Tag Archives: culture

Go ahead. Claim your mental-inventions here.

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I mental-invented the moving sidewalk when I was in 5th grade, out of a burst of late-night mindwandering… All that thinking was a part of my strategy to keep myself awake in case The Aliens were going to try to abduct me. With this imagination, just a commercial for The X-Files would keep me awake for nights. Go ahead and laugh. And embarrass the 12-year-old Mandy within me. But, then one day, the grown-up Mandy went to the airport and couldn’t believe her eyes. Someone had stolen my idea for the moving sidewalk.

 

And, while I’m at it, I’m also gonna stake my claim for the Jean-Horn. You know someday someone’s gonna figure out how to make a shoe-horn for your butt. And when that day comes, I’ve got witnesses that can verify my intellectual rights to that. Right? Who’s with me?

(Ok. Back to what really matters here: fun and random comments!) Have you had any mental-inventions that you’d like to claim here?

Now’s your chance.

(Postscript: I’m writing this at 10:30pm with all the lights off in the house. The train horn just scared me and, while typing this, I thought I saw a light out of the corner of my right eye. Twice… Great.)

Starbucks knows something about you that you may not know yet.

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Have you seen the new Starbucks Logo? (If not, hit it here.) They’ve stripped the logo down to their little lady, the Starbucks Siren. No more “Starbucks” or “Coffee” or circles. Just the siren. Interesting concept, huh? But, why?

minimalism

They (who are “they” anyway?) say we’re in the information age, but I say we’re quickly entering the TMI age. From driving down the road, to opening our computers, to using our phones, to entering a store, we’re overwhelmed by information that we don’t even want or need. So, the new wave of marketing will be underwhelming–minimal–trimming down packaging descriptives and text, recognizing that we know their brand already.

What we want is simplicity. What we want is open space. Room to think. Air to breathe. So, they’re making room in their logos. Soon, you’ll see it in other places as well, like the new Levi commercials that focus on people, not product.

Just watch.

White Space

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I have a friend who is very active and very influential and very well-known in our community. And she recently brought me a word of advice on making space in life. She was encouraged by a speaker at a conference who talked about white space–a chunk of time in your week that is set aside for yourself and your goals and your emotions and your refreshing and so forth…

And I’ve seen my friend put this practice of white space into her life. And it’s brought with it many beautiful things…

I’m sure you can guess where this is heading: There are some things I need to make space for. I need time to accomplish some important tasks. And I need silence to hear some very important Voices. And I need energy to process and say some very important things.

I need space. To think. To write. To listen. To talk.

So, this is it. Tomorrow will mark the start of two-a-weeks: Tuesdays and Thursdays (Ok. And maybe the occasional Saturday if I just can’t stand it. Dang, this is going to take major discipline to accomplish). That’s what we’ll get around here… Because, even though I value the community built here, it’s time to pull back and create some space. This blog has always reflected what’s churning in my heart, and this change is no exception. As I change, the blog changes. It’s how I stay “real” in this typed-up world.  I wouldn’t want you to expect anything less from me.

And, since this typing world has been so beautifully influential in my life over the past few years, I’d love to get some feedback from you. What do you do to create space in your life? And how do you use that space?

So, Katy Perry & Sandra Bullock walk into a chocolate bar…

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Guilty pleasures. I have them:

  • Articles on Sandra Bullock in People Magazine. I even have friends who supply me when they come out, because I don’t subscribe. It’s awful.
  • Chocolate. Except, to be completely honest, I hardly feel super-guilty about that.
  • Wine (um… yes?)
  • Music by P!nk, and/or Katy Perry. (There, I said it. Let the commenting begin.)
  • Yoga… But, should I feel guilty about that? I mean, really. It makes my stress headaches go away. AND it’s like totally barefooted exercise where you get to wear pajamas and move at the speed of a sloth. A dream come true.
  • Not wearing sunscreen. (Gah! I know. And the surgeon general probably has a write up on the risks of screen-less sunbathing. And I also think he has something to say about the health benefits of a glass of wine a day, so there.)

Ok. Your turn. What are some of your guilty pleasures?