Bellmeio's Blog
Greetings to our visiting friends. We use this space to comment on important subjects of the day, on the continuing evolution of the EmanPDX story, on some good people we meet along life's journey, and on stuff that's curious, fun. or of deep concern.
The Earth is Full
The evidence is all around us. The age of endless growth is over. The Earth is full of people; full of the waste we create, and at its limit in the amount of human induced stress it can endure. We humans all need to get on the same page and recognize that the era of endless growth is finished. We must work together to transform our society into something that appropriately reflects the ways of nature. WE must transform our economy. WE must make it equitable and sustainable over the long term. This is the message of Paul Gilding, who spoke at a recent TED conference.
Those who are indifferent to where we as a society are headed must wake up. We must all come to fear what will happen if we don't mend our ways. If we find motivation in that fear. If we begin to pull our oars together, all in the same worthy, sustainable direction, we can overcome the odds stacked agasinst us. We can overcome the destructive inertia we have built up, and create a decent future for our children, living in harmony and balance with nature.
Here is the link to Paul Gilding's TED talk...
http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_gilding_the_earth_is_full.html
Abundance is our Future?
I just viewed a very encouraging TED video presentation delivered by Peter Diamandis, Chairman of the X-Prize Foundation. The X-Prize game is to put up a large cash prize, open to anyone who can achieve a lofty technical breakthrough. An example: Burt Rutan and Richard Branson won a million dollar X-Prize for leading the first private industry effort to successfully send a human beyond the atmosphere into space and back.
Here is a link to the X-Prize Foundation
Diamandis's TED presentation was very upbeat. He highlighted the remarkable progress human civilization has made on many fronts, and he suggests that despite the serious problems we face that we will find technical solutions for these problems. He sees a future for humanity that is marked with abundance.
I liked what Peter Diamandis had to say, though I do find his level of optimism a bit pollyanish. Technology is not going to solve the human population problem. There are already way too many of us, plain and simple. Much of the biodiversity that is being lost to human overexploitation of the planet's finite resources will never be recovered or restored. I would feel much more optimistic about Peter Diamandis's predictions if we were giving proper attention to these issues.
Here is the link to Diamandis's TED Presentation...
http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_future.html
Digital Angel
Here is our first digital artwork from very talented, Toronto-based artist, Leslie Haubrick.
Model: Verronica Devine
The link to Leslie's webpage is....
Snoring Dormouse
This video is precious. A tiny creature asleep in the palm of a man's hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlS3w1GGE8g
Daryl Hannah
There's this actress named Daryl Hannah. When I was young, she was one of the hottest, most desireable women on the planet. She played Madison the stunning blond mermaid in a movie called, Splash. She was the object of Steve Martin's amour in the wonderful comedy feature, Roxanne. She's been in a bunch of movies; a lot of them were good, some were even better than that.
I've known for a long time that Daryl Hannah is a good soul; a very good soul indeed. She's a committed activist for animal rights. She's a vegan.... that's a really committed vegetarian for those who are ignorant of such things. She also makes her own movies for the internet about stuff that matters; about nature, the environment, human rights; things that reflect compassion and caring. I don't mean she hires somebody to make her movies for her. She does it herself.
Daryl Hannah was and remains drop dead gorgeous. For a time, she was 'A' list; one of the most celebrated people in the world. She could easily have taken a frivolous pathway through life. Instead, she chose to be a person of substance. That makes her a good soul in my mind. That goodness is on full didplay on her webpage, as are many of her videos.
Here is the link to dhlovelife, Daryl Hannah's webpage
http://www.dhlovelife.com/v2/opening/
Here's Daryl Hannah in the movie, Splash...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSK4KSZdBr4