Category: Miscellaneous

Posted in Miscellaneous

Link of the Day: MapCrunch

Posted on by melissaburgess

Everybody has those days. (No, I’m not quoting Hannah Montana. Or am I?)

We all have those days where we just feel absolutely…. stuck. Bogged down by a seemingly dead-end job or stress at work, irritated by family or friends or coworkers, tired of dealing with the car payment and the rent and the ten other things you need to budget for this upcoming paycheck.

It’s easy to let all of that get to you, and to feel like you’re absolutely stuck right where you are. While it’s nice to imagine a vacation or picking up and moving abruptly to another city, state or even country sometimes, much of the time it stops at imagining.

There’s one website that many of you have probably already seen, but that I’m going to bring to your attention today. It’s called MapCrunch, and the premise of it is really very simple. Daily, going to the website brings a new image from somewhere around the world.  Today’s, as I write this, is a spectacular underwater view from Burnett Heads, Queensland, Australia.

So not only is there the daily view that is automatically loaded upon visiting the page; you can also click the green button that says “Go!” (with an arrow) at the top of the screen and instantly, a new image from somewhere else in the world will be loaded. You can zoom in, navigate around, etc. You can also select options so it gives you views only in certain continents or countries, etc. and can easily download the image you’re seeing just by clicking ‘Share’ and then the little arrow pointing downward that signals download!

It’s a great way to get some different views of the world, escape from your desk/family/bank account and remind yourself of all the other things that are out there in the world. Sure, some are closer than others, but this world is truly a magnificent place, and even if I can’t always explore it in person, it’s great to be able to do it via a computer screen, simply by visiting a website. Some of the views may be majestic, bright beach scenes; others may be busy city streets or rural towns. You never know what you’ll get.

Just to get a little taste of the variety of worldly views MapCrunch has to offer, I decided to test it out and click ten times and see what different views I could get:

1) Daily view – Burnett Heads, Queensland, Australia
2) Unnamed Road, Co. Wexford, Ireland
3) 21913, 431 91 Kryštofovy Hamry, Czech Republic
4) Ceriņu iela, Gaisma, Bārbele parish, LV-3905, Latvia
5) Pnt Rouge, Martinique
6) Jerusalem
7) HaBustan Street 94, Hatzor HaGlilit, Israel
8) 53, 8677 Kalchevo, Bulgaria
9) R393, South Africa
10) MR26, Swaziland

Below is a slideshow of what I saw in my mini virtual vacation. I think this is a pretty neat website. I like using Google Maps sometimes to do just this, give myself a little escape from my current reality; MapCrunch provides a GREAT way to do that. Instead of having to click on a specific place on a map and figure my way out from there, MapCrunch is completely random, but I can also select certain regions if I so choose, and I like the random aspect of it. I can go from the Czech Republic to Latvia to Martinique in a matter of seconds… all while sitting at home in Buffalo.

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Posted in Miscellaneous

Link of the Day: UNICEF Tap Project

Posted on by melissaburgess

Every once in a while, I stumble across something on the Internet that stops me in my tracks. With everything bad that happens in the world, it’s easy to forget the good things — but there are plenty of organizations and people out there working for the greater good, working to help the community, the environment, the world. The link I’m going to share with you today will give you – or anyone else – the opportunity to be one of those people.

Allow me to introduce you to the UNICEF Tap Project. This is an absolutely wonderful initiative that I learned about through a Tumblr post I saw reblogged several times. Here’s the premise: as a technology-driven society, it’s so easy for us to get caught up in our phones. How many times have you looked around wherever you were – at dinner, at the mall, at a sporting event – and seen SO MANY PEOPLE ON THEIR CELL PHONES. (I am absolutely guilty of being one of those people sometimes.) Not only does this distract us from having actual, legitimate conversations, it makes everything so impersonal!

The UNICEF Tap Project challenges you to put down your phone, and see how long you can go without using it…. and in the meantime, you’ll be doing something to help people around the world. All you have to do is use your phone and go to the website: tap.unicefusa.org/. From there, go through the prompts and then just don’t touch your phone! The timer keeps track of how long you’ve gone, and for every minute that you go without using your phone/device, sponsors will donate clean water to children in need.

It’s an amazing incentive, really. While the timer counts, it’ll display facts about water usage around the world, how many people are using the app at the present time, the record amount of time, etc. It’s such an easy thing to do. You can even leave it on when you’re in the shower, making dinner, sleeping, etc. Every minute counts! I was unable to use it on my Android phone, but my iPod Touch was able to connect with it thru wifi and it’s easy as pie. I strongly recommend that everyone does this, whether it’s for 10 minutes or 10 hours or 10 days. It’s a great, easy way to help.

Day 30- Write a poem employing extended metaphor to illustrate the experience of the last thirty days.

My writing is like the winter;

It is not always present, nor always fair,
At times it may seem too extreme,
The wind ripping away every fabric of your being,
Harsh, aggressive, gritty, tough.
At times it may seem pretty,
Like the white new snow fallen down,
Soft, beautiful, yet cold to the touch.
Sometimes it is here, other times it is gone,
Sometimes you may not notice it at all.
It is a rebirth of sorts,
A chance to grow,
But also to die,
To live, to love, to jump, to fall,
Sometimes you may play in it like a child, youth,
Other times the cold is so bitter that even adults should shy away.
But through this past 30 days,
I have forced myself to walk through the wind, the snow, the bitter cold,
So that I shall meet the doors to the building that allows me inside,
This escape, this warmth, this hope that has been brought to me.

30 Day Poetry Challenge: Day 30

Quote• Posted on by melissaburgess

Day 29- Briefly research a poetic form of your choice and write a poem according to the rules of that particular form.

I’m going to try my hand at epistle today.

The Things You Must Do

Dearest dear,
If you wish for me to return,
There are some things I shall require.

Foremost, an apology of sorts,
I don’t care if the words spill out of your mouth like tears,
All I need to hear is an “I’m sorry,”
In sincerity, that is step one.

What else could I be asking for,
You simply cannot fathom.
But I shall require your entirety of self,
Thrust into emotion,
Pulled into motion for the staying of our relationship.
For at the present moment I am absolutely uncertain,
If your concern for me ever existed at all.

Next I shall require,
A promise,
Told and kept,
That from this moment forward,
We shall coincide as equals, as friends, not enemies,
Make this something I shan’t regret.

After you’ve apologized,
And given me yourself,
And your word,
I shall require a motion of sorts
To put forth
This declaration of friendship
So that our selves shall be repaired.

30 Day Poetry Challenge: Day 29

Quote• Posted on by melissaburgess

Day 28- Visit a virtual art gallery and look around until you find a piece that intrigues you. Write a poem inspired by the artwork.

A Stream in the Wood (1865) - Asher Brown Durand
A Stream in the Wood (1865) – Asher Brown Durand

The piece I chose is A Stream in the Wood, an 1865 oil painting by American painter Asher Brown Durand.
(For credit’s sake, I found the photo here.)

Solitude,
Oh, there is beauty in nature.
Though no flowers grow from where I stand,
All ’round me is green and brown,
The beauty of it has not sailed o’er my head.

I stand by the stream in the wood,
Awaiting a call, a sign
Of hope, love, passion,
A notice that in this solitary world,
I am not alone.

The wind rustling through my hair,
It calms me, though it disturbs me.
The trees that surround me are
Shedding their skins,
Just as I do every few months to create anew.
The stream is light and lulling,
The water flows gently by my feet.

Each day I awaken and visit this
Solitary place of nature,
The beauty of it all has
Enchanted me.
I think perhaps
I shall sit for a while,

I shall sit by the stream in the wood.

30 Day Poetry Challenge: Day 28

Quote• Posted on by melissaburgess