Experiences with which we identify: Haven't we all done something dumb like this, regret it and vow not to repeat the mistake. Ron is willing to forgive himself, however, as the last sentence makes clear.

"RT @Ron: Note to self: Never become a professional rock landscaper. Muscles threatening divorce. Buy chocolates & apology card. | !!!," is from Alex Goodall (10/16/09).

**********

Ironic lament: Karen Tumulty has posted in the past about the threatened demise of newspapers. She picks up on the clever words of Wee Laura and The Onion, filled with irony that shows her concern.

"RT @WeeLaura RT @TheOnion Report: Majority Of Newspapers Now Purchased By Kidnappers To Prove Date http://ow.ly/15UTcC," is from Karen Tumulty (10/14/09).

**********

Inspiring wisdom does not grow old: British professor of history, Alex Goodall often does RTs of Pierre Paperon's work. These quotes are profound and timeless.

"RT @PierrePaperon: Anais Nin: 'Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.' + 'People living deeply have no fear of death.'," is from Alex Goodall (10/4/09).

**********

Maybe the best writing on the subject: The New Yorker article by Lizza is an excellent essay on the story of Summers and his rise to prominence in the current administration. It is also a wonderful history/analysis of what happened during the economic crisis.

"DC's buzzing about the article by the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza on Larry Summers and the Obama economic experience.http://j.mp/2RA4WR," is from Marc Ambinder (10/4/09).

**********

Wonderfully snarky smackdowns: This double RT is worth reposting. Another reason for its excellence is the juxtaposition of two current hot button topics.

"RT @chrislhayes: RT @Atrios early stages of potential flu epidemic prbly excllnt time to make sre illegal immigrants dn't hve #healthcare," is from The Nation Magazine (9/10/09).

**********

A clever editorial with focus on injustice: Yglesias is a writer who often posts similarly effective ideas. Evidently he wants to credit his peers for this piece of wonderfully pungent humor.

"RT @glenngreenwald: RT @markosm Michael Vick should have tortured people instead of dogs so Americans could forgive him and look forward," is from Matt Yglesias (8/19/09).

**********

Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: news writing blogging twitter

Nobel Committee recognizes President Obama -- Peace Prize

(Image by Wordle.net)

Reference: The Nobel Committee announced that President Barack Obama is their selection for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. To quote in full:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”

Oslo, October 9, 2009

Posted via email from Southwest Postings

Mount Rushmore - I did not know you well.

I never got to see Mount Rushmore. But I know I would have loved it. In place of a visit, today I'll do a little post.

According to Wikipedia:

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941), located within the United States Presidential Memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (left to right): George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).^[1] The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km²)^[2] and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.^[3] It is managed by the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. The memorial attracts approximately two million people annually.^[4]

Leadership is not always recognized during the person's lifetime. The leaders depicted at Mount Rushmore achieved their popularity only after the lessons of history were learned and their achievements came into more realistic perspective.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Economic stimulus for national parks working? (cnn.com)
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Filling an empty blogging bucket

It begins with reality -- Much of the following was news to me, though you may be ahead and already know these things. I found out because I have spent the morning trying to break out of a non-creative box which leaves me without inspiration to write.

Dry spells -- Others have said the same thing and I had been reading about the decline of political blogging. I had been having the feeling that my blogging stats are down and I wondered it it were just me. I knew my Site Meter statistics had been down since June. So I checked at Technorati. In addition to my stats, which had changed, I found out that Technorati.com is going to be completely rebuilt very soon.

Breaking out of boring -- So I will save some time towards more creativity by temporarily omitting the Technorati tags I have been using at the ends of posts. While I was there I checked the Too 100 list to see whether there were good writers whose work I was missing, who could be inspiring me again.

Reading the best -- Using the list, I rejuvenated my Google reader via its Power Readers index. I began with The Strange Death of Liberal America (see "the decline of political blogging" above); and "44" at the Washington Post. This article on the hot New Jersey race shows why "FiveThirtyEight" became another of my feeds. He is an absolute whiz at predicting outcomes.

A picture is worth 1000 words -- I then subscribed to Andrew Sullivan, who had linked to The Big Picture (featuring a fabulous photo spread on Afghanistan). Much of my random surfing focused on imagery, Time Magazine's pictures of the week, for example. I concluded with Rachel Sussman's groundbreaking portfolio of The Oldest Living Things in the World.

Is social media on the web to blame for my empty bucket? Possibly, though I regularly cull my list of those I follow on Twitter. I want nothing inane. Tweets like the following example keep me involved with material that seems substantial. Rachel Maddow: "Read the godawful news of 8 US troops just killed in Afghanistan immediately before going on set for MTP this morning." My FaceBook account includes only people I have invited, plus it remains private. They are relatives, in-person friends and blogfriends. No empty bucket there.

At the end of the day -- This is what I have learned, or relearned. Creativity is about breaking the rules. The amount of political blogging has actually declined, probably for natural reasons. Regular and vigorous weeding out of one's surfing or feed-reading material is essential. Tomorrow I plan to go through my regular Email newsletters unsubscribing to several that are not useful or interesting. Imagery is an essential break from a words only regimen. I works on a different part of the brain. And social media is worthwhile for its connectivity, something else needed for an empty bucket.

(Image by Wordle.net)

Posted via email from Southwest Postings

Tweets twice told:

Image via CrunchBase

Following are some of my favorite tweets from the social website, Twitter. Enjoy!

"RT @JayAckroyd I continue to note despite what Baucus or Conrad says, there R 60 cloture votes, +more than 51 #hcr votes 4 a public option," included for her outstanding tweeting skill: kudos to Libby Spencer (8/17/09).

"Looking ahead, here are the most exciting cars coming in 2010" is from Time Magazine (8/17/09).

"The Funniest Signs From The Town Hall Protests (PICS)," is from The Huffington Post (8/17/09).

"About to engage in seat change negotiations with other passengers so each kid doesn't have to sit alone. Kids are unwashed which might help," is from a favorite journalist, John Dickerson (8/17/09).

"Hot, humid day here in Toronto. First tweet from iPod on wifi. Ain't technology great?," is from my editor at The Reaction, Michael J.W. Stickings, a very new tweeter (8/15/09).

"markknoller@GeeCarol agreed. we need to support newspapers" is from a rather recognizable White House correspondent (Mark Knoller), an answer that signifies the interactive fun of Twittering.

"This was taken from ISS as we were coming in to dock," is from Astro_127, Commander Mark Polansky (8/11/09).

"RT @joshtpm: Teabaggers say they wnt their country back. But Afro-Arab socialists have only had it 4 6 months. cnt they wait their turn?" is from Matt Cooper (8/8/09).

"Interesting," is from Senator Claire McKaskill (8/2/09). She liked a very edgy piece "What's Not to Like" in Newsweek by Jonathan Alter. His subtitle" "Reform? Why do we need health-care reform? Everything is just fine the way it is."

Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: blogging news twitter humor links

Catching up with Twitter faves

Image via CrunchBase

"The six top conservatives Obama listens to," is by Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic (6/10/09). Ambinder's list includes Senators Collins and Snowe, Lugar, McCain; columnist David Brooks, and Professor Jack Goldsmith. Read this interesting post for the reasons why. Thanks to Twitter (5/15/09), too for, "marcambinder Atlantic Politics: Tribunals: An Excuse To Exhaust Habeas Rights For Indefinite Detainees?: Th.. http://tinyurl.com/ohonea." Ambinder also reports (5/14/09), "marcambinderAtlantic Politics: Americans Feeling Good: More Americans say they are "thriving" (50 percent).. http://tinyurl.com/pmlhcf."

Speaking of lists, "TIME See the 10 biggest tech failures from the past decade (via @247wallst) | http://tr.im/lo5G," (5/14/09).

Here is why I follow pourmecoffee at Twitter (6/10/09): "pourmecoffee --Now a good time to get aggressive with your Priceline Palau vacation bidding. http://bit.ly/198mww". Regards the Guantamo detainees going to the island of Palau). And (5/16/09): "pourmecoffee Working on my book this weekend, "Pink & Blue," story of Code Pink lady who falls for Cheney but IT CAN NEVER BE.

John Dickerson at Twitter is often good for a smile (6/10/09): "jdickerson -Power out which let's us enjoy a simpler time when people had to hunt and gather for their morning coffee." And on (5/13/09), "johndickerson on Obama's view that the presidency is like parallel parking. http://www.slate.com/id/221...."

It was exciting and fun to follow "Astro Mike (Massimino) while he was in orbit. He tweeted (5/20/09), "Astro_MikeFrom orbit: Enjoying a day off in space, taking photos, enjoying the view, having fun." And, "Astro_MikeFrom orbit: As I closed my eyes to sleep last night I thought “these eyes have seen some beautiful sights today.” And (5/16/09),"Astro_MikeFrom orbit: My spacewalk was amazing, we had some tough problems, but through them all, the view of our precious planet was beautiful."

I identified with The Nation's Chris Hayes as he shared this: "chrislhayes Office cleaning day is a historical tour of defunct technologies: old fax machines, floppy disks, rolodexes." On (5/12/09), he asked, "chrislhayes Most maddening thing about dynamics in Washington is that evry convo about progressive policy, I ask myself: "will Ben Nelson go for this?" Chris is one of the smartest young progressives around: "chrislhayes Funny how the left and right own certain words; when you get a press release fr Institute for Liberty, you know right away it's rightwing," (5/12/09).

I say again, Senator Chuck Grassley is unique (5/14/09): "ChuckGrassley Finally aftr 6hrs got to a really intrestin discussion in our Rdtable; public option (backdoor to Canada health system) Scares me" On (3/1/09): "ChuckGrassley Great Buy Danish Aebleskiver Dinner tonite at Fredsville Luthern at Dike. 5$ I went."

See "Behind the Links." for further info.

Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: twitter news news and politics politics

What's in a face?

You cannot tell me that animals don't smile. Who could argue with my take on this frog? He looks fat and happy, probably filled with errant flies.

Or maybe he (or she, who knows) is a distant cousin of my friend Kermit, The Frog, who is another one who smiles a lot.













Our dog, Scooter smiles, often. We know she smiles because we understand her context. She smiles:

• When company comes to our house -- She stands at the door and waits for her "friends," our kids and grandkids come for a visit.


• If it is play time after supper -- She brings one of us a ball, smiles and drops it for our throw/her catch.


• When she is able to engage us in one of her regular "jobs" -- Helping with coffee duty first thing in the morning is one. Another duty is to lead one of us to the other if we're separated in different parts of the house. Both are accompanied by barking notifications.
  

And, if this is not a smile, I do now know anything about critters. This great photo came in one of those wonderful forwarded e-mails from friends, that we all get. And like all such, forwards, the origin is lost in the sands of time.

Now, you smile, you're on candid camera.

Have a great day!

Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Lots of happy faces ... on the ground and in space.

The International Space Station now has its six-person crew on board. The hatches opened about 9:15 CT, the new crew members floated in and everyone moved to the Russian Service Module for a welcoming ceremony and conversations with dignitaries on the ground at Koralev, Russia. All five international partners are now represented by a resident on the ISS -- Russia (2): Commander Gennady Padalka and Mission Specialists, Roman Romanenko; United States: Michael Barratt; Canada: Robert Thirsk; ESA (European Space Agency) Frank De Winne; and Jaxa (Japanese Space Agency) Koichi Wakata.

Prior to opening the hatches there was a news conference at the Russian space headquarters in Koralev. All partner countries had representatives who made statements and answered reporters' questions. A bit of news came out. News persons were curious to find out the identity of the New head of NASA. They were also curious about the future of the Russian space program's future, given their country's financial crisis. The identity of the next Soyuz space participant will be announced in early June. And the formal agreement as to how to extend the partnership future of the ISS is still under discussion. One of the items to be determined is the projected life of the Canada robotic arms.

More international news: "ESA enroute to the origins of the Universe with successful launch of Planck and Herschel" from Space and Astronautics News (5/15/09).

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: NASA ISS russia

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• Rocket Blasts Off to Double Space Station Crew (space.com)
• European prepares to command ISS (news.bbc.co.uk)
• 05/28/09: NASA Extends Contract with Russian Federal Space Agency. (space.gs)
• Russia 'to save its ISS modules' (news.bbc.co.uk)
• First European to command ISS lifts off from Baikonur (guardian.co.uk)

I am fully dressed.

I am sitting at my computer, casually dressed with blue jeans, a collared tee shirt, tennis shoes and socks, with my hair in a pony tail. I am a blogger, to tell the truth, and every day I write for multiple hours at my notebook keyboard. Now the real point of this post is to answer another question I have never asked:

DO YOU EVER WRITE SERIOUS POSTS IN YOUR PAJAMAS OR EVEN JUST UNDERWEAR?

Truth is that I am an early riser and do my best writing when my mind is fresh. That I blog does not mean that I am not serious, careful, ethical or responsible. I just do not get paid or use my actual name as my byline. Perhaps I should use my own name. Many more people are doing so these days.

And the writing has never been hampered by my nightgown and terry cloth robe. I don't think so, at least. But I do not ever, as we bloggers were grouped and accused of yesterday on C-SPAN, "blog from my basement in my underwear." Perhaps I should always get up, get dressed and groomed before sitting down to do a heavy political post. But at this point it is not necessary because the post you are reading here will not include a webcam video. Nor can you see me as I write.

You can only imagine what I am like. I am a rather youthful 71, with natural brown hair, hazel eyes and modern small oblong lensed glasses, a few freckles and age spots on my hands and arms, and a ready smile. I am a bit over 5' 2" and a bit over-weight, a size 14 petite, actually. I was born and raised in the West and eventually trained as a clinical social worker, another name for a counselor. I am happily married for 50+ years, have four grown children and six grandchildren, who all live within driving distance of our house for holidays.

I am Liberal, Democrat, Episcopalian (backsliding), good at English and barely adequate in Math. So what qualified me to blog? I prepare, I read widely, I check my facts and cite my sources, and I am passionate about politics. And I am a bit creative, which is what Making Good Mondays is for.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting. I am glad you could stay because I am dressed for the day.

**********

My brand new blog is called "Behind the Links." It is a collaborative effort of people who know my interests and send me links.

Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

Technorati tags: blogging [writing personal

The First Photograph

The First Photograph

"View From the Window At Le Gras," is the first ever true photograph made by exposing a chemical coated pewter plate in France in 1826. The first photo was taken by:

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce,

who was born in 1765 and died in 1833 at the age of 68, without being credited for being the world's first successful photographer. Though he formed a partnership with Daguerre, the invention of the daguerreotype, eclipsed what Niepce had called his heliograph.

It is on display in the permanent collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas.

I have had the privilege of seeing this priceless treasure, myself, some years ago in Austin. It took my breath away because I am an amateur photographer myself, and understand the significance of such a rarity.

We almost did not get to see this gem because it was actually lost during the period of 1898 to 1952. After a long search, it was found and authenticated by Helmut Gernsheim, who eventually donated it in 1963, along with his entire collection, to the University in Austin.

Visit the website linked above. It has a wealth of fascinating information about Niepce, pictures of he and Gernsheim, the original photograph in its original gold frame, and the original provenience that goes with it. Entire pages tell about the hunt for the lost work, and about the amazing generosity that enabled UT to own the treasure. The last heir who owned the work donated it to Gernsheim, who in turn donated it to the Austin-based University's vast photography collection.


My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics.

My new blog is called "Behind the Links."

Technorati tags: photography antiques

Would you believe this?!

Stranger than fiction -- Today's post gathers a number of links sent by my regular contributors, "betmo" and Jon.

Birds descended from dinosaurs -- Popular Science: "Scientists find a missing link*" (1/20/09) "A new fossil sheds light on the evolution of feathers and a rare group of dinosaurs."

See it to believe it -- BBC News: "'Spookfish' has mirrors for for eyes*" (1/7/09)

Hard to believe -- Yahoo! News: "Fishermen saved off Australia after 25 days at sea# - (1/20/09)

Who would believe that honey bees could be threatened? McClatchy: "Beekeepers worry about water*" (1/8/09). If there is not enough water for the almond growers, then pollination could be threatened. One-third of all U.S. bee colonies have already been lost due to Colony Collapse Disorder.

I thought I had heard everything -- MSNBC: "Sand thieves stealing Caribbean beaches#" (10/27/08) To quote:

Sand stolen across Caribbean for construction. 'We will lose our beaches' unless crime is taken seriously, one official says.

My favorite animals are forever surprising me -- MSNBC: "African elephants equate roads to poachers#" (10/27/80) To quote:

New roads across Central Africa are forcing endangered forest elephants into smaller and smaller habitat areas, a study released Monday found. It's not vehicles that are a danger, instead the intelligent animals seem to know that the roads bring poachers.

This is very hard to believe -- The Poor Mouth: "Banjos in brain surgery*" (10/13/08). Our friend, Dan'l, joked, "Talk about fiddling while Rome burns!" To quote the story:

According to the BBC a musician undergoing brain surgery to treat a hand tremor played his banjo throughout to test the success of the procedure.

My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics.

Technorati tags: news oddities science

Landing On the Hudson

Landing On the Hudson

The birds had ended the engines' song.
The plane's still flying but not for long.
Not land, but liquid. This place that beckoned,
All cold and swift.

The only lane left, and it's not right.
The path means a turn-around tight.
Here we go. "Brace for impact," Sully said.
Oh no. Cold and swift.

Heads down the riders gave no cry.
Perfect was the line down from the sky.
Thin tail in. Fat nose out. Hold it, hold it.
Blam! Cold and swift.

Are we there yet? Oh, yes, we are.
Heads up. Look around. Landed, 5-star.
Wheels up, the winged boat floated
Downstream, cold and swift.

Window-doors loosed. Out, out. Get out!
Women and children first, came the shout.
All headed forward after trying aft.
Outside. Currents cold and swift.

Wet wings floated just long enough. Not wide.
Slides turned to boats. Sit or stand side by side.
Twice Sully patrolled the bird. Quickly all out.
Water rose inside, cold and swift.

Boats everywhere. Angels gathering souls.
All hands safe. First responders consoled.
It was the Miracle on the Hudson,
So cold and swift. Impossible.

They all said ditching could not be done.
All points in place. White head, plan begun.
Steady hands, he'd trained all his life for this.
Calculations were cold and swift.

It all came together, landing on the city river.
And it worked. Riders in blankets all a-shiver.
Amazing. Grace. It was a song
On the Hudson, cold and swift.


Copyright by Carol Gee
January 23, 2009


Update -- ** Hero's welcome for Hudson pilot **

BBC News (1/25/09): "The pilot who safely landed a jet in New York's Hudson River gets a hero's welcome in his home town in California."

Inauguration events --

(Image: wordle.net)
Inaugural Events Update -- from Emmett S. Beliveau, Executive Director, 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee
To quote:

This will be an inauguration for all Americans, and we have an exciting list of events planned . . . an update about some of the items on the agenda:

Sunday, January 18th -- We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, free, live broadcast on HBO -- At 2:30 p.m. EST, HBO will offer a free nationwide broadcast of the We Are One concert featuring Bono, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend and more. Check your local listings to find out where you can watch the free HBO broadcast.

Monday, January 19th -- Renew America Together: National Day of Service -- The Obama and Biden families will be participating in volunteer service in the Washington, D.C. area, and would like you to take part in your community. Join any one of more than 10,000 service events already scheduled across America, or host your own:
http://www.USAservice.org/calltoservice

Kids' Inaugural: We Are The Future -- After being part of the day of service, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will host a free Kids' Inaugural concert for the children of military families. Performances by Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Bow Wow and others will be broadcast on the Disney Channel and Disney Radio beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Tuesday, January 20th -- The Neighborhood Ball -- On the night of the Inauguration, the newly sworn-in President and the First Lady will attend the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball. Join the celebration by hosting or attending a Neighborhood Ball in your own community: http://www.pic2009.org/ball

ABC will broadcast the Washington, D.C. Neighborhood Ball, and the Presidential Inaugural Committee will be live blogging from the ballroom.

These are just a few of the events planned in the coming days. Visit www.pic2009.org to find out more. And to make sure you get up-to-the-minute updates about these and other Inaugural events, text OPEN to 56333.

I thank everyone who has committed to volunteering at the Inaugural events, or supported us with a donation. You make all of this possible, and have helped us to organize the most open and accessible inaugural in our nation's history.

We look forward to celebrating with all of you. Thank you, Emmett

My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics.

Technorati tags: inauguration

The Bestest List

The Best Hubble Picture - "Cat's-eye Nebula*" Outstanding work by NASA!

The Top 10 Everything of 2008 - News Stories, Editorial Cartoons, Election Photos, TV Series, etc#. (Time Magazine). Worth exploring. Stories included.

The Best in the Online World - "The 50 Best Websites 2008#" (Time Magazine) To quote:

TIME.com's 2008 picks for the best the Web has to offer

The Best at Bonding - "Troubled Australian Fairy Penguins Protected by Friendly Sheepdogs#" (Huffington Post 1/6/09). To quote:

A colony of fairy penguins on Warrnambool's Middle Island off the south coast of Australia has dwindled dramatically due to attacks by foxes and wild dogs. However, their numbers are rising again thanks to their new bodyguards - two Maremmas, an Italian breed of sheepdog that bonds with the flock or herd of animals it is protecting.

The Best Old First Cat - "US First Cat 'India' Dies*" (The Raw Story 1/5/09) To quote:

The president, Mrs. Bush, Barbara, and Jenna are deeply saddened by the passing of their cat India ("Willie")," press secretary Sally McDonough said in a statement.

"India was a beloved member of the Bush family for almost two decades. She will be greatly missed," she said.

The Best Old Bugatti - "Rare 1937 Bugatti Supercar Found in English Garage#" (Yahoo! News 1/3/09) To quote:

It was the equivalent of finding an old Picasso or an unknown Beatles tape hidden away in your uncle's attic. . . only 17 were ever made, and when it's cleaned up and auctioned in Paris next month, experts believe it will fetch at least 3 million pounds ($4.3 million) and possibly much more.

The Best Nutty Idea - "Scientists find nutty risk reducer: Eat more nuts#." (Yahoo! News 12/8/08) To quote:

Eating a handful of nuts a day for a year — along with a Mediterranean diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fish — may help undo a collection of risk factors for heart disease.

The Best Things To Do To Be Happy - "Do five simple things a day to stay sane, say scientists#" (Times Online 10/22/08) To quote:

Steps to happiness

Connect
Developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours will enrich your life and bring you support

Be active
Sports, hobbies such as gardening or dancing, or just a daily stroll will make you feel good and maintain mobility and fitness

Be curious
Noting the beauty of everyday moments as well as the unusual and reflecting on them helps you to appreciate what matters to you

Learn
Fixing a bike, learning an instrument, cooking – the challenge and satisfaction brings fun and confidence

Give
Helping friends and strangers links your happiness to a wider community and is very rewarding

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are "betmo*" and Jon#.

My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics.

Technorati tags: news 2008 best

Blogging basics: the quest for excellence

What led to today's post on blogging? I was going through one of my favorite's folder at my terrific feed aggregator, Bloglines, and realized that I had saved many on writing. We all want to become better bloggers. Here are some recent writing tips from others:

• "The Seven Basic Blog Posts" published at Wired.


• Teach Yourself Blogging," at Internet Marketing Ideas and Tips.


• "Keeping it Simple" at Web Applications Are the Future.


• "Start Your Glory File" at Get It Write. To quote:
  
  

  . . . some great suggestions, including writing down every good thing anyone has ever said about your writing. My version of this is what I call my “glory” file. There’s a paper file folder, where I put notes, cards and printouts of emailed comments. I also have an electronic file, where I copy snippets of praise to read through when I haven’t received any lately.

Blogging for many of us is also about surfing and sharing stuff from the web. This great surfing tool, Bloglines, has a number of handy features, including the (save as unread) feature that led to this post. It also offers very easy subscription to what seems like an unlimited number of different feed sources, folders for various categories of feeds, a story clipper, a blog, and a capacity to search for posts or stories. For example, the words "blog writing" is a search term that today produced 1,034,000 posts on the subject.

Like anything else, Bloglines has limitations. Any feed's folder will only hold 200 new entry headlines. When I want to read the full story I just click on the headline. After I have scanned that set of feed headlines, they all go away except those where I have checked the "save" box. So the feeds "fill up" with old stories unless I get back to them and un-check those in which I am no longer interested.

I checked several other favorites folders and found writers to whom I regularly turn. The first one was from Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com. An attorney, he writes in great detail, but it is readable. Juan Cole at Informed Comment is also a good writer. Professor Cole is perhaps one of the most knowledgeable authors on the Middle East.Dandelion Salad's posts I saved were quite numerous, perhaps because the site has a lot of contributors. Think Progress' posts on writing are good for any news junkie. Andrew Sullivan writes for The Atlantic.com.

To conclude, my favorites' folders are now more lean because the posts are now indexed under "excellent writing." The purpose of this post is to make sure that my search for excellence does not go away, not so long as it still fills me with satisfaction and the wish to learn a better way.

My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics.

Technorati tags: writing blogging internet bloglines bloggers favorites references

Who's reading, and why?

My friends around BlogWorld talk about their concerns that blog readership seems to be a bit off. I have also had that concern. And recently I have attempted to post better material in a more timely manner. The result has been an increase in readers with unusual curiosities. Here are a few examples of searches (by non-regular readers): someone in India had "googled" this: "question about leadership quality." Someone in Austraila reached my blog by searching on "women traveling in the Middle East." A Californian "googled" for "political fact finders." A person in Indiana searched for "50 ways that the government affects my life." A United Kingdom reader was interested in finding our more about "female bloggers needed." Another Australian searched on "where is the hubble telescope right now 21/8/08." A Native American website in Washington went my post called, "Humor is hard to find these days." A Minnesota reader came to my blog via The Reaction, and spent 10 minutes reading three different posts. Another Californian searched and found a very old post of mine on "prof mary habeck yale." A Georgian (USA) searched on "jfk leadership qualities." And finally someone in Canada "googled," "should i work for nasa oig," and found this old post: Does the Inspector General System Work?"

Today I came across a great little reference for anyone wanting to improve there blogging and get more readers. It comes from a highly popular blog called 43 Folders. The author merlin Mann asks, "What makes for a Good Blog?" In a very helpful post (8/19/08) he lists these main idea headings. (Read the whole post; it is worth it.):

1. Good blogs have a voice


2. Good blogs reflect focused obsessions.


3. Good blogs are the product of "Attention times Interest."


4. Good blogs are made of paragraphs.


5. Good "non-post" blogs have style and curation.


6. Good blogs are weird.


7. Good blogs make you want to start your own blog.


8. Good blogs try.


9. Good blogs know when to break their own rules.

Technorati tags: blogs blogging bloggers internet [google search writing

My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics.

Are you one of the leaders?

When you go into work on Mondays, are you expected to show leadership? I was a director of a department at a nonprofit before I retired. And, as such, I got some management training in addition to my Masters in Clinical Social Work. In upcoming posts I will share a few of the resources that proved to be very helpful. Today I'll highlight Douglas McGregor's (of "Theory X, Theory Y" fame) ideas on teamwork, from "The Human Side of Enterprise." Here is his list of characteristics of an effective work team:

1. The "atmosphere" tends to be informal comfortable and relaxed.
2. There is a lot of discussion in which everyone participates.
3. The objective is well understood and accepted by the members.
4. Members listen to each other.
5. There is disagreement.
6. Most decisions are reached by a kind of consensus.
7. Criticism is frequent, frank and relatively comfortable.
8. People are free in expressing feelings as well as ideas.
9. When action is taken, clear assignments are made and accepted.
10. The chairman of the group does not dominate.
11. The group is self-conscious about its own operations.

Not long ago my favorite boss passed away. It was under her that I first came to believe I could exercise leadership. She was responsible for seeing to it that I got the best management training available from United Way where we worked. She even taught me how to handle our resident "curmudgeon with a heart of gold." I will be forever grateful to her for enriching my life. I never really got to express that to her fully enough. This post is in honor of her. It is the next best thing I can do.

If you have a boss you sincerely like and admire, or perhaps a mentor, take the time when you can, to let them know how they have helped you. If you do this, you are on the right path to leadership yourself.

My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics.

Technorati tags: management leadership teamwork work skills organizations

Seeking inspiration

In today's difficult world it is sometimes hard to maintain optimism. Bad news abounds. There is enough scary stuff out there to make us want to take to our beds and pull the covers over our heads. But tomorrow is Monday, and we must get up and at it again. To whom can we look for inspiration to keep on keeping on? A few people come to my mind. Let me tell you about these folks and others often mentioned.

Professor Stephen Hawking -- His recent appearance at George Washington University (see 27 p. pdf transcript) was carried on television: "STEPHEN HAWKING TO DISCUSS "WHY WE SHOULD GO INTO SPACE" AS PART OF NASA'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY LECTURE SERIES, APRIL 21, 2008." This inspirational thinker has put together a great web site that is accessible, fun and interesting, like the man himself. GW's student newspaper, The GW Hatchet, has the 4/24/08 story of the lecture, as well as a video. To quote reporter Michael Moffett:

Acclaimed physicist Stephen Hawking called for renewed interest in the study of outer space and science, in a speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of NASA at the Jack Morton Auditorium on Monday.

. . . Hawking, 66, suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease and is almost completely paralyzed. He delivered his 30-minute speech to members of NASA, Lockheed Martin and the media through a voice simulator, which he operates by moving his right cheek muscle.

The scientist has made significant contributions in the study of black holes, cosmology and quantum gravity. Last April, he took a zero-gravity flight into space, becoming the first quadriplegic to float in a weightless state.

Here is a fine list with short bios of "Fifty Women Who Changed the World." Here is someone's list of the "10 most inspirational bloggers of 2007." And finally, Senator Barack Obama, who has his work cut out for him, inspires a great number of people to "keep on keeping on," including me. One of the candidate's early backers was Oprah Winfrey, included in the first list in this paragraph.

My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics .

Technorati tags: stephen hawking inspiration science news and politics famous people barack obama