Tamara's Blog

ConversantLife.com: Connecting Faith to News and Culture

I want to invite you to check out a very kewl community site called conversantlife.com. It's a great place to read up on and respond to real conversations about stuff we face every day - in our culture, in the news - whether we're Christian or not. Everyone is welcome to submit their own content and ask the "hard" questions.

I was introduced to the site by Bruce Bickel, a good friend and co-founder of the site. Bruce is a great, one-of-a-kind guy! He's a stand-up comedian who pays his bills from the money he earns as a lawyer. His wife, Cheryl, is an absolute hoot! I don't know which one I like better. Probably Cheryl. No, Bruce...

Back to the site...here's a blurb about conversantlife.com from the website:

ConversantLife.com is a blog and social media hub that delivers engaging content on faith and culture. Our site is a free place where people can access content and connect with a community of believers and spiritual seekers on a variety of culturally relevant topics such as Creative Arts, Film, Music, Spirituality, Global Concerns, Relationships and more.

A Shameless Plug for My New ConversantLife.com Blog

Awhile back, the folks at conversantlife.com invited me to become part of their expert blogger community because of my interest in blogging and everything technology. I finally took the plunge this past weekend and built out my microsite (blog) and profile. Thank you to the folks at conversantlife.com for your humbling offer and your great patience!

A big thank you also goes to Henriët for coming up with the blog title: Never a Dull Moment. Is that not perfect?! She even gave me the idea of a clock to use in my banner, and fortunately, I had a picture in my library begging to be used. It is very fitting on many different levels. Let me know what you think.

What to do now:

• Check out the blog - Never a Dull Moment. My first post is about the American Express commercial with Ellen Degeneres and Beyonce.
• Check out my profile. You'll see that I need a few good friends and fans. ;)
• If so inclined, join the conversantlife.com community. If you have a Facebook or Yahoo! account already, you can log in with those credentials.

See you on the other side!

In Case You Missed the Memo...about Semper Vita

We now have an official website up for the Semper Vita organization. Actually, it's more of a super-sized blog - or a blog "on steroids" as I like to refer to it.

The homepage is the Semper Vita blog, but there are also pages about the vision and mission, the experience (volunteering, connecting and training), the leadership team, FAQs, and partner opportunities.

Click here or on the banner below and check the site out. And don't forget to subscribe to the RSS feed or, if you prefer, sign up for email updates so that you always know the latest on what's happening in the Semper Vita network.

 

Check Out New Snap Shots on the Blog

It is done. I finally switched out my "peephole" picture in the banner of my blog. If you're reading this in an email or feed reader, click here and let me know what you think of the new picture. But wait! Before you click away...

Snap Shots for You and Me

I also added Snap Shots (www.snap.com) to my blog. You'll want to check that out too. Anytime you see a small lavender callout-looking icon next to a link, if you hover over it, you will see a preview of where the link is going. Sort of like "try before you buy."

If you want, you can add this feature to whatever browser you're using. Check it out on Snap Shots Add-On page.

Blowing the Dust Off This Blog (cough, cough)

Hello again! It's been awhile - actually a long while - since you last heard from me. The last time we chatted, I asked you all to participate in a survey for a school paper - and WOW! - the response was tremendous. THANK YOU! I'll post the results from the survey later this week so you can see for yourself. Interesting stuff.

Much has transpired in the last few months, so in the spirit of pithy headlines and snappy descriptions, here's the Top 10 headlines in my life:

1. I went Mac.

   And will never go back. Yup, I bought a 24" iMac for personal use and I love it! I still have my Dell laptop, which I'm using right now to write this post. Seems that Microsoft Windows Live Writer (the best blogging tool out there!) doesn't work on a Mac...whaddup?!

2. Noetix no more.

   In April, I said an emotional goodbye to my employer of 7 years (actually 17 years if you add in its parent company). It was weird leaving the "family nest," but my friends and colleagues sent me off with a suitcase full of hugs and well wishes.

3. New job, same roots.

   I've returned to my roots working for a consulting company, but I'm not a consultant. Check out the press release on Forbes.com to see what I'm doing now. It's really kewl.

4. School's in session.

   I took last quarter off to ramp up on my new job, work on Semper Vita (see #5), and give my eyes a break (that's a story for another day). My break is now officially over. I start class again. Today. The doors open at 8:00 AM. I love summer school...I love summer school...I love summer school...

5. Semper Vita is in its 9th month.

   If you've talked to me in the last two years, you've probably heard me mutter something about "Semper Vita." Well, next week, the interim website for Semper Vita is rolling out, so now you'll be able to learn what all the fuss has been about. Stay tuned for more.

6. My Seattle Mariners, my oh my!

   The team really sucks this year. We're in last place in MLB. They just "let go" of all the top dogs who've allowed us to fall into this deep hole. There's still ~90 games left - plenty of time for a worthy comeback. Go Mariners go!

7. Another blog on ConversantLife.com.

   I have been invited to be a contributing blogger on ConversantLife.com - a site devoted to connecting faith to news and culture. I'll be approaching the conversation from a technology perspective. Stay tuned for that announcement too.

8. Jeannie releases her first book.

   My good friend, Jeannie Keneley, released her first book this month. It's called Beyond My Yesterdays: A Woman's Journey from Darkness to Light. Go check it out on Amazon.com. Congratulations Jeannie!

9. I'm changing my picture. Finally.

   I got a slough of pictures taken recently, so I can finally switch out my "peephole" picture in the banner of my blog. You will soon see that I really do have hair - actually, it's pretty long now. I'll switch it out this week.

10. Coming up.

    This week, watch for: survey results for the Eli Stone paper (mentioned earlier), a video on how to say Thank You to our troops (it's great!), a recent report on the current vision of the American Dream (times have changed), and a link to a visual diagram that explains why Barack Obama is able to decline participation in the public financing system. If you like pictures like I do, you won't want to miss this one.

Announcing a New Organization and a New Domain

As if having a full-time job (that I'm loving) and going to graduate school (that I'm also loving) wasn't enough...

New Organization: Semper Vita

For over a year, Semper Vita has been in the air. You may have seen the phrase in my blog's banner - "A Semper Vita Blog" - or in my blog address - http://sempervita.typepad.com/tamara - or in my friend Henriët's blog address - www.sempervita.org. That has been by design.

So what is Semper Vita? Semper Vita means "always life," and in the past couple of weeks, Semper Vita has taken on a new life of its own. It is now an official non-profit ministry organization with a vision for everyone to experience Jesus Christ through the love and service of others.

Who's behind it? Henriët Schapelhouman is the president and founder, and I am the executive vice president. We have an exceptional core team of Christian business leaders who is bringing their strengths, talents and "free" time to the table to build the infrastructure. There is much work to be done to publicly launch Semper Vita this year, and we hope to launch the Web site by this summer.

Of particular interest is the timing of all this. About the same time that our team was talking about taking Semper Vita to the next level, Henriët learned that she was being laid off from her role as pastor. In spite of this perceived setback, Henriët is absolutely thrilled and grateful that she can now go and do what God has called her to do (Semper Vita) on a full-time basis. Click here to read Henriët's recent announcement about her new beginning and new life.

Connecting the dots. If you've been following my blog, and you're still wondering why I am going to graduate school, Semper Vita is the primary reason why. At Fuller, I have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest Christian thinkers in the areas of leadership, culture and missional living. It is my prayer that this learning will actually stick and help me serve this new organization well.

New Domain: www.tamaradull.com

I have my own domain address now, which will serve as the permanent address for my personal blog from hereon out. The URL I have been using - http://sempervita.typepad.com/tamara - still exists and will continue to function as before. This new URL is in preparation for the upcoming Semper Vita Web site.

Please feel free to reply to this post or send me an email if you're interested in hearing more about this new adventure. Otherwise, stay tuned as the story unfolds. I, for one, am anxiously awaiting to see what God has in store next.

Are You as Smart as a Junior Higher?

What level of education is required to read my blog? According to the Blog Readability Test, a junior higher should bode well with this blog. Do you agree with these results? I do. If it was any higher, I'd be missing the boat I set out to sail. [HT to Eric.]

Do You Tend to Over-Think Stuff?

Confessions of an IT Hitman, a business blog I follow, posed the following list of questions to show how some of us tend to over-think to get to the right answer. Ready for some light weekend thinking gymnastics? [HT to the IT Hitman.]

• What does a banana taste like?
• What do you call a question with no answer?
• If there was a crumb on the table and you cut it in half, would you have two crumbs or two halves of a crumb?
• What is a "self-help" group?
• What can you put in a barrel which makes it lighter?
• Why did Sally sell seashells on the seashore when you can just pick them up for free?
• Why are red buttons always the most important?
• How do you know water's wet?
• Could someone be addicted to counseling? If so, how would you treat them?
• Why do people duck when it rains?
• If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too?
• Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
• Why are 1968 pennies worth more than 1967 pennies?
• What is the number eleven thousand eleven hundred and eleven divided by three?
• What word is always spelled incorrectly?

Is Off the Map Over the Edge?

Huh?! Who or what is "Off the Map"? And are they really over the edge? I can certainly answer the first question. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on the second one.

Who is Off the Map?

Off the Map is a non-profit organization that describes itself this way:

We present stories, ideas and related practices through live events, our websites, published multimedia and our monthly e-zine called Idealab.

They are into: "otherlyness" or the spirituality of serving, reinventing evangelism, exploring, explaining, edutaining (educating and entertaining), and listening.

Jim Henderson, founder of Off the Map, recently released a new book called Jim & Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians. 

Intriguing.

Be Kind

This past year, Henriet and I have attended three Off the Map (OTM) conferences. Each conference has delivered an "edge" of its own. At the first conference, it seemed that no matter what the question was, the answer was always "be kind." To be honest, the sheer simplicity of that message seemed to annoy me at the time.

There was a whole lot packed into these two small words during the conference, but the gist was that Christ followers can sometimes really suck at just being kind. For some, it's more about being RIGHT - about their beliefs, opinions, worldview, [insert your own words here] - than being KIND. We were encouraged to: Stop listening with our mouths and start listening with our hearts.

A simple yet provocative message. One that has stuck with me. Without annoyance.

Almost an Atheist

It was also at this first conference that I became acquainted with Helen Mildenhall. I would like to write more about Helen and her story in a future post, but here are a few interesting  points: Helen is a former Christian who is "almost an atheist" now. She is the blog manager for all the blogs sponsored by Off the Map. She hosts Conversation at the Edge, a blog for Christians, atheists and anyone in between.

I have followed Helen's OTM blog for almost a year now. One thing I have to say is that she is one of the most articulate bloggers out there, and she knows the Bible better than many Christians. She participates in "hot" discussions with astonishing grace and kindness. For Helen, it's not about being right.

An almost atheist running the blogs for a Christian site. Certainly edgy.

Off the Map Live

The last conference we attended - Off the Map Live - was in November. Besides the thought-provoking sessions I attended, the highlights for me were meeting John Smulo in person, someone I had met in the blogosphere, and hearing Richard Twiss, president of Wiconi International, speak for the first time.

This post is so after-the-fact, so I'm going to defer to what's already been written. The conference blog posted some thoughts from Richard Twiss after the conference. It gives you a good sense of who he is. Also, Henriet and John wrote about Richard:

• Henriet: Richard Twiss Rocks
• John: Off the Map Live Friday Afternoon

Is Off the Map "over the edge"? In my book - absolutely! And it's a very good thing. Even if I get annoyed every once in awhile.

Just Stopped In to Say Hello

Remember me? Yup, that's right - the one who' peeking through some hole at you. One of these days, I'm going to change this picture...

Many of you  have asked, "Where are you? Is everything okay?" I mean, gee whiz, I spend months gently persuading many of you to simply insert the word "blog" into your vernacular...and then - poof! - I'm gone. But not really, it's just been a couple of busy months with work, school and church. It's all good though. Thanks to all who asked. I'm back now.

Even though I've been MIA, I've been collecting some kewl ideas and things to tell you about:

• Events like Scribble 4.0 (performing arts) and Off the Map Live 2007 (conference)
• People like John Torres (artist), John Smulo (blogger) and Richard Twiss (Native leader)
• My divorce from Microsoft
• And much, much more...

Until we meet again. Probably tomorrow. Or the next day. But soon. Stay tuned. That rhymed. Oh my.

Contrary to Popular Belief, I Am Not Addicted to Blogging

54%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Or so the survey says. Some of you may challenge these results. Me too. The truth is that I do enjoy blogging - I don't think anyone will argue that fact - and I enjoy the challenge of encouraging people to take that step into the Blogosphere. Even if it's just to window shop and read around.

Outstanding New Blogs

This week, I learned that this blog was awarded the ON Blog! award. "ON" stands for "Outstanding New" and the award is to recognize new blogs and bloggers. I want to thank Troy for his vote of encouragement to keep doing what I enjoy doing.

If there are other new blogs you've stumbled upon that you believe deserve recognition, submit your nomination on orbitnow! and make a blogger's day!

What If the Internet Went Down and Bloggers Couldn't Blog?

If you see it on cable, it must be true...

[HT to Billy Calderwood.]

Saturday Morning Items

It's been a great week. Two of my posts - My Oh My! Ee-Chee-Roe and About You: Nicco were big hits. Thanks!

Guest Author. Next week, I will be the guest author on Henriet's Blog. I wrote about Henriet in February. She is on vacation and asked me to step in. Please check it out and jump into the discussion. She's more chatty on her blog. :)

Kewl Photos & Videos. I moved the post about "Kewl Photos & Videos" at the top my blog to the right sidebar. Now you will always see the titles of my latest additions. I'm telling you - it's good, mindless entertainment. This picture is a fine example of what you will find: it's a Wrigley Field birthday cake!

Sign Up. If you're enjoying this blog, please tell others about it. It's easy to stay in the loop - by either signing up for email updates or by subscribing in an RSS reader. You can do both in the right sidebar.

Have a wonderful weekend! Catch you next week - on this blog AND on Henriet's blog!