A People's History of the United States The Note: This great book should really be read by everyone. It is difficult to describe why it so great because it both teaches and inspires. You really just have to read it. We think it is so good that it demands to be as accessible as possible. Once you've finished it, we're sure you'll agree. The disclaimer: This version is made from OCR.
Ten things we know to be true – Company – Google We first wrote these “10 things” when Google was just a few years old. From time to time we revisit this list to see if it still holds true. We hope it does—and you can hold us to that. Focus on the user and all else will follow. Your New Year’s Resolutions Guide When you find yourself counting down on New Year’s Eve and welcoming 2014, what do you feel? Do you feel excitement? Anxiety? Dullness? Celebrate the Past One of the first aspects of the new year that teachers overlook is that they fail to perceive it as a chance to celebrate the end of the previous year. It’s important to examine three critical areas when looking back over the course of a year. As you continue down your own path of connectedness, consider some of these... Anti-bullying activist Jodee Blanco shares her 10-step guide for teachers to... As teachers, we’re all at least vaguely aware of the four “C’s” of education—... Use these Halloween creative writing prompts for a quick Halloween activity or... Here are a few fun classroom ideas to help you celebrate Family History Month. The second area is your failures: what did you screw up? If you can take some time to think about each of these three areas, then you will truly have something to celebrate about 2013. Celebrate the Future
Two New Principles of Applied Improvisation - The Applied Improvisation Network Is it possible that there are some principles of applied improvisation that we have overlooked? Have we cast these current model in stone and is there space to play with improvisation itself? Read on... Over the last twenty years, I've been involved in improvisation in a range of different fields. Through Brighton's Theatrelab, which was based at the Marlborough Theatre (as well as other spaces in Brighton) we explored improvisation as a group from new perspectives. The Upstairs Theatre's play-in-a-day concept looked at how we can quickly flow from conception to live public performance. My work in the field of applied improvisation led to the creation of many new improvisation activities. Also working with Conscious Business UK and the Open Space community has allowed me to explore notions of presence and emergence. It's been through working in both the fields of theatre and organisational facilitation that I've come to identify some potential new principles of applied improvisation.
Everything you need to know about life under Obamacare What is Obamacare? It's more than just a bumper sticker. (Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi) “Obamacare” is what we’ve all apparently decided to call the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a set of health reforms passed by the Congress and signed into law by President Obama in March 2010. The law itself touches on everything from how hospitals are reimbursed for care to whether chain restaurants post calorie counts on their menus. But, generally, by "Obamacare" most people mean the provisions of the law that relate to the efforts to insure about 30 million Americans through subsidized private insurance or government-provided Medicaid. When is Obamacare? Soon! Are you sure it will really start then? Pretty sure. Will Obamacare be available in every state? Some of it will, some of it won’t. What makes this particularly troublesome for the law (and, more to the point, for the uninsured) is that there are no subsidies for private insurance for people making less than the poverty line. Er, no. No.
On the other end of a Craigslist ad After the Victorian wardrobe salvage saga… After spending four hours in an unheated building. After ripping apart a wall with a toothpick. After loading and unloading a truck until nearly midnight… Paul told me to stop looking on Craigslist for a while. I nodded and pretended like he was the one who made such decisions. Then I went and looked on Craigslist. Now. 1. There are lots, and lots, and lots of mirrors in the antique-listings on craigslist. So I closed the tab… and told myself it was nothing. But a few weeks later, I saw it again… and the primordial-mirror-troll that lives in my head said: you should find out what that is. And I was like—look, mirror-troll: A. And the mirror-troll said— What if it’s fancy? So I emailed the guy. Did you read that? Did you read it closely? Is there any description that could possibly be more appealing to me than something that looks like a KINGDOM? No. The mirror-troll was like— S.C.O.R.E. The mirror-troll said—I bet it’s not that big. I was like– word.
Viewpoint: Is gap year volunteering a bad thing? Volunteering abroad to build schools or dig wells might make people feel good about themselves - but it can be detrimental to those who are supposed to be helped, writes tour company founder Daniela Papi. I've volunteered all over the world - building homes in Papua New Guinea, doing post-tsunami work in Sri Lanka, helping paint a school in Thailand - and I used to think it was the best way to travel. In 2005 I even organised my own volunteer trip - a bike ride across Cambodia with five friends. There turned out to be more than one small problem. Much of the money we had raised for other small projects had been wasted, or landed in corrupt hands. I decided to stay in Cambodia a bit longer to see how we could better use our time and money. To raise money for our work, I started a volunteer travel company that led hundreds of volunteers on trips to Cambodia. Our lack of critical engagement about international volunteering is creating a double standard.
Why Self-Compassion Trumps Self-Esteem In this incredibly competitive society of ours, how many of us truly feel good about ourselves? I remember once, as a freshman in college, after spending hours getting ready for a big party, I complained to my boyfriend that my hair, makeup, and outfit were woefully inadequate. He tried to reassure me by saying, “Don’t worry, you look fine.” Juan Estey “Fine? The desire to feel special is understandable. Not very well. How can we grow if we can’t acknowledge our own weaknesses? Continually feeding our need for positive self-evaluation is a bit like stuffing ourselves with candy. The result is often devastating. And of course, the goalposts for what counts as “good enough” seem always to remain out of reach. Another way So what’s the answer? When I first came across the idea of “self-compassion,” it changed my life almost immediately. I remember talking to my new fiancé, Rupert, who joined me for the weekly Buddhist group meetings, and shaking my head in amazement. An island of calm
House Republicans and the Betrayal of Democracy | Geoffrey R. Stone Get Politics Newsletters: A threat is an expression of intention to inflict harm on others unless the target of the threat agrees to do what the person making the threat demands. A threat uses coercion rather than persuasion to effect change. As a general rule, democratic governments do not negotiate with those who threaten their people with harm. The reason is simple: Democracies should not make public policy in response to threats, and those who threaten should not be rewarded for threatening harm to the nation. What makes the House Republicans' decision to shut down the federal government an immoral and unconscionable "threat" rather than an ordinary political disagreement? Of course, as the House Republicans glibly say on the talk shows, the Senate and the President can "solve" the problem any time they want by giving in to those who are inflicting ongoing harm to the nation. The behavior of the House Republicans is nothing short of reprehensible.
RubberDogTurds - My Facebook Cover/Profile mashups A Time to be Overcome 9.11.11 "Overcome" Live even now the world is bleedin' but feelin' just fine all numb in our castle where we're always free to choose never free enough to find i wish somethin' would break cuz we're runnin' out of time and i am overcome i am overcome holy water in my lungs i am overcome these women in the street pullin' out their hair my master's in the yard givin' light to the unaware this plastic little place is just a step amongst the stairs and i am overcome i am overcome baby holy water in my lungs i am overcome so drive me out out to that open field turn the ignition off and spin around your help is here but i'm parked in this open space blockin' the gates of love i am overcome i am overcome holy water in my lungs i am overcome beautiful drowning this beautiful drowning this holy water this holy water is in my lungs and i am overcome i am overcome i am overcome i am overcome Ten years ago on this day I was running late for school, this was not unusual. We are breathless. We are overcome.
Women’s Body Image Woes It’s documented that a portion of the population suffers from low self-esteem and body image issues. Some of those individuals may be willing to make significant sacrifices to obtain the “ideal body,” suggests The Succeed Foundation Body Image Survey, which included 320 women from 20 British universities. The women ranged in age from 18 to 65, with an average age of 24.5 years. The data revealed that 30% of respondents would trade at least 1 year of life to achieve ideal body weight and shape. More than 10% of them would be willing to deduct nearly $8,300 from their annual salary. “As someone who works with hundreds of women in the realm of body change as well as behavioral and mindset aspects of the process, the findings do not surprise me at all,” says Jill Coleman, owner of JillFit Physiques in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Do you find yourself experiencing feelings of dissatisfaction when looking in the mirror? Focus on Inches and Circumference.