Gary writes :

I’ve been doing my research, and I’ve identified several strategies that you and I can learn to enhance our delivery skills. It’ll probably take some getting used to, but it’s really simple to learn. All you have to do is focused is focused on ONE small word to create a BIG.

http://adjix.com/m27r

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) late this year released its new Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, calling for adults between the ages of 18 and 64 to exercise moderately (such as brisk walking or water aerobics) for at least two hours and 30 minutes or vigorously (running, swimming, or cycling 10 mph or faster) for at least an hour and 15 minutes weekly.

The longer, harder and more often you exercise, the greater the health benefits, including reducing the risk of diseases such as cancer and diabetes, according to the recommendations, which were based on a decade of scientific research.

http://adjix.com/k4b

                               diary_bad_year                   Longlisted  for the Australia Asia Literary Award

by J. M. Coetzee                                                   

Novelist Coetzee's 19th book features a stand-in for himself: Señor C, a white 72-year-old South African writer living in Australia who has written Waiting for the Barbarians. C falls into a metaphysical passion for his sexy 29-year-old Filipina neighbor, Anya, and quickly plots to spend more time with her by offering her a job as his typist. C's latest project is a series of political and philosophical essays, and Coetzee divides each page of the present novel in three: any given page features a bit of an essay (often its title and opening paragraph) at the top; C's POV in the middle; and Anya's voice at the bottom.

Diary of a Bad Year is an ingenious work that rivets the reader's attention, and it cannot have been easy to write.

It turns out in the end that Coetzee has written a sometimes sentimental love story that plays out nicely to the legato accompaniment of his pronouncements, political and cultural, some of which hit the bull's eye while some come to the verge of pomposity. I said "his pronouncements," but of course they are JC's essays, which is a reminder that not everything in Coetzee's novel is as it seems. Except this: Lovely Anya has her heart in the right place, and JC is lucky enough to understand that. Is the experimental form the story took a success? I was amused and at the same time hoped that the marvelously inventive Mr. Coetzee will move beyond it.

Buy this from Amazon or request it for free

 

white_tigerWinner: Man Booker Prize 2008

by Aravind Adiga

In this darkly comic début novel set in India, Balram, a chauffeur, murders his employer, justifying his crime as the act of a "social entrepreneur." In a series of letters to the Premier of China, in anticipation of the leader’s upcoming visit to Balram’s homeland, the chauffeur recounts his transformation from an honest, hardworking boy growing up in "the Darkness"—those areas of rural India where education and electricity are equally scarce, and where villagers banter about local elections "like eunuchs discussing the Kama Sutra"—to a determined killer. He places the blame for his rage squarely on the avarice of the Indian élite, among whom bribes are commonplace, and who perpetuate a system in which many are sacrificed to the whims of a few. Adiga’s message isn’t subtle or novel, but Balram’s appealingly sardonic voice and acute observations of the social order are both winning and unsettling.

Buy from Amazon or request it for free

Recently, I've become aware of some emerging trends regarding presentation styles and have recognized some individuals who seem to be at the forefront of these trends.  Stylistically, these trends often involve rapid, compact presentations spoken over carefully chosen words and imagery to punctuate the points being made. These 'cut the crap' style presentations can be surprisingly informational and quite entertaining if delivered well. It's something that personally gets me motivated to attend events and makes me hopeful for the future of visual storytelling.

As humankind has evolved from telling stories on cave walls to seeing world leaders use PowerPoint (for better or worse) we've also evolved how narrative takes place. Here are some emerging trends I've been able to identify:    http://adjix.com/428

"Walk in balance with one foot in your spiritual understanding and one foot in your physical world of accomplishment."

-- Lynn V. Andrews

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Resource for the Week

How to Master the Art of Doing it Now and Eliminate the Dread of Procrastination

Will you complete this new year's resolution?

Did you complete last year's?

Wouldn't it be nice if life came with an instruction book that told us how to overcome this problem? Well - guess what? It does and you are looking at the solution in this innovative online course.

This year achieve what you resolved. Don't put it off any longer!

Enrol now in The Procrastinators’ Online Course

 

This year, we’ve created a revolutionary new design and filled it with more records than ever before. And the 2009 edition will have two gatefold spreads and over 20 pages of special records all with 3-D photos, which can be viewed with enclosed 3-D glasses!!

Click here for

more information

how to get the book for free

lesson plans and activities to go with the book

 

This year, we've created a revolutionary new design and filled it with more records than ever before. And the 2009 edition will have two gatefold spreads and over 20 pages of special records all with 3-D photos, which can be viewed with enclosed 3-D glasses!!

Click here for

more information

how to get the book for free

lesson plans and activities to go with the book

eat_thisfor Kids!: Be the Leanest, Fittest Family on the Block!

This small colorful book tells you very simply which food choices are the right ones. It not only tells you, but also shows you with hundreds of color photos. Although it is supposedly for kids, the information is useful -- and fascinating -- for anyone.

Click here for more about the book and how to get it for free

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