Pickpocket Almanack

Pickpocket Almanack is an experimental school without walls. Each season, under the direction of independent curator Joseph del Pesco, a temporary faculty comprised of artists, designers, writers, and filmmakers creates theme-based courses by selecting from a diverse series of scheduled public Bay Area events, including lectures, screenings, workshops, and panels. Each course takes these events out of context and gives them a new thematic frame, providing a set of journeys through Bay Area cultural life, as well as some new connections and unexpected discoveries, led by some of the community's most distinctive cultural figures. Faculty for the fall season includes Les Blank, Jens Hoffmann, Ben Kinmont, Beth Lisick, and Rick and Megan Prelinger.

Discussion is conducted online, with participants and faculty meeting in person at the end of each season. There are no age or experience requirements, and all courses are free and not for credit (tickets may be required for some programs and events). Participants may enroll in a maximum of two courses per season; space may be limited for some courses. Enrollment for the fall season (October through December 2009) begins on September 23.

View courses and sign up at www.pickpocketalmanack.org.

BLUE LOUNGE! Cool Products & Design...

11 Design Awards in the last year!

www.bluelounge.com

Did You Know?

Fantastic video on the progression of information technology, researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman, remixed By the way, I did not create this video! Created in 2008, I wonder what today represents?

.... to everyone that visits:

I hope lots of people absorb this!

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.



TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.



THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.



FOUR.. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.



FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.



SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.



SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.



EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.



NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.



TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling



ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.



TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.



THIRTEEN! .... When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'



FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.



FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.



SIXTEEN.. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.



SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.



EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.



NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.



TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone.. The caller will hear it in your voice



TWENTY- ONE.. Spend some time alone.


A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

from the Tony Robbins Organization.

Havasupai Indian Waterfall Relaxation

Up To 90 Percent Of US Paper Money Contains Traces Of Cocaine, Study Finds

Up To 90 Percent Of US Paper Money Contains Traces Of Cocaine, Study Finds

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Official Pilates flip!

Ya gotta take a look at this...

Thanks Charlie!

Mayonnaise Jar & Two Beers...

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly.

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed..

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children.

Spend time with your parents.

Visit with grandparents.

Take time to get medical checkups.

Take your spouse out to dinner.

Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.

Set your priorities.

The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID!

LIFE ISN'T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS...

...IT'S LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN !

Anyone care to take me to Hawaii?

CAMPAIGN FOR THE AMERICAN READER

THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE AMERICAN READER, AN INDEPENDENT INITIATIVE TO ENCOURAGE MORE READERS TO READ MORE BOOKS.

'Green' Packaging sources

· 1% for the Planet is a growing global movement of companies that donate 1% of their sales to a network of more than 1,500 environmental organizations worldwide.

· VCI2000 Anti-Corrosion Packaging

· Danny Seo is the authority on eco-living. His bestselling books, articles and television programs revolve around the theme Simply Green.

· www.greenseal.org Founded in 1989, Green Seal provides science-based environmental certification standards that are credible, transparent, and essential in an increasingly educated and competitive marketplace.

· www.greenamericatoday.org Green America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982. Our mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.

· www.greenpages.org The National Green Pages™ is a directory listing nearly 3,000 businesses that have made firm commitments to sustainable, socially just principles, including the support of sweatshop-free labor, organic farms, fair trade, and cruelty-free products. Green Packaging, Inc. is an approved National Green Pages company.

· www.greenfestphilly.org GreenFest Philly is a one-day street fair FREE to the public. Green Packaging, Inc. is one of over 200 exhibitors at GreenFest Philly. More than 20,000 people are expected at the area's largest environmental event.

· www.treesftf.org Since 1989, Trees for the Future has been helping communities around the world plant trees. Through seed distribution, agroforestry training, and our country programs, we have empowered rural groups to restore tree cover to their lands. Planting trees protects the environment and helps to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations. Green Packaging, Inc. has partnered with Trees for the Future to offset our carbon footprint.

· www.twicegreen.com Twice Green Consulting can assist Green Packaging’s customers to increase the sustainability – both environmental and economic – of packaging products. Green Packaging, Inc. sells you green packaging materials. We know that you place a high priority on being environmentally responsible. But we also know that there are probably additional things you can be doing to reduce the environmental impact of your packaging use and also improve your bottom line. Green Packaging, Inc. has teamed up with Twice Green Consulting to help you discover how you can become a “greener” company. Twice Green assesses companies’ current packaging profiles. It then develops plans to more responsibly source materials, including using renewable energy in their production, using materials that can be recycled and “upcycled” for subsequent use, are safe and effective for people and the environment, and achieve the ultimate goal of the package – to safely transport, protect, and promote the product contained within.

· http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/ecoconsumer/index.asp Tom Watson is the “ECO Consumer” for Seattle’s King County. Tom manages the EcoConsumer public education program for King County Solid Waste Division. As part of this effort, Tom writes a column for The Seattle Times and appears on local TV including regular EcoConsumer segments on the KOMO4 TV news and the Green Watch feature on "KCTS Connects", a public affairs show on Channel 9. In his work with King County, Tom has been involved in a wide range of projects and research on waste prevention, packaging, junk mail reduction, natural gardening, reuse, toxics reduction, electronics recycling, greening the home and product stewardship. Green Packaging, Inc.’s products have been featured in Tom’s reports.

More on the ocean...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729092538.htm

Tony Robbins@TED

Tony Robbins spoke at the prestigious Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) Conference, attended by the world's most influential thinkers and leaders. Check it out on his website:

p.s. If you have any experience with TED or Robbins, let me know.

And what a Full Moon it was!

2009	Sep	4	16:05	Fri
2009	Oct	4	06:11	Sun
2009	Nov	2	19:15	Mon
2009	Dec	2	07:33	Wed
2009	Dec	31	19:15	Thu

Bon Jour....

Inspiration is so easy and yet so hard. Good weather, a beautiful piece of music, perhaps someone passing just beyond your periphery. It takes so little and yet one must be totally attuned to ones inner compass and the world around you. The glass needs to be half full , not leaking out of a hairline crack.

Yuck to Evian!

Will doing what I'm good at make me happy?

In my ?0s and confused

Will doing what I'm good at make me happy?
By Cary Tennis

Aug. 05, 2009 |

Dear Cary,

I'm writing to you because I've never been this confused before in my life.

I graduated from college (del.) years ago and have worked at a couple of jobs since then, the most recent one being at an (del.). This led me to want to become a teacher, so I applied and was selected (del.). In order to join this program, I obviously had to quit my job. I completed the (del.) training, and now cannot find a job.

I always thought it would be easy to find a job (del), but apparently in this economy, it's not. On top of that, throughout the training, I had nagging and persistent feelings that this wasn't what I was meant to be doing.

Now I'm faced with confusion. Should I keep trying to find a job as a teacher, which will require a great deal of energy and time, when it's a job I'm not even sure I want anymore? Or should I pursue something else? The problem is, I don't know what.

I always thought I would go to (del.) school, since that's what I would be good at, but a part of me said, No! You're meant to do something more meaningful, something where you can give back. I know I would be good at being a lawyer, I just don't know if it would make me happy. The problem is, I don't know what makes me happy anymore. My boyfriend and I broke up (del.) , and now I am lost and alone and don't know what to do or where to turn.

I could just wait tables for a while and figure out my next step, but nothing I think of sounds appealing or like it would make me happy. I always thought I would be successful at whatever I pursued and to have to face this failure is difficult. I struggled with the training, and I honestly don't know if I would make a good teacher, which makes it very hard for me to go out and sell myself at interviews in a very competitive job market. I'm trying to see this as an opportunity to find myself and what truly makes me happy, but every day I feel like I'm slipping further and further away from happiness. I have no idea what I want to do now and everything seems like a dead end.

I'm getting sick of talking about my predicament to friends, because I feel like I'm boring them with my endless indecision. Why can't I just be happy? All of my friends (del.) and they're happy just doing that and drinking and hanging out with friends. I don't know, it doesn't sound like a bad life, but what about my grand goals for myself? Are those going to be sidelined if I work in the service industry for a while? I wish I could do something like move to another country or travel for a while or something similar, but money is of course an issue. I feel like a failure and I don't know how to stop these feelings of self-doubt and unhappiness. What should I do?

Confused (50)-Something

Dear Confused 20-Something,

What you have is a set of wrong assumptions. It's not your fault you have these assumptions. They were probably conveyed to you by teachers, parents, friends and various media -- advertising, popular culture and the like.

These assumptions are that success and achievement would follow an orderly path, that whatever you encountered in life would lead to greater happiness and freedom, that you would excel at whatever you attempted and that any opportunity you chose to pursue would bear fruit.

You've had a setback. Because you were not prepared to have setbacks, you've interpreted this setback as a failure. It is not a failure. It is just an encounter with life as it is lived by millions of people all over the world. You have begun to find out what the world is like. I hope you can now turn your intelligence and your heart toward a deeper understanding of what the world is like, and thus be relieved of the pain that comes of battling against the world and what it is like.

It is natural, I suppose, during our many years of preparation, to acquire the habit of assuming that by excelling in our assigned tasks we will find happiness, or by finding one kind of occupation or profession we will find happiness. In fact, it is probably a useful misconception to believe that excelling in school or work will bring us happiness. If we believe such a thing, we are more likely to do well at our tasks. But such a belief acts only like a carrot dangled before a racing greyhound: It keeps him running after something that stays always out of reach.

Doing well at our tasks does not bring us happiness.

You broke up with your boyfriend. You are alone and feeling lost. That is how you are supposed to feel. Yet you are fighting this feeling, as though this is wrong, as though this is not how you are supposed to feel. And you are torturing yourself, holding yourself to some cruel, impossible standard. The truth is that you've been hurt and you're going through a tough time. This is a good thing. This is your chance to admit some new knowledge into your core being -- knowledge of setbacks, lostness, the difficulty of making your way, the many false starts and illusions that are placed in your path.

This is the classic course of youth into adulthood.

If I were you, I might be a little angry that my culture neglected to tell me the truth about these things, that my education did not prepare me for adversity. I might be upset that I had not gained an understanding of economic forces, of class forces, of the way power is wielded in hidden ways in the workplace, how we are led to believe that things will be easy when they are actually hard. I might be angry that I did not study how advertising and popular culture portray a world in which problems can be solved instantly, by making certain purchases or wearing certain clothes.

That just isn't how it is. There are reasons for the distortions you have been shown. Our economy has a lopsided reliance on the production and consumption of nonessential goods; for these goods to be sold, certain messages must be promulgated; certain illusions must be upheld -- that these products and services will make you happy, that certain professions will make you happy, etc. These beliefs motivate us to continue, like the carrot dangled before the nose of the greyhound. They serve a purpose. But they are not always in our best interests. They serve the interests of other people, with whom we are in competition for finite resources.

You are beginning to see that much of what you have assumed to be true is false. That is a good thing. Now you must begin to replace your assumptions with a more balanced view.

That takes a lifetime.

Little men making Sunshine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tZKZiIn1Yg

Cisco Outlines Strategy for Highly Secure, 'Smart Grid' Infrastructure -> News@Cisco

I wish I knew more about this:

Cisco Outlines Strategy for Highly Secure, 'Smart Grid' Infrastructure -> News@Cisco

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The weather's just moving in!

Bang! with a wall of wind...