What We've Been Sold : How Social Media Impacts Reality

This film by Wild Combination, a creative studio comprised of roughly three to 30 individuals that partners with companies, creatives, and causes to bring engaging & cinematic stories to life

I’m trying to be the voice or the image of the people who don’t have that voice . . .

When you walk into a class and see me, I want you to feel taken care of . . .

That’s why I became a yoga teacher, because I wanted to share that with other people . . .

I see your white, I see your black, I see your fat, I see your skinny. I don’t care what you look like, I just want you to come in and open your mind and open your heart.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  : Yoga : Wild Combination

Understanding Art

Here are three videos by The Nerdwriter, “a weekly video essay series that puts ideas to work.”

I’ve always enjoyed art and wish I could participate, but I’ve also always felt bit distant. Even though I look and stare and draw conclusions, it often seems the art “Won’t give an inch.”

“Boredom is exactly when we feel time and being most acutely. It can inspire a profound mood.”

Also check out Movies inspired by Art, see how The Village stole from The Princess Bride, or more ideas from Nerdwriter1.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Art : Nerdwriter1

Bugs:

I hate em. And I love em.

Soviet's Doctored Iconic Image

“But unintentionally it also captures, and then conceals, a story of vengeance and mutual brutality. Of murder, organized destruction, and pillaging, all culminating in this iconic moment.”

The process of drawing a female face

And there’s plenty more where that came from.

Sheesh.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Art

Notable Women : Swapping out faces we all know for faces we all should

Notable Women features 100 historic women selected from the Teachers Righting History database, a collection of women whom the American people recommended to appear on actual U.S. currency during my time at the U.S. Department of Treasury (via).

After all, inspirations lead to aspirations, which is why we have a responsibility to highlight the women who have shaped our past and serve as role models for our future. I want to thank you for your interest, and hope you will share Notable Women with your friends and family (via).

Although very cool and better than nothing, somehow, it seems a bit, I don’t know, shallow maybe? Because really, that’s all we can do to honor the woman who have helped shape and form our country?

I applaud the attempt, but am embarrassed just the same.

You can view modified notes on the website, like Sojourner Truth (top), Grace Hopper (below), Amelia Earhart (bottom), and Amelia Boynton Robinson.

For more on . . .

 Maps that will change the way you see the world 

World Languages in simple infographics

Infographics say more than what they say

In times of need, Chef Jose Andres and his "25,000 leaders" serve over 150,000 meals a day.

every time you have a disaster, you bring the different experts into different areas for the reconstruction, for the relief process. So you need to understand that if you have to rebuild homes that you'll bring architects. If you need to take care of people in the hospitals, you bring more help with doctors. If you have to feed people, it's only very normal and logical to me that you will bring cooks. And that's what we do. Kitchens, restaurants are chaos. And chefs, restaurant people - we manage chaos very well. After a hurricane, it's a lot of chaos. And people go hungry, and people go thirsty. And what we are very good at is understanding the problem and adapting. And so a problem becomes an opportunity. That's why I think chefs more and more - you're going to be seeing more of us in these situations. We're practical. We're efficient. We can do it quicker, faster and better than anybody (via)

Humility : using one’s gifts and talents for the benefit of others, not themselves.

Jose Andres and his team of leaders are a great example to us all of how we can and should pursue our loves, our passions, and our dreams. And then, when trials come, when disaster strikes and people are in need, we give away our gifts, resources - whatever - for the benefit of others. Because it’s the right thing to do. Because it’s the human thing to do. And because that’s why we were given them in the first place: to give it away.

I'm only as good as the people I had around me. And happens, it seems, I became the leader. But actually, we had 25,000 leaders. We had young girls - one girl called Lola that will - while his mother and father were around the island on their food truck giving food away in faraway, remote, forgotten neighborhoods, that young girl was staying behind in the headquarters leading a 1,000-people unit of sandwich makers, making sure that everybody was working hard, working fast and working efficient. Lola is 10 years old. We had leaders everywhere.

If a 10-year-old can be leading hundreds of men and women in a moment of need, making sandwiches, imagine what we should be expecting from our president or from the governor or from our fellow congressmen and senators. If a young girl was able to show leadership in a moment of disrepair, what should we expect from our elected leaders? If you want to lead, lead. But you need to be leading in the good moments but especially in the moments of darkness.

Damn.

You can read more about World Central Kitchen on their website or Jose Andres book, We Fed and Island. You can also join his crew of leaders or help donate to the cause.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Humanity : Other kitchens serving 40,000 meals a day

A flower from my wife

“The heart is a bloom, shoots up from the stony ground.”

A lyric that follows me now, down every dirt road path and onto the old cracked sidewalks, where little girls giggle as they silly talk and my mind drifts again to another world we lived in. A place that taught me a plant can survive in the most surprising, sometimes inhospitable places. And the human spirit can thrive, even in change, even if smothered or weary. 
Beautiful flowers can grow out of concrete.
- Josey Miller (@storyanthology)

Yeah, she’s pretty awesome.

Click here for more thoughts, pictures, and inspiration from my wife,

Going Fishing : A Stop Motion Animation by Guldies

Made in the desk in his bedroom, Going Fishing is composed of 2500 still pictures (4530 taken) played in 18 FPS. It was shot with a Canon EOS 600D, animated in Dragonframe, and edited in Photoshop and Sony Vegas. The sound effects recorded with a Blue Yeti with a few downloaded from freesound.org (via).

A lot of that I don’t understand, but sifting through 4530 pictures, editing and composing 2500 of those and then creating this masterpiece of a film I do understand, and I love it.

And I’m inspired by it.

As a (perhaps want-to-be) artist, these little adventures of creativity always stick with me because I’m so judgmental of myself. Who’s gonna read that? or Why does this even matter?

But then I watch Going Fishing and I’m reminded that people are drawn to people who have passion, to people who create rather than destroy, and to people who - no matter how - try to make the world a better place.

And that is an encouraging though.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  : Inspiration  : Stop Motion

Free Solo : Official Trailer

Alex Honnold has become “the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's 3,000ft high El Capitan Wall. With no ropes or safety gear, he completed arguably the greatest feat in rock climbing history.”

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  : Rock climbing : Alex Honnold

Stephen King's stories exist in the same universe

I've never been a huge Stephen King fan - I've only read a small handful of his novels, but I am a huge fan of his memoir, On Writing. It might even be in my top five of all time . . . including all genres. 

Non the less, I admire him immensely. His skill, his approach and dedication to the craft, and his imagination are, in many ways, unmatched. This short video only hints at the complexity of his mind, and the vast universe he has been able to create.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Stephen King  :  Maps of favorite fictional worlds

The bizarre and brilliant behavior of fire ants

"Geneticists believe," writes Charles C. Mann, "that S. invicta (fire ants) originated in southern Brazil, an area with many rivers and frequent floods. The floods wiped out ant nests. Over the eons, these small, furiously active creatures have evolved the ability to respond to rising water by knitting their bodies together into floating swarm-balls - workers on the outside, queen in the center - that can ride on the flood for days. Once the waters recede, colonies swarm back onto previously submerged land so rapidly that S. invicta can use the devastation to increase its range. Like criminal gangs, fire ants thrive on chaos" (pg 31).  

Charles C. Mann continues.

In the 1930s Solenopsis invicta was transported to the United States, probably in ship ballast, which often consists of haphazardly loaded soil and gravel. An adolescent bug enthusiast named Edward O. Wilson, later a famous biologist, spotted the first colonies in the port of Mobile, Alabama. From the ant's vantage, it had been dumped onto an empty, recently flooded expanse. S. invicta too off, never looking back.

More likely, the initial incursion seen by Wilson was just a few thousand individuals - a number small enough to hint that random, bottleneck-style genetic change played a role in what happened next. (The evidence is not yet inclusive.) In its homeland, fire ant colonies constantly fight each other, reducing their numbers and creating space for other types of ant. In North America, by contrast, the species forms cooperative super-colonies, linked clusters of nests that can spread for hundreds of miles, wiping out competitors along the way. Remade by chance and opportunity, new-model S. invictus needs just a few decades to conquer much of the southern United States. 

A primary obstacle to its expansion is another imported South American ant, Linepithema humile, the Argentine ant. After escaping its natal territory more than a century ago, L. humile formed its own super-colonies in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe (the European colony stretches from Portugal to Italy). In recent years researches have come to believe that these huge, geographically separate ant societies in fact may be part of a single intercontinental unit, a globe-spanning entity that exploded across the planet with extraordinary speed and rapacity, and is now the most populous society on Earth.

Homo sapiens did something similar as it became human (pg 32). 

Man, that is some cool stuff.

If you haven't heard of this book already, The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World, by Charles C. Mann, check it out. It's worth the read. 

Freakonomics recently aired an episode, Two (Totally Opposite) Ways to Save the Planet, where they interviewed Mr. Mann (what a great name, by the way) and a few contemporaries from either side. 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Wizard and the Prophet  :  Charles C. Mann

Unchained Melody : Elvis' Last Great Moment

October 2nd 1948, Elvis made his first public appearance

"In one of his final performances before his tragic death, Elvis Presley delivered an incredible rendition of ‘Unchained Melody’ during a concert in Rapid City, South Dakota on June 21, 1977.

The performance, described as 'the last great moment of his career', was recorded for his last television special two months before his death in August 1977" (via). 

The Rolling Stone writes:

He had an enlarged heart, an enlarged intestine, hypertension and incredibly painful bowel problems. He was barely sleeping and should have probably been in the hospital, but he was still a huge draw on the concert circuit and the money was too good to turn down.
 

As guitarist Charlie Hodge held a microphone, Elvis dug deep and poured his heart into the song. His body was falling apart, but his voice remained almost as powerful as ever. Without any doubt, it’s the last great moment of his career.

I've never been a huge Elvis fan (although my son and I both enjoy In the Ghetto), but after listening to Malcolm Gladwell describe the sad and lonely life he must have lived, I at least see him differently. Watching this moment, as the camera zooms in on an overweight and dying man, I cannot help but wonder if the reason why he dug so deep and poured out his heart was because it suddenly became the song of his life.

Then, at the 2:34 mark, there's a look, then a smile, almost like he's remembering who and what he was. It's almost like he's saying, "I still got it." And then he gets after it. Because time goes by, "so slowly", and when it's at the end, it can suddenly seem too fast. "And time can do so much." 

 

His youth is gone, his fame dwindling, the end is near. Perhaps, as he sings this song, he knows it's his last, that life is leaving him. And so he sings, "Wait for me" with all that he has, harkening back to what he was, hoping. But in less then three months later, his body and mind will succumb to the brokenness and fatigue, leaving us, and Elvis, with this last great moment. Which, befittingly, doesn't seem to be enough.

Oh, my love, my darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time
Time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me

Lonely rivers flow
To the sea, to the sea
To the open arms of the sea
Lonely rivers sigh
"Wait for me, wait for me"
I'll be coming home, wait for me

Oh, my love, my darling
I've hungered, for your touch
A long, lonely time
Time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  On Living :  Music  :  Elvis

Long shadows cast on the camel caravan.

Photo by @jarradseng

Love this image. And the host site the reposted it, @stayandwander. If ever you want to feel the feels, spend a few minutes meandering around their account. You won't be disappointed.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Photography  

A relaxing and hypnotic video about emotions

Volumes - Art film by Maxim Zhestkov from Zhestkov on Vimeo.

Volumes is a 4K Full CG art film by Maxim Zhestkov exploring the juxtaposition of emotions with the laws of nature. Billions of colourful particles dance, play and communicate with each other in an eternal hypnotic ballet governed by the invisible forces (via).

Man that is funky to watch, and fun to interpret. 

If this is a reenactment of my day, my emotions, what was it? When was it? 

It may not align perfectly, but its fun to consider.

You check out more of Zhestkov's films here. 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff : Cymatics: Science vs Music  :  Art

Should we kill all mosquitoes?

"No other bite kills more humans, or makes more of us sick." Nor is there any animal more annoying. 

And to make matters worse, there seems to be no real purpose to these ridiculous pests. THE WORLD COULD EASILY SURVIVE WITHOUT THEM!!!

Andrea Crisanti, "a tousled, sad-eyed man with a gentle smile, was trained as a physician in Rome" then studied molecular biology in Heidelberg where "he developed his lifelong interest in malaria."  In recent years, he and his colleagues have discovered a way to "spread an infertility mutation to 75 percent of a mosquito population" (via).

Which sounds great! 

But . . .

For thousands of years, the relentlessly expanding population of Homo sapiens has driven other species to extinction by eating them, shooting them, destroying their habitat or accidentally introducing more successful competitors to their environment. But never have scientists done so deliberately, under the auspices of public health. The possibility raises three difficult questions: Would it work? Is it ethical? Could it have unforeseen consequences? (via).

The answers are a bit more complex than what one might expect. Yes, breeding sterile mosquitos could wipe out a large percentage of the overall population and eradicating them completely in smaller communities, but it's probably almost impossible to think they could be wiped out completely. But it's the bigger question, the Jurassic Park question of just because we can rid the world of these pesky insects, does that mean we should?

The larger concern, arguably, is over the use of CRISPR itself, and the awesome power it unleashes over the environment. “We can remake the biosphere to be what we want, from woolly mammoths to nonbiting mosquitoes,” Greely muses. “How should we feel about that? Do we want to live in nature, or in Disneyland?” 

“We will have engineered the ecosystems of people elsewhere in the world without their knowledge or consent. We go from the default assumption that the things we engineer will not spread, to assuming they will . . . as soon as you’re thinking of a gene drive technology, you have to assume whatever you’re making will spread once it gets outside the lab. Human error will win out, if not deliberate human action" (via).

After swatting and scratching and waving off that annoying buzz in my ears all summer long, getting rid of mosquitos was a no-brainer. Especially after watching this:

But then, "as soon as you’re thinking of a gene drive technology, you have to assume whatever you’re making will spread once it gets outside the lab." 

Nature is beautiful often because it is imperfect. And if Disneyland were to spill out and over the rest of the country, the world, and consume the mountains and rivers, making them "perfect", is that really a world we want to live in? 

I don't think so. But then, I'm brought back, again and again, to this. And suddenly, once again, I'm torn. Because it isn't about annoyances anymore, but lives. Hundreds of thousands of them. 

Suddenly the answer seems pretty clear.

But is it? 

Ridding the world of mosquitoes is an act of playing God, but without the ability to see the future of consequence. We get to decide what has the right to live and what doesn't. We bypass natural selection and head straight for extinction. 

What then? And will it be worth it?

Should we kill all mosquitoes? 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Nature

This guy launched a GoPro into "near space"!

A lot of people asked me why I was doing this. Mostly, I had free time and needed a project/hobby to keep me engaged and secondly, space is neat.

Yes, it is neat. And huge! And somewhat terrifying. 

Here are a few other projects that help us understand and want to discover more about space.

 

Earthrise: 

"Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts-Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders-held a live broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from their spacecraft. Said Lovell, 'The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth.' They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis" (via).

To Scale : The Solar System

A film by Wylie Overstreet and Alex Gorosh

"On a dry lakebed in Nevada, a group of friends build the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits: a true illustration of our place in the universe" (via).

Near Space : A balloon with a GoPro attached

Two posts made that can answer many questions:

Post on the launch: https://imgur.com/gallery/UXezC

Post of How to do your own Balloon Launch: https://imgur.com/gallery/8a40L

If you are interested in doing your own balloon project check out this website. You can also read more about the Near Space project here.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  Are we alone?  :  Why the Solar Eclipse Will Blow Your Mind  :  We've sent some pretty cool shtuff into space

Why We Should Live Like Conductors

The role of a conductor is to organize the music and keep everything calm."

You should make the audience want to dance although you shouldn't be a circus act. I think people should focus on the music, and not the conductor.

This role, this pursuit, made me think of Joe Buck and his phisophy of calling games. When asked, "What bothers you in an announcer that you feel isn't measuring up?" Buck responded with,

"Over talking, doing too much, trying to prove to the audience that they did their reading, trying to make the call about themselves . . . I just want to state what happened. I want to do it an exciting way. I haven't always accomplished that, by the way. And I want to get out of the viewer's head. It's not about me. Nobody's tuning in - let's check the TV Guide listings and see what game Joe Buck is calling. Nobody cares. They want to see the Cubs. They want to see the Packers. They want to see the Cowboys. They don't care who's calling the game . . . if I get hit by a bus going into a game, they're still going to play. And the guys that bother me, without naming names, are the guys who sound like if they got hit by that bus, the game would be canceled" (via)

And when it comes to moments of great climactic celebration, moments where announces can make a name for themselves, moments like the Cubs winning the World Series for the first time in 108 years, Joe Buck didn't try to keep everyone calm or insert himself into the moment. Instead, he kept quiet. "I could choose to make that call all about me," he says, "screaming and yelling and, you know, 'groundball to Kris Bryant, going to be a tough play, out at first. And for the first time in 108 years, the Chicago Cubs have finally won it all. They gather on the mound. Players jumping over'", but he didn't. He didn't say any of that stuff, because it wasn't about him. It was about something bigger. 

I wonder how many other professions would do well to adapt a similar philosophy. How many companies, schools, communities, and relationships have crumbled because the man or woman in charge is trying to make it about themselves, forgetting that if they were gone, the game would still go on.

People like: 

- Teachers/Principals
- Parents
- CEO's
- Pastors
- Presidents/world leaders

How many of them, of us, make the moments of life - both big and small - about us, and not the bigger picture? And in so doing, ruin everything?

Really, for me, it comes down to humilitas and the belief that we should be using (or withholding) our gifts and talents for the benefit of others, not just ourselves. Just like a conductor. 

Keep everything calm, inspire dance, help people focus on the music. 

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff  :  On Living :  Music  :  Joe Buck  : Do Orchestras Really Need Conductors?

Monthly Newsletter : July

Hello all!

Welcome to Stories Matter, a place where humanity is shared and curiosity pursued. Which sometimes means heading to the darker places of life. Like hate.

For you newcomers, first off, welcome! But also, this is a bit more longwinded than normal. Sorry about that:)

For the past two weeks or so my family and I have been on the road, visiting China friends in Kansas City, Missouri, hiking with old friends in Turkey Run, Indiana, surprise visiting Judah's best friend from China in someplace-forgettable, Ohio, and then very much relaxing with my sister and family on a lake in eastern Pennsylvania. So far, we've had a blast (even though I'm currently sitting in an old and crappy waiting room while our van is getting looked at), but we've also had a lot of great conversations. Some easy, others not. All of them purposeful.

I'm sure you are all familiar with reuniting with friends and family. The first moments are a bit awkward, then comes the typical, "So what's new?" conversations, which will probably lead into some sort of remembering old times which are always great, and then there's the discussing of possible future endeavors or summer plans. But if we're lucky (either because we have enough time or because the present company is intentional) we get to discuss the real deep stuff, the personal stuff, the get-beyond-the-surfacy-bullshit- stuff. You know, the human being stuff.

Fortunately, over these past few weeks, we've been able to have some of those conversations, because we're fortunate to have those kinds of friends. But after each visit, as we drive to the next location, I've been thinking, "What is it exactly that forms friendships? Relationships? Community?"

What allows certain family members, friends, communities to flourish while others flounder? Is it diversity? Education? Religion? What? 

Then I recalled a discussion I've had (on more than one occasion) with my son about his friends and how I judge whether they are good for him. At first, my criteria was simple: "are they nice to your sisters? Because if they pick on them, then they aren't the type of kids I want you hanging out with." He wasn't thrilled with my assessment, and over time, neither was I. Because it was too simple. Too incomplete. So we added a bit more.

Good Friends Will:

1. Hurt when you hurt
2. Celebrate your success
3. Call you on your crap
4. Listen when you call them on theirs
5. Be nice to your siblings

While driving across country or walking unfamiliar streets in the early mornings (because babies don't sleep well in unfamiliar rooms) these ideas and questions on my mind and a variety of podcasts in my ears. And for whatever reason, a sort of theme has presented itself: Hatred.

At first this topic seemed a bit to heavy or dark to have as a theme, but the more I listened and read and watched snippets of news, the more appropriate it seems to discuss because our world, our country, our communities, even our families seem to be littered with this terrible disease. So why not talk about it?

Origins of Hate:

Today, 100 years ago, Nelson Mandela was born. And for the past 100 years, there may not have been a person on this planet who has had to endure and overcame hate more than this man. He says this about the origins of hate: “People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” And I don't think he is wrong.

Think about this for a minute. In elementary school, who are our biggest rivals? Other local elementary schools, right? Then, as we all blend into middle school together and find common interests, we begin to have animosity towards other little further yet still local middle schoolers. The same for high school and college. Yet, whenever we attend a professional game of some sort, who do we hate? Teams from other cities, right? But then, during the olympics, those people from rival cities suddenly become those we lock arms with as we our national team competes against foreign countries, whom we grow to dislike, loath, and hate. From an early age, we are taught to dislike, distrust, even hate those who are different.

No wonder it continues on in our churches, families, politics, and communities. 

So then, what do we do about it?

The other day, while walking in the blistering midday heat of Warrington, PA, I listened to perhaps one of the most challenging yet enjoyable podcasts of the past few months, and found possible answers.

Why we hate, and what we can do about it:

We develop hate as a mechanism to not blame ourselves for failures and voids we are unable to fill," Christian Picciolini says in an interview with Guy Raz, "If I made people feel worse than I did, than that made me feel better about myself and that might have been the only way that I could actually feel good about myself. Many, many  people were doing that, if not all of t(the white supremacists) were projecting their own pain, their own trauma, their own unresolved issues onto other people so they didn't have to feel it themselves. But I also think it was about ignorance, isolation, and fear (Why We Hate, by TED Radio Hour).

What I loved most about this TED Talk though was not just the various explanations of why we hate and the discussions of whether or not it is innate or learned, but that it gave very tangible solutions to hate. They aren't easy, but they're concrete. And I like that.

• Christian Picciolini: Show compassion, even to people who deserve it the least

• Sally Kohn: Improve the world through fostering compassion.

• Dylan Marron: Make conversation with those you hate

• Anand Giridharada: Fight for forgiveness with great conviction

While listening to this podcast (and I mean it, check it out . . . it's fantastic), I was reminded of the time I spent in Hawaii, roaming the streets, and forcing myself to talk to anyone who caused even the slightest bit of fear in me. The first guy I talked to was Trey, a large African-American man with tattoos on his arms, neck, and cheeks. It took me the better part of a block to approach him, and when I did, my voice shook. I was terrified. But so was he, which of course I found preposterous because why should he be scared of me? It wasn't until later on in the evening, when I was waiting for a bus, that he and I ended up sitting together for almost two hours and I learned why he was scared of white people (because they can't be trusted), why he was living in Hawaii (used to be married to a woman in the army), why he took a teaching job in Alaska (because people told him he couldn't), and why I was so scared of him. Ignorance.

Learning love and compassion:

The episode also reminded me of many other instances where we - the broken human race - have allowed ignorance and fear to lead to hate, but also - and more importantly - how, through compassion, conversation, and forgiveness, we've been able to overcome it. Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order):

The Black Panther Party: For me, the Black Panther Party meant leather car coats, black turtlenecks and black berets. It meant violence and guns. It inspired fear. But like the many black men and women who joined the Black Panther Party with ideas of power and revenge, I was fully disillusioned. Because for many years my understanding of the Black Panther Party, their history and their purpose, was shaped by media and movies. And I believed that what I saw and knew was fully true.  Until this, a revised history of the Black Panther Party.

Muslims: In order for community and unity to be found, for ignorance to be beaten, somebody has to be strong. Kind. And bigger than the situation and themselves.  They must, "remain delightful" because, "you'll attract more bees with honey." Which also means, sometimes, those holding the honey will have to endure the stings of the ignorant and cruel. The Muslims are coming is one such example because, contrary to what is often portrayed, instead of hate and guns and violence, many Musslims are carrying honey.

Refugees and my Neighbors: What if we treated our neighbors like refugees? What if we treated refugees like our neighbors? Not that long ago, a young girl from Judah's class missed the bus because her sister overslept. She couldn’t go home because nobody was there and she couldn’t make it to school because the roads were barely plowed and most of the sidewalks hadn’t been shoveled. Plus, she was cold. She wasn’t wearing socks or a hat or even a jacket, and at eight o’clock in the morning, it was still a few degrees below zero. So she knocked on our door, and we treated her like a refugee. 

WWII Soldiers: An Oregon couple is providing closure to the descendants of Japanese soldiers killed in World War II by repatriating the "good luck" flags they carried into battle, which were acquired by American GIs. Lee Cowan talks to veterans and their families about a respectful and emotional return - and of a bond born of war and strengthened in peace.

I still don't have a concrete outline of how to create strong and healthy relationships and communities, but for now here are a few I'm working on:

Healthy Communities Will:

1. Embrace compassion over judgement 

2. Pursue conversation rather than gossip

3. Be patient and provide second, third, fourth, and many other chances

4. Seek first to understand, not to be understood

5. Treat each other like good friends (from the list above)

In Conclusion:

Thank you all for subscribing and reading! Please, if you have any suggestions, comments, or recommendations, send them my way!!! In the meantime, here are a few things I'm currently wresting with:

- What I’m reading: The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World,
by Charles C. Mann. Because by the year 2050 there will be 10 billion people on this earth, and our world simply cannot handle it. 

- Quotes I'm considering: "Harmony : everything is uniquely itself and by being uniquely itself, part of a greater community" from "What Wisdom Can We Gain From Nature." This one too is extremely impactful, in just 9 short minutes!!!  Check it out. 

Enjoy the week! And be curious. 

2018 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year

National Geographic recently announced the winners of the Travel Photographer of the Year contest for 2018. You can see the winners here and the people’s choice awards here.

I don't know why, but that alligator one really intrigues me. Maybe it's because I just spent the last ten days in a cabin on a lake and watched my kids play, almost daily, some form of king of the mountain (on rafts). I bet that's what those gators are doing too. And if I were the current king, I'd be leery of the big momma coming to claim her throne . . . sheesh.

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