“Pay It Forward”

Is it possible for one idea to change the world?

How about one movie?

 

“Pay it Forward” (released in 2000, and undoubtedly one of the best movies ever made) is about 12-year-old Trevor McKinney, who believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded.

His idea? To perform three random acts of kindness.

#1 It has to be something that really helps people.

#2 Something they can’t do by themselves.

#3 You do it for them, they do it for three other people.

I’ve noticed on countless occasions that the phrase “pay it forward” is still used. I’ve also noticed that it is used in the context “intended” in the movie. I have to wonder how many other people use/hear/or act upon the phrase “pay it forward”, and consider what it really means, and where it came from? Tonight, I even saw it used on “Oprah’s Big Give”, when a player went to an automotive shop, and paid $500 toward the expenses of the next 20 people to come into the shop for repairs, and the guy behind the counter was so blown away by the act of generosity, that he said he would “pay it forward” the next day, and cover any repairs that came in that day. Do you think he was thinking about that movie at that moment? Probably not.

The point is, if there were ever to be an award given to a movie that has made a real impact on society, I think “Pay It Forward” would have to come away with top honors. The one little catchphrase is so ingrained in the minds of the masses, that most people would be caught off guard if you asked where it came from, or what the storyline was behind it. Yet, tonight, there it was, just as I’ve seen/heard it a thousand times or more since the movie came out. Best of all…. people are DOING IT!

I have aspired to “pay it forward” any and every chance I get. Not because I’m looking for anything in return, but simply because I, like the character Trevor McKinney, still believe in the goodness of human nature. To me, it’s simply the right thing to do.

How about you? Do you ever “Pay It Forward”?

Don’t you think you should?

 

Twitterdom: Living in the land of Twitter

 

 

 

“She was in the Twitter-Light Zone.  She had been away from Twitter for almost a week, and was suffering Tweetdrawals. While Twaiting in Twaffic one Tweekend , she decided to Tweet to her Tweeps. In no time, she was lost in the Twitterstream, and caught up in the Twitterloop. She was feeling Twittilated by a few of the Twitticisms being Tweeted , and suddenly realized that she was/is a Tweetaholic.” 

 

 

 

Twitter.com is becoming its own country (Twitterdom) and the natives there have been developing their own vernacular.  I discovered the “Twitterictionary”  while looking for new Twitter apps to play with.  (I’ll be writing another blog later today covering those). In the meantime… are you up on the local jargon?

 

· Drunktwittering – Similar to drunk dialing.

· Friendapalooza – A scheduled burst of friend-adding on Twitter and other social networks.

· Link – Tiny URL for Twitter Glossary http://tinyurl.com/2f9pq7

· Mistweet – A tweet one later regrets. See here: http://urltea.com/gs7

· ReporTwitters – bunch of journalists publishing ‘reality style’ tweets in conjunction with their articles.

· Twittcrastination – avoiding action while Twittering, procrastination enabled by Twitter use

· Twaiting – Twittering while waiting

· Twaffic – Twitter traffic.

· Tweekend – Spending your entire Saturday and Sunday reading and posting via Twitter. (coined by Kim M. Bayne )

· Tweeple – Twitter people, Twitter members, Twitter users

· Tweepish – Feeling sheepish or regretful about something you tweeted.

· Tweeps – Twitterites that follow each other from one social media/network to another.

· Tweet-back – Bringing a previous tweet conversation or reference back into the current conversation.

· Tweet-dropping – Eavesdropping on someone’s else’s Home Page in With Friends mode.

· Tweetaholism – the continued use of Twitter as an addiction that is difficult to control

· Tweeterboxes – Twitterers who tweet too much

· Tweetheart – that special someone who makes your heart skip a beat

· TweetIn – When a group of twitterers agree to get together at a set time to twitter

· Tweet(ing) – The act of posting to Twitter

· Tweets – Posts on Twitter by twitterers.

· Tweetsulted, Tweetsult – What do you think it means, you dumb twitterer?

· TweetUp – When twitterers meet in person in one’s home nest. Example: Denver TweetUp in May. TweetUps – The meeting place for all Twitterers to TweetUp!.

· Twittercal mass – A community that has achieved a critical mass of twitterers.

· Twideo-cronicity – When you’re watching someone’s videos and they are simultaneously leaving a comment or tweet for/at/about you.

· TwinkedIn – Inviting friends made on Twitter to “connect with you on LinkedIn”

· Twis – To dis a fellow twitterer. Bad form.

· Twitosphere – Community of twitterers

· Twittastic – Fantastic, wonderful, superb; coined by the folks at Twitterholic when referring to their robots

· Twittcrastination – Twittering as a form of procrastination

· Twittduit – If you need to Tweet a friend that does not follow you, post a Twittduit asking your followers to pass a message.

· Twitter-Light Zone – Where you are when you return to Twitter after any time away and feel disoriented and lost.

· Twitterer – A user of Twitter.

· Twittering – To send a Twitter message.

· Twitterish – Erractic behavior with short outbursts.

· Twitteritas – Women who play with their twitters.

· Twittfeinated, Twigged Out, Twired – To be so hyped up on twittering that you cannot sleep

· Twitterfly – Being a social butterfly on Twitter evidenced by extreme usage of @ signs.

· Twitterject – Interject your tweet into an existing tweet stream of conversation.

· Twitter-ku – Those who either post on both Twitter and Jaiku or load their Twitter feed into Jaiku.

· TwitterLinkr – A service collecting the best links posted trough Twitter

· Twitterlooing – Twittering from a bathroom.

· Twitterloop – To be caught up with friend tweets and up on the conversation.

· Twittermob – An unruly and ragtag horde of people who descend on an ill-prepared location after a provocative Twitter message.

· Twittermaps – A mashup technology that lets Twitter users find each other using Google maps.

· Twitterpated – To be overwhelmed with Twitter messages.

· Twitterphoria – The elation you feel when the person you’ve added as a friend adds you back.

· Twitterrhea – The act of sending too many Twitter messages.

· Twitterrific and Twitteroo – Two services that let users post to Twitter using a Mac or PC.

· Twitterrific (2) – a really good Twitter thing

· Twitterstream – the twitter timeline (public or friends)

· Twittertories – Clusters of twittererers that follow and friend each other with little overlap with other clusters.

· Twittertude – Bad Twitter attitude. Or a state of being, like solitude only with other people present.

· Twittfessional – A confession made on Twitter

· Twitticisms – Witty tweets

· Twittilate – To arouse with tweets.

· Twittish – Too skittish to twitter.

· Twittsomnia – Twittering due to inability to sleep, thus compounding inability to sleep.

· Twittworking – Networking with Twitterites using Twitter

· Twixt and tween – Can’t decide who or what to tweet

· Twoogle – Twitter as the human Google. Pose a question, get near-instantaneous results.

· Tword – Words formed by appending “Tw” to the original word (like most words in this list).

· Twoops – When you accidentally send a private sms to Twitter

· Twopsies – When you drop things because you are twittering.

 

 

Source: http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Twitter+Glossary

Celebrate the Ides of March!!!

To properly celebrate the Ides of March, there are a few things you should know….

The Ides of March (March 15) isn’t a holiday but it is an occasion remarked upon enough times that it might inspire you to throw a spontaneous party or to mark it in some way that helps to inform you a little more about Roman history. This article is a step back in time to help you celebrate an event in human history.
[edit] Steps

1. Know what the Ides of March is. This is the date when Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44BC. It also marks the first day of the Roman new year and the first day of spring in the Roman calendar.

2. A popular phrase, “Beware the Ides of March”, originates from Shakespeare and refers to impending doom. In Julius Caesar (Act 1, scene 2, 15–19), a soothsayer relates to Caesar “Beware the ides of March”, warning Caesar of his impending death.

3. Read Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series – books based on this era. They are The First Man in Rome, The Grass Crown, Fortune’s Favourites, Caesar’s Women, Caesar, The October Horse and Antony and Cleopatra
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4. Learn how to spell assassin. Assassin is a word with fascinating origins. First used in the 1520’s [2], the word is believed to be derived from a secret society called the Hashshashin, a group that was said to have murdered others.

5. Hold a toga party. Romans wore a variety of clothing but the toga is perhaps the best known.

6. Eat food that the Romans might have eaten – basic food that was well salted and filled with aromatic herbs. Bake a Roman cake. Serve with some apples, figs and grapes.

7. Have some wine. The Romans enjoyed their wine, so this is a good excuse for a glass or two on the Ides of March.

8. Book a trip to Rome. If you’ve been thinking about visiting Rome and Italy, maybe the Ides of March is a perfect day to make that booking.

How to make a toga out of a bedsheet.

As I’ve Matured….

I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in…

I’ve learned that one good turn gets most of the blankets.

I’ve learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just jackasses.

I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.

I’ve learned that whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t compare yourself to others – they are more screwed up than you think.

I’ve learned that it is not what you wear; it is how you take it off.

I’ve learned that you can keep vomiting long after you think you’re finished.

I’ve learned to not sweat the petty things, and not pet the sweaty things.

I’ve learned that ex’s are like fungus, and keep coming back.

I’ve learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

I’ve learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities.

I’ve learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

I’ve learned that 99% of the time when something isn’t working in your house, one of your kids did it

I’ve learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away.

And the real pains in the ass are permanent.

 

(this is courtesy of an email sent to me…however, I deleted a few that I simply didn’t feel applied)