Thought these pictures were cool

© Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos

Favorite bagel

You Are a Cinnamon Raisin Bagel

You are warm, loving, and genuinely selfless. You enjoy comforting other people, and you easily fall into the roll of caretaker. Of all the types, you're the most likely to be an excellent cook. You tend to have something delicious for breakfast that you've cooked up for everyone.

What Kind of Bagel Are You?

Selected Olympic Photographs

Good magazine - literally!

I found out about Good magazine while browsing articles on a blog. Based on what I have read so far on its websites, mainly from the about section and a few articles, I think it is a pretty neat magazine. As the about section reads: "GOOD is the integrated media platform for people who want to live well and do good. We are a company and community for the people, businesses, and NGOs moving the world forward. GOOD's mission is to provide content, experiences, and utilities to serve this community." Since I am really into volunteer work, and plan to do it for the foreseeable future, this mission is really appealing to me, personally. I plan to check out the actual print publication in stores to learn more about it, before trying to subscribe.

More on Mindfulness

I just completed reading The Power of Mindful Learning. It certainly took a while but I was busy with other stuff. At any rate, it was an eyeopening book, and I plan to read it and Ellen's other major work, Mindfulness, again at some point in the near future. However, I would like to post a few quotations from the book that I thought give further insight into the concept of Mindfulness.

Mindfulness

Controls reality by identifying several possible perspectives from which any situation may be viewed

A process of stepping back from both perceived problems and perceived solutions to view situations as novel

A process through which meaning is given to outcomes

Developed from an actor's ability to experience personal control by shifting perspectives

Depends on the fluidity of knowledge and skills and recognizes both advantages and disadvantages in each

On Hopefulness: update

I would like to add Hopefulness as one of the qualities I admire. I had some reservations about the idea of hopefulness because it struck me as an optimism that obscured reality and, consequently, provided a false sense of comfort. But a person does not have to be blind to reality to be hopeful; hopefulness, in my view, requires basically an optimistic disposition and a willingness to imagine, and believe in, a better outcome. One of my favorite films is Shawshank Redemption, and the remarks at the end are among the most moving I have read or heard: "I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope." Hope gives life its meaning and elevates our sense of what's possible.

Live 365

My Lastfm facebook application is down for some reason. Anyway, another site I check out occasionally is live365. Although a paid service, many of the stations are free. I obviously listen to mostly folk and soul, but I also check out tunes from other genres.

http://www.live365.com/index.live

Best Comic Book Based Flick Ever

The Dark Knight was brilliant. Definitely see it, or see it again if you saw it already.

I think EW has it right: it is the best comic book based movie in movie history.

Later on, I will rank my favorite flicks so far this year.

The Eight New Natural Wonders

Surtsey Island, Iceland
Formed by volcanic eruptions in the 1960's, Surtsey was declared a natural reserve in 1965, allowing only a limited number of scientists to the island.

Pierre Vauthey / Corbis



Mount Sangingshan National Park, China
Located in eastern China's Jiangxi province, Sangingshan contains an array of forested and fantastically shaped granite pillars and peaks concentrated in a relatively small area.

John Wang / Getty



Monarch Butterfly Biosphere, Mexico
Every year, millions of monarch butterflies wait for the end of the winter season in close-packed clusters in the Oyamel fir forests.

Danny Lehman / Corbis



Sardona Tectonic Arena, Switzerland
An object of fascination for over 200 years, the region features a break in the Earth's crust, where older rocks rest above younger formations.

Pedro Rosabal / IUCN



Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Canada
The most complete known fossil record of terrestrial life, Joggins is over 300 million years old. The remains of the first reptiles are visible here.

Wesley Hill / IUCN



Saryarka, Kazakhstan
A largely undisturbed area of Central Asian steppe and lakes in the Korgalzhyn and Naurzum state nature reserves, Saryarka is a crucial stopover point for globally threatened species and provides feeding grounds for up to 15 million birds.

Chris Magin / IUCN



Socotra Archipelago, Yemen
Nicknamed the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, Socotra is host to nearly 700 flora and fauna species not found anywhere else in the world.

Khaled Fazaa / AFP / Getty



New Caledonia, France (Colony)
The tropical lagoons and coral reefs of New Caledonia form one of the three most extensive reef systems in the world. They provide habitat to a number of threatened fish and marine mammals.

Lionel Isy-schwart / Getty

Copyright © 2008 Time Inc. All rights reserved.

TLS Top 100 Movies of all time

The Times Literary Supplement, the acclaimed but overpriced book review, recently came out with its list of top 100 movies. I was happy to see that my favorite flick, Casablanca, was deemed best movie. There were a few surprises, however, like There Will be Blood (which I did not see, but will try to check out as soon as I can) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which I did see, and count as one of my favorites, but did not expect it to be this highly regarded). Also the comments in the "have your say" section highlight other questionable inclusions and omissions. Anyway, without further ado, here is the list.

Strawberry Swing

I have listened to some songs on Coldplay's new album and read a few articles about it, and I really like what I have heard and read. The song I like best is Strawberry Swing; and the few others I have heard are almost as good. I have also read about the record sales, which are among the best this year. I think Coldplay deserves all the sales and critical acclaim they've received. They are an incredibly gifted band and they never cease to amaze. Anyway, I definitely plan to get the new album.

Gentileza - Marisa Monte

Meaning of Mindfulness

I thought I should disentangle the definition of Thoughtfulness as being partly about Wisdom and partly about Mindfulness. Although I believe Mindfulness can lead to discernment and good judgment, Mindfulness and Wisdom are to a large extent quite distinct. I should also elaborate more on what Mindfulness is about. Most people have heard of the term in its eastern context, and indeed there are many similarities between the eastern and western understanding of the concept. According to the website mindfulness.com, the eastern understanding, which deals with meditation, means: ". . . being aware of your present moment. You are not judging, reflecting or thinking. You are simply observing the moment in which you find yourself. Moments are like a breath. Each breath is replaced by the next breath. You're there with no other purpose than being awake and aware of that moment. As John Kabit Zinn says reflecting on a Japanese mindfulness puzzle: 'Wherever you go, there you are.'" Similarly, here is how a short excerpt from an article at findarticles.com defines Mindfulness in its western context:

"Mindfulness is not an easy concept to define but can be best understood as the process of drawing novel distinctions. It does not matter whether what is noticed is important or trivial, as long as it is new to the viewer. Actively drawing these distinctions keeps us situated in the present. It also makes us more aware of the context and perspective of our actions than if we rely upon distinctions and categories drawn in the past. Under this latter situation, rules and routines are more likely to govern our behavior, irrespective of the current circumstances, and this can be construed as mindless behavior. The process of drawing novel distinctions can lead to a number of diverse consequences, including (1) a greater sensitivity to one's environment, (2) more openness to new information, (3) the creation of new categories for structuring perception, and (4) enhanced awareness of multiple perspectives in problem solving. The subjective 'feel' of mindfulness is that of a heightened state of involvement and wakefulness or being in the present. This subjective state is the inherent common thread that ties together the extremely diverse observable consequences for the viewer. Mindfulness is not a cold cognitive process. When one is actively drawing novel distinctions, the whole individual is involved."

Wisdom: selected quotations

Alex Noble: If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: To understand reality is not the same as to know about outward events. It is to perceive the essential nature of things. The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential. But on the other hand, knowledge of an apparently trivial detail quite often makes it possible to see into the depth of things. And so the wise man will seek to acquire the best possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom.

Reinhold Niebuhr: God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Igor Stravinsky: I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not by my exposure to founts of wisdom and knowledge.

True Colors - Phil Collins

Thoughtfulness and Compassion

Thoughtfulness - I wrote recently about wisdom, specifically "discernment" and "judgment", which is only part of what I interpret Thoughtfulness to mean. The other part is mindfulness. I learned about mindfulness theory by reading Ellen Langer's acclaimed book. In that book, Ellen sought to differentiate mindfulness from mindlessness, awareness from routine. But I take the idea of mindfulness to mean more than being aware; it is having a confident, positive, imaginative mindset. For a more indepth explanation of mindfulness theory, please check out Ellen's book or look up her research online (findarticles.com, for example, has a few articles on the subject).

Compassion - I define this quality as simply being humane or caring about humanity. I read a few years ago in a book about virtue ethics that compassion is essentially doing the things we would for someone we actually loved. Take for example a homeless person on a street corner who is terribly hungry: we don't "love" this person in the sense we do a loved one, such as a family member, but if we are compassionate, we nonetheless care for this person and treat them "as if" this person were close to us. Also, much like love, compassionate acts are selfless for the most part and never self promoting.

Meaning of Wisdom

Before I write about Thoughtfulness and Compassion, I want to say a few things about wisdom. I have been thinking about this word ever since Toni Morrison mentioned it in her endorsement of Obama. She pointed out that wisdom is more valuable and scarcer than experience. What exactly is wisdom and why is it so important? Here is how several dictionaries define wisdom. Two words stand out from the definitions listed: discernment, judgment. I actually interpret Thoughtfulness partly the same way (the other part deals with the idea of mindfulness). In my next blog entry I will try to talk a little bit more about this quality.

Some qualities I admire

Love - this is the quality I admire the most and informs the majority of my perspective on life and the choices I make. For me, love is more than doing things to make other people feel loved, although it is certainly that to a large extent - it is doing things that are in their best interest, even if it may appear unpopular at first glance - it is sacrificing one's self in order to ulimately lift up the person or persons one loves. Why does love make people sacrifice? Because the person someone loves is really a part (an important part) of who he or she is; this person, in other words, gives meaning, joy, hope, purpose - life itself - to the person who loves.

Dedication - in order of admiration, I like this quality second. I always strive to be a dedicated person, although I sometimes fall short. How exactly do I define dedication? I see it as being sincere, passionate and committed in one's convictions. It is following through on promises and not giving up when the going gets tough. What dedication does not mean, insofar as I would definite it, is "winning at all cost" or "putting self above service". Dedication is only an admirable quality if is conducted in a good faith way and employed in the service of worthwhile goals.

Peace - this is an important quality. For me, peace is not simply a state of mind, nor should it be confused with pacificism. A better word to describe my view of peace would be "conflict transformation." Peace, in my view, is the decisions we make and the manner in which we engage potential conflict - choosing diplomacy over belligerance, for example. It means changing the underlining structures that cause conflict or making decisions that would lead to lasting peace. (To be sure, there are instances where the methods of peaceful engagement are insufficient, such as genocide and the like, and in those cases it is advisable to utilize more forceful methods. But our inclination, I believe, should be to utilize peaceful means first and foremost).

. . .

This concludes Part 1 of my post on this topic. Next blog entry will include my thoughts on the following: Thoughtfulness, Compassion.

On Love and Change

Two songs that have been on my mind lately

Mayer

Wonder

Brief comments

Most of my blog "posts" will be done on my facebook site. I put the word posts in quotation marks because they will be mostly bookmarked articles (of topics I care about; music reviews; movie reviews; and regular columns, such as On Language, Essay feature in NYBR) and videoclips. On this blog, I will post, as I have noted previously, photographs, brief comments on random topics and my impressions of a music cd or book I particulary enjoyed.