i carry your heart
A poem by e.e. cummings. 🙂
DrawAStickman.com
Draw a stickman, then watch as the story unfolds in front of you…and help him with props you draw for him!
Crazy Paper Transformer
Watch as a simple sheet of paper is meticulously transformed into a foldable, moldable toy!
Writing Character Profiles
Make character profiles for all your fictional characters, one by one, with this helpful, detailed list.
Most of us who play games on our computers don’t think twice about doing it. In fact, it’s fairly accepted these days to spend much of your leisure time playing a game while sitting at your computer, whether you’re playing Farmville on a laptop or playing World of Warcraft on your gaming rig.
But all this sitting still hunched over a keyboard could actually be doing you more harm in the long run, not in terms of hours lost in gaming, but in years lost from your life, and in hours of future pain.
Think I’m joking, or exaggerating? Sadly, I’m not. And this can affect not only marathon gamers, but marathon computer users in general.
Sitting Still: A Risk Factor for Several Modern-Day Health Plagues
A study has shown that sitting too long can increase risk of cancer, especially colon and breast cancer. Other studies have shown an increased risk for type II diabetes and slowed metabolism in people who either choose to be seated more often, or have to be seated for their jobs.
None of these health conditions are anything we’d wish upon ourselves intentionally. Yet many of us, especially people who are glued to our machines, like I am, may run into these very health problems if we’re not careful.
I’m not saying that we have to all drop our monthly gaming subscription for a gym membership, but we need to be more aware of how much time we spend sitting. The number of hours may surprise you, if you were to note just how many hours per day you spend sitting in front of the computer. Computer gamers are especially at risk, I believe, because games can become addictive very easily and quickly; we can become absorbed in what’s going on and forget about our physical bodies entirely.
Other Health Risks Posed by Long-Term Gaming/Computer Use
But sitting still is not the only thing we need to be worried about, as computer users and gamers. Other, more “minor” conditions like bad posture, eye strain, and poor circulation can haunt us as well. Also, those who type a lot or who work intricately with the keyboard and mouse may suffer neck and shoulder pain, swelling and twitching in the fingers, even arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. (I’ve often wondered if some of my recent headaches can’t be traced back to bad posture at the keyboard.)
Computer users, including gamers, strain their backs, eyes, and wrists more often than anything. And, if not treated, all these conditions could put us out of commission in ways we don’t even think about. For instance, I never used to think anything about sitting at my computer and typing/surfing the Internet for ages. Now, though, I find my wrists becoming sore after a while, and I’ve even had shooting pains run through my wrists into the base of my palms (one of the first heralds of carpal tunnel syndrome). Not only does that threaten my continued computer use, but it threatens my budding writing career as well as my piano skills.
Another thing we don’t think about much is our eating habits while we’re gaming or otherwise using the computer. Sometimes we skip mealtimes because we’re zoned into our technology; sometimes we eat mindlessly in front of the screen like it’s a TV. Neither of these eating strategies are healthy–the former leaves us hungry, out of sorts, and low on blood sugar, while the other can sabotage any efforts we’re trying to make to stay healthy (as well as any efforts at keeping the keyboard clean!).
As gamers and as computer-literate people, we need to be just as literate about our bodies and how much stress we put them through. It may not feel like we’re doing all that bad by our health, but as evidenced by the pains in my wrists and hands, I am living proof that our health situations can change without much warning.
Solutions to “Sitting and Gaming” Health Problems
Resources to Learn More
Sitting Still: Health Risks
5 Reasons Why Sitting at the Computer Can Be a Health Risk
Sitting Too Much May Double Your Risk of Dying, Study Shows
Get Up! Sitting Less Can Add Years to Your Life
Laptops and Their Impact on Your Health
Risks Associated with Computer Keyboard Use
Preventing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
TrekDesk.com
Treadmill-Desk.com
Zechariah 12:10
10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
400 years before Jesus was born, this Scripture was written, which seems to foretell the Crucifixion. Reading this Scripture literally gives me chills, thinking about how this mirrors what we read about the actual Crucifixion in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
Here, Zechariah is retelling an oracle he’s received from the Lord, saying that God will pour out “a spirit of grace and supplication” on both “the house of David” and those who live in Jerusalem on the day that the Messiah is sacrificed. When the Messiah is crucified (“pierced”), that spirit, which we can take to mean the Holy Spirit, will descend over the onlooking crowd, and they will see the Messiah as one of great faith, a faith which they only realized after His death. I hear echoes of Mark 15:39 here (“And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard him cry and saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!'”).
This is just one of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, for whom the Israelites and their descendants waited four centuries…and the way it connects up with the New Testament is amazing. Though the Old and New Testament sometimes seem to be greatly divergent in tone and in subject matter, sections like these foreshadow Jesus and connect the Old Testament’s laws and messages directly with His ministry.
(Don’t worry, I’m still progressing on the Clutter Dragon Saga! I’m just taking a little time off to regroup before I continue my onslaught on the evil Closet of Hoarding. 😛 )
Today’s post is about a very important part of de-cluttering, one that most people don’t take into account. Once you’ve cleaned up and de-cluttered your space, what do you do with the stuff you chose to keep? And more importantly, how do you FIND it all again?
If you’re like me, you probably stuffed the “keepable” items into any convenient box and put them away willy-nilly, all in the name of “keeping them from getting stomped on/destroyed” in the savage process of cleaning. However, that approach doesn’t help you actually FIND those items you stored when you need them next.
How Do I Know This? I Lived It
A couple of days ago, I was sorting through my HeroClix collection, admiring the way I could now access them all because of the cleaner state of the closet. All was going well, until I realized something: where were my HeroClix character cards? These cards, printed alongside the newer HeroClix figures, are essential to gameplay…and they were ALL missing.
You can probably imagine what happened next. I began to tear through the closet shelves, searching through all those boxes I had haphazardly stuffed items into, praying fervently that I hadn’t thrown them away. “Surely I would have known better,” I kept thinking. “Surely I wouldn’t have gotten so carried away as to throw something like THAT away!”
What I was experiencing is every hoarder’s nightmare, and probably one reason I stayed away from de-cluttering for so long. It seems that every time I get the cleaning bug, I end up losing track of everything I want to keep–even to the point of “keepable” items getting accidentally thrown away.
In this case, however, the crisis was over within an hour, as I found the box of character cards in the closet–they were crammed behind a box of items utterly unrelated to HeroClix, and thus they were invisible to my panicked eye. But the panic soon resolved itself into indignation: why is it that I can always find things in a messy room, but never find things in a clean room?
The “Logical Place” Trap–It IS a Trap!
It never fails: when I’m cleaning and reorganizing, I handle each item, then put it away in a place that’s “more logical” than the place I had put it before. “Surely I’ll remember to find it here,” I always think. “This location just makes more sense.”
The problem? The “more logical” place is definitely NOT the place I’ve been keeping the item for years on end. Thus, I never remember to LOOK in the “more logical” place!
That was the problem with my HeroClix character cards. For four years, I’d kept the box of character cards on my blue plastic dresser (the one I cleaned off in this blog post). I honestly did not remember having moved them to the closet, though I figured I’d probably put them somewhere close to the HeroClix figures which were already stored in the closet. Nevertheless, when I began my panicky search, where did I look first? The top of the dresser.
Solution: List and Label Everything AS You Organize
Don’t save this step for last, and don’t be daunted by how big this task sounds. I will tell you now, if I had stopped and done this while I was cleaning, I could have saved an hour of hair-tearing panic.
#1: List Everything You’re Keeping and Note Its Location
As you clean and sort items into “keep,” “toss,” or “sell” piles, keep paper and a writing instrument handy. Note all the items that you’re keeping, and out to the side of each notation, write a short description of the place you’ve put it in, or where in the room you’ve placed it.
An example:
…and my list could go on and on…but you get the idea.
#2: Label The Locations
Listing your items, however, is only half the process. Once you’ve listed where everything is housed, at least temporarily, then you’ll need to label the locations accordingly. (Post-It notes or some other kind of sticky notes are absolutely GENIUS for this.)
Why do you need to label every box and container? Because in the wake of your massive cleaning effort, you have made the room a very different place, so you need to ease the disorientation factor as much as possible. (Think you can’t be disoriented in a clean room? I beg to differ. I still wake up surprised that I can walk to my window without having to wade through junk. XD)
So, using the first example of gift cards in a bright red shoebox, I would stick a label reading “GIFT CARDS” on the box, somewhere where I can easily read it. Label every location (especially closed storage!) so that you can quickly scan through your newly-organized stuff and know where everything is.
Why Does This Solution Work?
Writing labels on Post-It notes or other easily-removable labels means that you won’t have to scratch through or tear off more permanent styles of labels (like Sharpie labels or typed labels). It allows you to have a more flexible system as you determine what locations truly are “logical” for certain items, and which items you actually do need access to more or less frequently. After you’ve gotten your organization system in place, you can add more permanent labels to your storage areas. But let the organization be a little more free-form, at least for a little while, so you can make a few changes even as you get re-familiarized with all your new, tidy storage places.
For instance, if you decide to take the gift cards out of the red box to put them in with the program install discs in the green box, all you have to do is remove the corresponding Post-It note from the red box and add it to the green box. Done! What could be easier than that?
Those of us who are not tidy/organized by nature (like me) have to have some time to get used to being organized, and the list of items plus the temporary labels do just that. It also helps you be aware of just how much stuff you have, and possibly points out unnecessary duplicates along the way.
Summary
De-cluttering does not have to lead to the new stress of losing track of your possessions! Keep your will to de-clutter alive by keeping track of your kept items, and labeling their new homes within your newly-tidy space. Believe me, it will make the whole process a lot smoother!
More and more, webdesigners and developers are running sites that allow users to comment on articles (such as this blog). This provides a miniature forum experience for the users, and a valuable form of feedback for the content author.
…Well, at least it CAN be valuable, if you know how to extract useful information from those comments. But the process of dealing with comments, even if they are positive and encouraging, can be overwhelming for content authors who are new to the process.
Thus, I have a few tips for handling comments of all sorts, mainly garnered from my own experience as a content author over the last nine years.
Positive/Supportive Commentary: Do’s and Don’t’s
Do:
Don’t:
With positive commentary, it’s pretty easy to handle; we all like getting virtual “pats on the back” for our efforts. Most times, thanking the person and returning the comment favor on their site can be enough. (And who knows, you might find that you and the positive commenter can affiliate or link-exchange, helping to give each other a little traffic.)
Critical/Politely Disagreeing Commentary: Do’s and Don’t’s
Do:
Don’t:
Despite our best intentions as content authors, when we write opinion pieces, there are always going to be people whose opinions differ from ours. Differing opinions are okay, as long as all involved parties keep it civil and stick to expanding and fleshing out the topic at hand.
When someone has taken the time to politely disagree with you, and has explained why they have a different opinion, it’s important to answer them as thoroughly as you can, and to thank them for providing a different perspective. Remember, other readers of your blog can be enriched by a balanced group of perspectives, so the critical commenter might actually be doing you a favor!
Abusive/Inflammatory Commentary: Do’s and Don’t’s
Do:
Don’t:
Unfortunately, there are some people in this world who thrive on a good debate…except that they define debate as “ticking off everybody on the Internet and having a good laugh at the results.” Rather than being a source for a balanced perspective or polite dissent, the abusive commenter lives to make conflict, spam hateful messages, and incite anger wherever they can.
Deal with them as politely as you can at first; do not mistake a critical commenter for an abusive one, whatever you do. But if the comments the person leaves are taking the focus completely away from the topic, or if they are just hateful spam, then you as the content author (and website owner) need to take action to ensure that everyone who visits your site has a positive overall experience. (Blocking their IP address is a drastic step, but it may be best for everyone involved.)
Summary
Writing for the web means that you’ll be getting commentary of all sorts from others. Learning how to respond to each type of commentary (supportive, critical, and abusive) can help you maintain a better relationship with your users and a better atmosphere for your site.
When I’m feeling generally down or just not inspired to create anymore, sometimes I use music to help me get back some of those drained creative juices. So I’ll turn on a little music to make me happy, or some music that makes me want to achieve the same kind of beauty I’m hearing. It always works–sooner rather than later, my mood is lifted and my Muse is hard at work again.
Here’s a short playlist of songs that work for me, to make me happy and excited about music all over again. Listen through and enjoy!
Songs for a Happy, Inspired Creator
Flashdance (What a Feeling) – Irene Cara
Uptight (Everything’s Alright) – Stevie Wonder
Shout – The Isley Brothers
The Touch – Stan Bush (from Transformers)
(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life – Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (from Dirty Dancing)
When Love Takes Over (feat. Kelly Rowland) – David Guetta
How Will I Know (Junior Vasquez Mix) – Whitney Houston
Let’s Get Loud – Jennifer Lopez
That’s the Way It Is – Celine Dion
Pyramid (Dave Aude Radio Edit) – Charice
Somewhere Only We Know – Keane
Songs to Make Me Want to Sing and Play
Bloody Tears from Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (performed by Rey Tang on Youtube)
Lux Aurumque – Eric Whitacre’s YouTube Choir
To Zanarkand (from Final Fantasy X) – Final Fantasy Orchestra
Saltwater – Chicane
Speak Softly Love – City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Radical Dreamers (Instrumental) – Yasunori Mitsuda (from Chrono Cross)
All I Ask of You (from Phantom of the Opera) – Sarah Brightman and Cliff Richard
Water World Theme (from Super Mario 64) – Koji Kondo
The Call – Regina Spektor
Before Dawn – Isaac Shepard
I giorni – Ludovico Einaudi
As Internet (and especially social media) have become more and more popular, music has begun making its way around the world in record time. It’s not surprising that many artists and bands now get their start via the Internet, given that it’s fairly cheap to use and promote your songs, garnering the attention of record labels if you’re very lucky.
But the Internet is also great for circulating music that makes us laugh, makes us cry, or even makes us put our hands over our ears (but not before we share it with our friends so that we can commiserate). Here below is a small playlist of some of the songs and memes that have made it big because of the Internet:
Gangnam Style – PSY
Can’t leave this one off the list! Even the radio stations in my little section of North Carolina played this dancey little K-pop tune, which also popularized the dance (and many hilarious attempts at imitating it).
Link to Video
Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley
I couldn’t directly embed this video, but the link above is the original 80s song from which all Rickroll memes spawned. 😀
Peanut Butter Jelly Time
You know what time it is. (I’ve always thought this would be a great official song for preschools everywhere… XD)
This is the infamous “Leekspin” meme; image is Inoue from the anime Bleach, song is “Ieva’s Polokka” by Loituma. As addictive as it is repetitive, this little song started as a website and grew quickly to an Internet phenomenon.
Link to Game
Surrealism (from Loops of Zen) – XGamer
A user by the screenname of XGamer created this darkly ethereal tune for a Flash game called Loops of Zen, and the song went on to become just about as popular as the game.
Call on Me – Eric Prydz
Using just the chorus from “Valerie” by Steve Winwood, Eric Prydz created this upbeat little dance track, and it caught the Internet on fire soon after.
Red Solo Cup – Toby Keith
You can’t watch this video or listen to this song without snickering–it’s a hilarious (and eerily accurate) depiction of a casual party, complete with (you guessed it) red Solo cups for the drinks.
I Dreamed a Dream (performed by Susan Boyle)
We all laughed with the judges and the audience as Boyle introduced herself…and then, our jaws dropped along with everyone else’s as she began to sing. :’)
Canon Rock – JerryC
An absolutely amazing arrangement of Canon in D by Pachelbel–adding a heavy metal guitar to the graceful, liquid chords gives this placid little song a modern, rockin’ edge. 😀
Moskau – Dschinghis Khan
Nobody on the Internet seemed to know what this was or who was singing it for the longest time, but it seemed we ALL knew this disco dance song!
Numa Numa (also known as Dragostea Din Tei, by the Romanian band O-Zone)
As with Moskau, no one seemed to know the name of this song, the band’s name, or anything–we all got to know this song because of one internet user who happened to record himself singing (funnily) along with the song. 🙂
Friday – Rebecca Black
Yes, yes, I know, cringe in horror and run away from the computer screen if you must, but this song did get popular mainly because of the Internet (and because of all the parodies surrounding it, too!).
Threw It On the Ground – The Lonely Island
One of this band’s many online hits, this song is a satire of the “thug” and “gangsta” attitudes as much as it is funny for the sight gags in it.
Tunak Tunak Tun – Daler Mehndi
This Indian artist was critiqued so much for his videos starring beautiful women as dancers that he decided to play a trick on his critics; he did this song’s entire music video using only himself as all the “dancers,” with all the latest in video-editing and green-screen technologies. It soon became his largest hit because of the Internet. Funny how that worked! 😛
Whether you’re playing on a console, a handheld device, or your computer, sometimes you need a little musical inspiration for defeating the bad guys in your favorite games. (Personally, the following playlist is almost exactly like the one I use for playing City of Heroes! :D)
So, I’ve gathered up these songs, each one a fight song in its own right, to keep you kicking butt and taking names (virtually, of course). Enjoy this extended playlist!
We’re Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister
Indestructible – Disturbed
Dies Irae (Wrath of God) from Verdi’s “Requiem”
C*m On Feel the Noize – Quiet Riot
Think – Aretha Franklin
Uprising – Muse
You Give Love a Bad Name – Bon Jovi
Gotta Get Thru This – Daniel Bedingfield
Through the Fire and Flames – Dragonforce
Unstoppable (feat. Lil Wayne) – Kat Deluna
Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple
War – Edwin Starr
Burn It to the Ground – Nickelback
Trouble – P!nk
Rock You Like a Hurricane – Scorpions
Brave – Kelis
Invincible – Pat Benatar
Headstrong – Trapt
These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra
Bulletproof – La Roux
4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland) – Madonna
We Will Rock You – Queen
Music is a definite part of my worship process; I love singing about God and to God. I know He hears me, and I know I can use song as prayer and worship both. So many times we get caught up in the “style” of worship music, and we forget that it’s all meant to honor and praise God.
Today, I’m offering a playlist of all sorts of worship songs. Play through and enjoy, and have your own worship time right there at your computer. 🙂
Place in This World – Michael W. Smith
As the Deer
How Great Thou Art (performed by Elvis Presley)
Still – Hillsong
Shout to the Lord (performed by Darlene Zschech)
In the Garden (performed by Alan Jackson)
Give Me Jesus – Fernando Ortega
Arise My Love – Newsong
I’d Rather Have Jesus – George Beverly Shea
Because He Lives
I Bless Your Name – Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Glorious Day – Casting Crowns
Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) – Chris Tomlin
I Will Not Be Moved – Natalie Grant
Total Praise – Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Orphans of God – Avalon
One of the things I love most about being a songwriter is that I can write songs that make people think. I can raise awareness about issues, I can talk about my own personal struggles, and I can even champion a cause with my voice and my piano.
Many, many songwriters have done the same over the years (and centuries!), often with amazing results. Here is just an itty-bitty teeny-tiny cross-section of songs that have made people think, reason, and change their views over the years:
Another Day in Paradise – Phil Collins
About how we can all too easily miss the signs that someone else is in need.
Allentown – Billy Joel
Describing the consequences of job loss and falling economy in Allentown.
Soldier in the Rain – England Dan and John Ford Coley
About a soldier who comes home from war, only to feel that his old life is closed off to him.
Imagine – John Lennon
About revisualizing the world’s boundaries (in personal, religious, and social ways)–even if you don’t end up adopting the mindset.
Not Ready to Make Nice – Dixie Chicks
About conflict and forgiveness (or being too mad to forgive), both for the specific political situation the band faced as well as in general.
Dirty Laundry – Don Henley
About the increasing sensationalism in the media, and the public’s increasing hunger for it.
Hurricane – 30 Seconds to Mars
Asks a good question: “Would you kill to prove you’re right?” Describes the “hurricane” of conflicting opinions/factions we all live in today, and the desire to just hide from them all “underground.”
Jesus, Friend of Sinners – Casting Crowns
About the modern church (and the historical church, too) and all the human sins we let pass for “standing up for God”. Also teaches what “loving like Jesus” really means.
The Needle and the Damage Done – Neil Young
About drug addiction and the pain/heartbreak it brings.
HOPE (feat. Faith Evans) – Twista
About maintaining hope in the face of tragedy, whether personal or social.
American Pie – Don McLean
Does this song even NEED an introduction? …NAAAH!
One Day (feat. Akon) – Matisyahu
About the gritty reality of our modern life, contrasted with the dream of worldwide peace.
Hypnotize – System of a Down
About social protest and society’s attempt to cover it up or silence it…and how it affects even those who think they have no stake in the issues.
Find The Cost of Freedom – Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Short but poignant song about war’s real cost.
Alyssa Lies – Jason Michael Carroll
About child abuse and how it affects others who see the evidence.
Hotel California – The Eagles
Describing the bleakness and hollowness of the California drug scene in the ’70s.
The Trees – Rush
About political unrest and ideological clashes.
Ohio – Crosby Stills Nash and Young
About protesting the Kent State shootings in 1970.
The Man in the Mirror – Michael Jackson
About social and political awareness, and how the impulse to make positive change begins with each individual person.
Home – Phillip Phillips
About belonging, and having a home to return to.