"I protest!"

These days, you can replace Will Roger’s “Democrat” with (fill in the blank).  My goodness, what disorganized times we live in.  And tomorrow, they are apt to get . . . well, probably not any more organized.

However, there are groups that are getting organized.  Dozens of groups have announced rallies and protests leading up to tomorrow’s historic Donald J. Trump inauguration (isn't every presidential inauguration “historic”?).  In fact, there have already been some very nice protests in Washington, including, but not limited to:
 
January 14: March for Immigrants and Refugees
Immigrant and refugee rights groups organized this day to show solidarity for immigrants and other vulnerable communities and to stand up against hateful rhetoric against immigrants.

January 14: We Shall Not Be Moved March on Washington
Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network.

January 15: Our First Stand: Save Health Care
Led by Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Democratic members of Congress and other health care groups.

January 15: Writers Resist rallies
Launched by poet Erin Belieu, a national network of writers "driven to defend the ideals of a free, just and compassionate democratic society."

January 19: Reclaim Our Schools Day of Action
Several teachers unions and education groups, including the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, have organized under a newly-formed group called the National Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools.

One of tonight’s caught my eye: The Busboys and Poets Peace Ball
Described as an alternative to anti-Trump protests, the Busboys and Poets Peace Ball will be a "gathering to celebrate the accomplishments and successes of the past four years" at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.  Notable attendees include celebrities, authors, and organizers. The event had room for more than 3,000 people and has already sold out. 

The group uses the following quote to help promote the event.  It’s by Howard Zinn, an American historian, playwright, and social activist (1922-2010):

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. 



What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.



And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” - Howard Zinn

We'll see how the drive-by (whatever that is), mainstream (whatever that is), news (whatever that is anymore) handles this.  Let's imagine we can all just get along today, tomorrow, and going forward. 




Carpe Diem Life,
David Kuhn


CarpeDiem-Life.com

Motivation II

I read something last night while we were in a lull before our Basketball Production.  I found it particularly interesting because I've sometimes worked with directors who, from time to time, focused so much on what we've just done "wrong" and on what he projects that we're probably going to do "wrong" that we miss the current action.

The quote from that brilliant writer Anonymous:  "If you have one foot in the past and one foot in the future then you're shitting on the present"

Crude, I know.  And I really don't know if it has anything to do with motivation; I just like the sound of it.

Need to get motivated?

Choose one goal that you want to accomplish today.  One!
Write it down.
Bribe yourself by picking the reward you'll receive for accomplishing it.
Get off the pot and stop shitting on the present with meaningless tasks that are distracting you.
Just do it.
Reward yourself.
Repeat!

Again, folks, I'm not preaching to you.  I'm trying to teach myself.

I hope that there is a turd of wisdom in there.

Carpe Diem Life,
David Kuhn

CarpeDiem-Life.com

Slow Draining Motivation

The drain in our shower has been slow to drain.  Very slow.  Oh, it does drain-- eventually.  So, no need to take any action, right?

I was thinking that (again) yesterday morning when I was reminded of a question a friend of mine asked me the other day:  "What motivates you to take action?"

I found myself trying to bluff my way with an analogy about tea steeping until it's the perfect time to drink (even I wasn't swallowing that bullshit), I went to my stock answer of, "I don't know, but I believe in my ability to find the answer-- at least study it."

What motivates us?  Interesting.

So, I'm pondering of all that as I'm standing in an inch of soapy shower water.  That's when I simply decide today is the day I CHOOSE to take action.

I create my ACTION LIST (pretty basic in this case), check my RESOURCES (either call a plumber or go buy some drain cleaner), take PERSISTENT ACTION (buy drain cleaner and use it), wait 30 minutes and EVALUATE THE PROGRESS (it worked).  Had it not worked I would have changed DIRECTION and worked to IMPROVE the results.   Simple as the task was, I ENJOYED the process by feeling satisfied that the job was finally done and I did it.  All that because I realized that it was MY LIFE and that I could continue to watch the water  s l o w l y  drain each morning and think, "Someday I'm going to do something about that!" or actually CHOOSE to take ACTION.

So you see, MOTIVATION is like a CLOGGED DRAIN . . .
 

okay, bullshitting again.  I still don't know what the answers are to life's big question are.  But, I'll try to continue to dump industrial strength drain cleaner into my brain until it becomes clear.

Oh, and it helps to go to one of those hardware stores that serves free popcorn to and offers merchandise such as Moneky Butt Powder look at you head to the plumbing aisle only to find that the drain cleaner is actually on a shelf on the other side of the store.  Enjoy the process!


Carpe Diem Life,
David Kuhn

CarpeDiem-Life

 

 

"Hoosier"

I volunteer at several Indiana Historical Living Events throughout the year.  It's a chance to dress up in early Indiana clothing and demonstrate a few pioneer skills.   One of the most common questions I’m asked— especially from folks from out-of-state— is,  “So, what is a ‘“Hoosier’” anyway?”

My answer?  “It’s a mystery.  Nobody really knows for sure.” 

The Indiana Historical Society says some often-told stories about the term's origins are false. Those include the tale that it was used to describe Indiana employees of a canal contractor named Hoosier and that "Who's yer" was how early settlers responded to a knock on their cabin door. A tale spun by popular 19th century Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley attributed the name to people asking "Whose ear?" after finding the body part on the ground after vicious fights among early settlers.

I like the fact that the mystique makes us unique.

Even though the mystery may never be solved, last week the U.S. Government Publishing Office made it official.  I’m officially a “Hoosier”  (HOO'-zhurz).  Check it out, we’re the only state (except Hawaii) that has a demonym* that isn’t some form of the actual state name with -er, -an, or -ite
attached.

So now it's official, if you're an Indiana resident, you're part of the great mystery.  You're officially a "Hoosier" (even if you're a Purple Ace, Screaming Eagle, or even a Boilermaker, you’re also a Hoosier).

Carpe Diem Life, Hoosiers!
David Kuhn

CarpeDiem-Life.com

* Yes, demonym is a word I had to look up:  A demonym or gentilic is a word used for people or the inhabitants of a place.

"Moonlets"

Celestial body news reported this week: 

The formation of the moon wasn't the result of one massive cataclysmic clash of planets — rather, researchers say our moon formed when small "moonlets" came together.

That means the moon was formed over millions of years, not in an instant, said the scientific journal Nature Geoscience, which published a study on the revelation earlier this week. The prevailing belief has been that the moon was a piece of material that broke off when Earth slammed into something the size of Mars.

But a trio of researchers ran a number of simulations of large, but not giant, bodies hitting Earth. They found the impacts produced small discs, which formed small moons or "moonlets." Those moonlets migrated outward and formed together to create what we know as the moon.

Moonlets.  A great lesson that philosophers have been teaching for centuries: 
"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together." 
                                        -- Vincent van Gough

Have a great and difficult project that's got your "reaching for the moon?"  Remember moonlets!
If you only work a little at a time, every day a little, suddenly the work will finish itself.


Carpe Diem Life
David Kuhn

CarpeDiem-Life.com

Brainstorming

Brainstorming

                     Unexpected

                                   U n p r e d i c p r e d i c t a b l e

Wild

Ideas 

F
a
l
l
i
n
g

Freely

R
    o
       a
           m
                  i
                        n
                                g

                                              Wild
                                                                         
Connecting>Creating>Fresh ideas

     Putting us in touch with our seemingly unfathomable selves!



Carpe Diem Life,
David Kuhn

CarpeDiem-Life

Winners never . . .

In yesterday’s post, I offered a few short words about Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers coming back from a two-touchdown deficit to take down the kings of college football.

I ended the post with the anonymous quote, “In the game of life nothing is less important than the score at halftime.” (That anonymous sure did say a lot of smart things!).

That got me thinking about an inspirational quote that I had posted in my football locker my senior year of high school:

Part of this Carpe Diem Life experiment is to discover new inspiration, even if it comes from long ago forgotten sources. So, without further ado, I present a few more of my favorite sports quotes:

Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
- Orison Swett Marden

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
- Michael Jordan

Victory isn't defined by wins or losses. It is defined by effort. If you can truthfully say, "I did the best I could, I gave everything I had" then you're a winner.
- Wolfgang Schadler

In life, we choose whether or not we want to be a winner or a loser. To be a winner, we must devote time and hard work. To be a loser you do nothing, and that's exactly what you will get, nothing.
- Patrick Boles

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.
- Babe Ruth

Training is what you are doing while your opponent is sleeping in.
- Brian Owen

Every time you compete, try harder to improve on your last performance. Give nothing short of your very best effort.
- Elgin Baylor

Champions keep playing until they get it right.
- Billie Jean King

My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.
- Hank Aaron

It doesn't take talent to hustle.
- H. Jackson Brown

Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
- Vince Lombardi

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses. It is won behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.
- Muhammad Ali

To me, a winner is someone who recognizes their God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses those skills to accomplish his goals. Even when I lost, I learned what my weaknesses were and I went out the next day to turn those weaknesses into strengths.
- Larry Bird

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision.
- Muhammad Ali

The race isn't over until you cross the finish line. You'll be surprised at how much can change in the last twenty strides.
- Jackie Dugall

Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.
- Dan Gable

- - -

I hope you glean something in those that will help you get through the day.  Feel free to comment and share your favorite sports quote!

Have a dream or passion?  Don’t quit!

Carpe Diem Live
David Kuhn

CarpeDiem-Life.com