There aren't many artists that can successfully combine two things I love: music and a worthy cause (Bob Marley was best at this). So when I happened across Rise Against's music while starting my daily morning music therapy session (part of my mission to attain happiness), I was pleasantly surprised and became an instant fan. While the music may not necessarily everyone's cup of tea (I like it), I assure you that one, if not more, of their videos will send shivers down your spine.
Their newest video ("Make It Stop [September's Children]") addresses the issue of bullying with a nod to (and partnership with) the "It Gets Better" campaign. I wondered if their progressive lyrical and visual content was a one-off, so I watched more: one about the cost of war ("Hero of War"), another about the disgrace that is Katrina ("Help Is On the Way)", and a third on international labor vs. U.S. consumerism ("Prayer of the Refugee").
I began to see a common thread; These were musicians with something meaningful to say, and whether you agreed with what they stood for or not, it was refreshing to enjoy a music video that addressed issues that affect millions around the world.
The video I'm posting below is a great summary of many of the things Rise Against chooses to (pardon the pun) rise against in their art. Check out "Audience of One" now:
From one person delving into our molecules to improve the quality of life to another exploring the possibility of life 600 million miles from Earth, explorers come in all packages.
Dr. Hayat Sindi is a Saudi medical researcher who is at the frontier of revolutionizing the healthcare of millions in the developing world, using something the size of a computer chip. Where labs in the most remote parts of the world take weeks to get life-saving results, Sindi's bio-technology detects diseases by analyzing body fluids. With a drop of blood, saliva, or urine on a disposable, low-tech, and inexpensive tiny piece of paper, a chemical reaction using light and sound occurs that can track faulty DNA. The beauty of this tool is that doctors can diagnose and instantly prescribe treatment to 200 people a day instead of wasting precious time waiting for results from some far-away lab.
Sindi, an inspiration to Middle Eastern girls and women especially, is also a Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow, co-founder of Diagnostics For All, and is working towards building a biotech research center in Saudi Arabia. Almost more inspiring than her innovation is her inspiration to paving the way for more female Muslim scientists.
On the other end of the spectrum is Kevin Hand, a planetary scientist and astrobiologist who is working with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to find signs of life in the subsurface oceans on one of Jupiter's moons, Europa. Hand's efforts in developing the tools needed to collect data once an orbiting probe is sent to Europa won't begin until 2020, but he realizes there is also work much closer to home that needs to be done. Hand's Cosmos Education is a grassroots non-profit that improves science education for the youth in Africa by bringing experts in science and technology and hands-on workshops to the kids of Sub-Saharan developing nations.
As a national of a developing country, I believe there is an immense need for a greater understanding of science as a tool to help in the areas of health, technology, and sustainable development. At the Nat Geo panel, Sindi was asked what people thought of her paper-lab, and she responded, "They think it's magic." Needless to say that I am impressed with both Sindi's and Hand's efforts to bring science to the forefront and far reaches of our world. Their dedication gives girls and boys in developing countries the opportunity to someday themselves be "magicians."
I am lucky to work at one of the world's more respected organization--National Geographic Society. And this week, our "celebrities," the Explorers whose work we support, are at headquarters for the annual Explorers Symposium. During one of the panels, Dan Buettner, explorer and author of The Blue Zones and Thrive, spoke about the world's happiest locations and what statistics showed truly made people live a happier life. I was not surprised to see that social interactions, surrounding yourself with positive people, volunteering, and having a faith were high up on the list. I was especially not surprised to learn that among things that stress people out are a long commute time (those who know me know I've considerable commuting agita!).
In essence, the "happiest" places on Earth were not some tropical island, as I'd imagined. They were Singapore, Denmark, and a small Mexican border town. The Danes have a good work-life balance, the Singaporeans can rely on a secure, stable future without too great a socio-economic discrepancy among them, and the Mexicans enjoy six or more hours a day with family and friends. These things, among many other factors, make for healthy, happy living.
Needless to say, after the panel, I rushed to purchase the book online and discovered the "Compass Quiz", which I eagerly took. Much to my dismay (I was brutally honest in my answers) I got a C+. Yes, there's been a lot of stress in my life lately--none of my friends seem truly happy, the economy sucks, and the list could go on and on.
So in the spirit of pursuing my happiness, I plan to take heed to the result's recommendations: Toss Your TV Habit, Find a Faith, Sleep 7-9 Hours, Make Time to Meditate, Spend Smarter, Hang Out With Happy People, See the Sun. Everything I know I need to do, but seeing my low score is the impetus I need to get my happy back! I plan to retake that test in a few months--and this time, ace that sucker!
From extraction to disposal, the amount of 'stuff' we consume affects our planet, environmentally as well as socially. The Story of Stuff, a creatively produced informational video, gives us a behind-the-scenes, underside look at the (damaging) linear system of our consumer habits.
And for the record, I admit to being guilty of consumerism. And even though I think I'm fairly resourceful and I recycle a lot of the stuff I buy (patching ripped bed sheets instead of tossing them, saving and reusing gift wraps and shoe boxes for other uses, etc.,), we live in a society where when something rips/breaks/tatters, we toss it and get new stuff. While I call buying cool stuff 'retail therapy' (why does shopping have to feel so damn good??) there is more to the so-called materials economy than meets the eye.
Even though The Story of Stuff video makes me feel guilty about my spending habits, it also galvanizes me to be more conscientious about every purchase I make from now now. I'm not admitting to going completely green with my consumeristic habits, but I'm definitely shooting for teal right now. Baby steps.
Though public education in America is universally available, it's not always universally acceptable. Besides the students, teachers get the short end of the stick in the public education system. They are faced with challenges (from budget cuts and unfair pay scales to bureaucracy and social ills), and for teachers in low-income or troubled-area schools, those obstacles increase exponentially.
The short, Shelter From the Storm directed by John X. Carey, gives teachers and parents hope that all it takes to make a pivotal impact in a child's life is instilling a sense of self worth. Elementary school teacher Mrs. Reifler may or may not be an anomaly but her approach of providing her East L.A. students with a sense of safety and confidence should be the norm. The basis of her methodology lies in one question: "What kind of human being are you going to be?". It's with this foundation that she is able to build upon the tools they need to choose a good life over the despondency that they are bombarded with every day.
All I could say after watching this is that we need a Mrs. Reifler in every school across the globe.
UPDATE: The following note from the director's makes the video no longer available for embedding (even though it plays on his Vimeo page): *To protect the identities of the children in this video we can no longer let this film be public. Please do not re-post publicly.
Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie, gives a TED talk about the "danger of a single story." This danger is something I know all too well as a firsthand witness—on both sides of the coin. I know this danger as a Liberian woman in the Diaspora—having had to continually explain that I grew up with some of the same modern conveniences as people in the West. I also have been a part of the danger—having had some prejudices of other peoples based on the single story I've heard; I've given Nigerians, for example, (yes, even Africans can be judged wrongly by a fellow African) a bad rap based on a few criminal activities (Read: Nigerian email scams).
What I get from this enlightening talk are two things:
1. Don't base your opinions on just one thing you've read or heard about anything and conversely do your homework on anything you write/talk about.
2. We all need to tell our own stories, to be sure that they are representative of who we truly are and to paint a more accurate picture of ourselves—whoever "we" may be.
Those who know me know that I am a proud technophile. I strongly believe that technology and augmented reality can be used to enhance and advance humankind (and I've even [half] joked about someday being half-robot). Like everything in life, there are advantages and drawbacks to technology but, for the most part, I think the use of technology, whether in medicine, exploration, or communication, can make us better people and make our ever-growing, complicated world a bit more convenient and connected.
This video from Corning is an uber-cool example of what technology use in daily life could look like:
If any one artist could most accurately illustrate the surrealism of my astral travels (aka my dreams), it would have to be Salvador Dali. For the first time in the States, the largest collection of Dali's (outside Spain) is on display at the brand new, 36-million-dollar (and, of course, uniquely designed) Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
I am looking forward to not only seeing Dali's work in person, but also the architecture of what some are calling "one of the buildings you have to see before you die."
Noted...I'm definitely adding this one to my bucket list.
Best-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love gives a TED talk about distancing oneself from the pressure associated with the creativity of an artist--and removing oneself from the 'center of the universe' to allow something external (the universe, God/Allah, your "Genius") to change the way you view your own creativity.
And I couldn't agree more. I feel like my daemon (the Greek work for the classical mythological creature that is benevolent source for creativity, not to be confused with the Judeo-Christian definition of the evil demon), comes to me as I sleep, as I people-watch, even when the sky reaches a certain hue in the evening. I am inspired by creation from the voices of the Genius living outside and inside me, who speaks to me in whispers at times and in shouts as needed. I am no genius, this I know...but I pray that my Genius continues to follow/harass me with creative energy for the rest of my life.
Listen to Gilbert's inspiring, and burden-releasing, talk here.
From President Obama's mantra of "Change We Can Believe In" to the Egyptian people's recent empowering outcry for change, the Age of Information has made it easier for citizens of the planet to be the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.
Change.org is your one-stop shop for reform. You can find online petitions, and even start your own, to support and advocate for the cause of your choosing. They provide you with all the tools you'll need, including media outreach, and help connect you to a global network of like-minded people willing to spare some social change.
According to USA Today's "Talkin' Bout Your Generation" interactive, I am a Generation Xer, through and through. From Atari and Operation, to the Walkman and the fall of the Berlin Wall, products and events from my formative and teenage years are ingrained in me for life.
It's crazy (crazy only because it makes me feel old to think I have memories that are older than some folks today) to think that since my generation, there have been two entire groups of people shaped by their cultural influences: Generation Y (the Millennials) and Generation Z (the Internet Generation). What's stranger to me still is that there are people (my son included) who never knew a world without 9/11, the Internet, and cell phones.
They say the generation you are born into and your cultural experiences help to define and shape you. While I'm a technophile at heart, I am glad to have been born into a time when society was learning to be more progressive but still held onto some values; yet I'm also grateful to still be alive in a time where Skyping is the norm, but, in my childhood, was "the future."
Take the quiz to find out what generation you belong to.
The migration of people across the world isn't a novel idea...after all, all humans can trace their origins back to Africa. As a displaced African (Liberian, specifically), living in the U.S. for the past 20 years, I feel a connection to the stories of other Africans living outside their homeland. Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) produces a well-made interactive documentary series called Africa to Australia: Do I Really Belong Here?, which tells the stories of Africans who migrated there, either by choice or by force, and gives a human face to the issue of immigration and displacement.
Logo from Africa to Australia: Do I Really Belong Here?
