The recession is over! Really??
Posted on September 20, 2010 | By Christian | No Comments
June 1 2009 - the new groundhog day?
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has announced the Great Recession is over! Apparently the experts have decided it began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. I don’t know what to say other than “what??”.
Headlights Reflecting on Gravestones, a Meandering Rant from The Slacker Factor Podcast TSF14
Posted on August 25, 2010 | By Patty Pino | No Comments
Headlights Reflecting on Gravestones
Driving home last night / I heard that tune / The one from the 70’s / About things being over
The singer is in denial / He “Keeps Forgetting” / Things have changed / You know the song
Everything ends / Jobs, friendships, relationships, life / Somehow we don’t expect that / Won’t except that
We hate that part / The ending / The Silence / Fini
We’re built to function in the moment / But the moment is ever changing / Always working towards finish
Electrons move to eventually settle / Yearning for finale
We keep forgetting / An inherent beauty exists / In conclusion
The sun slipping behind the horizon / The sculptor making a final tap / Resonance of strings culminating the concert
Ends allows us to pause / Take heed of our experience / And look to the next
Driving home last night / I passed that cemetery / The one close to the road / Where our grandparents are buried
Sometimes I forget / The pervasive artistry of endings
Until I see headlights / Reflecting on gravestones
~pp
< Listen to this rant, and more, on the podcast here or on iTunes TSF14: Hunger Never Ends >
Watch The Stress Melt Away
Posted on July 14, 2010 | By Patty Pino | 1 Comment
I bought a watch this weekend. Not the most provocative of things, I know, but I haven’t worn a wrist-based timepiece in years. Why? Because, who needs one?! I decided, years ago, that my computer, my cell phone, my cable box, and my car have all the clocks that I need. They keep me on time, or remind me when I’m late.
Let me stress the decision to abandon a watch was made years ago. Recently, I had a revelation; I, again, need a watch.
Learn the way of the Watch
Years ago, I simply had a cell phone; now, I have a BlackBerry. Years ago, I had a computer with email and a by-request internet connection; now, I have constant internet connectivity plus instant messenger. We have evolved to that connect-me-to-everyone-right-now stuff and instead of living in the moment, we are living outside the moment. I have become so busy responding to the immediate requests of others immediately, that I completely ignore the people I’m with and the actual conversation we’re having. To put it bluntly, I’ve become an anxious, rude, half-listener with attention deficit tendencies.
How many of you can say the same? Do you hang out with one group of people, but spend all of your time with them communicating with other people? Catch up with friends at the bar, and you’re all standing around texting friends who aren’t with you? Sitting in your living room with your family, but completely distracted from your kids conversation because you’re too busy updating your Facebook status?
Part of the problem is, when I go to check the time, I am sucked in to my email, my voicemails, my alerts, messages, tweets and the like. And, damn the moment and what I may be doing, I must reply immediately. I’m guilty if I don’t respond and I’m guilty if I do. Stress Recipe 101.
Hence, the watch and my new commitment to bringing myself back into the moment. I’m hoping it tell me what time it is – literally and figuratively. Looking at my wrist will unplug me from the device-dependant ridiculousness that has been so overwhelmingly distracting. Maybe you should consider conquering your time differently, too.
~pp
Wired on Chris Hardwick Joke Analysis
Posted on June 4, 2010 | By Patty Pino | 1 Comment
- Stagetime matters big time.
A long time ago, when Madonna didn’t speak with a British accent and the US was actually cleaning up oil spilled from that Exxon DUI in Alaska, I climbed onstage in front of a bar full of strangers and attempted to make them laugh. I succeeded, and those few minutes in a red-velvet-decorated strip mall comedy club changed my life. I could write a joke.
Before and since that night, I have enjoyed and analyzed comedy. (Admittedly, I analyze everything I enjoy.) How psyched was I, then, when the May 2010 issue of WIRED magazine featured comedian and Web Soup host Chris Hardwick’s article Crafting a Joke: The Arc of an Act? Completely, and I was completely impressed. Many, many comedy professionals and feigned comedic personalities have attempted to describe their joke processes, but Hardwick, in sharing his approach and the perspective of others, boils it down to the essentials.
Want people to laugh with you instead of just at you? Read Hardwick’s advice, start thinking funny, right it down, and go.
~pp
Negative? Who? Me???
Posted on May 19, 2010 | By Christian | 1 Comment
Borrowed from BT Internet Rangers
I was talking with a buddy of mine who reads the Slacker Factor and he commented that he enjoys the blog and podcast, but he said he thought I was a bit negative at times. Maybe even bordering on angry on occasion. I certainly don’t view myself as angry. In fact I know for certain that today the sun came up, a puppy was born, and a baby took his first steps. So, life is great!
Unfortunately, Glenn Beck still sucks.
