I Didn't Know This

Apparently there are people out there who share their whole lives with the public.  They share what they eat, what they are doing, what they wear etc.  They post every minute of their day so people know every detail of their lives.

I remember when C-U-C-Me came out and was the rage for college students all over.  C-U-C-Me was the predecessor to video conferencing.  Students would set up a web cam in their room, in the rec rooms, anywhere they could think of and the cameras would be on 24/7.

I was telling a friend about it one time at a meeting and all the sudden we were surrounded by a bunch of male college students who were anxious to talk to someone who knew about it.  I never thought I'd be so popular.

Now there are social media accounts where people post everything.  A friend posted pictures of her newborn so the family members could see the new one without waiting for the parents to develop the pictures and send them out via snail mail.  I know others who use it to communicate with friends about up coming trips, reviews about restaurants and other things.  I even know a few students who are going steady with someone in another place.

They communicate via text and Facebook and consider themselves a couple.  These relationships don't seem to last any longer than any other teenage romance.  Many times, they meet at a basketball game, a wrestling game, volleyball game or other sports event and over the weekend they get to know each other.  Before one person heads back to their village, they are a couple!  It amazes me.

Do I communicate via the internet with friends?  Yes I do but I don't do it via a Facebook page.  I prefer sharing my thoughts and ideas via my blog.  I don't plan on sharing everything.  I can tell you I had a lovely spinach salad with walnuts and miso, smashed cucumber pickles with salt and garlic and for the main course a green tofu curry served on a bed of rice but I don't need to tell you about how I spent my day.

Wow.

 

Explorers traveled using the stars at night and the ocean currents to explore the world.  It was sailors and their ships who extended knowledge and opened up the world.

Ships were the workhorse of their day taking people, supplies, mail, etc across the world.  They were used in war, as floating hospitals, by privateers, by the rich.

Why am I starting out with ships?  I have a picture of a sailing ship that reminded me of one you might see a long time ago. Perhaps it was used for whaling or bringing the missionaries to their post.  I took the picture with my digital camera and ran it through iPhoto and changed it to a black and white to give the feeling that the picture was taken a very long time ago.  It was actually taken last summer.

I have an app on my iPad that allows me to take photos and change them so they look l like etchings.  In addition, I can color the lines so they are in blue, purple, red, or any other color.  There are apps to make the photos look more like cartoons or make them kind of cartoon like, add text, apply all sorts of filters, and so much more.

I know people who love applying apps to create works of photographic art.  Personally, I've never been into changing photos so they are more artwork than pictures but I've reached a point where I need to learn.  I download these apps because they appear on Appsgonefree but I never seem to have the time to play with them.

I need to go through and check out the photo apps I have so I can see which ones will do the job I want so I can process certain photos on the iPad rather than moving them over to the computer.  I guess I'm either a bit behind the times or just taking my time.

I am mostly interested in

Destiny

I met this wonderful young lady on my travels through Alaska.  She is just 18.  She suffers from Retina Pegmontoses.  She has slowly been going blind since she was about 5 years old.  Although her life has been short, she is determined to finish high school (she is in the 11th grade).  She wants to travel to places she has only heard of before she looses the ability to see. 

Her mother died about 5 years ago and she is being raised by her grandmother.  Although she is still able to read books and papers using adaptive technology or material that has been blown up multiple times, she is learning braille at the same time as learning to navigate using a white cane.  She has a wicked sense of humor and never gives up. 

She is even learning life skills such as cooking and cleaning so she can stay as independent as she can.  She does not want to give in to her disease.  She has a dream she wants to make come true before she goes blind.  She wants to visit America.  She has never been outside the state of Alaska and wants to see the United States while she is able to enjoy it fully.

Rather than wait for someone else to make her dreams come true, she has set up a gofundme  account to raise the money so she can visit Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles.  She wants to see the National Parks between Seattle and Los Angeles.  She has a dream to visit Disneyland.  I suspect she’d enjoy Knoxberry Farm, The Labrea Tarpits, and even 6 Flags. 

If she can get enough money, she’d love to continue her trip back east and visit Washington D.C. and Florida.  Just think what fun she could have going to Disneyland and Disney World.  Unfortunately, due to her sight, she cannot drive and would have to use public transportation to get from place to place.  She'd also have to stay in hotels while visiting the places of her dreams.

Having met her, I know her dreams will come true but I hope people help realize her dreams sooner so that she is able to see all those places many of us take for granted.

Faded into History

  When I was growing up, there was a wonderful hula show in Waikiki that we'd check out.  It was mainly for tourists but the locals enjoyed it.  Originally, the Kodak Hula Show was started in 1937 by a member of Kodak Hawaii as a way to provide a daytime photo opportunity for all the tourists.

Up to that point, most hulas were performed at the luaus sponsored by hotels at night.  Early cameras often had trouble capturing good photographs in limited light.  Even now, it can be challenging to get that perfect photo of something  happening at night.  The executive decided that tourists needed a place to go during the day, watch the hula and be able to snap picture after picture.  Of course people would think of Kodak due to their sponsorship but tourists went home with pictures to share.

Over the its 65 year history, there were three shows a week, every week, year round.  The show came complete with an MC, dancers and musicians.  It was quite popular.  I read that the first shows had only about 100 people but later ones hosted 3000 attendees.  Understand, not everyone who attended was a tourist.  Many locals would go to watch, just because it was fun to see.

I did some research to find out when and why it stopped.  According to an article I found, its last show was back in 2002 due to the economy and a decrease in tourism.  Tourists provide a substantial boost to the Hawaiian economy.  Now, there are some shows left but they aren't the same.

You can still see regular  hula shows today at the following places.
1.  Kuhio Beach.  There are shows three days a week weather permitting.  I love going to these shows because the local hula schools rotate performing.
2. The Royal Hawaiian Center offers hula lessons, hula and Hawaiian music shows.
3.  Ala Moana Center often offers hula shows
4.  There are a few other shows but most require an entrance fee.
There is a fancy show at one of the hotels which requires an entry fee but if you end up in just the right place, you can watch it for free.  I'm not going to tell you where but I'll give you a hint.  Its down at the hotel located at the Ala Moana Center side of Waikiki.  A few friends and I found a spot outside of the gates with a terrific view and enjoyed the show. Yes, we sat on the cement but it was fun and we had a great time......LOL

The Little People

  When you hear someone say "little people", most people picture the leprechaun from Ireland. The ones in Finians Rainbow or Darby O'Gill and the little people.  The ones who have the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  Its just that many other cultures have their own version of  little people.

For instance, the Hawaiians have the Menehune.  They played a prevalent part in life over in the islands.  Every time there was a thunder storm people would say that the Menehune were bowling.  On the other hand, literature contains a ton of references of little people such as the brownies, dwarves, pixies, even fairies.

Many of these creatures have become popular since the release of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies.  Both the Hobbits and  the Dwarves are much shorter than the normal people but they are not as short as some of the the little people found in legend.

In addition, many of the native American tribes have their own stories of little people.  The Cherokee believe there are three types of little people. One group believes in revenge and getting even, the second are pranksters and the last group is helpful and likes to take care of people.

In Alaska, there are the Enukins, who live underground and are from the Point Hope/Kotzebue area.  They often fill the boogeyman role in various stories.  In the Norton Sound area, you'll find the Ishigaq who float above the ground and live like normal Eskimos but are only about a foot tall.

In Alaska, everyone seems to have a story of having run into the little people.  If they have not seen one personally, a relative has seen one.  In some places, you'll be told they ride snow machines, in others, boats.  I don't think anyone has actually been able to snap a picture of a little person from folklore but in many places, people have an absolute belief in these folks.  Its the same type of belief expressed by people when discussing big foot. 

Big Foot

  Big foot or Sasquatch is a famous but elusive creature.  A creature who is said to be real by some and mythical by others.  The idea of big foot is not only alive in the States but in Australia where he is referred to as the Yowie Man.

There are sightings in Alaska where he's called "The Hairy Man, Kushtaka, or Nant'ina"  There are tons of reports from across time reporting his presence but always from afar.

Why am I writing about big foot?  Well, today at lunch one of the guys was telling us that the police called him around 2 AM to tell him they had spotted big foot standing across the river from the bluffs.  They swear it made a crying noise and disappeared across the tundra.

One of the ladies said she had called Public Safety but no one answered.  She said they must have been busy chasing big foot.  Another guy said he saw big foot a few months ago.  It picked up a big dog in one arm while it held a smaller one by the scruff of its neck and carried both off to the tundra. He said it was dead silent.  None of the dogs even barked and the dogs here are notorious for never being quiet.

Big foot is such a huge topic out here that the local weekly newspaper prints regular reports of big foot sightings.  Sometimes, the newspaper will reprint stories, especially when they receive sighting reports.

Tomorrow, I'll chat about the little people.  Not all of them are from Ireland......LOL

Prolific Writing.

  Have you ever looked at the free e-books offered on some of the bookstore web sites?  Many books are offered again and again and many are offered by the same authors.

Today I sorted through 21 pages of free books on Business and Investing.  Many of them had great reviews but so many others either have not been reviewed or received bad reviews.

I noticed a couple of things about these books.
1.  Most were in the 25 to 40 page range offering to share all their secrets of whatever the business topic.
2.  Many were offered by the same author.
3.  Quite a few had absolutely no reviews.
4.  They are free.

The other day, I checked out a couple free lancer websites because I am exploring the possibility of going that way when I leave my current job.  Many of the ads covered the following:
1.  Ghost writing e-books on specific non-fiction topics and some fiction. 
2.  Blog content for blogs run by people who either don't have the time or skills or knowledge.
3.  Web Content.

A commonality with all the ads for writers is simply that all rights belong to the person who does the hiring.  It also explains how some people are able to publish so many books in one area.  This follows the topic of one free book I downloaded.  The book was all about hiring people to write your books while you market them and take credit for the material. Its one way to build your empire.

However, it also explains the poor reviews on certain books.  Reviews that include comments about needing the material edited due to poor spelling and grammar, vague content that really doesn't cover the topic. I checked one author who has published just over 125 books in about 6 months which tells me, he either got them all in place before he started publishing or he hired a bunch of free lancers to do the writing.

I feel as if I'm straddling a fence on this topic.  It doesn't seem right to claim somebody elses work as your own even though you paid for it vs the you want to publish so you hire other people who make their living doing this type of work.

I will admit that I've toyed with the idea of actually doing some ghost writing as a way of earning extra money.  I think I'd do better writing reviews for books at least for now.  Its something I can easily fit into my busy schedule and I enjoy writing reviews.  I'd love to expand out to providing research for people as I love researching but that will be a while yet.