DailyOM

becOMe one with the book

DailyOM - The 1000 Journal Project: "A Project of Creative Possibilities

(...i don't do yoga. incense gives me hives. i do drink chai lattes and my navel has seen its fair share of introspection...jim)

For more information visit 1000journals.com

Sweetwater Center for the Arts

Sweetwater

Mavuno Festival 2003: October
At Sweetwater Center for the Arts, the month of October means Mavuno~An African American Visual and Performing Arts Festival. Sweetwater's mission is to not only make the arts accessible to all cultures, but also to promote the arts of all cultures. The Mavuno Festival focuses on the rich cultural heritage of the African American community, and the month of October will feature an array of events for you and your family to enjoy. Look for them! The Mavuno Performance Evening will take place at Sewickley Academy's Rea Auditorium. Details about this event will be forthcoming.

not your typical urban bush women

URBAN BUSH WOMEN PERFORM @ SWEETWATER CTR FOR THE ARTS
UBW Home

Just received a call from the Sweetwater Center for the Arts.
They're presenting a Movuno (1st Fruits) arts festival 04 October to 29 October and are hoping to present works by local artists that also represent an expression of the Afro-American experience.
Featured artists will be: Urban Bush Women; One World Tribe; E.B. Lewis; Juxtapower and Curtis Reeves.
For addt'l info, please contact Amy Lumsden at 412-741-4405 extension 12.

i been dissin' you. since you been gone away.

"Welcome to Disinfopedia, a collaborative project to produce a directory of public relations firms, think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests."

(..........building consensus is the 12th commandment...building consensus is the 12th commandment....building consensus is the 12th commandment....building consensus is the 12th commandment...building consensus is the 12th commandment....building consensus is the 12th commandment...building consensus is the 12th commandment.....building consensus is the 12th commandment....jim)

skies over pittsburgh 

ich weiss nicht

German First Names and Official Approval
(I love the Hessian rule of law. organisation uber alles!)

“Germans are used to being regulated in many areas of daily life that Americans might find rather repressive. Want to name your baby? Better pick a name that the local Standesamt (office of vital statistics) agrees with. If they don't agree to register the name you picked, you have to appeal the decision. By German law, a child's name has to meet two conditions: (1) it must reflect the sex of the child, and (2) it must not endanger the 'well-being of the child.' A German couple who wanted to honor their favorite actress, Whoopi Goldberg, by naming their child Whoopi had their application rejected because, among other thing, the name resembles the English expression 'making whoopee.'

(i was thinking whoopi cushion...jim)

Legal glitch gives Va. workers Sundays off

Hitch-up the Wagon, Ma. We're headed to Virginny!
MSNBC - Legal glitch gives Va. workers Sundays off

just read

Coastsider

this site has been recommended as a good example of an online journal: simple, navigable, useful and specific to its community of origin. check it out.

Shanghai'd

The World Outside My Door

Shanghai

tomorrow i'm telling my wife i'm going to Starbucks for a Soy Chai Latte. Be right back, honey!

Difficult choices for American Youth

heaven can wait.please!
Joi Ito's Web: Difficult choices for American youths

you got to scroll down the list of comments to this post. they get get funnier as you reach the bottom of the page.
i love Joi's weblog

Difficult choices for American Youth

heaven can wait.please!
Joi Ito's Web: Difficult choices for American youths

you got to scroll down the list of comments to this post. they get get funnier as you reach the bottom of the page.
i love Joi's weblog

To Thine Own Self be You

Publishers of weLEAD Online Magazine.

"A great leader never sets himself above his followers except in carrying responsibilities"
Jules Ormont

(...useful site for those of us with a strong need to lead...jim)

the lie's as good as the truth if your audience believes you

shades of grey
("...after the rush when you come back down. you're always disappointed. nothing seems to get you high...
...in the morning there are lovers in the streets they look so alive; you- you brush against a stranger and you both apologize...")from Joni Mitchell

(..this has been on my mind for awhile. the combo of J. Baudrillard and J. L. Borges make for me an interesting night of rhetoric...jim)
see an illustrated version of Borges' work at Fantastic Zoology
Baudrillard_Simulacra and Simulations: "Jean Baudrillard"

Simulacra....n. pl. sim·u·la·cra (-lkr, -lkr)
An image or representation.
An unreal or vague semblance.
[Latin simulcrum(from simulre, to simulate. See simulate) + -crum, n. suff.]

"The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none.
The simulacrum is true."
Ecclesiastes

just contacted

Urban Youth Action, Inc. is a nonprofit organization located in downtown Pittsburgh, at the Catholic Charities Building, on 212 Ninth Street. The organization was founded in 1966 by Bernard H. Jones, Sr. Urban Youth Action, Inc. (UYA) is a youth oriented education and development program, dedicated to serve and help the youth of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County between the ages of thirteen to nineteen. Their mission statement is:
“To prepare and develop young people for opportunities in education, employment, entrepreneurship and public service.”
UYA offers seven primary programs in three main categories: education, employment and enrichment. The purpose of these programs is to present the students with information and experiences that will not only educate them, but also help them with personal growth.

(around 28jul04 i hope to meet with and tour through our facility a group of young people from Urban Youth Action Inc. if you have people looking for vocational training or those interested in bridging the gap betwixt highschool and work, contact me at 412-323-4000 or jimuleda@msn.com
...jim)

also see:career development program network for a wider net of social svc providers.

shameless self-promotion

and now for a word from my sponsor!!

please take advantage of our afterschool youth programs in the arts:
MCG Youth - Newsletter
we have evening arts programs for adults:
Adult arts programs
http://www.manchesterguild.org/va/adulteducationFlash.html
how about our no-cost vocational training and academic prep classes:
Academic and Vocational Training
http://www.bidwell-training.org/

i'm on a blogroll now.

SANS - Internet Storm Center - Cooperative Cyber Threat Monitor And Alert System - Current Infosec News and Analysis

aww, what the hey!
let's skip the middlepersons and go straight to 'geek'.
j.

download you some protection:
http://www.definitivesolutions.com/bhodemon.htm

pick a card, a nose and a friend. pt.ii

Pop-up program reads keystrokes, steals passwords - News - ZDNet

(more reasons to never get out of bed...jim)

"A malicious program that installs itself through a pop-up can read keystrokes and steal passwords when victims visit any of nearly 50 targeted banking sites, security researchers warned on Tuesday.
The targeted sites include major financial institutions, such as Citibank, Barclays Bank and Deutsche Bank, researcher Marcus Sachs said Tuesday."

back-up your troubles in a gigabyte and smile,smile, smile

TechLove With Mr. Roboto
by Brendan I. Koerner
The Village Voice: Machine Age: TechLove With Mr. Roboto: Go For a Drive by Brendan I. Koerner

Q. Many a time you've recommended that we mere mortals invest in an external hard drive, for backup purposes. I'm sold, but what should I look for in one of these storage units? Could I make do with the cheapest drive on the block, or is this the sort of thing I shouldn't skimp on?

A. You should eschew the cheapest of the cheap, but....(more)

pick a card; any card

Consumer Corner
Consumer WebWatch consumerreports@cmet.cr-mail.org
(...it's probably just me, but i can't seem to muster the energy needed to protect myself from consumer fraud. i'm lactose intolerant, drowning in an ocean of seasonal allergies and my Prozac seems to nullify the effects of my Atenolol prescription. identity theft would be a welcome diversion for me...or not. jim)

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to halt a drug discount card scam the FTC says resulted in the theft of more than $10 million from consumers' checking accounts in less than three months. The site, Pharmacycards.com, electronically transferred $139 from some 90,000 accounts without prior consent after accessing them via third-party payment processors, according to the FTC. The commission urges consumers to always examine bank statements regularly and promptly dispute any questionable charges.

Consumers selling items via auction sites or other online venues should avoid buyers willing to pay with cashier's checks greater than the selling price, says Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. His office uncovered a scheme in which fraudsters, usually based overseas, "buy" goods online with counterfeit cashier's checks for an amount larger than the purchase price, then ask the seller to refund the difference. When the bogus check bounces, the seller is responsible for repaying the full amount of the check to the bank.

If you believe you've been a victim of a check cashing scheme, contact the FDIC, at alert@fdic.gov.
Finally, a California mortgage broker tricked consumers with false promises of a "3.5% fixed payment" loan that did not exist, says the FTC. The broker, Chase Financial Funding (CFF), advertised low mortgage rates via spam and on its Web site, www.chaseff.com. The actual interest rate is considerably higher than the advertised amount and varies monthly, according to the FTC.

The agency also warns consumers that, due to a separate trademark action, CFF is now operating under the name "Choice Financial Funding" at the same Web site address.

message in a bottle

...this is a note from an old college friend...hope she doesn't mind being blogged. (sorry, slow news day)

"Hello!!!!!!!
Are you sending me this because you want help? If so I am in! I have not talked to you in such a long time and may I say it has been to long!
Life is good, I am still in physical therapy from my car accident in January, but like I always say...it is not doing anything, so I think I am going to stop. I just got back from a wonderful cruise to the exotic western caribbean. The cruise went to Belize, Roatan (Hondorus), Grand Cayman and Cozumel and I also went to Playa del Carmen. I could have stayed on the cruise for another week.
What is new with you? How is everything with your daughter?... I will talk to you soon." M.

(...i really enjoy getting mail from old friends. especially when i realize how quickly our lives can change. just knowing that someone i know has been sucking-up the sun, surf, sand and tiny umbrella drinks for the past 14 days (and 13 nights)makes my wretched existence that much more poignant. i'll have to talk to M. and discover if the cruise was part of the car-wreck package or if she had to pay extra for that (;p
...jim)