Weekly Reading List [3.30.12]

1. NIGER'S COMPLICATED HUNGER CRISIS - We're all aware of the hunger crisis in Somalia earlier this year. While that seems to have improved marginally, it seems another famine is just around the corner.

2. SO MUCH FOR U.S. FOOD ASSISTANCE TO NORTH KOREA & BORN IN THE GULAG - I was saddened to hear that the U.S. is pulling its food drop to North Korea. I understand, it's complicated. And it sounds like the "lead day" agreement was far from a solid agreement to begin with. Their suffering, still pains me. Also, the second article is about a young man who grew up in one of North Korea's notorious labor camps. I very eye opening look into what that kind of oppression and abuse can do to a man. [beware, it is graphic to read].

3. THE TANK DETOURNED - I love the creativity in this article. The authors give a brief history of the tank (especially in Syria) and then explore what it might be like if we repurposed the tank as...an ambulance. Something that saves, rather than something that kills. I LOVE IT!

4. MINIMALISSIMO - Over the past year, I've been exposed to design. Maybe inundated is a better word. I work for a design company, and am always getting emails with artistis, styles, the latest technology device or new packaging design. Because of this, I've started to notice I prefer certain styles to others. I'm a bit of a minimalist. I like things with lots of white space, simple elegant design, less is more. This blog has some great amazing minimalist design ideas, applied to everything from homes, to dishes, etc.

5. PERPETUAL OCEAN - A friend shared this video with me, and I love it! If I could blow it up on my computer and just let it play, I would. Its so interesting to watch the ocean currents swirl around and mix with other currents.

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday everyone! To get the week off right, I thought a bit of humor was in order. Check out this video or celebrities reading tweets about themselves. Which one is your favorite?

Weekly Reading List [3.23.12]

1. GOOGLE BOOKS HELPS REVEAL HOW WORDS COME AND GO & NGRAM VIEWER - This is a great article about how the digitization of books has helped scientists discover how words come and go in society. It has helped reveal patterns in language throughout history. For example, "in Hebrew there was a five-fold increase in word births around 1917 when the Balfour Declaration laid the foundation for modern Israel and revived Hebrew as a spoken language." You can also go to the Ngram Viewer and type in two words and see how they've progressed through history.

2. DON'T HIRE THIS MAN - Jeffrey Sachs is known throughout the development sector for his high profile work. I had been hearing that he was up for nomination of the next President of the World Bank. This is a very interesting article about how he could be a poor candidate, in terms of stretching the World Bank away from historical aid and moving towards empowering local individuals to change their own community. In light of the criticisms of Invisible Children and the "white man's guilt" this is a great article highlighting how markets and local entrepreneurs are making greater changes than aid.

3. THE WHITE SAVIOR COMPLEX & KONY2012 AND THE PROSPECTS FOR CHANGE- It is no secret that I have a more critical view of the KONY2012 campaign. I follow a novelist Teju Cole on twitter (@tejucole). In the first article, he has been openly critical of what he calls the "White Savior Industrial Complex" (essential the West, feeling like it has all the answers, and can swoop in and solve complex, culturally sensitive problems). He starts the article with some of his recent tweets, but keep reading. It's a thought provoking article, even if you disagree.

In the second article, there was a quote at the end that particularly resonated with me "If the film were actually about change, it might have addressed its own paradox: that trying yet again to end a military conflict with more of the same sort of military engagement will probably cost too many civilian lives. Alas, there is no real resolution offered here, only publicity. And realizing consciousness would be great if coupled with long-term informed attention rather than a mainly U.S.-based buzz.

4. 4 WAYS THAT CHINESE BUSINESSES ARE REDEFINING CUSTOMER SERVICE & HOW WHOLE FOODS BECAME THE LUXURY BRAND OF MILLENNIALS - A few weeks ago J. and I had dinner with friends and the conversation rolled around to customer service and how at least here in San Francisco, people are craving more customer service oriented/small town feel experiences. No longer do we want to live in anonymity, shopping in huge stores void of flavor and culture. I thought these were two great articles about changes happening in the world of marketing and brand.

*Who is seeing the Hunger Games this weekend?!?*

Sorrow passes and we remain

We've all been there - life's path seems to have gone awry, we're disappointed, maybe depressed and debilitated. This excerpt is from a letter from the novelist Henry James to his dear friend Grace Norton, who after the death of a family member has become depressed and desperate for direction. I thought the letter was so well crafted and worth sharing. (Letters of Note: Sorrow Passes and We Remain)

"My dear Grace, you are passing through a darkness in which I myself in my ignorance see nothing but that you have been made wretchedly ill by it; but it is only a darkness, it is not an end, or the end. Don't think, don't feel, any more than you can help, don't conclude or decide—don't do anything but wait. Everything will pass, and serenity and accepted mysteries and disillusionments, and the tenderness of a few good people, and new opportunities and ever so much of life, in a word, will remain. You will do all sorts of things yet, and I will help you. The only thing is not to melt in the meanwhile....You are marked out for success, and you must not fail. You have my tenderest affection and all my confidence."

Big News...

The day has finally arrived! On Wednesday we put an offer on a one bedroom condo here in northern CA. Today, our offer was accepted!! We're officially on our way to homeownership!

Weekly Reading List [3.15.12]

1. SCARY OIL - Nouriel Roubini is an economics professor at NYU and one of the few economists who predicted the global crisis. This is a great little article about oil and oil prices and how that could slow or halt altogether the current global economic growth.

2. CURIOUS ABOUT... HOME - For all my third culture friends. Paul works here at IDEO and it's his story about being a military kid growing up in Asia and now traveling more than he's home. It's a great story on finding "home" as an individual of many cultures.

3. COLONIALISM IN AFRICA HELPED LAUNCH THE HIV EPIDEMIC A CENTURY AGO - Living in San Francisco, the on-going HIV/AIDS epidemic is an ever present reality. There are bill-boards raising awareness, free clinics in every neighborhood, and annual bike rides to LA to raise money and support. I thought this article was particularly interesting for its scientific and historical context to this epidemic. A little on the nerdy side, but still fascinating!

4. THE MISFIT ECONOMY & YIWU, THE GREAT MALL OF SMALL COMMODITIES - The misfit economy is just an interesting blog highlighting black markets, or non-traditional economies. I found it quite fun to peruse. The Great mall of Small Commodities, builds on that. As, the author concludes "Riding the train home at 250 km/hr I realized we had glimpsed something special, a frontier town that is a major player inside a new global economy - and I had never heard of it before."

5. SAVING AN ICONIC BRAND: FIVE WAYS ALAN MULALLY CHANGED FORD'S CULTURE - J.'s grandfather worked at a Ford plant in Ohio most of his life. So there is great pride (even in it's darkest hour) for Ford, and Ford vehicles. One of the things I hear regularly is that Ford didn't take a bail out. They are (as far as I know) the only U.S. auto maker to do so. How cool is that??! And now, they're the among the most profitable automakers.

*I have big news to share this weekend, so stay tuned!!*

Happy Friday, my friends.

We stopped dreaming...

While we're on the topic of space, I read this article (more like looked at the photos and skimmed the article) about the sun. I LOVE SPACE!

Weekly Reading List [3.9.12]

1. KONY 2012 - There are a plethora of articles out there. To the point where the na-sayers are just depressing me (some of them seem to just want to complain). But here's a few of the best, if you want a broad overview of some of the Invisible Children/KONY2012 critique.

• Let's start with historical context - THE LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY: AN END GAME?
• Now the critique - ON INVISIBLE CHILDREN'S KONY 2012 CAMPAIGN & INVISIBLE CHILDREN: SAVIOR OR SENSATIONALIST? & WHAT CAUSES BADVOCACY?
• And the response - INVISIBLE CHILDREN'S RESPONSE TO THE CRITICISM
• On the brighter side, what good has come from this viral campaign - STOP KONY, YES BUT DON'T STOP ASKING QUESTIONS & HOW THE MOST VIRAL VIDEO IN THE HISTORY OF SOCIAL MEDIA GAVE UGANDA A VOICE

2. When I think of 'untouchables' I often think of India. I was a little blown away when I came across this article about untouchables in Yemen. I had no idea. - IN REVOLT, YEMENI "UNTOUCHABLES" HOPE FOR PATH OUT OF MISERY

3. This is one of my favorite posters. I regularly find myself using it as the lock-screen on my phone. It's a good reminder. I was so excited to watch this video about the history and story behind it's rise to fame (thanks Jay!)

4. Pinterest - the visual twitter. I have to say I'm intrigued by Pinterest. I finally got invited to join and have been checking it out. I'm still a little on the fence personally, but it has taken the world by storm. - WHY WE'RE ALL SUDDENLY OBSESSED WITH PINTEREST & PINTEREST PINS MAY BREAK COPYRITE LAWS & and if you have no idea what any of this is check out PINTEREST.COM

*Happy weekend friends!*

When doing nothing is actually an action...

Even if you live under a literal rock, it is quite possible that you've seen the excitement and interest around the Invisible Children's video and campaign KONY2012. As J. said, the viral has gone beyond viral to mainstream. It's pretty amazing. [Kudos to Invisible Children for their social media campaign]. However, and it's a big HOWEVER, there are some HUGE problems with the campaign, and even bigger with the organization that I can't get beyond. And it pains me.

First, you should know I met Jason, Laren, and Ben back in 2006 before the first video came out. They are amazing young men, who had a very impacting experience and were compelled to take action, real action not just tweeting, or blogging. I deeply admire that. There is large controversy raging over their 2012 campaign and I am contemplating devoting my entire Friday "weekly reading list" to the articles, critiques, and defenses that have come out. We all need to be educated about the organizations we admire. But bigger thought tonight, stems from me pouring through articles about KONY 2012 this afternoon.

I read an archived blog at Wronging Rights in which they contemplate the notion that often comes up around major human rights issues that we "should" be doing something, anything and often that can lead us to actually doing something worse, more harmful than if we had done nothing. The author says, "The demand to know what the person on the other side [who is posing criticism to said idea] would do differently is also a demand that they justify having an opinion at all. Which can seem - at least to me - like a move away from "is this a good idea?", towards "if you don't think this is a good idea but you can't come up with something better, perhaps it's because you are a self-interested jerk who only cares about oil and cell phones, and doesn't really want to help people who are DYING." She goes on to say that she is in favor of doing nothing when all the proposed ideas are "crummy." (note - the article is good, but read the comments they are BETTER!)

I was instantly conflicted. Deeply conflicted. Damn.

I agree.

I disagree.

Aren't I morally obligated (especially as a person of faith) to stand up for the weak, the oppressed, the victim, the orphan, the widow? Often I feel compelled to do something. I want murdering monsters to be brought to justice. I want the killing to stop. I want the victims of abuse to be saved. How can I do nothing?

On the other hand, I know that nothing, especially in the foreign policy realm, is cut and dry. Good guys, and bad guys in black and white terms generally don't exist. Just arming the rebels in Syrian won't stop the blood shed. It's more complicated than that. Just sending in militias and peacekeepers to capture Joseph Kony hasn't succeeded in ending his campaign, often the result is more death, more pain.

Understand my conflict? There's some serious tension there that we should learn to live with.

Thoughts welcomed.

Justice

"The opposite of poverty is not wealth, the opposite of poverty is justice."

If you care about justice and the poor, this video (see below) is worth watching. I would also recommend reading the book "Gang Leader for a Day." It's an easy read, but very compelling.

On a similar but separate note, I received an email from "United to End Genocide." Did you know the U.S. government has signed a contract for nearly $1 billion in business with Rosoboronexport - the Russian arms dealer that supplies the Syrian government with weapons capable of targeting innocent Syrian civilians? I had no idea! I was so appalled. If you feel so compelled you can sign a petition to Secretary of Defense Panetta and demand they stop doing business with Rosoboronexport and stand up for the Syrians. It's the least we can do! Here's a link to the petition - http://bit.ly/AAUKmD

Weekly Reading List [3.2.12]

1. TED is happening this week, and yesterday the founder of IDEO gave his TED talk. So of course, the entire office huddled around a TV that was streaming the talk. He shared on the importance of creative confidence. Prior to David's talk, Chip Kidd, who is known for designing book jackets for Knopf publishers gave a talk on books and shared this awesome video -

2. NORTH KOREANS AGREE TO FREEZE NUCLEAR WORK; U.S. TO GIVE AID & TWO DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE NORTH KOREA DEAL - Big news this week is the agreement between the U.S. and North Korea over the nuclear work and aid. It's great news for the people of North Korea, and hopefully Kim Jung Un will continue to put his people over himself.

3. WILL CHINA OVERTAKE THE U.S. - I found this sweet little article. I don't know how legitimate it is, but the logic seems solid. The point is that China's amazing growth is either government subsidized or government protected (little to no competition). This can lead to all kinds of changes down the road, especially if the economy opens more, or if the government runs out of money. Overall I think it highlights the value of an open economy, and the reason why less government is better (just my personal opinion).

4. THE FIRST GOOGLE MAPS WAR - I thought this was very interesting. I don't often think about Google maps being used for anything other than me getting from point A to point B. But this is very interesting!

5. HOW MIGHT WE DESIGN AN ACCESSIBLE ELECTION EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE? - OpenIDEO is a group within IDEO that crowd-sources solutions to a variety of problems. Often challenges are related to work that IDEO is doing. I love this one in particular because it centers around elections, and how to get more people involved. Check it out, and participate!!

*Today is my birthday!! Happy Birthday to ME!*