Spanning The Globe - Brazil, Japan, China & Russia

A few links to share from around the globe today in no particular order:

Tech in Brazil - A print ad from Nivea that can charge your phone while your out in the sun

Source: @viralblog

Big in Japan - Making an art of displaying and stacking books

Source: @MargRev

Made in China - Everything from homemade submarines, prosthetics to rickshaw walking robots

Source: @TheAtlantic

Russia - Not your average dancing bear

Source: @MeanwhileRussia

and which countries are the happiest (ranking of 35 countries)

Source: @OECD

The Portland Winterhawks - Modern Day Portland Buckaroos

The Portland Winterhawks quest for The Memorial Cup begins today in Saskatoon as the top four teams in junior hockey meet to decide who will be crowned the best team for 2013.  There will be plenty of NHL scouts watching as the matches begin.

Portland has gotten behind the Winterhawks in such a way that it solidifies their link to the Portland Buckaroos and their place in the city's history.

May the spirit of the Portland Buckaroos be with you as you play on the road in your quest for the cup.

Go Winterhawks!

@gurnick 

A Name Above The Title Name

'The Name Above The Title' is an entertaining book by the accomplished director Frank Capra about old Hollywood and his path to success as told by a great storyteller.  The title has always interested me in that if you are bigger than the movie your name will get top billing. Keeping that in mind, are there any name above the title names out there that help you reach top billing?

Each year I read the annual story on the most popular baby names and I think about how well these names will stand the test of time and if they will be a help or hindrance to the owner.

My interest in the name selection process is higher these days with a friend at work having her first child. The naming ritual always intrigues me.  Some people openly share the name they are considering while others (my wife and I fell into this camp) kept it to ourselves until the name could be put to the face and then shared as a whole.

I recently read The Ladders The Blog. 'On a First-name Basis with Success? Your Mom Chose Your Name Wisely.' which ends with the advice that a shorter name correlates to the likelihood for more earned income as well as "doing a simple linear regression, it looks like every additional letter added to your name accounts for a $3,600 drop in annual salary."  I have also provided a link to the 'All Things Data' response.  

I have a hard time believing that a person's name will increase their chances of success but rather may just help them out a bit along the way. Is there any correlation with the success you've achieved based on the name you've been given? Have you ever wanted to change your name or met someone and secretly wished that you had their name?

As for my friend from work, she had a healthy baby boy and his name is Wyatt.  I think that name will suit him just fine.

Treat People Fairly - Lessons from a Capuchin Monkey

There's a very simple message in this video excerpt of a TED talk from Frans de Wall on Moral behavior in Animals.

It's been said that "we're all just monkeys with car keys."  Treat people fairly and equally. It's how we all wanted to be treated.

Thanks to The Awesomer for posting this original video

@gurnick

Speedboat & Rattlesnakes - Renata & Lloyd

For me, it was very exciting news when The New York Review of Books reissued Speedboat by author Renata Adler last month.

"Nobody died that year. Nobody prospered. There were no births or marriages. Seventeen reverent satires were written - disrupting a cliche and, presumably, creating a genre. That was a dream, of course, but many of the most important things, I find, are the ones learned in your sleep" 

 Castling - Renata Adler

Speedboat won the Hemingway Award for Best First Novel in 1976.  It's a piece of fiction unlike anything that I had read before. It's a collection of seven disjointed stories that at first don't seem to have any relation to each other yet somehow find a way to fit. For me it's very much like an album you would listen to again and again that somehow ends up telling a complete story in the end. 

This seems very fitting since I was introduced to Speedboat in 1984 through the music of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions and their first album, Rattlesnakes. On this collection the song 'Speedboat' is one of the many outstanding tracks on this album.  Lloyd was in the news recently when it was announced that he will be releasing a new set of music this summer that was crowd funded by his fans. Over the years he has assembled a great body of work that is definitely worth a listen.

"She looks like Eve Marie Saint in On The Waterfront

As she reads Simone de Beauvoir in her american circumstance

Her heart, heart's like crazy paving

Upside down and back to front

She say ooh, it's hard to love

When love was your great disappointment"

Speedboat - Lloyd Cole

I really appreciate the visual storytelling of both works and think that you will too. If you are looking for some enjoyable music or a good summer read (and really isn't it nice to have both) I strongly recommend that you look into Renata Adler and Lloyd Cole. I feel like they are both old friends that I've known for years that are always there for a good story and some fine music as well. Thank you Lloyd and thank you Renata - I'm your fan.

It's All Fleeting

The recent announcement of the end the RSS tool Google Reader caused quite a stir to a loyal (myself included) and devoted user community. If things continue as planned Google Reader will become another product that has been discontinued that will be missed by many.  Now with news of Roger Ebert's passing and the passionate reaction to so many that were influenced by him it reinforces how fleeting things are.

From day to day there's uncertainty around the length of time for so much of what is a part of your routine such as:

• The current team you work with will be intact
• The co-worker whose work you appreciate and you enjoy working with will be working with you
• The person you've heard great things about but have had the time to introduce yourself
• The opportunity to reconnect with a former colleague or friend you've been out of touch with
• The new product or service that people are talking about  

Perishables are one of the few things that have a clearly stated expiration date from the start. You know when the product needs to be used and (most of the time) you act accordingly and find the right time or way to use them. 

Things don't last - it's just how things are
If you like something the best thing you can do is share it with others. Become an advocate. Reach out to others around you to make a connection as they may not be there the next time you think about it. Take the time to reach out directly to the company as well to tell them what you like or how it can be approved. They want to hear from you. It's one of the best uses of social media. Act now to share what you care about. Also take the time to tend to those local connections by reaching out directly. People like to hear from others - it's human nature and it's what helps with getting the necessary traction for things to keep moving forward.

Things will remain fleeting.  Before I head off to use my Google Reader I'll ask one simple question: What is one thing that you will advocate today?

A MLS Lifer Looks Forward

As a lifelong fan of Major League Soccer, today is my opening day. It's Release 18.0 of First Kick version 2013 and the league has achieved a respectable level of success. I remember heading back to Ohio in 1996 to watch the MLS opener with a high school friend that I played with. I also recall the thrill of being at the 4-0 home opening win of the Columbus Crew over DC United in Ohio Stadium and thinking that the sport had finally arrived.  I even met Brian McBride after that match and later interviewed him for a weekly column that I wrote for at the now defunct MLS Review website called 'Comments from the Corner.' I remember the excitement and buzz around that evening like it was yesterday.

The dog days are over
I also remember being part of sparse crowds of matches at Mile High Stadium and Arrowhead stadium and seeing "the contraction" of Florida with the folding of the Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion franchises. There were plenty of times I also had to defend my league in front of fellow soccer (or football) purists.

The path ahead
Since then we've advanced to a league comprised of 19 healthy franchises with the majority playing in soccer specific stadiums and Commissioner Garber talking about the goal to be one of the top ten leagues in the world in the next ten years. Tomorrow I will take my place in the Timbers Army as my Portland Timbers reboot the mission for their third campaign with a great deal of optimism. From here the path forward looks very positive.   Here's my bold predictions for 2013 as Los Angeles betters Kansas City for another MLS Cup.

Eastern Conference

1. Kansas City
2. Houston
3. New York
4. Chicago
5. Montreal
6. Columbus
7. DC
8. New England
9. Philadelphia
10. Toronto

Western Conference

1. Los Angeles
2. Seattle
3. San Jose
4. Portland
5. Real Salt Lake
6. Dallas
7. Vancouver
8. Chivas USA
9. Colorado