How is the first picture of Earth from space the most powerful political picture ever published? Marking the 40th anniversary of the famous picture, a British newspaper, The Independent, remarked that the three astronauts of the Apollo 8 mission “went to the moon, but ended up discovering the Earth.” The British cosmologist, Sir Fred Hoyle, [...]
Posts under ‘WHOLENESS/order’
Nature Guides Design
JanineBenyus is suggesting innovators rediscover nature as a source of innovation. This 20 minute TED talk focuses on the design advice present in nature provoking innovators to ask “how would nature solve this problem?” Benyus walks through tale after tale where nature provided solutions–building a quieter, faster and more efficient bullet train, stopping bacteria growth [...]
2009 National Institute
As someone who has attended two of the Center of the Constitution’s weekend programs, I was overly excited when I was accepted to the 2009′s National Institute. Of course I couldn’t wait to pick Will’s brain for more and more insight, but quickly I have learned this Institute is much more than that. This institute [...]
Ubuntu and the Birthplace of Cool
I’ve been recently reminded that my own activism has roots in the campaigns for Africa in the 80′s. I convinced my mother to make a donation so I could order a Live Aid t-shirt. I’m sure she hoped the purchase would buy her some quiet time but it wasn’t about the t-shirt for me. I [...]
What the King of Pop did with Politics
As a music fanatic, I am contemplating what pop music would be today without Michael Jackson. Cable news is busy retelling 1,000 sordid details of his tragic life, but I urge you to turn to MTV instead and consider what he contributed to the world of music. One of those contributions is harnessing the power [...]
The Wave, Human Nature, and Our Radical Evolution
Published in 2005, Joel Garreau’s Radical Evolution offers multiple perspectives on the future of human kind. Interviewing world-class thinkers, engineers, and philosophers, the author examines not only our decisions, but our decision making process—for the heart of Garreau’s thesis maintains that human nature changes. We’ve all wondered whether we’re still part of that process. Over [...]
Project Citizen
Having been briefly introduced to Project Citizen at the National Academy, I decided to try it out this year. It’s an ideal, outcome-based activity as much about the journey as the finish. And the great thing about the finish is that it’s really just the beginning, for students receive the tools to research and formulate [...]
A Visual Interpretation of the Financial Crisis
Remember Madison’s worries about the imprecision of language? More than a few Americans have been overwhelmed by the news about the financial crisis and have no idea what to think about all the information. Many have been convinced to be afraid but few know what the problem really is. Jonathan Jarvis offers this incredibly simply [...]
It's America and We are One
Did you see the We are One celebration yesterday? It was a powerful combination of our best words, music, and ideas. From the MLK and JFK quotes you’d expect to Reagan quotes you wouldn’t. I wouldn’t call myself a fan of Mary J. Blige or Jon Bon Jovi but they provided a moving performance with [...]
Who We Are
A new year and a new adminstration loom large on the horizon amongst even larger challenges. There are horrifying images from Gaza and hearstopping financial woes to worry many. In our last holiday post, Max pointed us to the Grinch and I think I felt a little like that green menace when I did my [...]
