Category: Big Picture

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Big Picture Cool Quote Politics TED Talks Web Stuff

Two Great TED Talks to Share

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I stumbled onto TED about 4 years ago. For those of you that don’t know, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment & Design. To quote from them: “It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.” The premise of TED is to give speakers 20 minutes to share their ideas, talents or findings with the world. I have watched hours of TED videos in the past 4 years.

The other day I watched a talk by Barry Schwartz on the Loss of our Wisdom. It’s a great talk and speaks volumes about the state of our society. It’s well worth the 20 minutes.

Just tonight while flipping through TED talks on Tivo, I watched a great one by Larry Lessig: How creativity is being strangled by the law. As someone trying to put creative content out there, I think that it’s especially interesting. (He even references John Philip Sousa, so that makes it cool on it’s own right.)

Bonus video:
One of my favorite all time TED talks is: Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you’ve ever seen

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Big Picture Web Stuff

Post Secret Event

This week, Jen and I attended a Post Secret Event held at the U of I. What is a “Post Secret Event”? Well, that’s a good question, first you probably should know what Post Secret is. Post Secret is an art project started by Frank Warren. He started it by walking around Washington DC passing out post cards that were blank on one side and had instructions to share their secrets on the other. He would introduce himself, “Hi, my name is Frank and I collect secrets.” That’s how it began and slowly he started to get people to mail him their secrets. A few a day at first to now he receives over 1000 a week. That’s the short version, for the extended-dance-mix version, click here.

Every Sunday, Frank posts about 20 new cards on his blog. I first heard about Post Secret a couple of years ago and have been following it since. The popularity of this project has been nothing short of unbelievable. To date, he’s received over 300,000 secrets, has published 4 books (with a 5th on the way) and has had over 215 million visitors to his site.

I think it is one of the coolest social experiments that has ever existed. The cards range from the funny; “I cried when my favorite Sim died.” , to the weird; “I love the smell of my pee after I drink coffee.”, to the brutally serious; “After I was date-raped, I dated and slept with the guy that did it 3 more times. I hoped that if I could make it a “real” relationship, I wouldn’t have to admit to myself that the rape was real.”

At the event he shared with the group some of the postcards that he couldn’t publish in the books because they had copyright infringements or were too graphic. He also shared some of the stories behind some of the secrets. He then asked if anyone would like to share a secret with the group. Several people went to the microphones and shared. It’s amazing to me what effect this project has had on peoples lives. Frank has used it to support the national suicide help line, raising money for their cause to keep the line going. I think it also lets people know that they are not alone and that others have dealt or are dealing with the same problems they are. One kid that shared his secret at our event said that he denied for 10 years that he was gay and would encourage anyone that is struggling with that decision to not spend another day fighting it and not live the life he’s had for the past 10 years.

Frank believes that we all have secrets and that everyday we decide to bury those secrets deep down inside of us or we choose to share them and free ourselves of that burden. If you have not read any of the books, I would encourage you to pick one up. I have put links to them down below.

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Autism Big Picture

Why, dad?

why.jpg Why? A question that has been asked for centuries by scientist, philosophers and musicians. But it most often asked by children. If you have a child, you know this question and more than likely you HATE this question. Why do birds have wings? Why is the sky blue? Why do farts smell? Why, why, why?

Truce is not a big fan of the “Why?” question. Through all the advances in communications that Truce has made over the past 3 years, why, eludes him. For him, the whole concept of cause and effect is hard to grasp. Let me give you an example. Let’s say that I am in the other room and I hear a loud crash come from the kitchen. I run in there to see Truce standing above a pile of broken dishes. He will look up and me and say, “What happened?” Yes, he will ask what I should be asking. He’s not asking to be a smart-mouth (like I probably would at his age) he just knows that will be the question I will ask. He’s beating me to the punch.

Truce has come so far. Anyone who knows him will attest to that. Explaining something that happened is the next bridge that I would love for him to cross. The other day at school he was acting up and I asked why. He said, “I sad.” I asked why was he sad. Did someone hurt him, make fun of him, or was he frustrated? Why were you sad, I asked again. He looked at me and I could tell the wheels were turning, but he didn’t have an answer.

Later, I told Jennifer that I wish he could explain things to me. To tell me, why. Like every other wish that I have had for him to this point, he will get it. Of that, I have no doubt. So, for those of you with little ones, think twice before you roll your eyes or sigh the next time they start to go on about why something happened. Just listen to it with a smile and know that you are blessed.

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Big Picture

The Toys "R" Us kids grow up.

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Growing up.

When did you realize that you were growing up? Was it when you got married? Had children? Got promoted? For me, it was yesterday. Now, over the past few years most of my wild antics have gone by the wayside. I don’t drink as much as I used to, I don’t do crazy things as much, and I tell my friends to “be careful.” Being President of my Rotary club, serving on city council, and owning my own business has brought me a little more on the strait and narrow.

So why yesterday did I grow up? Actually it didn’t happen yesterday, I just realized it yesterday. I had lunch with an old friend from high school that I had not talked to for about 20 years. The conversation at one point turned to life. We made the joint comment that what used to be important to us: nice car, big house, boat, etc., didn’t mean squat anymore. I’ll stop there for now. Earlier in the day, I had a conversation with my very best friend and we were discussing this same subject. His quote was about the fancy stuff was this: “None of that shit matters. Life is too short to worry about that crap.” Exactly. Finally, this same conversation was played out a week ago when I talked to another good friend of mine. We both agreed “stuff” is fine to have, but serving the greater good and leaving a legacy that can be passed on is more important.

So, three different people, three independent conversations, but the same points: 1. Fancy things are great, but not needed. You need the love of your family, food, and a roof over your head. 2. We desire to do something bigger than ourselves. Give something back to the greater good. 3. Be happy in whatever you do, because life is too short.

How did I realize I grew up? By listening to what we were saying. It wasn’t the talk of how drunk we were going to get or the party that was happening this weekend. It was about adult stuff. Has the economy and it’s troubles caused us to start thinking this way? Maybe. Is it the renewed hope in a new administration running our country? Could be. I think for the most part it just the right time. We have 20+ years of life experience under out belt and are looking at the way we want to see the world for the next 20+.