dreamline

I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars...

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 07:55:26 -0600

I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

Wipe the sleep from my eyes,Wake up in another life.I...

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:06:00 -0600

Wipe the sleep from my eyes,
Wake up in another life.
I don’t like planes, but I love to fly.

Ships In The Night (iTunes Session) - Mat Kearney feat. Ingrid...

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 03:24:52 -0600

Ships In The Night (iTunes Session) - Mat Kearney feat. Ingrid Michaelson

Solider by Ingrid Michaelson

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 02:03:41 -0600

Solider by Ingrid Michaelson

The happy secret to better work. A TEDXBloomington talk by...

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:13:39 -0600

The happy secret to better work. A TEDXBloomington talk by psychologist Shawn Achor

Whose Path Are You Walking?

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 11:00:52 -0600

“It’s one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it’s another to think that yours is the only path.” — Paulo Coelho

Have you ever had others criticize you for the path in life you have been called to walk, be it spiritual, career, lifestyle, and so on? Often those who tend to have the greatest opposition to the pathway we walk are family and friends. Of course this can be extended to include religious institutions, political parties, and cultural traditionalists as well — many of which make no bones about it, priding themselves on believing that their way is the only way. It can be incredibly difficult to separate from the “herd” and go our own way when it goes against the grain of the herd mentality (or majority) and yet, if we don’t, we know there is a part of us that will slowly begin to die. Call it spirit, soul, life force, or what you may, there is that within us that knows who it is we’ve come here to be and what it is we’ve come here to do and if we don’t listen to its call, it begins to wane. This is when life becomes more about enduring until we die rather than thriving while we are here.

Perhaps what our critics don’t understand is that beneath the layer of what they may refer to as “choice,” there lies another layer where lives the authentic self, and its voice perpetually whispers ever so softly in our inner ear, “Be who you are and you’ll find freedom, fullness of expression, joy, peace, purpose and meaning in this precious life you have been given.” This voice beckons us to be true to ourselves; when we hear and listen to that voice, it’s not so much that we are then guided to choose a certain path in life but, in truth, realize that our path has chosen us. However, do not consider this a “get out of jail free” card for the bad choices we all have made along the way that may have caused pain and suffering in our lives or the lives of others; the reality that our path chooses us when we are ready in no way alleviates the fact that we are always personally accountable for the choices we make in our day-to-day lives. The voice to which I refer is incapable of guiding us in a direction that is self-destructive or harmful to others or that in any way dishonors the sacredness of life, because it is life itself that beckons us.

Shakespeare was correct when he wrote, “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” When we are true to ourselves it calls forward a level of integrity that absolutely refuses to allow us to compromise on being who we really are, regardless of who we are with or what we are doing: There is not one human being on this planet who does not hunger for the freedom to authentically and consistently be more fully who they are, without fear of criticism, condemnation, ridicule, or being made wrong. Those who have already arrived at this level of freedom of authentic expression understand what I mean by this because they have walked the gauntlet, and have come out on the other side as whole beings. When we honor the pathway that calls to us, we discover our authentic self along the way which then becomes the portal to our own wholeness — it is only then that our authentic voice arises and gives unique expression to who we are.

Oftentimes those who disagree with the path we have been called to walk try so hard to dissuade us because they believe in their hearts their path is the right path (aka, the “only” path). The practice is to know (in our hearts) that, for them, it is the right path because they are on it and, at the same time, have the courage and conviction to continue to walk in the direction we are being called. Is this always easy to do? Of course not, primarily because we fear losing their love and approval — and yet, if we don’t follow our own unique path, at the end of the day, when we draw our very last breath, we will have to ask ourselves whose life was it we have lived? What I know is that it is never too late to begin living our own lives, being who we are — we just have to listen to that voice within that never lies and take the first step… and then the next step… and then the next one.

So, the question I invite you to ponder is this: Whose path are you walking today, is it yours or someone else’s? Whether it is your spiritual path, your career path, your lifestyle path, or all the aforementioned, know that once you find it, as unique as it is, you walk that path not alone: Not only are there countless millions of other people who walk their unique paths with you, but the ever present infinite intelligence that put you here is your constant traveling companion as well. Be at peace in knowing that It knows how to get you to your unique point of destination, which is that sacred and precious moment you arrive at fully being who you are. To thine own self be true, indeed.

“A Separation” : In-freaking-credible! Hands...

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 03:13:07 -0600

“A Separation” : In-freaking-credible! Hands down the best movie I’ve seen all year. So rich with the complexities of human emotion, and simply just real life. Set in contemporary Iran, it is a movie that explores deep questions (among others) of culture, religion and socio-economic status. If you want a movie that will get you thinking, this is the one to watch.

HAHA! eliothong: jimmy fallon, the roots, carly rae jepsen -...

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 10:33:05 -0600

HAHA!

eliothong:

jimmy fallon, the roots, carly rae jepsen - “call me maybe (classroom instruments cover)”

as much as i hate this song, the roots and jimmy fallon get props for this.

Star Wars Paint Splatter

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:52:45 -0600

Star Wars Paint Splatters by Arian Noveir.

Vessels and Blooms

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:42:00 -0600

“Vessels and Blooms” a photo-set by photographer Jack Long. These images were made entirely through a series of paint splatters, captured through a high-speed exposure. No photoshop.

Cycles of Life by Grant Snider on Incidental Comics

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:24:00 -0600

Cycles of Life by Grant Snider on Incidental Comics

돈의 맛 [The Taste of Money] — One of the films competing for...

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:34:29 -0600

돈의 맛 [The Taste of Money] — One of the films competing for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Directed by Im Sang-Soo (Who also directed The Housemaid), it looks like it’s going to be a good one.

Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:17:33 -0600

I ran into this comic recently. Interesting that it was made 100 years ago, but is still so relevant today. Though it’s talking specifically about technology (which I definitely think it applies to), it is so true about so many other aspects of this modern age that we take for granted. This is cleverly shown in this video:

(http://youtu.be/8r1CZTLk-Gk)

Though, it’s not all that black and white. I know this because I just wrote a piece on the shift in thought and understanding in Europe, starting from late antiquity, through the middle ages, to the present age. But it’s some food for thought.

Imaginawesome - Recreating Kids' Drawings

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:26:16 -0600

This is such a great idea! Garret Miller created a project called “Imaginawesome”. Here he recreates children’s’ drawings into professional illustrations - “magic pixel dust”. On his blog he writes about the project:

Kids have the ability to come up with some pretty amazing things, but not always the ability to draw exactly what they were imagining. I’m here to help make those drawings come a little bit closer to reality.

Some of the work is pretty awesome:

AMRIT, AGE 5 - UNDER THE SEA

The octopus is planning to throw over the ship. The dolphin is planning to cheer the men up. Since it is dark out , the grey colored glowing fish wants to give some light. The big blue shark is planning is planning to do the same thing as the octopus.

QUENTIN, AGE 5 - CAMPERA

Man in a camper with an alligator and stuff like that.

ZOE, AGE 7 – “HONEYMOON”

A willow tree, a bench with a boy and girl on their honeymoon, a lake with a swan on it, oh, and it’s night time.

You can see more of his work on his blog here.

This brings out the font-nut in me. Typeverything.com - Peanut...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:05:46 -0600

This brings out the font-nut in me.

Typeverything.com - Peanut Butter & Jelly (by David Schwen)

People as Pixels

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:37:45 -0600

This reminded me of Art Attack . Totally took me back, and so I had to do a post on it (also I really haven’t written anything here in a while). Here the artist, Craig Allen, uses people as pixels for his work

If you think that’s impressive, you should look at what was done in North Korea. A photographer named Sam Gellman, was able to go to North Korea last year and take pictures at the Arirang Festival . Take a look at these pictures:

Look very, very closely. those are people in the background.

You can see more of his picture here .

How Great Wines Are Made

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:15:38 -0600

“Great wines come from low-yielding vineyards planted in marginal climates on the poorest soils. Though hard on the vines, these tough conditions are good for the wine, because the vines that are stressed must work harder to produce fruit, which leads to fewer but more concentrated and flavorful grapes.

By contrast, the vines used for bulk wines have it easy. They are planted in the fertile soils in ideal climates of regions such as California’s Central Valley. Such regions are great for producing tons of grapes to fill up the bulk fermentation tanks, but not at all great for producing the complex, intense flavors needed to make great wine, because the vines are not stressed and the yields are way too high.”

Excerpt from Washington Post

The Story of “Keep Calm and Carry On”

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:57:34 -0600

The Story of “Keep Calm and Carry On”

m-flo // All I Want Is You

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:19:53 -0700

m-flo // All I Want Is You

Joshua Radin - Streetlight (Acoustic) Live

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:55:49 -0700

Joshua Radin - Streetlight (Acoustic) Live