Are We Alone?
- Written by J.J.
Are we alone? Certainly, here on earth, we're not. We're aging among a cohort that numbers the largest this nation has seen and we're plugged into one another in multiple ways through computers, cell phones, and public cameras. Yet, you might wonder, are we really in touch or quietly alone with our devices? In fact, we're living alone in record numbers that increase dramatically as we age. Are we alone in the universe? NASA may soon let us know. Just as we once thought the earth was flat, we might discover that we're not alone here on earth... or are we?
2015: Year in Review
- Written by J.J.
2015 came to a restless close with fear dominating news-- would terrorists spoil the joy and promise of a new year? Thankfully the answer was no but it's a fitting end because in a sense fear defined 2015. We feared terrorism, corruption, digital vulnerability of all sorts, violence, and personal financial collapse. We feared social changes and coped nervously with ongoing weather extremes. Yet, our year of high anxiety also ushered in a quiet new dawn of breakthroughs in medicine, sciences and space. Profoundly, 2015 signaled the beginning of a revolution in the way we cure. It heralded transformations in our manufacturing industries. It lent certainty to a future with devices that know how we feel and robotic competitors/companions that will challenge our definition of self. Fasten your seatbelts, readers, get ready for an exciting ride...here comes 2016!
Celebrate The Spirit of the Season On Giving Tuesday
- Written by J.J.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, by mid-November, your television and retail experience is transformed into doorbusting commercial seduction. We're immersed in a "come to buy,come to buy/don't miss these low, low prices" retail paradise gift wrapped in Cyber Monday and fastened with a big Black Friday bow. Singer Tina Lear captures that hustle brilliantly in the :54 second track below. But there's new momentum this year in the movement to counterbalance commercial indulgence by dialing back to the true spirit of the season. Giving Tuesday, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is celebrated by 68 countries and on Tuesday, December 1, people everywhere will express philanthropic impulses with the goal of bettering our world. That's a magic that every faith and income level can participate in creating; the magic of the season.
Henry Timms, brainchild of Giving Tuesday and Director of New York's 92Y, explains that the philosophy of the event itself is philanthropic and unfolds unlike standard commercial fundraising models. "The old-power way of thinking of a project like this is thinking of it as a franchise. You make sure everyone fits into the boxes provided," Timms told Fast Company.com. Rather than restricting the campaign's messaging and logos to benefit 92Y or to siphon proprietary profit from the event, he chose to open it up by inviting creativity, individuality, and benefit for all participants. "We made a decision that it was designed to be open-sourced and owned by other people," says Timms. Since 2012, when the movement was conceived, it's grown and morphed into many different localized campaigns as he explained to the Guardian in August. "You see cities, towns and villages coming together to not tell a national Giving Tuesday story but a very local one. And it’s brought some interesting moments,” Timms says. “People take it and make it their own – they flip the hashtag and turn it into something new.”
Read more: Celebrate The Spirit of the Season On Giving Tuesday
Understanding Hoarding
- Written by J.J.
We live in a throw away society with a market of disposable goods. Yet, as we grow older, we all tend to collect more and more material possessions. It's a fact of life. Most of us will strike a healthy balance and let go of possessions we no longer need. Depending on: our available space, life experience, mental health, and family tendencies, though, 2-5% of us will slowly allow material possessions to take over living space because of a condition known as hoarding disorder. Television has sensationalized it but non profits and mental health professionals are counterbalancing the stigma by conducting research into the disorder and developing supports for people faced with the potential legal, social, financial, or psychological consequences of having too much stuff.