TED talks and videos, if you've seen them, bring incredible, brilliant minds to the world at no cost. I urge you to subscribe to email notifications of current, short videos, also available on iTunes. Birke Baehr, an eleven-year old kid, blew the crowd away speaking about organic vs. our mass-produced meat and other staples. Don't miss this six minute talk. It gives you hope that the young have much to teach us. … [Read more...]
South Dakota Public Radio Memories on the Fourth of July
On the fourth of July, 1976--200 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence--I stood in a corn field on a farm near Brookings, South Dakota. I had just arrived to become Program Coordinator of KESD-FM, an NPR station located on the campus of South Dakota State University. Little did I know that someday South Dakota Public Radio would serve the people of that sparsely populated state. It was a pivotal moment in my life--my first "real job" after finishing a Master's Degree at … [Read more...]
Are Good Ideas that Solve Problems in Short Supply?
When was the last time you came up with a good idea? Not just a "good idea" but a mind-blowing idea that solved business or personal problems? I'm guessing, like the rest of us, you'd say "not recently." It's like remembering the last time you put a fresh box of baking soda in your fridge to remove odors. "Let's see, I think it was...2004." Dictionary.com defines an idea as "...something, such as a thought or conception, that... exists in the mind as a product of mental activity." Leonard … [Read more...]
Gulf Oil Spill and Gaia Mother Earth
As we watch the huge slick from the Gulf oil spill spread across the ocean, I'm reminded of the Greek mythological Mother Earth goddess Gaia, made popular in the late 1970's and, later, in the 1990's by James Lovelock who wrote the book "Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth." Lovelock suggested that we live in a changing world of living and dead organic matter keeping the Earth habitable and self-regulating. He named his theory the Gaia Hypothesis. Derivations of "Gaia" go back into antiquity as … [Read more...]
Hurley Creates Golf Courses and Hope On Lost Islands
During an episode of the TV series "Lost," one of the best television series, Hurley, the big guy in need of a diet, told Jack: "You know what's wrong? We're just not having fun," the best kick-in-the-ass comment made by any character in the series. Jack, the medical doctor, the guy who always needed to be in control, the leader whom everyone relied on finally "got it." In the midst of danger everywhere--from the jungle, the "others" on the Island, the lack of food, the over-extended plane … [Read more...]