Live Mocha

I’m already addicted to reading, playing basketball and gummi bears, but I can’t stop working on learning new languages. With the world becoming increasingly small due to globalization, the possibility to expand your international horizons is as great as ever. This time last year, I never would have thought that I would be working in Santiago, Chile or London, yet I’ve been in Chile for the past 6 months (with two jobs) and will be moving to London in January to work for a Swiss publishing company. That’s right, a guy from the Dallas will be going to London to work for a Swisscompany. The demand for learning languages is increasing very rapidly.

Besides work, as I travel, I just find it rewarding to be able to communicate with people in their native tongue. I think it shows respect for their culture and opens so many doors, both professionally and socially. A good friend of mine, Naomi (whom I will give a Shout-Out to very soon), told me about LiveMocha, a social network for learning language. They offer courses in just about every language that you can imagine. You submit various assignments, and then the LiveMocha community will give you feedback and tips. Also, you can chat with people, send messages, and all the other good ‘ol web 2.0 stuff you’re used to. From what I see, LiveMocha has a very active community who is eager to offer their help. I’ve completed 4 assignments thus far and within minutes I had feedback from members telling me what I did right and how I can improve. This is an amazing resource for those trying to pick up additional language skills or want to help others. Furthermore, all of the necessary features are FREE. You can pay about $20 for additional features, such as the ability to download your assignments, but for me, it’s not necessary at this time.

For me, being able to get real help from real people is invaluable. Now, you don’t have to move to a country to immerse in the language. Also, a critical aspect for me is that because the community is global, you can learn regional differences in the language, which can be helpful if you ever visit different places that speak the same language. For example, the Spanish in Chile sounds very different from the Spanish in Mexico. Thanks, Naomi, for the heads up!

Shout Out To Dylan Hunt

What do you get when you mix a love of art, skill, and a passion to make positive changes? Well, apparently, you get Dylan Hunt. Rewarding people with custom pieces of art for various acts of kindness, Dylan is taking a different approach to making a difference than most. Not only is he himself active, but he uses his skills in art to mobilize others to perform positive acts as well.

He started the Pay it Forward Austin blog so that he could feel more involved with his community through art. The theme of the blog is “Free collage Art for Random Acts of Kindness.” The premise of the blog is simple. People send a story of them doing something good for other people, he posts the story on the blog, and then sends the author a piece of art.

I can tell you from experience that reading some of these stories is a welcome change from what we typically broadcasted. They remind you that, in the midst of everything, there are people who, usually behind the scenes, are helping people cross the street, reading to children, or otherwise doing their part to contribute to helping others.

Thanks, Dylan, for doing your part to help others do their part. As you put it best, “tons of positive energy sent your way.”

Resources:

Dylan’s Personal Blog

Pay It Forward Austin Blog

Does Anybody Buy CDs Anymore?

I know there have to be others, but sometimes it seems like I’m the only person left on earth who still purchases CDs. And yes, I mean actual CDs, compact discs…the ones that typically come in those hard-to-open plastic cases. In fact, I truly prefer vinyl records to CDs. If I could throw a vinyl in my car stereo, then I’d stick to those. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my digital formats. I constantly have music playing on my MacBook Pro, I have a few albums on my cell phone, and work out with an MP3 player. Yes, I do know about iTunes; I actually use it to encode all the CDs I buy into MP3 files. I know I could pay a small fee for services like Napster and have a seemingly unlimited selection of music, but I still prefer the actual physical discs.

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I still prefer buying my music on physical formats to downloading them or paying for a subscription service. These methods are often cost-effective, quick, and easy, but I’m a sucker for physically owning the music. I like getting the booklet that comes in the case, the cover art on, and the actual CD. I do like using the Cover Flow feature on iTunes, but for me it still doesn’t beat looking at a stack of CD cases or a crate full of vinyl records to find inspiration on what album to listen to. I enjoy going to Best Buy on Tuesdays to pick up an album on release date. I like going to local record stores and looking through old used albums. There’s something about the atmosphere of those local record stores. Each has their unique clientele, style, and feel. Besides, I always find an album I should have bought several years ago whenever I go to one. With today’s releases, where many artists are more concerned about selling ring tones than making good music, it can be pointless to buy all your music on CDs when you can pay for individual tracks, but I normally find some hidden gems that don’t make the radio.

I appreciate the higher sound quality that you can get from a physical CD over a compressed digital format. While some digital formats are lossless, they often take up so much space on a hard drive or media player that it’s impractical to use, unless you’re an audiophile or music professional. When I really want to hear something sound good, I still feel that you can’t beat the sound of a clean vinyl record and a quality turntable. I know that carrying around a bunch of CDs when traveling or working out is not convenient. For these purposes, I definitely think a portable digital media player is the way to go, whether it’s an iPod, Zune, Zen, whatever. But when I’m sitting at home and I want to really enjoy my music, there’s nothing like thumbing through my vinyl and CD collection and listening to my favorite tracks.

Are there any others out there that feel the way I do?

One Half of the World Laughs At The Other, And Fools Are They All

One half of the world laughs at the other, and fools are they all. Everything is good or everything is bad according to who you ask. What one pursues another persecutes. He is an insufferable ass who would regulate everything according to his ideas. Excellences do not depend on a single person’s pleasure. So many people, so many tastes, all different. There is no defect that is not affected by some. We need not lose heart if something does not please someone, for others will appreciate it; nor need their applause turn our head, for there will surely be others to condemn it. The real test of praise is the approval of renowned people and of experts in the field. You should aim to be independent of any one opinion, of any one fashion, of any one century. – Baltasar Gracián