Recommendations

TEDxMcGill: Redefining Reality

Yesterday I was thrilled to attend TEDxMcGill 2011. I’ve always been a huge fan of the TED community, and being able to go to the conference in my city two years in a row has been an an amazing experience. If you have an “X” conference where you live, I couldn’t encourage you more to take the opportunity to go and discover all the great ideas that your community is spreading and soaking up.

I would try and convince you to go, but I’ll hold back from telling you why it’s worth it. Hopefully by not desperately trying to convince you, it’ll ensure that those who do go are 100% enthusiastic and committed to the TED experience and are more than happy to donate their money and their whole day to the cause.

If you’re not familiar with the world of TED, get familiar! (This intro video for TEDxAmsterdam is pretty amazing too.)

The tagline of the organization is “ideas worth spreading”, and I’ve never failed to be either inspired, intrigued, informed or opened up after watching any of the talks. The “x” means “independently organized event”, and they’re held all over the world. The most creative and innovative people come together – people from art, science, philanthropy, engineering, healthcare – and share their ideas, and I find that process one of the most inspiring there is. What could be more beautiful than the sharing of ideas? It’s what makes us human.

Yesterday’s event was no different from my past experiences with TED. This year’s theme was redefining reality, and the speakers team really did an amazing job of organizing the talks into 3 sessions that mirror the process of how we can go about redefining our reality. While I enjoyed every single one of the talks, I want to focus on the ones that left the greatest impression so that I can keep this short and sweet! You can check out the rest of the speakers & their ideas here.

…

TEDxMcGill: Redefining RealityRead More »

Food For Thought: Killing Us Softly

Photo thanks to syafira2191

Hey y’all! I am currently 4 days into NaNoWriMo, and it’s really challenging! Last night, making myself write 1,600 words was like forcing a three year old to eat their vegetables. But to have 11 pages of a novel written? What a great feeling. I’m going to keep pushing through, and report back soon. Anyone who is participating, best of luck! I hope you’re doing well. Please chime in a comment about what gets you through! :)

As I’m heading toward the weekend, I wanted to stop in and share some “food for thought”. I’m taking a sociology of gender class this semester, and it has really opened my eyes to the world. A few weeks ago, our teacher shared a film with us: “Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women”. The filmmaker, Jean Kilbourne, has been making these films for several years. In them, she explores the way that the media portrays women, and investigates how these images affect the treatment of women in our society.

I truly believe these films should be “required watching” for everyone. Even if you’re not compelled to take action after watching, at least you’ll be examining advertising with a more critical lens.

I couldn’t find a copy of Killing Us Softly 4 online, but Documentary Heaven hosts Killing Us Softly 3, a version (still relevant!) made in the early 90’s. I watched about half of this one, and much of the material was identical to that in #4. I would encourage you to watch this version in the absence of a copy of #4 because it explores the same issues!

And here is the trailer for #4:

I hope you find these perspectives interesting, and thought-provoking. I certainly did. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Have a very happy weekend everyone!

xoxo,

Taking Baby Steps

Thanks to mimiBlog for the photo

Here’s the million dollar question: What can you do right now to achieve your goals?

 I just read about this idea in The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. Leo has also written about this idea over at ZenHabits.

It’s a very powerful concept. My interpretation is this: many people have big dreams or plans for themselves, and aren’t sure where to start in order to accomplish them. Their aspirations may seem daunting, impossible, or maybe just time-consuming. But the way to achieve them is to start. Somewhere. Anywhere. And according to Tim? You should do it today.

He advocates a very straight-forward approach, and in my opinion the book is worth reading even just for this method of analysis. He includes a monetary calculation as well, which is really helpful for larger goals, but in this post I’m just going to focus on his ideas about first steps in the context of short-term goals.

…

Taking Baby StepsRead More »

Inspired By Autumn

{Mini, white pumpkins are tucked into all corners of my apartment. They like to hang out on the towel rack in my bathroom, the stack of plates in my kitchen, and on top of my vintage cake stand}

Fall is my favourite season, but in Montreal, it doesn’t last half as long as I would like – the weather likes to race towards its preferred and longest season: Winter. (Ugh..) But this year I’m really trying to make the most of my beloved Autumn, as long as it sticks around. I’ve been apple picking, hiking, baking, eating soup (and flagging recipes to make it!), and going on little strolls in the crisp night air, kicking up leaves all the way! What have you been doing to celebrate fall?

At home, I’ve been having lots of fun with festive, harvest-like, Halloween-y decorations. It’s been really comforting to create a few little autumnal touches for my humble little apartment – it makes it feel more cozy and homey. And it feels like I’m making an effort to appreciate my favourite season! In the coming weeks, I hope I’ll have a chance to snuggle up more into the fall weather, and celebrate with warm apple cider, carved pumpkins and roasted root veggies. Mmm.

…

Inspired By AutumnRead More »

Scroll to Top