This is my Alice Water’s day. I showed her the Montessori garden this morning and sat across from her at a three hour dinner. In between she dedicated the Edible Schoolyard.

At 11:05 the taxi from Proximity rolls up with Alice, Melanie (the originator of the Children’s Museum Edible Schoolyard Project, and Betsy Grant, the Museum’s director. Coming later, Marsha Guerrero, director of Edible Schoolyard. A group gathers out front: Frank and Nancy, heads of our school, and a few teachers and parents. Several students, Codi, Dennis, Huxley, and Aubrey, join us. We talk school talk, since Alice had been a Montessori teacher, loves kids, and is all about doing something extraordinary, which, I must admit, is what our Montessori gardens are.

We flash through the Primary gardens. Alice takes note of details such as the herb spiral and the oriental persimmons. She likes the fruit trees, the shade they provide. She refers to the Museum’s plan: “You should have these.” “We do.” Melanie is pleased.

Opening the gate to the Lower Elementary garden, a flood of color, green leaves and little person’s activity greets us. Walter and fifth graders are picking Scuppernong grapes, Cathy’s class is enjoying their shaded outdoor classroom, we harvest some basil for tonight’s dinner, and over by the tables Gabriela dips into the bowl to serve more pesto. Walter comes over and I put my arm around him. “This is my main man. From undergraduate days till now as a teacher, he has designed, built and now teaches in this garden. I brought some grape juice with me. I pour several glasses and Alice, I and the young students toast the garden. She meets Jenny and Gabriela although I should have made more of a fuss about them. (In fact, I sit here now thinking that it is the young adults—Walter, Jenny, Gabriela, Amber, Justin, Daniel, Aubrey—that Alice should be talking to, inspiring. Why didn’t I think of this? Can I get them together today?)

Frank is wonderful. His easy manner is so…Californian, like Alice. She says this is the first Montessori school to invite her and then muses, what if every Montessori school had a garden; what would happen then?

Yes, what if every Montessori school and then every public school had a garden? What would happen then? Wouldn’t kids be healthier, eating better, smarter? Wouldn’t they be leaner? Outdoors, they would be outdoors, moving around, in the dirt. They’d learn how to grow, harvest, and make simple dishes. They could start a home garden, teach their parents, bring fresh food to the table. Alice says, they can do it all by 6th grade: grow it, prepare it, serve it.

The tour finishes under the kiwi pergola. The day is hot and humid; I can’t keep from sweating. We are comfortable. Alice speaks with little Huxley. Dennis brings over some tomatillo, peppers, and sour clover for Alice to try. How easy it is to talk about this and how pleasant the garden.

But the day has just begun. At midday several hundred gather to inaugurate the Edible Schoolyard at the Children’s Museum. A nice reception in the kitchen area, the garden is neat, kids and parents circulate outside. I am meeting so many. Yvonne Johnson, the mayor prepares her remarks. I ask her if she gardens and she says yes, a little. It calms me down. Lee Newlin, Val Vickers, Joel, Margaret Arbuckle. Where are the farmers and gardeners? I want to see Massoud and Saliba, Steve Tate, Pat and Brian Bush, Daniel Woodham. We go outside, dignitaries to their places. We crowd around and hear praise for gardens, health, hard work and Alice’s vision. Steve is there and so is John Sopper. I have a sense that Slow Food is on the map now. Most of the rationale is kid’s health and so be it. But this is the right approach to nutrition. It is the right thing for a sophisticated society to do, to return to a simple activity and rediscover what nourishment and taste are, having been starved for so long.

We are starved for tasty food, nutritious food. We want to gather around a table and eat together. We enjoy our own gardens and the farmer’s market. We like the fresh flavor of seasonal fruit and vegetables, we enjoy walking the aisles of the market, bumping into friends, chatting, and discovering that shopping is a social event. We are proud of our newly found intelligence about our food and making smart choices. We are tired of being fooled and manipulated by corporations. Processed food saps our health and costs too much. Fast food stuffs us with too many calories, and too much salt, sugar and fat. We are tired of being a Fast Food Nation. We want to be part of the Delicious Revolution.

The day is not over! At the last moment, an hour before, Dennis Quaintance calls us and asks us to come the special dinner at the Proximity. This hotel with its fabulous restaurant, Printworks, is a platinum LEEDS hotel, the first and only of its kind in America. Dennis is out in front of the nation!

Well, tonight is a dinner for people with money to meet Alice. Debby and I were not planning on it, but here we go. And where do we sit? Right across from Alice and next to Marsha! For the entire evening. Something in me says, this is a good thing and I want to remember this. Debby leans over and says, you deserve it. Maybe I do.

You’ve heard about the marketplace of ideas.  It is often cited as a rationale for freedom of expression, and a metaphor for the sphere in which the exchange of competing ideas takes place in a society.  It draws an analogy between the struggle by competing ideas over the very minds of the masses, and the economic concept of a free market. In an economic free market, the very best goods and services emerge victorious, and supply and demand interact to determine the optimum price of goods.  In the marketplace of ideas, it is the best policies and also “The Truth” that emerge victorious–victory being measured by whether an idea is embraced by the mainstream.  A democratic society benefits from acting politically, economically, and socially to champion the best policies; meanwhile, identifying The Truth about the status quo allows it to accurately evaluate the probable outcome of competing policies.

In America, our democracy and historical dedication to the ideal of free speech have long made for a rather lively idea marketplace, but arguably, never has it been more active or full of ideas than it is today. The advent of computers and cell phones and the saturation of television and (to a lesser extent) radio in our daily lives have increased the number of ideas we are exposed to on a daily basis and the frequency with which we are presented with challenges to what we believe.  The word “barrage” comes to mind.

The idealist envisions that the marketplace of ideas operates on the currency of validity: the outcome depending on the integrity of the ideas themselves.  But is this how it works in practice?  Probably not; the power, money, and charisma possessed by those putting forward ideas have always had a practical impact on whether or not an idea emerges victorious.  So, in practice, the marketplace of ideas operates at least in part on the currency of–well, currency.  But never have I seen so literal an interpretation of the “marketplace” than lately, when I’ve been out driving in my car. I see ideas everywhere–posted in letters ten feet high.  On billboards.  You know, those spaces traditionally reserved for advertising goods and services?  In this economic downturn, it seems that billboard advertisers have suffered collateral losses as businesses have had less money to spend on advertising.  Some of those surfaces that would otherwise be left blank are being snatched up by proponents of one thought or another and used to sell their ideas, or used by the billboard companies themselves to put up self-serving messages encouraging people to believe we can get past this mess (and start buying up billboard space again, already!).

I’ve been seeing some around town featuring inspirational stories highlighting a desirable human value such as courage, and directing readers to “Pass it On.”  I asked Google about it and it told me that the entity behind the ads is The Foundation for a Better Life.  Its website reveals that it is a privately funded organization that “creates public service campaigns to communicate the values that make a difference in our communities–values such as honesty, caring, optimism, hard work, and helping others.”   Though I remain skeptical, I could not find any concrete evidence pointing to any ulterior motives.  The organization claims not to be affiliated with any religion or member-oriented organization.

That’s not the case with another variety of message Billboards I’ve been noticing; these have to do with religion. There’s this one, for example:

Elsewhere, The Freedom from Religion Foundation has been sponsoring giant advertisements around the country bearing messages such as “Imagine No Religion” and “Praise Darwin: Evolve Beyond Belief.”

Not surprisingly, some of these message billboards have been met by controversy.

Witness the heated exchange that erupted in the comments section of a popular Christian website, recently reporting on the FFRF billboards.

And the debate that sprung up in the comments section of a Greensboro, NC newspaper website, reporting on a new billboard advocating gay marriage.

This is a good time to observe that, whatever you think about the impact of these message billboards at the vehicle level, it’s interesting to notice how they appear also to add value to the real–that is, the metaphorical, not the literal–marketplace of ideas. The ads foster curiosity and controversy.  People get to talking about the billboards, and very soon they find themselves talking not only about the idea of them, but also about the ideas on them.  Especially where the topic is one critical to the lives of people, but that people tend to avoid because they feel bullied into silence by the majority or by an intimidating minority, the opportunities for discourse opened up by the billboards may be of a great value to our society.

What funny/controversial/interesting “message billboards” have you run across?

Using Mendeley, researchers can create groups through which they can collaborate on research by sharing documents and resources as well as keep up with related relevant research on topics that are of mutual interest to the group. When a user first signs on with Mendeley, they are given the option to index all of their documents. Mendely subsequently organizes all of the indexed documents into what is essentially your own personal digital bibliography.

Here’s a quick introduction to Last.Fm and Mendeley:

So, what’s all of this cost? Well, Mendely is free (for now). It can be managed via the Web or from a user’s desktop so users can always have access to their sources. Check out Mendley and join the new research revolution.

Here is a behind the scenes teaser. We will post video soon.

One of my favorite magazines is Yes! Magazine.  This quarterly publication focuses on naming and creating positive outlooks for the future and supporting the work of people committed to building a just, sustainable, and compassionate world.  The fall publication is devoted entirely to education and is filled with wonderful and thought-provoking articles.  I recommend you take a look at this edition http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/learn-as-you-go and learn about the efforts people are making to reframe what it means to be educated. Here are the twelve things really educated people do from the article “Higher Education.”

Really educated people….

Establish an individual set of values but recognize those of the surrounding community and of the various cultures of the world.

Explore their own ancestry, culture, and place.

Are comfortable being alone, yet understand dynamics between people and form healthy relationships.

Accept mortality, knowing that every choice affects the generations to come.

Create new things and find new experiences.

Think for themselves; observe, analyze, and discover truth without relying on the opinions of others.

Favor love, curiosity, reverence, and empathy rather than material wealth.

Choose a vocation that contributes to the common good.

Enjoy a variety of new places and experiences but identify and cherish a place to call home.

Express their own voice with confidence.

Add value to every encounter and every group of which they are a part.

Always ask: “Who am I? Where are my limits? What are my possibilities?”

I use my good china and other antique dishes, not every day, but every once in a while on an ordinary day, and especially for a dinner party or birthday.  There’s a risk the dish will be damaged, but what’s the use in letting it sit in the cabinet?  Cleaning up adds it’s own set of issues. My own rule of thumb is that dishes and glassware that predate dishwashers should be hand-washed.  Actually, the dishwasher is probably a lot safer than the slippery suds and hard enamel of my kitchen sink, but it’s what my mother does, heck it’s what my grandmother did , so it’s just one of those things that you do because you do it. Maybe it’s in my DNA.
Over the weekend, I was tempted to break my own rule because there were sooooo many dishes from the thirty plus guests we had for a surprise party. But I held fast and after loading the dishwasher with the same old, same old, I settled in to ever so carefully make sure that the oldest collectibles were treated with more respect.
There are actually people out there that really don’t mind doing the dishes from a large gathering, and I’m just starting to get a glimmer of why. After the preparations, negotiations, and planning, there is a certain lovely solace in stopping and making circles in bubbly water.  It’s even better if you have someone to dry and stack for you because then you get to share the scoop on the event. My grandmother never let anyone else wash the good stuff.

So, as I settled into my own dishwashing at 10:30pm on Sunday night, I thought about my grandmother and her dishwashing, and since I was now the one washing her dishes thought about how many times before me she had washed these very same dishes.  I remember the dishes as a child, so I know they’ve been around for a long time.  (no comment on how long…)

We served green tea ice cream in them, and I thought about the fact that they’ve probably never held green tea ice cream before.  I also have a set of antique porcelain moon-shaped dishes my friend Lili gave to me when she packed up her family to move back to New England.   The hand-painted Uriarte Talavera we picked up on our honeymoon also found their way out onto the buffet.  I think we served chocolate decadence on those, with fresh whipped cream and raspberries.

It was somehow just nice to stop, even if it was to wash dishes, and to think about not the pieces themselves, but the events and people surrounding the pieces.  I thought about how many times my grandmother had washed her dishes.  And I wondered who would be washing my dishes one day.

In this blog we like to explore notions about the good life. Exploring a concept sometimes takes examining not only what it is, but what it is not. So let’s talk about debt. I think most would agree that whatever is the good life, being knee-deep in debt is not a good way to achieve it.

College students are among the most at-risk groups for building up unmanageable debt. Students pursuing a degree can be very optimistic in terms of the increased money making potential that will follow once they graduate. What’s a little debt now, considering that after you graduate, you will become a millionaire? Well, it should go without saying that while optimism can be a healthy thing, it can lead to disaster when that mindset is applied to decisions about building up debt while being a student. Suffice to say that not everyone becomes a millionaire after they graduate.

But take that mindset and add in loose lending practices by credit card companies, and you have a recipe for financial disaster. What college student has not received in the mail offers by the bucket loads for credit cards offering unbelievably sweet introductory offers? Once those sweet deals expire, students find themselves in a considerably more sour state of affairs. Next thing they know, credit card companies begin raising interest rates seemingly without justification, and soon they are paying more in interest and fees than they ever thought possible when they first took advantage of that incredibly good deal of a credit card. Though it is good practice to carry at least one credit card that you use and pay off every month, for the most part, the best policy to take when faced with the temptation to open a credit card account in college is to make like Nancy Reagan and “Just Say No.”

Another way students end up building up vast amounts of debt is through student loans. Student loans to cover living expenses in addition to tuition tend to be very easy to get for all but the most credit-impaired of individuals. Those can also be bad news–especially since a few years back, a new law was passed making it so that you could not declare bankruptcy on student loans. Talk about harsh! Although the best advice remains to borrow as little as possible, the good news is that in July some new federal regulations went into effect, offering some significant relief for indebted graduates who find themselves unable to find a job that adequately covers their federal student loan payments. Some salient features of the program include (1) payment reduction for qualifying borrowers and (2) loan forgiveness after making payments for as few as 10 years for some–those employed in a public service capacity–and 25 years for all others. Click here to learn more about the “Income Based Reduction” program:  http://www.ibrinfo.org/

The bottom line is that while it can be very tempting to take on debt while being a student, a better policy is to get a part time job; or if the money would have gone to entertainment expenses, cut down on those expenses and consider them a reward to be earned after you graduate and get a great job. Living within your means–that’s the good life. It may mean fewer lattes and movie nights in the short run, but in the long run, it will mean a lot less stress.

There are so many unknowns in the world. Do aliens exist? How about ghosts or Sasquatch? What would Earth be like if there was slightly less gravitational force? What makes cats purr? (as far as I know, this still can’t be explained). I always imagined the universe as a never ending space of dark nothingness. But where does that nothingness end? And what comes after nothing?

Phew! These are the kind of brain wrinkling questions best left up to scientists who make a living deciphering the mysteries of the universe. As for the rest of us, we’re just trying to survive our own day-to-day challenges. But what if the world as we know it changed in an instant? Are you prepared for the social, economic, political and physical changes that would occur?

North Korea is a constant threat, recently conducting nuclear tests that defied U.N. Security Council sanctions. The conflict in Iraq is painfully ongoing, with car bombs a seemingly daily occurrence. Natural disasters are another threat, and California is due for a devastating earthquake any day now.

Merriam-Webster defines an uprising as “an usually localized act of popular violence in defiance usually of an established government.” If any of these threats happened on a large enough scale to trigger an uprising, everyone’s lives would undoubtedly change in unknown ways. A current example of an uprising is the aftermath of the recent elections in Iran. The election results are in but unclear, and Iranians are violently reacting in protest against the current government. It’s impossible to anticipate the repercussions of an event such as this, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t prepare for the worst. So what should you do? According to Dr. Daniel H. Wilson, author of How to Survive a Robot Uprising and graduate of the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, an uprising of robots is not only very possible, but imminent.

Dr. Wilson states that movies, books, etc. depicting robots as a regular part of our everyday lives is a foreshadowing of the future (think The Jetsons). He warns that “…someday mankind must face and destroy the growing robot menace” and provides detailed instructions of how to spot a rebel or hostile robot and, most importantly, how to fight back. One of the defense mechanisms Dr. Wilson suggests is to pose as a humanoid robot:

- Pretend to be damaged
- Change your heat signature (which involves stuffing aluminum foil in your pants)
- Make robot noises like “beep” or “boop”
- Move like a robot (he suggests the pop-and-lock dance style)
- If confronted, keep moving and don’t look back

While the concept of a robot uprising may seem a bit far-fetched, Dr. Wilson is very serious about this possibility; perhaps he knows something we don’t! One thing he is right about is an uprising of some form could happen if current world threats aren’t brought under control.

So maybe we should pay closer attention to Dr. Wilson’s instructions. Posing as a humanoid robot is akin to the military tactic of reconnaissance. He also describes hand-to-hand fighting techniques that include finding a weapon, keeping your distance, and getting away–all very applicable to real-world combat. While raw fighting might not be your defense of choice should an uprising occur, it might be a good idea to formulate some kind of plan. You never know what could happen; it’s such an unknown.

Resources:
Council on Foreign Relations http://www.cfr.org/
How to Survive a Robot Uprising http://www.robotuprising.com/

You’ve heard of Attention Deficit Disorder. But do you or your child suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder? According to Richard Louv, author of the 2005 book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, many Americans, children especially, are suffering from this condition today, which results from decreased exposure to nature. At the heart of Louv’s book is an argument that direct exposure to nature is necessary for emotional and physical health, and that lack of exposure leads to a variety of personal and societal ills, including depression and anxiety.

Whatever you think about the lack of exposure to nature leading to a bona fide disorder along the same lines as Attention Deficit Disorder, I can speak from personal experience about the benefits that become available to you when you force yourself to turn off the TV, put down the beer, or turn off your cell phone for a few hours in order to spend some time in the company of nature. For most of life I was one of those nature phobes that routinely avoided the outdoors in favor of TV, books, and technology. By the time I reached adulthood I went about most of the time pasty white from lack of exposure to the sun – to the point that when I went to visit my older brother Ernesto in Chicago, who I had not seen in years, he wondered out loud in alarm what had become of his olive-skinned Ecuadorian sister. When it came time to purchase my Mini Cooper a few years ago when I still lived in Philadelphia, I said I preferred the enclosed model over the wildly popular sun roof model, because, I proclaimed, “The sun roof makes me feel closer to nature. And I hate nature.” I was only halfway joking.

It was not until I moved to North Carolina several years ago that I became the proverbial “outdoorsy type,” largely due to the abundance of free recreational activities available in the region, including many forest and watershed trails and mountains. I’d had a little weight I wanted to lose, and I figured I’d give day hiking a try. I was hooked after the very first outing. Giant bugs didn’t attack me. I didn’t get a horrible sunburn. It didn’t take a lot of my time. I didn’t feel tired afterwards. Instead I felt renewed, and a part of something bigger than myself. Plus, by the end of the summer, I’d lost a little weight – which I’ve more or less been successful at keeping off. Hundreds of miles later, if I ever suffered from Nature Deficit Disorder, I’m pretty sure that I don’t any longer.

Look, the iPhone is pretty miraculous, but at least as miraculous is the delicate web of an ecosystem you will find in the middle of a forest: the product of billions of years of evolution. You owe it to yourself to experience a bit of both. Immersed in the gentle hum of insects and rustling of leaves, with time to think away from the deafening noise of society, it’s not long before it dawns on you that you, too, are a part of that ecosystem. I won’t try to describe how that feels. I’ll leave it to you to try it for yourself.