Apture Is One Cool Tool

July 2, 2008 · Filed Under Musings · 2 Comments

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It was a spectacular day here is the Eastern Townships of Quebec. 80 degrees, no wind and a cloudless sky. Reminded me of Hilo without the wind. To add to it it’s a holiday in Canada. Canada Day. This post isn’t about new age spirituality or human evolution or spiritual awakenings. Time for some light topics. I am so juiced about this new toy I am using here on The Source For Seth that I am devoting this to a commercial and demo for Apture.

I discovered Apture from an entry on Friendfeed that was originally posted on Twitter. Seems it was just introduced yesterday June 30th for general consumption and I love it. This can be added to almost any blog platform or web site. It is extremely easy to implement and use. Once added as a plugin or piece of php script, the fun begins.

Highlight any word in the content of your page or post and up pops a box which is loaded with multi-media sources that match the highlighted word. Sources like Wikipedia, IMDB or Amazon for reference and definitions. Video sites like You Tube, Hulu, ESPN, Comedy and Big Think which are embedable or linked. Images from Flickr, Yahoo and Wikipedia. News from the Washington Post. Google maps that you can also embed or link. Music, Scribd documents, web pages. It is amazing. You can add just one source or many sources linked on one word. How cool is that? The user can click whatever they choose and these elements are tucked away in the linked word or can be made visible on loading. Features galore and they have just launched.

Makes reading a post or pieces of content a lot more fun and may keep the visitor on your site longer. So let’s see. Music I like, Craig David, James Blunt, Arcade Fire, India Arie, How about new age writers like Gregg Braden or Steve Rother or Lee Carroll or Eckhart Tolle. Movies like Celestine Prophesy or The Fountain. Places to visit like Machu Picchu, the Yucatan, Hawaii, the Pyramids.

Ok so this is a little much but you get the idea. I don’t believe there is another service like Apture out there. At least not that I know of. You can also allow editors making it a wiki where people can find there own interests just buy looking for interesting words to link. That may be a little risky but I believe as the administrator that you can set it up for pre-approval.

I am not sure if Apture will catch on but imagine every site having it. There wouldn’t be enough hours in the day to absorb all the information that could be contained in a 500 word post. Of course it’s free like so many new cool apps these days. It is at the very least a great idea and one that I think is part of the future of the net.

Give it a try. Leave me a comment on what you think. I’m rating it 10 out of 10. A new age, spiritually enlightened cool tool to add to any site.

Tags: add media, apture, internet tool, website application

The Ultimate Mother’s Day Gift

May 8, 2008 · Filed Under Musings · Comment

Ok. So this post has nothing to do with new age spirituality or human evolution or spiritual awakening. It is a post about Mother’s Day … just for fun. I always think of my mother at this time of year but maybe not for the reason you think. This was an entry in a Mother’s Day article contest. It didn’t win but came 6th out of a 135.

If my mother were still here in body and someone asked her what the best Mother’s Day gift she had ever received, she would be quick to respond. There was one gift that beats the competition by miles.

My mother starting having children in 1952. She bore three daughters and one son. During the 1950’s it was almost expected of a woman to bear children and stay home with them to cater to their every need. She took her job very seriously and was the best Mom a child could ever ask for.

With that in mind, my siblings and I would always do something special for her on Mother’s Day. We would make her something at school that would bring tears to her eyes when we proudly presented them to her on her special day.

These small but meaningful gifts would make her day and would consistently be rated in her top three “best gifts for Mother’s Day” but could never attain number one status.

I am sure every mother would say the same thing. Receiving a hand made present from someone who is the center of their universe means more than a gift that costs a lot of money. Those kind of presents are nice too.

My Father had that covered with the kind of presents he would bestow on her every second Sunday in May.

One year he presented her with tickets to Hawaii. Most years he would treat her to a night at the fanciest hotel in town. He would always tell her that she deserved a break from cooking and a break from her children. The kind of gifts that cost a lot of money were surely appreciated but would never hit number one on her charts. That was reserved.

Her response, to being asked what her best Mothers Day present ever was, would always quick and decisive.

As we know, Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday in May. One Mother’s Day in 1954 she received her all time best present that was never topped for her 60 or so Mother’s Days to follow. It was a present that was the most meaningful, the most exciting, the most heartfelt and the most unusual of any she had ever received.

In 1954, Mother’s Day fell on the 8th of May. Her present arrived that Sunday very early in the morning.

I was the second child born in our family. The only male child. I was born at 5:40 AM on May the 8th … 1954. Mother’s Day. The best Mother’s Day gift my mother ever received was without a doubt … ME

Tags: best gift, mothers day, mothers day present

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