Random

✽ Differences between German and Chinese cultures. Guess which of these two groups Americans are most like -- in the overall big picture of the world -- extremely A LOT ALIKE. BTW, the artist has a website.

✽ YouTube has a new cloud-based video editor. ~ FastCompany

✽ Phoenix is among the 20 metro US areas with the least amount of economic recovery.

Two and a half years after the Great Recession began, the nation’s economic recovery remains jobless and seems more fragile than ever. Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a moderate 3.0 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2010, down from a 5.6 percent annual growth rate in the last quarter of 2009. Housing markets weakened, and the expiration in April of federal homebuyer tax credits could lead to further weakness later this year. ~ Brookings

✽ The Obama administration's proposal to tighten oversight of the for-profit colleges suggests that they don't really understand the nature of the change that has taken place. They want these schools to disclose their job-placement rates to prospective students. My sense is that most of the students in these schools ALREADY have jobs and that their employers are paying for a good portion of their education. How else does someone afford to go to the University of Phoenix? ~ Washington Post

✽ The president of Hartwick College explains and defends their three-year bachelors degree program. Well, actually it is still a "four-year" program. They've got it set up so that students can complete four years worth of work in three years. I did one of those flex undergrad programs, too. I completed four years worth of work in six years. ~ Washington Post

✽ In an effort to discourage student indebtedness some colleges have removed student loan options from their financial aid packages. ~ DistanceEducation.org

✽ "Spin-off Churches" -- another way of talking about "parenting"? ~ link

✽ The Phoenix Rescue Mission distributes water to our homeless neighbors as a part of the City of Phoenix Heat Relief Network. They are accepting donations. ~ link

✽ Every time another city announces that they are boycotting Arizona it only causes the SB 1070 supporters to dig their heels in deeper. It's kind of like slamming the door on the Jehovah's Witnesses. It just reinforces in their minds that they're the worthy minority doing the Lord's work. You need a more indirect strategy if you want to do more than make a statement or create an impression.

✽ How about organizing a carrot mob instead of a boycott? ~ PhilCooke.com

✽ "At Barnes & Noble I asked where the Self Help section was. The salesman said if he told me it would defeat the purpose." ~ Phil Cooke

✽ David Fitch on how flat leadership works in the church ~ link

✽ Forget about 2012. Solar flares could make 2013 the rough ride according to NASA. ~ link

✽ Interactive map: "Where Americans Are Moving." Fascinating people movements. ~ Forbes