Random

✽ It was 90 years ago today that the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified and women were given the right to vote -- not so long ago in the over-all scheme of things. ~ link

✽ Futurist Faith Popcorn talking about social transformation -- how America is embracing a "we" culture and the rise of ArkBrands -- brands which "inspire and inform." There is a lot to be encouraged about in her presentation. Part 1 | Part 2, which has most of the meat, below --


✽ NASA says that July 2010 is in a three-way tie for warmest July on record. ~ link

✽ "Global CO2 Emissions fell 1.3% in 2009" ~ link

✽ "Millionaire raffles off house for the simple life" -- Luke 18:18-30 ~ BBC

✽ Seth Godin on the power of subtlety ~ link

✽ Beyond Farmville -- "10 social media and technology mega-trends to watch" ~ link

✽ The theological differences between Republicans and Democrats ~ link

✽ I've been enjoying my experimentation with Prezi, a different approach to presentations. Touted as an alternative to PowerPoint, Prezi is a little less linear. There is a free version. ~ link

✽ Our latest edition of BrushStrokes, the e-letter from MasterPiece Church, is now online. This time I have included some thoughts on the Anne Rice announcement. ~ link

✽ Bees swarm sheriff's car, trapping deputy for three hours. He should have just driven it through the car wash. But all is well. ~ CNN

✽ Banks are trying to lure in the 1 of 12 American families who function without a bank account. Wow. If they can figure out how to avoid dealing with banks the more power to those families! If you're poor and can't afford the minimum balances the banks will not only nickel and dime you to death with fees, but if you bounce a check, they'll ding you the equivalent of your food budget for a week. It's no wonder that poor people gravitate toward the higher fee money services -- no surprises. ~ WSJ

✽ Hulu apparently does not have the second season of Sea Patrol. So I tried watching the first episode of season 2 on a Chinese site. They cut out the last 12 minutes of the show -- including the end of the boat chase. Ahhhh!!!!

✽ Google is trying to get a handle on the idiosyncrasies of the television business. ~ LA Times

✽ Dave Ramsey on how to get through college debt-free ~ link