Entries from August 2006 ↓

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Today I thought we’d all play ‘Word of The Day’.

It is Thursday and we all need a pickmeup, so why not make it an interesting day to incorporate the word ‘Ooze’ into your conversations.

Each time you are locked into a conversation, have your subconcious seek out a way to place the word ‘Ooze’ into the discussion. You will be surprised to learn how easily it is and how many times you can do it.

[If you don't yet know exactly what Ooze is about, please go and read up this article at Gapingvoid]

Now, shoo. Get out of my face and go “Oozeing”. Enjoy!

PS: I fully expect feedback from you to tell the truth about how many oozes you dropped into your conversations today. I will find out if you tell me porkies!

Welcome to iScatterlings.com

First up this morning is Easy Eight. You were interactive with us here at iScatterlings, so you get your own linkbadge.

Go see Eight’s new site here and let’s help him grow it into a good site for all.

Want to learn how to begin defining and creating your future? Click the the title of the article The Past Does Equal The Future by David Shephard to find out how.

FRUIT AND DRUGS ON SA HIV DISPLAY

“The government says it wants to highlight nutrition as well as drugs.Lemons and garlic are displayed next to condoms and anti-retroviral drugs on the South African stand at Toronto’s international Aids conference”

Is this for real? Is this a cruel joke? It must be a cruel joke. Surely?

“South Africa’s health minister has long promoted a diet including garlic and lemon as a way of treating Aids.”

How does a diet that includes garlic and lemon help an AIDS or HIV victim? Someone please help me on this.

You have to admire the ingenuity here but to go and make a meatcake…….???! Ai carrumba senor!

Just go and check this mincemeatcake recipe out. Ugh, Ugh and Ugh!

[Thanks Aquila!]

So, you are feeling down in the dumps and have just ended a relationship and are feeling as bad as a rusty paraffin tin filled with guilt for ending it or causing the break-up and now you cannot make a decision about which path to take. You can’t decide if you should push ahead like a bull in a china shop and stop yourself from thinking about the ‘why and when and what went wrong’ by completing everything on your To Do list and keeping busy, busy, busy or if you should take time out and do what your mind and body is telling you is the right thing to do.

Am I correct in thinking that you have not yet asked nor given yourself permission to be gentle with yourself? It is so important at these times to ask if rushing around like a bull in a china shop is the right way or should you just step back from the action and give yourself the space and time to heal. You may have let it become a flip of a coin process when in fact you should take time out to let yourself grieve and heal and regain your vitality and energy to move on with your life. As a friend of mine says, you need to ask yourself what will make you feel so much WORSE if I don’t do this or get that done.

Here’s what I recommended my friend Virginia should do whenever she feels lower than shark muck:

1. Sit in a comfy chair, relax, close your eyes, breathe in deeply and breathe out slowly through your nose while recognising that you only have limited resources to tackle all the items on your To Do list. Accept that you only have two hands, limited energy levels and only so much motivation to see you complete all the jobs on the list.

2. Accept that this day is not going to be one of your better days and so will allow those other days when you were highly productive, to stand out as excellent and bright examples of what you can achieve.

3. While remaining in your comfy chair, take a moment to focus on your breathing and notice the rhythm your breathing has adopted as your chest slowly rises and falls as you breathe in and out. And while you are relaxed, think about your job list and begin to prune all the jobs that do not need to be done now. Try to leave only those jobs that would make you feel worse if they did not get done.

4. After selecting the essential jobs, summon up all your energies, square up to the jobs at hand and go to it. Yes, get them done then go back to bed.

There is no point in trying to do anything else today because you have asked and given yourself permission to be kind to yourself. You told you that it is OK to not be rough on you, so stop gawking at this and go back to bed and begin healing.

Shoo. Go. Get out of my face. It’s OK. Shoo!

Factoids:

1. The meteor known as KT that impacted Earth a good few million years back, had the explosive energy of 100 million megatonnes of bombs.

2. James Lawrence Powell notes that if a bomb, such as the size of the one exploded at Hiroshima, was exploded for every person alive on the planet today, you’d still be about a billion bombs short of the KT impact.

3. The meteor impacted in a sea area where the rocky floor was very rich in sulphur. The impact created a giagantic “aerosol” of sulphuric acid the size of Belgium. Acid rain that burnt skin resulted.

4. How did coral and algae survive the very long nuclear winter? They need sunlight to survive.

5. Why did bees survive when the entire dinosaur species was wiped out?

6. Crocodiles (alligators) and other reptiles survived too. Why?

[Thanks to Bill Bryson's book: "A short History of Nearly Everything"]

I want to bid these two goodly people a big humungously outrageous welcome to iScatterlings.com

First on the runway is Willie. If you do not know who Willie is, then go see the brilliant art he does here

Next up on the turntable is BIGRIC. Ooooh! Sound huge hey! BigRic’ss site is brilliant too and you can go see it here

Have you learned to Ooze? No?

So you don’t know how to Ooze? It’s easy. Here is your first Eezi-Ooze tip:

Whenever it occurs this morning, someone will come and stand in front of you to converse on a matter that relates to both of you or maybe a complete stranger will come over to you and ask for directions.

During the discussion, always look the other person in the eye, and show them that you are very, very interested in what they have to say. When the conversation is over, while looking the colleague or total stranger in the eye, thank that person sincerely.

You will have imparted something on to them - your interest in them. And they will be pleased that someone has taken interest in them today and by showing interest in them, you will have made them feel very special. It is good to feel special.

And to know that someone is interested in what you say is a good feeling as well isn’t it? Yes it is. So there you go. Begin oozing now.

[Temba is my cat. He has rid the racing stables of all rodents and is now feted by the grooms and jockeys whenever he appears there. He is now hunting down little furry bunnies who hop too far from home.]

[Inspired by a Doobie Brothers song]

[Inspired by posts at Cheap Tart's site]

Hey, will y’all say hi to KYKNOORD! Welcome to iScatterlings.com.

If you want to see Kyknoord’s great site go visit him here

Here is your linkbadge bru!

The secret to being passionate about anything you do is to understand what being passionate means. Do too many people claim to be ‘passionate’ about this vocation or that type job? Are they really, or is it just a vogue term to use on the CV or to drop into conversation to make you appear more appealling to the audience?

How do you know you are passionate about whatever it is you claim to be passionate about? Is there a passion measuring stick? A passion barometer? A passion litmus paper test? Another question to be asked is where do you draw the line on passion? How deep or far do you go before passion is surpassed by ‘manic’, ‘committed or ‘dedicated’ and worst of all OCB (Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour)? Or is passion ever surpassed by anything other than itself so that you attain the next level in passionatism and become passionate size L, next to size XL and on to XXL and then the ‘bespoke’ passion?

Where does passion end? More importantly for me is, where does it begin?

Does it begin with a commitment within you that you will be as determined as heck and drive yourself to do the ultimate best you and your abilities and talents can do? Or is ‘passion’ derived out of a need to succeed? Like a type A person’s need to win all the time?

Here is what I dredged up from Google for a search to define ‘passion’:

Definitions of passion on the Web:

• strong feeling or emotion

• heat: the trait of being intensely emotional

• rage: something that is desired intensely; “his rage for fame destroyed him”

• mania: an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action

• a feeling of strong sexual desire

• love: any object of warm affection or devotion; “the theater was her first love”; “he has a passion for cock fighting”;

• the suffering of Jesus at the crucifixion

wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

• The Passion is the technical term for the suffering and Agony of Jesus that led directly to the Crucifixion, a central Christian event. The “Passion narratives” tell this story in the Gospels. The etymological origins of this meaning of the word lie in the Latin passio that first appears in the 2nd century, precisely to describe the travails and suffering of Jesus in this present context. All the other meanings of “passion” have been derived from this one.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion

• Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ is a musical album produced in 1989 by Peter Gabriel. It was originally composed as the soundtrack for the film The Last Temptation of Christ, but Gabriel spent several months after the film’s release further developing the music, finally releasing it as a full-fledged album instead of a “movie soundtrack”.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(album)

• Passion is a musical play, first staged on Broadway in 1994, adapted from Ettore Scola’s film Passione d’Amore (which was, in its turn, based on Igino Tarchetti’s novel Fosca). The book was by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Central themes include obsession, beauty, power, manipulation, passion, illness, and love

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(musical)
• In psychology and common use, emotion is the language of a person’s mental state of being, normally based in or tied to the person’s internal (physical) and external (social) sensory feeling. Love, hate, courage, fear, joy, sadness, pleasure and disgust can all be described in both psychological and physiological terms. …
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(emotion)
• Jenny Calendar manages to translate the spell to restore a vampire’s soul, but Angel kills her before she has a chance to use it.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(Buffy_episode)
• Passion is the third album by British pop singer Geri Halliwell, relased on June 6, 2005 (see 2005 in music), in Europe only. It has not received a North American release.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(Geri_Halliwell_album)
• One of the seven modes. Its positive pole is self-actualization; its negative pole is identification. In passion mode, one releases one’s energy boundlessly, downward and outward.
www.summerjoy.com/Glossary.html
• A musical setting of the story of the events leading to the Crucifixion.
www.wku.edu/~smithch/music/glossnew.htm
• The 4 accounts of the suffering and death of Christ (from the Gospel)
www.classic99.com/terms4b.htm
• The last stage of the development of sin. The stages of sin are: provocation through the thoughts, joining, assent, desire, action and passion. Passion is a repeated action which dominates man. In ascetic theology the movement of the powers of the soul contrary to nature is called passion.
www.pelagia.org/htm/b01.en.a_night_in_the_desert_of_the_holy_mountain.09.htm
• an upright or vertical bar crossed near the top by a shorter horizontal bar
www.culture.gr/2/21/218/e21817.html
• the Force of emotions and feelings. Governed by Venus, Goddess of Passion.
woodelf.dyndns.org/alfresco/gloss.html
• An oratorio dealing specifically with the crucifixion of Christ.
remus.rutgers.edu/~rhoads/Fun/music.terms.html
• The sufferings of Christ, especially in the agony of the garden and on the cross
www.innvista.com/culture/religion/diction.htm
• Strong, enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance.
definitions.highperformanceconsultants.com/definitions.txt
• musical composition based on the texts of Jesus Christ’s Passion, taken from one of the four Gospels. In the XII century the Passion was performed as a representation; the three main parts, Christ (bass), the Narrator (baritone) and “Turba Judaeorum” (tenor), were performed by three priests. Later on, a choir which answered to the soloists was introduced. In the XVII century the passion was enriched with all the innovations of the dramatic theater: orchestra, air, recitative.. …
www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Venue/3825/classdiction.htm

Passion

There are many ways to define passion. Dictionary definitions include “ardor, powerful intense emotion, great enthusiasm for something, sexual love, a longing for something that promises enjoyment and satisfaction.”

What makes a person passionate? We’re not talking about sexual passion per se, but a physical and emotional energy that sustains us and keeps us going, even in the face of adversity. How can you become passionate about life, about what you do every day?

“We tend to define passion as coming from outside ourselves, but day-to-day passion comes from within and requires special skill,” says Robert Maurer, Ph.D., a behavioral health provider who travels extensively giving seminars on personal happiness and success.

“It is based on an understanding of our wants and a firm belief in our entitlement to those wants. If we’re going to stay passionate about our wants, we have to know what they are (often a surprisingly difficult task) and then hold true to them when obstacles arise.”

Confidence, enthusiasm, energy and strong beliefs are often the hallmarks of passion. Do you believe in what you do? Do you have clearly defined goals and wants? Do you keep going even in the face of adversity? These are just some of the elements that define a passionate person. Dr. Maurer maintains that passion and enthusiasm do not come when you achieve success — they are necessary fuel to create and maintain success.

The first and most important step is to identify and become clear about your wants and goals. Dr. Maurer suggests these strategies:

Be optimistic. Optimism is an indicator of passion. Believing that there are always choices and taking responsibility are two elements of optimism that play a role in passion.

Identify how you can (or do) contribute to others. Passionate people often view their actions as a service or gift to others, and use it to learn personal lessons; this perspective helps maintain passion.

Take responsibility. Passionate people don’t complain and blame others for problems but take full responsibility for making things better. They believe they can make a difference.

The keys to finding and sustaining passion are to have a clear sense of purpose and destination. Dr. Maurer cites several people, especially those who have used their passion to succeed and make a difference even in the face of adversity, as good examples of passionate people: Christopher Reeve and Toni Morrison, for example.

“It’s how you operate in the world minute by minute that sets you free and creates passion,” notes Dr. Maurer. “Passion is about creating happiness in every moment.”

Passion

If you have read my book, The Complete Chondro, you are already familiar with an important facet of my life – passion. I not only enjoy being passionate about the important things in my life, I also need to be so. I thrive when I am passionate, and without this essential ingredient I can quickly lose interest in something.

You might be surprised to learn that passion is not exactly the same thing as excitement or enthusiasm. Although I might define passion as “excitement combined with commitment”, the word actually means something different, and has a very meaningful origin. The dictionary gives us insight into this, and states that passion refers to “the suffering of Christ between the Last Supper and his crucifixion.” In fact, an early use of the word was “Passion Play,” the name given to theatrical events depicting the death and resurrection of Christ.
pas•sion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pshn)
n.

1. A powerful emotion, such as love, joy, hatred, or anger.
2.
1. Ardent love.
2. Strong sexual desire; lust.
3. The object of such love or desire.
3.
1. Boundless enthusiasm: His skills as a player don’t quite match his passion for the game.
2. The object of such enthusiasm: Soccer is her passion.
4. An abandoned display of emotion, especially of anger: He’s been known to fly into a passion without warning.
5. Passion
1. The sufferings of Jesus in the period following the Last Supper and including the Crucifixion, as related in the New Testament.
2. A narrative, musical setting, or pictorial representation of Jesus’s sufferings.
6. Archaic. Martyrdom.
7. Archaic. Passivity.

It makes you think doesn’t it? Next time you use the word ‘passion’ in your conversation use it wisely. I am going to drop this buzzword from my conversations. It is so lame now and sound overused and glib.

Time Management the Absolute way offers up an interesting window into how peole spend their alloted time in the Ice Bar at Stockholm’s Nordic Sea Hotel. The bar is made of ice, the glasses are made from ice, the till is made of ice, the wall’s bricks are made of ice, the massive beautiful sculptures are made of ice. I can’t recall what the floor is made of or covered in. The ice bar and its frozen furnishings are rebuilt every six months.

You are restricted to 45 minutes inside. You have to don a special parka and thermal gloves are provided. My experience inside this slightly chilly bar leaves me to believe that there are 3 sets/types of visitor inside.

1.The power drinker. The bar is stocked with every flavour of Absolut vodka and as you only get to stay inside for 45 minites and if you can afford to, then each person in your group buys a round so that you can begin your session of down-downs. The effects will only truly hit you when you leave this frozen environment. Serious drinking in a frozen environment requires serious attention so not too much jocularity is experienced. However, the more drinks they consume the volume for any slurred chatter increases.

2. The tippler or one drink sipper. This group of people are the sensible mature group who come to the bar to soak up or experience the frozen atmosphere of the bar. They are a congenial bunch and much mirth eminates from them. They are known to throw caution to the wind and take one too many (3) shots of Absolut. I had a lot of fun with a group like this from Finland.

3. The business class. This type stands out a mile. They are alone and stand close to the bar or find a corner from which to observe proceedings

HAve you been to the Ice Bar?