Great reflection from my old ad prof

Metaphors are not merely stylistic “figures of speech” comparing two objects without using the words “like” or “as.” Reliance on that kind of definition is an injustice. Metaphors carry deep cultural meaning. And, without such meaning, we cannot move forward, we cannot act with productive purpose. Therein lies the power of metaphor in advertising. If you have not connected your message to its cultural value, you have missed the opportunity to persuade. (via Psychology of Advertising by John Eighmey)

View high resolution

I collaborated with Dr. Alan Kwan, who has a PhD in Computational Genomics from Washington University, to hypothesize what we may look like in the future. The following is written by him… While the future remains unknowable (for now), Nickolay Lamm produced one set of possible changes to the human face in one possible timeline where, 100,000 years in the future, through zygotic genome engineering technology, our future selves control human biology and human evolution the way we control electrons today. In this future, humankind has wrested control of the human form from natural evolution and are able to bend human biology to human needs. This future scenario and these figures are envisioned by Dr. Alan Kwan, PhD Computational Genomics from Washington University. (via What Will Humans Look Like in 100,000 Years? - What’s Hot)

(via Those BILLIONAIRES Were Pretty Slick With Their Crude LIE, And We’re Too Thick To Notice)

I need to know more. 

Founded in 2003, Post Carbon Institute is leading the transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world. our mission Post Carbon Institute provides individuals, communities, businesses, and governments with the resources needed to understand and respond to the interrelated economic, energy, environmental, and equity crises that define the 21st century. We envision a world of resilient communities and re-localized economies that thrive within ecological bounds. (via About)

View high resolution

The statement “everything causes cancer” has become a popular hyperbole, and one that some people use as rhetorical fodder to excuse their own dietary and lifestyle failures, particularly as they pertain to cancer risk. But the truth of the matter is that many common food items have, indeed, been scientifically shown to increase cancer risk, and some of them substantially. Here are 10 of the most unhealthy, cancer-causing foods that you should never eat again: (via Top 10 Most Unhealthy, Cancer-Causing Foods | REALfarmacy.com | Healthy News and Information)

View high resolution

It started with a seed. 

One which at this point is hard to tell if it came from me or to me… or maybe there really is no difference… but wherever that seed came from, I’m sure glad it started to grow.

On December 21^st 2013, just like the mynas predicted, the world did end. But not in the way I had imagined it might go. Predicting a fire storm of hell and high water due to climate change, my brother and I years ago made a pack to be together on the day the world was to end… you know, just in case. 

On the ride to our chosen hiding spot, we talked about dreams and stress, about work and family and everything random in between. I remember trying to articulate how I was feeling and the best way I could, was to say – I feel like I have a million holes in me, just leaking everything out – it felt instantly better just giving it a description. It felt like losing energy, like losing light.

We drove to the ferry and took it from the mainland across the frozen waves and icy air of lake superior to the old dock on Madeline Island.

It was there, on the 21^st that a seed was planted and my world started to crumble - in the most beautiful, eye-opening, life altering way.

I remembered where I came from. And why I was here.

And I left that island knowing that I only had one thing I needed to achieve this year. Only one goal that was worthy of pursuing.

They say everyone has two wolfs. Whichever one you feed is the one that grows. I needed to feed my light. To protect it and nurture it. To understand it and how to take care of it. I still have only one mission for this year.

BE BRIGHT 

And so far, pursuing that has been the most fun I’ve had living in a while. It feels great to experience life, with my eyes open and my mind clear.

Be bright.
Be bright. Be bright.. and then be brave.  

View high resolution

Works by Iris Grace Halmshaw, who cannot speak, have sold to bidders for more than £800.

Her mother Arabella Carter-Johnson, 32, saw her daughter’s work unexpectedly rise to fame after she posted copies of the paintings on Facebook, which received rave reviews, and then decided to set up a website to showcase her daughter’s work. She said:

“We realised about three months ago she is actually really talented. Inquiries to buy her paintings were flooding in from all over the world and a framed print sold in a charity auction in London for £830.” (via Paintings by three year-old achieve unexpected global fame - Telegraph)

View high resolution

Love love LOVE sparks and honey reports. YES. to exponential trends - ancient wisdom, conscious media - bring it on! http://www.slideshare.net/sparksandhoney/8-exponential-trends-ancient-wisdom-final 

"

Very cool!

“We believe that there should be lots of small food companies in the Midwest. Afterall, we live in America’s Breadbasket! As small food producers ourselves, we created Midwest Pantry to connect buyers to Artisan Producers and provide services that we wish would have been available to us when we started each of our original businesses.”

Midwest Pantry has decided to take the role of advocate. Imagine if a warehouse or distributor decided to get out the bullhorn and become active in the sales, distribution, and marketing of your products for you, yet without any of the overhead, markup, and additional costs (and without the warehouse). I know, sounds too good to be true. But it is true, and you sweet purveyors of local goods can go there and sign up. For what you get, the fees are minimal at just $50/year.

"

Midwest Pantry…a new model for getting your goods to market. | Simple, Good and Tasty

Intellectual Revolution | Discover Your World →

Yet another conscious media hub. this shit is heating up! I wonder if content creators are watching it at all…

View high resolution

taking notes..

clean your house first. then address the landscaping. 

the last week or so i’ve been doing a lot of cleaning - or rather “organizing” as it was “organize it” week according to my schedule of retirement activities. 

i took on the inside first, pulling out things from every nook and cranny, room by room in order to dust off and decide to keep, fix or throw. during day 2 i turned off my “buy something for this spot!!” brain and turned on my “what is going to practically help you with your day to day” brain and started buying things like fridge organizers and speaker wire to hook up those free speakers in the garage. Not as sexy but absolutely what we need to stay on top of cleaning on a weekly basis and music so the TV get’s turned off more. 

it’s funny. i used to hate routines. now i see that some routines simply get the junk out of the way so you can move on to the things you want to pursue. discovering what you already have and fixing what’s around, ends up being kinda fun. 

once the house was in order (we’ll ignore the basement for now) i moved outside, doing the same to the yard, the garage and the garden. somewhere around day 6 after spending so much alone time i started to think about the process as a metaphor for life. i’ll explain… 

imagine that the house is you, your inner thoughts, fears, things you avoid, everything that is you on the inside and the yard is everything you display on the outside for everyone to see, so your clothes, your hair, your bike etc. conventional knowledge might tell you to take care of your yard first because that is the first thing that people see, but to worry about your house later. or - worry about the parts of the house you think people might see but push the rest under the rug or in that drawer. 

i dont know where i picked up this bit of cultural suggestion, but through the act of cleaning i realized that taking care of your house first (we’re still takin metaphor’s here, so house = you) is always the most important. why? because you live there. 

we all know which closets in the house need cleaning, or which junk drawers need organizing. and although bringing in new shiny things feels great - so to can the cleaning and examining the things we already have. it’s like buying a nice vase over and over because you never looked to see that you already had a nice one. or maybe it’s like realizing you have 12 OK vases but trading in the junk for just one really good one. could go a variety of ways, but the point is this:

it is always ok for us to honestly examine ourselves with love. there’s no point in being upset at what we find. we simply need to dust off the old, assess what’s really important and toss the rest. i’m not saying that actually cleaning your house will give you any magical inner peace, but i am saying that if you actively decide what you’re willing to share space with, you’ll probably like the design a whole lot better anyway. so remember kittens:

clean your house first. then address the landscaping. 

View high resolution

I’ll take two!

Life is Precious

When Wallpaper magazine asked Fort Standard to design a piece for their Handmade Exhibition in Milan during Salone Del Mobile, they set out to design a survival kit with the intention of creating something which looked and felt as precious as its contents. The design became largely about the packaging as it needed to be serious, yet beautiful; an object you could easily bring with you on a day hike or even keep in your car or boat but most importantly an object you would WANT to bring with you everywhere. (via Fort Standard)

get comfortable with being weird.

:)

When 18-year-old Chelsea posted a photo of her classmates Brad Taylor And Dylan Meehan to her Tumblr blog this week, she did not anticipate the incredible response it would receive — within 24 hours, the entry had been shared almost 100,000 times. (via Brad Taylor And Dylan Meehan, The ‘Cutest Couple’ This High School Didn’t Expect (PHOTO))