It seems the socially correct answer to the question “How are you?” is no longer “Good,” but “Busy.” Maybe it’s all the technology that keeps us plugged in 24/7, or the never-ending flow of information from social media, websites and blogs, or the added work load on employees left at downsized companies. Whatever the cause, I frequently have conversations with…
Watching the Olympics this summer has been fun and not just because Ryan Lochte is about the cutest thing to happen to swimming. Seeing all the images of Big Ben and the Thames make me nostalgic for my experience on a Temple University summer program in London 20 years ago. Now I feel like it was a bit of a…
Facebook can be an incredible tool: thanks to Mark Zuckerberg, I reconnected with a high school friend I’d known as Lisa Crozier. At the time, she was a young widow with two small girls, grieving the loss of a husband she deeply loved and trying to be a good single mom. Even better than us getting back in touch, Facebook…
One of my favorite blogs, Zen Habits, recently had a blog post that inspired me to share it here — and to supplement it with my own story about letting go of the illusion of control. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqktEPJIX3c] The Unpredictable Freedom and Sweetness of Chaos Post written by Leo Babauta ‘You must have chaos within you to give birth to a…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. We kicked off this online salon a few weeks back, so the Blogversationists are still getting to know each…
Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012. I did not grow up in a musical family. My parents didn’t sing or play an instrument, and didn’t…
Editor’s note: this post contains graphic sexual content and may be offensive to some readers. In fact, it should be offensive to all readers. When I saw students taking to the streets to protest the firing of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, I felt a wave of outrage. Actually, just rage. How could those football fans conjure that much…
Reading NPR’ s app on my way to the office recently got me thinking about one of my favorite questions — whether people are really capable of change. Terry Gross on WHYY’s Fresh Air did an interview about the new HBO series called “Enlightened,” and talked about that, among other things: Can people really change? That’s the question Laura Dern…
If you’re a social media geek like I am, you might know Chris Brogan as the intensely prolific oracle on all things new media. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sVVdAB41Zg&feature=player_embedded] But his wide-ranging blog also tackles issues about living life, and recently, my friend Scott Daris pointed out one of Brogan’s posts — the story of a builder. Brogan tells the tale of a builder…
This post continues an occasional series on writers — how and why they write, what inspires them and how they overcome challenges like writer’s block and rejection. Previously we’ve heard from Jim Tobin, Jim Ottaviani, Lara Zielin, Bruce DeSilva and Jennifer Worick. Today’s Q&A features a baker’s dozen questions with Margaret Yang, an Ann Arbor-based science fiction writer whose first…
Mark Zuckerberg, the gagillionaire founder of Facebook, apparently posted to his person Facebook page this spring that he had just killed a goat and a pig. No, not a sacrifice to the gods of Silicon Valley. Fortune magazine followed up and learned Zuckerberg has pledged to only eat meat this year from animals he personally kills. He wrote in an…
I’ll be in Austin for the next several days at the geek spring break known as South by Southwest Interactive — all manner of people interested in the Web, mobile, social media and video games, among other things, descend on a city with the unofficial motto “Keep Austin Weird.” It’s an excellent experience because you almost can’t help but have…
Earlier this week I wrote a post headlined “Feel the fear and do it anyway,” about not letting fear limit our decisions. I’ve been reflecting on major forks in the road in my life and how often I have self limited by taking the conservative path — what my husband, John, calls being a good girl. If a…
When I was a kid, fall meant the start of the new season of TV, so if you watched the night soaps like Dallas or Dynasty, you needed a refresher of what happened on the cliff hanger so you could be ready. I haven’t left you with any cliff hangers this summer, but in that spirit, here’s a round up…
Today I’m kicking off a new occasional series on writers — how and why they write, what inspires them and how they overcome challenges like writer’s block and rejection. Since I wrote a guest post for Lara earlier this week, it seems only appropriate that she would lead off the new project. On deck are Jim Tobin, who won the…
