1. I think I am glad I started reading books again and am actually enjoying it a little. I still don't think I will read unless I have nothing better to do, but it is slowly creeping up the list of things to do when I am bored. In fact it has just surpassed trying to swallow my tongue and trying not to think about polar bears.
2. I think it is interesting how kids come into the world with no biases, no concept of segregation and no thoughts to treat others differently because of their sex, race, wealth, religion, weight, sexual preference, etc. Is it society's fault that this happens? If you took 20 kids that looked like they could pose for a workplace diversity ad and forced them to grow up in an MTV's Real World style environment, would they continue to look like the kids from Captain Planet or would they split up and turn into groups of this, this, and this. What got me thinking about this was a great article I recently read telling a story of a mom who watched her daughter quickly befriend a poor girl with one arm and no shoes. If kids are able to put all things aside, why can't adults?
3. I think I stole this from the same place I stole the title for this post from, but I like it so I'm putting it here anyways. It's part of a commencement speech from Ted Koppel to the University of Massachusetts.
"More than ever before, we live today in a world of instant reaction, constant judgment and corrosive partisanship. Political debate is a wonderful thing; but partisan shrieking is corrosive and destructive. If we are to find solutions to the challenges we face, we have to relearn the virtues of compromise. If we are going to deal intelligently with the problems we confront, we need time to pause, to consider and reflect. But our media, news and social, are intolerant of anything but an instant response ... Rather than using information to illuminate the world, though, we consume it like fuel. The more we burn, the faster we go. The faster we go, the less we see and understand. We slow down only for the accidents along the side of the road; and the biggest accident still lies ahead.
Only, I fear, when that occurs -- only when the combined impact of too many unemployed, too many foreclosures, too much debt, exacerbated by two undeclared and unfunded wars; only when the human and social costs of a crumbling education system and a flawed health care system, leave us wondering where and why we lost our footing as a nation, will we come to realize that WHAT is communicated to us is vastly more important than the medium by which it is conveyed.
... One day, most Americans will point at us in the news media and say: "Why didn't you tell us? Why did you encourage all that bile and venom? Why did you feed us all that trivial crap, when so many terrible things were converging? And no one will be happy with the answer. Least of all, those of us who offer it. "What we gave you," we will say, "is what you wanted."
At this critical juncture in your lives, then, let me urge you -- no, let me implore you to want more. More substance, more real information about important issues, more fairness, more objectivity, more tolerance for views that differ from your own. You have a truly magical array of media at your disposal. Use them well."
4. I think TED talks are great. I found the one below interesting for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it made me rethink my opinions on capital punishment and give more thought to our terrible prison system. The speaker, Bryan Stevenson, describes his views on our current system of punishment and why it needs more attention. He describes our country currently defining the opposite of poverty as justice rather than wealth. The part that struck me the most is when he says that the character of our society will ultimately be judged by how we treat the poor, condemned and incarcerated. I don't know if that is true or not, but it is interesting to me. It is easy to punish someone for a crime without trying to solve the actual problems of why the crime was committed in the first place. The general ignorance that we give to this question of Why? may very well be what defines us.
5. I think I was inspired by someone who was inspired by someone who was probably inspired by someone else. I read a blog post recently about a friend who is approaching 30 and is making a list of 30 things to do before she turns 30. She is doing this based on inspiration from a blog post about someone else that is doing it. So basically what I am saying is that I am going to make my own list of 30 things to do before I turn 30. Inspiration is one of the most contagious things out there. It causes people to do things they wouldn't normally do just because someone else did it and I think that is awesome.
6. Another great TED talk by Peter Diamandis about technology and the advancements and possibilities of our world. I'm sure this guy is making tons of money from books and other crap related to this, but it's hard to argue with his points.
I sometimes wonder about the consequences technology could have on the world, but that is the problem, nobody knows for sure. What are known for sure are the positive results and endless possibilities technology has given us.
7. I think I wish I had listened to Reggie Watts earlier. For those who have never heard of him he is a musician/comedian who spent a lot of time in the Seattle area but now lives in New York. He does the whole impromptu beat box looping song making thing kinda like Beardyman if you have heard of him. The comedy part and complete randomness is what I think sets Watts apart. I like weird stuff, so if you do to then definitely check out Reggie Watts.
8. I think I am getting sick about the stories surrounding the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. They messed up and they got punished, but still there are daily stories about it. Would it be okay to at least wait until football actually starts 3 months from now to talk about the stupid Saints?
9. I think this article on fox news about the extinction of japanese people might be the single stupidest news story I have ever read/seen. I check out Fox News sometimes to make sure that my opinions aren't being created out of reluctance to seek opinions that differ from my own, but crap like this makes me not want to. Side note: I like how it says "fair & balanced" below the Fox News logo but I only go there because I know that it isn't.
10. I think if there were a pill people could take to ensure a great day I might buy it. I was looking at old pictures from when my kids were in the 1-4 year old range and each photo looked like they were having the best day of their lives.....well except for Alyssa crying because she was scared of Santa. My son had a great day yesterday, which paired with the pictures, got me wishing he had those days more often. The movie Brain Candy was made 16 years ago, yet we still don't have this pill. It's time to quit wasting time trying to make bigger, thinner 3D TV's and making 10G cell phones and start making medicines that trick people into being happy. I don't even care if there are a couple of flipper babies.
Anyone who knows me well knows I'm joking, but it's hard having a child who is so easily frustrated by the things most people don't think twice about.
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