"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"

Do you believe in signs?

I do. Sometimes. Within the past month all signs have pointed to me reading this book: My mother in law offered me a copy from her book collection, my Amazon wishlist recommends this to me a lot, AND in organizing my own book shelf I found TWO copies of this book. TWO!!! One literally dropped from the higher shelf and hit me on the head
What gives?

So I got the hint and started reading. One of the copies I found at home was old: yellow, fragile pages withering away.
The other copy is much newer and nicer.
I started reading only to find out that I must have attempted reading this book before as it was highlighted in my usual multi-color system.

I believe the mind is only able to accept profound information when it's ready. You can't force it.
I guess it must be the time for me to give this book a solid try.

Thus far I like it. It makes sense. It kind of articulates things I have found for a long time to be true but had not bee able to solidify into words.

In case you are wondering:

The first habit is To be Proactive. Don't let life "happen" to you, grab it by the horns and take reign.
Accept responsibility, take action.

It's so easy to blame circumstances beyond our control for the sad state of our lives.

Take responsibility and change whatever things you have control over. Don't worry about the rest.

"The fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waster his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove" ~ Samuel Johnson.

The 48 Laws of Power

The "48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene was recommended to me recently.

This book is a 500 page anthology of all things power: history, politics, rhetoric, literary references, philosophy. You name it, it's there.

This book is a compilation of ruthless means to achieve the end of total domination. Means that have worked since virtually the beginning of times and that will, according to the author, continue to be effective ways to gain control.

Honestly, the books scares me a little in its amoral approach. HOWEVER, recently being faced with dirty little tricks from evil co-workers far more apt at manipulation that I; this book comes as quite an eye opener of what is being used against me.

This book quotes classic notables such as The Art of War, Machiavelli's The Prince, Nietzsche, Shoppenhauer, Cicero et all. Basically, it borrows from virtually all the usual suspects in a power game and draws out generalities (called "rules" in this book) and then backs them up with historical references.

Rule #1 is:

* Never Outshine the Master

Simple enough, huh?

Rule #7 is sleazy:

* Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit.

OK. this one is dishonest and wrong. YET, it explains why I've been subjected to such unfair practices at work. At least this lets me know what to look out for.

I guess after a certain point you no longer work in an environment of idyllic collaboration. It's a cut throat work place and those who don't play the game (or at least know how to maneuver) end of a collateral.

Sad. Sad but true.

Had I only learned this crap earlier, I would have been less open to manipulation. But maybe I wasn't ready to absorb this "stuff" then. I probably wouldn't have believed such bull to exist in MY world.

Anyhow, another notable reference this book makes repeatedly is to a Spaniard called Baltazar Gracian.

Honestly, prior to this book I hadn't heard of him (pardon my ignorance) But I intend to read one or two of his pieces very soon.

His quotes intrigue me...

I also want to re-read The Prince. I read it in High School, but my mind was way to untarnished to grasp its validity.

Anyhow, the bottom line: Is this a good book? Kind of. It's a good compilation of ideas. It can expose the reader to a variety of famous pieces. But the author does not seem to come up with any original ideas of his own. He simply manipulated his way into publishing a "national bestseller"

Shocking!

Happy prances through a field of grass...

(That's what I would title the above picture)
Work by High Modernist architect Charles Gwathmey

Food for Thought

"Immerse people in universal and extreme situations which leave them only a couple of ways out, arrange things so that in choosing the way out they choose themselves, and you've won--the play is good." Jean Paul Sartre, Sartre on Theather

La Prensa Amarilla

yellow journalism (is defined) in terms of five characteristics:

* scare headlines in huge print, often of minor news

Image via CrunchBase

* lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings
* use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, pseudo-science, and a parade of false learning from so-called experts
* emphasis on full-color Sunday supplements, usually with comic strips (which is now normal in the U.S.)
* dramatic sympathy with the "underdog" against the system.

(Wikipedia)

Yahoo News, anyone?!?

I hate myself everytime I click on the headlines of Yahoo "News" ~ So misleading, so cheap, like reading the gossip magazines while waiting at the check out line...

I'm tempted not to, but what if I miss something juicy.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

It's like watching Court T.V or CNN Headline News.

McDonald's for the mind...

Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!

I love the vision these words conjure.

I think I suffer from the Eternal Darkness of the Spotted Mind.
And wonder how it would be to experience The Incredible Lightness of Being. Just being...
Words are heavy, thoughts are heavy.

Living in the moment. Such a fleeting thing!

Enjoying each sentence as it unfolds. Without anticipating the end and enduring the inevitable disappointment when the paragraph closes without warning.

35 mm film photography

Remember when cameras used to look like this?
And film was the medium instead of memory sticks?

(I feel like a relic when I reminisce about stuff that is so obsolete now a days that it seems like an feigned memory rather than something real.)

Like when I get the urge to go on the hunt for a blue Smith-Corona typewriter.
Not the kind that plugs into an outlet. The kind with winding ribbon and keys that are hard to hit; but make that addicting tick-tick sound...


Nostalgia.

I've been wanting a "big girl's" camera for a while now.

I have a camera now.
It's quite adorable, portable and pink. It fits in most pockets and it's quite fashionable. I don't even have to compromise between it and my make up bag when I am choosing things to put in my purse!

It perfectly suits most "social snapping" situations.
But it sucks at landscapes. Night landscapes are an infinite mass of blackness, no matter how hard I try. Or how slow I set the shutter speed. *sigh*

As a child, my parents had a leather bag filled with all things photography. A good camera, a tripod and a bunch of filters.
We were lucky in that we got to visit to exotic locales. And they snapped the most breathtaking pictures I could imagine.

I attached so many memories of...life to those pictures. To capturing a moment so special and unique that it had to be immortalized in a photograph.

The digital craze was decades away.
There was no instant way of knowing the end result. So you'd strive to capture the best with every shot.
And if unsure, tried again, again and again.

Only much later did the printed images show. Sometimes a week or more after walking through clouds in the mountains or jumping waves at a virgin beach.
Then the memories unraveled again, with the taste of saltwater or the chill of a temperate climate.
Life is sweeter through the lens of a 35 mm camera.

I'm still unsure, however, if I am ready to commit to a new hobby. Or I am simply enamored by the idea of looking through life through rose colored glasses.

from The Little Prince

Grown-ups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask what really matters. They never ask: "What does his voice sound like?" "What games does he like best?" "Does he collect butterflies?"

They ask: "How old is he?" "How many brothers does he have?""How much does he weigh?" "How much money does his father make?"

Only then do they think they know him.

Image via Wikipedia

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Trivial: Rock Band for Wii

My newest interest is a game for the Wii console called Rock Band 2. It's an interactive video game that allows multiple user set up a band and play guitar, base, drums and sing. It is set up in different levels of difficulty. The game comes with over 100 rock songs.

I'm totally shocked that I actually like this game because I am very much musically challenged: I am pretty much tone deaf, have no rhythm AND I don't really care for rock music (*collective gasp*, I know) EXCEPT for System of a Down (the greatest band ever!)

OK, so save for Serge and the gang and a handful of popular rock songs, I don't care for the genre.

BUT I love this game.

I turns out I'm no good at the guitar. The drums are an impossibility! The lack of rhythm and coordination have something to do with that, I'm sure.

But I love singing!!!

I never, ever sing ~ outside the comfort of my double glass paneled, ultra-noise cancelling car, that is.

Until now!!!

I still suck. Don't get me wrong.

But due to an unforeseen turn of event (it's like "a break in the Matrix" or something) I turn out to be quite the gifted singer of the Chili Peppers Song "Give it Away"

I am shocked. And delighted. Shocked because, well: I've never been able to sing along to songs on the radio.

I can't follow the lyrics. (I blame this on my "English as second language" handicap) and I never really cared for the Chili Peppers.

But suddenly I'm transformed into someone who is good at something musical and happens to be a video game.

I can't wait to go back to Massachusetts and show off my mad skillzzz to the ones that introduced me to this game!

Watch out, I'm quite a Rock Star! and modest, as well :P

The Experience Economy

Yesterday I finished the book The Experience Economy by Pine & Gilmore. This was more a "work read" than anything else.
Honestly, I could actually only get through the first few pages and then put it aside.
So I decided to download the audio version from I-Tunes instead and listen to it during my daily commute.
It was actually a nice change from my Argumentation audio tapes in that the subject seemed refreshing.

I must warn you though, the narrator is horrid.

I actually thought the voice was digitized. Like on those automated telephone systems that string various computer generated words together without change in tone or pitch and make recordings out of it.---Until I saw on the I-Tunes page that the narrator had a name. A HUMAN name.

Wow. This was a cross between the voice of my my high school Physics teacher, Ben Stein and my grandma's answering machine. Painful.
If you can get pass that for just short of four hours, you are OK.

This book basically describes from an economist's perspective, the advantages of providing a service experience that ultimately transforms the consumer/client/customer into a life long devotee.
It's not Customer Service for Dummies. This book is not even geared at the "front line" worker that is often associated with providing "customer service"

This book is geared at the executives, the financial analysts, the "suits" that need to be convinced, in their terms, why going above and beyond the call of duty is a sound financial decision. It goes a step further to suggest that staging the experience economy is actually the only way to obtain and retain a competitive advantage and sustainable financial edge on this market.

This book was co-authored by two individuals and sometimes the difference in their perspectives and seen even in the audio tape. Some parts of the book are dry, dry, dry. Then the following chapter chirps with an enthusiasm that is obviously not shared by both authors.

Overall, it was a good read--for work purposes.
I actually gained a lot of knowledge because finances and economics are not my strongest subjects.
Would I recommend this as a casual, friendly read? NO. But it the time spent absorbing this book was a sound business investment.

Iraqi teen girl gets 7 1/2 years for bombing attempt

This headline caught my eye this morning:

"BAGHDAD – A teenage Iraqi girl who claimed her husband's female relatives strapped explosives on her has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for attempting

Image via Wikipedia

to blow herself up at a checkpoint in northeastern Iraq, a provincial judge said Thursday."

The article goes on to describe the increase of such attempts by women in a society where because of cultural taboos, the mostly male police force does not routinely check robed women explosives.

The closing paragraph of this article is even more disturbing:

"In January, police arrested a middle-aged woman, Samira Ahmed Jassim, for allegedly recruiting female suicide bombers. In a prison interview, Jassim told The Associated Press about a plot in which young women were raped and then persuaded to carry out suicide attacks to reclaim their honor."

Food for Thought

" You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late" ~ Emerson

l'Heure Bleue

Madrugada

This is the time when the sky fills with hope and

Image by _fLeMmA__ via Flickr

peace.

It's not quite day and not quite night.

The antithesis of "penumbra"

Not because of the precise differences of light vs. dark ratios, but because of the energy that surround these events.

L'Heure Blue evokes an unmistakable sense of calm.

No need to rush.

Look at the freedom and beauty captured here:

A boy jumps over a row of lavender in a field in Carshalton, south London, Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

I wanna hop through a lavender field one day.

I love to do child-like things like that. To take in nature and its spirit. Not just visually but spatially as well.

To become part of the divine, even if just for a second.

"Who are you?"

This question was asked of me by a self realization book I was trying to grasp at too early an age. I don't even remember the name of the book. All I remember is that it stumped me, and that question has stuck with me for many years.

...you're not how much money you've got in the bank. You're not your job. You're not your family, and you're not who you tell yourself.... You're not your name.... You're not your problems.... You're not your age.... You are not your hopes. ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, Chapter 18

The point was not to answer the question based on the trivial and obvious, but to really look introspectively for a solid answer.

I still haven't been able to come up with a sound answer for myself.

(but I am working on it...)

Do you know who you are?

Great Courses

By now, it should come as no surprise to you that I am a geek. It's OK. I've come to terms with that. It's something that I have accepted and embraced.

Well, I'm just getting that out in the open because from time to time I would like to share with you certain things that I think are just AMAZING. But the truth is that they are pure Geekery.

Let me introduce you to Great Courses. Brought to you by The Teaching Company. From their site description: "The Teaching Company brings engaging professors into your home or car through courses on DVD, audio CD, and other formats. Since 1990, great teachers from the Ivy League, Stanford, Georgetown, and other leading colleges and universities have crafted over 250 courses for lifelong learners like you."

Seriously, this totally makes me happier than you could ever imagine: Having the best professors in the world teaching enthralling subjects. All at my fingertips and available in the comfort of my car!
What else could one want?!?

They cover subjects such as business, philosophy, religion, science, social sciences, intellectual history and many more.

I have completed a course titled: Augustine: Philosopher and Saint (12 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture). At the end, I was in awe. I wanted more.

I am currently listening to Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning (24 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture) ~ This one is a wee bit dryer and has taken me a bit longer to digest. I still love these lectures. LOVE, I tell you.

So much so that I had to tell you. In case I happen to be soooo smitten by a new concept I learned through Great Courses that I just have to blog about it...

(Told ya I was a geek!)

Riddle Me This...

I was scanning through an old issue of Real Simple magazine (a publication about all things organizing) and a snippet caught my eye: A book called "Throw Away Fifty Things" ($20). I immediately thought: "I should get this!" ~ I know, I know: the mindless herd follows blindingly to

Image via Wikipedia

its demise

Anyhow, shortly after contemplating my next Amazon purchase I thought. "Wait, Throw Away Fifty Things ...Is that pretty much the bones of this book?
Why can't I just "throw away fifty things" and see how it goes?
Why should I spend $20 on this? So the author can tell me why uncluttering my surroundings will liberate my mind?
So I can be given examples of crap that needs to be tossed? (I'm sure I can come with more than 50 things on my own)

If I buy this, Wouldn't this just be another unnecessary acquisition?
Will I then have to throw of fifty ONE things to make up for this purchase?

Suddenly, the seemingly brilliant buy had turned into Theater of the Absurd.

For the time being, I think I'll start out by throwing away fifty things on my own. If I encounter difficulties I might check out this book (from the Public Library)

This is how I feel most days...

An unidentified schoolchild wrestles with former sumo wrestler Taiichiro Tashima during a beach sumo promotional event in Tokyo, Japan (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)

Of course I am the girl. And the sumo? Well, that's just my day...
hmmmm..... I think I need to change sports, or at least strategies. Something tell me I have no chance if I continue with my current approach.

"The things you own end up owning you" ~ Fight Club

On my way back from a weekend trip, I saw a storage facility and thought :"oh, maybe it would be a good idea to get a small storage unit to clean up the house a bit"
Then I saw the name of the place: 1-800-PACK-RAT
Wow, what a rude awakening.
I live in a comfortable home that should more than fit my needs, yet I am contemplating shelling out big bucks monthly in order to "clean up"
Who am I kidding, I need to downsize.
So I've decided to drastically reduce my belongings. By the end of August, I hope that have "relocated" a great portion of my possessions. I'm talking gifting, donating or trashing a lot of the clutter than consumes me.
Also, I have committed myself to making smarter purchasing choices in the future.
I mean all the de-cluttering in the world will do no good if I continue to accumulate junk, right?
I vow to not buy "stuff". I am only going to buy things I need or love.
If it's iffy. If it doesn't floor me. If I am not replacing something I already own and have ran out of: It's going back on the shelf!
Hopefully, in the process my mind will unclutter as well... I'll keep you posted.

The Trivial: Ultra Distance Athletes and other Lunacies...

Earlier today I read an article in Men's Fitness Magazine highlighting the craziness that is called Ultra Distance Athletes. These nuts take part in insane races like 100 miles in rough, inaccessible terrain. Voluntarily.
WTF? Don't these people know that a simple race from the Battle of Marathon to Athens, just 26 miles, KILLED Pheidippides?
Yep. He dropped dead at the end. Yet modern men try to emulate the feat by enrolling in marathons everyday. Fine. Crazy, but I'll leave it alone.
But when people boast about taking part in SUPER- DUPER Marathons, I just think it's odd.
Listen to the article's author account of these super endurance feats:

"I have friends you have pushed themselves hard enough to vomit out the lining of their stomach or been dehydrated severely enough to lose consciousness and wake up in a hospital bed. They've broken bones, bled heavily, soiled their pants-some have had pieces of their innards removed, blacked out, been bitten by poisonous snakes, spat up and peed blood, had parasites crawl in and out every orifice and been delirious, overheated and frozen"

Graphic, I know.

But I wasn't describing some barbaric form of war fueled torture. I am talking about a "sport". People do this willingly. They willingly to take part in 100 mile, hard terrain races.

People pay for this.

Then again masochist often pay big bucks to be whipped around in a dungeon. This, to me, is no different.

The article touches on the endorphin high to which many of these "endurance junkies" are addicted. It also briefly discusses the psychological risks involved in these activities.

I am tempted to draw a parallelism between these people and others that partake in self-injuring behavior like "cutting" or anorexia and other eating disorders.

I don't understand why someone would be willing to take part in this "sport" if the end result for someone to succeed and actually finish is inevitably tied to some sort of physical punishment or demise.

Advocates claim: "Oh, it feels so good when you are finished" Well, yeah, but it would also feel good if you are torching your own skin with a creme brulee torch and decided to stop.

The author of this particular article states that the ultimate pay off for this "Odyssey of the flesh"? "the thrill of the race: that intense feeling of being alive"

Maybe it's just me, but I really don't have the need t put myself through arduous torture in order to feel alive.

I'll take a sunrise at the beach over a 100 mile marathon anytime.