Michael Pollan Says Healthcare Reform Will Fail Unless We Change The Way We Eat

The food system in this country is so far off base it's no surprise that our health care system is also a mess. What boggles the mind is that while there is a tremendous uproar over health care reform, there is barely a peep in mainstream media regarding food production and food security in America. Even if we provide everyone with access to health care (and let's be straightforward, I'm a fan of this idea) if we do not address the causes of increased need for health care, we're simply entering into a viscious cycle that can't be broken. Pollan hits the nail on the head here with the seeminly simple concepts that we 1) are what we eat and 2) all the health care in the world cannot help the man/woman/child who doesn't have access to proper nutrition or even food! It's time we stood up and took control of our futures and it all begins with food.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dying To Work: Human Trafficking and the Construction Industry

I think the sentence that most sticks out for me is this "What good is building a zero energy, carbon neutral complex if unethical labor practices are jeopardizing the lives of those who build this architectural wonder?"



A building fulfills the basic human need of "shelter." But what good is a shelter if it causes harm over good? We have a responsibility to design and construct structures that not only shelter a community but nurture that community. As a society we need to have a more holistic outlook - there will always be a take for every give. What matters is how you balance that give and take in order to give more than you take. Net zero footprint should mean more than energy efficiency.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

When You Educate A Girl, Everything Changes

Great article and perfect timing with the Architecture for Humanity announcement today regarding education. Education of girls has, sadly, been constantly on the back burner if existant at all on the world stage. Fortunately, wonderful organizations such as Camfed, Oxfam, Pathfinders International, etc have taken this cause and launched it up to a level of consciousness in our society where we must take notice. When you educate a child, when you educate a girl, you change the world.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Architects Go Back to School and Design the Classroom of the Future

Education IS a basic human right and no child should be told they cannot learn due to sub-par facilities. It is our job as designers and as human beings to create spaces that are functional, beautiful and affordable for the communities they serve so that no child will grow up without an education. The only way we will life communities and countries out of poverty is through education. It's such an easy thing to do and Architecture for Humanity and the Open Architecture Challenge are doing it - Bravo Ladies and Gentlemen. Bravo and Thank you from my children's children.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Greening the U.S. Open

This is fantastic! When major entertainment venues make a significant policy change that in turn forces their vendors to also make the same or similar policy change, it proves that we, as socially/ethically conscious consumers, are making a difference. Every small act inspires another small act and around we go until corporate giants such as the USTA and Levy Restaurants are forced to stand up and take notice. Way to go USTA!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Meditations on Future Endeavors

I've been thinking lately about going back to school - question is, MBA or Master's of Project Management or maybe UDM's Master's of Community Development? How do you choose what you want to be when you grow up? I feel like I should know by now - aren't you supposed to have this all figured out by the time you turn 28? Maybe it's 30? There are so many things I want to do before I turn 30 - I only have two years! Ahh! But then, am I really worried? It's not like the world ends at 30...or that life ends at 30...maybe 30 IS the new 20...hmmmm.

Off to ponder life's lessons whilst watching Project Runway - maybe it will inspire something creative...

Image courtesy of MyrtleArt Photography

Insecurities

I notice that it's been an obscene amount of time since I have blogged in this space. I'm not really sure why that is - except that I kind of do know...and it's silly.

I psyche myself out about blogging.

Silly, right? I read so many amazing blogs from people whose lives seem so incredibly more interesting than my own that I feel inadequate. Even though I know that I'm the only one reading this blog, I feel that every post needs to contain some significant pearl of wisdom or witty story so when I am unable to think of a topic that fits this "requirement" I feel it's not worthy of time in the blog and thus I do not write. Like I said, silly. This so goes against the very idea of a blog. And yet, I cannot seem to rid myself of this delusion.

I have started Twittering. A lot. I find it to be quite addictive. I also think that maybe Twitter will work as a sort of antibiotic for my blogging insecurities. If I can Tweet several lines of text per day perhaps I can build up to a blog post every few days? Or am I kidding myself?

Why do I find my life so uninteresting? I'm not dissatisfied with my life, per se. Of course there are things that I wish I did or could do, but who doesn't? I don't hate my life - I'm pretty content most of the time. Sure I wish I could just travel around the world for a living. Sure I wish I could just take pictures and eat and drink with the locals and get paid to do this full time. But I do enjoy my job most of the time. I love my dog and my turtle which I couldn't have if I lived out of a suitcase. I like my house although I sometimes wish I lived in some modern loft (or Mies townhouse in Lafayette Park, sigh) with a fabulous view of a skyline. I think I just have the grass is greener syndrome - we all want what someone else has...that's life. I have a good thing going here, I really do.

I just need to work on this blogging thing. Maybe if I actually wrote about what's going on in my life, I would find it's not that boring. Or maybe it is but at least I'd be doing something!

Mid-year Resolution: Blog, damn it!

Riverwalk (c) MyrtleArt Photography