Let us Pause....

In our pausing practice today I realized that only good can come out of pausing. When you pause, you simply reflect. If we don't take time out to reflect on things and events that happen in our lives we let it pass us without acknowledging them. Everybody and everything deserves its recognition.

Victor Hugo said,

“Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings.”

To me this means, acknowledging things helps you to live a better life. If someone has a bad day, its okay. Recognize that you have a bad day, tell others about your bad day, and move on! You cannot appreciate a good day without experiencing the bad ones. Always pause for a minute after major events and minor events in your life. You will gain a larger appreciation for everything.

Is the Internet too limited?

Today in class I have been researching my final project topic. Last class period, I did the same thing, but it seems like I found more. I keep being lead to the same web pages even on different search engines. I think its time that I hit up Barnes and Noble or even the MU library. I appreciate the sites that I have found, which were almost too good to be true, and I know that these websites just won't be enough.

The internet is often very helpful, however it is always good to use various modes of research. My next places will be the library, bookstores, and then back to the internet for some wiki searches.

One problem that I know I will have will be writing the actual biographies of each of the African-American women writers.

Also, I got a boot of energy today in class! When I mentioned that I will use writers like Toni Morrison in my wiki, another student commented with "Toni Morrison is amazing!" Now I am encouraged to find out more about black female writers that we aren't so familiar with, so people can say "Oh bell hooks is amazing, or Maria Stewart is amazing!" I've uploaded an image of bell hooks, just for the fun of it! Enjoy.

Online Brainstorming For You and Me

I don't know if I will use the brainstorming website bubbl.us to brainstorm anymore more for my final project. Bubbl.us has been quite helpful to get me thinking about what I wanted to do, because we used it in class for that exact reason. When I attempt to use it at home it is more of a struggle trying to get all of the arrows to work the way I want them to.

I think that I have become comfortable with using a good pen and a thick pad. There is just something aesthetic and nostalgic about brainstorming with my pieces of paper. Although, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I used to feel this way about blogging. I didn't like the idea of keeping an online journal, because I felt like it was an invasion of my privacy. Little did I know.

Music Wiki

Today I found this wiki dedicated to music. It is quite fasinating, and it has so much information. I really like music a lot, and whoever organized it did a great job. There are various sections like, top albums, top song, featured artists, chats, and much more. I think I will frequent this place a lot more since I have found it. What I like about it is that it is simple, but it has a lot of information. If I ever have a good wiki one day, I want it to be like this. It is fun, but you can learn something from it.

One thing that wikis don't tend to have are photo galleries, and a place to take quizzes. I don't know if this sounds a little far fetched but I still like the idea. To find this wiki just go to this url:

http://www.wikimusicguide.com/

My Future Wiki

For the second portion of class today I brainstormed about my final project. I went to my bubbl.us account to brainstorm ideas. I think I will structure my wiki on African-American women writers around the various time periods in which they wrote. For example, I have seven different categories right now. Some of the categories are Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement, and the Black Arts Movement. I also added four different web sites to my del.icio.us account. I'm really excited about the finished project.

Wow, that wasn't hard at all! I finally learned how to post my mapping by using Anne's simple steps. The easiest way to learn how to do unfamiliar things on the internet is by experimentation.

For my final project I want to create a wiki that is dedicated to famous/not famous African-American female writers. I am currently taking a class titled Africana Womanism here at the University of Missouri where we read novels by famous African-American female writers.

After I incorporate all of the women writers in my class, I will research some not so famous writers also. I'm really excited about my project, and I hope others in the blogsphere are also.

The Wiki Workplace

Whoever reads “The Wiki Workplace” about Robert Stephens in the book Wikinomics will probably all agree that he is one smart man! It seems like he knew what he wanted to do as soon as he graduated from college; No, he knew exactly what he wanted to do, but didn’t have enough money to do it. Stephens graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in computer science and knew that he wanted a business consultancy firm. Why can't I realize what I want to do?

I know that I want to own my own business when I graduate, but I don't know what I want to do. The most important thing that Stephens did was to tap into an industry that wasn't invested in. He hired people like him, which was a smart thing. One of my friends recently told me that “the day you start fulfilling your passion is the day you stop working." It seems like Stephens and his crews of geeks were all interested in doing the same thing. Stephens’ company hires people that do what he likes to do. They all like computers, playing video games, and fixing stuff. They don't feel like they are going to work every day. They are going to have fun and play games, which is all everybody wants to do.

The key to success is to find something that you are interested in, relate that to something that everybody needs and your life will be pleasant! Stephens wasn't a mathematician, but what he did was very calculated. Your passion + other's needs = Wealth

Negative Nawal.....(whomp, whomp, whomp)

Is it just me, or am I the class pesimist? I can't get into this blogging stuff like everybody else! I'd rather hang out with my friends than think about adding to some wiki. I would never use Wikipedia as a source in a paper or essay, let alone add to it. I've just always left that up to the internet geeks. To get through this class successfully I must cross-over to the land of the bloggers! Ahhhhh....

Me and Blogging

I don't know what happened! It's like all of a sudden I stopped blogging. I don't want to be like this. I tried incorporating links to my blog, but that didn't work. I want to have an easy blogging experience. I feel like a person feels after they get done cleaning up. I've done all of this work, yet I have nothing to show for it. I want to put up my brainstorming webs, but I don't know how! Does anybody else feel like they aren't getting as much as they are supposed to be getting out of this whole experience? If so, let's work together and do something about it. This can't go on forever!

Daily Blog Tips

As a person that doesn’t blog much it is difficult to provide a favorite blog of mine. Once I read the assignment I began to do what any normal person would. I turned to google.com to help me find a suitable blog to write about. A blog that I began to read longer than any other blog is Dailyblogtips.com, because it is so easy to read, and move around on the site. This blog is very neat, and to the point! It gives a lot of tips about having a blog. I need to visit a blog like this to remain a healthy blogger. I need help and this blog gives it to me. There are different links and categories to help a blogger get any type of help he/she may need, such as blog design, web tools, and blogging basics. The daily blog tips blog appeals to me because it is more of a tool. I will place a link to it in my class blog because it seems so helpful. I plan on visiting it on a regular basis so that I can learn as much as I can.
Another thing that I admire about this blog is that it appeals to one’s reason using logos. It seems like without this blog at hand you would not be on track with your blog, so it is only logical to visit it daily. After visiting this blog I feel like I need it to maintain a good blog.
You can visit this blog by going to: http://www.dailyblogtips.com/