Have any of you ever purchased music because of a TV show or a movie? What I can think of offhand is purchasing an album because of Veronica Mars. I purchased the soundtrack album. I love it and I still play it over and over . . . even six years later. And from that album I purchased music from Tegan and Sara. I can think of a song I purchased because of a TV show but I am not sure which one, I think it might have been Dead Like Me – Boom Boom Ba. I just remembered another song I purchased because of a show, but I don’t remember the show. My husband and I purchased two versions of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical album – but that was a musical so that kinda doesn’t count. I bet we all have Grease . . . so I am not really thinking about music from musicals because that is kinda a given, many people purchase the album for a musical. But I am thinking more like when you see a show and you end up looking up the theme song or one of the songs they played in the show. Have you ever purchased music from that type of scenario? A couple of days ago I purchased a song because it is stuck in my head. It has been stuck in my head for probably about a week.
It is not in English so it is impossible at this point for me to sing, but it just plays over and over in my head. And not even the entire song . . . yet. The part that plays over and over is basically the part that they played in the beginning of the show. But now that I have the whole song I think more of it is stuck in my head.
It is catchy. The song is FUTURO by Café Tacvba Here is their official video on Youtube.
What do you think? I have an earworm of it. So . . . what music have you ended up purchasing because of a TV show or movie?
Ahh, just a quick post today as it seems that the day flew by and I didn’t even notice. It started out good this morning. I thought I was doing good time-wise, but then the next thing I know it, my cat, the little one, is whining. I thought, “What? Why are you whining?” And I looked at the clock and it was a few minutes after 6:00. We feed them at 6:30, but when she whines for food, I will feed her because she is the little one that could use to gain a few pounds. I have noticed that she will whine before feeding time and if I don’t feed her she will eat the dry food. Then when I do put the wet food down she is not hungry and the other cat will eat it all the wet food. So I stopped what I was doing to feed them. I am feeling very behind (in regards to my to-do list) and it is already 6:30! So . . . just a quick post. How do you feel about “recommended videos” on Youtube? When I am on Youtube and I am watching something, I don’t mind them so much because often times it is something interesting. Plus there is the option not to watch, of course. But I don’t care for them on my blog. I mean, I post something that I want to share with you, but I don’t necessarily want to share the recommended video. I don’t even know what it will be. It could be something I don’t really want on my blog. So anyway . . . if you are posting a video from Youtube into your WordPress blog you can turn off the recommended video, if you want.
If you don’t want the recommended videos to show up after your video is finished playing when you embed a video in your WordPress blog, you just have to add ?rel=0 at the end of your video URL like this:
Not sure if you are interesting in turning recommended videos off when you include a Youtube video in one of your blog posts, but I thought I would share with you in case you might be. Perhaps you hadn’t thought about it before. Well, now that you know you have to option to turn it off, perhaps you can think about it and decide.
What are your thoughts? Do you care? Would you turn it off now that you know you can?
I had started writing a different post, a post about a yoga pose I am enjoying lately and wish I could do in my classes. But as I was cooking dinner my husband came into the room laughing and saying that Hulu finally had a good commercial. I totally judge commercials. Since I am forced to have them play, I sometimes watch them. When I watch them, I judge them. Currently I am convinced that a specific car company thinks it has very unintelligent owners/drivers – or that is at least the way the commercial portrays them. And Jack-In-The-Box is brilliant! Sometimes I enjoy commercials, and now, on Hulu there are two commercials that are super funny – at least to me and my husband. The commercials are for hot dogs.
They are old commercials, uploaded to Youtube in 2012, but I am just seeing them now. Applegate – Natural and Organic Meat is the maker of the commercials or, more accurately, the product that the commercials are advertising is hot dogs.
The one I saw first was this woman sitting at her dining room table interviewing a cow. The “cow” was a man, a huge muscle man in a cow costume. They call him Mooscles. She tells him she is looking for a natural hot dog made of beef without hormones. He claims he does not use hormones. She asks him if he uses growth hormones and he says no. She then tells him there is a needle sticking in his haunch. He looks at it and say it is not his.
In the other one a woman is in the store holding a package of hotdogs and the cow approaches her and ask her if she is looking for quality meat and she says she thinks she found it and he says, “Yeah, you did,” while flexing his pecs. She says her family prefers all natural beef. He says his does too and he points to his kid. The “calf” is the same guy in a shopping cart. And the “cow” says, “They grow so fast.” This one is not as funny to me, but the point is funny, I think. Especially since that is what growth hormones do, make things grow larger than they normally would and at an accelerated rate. When the commercial shows the product name it states “The cleaner wiener”. Too funny!
I told my husband that I thought the commercials were so funny I was going to write a blog post about them, but I changed my mind. He thought they were funny enough for a post. So I changed my mind back!
That is one icky part of Hulu, so far it seems that they run the same commercials for ever break for a few weeks. I am so tired of a specific insurance commercial, yet, I honestly couldn’t tell you the company. Ha, annoying advertising is not always effective.
Do you ever pay attention to commercials? Do you like some more than others? Do you have a favorite commercial?
At the end of March (2015) there were two Special Nia Events in Campbell, California. They were special for a lot of reasons. One reason being is because a visiting teacher was going to be doing them. It is always special when someone who does not live in the area comes and shares their talents. Another reason is because the Nia Class is a one-of-a-kind-creation. The visiting teacher created the routine and was going to lead us through it. ANOTHER reason, they were special, was that one of the classes was a workshop or a playshop as we like to call them in Nia. And it was also, the creation of the visiting teacher and it was something that I think anyone that dances Nia can benefit from. Another reason they special was they were the first Nia Events that I produced. Produced meaning, when I heard that the Nia Teacher who created the Playshop was coming to my area I contacted him to invite him to do these events. I secured the location, I created marketing material, I promoted the events (as I am sure you have seen, I posted about them often), I worked to get participants to the events, and I worried about how it would all turn out. So, two special Nia Events. I have posted two separate posts (What Did Frankie Say? and Dancing, Learning, Posting, Editing) about the Nia Class that was held on Friday, March 27, 2015. This post is about the Playshop.
The Playshop on Saturday, March 28, 2015 was a playshop regarding Nia FreeDance. In a Nia class, there is normally choreography. Nia Headquarters and the training staff create Nia Routines. There are Nia Routine DVDs that Nia Teachers purchase. We learn the routines and lead our students through them. We have a lot of freedom with our classes. We can follow the routines “exactly” or we can play with them. We can create our own routines from a mix of Nia Routines or we can take the Nia choreography and add it to other music. Or we can create our own routines with other non-Nia music. But with almost every routine there is FreeDance.
FreeDance is where there is not specific choreography. You are not told exactly how to move. Now, I have heard the creators of Nia express very different opinions on FreeDance. I heard one of them say in the past that FreeDance should ALWAYS be guided and the other one say that FreeDance can just be free. So . . . there are different opinions on the matter. I think that in keeping with the Nia White Belt Principle #4, Nia FreeDance does not need to be guided because “Anything Goes . . . movement-wise”. But FreeDance in an exercise class is a challenge to many people. There are many reasons as to why people cannot or will not just move their bodies in their own way in an exercise class.
This playshop was brought here to help people with that. Many of the tools (ideas) Jason shared were covered in the Nia Intensives. So if you have not attended a Nia White Belt Intensive or Nia Blue Belt Intensive, they would be new to you. They are GREAT! And they were the reminder and push I needed to pull them out to use them. The most valuable things he shared with me though were not necessarily the guiding ideas, but more about how the individuals in class can be left to be.
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When I see people in my class not moving or seeming to struggle with FreeDance, I take responsibility and blame myself for not getting them to move with my suggestions and guidance. But he brought up some very good points that I will now take to class and practice just letting those people be where they are, at that moment, in class.
Although I will still strive for the “When Harry Met Sally Moment” of wanting people to look at us and say, “I’ll have what SHE’S having.” I will also take into consideration that they could very well be doing my suggestion, but it looks different to me than I would do it. Or that they are just not in a place to FreeDance. Could be a case of Natural Time.
I learned a lot. I had a lot of fun. I am excited for Jason to come back again! This video and the video on my website are the same song. As I only stopped participating one time to video. The videos are at different times so they are a little different. Also shown here are a few of the pictures I took during the Playshop. I took more pictures during the hour Frankie Say Nia class than I did during the 3.75 hours of the Nia FreeDance Playshop.
There might be one more blog post about this, but we will see. These are the extent of pictures and videos. Enjoy!
Please share your comments. Please ask if you have any questions!
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“What is Alzheimer’s Disease? Alzheimer’s is a slow fatal disease of the brain affecting one in ten people over the age of 65. No one is immune. The disease comes on gradually as two abnormal protein fragments called Plaques and Tangles accumulate in the brain and kill brain cells.” Then the video goes on to say WHERE in the brain those fragments start and WHAT is in that part of the brain. The first place is the middle of the bottom part of the brain the place where memories are formed. The video states that as the disease progresses it becomes harder and harder to form new memories. Then the disease spreads to the language processing portion of the brain. Then, Alzheimer’s goes to area of the brain in the front where logical thought takes place. Problem solving, grasping concepts and making plans are some of the things affected. This video goes on to show the way the disease progresses. It somewhat helps explains things like why a person who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease can remember things from years ago, but not decide what to wear today or what to eat for a meal. It is a less-than-four-minute video that explains a little bit about how the brain is affected by Alzheimer’s Disease.
The video is about five years old and is from www.AboutAlz.org, but I just saw it posted on Facebook this past weekend. I thought it was very informative and I wanted to share it. It quickly and basically explains the progression of the disease. It states that “the progression from mild forgetting until death is slow and steady and takes place over an average of eight to ten years.”
“An estimated 5.2 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease in 2014, including approximately 200,000 individuals younger than age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s.” The Alzheimer’s Association site also states: “Alzheimer’s is officially the 6th leading cause of death in the United States” and “It kills more than prostate cancer and breast cancer combined.” This site also has a “brain tour” which has seven “pages” of basic brain information. It has nine “pages” of “Alzheimer’s Disease and the Brain”. It shows that the brain actually shrinks as it is attacked by the proteins.
I didn’t actually look to see if the progression has been slowed . . . as usual, I clicked a link and got distracted. But, I think this is enough information for now.
I just thought this video was interesting. I am sure there are more detailed videos out there, but sometimes quick and simple is nice. Usually I can spot David Hyde Pierce’s voice in a second. The first time I saw this I was surprised that he was the one narrating it. It got me the second time too! He is a spokesperson for the Alzheimer’s Association.
I like to share the things I think are interesting. Plus . . . I like to put it on my blog so I know where to find it when I want to see the information again. I hope this helped teach you a bit about something you might not have known about. I would imagine if you know someone – especially if you are taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s you know this information. So, like I said, I hope you learned something.
Wow! I am always amazed at other people’s creativity. Have you seen that video on how to make a bag? I know one of the reasons to buy a gift bag is because you don’t have to “wrap”. I mean there is no measuring, no cutting, no folding, and no taping. But sometimes the item you need to wrap is odd-shaped or you can’t find the right sized bag. I have been running into the issue that if the bag is tall enough it is not deep enough. It is almost as if they think anything tall is just a picture frame. Well, the Meredith Show had on a woman who shows how to make the perfect sized bag in a few minutes. I am all done with my wrapping so I thought I would forget about this video by the time next year comes around, but then I realized I am NOT done with posting for this year. I thought I might as well post it now because that will help me remember for next year. Or ANYTIME during the year I have an odd-shaped gift to wrap. Right? This trick does not have to be reserved for Christmas. (Click the pic to go to the video.)
Then I just saw a video where a woman named AJ made a wreath using round ornaments. I LOVE those types of wreaths! I didn’t listen to the video. I also didn’t watch the entire thing . . . I scanned through it quickly. She made a huge wreath. And it was soooo pretty. I really, really love those. I had wanted one for a long time, so eventually I bought one a long time ago. It is plastic though. Probably better for storing. Not sure if AJ used plastic ornaments. I did listen to the first few seconds where she said she bought Dollar Store ornaments (which is see now is the title of the video). Another brilliant thing! So AJ has a craft room and she made a video of how to make a wreath with a wire hanger and round Christmas Tree Ornaments. Thanks, AJ! (Click the pic to go to the video.)
While I was on YouTube looking at AJ’s video, I spotted Cyinthialoowho’s ornament. And I wanted to see how she made that blingy thing. Well, I didn’t spend the 15 minutes it takes to watch the video. I scanned through it again. I kind of like it just with the string and the paint. Any version of this ornament I like. I love ornaments like this and they are very expensive. I am not sure that all of the stuff to make it would cost less, but I might just check it out. (Click the pic to go to the video.)
So I have a few ideas that I LOVE, that I wanted to document. The bag from wrapping paper does not have to be just for Christmas. The wreath . . . . well, I love the idea, but not sure who I could give one to. And the ornaments, I would have to start early so, hence a good reason for me to post NOW. So I can have it at the ready for next year.
Thank you Meredith, AJ, and Cynthialoowho for your ideas.
In my last post I asked for your ideas. What have you got? Do you make homemade ornaments or wrapping paper? Do you make wreaths?
One of my Facebook friends shared a link to a video. (See below. Watch video.) I LOVE this. The idea is so awesome, to me. I think it would be so cool if dancing on the street while waiting for a crosswalk light to change in your favor was acceptable and actually encouraged. I think this is so fun. I really love this idea. I was so happy to see that little red dancing figure, I was squealing while watching it. Then when I saw that it was NOT a computer program just set to play, I clapped with glee. People dancing while their moves are being reproduced onto the crosswalk signal in real time —- AWESOME.
How fun is that? It would be so much more fun to stand and wait. Also it would give you something to do. I always feel silly standing there waiting, not doing anything. Then I feel silly for feeling silly because I am supposed to wait. I shouldn’t feel silly. I am being courteous (and following the law) by waiting my turn and not darting out into traffic. It is rude when people walk out into the street against the crossing light hoping to can make it across the street before a car comes or worse yet, expecting the car to stop. GRRRRRRR. I get upset when I see people do that. Because if they get hit and die what will they care . . . they will be dead, but they will have ruined someone else’s day and perhaps their lives because they were too rude to just wait a minute or two. So this dancing would give them something to do.
I can see how it just might promote safety. The non-waiting people (that might normally cross against the light — jeopardizing their safety and the safety of others) might not dance, but they might be interested enough to stay and watch. To me it didn’t look as if that many people were dancing. The video said that 81% (THAT IS A LOT) more people actually followed the law (psstt . . . yes it is the law) while at the dancing crosswalk signal light. So, more people stopped from crossing the street when they did not have a signal to go, while at this signal. I did not see on the video a percentage given of how many people actually danced. But with the reported increase in the number of people that stopped it got people’s attention. I wonder how they measured that?
So fun. The title of where I saw the video said something about, “safe and happy!” Oh yeah. It would make me happy. I would be happy dancing while waiting at the light OR dancing to make the signal dance. Fun stuff. We could have a Nia crosswalk where we led people through Nia routines. Ha, that would be funny. The Nia Crosswalk Signal . . . .
The video is on Smart’s Youtube channel. Check out the video.
So what do you think? Would you watch? Would you dance if you were waiting at the crosswalk? Would you dance in the signal (the room they had set up) and be the dancing crosswalk signal? Do you think this is cool?
Aaaahhhh! I did it again. I do it all the time. I see things on Facebook that I want to look at but I don’t have time or when I see it is it not the right time to look at it so I open it in another window. Then I can watch it, read it, do it (whatever) days later. But then I forget who posted it. This is a Nia video so I know that one of my Nia friends posted it. It took me days to get around to watching it. Then once I did watch it I was soooo disappointed. It is a video of Carlos Rosas (NKA Carlos Aya-Rosas) at a conference talking about the 5 Sensations of Nia. As he is talking I start looking at the time left and I keep thinking, he’s not going to make it. I kept HOPING he would, but I kept thinking, he is not going to make it. He didn’t. He was halfway through (or so it seemed) his talk about Mobility when the video stopped. Sad face. That is why I was disappointed. I was sad because we don’t get to hear all five sensations. But . . . watching the ones he did get through are well worth it. It is just a bummer that we didn’t get information on all five.
I am not sure what year it is, but you will see that they are being referred to as Debbie and Carlos Rosas. Which I always thought that eventually they were referred to as Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas. But that is not the point of this post or the video I was just trying to see if I could have an idea of what year it was, but again . . . not that important because the information is tremendous.
The information is very helpful no matter when it was recorded. Carlos first walks you through some things you can sense. He connects them to the 5 Sensations. If you’ve read a few of my posts about Nia you might be familiar with my belief that Nia takes everyday things you are familiar with and probably aware of and connects it to Nia ideas. If you watch this you can get an example of them doing that in the time from 2:45 to 7:00.
After the initial connection to the five sensations, the first sensation Carlos defines is Flexibility. He describes it as energy moving out. So not just stretching, but energy moving out. Then he talks about Agility. He describes that as a quick start stop. He uses the adjective “explode”. This is a very entertaining part of the video. Carlos is a very funny speaker. Then he gets a few minutes into a mobility. He describes that as continuous movement. He talks you through a bit of it, then the video stops.
Even though we only get to see two sensations and a portion of mobility it is still great information. I am not giving you too many details because I want you to watch it. It is so much better from the creator than from me just typing what he is saying.
This was posted by Nia, in addition to watching this video you can go to the Nia Channel on Youtube (click here) and see other videos they have posted. Also, you can go to NiaNow.com and watch recordings of classes. From the home page scroll through the pages and you will find videos of Nia classes. You can dance right along with Debbie and other trainers!
I invite you to watch the video and participate with his exercises to connect you with the sensation of Flexibility, Agility, Mobility, Stability, and Strength (this is the first portion I mentioned). Then stick with it for even more connection to Flexibility and Agility.
I am not a science person, although I love the science of cooking and understand that you do certain things and use certain ingredients to get a specific outcome. I don’t know a lot about science. I don’t even claim to KNOW about the science of cooking, I just like it. I think some science is interesting. When I say I don’t know a lot about science I am admitting to not knowing what some might think of as basics. So this video that my friend posted on her Facebook page not only entertained me, but educated me. I thought it was really cool. I thought it was a great way to explain it to kids and people. I really loved the liquid in the jar. I also laughed because, if what he said is true, now it makes sense why my mom was always so “stuffy” in the front seat and I was always so cold and felt like I was being wind blown in the back seat.
With the way Facebook is working lately the a picture of the video is on her wall, but there was a link to another person’s blog post. Below is the video of Destin showing his kids some “Fluid Mechanics”. I put that in quotes because that is what he calls it, and again, that is not something I know. Listen to the end so you can hear his speel about a free audio book.
Also click over to his site Smarter Every Day where you can read stuff to help make you smarter every day.
In the blog post Prepare to Have Your Mind Blown by a Balloon and a Minivan Robert T. Gonzalez explains in detail what is going on in the van. I didn’t read his entire post because I was satisfied with Destin’s explanation. This link is actually what my friend had posted on Facebook.
So the funny thing about this is as I mentioned I learned a lot and I learned why my mom was always stuffy while I was freezing whenever we went somewhere in the car with my parents. As I was watching the video I thought, “Dang! I can’t tell her. But this makes sense”. When my hubby and I would go places with my mom and dad we usually would all pile into their vehicle with my hubby and I in the back seat. My mom would always claim to be “stuffy”. Ya know a little more than hot as if there is not enough air around you . . . it seems a little difficult to breathe? We call that “stuffy”. We say, “I feel stuffy. Or, “the air is stuffy.” Well, now I know why. When the car is moving the air goes to the back.
Whether you know this stuff or not I hope you watch the video because it is entertaining. I think I have seen Destin’s stuff before, but I forget about it. I could watch it and read it and I am sure I would get a little smarter every day. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks, Destin!
Well, what did you think? Did you know this? Don’t you think this is a great teaching tool (the experiment)?
Hey! Yay! Two Fridays so far in October, two Goodie Jar – Check Ins! Yay! I do put things in my jar at least once a week, but there have been a couple of times when I forgot to post the check-in. At this time I am writing the check in on Thursday because I have a Nia call I want to participate in on Friday. I think I might get so involved in the call and its topic I will forget to post my check in.
So, how is it going? On last week’s check in a friend of mine commented that her jar would be over flowing because her daughter just had a daughter. First grand baby cute. Not everyone has such a huge GOOD THING. But that is kinda the point. The HUGE good things get document and noted in other ways . . . so sometimes it is the jar that reminds us of the little things.
Of course, we can still write down the big things and put them in the jar. Anything you want. Anything that will make you smile when you read it and say, “Yeah, that is/was a good thing!”
May your Good Thing Jar overflow!
I have already posted this, but I when I opened Facebook a minute ago I saw I was tagged in a status. I just had to add it to this post because to me it is a GOOD THING! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Thanks, Danielle!
Jimmy Fallon has Ylvis on Late Night doing a “live” version of The Fox!
And, if you want you can hear for yourself that Ylvis is Correct . . . . he has “what the fox say” down pat!
Terre Pruitt's Blog 