<3 TED

Ken Robinson talks about education, intelligence and creativity. And he's funny.

Diverse <

Dynamic < < intelligence >

Distinct <

thanks Buddha!

image taken from here

Buddha seemed quite unruffled by the insults hurled at him by a visitor. When his disciples later asked him what the secret of his serenity was, he said:

"Imagine what would happen if someone placed an offering before you and you did not pick it up. Or someone sent you a letter that you refused to open; you would be unaffected by its contents, would you not? Do this each time you are abused and you will not lose your serenity."

from the Happiness of Being:

Happiness lies deep within us, in the very core of our being. Happiness does not exist in any external object, but only in us, who are the consciousness that experiences happiness. Though we seem to derive happiness from external objects or experiences, the happiness that we thus enjoy in fact arises from within us.

I was thinking..... some rest

from everyday craziness including cell phone checking every 5 min and I searched that on Google and came upon an interesting article by a normal person about! living without a cell phone. GASP!

im working on this happiness thing where you don't stress over everyday things you have no control over and enjoy the everyday things u do get to do like walking, exploring, talking, movies, music and other glorious things like.. sunshine and raindrops! and peanut butter with apples.

also i saw a wonderful movie called "Small Change" , made in France in 1976. it showed a couple weeks in the lives of children in a small village in France. live was very simple. you went to school. made jokes. had small allowances. had structure. had first kisses. it was interesting and colorful and calm too- and really funny in some parts. lets be kids again.

Favorties today

VIDEO

take away shows

Sound Team

Cocoon

Seasick Steve

Videos and Values

I started a Vimeo channel to showcase all the fun time and presenters that appear at the unStandard show. WATCH HERE The first one up one of Baron Vaughn- a funny guy. Many more soon to come. Also the next show is Tuesday, Dec 8. RSVP because that is the right thing to do ;)

As well, yesterday I came across a community center for acupuncture. The Brooklyn Acupuncture Project which is part of "a nonprofit network of practitioners, patients, and supporters whose goal is to make acupuncture more affordable and accessible." Its good to know preventative and holistic care isn't only possible for the people who can afford big prices. I believe in treating the person as a person and not separate from their ailment. That's just me and my opinions. So its great that there's people interested in spreading alternative healthcare to anyone who seeks it.

When I Google "how to live a better life", the top result was: VALUES.COM or

They are the ones who create billboards about being a better person or something along those lines. So.. apparently ' a better life' had something do do with

' values'. The Foundation for A Better Life, is a privately funded foundation, whose "sole objective is to promote positive values, using print and broadcast media." Thats very nice. I wonder who the founder is. Really, though it would be awesome to be able to build something like this just because you can and have the money to. Maybe you've seen this poster:

Hear.. See.. Talk

very interesting radio show combines science with modern life and questions our everyday life desicsions. RadioLab is where" your ears are a portal to another world. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience". Go listen!

visit the rain forest lately? Watch this documentary about "Ayahuasca, which is a natural substance been used by Shamans for rituals, healing and spiritual awakening. Found all over the Amazon, Ayahuasca and it's incredible ability to heal has been slowly but steadily creeping into western consciousness."

and this is funny or disturbing...

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."

- Rudyard Kipling

the unStandard Show 11/10/09

On Tuesday Nov 10th, the third unStandard show was held at Tea Lounge. From 7pm- 10pm there was music, comedy, thankfulness, poetry,discussion on legalizing weed and fun fun fun!

Check these some of the wonderful artists. Many thanks to the audience, presenters and Tea Lounge. In addition, to the ones listed below there were some others that if you came.. you got to meet and experience. Next show coming very soon!

Alyson Greenfield music

Baron Vaughn comedy

Charley Crockett music

Zach Kangas music

Ilya Gutner poet

Gio music

David Bienenstock editor of 'High Times'

Wylie Toms music

Ibrahim Siddiq spoken word

James Kennedy music

K.I.M. motivational artist

And many thanks to Eric who did the video of the whole event, so soon there shall be evidence of the show!

oh.. this..and ..that

Once upon a time, a lil girl graduated college and was told ' Go forth and be yourself. ' And this was great because she loved to roam the streets, adore the clouds, be thankful to the trees, sit on the grass and more... These wonderful, peaceful activities, couldn't exist by themselves, since the girl liked warm beds, good food and seeing live music (all of which costs some money). so she thought- i must find happiness in something else, that is happiness - bringing and potential money-bringing too. a very possible, yet high- balancing act that breaks down from time to time.

theres this course to free one's potential and achieve all you

want called the Landmark Forum. I've heard good things about it before I actually experienced it. People mentioned it helped them be more confident and realize their dreams and just be a happier individual. I come in and see a similar sight--------->

its a bigger stage with a man in a chair on it, talking and throwing out words like hes been doing it his whole life ( he mentioned he was shy before- and the forum helped him to not be) and there are chairs all around the stage, around 150 people total.

And the lights are glaring white. No windows.

I think: I hope its an introduction and them we divide up and share stories and go into specific topics. But we don't get into small groups. The WHOLE forum is preformed in a room that (in my mind) is an oversized office with the social relations of a NY street where people are all around you but NOONE speaks to each other. At least thats how it was in the first 1.5 hours since I couldn't physically and mentally stand to be in the room. So i left and ..

ran to Central Park! where it was a most amazing

day with sunshine and falling leaves. laid around on a bench for an hour and was a lazy cat watching the sun, leaves, people, warmth. Then I figured what a great time to see a movie and saw 'I love New York', which I think is a cute and fun movie. Wandered over to a bookstore and then joined a few people at a reception for the fundraising event for the ID Project. It was held at ABC Carpet and Home, which is sooo pretty and has Buddha's all over the first floor.

Then I had sushi with a friend, discussed very important life ideas.

At 11 pm I took a bus to Boston. Another exciting Friday (Nov 6).

The Moon is As bright as the Sun

yesterday! i went to a chill event i thought id experience something new, meet a few people, walk away a more interesting person. and I did! (at least i believe so)

The Performance Project at University Settlement hosts events by Live Arts Collaboration which bring together artists and audiences to showcase emerging work, meet each other and encourage collaboration.

The first performance, a dance, was very engaging. A man and woman dance on opposite sides of a table. There is a red tape in the middle of the table. The soundtrack is a mix of angry voices and classical music, in case you felt like falling asleep. Seriously, it was a new experience to watch modern dance and the whole presentation kept me alert and engaged. I like how the sounds shifted in mood, which kept me thinking, whats next, in both the dance and the music. By the end the tape was torn off the table and the dancers sorta danced together. Going toward the theme of, the whole our world is divided, etc, but it can in harmony and we can be better if we work with each other.

Another performance was a dance/film about meditation by Jordan Schachter. How does meditation relate to movement and art- we shall soon see. A preview of the upcoming performance of how dance can translate the experience of mediation: the act of meditation and its affects once one is not mediating but existing in the most exciting NYC. The film goes over how the dancers and crew feel and react to the process of being in the project and translating their personal desires with the vision of the project. In fact, I think its so interesting, that from today I will help organize elements of the production. Hope its fun, i think it'll be fun.

On another note, a drank half a cup of wine after the salon and was in SUCH a good mood. and the moon was full and shining, alive, active, mysterious.

Fun stuff

Today I say

The social reality is a fiction, a beautiful drama; you can participate in it, but then you don't take it seriously. It is just a role to be played; play it as beautifully, as efficiently, as possible. But don't take it seriously, it has nothing of the ultimate in it..

Live intensely and totally now - because the next moment will be born out of this moment. And if you have lived it totally and joyously, you can be absolutely certain that the next moment will bring more blessings, more joy.

OSHO

Also: CraZy buildings

Poems in spaces with music

POEMS

we like our images

we draw everyday

in our minds, in empty

spaces

meant for

clear vision, truth,

a subtlety of being.

inventing other,

creating forms, colors, laughs,

conversation.

I talked to you last night

in my head

for a full hour.

SPACES

yesterday, i met Alexis Gamis who is quite cool dude. He has a PHD, is studying film and founded Imagine Science Film Festival. Why the name' Imagine' - because it was a magical day studying fruit flies that have a tissue named 'imaginal discs' and then thought 'that fits pretty well.' And the space we met was is an asian cafe, on 7th Av and 10th St in Park Slpe, that could use some decorating but a nice big space. for hosting really awesome unStandard events. possibly.

the other space is Googies, which is very intimate and cute lounge upstairs. decent acoustics and there's a big bar downstairs, generally its nice, very cozy (and warm). another option for a gathering of performance and ideas. which is coming soon. oh- and Assembly, is a clothing store, with a piano and cloth draped all around the room, that i kept looking into on my way home.

MUSIC

like happy, upbeat, folksy, strong music.. u do! discover Wylie Toms.

and so much more amazing- yes amazing music will be at the next show.

one last thing: LooK here

Stories and ..more

STORIES

theres an awesome organization called The Moth which is : people spilling their secrets and long lost moments of embarrassment, joy or sadness, through really interesting stories. The kind of information you read and think.. really?... that happened to someone? Well, yes, it's all true. All those strange, crazy and unimaginable, its true. Myths didn't come from no where, it all comes from some truth.

yesterday the theme was Disguises, which brought up a lot of relationship focused stories, unlike an earlier event which also was very relationship focused. and of course, relationships are what makes up our life. relationships= experiences = stories.

MORE

there's an theater company that is pretty cool. they did a summer play in Bryant Park as an:

"imaginary Bryant Park Croquet Society were dressed in white and playing croquet on Bryant Park's main lawn. Sipping tea and gossiping, they amuse the crowd that gathers around. Suddenly, as if possessed by a spirit, they burst into William Cullen Bryant's odes to nature". art.party. theater is a more active theatre- no sitting(for too long) allowed. i like very much interactive art and these people have some pretty fun ideas. like the upcoming show i'm considering to attend, " Duchess in the Dark", which "places the audience at the forefront of the gruesome action by giving them flashlights with which to explore the story".

the audience can control the play, and be part of it. YAY!

side note: excited for Halloween? check out this

....

Just keep on
like I do and pay no attention. You'll
find that people always will complain
about the atmosphere, either too hot
or too cold too bright or too dark, days
too short or too long.

If you don't appear
at all one day they think you're lazy
or dead. Just keep right on, I like it.

And don't worry about your lineage
poetic or natural. The Sun shines on
the jungle, you know, on the tundra
the sea, the ghetto. Wherever you were
I knew it and saw you moving. I was waiting
for you to get to work.

...

And
always embrace things, people earth
sky stars, as I do, freely and with
the appropriate sense of space. That
is your inclination, known in the heavens
and you should follow it to hell, if
necessary, which I doubt.
...

- Frank O'Hara

yesterday was beautiful. today, as I look outside the office windows, its wonderful outside.

lets get more Sun!

Dance- Life- Spaces

Dance: "4 X 4"

I signed up to theater email lists so now I know about all different, awesome and some inexpensive shows. One that really interested me was "4 X 4" a modern dance show by a Brazilian dance company. So I... invited my parents... cuz that would be nice...and we saw it.

It was really something to see. SEE and HEAR. It combines intricate and vibrant visuals, lighting and music and amazing dancers- with amazing bodies. The show is stunning visually- like a fairytale. And one part is an amusing presentation of what would happen if dolls that are shy and dance really well had 'relations'.

Take a look at photos for a glimpse of the show.

Deborah Colker, the choreographer of the show, mentions in this article,

" Why must the stage always be horizontal and the dancer vertical?” she asked, and not rhetorically. “Why not use movement to subvert space and question gravity?."

LIFE

We need to find freedom in ourselves. Know any places that sell some?

SPACES

Recently, I've been attentive to the space I visit. Lofts, cafes, lounges, streets, parks, empty lots. Walking NY around I see such possibility- for parties gatherings, sharing, amusement, growth, amazement. I'm looking for new spaces. Maybe this for some time might be nice.