We are the Machine

I really enjoyed A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. Actually had a long conversation with my sister about it; she is working on her undergrad right now and applying to med school. She has found that medical schools these days would often rather have students get their bachelor's in art or the humanities then the traditional biology or other science. And it is precisely for the reason Pink argues: "Empathy is moving to the forefront of the medical profession. It is giving way to a new generation of health care professionals...who can combine rule-based detachment with emotion-based empathy into a whole new medicine."
The idea that the right-brain is going to be the key to success in the brave new world is interesting. First, you have to assume the definition of success. He seems to put an emphasis on where the money is flowing - how to survive and climb to the top in the new age. And I think his argument is valid, concerning the basic principle of supply and demand. There are alot more and alot cheaper options for performing left brain tasks - "Abundance, Asia, and Automation." There is so much crap to go around that quality and price are now pretty much assumed. Having a design that stands out is key. And just as manufacturing has been farmed out to other countries, so now are left-brain jobs. Computers may be the most convincing reason, as they are almost to the point where our left brains will never even stand a chance competing against them. So if you want to succeed in the capitalist economy of America or the first world, you need to develop the right brain. The six necessary skills addressed are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Does this mean that the nerds and geeks, the Bill Gates and the left-brainers who have been at the top are going to be the rebellious "starving artists" of the future? Will poets and artists be sellouts? But the world is changing rapidly in many ways. The world is quickly becoming connected as never before. Maybe the old paradigms and hierarchies of difference can also be replaced. Maybe that's wishful thinking.
I like his conclusion that the meaning of life is to pursue happiness. What else are you going to do? And honestly what does everybody do? Even most who deny themselves or perscecute their bodies in the name of religion or whatever do it because they expect a greater happiness down the road. I agree with Dr. Firestone, quoted by Pink: "You're not going to find the meaning of life hidden under a rock written by someone else. You'll only find it by giving meaning to life from inside yourself."
Also I think we should start a Durango laughter club. It would be hilarious. It seems that some feel it could even usher in world peace. Here's a video of a laughter club - now an international movement that was started in India by Dr. Kataria.

In Case You Wanted Some Good News

The Real Crisis is Ecological
The current financial meltdown is small in comparison to the ongoing ecological disaster.
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:42 am — Posted by Abdul 3 comments truecosteconomics nature finance environment economy crisis capitalism

Photo: Gunter Rambow.


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BBC’s environmental correspondent reports:

The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study.

It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion.

The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide.

The study, headed by a Deutsche Bank economist, parallels the Stern Review into the economics of climate change.

It has been discussed during many sessions here at the World Conservation Congress.

Some conservationists see it as a new way of persuading policymakers to fund nature protection rather than allowing the decline in ecosystems and species, highlighted in the release on Monday of the Red List of Threatened Species, to continue.

Capital losses

Speaking to BBC News on the fringes of the congress, study leader Pavan Sukhdev emphasised that the cost of natural decline dwarfs losses on the financial markets.

“It’s not only greater but it’s also continuous, it’s been happening every year, year after year,” he told BBC News.

“So whereas Wall Street by various calculations has to date lost, within the financial sector, $1-$1.5 trillion, the reality is that at today’s rate we are losing natural capital at least between $2-$5 trillion every year.”

The review that Mr Sukhdev leads, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb), was initiated by Germany under its recent EU presidency, with the European Commission providing funding.

The first phase concluded in May when the team released its finding that forest decline could be costing about 7% of global GDP. The second phase will expand the scope to other natural systems.

Stern message


Key to understanding his conclusions is that as forests decline, nature stops providing services which it used to provide essentially for free.

So the human economy either has to provide them instead, perhaps through building reservoirs, building facilities to sequester carbon dioxide, or farming foods that were once naturally available.

Or we have to do without them; either way, there is a financial cost.


Oh yeah, the environment.
Great Website too.
For the rest of the story here's the link:

http://http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters_blog/real_crisis_ecological.html

Family Guy

Personally, I think Family Guy is one of the funniest shows ever. I like this clip because it is told almost completely visually, just a little bit of dialogue at the beginning to set the scene. Watching part of No Country For Old Men earlier, I realized that I really like relatively quiet movies that are told with pictures instead of words. I've seen a few movies from foreign producers and from different eras particularly that felt more free for artistic expression, leaving lots of quiet empty space for the audience to soak things in. I like when a movie does not feel the need to explain everything with dialogue.

Cartoon Parkour

The thing I love about cartoons is that you can do whatever you want with them, as far as your imagination wants to go. You can have grannies leap and bound over tall buildings and run down a guy on a bike!

Caper of the Cat Burglar

Cat Burglar

Here's a link for my "Create Your Own Adventure" YouTube video. I was going for kind of a video game / parkour video / skate video style. My good friend Sam Redman just rolled back into town from Flagstaff; he's an amazing climber - very agile and ninja like, and so is Garrett. Initially, I just had a lame chase scene scripted all from first person (Blair Witch style), because I couldn't get people. But Sam and Garrett were stoked about the project, because they love parkour videos, running up buildings, and anything ninja. So it turned out to be fun and something that belonged to a group of us with vested interest. Of course the whole no sleep for 3 days thing was definitely not fun.

If you click the link above you can start at YouTube and not be interrupted, or you can just click below and it will direct you to YouTube at the next clip.

Is McCain hiding something? PTSD or just a short fuse?

I'm sure someone has already posted this, and people have been discussing it. But I was unaware of all the people that have spoken out with concern for McCain's temper. Our country is on the brink of disaster right now and I think we need leadership from someone who can keep a cool head when shit hits the fan. Neither president can fix this country. No president, no single person can. And congress holds the purse anyway. So I don't think Obama is going to be this country's messiah, but I do feel that McCain / Palin is another step down a path that has proven to be disastrous and destructive.

The Corporatocracy

This is my first experimental video, for the Video Production class. Just practicing uploading videos to YouTube.