Don’t just stare at it, climb it

// March 1st, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Beauty, Mind

Ken Davis gave me some good advice recently.  He said that many of us look at the mountain summit, admiring it’s beauty, all the while thinking that one day we’ll climb it.  Few ever do.  I was telling my dad about a new idea I’ve got brewing.  He shared with me this quote.

The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.  - - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

My dad is pretty smart.  It’s funny… he just became smart recently.  You see, I was always way smarter growing up.  But now I can see that maybe it was the other way around.  Anyway, I’m going to take his advice through this quote and toil upward in the night.

Mysterious ways

// February 16th, 2009 // No Comments » // Art, Beauty, Fun, Mind, Nature

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. - Albert Einstein

Civics 101 - Answers from Yesterday

// January 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Economy, History, Mind

These are the answers to the Civics quiz from yesterday. So how’d you do?

1. a

2. a

3. a

4. d

5. d

6. b

7. d

8. d

9. c

10. a

Civics 101 - So you think you know your civics?

// January 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Daily Life, History, Mind

This is a critical time to be smart. One area that concerns me is the apparent and seemingly intentional dumbing down of us citizens in our understanding of basic civics and civic responsibility.  Below I’ve gathered some questions to test your knowledge of basic civics? These are the kind of test questions that immigrants will see as part of the naturalization process. There are some in this country that think you’d be better off dumb and happy with a fat government handout.  I think being smart is better.  Tougher, but better.

1. How many Senators are there?

a. 100

b. 50

c. 435

d. 102

2. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

a. everyone (citizens and noncitizens living in the United States)

b. registered voters

c. the president

d. natural-born citizens

3. Can the Constitution be changed?

a. yes

b. no

c. yes, but only by the president

d. yes, but only by the voters

4. What do the stripes on the flag represent?

a. the states in the Union

b. the articles of the Constitution

c. the Cabinet

d. the 13 original Colonies

5. Which of the following is not a constitutional requirement in order to become president?

a. The person must be at least 35 years old by the time he or she would serve.

b. The person must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

c. The person must be a natural-born citizen of the U.S.

d. The person must have served as a governor.

6. How many justices comprise the Supreme Court?

a. ten

b. nine

c. three

d. thirteen

7. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?

a. to meet the Indians

b. to escape the Revolutionary War

c. to search for gold

d. to have religious freedom

8. What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?

a. the First Ten Amendments

b. the Preamble

c. the Articles of Confederation

d. the Bill of Rights

9. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

a. It freed the Indians.

b. It ended the Civil War.

c. It freed many slaves.

d. It ended World War II.

10. What is the maximum number of terms a president can serve?

a. two

b. three

c. four

d. There is no limit.

How’d you do?  Answers Tomorrow

Ronald Reagan said it best

// September 28th, 2008 // No Comments » // Economy, Mind

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away.

Sunny side up

// August 1st, 2008 // No Comments » // Daily Life, Mind, Random

This shot from my back deck reminds me of my brain most days. A random fog rolls in. After a time, the sun tends to break through the haze. Things are clearer. Thankfully this doesn’t happen every day.

Music is like this. Certain songs on first listen don’t get inside. A few more listens and it catches on. Reading certain texts like scripture or the Declaration of Independence has a similar effect. Upon a second or third reading, even years later in some cases, causes certain nuggets of truth to appear as if out of nowhere.

I suppose even relationships can take on this mystical quality. One day I realize something really special about my wife that wasn’t there before (from my vantage point). Little by little, the fog lifts.

I’ve realized I have to recognize it as the fog that it is, and the mostly temporary nature of it, before I can see the truth.

The Art of Daniel Merriam: The Impetus of Dreams

// July 16th, 2008 // No Comments » // Art, Mind, People, Random

I’ve been friends with Dan Merriam since high school. He was a few years older than me. I remember early on he was one of those guys who could draw/paint anything. During the first few years of college we were roommates in Naples, Maine as he was just beginning to move into the professional world of transparent watercolor. Our family has many of his originals from the very early days.

As time passed, Dan was recognized and heralded by many in the art world as a creative genius in the art of contemporary surrealism and transparent watercolor. He wrote a book chronicling his path called The Art of Daniel Merriam: The Impetus of Dreams. I’ve got this painting below called Cat’s Cradle at my home. Each painting is filled with so many pieces that you can literally stare for hours and never fully see everything.

Here are a couple of links to view his artwork.

http://www.animazing.com/gallery/merriam.htm

http://www.danielmerriam.com/index.php

http://www.visionsfineart.com/merriam/aa_index.html

Join me and others every Wednesday as we gather around the Watercooler at Ethos.

EIEIO… and on this farm

// July 15th, 2008 // No Comments » // Daily Life, Mind, Work

I receive Dan Miller’s 48 Days email newsletter each week. He is a wonderful communicator focusing on the message of going for your dreams as it relates to your occupation. He often prompts us to try new things and get out of ruts that we so often get stuck in. His latest book “No More Mondays: Fire Yourself — and Other Revolutionary Ways to Discover Your True Calling at Work“, is great.  This week his newsletter contained an old and familiar line from Old McDonald’s farm.  Instead of cows and chickens, Dan share’s some neat tips about how to engage people when you write, speak, or even while you’re at work.  Using EIEIO, you get the following:

• (E) - Entertain
• (I) - Inspire
• (E) - Educate
• (I) - Inform
• (O) - Outrage

Says Dan:

I see so many people and companies speak or write without including any of these elements. They tell people their personal story or the features of their new product. All the while, their customers, coworkers and bosses are waiting for something that will Entertain, Inspire, Educate, Inform or Outrage them. If you’re trying to move up - just follow Old McDonald’s formula. You’ll be amazed at the success you’ll unleash.

Music in my head

// February 27th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Mind, Music

My first Watercooler Wednesday entry is about a book that takes a fascinating look into the ways in which our brain interprets and remembers music. The subtitle is “The Science of a Human Obsession.” Daniel Levitin was a former musician/producer who later studied the physiology of the human mind. Why is it that certain songs immediately bring us back to a place in our past as vivid as if it were yesterday? What is it about some songs that grab our attention while others appear flat? From the book:

Music communicates to us emotionally through systematic violations of expectations. These violations can occur in any domain — the domain of pitch, timbre, contour, rhythm, tempo, and so on — but occur they must. Music is organized sound, but the organization has to involve some element of the unexpected or it is emotionally flat and robotic.

This book isn’t for everybody, because at times it can be a little dry. And don’t read it to be a better listener of music. It is not designed for that. But if you are fascinated with the how things work (like the brain, for example), you’ll really be amazed at what that small mass of substance in our head grapples with each time you listen to your iPod. The author includes many different songs and styles from his year of working in the business. As he writes he’ll include a song title to make a point about a bass line or a type of phrasing. If nothing else, it will bring back some memories of your own.

Enjoy.