There is a real danger that with each day that our brave troops spend fighting in the sands of Afghanistan, victory there becomes less and less worth winning.
That is a very serious charge, and I do not make it lightly. Like most people, I want to see a stable Afghanistan with strong institutions and real progress -- however slow -- toward the kind of democracy in which votes are chosen and not bought, and power changes hands according to preference not patronage.
More...
March 13, 2010
Joyful Mindfulness
Most meditation instructors I know tell their students to sit for 10 minutes a day. I tell my students to do that if they can, but if they can't, just commit to one single Mindful breath a day (see: Just One Breath a Day). A friend jokingly called it "Mindfulness Lite". I teased him back by saying, "No, it's much worse, it's Mindfulness UltraLight".
In practicing meditation, one often comes across interesting surprises. My biggest surprise in practicing Shamatha (Calm Abiding), a practice leading to profound concentration, is the insight that relaxation forms the foundation of Shamatha. When the mind is relaxed, it becomes more calm and stable. These qualities deepen Shamatha, which in turn strengthens relaxation, thus forming a virtuous cycle. Paradoxically, deep concentration is built upon relaxation.
More...
In practicing meditation, one often comes across interesting surprises. My biggest surprise in practicing Shamatha (Calm Abiding), a practice leading to profound concentration, is the insight that relaxation forms the foundation of Shamatha. When the mind is relaxed, it becomes more calm and stable. These qualities deepen Shamatha, which in turn strengthens relaxation, thus forming a virtuous cycle. Paradoxically, deep concentration is built upon relaxation.
More...
China’s Green Leap Forward
It is a cold winter morning in Beijing. As I prepare to write this blog about energy efficiency in China, I wonder how efficient my own day will be. I enjoyed a quick shower with warm water from the solar tank on our roof, and prepared our breakfast with appliances that carry energy performance labels. All our lighting fixtures are energy efficient, and none of the electronic equipment is on standby.
Our apartment is heated by a coal-fired plant in the neighborhood, which belches thick smoke into the sky. Our heating bill doesn't reflect the energy we use but the size of our apartment, so we have no financial incentive to save energy. As on most mornings, the concentration of particulates in Beijing's air is an unhealthy 300 micrograms per cubic meter - a level that US cities only reach during wildfires. Our situation is quite typical for a middle class family in Beijing, and reflects the progress and challenges of China's energy policy.
More...
Our apartment is heated by a coal-fired plant in the neighborhood, which belches thick smoke into the sky. Our heating bill doesn't reflect the energy we use but the size of our apartment, so we have no financial incentive to save energy. As on most mornings, the concentration of particulates in Beijing's air is an unhealthy 300 micrograms per cubic meter - a level that US cities only reach during wildfires. Our situation is quite typical for a middle class family in Beijing, and reflects the progress and challenges of China's energy policy.
More...
The Bears Spending; the Redskins Not. Who Knew?
The 2010 NFL offseason - its first in 17 years without a Salary Cap - has begun and now is a week old. Two teams are setting the stage for the new NFL: In one day, the Bears committed almost 40M in 2010 cash to three players, an amount slightly above the entire payroll of the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals. And the Washington Redskins have barely registered a blip on the radar. Welcome to the uncapped year.
Bear Market
More...
Bear Market
More...
SXSW: The Austin Tea Party
The highlight of the day was hearing the word "Curation" spoken out loud about 20 times. It is what's next. And I'm not just saying that because I've been saying that for about a year (see my site, curatorialist.com for traffic, er, proof), I'm saying it because it's palpably true. And like all great Nextnesses, it's not exactly clear how it will happen. But it's close.
Here's what we all know -- it's an insane clown posse of data at our disposal right now. Not only are there 600 tweets a second, 400MM people on Facebook and all kinds of other impressive stats about Web usage, Web growth and what the kids are doing in droves, but the information being collected on the information is more than you know. Think about that. Information about information. As in, what you think is just a tweet is really your location, your opinion, your contribution to a subject, or brand and many other things. As one panelist said, even if you think people aren't listening to you in your social network, SOMEbody is listening to you.
More...
Here's what we all know -- it's an insane clown posse of data at our disposal right now. Not only are there 600 tweets a second, 400MM people on Facebook and all kinds of other impressive stats about Web usage, Web growth and what the kids are doing in droves, but the information being collected on the information is more than you know. Think about that. Information about information. As in, what you think is just a tweet is really your location, your opinion, your contribution to a subject, or brand and many other things. As one panelist said, even if you think people aren't listening to you in your social network, SOMEbody is listening to you.
More...
St. Patrick’s Day Chicago 2010: Parade, Events, Specials And Parties To Celebrate Irish Holiday
Chicago has one of the largest Irish populations of any city in America. Along with holding elected office, our Irish-Americans know how to party, and St. Patrick's Day is the day it all goes down. Although the actual holiday is Wednesday, we celebrate it on Saturday so as to fully appreciate its rich cultural history...and because we don't have to work the next day.
Check out a few of our favorite events, shows and deals around town. For more events, consult the Sun-Times, NBC Chicago, and TimeOut Chicago lists.
More...
Check out a few of our favorite events, shows and deals around town. For more events, consult the Sun-Times, NBC Chicago, and TimeOut Chicago lists.
More...
Denver St. Patrick’s Day: The City’s Best Deals And Events (VOTE)
Wednesday is St. Patrick's Day, and Denver's drinking establishments will be ringing in their favorite holiday with some pretty sweet specials and events. We scanned the scene and came up with the best St. Patrick's day events for your perusal.
More...
More...
March 12, 2010
Face It: The More We Know the Better We Look?
I had a great day yesterday: I mastered a fifteen minute routine in my jazz/hip hop class; I finally learned all the divisions of March Madness so I can enjoy the next few weeks with my son; and I managed to get a B on my Music midterm, which entailed quick listening to, and identifying, the masters we had studied. I promise I do not know Bach from Beethoven and homophony still sounds more erotic than melodic to me. But as a Boomer Babe, I feel equipped with a lifetime of experience that is keeping me alert, interesting, and dare I say...appealing?
I heard from an old acquaintance (and we are talking sixth grade here) recently who came across me on Facebook. She had retired after four decades working as a school administrator, was a grandmother, and asked if I too had retired. Steering clear of bravado, I told her in fact I had never been busier, co-authoring a book, chairing a non-profit; and opening a play in June. Oh yes, and the late-in-life college thing. Her quiet, stress free life, under the relentless Santa Monica sunshine, sounded pretty good to me. And she, god bless her, ran out and bought my book, a previous play, and called up all my posts.
More...
I heard from an old acquaintance (and we are talking sixth grade here) recently who came across me on Facebook. She had retired after four decades working as a school administrator, was a grandmother, and asked if I too had retired. Steering clear of bravado, I told her in fact I had never been busier, co-authoring a book, chairing a non-profit; and opening a play in June. Oh yes, and the late-in-life college thing. Her quiet, stress free life, under the relentless Santa Monica sunshine, sounded pretty good to me. And she, god bless her, ran out and bought my book, a previous play, and called up all my posts.
More...
Fearful and Scheming Republicans Are Playing into al-Qaida’s Strategy
You might have missed an AP article on al-Qaida that slipped nearly unnoticed through yesterday's news cycle. The piece reports that the terrorist operation is moving towards smaller-scale attacks like the Christmas Day attempted bombing of a flight to Detroit. Why? For a reason the Republicans will not like very much.
First, one thing that is important to consider, which is not addressed in the article, is that recent U.S. successes in counter-terrorism (under the administration of a president Republicans insist is endangering the country's security) have weakened al-Qaida's financial and operational power. As we learned today from Nicholas Sabloff and Nico Pitney, al-Qaida's declining strength, along with the Obama administration's effective anti-terrorism efforts, have led to the Taliban moving to distance itself from al-Qaida.
More...
First, one thing that is important to consider, which is not addressed in the article, is that recent U.S. successes in counter-terrorism (under the administration of a president Republicans insist is endangering the country's security) have weakened al-Qaida's financial and operational power. As we learned today from Nicholas Sabloff and Nico Pitney, al-Qaida's declining strength, along with the Obama administration's effective anti-terrorism efforts, have led to the Taliban moving to distance itself from al-Qaida.
More...