Glory Baby

July 27th, 2008 Posted in Faith, family, Music
2 Comments »

The anguish of suffering a miscarriage stays with you forever. The pain might subside to a certain degree but it will always remain with you deep down inside. You always think about how things could’ve been, what milestone you would’ve celebrated had your baby lived. Yes, it’s a torturous game that parents play but we can’t help it. For some reason, it helps with the healing.

The other thing that seems to give some semblance of peace is music like the wonderful “Glory Baby” by Watermark.
The song is a beautiful tune in and of itself, but when you add in the lyrics and the message of the song then it makes it extra special. It’s become a powerful anthem for all parents that have endured the devastation of losing a child.

If you go to Youtube or do a search on google for Glory Baby you will be amazed by all of the results that you see. There are countless precious souls out there who’ve used this song as their tribute to their lost little angels. It truly is a touching and heart-breaking experience. Here are some of the tributes followed by the lyrics.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wH5n5ikNgA]

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PLPF1krwYU]

 

There’s even a Second Life video of “Glory Baby”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0nCRiqANxU&feature=related]

 

GLORY BABY by Watermark

Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…baby..
You were growing, what happened dear?
You disappeared on us baby…baby..
Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe until we’re home with you…
Until we’re home with you…

Miss you everyday
Miss you in every way
But we know there’s a
day when we will hold you
We will hold you
You’ll kiss our tears away
When we’re home to stay
Can’t wait for the day when we will see you
We will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you
‘till mom and dad can hold you…
You’ll just have heaven before we do
You’ll just have heaven before we do

Sweet little babies, it’s hard to
understand it ‘cause we’re hurting
We are hurting
But there is healing
And we know we’re stronger people through the growing
And in knowing-
That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would…
Just like He said He would…

BRIDGE:
I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies
and what they must sound like
But I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home
And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…

Note: There are many excellent online support sites that can help the healing process.
http://www.inthesavioursarms.com
http://www.missionaryresources.com/miscarriage.html
http://home.mend.org

Here’s a good article on “Mourning a Miscarriage”
Here’s a book called “Empty Arms”

Share
,
Read More

Flying Solo

July 27th, 2008 Posted in Blogs, Wordpress
10 Comments »

“Should I host my own blog?” Sooner or later, every blogger will ask that very question. Eventually, you will want to know the pro’s and cons of hosting your own blog vs staying with a free host like blogger or WordPress.com. Is it worth the expense and all the trouble to fly solo?

I recently did the research and came to the conclusion that it was well worth the expense and effort to “wing it” myself. I’ll share everything I learned, some things the hard way! There’s a great deal of information out there but this will be a stripped down collection of what I feel is the most important information you need to know about this subject matter. Ultimately, it’ll still be your decision whether to be your own pilot or continue to let someone else fly your plane.

Let’s start with a simple comparison of the two choices. We will use WordPress.org (self hosting) and WordPress.com (free blog host) just to compare apples to apples.

Feature/Option

WordPress.com (Free) WordPress.org (Self Hosting)
Your own Domain name No (http://name.wordpress.com) Yes
Hosting cost per month Free Average is $5-$10 per month
Easy Management Yes No (lots of manual updates)
Open Plugin support NO YES
Open Theme support NO YES
Customizable html/css code NO Yes
Automatic Backups Yes No
Allows Ads No Yes

The verdict? Well, it depends on you, of course. How serious are you about blogging? What is the goal of your blog? If it’s just a personal blog and you are not that technically savvy then perhaps the free choice is the right fit for you. However, if you enjoy tinkering with this stuff anf want full and complete control of your blog then self-hosting is a no-brainer. It’s also the right choice if you want to have a professional or business blog with any hopes of monetizing it.

Preflight Checklist

  1. download wordpress software (use peazip to unzip files)
  2. Register new domain name
  3. Register new web host (WordPress approved hosts )
  4. Export all posts/comments from existing blog

Spreading Your Wings! (Here are Detailed instructions from WordPress.org )

  1. Create a database for WordPress on your web server, as well as a MySQL user who has all privileges for accessing and modifying it.
  2. Rename the wp-config-sample.php file to wp-config.php.
  3. Open wp-config.php in your favorite text editor and fill in your database details.
  4. Upload your WordPress files with an FTP program such as the free Filezilla to the desired location on your web server:
    • If you want to integrate WordPress into the root of your domain (e.g. http://example.com/), move or upload all contents of the unzipped WordPress directory (but excluding the directory itself) into the root directory of your web server.
    • If you want to have your WordPress installation in its own subdirectory on your web site (e.g. http://example.com/blog/), rename the directory wordpress to the name you’d like the subdirectory to have and move or upload it to your web server. For example if you want the WordPress installation in a subdirectory called “blog”, you should rename the directory called “wordpress” to “blog” and upload it to the root directory of your web server.
  • Run the WordPress installation script by accessing wp-admin/install.php in your favorite web browser.If you installed WordPress in the root directory, you should visit: http://example.com/wp-admin/install.phpIf you installed WordPress in its own subdirectory called blog, for example, you should visit: http://example.com/blog/wp-admin/install.php
  • Import all posts/comments into new blog
  • Upload all themes and apply the one you want to use
  • Upload all plugins and active the ones you want to use
  • Add all badges and widgets that you want to use

Postflight checklist

  1. change feedburner information
  2. change technorati information
  3. change all links to blog in profiles to new url (twitter, friendfeed, etc.)
  4. Spread the word about the change
  5. Backup database/blog (schedule regular backups as well)
  6. Optional: If you want to redirect traffic from your old wordpress.com blog to your new self-hosted wordpress.org blog then checkout this PDF from Blog-Well.com.

Free blog software

www.wordpress.org

Free unzipping utility

PeaZip

Free Automatic Blog Backup Services

blogbackuponline(50 MB of storage)
WordPress Plugin for Database backup

Free FTP Software

FileZilla

Free blog themes & templates

http://themes.wordpress.net

http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/

11 free magazine style themes

WPThemesFree

Mashable’s 70 fresh & modern templates

Free blog plugins

WordPress Plugin Library

Best plugins

Word Press stats

addthis plugin for wp

FriendFeed Comments

Retaggr

Category Cloud

Search Everything

Send to Email

Sent to Printer

Subscribe to comments

Akismet

Best widgets

meebo

clustrmap

alltop badges

twitter badges

retaggr

mybloglog

disqus or Sezwho

Final Thoughts
Speaking for myself, I must admit that I wish I made the decision to fly solo a long time ago!
Despite all warnings and fears, it truly isn’t that difficult to do. Best of all, it’s tremendously more fun and rewarding. Think of it like this: Do you want to be the passenger on a commercial airliner or do you want to fly your very own plane? Do you want to fly from point to point or do you want to go where you want to go and do loop de loops? Give it a test flight and I hope to see you up in the clouds real soon!

Share
, ,
Read More

Ambitious

July 27th, 2008 Posted in Music
1 Comment »

I love Jeff Beck! The video for “Ambitious” is pure fun full of delightful cameos! Check it out and see for yourself.
My favorites are Marilyn McCoo, Jon Butcher and Donny Osmond! Yes, I know. He was great in it, trust me.

The best part comes during McCoo’s performance and Jeff does that shooting sound effect with his guitar.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbpQf22c494]

 

 

 

 

Ambitious
by Jeff Beck
Here is a rich boy, a bit of a brat,
To him life’s just a fling.
Phi Beta Kappa and first in his class,
He’s treated just like a king.
And he says, “I’m not sure what it is I must have
so I guess I’ll just take everything”.
He’s just ambitious,
He’s not a bad man,
He’s just ambitious.
He’s not a bad man,
Just ambitious.
Whooah, yeah!
Just ambitious.
Here is a young girl, born down and out,
Locked up in jail when she was ten.
Now in the courtroom, she’s got a bit of doubt,
Sits on the judge side of the bench.
She’s just ambitious,
She’s not a bad girl,
She’s just ambitious.
She’s not a bad girl,
Just ambitious.
Whooah, yeah!
Just ambitious.
Here is a wild man who thirsts for a fight,
And his cool streak gets him by.
All these four-letter words in his mind,
Here is a man who’ll survive.
He’s just ambitious,
He’s just a wild man,
He’s just ambitious.
He’s just a wild man,
Just ambitious.
Whooah, yeah!
Just ambitious.
Here is a wild man who thirsts for a fight,
Just ambitious.
Always a four-letter word in his mind,
Just ambitious.
Don’t you know, I’m just ambitious,
I’m not a bad man, just ambitious.
I’m not a bad man, just ambitious.
Whooah, yeah!
Just ambitious.
I’m not a bad man, just ambitious.
I’m not a bad man, just ambitious.
I’m not a bad man, just ambitious.

Share
Read More

Wrong Impression

July 27th, 2008 Posted in Music
No Comments

Natalie Imbruglia is known by her “Torn” song but “Wrong Impression” is my favorite song she’s done. It’s such a perfect Sunday morning reflective mood kinda tune. She’s never looked more beautiful and the message of the song is bittersweet. Rumor has it that she wrote the song after her breakup with LennyKravitz. In any event, it’s a lovely song and music video.

Every “Wrong Impression” video on YouTube

WRONG IMPRESSION
By: Natalie Imbruglia

Calling out, calling out
Haven’t you wondered?
Why I’m always alone when you’re in my dreams?
Calling out calling out

Haven’t you wondered?
Why you’re finding it hard just looking at me?

I want you but I want you to understand
I need you, I love you

Didn’t wanna leave you with the wrong impression
Didn’t wanna leave you with my last confession
Yeah, of love
Wasn’t trying to pull you in the wrong direction
All I wanna do is tryna’ make a connection
Yeah, of love

Falling out, falling out
Have you ever wondered?
If this is ever more than a crazy Idea
Falling out, falling out
Have you ever wondered?
What we could have been if you ever let me in

I want you but I want you to understand
I miss you, I love you

Didn’t wanna leave you with the wrong impression
Didn’t wanna leave you with my life’s confession
Yeah, of love
Wasn’t trying to pull you in the wrong direction
All I wanna do is tryna’ make a connection
Yeah, of love
Have you ever wondered?

Yeah…
Yeah… oh… ah…
Yeah…

I need you
I love you
Didn’t wanna leave you with the wrong impression
Didn’t wanna leave you with my life’s confession
Yeah, of love
Wasn’t trying to pull you in the wrong direction
All I wanna do is tryna’ make a connection
Yeah, of love

I didn’t wanna leave you with the wrong impression
Didn’t wanna leave you with my life’s confession
Yeah, of love, yeah
Wasn’t trying to pull you in the wrong direction
All I wanna do is tryna’ make a connection
Yeah, of love

Didn’t wanna leave you there
I’ll call you now, yeah
Wasn’t trying to pull you in the wrong direction
But I’ll call you now
Yeah…yeah… yeah..

Wasn’t trying to pull you in the wrong direction
But I’ll call you now (til fade..)

Share
,
Read More

Can’t Buy Me Love

July 26th, 2008 Posted in Movies
No Comments

Over 20 years ago, Dr. McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) from Grey’s Anatomy starred in an underrated coming of age movie called “Can’t Buy Me Love” (1987). Amanda Peterson co-starred as the object of his affection. It was the 80s equivalent of Beauty and the Geek as he tries to get popular by paying her to pretend to like him. His theory was that he would become popular simply from osmosis and much to her chagrin it worked! For a while anyway.

This was a sweet and fun movie that holds up well unlike many of the teen flicks of the era. One of the best moves it made was using the actual Beatles song as its theme! Far too often movies shoot themselves in the foot by using a dreadful knockoff version. The two leads and the rest of the cast were all very good in this cautionary tale about cliques. I think they did a great job showing how the popular kids were once friends with the nerds when they were younger. What happened on the way to high school?

There were a slew of other teen movies that attempted to cover this ground but few ever did as well as this one did.It never goes over the top not does it hit any sour notes. Everything rings true which makes the movie enjoying for any viewer. I think every high school should show this movie at the start of every year.

Here’s the Trailer

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiS42RHaKyg&feature=related]

The Beginning scenes

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01LV8W6-Evg&feature=related]

Sweet speech near the end (Spoiler Alert!)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzifA0lwnpc&feature=related]

The Ending (um, MAJOR spoiler alert!)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a9hkOgp2ts&feature=related]
Share
Read More

Watching the World Go By

July 25th, 2008 Posted in Music
No Comments

Maxi Priest’s “Watching the World Go By” (1996) still stirs the soul after all these years. I connect to its message whenever I’m in a certain kind of mood. Usually it’s when my day has ramped up to a fever pitch and I can’t even get a moment to catch my breath. On many occasions I’ve escaped the chaos and madness to steal some time for myself and play my ipod, usually a playlist with peaceful tunes of bliss like this one. It’s also a wonderful way to counter all of the awful news we hear on a daily basis.

Here’s the music video followed by the poetic lyrics. Pay close attention to the words, especially at the very end. Also, crank up the volume, wear some headphones if you can and enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sJQaTyPsoU]

There’s so much injustice here
I see it every day
Time and time we’ll try to change
And never find a way
We’ll climb the mountains far and wide
To find the truth behind the lies
Here I am just searching for some peace
Just watching the world go by
Counting the clouds up in the sky
I’m hoping for a new tomorrow
Without sadness and sorrows in my life
There is so much hate around
We need to find some love
So much disillusion
I just got to rise above
There is so much going down
To keep my feet on solid ground
Got to find an answer to my prayers
(Chorus)
Just watching the world go by
Counting the clouds up in the sky
Getting all those complications
And those mad situations out of my life
Just watching the world go by
Seeing all those lonely people pass me by
I’m hoping for a new tomorrow
Without sadness and sorrows in my life my life
my life my life ~~~
Come along now, come along now
You need to spend some time
To look into yourself
And watch the river flow into the Sea
You travel down a highway
Not knowing where it goes
And listening to the music as it flows
(Chorus) Repeat

Share
, , ,
Read More

MicroSync

July 25th, 2008 Posted in Microsoft
6 Comments »

Microsoft has just released a new version of their Outlook Connector v12.1 Beta which in essense turns Live Hotmail into Plaxo! Previously, you could only connect Outlook to your  hotmail account if you subscribed to a paid premium account. However, this new version is totally free!
Not only can you now read and create emails in Outlook with your live hotmail accounts, you can also synchronize your calendar and contacts! This means you can view all of your information with a browser without Outlook which will sync with whatever data you enter in the web version.
Plaxo cannot be happy about this.

Here’s how to set it up

  • Download the free new Outlook Connector here.
  • Close Outlook and install the connector
  • Launch Outlook and you will see a new menu option called Outlook Connector
  • Click Add new account
  • Enter your hotmail or live account information and click OK
  • Restart Outlook
  • You will see a new account folder in your Outlook pane:

Hot Tip: Right click the inbox folder in your hotmail/live account and select Add to Favorite Folders to create a shortcut to this account in your Favorite folder view. You will then be able to view all new email total for all of your email accounts. Here’s an example:


Final Thoughts: This move by Microsoft to make this synchronization between Outlook on the desktop and their Live Hotmail accounts is obviously a part of their live mesh and over all cloud computing strategy. Providing this valable service for free is another brilliant move on their part.
Now, If they could only do the same sort of thing with a real live office suite of web apps which works with their SkyDrive online storage then we’ll all be happy! :)
For much more information, here’s Microsoft’s Outlook Connectorl page.

Share
,
Read More

The World Ain’t Slowing Down

July 23rd, 2008 Posted in Movies, Music
No Comments

Sometimes you hear a song from a movie and you never forget it, even if the movie isn’t that great. That’s the case with “The World Ain’t Slowing Down” by  Paul Ellis which was used in a key scene in “Me, Myself and Irene” starring Jim Carrey. While the movie isn’t that great, it did have its moments such as the scene with this amazing song. It’s become a trademark for the Farrelly brothers and their movies (Checkout “Shallow Hal“).

The music, the lyrics and whole message of the song reached out and grabbed me by the heart and moved me in a memorable way. I still listen to it every once in a while just to remind myself of its poignant reminders about how fast time flies and how we need to make the most of our time. Weren’t we all that kid who just climbed that merry-go-round? All the more powerful to me as I bring my three kids to the Merry-ground.

Here’s my favorite part of the song… such beautiful lyrics, like poetry.

You gotta get gone, you gotta get going
Hey, the world ain’t slowing down for no one
It’s a carnival callin out to you
It sounds like a song,
Hits you like scripture
You paint the picture
With colors squeezed from your hand
Weren’t you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go-round
Hey look, the world ain’t slowing down

Here’s a sweet video someone compiled for the song. They did a nice job.

The World Ain’t Slowing Down

I found you sitting on a suitcase crying
Beneath my feet,
I feel the rumble of a subway train
I laugh out loud,
’cause it’s the one thing I hadn’t been trying
The train came in breathless,
The passanger’s restless
You say, “Baby, you’ll never change”
You gotta get gone, you gotta get going
Hey, the world ain’t slowing down for no one
It’s a carnival callin out to you
It sounds like a song,
Hits you like scripture
You paint the picture
With colors squeezed from your hand
Weren’t you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go-round
Hey look, the world ain’t slowing down
Hey, hey, the world ain’t slowing down
Hey, hey…
Out on the sidewalk,
Pigeon’s do the moonwalk
I’ll be dancing like Fred Astaire
The lamppost’s are rockin,
The whole town’s talkin
Like a fool in a barber’s chair
And I get the sensation,
The joy and fustration
Like being caught by a tropical rain
Freedom can numb you,
When there’s no place to run to
It feels just like Novocane
You gotta get gone, you gotta get going
Hey the world ain’t slowin down for no one
It’s a carnival callin out to you
(it’s callin out to you)
It sounds like a song,
Hits you like scripture
You paint the picture
With colors squeezed from your hand
Weren’t you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go-round
Hey look, the world ain’t slowin down
Hey, hey, the world ain’t slowing down
Hey, hey…
You packed up all your handbags,
Throwing off the sandbags
I let go and you stepped free
I didn’t want to loose you
You said, “You didn’t choose to,
It’s just how your karma came.”
But thanks for the vision,
And the twenty-twenty wisdom
It hit me like a south-bound train
You gotta get gone, you gotta get going
Hey the world ain’t slowin down for no one
It’s a carnival callin out to you
(it’s callin out to you)
It sounds like a song,
Hits you like scripture
You paint the picture
With colors squeezed from your hand
Weren’t you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go–
Weren’t you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go–
Weren’t you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go-round
Hey look, the world ain’t slowin down
Hey, hey, the world ain’t slowin down
Hey, hey, it’s a big, blue world
It’s a big, blue world
Ridin’ on a big, blue world

Share
, ,
Read More

That Girl

July 22nd, 2008 Posted in TV
2 Comments »

I had a crush on Marlo Thomas as a very young man, perhaps even a boy still. Hey, Italians deal with puberty earlier than most (I think anyway). I loved her show “That Girl” which was on the air from 1966 to 1971. It centered around a single working girl in the big city, pre-dating my all-time favorite sitcom “Mary Tyler Moore” which gets credit for being the first to cover this ground (MTM was on from 1970 thru 1977). The ironic twist here is that the series was created by Bill Persky and Sam Denoff who were the head writers on the Dick Van Dyke Show which co-starred none other than, yes, you guessed it, Mary Tyler Moore. Wild, huh?

I think one of the main reasons why I’ve always had affection for Marlo Thomas and That Girl was because my very first girlfriend looked exactly like her! Maybe it was a fluky coincidence, maybe it was directly connected. Who knows. All I know is that I’ll always like Marlo and that show.

Here’s the official That Girl website which has an excellent episode guide for all 136 shows.
The fourth season will be available on DVD in August which means you could own 4 of the 5 seasons. The final season will be available on DVD in the next year or two.


Here’s the memorable theme

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9rapJrbNRA&feature=related]

Here’s a sample episode in three parts called “My Sister’s Keeper”
Take note of the actress playing the nun. She’s Marlo’s sister! Their dad Danny Thomas also appears.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV5lbI7TibQ]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OozSZmSshUs&feature=related]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b6zMK0w5rU&feature=related]
Share
, ,
Read More

FriendFeed Karma

July 18th, 2008 Posted in Friendfeed, Web 2.0
6 Comments »

If you want to make sure you are following everyone that’s following you on FriendFeed then you need to use this cool service called FriendVenn that’s just like the excellent Twitter Karma service that does the same thing for Twitter members.

Just enter your login ID and password for FriendFeed and you will see the following information:
People you are subscribed to but do not follow you back (Shame on them!)
People you follow that follow you back (Karmariffic!)
People who follow you but you don’t follow back for some reason (Shame on you!)

Here’s my FF results which shocked me! I didn’t realize so many didn’t follow Pai back (Most of them friends elsewhere!) and I didn’t realize that I didn’t follow back so many that I thought I was.

29 people you are subscribed to. 29 people who both sub to you and you sub to. 12 people who only subscribe to you.
Alana Taylor
Amit
Cheryl Smith
Chris Heuer
Chris Johnston
Chris Messina
Christina Warren
Christine Lu
Dayngr
Jason Calacanis
Jeff Pulver
Julia Roy
Kevin Rose
Leo Laporte
Loic Le Meur
Marshall Kirkpatrick
Meg Canada
Merlene
Neha Narula
Nik Butler
Robert Scoble
Susan Reynolds
Trish
Veronica
l0ckergn0me
laura fitton
loren feldman
mashable
michael arrington		 Ben Borges
Chris
Christine Cavalier
Eric
Hao Chen
Jay Martinez
L.P. NEENZ FALEAFINE
Linda Mills
Lucretia Pruitt
Mari Adkins
Molly
Mykl Roventine
Nathaniel Payne
Nicole Randome
Orli Yakuel
R. Staehlin
Rachel Rubin
Robert Kuhlmann
SharnAtlanta
Stacee Schmidt-Cottrell
Stefan Hayden
Stevi Deter
Todd Jordan
Veronica Giggey
Whitney Hoffman
justine
lisarokusek
phil baumann
robert holiday		 Charlie Anzman
Chris Rodgers
Cyvros/fyc
Dan Covington
Dave Evans
Jeff Turner
Jim Jannotti
NinjaKai
Rick Mahn
delphie
ingo ju
the constant skeptic

Note: I want to thank Hao Chen for sharing this with me. He has created some excellent grasemonkey scripts for FriendFeed on FireFox so I asked if he had plans for doing this type of thing and he sent me the link to FriendVenn! I would checkout his very cool scripts too!
Oh, my FF is http://friendfeed.com/paisano

Share
Read More
Older Entries