“Marathon Thoughts” shares one man’s stream of consciousness while running 26.2 miles. If you’ve run a marathon, perhaps you’ve experienced one or more of these thoughts. If you’ve not had the pleasure of running far for a very long time, then consider what you may be missing!
Richie Moriarty is “the star” in this video published by Improv Asylum, a comedy and improv club in Boston, MA.
(found via Doris Dirks on Facebook.com)
Factoid: 5,000 = The number of PhDs in the U.S. who are working as janitors.
This factoid from a 2010 National Bureau of Economic Research working paper has been making the rounds this week — inspiring renewed discussion regarding the value of a higher education degree. On reddit.com, the thread [Today I learned] there are over 5,000 janitors in the U.S. with PhDs. attracted 823 comments. The Daily cited the original NBER working paper in their Boxes and Briefs section for their January 9, 2012 edition; adding that “17 million Americans with college degrees hold jobs below their eduction level.” Continue reading “Will a higher education degree prepare you for the future?” »
I really love this 15-minute documentary about the Los Angeles office of TBWA/Chiat/Day Advertising. The piece was directed and edited by Matthew Kalish.
Aside from enjoying a hip/fun soundtrack with tunes from the 1970s to present, in this video you will see and learn about: Continue reading “An insider’s view of Chiat/Day” »
I have been thinking a lot about if I will have enough time and money to do all the things I would like to in this life.
I consider myself lucky when considering the opportunities I have had thus far. I was born in America, I have a graduate-level education, I work at a prestigious institution with wonderful people who care about what they are working on, and have a life filled with family and friends.
Despite great opportunities, life presents challenges and expenses – which can result in significant uncertainty. Managing what needs to be done now and in the next few weeks or months is important. But, what about making sure that there are conditions and finances available that will promote a secure future? Continue reading “Will one million dollars be enough for retirement?” »
Wanting to help people in your community and to make the world a better place is an admirable goal. Though finding the right charity to support can be challenging. Beyond finding a charity that is doing work that you feel is relevant and meaningful, you now have to consider if the charity is legitimate or not. Continue reading “How to tell if a charity is legitimate, responsible, and trustworthy” »
Creating fun pop-up cards that will delight your family and friends is not as hard as you might expect. Three authors have written books that provide step-by-step instructions for how to plan, cut, and assemble your own pop-up cards. Rather than give a card that is read and set aside or plays silly music, why not wow those you care about with one of the unique cards described in these easy to read books? Continue reading “Four great books that will help you learn how to make pop-up cards” »
The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals may soon receive a significant donation from an event coordinated by Microsoft titled Gaming for Good. The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011. Participants are encouraged to raise money donated from family and friends for each hour spent playing games. Gaming for Good partners include GameStop and 2K — who have already raised more than $70,000 (U.S.) for the Children’s Miracle Network.
The Children’s Miracle Network, since 1983, has raised more than $4B (U.S.) to help more than 170 children’s hospitals in the United States and Canada. Donations have often been raised one or two dollars at a time.
While raising money for a charity by having people pledge or fund an activity an individual plans to do is not really a new idea for fundraising, there is potential for this event to have multiple positive outcomes beyond additional funds for the charity:
What impact might funds raised to assist children have? According to the National Cancer Institute, 10,700 new cases of pediatric cancer were expected to be diagnosed in children between birth and fourteen years of age in 2010. While the pediatric cancer survival rate has been raised to more than 80 percent, the experience for children and their families must be challenging.
Caroline Davies, writer for the Guardian, reported that celebrity David Walliams raised £1m for the charity Sport Relief by completing an eight-day 140 mile swim in the river Thames. Williams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for a television sketch titled Little Britain and another show titled Rock Profile.
Sport Relief is an annual event intended to raise funds to “help people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world’s poorest countries.” Partners for the event included Sainsbury’s, SportsDirect.com, British Telecom, and British Airways. Funds raised are allocated through Comic Relief, a UK charity whose goal has been to “create a just world free from poverty” for more than 25 years.
Gaining the support of a well known celebrity can contribute to building awareness for your cause, charity, or event. Add to that an incredible physical challenge, like that tackled by Walliams, and you have a story that should give your audience pause — encouraging them to consider how something that might seem extremely challenging can be overcome. Trying to curb poverty and hunger throughout the world is something as challenging for the global community to address as a single man’s effort to swim 140 miles of the longest river in England.
According to worldhunger.org, 925 million people experience malnutrition. While the world produces enough food to feed the global population, many people lack access to land for growing food, income to purchase food, or access to sufficient amounts of food. While the £1m raised by Walliams for Sport Relief will certainly be able to feed some. It will hardly be sufficient for resolving the larger problem at hand.
In 1939 the British Government produced a poster intended to bolster the morale of their people in the event an invasion and re-entered popular culture in 2000 (Wikipedia, 2011). I love the color, design, and typography of this poster. Continue reading “Gotham typeface: inherently inspiring a sense of change and hope?” »
Over the weekend Nicole and I wanted to learn a little more about the neighborhood in which we live. In particular, detail about ordinances for Kalamazoo Township and property/parcel information for Kalamazoo County.
After a little research, I found three useful websites on this topic (which I wanted to bookmark/note here for future use) Continue reading “Where to find Kalamazoo County ordinance and property/parcel information” »
