Pleasantville, NY (PRWEB) April 04, 2012

KenKen® Puzzle, the internationally popular math and logic puzzle, is proud to announce an agreement with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the world’s largest organization dedicated to math education. Four daily KenKen puzzles will now be featured on NCTM’s Illuminations website (http://illuminations.nctm.org/). Illuminations provides standards-based resources that improve the teaching and learning of mathematics for all students. KenKen is highlighted alongside other classroom-tested math games, puzzles, lessons, and activities on the Illuminations site.

“We call KenKen the puzzle that makes you smarter, but more than that, it makes math fun,” said Robert Fuhrer, president of the KenKen Puzzle Co. “KenKen was created for the classroom, so we couldn’t be happier that a wonderful organization like NCTM is helping to bring the puzzle into more U.S. classrooms than ever before.” KenKen—the name based on the Japanese word ken, meaning “wisdom”—was developed in 2004 by acclaimed Japanese math educator Tetsuya Miyamoto. His goal was to create a puzzle to improve his students’ math and logic skills. Miyamoto wanted to encourage independent thinking, emphasizing trial and error, concentration, and perseverance.

The result: A grid puzzle reminiscent at first glance of Sudoku, but actually requiring basic mathematic calculations. KenKen soon spawned a wildly popular series of books in Japan. In 2008, Nextoy LLC brought KenKen to the United States. It quickly became the first daily feature since the crossword puzzle to appear in the New York Times. In addition to now appearing in more than 100 prominent U.S. publications (from Scholastic classroom magazines to the AARP Bulletin), KenKen can also be found in books for players of every skill level, mobile versions for iPad and iPhone, and the popular website kenken.com. And KenKen has never strayed from its educational roots, with the U.S. company launching the KenKen Classroom Program. This weekly service provides free puzzles to teachers across the country. This mission continues with KenKen’s exciting new partnership with NCTM and Illuminations.

Attachments

©Copyright 1997-, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Find More Math Crosswords Puzzles Press Releases

Technorati Tags: Appearing, Council, Daily, Illuminations, Interactive, KenKen, llc., Mathematics, National, NCTM, Nextoy, Partners, Puzzles, Teachers, website

The Original Word Games for Children and Their Favorite Adults

Matteson, IL (PRWEB) April 11, 2012

Kids Across Parents Down™ of Matteson, IL is pleased to announce that effective May 28, 2012 Kids Across Parents Down™ will no longer be served through Tribune Media Services, but will continue via KAPD.com.

Kids Across Parents Down™ (KAPD) was launched in 2003 by Jan Buckner Walker. Known as “The Original Crossword Puzzle for Kids and Their Favorite Adults™,” Kids Across Parents Down™ features clues that are fun, funny (and often punny), full of word play and often feature popular culture from movies, television and books. KAPD crosswords have become a family favorite by readers of The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nick Jr. Family Magazine, Jack and Jill Family Magazine and many other publications.

We are also launching KAPDi™; an interactive digital puzzle that features the same child adult experience offered by our Kids Across Parents Down™ print feature. As an alternative to the print feature, KAPDi™ provides the same fun mind tickling clues the whole family can enjoy.

Finally, KAPD announces the launch of its newly designed web site. Temporarily parked at kapd.co, effective May 28, 2012 KAPD will move to its permanent home kapd.com. The site not only describes our flagship print feature and digital counterpart, but presents our educational content (Kids Across Teachers Down™) and periodical and specialty puzzles featured in Ebony, Essence, McDonalds, and for the Boston Celtics.

About Kids Across Parents Down…

Kids Across Parents Down™ is a subsidiary of Imaginext; LLC an Illinois based multimedia company. We create content that reaches millions of people via newspapers, restaurants, magazines, apps and digital content.

You can view Kids Across Parents Down™ at http://www.kapd.co and our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/52989352675/

You can also contact Jan Buckner Walker at jan(at)kapd(dot)com

©Copyright 1997-, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Technorati Tags: Across, Digital, Direct, Down, Goes, Kids, Parents

Forget early retirement, the trends all point toward working well after the traditional retirement age of 65 – reversing earlier trends of early retirement. In fact, an AARP study reported that almost half of their respondents planned to be working seniors into their 70s or beyond. The financial reasons for working after retirement are significant. But, many people also find jobs in retirement to be a source of fun and vitality. Explore the varied reasons to work below.

1) You Will Likely Live a VERY Long Time

It is important to understand that today’s retirees have a very good chance of living a long time – to 85 or longer.

Retiring at 65 means that you could be out of work and living off your savings for 20 years or more.

Twenty years without work requires a lot of retirement assets and a lot of good hobbies.

Is leisure and rest really how you want to spend that much time?
Are you sure that you have the financial assets to live that long?
2) Insufficient Retirement Planning

Most households simply have not planned sufficiently for retirement.

You may have enough assets and retirement income to cover the basics, but are you sure that you have plannedadequately for inflation, rising medical costs, long term care, and how long you are actually going to live?

These variables can have a profound impact on how long your money will last in retirement. Continuing to work in retirement can provide additional assets to cover the financial uncertainties caused by these variables.

3) Need More Retirement Savings or Income

The most fundamental financial consideration of having a full- or part-time job after retirement is that you are earning money. Working in retirement could enable you to continue saving money and therefore better your quality of life once you do stop working. Studies show that less than 50 percent of retirement-age-households actually have adequate savings to maintain their quality of life in retirement.

It is likely that you will need the extra money. If you are unsure if you have enough or not, use theNewRetirement Retirement Calculator to find out how long you savings will last in retirement.

4) Retain Existing Savings and Allow Them to Accumulate Interest

In addition to adding to your retirement assets, a retirement job might also mean that you won’t need to draw down your existing savings.

You can retain your existing savings – enabling those assets to continue earning interest — while living off income from your retirement job. By delaying the use of your retirement assets you will be able to live more comfortably for a longer period of time in retirement.

5) Improve Your Monthly Social Security Payment

Social security benefits are based on your top 35 earning years. Depending on your work history, working past the traditional retirement age could have a significant impact on your Social Security benefit payments. By working longer, you could insure a bigger monthly Social Security check. And, working full or part time after retirement does not impact receiving your benefits after you have reached your “Full Retirement Age” as defined by the Social Security Administration. You can claim full Social Security benefits after you have reached your “Full Retirement Age” and still work full time.

To learn more about what your full retirement age is, visit Find Your Retirement Age.
If you are interested in learning more about how your benefits would be affected if you work and are taking benefits before your “Full Retirement Age,” visit Work and Social Security.

You might also want to consider working full or part time as a way to delay the start of Social Security benefits. The longer you delay the start of Social Security up until the age of 70, the bigger your monthly Social Security check will be. Review the Maximum-Taxable Earnings table to see how your Social Security benefits might increase with additional years in work.

6) Medical Benefits

Many retirees are not prepared for the high cost of medical care they’ll face in retirement when they are no longer part of a company plan. Too many people believe that Medicare covers most or all expenses. The reality is that Medicare only covers a percentage of some of your medical bills. Working after retirement can positively impact your medical benefits. If your employer offers medical benefits, those benefits may be better than what you receive from Medicare and the Medicare supplemental insurance programs.

Medicare Part A and Part B are plans that almost all retirees can and should participate in. Your ability to purchase and/or qualify for most additional or medicare supplemental insurance — including employer plans — is dependent on your enrollment in Medicare part A and part B. However, discuss your health care options carefully with someone knowledgeable of the system and your circumstances.

Each situation will be unique. Medical benefits from a retirement job are particularly important if you have taken early retirement. If you retired before the age of 65, you are not yet eligible for Medicare and private insurance can be prohibitively expensive for seniors.

7) You Like Your Current Work

Yes, work can be a source of stress. But, studies show that around half of all Americans actually enjoy their job. And, it is important to be aware that depression after retirement is a common problem. If you have invested a lot into your career and identify strongly with your work, you may be at risk for depression after retirement. Before retiring, consider these types of questions:

How will you spend your days in retirement?
How much of your identity is tied up with your work?
How do you define your purpose in life?
How much attention and admiration do you derive from work?

More men than women experience depression after retirement. Studies have shown that the self worth and identity of men have much to do with their careers. Having invested so much into their careers, executives seem to have the most significant problems adjusting to retirement. Men also seem to have a more difficult time making friends and finding things to do after retirement. When considering retirement – be careful what you wish for and be sure to consider how you really feel about your work.

Macro Economics — You Don’t Want to Hurt the U.S. Economy

Economists are not entirely sure of the actual effects baby boomer retirement will have on the U.S. economy. However, the idea of 76 million baby boomers entering retirement is cause for alarm. Employers may need baby boomers to continue working. If baby boomers retire at or before the age of 65, the United States may experience huge labor shortages – hurting the economy. Alan Greenspan the former Federal Reserve chairman seems to support senior work. He is quoted as saying, “Policies promoting longer working life could ameliorate some of the potential demographic stresses.”

Furthermore, it will be interesting to watch what happens to economic growth in the United States as the baby boomer generation transitions from accumulators of wealth (working) to spenders of assets (retired).

9) Chronological Age is Not Your “Real” Age

The International Longevity Center funded a survey showed that the majority of Americans think that chronological age has nothing to do with “old age.” Only 14 percent of those surveyed indicated that reaching a specific age indicated that they were old. The majority said that overall health was the important factor. If your health is good at “retirement age” you might consider not retiring. There is no real need for the rest and relaxation that retirement allows.

10) There is Other Work You Might Like

Working after retirement does not mean that you must stay at your current job or continue working full time. Many retirees are retraining and pursuing careers that they really love. These working retirees may not earn as much money as they did in their lifelong careers, but they enjoy the work or the flexibility of their new jobs. Click here for more information about jobs for retirees.

11) You Like the Social Aspect of Work

Maybe you don’t like “work” exactly, but many people find when they retire that they really miss the social aspects of work. Having a place to go and people to see everyday is very important to the happiness of many people.

12) You Want to Stay Mentally Alert

Use it or lose it is what they say about your mental capacity as you age. Crossword puzzles or a good book may provide the stimulus you need to stay mentally fit, but working is also an excellent way to stay engaged.

13) You Don’t Have Anything Better to Do

Boredom is a common complaint amongst retirees. Boredom can also lead to depression and mental and physical decay. Before retiring completely, be sure you have an idea of what you would like to be doing and a plan for how you are going to do it.

14) Sense of Purpose

Retirement can force you to evaluate the very fundamental question of the purpose of life. When faced with the prospect of wide open days with no where to go, retirees must confront what to do and why. For some people, their existing work is their real purpose – they derive great pleasure and satisfaction from work and yet they don’t realize it until after they retire. Other people find that transitioning to a new career gives them the most satisfaction. Other people will want to pursue leisure, time with family or the arts. By evaluating your values, you can come up with a plan for spending the last phases of your life in a way that is meaningful to you.

Other Options

If a working retirement is not for you, but you do require additional retirement income, you might consider the following retirement options:

A Reverse Mortgage
Downsizing or Relocating Your Home
Reducing living expenses and/or debt consolidation

Technorati Tags: Reasons, Senior, Working

DaVinci_Reading

Huntington Beach, CA (PRWEB) May 09, 2012

Enhanced Vision, America’s leading manufacturer of magnifying solutions for the visually impaired, launched a powerful new high definition desktop electronic magnifier and (OCR) reader today. DaVinci is a high performance desktop video magnifier (CCTV), featuring HD, text-to-speech (OCR) and a 3-in-1 camera for near, intermediate, and distance viewing. HD offers high definition color and contrast resulting in a beautiful, crystal clear picture and vibrant colors. DaVinci’s text-to-speech feature can make reading enjoyable again and bring independence to the 15 Million+ Americans suffering from low vision conditions such as macular degeneration. With the push of a button, DaVinci will read any printed text aloud in a clear audible voice.

DaVinci HD/OCR Features:

Sony® HD camera
24” high resolution HD LCD for best image quality
Auto focus camera for self-viewing, reading or distance viewing (3-in-1 camera)
Text-to-Speech (OCR) – reads aloud with Nuance® software
Magnification up to 77x
Easy-to-use console with line markers
User-friendly menu
28 viewing modes to optimize contrast and brightness
Slide mechanism provides maximum flexibility for various camera arm positions
LCD screen easily pivots vertically
True mirror image in self-viewing mode
Memory setting for each camera position
Set up is easy, just plug in and begin
2 year warranty
Designed and Assembled in the USA

Currently, more than 15 million people in the United States are diagnosed with low vision conditions, such as Macular Degeneration which makes everyday activities like reading, writing, and working on hobbies a real challenge. And with America’s aging population, this number is expected to double by 2020. Leading eye care specialists have discovered that video magnification is a solution for these individuals to regain and maintain their independence.

“We are excited to introduce DaVinci HD/OCR one of the finest and most affordable HD and text-to-speech CCTV’s available today. Our text-to-speech (OCR) feature allows you to read longer without getting tired,” said Marc Stenzel, Vice President of Sales at Enhanced Vision. “Easily read books and magazines, read and write letters, manage your financial records, view color photos, do crossword puzzles and even pursue a favorite hobby. And at a price that’s hundreds of dollars less than competing products, it’s the ideal solution at this challenging time.”

For more information about Enhanced Vision and its products, please call

(888) 811-3161 or visit http://www.enhancedvision.com.

About Enhanced Vision-

Enhanced Vision is the leading developer of innovative products designed specifically for people who are legally blind and have macular degeneration and other low-vision conditions. The company offers the most comprehensive line of electronic magnifying solutions and has helped thousands of people regain their visual independence by providing the ability to read, write, watch TV, enjoy a play and live again. Headquartered in Huntington Beach, Calif., Enhanced Vision products are available in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Attachments

©Copyright 1997-, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Technorati Tags: Americans, DaVinci, HD/OCR, Impaired, Independence, Millions, Offers, TexttoSpeech, Visually

(PRWEB) April 21, 2012

Launched less than four months ago, Seamus2012.com has become a popular clearinghouse of news, videos and information about GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney and his family dog, an Irish Setter named Seamus, which was strapped to the car roof during a 12-hour drive to their vacation home in Canada.

“It’s no surprise why this story continues to have such staying power in the media,” says Seamus2012.com’s creator Bill Katovsky. “Who does that to their family dog – and then thinks there was nothing wrong? It’s a blatant form of animal cruelty.”

Although the incident took place back in 1983, it first publicly surfaced in a Boston Globe profile of Romney during the previous presidential campaign. Seamus obviously wasn’t enjoying himself on the roof of the station wagon. He had a messy bout of diarrhea that streamed down the car windows, causing one of the Romney kids to scream in horror. So Mitt stopped at a gas station, hosed down the windows, got back in the car, and continued driving. Seamus remained in the dog crate on the car roof.

Pet lovers agree that Romney belongs in the doghouse, not White House. Gail Collins has mentioned the car roof story 41 times in her New York Times column. (There’s a Mitt O’Meter counter on Seamus2012.com that keeps count.)

“Mitt’s aloofness, utter strangeness, and lack of an empathy gene are symbolized by the Seamus saga,” continues Katovsky. “Romney made a fortune in the private sector buying up companies and indifferently laying off workers. He saw nothing wrong with his callous actions then, either. It’s an out-of-touch character issue that resonates among the average voter.”

Seamus is a story with legs, as made apparent with a Dogs Against Romney Facebook page, New Yorker magazine cover, a Rachel Maddow special segment on MSNBC, two features on CNN, numerous op-ed columns in places like the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, and the subject just last week of ABC’s Diane Sawyer’s interview with Mitt and Ann Romney.

There’s even a new pro-Obama DogPAC hoping to raise more than $ 1 million to advertise in battleground sites.

What could be further damaging to the Romney presidential campaign is that National Dog Day falls on August 26, which happens to be the day before the start of the Republican National Convention.

“Dogs don’t vote,” says Katovsky, “but their owners do. And there are over 70 million U.S households that own a pet. This alone could have a galvanizing effect on the presidential race.”

Popular posts on Seamus2012.com include a Hitler parody video that Katovsky created with over 40,000 YouTube views, Seamus crossword puzzle, and a story that looked into the Romney’s Canadian vacation home that was located inside a formerly restricted community called Beach O’ Pines. Mitt’s father, a former governor who also ran for president, had built the cottage in the early 50s. Before a landmark Canadian Supreme Court ruling was handed down, followed by the enforcement of an anti-discrimination law, this exclusive community on the shores of Lake Huron, where the Romneys vacationed each summer, was “off-limits to any person of the Jewish, Hebrew, Semitic, Negro or coloured race or blood.”

“The issue of race and religion as reflected in Beach O’ Pines should be an even bigger political story here in the U.S. than what Romney did to Seamus,” says Katovsky. “Yet the media which travel in packs has neglected reporting on this rather shameful part of Romney’s family history.”

Katovsky is the author of several books including “Embedded: The Media at War in Iraq”, which won the Harvard’s Goldsmith Book Prize and “Patriots Act: Voices of Dissent and the Risk of Speaking Out”, which was a Book Sense National Selection; His writings have appeared in the Huffington Post, Salon, and San Francisco Chronicle. He owned a golden retriever named Rockee. They were best pals for 14 years. Rockee almost always rode in the front passenger seat.

For more information, contact Bill Katovsky at 415-381-8606, katovsky.bill(at)gmail(dot)com, or go to Seamus2012.com.

©Copyright 1997-, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Technorati Tags: Hounds, Mitt, Over, Popular, Romney, Roof, Story, website

Strafford, Mo. (PRWEB) April 19, 2012

In his new book of trivia and activities, “Traveling America: A Book of Fun and Games and Things to Learn for the Whole Family!” (published by AuthorHouse), author Eugene D. Redman shares the pride he feels as an American with readers, engaging them with fun challenges while teaching them a little along the way.

“Traveling America” is a book of songs, games, puzzles, pictures to color, and trivia about past presidents and general information about the United States – United States and capitals, Presidents of America and United States war veterans. A format familiar to anyone who has ever used an activity book, Redman’s book allows readers to actively participate in the book, completing word games, crossword puzzles and unique mazes.

Redman is a proud, patriotic American, and he hopes his book helps people develop a similar pride in their nation. In fact, he says he was simply inspired to write “Traveling America” while “…thinking about past history of America and what a great country we live in.”

The activities in “Traveling America” are sure to challenge readers. Redman is no stranger to challenges, coming from a long line of U. S. Marines and being a Marine himself. But the payoff for this particular challenge is that people learn about American history and pride.

“I would like to dedicate this book to my son Michael E. Redman who passed away of a heart attack in October of 2011,” says Redman. “Michael and his wife, Valli, did a lot of work and research to make this book become a reality.”

About the Author

Eugene D. Redman, a retired business owner and sales manager, has been married to his wife, Vi, for 60 years. They are the parents of two sons – one deceased – the grandparents of six grandchildren and the great grandparents of 5 great grandchildren. Redman enlisted in the United States Marines following his high school graduation, going on to attend college at Western Illinois University, where he played on the basketball team, earning a place in the university’s Hall of Fame.

AuthorHouse, an Author Solutions, Inc. self-publishing imprint, is a leading provider of book publishing, marketing, and bookselling services for authors around the globe and offers the industry’s only suite of Hollywood book-to-film services. Committed to providing the highest level of customer service, AuthorHouse assigns each author personal publishing and marketing consultants who provide guidance throughout the process. Headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, AuthorHouse celebrated 15 years of service to authors in Sept. 2011.For more information or to publish a book visit authorhouse.com or call 1-888-519-5121. For the latest, follow @authorhouse on Twitter.

©Copyright 1997-, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Technorati Tags: activity, American, Book, History, Teaches, Trivia

A blog is an online diary made up of short, frequently updated entries or posts that are arranged in reverse chronological order. In simple terms, a blog is where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff appears at the top of the blog page where visitors can read them. Readers can either comment on the post, link to it or they may choose not to. Many blogs are personal, “what’s in my mind” type of musings. Many people use blogs to organize personal thoughts. In recent years, blogging has become a phenomenon. It has evolved and now includes blogs that command influence and enjoy a global audience. These successful blogs have become effective channels for millions of people to have a voice and connect with others.

The personality of the blogger is the defining factor whether a blog will succeed or not. Dull and uninteresting blogs will not entice readers. Readers want to be informed but would like to be entertained too. Everybody knows that blogs demand readership to survive. Without readers, what is the purpose of the blog?

Sad to say, many bloggers take themselves and their writing too seriously. They have forgotten, albeit unintentionally, to have fun along the way and engage their readers in an exciting and pleasurable conversation. Sometimes, because of the gravity of the topic under discussion, bloggers tend to overlook that blogging is supposed to be an enriching but enjoyable part of their everyday life and the readers as well. Blogging is meant to be an effective but satisfying communication medium for sharing ideas and relevant information with others. Often times, instead of injecting wit and humor to the blog, the post ends up plain and dry, nothing that stirs interest or even bring a smile to the face of the readers.

You can employ different wonderful ways to make your blog fun and exciting. To break the monotony, you can write lighthearted posts that can also be related to your subject matter. Readers will appreciate a good laugh and can even relax their mind. A number of readers visit blogs not just to be informed about the freshest information but they are also hungry for articles that will tickle their funny bones. To lighten the mood, there are fun things you can do to your blog. You can provide horoscope readings of the stars, the moon, the planet or anything. You can even put a weekly crossword puzzle on your blog. Another idea is to write a comedy monologue detailing the hilarious blunders you committed or anything that will give life to your blog. Perhaps you can even post cartoons or run a series of them; something that your readers can look forward to and provide them with a good laugh. Cartoonists would just be ecstatic to display their work on your blog.

Cartoons are illustrations, usually humorous in nature. Cartoons may also be satirical illustrations of ideas. Caricatures, on the other hand, are satirical illustrations of people mostly famous personalities. Modern gag cartoons are typically published on magazines, newspapers and recently displayed on the Internet. A gag cartoon consists of a single drawing with a caption or speech balloon immediately below the illustration. A very popular take on cartoons are the editorial cartoons. They are variations of gag cartoons found almost exclusively in news publications. They also use humor but on a more serious tone usually using irony or biting wit to expose a vice or folly. The cartoons show a visual metaphor to bring home a point of view on present day and more often than not controversial social and political issues. They also include speech balloons and sometimes multiple panels.

In the United Kingdom, “comic strips” are called “strip cartoons” and are published daily in newspapers. These are basically brief series of cartoon illustrations. In the United States, they are known as “comics” or “funnies”, not cartoons. But the creators of comic strips as well as comic books and graphic novels are all referred to as cartoonists.

Cartoonist Mark Anderson has come up with one-of-a-kind daily cartoon add-ons for bloggers. You can now integrate free daily cartoons into your blog pages. If you want to inject some fun into your blog, you can add an “on topic” cartoon of the day to your blog. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the cartoon add-on is the presentation. Basically, graphic add-ons require a number of configurations. These would necessitate new pages and complicated codes. But Anderson’s cartoon add-ons work as polished thumbnails that can be displayed anywhere within your blog with just a single cut and paste code that allows for easy integration. The cartoon add-ons are often incorporated into the navigation sidebars. Readers can click to enlarge the image. A small new window pops up and shows the full size cartoon without covering or moving away from the original post.

The inventory of cartoon add-ons is refreshed daily so you are assured of new cartoon add-ons everyday. You can choose from an array of categories. This includes business cartoons, family cartoons, animal cartoons and many more. In this way, you can fit the cartoon’s humor to your post topic.

Dave Walker who draws cartoons for “The Church Times” and writes and draws for “The Cartoon Blog” and “The Dullest Blog in the World” has created extremely niche blogs. It is free to re-use his cartoons for blogs, mainly because he wants readers to enjoy his work. He also hopes that there may be readers who may like his works so much that they may be willing to pay to re-publish a cartoon or take interest in one of his other pet projects like “The Cartoon Blog” or “CartoonChurch.com”.

Even business blog networks have included business-related cartoons in their business blogs. Know More Media, an online publisher of business information and news and one of the world’s recognized business blog networks carry cartoons on a number of their niche business blogs. The cartoons are witty and insightful while still pertaining to the business world. A dose of witty humor adds value to the blogs. Know More Media even aspires that more creative and original cartoonists will partner with them in the future, proof that cartoons will be daily staples in some blogs. Cartoons have the ability to communicate the truth through the use of humor.

“Writing and cartooning are very close cousins.” one cartoonist equipped. Writing a blog can help organize a blogger’s thoughts and help spark cartoon ideas. More and more cartoonists are publishing their works on blogs and really find an audience without having to pass through editors. Blogs with cartoons tend to draw attention to a blog thus driving traffic. With cartoons on blogs, the readers can react in a positive and often happy manner. A blog can keep readers laughing. In this day and age, a little humor and a more relaxed atmosphere might just be what everybody needs. Laughter is still the best medicine so have fun with your blog.

More Cartoon Crossword Puzzles Articles

Technorati Tags: Blogs, Cartoons

There is so much to ponder as we try to operate in our daily lives and continue in charting a certain path the concept of freedom comes into play. Some people have gotten fired from a job only to find it was a relief. What does that say about where they were then? There are so many other possibilities further down the road not even pondered. The concept of further maneuvering or going in any given direction has dealings with freedom. Give me some space, give me a little time, give me some breathing room, or at least give me a chance. Give me a chance to get to the next page, turn a new leaf, and close this chapter finally. You never know how things are going to some move or at what at least one move on the chess board might give you. Sometimes what I want to do is monitor a situation for its movement. Other barometers commonly used such as cash flow may not be good enough. Is the t movement I want or like within all this? Or do I really want to catch that first big wave out of here? Also related is the concept of personal autonomy, of being or doing things on my own, assisting my own cause. Maybe freedom will bring a new dawn for you, it is a new Century and we are past the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Somewhere out there is a happy future for you and me that might yet come into view.

To recover is something that might not always be as big or as steep as you think it needs to be . Sometimes a recovery process might be monumental. Then we think, everything I need to recover from is monumental when in fact it might not be as big a recovery involved in other cases where things could be on the mend rather quickly and easily. For example, my finances might have me in trouble to the point that I can’t picture it otherwise. But maybe the right scenario would come along and it would be a rather easy and not so big a deal to recover my financial position. It might take only one or two things to happen to pick me up and get me back on the horse again.

Try to view each of your options in very optimistic fashion, even if you are only exercising one option at a time. For example, I might be trying out a new field, really on a trial basis and it is going fairly well. I don’t want to disparage what other real options could also still be for me career wise. Sometimes we artificially devalue other options to justify the choice we are making. By doing this, I am trying to narrow the field, but I am also narrowing my outlook by bringing clouds into a projected situation that in fact might not be there People might do this in dating, when they more look for something wrong, and never picture the optimistic view of this person, even momentarily. At least momentarily, try to view all your options optimistically as this is more of a freedom view of the situation. I’m having a bad job interview; I can say that I can still be President of the United States .

There is a lot of what we deal with that hits on issues of personal autonomy and has dynamics related to this. We might be searching for that lacuna, the missing part of our personal landscape that might seem to complete our dreams for the time being.

This is not just ceremonial freedom for all but freedom with a substantial purpose to me. Not necessarily that elusive freedom but that which pertains to something that is eminently possible.

There needs to be a freedom to address that which stays with us, those issues that hang around and keep knocking at our doors must then be addressed in some fashion and my stuck feet can only move if I can somehow find that freedom.

A question for anybody is how can I best use this. I still have this talent, this circumstance, this understanding, and this enlightenment. How can it be used to its utmost advantages for myself and possibly others? We can look to freedom and how it can still to be extended while we still have a chance. Freedom to look at and summon evidence from afar and the evidence that is close by, observing that which seems to stay with us. What do I still have? Do I still have the ability to read a book even though I have not read anything in weeks? Does its use extend into the idea of free use, and do I need to extend into free paths or free lanes on the highway of freedom to use these gifts?

One of the things I might be doing is trying to pinpoint something. However, my ability to pinpoint my way just may not be there at least to the degree I hoped for. I may be trying to pinpoint in major or minor ways. If I can pinpoint the lottery numbers, I might well be on the way to a financial fortune. I can steal the day.

Not everything is going to be a straightforward find. You might have to meander to find something or stumble upon something you want. You don’t want to discount the finding, or discovery, just because it didn’t appear in a straightforward manner, as an option or opportunity is just as real and valid even if found in less than expected ways.

Don’t say I’m 100 percent this or 100 percent that because you end up taking away freedom from how you view yourself and you want to peruse different aspects of yourself and your personal gifts. If you’re transitioning in terms of your career, you could still look back and see parts of the career you are leaving as highlighting some talents, even though you weren’t a 100 percent into it. Someone dating is taking away options if they say they are 100 percent this way or that way and it might also take away from adjustment processes that can be made.

If someone goes on a date, and there isn’t a fraction of an interest on the other person’s part, then they can call it a day. But there might be fraction of a interest and you may or may not wish to proceed. And this can apply to reading interests or other interests as well where a fraction still remains, and you can take a chance on fractions if you wish to.

I was talking to a friend who hesitated to go back to a scenic locale she spent some time in, because she had such a good time, she didn’t think her next experience could match this. The subtle psychological ploy here, is that people do not want to dilute their experiences. They don’t give themselves freedom to go back to something that has gone well, because if it doesn’t continue to go well, then they have diluted the initial experiences which did go well. It does tie in a bit to the fear of success syndrome, going into the idea that I had a little success, I had a good time, lets just leave at that, preserve the experience and forget about trying for more. There could be some truth to this, how many times have movie buffs seen back to back movies, and the second movie dilutes the impact of the first in the moment. At the same time, I need to be aware just how in reality, I might not go forward because I just don’t want to dilute what has already gone well. It would be like someone taking and enjoying a course and also getting an A. Maybe they liked the teacher, the coursework and feel proud of the A. Taking another course, not liking it as much, and maybe not getting an A, would seem to dilute that experience. So I don’t give myself the freedom to try another course.

I can try to pinpoint, but I might be crossing into more difficult terrain here and there might be other things then that I could do that would be far easier. Sometimes the easier way is actually better; the easiest golf swing might get me the most in distance and accuracy.

An example of trying to pinpoint is reviewing financial data and trying to correlate this with a potential stock price or range for the stock price. Not only do I have to write this story, but I have to pinpoint just how this might be correlated to a stock price, and I just may not be able to pinpoint this, even if I am a pro. If even the pros have trouble pinpointing things, that says something about the endeavor itself. Already then, I can first come to an awareness, that I am to a degree trying to pinpoint, and I can freely lessen my attempts on this or increase them depending on what I want to do.

The survivalist mentality is not always where I want to be. For example, I go into a job, and I’m thinking, I just want to survive this day, or I go on a date, and I just want to survive it. In the meantime, for the situation to actually work well for you in the long run, it should more have the feel of a thriving situation.

I don’t when to set up protocol where the criteria are very strict and narrow before I do this. After all, who is to say if the opportunity is automatically going to be found in the stricter protocol I have set up, when the boundaries are often not up to me no matter what criteria I have set myself.

In sports, there is such a thing as for example in tennis tournaments as single game or double elimination, where you have to lose two games to be shown the exit. By what not in some of life’s other situations, where I make my own rules to an extent, can’t I eliminate on my own terms, maybe saying I’ll lose or give this ten tries before I take the fall?

Someone joked you complement my colors in talking about clothing. Maybe you can still get a woman to like you. Maybe you would complement her personality, her style, her humor, her looks or some of her other good qualities. Well what then are the colors of freedom that complement you and your hopes?

I spoke to someone who said about her job, sometimes when I take a walk at lunch, I want to just keep walking. If she did keep on walking, having felt this way about her job, did she really lose anything significant or that mattered to her. She would have probably laughed about her experience a few weeks. I might feel like I want to just keep on walking by sometimes.

We do need some adherence to norms, standards, to operate successfully in a systematized society. You and I are free to come 5 minutes late for a train but the train is not going to wait for us, because this train didn’t know you were coming. If the train had known you were coming, it would have waited, because you are the best. At the same time people find a real encroachment on their time, their focus, their ability to walk in the land, by outside forces. These forces can be institutional in nature or from institutions we have created. What happens is when we are walking on a course that seems to be less free we are compromising distinction. There are distinct ideas, distinct passions, distinct ways that can be examined if we stop compromising our freedom to go ahead.

The scientist needs some freedom to operate and further distinguish and identify what can be identified. In the animal kingdom there are a distinct number of classifications of animals, in the Brazilian forest a distinct range of plants and herbs some of which have been found to be useful for medicinal purposes. In the seas, there are distinct kinds and varied forms of aquatic life, some of it found at enormous depths of the sea beyond the reach of submarines. On the land, there are distinct views, from many places on the earth. In the movie Castaway, Tom Hanks turns in each direction from his view at the very top of the island and then his facial expression is telling when he observes the gigantic waves close to the islands shores on all sides will indeed, keep him away from the vast open calm sea,, that he is indeed surrounded by the huge waves at each run, castaway at every side and his expression is telling to his realization that this is what is. The planets and the stars are mysteries that can be observed. The Milky Way has distinct star systems that can be partially observed by eye in certain locations at certain times from the earth. Of course we can only get the view of the Milky Way from our particular location and vantage point.. But amongst such classifications such as these, the rivers, the classification of different plants, sea life, all yield to continued distinctions. So we need the freedom to find and make and determine distinctions.

Something to ponder for any situation, is where it the freedom located and where can I find the place of freedom in this situation? Is it close by, within the reach of who I am now, and where are the actual points of freedom to contend with?

Freedom from can involve a decision to circumvent or just not take that leap into a situation, not partake with the masses. This cause, that course can be bypassed or set aside for good. It is interesting how if people were involved with a course where they could design their own landscape, they would not include this and would never include that. Or they would always want this and never exclude that on the other side. If given the symbolic blank check what would people actually do with this? But some of the gifts we actually have can amount to blank checks that we can cash in on at some point with some freely applied effort, that concept doesn’t only apply to money and it’s remuneration but other maybe less tangible gifts. A great singing voice could be a blank check to the holder. But only you can cash that check because its your voice. The ability to appreciate the written word can be a blank check. Some athletic, intellectual, spiritual gifts and talents could constitute a blank check if you actually do something with these gifts in freedom, bypassing the previous restrictions coming from anyone including yourself. We have the blank check in so many ways we just don’t know how to cash it.

And then maybe we need to try again. We can’t do this unless we are free. If I seem to fail, and that failure is final, then I’m not free to try again. But the idea of trying again refers to the concept of freedom. It is documented that Thomas Edison needed to try again and again before he came to his famous inventions and discoveries that are still having a profound impact and spun at the time into whole industries. Results did not always come through right away for him, but often they came later on, after numerous tries.

The situation is that we might find ourselves in is getting into problem after problem. How free are we going to feel if we are always in the problem-solving mode, and nothing seems to feel right? The ground I walk on always seems to be falling out from under me. I can get to the starting line, but my sneakers can’t grip the track. How can I race for the gold? How can I erase this sinking feeling? At this point it would be great to just walk on solid ground again.

And what are my primary interests and what radiates from that in freedom. My first interest might be to read historical fiction but that could radiate entertainment, diversion from the routine, stimulating my imagination, stirring forth emotions and obtaining some factual history which was weaved into the fictional account. Does friendship radiate from romance or does romance radiate from friendship? It all depends on the individuals involved and how they see it, and it can change for each of them as they go along. Friendship could have been the primary motivation, which then radiated into romance, or the reverse may have been true.

All this calls into question the idea of ownership. We work with these ideas when we say we have x amount of dollars, we own a certain amount of property or we own a variety of material items. If we are going to work with the concept of ownership, maybe we should consider the idea of having friends, contacts, good health, native intelligence and common sense, life experience, a given set of knowledge, an ability to generate new and exciting ideas or any other concept that has personal meaning to us can be put under the conceptualizations of ownership. I own this experience, at least for a while. Maybe we need to bring more under the concept of ownership to move forward in freedom. Ability at times justifies its use in freedom. Substitute the word power for talent or for ability. I have the power to sing for example.

And then who owns the sun? Who owns the ocean, the rivers, the mountains and the falling snow? There was a movie, the journey to the center of the Earth. Who was owner of that center of the earth?

Say you go to the beach. They charge you 12 dollars at the toll for the beach, 5 dollars for the parking, 2 dollars for the sun, 2 dollars for the ocean itself, a dollar for the sea breeze, and another two for the sea air. Could something like this happen? Look at how many of us pay 2 dollars a bottle for water.

Does the sun make its appearance just for you? Maybe it does at times. But that doesn’t mean we own it. Is it yours, is it mine, would you be my Valentine?

I might have stockpiled all sorts of assets never to use them. Ever hear of the expression, the state has seized their assets. This applies to bankruptcy or similar legal proceedings. But maybe we should seize our own assets and do something with them before its too late.

And then we can consider whether we should refer anything to the concept of ownership. Do I own anything at all? Even the money I have in the bank has no value except as a form of correspondence that will get me some other form of correspondence. Many things I have don’t take on its value until it’s used. So the paradox is, if I don’t use something, I don’t put as much value on it. I can hit a baseball 400 feet plus, but I almost never play baseball. So the value of being able to hit a baseball 400 feet goes down for me. I could potentially run a 4-minute mile, but I haven’t run in 2 years. So I do not value my running ability as much as when I am running or did actually run.

So we can look at almost anything and say, what do I own here, should I refer this to the concept of ownership. Anything that is suddenly taken away from you or me is probably something we felt we owned. So our good health, if it is suddenly compromised, is something we would love to have back. Take this test, what do you have that if you lost it, you would love to get back? I might be more likely to sing if I felt I owned a good voice. I might be more likely to talk to people if I felt I owned good conversational abilities. So we can adjust our thinking back and forth based on whether we want to refer an individual situation to the concept of ownership or not refer to this concept at all. If we do that then we can say we don’t own the money in our personal banking account, it is just another good flowing into and out of my life and it is not something that I actually own. It all depends how we want to work with the concept. We could put time to the concept of ownership as an example. I own these hours. Anything that someone would pay for, that you have and they might not have or vice versa, is something that we could refer to ownership. Maybe you have a luxurious head of hair, and the person next to you on the train just wishes he or she that had that and would pay for that for themselves if it could be brought.

So the concept of ownership can cut across many personal landscapes. And the concept of ownership does have some relations to freedom. I don’t own this or I am not even renting it, so I can’t use it. We can take this concept across most of our dealings and we can see that it often does have subtle relations to freedom. Realistically, though, the concept of ownership does become vague as I stray away from the more concrete examples of this. Yet, this might be what stops me. I feel I need to own the situation, the opportunity, the chance, the moment, when, this is just the left over effect of feeling I need to own things before I proceed. Even, if I am a rich man or woman, technically just about all of what is out there I can’t legally claim ownership too. Even the richest people on the planet, can’t claim to own all that much. So I’ll have to proceed in with a sense of worthiness derived from some other source of thinking, depending on what I am doing. Getting back to the beach example, I pay 10 dollars to get on the beach, but after that, everything is free, such as the swim. Maybe I can say, I own this wave coming to shore. But the wave really could be for anyone.

I might possess this or be in possession of say a good sense of humor. The next step might be to activate on this, which might be hard to do in a gloomy atmosphere. Generally, I can think about some of the good assets and qualities I do possess, and why I have or haven’t chosen to activate upon them. If a firm gives me a debit card, I have to freely go and active on this card, before I put it into use.

So in designing a given landscape, there are some if not many options. Most people if they planted a garden might want strawberries, but if you really don’t want strawberries in your garden, why have them.

And leave some room for mercy in your personal garden for all things. Maybe we want freedom from certain individuals and the agenda they espouse, thereby leaving them off from our own personal landscape.

Say I have a job and it is to tie up the lines and throw out the anchor, or man the ropes in this boat. Legitimate hard work, but I really want another job on this boat, or maybe I don’t want to be on this boat at all. I can take my party elsewhere. I can jump ship to another job on the ship or I can literally jump ship, so in one fashion or another, I am free to do this, I am free to stay or leave.

Another thing that we see is that people come under a seeming umbrella that partly forms through their individual upbringing and the people and circumstances around them. Witness the movie the Godfather with Al Pacino and Mr. Brando. It was all within the big or enlarged family that the huge and uncertain drama takes place with some violent overtones. Not that this is necessarily bad to all viewers, but do I have the freedom to come out from under an umbrella that has set my feet on a certain path, if I wish. Even my concept of righteousness might form into a type of unseen umbrella, which keeps out the rain but also the sun, keeping me away from the bad and also some of the good. Can step off my personal high mountain and come into the valley of possibilities that were still waiting for me.

One possible way to seek out freedom in our thinking it to put equal weight on all considerations really just for the keep up of our thinking. If one of the considerations begins to lose weight, then that begins to tell us something. Fill all the balloons with air and due consideration and see which one loses air and loses it quickly. So you gave each balloon a chance.

Maybe I just want to be less weighed down. Look at the Olympic swimmers do they swim in blue jeans while going for the gold?

They were these special Speedo trunks which have the least resistance to water and weigh them down the least so they can move more freely towards that vaunted gold medal or even a silver or bronze medal.

You don’t have all the power but you need some freedom to play your part. And freedom does relate to power even if only in small ways. How can I be romantic with a girl if I can’t hold her hand? Denzel Washington gave a critically acclaimed performance as Ruben Carter in the movie Hurricane. He spends half the movie in jail, but even in jail he needed the leeway to give a charismatic performance.

Picture yourself at both ends of the spectrum you are considering. It is like being in a marathon and the middle of the race, make believe at that point you are at the end, or make believe you are at the beginning, even though you are still half way through. Then you might not get stuck in the middle in your thinking. I feel old at 30. Well fathom yourself at 40 and see how that feels and fits. Fathom yourself at 20 and see how you think about that. Take your thinking to each end of a given spectrum. Don’t always keep your thinking right in the middle, even if you actually happen to be located in the middle.

But the absolute key word to this particular process is the word apex. Are you at freedoms apex? We may have tripped several times or even have outright fallen. But we might still be at an apex for this opportunity. We have to at least consider the possibility that as much water as has gone over the fall or has not gone over the falls; we could be at the very apex right now for something we want to do. So we can’t say it’s too early or too late. Freedom does have its situational apex and we have to consider where and when it will be found.

I might have abandoned parts of myself to routine, isolating myself from the pomp and circumstance that I still look to with an envious eye, I’m almost married to the paycheck and the hours, holding on to this or that with the inability to let go and let live in the present, still waiting for that distant self I have yet to become before I say yes, or when my ruminations will finally bring me into the present time or find some landing point back in the real world I live in now. So maybe I’m ditching who I am today to my own loss, saying an early goodbye to my present concerns while trying to pinpoint them somewhere on that mostly uncertain, even mostly unknown map of the future. I am putting myself and my resources on a map I can’t even see yet because the arrival is to far in the distance time wise, a map that might not have formed in reality yet or may never form.

But for any difficulty or problem where are the points of freedom. Maybe I don’t do some of these things because I don’t feel free to having anything but a certain result. Then certainty becomes the manner of rule.

I’m operating within certain confines as to the results that I must have. I’m confined to my agenda of the moment, my most present agenda which I can’t seem to mix and match to the ever changing circumstances of the moment. Yes, I’ll go skiing but only if I get the most excellent rides down the slope and the snow is 2 feet deep… Yes, I’ll go fishing but only if they are running well and in visible schools and I’m certain of the catch. So, I control the D.J. as well. Play my songs, baby. Yes, I’ll go dancing but only if they play my songs all night long. Yes, I’ll listen to you in the here and now but only if you say what I want to hear and say it now.

There is no pat answer no guaranteed reference point no one size fits all. Our reference points themselves might be in motion, and we could be stymied by trying to run in tandem with them, or I hold on to my misguided belief that they remained stationary just for me. Does the world stand still for you and me? It used to. The party might be over by the time you get there. I ran all day, I got myself in great shape but the party was over. Why didn’t they wait for me? Maybe the trains will leave the door open for you and you can still catch it running. They actually depict this idea in some Westerns where they jump a moving train. Or even if our reference points aren’t in motion they seem to be. Ever park at a crowded beach parking lot and they go back and try to find where you actually parked among thousands of cars? Or sat in vast rows of people, and went out and came back trying to find exactly where you were sitting in the first place? Neither the car nor the rows moved from their original point but you lost your frame of reference, whatever that was. Maybe you parked next to a light post and you forgot that. Or you did have a lot going for you, and you forgot that. You were sitting next to a beautiful blond and you forgot that. I can reset my personal compass to a changing longitude. But many people feel annoyed, agitated, checkered, disappointed, and upset for reasons that ultimately refer to a sense of freedom. So look at any individual situation or idea we give a passing salute to and further reference the concept of freedom and what freedom means to you in this particular situation. As an exercise, you could write your thoughts under a headline, such as what does freedom mean to me in this situation. It is a valid headline because it is your headline. What does freedom mean to me as a garbage collector, as a translator of a foreign language, as a teacher, as a pursuer of knowledge in international events or sports, as a connoisseur of the movies? Take for example the movies, do you censor yourself and only go to certain movies. If you want, you are free to do this. You might want to avoid certain movies that are excessively or gratuitously violent. The degree of self-censorship is subject to personal freedom of choice with its various applications and continuing consequences.

We tend to look at freedom as some sort of global concept or right, but we need also to look at it on a more individual basis, and ponder its more personal meanings, resonance’s, and those personal practical applications. Freedom could be just another vantage point, taking in another view, the ability to bring something else into the forefront of my thoughts, helping decipher the language of the new and changing circumstances of the world I’m in. Freedom could be the right to seek in my own way, in whatever I want to seek, to take that more winding road with a different view when everybody else wants the straight path to the point of arrival. And then what is freedom herself pointing to for me, where does that finger of freedom point for me. The freedom to go back, in more than just memory only, it might be nostalgia but I really still like the Beatles and the tunes of the days gone by. I can’t go back to those concerts because I don’t have a time tunnel back, but I can still go back to the songs by record.

Maybe we can find encouragement within this freedom. For example, any ray of hope that might be found as we loosen those tightly held reins can be helpful towards feeling at home with this newly minted freedom, finally found along the way on a forming pathway. The most difficult paths might lead to a comforting oasis. Say for example, I run into tremendous traffic going to the beach. I begin to equate this with my upcoming experience at the beach. I finally get to the beach, everything is perfect, the setting, the scene, and the waves are just what I like. I find my oasis. So if I had turned around because of the difficult traffic, I would have missed this. So sometimes we need to realize although the trip to Oz might be difficult, it isn’t necessarily telling as to what Oz will be like. We never know when and where exactly the oasis can come up. The road to nirvana can be bumpy but we can still refer to nirvana in our thinking and our imaging’s if we want to. But maybe that oasis never came for you. It was a long and difficult road leading to another long and difficult road. But remember that this doesn’t mean that oasis wasn’t there, you might have just missed it, by taking a wrong turn and you might still find it, somewhere outside of the forest of your present difficulties.

And why was there so much traffic on the way to the beach. Everybody is looking for that oasis. Any large gathering, a popular concert, a packed movie theater or football stadium, represents a oasis for a large group of people.

I go to the racetrack, I bet my horses, I am free to make varied bets. Recently, I went to the racetrack, and bet a dollar to win on all 13 horses in a particular race. It was the Breeders Cup and all the horses had to be of a certain quality just to race, but yet some of these horses were in the range of 50 to 1 in this race, so there I had a chance at some long shot money. As it turned out a favorite came in and I got back only 7.50 back on the 13 dollars. But I was free to bet in this particular manner, the ticket I purchased showed one dollar to win, horses 1 thru 13. There is the freedom to make my bets and then change my bets if I wish.

I might say, I don’t want to tackle numbers in a work situation. So I wouldn’t be a financial analyst then. Don’t try and tackle something if it really is too big for you, imagine being in the NFL and trying to tackle refrigerator Perry or Ed ” Too tall Jones”. It would be a quite impossible for most people. Be realistic in what you are trying to tackle and this will free you up for more reasonable tries without going ahead with the feeling that you have to go overboard to make due.

And then this freedom of course includes freedom not to. This may be a way of holding to your position by not compromising your original stand. I want to good relationship with the opposite sex within a certain context or framework. This is not happening. So I can say I am free to do nothing in this area if I can’t find something within this context. Sometimes your best stance is to do nothing. Hold the line. You are free not to compromise your general outline. For example, I say I will not work in an office or a concern unless it’s with reasonably honest people. You find yourself in an office where dishonesty is rampart although it is highly unlikely that anybody will ever get caught. However, in your personal freedom watch, you are watching from the lens or scope of freedom, which allows you to quit this job, separating yourself from the situation, which is outside of parameters, which you will hold or adhere to as your choice. This freedom could include freedom from more extreme or widening risks or risk extraneous to your prior thinking on a subject including such thoughts and actions you are willing to take on. There are inherent risks to freedom and all its undertakings, but you don’t need to go overboard if you don’t have to. I saw a segment on TV where in a country where there resided one of the top ten poisonous snakes in the world, an individual captured one of these giant snakes with his bare hands in the outer forest, and held it from behind by the neck with his bare hand as he was getting it’s venom bring back to the science labs so the anti venom can be worked on, all the while talking to the camera about what he was doing. Maybe a good day job for this person, but not for me. Suppose he lost his grip on the snake and it turned for a quick bite. I think they said he would have about 7 minutes from that point. There was no anti venom yet because that is what he was working on. So we have the freedom to keep our parameters and basic outline, or to chuck it to the wind forever. Or we can change the parameters if we want to the degree we want. We can change 10 degrees, 30 degrees 50 degrees if you like, or go for the utmost and do a 180-degree turn.

I don’t have to assume all the risk upfront. I can work with the smaller outline as well as the larger outline. A common example is dating. I could say I want to go to the play and the amusement park for this date. But I might not want to also outline the date to try and determine whether this person is going to be a life’s mate. By doing this, I am trying also for a bigger outline than I necessarily have to, making the task seem larger and maybe more unapproachable. I am possibly increasing the perceived risk scenario when I don’t have to. Not only do I have to find the amusement park for the date, I only have to figure out on this date whether this person is a potential life mate, a tall task. I can just assume the smaller risk of today’s dating outline absence of imposing far reaching decisions.

Freedom could be the freedom to see the limits our dreams. You could have a dream job, a dream relationship, a dream trip in mind. All this might not be so easily obtained, but you can maintain that freedom in your vision, in how far can you see, and in seeing whether this was that ideal and truth which you really would have been happy with if in freedom you were able to see your dreams through. So freedom in its outlines sometimes deals with a sense of sight, we go forward with the open eyes of our choosing, ready to see if not greet the welcoming possibilities, not with eyes blindly following a preset agenda that could suddenly fall away, nor giving a blind eye to other not planned for truths or falsehoods as they come into sight. Seeing from your own personal lookout point, from your individual lighthouse where you can scan the tempestuous seas, from your watching point where you can at least begin to find out. And you could enlist friends, allies who can help in your walk towards freedom, looking in and out and beyond for you from this side or that side, scanning the new horizons on your behalf.

Think of the football scout looking at prospects for the pro’s or college at the QB position. He goes to a game, watches this QB prospect for two sets of downs and reaches a conclusion. Would you say this scout did a good and thorough job? He couldn’t even sit through the complete game or even a half a game. Sometimes we scout situations for ourselves or even make conclusions as to our own abilities without doing the proper homework or making conclusions in a quick summary fashion that just doesn’t let us project properly. We are finalizing our plans over very little evidence where more evidence can be had. Or the lights dim a little bit so I might as well pull the plug completely. This scout could have watched the complete set of plays on offense, and he might not have come to a qualified conclusion but he would have given himself a better chance to come up with a more objective and useful scouting report regardless. You can be free not to jump to conclusions so often especially when you didn’t do your homework and you know you didn’t.

Maybe your dream job was to be a TV repairman and when you go there you were half disappointed. But freedom did see me through to getting job, it is a good job, but I wanted to get there and find out if it was the final dream and maybe didn’t meet with me at that level. When you play your next deck of cards, deal in some freedom cards. Search for that freedom which finds out, which explores further into the still hopefully ample fields of tomorrows dreams.

There might be such a thing a soiled or spoiled freedom it’s less than I would have wanted ideally. So I have granulated coffee instead of its pure form. But hey I still wanted to stop at Starbuck’s and enjoy hanging out, so I’m here. And I’m still drinking coffee.

This idea freedom might cut across the time line. Can I free myself from what I thought about in the distant past, from the happenings and views of yesterday and the day before? Should I carry all things forward, or should I leave some things behind? For example, there have been people who have invested 4 years of their time in medical school, and did well in school, then decided they didn’t want to be a doctor. They took a more circular route to somewhere else. Or they did become a doctor but switched specialties. People have studied law for years and subsequently passed the bar exam and then practiced law. All free choices to divert from chosen fields of study, made without being forcibly compelled by the prior efforts to continue on a chosen path. And then I am free to selectively incorporate that which I will from my past journeys including that which has already told me yes I can. That word itself, selection, is such a key word. Who is doing the selecting for me and why? But we do sometimes carry the heavy baggage into the future, when we could just lighten up and drop it at the next station.

I also might think, what moves have I made towards what I want to do. I might be so entrenched in indecision, that looking back I realize I have made just about no moves on the chessboard. And in the game of chess, you have to make some moves, to get anywhere in the game. You can’t always know what the move will later entail due to the dynamics of the game itself. I can try this or that, but I never have perfect knowledge of how things are going to play.

It might not be worth it to go into a Herculean effort when the dam will burst or things will cave in as soon as you diminish or relinquish your efforts a bit. You might be holding things up or together by a shoestring.

A friend once told me, his major criteria for anything is, “Is it worth it?” Bring that question right to the forefront for consideration and it will help for sure.

Can I be free from the need to project into a future that I don’t see yet? Can I back away from the sunrise, by getting there or trying to get there before clarity and vision come? If I interview a prospective employee do I need to project that he or she will be a 5 year employee when I don’t even know if the company or its markets will be there in 5 years? Do I have to base a future on my numerous observations of the past days, adding them up into their cumulative sum which then forms a nice summary to project off and then projecting them into the next horizon, and thereby conclude in knowing fashion that this will happen when the only guarantee I’ll ever have is that there is no guarantee. Today is not the sum of yesterday. In fact those numerous observations might not do it, so you have to start today with something else.

But maybe that first impression, that first goal, is correct at least in part. I first wanted a blond, my preferences in women have since evolved and now I also like brunettes But that doesn’t mean if I do meet a blond now, that my original goal is now invalid or wrong for me now, that I cannot go back to the original superficial blueprint.

When I grew up in America , the standard lunch was a hamburger French fries and a coke. Things have evolved since then, the menus have expanded, and McDonalds and the like have chicken, fish, and so on. But that doesn’t mean I can’t go back and have my original order that was the staple of its day, like baseball, cracker jacks and apple pie. Look at some of the nostalgia, what people hold to, the people that restore cars, the searching again for the right stuff, all pointing to a restored feeling or experience I still want to revisit in some way. I want a classic coke as it was my first love. Or that favorite show that I still want to see from years back that has become associated with a personal era. Where is the DVD? We might associate seeing a movie with a certain time of our lives when we were actually happy for a moment.

As I sift through the newly emerging evidence, do I give up the old automatically? The original blueprint might have been good as it still holds some fading allure. Look at some people that would still go back to the old fashioned automate for lunch, or I might still want a root beer float after all these years, and even if Gilligan never got off that island, I still go back to that see that show again.

There is also the freedom not to do everything, be everything, and refer to every thought and idea at once. You can isolate on ideas and approaches that you want to pursue now, letting go of approaches that might have been mightily engrained in your thinking but you are free to drop for now in order to isolate on another approach. There is freedom of cadence and personal pacing. The freedom to isolate on and focus on even a specific instance of thought and carry it through to new possiblities.

Then we are also dealing with in simple, small, close by freedoms that might make a difference. The freedoms involved are so close or small that we don’t even realize it’s an issue of freedom. I might have to wear a suit and tie again at work after being in a casual dress environment for so long. These freedoms are so small we take them for granted, but they would be highlighted if they were taken away. Suppose they discontinued my favorite candy, my favorite drink, or my favorite show on TV. All of the sudden, what I assumed would always be available isn’t there anymore. There are no blonds left on the planet, I have to settle for a brunette. I could now only take a hot shower once a week because of the water shortage. Where did my hot shower water go? It ditched me. I can’t get the type haircut I want anymore, what I liked went out of style.

A personal example was when I played my first year of little league baseball, at every at bat I was badgered by the assistant coach who I guess meant well to keep my elbow up and swing level. I couldn’t swing then freely for the fences. I had no home runs and a low batting average for the season. The following year, with a different coach who left me alone to swing away for the fences, I could drop my hands and elbow without constant instructions to do otherwise and go back to my more natural swing and I did have some nicely hit home runs and a much higher average to boot.

But maybe a compromise can be reached. In order to swing more freely, I’ll agree to some adjustment in the rules of the game, maybe a pop fly to the infield is now an automatic out. I want this freedom, but I’ll allow for another rule that relates to this freedom to come in as a compromise between the elements being discussed.

We can make a bargain with the day, forgetting my previous lapses in relation to what I wanted then and now. But does the deal we make with the day, the passage of time, the changing circumstances of our life, include those cherished freedoms. Or did I deal them out this time, muffling those voices that call me forth to somewhere new, bargaining them away, bartering away some freedoms for a safer but less free vision of who I was then and who I could be now. Have you sold your rights, folding your hand against your hallowed beliefs, vanquishing and banishing the freedoms from your own personal kingdom and fiefdom, letting freedom pass by like the last fading rays of the falling sun, letting freedom pass you by yet one more time, leaving you alone as the forgotten companion and friend.

Then, you may have bartered away freedom when there was no give and take. You give up rights, but get nothing in return. Going back to the baseball example, you not only have you freedom taking away to swing freely, maybe you don’t even get to play the field now, you are only the DH. The bartering away from freedom netted you nothing.

And then there is that primal call to freedom, that call of the wild. You see this take form with people that take more extreme risks like skydiving or something like that. You might want to tap that ability to take on risk but also channel it in a way that will get you to another day. See another sunrise.

But there can be a subtle loss of freedom within particular goals, however small. I want to read the whole NY Times, so I end up being not free to read say just the one article. I find myself lacking unless I read at least 10 articles. Why this seeming shortfall is this seen as a free fall on my goals when reading just the one article can be quite valuable as well. I need to give myself freedom to find value and if it is only in one or two articles I can make it too so be it. I find myself riddled with guilt that I cannot seem to meet my prior goals. Instead of trying to solve the riddle, I let guilt rain upon it. My newspaper is all wet with the guilt I rained upon it, and I can’t read anything now. Are you going to get the crossword puzzle done on the Sunday Times by running on a guilt trip? Solve the puzzle. I may still want to cover more territory but I can cover less or more territory based on what I want to do in freedom. And if I cover less territory, I don’t have to take a guilty trip to guilty land, and cover my wagon train with guilt because I didn’t make it all the way west. I can’t read any fiction because it will not translate into a set of knowledge that will net me dollars, so I have to wait until my bank account is swelling with money before I can afford to spend time on this pursuit. So in effect, I am in a way not free to read fiction now, I’m effectively locked out on reading fiction for now, and although I could enjoy this and I have the capacity for this now, my bank account doesn’t let me. My goal of a lot of money in the bank has been a mountainous chore shading away other chances, and has usurped and obscured my present interest in maybe relaxing and reading some fiction. Reading fiction has become objectionable as I let the search for the gold further obtuse my other interests. I never get to that other place. I lose my other views from my high mountain, I got to the summit of Everest but I was above the atmosphere and I can’t see those other earthly opportunities or even pour myself another cup of soup.

Everything is a crapshoot, but it is less of a crapshoot if you can go freely into areas of your strengths that we might have seen had we not been stopped by the voices that say no. We not only voluntarily inhibited our weaknesses, but even our strengths. Why haven’t given myself a license to operate within my strengths? I have these good qualities, I sweep them under the deck, and so I end up with an immaculate deck, that looks great from the distance with such an impeccable view from afar. The perfect noonday sun sparkles on this shining deck. But, where I am on the deck? Where are you on the deck? Where are we on the deck? In fact, I can’t find any of us there. Had we really obtained the ideal view? The landscape was so beautiful, but never full, the occupant sign continually says vacant.

There were beautiful scenes and posh landscapes waiting for us. But I never got there. I heard you never got there. In fact, none of us made an appearance there.

What are my strengths really? What are my weaknesses? It is not so easy to sift through and separate the two. Passion could spur us on to new heights or catch us in our greatest weaknesses. Where does passion lie then, in our strengths or our weaknesses? Or does freedom have its say here?

By the common lumping together process, we classify our weaknesses as strengths or vice versa. The truth is that our greatest strengths can be found within some of our seeming weaknesses. Those are the nuggets of gold that we must find as we sift through.

My strengths could have been posted on the most wanted trail. Where were my strengths post and prior, now and then? You could picture those safe havens in your mind. That safe haven could be revisiting both in your mind and in a reality that is presenting itself in the form of hints. Where are they rolling out the red carpet for you? If this situation isn’t royal and regal it isn’t the safe harbor. If that level of engagement isn’t there, they might cast you out sooner if not later. Even your thoughts can leave the safe harbor, instead of rolling out the red carpet for ourselves, we dynamite against ourselves in our own thinking. If your own thoughts cast you out, then you haven’t even found a safe harbor in your own contemplations. The thought, I can’t hit the jumper, or the rising fastball, doesn’t get us in the game. The safe haven should also be seen as such by you. It certainly is not a place that is a lightning rod for the negative. And this place could be your place of thinking. What is the location of your thinking? Get back to those thoughts that will harbor your best assets in freedom.

An example of all this could be someone who wants to do something, yet ultimately does not see it being a safe harbor. More than likely, they will procrastinate until they can see what about this could form into a safe harbor.

See it you can catch things on the bounce. You still have a chance on the bounce back, maybe on the very next bounce. There are opportunities off the bounce. Every chance that you take is a chance that is taken.

Situations might form into a web or network. You might have a network of friends and relationships that overlap or network of business contacts. Or a web of interests and choices that relate in some way. But these interests as they become complex have the potential to become tangled. If you have ever gone fishing on a party boat, there is potential to really tangle the lines, and it can be very difficult to untangle the fishing lines. In the same way, we need to operate freely and try to avoid and then get out of ways we can get tangled up in these webs. A simple example could be a group of girls who are friends in high school. Gossip can spread among these mutual friends and one friend could get in trouble with most of the group. So gossip could cause entanglements in these webs of friendships, just like having several fishermen get their lines tangled up with each other on the fishing boat. This example shows how the free choice to gossip can have a resonance within a given network or web of relationships beyond its initial scope. Of course a web or network can be a rich and fruitful web. A bunch of mutual friends who keep in touch over the years with each other is an example of a rich web. Or you take a number of courses where there is helpful overlap as to the learning and this is a rich network of knowledge which has formed.

Change can be in two directions, not just one, or even make it three. So this is another thing to consider, I may be changing in two areas rather than just the one I seem to think about most. I need then to see therefore in two directions, and also look in two directions as I’m changing in two directions.

I can get tangled up again, I can trip over myself because I think I’m changing in only one direction, when it is two or more directions that my current movements are changing in. I might think even that this is a bit odd or strange, and therefore, count me out. But there are so many things you have done, in ways that were both acceptable to you and others, that there might be a chance that you could have a similar feel for this, this thing that seems so alien to your hopes right now.

But really I’m just trying to fish. How can I do this with freedom when my lines are so tangled?

You might be just as interested elsewhere. A little bit more freedom might do the trick or be the trick of the trade. This freedom could include a shakeup of the thoughts we hold so dearly about ourselves. I can put those closely held thoughts, at a bit of a distance, or at a little less of a premium. The problems indeed are coming through so close to the situation that we lose sight of the objective mirror as we pass by. Our present opinion of ourselves in based partly on the more subjective reality held by me only. We might be victims of our own gloomy prognosis that leaves us looking in the dust of formerly good opportunities. Can we sometimes settle in on a less gloomy view of our potentialities and ourselves? Ease up a bit on the brakes you have put on your personal freedom train and try to keep your train ride moving in some smooth, positive, and flowing forward fashion. At least give yourself a chance to peruse some of the evidence that you might be wrong as you sift further through the sands of possibility, that you could let the movie have a different ending or somehow find and believe for a better ending, or a different story line that had more appeal to the wider audience of me and them, that you might still be able to move in another chosen direction, rather than continually and conditionally resubscribing to the disrupting thoughts that blanket across your landscape, a twirling and twisting subscript that soon becomes predominate in your own personal movie, clouding your way. Can you cancel your subscription to disaster now? I have these thoughts that have now become corrosive and swollen with negativity. It is far easier to paint all with the same negative brush, swelling the storm, then to search out the good parts that still remain in the mix containing some good yet to be mined. Instead, leave the picture as is with some of those good scenes in the mix. Try to mine the positives. There are ways you can go on the still sunlit course, either automatically or not automatically. Or try to hang in there until the sunrise comes for you

Ever see a movie, particularly when the hero or main character is trying to escape. You root for that character to escape, and try to find with him or her the way out. Why not root for yourself, to find your way out?

Some decisions I make automatically, if the sea is too way strong, it is letting you know by the swells to 40 feet, and I just know I can’t handle it, I might automatically get me and my surfboard out of the water and get back to the babes on the shore of Baywatch . It’s an automatic decision. There is no second guess or even a first guess. If I get an A, I am almost automatically happy with the best results. That is the letter I want to see and it starts with A. But other projected courses are not so automatic and require considerations based on the ability move freely. Even if we get to where we seem to want to be, there is some crossing over that is involved that isn’t automatic. My personal belief system about myself can be shrouded with inconsistencies and inaccuracies that hold me back and keep me from what should be automatically a fairly good choice to make. Since I just can’t get my better thought processes to the forefront right now, doesn’t mean I live by what I can’t get to yet. If I had real confidence, I would automatically take this chance and walk through the good opportunity. The traveling beliefs about myself that I put on active file, on automatic pilot, that check me away at the door of new territory that might contain the golden opportunities that will bring me home to happiness. It’s as if I am skating with the hockey puck, nobody is there to check me, and I think what is going on, so I check myself against the boards. In my previously conceived notions of myself I haven’t considered other spectrums of my possible talents. I shroud my thinking. My one-dimensional ponderings haven’t considered that I may be multi-dimensional in my talents. I’ve blasted away at the whole rock. I have not gotten to the optimistic side of the fence yet. I haven’t told myself the whole story by just sticking with the negative. I’ve beclouded my own skyline. We haven’t exactly given scintillating reviews of ourselves to ourselves, further limiting fuller considerations of what might have yet been possible for me, jettisoning my own potentialities to a lesser form. I’ve giving myself a head start away from the better chances. Usually when someone says, you have a head start, it refers to advantages. But not the way we work things when negativity gets going first in our thinking.

Not only do I not want to be famous I have in fact defamed myself. We have continually declared ourselves ineligible before anyone else has or before the game has even begun. Are you socially engaged to a level of satisfaction, intellectually engaged to a level of satisfaction, have you got the lantern on those thoughts that puts you more in the light?. Can you center your thoughts on something else other than the worst-case scenario and just deal with it if it does when it happens? For example as we take in the bad news, do we need to center our thoughts on it? Centering on good things now may even leave to a fullness of those good things now. A flower blooms centering in the sunlight. Free up your thinking to a more rounded view, towards yourself and you’re your circumstances, giving some credence to the brighter side of things, not that you have to stay captive to the optimistic, but just visit there and see what is going on in that neck of the woods, also trying to give some weight to all the viable ideas you could choose from, not just the negative, which you can probably put in the corner anyway for all the good it has done you in these ramparts.

Going back to the example where I automatically get out of the surf if the waves are 40 feet high. But how about if I am facing waves that are 20 feet high? Even those waves are a bit high for my surfing ability but I am not sure. The decision isn’t automatic. Should I surf now or not? Right here is my rendezvous with freedom. This dance isn’t going to be with Ms. Automatic but with Ms. Freedom. Since the decision isn’t automatic, I will make a free choice. As I move away from the automatic I am moving into areas of freedom that contrast with my more automatic decisions. I am outside the friendly zone of automatic and I have to get used to dealing with the zone of maybe or maybe not. It isn’t much of a decision to grapple with to leave the 40-foot surf alone. But the surf I’m facing now offers more pros than cons but still some cons. I could get some relatively but not totally safe thrills on these waves, but my facility and experience in still more with 10 to 15 foot waves and this does represent an uncertain leap for me.

When someone says to you, “ Don’t automatically assume.” Consider that they might be right. How much and how often, even in the areas where we have a lot going for us, do we automatically assume maximum trust in our prior beliefs, approaches, expectations, and interests in somewhat erroneous fashion. How much should we be so automatic about without looking into freedoms play in the situation. I go out in the summer I automatically assume it will be at least 60 degrees. But what of the anomaly that has happened, that one day in the century when it’s 30 degrees in the summer. I just assumed that would never happen.

We let these negative thoughts rent space in our head. But at what cost do they rent? Can we free up that space for some other tenants?

Don’t totally rely on good bloodlines and circumstances. What good is the great horse with all the good bloodlines, and it never gets out of the barn for the race?

Are you still married to the darkness of the day or can you finally break free and start to divorce yourself from those negative forces? Can you finally get on equal footing with freedom or at least get a foot in the proximal door of freedom’s domain, finally beginning to that first big step into its province. We have tapped danced around freedom for so long we don’t know where and who we are anymore, as we list for a place on the hierarchy of possibilities, we never had a meeting with freedoms demands and invitations, even as freedom knocked on our door not only once but again and again, nether while we dimmed the light on our remained sight of what could yet be.

You don’t have to take on the full force of freedom you can take it in smaller doses. We don’t have to always have a grand meeting with freedom we can also meet freedom in her minutia, in her more minute form. Size up freedom to the situation. Not everything is at the level of détente.. You don’t have to be the leader of the free world to talk to anyone in this world, to talk to this girl, to jump in this nicely heated ocean for another soothing swim. Free yourself from the stifling and stilted worries that have got you swaggering like a ship in yet another storm of make believe.

We can ride the wave of freedom but then we can also get off that wave. We have freedom to ride a wave and stay on its crest or get off it if we choose. Opportunity can be seen from that crest, that panoramic view, from that higher wave, where I have views of new and multiple landscapes, which might yet have widespread applications. Jason Gardner tried to catch that big wave to the NBA but he didn’t have a good camp for the NBA scouts and went back to college for another season. He didn’t surf that big wave to the NBA this time but there will be another chance, another wave for Jason. Another Golden Fleece may yet be found. He did get another view from that wave and then went back. By the way he was just MVP of a major preseason college tournament for his college team the Arizona Wildcats.

Take some of your freedom pills in the morning with our vitamins. Freely have a freedom sandwich for lunch for a change instead of the usual tuna or turkey. And then take a relaxed walk along the highway of freedom afterwards, enjoy the sights, the price is right. Then take a d

Technorati Tags: Chances, Freedom, Take

Norwalk, CT (PRWEB) October 11, 2011

PuzzleNation, a new online gaming community devoted to quality puzzle games, announced today the launch of its website puzzlenation.com. The new website offers free sample puzzles and feature-rich membership subscriptions.

Visitors to the site will find exciting original puzzle games such as Crossword Raiders, StarSpell, Tanglewords, and GuessWorks; as well as premium classic puzzles like Crosswords, Sudoku, and Word Search. Games may be played in single-player mode, where solvers can race against the clock to see how they stack up on the leaderboards; more competitive players may choose to play strategically in PuzzleNation’s exclusive new two-player mode.

PuzzleNation offers a vibrant community where like-minded solvers can participate in forums, share news, and make new connections. Paying members can play without ad interruptions, save puzzles in progress, and track their progress on leaderboards. “Our goal is to provide the highest quality, most engaging puzzle games on the web,” said PuzzleNation Managing Director Carla Lee Lewis. “We’re dedicated to our membership of puzzle fans, who come together regularly for play, competition or relaxation, puzzle talk, fun and friendship.”

To kick off the launch, PuzzleNation is offering $ 5 off the annual subscription fee of $ 29.95. A monthly subscription is also available for $ 4.95. Both packages offer a 14-day free trial period.

Among the unique puzzles offered are:

    Crossword Raiders: Race against the clock to solve clues, grab treasures, and make a final escape.
    StarSpell: Launch as many words as possible before time runs out.
    GuessWorks: Build a quotation while solving various crossword-type clues in this Hangman-style game.
    Tanglewords: Solve this reverse Word Search challenge, with only starting letters as a guide.

Play free sample puzzles and get additional information by visiting puzzlenation.com.

About PuzzleNation

PuzzleNation is an online community for puzzle lovers, featuring exclusive new interactive puzzle games and classic puzzles such as Crossword, Sudoku, and Word Search. Visitors to the PuzzleNation website may play sample games for free, or take advantage of feature-rich monthly or yearly subscriptions. Among other benefits, paying members enjoy unlimited ad-free puzzle play, the ability to save games in progress, solo or two-person competitive play, puzzle forums, and leaderboards. Based in Norwalk, CT, PuzzleNation online puzzles can be found at puzzlenation.com.

###

Attachments

©Copyright 1997-, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

More Crossword Puzzle Solver Press Releases

Technorati Tags: Game, Launches, Lovers, Online, puzzle, PuzzleNation, Site

Sudoku Puzzles are brain teasers that have also been called wordless crossword puzzles. Sudoku Puzzles are often solved through lateral thinking and have been making a large impact all across the world.

Also known as Number Place, Sudoku puzzles are actually logic-based placement puzzles. The object of the game is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell that is found on a 9 x 9 grid which is sundivided into 3 x 3 subgrids or regions. Several digits are often given in some cells. These are referred as givens. Ideally, at the end of the game, every row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each numeral from 1 through 9. Patience and logic are two qualities needed in order to complete the game.

Number puzzles very much similar to the Sudoku Puzzles have already been in existence and have found publication in many newspapers for over a century now. For instance, Le Siecle, a daily newspaper based in France, featured, as early as 1892, a 9×9 grid with 3×3 sub-squares, but used only double-digit numbers instead of the current 1-9. Another French newspaper, La France, created a puzzle in 1895 that utilized the numbers 1-9 but had no 3×3 sub-squares, but the solution does carry 1-9 in each of the 3 x 3 areas where the sub-squares would be. These puzzles were regular features in several other newspapers, including L’Echo de Paris for about a decade, but it unfortunately disappeared with the advent of the first world war.

Howard Garns, a 74-year-old retired architect and freelance puzzle constructor, was considered the designer of the modern Sudoku Puzzles. His design was first published in 1979 in New York by Dell, through its magazine Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games under the heading Number Place. Garns’ creation was most likely inspired by the Latin square invention of Leonhard Euler, with a few modifications, basically, with the addition of a regional restriction and the presentation of the game as a puzzle, providing a partially-complete grid and requiring the solver to fill in the empty cells.

Sudoku Puzzles were then taken to Japan by the puzzle publishing company Nikoli. It introduced the game in its paper Monthly Nikoli sometime in April 1984. Nikoli president Maki Kaji gave it the name Sudoku, a name that the company holds trademark rights over; other Japanese publications which featured the puzzle have to settle for alternative names.

In 1989, Sudoku Puzzles entered the video games arena when it was published as DigitHunt on the Commodore 64. It was introduced by Loadstar/Softdisk Publishing. Since then, other computerized versions of the Sudoku Puzzles have been developed. For instance, Yoshimitsu Kanai made several computerized puzzle generator of the game under the name Single Number for the Apple Macintosh in 1995 both in English and in Japanese language; for the Palm (PDA) in 1996; and for Mac OS X in 2005.

Find More Japanese Crossword Puzzles Articles

Technorati Tags: Brain, Called, Puzzles, Sudoku, Teaser