Nature is full of brilliant surprises… Might this be the world’s first evidence of biological immortality?
My friend Christache drew a cartoon to share humanity’s reaction to the news of a potentially immortal species of jellyfish being found.
Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_jellyfish
Imagine having a garden of Eden in every neighbourhood where communities would learn to sow seeds together, grow together, harvest together and eat together? Free plucking instead of free parking? City gardens and parks containing mainly edible or medicinal plants, vegetables and fruit trees?
Well, these visions are not mere fantasy. Though my own green thumb is green from lack of gardening experience, I have been tuning into the growing trend of communal gardens sprouting up in the urban jungle. This is not a new concept for ancient civilizations have long explored the agricultural capacity of city centres from Egypt to Machu Picchu. Good ideas age well and these stories of communities co-creating free food gardens remind us of old ways of’ ‘being and doing’ that revive our connection to each other and invoke appreciation for Nature’s abundance.
Here is the latest free garden project that I heard about (from my friend Mimi): http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/02/21/its-not-fairytale-seattle-build-nations-first-food-forest
About the Shared Gardens* in Oregon: http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/sharing-gardens-offer-free-food-to-all-who-need-it-video.html
*A great quote from the featured video: People often say “you must be such good people to do this”. We seem to have forgotten that we are all good people.
Inspiration to grow food no matter how small your space – this awesome article covers balcony gardening to guerilla gardening! http://earthfirst.com/urban-gardening-you-can-grow-food-no-matter-where-you-live/
Five eye-opening facts from this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_agriculture
1) 50% of the world’s population lives in cities.
2) 800 million people are involved in urban agriculture world-wide and contribute to feeding urban residents.
3) Low income urban dwellers spend between 40% and 60% of their incme on food each year.
4) By 2015 about 26 cities in the world are expected to have a population of 10 million or more. To feed a city of this size at least 6,000 tonnes (6,600 tons) of food must be imported each day.
5) 250 million hungry people in the world live in cities.
I’ve been a huge fan of Louis CK since discovering him on Netflix. He is a very talented comedian who strikes my funny bone because woven into the profanity, is his courageous ability to reveal the rough edges of humanity with humor and authenticity. He speaks what others dare only think in their heads and his simplest gestures capture the human condition in both epic and mundane proportions. Louis bravely reveals the absurdities and contradictions we live with, and shares his own tribulations with laugh-out-loud audacity. I even show a clip from his special “Hilarious” in one of my Epic Evolution classes!
Louis is a wonderful example of someone who can happily tread the duality of Sacred and Profane. For that, I adore him. I can feel his compassionate soul in the unique ways he reflects upon topics like racism, homophobia, sex and fatherhood. I enjoy his mischievous smile when he has managed to offend the audience. He is a risk-taker and is willing to follow his own stride even if others may think he is obscene…
Clip from “One Night Stand”
Clip from “Chewed Up”:
Talking about George Carlin’s influence on his approach to comedy:
Louis’ unique brand of boldness is also visible through his latest experiment: funding and creating his own comedy special “Live at the Beacon Theatre” for direct sale to the public. He wanted to see if people would pay him $5 for the content or just take the content for free. I’m not at all surprised by the results but I’m so glad that the world can now see how we do wish to support artists when given a direct and fair chance…
The Result: He received over $1 million in 12 days from his fans and i’m sure it has risen well beyond that since his Dec.21, 2011 update. With full transparency, he even posts this paypal screenshot:
You can still purchase a download of the Beacon Theatre show from his website and enjoy knowing that aside from Paypal fees, the rest of your money goes to the artist himself: https://buy.louisck.net/
Read his Dec.21 and Dec.13, 2011 messages about the results of his $5 experiment here: https://buy.louisck.net/news
Also: http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/22/technology/louis_ck_million/index.htm
I saw this image on facebook but the words shown are apparently from the Ink Society (based in Portland, Oregon)…
Oh Brian! What bliss your art brings!!! Exquisite, mind-blowing and aesthetically orgasmic… Thanks to my friend Tango for sharing this article link: http://karanarora.posterous.com/insane-art-formed-by-carving-books-with-surgi
Featuring Vasudevan Namboodiri
The best way to learn about a specific field and get excited in the process, is to be exposed to someone who is passionate about it and willing to share their knowledge.
I’m very excited to present the first video blog for Evolution of Passion – a project whose seed was originally planted in year 2000! (Click here for the story of its own evolution)
Many years ago, I killed a cactus because I forgot to water it completely – its quiet temperament caused it to blend into the background like a wallflower. One day, I found it completely dehydrated in its little pot, a sad semblance of its former prickly glory. It had finally gone to Cactus Heaven (which ironically, is probably a desert). I had to admit that my interest in growing plants was negligible and this in turn had caused my negligence.
It’s clear that my green thumb is a late bloomer – really taking its own sweet time to emerge. However, I am increasingly feeling the importance of learning how to grow plants for food and medicine. I have decided that over the next decade, I will slowly cultivate my knowledge in gardening and permaculture. We’ll see where I end up but beginner’s mind is a cool place to occupy. Since I love the metaphor of “planting seeds”, maybe one day it will also have literal significance in my life.
In the three weeks that I’ve been friends with Vasudevan Namboodiri (founder of the Sreedhari Ayurvedic Retreat), his natural enthusiasm about plants and herbal medicines has given my green thumb a nice little boost! And of course, my curiosity about Ayurveda has been met with great generosity. His dedication to the sharing and preservation of this ancient science of wellness is inspiring.
Evolution of Passion Video: Part 1
Ayurvedic Roots
Evolution of Passion Video: Part 2
A Walk In This Fertile Land
Evolution of Passion Video: Part 3
Bananas 101
Sreedhari Residency Program
On the first day that I met Vasudevan of Sreedhari Ayurvedic Centre, I shared the idea of creating a residency program here. Within the first few days, I had drafted the application details. We are pleased to present this opportunity to interested applicants from Vancouver, BC as a joint experiment. I am happy to serve as the liaison for this project – please contact me at woo@littlewoo.org if you have questions not answered here.
This type of travel is part of a growing branch of eco-tourism where adventurers can experience both culture and education in live-work environments while doing seva (spiritual service). This residency will allow 2 people to gain a unique perspective of the Ayurvedic lifestyle while providing valuable help to the Sreedhari Centre. Read more