Syncopate's blog, page 1

Last login: 8 hours agoSyncopate: Syncopate is a 43 year old single guy from Mid West, Illinois, USA.; Likes 687 pages, 13 videos, 16 photos • 283 fans • Received 38 reviews; Member since Sep 26, 2006

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Jun 16, 7:51pm: SEMI-STICKY POST--ALWAYS AT OR NEAR THE TOP OF THIS BLOG
Transition complete...Back in America after two years of being a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. This is a strange country to me now...

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Jun 13, 9:03am: It is crucial for you to understand what meditation is. It is not some special posture, and it's not just a set of mental exercises. Meditation is the cultivation of mindfulness and the application of that mindfulness once cultivated. You do not have to sit to meditate. You can meditate while washing the dishes. You can meditate in the shower, or roller skating, or typing letters. Meditation is awareness, and it must be applied to each and every activity of one's life. This isn't easy.

-Henepola Gunaratana, "Mindfulness in Plain English"

Mediafly: Jun 10, 12:06pm 7 reviews radio, science, podcast, npr
http://www.mediafly.com/Welcome.aspx; ****...You know, I rarely watch TV anyway...not because I'm some sort of elitist (besides, radio has it's share of junk), but because I find more quality programming on radio (esp. NPR).

Now, with THIS web page, is there any reason for me to watch TV at all? I did without it for 2+ years in the Peace Corps (just radio). And now it looks like my TV is about to turn into a large paperweight...

~From the page: "Get ALL your podcasts from ONE place delivered ANYWHERE"

StumbleUpon - stgrmnvlrs web site reviews and blog: Jun 8, 12:21pm 14 reviews stumblers
http://stgrmnvlr.stumbleupon.com/; Valerie has something special here - a sense of warmth and human compassion combined with fierce streak of intellectualism. Thank you for sharing.

mental_floss Blog & He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died: May 29, 7:30pm 122 reviews philosophy, photography, life, death
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/15131; ****...Truly poignant. So, what really matters during our brief time here? I am reminded of my own mortality.

(Thanks SU member Nacmacfeagle)

~From the page: "He Took a Polaroid Every Day, Until the Day He Died "

Postcards From Yo Momma: May 8, 4:26pm 13 reviews humor, blogs, moms
http://postcardsfromyomomma.com/; ***...Funny emails, chat transcripts, etc. from real moms. Happy Mother's Day!

A Politically Correct Lexicon -- In These Times: May 8, 7:41am 2 reviews linguistics
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3027/a_politically_correct_lexicon; ***...I'm speechless...which is probably just as well since I might say the wrong thing.

YouTube - Valentina Lisitsa Chopin 24 Etudes Op. 10 No. 4: May 2, 1:34pm 3 reviews classical-music, video
http://video.stumbleupon.com/?p=vscpnvruzf; ****...Wonderful. Her piano technique is phenomenal. But you can see more masterful displays of it when she plays Liszt, Ravel, or Rachmaninoff. I needed to hear her play Chopin to see if she had *emotion*. To these ears she does.

~Ukrainian: Валентина Лисиця, translit.Valentyna Lysytsya, Russian: Валентина Лисица) is a Ukrainian-born classical pianist. She currently lives in the United States and performs in many prestigious concert venues worldwide. Her husband Alexei Kuznetsoff is also a pianist, and her partner in duo-pianism.

World to Peace Corps: Skilled volunteers needed - Yahoo! News: Apr 28, 6:51am 1 review government, politics, volunteer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080425/ts_csm/opeacecorps; ****...Ahh...my "alma mater." The Peace Corps is "growing up" (or maybe just growing older).

~From the page: "But this may be changing. The Peace Corps is no longer just dispatching Americans abroad to teach English or help in the fields. It is tackling more complex issues, like HIV/AIDS and environmental degradation, which creates an impetus for the Peace Corps to professionalize. Now debate is brewing over how the agency can attract greater numbers of older, technically skilled volunteers."

TED: Ideas worth spreading: Apr 26, 7:05pm 256 reviews culture, religion, science, self-improvement, technology
http://www.ted.com/; *****...I'm speechless. This is undoubtedly one of the most fantastic web sites I've ever had the pleasure of viewing. These short talks (with video) given by amazing speakers on provocative subjects are, quite simply, awesome...truly awesome.

~From the page: TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

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