It gets better
October 23, 2010 § Leave a Comment
On October 12th, City Councilman Joel Burns, addressed the Fort Worth City Council, and any parents and youth that might be watching the broadcast with a message that was close to his heart: to the young people who may be facing bullying because they are different, hang in there, “it gets better”.
He began his address with a review of the recent spate of suicides that have been a result of bullying of teens who were perceived to be gay or lesbian. One by one, the Council heard the stories young teens who have taken their lives recently because of bullying: Asher Brown (13 years old), Billy Lucas (15 years old), Justin Aaberg (15 years old), Seth Walsh (13 years old), and finally Zach Harrington (19 years old), who hung himself after attending a City Council meeting. Already, the passionate words of the Councilman were moving to hear in highlighting the important issue of bullying that needs to be addressed. Then in a courageous move, he started to share his own personal story of bullying and coming to terms with his sexual orientation. The speech he gave to the City Council would be the first time he had ever spoken of certain events and reflections of his life, and in those tearful moments, he held captive all who were listening… and all who would come to listen to his address. « Read the rest of this entry »
Message in a Bottle
September 29, 2010 § 1 Comment
Sometimes the best, most inspiring of things are the simplest things. This short stop-motion animation by Kirsten Lepore is a great example of that.
Beautiful in its simplicity, it is heart-felt, and speaks volumes with so little.
Baby Carrots’ junk food-esque marketing campaign
September 23, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Bolthouse Farms and Crispin Porter + Bogusky have assembled a great satirical marketing campaign for baby carrots in the style of junk food ads. Entertaining and fun. And if that’s not enough, the campaign comes with its very own microsite, and iPhone app that boasts of being “the world’s first ever carrot-crunch-powered video game. Ever.”
Future:
Indulge:
Extreme:
From transactional to transformational
August 23, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Dr. Cleve W. Stevens (Photo credit CSRwire Talkback)
Late last week, I came across a blog post by Dr. Cleve W. Stevens, the founder and President of Owl Sight Intentions, Inc., giving his perspective on BP’s management of the Gulf oil spill earlier this year.
He talks about the differentiation between a transactional approach to operations, problem-solving, and leadership, compared with a transformational approach. My own personal interpretation is that much of the world still operates within a transactional paradigm, driven by the short-term motivation of economic profits. A transformational way of being occurs when a greater vision is taken on that strives towards enabling the personal growth and holistic well-being and betterment of other people and a community alongside a person or organization’s development. It is a long-term motivation driven by mutual benefit and sustainability. Dr. Stevens uses BP as an excellent example highlighting not only the difference between the two approaches, but also the magnitude of the outcomes: both potential and actual.
The original post can be found at CSRwire’s Talkback blog and I have also included it here below. I highly recommend reading it. It’s not only a great read, but offers compelling insight into the way companies and individuals carry themselves. If nothing else, it presents interesting food for thought.
At the end of the day, only you can decide what kind of leader or company you want to be.
Look up. Feel better.
August 18, 2010 § Leave a Comment
To say it’s been a hectic few weeks… and months would be a slight understatement. Yet, in saying that, I know I’m not alone. Judging by how focused, introspective, and rushed my fellow Torontonians seem to be… brushing by me on the street, on and off transit, and in and out of stores – it’s quite apparent that I’m not the only one. <Insert collective sigh here.>
In one such typical moment of rush – waiting for the Toronto Queen streetcar to arrive to whisk me off to work – I happened to look up. « Read the rest of this entry »
Slowing down
August 15, 2010 § 1 Comment
After a long week and busy weekend, my boyfriend and I wanted a relaxed meal at home, but didn’t feel like cooking or getting take-out. In a stroke of his usual genius, he suggested we have fondue. Truly, a wonderful solution: light preparation, almost no dishes afterwards, a relatively healthy choice, and a chance to catch-up after a hectic week at work for both of us. Were there any down-sides?
One of the best things about fondue is that it forces you to slow down… something we all need a little more of in an instantaneous world.
One Laptop per Child
August 11, 2010 § 2 Comments
One man’s dream and vision is now a reality and having global implications and impact. At the Techonomy conference in San Francisco last week, Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of MIT’s Media Lab and the One Laptop per Child foundation, about the program he grew into an international phenomenon.
Perhaps one of the most notable comments Negroponte made about the recent success of One Laptop per Child was that fifty per cent of the children in Peru who use One Laptop Per Child have been observed to be teaching their parents how to read and write. The program is not perfect, with many children still lacking access to the internet, an issue that is still being worked on; however, the latest results are still worth applauding.
A video clip of Negroponte’s talk is below.
Innovative space saving solution in a small New York studio loft
August 6, 2010 § 2 Comments
Earlier this year, a video feature on Gary Chang’s ingenious convertible home made its way around the around the interwebs.
In another example of a creative solution to a tiny space, JPDA Architects have designed a solution for a 500 squarefoot loft studio that merges both design and utility without sacrificing either. The studio includes innovative ways of working coveted storage space and shelving into the home, and arranging the “rooms” of the loft in a way that maximizes the working and living space.
The space is also featured in Freshome.
From Russia with Love: Reinventing an icon
August 2, 2010 § 2 Comments
My boyfriend’s brother just returned from Moscow, bearing dolls. Matryoshka dolls, or Russian nesting dolls, to be exact. I don’t know what it is about these small wooden dolls. The concept is so simple, and so universally known, but equally delightful no matter how old you are, and how often you have opened the dolls to reveal the smaller one within.
But far better than the iconic traditional Russian dolls were a second red, white and blue doll-set bearing a smiling Obama and Medvedev on the largest doll. Within each one was a smaller doll, with the faces of the American Presidents of the past painted on each one… a small refresher in America’s recent political history. It was delightful. Despite knowing who they were, it was sheer, childish joy anticipating then revealing the painted faces of each President. Amazing.
It just goes to show. It doesn’t matter if an idea’s been done: it’s all in the execution… or the reinvention.
Han Rosling’s TEDtalk on global population growth
July 29, 2010 § Leave a Comment
I first came across Hans Rosling on TED several years ago, and was immediately blown away by how interesting and yet simple he made statistical trends through his infographics. Hans’ most recent TED talk brilliantly presents the issue of population growth and introduces the concept of quality of living as being the solution to the problem.
