I’m often irked by TV shows that’ll mention a silly website name just for a cheap laugh but fail to go the extra mile for those that bother to follow up online. Being a work-from-home internet geek, I often have my WIFI laptop on hand, if not in hand, when the TV is on, and I have to say I’m happy to see that some folks in show business seem to be catching on.
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I’m spiritually torn – I’m decidedly not a Christian (no offence intended if you are), but I’m absolutely in love with Christmas. I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m an atheist - I just don’t like any of the options I’ve been presented with so far. I’ve witnessed, for lack of a better term, the “miracle” of birth twice, and with each new arrival I’ve slowly come around to the notion that maybe there’s something, maybe even a “higher intelligence,” behind the intricate wonder of creation. Let’s face it - if homo sapiens is the most powerful intellect ever, the universe has thus far been a terrible waste of space.

Sometimes I feel like a bit of a hypocrite to be riding on the coattails of a religious celebration when I don’t subscribe to that particular religion, but recent research has shown me that, if anything, what we know today as a Christian holiday is pretty much a hodge-podge of icons and symbols borrowed from several pagan traditions, some of which could possibly predate Christ himself. According to the Wikipedia Christmas page, just about everything comes from somewhere else. For instance, the Christmas tree was borrowed from an ancient Germanic pagan ritual. When the Romans decided it was time to start listening to Christians (as opposed their previous tradition of feeding them to the lions) and decided Jesus was the way and the light, they decided to take what was already a well established celebration of the winter solstice turned it into a birthday party for their newfound savior. Read the rest of this entry »

This morning I stumbled across this odd article about a high-end Chilean escort willing to do whatever it takes to help less fortunate kids. She’s decided to donate 27 hours worth of her services (apparently in one marathon stretch), which equates to about $5,400, according to this related article, with all proceeds going to a charity that helps Santiago’s disadvantaged and disabled children. Read the rest of this entry »

So I was reading this blog over at ProBlogger the other day when point 5 really resonated with me:

“Break with tradition: A great idea-sparking suggestion from Seth Godin is to ‘do the never‘ — in other words, to work out what your niche always seems to do, and then do the opposite.”

If everybody else does it the same way, you’re better off doing it differently, and my mom always did say I marched to the sound of a different drummer (seriously, she said it all the time - still does to this day - quite annoying, really). Read the rest of this entry »