the measure

"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit, and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these." -- Susan B Anthony

alone... how to be

"You could be in an instant surrounded if you needed it. If your heart is bleeding, make the best of it. There is heat in freezing; be a testament."

21st Century Enlightenment

Matthew Taylor's lecture on the meaning of 21st Century Enlightenment is a wonderful RSA video.

I love the reference to Jonathan Haidt's excellent book the Happiness Hypothesis (elephant and the rider).

Noah Wild

Have you met Noah Wild yet?

"Noah Wild is a movement dedicated to the idea that kids can truly make a difference by saving animals and the places they live."

The web site noahwild.com offers animal info for kids and links to other great animal sites. It has videos and cartoons and merchandise. Buying Noah Wild products gives money back to 5 animal non-profits... and your child gets to decide which non-profit gets his/her donation.

sergey larenkov

Sergey Larenkov has merged historic photos with contemporary pictures to create amazing images.
to me, they are images of healing and resilience.

check out his site featuring Berlin, Prague, & Vienna 65 years later

And, if you've read City of Thieves... you'll want to check out his collection of merged photos of The Siege of Leningrad . Amazing and chilling... during the 900 days, many thousands died.

Sharpie Liquid Pencil

Say "hello" to my new best friend:

available September 2010 :)

The Sign

A couple of weeks ago, my sister told me about a sign she saw in someone's yard... the sign calls the President a Marxist and a traitor.
She has to pass this sign every day on her way to work, and it was infuriating her.

I kept thinking about it...
part of me wanted to convince the person(s) who put up the sign of how wrong they were...
part of me was infuriated too.

Then it dawned on me that no one experiences freedom until they stop pushing against others. The only thing that ever binds you is the pushing against that which is unwanted. And so I can go about my day pushing against that sign, or I can go about my day with appreciation about what is.

It is with great appreciation that I present the sign which for me is a lesson and a blessing in disguise.
:)

Thank You

I'm thankful for free music in a beautiful setting.

Check out the wonderful work of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony
The largest privately funded free-admission symphony in America.

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

Read more about Proposition 8 Overturned

My favorite tweet Wednesday was from Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (@villaraigosa) Prop 8 wasn't just unconstitutional, it was un-Californian

...my thoughts exactly :)