Changing the world through art

Impressive talk from French art activist JR, shown at TED

Crank it up - genius from EF Schumacher

Via Adbusters

E.F. Schumacher didn’t mind when fellow economists dismissed his unorthodox ideas and called him a crank. He chose to take it as a compliment, reasoning that “the crank is the part of the machine which creates revolution and it is very small. I am a small revolutionary!” Schumacher would in fact build his legacy around the idea of small, which in the world of economics is a revolutionary feat indeed.

Breaking the rules - in multiples

Many thanks to Liv Knight, curator of the Challenger Project at London agency Eat Big Fish for flagging up this interesting story.

In this simple, no words video clip, an unseen person explains how the Japanese do long multiplication with nothing more fancy than a few straight lines and the ability to count to a few dozen. As you watch the video, take a few moments to reflect on the things that we take as complicated, super-challenging or needing technology when what is really needed is new information and a fresh perspective.

reluctant enthusiasm

edward abbey

Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast … a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it is still there. So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators.

I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards.

Thanks to fellow Do Village blogger Maxine Perella for this lovely reminder of Edward Abbey, writer, activist, inspirer



Learning to love uncertainty

Learn to love uncertainty and failure, say leading thinkers | Edge question | Science | The Guardian.

One of the characteristics of all Doers is to know what you’re certain about and what you’re not. It’s good to have a strong, deep feeling in your head, heart and bones that you’re going to make a difference, and be certain of that. Knowing how to get there is a different question. That’s the joy of learning to work, live and love like nature, using whatever is in front of you as a gift and precious resource for whatever comes next.