One predecessor of the iPod

That was an old radio transmitter... :)

(lost the source, sorry :-( it may have been the WSJ)

Hunger Strikes

What happens to your body when you go into a hunger strike.

(original via Maria Popova @brainpicker)

How common is your birthday?

(via swissmiss)

A.A. - vaquera

Mi prima con su hija de 3 años:

Source: thegirlwhokeepsdreaming.tumblr.com via Kathy on Pinterest 

Me dice mi hija: "mami, jugamos a que yo era una vaquera y tú una PELOTA!!!!"  

Plop!!!!!!! Qué me quiso decir????

¡Ni idea!

A.A. - El Lórax

Mi prima con su hija de 3 años el 25 de Abril de 2012. El bosque La Primavera está incendiándose estos días.

Al abrir la puerta de la casa esta mañana había una gran cantidad de ceniza, entonces mi pequeña me pregunta: 

-Mami, porqué hay tanta ceniza?Y yo con un dolor en el corazón tuve que decirle a mi pequeña como si le estuviera hablando de un ser querido que se nos fue: 

-Mi amor, cerca de aquí hay un gran bosque que se llama La Primavera, y se está quemando... Muchos árboles se están quemando y muchos animalitos se están quedando sin casa... 

Mi pequeñita de tres años me voltea a ver con esos ojos grandes llenos de lágrimas y me dice:-Mami, el Lórax está sufriendo...

 * El Lórax es un personaje basado en un cuento de Dr Seuss que defiende a los árboles de la avaricia industrial.

How to Find Your Purpose and Do What You Love

Maria Popova, curator of brainpickings, had this article published back in February. She lists seven insights from philosophers that should help you make the choice of looking for and do what you love. Very appropriate for graduation season.

These are my favourites from the full list. It's very well worth it to go to the webpage and take a deeper look.

• Ditch prestige - it's a powerful magnet that causes you to work not on what you like, but what you'd like to like. [Paul Graham]

• It's perhaps easier than ever to feel carrier anxiety. We think we know what success is. We should make sure we own our ideas and we are the true authors of our own ambitions.  [Alain de Botton - his TED Talk]

• "The best way to get approval is not to need it." [Hugh Macleod]

• You will be working a great deal of your life. Make sure you are satisfied with it. If you aren't, keep looking. [Steve Jobs]

I loved the first point, maybe because I feel too sympathetic. The next two bullet points are sound echoes of the same idea. As Alain Botton said: 

"Because it’s bad enough not getting what you want, but it’s even worse to have an idea of what it is you want and find out at the end of the journey that it isn’t, in fact, what you wanted all along."

You can even find pop references to this. I like more and more what Alfred tells Batman in "Batman Begins":

Why do we fall sir? 

So we might learn to pick ourselves up.

We can't find what we want, what we love, if we don't dare to fail in the process. Failure is good. If we learn how to learn from it. And the earlier we fall, the earlier we learn how to get up. The earlier we learn to let go of fear. The earlier we find our true selves.

#embracefailure

"Pues mayo, todo en flor..."

“Pues mayo, todo en flor…”

Pues mayo, todo en flor, a los prados nos llama,
¡ven! y que sin cesar se mezclen con tu alma
la campiña, los bosques, las mágicas umbrías
y los claros de luna junto al agua dormida;
la senda en cuyo fin da el camino comienzo,
la primavera, el aire y el horizonte inmenso,
horizonte que el mundo toca humilde y alegre
como un labio la orla del ropaje celeste.
¡Ven! y que la mirada de las castas estrellas,
que a través de mil velos se derrama en la tierra,
y el árbol impregnado de perfumes y cantos,
y el aliento que abrasa, alta la luz, los campos,
y la sombra y el sol, las aguas, la verdura,
la irradiación, en fin, de la entera Natura
haga abrirse a la luz, como una doble flor,
la belleza en tu frente y en tu pecho el amor.




PUISQUE MAI TOUT EN FLEURS …


Puisque mai tout en fleurs dans les prés nous réclame,
Viens ! ne te lasse pas de mêler à ton âme
La campagne, les bois, les ombrages charmants,
Les larges clairs de lune au bord des flots dormants,
Le sentier qui finit où le chemin commence,
Et l’air et le printemps et l’horizon immense,
L’horizon que ce monde attache humble et joyeux
Comme une lèvre au bas de la robe des cieux !
Viens ! et que le regard des pudiques étoiles
Qui tombe sur la terre à travers tant de voiles,
Que l’arbre pénétré de parfums et de chants,
Que le souffle embrasé de midi dans les champs,
Et l’ombre et le soleil et l’onde et la verdure,
Et le rayonnement de toute la nature
Fassent épanouir, comme une double fleur,
La beauté sur ton front et l’amour dans ton coeur !




VICTOR HUGO ~ versión de AURELIO ASIAIN

No soy muy de poesía (de hecho, nada), pero me encontré esto por aquí y me gustó :)

Notes and Neurons

Bobby McFerrin and the power of pentatonic scale at the 2009 World Science Festival. 


#mademesmile :)


(via swissmiss)

Old New York

Did you see the pictures that were recently published from New York from about 100 years ago?

I found them in the website of Corriere della Sera. There are some that are truly beautiful...

Update: My friend Rodrigo just posted this link from The Atlantic in which they have many more pics of the same collection. I particularly those that show when they were constructing the bridges that link Manhattan to Brooklyn and Queens. It still amazes me! I could see them over and over... :)

A.A. - lista del súper

Mi prima con su hija de 3 años:

En el super... Va mi hija con su carrito y yo con el mío y me dice mi chiquita con gran preocupación: Mami, hacen falta cervezas!!!

 

A.A. - 2 princesas

Mi prima con su hija de 3 años (13 de Abril):

Source: tumblrphotographyxox.tumblr.com via Robyn on Pinterest

Jugando con mi hija en la alberca con las Barbies sirenas: 

Ella: tu eres mi príncipe y yo soy tu princesa! 

Yo: No, mejor que las dos éramos princesas solteras, sin príncipes... 

Se me queda viendo mi hija con una cara de indignación y con un tono de señora molesta por el precio de las cosas, me contesta: NO Mami!!!! Todas debemos de tener un príncipeeee!!!! 

Yo: A si? Y quién es tu príncipe mi amor? 

Ella: Mi PAPITOOOO!!!!!!

¡¡Lo máximo!!

How to focus in the age of distraction

A friend posted this on facebook today.

Isn't it awesome ? It's all the good advice I've read/received here and there in a nice diagram :))

You can check out more cool diagrams and mindmaps at Learning Fundamentals, an Aussie webpage that publish cool techniques that help students learn in an enjoyable way. Rad!

How exercise could make you smarter

According to an article in the NYT, after running experiments with mice for months studies have concluded that physical exercise could give humans brainpower that thinking does not. Why?

Source: letsmakeahealthiertomorrow.tumblr.com via j jump jennifer on Pinterest

The brain, like all muscles and organs, is a tissue, and its function declines with underuse and age. Beginning in our late 20s, most of us will lose about 1 percent annually of the volume of the hippocampus, a key portion of the brain related to memory and certain types of learning.
Exercise though seems to slow or reverse the brain’s physical decay, much as it does with muscles. [...]

Even more heartening, scientists found that exercise jump-starts neurogenesis. Mice and rats that ran for a few weeks generally had about twice as many new neurons in their hippocampi as sedentary animals. Their brains, like other muscles, were bulking up.

But here is where it gets interesting: the brain cells that are a product of exercise are nimbler than those created by cognitive tasks. In other words, it is true that if you learn new things (say a new language), you reverse the aging process of your brain, but those neurons are fired only when you practice that language. Instead, the neurons you get from exercise can multitask (at least for mice)!

I wonder if this applies only to aerobic exercise; the article mentions that which type of exercise is the one is  "another intriguing issue". It is prove, though, that it does not have to be exhausting; research shoes that going out for long walks regularly has worked for the elderly (I can include my grandma as a personal observation here).

And I was thinking of skipping the gym today... hmm...

Humans of New York

Brandon Staton studied History at the University of Georgia. After losing his trading job, he moved to New York City and started taking pictures of strangers. He has taken pictures of over 3,000 people and written 50 stories. He put all this together on his website Humans of New York.

Here is a very small sample. The website is worth a periodic visit!

Would you dare to take pictures of strangers in the street? I would love to, but I am too shy...

 

Philosophical Theories in Basic Shapes

London based graphic designer Genis Carrera has created a series of posters that depict philosophical theories with basic shapes. Just. Beautiful.

(via swissmiss)

 

A 14 años de la muerte de Octavio Paz

Un amigo puso este poema de Octavio Paz en el facebook.

Entre lo que veo y digo,entre lo que digo y callo,entre lo que callo y sueño,entre lo que sueño y olvido,la poesía.Se deslizaentre el sí y el no:dicelo que callo,callalo que digo,sueñalo que olvido.No es un decir:es un hacer.Es un hacerque es un decir.La poesíase dice y se oye:es real.Y apenas digoes real,se disipa.¿Así es más real?

No soy fan de la poesía, o a lo mejor sólo tengo que darle otra oportunidad...  

bits by bits

I learned today about littleBits, a start up that encourages creating with electronics as easy as playing with lego. In their own words:

littleBits is an opensource library of electronic modules that snap together with tiny magnets for prototyping and play

Founder Ayah Bdeir gives a quick fun demo during her 6min TedTalk last February 27 (pretty new stuff!).

A rad way to bring electronics into our DIY creative projects!

P.S. I don't wanna lego!

Hug!

Source: vi.sualize.us via Natalie on Pinterest

Cracked me up :)

Ballet in slow motion

When you go to see ballet, have you ever wished you could see at least some of the movements in slow motion? This video of ballet dancers Marina Kanno and Giacomo Bevilaqua from Staatsballet Berlin achieves just that. At 1000 frames per second it's the perfect eye candy.

(via swissmiss, who in turn reposted from my oh-so-left-into-oblivion-kottke)

Serious vs Solemn

Designer Paula Scher gets serious on this TED talk (so popular it got translated to 14 languages!).

Some interesting phrases:

- Sometimes the best way of [getting serious] is being completely unqualified for the job

- After realizing you have become solemn at your work, go back and rediscover what you can play with, fail with, be arrogant, foolish, or completely ignorant about and go about being serious again.

Things to think about: how serious/solemn are we? How to go push ourselves to move around that cycle?

(via brainpickings)

The other Dr Seuss

Dr Seuss, even though mostly famous for his illustrations for kids, also drew a book of nudes (!) and even contributed to contemporary art. I really like this drawing and the quote that I found with it:

A Seuss drawing suggesting that no matter how big, inflated or different the image we try to portray, being ourselves is most important.

TM & © 1995 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L. P., Secret Art Collection, courtesy of the Museum of Science and Industry

Go here for more info about Dr Seuss, the books, and more illustrations. 

(via brainpickings)

A.A. - dulces sin azúcar

Mi prima con su hija de 3 años

Source: shanalogic.com via Stacey on Pinterest

Mi hija se encuentra unos dulcecitos IceBreakers (sin azúcar) en mi bolsa y me pregunta:-Mami, puedo comer uno?
-No mi amor, son para viejas gordas (por decir dietéticos)
Ella se queda pensando un momento y derrepente emocionada acordándose de algo me dice:
-Mami!! Mi abuelita me dice "Cosa gorda" y mi abuelo me dice "donde están mis viejas" a mi prima y a mi... Me puedo comer dos!!! Soy "vieja" y soy " gorda"!!!!!!! 

Lógica impecable :)

The Story of Keep Calm and Carry On

Made me smile :)

(via swissmiss)

How much Yahoo! needs Facebook

Today at pando daily:

Yahoo woke up and realized that Facebook has way too much control over its users. 

But as our infographic below shows, that hardly happened over night. As with most things in Sunnyvale, if Yahoo is upset about that, it only has itself to blame. Desperate to stay relevant and keep growing, Yahoo continually integrated its products deeper and deeper with Facebook, and now it finds itself beholden to the social networking giant.

If the world's population lived in one city...

Is it me or infographics are the next big thing? This is a cool one:

Chart from Per Square Mile

Paris and New York are way too dense, and Houston too spread out. I like San Fran, maybe London :).

Have a great week!

(via swissmiss)

The coolest umbrella

This is what I tell the rain I had almost everyday in my spring break:

 

Of course, we were driving most of the time, but you get the idea :).

Found it here.

A.A. - dulces para gordas

Mi prima con su hija de 3 años:

Image Source: fattestcatintheworld.blogspot.com via Babe on Pinterest

Mi hija trae una bolsita de krankys y se los esta comiendo tan sabroso que le digo "Me regalas uno?" y ella me contesta "Si, son para gordas también!" :l jajajaja!!!!!! Plop!!!! 

¿Qué concepto de gordura traerá? Mi prima no está gorda. Qué miedo.

do not compare yourself

Source: twitter.com via Erin on Pinterest

Got to stop doing that - #easiersaidthandone

Have a great weekend!!

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost …. I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter TwoI walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter ThreeI walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter FourI walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter FiveI walk down another street.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters, by Portia Nelson

(via swissmiss)

I DON'T WANNA LEGO!

Made me chuckle :)

(via swissmiss)

Reminded me of 2011 in Lego

Yahoo sues Facebook

On a follow up on the post of how the patent system is hindering innovation, now it turns out that Yahoo had the whole idea of social network before Facebook. The latter shouldn't get all the profits credit without paying its share, of course. Hence, Yahoo is now suing Facebook.

Picture from NPR

Bad Laundry Day

Whoever likes to do laundry, please stand up. I am assuming everyone is still seating, right?  I loathe it! Especially because I have the talent of having accidents with the machines all too frequently and I never seem to take good care of my clothes...

I guess I share this feeling with prague-based artist Goenetix, who created a series of awesome illustrations. It's good to see that superheroes can also have bad laundry days.

  

A.A. - Jilguero

Mi prima con su nena de 3 años:

via Pinterest

En el carro:Mi hija: Mami, canta con la músicaYo: Ahora noMi hija: mami cantaYo: no gracias mi amor, no tengo ganas de cantarMi hija: Mami, canta, te ves HERMOSA cuando cantas...Y por supuesto que en ese instante me solté cantando como jilguero!!!!!!! Jajajaja

On Loss Aversion and Intellectual Property

This is the fourth part of a series called Everything is a Remix. 15 min well spent.

(via swissmiss - yes, again! I am catching up with my reader on this blog, as you can see :) )

Everything is a Remix Part 4 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

A.A. - Bella y la Bestia

‎"Mamá yo ero bella y tu eres bestia" :l (me habrá querido decir algo????)

 

How long do animals live?

Didn't you always wonder this when you were a kid? I didn't know geese could live so long!

Made me smile.

(via swissmiss)

Snow drawings

I had to post this... it's really amazing -- those circles were made by people walking on fresh snow. Reminded me of the post about Fibonacci circles in Siberia. Cool people.
 (via swissmiss)



(a couple more pics after the break)

A.A. - una lagrimita por Marthelo

‎- Mamá, leonardo ya no me encanta porque escupió y jugué a correr con Marthelo y le dije que era mi príncipe y él me dijo que no que Naty es su princesa...-Y tú que hiciste mi amor???- Nada, me salió una lagrimita silenciosa y seguí corriendo...

Aaaaaawwww mi chiquita sufrió de amor sin mí!!!!!!!!

Illustration source: polyvore.com via Tessa on Pinterest

A.A. - chambeando

Mi prima con su hija de 3 años:


Mi hija le está ayudando a la vecina a lavar su carro y yo le digo: "Mi amor estás chambeando??" y ella me contesta: "Si mamá, a ti te gustaría ponerte a chambear algún día?". (qué me querría decir?????... Plop!!!!)




jajaja me encanta... :)

Source: juniormagazine.co.uk via Lucy on Pinterest

A.A. - la elegancia duele

Mi hija: Mami, me duelen las piernas...
Yo: Y eso por qué? Por qué te duelen tus piernas?
Mi hija: Porque todavía no son suficientemente elegantes!

Picture Source: alldressedinargyle.tumblr.com via Angela on Pinterest

A.A. - pastelillos

Mi prima con su hija de 3 años:

Estamos mi chiquita y yo haciendo pastelillos para sus maestras del día del amor y la amistad y le estoy explicando: "Nena, tu les hiciste estos pastelillos a tus maestras, bla bla bla...". En eso la escucho decir "piensa, piensa, piensa". Le pregunto porqué dice eso y me contesta: "Estoy pensando muy fuerte para que alguien me haga pastelillos a mi"Awwwww!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I am so behind I won't be writing translations for these batch. I am not sure what the demand for them is anyway... If you want them, please post your comment and I will update the posts with the translations :).

Picture via Pinterest.

staying young

I know, I've been absent. I am sorry. I don't think it's going to change much... even though, spring break is coming up... so who knows :). No big updates, though.

I thought I would just share with you some thoughts I have had in recent weeks (you can keep reading after the break):

Italia sotto la neve!

Have you seen how much it's been snowing in Europe? They took all our snow and multiplied it! I am not sure how I feel about it : P

As usual, I am very biased towards what's going on in Italy. Today, Corriere della Sera has some very impressive pictures of the country under the snow. My two favourite ones:

   

A.A. - Un calamar

‎"Mom, hice un calamar" 

‎"Mom, I drew a squid"

Not your everyday illustration from a 3-year old :)

NY 101

:)

(via Words for Young Men)

The happy secret to better work

Shawn Achor talks about the happy secret to better work in this TED talk video. 15 min very well spent (find video at the end of this post).

This video comes to complement very nicely a book that my sister recommended me: A general theory of love. I haven't finished reading it, but from what I have read and the video I gather that there is a lot of research about how our feelings are related to chemical reactions in different parts of our brain. With such understanding, one thing that we can do is basically train it to think more positively. This, of course, requires the good and constant practice of certain activities. The speaker recommends the following to create a lasting positive change:

• 3 gratitudes
• Journaling
• Exercise
• Meditation
• Random Acts of Kindness

Sounds funny/weird/awkward, but since I started practicing yoga more regularly and a bit of meditation a couple of times a week, I feel the change.

That's why I am making this a personal project for February. Starting from yesterday I will email my sister one satisfaction that I had throughout my day (and she will e-mail me hers!); I set up a google spreadsheet with a table where I will record 3 things I am grateful for (you can't repeat!), and I already signed up for yoga twice a week for this semester. Let's see how it goes!

Paris vs New York - the book!

I am not sure whether I've ever posted any of the illustrations from the website Paris vs New York. Graphic designer Vahram Muratyan has very cool illustrations that contrast different things, people, and activities from these two great cities. After first releasing some prints of the illustrations that you can buy from the website, he is finally releasing a book! (#wishlisted)

If you happen to be in New York City this week, the book signing and exhibition is tomorrow. I will have to try to go!

Scroll down for some samples. I would still recommend to go to the website. It's just rad.