Sneezing Monkey

Gazoontite my furry friend!
I want more of this. Give that chimp a pepper sandwich.

Have you noticed that monkey humor connects with all cultures and peoples?
It is making this world smaller ….and better.

Merry Christmas.

Kid Terrified of Puppets

I am still trying to sort out why I am so entertained by this. Maybe because I have acted just like this, especially when chased by a bee or had a spider crawling on me.

[Hit to Mark]

Monkeys on Ice

Something to warm your heart this holiday season.

Put on a fresh pot of hot water for tea and cocoa.
Gather the kids, aunt helen and uncle gene around the computer…
and watch the grace and strength of monkey’s on ice. Happy Thanksgiving.

Will tangible media be extinct?

I sometimes read Steve Rubel’s blog Micro Persuasion. In a recent post Steve contended that, “by January 2014 I will wager that in the US almost all forms of tangible media will either be in sharp decline or completely extinct. I am not just talking about print, but all tangible forms of media – newspapers, magazines, books, DVDs, boxed software and video games.”

He followed up his bold claim with several links to media companies efforts to move away from tangible media. While I would not be so bold to put a date on it, I tend to agree that tangible media forms will be greatly reduced in the next decade, for good reason.

He describes in an earlier post ways to go “media green” and help the environment by moving away from paper forms to digital forms of media. I like the way Steve is thinking, but apparently many people disagree… most people who have taken the online poll on his blog have voted, “you’re crazy”!!

What do you think?

It’s a Mad World

“It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can’t find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger,” the U2 lead singer told Clinton’s fourth annual philanthropic summit in New York. “That’s mad, that is mad.”

From Reuters article, “Crisis no excuse to ignore poverty“, Wed. Sept. 24, 2008

To help make a difference go to: http://www.one.org/

Are Gadgets Making Us Awkward?

I like text messaging and email. It is quick… and it makes me feel like I am in control. I can conserve my relational and emotional energy – something very important for an introvert. But are those tools making me more shy and less willing to initiate more personal forms of communication?

I stumbled upon an article from last year entitled, “Gadgets blamed for making the world a shier place” from The Raw Feed, a technology and culture blog. Here is the post:

Psychologist, Harvard Business School researcher and etiquette columnist Robin Abrahams said in a recent interview that cell phones, iPods and PCs are casing a worldwide epidemic of shyness. She said nearly 50% of people say they’re shy in social situations, up from about 40% “in the past.”

“People shop online, they listen to their iPods rather than the radio — and they e-mail or text each other rather than talk. What we have is an increasingly complex social environment, combined with less practice at dealing with it because of technology.”

I can picture you rolling your eyes right now… thinking, “Please… we communicate more now! I am tired of people trying to find something or someone to blame for everything. Now we are blaming our cell phones!!”

I hear you, I hear you. I agree. But I am curious about this idea…. I have worked with teens for more than fifteen years now, and without question technology has radically changed the way they communicate over the last decade.

It does seem to me that more and more teens seem to be unfamiliar and restless with face-to-face and voice-to-voice communication. Obviously my work with teens predates our compulsive cell-phone-as-an-appendage, texting-more-than-blinking era. And I know that talking with most teens is awkward because THEY are awkward… uncomfortable and unsettled with who they are. Insecure. (Come to think of it, so am I…) Yes… developing social skills is part of their development.

Is our obsession with technology impeding social development? I am sure it is helping in some ways, and hurting in others. I wonder, as one who mentors and works with teens, will I need to focus more and more on helping them learn how to interact with each other in-person? …to learn how to be “a community”?  What do you think?

Finally…

What Makes a Book Tick…

I found a blog post about stunning sculptures created from used books. These amazing creations are called by some “book dissections” or “book autopsies”. I tend to not see them as being something so grim! Click here to see more about “The Bittersweet Art of Cutting Up Books.”

Nerdbots

I came across a great website called Nerdbots.

Description from the website: “Oddly obsessed with all things robot, married couple Nicholas and Angela from Kansas City, Missouri, decided on a whim one day to do nothing other than to build one themselves.

After piecing together parts found at their favorite antique and thrift stores, they created their first robot friend. Since that first day, Nicholas and Angela have added many fabulously geeky robots to their beloved robotic collection.”

What a concept… taking something considered to be junk, mixing it together, and restoring into something creative, fun and valuable. This is what we should be doing in our communities… and in our lives.

It’s Not Easy Eating Green

In an effort to feel better and loose weight, my wife and I began to drastically change our eating habits about 6 years ago. Our efforts increased 3 years ago before our son was born. We strongly desired for him to begin with a a pattern of healthy eating. It worked! He loves his fruit and veggies.

Over the last few years we have invested ourselves in being more educated about what we take into our bodies and how that food was prepared. My wife has read countless books and  websites, and has done an amazing job helping change the way we live and eat. We desire to live holistic, healthy lives… we’ve grown to care deeply about how the environment and animals are treated in the preparation of our food.

It has been encouraging to see a growing movement throughout North America for people to eat locally produced organic food. When we began this journey 5 or 6 years ago it was hard to find organic food outside of a limited (and expensive) selection at small health food stores. Now, virtually every supermarket provides a selection, helping make organic food more accessible and affordable. Click here to read an article on the befits of organic food.

This has not been easy. We still have “bad days” where we eat things outside of the norm. Often when I do eat something greasy or filled with preservatives, my body expresses it’s disdain in not-so-pleasant ways!

We have made a commitment to spend less in other areas in order to eat better. We eat out way less, pack lunches, and purchase more than 80% organic. We have also started trying to buy and support locally grown food. Recently we visited an amazing farm near our home called the Heritage Prairie Market, that  educates children and adults how to eat better and grow their own food. Very cool.

We want to start a garden in our neighborhood this spring, as a place to connect and encourage each other toward better living. This is something we have no experience with, but are excited to experiment and learn!

Tell me about your journey to get healthy and eat better… wherever you are at!

Stay tuned… my next post will be about kids eating better at school…  (subscribe if you like it!)