This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture.

Still treat each guest honorably,
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

I am only about an hour into the book, but I must say that it is a fascinating read.  Certainly, there is nothing surprising here, however, the book is bringing its thesis out of the nagging corners of my mind and into the daylight of front-and-center conscious thought.

I also agree that the following picture — which spurred Fred’s read of the book — provides a fresh ray of hope.  I believe that this book can help us (and apparently those that could lead us) see ourselves and our country on the world stage in a new context — in a context of what’s coming, rather than in a context of what has been.

As I approach the remaining 7 hours of this book, my hope and curiosity is sparked afresh.

There are many reasons why Waldorf seems to be a good fit for us and Malena. One of those reasons is that Paula and I do not consider ourselves overly creative. Paula and I are both very structured people (in our own way). Malena, in contrast, is an extremely sensitive, empathetic, and creative person. Consequently, we wanted to find a setting that could foster and nurture those qualities and we hope Waldorf is that setting.

And all of that is a long introduction to a topic for which I am unable to fully articulate my as-yet-not-fully-formed views — and that is the topic of our public, and to a lesser extent, mainstream-private, school systems. For a long time now, I have a had a nagging unease brewing in the back of my mind regarding our choices for the school(s) which will educate our children. When I watched Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk from 2006, it clicked…”yeah, that’s it…that’s what I have been concerned about.”

So, without further adieu (there has been too much “adieu” in this post already), I present you with another outstanding TED Talk and ask you…What do you think? Do schools really kill creativity?

This is a marvelous book that, as the author asserts in his lecture at Google, really does go a long way toward offering a solution to the dilemma presented in his prior book The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  And his proposed solution is…drum roll please…contained in those 7 words adorning the cover.

What this book does NOT do:

*  It does not point toward wonderful or evil nutrients that should be either sought (through supplements or industrial fortification) or shunned (through abstinence or regulation).  On this topic, the book instead points out the flaws of that kind of “parking lot” food science.

*  It does NOT trumpet some new scientific advancement or wonder-drug or wonder-diet.  On this topic, it instead points out the inconsistent/contradictory history of such practices — from the Protein is bad for you and carbohydrates are good for you faze that ushered in breakfast cereal as the “healthier alternative to bacon and eggs” to just a nearly opposite recent trend (embodied in part by the Atkins Diet).

What this book DOES do:

*  It implores readers to seek to eat the way their grandmothers or great-grandmothers ate.

*  It implores readers to focus on food systems rather than food additives or ingredients.

*  It implores readers to focus on eating as an end in and of itself rather than merely a means to an end.

I could go on and on about obese, diabetic westernized Aborigines that cured their ills merely by returning to the bush (and a traditional diet).  I could go on and on about how red meat is not a problem, but how feed-lot red meat is a problem — and how the problem can be solved by eating range-fed, grass-fed beef / chickens / eggs rather than their “conventional” or even “industrial organic” cousins.  I could go on and on about how the French Paradox may be less about the red wine (although we are still learning about how beneficial small quantities of red wine can be) and more about HOW the French eat (no snacking, no eating in cars, no eating alone).

On a great many subjects explored in this fascinating book…I could go on…and on.

But I won’t.

I will instead encourage you to “eat food, not too much, mostly plants” and to read the book.

Enjoy!…and hat tip to Google Blogoscoped for the code.

The keynote is coming! The keynote is coming!

And, of course, my wife needs a new phone. Convenient timing.

I presume that Scoble will be blogging/vlogging from the event live? I hope so. Did I mention that my wife needs a new phone? [sigh.]

Hat Tip to Jeremy Zawodny for leading me to this video.

TED brings together shockingly compelling speakers and listeners to discuss more or less everything under the sun. The moniker for the conference is “Ideas Worth Spreading.” And…well…that moniker is pretty much right on target.

I’m writing this post to let you know that these lectures are are now available in podcast and streaming forms.

If you have not found TED yet, please add it to the list of replacements for that mindless sitcom on which you waste your precious time. In fact, these lectures are really so compelling that I am sad only that it has taken me so long to discover them.

So, without delaying you further from experiencing that which I have found addictive, I provide the following taste and encourage you to move on from there.

UPDATE: Here is another from 2006.

UPDATE: Here is Al Gore’s new slide show — from 2008: