Random Ramblings

Today while browsing my various feeds, I stumbled across the welfare food challenge. It's a campaign run by Raise the Rates, a BC-based community organization trying to get welfare rates increased. The idea behind the challenge is to spend no more than $26 on food for one week, as this is the amount allocated for food by the BC government.

I've always been a fan of lifestyle experiments (reading about them, not conducting them), so I'll be very interested in seeing how the participants on this one turn out. It's all the more interesting because I've seen this type of experiment done before. Twice. With vastly different results.

( More on that behind here. Somewhat long. )

I was concerned about the vitriol I was seeing last night as I watched the election. I present to you a counterpoint.

- I will not assume that just because someone believes differently than me, that they are an idiot, a moron, or evil.

- I will not assume I have the full story, especially when it comes to the beliefs of someone who disagrees with me.

- I will assume that someone who supports a different party or takes a different stance on an issue from me has come to that decision through a reasoning process at least as involved as my own.

- I will listen -- really listen -- when someone disagrees with me, and try to see their side of the issue, even if I still disagree with it.

- I will not try to force someone to change their mind without listening to their position first.

- I will assume that for every lie I can trot out about the party I dislike, a person who believes differently from me can trot out a lie about the party I support. All politicians skew the truth; the party I like does not necessarily hold the moral high ground.

- I will assume that no matter how much I dislike a party, they have probably done at least a few things right during their time in power.

- I will assume that no matter how much I like a party, they have probably done at least a few things catastrophically wrong during their time in power.

- I will remember that stories and feelings often trump reason. I will remember that this is as true for me as for the person I disagree with.

- I will frame differences of belief in terms of positives, not negatives. Belief differences often stem from a choice between two positive, potentially conflicting values, such as liberty vs. security, or individual choice vs. public welfare. Both sides of the issue have benefits.

- I will remember that no matter what my priorities are, they are not universal.

- I will appreciate the fact that I live in a democracy where I can vote without duress, and where others can do the same.

- I will appreciate that if I do not like the party who has power in my country, the law states that in four years I will have a chance to try to elect the party I like. I will appreciate that Canada has no lifelong dictators.

- I will assume that in an era of personalized news feeds and social media, most people receive one-sided news that supports their own beliefs and ignores the opposing beliefs. I will assume this applies to myself as well, and I will actively seek out views I disagree with to challenge my own beliefs.

- I will remember to be respectful, attentive, and civil, even if I disagree with someone. Especially if I disagree with someone.

- I will remember that in a democracy, if I really care about an issue, there are many ways to become involved in the political process. If I care deeply about an issue, I will try to do something about it before the next election cycle.

1. How to history (videos) -- for the SCAdians among my friends' list, a collection of videos on how to do historic crafts. Looks nifty, though I haven't explored in-depth yet.

2. Senatory Bernie Sanders speech (13-minute video) -- a really well-presented argument that the big war in the U.S. isn't between the right and left, or the democrats and republicans, but between the rich and the poor. And the rich (the top 1%) are winning. (Text here, for those who prefer to read.)

3. Straight No Chaser: Christmas Can-Can (3-minute video) -- I love Straight No Chaser. So I was thrilled to see another of their Christmas videos. (Obviously recorded quite some time ago, but it's the thought that counts.)

4. How to multiply numbers by doodling (2-minute video) -- for the geeks among us. I'd be interested in learning whether this will work for all numbers, and why, if there are any huge math geeks among my readership.

5. The digital story of the nativity (3-minute video) -- the story of the Annunciation and the Nativity as told through social networking media. It's cute. Not Earth-shattering, but quite cute.

6. Silent monks singing Hallelujah (3-minute video) -- another one for the holidays, this time put together by some clever high school students. How can silent monks sing? Watch and find out!

7. Marching band forms giant football player (1.5-minute video) -- speaking of cleverness, this is also quite clever. I'm hugely impressed by the precision work that must have gone into this.

1. Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography - Language (6-minute video) -- for all those language / grammar mavens out there (and I admit, I've sometimes fallen into that category), this is a lovely video that will make you pause.

2. Still more on the map of non-monogamy (image) -- while I'm happily monogamous, and that doesn't look like it's gonna change any time soon, this is nonetheless a highly impressive diagram.

3. The greasiest sandwich ever (2-minute video) -- the Double Down has nothing on this. The fact that it's made by Quebecers is just proverbial (or perhaps non-proverbial) gravy on the sandwich.

4. The Burger Lab: Revisiting the Myth of The 12-Year Old McDonald's Burger That Just Won't Rot -- speaking of sandwiches, is it true that a McDonalds hamburger will never rot? And if so, why? Surprising results behind this link.

5. Game of Thrones: Exclusive first look (pictures) -- as a huge Game of Thrones fan, I'm super-excited for the HBO series starting in 2011. This link presents some pictures from filming, and if anything heightens my excitement.

6. The Israelification of airports: high security, little bother -- what with the whole TSA brouhaha going on, I present an interesting article on how Israelis handle security at their airports. Hint: it's nothing like how the U.S. does it.

7. Grandma's superhero therapy (pictures) -- a grandma as a superhero! Awesome, inspiring, and fun! Definitely worth a few minutes to browse.

A conversation on a friend's LJ led my brain down a number of meandering corridors. It moved beyond the scope of what we were talking about on his blog, so I decided to take it back here.

Let me just say it bluntly: I hate the GDP as a measure of how well a country is doing.

For one thing, GDP as a measure of prosperity is flawed. I share many of the ideas presented in this video. (It's only 30 seconds. You should watch it.) A lot of things we think are detrimental make the GDP go up, while things we think are beneficial are often not counted. The GDP goes up when you work all Sunday (or hire a full-time nanny) but not when you play with your children. the GDP goes up if you're diagnosed with lung cancer (or, for that matter, when you buy cigarettes) but not when you're healthy because you never started smoking. The GDP goes up when I buy crap from McDonalds but not when I grow my own vegetables in my garden.

So many of the things we value have absolutely no impact on the GDP: family, friendship, community, spirituality, nature, volunteering... All of them are omitted.

But even with this flawed measure of prosperity, I wouldn't mind the GDP if it were just one indicator among many. If, say, countries calculated their well-being not only by new material wealth but also life expectancy, happiness, and so on. But it's not. Usually, when people compare how well countries are doing, they compare GDPs.

Am I off my rocker on this one? Or am I onto something here? Thoughts, comments?

People write a lot. Especially people in the media. And bloggers.

Now, I suppose this shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone. But having now read (or at least skimmed) well over a hundred news articles, editorials, commentaries, and blogs about the "crisis" in Israel, the message has been driven home stronger than it normally is.

"What crisis," I hear my faithful readers asking. Well, last week U.S. VP Biden went on a trip to Israel, and part of his aim was to re-open indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. (Note: Not "Palestine." There is no state of Palestine. Never has been. This was made very, very clear to me today by my boss when I accidentally used the term "Palestine" in some writing I was doing.) While Biden was there, the Israeli Department of the Interior announced that it had approved the building of 1,600 homes for Jews in East Jerusalem, an Arab area of the city claimed by the Palestinian Authority. (Also claimed by Israel.)

There was an immediate uproar. Joe Biden said that the announcement was counter to the spirit of the peace talks and berated Israeli P.M. Netanyahu. Netanyahu, probably caught as off-guard as Biden was, apologized, and said that the construction would be several years away in any case. U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton condemned Netanyahu. Senior Presidential Advisor David Axelrod called Israel's announcement an insult. Jewish lobbyists and congressmen wrote open letters condemning the condemners. And on and on.

Things seems to have settled down a bit over the last day or so, at least for the politicians.

But, oh, not so for the pundits! They've been having a field day for a week and seem physically incapable of writing about anything else. Some say Israeli-American relations are in crisis! Maybe the worst in 35 years! Other commentators say that it's really not so bad. Some editorialists hunt for a deeper meaning: maybe the Obama administration is trying to force an election that will oust Netanyahu. Maybe Obama is using the Biden fiasco as a distraction from domestic issues like "ObamaCare." And how do Iraq and a potentially-nuclear Iran factor into all this, others ask.

When I read one article, I was intrigued. When I read four or five, I felt pretty well informed. Having now read, like I say, over a hundred, I just want to tell everyone to shut up and move on. Really, people, don't you have something better to talk about?

Today, I was at a screening of Jenin: Massacring Truth, which was hosted by the CIJR. The movie was interesting and thought-provoking (albeit with a clear bias), and afterwards the conversation among the dozen-odd attendees turned to how to show it to a wider audience, particularly a wider Jewish audience. Someone suggested hosting it in a synagogue, another said that it would never happen because Montreal Jews are "passive." The bitterness in his voice was shocking. If only those Montreal Jews would stand up and DO something! If only they'd be more vocal and supportive of Israel!

The statement went unchallenged, as everyone silently nodded their heads. Those passive Montreal Jews...

I was disturbed at this statement, because I don't find Montreal Jewry passive at all. They donate to Israel. Almost all the Jewish households I know either donate to Israeli charities or have a tzedakah box (where you collect spare change and then donate it to Israel when it gets full).

The Montreal Jewish community sends its youth to Israel to experience the country first-hand. They fund the Birthright Israel programs, letting young Jewish adults travel to Israel for free. They support the March of the Living, which I participated in as a high-school student. Montreal routinely sends the most students from a single city in the world! (249 in 2008, according to this source.)

Montreal Jews educate their children in being Jewish. According to this source, there were 7,000 students enrolled in 33 Jewish schools in 2009. (Caveat: I don't know where they get their numbers.) I went to one of those schools, and we definitely learned about the history of Judaism in general, and of Israel in particular.

Yes, granted, Montreal Jews don't go out on protest marches or even pride marches, flags a-waving and voices raised in chant. That might be because the average Montreal Jew is 41 years old. Let's face it: when you're in your late 30s and early 40s, you show your support by donating money, influencing business and politics where you can, and writing letters to the editor. You don't start shouting the street and screening controversial movies in your synagogue.

Is the Montreal Jewish community passive towards Israel? Hardly! Just because they're not setting up tables next to the Palestinians on campus doesn't mean they're not doing their part. Or at least, that's the way I see it. Anyone else have any thoughts?

There was an article in today's Gazette about Michelle Obama's inauguration gown. Specifically, that it was created by a young American designer (he's only 26) named Jason Wu. The article went on to explain how Michelle Obama's choice would be a big boost to the American fashion industry, how it would bolster relatively-undiscovered designers, and how this was an all-around Big Deal.

My thought when I saw the gown? "That's pretty."

1. Our economy needs a miracle... like in science fiction -- a few surefire ways to fix the economy, from science fiction! (@ io9.com)

2. Photographic height -- a fun resource showing pictures of people at a certain height and weight. So the next time you're creating a roleplaying character and want to know what someone who's 5'6", 160 pounds looks like, go here.

3. Alternate currency (comic) -- if this actually happened, I'd be rich indeed. (@ xkcd.com)

4. The Harper dictatorship (4-minute video) -- admittedly a bit behind the times (should have posted last week, I know), a resubtitling of a scene from an old German movie. Today, the role of Stephen Harper will be played by... Hitler.

5. PAX programs -- an absolutely wonderful site where men and women can learn to understand the opposite sex. I know there's a lot of dross out there, but this is really, really interesting and useful stuff. Highly recommended.

6. Videos from Alison Armstrong -- the woman behind PAX programs, there are short-ish clips of a seminar about understanding men and women. Though all of the ones she does are good, I recommend starting with the 3-part "How women speak."

7. What I learned in accounting class (graph) -- really, this is all you need to know about the semester I spent doing accounting. (hat-tip to ericsjournal)