In Presidential elections past I have always voted with my heart. Mostly Democratic – I even voted for Jesse Jackson once, and in a moment when my heart went cold I voted Republican. Those exercises in civic duty were momentarily satisfying but sadly lacked any lasting joy since my candidates generally lost.

This time around I am changing my tack – I’m voting rational. I figure if I can come up with ten rational reasons to vote for a candidate, I would be doing myself an injustice if I did not. I found only one candidate met my criteria. Here are my ten rational reasons to vote for Hilary Clinton.

1. She’s a Woman: For God’s sake, every democracy in the modern history of mankind has had a female leader except the U.S. What is wrong with us?
2. She’s Strong: That is not the opposite of wishy-washy. That means watch out or she will kick your ass.
3. She’s showed us her pain: No matter what you think of her decision to stay with Bill you’ve got to give her credit for hanging in when lesser spouses would have fled. She gets extra credit for her recent comments regarding her thoughts on having the freedom to choose what is best for your individual situation.
4. She is Chaste: Believe me if “they” haven’t found any dirt yet, they won’t. Maybe this should be listed under “She’s Smart” for knowing decades ago to keep her nose clean and having the fortitude to do it. That is the number one reason I choose not to run for any office – youthful indiscretions!
5. NY Loves Her: As Blue states go NY is the barometer of rational liberalism – there isn’t enough estrogen in San Francisco and holy cow, Massachusetts elected Mitt!
6. She’s Got Experience: No other candidate running can say they know the ins and outs of the White House like Hilary.
7. She Perseveres: I root for the one who perseveres because it is a quality I lack. After that whole National Health Care thing I would have thrown in the towel, but not Hilary. She is ready for round two.
8. She has a sense of Humor: Well – put another way – she knows one needs a sense of humor to succeed in the job of President of the United States. Unfortunately, she is no Al Gore in this department.
9. She is All Business: Take it from a perimenopausal woman – the woman means what she says even if she doesn’t say what she means.
10. She’s Got Bill: regardless of what you may think of him, liberal Democrats love him. The bonus: he can play the target of the inevitable ruthless nitpicking from the right for the duration of her term in office.
11. Why should I stop at ten? She’ll Go All the Way. She has the money and the power for the long haul. Realistically, only one other Democrat has the money to make it to the end and in my mind’s eye, I see him being eaten alive.

Literally. Actually about a dozen of them.

A Lion sitting in peace with a lamb has been the symbol of peace for about 2000 years. Jesus said we would have peace ‘when the lion laid down with the lamb’.

I was flipping through the channels. Nothing was on. And I mean nothing. I mean I like mind-numbing saturday afternoon TV like the rest of America, but this was a particularly bad day.

And then I came across this show on Animal Planet. Called Heart of Lioness or something.

It showed this adult, female lion who had adopted a young, lost calf. Not EXACTLY a lamb, but close.

Close enough for the local African tribes people to come out in droves to see this miracle.

The most feared predator on the continent helping and nurturing a young calf.

Unheard of.

For weeks this went on. Neither of them eating. People showing up in buses and jeeps daily to gawk and photograph this anomoly of nature.

Or was it a sign of things to come? We will see. We can hope that peace is coming.

Of course, several weeks into the vigil, a big hungry male lion came lumbering in and ate the poor ‘lamb’ for a mid-morning snack.

The scientist involved with this strange phenomenon suggested that the lion had had a poor family life, and she was somehow making up for it by adopting this poor lamb.

An interesting story to say the least.

I’m not a very religious person, but I do believe in God. And I believe God isn’t a vague, unreachable being residing somewhere in the sky. I believe He exists here on Earth, in everyone and everything He created.

I look outside my window and I see God in the lake nearby, and in the vibrant autumnal trees around me. I walk down the street and see God in the children coming home from school, trundling off the bus laden with books that remind me of their fresh minds and their potential to someday accomplish great things. I see God in the firehouse up the hill, where volunteers vigilantly wait for the call that could put their lives in peril just to save mine.

But I don’t see God in the encroachment of human development on the land around the lake, and I don’t see God in the rising water levels. I don’t see God in the razing of local forests to make way for more parking. God is missing from the asthmatic wheezing of children who may have breathed easier if they were born in a time and place with less pollution and greater access to local healthcare. I don’t see God in their shivers as they walk to school without jackets to shelter them from the cold. Where is God in the wasted lives of soldiers who face war with the same generous bravery and dedication that our firemen fight our fires?

Photo by Alex De Carvahlo. Some rights reserved.

We need a steward: someone who will fulfill promises to protect our environment, improve our healthcare, combat poverty, mind our public resources, and save our troops from needless death and misery. I believe that John Edwards can be that steward. I’m not suggesting he’s God, or even god-like. Far from it! He’s a man, but a man in a position to enact change. John Edwards plans to cut back on carbon dioxide pollution, reduce poverty levels, increase healthcare coverage, save our troops, and defend our civil rights. He will fight for what’s good and right, and help to bring all that is Godly—joy, peace, love, security, and abundance—back into our lives.

I want to see God unhindered in all of us—every plant, every child, every breath of air—and we need someone who will do his best to better our world. I want a president who’ll remind me that even when God seems to have gone missing he’s still here, waiting for us to return him to our awareness. John Edwards said, “When things seem at their worst and their lowest, [God] will always be there for you.” I want my president to be there for me too, fervent in his belief that we can continue to make a place for God and all the blessings He brings.

In 2008 I will vote for John Edwards because I want to see God outside my window, and I know John Edwards will do everything he can to keep Him there.

A Salute to Bobby Pickett

It’s time for the Monster Mash again. Of course YouTube has hundreds of Monster Mash interpretations; one of my votes is for a 2005 performance of the 1962 hit by the song’s creator, Bobby Pickett, and his seasoned band The Cryptkickers.

Pickett, who died in April 2007, won three gold records for Monster Mash. The song hit the Billboard Top 100 in 1962, 1970 and 1973, selling more than one million copies. Among his movie credits are: Monster Mash, Lobster Man from Mars, It’s a Bikini World, and Boogie with the Undead.

He toured and played the song for decades. His tour bus broke once down outside Frankenstein, Missouri at a 1973 Halloween show.

Elvis Presley reputedly called The Monster Mash the “dumbest thing” he ever heard. Pickett was likely not concerned. He said when he heard the song he just heard the “ka-ching!” of the cash register!

« Betty Story is a writer, researcher and recovering librarian. She can be contacted at betstory@storyinfo.net » 

It’s almost halloween, and the ghosts and gouls are out in force. But what is  halloween?

Why do we celebrate it?

And most importantly, who has the best costume this year?

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A great video, made way before any of it actually happens.

It has a lot to do with what your role as a Yovia Blogger or Citizen Journalist is:

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I’m constantly looking for new and adventurous ways to tickle the “gross me out” bones of the two young boys in my family, especially on Halloween. A few years ago I needed a unique dessert they’d love for a Halloween party. I sat down and thought about scary stories that disgusted me as a child, and one stanza of a children’s song popped into my head:

“The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play pinochle on your snout.
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat the jelly between your toes.”
(See the full lyrics to the song, “The Hearse Song”, here.)

Suddenly it struck me: a skull-shaped cake with gummy worms crawling out of every orifice. I had my gross Halloween recipe and I knew it would thrill them!

The concept was simple enough, but the execution was slightly more complicated. I found a suitable skull cake pan at Fright Catalog. A standard boxed cake mix was easy to come by. Working with the mold was a little unusual—I was a first-timer to molded cakes and it takes a little finesse. The trickiest part is greasing the mold properly. For help, check out Baking911.com.

Once baked and cooled, another challenge arose. It’s tough to ice a delicately-molded cake with thick canned icing. I experimented with implements and found a smaller knife with smaller strokes around the mouth and eyes was most successful. When iced, the details of the skull lose definition somewhat so it’s a good idea—and adds to the fun—to use chocolate icing or dark frosting to trace the mouth and color in the nostrils and eye sockets.

Photo by Jason Meredith. Some rights reserved.

Then it was down to the pièce de résistance, the gummy worms. There are several types on the market, from the standard translucent brightly-colored to frosted opaque neon. I learned not to add the worms too soon before serving, because the gelatin can melt against the icing’s moisture. I simply punctured the cake where I wanted the worms to lie, anchored one end of the worm in the cake, and let the other end drape like it was dragging its body along the surface. For the best effect, I cut a few worms shorter so that they appeared to burrow deeper and had their “tails” higher in the air.

The end result made the kids squeal with laughter. And the pan has remained handy—I used it not long after as an equally creepy jell-o mold! This is a cake I’ll make again and again. It’s an easy way to add something gruesome to your Halloween party plans this year. For gross variations, try plastic toy spiders and bugs atop the skull as well.

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Spread the word…

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October 25, 2007

Stephen Colbert for President campaign is leading online polls

What started as a joke, does not appear to be a joke. Creating the fastest-growing Facebook group in the history of the social networking site, Colbert ‘08 fans came together 861,595 strong last night to completely silent Ron Paul supporters, who had previously dominated the online campaign space.

“The group was growing at over 120 people per second at it’s peak” according to Jalali Hartman, CEO of Yovia.com, a social media research firm, “It really demonstrated the power that a group of people online can have.”

Hartman, social media optimization firm saw over 6,000 votes in 1 hour for Colbert, putting him at the lead of the 2008PresidentialPoll.com, an open-forum internet straw poll, which has been running since May.

“We thought the Ron Paul supporters where a force online”, said Hartman, “But Stephen Colbert fans completely eclipsed Ron Paul Fans and demonstrated that they are a strong voice on the internet”.

People can learn more or join the Facebook Group here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7406420086

People can also vote here:

http://www.2008presidentialpoll.com/

**************************************************************************
About Yovia, LLC

Yovia helps traditional marketers ‘spread the word’ about a message. Bringing together hundreds of bloggers, writers, videographers and artists, and utilizing a network of over 240 websites, Yovia helps advertisers and organizations get truly engaged in online discussions. For more information, visit:

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jhartman@yovia.com

Swipe a photo or some text, go to jail?

Before you copy an image or lift a bit of text from a web page to post on your blog or site, take heart: the source material is more likely than not copyrighted and in a worst-case-scenario, you could face fines of up to $1,000,000 and 10 years in prison.
Understanding copyrightAlthough you could face severe penalties for using someone else’s content without permission, the real point of copyright, is designed to let the people who create content, control the use if it.

Time energy and money goes into creating original, quality content, and it should not be simply stolen.

There are three types of copyright that do apply to online publsihers; Creative Commons, Fair Use and Public Domain.

Fair use

Fair use is basically your ability to use another’s creations without permission. There are lots of grey areas in fair use, but there are a few key rules of thumb. Abiding by them doesn’t guarantee you’re free from concern, but it does lessen your chances of being in flagrant violation.

• Copy only what is necessary to make your point (a quote or a paragraph, not much more than that) and always cite sources. These are rules all of us learn in school to avoid plagiarism, so they shouldn’t be hard to obey! Don’t worry, your citations don’t have to be as formal as they were in school. Just enough information to let readers know who the original author is.
• Guidelines of web etiquette suggest that you include a link to the source if you’re using material available on the Internet.

It’s worth noting that if you are creating a work that’s merely similar in nature to something that’s already out there—such as rewording other pieces in your own tone—you’re not technically infringing on copyright. But few readers will enjoy reading rehashed, old material, so always add some originality and thought. It’s one more way to avoid copyright infringement.

For copyrighted material, if your use can stop the original author from earning money—such as if you compete with the author in the same market and your use costs him/her customers or clients—it is not allowed. In general, using another’s work for commercial purposes is frowned upon. But there are many blurry lines for this in copyright law. Just be smart. If your work includes somebody else’s material, makes you money, and potentially costs the author, or if you have a gut feeling your commercial use is unfair, don’t do it. If possible you can contact an author for permission, which is the best way to ensure you’re not infringing or causing harm. Some consider this the fair and right thing to do regardless of circumstance—but that’s up to you.

Some other fair use considerations:

• If an author clearly expresses that all rights are reserved and no-one has permission to use his/her work, it’s not available for usage. Many authors who state this also say you can contact them for permission.
• If you use another’s work in a way that twists the original meaning or purpose/intent of the material, you are in the wrong.

To recap, your best bets are to: Credit, credit, and credit again. If you want to be safe, ask the author. Use only what you need. Don’t misuse the material. If you infringe, there is a high likelihood you can be caught, especially if the author is vigilant about using search engines or online plagiarism tools to check.

Creative Commons

Because copyright law is not entirely clear or effective in the digital age, a new form of rights and license management called “Creative Commons” has arisen. You may see Creative Commons notices or “some rights reserved” and “no rights reserved” logos on sites that are governed by Creative Commons licenses. Essentially, Creative Commons provides a number of straightforward licenses authors may grant to express how their content can be used. The licenses include:

• “No rights reserved”, which means a work is “public domain”. Public domain boils down to the absence of copyright restrictions.
• “Some rights reserved”, which means the author denies some types of usage. Specific Creative Commons licenses can be found here. If in doubt about material with a “some rights reserved” license, contact the author for clarification.

You can find more information about Creative Commons—including a useful FAQ—at www.CreativeCommons.org

Never forget: Check copyright or Creative Commons notice on sites. Obey them. Ask questions if they are unclear. If there is no copyright or Creative Commons notice, the work may still be subject to copyright.

Public domain

Publich domain works are usually clearly marked as such—or are so old their copyright has expired (always double check anyway; even works that are many decades or centuries old can be owned by estates or others who hold the rights). When there is no explicit notice and no notice of public domain, still treat the work as if covered by fair use. That way, you’re at less risk and the author is treated fairly.

Sources:
Creative Commons
Wikipedia: Creative Commons
Pierce Law: Copyright on the Internet

Note: This article may be distributed, provided a link to it’s origin is provided.

This copyright research has been partially funded by Mochila a free marketplace of freevrights managed article, photos and video.