Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Steve Jobs tells three stories with pertinent messages at a commencement ceremony. 

UN Allocates $6M to food crisis in Nepal

Short UN posting about allocations to the World Food Program in Nepal here.

One does wonder about the effectiveness of its programs in Nepal and how the money will be allocated to address needs.

Homonyms

What's a homonym?

They're, Their, There.
You're, your
Pair, pear
layed, laid --?
rose, rose
holy, holey

like that.  can you think of any more?

"To Boldly Go..."

So, it's okay to split infinitives?  Star Trek and Grammar Girl say so...

Amid vs. Amidst and Among

I found a great grammar blog.  Maybe I'll learn how to stop splitting my infinitives. 


Here are the comments about Amid vs. Amidst.

Seems it's better to use "amid" or "amidst" when talking about things.  For example, "Amid her academic inquiries..."   "Among" is used for people, i think.  For example, "While he was among his peers..."

I'm still not understanding why to use "amid" rather than "amidst" - seems like, in scholarly language, those folks go with 'amid.'

Joel?  Have any thoughts?

Just saw 'Avatar' Last night....

Media consumption is interesting to me... access to what and how, who benefits from hollywood's stable industry and how much, and what we humans are interested in in terms of entertainment (and the existential dilema of why we need to be entertained at all, of course)

Here's a statistics-rich Economist article about the release of the largest grossing film to date "New Moon" and the recent release of "Avatar."  Toward an understanding of human entertainment consumption patterns...

Who's making hunger worse?

“It’s the role of the state and not the level of wealth, that determines progress on hunger,” said Anne Jellema.

Findings from an ActionAid study say that Brazil, China, and India (in that order) score the highest in the study.  US scores 8 out of 100 for eradicating poverty within its borders. Pretty crappy compared to other developed countries.

Economist article commenting on the study and comparing growth rates of the world's three largest developing countries here.

Words to Support by - Obama's moral war

"Our actions matter and can bend history in the direction of justice." - President Obama

War came with the first man - what is a 'just war' - last result? Self defense? Civilians spared from violence? Use of 'little force'?  WWII saw more civilians killed than army. What does that say? Was it a 'just' war?

Woodrow Wilson received the NPP for architecting the League of Nations which was voted down. But America did lead the world into figuring out how to prevent wars... Marshall Plan, UN.

Wars between countries have given away to wars within countries - ethnic conflicts, failed states, secessionist movements (but what is this really an indication of? - citizens jockeying for their individual rights - the right to self governance? isn't this a good thing?) - trapped civilians in unending chaos. Refugees, children scarred, civilians lives torn asunder.

'Just' War vs. 'Just' Peace - is it possible to eradicate armed conflict in our lifetimes? If not, then what are we doing?

"Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem, it only brings new and more complicated ones." - MLK Jr. in his NPP acceptance speech.

NV not as passive or naive. Cannot stand idle "evil does exist," There are limits to reason. There is a deep ambivalence to military action.

(has democracy taken hold in the Balkans?)

"No matter how justified, war promises human tragedy."
"War is an expression of human folley. War is never itself glorious, we much never trumpet it as such."

All nations much adhere to standards governing use of force.

Three ways that we can build a 'just' and 'lasting' peace:

1. Develop alternatives to violence that are tough enough to actually change behavior.  The words of the international community must mean something.  Those that break the rules must be held accountable.  Accountability only when the world stands together as one.  Example - seeking a world without nuclear weapons.

2. Nature of the peace we seek: Peace is not nearly the absence of visible conflict, only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual that can truly be lasting.  Human rights need to be protected or peace is a hollow promise.  (are these foreign to local cultures? or stages of development?)  Is this just a campaign to impose our values on cultures from around the world?  The suppression of identity can lead to violence.  We've never fought a war with another democracy.  Hm.  They are our closest friends.  This must be coupled with painstaking diplomacy.  Condemnation without discussion will only move forward with the status quo.  Example - Nixon and Mao.  But taking the long view, look at how China is doing today.  maybe it worked.  Human rights and dignity advanced over time.

3.  Economic security and opportunity - true peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want.  (can we do away with want?)  Addressing climate change - more conflict will come if we can't balance this issue.  It's not just environmental activists and scientists.

None of this will work without understanding basic human needs and similarities of those.  Fear of loss of identity leads to conflict.  No holy war can be a just war.

Okay, so powerful speech.  I particularly like that, as a leader, Obama is moving away from morally justified nonviolence and toward justification of human rights for all at any cost.  This is a messy situation. I think there is particular possibility in his first point - standards of alternatives to violence.  Putting something like that together on an international scale, and then actually holding folks accountable for that sounds great.  Practical application?  We shall see.  I would have also liked to hear more about his plan for economic stability and opportunity - I immediately think of competition.  I think the US may suffer from a superiority complex and as competition in the global economy increases (rather than being controlled by the US) freak-outs are going to happen.

Seems to me that Obama is committed to the "long view" of diplomacy, policy, and procedure.  "Long view" meaning not just 30 or 40 years, but generations.  I think it is difficult for the citizens of the world to look beyond the next three years and whether they like Obama or not better than Bush.  I think THAT's the paradigm shift that needs to be ushered along... 'long view' does not mean this decade.  Is there any hope in shifting that perspective?  Even in our own lives?  

How are the different levels of conflict connected? - International, national, ethnic, state, interpersonal, intrapersonal, moral dilemmas...  where's the root?  How do we sort this out?    

Indian Federalism

The Economist talks about the different separatist movements here happening in India, most notable the Gorkhas living in West Bengal who have been "at" the Gorkhaland movement since the 70's (check facts)

With states created as recently as 2000, Indian government seems to pay attention to the needs of disenfranchised ethnic groups and listen to their struggles presuming that creating a separate states does indeed address the needs of these communities.

At what cost? What is the goal of Indian nationalism? How does this impact the region economically?

How does India's bent toward balkanization of the country show an example for Nepal who's government is trying to address the same issues?

The Most Important Ten Minutes of TV this Decade.

Swayambhunath Renovations

Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu is being renovated. Ms. Tsering Gelek, daughter of Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche, is overseeing the project. It's the first time in 90 years, so says this article.  One astute reader already pointed out a flaw in the article where the photo caption says Swayambhunath is the oldest stupa in the world.  Not so.  It was built in the 5th Century CE according to the commenter and wikipedia.

Sino - Indian Relations...

(Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premiere of the State Council Wen Jiabao)

Is China being aggressive with its international neighbors?  Maybe President Obama is not the only one being bullied.  This blog (from an Indian perspective, it seems) offers detailed commentary on diplomacy between these two giants.

Mr. D.S. Rajan (Director, Chennai Center for China Studies) writes a thoughtful analysis of recent blogs from inside China and what themes he sees coming out of the writing. Themes include a possible Sino-Indian conflict on a large scale, China's movement toward more military presence on its southern borders as of late, Chinese claims on Ladakh (but not Kashmir), capturing of Sikkim, and Nepal as a stepping stone for either country given the current political situation. 

This is an astute synthesis of information.

Chills... It gives me Chills

Michael Moore's Message to Barack Obama and Blue Dog Democrats

This is interesting - I'm fascinated that Michael Moore creates so much controversy with his work.

The "Capitalism: A Love Story" Trailer gives me chills. I really would like to see it. Anyone want to bring me a copy?

Three Day Bandh

December 20, 21, 22 in Kathmandu, Unified Communist Party Nepal - Maoist (UCPN-M) held a strike that disrupted the valley for three days.  There were some violent clashes that took place quite near to the school house and my flat.  L and I decided to stay at one of the major hotels in town for the three days (coinciding with my birthday celebration) to stay informed and be sure that she was able to get to the airport this afternoon.  All went well, and the strike was even called off at noon today.

Many say that Maoists have broken the comprehensive peace accord signed in 2006 made with the government and that force must be taken to keep them in line.  Yesterday, L read an article in the Kathmandu Post saying that China and India have publicly given their support to the government of Nepal to contain and pacify the Maoists sending in ammunition if needed.

Al Jazeera article (among others) states that OHCHR says the police used 'excessive force' to deal with the 'peaceful' protesters. The NYT gives an informative perspective here (along with the evocative photo I linked above).  Comments from Democracy Underground about the three day strike.  An Indian paper "The Hindu" reports on the 'peaceful-turned-aggressive' strike here. Dailyindia.com here mentions that the Maoists accuse the government for aggressing first.  Here, and Here, Bloomberg.com insinuates personal tensions between Prachanda and President Nepal are the source of the conflict.  This short article talks about a law recently signed into affect that puts a condition on any aid Nepal recieves from the US - human rights violations must not happen.    

Comparing Sutras in different languages

Resources on comparing sutra in different languages here.

I'm no scholar and don't plan to be about this subject, but i think it is good to have the resources to point others to if they decide to be sanskrit/pali scholars.

side note -
i notice how seriously scholars of these topics seem to take themselves (see the discussion after the actual post on IDP's blog).  like knowing that they are "right" about what the buddha said or did not say makes them better buddhists, teachers, humans than others who are looking to spirituality as inspiration to live a better, more fulfilling life.  i hope to understand this perspective better someday.

Dealing with Anger

Dealing with Anger

"As a culture we swing from being afraid of anger to romanticizing it. I try to see anger for what it is, in myself, and neither fear it nor idealize it. We might romanticize the idea of being in touch with our anger, but in fact we don’t really enjoy the effects of anger. If we are lost in perpetual guilt, which is anger at ourselves, we don’t celebrate that. If we see someone hurting someone else, abusing them, beating them up, or screaming at them, we don’t rejoice in it; we don’t say, 'Oh, wonderful, they’re in touch with their anger!'

There is great potential for us to find a middle path with anger through mindfulness, not adding to our brutal self-judgments because of it, and not acting it out in ways that ultimately leave us isolated and regretful."

- Sharon Salzberg, "The Deluding Force," from the Summer 1998 Tricycle.

Elephants, I like Elephants.

Maizie's fave.

Write songs like this.

"gotta like frogs! (yeah! yeah!) Running through a maze for some cheese."

What is special about it?
simple, clever, cheeky concept.
fingerpicking guitar - clever "b" and "c" sections with simple 5th modulation structure leading in to a "d" section reminiscent of "a".
repetitive.
kids like animals.

Facing Fear

"Fear is what happens when reality collides with our personal fiction. Our practice is based on expectations—expectations about who we are, why we are practicing, and what our practice should be. As our hope disintegrates, it may be replaced by fear. Our characteristics, personality, all of our beautiful plans and ideas are like snowflakes about to fall on the hot stone of our meditation practice."

-Lama Tsony, "Facing Fear," from the Fall 2006 Tricycle.

At the Crossroads...

"At each point in our lives, we are at a crossroads. We are the fruit of our past and we are the architects of our future. When we ask, “Why did this happen to me?” it is because of our limited view. If we throw a stone up in the air and forget about it, when it falls down on our heads, we shouldn’t complain, although we usually do. We have this notion that what happens to us is somehow independent of our own actions. We can ask, why did this happen? but the more important question is, what we are going to do about it?

If you want to know your past, look at your present circumstances. If you want to know your future, look at what is in your mind. If we know that our fate is in our hands, then the quality of our actions becomes a central issue. The whole point of karma is to recognize how our actions determine our future, so that we can begin to act properly. It’s not just a cosmological or philosophical matter. It’s entirely practical. The main point is not to get in trouble again."

-Matthieu Ricard, Karma Crossroads

International Politics Major at Peking University -

i'm looking at a student's transcripts from an IP Major in China.
I don't know what year she is, maybe halfway through her studies? 

The course work is mostly Chinese history - Modern Chinese History, Chinese Historiography, History of Social Life in Ancient China, Local Government and Primary Society in Ming and Qing Dynasties, Ancient Chinese History (part 1 and 2), General History of the World (part 2), Special Subjects on Ancient Chinese History Before the Qin Dynasty, Special Subjects on the History of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Histories of Nationality in Ancient China, Selected Readings on "Zuozhuan".

International Politics, mainly studying Chinese history -  ?  Sounds like just Chinese history to me.

Is it ethical to post this?  One might say: if I have to ask....

Good Quote for the Ending of a Journey

“Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. Tour masters, schedules, reservations, brass-bound and inevitable, dash themselves to wreckage on the personality of the trip. Only when this is recognized can the blown-in-the-glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it. I feel better now, having said this, although only those who have experienced it will understand.” 

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley

(This is from Beau - he read it at the final puja today. He usually paraphrases the part about 'blown-in-the-glass bum' - and today he added academic directors to the list in the seventh sentence.)

Bon

Tonpa Shenrab
Lopon Tenzin Namdrak - KTM Triten Norbutse
Zhang-Zhung - Where is it? Mythical?

Subduing protector deities - they were Bon deities.  Guru Rinpoche subdued.  Where did the teaching of present-day Bon tradition come from? 

Dzogchen teachings of Bon different than in Nyingma?

More than One Story

Power, stereotypes, and seeing them and others as more than one dimension.

What other examples are there - personal?

Good for - FSS session about perspectives, facilitation (in English) about stereotypes, unpacking assumptions, looking at others in a new light.

Facilitation Skillz

Just finished facilitating an ISP Debrief - 11 students talking about their experiences conducting fieldwork in the last month.  I realized I haven't been in a discussion the entire semester.

I can still do it.

In fact, I kept pretty quiet after presenting some context about why we would want to do some debriefing as a group, and planted a general start up question, "What were some significant moments for you in the past month?"  The students talked for just over two hours - speaking to each other, commenting, commiserating, sharing moments that they felt were significant.  They talked about gaining trust (what methods were helpful, and were they ethical i.e. language learning, helping in the kitchen, spending time with their families and newly made friends), talked about how it felt to encounter other 'tourists' and feel much more culturally appropriate, concepts of home, identity, whether or not the US has a culture and if so, what is it?

I directed them a bit when they were getting away from focusing on the what, so what, now what of the actual experience, but rather drifting off into metaphorical analysis of whether or not experience dictates reality.

I also stepped back in to ask them, "What was the most challenging piece of the last month."   The conversation got a little negative.  I said something clever about how part of the skill developing has to do with putting all the experiences (individually and collectively) in the middle and taking a step back to look at everything from an 'objective' angle.  Not taking things too personally.  Then we finished up with talking about how they see this experience as relevant to the remainder of their school career, and their lives.  They gushed about how it wasn't the 'research' but the life experience which made all the difference.  The space helped them identify confidence and passion to continue their work. 

They thanked me at the end - first for creating the space for them to process about their experience, and then for listening.  For planting open-ended questions and expecting honest responses.  For being a good facilitator.

It's not about me, it's about them processing their experience to get to the next place in their journey with new knowledge.  But it felt wonderful to be in that role again.  I had lost my own confidence and passion in the fact that I am okay at interacting with people and students.  That there's not something wrong with me and therefore I should stay far away from them.  Maybe some of that has been restored this afternoon.

Though, the processing of MY learning experience this semester would dictate that it's important to function from a place of humility.  There's no right way to do something.  Sometimes when someone projects that there indeed IS a right way, or if someone perceives that someone else thinks there is a right way to do something and there is no agreement, it creates lots of conflict.   I finish this afternoon gratefully, and humbly.

I can be a teacher, I think.  I can guide others to finding their truths. maybe.

PhD You Say???

What would these possible topics of study for a phd look like:

ecology and conflict

international diplomacy and systems thinking

political science and community building

an ecological approach to conflict transformation

I'm thinking that if I do, indeed want to pursue a phd somewhere I need to understand first what my motivation for doing so is.  Do I want to be AD of SIT Nepal?  Do I want to teach in the US? Do I want to work as a practitioner in some field of study here in the Himalayan region?  and of course, where can my skill set be of most benefit and relevance to others?

Most importantly - what would a phd give me that I don't have right now?  credibility?  The insistance that I am 'not just a kid' trying to fumble her way through the professional world.  Would some time spent studying and focusing on one topic really do that for me?  or am I approaching this issue from the wrong angle?

What kind of life experience do I need between now and potentially starting a phd in, say, Fall 2011 or Fall 2012?  More work with an NGO?  Management?  Field work?

Radical Teacher

Look at this later:  Radical Teacher

(It's from TC's post on FB)

Climate Change on Mt. Everest

Nepal Government meets near Everest Base Camp in order to bring attention to issues of climate change and its affect on the Himalayan Region.  AP article Here.

An effective form of political activism on the part of government officials prior to Copenhaggen?
OR
A waste of precious resources to fly the entire cabinet up to 18,000 ft for a meeting?

From the Global LAB Archives...

This was written by me in the spring of 2008 while working for Global LAB leading gap year programs in northern India. 
________________________________________

Seva = Service.

Many times over the course of the semester, we arrange for, explore the practice of, and process our experiences giving service. Many of the religions into which we dig have strong traditions of donation and service - this semester we've dug deeply into Jainism as we've explored Jaipur. Selfless volunteer service, or seva, is a act practiced by Jains in many different ways. The most important piece is not just to give the seva as an obligation but to truly feel from your heart that there is nothing else to do but give what you have - your skills, your gratitude, and your love.

About a week ago, I had a chance to do just that. I am still feeling the tingly warmth radiating out of my chest as I sit here, remembering, in order to blog about this experience.

As you all know, we were living in Chomu - a small town 40 km outside of Jaipur - for three days. On the evening of the second day, as the students were safely with their homestay families laughing, dancing, and singing with their brothers-and-sisters for the night, Harrison and I traveled with Shivani, our local coordinator, to visit some Jain nuns. We found them walking along the busy road, cars blowing their horns and blazing past these women, clad all in white, heads covered with blue/grey material covering their mouths as to not inhale any unaware insects as they walked. What a contrast to the motorbike-stares as many folks ripped by us!

More striking than the sight of these nuns walking along the road was the entourage that followed them. Women and men who had devoted either that part of the day or a week of their life to walk along with with nuns. They were cooking and cleaning and readying every small detail to arrange for the safety, sleeping, and eating for the nuns caught and held my attention. One woman, in particular, Lali, drew me in with her smile immediately.

We arrived at the place where the nuns would stay for the night and preparations began immediately for dinner. Harrison and I stood around, for a minute or two, watching, observing, and being quite dwarfed by the quick activity around us: the nuns needed to eat before the sun set in about 30 minutes. We were standing in a movie scene - The two of us still, in focus, while everyone else played back in fast forward around us.

My eyes focused on Lali - in her red sari - her strong body moving with grace among the others, quietly, but firmly guiding, showing the others what needed to be done to accomplish their tasks. Not quite knowing what else to do but feeling uncomfortable watching things happen around me while I stood still, I approached her. She looked at me, smiled deeply, and put an apple in my right hand and a knife in my left. I squatted down and began to peel. I was focused on taking the seed parts out of the apple, as Lali showed me, because Jain nuns can't eat any piece of food that could potentially contain another life. I looked to my left where Lali had placed a huge bowl of fruit for me to peel and de-seed: pomegranate (yikes for de-seeding!), papaya, apples, oranges, and grapes. Next to the bowl, a cup of steaming chai sat also waiting for my attention. I set to work.

This small bit of seva that I was able to give - merely cutting some fruit for the nuns, and for the people who were attending to them to share together - filled me up with a deep sense of satisfaction. I felt a bit weightless with joy, actually. It's these moments that I am so grateful for, but are also a bit dangerous as they are addicting. To feel so happy and so light is a rare thing.

So as we continue to move along this semester and engage with other traditions in which seva is a huge piece (Sikhism at this Golden Temple where I finish up this post), I remember this feeling, Lali's smile, and the happiness that came from my small actions that evening before the sun set.

May you all feel the heart warmth as you identify pieces of service that you give every day to your loved ones, your children, your parents, your partners. May the giving be enough to fill your hearts with gratitude for the opportunity to give.

In Service,

TKJ

Elinor Ostrom

The first woman to win the Nobel Prize - CNN Article

Elinor Ostrom's research on how humans interact with ecosystems, unpacking the concept of the "commons," seems to prove that local communities managing resources from the inside seems to work more efficiently than when an outside authority tries to manage resources for the community. 

I can think of so many examples of the truth to this statement - anyone who is living, working, interacting, engaging with one's own community will not only have knowledge, but experience, of how things will work to serve one's own community.  Someone outside of that dynamic will NOT.  Thus, (logical conclusion) the people who are living, working, struggling, rejoicing, in that community are the most well-informed decisionmakers about that particular community. 

Particular relevance: Her work in western Nepal looking at conflict and resource management. 

Resources:
Governing the Commons (book)
Rules, Games, and common-pool resources (book)
Polycentric Games and Institutions: Chapter 16

There's much more, but I need some online research training.  (I just don't get these online databases, yet.  Back in my day.....        we went to the card catologue.  I don't feel that old :/)

Grammar

Did I miss something, or do students not learn anymore that there needs to be a comma after a preposition that introduces a statement.

I.E.

During the day I walked up and down the hillside looking for four-leaf clovers.

The correction should be:

During the day, I walked up and down the hillside looking for four-leaf clovers.

Right? or Wrong? 

and according to what rules?

It's ISP Draft Reading Time!

One of my students writes in their introduction,

"Education is a vehicle for development. It is very important to understand the value of education because educating the future generation can help solve the problems the public faces today."

agreed in one sense - this sentence made me think that understanding complex human and environmental dynamics in this day and age, and then "teaching" what we think about that is important for creating a context for future generations to take the reigns.

I see my role, or any teachers' role, in a new light - or the same light as always.  Now just able to articulate.  Contextualize contextualize contextualize.  Learning cycle, right?  what, so what, now what.  a teacher's job is present lots of whats from lots of perspectives.  next piece is to faciltate activity, conversation, process around figuring out the so whats.  and finally, once the students have some new ideas about the so whats the unit ends with the now what discussion.  okay. good.

this student's following sentence is:

"The way the people are educated and reasons they attend certain schools must be understood in order to understand how to develop Nepal." 

The Yam between Two Boulders

Good article from Republica about how Nepal needs to be careful moving forward politically.

Unskillfully playing both sides with two giants, Nepal is.  Internal turmoil, and grandiose ideas about trust and relations with the giants will do Nepal, and her Maoists, no good.

Thoughts about Travel

50 Quotes about travel.

Sometimes these are good - sometimes they make me think of who gets to travel, and how much of a luxury travel is, and how the people who are quoted saying these things are thinking about expanding their homogeneous surroundings because they live in a culture that has been homogenized so they have to go out and seek Exotic things in order to make themselves feel special, just like everyone else.

Of course, me included.  I like saying, in response to where do you life, "I live in Nepal." It makes me feel special.  and then I get to pay attention to that.

Wondering how to use this for teaching...

How to Win an Argument

When comparing yourself with others, do you usually find that you compare favorably or unfavorably? If you compare favorably, do you feel proud? If you compare unfavorably, do you feel devastated? Either of these reactions will keep you from seeing things as they are. If you are feeling competitive, the real question is, Who is it who compares? Don’t repress this feeling or tell yourself how bad it is, but study it as a foolish trait for which you have some affection.

Master Dogen, the thirteenth-century founder of Soto Zen in Japan, was asked by a student, “What should you do if you find yourself in an argument? Should you try to win the argument or should you concede, even though you feel you’re right?” Dogen advised neither path. Become disinterested, he told the student, and the argument will lose its energy. The same advice can be applied to feelings of competitiveness in practice: Let go of your attachment to appearances of one who wins or has “got it right.”

-Dairyu Michael Wenger, "Competing with the Incomparable," Tricycle, Winter 2004

Jesus's lost years

jesus in kashmir - bbc documentary






And I'm still curious - There's another series that seems interesting... less about Kashmir, more about the story pieces that aren't told by the bible (youtube: The Hidden Story of Jesus - in 11 parts). 

I spoke with a friend of mine today who knows a lot about Kashmir.  She correctly pointed out that Hemis Monastery, which is cited in these videos, was not even built yet during the time period of Jesus's life.  "Saint Issa" could not have visited Hemis, even if there was a Saint Issa.  Buddhism was in its hayday in North India at this time, awaiting the

The Silk Road certainly had an impact on the spread of Buddhism.  How and when exactly remains illusive. 

Ethnicity and Seperatist Movements

Basques in Spain from CNN - Basque Movement (est. 1959) labeled a terrorist group by the US.

Maoists (Naxals or Naxalites) in India from CNN - Suspected terrorist activity in northeastern India.  These guys have been at it since 1960.

Big Question always arises with students as we are trying to understand the idiosyncracies of the Maoist movement here in Nepal (official est. 1996) - What is the connection between these self-proclaimed separatists?  Do they have similar goals? methods? are they connected by anything other than morphed ideology from Mao's Cultural Revolution in China?  How closely are they following traditional Maoist ideology?  Are they taking cues from each other?

Sanjib ji was telling me the other day that it was only just recently that the Naxalites in India had formally acknowledged the Maoists here in Nepal as a group they could look up to and emulate as they had truly been able to reform government and strive toward the goals set by their ideologies. 

Remains to be seen, no?

The Story of Stuff

This video is one of the most important teaching tools I've found for taking a systems approach to talking about responsible consumption. Have a look.
"You cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely."

Also some good resources to put global consumption into perspective:

That book about comparing the world's stuff
Cradle to Cradle - William McDonough

Obama's international diplomacy

So, how's it going for our "young, charismatic" leader?

This article from the Economist talks well about the embarassment that insued because Mr. President bowed to the Japanese Emperor.

Here, another Economist article talks through "Amateur Hour at the White House," with quotes from folks presiding over the Council for Foreign Relations.  Interesting to me that the Economist quotes CFR - I wonder if readers know who/what they are...

In general, regarding Mr. President, I'm still left with the question -

Penchant for conciliation is excellent - being viewed as passive isn't so excellent. Where's the balance?

How to Conduct Research

From the Peace and Collaborative Development Network.

Here's the link to 10 Steps to Developing Effective Research.

This would be good for teaching FSS seminar or Exhibition.  Could use a bit of adapting for different aged researchers. 

Easier Said...

"Freedom means being able to choose how we respond to things. When wisdom is not well-developed, it can be easily obscured by the provocations of others. In such cases we may as well be animals or robots. If there is no space between an insulting stimulus and its immediate conditioned response—anger—then we are in fact under the control of others. Mindfulness opens up such a space, and when wisdom is there to fill it one is capable of responding with forbearance. It’s not that anger is repressed; anger never arises in the first place."

-Andrew Olendzki, "Calm in the Face of Anger," Tricycle, Fall 2006

The Nonverbal Advantage by Carol Kinsey Goman

Non Verbal Communication can build trust.

Within seven seconds of meeting people, they have already formed their first impression of you.

93 % of the messages people receive have nothing to do with what you actually say.

Four Points -

1. The Gaze - two types of eye contact. Business gaze - apex at the forehead. signals no-nonsense approach. Social gaze - apex at the mouth. Social gaze signals interest. Can be misinterpreted as flirting. Can be confusing to mix them. Women need to be aware that to be taken seriously in business encounters, don't use social gaze.

2. Head Tilt - signal of interest and involvement. positive cues, but feminine gesture indicating submission. also can indicate interest.

3. Body Orientation - degree of face, shoulders, and feet facing a person indicates the status or level of like of that person. Toward you = positive attitude about you. Direct orientation is offputting for men; It's confrontational. Men position themselves on oblique angles. Women are comfortable facing each other. When approaching a male colleague, do so from the side.

4. Mirroring - we subconsiously mirror each other signaling connection or engaged. signals 'like' or 'agreement.' goes both ways - when someone's mirroring you, they like/agree with you. when you use mirroring, you're making others more comfortable through positive relation with the other person.

Miss Thang also talks about the eyebrow lift upon meeting someone - like when you're walking down a busy street full of people and you happen to recognize someone in the crowd.  This gesture tells them that they are important or interesting.  What happens when you do this to someone in the first seven seconds... ??  Positive impression, methinks.

Free Boat Ride for Three

Self Concept and Identity

Greg from IDP shares some insight from Yale research on concepts of self and identity:

We used to think that the hard part of the question "How can I be happy?" had to do with nailing down the definition of happy. But it may have more to do with the definition of I. Many researchers now believe, to varying degrees, that each of us is a community of competing selves, with the happiness of one often causing the misery of another.

 IDP post here includes many book suggestions for further reading about identity concepts in Buddhism

You, too, can spout Postmodern Bullshit!

Postmodern bullshit Generator.

What fun!  Though, it makes my brain hurt.  Y'all need to give it a rest.

Alan Sokal's hoax paper that threw the postmodern egoism into a tizzy.

Alan Sokal's website

Music Themes: Writing, letters

If I Wrote You - Dar Williams
The Letter - Natalie Merchant

Themes - Music
Minor feel giving way to major resolutions at the end of phrases. - creates melancholy, insistent feel that does resolve phrase after phrase. 
Merchant's melody
fingerpicking -

Themes - Lyrics
Letter-writing to tell one's true feelings, rather than saying.
hopefullness, unrequited love, resignation, the need to express the feeling disregarding the reaction.
Fake idealized relationship ? 

Music Themes: Water

The Ocean - Dar Williams
River - Joni Mitchell
Washing of the Water - Peter Gabriel
The Lighthouse's Tale - Nickel Creek

Themes - Music
undulating melodies, repeated musical themes
warm, calm major chords with moving countermelody lines in different layers
feeling of driving forward, no matter the tempo

Themes - Lyrics
loss, overpowering, 'letting go', cleansing, seeing things from a new perspective that wasn't available before, opening, drowning, inner knowing

Vocabulary

poshlost - n. (poshlostnik) - pretentious, vulgar, prurient, bigoted, prejudiced, narrow-minded.  comes from - Nibokov - "deflater of pretention" russian author.

Either you're With Us, or you're With Us

John Marks - founder and president of Search for Common Ground is a hero of mine.

Amidst the debate of President Obama's international diplomacy, many different voices emerge - hatred, frustration, lack of understanding, support, vehement support, and admiration. John and Susan's article falls in the 'support' category, in my opinion.

Existential Debate:
How is it possible that every president/leader/boss has the same amount of aversion/attraction to them? I would say the same statement above while inserting George W. Bush's name for Obama's. Does that make anyone else think?

New Winter Coat

I am going to get a coat made while I'm here. It is getting wicked cold in KTM. I want one that covers my butt and keeps it warm, but is shape fitting (small on top, high-wasted, generous hip area), and has a hip silhouette. These are the ones I like:

I like the color and the waist, and the hood, of course.

Really like the collar and shape of this one, but a little fancy for my city living

This is my fave of them all, but I think it is too short to keep my butt warm.

and this one looks warm. I'm shivering right now.

Melanoma

I've come dangerously close to skin cancer. Thanks to my generous former employer and the affordable Indian healthcare system, I've been able to keep tabs on what's manifesting itself on my skin. It's a swift, silent killer (as so many things are), so detection early and often is good.

Check this Guardian article out.

Existential debate:
We all want to live a long healthy life, even if we can't articulate it - but if we're going to die anyway eventually, why spend thousands on heath care to keep us alive? What's the point? What's our human responsibility to advocate for our own lives?

Death of Innocents?

The Festival of Gadhimai happens every five years here in Kathmandu. It's happening today, this morning, actually. Thousands of animals are sacrificed to the Hindu god Gadhimai many in thanks for emergence from difficult times. Your son was sick for a long time, you prayed a lot at the temple for him to get better - making wishes that if he gets better, you'll make a sacrifice to the goddess. Now, he's just gotten better, you offer the goddess the blood of a waterbuffalo. You were drowning in debt, and prayed a lot at the temple for good fortune to smile upon you, a family member helps you out, you offer a chicken to Gadhimai in thanks for her help with your problem. This article talks about the fury and violence with which the animals are killed, and how one killer thinks about the offerings.

There's a vegetarian version of this festival called "Chhath" which happens once a year - images here. The setting sun and the rising sun are greeted with offerings of coconuts, fruit, tikka, incense, and fire. The coconut is the offering that simulates the act of killing - the coconut is smashed and the milk represents blood offered to the god/goddess. Then, the coconut meat is given back to the offerer as prashad (or blessing from the god).

As we see with Hinduism, it's not what you believe, but what you do that is important to the pantheon of unlimitless gods and goddesses. Animal sacrifice is particularly common to godesses like Kali and Durga, powerful females who, it may seem have an insatiable bloodlust (vampires??), but maybe a more subtle explanation could be that when you take the life of another being in the name of these goddesses, you really mean it.

Animal rights activists in other countries are pissed. This year, the festival has drawn a lot of attention, especially by Ram Bahadur Bomjon, who it is rumored wanted to stop the sacrifices.

None of the program staff offered up sacrifices this year. They and their families are all doing just fine. In fact, one of the staff told me that he has never made such a promise to the goddess (That he will sacrifice the life of another being if he could just _______ (fill in the blank)), though he did say that his aunt and uncle had offered many times for his success or his health.