News for today's 2018

TURKEY AND CENTRAL ASIA

6:07 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 15.0pt; mso-outline-level: 1;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; margin: 15pt 0in 3.75pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8VZKbu6v0AwsZiPx_nqE6aTi8etC9tQJMetpX4RKdqPZa5lxh1JqMv8y3alCUrSAf_SxT4Wopntsvm4F00KciCi1S5Z2H_gdpna0CHVeC4LpDbXwi9X_NPD6h-cu0bZyhPmQY61o3SAA/s1600/turkey-future-oil-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8VZKbu6v0AwsZiPx_nqE6aTi8etC9tQJMetpX4RKdqPZa5lxh1JqMv8y3alCUrSAf_SxT4Wopntsvm4F00KciCi1S5Z2H_gdpna0CHVeC4LpDbXwi9X_NPD6h-cu0bZyhPmQY61o3SAA/s400/turkey-future-oil-2020.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; margin: 15pt 0in 3.75pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY’S GROWING INVOLVEMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The geopolitical interests of major powers have often clashed in CENTRAL ASIA. These clashes intensified after the collapse of the SOVIET UNION, when other powers tried to take advantage of RUSSIA'S weakness and strengthen their own positions in the region. One of these powers was TURKEY. Although TURKEY began strengthening its cultural ties to CENTRAL ASIA shortly after the SOVIET collapse, its efforts to build influence in the region have only recently gained momentum.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">With new confidence, a healthy economy and enough internal political consolidation to look beyond its borders, TURKEY is on the rise as a regional power. Part of its growth involves setting up for a stronger presence in CENTRAL ASIA in the future. Although this is a long-term plan that will pit TURKEY against larger powers in the region, namely RUSSIA and CHINA, Ankara will have many opportunities to increase its influence.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ENERGY MARKET </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY'S primary rivals in CENTRAL ASIA, RUSSIA and CHINA, have strategic interests in the region. RUSSIA considers the region a security buffer from other ASIAN powers and an important part of the RUSSIAN energy network. RUSSIA is very politically, economically and militarily influential in CENTRAL ASIA. CHINA sees the region as a source of energy supplies to meet its ever-growing needs and a market for its cheap exports.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ankara has its own geopolitical interests in the region. First, TURKEY sees the region as part of its wider export market. Second, Ankara wants energy supplies from KAZAKHSTAN and TURKMENISTAN (hence TURKEY'S involvement in projects like the Trans-Caspian Pipeline and its efforts to get Kazakh natural gas to the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline and Kazakh oil to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline). Third, TURKEY'S social interests and ethnic ties to some CENTRAL ASIAN populations allow Ankara strategic access into the region.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY understands its limitations and how difficult it is to operate in CENTRAL ASIA. Most important, Ankara does not want to move too boldly against Moscow. Thus, TURKEY'S current moves in CENTRAL ASIA are gradual and preparatory measures rather than radical steps to spread its influence in the region. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY'S HISTORY IN THE REGION</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhiHNXtaFj8YPHZ8sLst4yS-8riY7g2d3JhuIwLHcC635AifeVPq6xDrAVbi3DjTvprTcdkRRJc7r8WZqfKgwkdinPY_xtg4F6pQvo0DHVMe1vCtJoTZBlMZHYEoohon_V92EGnoBCZ7r/s1600/_42907377_dervishesap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhiHNXtaFj8YPHZ8sLst4yS-8riY7g2d3JhuIwLHcC635AifeVPq6xDrAVbi3DjTvprTcdkRRJc7r8WZqfKgwkdinPY_xtg4F6pQvo0DHVMe1vCtJoTZBlMZHYEoohon_V92EGnoBCZ7r/s320/_42907377_dervishesap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The predecessors of the modern TURKISH republic, the TURKS from CENTRAL ASIA, left CENTRAL ASIA nearly 1,000 years ago (though they never fully controlled the CENTRAL ASIAN countries). The TURKIC tribes in CENTRAL ASIA encountered ARABS, PERSIANS and MONGOLS, a process that greatly changed not only the ethnic makeup of the region but also its overall geopolitical landscape. Later, incorporation into the RUSSIAN Empire and SOVIET UNION altered the region's ethnic composition further and brought about linguistic and cultural changes. However, excluding TAJIKISTAN, which has ethno-linguistic ties to IRAN, the majority of the population in CENTRAL ASIA is TURKIC, a fact TURKEY believes it can use to build connections and influence in the region.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Such sentiments actually date to the late 19th century when some in the collapsing OTTOMAN EMPIRE began envisioning a PAN-TURKIC union. But the hopes of the believers in "Turanism" were dashed with the rise of the SOVIETS and the emergence of the TURKISH Republic, which focused on building a new state within its truncated borders. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The SOVIET UNION'S demise created a power vacuum in CENTRAL ASIA that gave TURKEY an opportunity to resume involvement in the region. TURKEY'S re-engagement with the region was facilitated by the CENTRAL ASIAN countries, which found it in their interests to increase cooperation with countries other than RUSSIA after they gained independence. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After the CENTRAL ASIAN countries became independent, TURKEY recognized their independence and established diplomatic relations. Ankara and the CENTRAL ASIAN governments began interacting more, mostly in the areas of economics, culture and education. Although TURKEY'S political and military involvement in CENTRAL ASIA is limited when compared to RUSSIA and CHINA'S strategic presence in the region, Ankara's engagement with the CENTRAL ASIAN states is an ongoing process. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY'S POSITION IN CENTRAL ASIA</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY'S current military involvement in CENTRAL ASIA is not strong enough to match RUSSIA or to be considered significant. But TURKEY offers CENTRAL ASIA an alternative to RUSSIA and CHINA in terms of economic and business ties. TURKEY'S economy is the world's 17th largest and has experienced a great deal of growth recently, which makes TURKEY an attractive player in the region. TURKEY'S ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has a strong focus on developing business relations with CENTRAL ASIA, contributing to the growing bond between TURKEY and the CENTRAL ASIAN states.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEYS FOCUS ON ESTABLISHING SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZE ENTERPRISES IN ORDER TO GAIN INFLUENCE IN THE REGION</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKISH businesses in CENTRAL ASIA are mostly small- and medium-size enterprises, which are more flexible and less susceptible to instability in the region than larger TURKISH corporations. Additionally, smaller eastern-focused businesses are more in line with the AKP's expansionist plans and can make inroads without a great deal of capital. Larger corporations have generally focused on the more established markets in EUROPE, where TURKEY enjoys duty-free access via a customs union. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Public and private TURKISH educational institutions have also become active in CENTRAL ASIA. The GULEN movement -- an evangelical movement of moderate Islamists founded in the late 1960s by prayer leader Fethullah Gulen and known for its schools in AFRICA and the ARAB world -- opened schools in CENTRAL ASIA, though some institutions were closed in some CENTRAL ASIAN countries because of the perception that the schools served missionary purposes. The Gulenist schools are still viewed favorably in most of CENTRAL ASIA, with the exception of UZBEKISTAN.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The level and nature of TURKISH engagement in CENTRAL ASIA varies from country to country.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Trade is an important component of Turkish relations with KAZAKHSTAN; bilateral trade increased over the years (except for declines in 2001 and 2009 due to financial crises) from approximately $236 million in 1995 to $3 billion in 2010. TURKEY has invested more than $2.4 billion in KAZAKHSTAN, and Kazakh investments in TURKEY exceed $2 billion. Moreover, TURKISH companies are involved in telecommunications, petroleum products, food manufacturing and other sectors in KAZAKHSTAN. Cultural and educational cooperation between the countries is widespread; Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has even publicly praised the importance of TURKISH schools in KAZAKHSTAN.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">PAN-TURKIC IDEAS</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Of the countries that have invested in TURKMENISTAN, TURKEY has invested the most. TURKISH state-managed enterprises have a relatively small share in trading volume but are active in TURKMENISTAN'S wholesale, retail, textile, construction materials, electronic devices and automobile sectors, among others. Additionally, trade between TURKEY and TURKMENISTAN has grown from approximately $168 million in 1995 to about $1.5 billion in 2010. The TURKISH International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) has been involved in TURKMENISTAN since 1997 and strives to bring TURKEY and TURKMENISTAN closer by emphasizing the countries' shared historical and cultural heritage. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY established approximately 20 schools in TURKMENISTAN and student exchange programs were thriving, but TURKMENISTAN began shutting down Gulenist schools and accused them of spreading PAN-TURKIC ideas.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">UZBEKISTAN, the most independent-minded country in CENTRAL ASIA since the fall of the SOVIET UNION, encountered some troubles in its relationship with TURKEY, but they did not damage relations permanently. Bilateral trade between UZBEKISTAN and TURKEY rose from approximately $200 million in 1995 to more than $1 billion in 2010, and TURKISH investment in UZBEKISTAN is widespread. Most TURKISH businesses operating in UZBEKISTAN are small- and medium-size enterprises, but large companies including Koc Holding and Arcelik operate there as well. TIKA is involved in cultural and developmental work in UZBEKISTAN and also provides some financial assistance. TURKEY has provided scholarships for Uzbek students to study in TURKEY since 1992, but this program encountered problems when UZBEKISTAN called its students back home when relations between the countries soured.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">UZBEKISTAN could prove to be problematic for TURKEY as Ankara tries to establish a stronger presence in CENTRAL ASIA. UZBEKISTAN is very concerned with its internal security and thus is wary of TURKISH efforts to spread its cultural influence. The UZBEK government closed TURKEY'S Gulenist schools and several businesses operating within the country. Also, UZBEK President Islam Karimov on April 3 closed any TURKISH television programs airing in UZBEKISTAN. Furthermore, TURKEY criticized UZBEKISTAN'S stance on human rights, focusing on crackdowns in Andijan.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY'S GULENIST SCHOOLS, THE KEY FOR GEO-STRATEGIC ADVANCES</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Trade and investments between TURKEY and KYRGYZSTAN are on the rise but remain insignificant compared to TURKEY'S trade and investments in KAZAKHSTAN, TURKMENISTAN and UZBEKISTAN. Bilateral trade between KYRGYZSTAN and TURKEY has grown from approximately $43 million in 2005 to $160 million in 2010. TURKEY is the fifth-largest source of foreign direct investment in KYRGYZSTAN (after KAZAKHSTAN, CANADA, the UNITED KINGDOM and RUSSIA). TIKA has been operating in KYRGYZSTAN since 1992 and has implemented 51 projects in the country. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY'S Gulenist schools still operate in KYRGYZSTAN and are of higher quality than Kyrgyz schools. Most government officials' children attend these TURKISH schools and then go to TURKISH or WESTERN universities. Although people with ties to RUSSIA now rule KYRGYZSTAN, these young TURKISH-educated people will rule eventually, contributing to TURKEY'S future influence in the country.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY has also developed relations with TAJIKISTAN, but it faces competition from IRAN, which has cultural and linguistic ties to the TAJIKS. TURKEY is one of TAJIKISTAN'S Top four trade partners, with trade growing from about $12 million in 1995 to $427 million in 2010. Although TAJIKISTAN and TURKEY do not share a TURKIC heritage or language, TIKA is involved in several development projects in TAJIKISTAN. The countries have also developed ties in the area of education. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY'S PLANS FOR THE FUTURE</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Given TURKEY'S limited capabilities, it cannot replace RUSSIA or CHINA as a major player in CENTRAL ASIA. During the SOVIET era, CENTRAL ASIA went through RUSSIFICATION and became less religious, which limits TURKEY'S involvement to some extent, though TURKISH educational and cultural programs are working to TURKEY'S advantage. Furthermore, some of the region's authoritarian leaders -- Nazarbayev in KAZAKHSTAN and Karimov in UZBEKISTAN, for instance -- are relics from the SOVIET UNION with certain perceptions about TURKEY.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ankara's strategy is focused on building "<b>soft power</b>" in the region, mainly through education, cultural ties and business relationships. A decade from now, these measures will have strengthened TURKEY'S presence in CENTRAL ASIA, assuming that TURKEY can sustain its own economic growth enough to continue economic activities in CENTRAL ASIA. Also in a decade, CENTRAL ASIA will experience a generational shift and people with less experience of the SOVIET UNION enter the workforce and the government. These people will be more likely to identify with TURKEY, with whom they share a common heritage.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Right now, CENTRAL ASIA is not the top priority in TURKEY'S broader geopolitical strategy. Ankara is still very focused on the MIDDLE EAST, and EUROPE is an important market for TURKEY. However, CENTRAL ASIA is likely to become more useful to TURKEY in the future, hence Ankara's moves to lay the groundwork for its future position in the region.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">WITTY TURKEY OR PAN</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> TURKIC IDEAS</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.8pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">From CENTRAL ASIA, the BALKANS to the MIDDLE EAST, TURKEY, unlike EUROPE, seems to be making the right moves in order to secure geopolitical as well as economical advantages over its “competing” countries. Take for example BOSNIA. For years GERMANY and AUSTRIA were the leading trade partners and “mentors”, now TURKEY has become the number one trade partner and at the same time is expanding its NEO OTTOMAN ambitions in the entire BALKAN region, where as the EU is struggling to find common grounds on its BALKAN politics.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

TURKEY AND CENTRAL ASIA

TURKEY’S GROWING INVOLVEMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA The geopolitical interests of major powers have often clashed in CENTRAL ASIA. These clashes ...

Pinterest Resources for Educators

4:34 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">There is a lot of interest in pinterest from educators this summer. I pulled together a collection of all my pinterest resources to help you get started.</div><ul class="diigo-linkroll" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/02/simple-pinterest-for-beginners.html" href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/02/simple-pinterest-for-beginners.html">Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Simple Pinterest for Beginners</a></div><div class="diigo-description">This is my blog post on how to get started with Pinterest, including tips to easily score an invite (It isn't that hard.) This is a great thing to do over the summer.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/howto" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/howto">howto</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://pinterest.com/esheninger/?d" href="http://pinterest.com/esheninger/?d">Eric Sheninger (esheninger) on Pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-description">ERic has moved to pinterest and has a set of pinboards that any Administrator will learn from. </div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/administration" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/administration">administration</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://pinterest.com/Reallyrachel/" href="http://pinterest.com/Reallyrachel/">Rachel Lynette (reallyrachel) on Pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-description">Lots of free resources for teachers. Follow the board for your grade level and find a lot of great ideas. </div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://pinterest.com/Abbril/" href="http://pinterest.com/Abbril/">Sara Hart (abbril) on Pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-description">If you are a homeschooler, then Sara Hart's pinterest boards are must follow resources for you.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/homeschool" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/homeschool">homeschool</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://pinterest.com/mlundy5/" href="http://pinterest.com/mlundy5/">Michelle Lundy (mlundy5) on Pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-description">Michelle is another great teacher here in Georgia that I'm following. She likes to organize but has a technology board with 426 pins that is a great set of resources.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://pinterest.com/Project7/" href="http://pinterest.com/Project7/">Project 7 (project7) on Pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-description">I like these areas to help others on Pinterest and the ideas they have. If you like to help others, this is a great set of pinboards to follow.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://pinterest.com/VasquezFrogs/" href="http://pinterest.com/VasquezFrogs/">Lorraine Vasquez (VasquezFrogs) on Pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-description">Another great teacher to follow on Pinterest. A fourth grade teacher who has lots of ideas, particularly in reading and grammar.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://joelcomm.com/7-ways-to-use-pinterest-as-a-w.html" href="http://joelcomm.com/7-ways-to-use-pinterest-as-a-w.html">7 Ways To Use Pinterest As A Writer</a></div><div class="diigo-description">This post has some information on how you can use Pinterest. If you're a company or organization supporting educators and want to dissect that pin and know how to get the word out about what you're doing, here are some tips.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://pinterest.com/about/goodies" href="http://pinterest.com/about/goodies">Pinterest / Goodies</a></div><div class="diigo-description">Lots of pinterest goodies from Pintereset including a pinit button.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eduapp" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eduapp">eduapp</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://techably.com/add-pinterest-button-to-website/5310" href="http://techably.com/add-pinterest-button-to-website/5310">How to add Pinterest Button to Website?</a></div><div class="diigo-description">If you want to add a pinterest button manually to your website, here are the instructions.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eduapp" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eduapp">eduapp</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://mashable.com/2012/01/08/pinterest-13-tips-and-tricks-for-cutting-edge-users/#view_as_one_page-gallery_box3719" href="http://mashable.com/2012/01/08/pinterest-13-tips-and-tricks-for-cutting-edge-users/#view_as_one_page-gallery_box3719">Pinterest: 13 Tips and Tricks for Cutting Edge Users</a></div><div class="diigo-description">Great tips on how to take your pinning to the "next level" and find people to follow. Some neat things here.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eduapp" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eduapp">eduapp</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/socialmedia" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/socialmedia">socialmedia</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://pinterest.com/tesResources" href="http://pinterest.com/tesResources">TES Teaching Resources (tesResources) on Pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-description">If you're on Pinterest and looking for resources, there is a fabulous set of teaching resources coming through TES on Pinterest. </div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/28/google-plus-time-dwindles-pinterest" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/28/google-plus-time-dwindles-pinterest">Time spent on Google+ dwindles while Pinterest draws growing user interest | Technology | guardian.co.uk</a></div><div class="diigo-description">Data from ComScore shows falling time spent on Google's would-be Facebook rival, as bookmarking site Pinterest rises almost unnoticed to rival longer-established sites</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/edtech" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/edtech">edtech</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/edapp" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/edapp">edapp</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eduapp" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eduapp">eduapp</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/google" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/google">google</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/facebook" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/facebook">facebook</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/socialmedia" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/socialmedia">socialmedia</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li><div class="diigo-link"><a _fcksavedurl="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/02/pinterest-why-what-its-not-says-so-much044.html" href="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/02/pinterest-why-what-its-not-says-so-much044.html">MediaShift . Pinterest: Why What It's Not Says So Much | PBS</a></div><div class="diigo-description">Nice explanation of Pinterest. There are many tools for sharing but pinterest won't even let you share if there isn't a photo on it. Photos are more important than ever. Have you learned by now?  Don't let me explain it, experience it. Ask friends on Twitter to get an invitation, that is the easiest way. "There's a point where connection becomes clutter, where the networking that seemed fun and convenient a few years ago now feels like a social uzi."</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags: <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/socialmedia" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/socialmedia">socialmedia</a> <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></div></li></ul><div class="diigo-ps" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Posted from <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com" href="http://www.diigo.com/">Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher" href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher">here</a>.</div>

Pinterest Resources for Educators

There is a lot of interest in pinterest from educators this summer. I pulled together a collection of all my pinterest resources to help you...

2012 iEARN Adobe Youth Voices Media Festival starts today

2:49 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i>Submitted by Omashani Naidoo from SchoolNet </i></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">SchoolNet runs an Adobe Youth Voices project in various  schools in South Africa and so we are advertising the international 2012  Virtual iEARN Adobe Youth Voices Media Festival which starts today.  Join Adobe online for free to support youth media makers from around the  world who will be screening their videos at the event. </span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxriE1mf1JfF5Xc5G3A3ruleRCWNz-13zE7xBqc7JXHJ7bsC9rh2uD4fPcPthzaEFJFOpDVgMdV9g7tuScyxkHb6HwAyx626zsQpznR_R8qQF6lt4XLgxb8TOLZOrz9lsHy-k60K0UbE/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9OTd8YPaZ8colYPm_G0ZBTbGdt4Ol7Fq5mFzLc49ctsE8hKz6O98L990dZ4bGkjxyHWijFxlORBtu7kWfcIk0_7Eo2xYWwVDPIgtt7cWpy_y6WnZb-SMHBJWukIIA4183BzTVezGLKA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><br /><h6 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: large;">When?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">June 20: 18:00-19:00 GMT = 2:00-3:00 pm New York City time<br />June 21: 20:30-21:30 GMT = 4:30-5:30 pm New York City time</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br />June 22: 10:00-11:00 GMT = 6:00-7:00 am New York City time </span></h6><h6 style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: large;">Where?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Online in iEARN's Adobe Youth Voices Connect Room - <a href="http://iearn.adobeconnect.com/ayv">http://iearn.adobeconnect.com/ayv</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> Educators and the youth artists whose work has been selected will have an opportunity to speak to the audience about their work.  </span></h6><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">The programme</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">This looks very interesting</span><br /><br /><b style="color: red;"><span style="color: red;">J</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">une 20: 18:00-19:00 GMT<br />2:00-3:00 pm New York City time </span></b><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Make Your Own Kind of Happiness</b><br />Instituto Parroquial Nuestra Señora de Lourdes, Argentina </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A Rainforest Fable</b><br />Fieldcrest Elementary School, Canada </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Absent Parents</b><br />Prepa Ibero, Mexico </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Isn't it Our Home?</b><br />Izz Basic Education School, Oman </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Differences Can Make the World's Greatest Portrait</b><br />Centro Interescolar de Linguas de Ceilandia, Brazil </span></div><h5 style="color: red; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: small;">June 21: 20:30-21:30 GMT<br />4:30-5:30 pm New York City time</span></h5><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Planting a Tree</b><br />Centro de Ensino Fundamental Telebrasilia, Brazil </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>This Is My Home</b><br />MakHill Media, Uganda </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A Voice for Orphans</b><br />PMM Girls' School, Uganda </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Bullying Monster</b><br />Madre de la Misericordia School, Argentina </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Human Rights</b><br />EE Prof. José Pinto Marcondes Pestana, Brazil </span></div><h5 style="color: red; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: small;">June 22: 10:00-11:00 GMT<br />6:00-7:00 am New York City time</span></h5><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Smile 2012 Japan</b><br />Nishi Junior High School, Japan </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Forgotten Lives</b><br />Shanghai Pudong Foreign Languages School, China </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I Want My Life Back</b><br />College of Electronics in Minsk, Belarus </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Forest Story</b><br />Braslav Gymnasium, Belarus </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Special Not Different</b><br />Colegiul National Ecaterina Teodoroiu, Romania </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Be Clean, Keep Clean</b><br />SITE Model, Government B/G Secondary School, Pakistan </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Class Is...</b><br />Kostyukovichi State Gymnasia, Belarus </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read more on the <a href="http://us.iearn.org/news/detail/2012-iearn-adobe-youth-voices-media-festival" target="_blank">Adobe website</a></span></div></div>

Adobe Youth voices 2012 iEARN Adobe Youth Voices Media Festival starts today

Submitted by Omashani Naidoo from SchoolNet SchoolNet runs an Adobe Youth Voices project in various schools in South Africa and so we are a...

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 06/20/2012

2:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"><li>      <div class="diigo-link"><a href="http://www.sharemylesson.com/">Share My Lesson - Free K-12 Teacher Resources Aligned to Common Core State Standards</a>      </div><div class="diigo-description">So excited that one of my favorite sites for teachers (TES) has created a website particularly for US teachers called share my lesson. It is linked with many other websites and already has more than 200K resources on the site.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags:                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a></div><div class="diigo-tags"><br /></div></li><li>      <div class="diigo-link"><a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/06/42-million-stars/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29">Amateur Astronomers Help Scientists Map Over 42 Million Stars | Wired Science | Wired.com</a>      </div><div class="diigo-description">Citizen science is something we go into extensively in chapter 2 of Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds and here is yet anonther example of the power of citizen science. Fascinating happenings in this area and a great way for students to get involved. From my discussions with the scientists involved in the Shout Learning tree banding project,, it is relatively simple to "remove the noise" of errant data.</div><div class="diigo-tags">tags:                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/citizenscientist">citizenscientist</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a></div></li></ul><div class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href="http://www.diigo.com/">Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher">here</a>.</div>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 06/20/2012

Share My Lesson - Free K-12 Teacher Resources Aligned to Common Core State Standards So excited that one of my favorite sites fo...

Elearning and global competency #flatclass #globaled 06/20/2012

5:39 PM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/London-2012-Olympic-and-Paralympic-Values-6086530/">London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Values - Resources - TES</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Lessons teaching about the values of the Olympics and Paralympic games. These are coming up in July/ August. You can use this powerpoint as a starting point.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/olympics">olympics</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/The-Power-of-Convergence-and-Collaboration-6257038/">The Power of Convergence and Collaboration - Resources - TES</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">There is a nice set of videos about sustainability on the tes website including this one about convergence and collaboration.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/environment">environment</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/resourcecalendar.aspx?nt=event&nbday=20&nbmth=6&nbyr=2012">Rio +20 Teaching resources</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">If you are teaching about sustainability, environment, or politics, you should share about what is going on at the Rio +20 conference June 20-22. Here are some lesson plans that you can use relating to this conference.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.uncsd2012.org">Rio+20 - United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">June 20-22 is the Rio+ 20 conference where delegates from around the world meet with the UN Committee on Sustainable energy. For those who care about good stewardship of this beautiful planet this is is an event to note.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Poetry-of-Qu-Yuan-6257131/">Poetry of Qu Yuan - Resources - TES</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">I created a set of Qu Yuan resources on TES. If this is your expertise, you may want to also create some resources here.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/poetry">poetry</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/china">china</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.chinapage.com/quyuan5.html">Qu Yuan the Poet - Duanwu Jie - Dragon Boat Festival</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Another overview of Qu Yuan. Another note about him is that one of his most popular poems is the "Heavenly Questions" where he asks 170 questions about life. This would be something to download and read via ebook, etc.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/china">china</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.cjvlang.com/Pfloyd/quyuan.html">Qu Yuan: The Man Who Raved at the Wall</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">A fascinating reading about the "Man who raved at the wall." It is an incredible explanation of a unique poet who used his poetry to bring to the attention the politcis of his time.<br /><br />The 'man who raved at the wall' was none other than China's oldest major poet, Qu Yuan 屈原 Qū Yuán (often spelt Ch'ü Yüan after the old system of romanisation). Qu Yuan was born in the kingdom of Chu (or Ch'u) in 340 BC, roughly 2,340 years before our time and 1,150 years before Li He's. Like Li He, he was unsuccessful in life, but the consequences were much graver than merely being excluded from the bureaucracy.<br /><br />At the time Qu Yuan was alive, China consisted of seven states fighting for dominance of the known civilised world. </p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/china">china</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.chinapage.com/eng1.html#QY">Chinese Poems with English Translations</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Translation of The Mountain Spirit, another Qu Yuan poem. This one has the chinese on the left and the words on the right.<br /><br />"All gloomy and dark is the day;<br />The east wind drifts and god sends down rain.<br />Waiting for the divine one, I forget to go home.<br />The year is late. Who will now bedeck me?..."<br /><br />This page includes quite a bit more Chinese poetry.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/china">china</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.shiku.org/xlib/lingshidao/hanshi/quyuan.htm">Translated Chinese Poetry: Poems by Ch'¨¹ Y¨¹an</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">If you want to discuss the Dragon Boat Festival and cover the legend of Qu Yuan, here are some translated poems. This poem "Li Sao" the Lament is one of the best known poems he wrote. If you're just curious, it is a fascinating read.<br /><br />"A prince am I of ancestry renowned,<br />Illustrious name my royal sire hath found..."</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="https://www.cdba.org/sfdragonboat/">San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">The San Francisco International Dragonboat festival is an example of the many dragonboat festivals that happen around the US.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duanwu_Festival">Duanwu Festival - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">The fifth day of the fifth moon, this festival is stated to commemorate the death of poet Qu Yuan. They drop sticky rice wrapped in triangles into the water for him to eat in the afterlife. When the locals rowed out to retrieve his body, they say this became the origin of Dragon Boat Racing. There are many other theories and this article does a nice job of outlining them. This is a great cross curricular exploration that has poetry, history, culture intertwined.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/ResourceCalendar.aspx?nbday=0&nbmth=6&nbyear=2012&evcode=4281">Dragon Boat Festival</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">The Dragon Boat festival is June 23 this year. This is a lesson plan and has some videos about the Dragon boat festival. It has one of the longest histories of any festival and is being celebrated in more and more cities each year.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Elearning and global competency #flatclass #globaled 06/20/2012

London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Values - Resources - TES Lessons teaching about the values of the...

Jamaica: Day 2

3:57 PM Tukiyooo 0

Friday morning we woke up with a small agenda for the day: meet with the wedding coordinator and go for the trial run of hair and makeup.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLWjzaQNSaEwgMTNLTt7ZlbspyaPgTp1nLke377n2ulQHAbg2J43ARzTYwZDrQoXO0M6ppVi1cjF0493fdm4lQmkPCcetkectdu8sDfQpdg4StM4AUyk_1oq7l1-RPggsaj-9ViuQlL4o/s1600/Jamaica+2012+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLWjzaQNSaEwgMTNLTt7ZlbspyaPgTp1nLke377n2ulQHAbg2J43ARzTYwZDrQoXO0M6ppVi1cjF0493fdm4lQmkPCcetkectdu8sDfQpdg4StM4AUyk_1oq7l1-RPggsaj-9ViuQlL4o/s400/Jamaica+2012+010.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Venecia was our awesome wedding coordinator at Sandals.  She had a vibrant personality and sense of humor and truly made us feel special and important in her presence.  Even though Joel and I were set on having our ceremony on the beach, she had us visit a few other wedding sites on the resort to consider as well.  In the end, we chose to have our ceremony in this gazebo:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOLHbuGXJaaDpGTjsvFkF6OUB0bwfIzVjWOkgr8jCpPzh5hxTeYlrn9uIB4gNapOWMMlEZ0N921ADhEAWFkTwqU38pWNGN5PCxu5aFzUSYYiFymYL0EHqs6SepMQwqZVL3MvNoF1RzDrI/s1600/sunset+wedding+gazebo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOLHbuGXJaaDpGTjsvFkF6OUB0bwfIzVjWOkgr8jCpPzh5hxTeYlrn9uIB4gNapOWMMlEZ0N921ADhEAWFkTwqU38pWNGN5PCxu5aFzUSYYiFymYL0EHqs6SepMQwqZVL3MvNoF1RzDrI/s400/sunset+wedding+gazebo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Jamaica offered a level of "hot" that I had never experienced before.  Even hotter than FL in July/August (and I've been there during both of those months!).  By having the ceremony in the gazebo, we would have some shade which would alleviate some of the heat, as well as prevent squinting for the pictures.  Plus, it offered a beautiful backdrop!<br /><br />While we discussed other details of the wedding, including song choices for the first dance, etc, we also got to do a cake tasting!  YUM!  Our flavor choices were vanilla, chocolate and Caribbean fruit.  Truth be told, my favorite was really the vanilla, but we went with the Caribbean fruit to honor our setting.  This flavor tasted somewhat like gingersnaps with hints of rum.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a terrible flavor, but the vanilla certainly was delicious, especially with that fondant icing... holy moly!  It was only because Venecia was watching that I did not inhale all 3 samples.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0FG8vusyyzmGzxuceSDigEHS5mpDDY-4DMlm3Cb4z8-WGmOS4oTuDhEpqvL91ViU3SPqiKpB_OZU4MDRobkaM4qHdUfJf_obBidwX2Q-qPOQu7ABFWhiRT61U0Z6MtFN_gI5AuvYDU8/s1600/cake+tasting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0FG8vusyyzmGzxuceSDigEHS5mpDDY-4DMlm3Cb4z8-WGmOS4oTuDhEpqvL91ViU3SPqiKpB_OZU4MDRobkaM4qHdUfJf_obBidwX2Q-qPOQu7ABFWhiRT61U0Z6MtFN_gI5AuvYDU8/s400/cake+tasting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQgEDWmNGQmEo0pMikZpQiyBnIkgEsP9oDC1-8mO8WI8IX7-jYAMfcWVTGtoejCtBPshWmYvfrzJnUFb5XNE1vn36ZoLYE9DYRYdCpN7d4KUOfWTdxC1ePXsQmSYWLd6GRgJQ1bwunEo/s1600/cake+tasting+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQgEDWmNGQmEo0pMikZpQiyBnIkgEsP9oDC1-8mO8WI8IX7-jYAMfcWVTGtoejCtBPshWmYvfrzJnUFb5XNE1vn36ZoLYE9DYRYdCpN7d4KUOfWTdxC1ePXsQmSYWLd6GRgJQ1bwunEo/s400/cake+tasting+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joel tried it first</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5HLltGYjRHovkRh9ftgzU74hVYmFETRQV0y1VkHnMgSHsdieo_eu_cl5Sdhb8jSlL6qMwdFZG-O0v7sF6HRpOJyK4JjuaU7Pq5mw5QYhEFZdMV9Dm67X8WqBR1St4fl2wsJUI42Czeo/s1600/cake+tasting+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5HLltGYjRHovkRh9ftgzU74hVYmFETRQV0y1VkHnMgSHsdieo_eu_cl5Sdhb8jSlL6qMwdFZG-O0v7sF6HRpOJyK4JjuaU7Pq5mw5QYhEFZdMV9Dm67X8WqBR1St4fl2wsJUI42Czeo/s400/cake+tasting+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgoDOFadJZbPpcfA6TaSO4EWwHlZ0N1CCfah5d3AzTb7kbZcA8U4OvLq1r9zbiyxMr_V0bGI20N52pzNPb_TMjyxDz7ZvKVSOBexrnjJJpfvC5KAqQo0Z14rPgvk_cN5hoi4iOO3meZQo/s1600/cake+tasting+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgoDOFadJZbPpcfA6TaSO4EWwHlZ0N1CCfah5d3AzTb7kbZcA8U4OvLq1r9zbiyxMr_V0bGI20N52pzNPb_TMjyxDz7ZvKVSOBexrnjJJpfvC5KAqQo0Z14rPgvk_cN5hoi4iOO3meZQo/s400/cake+tasting+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the key to my heart is obviously through sweets</td></tr></tbody></table>After our wedding meeting, we took a quick detour to the beach.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8OzJomU810uABJhe_bBRaCCrsMQnml-wODlMnl8ZOGuTeKIs2dDZK7sQhDzfACXTCwjqtz1SKJulxLDgFiZLx7CDzXEE0TfMzDafSxEXLM7f898ut44LzG0mqv2hyBYm6TpZIn5QonM/s1600/Jamaica+2012+036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8OzJomU810uABJhe_bBRaCCrsMQnml-wODlMnl8ZOGuTeKIs2dDZK7sQhDzfACXTCwjqtz1SKJulxLDgFiZLx7CDzXEE0TfMzDafSxEXLM7f898ut44LzG0mqv2hyBYm6TpZIn5QonM/s400/Jamaica+2012+036.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br />Again, I began devouring Fifty Shades and working on my tan as much as I could before the big day. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwrnCXnHUkfap9hEueNf2aqana-34SSOaDAAtmHM-EocVB0R5xt7ep0J0B51qikhhpUmmNl6KUR_JlpMDAMCzR8CZ_MjJh4DJ5rNFemRsxlfhAJxwRWvvYN6g1hzVWrOk7AMwxYQ45Zw/s1600/Jamaica+2012+043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwrnCXnHUkfap9hEueNf2aqana-34SSOaDAAtmHM-EocVB0R5xt7ep0J0B51qikhhpUmmNl6KUR_JlpMDAMCzR8CZ_MjJh4DJ5rNFemRsxlfhAJxwRWvvYN6g1hzVWrOk7AMwxYQ45Zw/s400/Jamaica+2012+043.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Before I knew it, it was time to set off to the Red Lane Spa for several hours of pampering.  I got a mani/pedi and my hair and makeup done.  Everything turned out perfectly!  My stylist, Wendy, even tore my hair out once she was done so Joel wouldn't know what it would look like.  I secretly wanted to keep it though - it was so nice!<br /><br />We finished up another day in Jamaica with a delicious meal all the while savoring the sunset.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTyLAd8X0-T2LhlQ0-hZb6m8ahFS-W7VjAo1xsyaz-AM4dp5Cwl_LqdopMGOBmH3mDpjUnZbuVdEyv5JTzObqGbpdwWBWAl2TU8z__a_9PSz_9EXtMjv5hpQK88R4hzjrCXXWvg82J3IY/s1600/Jamaica+2012+053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTyLAd8X0-T2LhlQ0-hZb6m8ahFS-W7VjAo1xsyaz-AM4dp5Cwl_LqdopMGOBmH3mDpjUnZbuVdEyv5JTzObqGbpdwWBWAl2TU8z__a_9PSz_9EXtMjv5hpQK88R4hzjrCXXWvg82J3IY/s400/Jamaica+2012+053.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br />That night, we would go to bed for our last night as singles.  Little did we know that the next day we would awake to a dream come true!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgk9r9kcghhm3PZy6XI4CYEsRSKV1Pdl7aPuRBHNd9vcL496FmprgBdsMo2x2GRDi-uS8qsmd_CYfCLWb9wgTAuYsc_L5xRQpc1Dy4SM8JqLX9SvkYbLRI-ExTB_03VjnJbMyUGWBn5Y/s1600/038_38.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgk9r9kcghhm3PZy6XI4CYEsRSKV1Pdl7aPuRBHNd9vcL496FmprgBdsMo2x2GRDi-uS8qsmd_CYfCLWb9wgTAuYsc_L5xRQpc1Dy4SM8JqLX9SvkYbLRI-ExTB_03VjnJbMyUGWBn5Y/s400/038_38.JPG" width="265" /></a></div><br />

Friday morning we woke up with a small agenda for the day: meet with the wedding coordinator and go for the trial run of hair and makeup. Ve...

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 06/19/2012

12:30 PM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.calendarlabs.com/calendars/school-calendar.php">Free School Calendar 2012-2013 & Academic Calendar Templates</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Microsoft Office doesn't have 2012-2013 academic calendars in their templates (yet) so here are some calendars that you can download and use as you plan next year.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/calendar">calendar</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/planning">planning</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="https://plus.google.com/110333270386916546939/posts/SWsuSAu7c9a">(7) Sharon Hester - Google+ - Cool Carnival Games for Kids Parties</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Interesting set of carnival ideas I found on Google plus. Carnival games.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/summer">summer</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/parties">parties</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/parenting">parenting</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://familyfun.go.com/summer/summer-parties/">Summer Party Ideas - Summer Parties for Kids | FamilyFun</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">So, you're going to throw a party? Whether you're a parent or running a summer camp, here are some great ideas for parties and summer games to plan. Get creative. summer flowers and more.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/summer">summer</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/TES-Primary-Plus-Why-do-we-have-summer-3001388/">Why do we have summer? - Resources - TES</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Why do we have summer? Some lesson plans including myths about summer. These would be fascinating stories to tel students as you celebrate the summer solstice.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/lessons">lessons</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/London-2012-Olympic-and-Paralympic-Values-6086530/">London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Values - Resources - TES</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Lessons teaching about the values of the Olympics and Paralympic games. These are coming up in July/ August. You can use this powerpoint as a starting point.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/olympics">olympics</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/ResourceCalendar.aspx?nbday=0&nbmth=6&nbyear=2012&evcode=3799">Summer Solstice Lesson Plans</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">The summer solstice is June 24. Here are some lesson plans for this day. If you're working with summer camps, you can do something more simple like water parties or other ways to celebrate the longest day of the year. Some of the ideas I like are the creation of a sundial, learning how to calculate sun altitude depending upon your latitude as well as some literature related themes.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock #teaching 06/19/2012

Free School Calendar 2012-2013 & Academic Calendar Templates Microsoft Office doesn't have 2...

DOES COLD THERAPY IMPROVE PMS, REDUCE THE SIZE OF A BREAST LUMP, AND MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE?

9:17 AM Tukiyooo 0

<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A year ago I noticed something very frightening: a lump in my right breast/arm pit area. After three months of observation, I noticed it would increase in size and tenderness about 10 days before my period, but would disappear as soon as I started my menstrual cycle. Then, again, it would appear about ten days before the following period. I scheduled a breast exam with two different doctors and both said it wasn’t something I should worry about.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Each month I noticed it was slightly bigger and more obvious than the previous month. By this past February, it was worth worrying about.  There was no doubt in my mind I had a problem, so I scheduled another doctor’s visit as well as a mammogram and ultrasound. By the time I got the mammogram I had started my period, the lump was smaller, and nothing was found. I left the exam both excited, but also feeling a bit crazy.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is where cold therapy comes in. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I had been reading the blogs written by Dr. Jack Kruse where he describes the science and details to the healing benefits of cold adaptation or cold thermogenesis(CT) along with his genius application of seasonal eating.  Keep in mind- his blogs are specific to a natural means to reduce leptin resistance and ailments caused by leptin induced inflammation. Being that I have very low body fat, I wasn’t thinking this information could be used to reduce or heal my own issues, but I instead I was reading to gain insight into CT as a suggestion to help other people. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAkrAogqaNyLZbVyRjgqFb6IBFTkI5SoW-XbOaEIVQ2UdJUpAzTuYYOlYB71BaHjAkLrxmXtV-5JChYDPnTLjc4wLKIXegZF0104a2WL2wUYjkM0qZY3A4v6T3McJ_Q7OSCDYmDgc1Vru/s1600/ice+bath.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAkrAogqaNyLZbVyRjgqFb6IBFTkI5SoW-XbOaEIVQ2UdJUpAzTuYYOlYB71BaHjAkLrxmXtV-5JChYDPnTLjc4wLKIXegZF0104a2WL2wUYjkM0qZY3A4v6T3McJ_Q7OSCDYmDgc1Vru/s200/ice+bath.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cold therapy isn't new to me. As a college athlete, bags of ice all over my body was a daily need. I played volleyball at the collegiate level and not only did we wrap ice bags on our inflamed and over used knees, spine, and shoulders, but we jumped into the near by river for 10-15 minutes as a daily ritual- especially during two-a-day practices. I even arrived early before practice to ensure enough time to sit in an ice bath. The sports medicine trainers warned me that ice before practice might cause injury, but to me it made practice bearable.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">While reading Dr. Kruse's blog,  I connected the dots to my own obvious inflammatory problems. It became obvious that CT might be a solution to my menstrual inflammation and osteoarthritis (caused from years of over training). So I reintroduced CT to my body and hoped for the best.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But the decision to add cold therapy  has come with risk.  I do not have leptin resistance and because of my very low body fat percentage, I assumed my response to CT (from a fueling perspective) might cause fat gain. Why? Since I have less fat, my body might react differently than a person who has more fat and leptin resistance.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">From my understanding, for people who have leptin resistance, CT (as described by Dr. Kruse) </span>reduces leptin levels. The result would be reversed leptin resistance, less hunger, less inflammation, and more fat loss. Like a game of balance atop an upside down U curve (an arch like a rainbow), preventing blood leptin from levels that are too high or too low is the goal. Less leptin than ideal results in symptoms of starvation. More leptin than ideal results in resistance, fat gain, inflammation, and most modern ailments our culture experiences today. The goal is a balance on top of the curve, which would make for an optimal hormonal environment.</div><div><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My experience with this curve comes from observation of the hCG protocol. Over the last four years, I have observed- in detail- over a thousand patients through multiple rounds of Dr. Simeons hCG protocol.  It is my speculation that hCG does the opposite of CT. Low dose hCG stimulates the body to release leptin, which reduces hunger and the hormonal need for food. However, in order to avoid symptoms associated to leptin resistance, a  controlled very low calorie protocol is necessary. Rapid fat loss is a result of this hormonal balance and maximized fuel demand. Whether it's hCG or CT, the goal is to hit the optimum level of leptin at the top of the curve. This is where there is ideal fuel demand  which results in fat loss, loss of inflammation, and as an adaption - improved resting metabolic rates.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>The discovery of leptin and the scientific understanding of its influence during starvation, fueling homeostasis, fat cell multiplication, inflammation, mitochondrial biogenesis, and much more have exposed the incredible ability the body has when given the opportunity to maintain life in threatening environments. <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/101/7/2058.full">Here is a link to scientific study that describes how this can be done.</a></span></em></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For me, being that I didn't have leptin resistance or extra fat to lose, I assumed cold adaptation might make me susceptible to fat gain.  If my body's reaction to CT worked in negative feedback loop-  my body might have the reverse influence from CT- stimulated leptin. Ultimately this would increase my susceptibility to fat gain. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But, even so, I was more concerned about reducing these symptoms:</span></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>Osteoarthritis in my spine.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>Restless leg syndrome.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>Inflammation with weather related cold fronts.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">4)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>My right breast lump.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In my mind, it <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">was worth the risk.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br />It took about 2 months at 15 minutes each day to acclimate to 52-55 degree showers, and here is what I observed:</span><br /><div></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>I no longer take anti-inflammatory meds for chronic osteoarthritis. It is manageable with CT, and postural alignment exercises (Egoscue Method).</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>Restless leg syndrome occurs less often.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>Cold fronts aren’t noticeable, but I am now aware all pressure fronts influence my fluid retention and inflammation.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">4)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>The breast lump has reduced in size and tenderness. It also goes away sooner which has made it very easy to predict the start date of my period.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">5)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>My periods are shorter in during.</span><br />6) <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My legs have less circulation problems during my period.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">7)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>I have gained 5 pounds of fat (just as I predicted).</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">8)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">     </span>I get heartburn with citrus fruits, especially during the 10 day period before my period.</span><br />9)Now that its summer and I have more time in heat and the sun, I've noticed a weird throat feeling that is difficult to explain.  This weird fluttery feeling doesn't occur as often when I add back starches to my diet. I'm assuming this is thryoid????<br /><div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I've noticed that my fat gain occured during the luteal phase of my menstrual cycles.  During this time hunger is minimal and I have intolerance for fruit (heart burn). Except for 3 days before my period, where my hunger dramatically increases (and so does the weird throat fluttering). I've come to realize my diet has needed to change depending on where I am during my menstrual cycle. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> It’s pretty obvious why, when you look at articles that describe significant increases in leptin levels during the luteal phase. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It is thought that the recorded increases in leptin during the luteal phase correlates with the increase in estradiol and progesterone. Here is a picture of this cycle.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOaw6seR7pHf17h7KO23hveuG7Cm3KRE6R3_42FSVoHjzU9p4xhyphenhyphentFdJQDahRY8DubB_vRMEn8114zj1tZUVLAP0ifOUTVINiKkozMABtyBd1GfbNVSeqIToDJFg5uQfrM5jnC0EQVZLS/s1600/CT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOaw6seR7pHf17h7KO23hveuG7Cm3KRE6R3_42FSVoHjzU9p4xhyphenhyphentFdJQDahRY8DubB_vRMEn8114zj1tZUVLAP0ifOUTVINiKkozMABtyBd1GfbNVSeqIToDJFg5uQfrM5jnC0EQVZLS/s640/CT.jpg" width="452" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas></v:stroke></v:shapetype>MY QUESTIONS:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><ol><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With the natural increase in leptin related to the increase in estradiol and progesterone, is CT at that time making me more sensitive to gain? </span></li><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In a woman who has excess body fat, would she lose fat during that time? </span></li><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If I remove all carbs during that week would my leptin levels have less of a slope, which would reduce my sensitivity and symptoms of heartburn, fat gain, and the increase in my breast lump? </span></li><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Does the increase in core body temperature during the luteal phase increase further with CT or does CT reduce this temperature? </span></li><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'm thinking this increase in leptin after ovulation has to do with preganancy.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> Maybe the upswing in leptin is necessary to increase hCG release from a newly implanted egg, which would further increase projesterone levels that are necessary to sustain the placenta for full term pregnancy? </span></li></ol></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">My goal would be to reduce the slope of the (progesterone/estrodial) curve but not eliminate the slope of the curve (which I'm assuming would stop menstruation all together).</span><br />  <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With this in mind, for the last two months I've increased my starches just before and during my period. But immedialty after ovultation, I've removed both fruit and starch from my diet. All the while, I've continued daily CT. As a result I've noticed my body fat hasn't increased, but it hasn't gone back down. The luteal occurance of heart burn is gone, <em>and the breast lump has reduced in size and tenderness even more</em>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As a woman, and knowing my body cycles hormonally, integrating CT and change in diet to offset my symptoms has been an awesome experiment. I will continue to adjust and adapt my diet, but it has required I stay tuned into my body, into hunger, and that I adjust to it's rhythms. I've had to adapt to monthly rhythms, to changes in sleep, with alcohol intake, and now I've adjusted with the change in season.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I believe this capacity to adapt, as Dr. Kruse preaches, <em>is a big deal</em>. The less adaptable we are, the more prone to disease we become. And to all of you lean people- you aren't immune. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For those of you who are implementing CT either with the hCG protocol or alone, what have your symptoms been during your menstrual cycle? Have you been able to compare a protocol with CT to a protocol without CT? I am very excited about what CT has to offer and as a woman I know we can use this science to reduce symptoms during our menstrual cycle that are less understood by the science community. </span><br /><br />Dr. Kruse has done us a huge favor. He's taken modern science and made it applicable. But for CT to work, there is a large amount of personal responsibility to change your eating lifestyle and that you have tolerance for fleeting physical discomfort. The questions you need to ask yourself are:<br /><div><ol><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Would you be willing to sit in a bathtub was water that is 55 or less degrees Fahrenheit for enough time that your body acclimates?  </span></li><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Is it worth the risk to understand your body isn't flawed, but our desire for "comfort" is?   </span></li><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Are you desperate enough to set your ego aside to open your mind to witness your body's capacity is to survive and heal itself? </span></li></ol></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />And if CT does reduce premenstrual symptoms, it could in fact- make the world a better place. <br /><br /><em>I would like to thank Dr. Jack Kruse for putting himself out there by delivering this incredible science. </em><a href="http://jackkruse.com/jacks-blog/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">HERE IS A LINK TO DR. JACK KRUSE'S BLOG</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">REFERENCES</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><div></div></span><div><a href="http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/16/9/1827.full.pdf"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Oestradiol plus progesterone treatment increases serum leptin concentrations in normal women</span></a>.</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><div><a href="http://endo.endojournals.org/content/150/1/304.full"> Up-Regulation of Placental Leptin by Human Chorionic Gonadotropin</a></div></span><div></div><span id="goog_202111486"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Relation of menstrual cycle and alimentary consumption of women<span id="goog_202111487"></span></span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://molehr.oxfordjournals.org/content/9/7/395.short">Modulation of placental vascular endothelial growth factor by leptin and hCG.</a><br /><br /></span>

DOES COLD THERAPY IMPROVE PMS, REDUCE THE SIZE OF A BREAST LUMP, AND MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE?

A year ago I noticed something very frightening: a lump in my right breast/arm pit area. After three months of observation, I noticed it wou...

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7:38 AM Anonymous 0

Twist my arm already. After too many people nagged me about it for too long, I have finally pulled the trigger and gotten <a href="https://twitter.com/LittleBlackDoor" target="_blank">myself on twitter</a>.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51hR-W4ao-QoI__HHxdKUiKvP4gjO5TnwKJ4f2AH1uWCklpkdio-kz1r6AWJjcRenr7-OaAhrGa6I-2bAsKeVPHDU5V9niC-52FRJ9woVpjAHiYyDRA-RTYjWsZmzGVbKCTKzUTLOAJnw/s1600/4015379242_52fe350a00_o.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51hR-W4ao-QoI__HHxdKUiKvP4gjO5TnwKJ4f2AH1uWCklpkdio-kz1r6AWJjcRenr7-OaAhrGa6I-2bAsKeVPHDU5V9niC-52FRJ9woVpjAHiYyDRA-RTYjWsZmzGVbKCTKzUTLOAJnw/s320/4015379242_52fe350a00_o.jpeg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33158682@N06/4015379242/sizes/o/in/faves-melisaki/" target="_blank">Flicker</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />So now I need tips from all of you twitter experts. Who should I follow? What's with the whole # thing? Only 140 characters, really?

twitter chatter

Twist my arm already. After too many people nagged me about it for too long, I have finally pulled the trigger and gotten myself on twitter ...