10 Incredibly Inspirational Moments on YouTube [VIDEOS]

10 Incredibly Inspirational Moments on YouTube [VIDEOS]

Shel Silverstein rocks Gabriel's world

My son Gabriel will turn three on September 26.  It staggers me to reflect on the changes we've witnessed in him and how very quickly these little creatures develop into full-blown characters with individual personality traits, senses of humour and pure, raw curiousity married to a stupendous sense of wonder.


As an enthusiastic reader and writer it pleases me so very much that Gabriel is completely enamoured of reading.  And, while he still enjoys the occasional 'Good night Moon' he's really gotten into the poetry of Shel Silverstein.


Right now his absolute favourite is "Me stew" - the final line of which, 'Farewell - and I hope you enjoy me with crackers."


Cracks both of us up and we read it at least three or four times before bed along with other tales.  He's also enjoying the complete tales (tails?) of Beatrix Potter.


Silverstein's poetry for kids (and those of us lucky enough to still think in a childlike fashion) is both humorous  and touching.  The title poem, "Where the sidewalk ends" is a case in point.


"There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.


Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.


Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends."


I'm just in the early stages of recovering from a hard-drive failure on my MacBook coupled with a back up failure that has left me needing to recreate my complete business - from a records perspective.  It has been frustrating and frankly depressing.  But now I'm just going to travel to where the sidewalk ends and begin again.


I don't know if this book is still in print.  If you're interested, it was published in 1974 in Canada by Fitzhenry and Whiteside.  Library of Congress card number: 70-105486.


Thanks Shel.  Gabriel loves it, his Daddy finds it inspirational and comforting and some day Samuel too will share the wonder with his brother.

Still think social media is just a fad?

Here's some information from a report produced by Oracle on retailing. If there's anyone out there who still believes their brand management and reputation are completely controlled and managed by the corporation, forget about it.

By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Boomers - 96% of them have joined a social network
25% of search results for the world's top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content
34% of bloggers post opinions about products and brands
78% of consumers trust peer recommendations; only 14% trust advertisements
1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
If Facebook were a country it would be the world's 4th populous between the U.S. and Indonesia
The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females and more than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook daily
80% of Twitter usage is outside of Twitter - people update anywhere, anytime - image what that means for bad customer experiences
The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube
There are over 200,000,000 Blogs

More to come on this blog about recent service experiences related to our house move and renovation. And, yes, names will be named. And, yes, brands will be lauded and other will be slagged. And, no, there's not a thing that the companies themselves can do about it 'cause that horse has already left the barn.

The Biggest Corporate Image Catastrophes - Investopedia.com

The Biggest Corporate Image Catastrophes - Investopedia.com

A pathetic display of blog management

How embarrassing. Nothing for weeks.
Well, have moved homes.
Relocated to new premises on July 18.
In the midst of reno.
With a 2.5 year old and a 5 month old.
And some awesome trades people.
And some brutal, mercifully few, trades people.
And some continuing work from my wonderfully patient clients.
And...
Well, you get the picture.
I'll be back to the blog in a week.
Bye.

Summertime and the livin' is easy

My boys are lovin' this early summer heat. Gabriel continues to work, work, work in the garden and his fascination with the hose pipes continues unabated.Samuel has taken it in his stride and loves his outdoor naps.

Rare real estate opportunity in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada

Perfect for the family. Right on the historic Port Hope golf club and the property includes a two-year membership.