TODAY IS THE FEAST DAY of St. Isidore of Seville. Sometimes referred to as the last scholar of the ancient world, he lived from 560 to 636 in Spain and was an Archbishop in his day. [More here]
He is the Patron Saint of Electronics and the Internet, having been named such by the Roman Catholic Church in 1999. [More here]
Today the Order of Saint Isidore of Seville works toward Christian chivalry on the internet. Their motto in Latin is Bono Vince Malum which in English means: “Overcome Evil with Good.”
SO WITH THE FOREGOING IN mind I’m typing away like a good little blogger this morning, one who’d like to share with you the following good articles that I’ve been thinking about this past week.
I’m conscious of what I allow to fill my brain, knowing that for me it’s easy to get lost in the sauce [emotion] of what I’m reading. Thus I tend to restrict my casual online reading away from hate and vitriol toward what I call good psychology.
Below are links to five articles, with a bit of commentary provided by moi. ‘Cause this is a personal blog and that’s what I’m supposed to do. Babble a bit, share a bit, provide joy & insight to my readers.
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Are you an evil genius? How dishonesty can make you more creative
[well, there’s a truth to this]
The Surprising Benefits of Creating a ‘Failure Resume’
[did this, somehow don’t feel better about myself]
Don’t Know What To Do With Your Life? This Exercise Can Make Things Clear
[good idea, I need a manifesto]
Most Personality Quizzes Are Junk Science. Take One That Isn’t.
[quickly confirms that I know who I am]
Why A “Complaint Cleanse” May Be Exactly What You Need For A Happier Week
[clever idea that makes sense to me]
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Issy rocks! Love the motto and may adopt it. Will look at links over lunch.
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Zen-Den, what a clever nickname of the Saint of the Day! I agree, Issy rocks now, rocked then.
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Sounds like some interesting articles. Thanks for sharing, ABean!
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Jill, I like it when other bloggers post links to things of interest to them, so I decided to try it here. 🤔
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He was born in the year 560… and is the patron saint of technology and the internet? Talk about being ahead of your time.
😉
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river, his story is an interesting one that someone in the RC church figured out would be applicable to this era. Kind of cool.
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I shall create a manifesto ~> No complaining. No whining. Know thyself. Embrace failures and learn from them.
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nancy, those are good ideas. You’re on your way to a magnificent manifesto, if I do say so myself. Loved that article about how to create one.
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I couldn’t have done it without you and your links to . . . the complaint cleanse, the personality test, and the failure resume. 😀
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*yay* Sometimes things just fall into place, don’t they?
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I need a news cleanse. Lately I find myself watching part of an old sitcom rather than the breaking news part of the news show. I tune in later when it’s more local news and the feel good stories. My disposition has improved a lot.
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Kate, you’re onto a good idea there. Watching an old sitcom seems preferable to the news, such as it is. Breaking news is too noisy and dramatic for me. Let everyone calm down, get a grip on themselves, then I’ll see what they have to say. Maybe.
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Sometimes the initial news is wrong anyway because the facts aren’t known. That doesn’t stop reporters from “filling in the blanks” for the story.
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So true. That drives me bonkers, too. They need to just shut up, do their jobs and find the facts, then tell us the news based on facts, not conjecture. ☹️
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ditto, ditto, ditto. (sigh – oh, look a butterfly! On to better things – enjoyed the links and especially your commentary
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Thanks, philmouse. May I join you watching the butterfly? At least they make sense. 🙄
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That settles it, I am definitely an evil genius. Now all I need it a master plan for world domination… or perhaps someone to pick up my tab at The Pit tonight. Either one would do.
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Almost Iowa, so happy to have known you before you dominate the world. Remember us little people when you take over, ok?
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Consumed by the A to Z but I will definitely come back and check your finds out. I didn’t know about St. Isidore, what kind of Catholic am I?
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Janet, I totally understand. A To Z is work. I was surprised to learn about St. Isidore. It was a who knew? moment.
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Thanks. I know who to pray to, St. Isidore of Seville, now that my internet provider is closing up shop and I have to navigate quotes and new options all before the end of April!
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Joni, it sounds like you have a stupid problem on your hands, one with an expiration date. I’m not RC but I’m sure that St. Issy, as we’re now calling him, would be the right saint’s name to invoke. Good luck. 🙂
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Good on Issyvand St Ally Bean for providing the links which I’ll check out in times – any links on the value of procrastination?
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Susan, why thank you for making me a saint. That’s a first. The links are here just because I like it when other bloggers do this so I thought I’d give it a whirl. As for procrastination, I’m sure that’d go on your manifesto… when you get around to making one. 😊
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Susan, FYI I’ve tried to leave comments on your blog but nothing indicates that you’re getting them nor do they show up in your comment section. Just a heads up… 🤷♀️
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That is so sad for me I like your comments – what’s a gal to do?
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Sorry.
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Your thoughts on the articles were, um… intriguing. 😀
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Elen, well, you know, I didn’t want to give too much away about the articles. Plus my days of in-depth reviews are long over. 🙄
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They made me laugh.
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Good! I aims to inform and entertain… I guess. 😊
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No matter how hard I try, St. Isidore of Seville reminds me of Bugs Bunny doing the Barber of Seville.
That’s my only deep and engaging thought for the day. What can I say – the quiz suggested I was boring 😉
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Joanne, you’ve got me in stitches here. I DIDN’T THINK OF THAT AND I CANNOT IMAGINE WHY I DIDN’T. Clearly I’m failing in my later years. I loved Bugs. What a maroon am I.
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HAHAHAHA!! I too have been known to call myself a maroon 😆
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Of all the things one can think about oneself, being a maroon ain’t half bad!
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Love the links Ally – I thought the evil genius one was a good read. And I’m definitely a fan of manifestos. I absolutely vote for you to create one. Or a handful. You can never be to adamant about your declarations.
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Deborah, thanks for taking a look at the links. I sometimes wonder if what I find interesting will be so for other people. Not that it seemed to stop me this time. I’ll work on a manifesto. I could do that. I need to declare a few things. Oh yes I do!
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Thanks for the fun facts about St. Isidore. How did you hear about him?
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Betsy, I was reading an article about a woman who’d started a design business and she mentioned that she said a prayer to St. Isidore each day. Then she explained who he was in general, so I had to learn more about St. Issy. 😊
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Very cool. Catholics have cool people. I love the stories of bilocating and levitating. Best is the guy who was beheaded, picked up his head, walked with it under his arm, and kept preaching until he finally keeled over.
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I enjoy learning about the saints figuring you never know when you’ll know the right one for the situation. Like today’s post about improving yourself through reading articles online, something St. Issy would approve of, I hope.
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Thank you for sharing these links, Ally. I was nodding my head to my “results” on the personality test….until it labelled me a “wee bit boring.” Ouch! 🙂 🙂
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Donna, well obviously that personality test lies. Honestly, you’d think you could trust an online quiz that tells you it’s the real deal! 😉
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Love this post! The failure CV may be just what my daughter needs right now to pull her way out of an existential crisis. Or not? I am contemplating sending her the link to the article where she can look at other people’s list of failures and feel better about what she perceives as her own. How do you compare to me? Does this sound like who you know me to be? 🙂
openness to experience
54 out of 100
agreeableness
88 out of 100
conscientiousness
71 out of 100
negative emotionality
46 out of 100
extraversion
79 out of 100
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Margaret, I wonder if this link to the failure resume would help her? For me, an older woman it confirmed what I knew about my screw-ups, but as a younger version of myself it might have been instructive.
You and I have similar OCEAN numbers, although I rate higher in openness and lower in extroversion. No surprise I suppose. These links are informative, aren’t they?
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I enjoyed the test very much. My late husband was always the spontaneous one and I’m not so much that way, although I’m getting more open to it! 🙂 Teaching for 37 years made me much more of an extrovert, but I can’t maintain it for a long time. I can pretend to be extroverted for a while though! I’m still figuring out what I should do about the link. I don’t want her to feel worse than she already does.
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I’m what is called an extroverted introvert. Meaning that I can maneuver among the outgoing and do quite well, but I don’t naturally feel like that. It’s a life skill. As for your daughter I have no advice. I like self-improvement information and embrace it, regardless of whether I think it pertains to me. In fact, I kind of wonder about people who aren’t open to it. I mean given the opportunity to think about the possibility of becoming more whole, who wouldn’t want to do that? No answer, just an observation…
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Yes, I’ve always called myself an outgoing introvert. 🙂 I will see what I hear from Ashley later or tomorrow and decide then whether to send her the link.
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You’ll know best. 🤷♀️
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You find the best articles. You and Nancy of Spirit Lights The Way. I definitely need a manifesto. I also need a brownie, which has nothing to with the need for a manifesto. Or, perhaps it does.
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L. Marie, thank you! I believe that your manifesto needs to include brownies. After all it is yours to do with what you want. Plus brownies are good. So sayeth I.
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I have it on good authority that evil geniuses are indeed more creative than non evil geniuses. Of course, I have my own Evil Genius nameplate sitting on my shelf to let people know who they are dealing with. Now I must quit typing so I can go back to rubbing my hands together while very evilly smirking…
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evilsquirrel13, I have no doubt that you are an authority on evil genius, all varieties thereof. That article had a twisted title, but made sense. You know, like evil genius often does.
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I love the articles you shared!! And the bit about St. Isidore. I love that there is a patron saint of the Internet (because OF COURSE there would be!!). I may have to borrow some for next week’s list. 😉
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Katie, I like to see what other people find interesting so once in a while I do a post like this one. I had the same reaction to St. Issy. There’s a Catholic saint for every occasion. I find it fascinating.
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Thank you for doing the leg-work for me (us readers). I’ll be back to check out the links when my boss isn’t monitoring my structured, gotta pay the bills activities on a Friday. ;-)! TGIF!
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Shelley, no rush. No requirement that you read a thing here. Just every once in a while I like to do something like this because I love it when other bloggers share what they’ve read online recently. Learning is fun.
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I love learning – and if you’ve found it interesting, I’m excited to read it too!
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Thanks! I’m flattered.
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A patron saint for the internet. Good intentions but kind of strange. Happy to have his help though if it means a kinder more empathic community. Which is exactly what you linkups are doing, building community. Good on you, Ally.
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Forestwood, I stumbled upon St. Issy’s story and had to talk about him here. I agree, if his influence can make for a kinder internet, then *yay* I hadn’t thought of this type of post as building community, but you’re right– it does. Thanks for stopping by and sharing that insight.
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Well this is super interesting. I learn something every time I come on here! Most importantly, isn’t it neat to get “lost in the sauce”? (Never heard that expression before and I LOVE it.) ❤
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Pam, while it’s not my primary reason for writing this blog, occasionally I do a post about stuff and links. You’ve never heard “lost in the sauce”? Glad to have introduced you to the phrase. I do what I can here!
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Haha. Well, I happen to love being “lost in the sauce.” I think it will be my new favorite phrase. 🙂
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Excellent!
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Whenever I grumble, I tell my wife (before she calls me out), “but who am I to complain?” Saying this gives me the opp to complain but then absolves me as a sort of ‘noncomplainer’… does that make sense???
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srbotch, it makes perfect sense. One must do what one must do to stay sane. I’m sure St. Issy would approve of your approach! 🙂
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hahah – your comments with the links are fun – and now hoping I have time to check them out
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Prior…, I don’t like to waste anyone’s time so I try to add a little info about what the articles are about. A teaser or a summation, not sure which I’m doing when I write those things.
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what a riot, those articles!
those personality quizzes always just confirm my weirdness.
thanks for this fun post!
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krcc, I loved these articles. I didn’t go out of my way to find them, but when I read them I had to share them here. I agree about the personality quizzes, it’s same old, same old.
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I think I need to make me that failure resume. Thanks for these links, Ally.
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Damyanti Biswas, I made a failure resume for myself, kind of a rough draft really. I saw a few patterns, so I learned something. But it is kind of a depressing thing to do… 😳
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Hi Ally Bean! I always do enjoy coming by your blog and seeing whazz up. Lately I have quit taking (and reading) these kind of articles. It always seems like I go away feeling like I don’t really fit anywhere in someone else’s idea or spectrum. It’s like somebody makes these things up and we go over there wanting answers about how to make up happier, better, etc. I think I have failed completely in the area of self-improvement and am learning to (sometimes gracefully and sometimes not) accept that grade of noncompliance. You, my dear, are too wide-open to fit into any of these categories, either. I am sure. Love.
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Kathy, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.
I hear you about not fitting into any of the established niches. Many [most?] of the self-improvement articles I see don’t call to me, but occasionally I’ll click on one to see what’s the latest idea about how to make me better. I like to think I’m improving as I go along in life. Whether I fit comfortably into any specific system of self-improvement– well, that’s a toss up.
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Haha! I need the complaint quiz!
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Pam, oddly enough I haven’t come across one of those, but you just know they’re out there somewhere… 😉
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😂😂😂
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Love these articles. I have to say I totally agree with the first one–not saying if I agree based on experience or not, just that I agree.
I made a manifesto several years ago, as part of my building-confidence-as-a-writer. I haven’t looked at it in a long time, but now I’m thinking I should go check to see what I said about myself!
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Kate, I’m happy to know you liked these articles. I enjoy reading blogs with this sort of linky thing, so once in a while I do it too.
I don’t have a manifesto, but I could use one. I hope to make one once I get the chance to sit down and think it through. I bet that reviewing your old manifesto will be enlightening, showing you how far you’ve come.
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