“not every day is going to offer us a chance to save somebody’s life, but everyday offers us an opportunity to affect one. so get in the game. save the shoes.”
mark bezos is a volunteer new york firefighter who gave a quick ted talk, on two simple life lessons: don’t wait to be a hero and every little thing counts. it made me smile and it made me think about all the little things that count.
“the clitoris… i know so much about it! it’s like a country i’ve never been to, but i’ve read every travel guide.
angor wat… angor twat i should call it!”
dan savage answers sex related questions live on events and on a column called savage love. it’s pure public service of setting records straight about sexuality in a frank, no-nonsense voice.
recently, he started it gets better, a project where he + his husband and hundreds of other people (including tim gunn, perez hilton or chris colfer) send lgbt teenagers a clear message:
Many LGBT youth can’t picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can’t imagine a future for themselves. So let’s show them what our lives are like, let’s show them what the future may hold in store for them.
i think this is a remarkable project. high school really is a tough time (and not only for lgbt teenagers), but it gets better for all of us, often just the moment high school ends. hang in there, it does get better.
it’s been over 1001 days since i made version one of my 101 things list… which didn’t go all that well. i did about 40% of the tasks, and reached some conclusions.
1001 days seemed like a lifetime 3 years ago, and so i sprinkled the list with wishful thinking and lots of travelling adventures… which ended up not happening (e.g. roadtrip coast-to-coast in the US). it turns out, our big travels are not conditioned by items in a list, but rather by whims and opportunities. it’s not that we travelled less, we just ended up choosing different places to go to – and that’s ok.
another thing i’ve learned is that things… change. i’ve lost interest on a lot of items (e.g. be better at iceskating) while others turned out not to be so compatible to our current circumstances (e.g. starting a compost pile). other things turned out better than i expected (e.g. instead of going 100% freelance, i work remotely).
all in all though, i liked the idea of having this big list with a set deadline – it didn’t shape my future, but it did focus me on certain goals. the second list took me a lot more time to draft, as i’ve struggled to remain more practical and make sure all the items are all “doable”. i really want to do better this time.
so, 101 fresh things for the next 1001 days:
some of the things i’ve already completed while the list was still a draft, like watching the whole set of star wars movie (pfeeew!), but i’ve only started the official countdown a few days ago, so the new deadline is set for jul 30, 2013. wish me luck! :)
ps – if you’re thinking of doing one, head over to dayzeroproject.com for inspiration from other people’s lists!
ifitwasmyhome.com is a little google maps mashup that lets you visualize the bp oil spill by superimposing it on your current location.
these things are always tricky to visualise, for lack of reference points, but this map shows a very concrete term of comparison: slovenia. the whole of slovenia is engulfed in that stain (plus big chunks of italy, austria and croatia).
for us living here, and exploring this country, it surely puts things in perspective.
2 sites that quickly become addictive:
– 750 words (via joaon): if you ever read julia cameron’s the artist’s way, you know one of the first things she tells you to do is to write everyday, first thing in the morning. she calls the assignment ‘the morning pages’. the 750 words site aims to help you write these daily pages, by providing a simple place where you can write this text. very easy and surprisingly efficient, and with cute bonuses (without going overboard).
– chucklorre.com (via berlinde): ever stopped at the end of a big bang theory episode you were watching to read the always different vanity card? they’re all there! :)