Calling All Fashion Trendsetters

My work (Mallfinder Network) is facilitating a fashion contest called Project:Style at a number of malls in the U.S. and I think you might know the right people to apply. Below is the complete list of participating malls, in case you know people in those towns. Notice if there’s one near you; maybe some of your local friends would be interested? My friends, you are all welcome and eligible to apply, too.

It’s all ages, (and guys are welcome, too) and last year saw competitors from 17 to forty-something. The deadline to apply for round 1 is this weekend (May 16, 2010), so I hope you will help get the word out.

Too late for round 1? You application is good for every round, so get you applications in!

—Taj aka @tajmo

Participating Malls in Project:Style

Boulevard Mall — Amherst, NY

South Bay Galleria — Redondo Beach, CA

The Shops at Wiregrass — Wesley Chapel, FL

The Promenade Bolingbrook — Bolingbrook, IL

Charleston Town Center — Charleston, WV

Victoria Gardens — Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Antelope Valley Mall — Palmdale, CA

Short Pump Town Center — Richmond, VA (starting in June)

Galleria at Sunset — Henderson, NV

Promenade Temecula — Temecula, CA

Southlands — Aurora CO

The Mall at Robinson — Pittsburgh, PA

[ now:here ]

… only … the colon would slowly blink.

What would your Zen Clock do?

Make a habit of failure because you attempt new things that you may not know how to do yet. When you’re not afraid of it, you’ll find it easier to succeed. Use your time in school as a safe way to fail when your livelihood does NOT depend on success: you’ll have that much more experience than those around you who remain in mortal fear of what they “might” be capable of but never try. Take the time now to let yourself fail in an attempt to win because now is when your life heals quickly; it hurts more later in life.

The more you attempt in life, the more you open yourself not only to failures but to successes. The more people see you try, the more they remember the successes, and not the failures. Be not afraid; live life FTW by embracing the EPIC FAIL.

Now that I’ve shocked you, go back replace the word fail with experiment.

Dr. Todd Siler is the founder and director of Think Like a Genius, a company that specializes in consulting and developing innovative multimedia learning processes for fostering creative and critical thinking in business, education and the home. The Company’s products and services employ a process Dr. Siler has developed over the past twenty years, known as Metaphorming®. This process helps people think, create and perform at their highest level to achieve their goals. It also increases the meaning and usefulness of the information we experience daily.

Todd Siler is a visual artist, writer, inventor, educator and consultant who received his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies in Psychology and Art from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1986. He was the first visual artist to receive a doctorate from the Institute. He is currently a member of the advisory board for the Council on Art, Science and Technology at M.I.T. He is also a member of the board of directors for the Foundation for Human Potential in Chicago.

Two things are particularly exciting about having Todd present at our meeting on Tuesday: 1) his language shows abundant thinking in his processes, 2) he will adapt his presentation to include the Abundance League process by modeling our passions, needs + gifts.

You can read about Todd’s upcoming presentation on the Abundance League blog.

Excelsior!

Actually, it’s a wine tasting bar … but close enough. Maybe it’s more like the Chicken Cordon Bleu of Booze, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it.

I saw a brilliant, champagne colored light streaking off toward the east and breaking up a little before winking out. It was brighter than a landing plane, bigger and faster than a bottle rocket, and pretty damn cool to see. It’s also nice to know other people saw it too.

Say, have you ever heard a meteor before? I have. Now, you might be thinking “that’s crazy, Taj! Sound won’t travel that far, and if it did, it would take up to six minutes and fifteen seconds!” I know, you’re thinking this but you’d only be half-right: it’s only crazy sounding. When meteors streak through the upper atmosphere, they can emit radio waves. Those waves can in turn produce sounds waves when they jangle about in small spaces, such as the spaces between blades of grass or grains of sand. I happened to hear my meteors while laying on the beach. It sounded like sizzling static.

First of all, if you don’t like to cook you are going to have a lousy life as a vegetarian. Unless you’re just not really into food, in that case, no worries.

Read more of Krissyhix’s vegetarian cookbook review here »

I think Susan did a beautiful job with the décor. Everybody brought great food to share. And I cooked the turkey for the third year in a row; I managed to learn something from past years’ experiences, like getting a turkey popper to make sure it’s done, and getting a cast-iron skillet ginormous enough (thanks mom + Jerry!). 

We also managed to start on time: by 6:28 the table was full of food, and dinner started at 6:30! Here are the menu and some pics from the evening.

Appetizers
Spinach artichoke rolls
Roasted+sautéed squash seeds

Main Course
Turkey (free-range organic), brined, stuffed with cut citrus, and roasted w/ thyme, butter & course salt

Sides
Cornbread & sausage dressing
Kabocha squash soufflé (from the garden)
Cranberry relish
Sautéed mushrooms
Tamales
Fingerling potatoes, roasted
Brussels sprouts, roasted

Dessert
Pumpkin bread w/ peanut butter chips
Pumpkin pie
Apple tart (à la Alice Waters)