bring it on...

December’s “On The Rise” Partner is ThePortraitArt

Congratulations to Xiaonan, the talent behind the portraits featured on ThePortraitArt. This channel received the most votes for the December On The Rise poll, and will be featured on the YouTube homepage today.

Xiaonan Sun is a self-taught artist, and producing lifelike portraits is his passion. Since 2008, Xiaonan has used YouTube to document his talent through timelapse videos that showcase not only the final product but the full creative process. Some of his most popular pieces are pop-culture celebrity likenesses, but he also produces personal portraits by commission. And if you thought traditional portrayals and media were the limits of Xiaonan’s skill, you’re in for a treat: he can create the illusion of reality with his portraits, and he doesn’t limit himself to using simply pencils and erasers.

Here are a few words from our December On The Rise star himself:

“I make my art videos to share my creation process, which I think could be every bit as compelling as the final product. But I also make these videos to relax your mind, calm your thoughts and uplift your mood. After all,  today's people are so often stuck in thoughts, dealing with its worries and day to day  concerns, that most rarely calm their mind down to feel the presence of the moment, which is the only thing there really is and ever could be. I want more people to be in this state more often, to see things not through the limited and rigid mind or the fearful ego, but through a heart that loves to express and create. I like to express my deep appreciation for all those who voted for me and watch my videos, and my sincere gratitude to youtube for  providing the canvas, for my channel is a drawing, and each video a stroke on its paper.”

If you’ve enjoyed this monthly On The Rise blog series and want to see more rising YouTube partners, check out our On The Rise channel or look for our playlists on the browse page. Keep an eye out for next month’s blog post, as your channel may be the next one On The Rise!

Devon Storbeck, YouTube Partner Support, recently watched “Downhill extreme: Rollerman overtaking motocycle!”

Share your New Year’s resolutions for an #Awesome2012

Plan to run a marathon in 2012? Go back to school? Ask your secret crush on a date?

It’s easy to come up with a resolution and enter the new year with high hopes, but the hardest part is often sticking to it throughout the year. To help you stay with it, we’ve got an idea — put your resolution on YouTube and share it with your friends using the #awesome2012 hashtag.

We’ll also be looking for five of the most interesting videos to feature on our homepage in January. Follow the instructions below and your resolution could inspire millions of viewers.

1. Make a video sharing what you want to accomplish in 2012
2. Outline your strategy and describe the steps you’ll take to reach your goal
3. Upload it to YouTube by January 2 at Noon PT and tag it with #awesome2012

Need help getting started on your #awesome2012 action plan? One of our YouTube partners is here to help:



Cheers to an #awesome2012!

Danielle Paquette, Social Media Manager, recently watched all the videos on YouTube Rewind.

Professional Bull Riding comes to YouTube

Over the last 20 years, Professional Bull Riders have turned a classic sport into a global league with more than 100 million fans tuning in from around the world. Now you can follow PBR on their YouTube Channel, for livestreamed events as well as original programming, interviews, highlights and your videos.

You can catch livestreamed events on:

• January 6 from Madison Square Garden in NYC
• April 21 from Des Moines, Iowa
• April 28 from Uncasville, Connecticut
• May 5 from Billings, Montana
• May 18 from Pueblo, Colorado
• And more to come

To get you ready to ride, here’s a quick look at the 2011 season:



See you in 2012!

Frank Golding, Director of Pro Sports & Leagues, YouTube Sports, recently watched “2011 Built Ford Tough World Finals highlights.”

a day at the park

balboa park from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.

creative make believe

7 Thieves that Rob You of Time

Weekly Contributor, Kim Brenneman

Before exposing the time thieves let’s look at what the scriptures say about time and how we are to use it.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ~ Ephesians 5:15&16

We understand God's will for our time when we study the scriptures. It’s certainly not found in this common thought, “I just listened to my heart.” This phrase is often used to explain a questionable decision. What guides every little decision you make from the moment you rise up until the moment you fall asleep?

Jeremiah 17:9 says, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind,to give every man according to his ways,according to the fruit of his deeds.

It is natural but wrong to trust our hearts to lead us in our use of time. And so it takes deliberate thought and effort on our part to seek God’s priorities.


The verses preceding Ephesians 5:15-16 teach us many things about living the Christian life. A short list includes:

• Be imitators of God
• Walk in love
• Be moral
• Be pure
• Let there be thanksgiving
• Do not associate with the sons of disobedience
• Walk as children of light
• Discern what is pleasing to the Lord
• Take no part in and expose unfruitful works of darkness

Another short list from the verses following 15-16:

• Do not get drunk but be controlled by the Spirit
• Address one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
• Give thanks always and for everything
• Submit to one another
• Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
• Let the wife see that she respects her husband
• Honor your father and mother

Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 further guide women. The Proverbs 31 lady embodies everything listed above in a practical way. She is strong and dignified, trustworthy and excellent; she’s not idle and laughs at the days to come. In Titus 2 we are specifically instructed:

• To be reverent in behavior
• To be not slanderers or slaves to too much wine
• To teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children
• To be self-controlled
• To be pure
• To work at home
• To be kind
• To be submissive to our husbands

When we don’t keep our priorities in line with scripture we rob God of His best use of time in our lives. Are we running from God’s will? The reason we run from God’s will is the heart (Jeremiah 17:9). We need to put off the old woman and put on the new by the renewing our minds (Ephesians 4:22). We need God to perfect our hearts everyday through prayerful repentance.

In no particular order here is a list of seven thieves that rob us of time.

1. Television and Books - When I stopped watching daytime television as a young mom, I taped Philippians 4:8 to the front of the idiot box which reads, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
   
   That verse also led me to avoid certain genres of books. Both television and books can be means of escapism. We don’t need to be caught up in someone else’s imaginary world. God gave us a life to live! What we are to be is controlled by the Holy Spirit. We can relax and have down time without offending Him.
2. Computer - We need fellowship with other believers but often we exchange relationships with real people in our physical community for relationships with people in a narrow little band of online people that believe every little thing exactly like we do. The Proverbs 31 lady was in her community, her husband was honored at the city gates because of her renown, she extended her hand to the poor, and more.
   
   Online communities can be a venue of encouragement and relation to others, but spend more time getting to know your neighbors. Be salt and light!
   
   Computer rabbit trails also steal time from our first priorities. Be careful, be wise, make a plan for the time you spend online and use a timer.
3. Poor Planning  - Do you wonder what you’re supposed to be doing when you look around at a big mess? Do you drive like crazy and never accomplish anything of real purpose? Do you stare into the cupboard and wonder what you’re supposed to make for supper? You’re wasting time. Plan your work and work your plan. Work on being efficient and you will accomplish so much more.
4. Health and Sleep - When we don’t take care of our health we get slow and sleepy. When we take care to eat and drink right, take supplements, get exercise and sunshine, we have energy to be our best.
   
   Women are often sleepy and sluggish when they need to take better care of their health. Rise up and go for a walk! Maybe you need to walk on over to the doctor to have a chat about it, or to the health food store for B vitamins, or to the pantry to throw out all the junk. Get healthy!
5. Over Committed - Are you over committed? Start prioritizing and making your allotted hours in the week fit God’s top priorities. Who or what is getting the best of your time? When we try to do everything we do nothing well. Focus on your first priorities and then carefully, thoughtfully, and prayerfully refine them before adding to them.
6. Telephone, Email, IM and Gadding About - We women like to talk and oftentimes this gets us into trouble. The Bible warns against the misuse of our tongue in 1 Timothy 5:13, "And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not."
   
   It’s an old, old problem. Don’t be an idler, gossip, or busybody going about from house to house via the telephone, email, IM, or visiting. Save your talk time and be meaningful with it. There is no need to say the same thing five different ways in your conversation. In doing these things you are stealing your own time, God’s time, and the correspondent’s time. Give thought to your words.
7. Disobedient Children - Disobedient children take your time through cleaning their messes, repairing their destruction, threatening and repeating, arguing with them, and mental anguish. Unruly children are not enjoyable. They will rob you not only of time but also relationships. Your friends may avoid your family because of your children. Babysitters don’t want to have to deal with them.
   
   Do something about it. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Pray for wisdom. Enforce consequences and make the consequences mean something. Spend time with them teaching them respectful behavior. It takes time and deliberate thought and action on your part to teach them obedience and manners.

Blessings,

Kim Brenneman

Kim is the joyful wife of Matt and the blessed mother of nine children.

When not busy homeschooling and farmschooling, she enjoys writing, gardening, cooking, reading, sewing, and crafting.

Kim lives on a farm in Iowa where her family grows beef cattle, corn and beans, and operates a micro-dairy selling cheese at farmer’s markets. She loves to write and speak about her passion for home and family. She is the author of Large Family Logistics: The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family. She blogs about the same subject at:
http://largefamilylogistics.blogspot.com.

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Music Tuesday: A bevy of year-end lists from tUnE-yArDs and more

In 2011, music videos were as varied as the artists who made them: we saw a string of videos featuring parties you wish you’d been at. On the indie circuit, found footage and ghostly, atmospheric imagery dominated the landscape. We also saw musicians get behind the camera and make some extraordinary self-directed music videos. This week we invited a musician who's ending up on a lot of year-end lists to share with us their year-end lists — and one from a record store for good measure.

2011: Merrill Garbus’ Picks
Merrill Garbus’ tUnE-yArDs may have been embraced by the indie community, but tUnE-yArDs isn’t your average twee indie pop. If anything, Garbus is the antidote to twee: she’s got a big, blowsy voice and she explores its range with refreshing abandon, edging into abrasive territory in a way that is curiously not abrasive. She’s also profoundly influenced by African music, and you can hear itthatin the layered chirps and coos of some songs, which draw directly from the Central African pygmy vocal tradition. Yes, heady stuff -- but Garbus also loves her dance music, and that’s why her album w h o k i l l has connected on such a visceral level with so many fans this year. (It sounds like very little else in any genre.) We were intrigued to know what music inspired her this year; her choices may surprise you.



2011: Amoeba Music’s Picks
Last but not least, California’s largest independent music store employs a small army of music nerds. In one fell swoop of collective bargaining, they agreed on their 22 (22!) favorite music videos of 2011. Nobody has their fingers in as much music as these folks; consider this a quick primer on some great music that you might have missed.



See you in 2012!

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Favorite Albums of 2011.”

Geoffrey Canada and Capella University livestream panel on education reform

One person can make a difference. Just ask Geoffrey Canada, an education reform advocate whose groundbreaking work in Harlem schools set a precedent across the United States. It’s even inspired U.S. President Barack Obama to apply his model to cities across America.

On December 28 at 3:00pm PT, Geoffrey Canada will deliver a keynote speech about education reform, hosted by Capella University and streamed live on YouTube. The keynote presentation will be followed by a panel discussion on critical issues with leaders in the field of education reform, including Dr. Steve Perry and Dr. Christy Hovanetz. The panel will also answer questions submitted via YouTube here.

In the meantime, here’s some of Canada’s past work:



So check out the live event at 3:00pm PT on December 28 on Capella University's Inspire Ideas YouTube Channel, and we hope you enjoy.

Jen Howard, Education Director at Google, recently watched “YouTube for Schools: Join the Global Classroom Today!”

Introducing YouTube Slam

Have some free time this week? Think you can find the next singing sensation, viral video like Charlie bit my finger or Surprised Kitty?

Then come play YouTube Slam—a video discovery experiment we cooked up with folks from Google Research. Each week a new crop of videos battles head-to-head in Comedy, Cute, Music, Bizarre and Dance Slams, where your votes determine who wins the Slam and gets featured on the leaderboard.

Earn points for predicting the crowd favorites, and see how you stack up against other players at the end of each week. Get your daily dose of the most talented, hilarious, adorable or weird videos on YouTube, and you could help uncover the next big thing.

You can also subscribe to our Slam channels to see each week’s video leaderboards: Comedy, Cute, Music, Bizarre or Dance. Pick a Slam and start playing!

Tomas Izo, Software Engineer, recently watched “Brick By Boring Brick: Paramore (Storm Kaden Cover)” via YouTube Slam.

guest post- industrial vignettes from my husband Andy!

I have asked a few of my creative friends to help me out with my blog here and there during my time with a new baby and today's guest post comes to you from my very own husband Andy

Andy is a structural engineer by day and surfer/artist in the rest of his time, husband to Alisa (thats me!) and proud papa to Lucy Matisse! Once in a while we like to collaborate like here and here

Choose Joy! And a Titus 2sday Link Up!

Choosing joy is an essential part of growing a healthy family, and an attitude of gratitude is vital in the cultivation of marriage.

But it wasn’t until recent years that I realized just how important our happiness is to my husband and why. He delights in the joy of his family because he sees our gratitude as a reflection of his gift to us. If we’re on vacation and everyone is having a great time, as our provider, he gains a sense of accomplishment. If we’re at the beach and the kids are laughing and splashing away in the water I can tell that my husband is exactly where he wants to be. One look at his smile confirms I am right.

I also know that he loves watching our children open birthday and Christmas gifts, just to see the excitement rise in their face. He delights in their joy.

Read the rest of the article over at The Better Mom where I'm guest posting today:







You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene

For comments or questions, contact me at:
darlene[at]darleneschacht.net

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Today and every Tuesday, I want to invite bloggers to link-up any blog posts that will encourage women to joyfully live out their roles as wives and keepers of their homes I'm looking for posts on marriage, parenting, housekeeping, or recipes.

1. Enter the direct link from your post into the linky tool below!

2. Please link back here with the {TITUS 2}SDAYS code (below) so that other bloggers can join in too!

3. Enjoy each other's fellowship, and have fun!

FAQ:
Can I use an old post, or do I need to use a current one?You can absolutely use an older post if you feel that the post is a great fit for this meme. Have fun!

<a href="http://www.time-warp-wife.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Atm-ApY4ldP-O7eR0519OFOKnockEQmXWToMkyuK6e87X32qO3bIoYXncuITHrXifevqNtD260If98D1sxiflVBqLGIdIl-9vaL_gQgW5hOYk9GzU947F_vYU-H_JiCHlEFmiTsElVI/s1600/Titus_2sdays_button.png" /></a>

one week...

Inspired by my own creative habits, I've created an online class that is structured as 30 challenge for those looking to start a new routine that incorporates simple ways to be creative every day regardless of your schedule. From simple drawing and painting exercises to easy craft projects, photography, journaling and ways to find inspiration. I have assembled 30 posts- one SIMPLE idea, lesson, prompt or project to complete one day a time. The concept is that you commit to 30 days of doing something creative and small each day (or as much time as you are able to commit- there is no pressure!) and by the end of those 30 days you have developed a new habit or at least a new understanding of how to fit creativity into your daily routine!

Important Note-

All of my classes have unlimited access- once you register you can create and access at any time and work at your own pace. Just know that once you are in- there is no deadline or pressure to create.

to register click here

merry christmas