The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will
be his world and the world at large.
-Confucius
A focus on positive things.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Day 13
Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.
-Thomas Jefferson
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Day 12
“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep
on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may
end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the
belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I
may not have it at the beginning.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Friday, December 28, 2012
Day 11
“Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action
will delineate and define you.”
-Thomas
Jefferson
Marquese Scott, Dubstep Dance.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Day 10
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
William James
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Day 9
MAKING MUSIC WITH WHAT YOU HAVE LEFT
On Nov. 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a
concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. If you have
ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small
achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has
braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches.
To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly,
is an unforgettable sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he
reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, puts his crutches on the
floor, undoes the clasps on his legs, tucks one foot back and extends the
other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it
under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play.
By now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he makes
his way across the stage to his chair. They remain reverently silent while
he undoes the clasps on his legs. They wait until he is ready to play.
But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars,
one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap -it went off
like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant.
There was no mistaking what he had to do.
People who were there that night thought to themselves: "We figured that he
would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp
his way off stage - to either find another violin or else find another
string for this one."
But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then
signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played
from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power
and such purity as they had never heard before. Of course, anyone knows that
it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know
that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that.
You could see him modulating, changing, recomposing the piece in his head.
At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds
from them that they had never made before.
When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people
rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every
corner of the auditorium. We were all on our feet, screaming and cheering,
doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what he had done.
He smiled, wiped the sweat from this brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and
then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone, "You
know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can
still make with what you have left."
What a powerful line that is. It has stayed in my mind ever since I heard
it. And who knows? Perhaps that is the [way] of life--not just for artists
but for all of us.
So, perhaps our task in this shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in
which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then,
when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left.
By Jack Riemer, Houston Chronicle
Mark Goffeney from BigToe Band playing Superman Kryptonite for the crowd at Balboa Park,San Diego,Ca.
On Nov. 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a
concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. If you have
ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small
achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has
braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches.
To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly,
is an unforgettable sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he
reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, puts his crutches on the
floor, undoes the clasps on his legs, tucks one foot back and extends the
other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it
under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play.
By now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he makes
his way across the stage to his chair. They remain reverently silent while
he undoes the clasps on his legs. They wait until he is ready to play.
But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars,
one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap -it went off
like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant.
There was no mistaking what he had to do.
People who were there that night thought to themselves: "We figured that he
would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp
his way off stage - to either find another violin or else find another
string for this one."
But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then
signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played
from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power
and such purity as they had never heard before. Of course, anyone knows that
it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know
that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that.
You could see him modulating, changing, recomposing the piece in his head.
At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds
from them that they had never made before.
When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people
rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every
corner of the auditorium. We were all on our feet, screaming and cheering,
doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what he had done.
He smiled, wiped the sweat from this brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and
then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone, "You
know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can
still make with what you have left."
What a powerful line that is. It has stayed in my mind ever since I heard
it. And who knows? Perhaps that is the [way] of life--not just for artists
but for all of us.
So, perhaps our task in this shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in
which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then,
when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left.
By Jack Riemer, Houston Chronicle
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Day 8
“Then Peter, why are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets, having this same conversation? Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, Peter, are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world...."
-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in LDS conference talk titled "The First Great Commandment"
Monday, December 24, 2012
Day 7
Talent is not a thing, It is a process.
- ? (Possibly Thomas A. Limoncelli)
Extreme LED Sheep Herding
- ? (Possibly Thomas A. Limoncelli)
Extreme LED Sheep Herding
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Day 6
"A man who has attained mastery of an art reveals it in his every action."
-Samurai maxim
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Day 5
"You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."
-Henry Drummond
Lindsey Stirling - We Found Love
-Henry Drummond
Lindsey Stirling - We Found Love
Friday, December 21, 2012
Day 4
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."
-Thomas Jefferson
Nickelback - If Everyone Cared
As seen on policeOne.com's Facebook page...
-Thomas Jefferson
Nickelback - If Everyone Cared
As seen on policeOne.com's Facebook page...
"On
Monday, his day off, my husband put on his police uniform, drove our
daughter to school in his patrol car, sat in the parking lot until lunch
time and then went in and ate lunch with a cafeteria full of
7-year-olds. He talked to them, put straws in their Capri Suns, opened
their applesauce containers and was a symbol to them of safety and
comfort. I knew he was great when I snagged him"- posted by Kristie Lee
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Day 3
"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
-Helen Keller
People are awesome 2011
-Helen Keller
People are awesome 2011
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Day 2
"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
-John Wooden
Def Leppard's one armed drummer, Rick Allen
-John Wooden
Def Leppard's one armed drummer, Rick Allen
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Day 1
"Love doesn't sit there like a stone, It has to be made, Like bread; remade all the time, made new."
-Ursula K. Le Quin
A series of video clips taken from various sources to depict Noah and the Whale's "Give a Little Love."
Noah and the Whale, "Give a Little Love"
A series of video clips taken from various sources to depict Noah and the Whale's "Give a Little Love."
Pilot Saves Airplane and Passengers After Propeller Falls Off In Flight
A Cessna 172B pilot in Mexico had to save his plane after his airplane propeller detached in flight. Yes, detached. Plonk. You can see the action from the cockpit in this video, including the exhilaration and relief of the passengers at the end.
Before the first cut the plane is good, with the propeller still on. The next one, it's off, but the engine is still running to keep power in the plane. Then you can hear pilot—steel nerves, not a single sign of nervousness—and co-pilot discussing where to land, looking for a place—"there are some trees" the pilot comments calmly at one point—until they spot the road in which he finally performs a perfect emergency landing.
"I've never felt death so near," says one of the women who was travelling in the back. "Our propeller fell," repeats the copilot after getting out of the plane, which landed successfully on a road. Skip to the end to see the Cessna' nose without its propeller.
I love how the pilot kept his cool at all times, even thinking about puttingthe GPS away to avoid hitting the passengers behind with it in case of a rougher emergency landing. And of course, the screams of happiness at the end. [Thanks Iván!]
-Ursula K. Le Quin
A series of video clips taken from various sources to depict Noah and the Whale's "Give a Little Love."
Noah and the Whale, "Give a Little Love"
A series of video clips taken from various sources to depict Noah and the Whale's "Give a Little Love."
Pilot Saves Airplane and Passengers After Propeller Falls Off In Flight
A Cessna 172B pilot in Mexico had to save his plane after his airplane propeller detached in flight. Yes, detached. Plonk. You can see the action from the cockpit in this video, including the exhilaration and relief of the passengers at the end.
Before the first cut the plane is good, with the propeller still on. The next one, it's off, but the engine is still running to keep power in the plane. Then you can hear pilot—steel nerves, not a single sign of nervousness—and co-pilot discussing where to land, looking for a place—"there are some trees" the pilot comments calmly at one point—until they spot the road in which he finally performs a perfect emergency landing.
"I've never felt death so near," says one of the women who was travelling in the back. "Our propeller fell," repeats the copilot after getting out of the plane, which landed successfully on a road. Skip to the end to see the Cessna' nose without its propeller.
I love how the pilot kept his cool at all times, even thinking about puttingthe GPS away to avoid hitting the passengers behind with it in case of a rougher emergency landing. And of course, the screams of happiness at the end. [Thanks Iván!]
Something Different, Something Better
I have been griping for years about the current state of popular media, it's endless stream of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Shows which always hang in the morally grey area, Amazing villains, and dysfunctional "Heroes".
I am a firm believer in the principle "You are what you eat". I believe this would be better said "You are what you consume", as it applies not just to what food we ingest, but also what we think about, the shows we watch, the music we listen to. It all has an influence on the choices we make, and the actions we take.
Today, I decided I would try to do something about that. This blog is my tiny effort to stem the flow of negative, media, or at least provide an alternate, more positive stream.
My goal with this blog is to have a post every day, for the next 365 days. I hope to include at least the following in each post:
A positive, uplifting quote.
A link to a video with a positive message, or a video of someone('s) doing something amazing.
At least once a week I want to also include a (relatively current if possible) story highliting someone who did something worth knowing about. Something.... heroic.
I could use some help with this. If you come across good stories or videos, or quotes, please send them my way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)