Cocktails? Brunch? A live DJ? Awesome animals? Yes, please! This was the set-up for the Houston Zoo’s Beastly Brunch held on Sunday and it was marvelous. The Beastly Brunch and other such events at the Zoo are held by Flock – The Houston Zoo’s Young Supporters Group who do their best to promote public awareness and interest in The Houston Zoo with events such as this one.
Party Animals
The DJ and the reflection pool created a perfect atmosphere for a Sunday brunch and the weather was superb! Cocktail bars, coffee and Sprinkles cupcakes were set up and down the length of the reflection pool with tasty buffet of bruchy eats at the end for everyone to enjoy. My coffee was followed by a bloody mary, a mimosa, croissants, various quiches, fruit and cupcakes… that’s right; cupcakes and mimosas at the zoo with a herd of Houston’s animal lovers. Bliss.
Cuddly Critters!
Not only did The Houston Zoo provide an amazing morning of mingling and gnarly nibbles, but they also brought out some adorable critters! I got to meet a chinchilla and a very tiny owl. I’m a sucker for fuzzy and tiny creatures and these guys were just too much cute to handle.
It was a great day…
The Beastly Brunch lasted from 12pm-2pm; so afterward we walked off all the deliciousness with a stroll through the zoo, which is always a delight, waved goodbye to our new animal friends and headed home (sleepy, but excited for the next event at The Houston Zoo).
Kudos to Flock! Want to Join them?
Flock is a group of 21 and up professionals who devote themselves to the growth and success of The Houston Zoo with unique, exciting and educational events throughout the year. It’s easy to join Flock and a membership carries with it awesome privileges including entry to some fantastic shin-digs and exclusive volunteer opportunities.
Thanks, Sponsors!
Also, thank you to the sponsors of The Houston Zoo’s Beastly Brunch! Food, atmosphere and beverages were also provided by the following:
Above: Gilbert Garcin, The flight of Icarus(after Leonardo da Vinci),
[L’envol d’Icare (d’apres Leonard de Vinci)], 2005 – FotoFest.org
FotoFest: A Matter of Wit
Last night I had the pleasure of popping into the Culture Map Pop-Up Party at FotoFest. What was all the celebration about? Yesterday was the opening of a great new exhibit at FotoFest: A Matter of Wit. Featuring collective works of Gilbert Garcin, Miro Å volÃk and Colin Blakely, each visitor was surrounded by remarkable visions of whimsy, humor and ability as they navigated through the displays, friendly faces and tasty treats.
Aside gawking at some amazing photography, The Culture Map Pop-up Party at FotoFest also gave me my first taste of sugary goodness from MMM…Cupcake and an amazing twice-baked potato pocket pie from Oh My! Pocket Pies (which was adorable and delicious). The folks at MMM…Cupcakes and Oh My! Pocket Pies couldn’t be nicer (and kudos to the pie guys for sticking it out in freezing temperatures).
Another awesome turn up at the Map Pop-up Party at FotoFest was Smile Booth! I got to chat with Josh from Smile Booth and I have to say, it’s probably one of the neatest things I’ve seen out and about in Houston. A superior twist on old school instant film, a high quality instant camera with takes a few photos of you and your friends and print right out; these pictures turn out great and you can view them online the next day (just like the ones from FotoFest)!
Everyone had a blast, but if you missed the Pop-Up Party at FotoFest, don’t worry the exhibit: A Matter of Wit continues through Feb 25th. Thanks to CultureMap, the awesome food vendors, Silver Eagle, FotoFest and everyone who contributed for a great night!
FotoFest: A Matter of Wit | Gilbert Garcin, Miro Å volÃk, Colin Blakely
February 10, 2011 – February 25, 2011
Mon-Wed and Fri, 10am – 5pm, Sat, noon – 5pm,
Late Night Thursdays 10am – 7pm
Want more FotoFest?
Reserve a tour: Jennifer Ward, exhibits@fotofest.org or at 713.223.5522 ext 18.
Information and Visuals: Vinod Hopson, press3@fotofest.org or at (713) 223.5522 ext 26
Literacy Though Photography: Kristin Skarbovig, ltp@fotofest.org or at (713) 223-5522
Maybe that one thing about you that you can’t stand is your different.
To that, Karen Walrond (@Chookooloonks) would say, “Your different is your beautiful.”
Karen Walrond, author of The Beauty of Different dropped by Schipul client, Blue Willow Books for an intimate reading and book signing. Karen shared with visitors her different (she was a sensitive child) and said it’s probably what made her able to write the book.
The reading was like sharing a story with a good friend. It was share and share alike as visitors talked about their different, their experiences blogging and their journeys through photography. After the reading, Karen signed books with personal messages to each woman.
The Blue Willow staff f gifted Karen with a pen before she climbed the ladder to leave her mark on the wall. She wrote: Your Different is Your Beautiful.
The Beauty of Different features photos and stories of everyday people and the unique things about them. Through their faces and revelations, perhaps readers will discover their own special qualities.
-adjective
1. exemplifies a unique quality; awesome; incredible
2. An expression from the mid 1950s, which fell from favor by early 1960s…until now.
Used in a sentence: Orange Juice is great, but Orange Juice and Biscuits is boss.
Jonathan Valdez - blogger of Orange Juice & Biscuits
What is the most important meal of the day? Some classic folk might say Cocoa Puffs, a few dieters will admit to cold pizza, but pop culture, fashion fanatics will declare in unison, Orange Juice & Biscuits is where it’s at.
No, this does not mean there is a new organic orange that will guarantee weight loss nor does it anticipate an advanced biscuit that will combat frizz. It means that if you love a humorous take on front row fashion, “Livin’ La Vida Lohan” and all things sexy in the NYC, then you must suppress your appetite with Decemeber’s Boss Blog of the Month, Orange Juice & Biscuits.
I believe any successful blog tells a story, and OJ&B does just that through the eyes of Jonathan Valdez – a hilarious, dapper young fellow who writes with such enthusiasm, he could make a 76 yr. old nun pumped about Gaga’s latest music video. In 2009, Jonathan was named Mashable’s Top 5 Best Bloggers to Follow and for good reason; it’s not just about writing for him, it’s about sharing an amazing experience with amazing people.
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with creator of OJ&B, and close friend, Jonathan Valdez about the incredible growth of OJ&B and what sets it apart from all the other fashion and celebrity blogs.
“I believe OJ&B is funny without being snarky or mean. Yes, it’s fashion, yes, it’s celebrities but it’s also about supporting the great people I have met in New York. You never know who you are going to meet and where they are going…OJ&B has enabled me to show how much I value these relationships and I believe people respect that.”
Jonathan doesn’t just sit and watch from afar, he writes about Whitney Port’s new fashion line because he was there. He gives shout outs to Models of the Runway Winner, Kalyn Hemphill because they truly are friends. He provides live media coverage of events, like Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week because, well…they thought OJ&B was awesome too. People enjoy Jonathan as a person because he genuinely enjoys them, the difference is he writes about it. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like to see their name in print? Guilty.
There is just not enough great things to say about OJ&B. I love this blog, I love the guy behind the blog and I love that we can agree on one thing…
“Everyone loves a good Lohan mention.” – Jonathan Valdez
The Metropolitan New York Library Council launched their fabulous new website! METRO is a non-profit organization that develops and maintains library services throughout New York City and Westchester County.
It’s a beautiful design with the homepage pulling in dynamic content from various parts of the site. It gives visitors a great overview of the content at-a-glance and makes navigating the site a breeze.
Check out the new METRO site and feel free to give METRO a virtual pat-on the back on twitter (@tweetmetro) or a nice big ‘like’ on Facebook !
Just a few years ago, sites like Newspaper Death Watch, began tracking daily newspapers as they steadily went out of print. Since then, publications have adapted to the changing media landscape by creating online versions of their publications. But the delivery is different, and sometimes not as visually appealing as the copy you get to hold in your hand.
Online publishing tools offer just that. And not only are they useful for magazines, but they’re great for brochures and promotional pieces. Issuu and FlippingBook are two examples of online tools used by two Schipul clients to showcase their content.
Issuu lets users upload in any format and choose the best way to display their content (magazine, presentation or paper). One of the great things about Issuu is that it’s SEO-friendly. According to the site, every word inside publications on Issuu are available from any search engine. More than that, users can try it for free or just browse it’s catalog of online publications.
FlippingBook turns PDF files into flash on a specific site, rather than a searchable community. It allows users to share and view the content online. Also, the program lets users tailor the look of publications, has a download feature for multiple ways of sharing and a built-in text search that helps users find specific information within the text. The drawback of the program is that its free versions are watermarked and only available for Windows 7, Vista and XP.
The sleek presentation of publishing sites like Issuu can be intimidating. If you’re seeking something simple, Scribd. is worth a peek.
It’s an open reading platform, meaning you don’t need a flash player or web reader to view documents. It’s HTML based. The types of documents span the gamut –school work, how-to guides/manuals, books, presentations, spreadsheets – it’s all there. To get a better idea of the community Scribd caters to, I recommend watching their introductory slideshow.
Depending on your needs, FlippingBook, Issuu and Scribd are all suitable online publication tools with great features. FlippingBook is a good tool for content that will change consistently, yet it offers the functionality of a visually appealing, hand-held publication. Issuu is definitely the way to go for a more substantial publication, that won’t “expire.” And Scribd offers a bit of both worlds, where your document can live and breath in a widely accessible format.
One day from Discovery Green‘s web site, I found there was a Korean Festival event to be held on Oct.23 at Discovery Green in downtown Houston. Since I had never been to a Korean event, we decided to go. It turned out it was a wonderful event. lots of fun – traditional Korean drums, dance, food, kong fu…
Here are some highlights:
Korean drums play an important part in the traditional Korean performing art. Love those drums.
The traditional dance was played beautifully.
Farmers dance – originally performed as part of farm work.
Kong fu
Hand crafts and food
Overall, the performance was great. Food was decent with reasonable price. We also have learned a lot of Korean culture from there. And the event was free!
Interested in the events at Discovery Green? You should visit their web site at www.discoverygreen.com. They serve a wide variety of events year around.
I shall pass this way but once; any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
These words can be found in Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People (pg. 32), but they are not originally attributed to him. Similarly, that book is not the first place I have heard this virtue. I first heard those words from my father, and have heard them repeated here in the Schipul offices.
I don’t remember the circumstances of my first exposure to this virtuous statement, though I can only imagine it was one of the many times that I failed to appreciate an opportunity for kindness. My dad sat down with me and shared “I shall pass this way but once”. He went on to explain the broader meaning of the tale. It’s not about passing through a town or place or really anything specific. It’s about every moment, every interaction, every opportunity to do good. It’s not about buying gifts or planning celebrations. It’s all about the little ways you can show kindness, much like those Liberty Mutual commercials.
It’s easy to glamorize doing good things, to fantasize about writing huge checks or volunteering every weekend somewhere or even just planning special events for your family every night. But this message is about doing much less and achieving much more than those things. It’s the tiny, seemingly insignificant things that you can do to help someone else out that can matter so much more to them. You don’t have to spend money or give all your time, you just need to act in a good and kind nature.
But this is only the first half of the message. The latter portion is a bit more intimidating. As we grow older, we begin to recognize the missed opportunities of our past. I’m only 25 and I can count stacks of occasions, of moments, when I could have been better. As my father explained to me, life comes with thousands of opportunities, but you only get one shot at each one. I can’t go back in time and hold the elevator for the woman I can hear walking down the hallway. I can’t go back and offer to clean the dishes from a meal that I did not have to cook myself. Each opportunity presents itself only once, and we must seize each as an opportunity to show kindness.
Thanks Dad, for reminding me often that I shall pass this way but once.
Yes, paintball is a sport. It’s more commonly thought of as a hobby or just a recreational game. And that’s how it all starts…
There’s not a day that goes by that the word paintball is not heard in my house. My 13 year old son is consumed with it. He eats, sleeps, and breathes paintball. It’s because of him that I have learned these lessons to pass on to you!
Types of paintball games:
Woodsball – the original form of paintball played in the woods. Fields consist of trees, bushes, and other natural resources. Sometimes you’ll find other things like old cars and buildings too. But it’s all played in the woods.
Speedball – the most common form of paintball that uses bunkers of equal size and distribution on the field. Also called recball.
Scenarios – paintball games in which players participate in a scenario or story, often a re-enactment.
What you need to play paintball:
A paintball marker (gun)
Ammunition (paint balls)
Mask or goggles
Protective clothing (if you’re a noob)
Common paintball terms:
Staging Area– the area where the players store their gear and rest between games. It’s also where they hang out, talk smack and challenge each other.
Barrel socks – a “sock” type device that fits around the barrel of the gun and captures a paintball in the case of accidental firing. Trust me, when hanging out in the staging area, you are grateful for barrel socks!
Masks on – this means you better get that mask on and now! Masks are required on the field even if you’re not playing.
Hit – when the paintball leaves a solid mark on your clothing or equipment. Splatters do not count, it must be a solid mark.
Wiping – players sometimes “wipe” the paint to make it look like they didn’t get hit. We call these players CHEATERS!
Ramping – This one still confuses me. I think of it as automatically changing the mode of fire from semi-automatic to fully automatic. The gun goes pop, pop, pop, then badadadadadada, sort of like a machine gun mode. And while it’s legal in some leagues, I think of it as another form of cheating!
Bonus Balling – this occurs when a player continually shoots his opponent knowing that they already have a hit. Again, CHEATER!
Go, Go, Go!!! – the start of a game. You’d better be ready or you’re hit!
As a parent, I often wonder what I have to look forward to with Austin’s paintball obsession. Well, the PSP World Cup games are held close to Orlando, FL so that’s pretty cool. The NPPL World Championship games are held in Las Vegas, even better! And with high school right around the corner followed by college, who knows, maybe there’s a future in paintball for Austin…
Shameless plugs: Thanks to Tanks Paintball for helping Austin with the sport and Pro Edge Paintball for assisting Austin with his gear. And to both, for taking my money!
I got an email in my in-box last week from Schipul’s own Ms. Katie Laird with a quick note letting me know the up-coming NetSquared Houston Meet-Up might be of interest to me… let’s just say, long story short… HappyKatie knows me well indeed.
For those who have not heard of NetSquared before:
NetSquared is focused on the intersection of technology and social impact. We create opportunities for all those involved in creating change to connect: whether you are a nonprofit or a foundation, a designer or a developer, a changemaker or an entrepreneur.
The Houston NetSquared Meetup is focused on ‘Social changemakers and technological forerunners coming together at Net Tuesday events to mix, swap stories and ideas, build new relationships, and reinforce the online NetSquared community.â€
Ryan (Ryan Marsh, president of the Layla Grace Foundation) speaks geek and can talk to the more technical challenges facing online non-profit organizations from a technology and a human perspective.
Having spent a lot of time over the last 15 years involved with Non-Profits, I can say the way they function has changed substantially over the last 3-5 years with society’s rapid adoption of new technology and the introduction of Social Media into the mix. In order for a NPO to stay viable, I believe they have to passionately embrace technology and the social-sphere in order to overcome challenges, meet goals, and, most importantly in today’s economy, do more with a LOT less.
The Layla Grace Foundation was founded by Ryan and Shanna Marsh in April 2010 in honor of their daughter Layla Grace Marsh who gained her eternal wings on March 9, 2010. You can learn more about the foundation at their site: http://laylagrace.org/ . With more than 16 thousand Facebook Fans, I was keen to hear what a very successful and VERY young Non-Profit had to say about the technology choices they had made.
Ryan did a wonderful job of balancing the very tender topic of childhood cancer with talking about the tech tools the Layla Grace Foundation has used to serve their mission:
“The Layla Grace Children’s Cancer Research Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on the discovery of new treatment options for children with high-risk cancer. We empower parents with the tools to become effective advocates for their children and raise public consciousness about our cause.”
In fact, Ryan offered up such a phenomenal top 10 list for Non-Profit Technology choices’ I was taking notes like a mad woman in order to be able to share them here. What I really like about this list is that it came from someone who has a history in the Tech Industry and has also tested, evaluated, tried and failed fast with a lot of the technology options out there today. This is a tried and true list of options that have floated to the top of the list for a functioning Non-Profit Organization and it can save other organization out there a lot of time and money.
So, without further ado, here is the Non-Profit Top 10 Tech Tools Recommended by the Layla Grace Foundation:
Gathers and stores audience information from everywhere
Want to know who you are talking to? Check them out in Flowtown.
My biggest take-away from the evening was not actually one of the items on Ryan’s list. It was a suggestion for what Ryan referred to as essential reading for any organization looking to raise funds online (who is not?!)… I will be ordering and consuming Jakob Nielsen’s ‘Donation Usability: Increasing Online Giving to Non-Profits and Charitiesâ€
For any Non-Profit out there looking to hone their technology skills or wade through the over-whelming options… the above list is great way to getcha started.
Looking for more helpful tech tips and tricks to help your Non-Profit succeed? Well, come on and join us at Net Tuesday!
