Famous failures

Since life seems to be turning around for me, I’m hoping I’ve put my days of epic failing behind me.

I ran across this video tonight that puts failure in a different perspective. The lesson: if you’ve never failed, you’ve never lived. And they’ve got the bio briefs of lots of household names to prove it.

Seems like some of our country’s greatest assets got the failing out of the way first, to pave the way to greater things. Here’s hoping!

QOD: happiness

photo by h-d-k

Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.

– anonymous

Heartbreaking photo essay of an abandoned school in Detroit

The interior of the former Detroit Public Schools’ book depository is the first of many heart-breaking photos in James Griffioen’s Vice Magazine photo essay.   It’s not only sad to see a place of learning abandoned, but that so many resources that could have been used by other school districts and charities were left to rot is just criminal.

Via The Daily Dish

QOD: Oh, the Places You’ll Go

photo by badjonni

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

from Oh The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss

Free Advanced Reader Copies of HarperCollins Titles

HarperCollins provides voracious readers with an opportunity to preview upcoming titles, provided they are willing to write an honest review.

Once signed up for the First Look Program, you’re allowed to enter the raffle for any upcoming titles that are of interest to you.  New titles are posted at the beginning of each month, and the raffle readers selected by the end of the month.

From self-help to business tomes to cookbooks to chick lit to poetry, you can be one of the first reading the next best seller.  What’s better than free books? Really!

Look for the Program Sign-Up link halfway down the link list in the right hand column.

VOD: Something For Kate’s Monsters

Some of my all time favorite song lyrics are in the song, Monsters. It doesn’t take a huge leap to conclude the song is about depression, but my favorite line is more of a life goal.

’cause i don’t want to be a container
or a bastard with a ten page disclaimer

I don’t just want to take up space in this life or be the person life happened to.  I really want to make a difference and leave my mark.

i was hanging upside down from the overpass
waiting to discover something about the world
i couldn’t get with the program and i couldn’t listen to them
it was like trying to think in reverse
and i don’t want to slide into apathy
and i don’t want to die in captivity
but these monsters follow me around
hunting me down, trying to wipe me out

wipe me out

i was hiding away under water
waiting for distance and buying some time
trying to be two hundred thousand years younger
so i could excuse myself from humankind
’cause i don’t want to be a container
or a bastard with a ten page disclaimer
but these monsters spin me around
get me down, just try and shut me out

shut me out

hold it in your head
believe and make believe and make believe

i was hiding away under water
waiting for distance, waiting for time
and i don’t want to slide into apathy and i don’t
and i don’t want to live in captivity

Clearing off your book shelves? Ensure they find a good home

photo by photocapy

I’m doing some tidying up of my unread book piles, pulling out titles that peaked my interest a few years ago, but that I’m no longer inclined to need.   Given the rise of the used book market, it isn’t worth posting to half.com, when I’m likely to bring in $1 or less for most of the tomes I want to send on to their next home.

The next best thing to money is another book, which is why I list books in need of a good home at BookMooch.  At BookMooch I earn points for each book I send to a fellow member.  In turn, I get to use those points to mooch books from other users.

But like any retailer experiences, some books just aren’t flying off the shelves in your chosen location or demographic.  Thus, I’ve been looking for alternative places to distribute books in need of new homes.

Your local library

The most obvious choice for donation is your local library, most of which will give you a receipt that you can probably use to write off the donation come tax time. Older books aren’t likely to go into circulation, but they may wind up being sold as part of the regular used book sale fundraising.

For those of you looking for more creative places to donate your used books, there are plenty of options.

Prisons

Looking to get rid of old college textbooks?  Already solved that quarterlife crisis and don’t need those self-help books any more?  Look no further than your local prison.  While the rules vary from prison to prison, many accept a variety of educational and recreational reading materials, since their library budgets are limited.

We all know the resale value of college text books is limited since new editions with different pagination are constantly being issued.  Here’s an opportunity to really pay it forward.

• Books Behind Bars provides information about what types of reading materials are accepted by prisons all around the country and to whom you should ship your donation

Prisons also gladly accept used fiction, particularly paperback since it’s easier to ship.

• Books to Prisoners is a volunteer organization that ships requested titles to individual prisoners nationwide.  They send out close to 10,000 books a year are are always looking  to replenish their stockpile.

Troops

People are still looking for ways to support the troops abroad.  Shipping your collection of Stephen King paperbacks to deployed soldiers is one way to go.

• Books for Soldiers
• Operation Paperback

Low-income kids

Basic literacy will forever be a key component of early childhood education.  Unfortunately not all school libraries are well-stocked and not all families can afford to buy books for home.  These groups try to put books in the hands of young learners throughout the country.  So if you have gently used children’s titles to get out of the house, consider these two groups.

• Books First distributed more than 15,000 books to teachers and their classes in 2007, benefiting more than 2000 pupils.
• Project Nightlight reaches out to homeless children, providing “individual tote bags each filled with a security blanket, an age-appropriate book, and a stuffed animal to children (ages 0-10) in homeless shelters.”  They are always looking for like new books to be included in their care packages; if you’re as obsessive about your books as I am about mine, most of them are like new.

When all else fails, Got Books?  The group ensures no books winds up in a landfill.   Some books they sell, donating half the proceeds to a variety of charities, and others they donate to schools.

Double Coconut Pancakes

photo by araswami

I am a notoriously bad pancake maker and have long resigned myself to restaurant pancakes.  Not any more.

These are the best pancakes ever, and I wanted to share the recipe (from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2007).  I used unsweetened coconut flakes in mine.

Overall, Cooking Light puts together an amazing cookbook of their previous year’s magazine recipes.  Some of my favorite recipes hail from their publications.

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp flaked sweetened coconut
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 (13.5 oz can) light coconut milk
1 tbsp butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with  a  knife.  Combine flour, sugar, and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine coconut milk, butter, and egg, stir well.  Add coconut milk mix to flour mix, stirring until smooth.

2. Pour about 1/4 c batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet.  Cook 3 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.  Carefully turn pancakes over, cook 2 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Yield 4 svgs, 3 pancakes each

300 calories/29% from fat; 9.7g fat, 7.6g protein, 46.6 g carb, 1.4g fiber, 60mg chol, 521 mg sodium, 14mg calcium

QOD: friendship

photo by ajawin

A friend is one to whom one can pour out all the contents of one’s heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keeping what is worth keeping, and, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.

-Arab proverb

QOD: Frank A. Clark on generosity

photo by drp

Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find it out.

Frank A. Clark