CommentingEverything is ever present. There was a time when we would not be watching live coverage of events. The world was not always with us.
We would learn of somethings–no matter how horrific or shocking– the next day. Or, at least, later. On the 11 o’clock news.
Life would not intrude with breaking news constantly. If we were informed of things happening now, it would be in the form of a newscaster’s announcements. We were not witnesses.
The inspiration for today is Crisis — via The Daily Post.
Crises are often personal, and sometimes global, but even the universal crisis is a personal one. You take it to heart and it upsets your day, your way of seeing things. Crises interfere with our daily lives.
Some are simply manufactured. Things happen in the world and fearmongers make us fearful of them. The things that happened are indeed bad, and scary, but once they happen they may not happen again, or not in the same way.
The personal is not generic
A crisis of conscious is extremely personal. It is your own. Have it, share it, make amends.
A disaster, manmade or natual, can cause crisis to ensue. Take control, and help out.
Most of us can only do so much. Do what you can, and let the rest be to fate.
The inspiration for this posting is via Clock — The Daily Post:
I have always loved clocks, not entirely because they mark the time, since I have never been that punctual.
I love clocks for their look and feel, for the secrets of time passing they hold. In other words, for me, the clock has mythical and mystical properties.
Tick tock go the minutes, tick tock pass the hours, turning into days. Time flies by and also moves slowly. It is embedded into our memories.
Physically, we have our own circadian clock that regulates our bodies timing.
Time has a rhythm and a grace. Clocks are the manifestation of that.
The challenge to which I wish to rise came via Unpredictable — The Daily Post the other day.
Let me see what I can add to this valuable concept which underpins life, making it sometimes a wonder, and sometimes a disappointment.
You never quite know what to expect and, obviously there are times when that can be a treat. Sometimes, however, the unexpected is just plain unwelcome. Surprises are not always what you want. Uncertainty can keep you –or throw you –off balance.
The sudden death of a dear friend, or favorite relative is certainly both unforseen and shocking. It is not easy to reconcile with sunshine and bright skies.
Yet, it’s because people are unpredictable that we remember and heal. We will, against all odds, find a way to continue, to respect and go forward. It does not mean that we forget our loved ones, as we stumble onto the next unexpected revelation life has in store for us.
Some of those surprises will shock, stun, startle or stagger, and some will delight and amaze.
This is the challenge via Journey — The Daily Post: Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.
Travel comes to mind when prompted to think of journey, but many of life’s journeys require no passport, no map, or long-distance plans. Any trip can be a journey, but the true measure of the word comes from the spiritual and metaphysical in us all. We journey through the uphill battles of the daily grind, and we triumph, each in our own way.
Every journey requires a destination, but the best ones take us to surprising and unexpected places. Whether you take small steps, large strides, or skip merrily along, always travel with an open mind and an open heart.
Each journey is different and yours, too, is unique. Where you go, where you wind up, is who you truly are.
Believe me when I tell you he can certainly blow his own horn. In fact, he’s famous for it, but when the man with the yellow face and
huge ego comes out, give him a trumpets-blaring welcome.
Blast out loud when he proposes divisive solutions and ridiculous ideas. Blow even harder when he assures you that he has the answer
and then offers nonsensical panaceas. He seems self-sure but he craves your adulation and approval. He demands attention, and what
better way to feed the need than with a trumpet solo or chorus.
The trumpet is far from a quiet instrument and you should give it full throat. You know your leader will never shirk from giving you his
full voice and unmuted opinions.
Once upon a time, mom and pop would have gone to uncles and aunts, friends and neighbors to get their shop funded. Today, their entrepreneurial drive takes them down a digital path, a highway often populated with strangers, albeit seemingly generous ones.
In the age of the internet, we seek money to support our projects at on-line sites, like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, just two of myriad crowdfunding destinations.The campaign might target friends and family, just as an appeal for financing might have in the good old days. A funding campaign since it is on-line can also attract money from people mom and pop don’t know, just as if they had gone public. The digital funding marketplace is a sort of alt-stock exchange– without the investor participation. As long as those putting in money are not promised any financial return, there are no SEC rules to control it.
The FinTech Forum: Crowdfunding & Data Standards program as presented by XBRL US, The CFA Institute and Baruch College’s Robert Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity:
So, with no return on investment, who invests this way? How deep are the grassroots of this kind of funding? Are there weeds in the patch, and how is the funder protected?
There are many things I do not understand about crowdfunding. The knowledge gap is so wide as to be considered a chasm. Hoping to fill in the gaps, I attended the FinTech Forum at Baruch. My discoveries included but were not limited to hearing about regulated sources of funding, and the existence of “accredited investors.” Check out the FINRA site for guidelines for on-line investing that yields returns.
My focus would have been on the unregulated sources for capital that could help a small company or a visionary realize the financial security that could help launch their projects. The regulated platforms are much more the engines of entrepreneurship, however. They aim to provide funding for companies that will potentially add to the employee rolls and fuel our economy. Being on-line enforces transparency and trust.
If you’re playing at this level, either as fundee or fundant, you’ll do the research, work out the due diligence, and check with lawyers and accountants before proceeding.
In the winter and on chillier fall days, sometimes even in the spring, I like to wear layers. I can take a sweater off, and still have another warm garment underneath, but if it gets warmer, I can remove that as well. Layers are a very practical way of dressing.
Onions are another thing with layers that come to mind. As you peel off one outside circle, the next reveals a firm and tart flavor, texture and smell. The onion is also very practical. The center can often stay juicy and tasty even if the outer layers are a bit tired and wilted. Although, the onion can be tricky and rot from the core. Avoid those. Find ones that are hard to the touch and don’t exhibit give.
Stories–even lives– can be layered as well. Not the storeys we walk up, although they too are formed in layers, but the stories we tell. Each layer revealing a little more about ourselves, going deeper into the heart of the matter, showing our strength. The center can be as stable and solid as the outer layer is soft and malleable.
EE Cummings said, in paraphrase, something like “not for philosophy cares the rose,” so is it unkind to label philosophers as mental masturbators? It seems like mental masturbation is an apt term, invented to describe your average philosophy department, especially when Abe (Joaquin Phoenix) shows up at the R.I. university to teach.
In Woody Allen’s most recent offering from Sony Pictures, Irrational Man, Abe comes to his post with a lot of baggage and a somewhat sullied, if romanticized, reputation Like most philosophy professors, Abe gives his students Kant’s principles, sprinkles in a little Nietzsche, peppers in a dash of Heidegger’s theories, and stirs it all up with touches of world literature. All this theorizing leaves many a philosophy addict wondering how to act.
“I think, therefore I am,” is not for the weak of will or faint of heart. It takes effort and interest to be in the world, Many of us can overthink anything, while life floats away.
Nothing seems to enliven the depressed Abe, not the attentions of randy fellow prof, Rita (Parker Posey.) Even the sweet and sincere Jill (Emma Stone), a student whose parents also teach at the college, can’t get him out of his funk.
Abe’s inspiration finally comes from a concept that readers of Camus should understand. He decides to avenge a woman (Susan Pourfar) he does not know by killing the judge (Tom Kemp) who is making her custody battle hell.
This project brings Abe back to life. He begins to take pleasure in everything as he becomes an arbiter of life and death.
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