Monday, August 30, 2010

The Summoned Self

Here's a great article by David Brooks of the New York Times. It discusses how we use, and misuse our time and effort, and gives some guidance as to how we can do better.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Here's a podcast about...brainfood

This episode of Fresh Air discusses the modern age of smart phones, laptops, and digital overload, and they make the comparison between food and media more than once (I guess I wasn't the first person to draw that analogy). Today we have virtually unlimited entertainment available to us, some of which is the mental equivalent of twinkies, and some of which is more like brussels sprouts.

What does that make this blog you ask? I'm leaning somewhere towards broccoli, now eat up!

Listen now, or download this episode on itunes. The itunes release date was 8/24/10.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Ramadan

I used to have a Muslim roommate, and I was always interested when this time of the year would roll around and he would celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. If you've ever been curious to know more about Ramadan then this is the podcast for you. From the fasting, to the feasting, and everything in between.

Listen to this episode of APM: Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett now, or download it on itunes. The itunes release date was 8/12/10.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

The Mexican

I've never posted a short story before but after reading The Mexican, by Jack London, I couldn't resist. Published in 1911, The Mexican is about boxing, and revolution. If you're not interested in boxing or sports this might not be for you, but this is perhaps one of the best boxing stories in fiction.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Khmer Rouge

In the late 1970's Pol Pot took over Cambodia with a group of communists known as the Khmer Rouge. What resulted was widespread famine, and one of the worst genocides in history.

This episode of The Moth tells the story of a woman who survived this horrible time by fleeing to the jungle and living off whatever she could. As she would say though, "it was not such a bad time." When the Khmer Rouge lost power she would return to civilization to help other survivors through their crippling depression.

This is more than just a great story, it provides a short history of the Khmer Rouge, and an insight into a human's capacity to suffer, and to heal.

Listen now. This episode is no longer available on itunes.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Slow down

We live in a fast world. Fast communication, fast food, fast life. But faster doesn't always mean better. Some things in life weren't meant to be fast, and the art of slowing down can be quite a virtue in this day and age. Therefore the following two links are about how, and why, we should just pull into the right hand lane, and slow down a little.

First is a TED Talk by Carl Honore.

Second, here is an article specifically about slow reading.

Take your time, and enjoy.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Conservatives & Liberals

This is an older TED Talk, but one of my favorites. This speech is given by Jonathan Haidt, who discusses some of the moral differences, and roots, of conservatives vs. liberals (without necessarily siding with one of the other).

To view this video, click here.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Mad Men & WikiLeaks

The Fresh Air podcast aired two great back-to-back episodes last week. The first interviewing Matthew Weiner, the creator and producer of the show Mad Men. I just started watching the show, and even if you haven't seen an episode, it's still a good interview.

This episode is no longer available on itunes, but to listen now click here.

The second is about WikiLeaks, which seems to have been all over the press lately. If you don't know what WikiLeaks is, this is a must-listen episode. If you've been reading about WikiLeaks already it's still a good, comprehensive discussion.

This episode is no longer available on itunes, but to listen now click here.

Thanks again to David in London for alerting me about both of those podcasts.