From YouTube to Carnegie Hall - WSJ.com

By ELLEN GAMERMAN

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? YouTube.

At least that’s John Green’s answer. The best-selling author, a YouTube sensation with his brother, Hank, makes his Carnegie Hall debut Tuesday with “John and Hank Green: An Evening of Awesome.”

The sold-out event, a roughly two-hour variety show in the Stern Auditorium, marks the one-year anniversary of the release of “The Fault in Our Stars,” Mr. Green’s runaway hit about teens with cancer. After word about the show spread online, the nearly 3,000-seat space sold out within 10 days.

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John Green

The event will feature the speedy commentary and goofy free-association that have become the Green brothers’ trademark. The Greens, who appear in online videos as the Vlogbrothers, have attracted more than 281 million views on YouTube. In a recent video, John Green gabs about going on vacation without his computer just before the New York show. “I’m going to do it because I think it’s good for my mental health, particularly in advance of Carnegie Haaaaaaaall,” he sings, “which is the sound that my anxiety makes.”

On the phone from that vacation in Mexico, Mr. Green said he wasn’t joking—he’s a little terrified about appearing on a stage he has only seen from the upper balcony. When he gets nervous during his book tours, he either chats with his brother backstage to cut the tension or throws up.

John Green, who has more than 1.3 million Twitter followers, famously harnessed the power of social networking before the release of “The Fault in Our Stars” when he went online to announce its title and promised to sign the entire first print run. The book hit No. 1 on Amazon.com AMZN +0.98% before he’d even finished writing it.

Mr. Green, 35, said his book events include his charismatic brother, who sings and plays guitar, to add a little showbiz: “My talent is sitting in my basement and spending years writing a novel.”

Write to Ellen Gamerman at ellen.gamerman@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared January 11, 2013, on page D7 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: YouTube to Carnegie Hall.

 Source:
From YouTube to Carnegie Hall - WSJ.com

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323442804578231860780248022.html?mod=googlenews_wsj&mod=igoogle_wsj_gadgv1

January 11, 2013, 9:00 am133 Comments

California in Surplus

Guess whose state budget crisis seems to be over?

As best I understand it, what’s going on in CA is a microcosm (a pretty big microcosm, actually — maybe more of a mesocosm or something?) of what’s going on at the national level. A severely depressed economy led to big deficits, because tax receipts are strongly affected by the state of the economy — indeed, are almost certainly much more cyclical than they used to be.

In response to those deficits, there was a lot of spending reduction plus some more modest efforts to increase revenue. And now that we have the beginnings of real recovery, it’s turning out that those efforts were enough to remove much if not all of the “structural”, as opposed to recession-driven, deficit.

As this reality becomes more obvious, the deficit scolds will of course go wild. They have staked their careers on crusading against supposedly intractable deficits, and they have their hearts (and more important, their wallets) set on exploiting the alleged fiscal crisis to dismantle social insurance programs. Good news will be a blow to everything they want, and will be furiously and vigorously denied.

But once again: deficits are receding as an issue before our eyes.

 Source:
California in Surplus - NYTimes.com

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/california-in-surplus/?nl=opinion&emc=edit_ty_20130111

It's a Mean old World

“If Americans ever allow banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless.”
- Thomas Jefferson


"One of the funny things about the stock market is that every time one person buys, another sells, and both think they are astute."
- William Feather

THIS SHOULD HAVE ENCOURAGED THE POPULACE TO EMBRACE THE OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTEST:

Census shows 1 in 2 people are poor or low-income
-  HOPE YEN, Associated Press

Invisible Indian: Federal Court grants rights to Métis, non-status Indians

“ The growing and dying of the moon reminds us of our ignorance which comes and goes—but when the moon is full it is as if the Great Spirit were upon the whole world. ” 

—Black Elk, Oglala Sioux

Federal Court grants rights to Métis, non-status Indians

Off-reserve aboriginal people are 'Indians' and entitled to same constitutional rights

The federal government has lost the latest battle in a 13-year legal fight over its responsibilities to Métis and non-status Indians.

On Tuesday, the Federal Court ruled that 200,000 Métis and 400,000 non-status Indians in Canada are indeed "Indians" under the Constitution Act, and fall under federal jurisdiction.
The decision helps to more clearly outline Ottawa's responsibilities toward the two aboriginal groups.

"The recognition of Métis and non-status Indian as Indians under section 91(24) should accord a further level of respect and reconciliation by removing the constitutional uncertainty surrounding these groups," Federal Court Judge Michael Phelan writes.




Invisible Indian




source:

The Canadian Press

Federal Court grants rights to Métis, non-status Indians - Politics - CBC News

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/01/08/pol-cp-metis-indians-federal-court-challenge.html

Stay Healthy

"Health is the greatest possession. 
Contentment is the greatest treasure.
Confidence is the greatest friend. 
Non-being is the greatest joy." 

- Lao Tzu

Lawyer Gives His House to a Homeless Family for a Year

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” - Mahatma Gandhi 




Normally, one would wonder, "Where is the angle from the lawyer's point of view? What's in it for him?"  But it is hard to see anything but generosity in this action. 

"Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world."    - Howard Zinn
 

Tony Tolbert decided to give up his fully furnished home, rent-free for one year, to a struggling family.

"Kindness creates kindness; generosity creates generosity; love creates love."  
- Tony Tolbert


Source: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20661723,00.html



......................................................................

Blogger Note:

We are here for a short time and need to be mindful of how we spend our time to achieve our goals and to make a contribution while giving meaning to our lives, finding happiness and peace of mind.  

Do not sacrifice your health to 'keep up' in our consumer society.  Ignore the messages of marketers attempting to create wants where you have no need for their products.  

Many people use ready credit to create a feeling of wealth and hipness only to end humiliated and ducking creditors, afraid to answer the telephone in case the collection agency is calling yet again.  

It is tragic what has happened in the world of shrinking credit since 2008 when credit mania suddenly ended with a housing market collapse and a massive bail-out by the U.S. government that is going into deeper and deeper debt to this day (fiscal cliff).  

Many middle-class families ended up homeless when house prices collapsed and banks foreclosed on mortgages as the house of cards collapsed in the U.S. and rippled out across the Globe.  Spain, Greece and Portugal all nearly going broke and requiring massive bail-outs by Germany and France.

It is all a great tragedy that is not yet finished destroying  wealth of all kinds and across all economic classes.



 

 

Ernesto Sirolli: Want to help someone? Shut up and listen! - YouTube

Published on Nov 26, 2012

 

When most well-intentioned aid workers hear of a problem they think they can fix, they go to work. This, Ernesto Sirolli suggests, is naïve. In this funny and impassioned talk, he proposes that the first step is to listen to the people you're trying to help, and tap into their own entrepreneurial spirit. His advice on what works will help any entrepreneur.




Source:
Ernesto Sirolli: Want to help someone? Shut up and listen! - YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chXsLtHqfdM






Ernesto Sirolli: Want to help someone? Shut up and listen! - YouTube