The Danger of the Single Story

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.

The Future Is Now

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:

Definitely Doing Dali

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.