Sketchy Sketches: Post-Apocalyptic Hunt
Comedy duo Key & Peele have been really tearing up the Internet this year as the go-to television sketch comedy. It helps that Comedy Central has their entire show streaming online, so all them damn Millennials can watch it to their hearts content. Either way, here is a bit about hunting after the world has ended, and the relative woes of being the last human alive.
Holiday shopping tips for your grandmother
Your grandmother is a special woman. She was the lady in your life who always made you feel special. For this reason and more, it is vital to give her a nice present when it comes to the holidays such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, her birthday, Easter and more. Yet, what do you give such a woman, especially when it seems like she has everything?
You could go the generic route and buy her things like nightgowns, bath robes, blankets, heating pads and the like. Yet, does she really need or want any of that stuff?
Why don’t you buy her some items that reminds her that she isn’t just your grandmother, she is a woman? This can include some new and nice jewelry. This can be some modern items such as some statement necklaces, a new bright ring, a pair of earrings that have some sparkle to them or a nice charm bracelet or necklace. You don’t have to buy conservative pearls or beads. You can buy pieces that remind her of the hip and fun person that still is inside of her.
Why don’t buy her a new electronic gadget? No, not all grandmas are too old to surf the Internet or play games like Angry Birds. In fact, things like that are good for grandma’s mind and her soul. Plus, giving her a fun new electronic will give you an excuse to visit her more to teach her or if you have a young son or daughter, this can give them a chance to bond with her more.
Yet, you need to remember not to buy her such a present if she can’t afford the upkeep on the Internet services. Not all grandparents can afford every luxury in today’s tough economy. If your grandparent can’t, stick to an electronic that does not need the Internet such as handheld game or console.
You can also think about what grandma presently like to do. Does she enjoy a particular hobby? Is she into scrapbooking, sewing, quilting, gardening or something else? Could you buy some supplies for her hobby?
Finally, don’t forget to buy grandma some of her favorite snacks. Holidays are a great time to purchase one’s favorite candies, cookies, nuts or cheeses. Why not gather grandma a basket filled with some of her favorite goodies? These are sure to be a hit for any holiday.
Pop Culture Happenings: 2012 Movie Trailer Mash-Up
It's never too early to start in on the " of 2012" videos, so why wait beyond the first week of December? Here is every film released in 2012, mashed into one semi-comprehensive trailer, by YouTube artist SleepySkunk.
Your Elevator Pitch: Part II
Whether you are underemployed, unemployed or even fully employed, your ability to stay professionally relevant and keep your career moving forward depends largely on your networking efforts.
And networking, in turn, depends largely on your personal communications. These include written communications like your resume, cover letters, networking letters, thank you notes, e-mails and business cards.
Believe it or not, personal communication is still very much an oral, face-to-face endeavor. Articulating who you are professionally at a networking event, job interview, or recruiting event is of paramount importance to your career.
Present yourself in the best light possible by using your professional elevator pitch. Having yours ready at any given time can aid your networking and even snag an unexpected lead by making your first impression memorable to the decision-maker or connected contact you encounter.
Spark interest and a conversation
Your spoken pitch isn’t really a sales presentation. Instead, it’s a way to start a conversation with a specific listener in mind –and to turn that conversation into lasting interest –in you.
Example Scenario: As the former chef in a local restaurant that recently closed, you run into an owner of a highly successful restaurant at the whole foods market. You make positive comments about the order he’s just placed and his restaurant. Seeing his open response, you jump into your personal pitch:
I’m Perry Court, Blue Corn’s head chef, (offer handshake) nice to meet you, Jon. I planned Blue Corn’s seasonal menus for seven years and brought in new patrons when my asparagus au gratin dish won [specific media] notoriety.
Strong, conversational approaches like this one that amplify your passion while making eye contact are great pitch starters.
Note the specificity in answering the questions: Who Are You, and What Do You Do Best?
You’ll want to listen for your target’s input and responses, and modify your pitch to those comments. Next, you need to answer the question and address issues related to: “So What?”
Why are you stopping to talk to me? Why should I care or really listen to what you have to say? In other words, What’s in it for me?
Here’s where your pitch can really “sell” itself, with modifications on your part. Know your listener’s current or future needs well. You researched your dream company and know what challenges they face or future goals they’re aiming for.
At the market, you noticed Jon’s order included units of broccoli rabe and bok choi… You could continue your pitch with highlights of your prior experience; or, you could adapt your pitch and say:
I saw you ordered broccoli rabe and bok choi –those are two of my favorite staples to work with in meatless entrees. I grew up with vegetarian parents and a lot of my authenticity as a chef in this market draws upon those roots.
Now you’ve connected with your listener’s current needs in a concrete, professionally relevant way. Go hard on the close by asking for a Call To Action.
Your personal pitch should always end with a Call To Action, or CTA. Make sure it is short and crystal clear to your listener as to what you want them to do after you both part.
To continue our pitch scenario:
That would be great, thank you, Jon! [if an invitation was already extended]… What’s the best day to reach you next week?
OR: I’d like to bring you my full cv and credentials to the restaurant. What’s the best day next week to stop by? [Offer your business card if you have any, shake hands on the agreed upon CTA, and bid him Good Day.]
If you’re at a networking event, things progress a bit differently, and we’ll cover that next post. Until then, remember to focus on putting your best foot forward and as always, good luck!
The Grammy nominations concert returns this week
Call me crazy, but I don't really like the whole Grammy nominations announcement concert. This started a few years ago, and I think it's rather lame. That being said, if you do like this sort of thing, get ready, because this year's big show is set for Wednesday, December 5, 2012. In terms of rock acts, I'm a bit disappointed in the lineup.
Am I the only one who thinks the Grammy noms show is silly? I much prefer the way they do the Oscars: Just tell me the nominees, show me a picture or let me see a quick clip and then move on. If I want more, I'll seek it out online.
Now, who exactly will perform during The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live? The show, which will be broadcast live from Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, not surprisingly has a rather strong country flavor. Artists like Taylor Swift, The Band Perry and Hunter Hayes are all set to perform. Rock music-wise, the biggest act by far is The Who.
The Who made a smart move doing this Grammy nominations show, in my opinion. The band is on tour right now, and this can only help ticket sales. In terms of other rock acts, the only other one that stands out at all to me is Maroon 5, and I'd call them straight-up pop.
With regard to rock music nominations, which albums and/or artists do you think deserve recognition this year? Personally, my two favorite rock albums of the year were Wrecking Ball by Bruce Springsteen (this shouldn't surprise any of you, knowing my obsession with all the Bard of New Jersey) and Tempest by Bob Dylan. I expect both will garner at least one nomination each, possibly more. I'll be shocked if they don't.
Anyway, back to the lame Grammy nominations show that only includes one actual rock music act: The one-hour special will air on CBS on December 5 at 10 p.m. EST. Will you be watching?
It's a banner week for new DVD releases, led by 'The Dark Knight Rises'
This is the kind of week that I just love. I couldn't wait to come here to give you the scoop about this week's new DVD and Blu-ray releases. Why? Because I am almost certain that no matter what, each of you will find something to rent/buy that you'll enjoy. That almost never happens.
This week's new DVD releases include The Dark Knight Rises, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Hope Springs and The Odd Life of Timothy Green. I, for one, can't wait to see all of these (some for the second time).
Let's start with the biggest release of the week, shall we? The Dark Knight Rises DVD is sure to be a hot item over the holidays. If you haven't seen this final installment in Christopher Nolan's outstanding Batman trilogy, you really must. My expectations for this movie were sky-high, and it's rare when those expectations are met. They were with this film. It's magnificent.
Moving on to other offerings, this week also sees the release of the critically acclaimed drama Beasts of the Southern Wild. The Oscar buzz continues with regard to the film's young star, Quvenzhane Wallis. She could get an Academy Award nomination for her performance. I'm really looking forward to seeing this film, and the reviews, by the way, are fantastic.
I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention that the dramedy Hope Springs, starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, is also new on DVD and Blu-ray this week. I opted, with great reservation, to skip this film in theaters because there were so many other movies I *had* to see. I'm thankful that I'll be able to finally see it now.
And finally, last but not least, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, starring Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton, is new on DVD right now. This Disney sci-fi/comedy didn't get the most stellar reviews, but I hear from friends that it's actually pretty good. Has anyone seen it to confirm?
It's a banner week for movie fans, with so many excellent new DVD choices. What will you see first?
Amazing Ally in the Struggle against Autism - Cannabis
Cannabis – for years supporters of using cannabis for health reasons have been numerous but now there is some science behind the use of marijuana against a long standing battle, the battle against autism.
The medical community has recently acknowledged that cannabis has some naturally occurring cannabinoid compounds that aid with medical issues such as pain but recently studies have also shown that the same compounds are proving to help with autism disorders. Medical researchers confirm that test subjects in random studies are proving to have dramatic behavioral improvements. There is even talk of one day using marijuana to obtain full recovery for autistic patients including those who are children.
Autism is often a debilitating condition, one from which relief has been elusive but the findings which were recently published in the journal Nature Communications, provide evidence that medicinal cannabinoids have not only the potential to do a great deal in terms of the treatment of autism but is, in fact, showing positive signs for the potential of curing autism as a chronic illness. University of California researcher Daniele Piomelli and French researcher Olivier Manzoni have conducted the most recent study and report that marijuana cannabinoids related to the endocannabinoid transmitters naturally found in the brain are affected in a positive way. Endocannabinoid transmitters transport electrical signals between neurons and in the study have proven to have a useful reaction to the cannabinoids. The transmitters, or 2-AG, regulate a lot of processes within the body so anything that that can have a positive effect on them could address illnesses on a number of levels.
Children and adults with autism can benefit because their brains are directly affected. The study has also shown that in cases where the autism is caused by the Fragile X syndrome, the most commonly-known genetic cause of autism, are especially responsive. Kids with Fragile X-induced autism often become mentally disabled adults because of the syndrome, if the use of cannabinoids can affect change within the person’s system there is a chance that children born with autism not have to live with it as adults. The basic issues that these kids face, trouble developing basic motor skills such as walking and talking, or learning various social skills would no longer be a lifetime issue. According to the researchers subjects taking marijuana cannabinoids, may see effectively blocking the enzymes that inhibit the 2-AG increase within their systems. The research shows that marijuana cannabinoids can restore synaptic communication. The cannabis literally feeds the system the cannabinoids it lacked. Everyone has natural cannabinoids but they appear to be lacking within the system of a person with autism. If these can be replaced the problem causing the illness may be solved. A world without autism may be within the reach of the millions of people who now deal with it daily.
POTD Garrett Jones, Scouting Report - the Bad
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Q. Quick, Hobson - the good news.
A. Gotta start with the bad, sorry. Take heart; it will make the good seem that much better. When a migraine lets up you feel like oxygen is a precious gift.
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Q. Could he be a Raul Ibanez? Frozen out of the bigs until his late 20's, but then blooming (very) late)?
A. He could NOT, no. There is as much chance of Anthony Vasquez becoming Jamie Moyer as of Garrett Jones becoming Raul Ibanez.
Raul always had a solid EYE ratio; Jones will never have a decent EYE ratio. EYE is not only about telling a ball from a strike early in the flight of the ball ... one must also have a quick bat launch. I don't know of any player in the major leagues with a slower bat launch than Garrett Jones.
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Q. Slow bat (launch), lousy EYE, NL player .. why would Jay-Z be interested?
A. We assume that the idea is Jaso for HANRAHAN and WILHELMSEN SP. Then Smoak for Garrett Jones. Smoak for Jones would be a HURRY HURRY HURRY idea, since Jones is ready to go.
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Q. Maybe he's really a .516 SLG man now, a legit cleanup hitter?
A. Maybe he's a cleanup hitter ..., no. No he's not. He just had his career year at age 31. Part of BaseballHQ's shtick is === > they know how to look at 5-year scans and pick out "Career Years." I've gotten kinda practiced at it too. 2012 has Career Year written All. Over. It.
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Q. What is the basis?
A. How do we loathe thee? Let us count the ways:
1) Lousy EYE. Which is part of what rules out an arc up at age 32+.
2) Slowwwwww bat launch (hence the helplessness against LHP's, which is a permanent feature of this facility).
3) Swings at oodles of sucker pitches (OOZ% very high) - and did in 2012 also.
4) Swings and misses constantly - SwStr% very high. No BB's to compensate.
etc. etc. You're just talking about a mistake hitter here.
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Q. Comps?
A. All comps are going to be hurkin' LHB bats with light-tower power and bad, bad weaknesses. Garrett Jones is what Carlos Peguero would be if everything broke right for him. Which makes sense, given the attention that the M's paid to Peguero.
Find a good comp for Jones and you're going to get the name of a mediocre player -- Brian Daubach, Lee Stevens, Ben Broussard, Eurebiel Durazo, Reggie Jefferson, somebody like that.
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Q. ANY logic to trading John Jaso for him?
A. That's NOT what they'd be doing. A Jaso-for-Jones swap would literally be a howler to exceed the Doug Fister deal.
And -- there's no arguing, as they unfortunately did with Fister, that our guy has peaked and we're "selling high." NOBODY could watch John Jaso hit and predict him to do anything but keep hitting. And Wedge held Jaso up as THE only 2012 Mariner who took pro AB's on a day-in, day-out basis.
Nah, they couldn't be down on Jaso. Gotta be an attempt to clear catcher, and bring in a closer. Then Smoak-for-Jones is what we're looking at.
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NEXT
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Min-Maxing Cannabis for Your Benefit
Date: Dec 2, 2012
Whether it be fashion, food or cannabis, people love to mix and match. After all, variety is the spice of life. Humans love it. We do! We love variety. So, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that when it comes to cannabis, there is a lot of variety. From indicas to sativas and everything in between, one can become overwhelmed with the amount of choice that comes from a Washington state dispensary, especially when located in Seattle. Luckily, it’s not hard to figure out which strains your body likes and which provide the maximum benefit to you, whether medically or recreationally.
One of the ways to figure this out and increase the efficiency of your cannabis is to keep a journal about how strains interact with your specific body chemistry and tracking different variables within situations, such as what time did you dose, how much, what mood were you initially in, how long did it last, did you eat with it, what did you eat, etcetera and onwards. Focus upon specific variables depending on your needs and what information you want to garner.
Experimenting with strains, logging how they interact with your chemistry, is an amazing way to track your use of cannabis for medical purposes as well as make sure you’re going to get the maximum benefit from each hit, no doubt. Because I like to get the most from my cannabis, I use a vaporizer. I don’t smoke marijuana often since doing so reduces the benefits dramatically (though I will have the occasional sentimental toke). By mixing strains as often as possible, taking into account the results of my logs, I try to make each vapor session count.
Paying attention to what strains there are, you can continue to increase the beneficial nature of every hit you take. Take the highest CBD [cannabidiol] strain you can find, and mix it with either an indica-leaning or sativa-leaning strain depending upon your needs. If you haven’t already tried this, I urge you to include it in your cannabis ritual. Not only is it a great way to fool a high tolerance, but it also allows you to have the highest CBD count you can get with each session.
In order to get the most CBD intake on my vaporizer, I set the temperature between the range of 325 °F to 390 °F. If I want less of a high, but more CBD, I will keep the temperature in the 360°F to 390°F range. Another option is to wait until the cannabis turns a brown color, after the THC has vaporized, and then inhale a resulting dull ‘high’ with plenty of healthy chemicals.
If you are unaware to the reasons why CBD percentage within a strain is so important, here is a quick overview. Cannabidiols are amazing for our bodies with anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic, anti-psychotic, antioxidant, anti-depressant properties. CBD appears to relieve convulsions, anxiety and, of course, nausea. When CBD is combined with THC, as it is in marijuana, it can offer analgesic effects to those with body pain like MS patients. From a non-medical perspective, CBDs help moderate the high effect and have been noted to be responsible for the “couch lock” feeling.
If you are interested in creating new blends of strains for personal use, talk to your local cannabis provider about what sort of background certain strains have. This information can usually be found via the grower. It is becoming increasingly important that growers are tracking these statistics and sending them out along with their strains. There are a lot of hybrids out on the market and pure indicas/sativas are hard to come by. The resulting range of hybrids, however, fits the human nature of personal customization lending to min-maxing (minimizing undesired traits, maximizing desired ones) different strain ratios to find the perfect fit to what your body needs. Personally, I’m an 80-20 Indica lady, myself.
- Quinn
[December Strains: Remedy, Blue Cheese & Northern Lights]
Smoking with the family
I had never imagined that I would have to come clean to my mother about quitting marijuana.
I grew up in a small town just south of San Francisco, where the redwoods met the Pacific, and weed was an accepted part of life. Everybody smoked, the surfers, the skaters, the teachers, and after the compassion club was raided by the fed, the mayor distributed medical marijuana on the steps of city hall in protest.
My house was much the same. I knew my mother smoked a habit she kept after being part of the 60’s scene. My sister and I knew that we were not allowed to smoke, that it was something grown-ups could choose, but kids were forbidden. After I turned fifteen, my mother began to allow my sister and me to smoke in the house; we weren’t allowed to be high at school or work, or to accept joints rolled by other people. It began part of what we did together, part of becoming an adult was making my own choices about weed, how and when I used it, without fear of being grounded.
When I moved to Washington in 2002, I realized how uncommon my small town was. Washington’s stringent laws about possession and sale made me take my marijuana use underground. A college campus was always an easy place to find a supplier, but I was too worried to keep a pipe or rolling papers.
After graduation, my use slowed way down. In my late twenties, working for a non-profit organization, I could hardly afford weekly re-ups, and as my friends became parents or took jobs where they were drug tested, I had less and less people to smoke with. I finally quit when I got serious about a meditation practice. Looking to rest in present time awareness, I stopped being attracted to the high marijuana gave me. I started to pass when the pipe came around, and found that I missed marijuana far less than I had expected.
Living without weed was fine, but I hadn’t told my mother I’d quit.
Going home for Thanksgiving I had to explain why I was passing on the pipe. I had never thought about the impact of being left out of smoking circle in my mother’s home. As a ritual that had been a part of our family for so many years, bowing out meant changing the rules of how our family operates. Smoking with my mother was part of my teenage years, it brought us closer together, because there was nothing I needed to hide from her. My choice not to smoke had never been about condemning the practice, only a lack of interest. Quitting took me away from a part of our lives together.
My mother is a supportive and understanding person. My choice not to smoke, though I think it made her a little sad, was accepted as part of the adult I had become. It is still hard to turn down the pipe when she and my sister share a bowl, and sometimes, for old times’ sake, I will partake. But as the first un-smoker in my family I will often be the odd-duck out.