Love & Work
A notebook about how we work, learn, love and live.
This week our daughter Mia is visiting her brother Devan, his partner Esther, and our granddaughter Evelyn in Portland, OR. They shared this photo of Mia and her niece. It makes me feel so warm and appreciative that I am moved to share it with you.
Happy Friday.
Leadership
Overcoming the myth of separateness may be the test of our time for our species.
john a. powell Photo by Peg Skorpinski
"As a professor at Princeton in 1949, Albert Einstein reflected on the place of human beings in the universe. In correspondence with a rabbi, he wrote that due to our limitations in our ability to experience the universe, our species is prone to a fundamental misunderstanding about our place in it. He wrote that the human 'experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.'
"Here, Einstein wrote of one of the most persistent and vexing problems of our species: the myth of separateness. Scholar and Director of the Center for Othering & Belonging john a. powell has taken this further, describing the four great separations of our time: separation of people from nature, separation of people from one another, separation of mind from body, and separation of people from institutions. We can track the expressions of these separations everywhere: authoritarianism, racial injustice, the climate crisis, disease, to name just a few. In the context of leadership, separation manifests as leadership by domination—those with power and those without, and those trying to achieve power over others rather than finding power with others." - Dar Vanderbeck
Article: Overcoming the Myth of Separateness
How We Live
We are not 'subjects', or 'consumers'. Our societies need a new narrative, and it starts by ditching the stories sold by authoritarianism and consumerism. We are 'citizens'.
"Over the past few years we have been researching a book called Citizens, in which we propose a more hopeful narrative for the 21st Century. In this future, people are citizens, rather than subjects or consumers. With this identity, it becomes easier to see that all of us are smarter than any of us. And that the strategy for navigating difficult times is to tap into the diverse ideas, energy and resources of everyone.
"This form of citizenship is not about the passport we hold, and it goes far beyond the duty to vote in elections. It represents the deeper meaning of the word, the etymological roots of which translate literally as 'together people': humans defined by our fundamental interdependence, lives meaningless without community. It's a practice rather than a status or possession, almost more verb than noun. As citizens, we look around, identify the domains where we have some influence, find our collaborators, and engage. And, critically, our institutions encourage us to do so." - Jon Alexander and Ariane Conrad
(Careful readers will notice that I've talked in this letter about this book before. As I remind clients and anyone who will listen, clarity and repetition are powerful tools.)
Article: Citizen Future: Why We Need a New Story of Self and Society
Cultural Awareness, Teaching
Resources to help us learn about the first Thanksgiving and Native Americans today
While written for teachers, Julia Richardson has gathered support and resources to help all of us discuss and understand the first Thanksgiving in ways that honor the spirit of the holiday that are historically accurate and responsible.
Article: Culturally Responsive Ways to Teach the History of Thanksgiving
How We Live
A tradition that allows private and public life to meet, maintaining a baseline solidarity in civic life.
Image: Jim Nix
"Lunchtime in Italy is not only about what to eat for lunch. It is also about time. The event halts the day. In places like Viterbo, the provincial medieval town of 60,000 outside Rome where my in-laws live, the city nearly completely shuts down. One has little choice but to engage in the ritual. A tablecloth must be spread, a table fully set. Timeworn recipes; the food, even if abundant, should be basic and familiar, not indulgent or creative. Surely, a glass of wine. The sociality of the event is important. Lunchtime must be marked with others, the meal lingered over communally. Whenever American friends or family visit us here, at some point they usually give me the look: 'When will this ever end?' It ends when the espresso arrives to even out the wine and to properly launch reentry back into the working day." - Jonathan Levy
Article: Lunchtime in Italy
Art, Social Messaging
Banksy has been traveling through the battle-scarred streets of Ukraine, producing a slew of works directly confronting Russia’s unwarranted and unjust aggression.
"The elusive street artist’s signature stencils have been spotted among the rubble of bombed buildings and barricades in Borodyanka and Gorenka, both in the Bucha Region, while others are just outside the capital city of Kyiv. Each centers on the strength and resiliency of the Ukrainian people.
"The works broadly criticize the ongoing war and its disastrous effects on the everyday lives of citizens, depicting a woman outfitted with hair rollers, a bathrobe, and a gas mask grasping a fire extinguisher, a bearded man scrubbing his back in an open-air bathtub, and silhouettes of young children teeter-tottering on a left-behind hunk of steel. Perhaps the most pointed piece is that of a young boy slamming Russian President Vladimir Putin to the ground during a judo match—according to the BBC, Putin has projected an interest in the sport." - Grace Ebert
Article: New Banksy Works Emerge Among the Destruction in Ukraine
Communication
When it doubt, leave it out
"A pleonasm is the use of redundant words, often in established phrases or idioms.
"I tried to write something, but it's hard to beat this excellent excerpt by the comedian George Carlin from When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops — spot the pleonasms:
"'My fellow countrymen, I speak to you as coequals, knowing you are deserving of the honest truth. And let me warn you in advance, my subject matter concerns a serious crisis caused by an event in my past history...At that particular point in time, I found myself in a deep depression, making mental errors which seemed as though they might threaten my future plans. I am not over-exaggerating.
'I needed a new beginning, so I decided to pay a social visit to a personal friend with whom I share the same mutual objectives and who is one of the most unique individuals I have ever personally met. The end result was an unexpected surprise. When I reiterated again to her the fact that I needed a fresh start, she said I was exactly right; and, as an added plus, she came up with a final solution that was absolutely perfect.
'Based on her past experience, she felt we needed to join together in a common bond for a combined total of twenty-four hours a day, in order to find some new initiatives. What a novel innovation! And, as an extra bonus, she presented me with the free gift of a tuna fish. Right away I noticed an immediate positive improvement. And although my recovery is not totally complete, the sum total is I feel much better now knowing I am not uniquely alone.'” - Jono Hey
Link: Sketchplanations
Advertising
Using contemporary tech to re-purpose a classic holiday film
Holy moly! Will Ferrel, circa 2003, is now a spokesperson for a contemporary supermarket.
"Some Christmas movies find an everlasting audience on TV and are enjoyed by generation after generation. 2003's Elf is one of them, and this year Asda has harnessed that appeal in a very clever way.
"In its seasonal ad, the Christmas-loving character Buddy the Elf, played by Will Ferrell, is confirmed as Asda's newest seasonal recruit. It opens with a loving homage to the movie's memorable 'street crossing' scene, only with a train of Asda shopping trolleys rather than a New York City cab, causing Buddy to exclaim 'sorry!' as it crashes into him. This marks the beginning of a chaotic sequence of events, which sees Buddy marvel at Asda's selection of Christmas goodies, eat all the maple-pigs-in-blankets samples, distract colleagues with his Christmas plans, and sing loudly over the store Tannoy.
"If you didn't know who Will Ferrell was (and how old he now is), you'd assume Will Ferrell had acted for the ad itself. Instead, it uses original footage from the film, but in a way that you truly can't see the join. Created by Havas London and directed by Danny Kleinman through Rattling Stick, it was all put together via state-of-the-art VFX created by Framestore.
"Having skilfully rotoscoped Buddy out of the original film, the team helped fit an entirely new world around him that was faithful down to the last eye line, shadow and cast interaction. Intricate match grading then provided the final touches, bringing our modern world closer to the look, feel and spirit of the original film." - Katy Cowan
Video: Have Your Elf a Merry Christmas | Asda Christmas Advert 2022
Article: The Christmas Ads of 2022: Bringing Joy and Nostalgia But Treading Carefully in the Midst of Economic Gloom
One-Liners
Article: Glasgow set to become the UK's first 'feminist city'
Article: Why scientists are rallying to save ponds
Article: Parisian undertaker aims to introduce bicycle hearse in France
Article: Shop class sometimes boosts going to college, Massachusetts study finds
Playlist
This week I learned from Joni Mitchell and Elton John that Brandi Carlisle has been performing the entire Blue album, live. As Blue is one of my desert island discs, I went looking. I am so glad to have found her on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, singing the title track.
Video: Brandi “Blue” (Joni Mitchell)
Image of the Week
An unnamed seed pod shot by photographer Dillon Marsh
"Seeds in the form of thorns and burs are familiar features of the tall grass or underbrush of South African landscapes. Some bear hooks and barbs designed to latch onto the fur and fleece of passing animals, while others grow sharp spikes intended to pierce hooves and feet. This allows them to spread to new areas, even crossing to other continents, earning them the collective name 'hitchhiker plants'. Macro photography reveals the often unnoticed details of these intricate seeds."
This time of year I marvel at the intelligence and ingenuity of the pods I pluck from my sweaters and from Sparky's, our dog's, fur.
Artist Portfolio: Hitchhikers
What's Love & Work?
Love & Work is the weekly newsletter by me, Mitch Anthony. I help people use their brand - their purpose, values, and stories - as a pedagogy and toolbox for transformation.
If you get value from Love & Work, please pass it on.
|
