Are there any job searchers out there? Here is a wonderful infographic that shows how your job search may be impacted by social media. If you are not already leveraging social media in your search, perhaps you should start. Food for thought. Happy hunting! This information was compiled by CareerEnlightenment.com.
It may take me a few weeks to get this done, but I’ve discovered several pieces of my art collection that I have failed to document on this blog! Apparently several sculptures have slipped through the crack so it is high time I correct this glaring omission. I purchased this one (a Musk Ox) back in the late 80s or early 90s (too long ago to remember and long before I started keeping track of such things — I’m lucky to have remembered the artist’s name). The artist: Towatuga Sagouk; the community: Frobisher Bay; the medium: green soapstone; the technique: carving. This was the very 
first Inuit carving that I purchased (during the annual Inuit Art Sale at the Dennos Museum at Northwestern Michigan College) and I was particularly drawn to its simplicity. I now have 5 sculptures and 3 prints from Inuit artists and I think it is safe to say that I’m not finished collecting (yet). I return to the area every year during the Art Sale, and here lately, I’ve been purchasing a piece on a fairly regular basis. Do you suppose there is a 12-step program for art collectors? Compared to other addictions, art collecting doesn’t seem too bad at all (but I must confess that I may be a bit biased in my perspective).
The tallest building in the world . . . the Burj Khalifa (formerly the Burj Dubai) . . . rises 2,717 feet from the desert floor and provides spectacular views of the Persian Gulf, the Burj al-Arab Hotel (sail-shaped hotel), and the Palm Jumeirah island (man-made island). This skyscraper was opened in January of 2010 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and was renamed after Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, who pumped tens of billions of dollars into Dubai in 2009 as it struggled to pay enormous debts. This structure is actually taller than the combined heights of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower! Wow, that’s tall!
Only one U.S. building is in the top ten in the world, and it is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere: Willis Tower (Chicago).
Today, my blog, which has been active now for just over 38 months, achieved yet another milestone . . . my 1,300th post! Despite the occasional lack of creativity or ideas for the content, I’ve been able to achieve and maintain my goal of one new post each day. The biggest challenge (obstacle, perhaps?) for me has been to find an answer to: “What am I going to blog about today?” A second obstacle would definitely be time. “How much time am I going to devote (or CAN I devote) to the post each day?” My goal is to keep this activity under 30 minutes each day, and determination (as well as a positive attitude) has held me in good stead most of the time. But here’s a new demotivator (thanks to www.despair.com) that certainly “burns a hole” in that theory! Somedays I just have to accept that 30 minutes is not always enough time to accomplish the posting . . . oh well, c’est la vie!
The following quotation sums it up nicely . . .
“There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don’t. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.” (Author unknown)
Happy Friday! Yesterday as I was familiarizing myself with Harner’s Literary Research Guide: a Guide to Reference Sources for the Study of Literatures in English and Related Topics (2nd ed.), I encountered the following sentence: “Since this Guide is intended as a vademecum for researchers . . . ” Needless to say, I had no clue. So, off to the dictionary I ran to learn this new word. And, in so doing, I also managed to discover a couple of different variations: vade-mecum and vade mecum. (It is hyphenated according to the Oxford English Dictionary: the definitive record of the English language.)
\vey-dee mee-kuh
‘m\, noun;
A book or manual suitable for carrying about with one for ready reference; a handbook or guidebook.
Do you like pizza? (Who doesn’t?) Would you be interested in a recipe for a quick and easy appetizer that could double as a snack or even a meal? Then read on. I discovered this recipe several years ago and preparing these tasty morsels is really so quick and easy you will want to be sure that you always have the ingredients on hand for those rare occasions when you really don’t feel like cooking. These can either be done in the microwave or under the broiler, it matters not, but the end result is the same . . . delicious!
Pizza Bites
Triscuit crackers
Tomato paste
Pepperoni (or pizza topping of choice)
Mozzarella cheese
Spread a small amount of tomato paste onto the Triscuit cracker. Top with the pizza topping of your choice (pepperoni works really well). Top with enough mozzarella cheese to cover (I used sliced cheese [the same size as the cracker] instead of grated). Place the garnished crackers on an ungreased cookie sheet and place under the broiler under the cheese is melted (or place them on a microwave safe plate and microwave for about 10 seconds [or until the cheese is melted]). Serve and enjoy!
You can make a few at a time, or by the trayful (depending on the size of the party), but whatever you do, be prepared or plan to make more . . . these things will disappear rapidly!
Happy Wednesday! Now that we are halfway through the week, checkout the below link to a great video that may provide enough inspiration or “feel good” vibes to get you through to the weekend. These kids are phenomenally talented . . . and synchronized in their choreography (and just barely bigger than the guitars they are playing). Very entertaining (in my humble opinion). Enjoy!
Here is a wonderful painting (acquired last month) . . . done on the back of the glass panels of an old multi-paned window! The artist: Amy Perrier, the medium: acryllic; the technique: reverse glass painting; the end result: a wonderful work of art! I couldn’t find a web page for Amy, but I’ve linked to her page on the Art Fair Insiders blog.
This is the second year in a row that I’ve run across Amy’s work at the Traverse City Art Fair (always the last Saturday of July on the campus of Northwestern Michigan College). I fell in love with her work last year and this year I managed to purchased one (she had several that I liked). And, even though I have nearly run out of displayable wall space at my apartment (especially for large pieces), I always manage to find a nook or cranny for my new acquisitions and this piece was no exception. Being a rather large piece, I was slightly concerned about where I would have room to display it and was thinking that it may have to travel to my office when I came up with a brilliant idea (a stroke of genius really) . . . why not just set it on an existing windowsill and then lean it up against the window itself? Raise the mini-blinds to just the right level at the top of the painting and voila! Problem solved. After reassessing my apartment, the only remaining space available: the interior walls of my closets, and, the fronts and backs of doors (to rooms as well as to closets). So, the situation is not nearly as dire as I had feared — I just had to start thinking outside of the box a bit.
I’ve highlighed bridges, islands, dams, canals, and tunnels. I’ve covered assorted modes of transportation (air, sea, train). Today’s marvel though, is out of this world! Literally. “Space: the final frontier . . . to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” (Star Trek television series, 1966.)
I’m talking about the International Space Station. It has been orbiting Earth with a resident crew since November 2000. The International Space Station is accessible only to enterprising tourists who have bank accounts flush enough to afford the more than $20 million for the round-trip ticket offered by Space Adventures. To date, seven space tourists have boarded the ISS to experience days of zero gravity orbiting the planet. However, this number is sure to rise in coming decades as private companies develop commercial spacecraft and programs to make the final frontier a viable travel destination. I doubt that I will ever be able to afford such an “out of this world” experience, but it would be awesome! I would love to “make it so.”
The Gun-Carryin' Librarian 