Activism

One of my favorite escapist action movies is Sword Fish. John Travolta (Gabriel) is the good baddie, the villain on a mission to change the world. Hugh Jackman (Stanley) is the bad goodie, the lovable rogue caught up in Travolta’s schemes. At one point Gabriel saves Stanley’s life but wants to keep him under his ... Continue Reading »

I’m a pretty mild mannered person, but do something to threaten my kids and you will unleash a lion. Among all the different motivations for living sustainably, thinking about what sort of world I’m leaving for my kids and their kids is the one that moves me most. Any action I take now to live ... Continue Reading »

The rise of social media is every bit as important as the invention of the printing press. JFK said this about the printing press and if he was alive today I’m sure he would feel the same way about social media, And so it is to the printing press–to the recorder of man’s deeds, the ... Continue Reading »

The story of Shin Dong-Hyuk is amazing and inspirational. He was born in a prison camp in North Korea, punished for the “crime” of his uncle as part of the 3 generation “justice” system.  He knew nothing of the world outside the camp. All he knew was what he was taught in the camp. He ... Continue Reading »

In the movie The Interpreter, the character played by Nicole Kidman says, “Vengeance is a lazy form of grief.” If we’re honest, most of us have moments where we caste a silent hex on our ex, wishing them a head full of lice or that all their teeth will fall out except the one with ... Continue Reading »

There it was, right in front of us in the traffic. We were trapped- No way round it, we just had to sit behind it. Stare at it and then have a great big whopping detailed conversation that I didn’t particularly want on the drive to school that morning. the bumper sticker said- “Abortion. Big ... Continue Reading »

There’s a billboard on the way into town advertising a tanning salon. There’s a bright orange girl on it, almost radioactive looking, and the caption, “I tan so that I can feel good all year round.” Having grown up on the sun drenched beaches of Eastern Australia, completely oblivious to the dangers of skin cancer, ... Continue Reading »

A 50- something year old white woman arrived at her seat on a crowded flight and immediately didn’t want the seat. The seat was next to a black man. Disgusted, the woman immediately summoned the flight attendant and demanded a new seat. The woman said “I cannot sit here next to this black man.” The ... Continue Reading »

There were a few surprises at the Oscars last night. Personally, I love the underdog stories, like a few years ago when the low budget film Hurt Locker beat the zillion dollar extravaganza, Avatar, for Best Picture. Last year it was the low budget movie The Help that did so well and made stars of ... Continue Reading »

The basis for authenticity is to think your own thoughts, know what you value and boldly live it no matter how strong the pressure to conform. When something is true for you, you HAVE to live it, even if the path is hard, your voice shakes, and few people understand you. The alternative is to ... Continue Reading »

The African Masai tribes greet each other with the phrase “Kasserian ingera”, which means “are the children well?” Even warriors with no children of their own give the traditional answer. “All the children are well.” It means more than just that children are well. When society treats children well, society is well. With last week’s ... Continue Reading »

Cateura, Paraguay is a town essentially built on top of a landfill. Garbage collectors browse the trash for sellable goods, and children are often at risk of getting involved with drugs and gangs. When orchestra director Szaran and music teacher Favio set up a music program for the kids of Cateura, they soon have more ... Continue Reading »

John Mayer expressed what so many of us feel. In the face of a barrage of seemingly unsolvable problems (poverty, unemployment, global warming, the coming fiscal cliff, to name a few) we don’t know how we can make an impact, so “we keep waitin on the world to change.” How do you win this waiting ... Continue Reading »

I just about died today. Nearly, honestly. This isn’t one of those over dramatized stories, this is all true. And it happened the day before the American elections. My last breath was almost taken on a treadmill at the local gym at 8:16am Monday morning. It was a typical workout, all going according to schedule. ... Continue Reading »

I’m completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death. George Carlin I agree with George. The separation of church and state is extremely important. At its heart, it’s about preserving religious ... Continue Reading »