Graphic Material

Maybe I'm late in the game on this one, but while doing research for my current web project, I have stumbled upon the most amazing visual tool... the infographic!  It's a creative and visual way to engage an audience in what could be viewed as dry and somewhat blah statistics.  I love the colorful examples below which I found at Cool Infographics.  Van Gogh's painting of a skull becomes a visually powerful infographic on the dangers of smoking.  What a fun and effective way to learn!
    .ryn

Monday Video Inspiration: Poison & Wine

Oh your mouth is poison, your mouth is wine

Oh you think your dreams are the same as mine

-The Civil Wars

A beautiful and moving song by The Civil Wars for your Monday. Enjoy your day!
    .ryn

Whatever you are be a good one.
-Abraham Lincoln

Self-portrait

"If you try to view yourself through the lenses that others offer you, all you will see are distortions; your own light and beauty will become blurred, awkward, and ugly. Your sense of inner beauty has to remain a very private thing."
-John O-Donohue

A Day

What were you doing on July 24th, 2010?  We'll get a glimpse into that day and what it was like for people around the world in a new feature called "Life in a Day" which premieres at Sundance this week.  80,000 clips were contributed to make this film.  Yikes!  I cannot imagine the feat of editing it would take to tell a worldwide story of this magnitude.  I am curious.  The premiere will be streaming live from Sundance this Thursday at 8pm EST!  Lucky us!
    .ryn

A Glimpse of Winter

I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone.

Rainer Maria Rilke 

Hey baby! What's your sign?

If someone comes up to you in the bar with their "Hey baby, what's your sign?" pick-up line, better get up to speed on this news. According to a recent article in Gawker, astronomers have restored the original Babylonian Zodiac.  What does this mean? Well, your sign might have changed!  And mine did... and to something I had never heard before: Ophiuchus Nov. 29-Dec. 17.  They brought back the original 13 signs of the Zodiac and their original corresponding dates. 

    .ryn

Was a Sagitarius...

Now I'm an Ophiuchus... the serpent bearer.

Live Curious.

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever."

-Mahatma Gandhi

The most interesting people to me are the ones that are genuinely curious about life... constantly trying to figure out how this or that works, craving to know the history behind a monument, trying to craft something by hand.  They have stories to tell, photos to show, hobbies to perfect, collections to fill, places they have been... They want to get stories out of people, become passionate about other cultures and ways of life and then incorporate bits of those flavors into their own.  I am fortunate to have a collection of those people in my life and I am grateful for the ways they inspire me.  Do something new and keep learning like you'll live forever.  So... Play!  Learn!  Get lost!  Make something!  & Get curious...

    .ryn              

Somewhat easy ways to add some "different" to your day:

1.  Repair something that's broken: You'll save a few bucks and be proud of how resourceful you are

2.  Be inventive in your decorating: Use something unusual to display your favorite collection

3.  Take a new road to work: You might discover that the best-tasting peaches in the world are minutes away from where you live... then go home and bake a pie

2011 To Do's

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right."

-Oprah Winfrey

Ryn's Top 10 (of many) 2011 to-do's:

1. Read "Gone With the Wind"
2. Put a roof on the house
3. Make homemade soft pretzels
4. Camp in PA's darkest park
5. Landscape the yard with all-native to PA plants & trees
6. Volunteer to help people in need
7. Print and frame more photos
8. Give more surprises
9. Host more parties
10. Drop a few lb's

I Am...

I Am ...
an oldest daughter
a lover of goat cheese
a wanderer
31
a collector of beach glass
a reader of love poetry
a sister
a singer of songs
content
a swimmer in seas