Research & Rescue

Kiva Co-Founder on TED.com

Jessica Jackley, co-founder of kiva.org, talks about the roots of her organization. I think she really speaks to a fear many people have of trying to help the poor and falling into a quagmire of hopelessness. I have given to kiva in the past and it's wonderful to see her passion and determination. I hope it inspires others to get involved, as well.

Talk about taking a different perspective...

I kind of knew what was coming here but this woman is still amazing to be able to take the view she did on her situation.

Centipedes - yecch

Hat tip Kottke.org. If you live in the desert Southwest, you know centipedes. We have learned to make a quick dash for the kitchen tongs to toss the offending beasts outside, since squishing them usually doesn't work - and it's simply disgusting. As far as I am concerned, these are aggressive mean-spirited beings that serve no purpose except to harass unwitting mammalian residents. I have actually had them run back toward me when I've flung them out the door. All that said, our centipedes are no more than about 7 inches long - usually shorter. So this video makes me think I NEVER want to go to South America, even if it was in my list of places I'd like to go.

Wake Up Everybody

Good morning cyberspace!

This isn't typically my genre of music but I love the message and like the music with it.

Things We Say Wrong

Merengue Dog

Oh, OK. Since I'm still taking hits on the Dog and Dolphin thing, y'all must like cute animal videos. So, here's another, with a hat tip to Chris Merle:

Video: The Dog and the Dolphin

It's great to have a friend who doesn't care if you're different. Thanks to my friends who let me be me.

What is Happiness?

I actually discovered the documentary, Happy, about a week ago when I fell into a rabbit hole looking at articles on coaching and liked the trailer for the movie enough that I became a fan on Facebook. The idea behind this movie is not really a new one and I have discussed it on this blog before (Money Isn't Everything).

I think that, despite the movement to downsize our lives, it's easy to get caught up in the message that more [stuff] is better. I certainly succumb to it more often than I'd like and I try to rationalize it (So, what if I have more books than I could possibly read - when I retire or take a vacation*, I'll just hole up with my books and read). What having too much stuff does is clutter one's environment and one's brain and the best money spent is on time with friends and traveling. I was about to add film to that but I've also found that the best pictures are the ones not taken. They reside in one's memories :-)

This is a nice piece from CNN that I hope moves you to support the production of Happy. If not, may you be moved to support the production of happiness - in your life, and in those of others.

 

 

* My friends will tell you it's not in my vocabulary, so I looked it up: Main Entry: 1 va·ca·tion Pronunciation: \vā-ˈkā-shən, və-\ Function: noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English vacacioun, from Anglo-French vacacion, from Latin vacation-, vacatio freedom, exemption, from vacare Date: 14th century 1 : a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission 2 a : a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended b : a period of exemption from work granted to an employee 3 : a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation 4 : an act or an instance of vacating (Source: merriam-webster.com)

Video: Matt Ridley: When ideas have sex

Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist website (and numerous books), presented at TED Global this year. The whole video is worth watching, of course, but I really like the [slightly out of context] quote below.

We've gone beyond the capacity of the human mind to an extraordinary degree. And by the way, that's one of the reasons that I'm not interested in the debate about I.Q., about whether some groups have higher I.Q.s that other groups. It's completely irrelevant. What's relevant to a society is how well people are communicating their ideas, and how well they're cooperating, not how clever their individuals are.

via www.ted.com

 

#FelineFriday video: Need a new wing man?