Posterous Tries to Compete with Facebook/Social

2011-09-13 00:00:00 -0400

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/28848857 w=595&h=336]

Interesting.. I love Posterous for blogging, but they need to do more for managing my media (photo's at least) before they can compete with flickr and facebook for sharing.  Right now with Posterous, its really easy to upload photos.. but thats it.  No captioning.   Sharing photos across blogs posts isn't exactly convenient, etc.

.. and it seems that Posterous is pronounced paw-ster-us - like preposterous - not post-er-ous - like I "post" to my blog.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Quotes

2011-09-10 00:00:00 -0400

Neil deGrasse Tyson quotes (showing 1-12 of 12)

"Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That’s kinda cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us."
Neil deGrasse Tyson

I like Neil deGrasse Tyson. He makes impenetrable subjects such as astrophysics accessible. What Neil describes above is more than "cool" it is incredibly elegant, beautiful even.

M's First Day of First Grade

2011-09-10 00:00:00 -0400

Emma started First Grade this week.  These are photos of her waiting for the bus which, like last year, failed to pick her up!  Abby drove her to school and she had a great day.  In fact she didn't want to leave!  Pictures of the bus at the end are from her second day.

Img_5112

More photos available for my flickr friends and family.

-John

Thomson Reuters | September 11 ??? A Decade Later

2011-09-09 00:00:00 -0400

September 11 – A Decade Later

On September 11, 2001, four hijacked planes were used to carry out the attacks on the United States. Two planes hit New York City’s World Trade Center, a third plunged into the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after an attempt was made by passengers to regain control. In total 2,992 people were killed.

Drawing on the past 10 years of Reuters news coverage, we invite you to watch    9/11: Looking Back on Ten Years, a multimedia retrospective reflecting on the tragic events of that one day, while bearing witness to how lives around the globe have been forever changed.

...

 

Click through to watch the video.

It Gets Better..

2011-09-08 00:00:00 -0400

Sometimes, I'm particularly proud to work for Thomson Reuters.  I've always been impressed with their policy on diversity - whether it be for gender, sexual orientation or those with special needs.  In my experience with the company, talented and hard working people are valued above all else.  Period.  

When I was approached to help promote Thomson Reuters "It Gets Better" story, I was not only willing but proud to do so.  However, I'm not a very politically correct person.  I fear I may totally botch the message.  Please feel free to send your corrections along and I'll make amends.  Here goes..

The It Gets Better project is an effort to reach out to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth through personal video testimonials about how there is hope for them in an often LGBT intolerant world.  These videos are touching and inspirational personal accounts of how individuals have suffered, sometimes extraordinarily so, survived, healed, and eventually thrived in a world that is still intolerant of these differences.  The videos are messages of hope.  And Thomson Reuters' video showcases many of our own colleagues' stories.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StqVmJ0VmBU?wmode=transparent]

According to internal communications:

The Thomson Reuters story:  New York-based employee Ruben Ramirez suggested the idea of doing a company video for the Project.  The LGBTF Employee Network agreed to sponsor the project and moved forward with planning after gaining support from Tom Glocer.  An email was sent on May 8, 2011 to all global members of the Network.  The response was astounding with over 100 employees asking to participate.  Over the next several weeks our production team (Ruben Ramirez, Kelly Miller, Douglas Spencer, Jason Spears and Tim Blaquiere) coordinated logistics, partnering with the Reuters Insider team in several locations and setting up makeshift studios in others.  In the end, we received 82 video submissions, including an introduction by Tom Glocer.  In the following weeks the production team sifted through hours of footage, working with Insider editor Ellie Zambrano to produce a final nine-minute video.

I would like to thank EVERYONE on the video for taking the time and having the courage to share something so personal.

This is a video that I am proud to share not only with my colleagues but with my friends and family.  For those suffering from bias, discrimination, and hate, I pray that it brings hope to you.  For those who have never experienced bias and hate, I hope it opens your eyes and your hearts.

See also:

http://www.itgetsbetter.org/

http://www.youtube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject