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Time to turn the lights back on! It’s so good to be back — it’s been forever! My blog got hijacked in some mumbo-jumbo about databases, and that was just the beginning. Meanwhile, I’ve had pressing family matters that took priority — both in terms of actual time, and emotional energy — over trying to find the solution. I’m finally able to post again, and I’ve got a lot to say, but it’s Christmas Eve Eve, and everyone’s probably busier than I am.

My hope for everyone is for joyous and healthy holidays, and a new year that brings wonder and yes, even some adventure. I’m especially looking forward to that part!

Thank you for your patience, and for hanging in there with me! Thank you to those who’ve dropped me notes of encouragement and strength during some trying times. Thank you to my new subscribers, who signed on even though not much was happening. I truly appreciate it!

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Every Friday I offer up favorites from my Twitter stream that are beautiful, funny, and even astonishing. Today we have a bumper crop! Enjoy!

‏@NoeticSoul “It is lack of love for ourselves that inhibits our compassion toward others.”

@pourmecoffee You get this when you drop high-powered glow sticks in waterfalls and take long exposures
[SEO: Wow! Pics taken at eight different waterfalls using this technique.]

@BrianDietzen “One Tony and Ziva combo-stare equals half a Gibbs stare. #NCISMATH”
[SEO: Tweeted by an NCIS actor, this made me laugh out loud. If you don’t watch NCIS, well, why don’t you? ;)]

@Cmdr_Hadfield Tonight’s Finale: Our golden lights from Dublin to Paris, Nature’s from green aurora to blue dawn.
[SEO: Stunning, one of a kind, and gorgeous.]

@HealthyPlace “Part of me suspects that I’m a loser, and the other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty.” ~ John Lennon

@SarahEOlson2009 Therapy llama spreads comfort and cheer (via YouTube)
[SEO: For real! This llama hops out of a minivan like a pro! ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN3M0wqID2g

@NoeticSoul “It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.” Martin Luther King, Jr

@ChelseaClinton I drink coffee for the taste and caffeine, but Mike Breach uses coffee to create amazing art!
[SEO: It’s so wonderfully ephemeral. Click open the gallery to see head shots of famous musicians/actors. Then there’s the great white shark! Also scroll down to the video to see how he does it.]

@CarePathways “Don’t just wave at hope from a distance today. Walk and talk with it. Show it what you’ll do to keep it afloat. It will honor you.”

@1Granary @samfuterman and @anaisfbordier are Twinsters: a real life fairytale
[SEO: A real-life ‘Parent Trap’! Two girls, one living in Los Angeles, the other in France, discover via the Internet that they are identical twins!]

@soulseedz “Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life.” ~ PemaChodron

@pourmecoffee “I want to go to a Bob Seger concert,” were her first words after suddenly awakening from a five-year coma
[SEO: 79 year old Evie Branan will get her wish! The mind is truly an amazing thing.]

‏@WritingCraft “I want to write books that unlock the traffic jam in everybody’s head.” ~ John Updike

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Every Friday I present favorite items from my Twitter stream which amuse, are often quite beautiful, and usually inspiring. This week held a bumper crop! Enjoy!

Roger Ebert, Rest in Peace

@SarahEOlson2009 “I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization.” ~ Roger Ebert #RIP

@mcurtisnc3 Love letter from Roger Ebert to his wife, Chaz. Read it and try not to cry.
[SEO: Written on the occasion of their 20th wedding anniversary, in “Roger loves Chaz” he chronicles how they met, and many beautiful moments they experienced in their travels, and in coping with his ongoing illness. But I didn’t cry, I smiled. And I admire him for it more than I already did.]

@ericberlinct “Siskel and Ebert are already arguing.”

‏@janewells “Is it too corny to say Heaven now has two thumbs up? Then call me corny.”

The Rest of the Best

@HealthyPlace “Reality continues to ruin my life.” ~ Bill Watterson, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

@Splinteredones Today’s sign of Spring
[SEO: This photo was taken outside of a florist shop, but soon these gorgeous spring flowers will be in gardens and yards everywhere.]

@soulseedz “Once you are real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.” ~ The Velveteen Rabbit

@Cmdr_Hadfield Don’t tell my crew, but I brought them Easter Eggs
[SEO: Tweeted early Easter morning, this required considerable advanced planning!]

@SarahEOlson2009 Adventure Kitten Gear! Everything your kitten needs to go backpacking with you!
[SEO: It’s all very expensive, and your kitten will outgrow it in a few weeks, but hey! Those weeks will be incredible! Add one of these items to your shopping cart to truly understand what this is about.]

@mjdub “Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.” ~ Tom Robbins

@Cmdr_Hadfield Orbital debris seems to be on a course moving a bit faster than ISS. I’ll try to take more pictures if it swings by.
[SEO: Don’t be alarmed, as apparently some people with no sense of humor were when this was published. Hint: Later that day, the ISS was “boarded” by a little green blob that said “Sloof Lirpa!”]

@zaibatsu “Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.” ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

@mjdub 28 Incredibly Beautiful Places You Won’t Believe Actually Exist
[SEO: Most of these are majestic and gorgeous, and some of them are going on my bucket list.]

@pourmecoffee This lunatic kayaks by active volcanoes.
[SEO: The article, with many unbelievable photos, calls him a ‘daredevil’, which I think is a sub-category of ‘lunatic’.]

@HealthyPlace “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” ~ John F. Kennedy

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Every Friday I offer up favorite items from my Twitter stream, which may be beautiful, whimsical, timely, or just odd. Enjoy!

@pourmecoffee “My failed bracket is such a cautionary tale of hubris, false assumptions and wishful thinking @maddow should do a documentary on it.” #MarchMadness

@Splinteredones Today’s sign of Spring

@Jason_Pollock “Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” ~ John W. Whitehead

@NoeticSoul See… I didn’t change

‏@PemaQuotes To be gentle and create an atmosphere of compassion for yourself, it’s necessary to stop talking to yourself about how wrong everything is… “

@SarahEOlson2009 Pope stuns newsstand owner by calling to cancel home delivery

@zaibatsu “Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.” ~ Jonathan Swift

@Cmdr_Hadfield Tonight’s Finale: Soyuz Rocket Launch — the moment of ignition, as-seen from their target, the Space Station.

@Cmdr_Hadfield “They’re docked! I was right at the hatch, heard/felt the metal sliding, heavy thump, then Soyuz pulling to check latched. So very cool.”

@Cmdr_Hadfield Space Exercise Video — how to avoid bone and muscle loss when weightless. And maybe dance a little.
[SEO: AKA “the Hadfield Shake”! I love this guy! He is making life in space more “you are there” than ever before.]

@HealthyPlace “If you are not the hero of your own story, then you’re missing the whole point of your humanity.” ~ Steve Maraboli

@petapixel Photographer snaps a horizon rainbow alongside the Eiffel Tower
[SEO: The post also discusses various types of rainbows.]

@NoeticSoul “The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.” ~ Pema Chodron

@iraszl Guy climbs the pyramids illegally. Takes great pictures. (via @HuffingtonPost)

@WritingCraft “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Every Friday I offer up the best of my Twitter stream, items that are beautiful, funny, inspiring, and sometimes odd. This was a tremendously busy week, lots to choose from. Enjoy!

Not Your Father’s Astronaut

‏@Cmdr_Hadfield “My Dad took me to the Canada Aviation & Space Museum when I was a kid. Amazing that today he will be there as I link-in from Earth orbit.”

@Cmdr_Hadfield “Good Morning, Earth! A Wednesday in space, time for 16 sunrises, a day of research work, and tonight Kevin hands me the spaceship’s keys.”

‏@Cmdr_Hadfield Rome, the Vatican, and the surrounding hills. I’m not certain you can make out the new pope from here, though.
[SEO: Tweeted within an hour of Pope Francis being named. The ISS is right on top of breaking news!]

Happy Pi Day!

@StephenBright Happy Pi Day! 5 ways to celebrate 3.14159 on Pi Day (via @USATODAY)

@ezraklein In honor of Pi Day, here are nine amazing pie charts

@pourmecoffee “Remember to celebrate Pi Day by being irrational, transcendental, and never settling into a repeating pattern.”

@Cmdr_Hadfield The dry folded skin of the Sahara desert, looking like the crust of a pie. Perfect for Pi Day!

The Rest of the Best

@HealthyPlace “Truth becomes untruth if uttered by your enemy.” ~ George Orwell

@pourmecoffee North Korean official photo suggests they may not totally get the idea of camouflage.

@LillyAnn “A sense of humor is a key indicator of progress along the spiritual path. For real. Brilliance without humor is dogma.”

@twistedsifter Picture of the Day: Forces of Nature
[SEO: “FORCES OF NATURE Photograph by Martin Rietze ~ Alien Landscapes on Planet Earth. … In it we see the Sakurajima Volcano erupting with lightning. …”]

@zaibatsu “Don’t ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive. Then do that. The world needs people who have come alive.” ~ H.Whitman

@pourmecoffee There is an insanely detailed, pannable, zoomable interactive of the Sistine Chapel online
[SEO: Wow! The detail is so great you can study the mosaic patterns in the floor, as well as the dozens of individual paintings that run across the top of all four walls. Then there’s the ceiling! I could look at this for hours.]

@WritersNetGuide “Of course it’s happening inside your head, Harry. Doesn’t mean it isn’t real.” ~ Dumbledore