2. Eagles reappear in San Mateo County after nearly a century absence
3. Register for Birdathon in April
4. Weeklong nature day camp in July for kids aged 7-12
5. Every time you leave home, another road takes you into a world you were never in
6. Surfers hate crowds and need more waves/but San Francisco doesn't love waves
7. Ted Kipping pot luck/slide show March 27 - Ancient Trees of England & Wales
8. New head of World Bank - wait! Don't touch that dial; you're not going to believe this
9. Imagine: How Creativity Works
10. Register for the free Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour
11. How hospital gardens help patients heal
12. Feedback
13. The Enigma We Answer by Living
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
A man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of life getting his living. -Henry David Thoreau
1.
Ode I. 11
Leucon, no one’s allowed to know his fate,
Not you, not me: don’t ask, don’t hunt for answers
In tea leaves or palms. Be patient with whatever comes.
This could be our last winter, it could be many
More, pounding the Tuscan Sea on these rocks:
Do what you must, be wise, cut your vines
And forget about hope. Time goes running, even
As we talk. Take the present, the future’s no one’s affair.
~ Horace ~
(The Essential Horace, edited and translated by Burton Raffel)
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2. Eagles reappear in San Mateo County after nearly century absence
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_20243906/eagles-reappear-san-mateo-after-nearly-century-absence#.T23o53sXPg4.email
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3. BIRDATHON — April 2012
Learn more about birds, get your competitive adrenaline flowing, and raise money for conservation during Golden Gate Audubon's third annual Birdathon, throughout the month of April. You choose when and how to participate. You can join a guided bird walk (great for beginning birders), form or join a competitive team and compete to spot the most birds in a 24-hour period, hold a "Big Sit" in your backyard to count birds in one place over a four-hour period, and more. Make a pledge yourself or get friends to sponsor you — great way to get payback for all those walkathons you've sponsored them in. :-)
Dates, details and registration at http://birdathon.dojiggy.com
Most guided walks take place in San Francisco and Alameda Counties, but you can participate anywhere. Awards dinner and celebration on May 10th. All funds raised support the wildlife conservation and environmental education programs of Golden Gate Audubon Society, inspiring people to protect Bay Area birds since 1917.
For more information, call (510) 843-7293.
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4. Golden Gate Audubon is excited to announce a weeklong nature day camp, Wildlife Discoverers, that will take place from July 9-13. Kids aged 7 through 12 are invited to join in a week of Bay Area wildlife exploration filled with fun and games. Led by our award-winning Eco-Education staff, they¹ll learn to identify local birds, animals and plants; collect marine life like plankton and crabs; explore beautiful local parks; build animal kites and puppets; make art, sing songs and more.
Sites include MLK Jr. Shoreline Park, Wildcat Canyon, Point Pinole Shoreline, and Lake Merritt (all in the East Bay). Cost is $225. Space is limited to fifteen participants and may fill up fast. Sign up early!
For more information, contact ggaseducation@gmail.com or (510) 508-1388.
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5.
For the Traveler
Every time you leave home,
Another road takes you
Into a world you were never in.
New strangers on other paths await.
New places that have never seen you
Will startle a little at your entry.
Old places that know you well
Will pretend nothing
Changed since your last visit.
When you travel, you find yourself
Alone in a different way,
More attentive now
To the self you bring along,
Your more subtle eye watching
You abroad; and how what meets you
Touches that part of the heart
That lies low at home:
How you unexpectedly attune
To the timbre in some voice,
Opening in conversation
You want to take in
To where your longing
Has pressed hard enough
Inward, on some unsaid dark,
To create a crystal of insight
You could not have known
You needed
To illuminate
Your way.
When you travel,
A new silence
Goes with you,
And if you listen,
You will hear
What your heart would
Love to say.
A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure, before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.
May you travel in an awakened way,
Gathered wisely into your inner ground;
That you may not waste the invitations
Which wait along the way to transform you.
May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,
And live your time away to its fullest;
Return home more enriched, and free
To balance the gift of days which call you.
~ John O'Donohue ~
(To Bless the Space Between Us)
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6.
Surfers hate crowds and need more waves
Pareto optimality: do not disturb
The Economist
______________________
But not everyone loves waves:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/science/earth/san-francisco-fights-erosion-as-coastal-cities-watch-closely.html
"For millions of years, an ancient conversation has continued between the chorus of the ocean and the silence of the stone."
John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
Do not argue with me. Argue with these stones.
Truth has no trouble in knowing itself.
-- Hugh MacDiarmid, 'On A Raised Beach'
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7.
Ted Kipping pot luck/slide shows
4th Tuesday of the month at 7 pm (slide show at 8 pm) at the San Francisco County Fair Bldg, 9th Av & Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park
Served by Muni bus lines #6, 43, 44, 66, 71, and the N-Judah Metro
March 27 Alma Hecht, Ancient Trees of England & Wales
April 24 John Kipping, Exploring SE Coastal Alaska
May 22 Gerald Corsi, On Safari in Kenya
*Please bring a dish and beverage to serve 8 people
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8.
Is the world changing? Or what? President Obama named the head of the World Bank. He was male and he was from the United States--no surprises there. But, he was not white, and....well, you'll just have to listen to this YouTube to believe it. JS
From Marketplace:
The downside of the slingshot to economic superstardom that Jim Yong Kim got today, when President Obama nominated the president of Dartmouth College to head the World Bank.
The voice you're about to hear will soon be one of the most influential people in development economics.
This is one that has to be seen to be believed. (video above)
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/final-note/world-bank-presidential-nominee-dartmouth-idol
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9.
The roots of creativity
Throwing muses
Imagine: How Creativity Works. By Jonah Lehrer.
WHERE do good ideas come from? For centuries, all credit for these mysterious gifts went to faith, fortune and some fair muses. But to assume creativity is some lofty trait enjoyed by the few is both foolish and unproductive, argues Jonah Lehrer in “Imagine”, a smart new book about “how creativity works”. Drawing from a wide array of scientific and sociological research—and everything from the poetry of W.H. Auden to the films of Pixar—he makes a convincing case that innovation cannot only be studied and measured, but also nurtured and encouraged.
Just outside St Paul, Minnesota, sits the sprawling corporate headquarters of 3M. The company sells more than 55,000 products, from streetlights to computer touch-screens, and is ranked as the third-most innovative in the world. But when Mr Lehrer visits, he finds employees engaged in all sorts of frivolous activities, such as playing pinball and wandering about the campus. These workers are actually pushed to take regular breaks, as time away from a problem can help spark a moment of insight. This is because interrupting work with a relaxing activity lets the mind turn inward, where it can subconsciously puzzle over subtle meanings and connections (the brain is incredibly busy when daydreaming). “That’s why so many insights happen during warm showers,” says Joydeep Bhattacharya, a psychologist at Goldsmiths, University of London.
But this is just one reason for 3M’s creative output (and 3M is just one example of many in this book). The company also encourages its employees to take risks, not only by spending masses on research (nearly 8% of gross revenue), but also by expecting workers to spend around 15% of their time pursuing speculative ideas. Most of these efforts will fail, but some, such as masking tape, an early 3M concept, will generate real profit for the company. The reason why this approach works—and why it has been imitated by other crafty companies such as Google—is because many breakthroughs come when people venture beyond their area of expertise. Often it takes an outsider to ask the kind of dumb questions that may yield an unconventional solution.
This is why young people tend to be the most innovative thinkers in nearly any field, from physics to music. The ignorance of youth “comes with creative advantages,” writes Mr Lehrer (who is disarmingly fresh-faced himself), as the young are less jaded by custom and experience. Still, he reassures readers that anyone can stay creative as long as he works “to maintain the perspective of the outsider”. This can be done by considering new problems at work (3M regularly rotates its engineers from division to division), travelling to new countries or simply spending more time staring “at things we don’t fully understand”. This is why cities are such potent sites of productivity, as they expose people to unexpected experiences and force the exchange of ideas.
This is an inspiring and engaging book that reveals creativity as less a sign of rare genius than a natural human potential. Mr Lehrer points to William Shakespeare, for example, as someone who was largely a man of his time; the culture of Elizabethan London nurtured quite a few poets—much like ancient Athens gave rise to a glut of thinkers and Renaissance Florence inspired many fine artists. Shakespeare knew his way with a pen, but he also lived in a culture that put a premium on ideas, spread education, introduced new patents for inventions and did not always rigorously enforce censorship laws.
Mr Lehrer concludes with a call for better policy to “increase our collective creativity”. He suggests allowing more immigration, inviting more risk and enabling more cultural borrowing and adaptation (by stemming the flood of vague patents and copyright claims). He also warns that the work demands a lot of time, sweat and grit. Or as Albert Einstein put it: “creativity is the residue of time wasted.” The Economist 17.03.12
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10.
If you have not yet registered for the free Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour (which takes place on Sunday, May 6)—please do so now! The first mailing of the garden guide will go out soon soon; registering now will ensure that you receive your guide early. In addition, this event is expected to fill; registering right away will reserve your place on the tour.
If you have already registered please do not do so again. It is expensive to mail out extra guides, and time-consuming to remove duplicate registrations. Not sure if you have registered? Please check your in-box and spam box for an e-mail from Kathy@KathyKramerconsulting.net.
A variety of bird- and butterfly-friendly, pesticide-free, water conserving, low maintenance gardens that contain 60% or more native plants will be open on Sunday, May 6, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at various locations throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. More than 50 garden talks will be scheduled throughout the day.
Browse "View the Gardens" to read garden descriptions, view garden photos, and more. While admission is free, registration is required.
On Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6, as part of the Native Plant Sale Extravaganza, native plants will be available for sale at more than a dozen locations. Take advantage of this opportunity to shop for unique or hard-to-find native plants.
Volunteers are needed to spend a morning or afternoon greeting tour participants and answering questions about natives. Complete the Volunteer section of the registration form if you would like to help out this year. Benefits to volunteers include: invitations to Garden Soirees, in which tour gardens are open to hosts and volunteers; a pre-tour meeting with the owner and private tour of the garden you will be staffing; a guaranteed tour reservation for the half day you are free; a Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour t-shirt, and, perhaps best of all, heartfelt thanks for helping to educate the general public about the many pleasures and benefits of gardening with California native plants. You can browse the website to choose the garden you would like to be assigned to. For more information, please e-mail Kathy Kramer at mailto:Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net, or call (510) 236-9558 between 9 am and 9 pm.
The hosts, volunteers, and I hope you enjoy this year's Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour!
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11.
How Hospital Gardens Help Patients Heal
Hospital gardens turn out to have medical benefits
By Deborah Franklin | Mar 19, 2012 | Scientific American
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12. Feedback
On Mar 22, 2012, at 8:49 PM, Robert Laws wrote:
Jake, "Doxy" in item 17 reminds me of G.K. Chesterton's "Orthodoxy is my doxy. Heterodoxy is another man's doxy." Best, rl
Bob: I wonder how many quotes one finds in books of quotes - voluminous ones, I add - are accurate, and how many are credited to the right person. You probably saw that in my newsletter attributed to someone else:
USAGE:
"In that twilight zone of the Anglican double standard, orthodoxy is really just a word for my doxy. Heterodoxy means everyone else's doxy."
Hywel Williams; Let Us All Err and Stray; The Guardian (London, UK); Jul 8, 2003.
Edward Guthmann:
Hi Jake,
Thanks for that Willa Cather quote. I'm in the middle of "O Pioneers" and recently re-read "Death Comes for the Archbishop," which also has great poetic passages describing the western landscape.
Hope you are well,
Edward Guthmann
ML Carle:
Hi Jake,
Swedes had a public building with an elevator and a stairway right next to it. No one ever took the stairs. They wired the staircase and painted it to resemble a piano keyboard. When people stepped on the stair-keys a note would sound. Soon people were using the staircase playfully instead - sort of a human version of kitten on the keys.
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13.
The Enigma We Answer by Living
Einstein didn't speak as a child
waiting till a sentence formed and
emerged full-blown from his head.
I do the thing, he later wrote, which
nature drives me to do. Does a fish
know the water in which he swims?
This came up in conversation
with a man I met by chance,
friend of a friend of a friend,
who passed through town carrying
three specimen boxes of insects
he'd collected in the Grand Canyon—
one for mosquitoes, one for honeybees,
one for butterflies and skippers,
each lined up in a row, pinned and labeled,
tiny morphologic differences
revealing how adaptation
happened over time. The deeper down
he hiked, the older the rock
and the younger
the strategy for living in that place.
And in my dining room the universe
found its way into this man
bent on cataloguing each innovation,
though he knows it will all disappear—
the labels, the skippers, the canyon.
We agreed then, the old friends and the new,
that it's wrong to think people are a thing apart
from the whole, as if we'd sprung
from an idea out in space, rather than emerging
from the sequenced larval mess of creation
that binds us with the others,
all playing the endgame of a beautiful planet
that's made us want to name
each thing and try to tell
its story against the vanishing.
~ Alison Hawthorne Deming ~
(Genius Loci)
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