2008 January — A Life Worth Living, Is One That Is Shared...

Learn Another Language – for FREE!

January 12, 2008 By Karen 1 Comment

Parlez-vous Français? ¿Usted habla Español? Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Well, now you can…

Online, at your own pace, and with others around the world at LiveMocha.com. I registered on this site today, and have already completed two lessons in Spanish 1. I even had my son (he’s in kindergarten) try it out with me. We both enjoyed it.

The site is easy to use, fun, and I think I’m learning the basics quickly. Online interactive lessons include reading, listening, and more. The site keeps track of your progress, too.

And, the community is very active. Within 10 minutes, I had three people contact me for online practice or to be added to my list of friends. (Tip: You can set your session so you are away, busy, appear to be offline, or available for practice.) As part of the community, others help you speak their language and you help them speak yours.

Livemocha currently offers lessons in English, German, French, Spanish, Hindi, and Mandarin Chinese. Users, however, speak so many more. Even if your desired language doesn’t contain lessons yet, you’re sure to find a native speaker or online tutor willing to share conversation and learning.

Parla Italiano, anyone?

Karen
KarenLCox.com

Filed Under: Language and Culture

Where Do the Candidates Stand on the Issues?

January 10, 2008 By Karen Leave a Comment

As I stated in my previous post, I don’t know who will get my vote. If you’re like me, you might enjoy a visit to these two web sites:

Electoral Compass offers a brief, interactive questionnaire to help you determine your possible candidate. Some of the questions are a bit leading, but you can choose to ‘completely’ or ‘tend to’ agree or disagree. And, of course, neutral or no opinion are offered as options.

What I like best about Electoral Compass is that after completing the questionnaire, you can ‘click’ and ‘unclick’ a set of check boxes associated with the issues to see which candidate you match with most closely on each issue.

Political Base shows grids of the candidates and how they stand on the issues. Compare the Republicans, the Democrats, or build your own custom grid.

As with any questionnaire or grid, you will still need to make up your own mind. But, these tools may help you narrow down your choices to those candidates you want to investigate more closely.

An informed voter is a powerful voter. Check the facts, and always remember to keep the source in mind.

All the best to you and yours in 2008!
Karen
KarenLCox.com

Filed Under: Politics

Passion or Play? Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire

January 7, 2008 By Karen Leave a Comment

Let me begin this posting by saying I’m not sure who I am inclined to vote for in the upcoming election. My vote is still up in the air.

I did, however, feel compelled to share this link with you. Over the next several days, or longer, we will hear much about Hillary’s response to a question posed by a freelancer.

Yes, it is an emotional response, but as women we understand emotional responses. We’ve all experienced them at one time or another. These moments are not times of weakness, but of passion.

You’ll have to decide whether you think it is real or not. Ah, the beauty of living in America. The right to think for ourselves.

This CBS News link takes you to one video on this topic. By letting the video continue, you’ll see a second which contains additional response from the freelancer.

Karen
KarenLCox.com

Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: democrat, Hillary Clinton, New Hampshire, political campaign, Politics, presidential campaign

Great Music, Great Causes

January 4, 2008 By Karen Leave a Comment

How do you mix a love of music with a heart for people around the world?

Dan Storper and Michael Kraus have hit just the right chord with their music label, Putumayo World Music. Storper and Kraus compile music from spectacular artists from around the world. With titles like Celtic Dreamland, Tango Around the World, Animal Playground, and New Orleans Brass (just to name a few), it’s easy to see that Putumayo World Music lives up to it’s motto: “guaranteed to make you feel good!”

And, if great music weren’t enough, a portion of proceeds are donated to organizations benefiting groups related to the products you’re buying. For example, one that tugs at my heart strings and is sweet music to my ears is Women of the World – Acoustic, a fantastic compilation of acoustic music by leading female artists from around the world. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this CD is donated to the Global Fund for Women.

The New Orleans Brass CD mentioned earlier? A portion of those proceeds go to the Renew Our Music Fund. According to the Putumayo web site, the company has contributed more than $250,000 from the sales of its New Orleans CDs to local non-profits and artists since Hurricane Katrina.

Now if that’s not something to sing and dance about, I don’t what is.

To learn more about Putumayo World Music and its non-profit affiliations, visit them at www.putumayo.com. While you’re there, tune into Putumayo Radio online. You’ll love it!

‘Til next time, keep singin’ and keep dancin’!
Karen
KarenLCox.com