SOUP KITCHEN

The business case for happiness;

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:51:06 -0700

According to Prof. Scollon, a psychologist: “Research shows that happy people earn more money, are healthier (spend fewer days out of the office sick) [and] are more creative at problem solving.” This means promoting happiness in the company makes commercial sense “even if you’re a total Scrooge and only care about making money,” she adds.

Organizations such as Google and Southwest Airlines are cited as examples of companies that adopted positive practices in their organizations. “They’re constantly introspective about themselves,” Prof. Dutton says. “Their strategic success depends on it.” Governments are also addressing the happiness agenda in France, the U.K. and the United States.

The financial crisis and the subsequent recession have emphasized the need for this teaching, and layoffs and salary freezes have exacerbated the problems of unhappy workers. “Debt is very closely related with depression and mental illness,” Prof. Oswald says. “Fear of unemployment is a very real fear. Everything to do with fear seems to be debilitating.”

Read the rest here.

Happy Birthday Yumblr!

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:44:47 -0700

This post is in celebratory honor of the merger (and acquisition) of Yahoo + Tumblr - just in case you don’t read the news.

The New Yorker wrote fake fictional love letters as passing between Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer and Tumblr CEO David Karp. It is the most joyful thing I have read this morning.

Find them here.

And some excerpts below.

* * *

Oh David, you wound me! I’m not like those other Yahoo! C.E.O.s. I am drawn to your wit and your irreverence and your youthful user base like a moth to a flame. San Francisco seems so much gloomier now that I’ve glimpsed your vibrant East Coast start-up world. I could charter a private jet to visit you this instant, but even though I can fly across the country as easily as I cross the street, I fear I’ll never be able to bridge the chasm that lies between our hearts.

Marissa

* * *

Lovely Marissa, I fear I have nothing to offer you. I have no real monetization strategy, no revenue to boast of. I know you’re a strong, powerful woman in the tech industry, but I can’t help how I feel as a man: sometimes I just lay in bed at night, worrying about how I can provide for you. And what will my users say when they see me with the Internet’s oldest media network? Sometimes I wonder, with all these question marks, if the declarative punctuation our logos share is really enough to sustain this relationship.

Regretfully,
David

Imran Khan.

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:49:50 -0700

Imran Khan.

Photo

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:49:37 -0700

Why haven't you been blogging lately? Miss your intelligent posts.

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:11:47 -0700

I’ve just had a major life change (moving to a new city & new job) and every day has taken up all of my energy so that by the time 9 pm rolls around all I want to do is be in bed with a book.

I’ll be back on it soon, dear Anon!

Love is infinite. It’s as vast as the universe and just as mysterious. It grants us enough...

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:08:57 -0700

Love is infinite. It’s as vast as the universe and just as mysterious. It grants us enough impatience to propel us into action, and enough patience to wait to be reunited someday, out beyond the stars. The love I have for my brothers – one living, one waiting just beyond sight in another room – is one kind of love. It’s what makes us human and it endures.

A touching article on losing a loved one.

Sat in my office fighting back tears. Reminded me of my favorite pet in the world, my baby sister and the millions of things we have in common and watch/do together.

oh hai. long time tumblrkitties. today was the first day of the rest of my life…oh, you...

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:46:22 -0700

oh hai. long time tumblrkitties. today was the first day of the rest of my life…oh, you know…no big.

so how did i fare?

well there was no real work given to us. basically we got a 2 hour patio lunch overlooking the lovely new city that i am living in for the summer. then we got a firm tour. then we were let go out on to the streets to start shopping for “decorations” for our offices. and following that we ended up back on a patio overlooking my lovely new city.

so even though i spent 8 hours making new friends, schmoozing, lunching and shopping (which is basically what i like to do in my free time anyway) i came home exhausted.

my feet are blistered and bleeding - it was so unbearable that i had to stop at Spring Shoes and get a pair of flats on the way home. no amount of blister bandages is making the pain go away so clearly my Naturalizer heels are not going to treat my feet kindly.

and i am so drained from this day of nothing that i am already in bed - as of 8 pm. which really freaks me out because like, what am i going to do when i finally start getting actual work?

When I overhear someone at the bar talking about going to law school

Mon, 06 May 2013 20:41:19 -0700

transactional-lawyer:

The feelings that hurt most, the emotions that sting most, are those that are absurd - The longing...

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:14:00 -0700

The feelings that hurt most, the emotions that sting most, are those that are absurd - The longing for impossible things, precisely because they are impossible; nostalgia for what never was; the desire for what could have been; regret over not being someone else; dissatisfaction with the world’s existence. All these half-tones of the soul’s consciousness create in us a painful landscape, an eternal sunset of what we are.”

-Fernando Pesso

"Well, let it pass, he thought; April is over, April is over. There are all kinds of love in the..."

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:31:11 -0700

“Well, let it pass, he thought; April is over, April is over. There are all kinds of love in the world, but never the same love twice.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

paper-planes-and-toy-trains: you are my sunshine my only sunshine you make me happy when skies...

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:30:30 -0700

paper-planes-and-toy-trains:

you are my sunshine

my only sunshine

you make me happy

when skies are gray

you’ll never know dear

how much i love you

please don’t take

my sunshine away

Photo

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:29:55 -0700

lulz-time: This post has been featured on a 1000notes.com...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:44:25 -0700

lulz-time:

This post has been featured on a 1000notes.com blog.

24 totally relatable historical moments by Buzzfeed. these 2 be my favorite. mostly because they...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:42:00 -0700

24 totally relatable historical moments by Buzzfeed.

these 2 be my favorite.

mostly because they both stem from my 2 favorite historical periods: ancient egypt & tudor england.

Photo

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:09:24 -0700

Photo

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:01:54 -0700

Photo

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:41:59 -0700

confused-companion: whoever wrote this line needs to receive a...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:14:21 -0700

confused-companion:

whoever wrote this line needs to receive a medal

am forever terrified of math…even the most simple kind…i went to law school specifically...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:22:20 -0700

am forever terrified of math…even the most simple kind…i went to law school specifically to avoid all math…except then family law happened…and now i have to calculate child support and spousal support for monday’s exam…forever thankful to B who spent a long time meticulously explaining how to do percentage calculations…now shopping sales just became that much easier…such a monster, i is.

s0phist1cated: Fawad Afzal Khan for Hello Pakistan

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:52:40 -0700

s0phist1cated:

Fawad Afzal Khan for Hello Pakistan