Michael Phelps: Is he listening to "We are the Champions?"

Chris Chase recently wrote about the iPod headphones dangling from Phelps' ears. He said, "The earbuds are a ubiquitous presence in the ready room and on the starting block; they're just as much a part of Phelps' 'uniform' as goggles and a swim cap. About two minutes prior to the start of a race, Phelps sheds the iPod along with his warm-ups. So, what is he listening to?"

Good question! It has been said that he listens to hip-hop, but I am thinking some Queen from the 70's... "We are the Champions," because he is the champion. With 7 Gold Metals at Bejing and an opportunity for one more, he can claim it as his theme song!

Copyright © 2008 Yahoo!

Trend Sites Youth Workers Should Follow
from ysmarko by marko

A few weeks back, anastasia at ypulse posted 10 sites she thinks everyone in media or marketing to youth should follow regularly. a handful of them would be really helpful for christian youth workers to follow also. i’ve bookmarked several of them, and list them here, with anastasia’s comments:

1. MTV News. Whatever your thoughts are on the relevance of MTV, the channel invests heavily in researching their demographic and knowing what teens (collective) want. Reading MTV News online is basically reading headlines handpicked by editors who are deciding what entertainment news is most relevant to their audience. It’s worth checking on a daily basis. You can also sign up for MTV Sticky, a free trend email from MTV’s research department.

4. My High School Journalism. Obviously this site is dead during the summer months when school’s out, but this fall you should definitely check in on a weekly basis. This is the gateway to loads of high school newspaper websites and a way to see what teens think are important issues both at their school and in the world.

5. Next Great Thing Youth. Mobile. Trends. Fleishman’s blog description says it all. They do nice roundups of youth oriented mobile links along with more in-depth posts on what’s happening in this space.

6. Trends & Tudes - Harris Interactive (a sponsor of Ypulse Research) has a monthly e-newsletter that highlights research they’ve done for their clients. They don’t just offer numbers but always offer insights you can pull from the research, whether it’s on bullying at school or college students today.

7. The Pew Internet & American Life Project - Pew produces free reports on how teens are using the internet. Every one is a free goldmine of information.

9. danah boyd’s research. danah is one of the few academics who consciously strives to make as much of her research free and available online. Not only that, it’s required reading if you’re focused on youth and social media.

10. Youth Media Exchange. If you are interested in social change and want to know what young people all over the world are concerned about, YME is a great resource and a truly international youth activism site. Worth checking to get a global pulse of what youth activists are thinking (and doing) around the world. Also a great resource for corporations looking to partner or create global pro-social campaigns.

New Office Furniture!!!

Tennis Ball Office Chair
VHS Visitor Chair
This was not what I had in mind when I started looking for new office furniture. I was thinking a trip to IKEA would take care of business. Maybe I am missing some new trend from the latest designer.

Spread the Love
18 ways for students to make someone's day.

1. Send "thinking of you" cards to some guys and girls in your youth group who need cheering up.

2. Surprise Mom by offering to do this week's grocery shopping or laundry.

3. Have dinner ready when your parents come home from work.

4. Call your pastor or youth pastor and volunteer to help out around the church for a few days during your summer break.

5. Surprise a missionary family from your church. Get your youth group friends together, buy some gifts and assemble a package to send to the family. (Contact your pastor or youth pastor for ideas on what to send.)

6. Take pictures of your family and e-mail digital copies (or mail prints) to your grandparents or extended family members who may live far away.

7. Spend a Saturday or a day of your summer break volunteering at your local food bank, soup kitchen or Salvation Army shelter.

8. Spend a day at the zoo or a park with your little brother or sister.

9. Smile and say "Hi!" to someone you don't know.

10. Send "thank you" cards to a few of your favorite past teachers—including teachers from your elementary and middle school years. Tell them what you enjoyed most about your time in their classroom.

11. Offer to help an elderly person in your neighborhood with yard work or even just bringing in the groceries.

12. Walk your neighbor's dog.

13. Treat a friend at his or her favorite coffee shop.

14. Buy your mom a single rose.

15. Get together with some church friends and deliver homemade snacks to new members of your youth group.

16. Spend an afternoon visiting residents at a local nursing home.

17. Wash your parents' car without being asked.

18. Don't stop now. Look for little ways to make somebody's day every single day.

Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Ignite Your Faith magazine.