Where has All the Wisdom Gone?

"... elder voices from the far corners of the world, to call the world into balance. You will go far away.  It will sometimes be a lonely road.  We will not be there, but you will look into the eyes of seeming strangers and you will recognize your Ohana, you family, and it will take all of you."

It’s been said that when an elder dies, it’s as if a library is burned. Anthropologist Elizabeth Lindsey, a National Geographic Fellow, collects the deep cultural knowledge passed down as stories and lore. (Recorded at TEDWomen, December 2010, in Washington, DC. Duration: 10:13)






"The year is 2010... we are in trouble..."  Lindsey not only feverishly tells the story of where she comes from in this video she reminds all of us that there are lessons to be learned from those who have gone before us.  Lessons that should be not taken lightly, but listened and learned from.


Too many times, I feel, we write our elderly off and force them to live in a home, tell them they are crazy, or consider them a loon.  This should not be so.  Wisdom comes from experience and experience may only be gained through living.


To you I ask only this:


What story might your grandmother tell you about life that you never would have learned without her?


What day does you grandfather hold dear?


Once you've reached a certain age... are memories all you have left?


Image: 1930's Polynesian Woman  

Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2

This campaign is by far one of the boldest I've ever seen, yet it's genius!  The makers of Dead Space 2 took the something that could have killed their new game, angry, disgusted moms and capitalized on it.

This campaign again, is genius!  It shows moms that their young children shouldn't play this due to the gore , violence etc. meanwhile the target these ads are for love defying what their moms think (or at least they go for the thrill defiance... that is what this demographic is all about) they want the gore, want the violence and if their moms are appalled well, that's just a good time.

Opinions?

The Art of Being Woman

This week The Marshall Artists Series gives to the campus of Marshall University, along with city of Huntington their Spring International Film Festival.  I have worked this festival for three years now and I can safely say this has by far been my favorite.  Watching the films is always like taking a two hour trip around the world, away from my own home and into the eyes and lives of someone else's.  

That being said, a few days ago I saw a film that I know will stick with me for a very long time.

A Mid-August Lunch, from Italy tells the story of a man who lives with his mother and basically, in order to pay rent this man has to baby sit his mother and her three cohorts for one night.  What I find most intriguing about this film is how simple and honest it is.  Here are three women near the end of their days who would never let you tell them them that.  I love this film for so many reason but perhaps the best one being, it's a lesson on how to age gracefully; DONT.

For one night audiences are invited to taste the lives of four people and never know anything about their before or after, merely their present.  The film allows you to see all a person holds dear in an instant  and know that good times must be cherished, because they cannot last forever.  Although, it is never polite to end them too quickly.

Honestly, after leaving the beautifully ornate Keith-Albee all I could do was smile and feel blessed that I had the opportunity to meet such vibrant  women

If you haven't already gotten a chance to see this film, find a way.  To you, though, I offer this, don't go waiting to be entertained.  Instead, understand that you have been invited to take a trip to Italy and join three exuberant ladies for A Mid-August Lunch.

Women do We have the Most Typical Face on the Planet?

Kentic Type: the technical name for "moving text"—is an animation technique mixing motion and text. This text is presented over time in a manner intended to convey or evoke a particular idea or emotion. It is often studied in Communication Design and Interaction Design courses 

In the design world this style of communication is becoming ever more prevalent.  This is a good thing.  Kentic Type is all about simple, easy to follow ideas, spoken through imagery and symbols.  Kentic Type makes readying fun again, not to mention it seems these days EVERYONE is using it.  This is a very important design skill and if you haven't already, and you consider yourself any sort of designer, news, ads, or otherwise my advice... learn it. 

Recently National Geographic released their video on the "Most Typical Face on the Planet".  Sorry girls, we lose, but this video is one of the best examples of kentic type I have ever seen!  Watch how the color and text guide your eyes exactly where they need to be. Entire messages are strew throughout with nothing but mere visual stimulation. The symbols used in this video also find ways of communicating multiple ideas and concepts.  At one point the video uses a water droplet to define sadness as well as the ocean.  Two totally unrelated thoughts, come together at separate moments with the same symbol. 

Watch and learn my friends.  I hope one day to be this talented:

Shape What's to Come.

I can easily say I don't think I have ever been so proud of a company in my life.  The following video I've watched multiple times now and I just become inspired every time.  Levi's has created ShapeWhatsToCome.com, a global community encouraging women to increase their impact by connecting and collaborating with other innovative women who share their passions and interests. It's a place where mentorship has been re-imagined as a communal, peer-to-peer exchange.


This campaign is the right place to be going when it comes to how big companies should be doing not just charity work, but pushing the world we live in to be a better place. 


Watch and be inspired.

Now do something about it. 

What Defines You?

  

Self discovery.  Who are you really?  In this video Madeleine Albright does talk extensively on what it's like to be a female democrat, but she hits on something even more interesting in the opening of this discussion.  Who am I? What defines me as a person?  Madeleine tells as story about when she was speaking in against Saddam Hussein's country and the next day the a poem in the newspapers compared her to many things but among them  "an un paralleled serpent". She then goes on to talk about how she happened to have a snake pin, and wore it for the press every time she spoke.  

Rather than be offended by the acusation this became one of Madeleine Albright's trademarks.  In the video Madeleine goes on and on to talking about all sorts of things but I just couldn't get passed the idea in question, "What characteristic defines me?"  Think about it.  If you were turned into a symbol what would it be?  Personally, I have no idea what I would be? (Haha, and I really want to know.)  That's the best part though.  You can't tell yourself, it's what the world says for you!

This is a question about looking into your soul and learning what it is about yourself that everyone will remember.  This question pulls at the strings of your character with an answer being simple and blatantly obvious.  What do you think you are?  Has anyone ever defined you?  Did you like it?  If not, or if so doesn't really matter, what do you want to be remembered as? 

I have it! Moose Tracks Ice cream.  Cold when I need to be, full of tasty hidden nuggets, and always trying to make people smile!  :)

Good Design's Women's Issues Poster Design Winners Announced

Last week Good Design held a contest asking for posters that would voice world wide women's issues.  The winners in my opinion are more "children's rights" than "women's issues" but non-the-less they are the winners and do speak volumes on their subjects to which they give voice. One of the up-sides to advertising being the power to give voice to the voiceless, and that is an encouraging thought.   Check them out:

Andy Chen, on Childhood Marriage: 



Karmen Lizzul, on Childhood Obesity



and the last by Kim Rene Teige, on Human Trafficking



My real wonder is why aren't more students entering things like this?  (Nudge, Nudge, Cough, Cough, GO FOR IT!  What do you have to lose?)