The Very First Book that got this Writer Dreaming

by

Reblogged from tismond:

Click to visit the original post

This post isn't just about my first dips into the world of books, but about everyone's tango with literature. Because I think that all writers were first readers. Well maybe not all writers, but I sure as heck's never met one who's never read. But I digress, what I mean is that I think that it takes that one special book or series or heck, even that one special author to get our creative sparks going into high gear.

Read more… 624 more words

Psychology in Everyday Life

by

Reblogged from tismond:

Sometimes I think that the subject you're studying should have real world applications, and no, I don't mean simply for your job. For instance, I would say that learning molecular biology (something that I have studied) has "less" of an impact on a person's everyday life then say... learning how to cook. Of course this isn't an absolute fact, for I know a few who are adamantly in love with biology and their whole world views have changed from such a subject, but it might not have such an impact for a lot of other people.

Read more… 519 more words

valeria-lukyanova-1.jpg

by

Ukrainian native Valeria Lukyanova may not look like a real person, but with the help of a little eye makeup and a tiny waist the model/singer has been able to fool people the world over.

Photos of the Moldavian-born Lukyanova, called the ‘human Barbie’, took the internet by storm earlier this year, and many questioned whether she existed or was just a very well done computer generated image.

There’s also been lots of speculation over whether or not she’s had plastic surgery to attain her looks (she claims she hasn’t had any and only uses makeup and contact lenses to attain her somewhat Japanese Anime look).

“It’s unclear whether Lukyanova exists at all, or whether it’s all a hoax thanks to the world of photo editing,” reported ABC News when Valeria’s photos were posted online by website Gawker.com.

And now V Magazine was able to catch up with her, confirming that she’s the real deal.

“Many people say bad things about people who want to perfect themselves,” she tells the Magazine. “It’s hard work, but they dismiss it as something done by surgeons or computer artists. Some people even spread rumors about me and retouch my pictures to hurt me. But I don’t take them seriously. I’m even flattered! It’s what success is like. I’m happy I seem unreal to them, it means I’m doing a good job.”

Valeria, who describes herself as “endowed by nature with extraordinary external data” on her website; reveals that she’s really into meditation and out-of-body experiences.

In fact, so much so that those experiences dictate who she is and how she writes her music.

“I’m a teacher at the School of Out-of-Body Travel,” she says. “It’s an international school in which our instructors show students how to leave their physical body and travel in their spiritual body, where you can visit any place on the planet and in the universe. I know that this is the future of mankind and that it has huge potential. Hidden reserves will be tapped soon. “

As far as her music goes, it’s almost obvious that she’s into the New Age stuff.

“I have written most of my songs during my astral travels or during meditation. This is also how I collaborate with other composers of new age music. They inspire me,” she tells V.

“My genre is new age opera. Sometimes I can write a piece in one breath, in as little as five minutes.” says the fan of such artists as Sarah Brightman, Deep Forest and Enigma.

And her recent fame is something she plans on using to do good things.

“I believe that because of it I have a responsibility to bring more good, light, and positive emotions to people. I want to share my art and my music and tell people about my spiritual ideas. When you feel happy, you want to tell everyone about it so that others become happier too,” she says.

Check out Valeria’s full interview at VMagazine.com.

Do Opposites Attract in Real Life?

by

You have seen it on TV.  You have watched it happen in movies.  You have read about it in books.  Two people, two vastly different personalities.  The end result:  a couple?

 Image

Maybe he’s more refined, whereas she enjoys being sloppy and acting obnoxious.  Perhaps she is outgoing and friendly while he is on the snobby side.  Maybe they grew up in two completely different parts of town and have two completely different sets of values.  Any way you look at it, they are an unlikely pair, but somehow, under some strange circumstances, they end up together by the end of the novel, movie, or the series finale of the TV show.

Think Belle and the beast from Beauty and the Beast.  Think Penny and Leonard from The Big Bang Theory.  Finn and Rachel from Glee, Juno and Paulie from Juno, Jane and Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre.  In all of these cases, both people are very different from one another, but they somehow manage to get together nonetheless, some for a longer period of time than others.

Do opposites attract in real life?  Sure, no two people are exactly the same and two people who are a couple may have slightly different interests and hobbies, but to some extent, it seems that most couples I know who have formed lasting relationships consist of two people who have, at the very least, similar values and lifestyles – not exactly the same, but similar enough so that they will not have a lot of conflict about lifestyle differences down the road.

What do you think?  Do opposites attract in real life?  Have you witnessed examples of couples consisting of two very opposite people in your own life?  Have you ever dated somebody who was the complete opposite of you?  How did that relationship turn out?