Tuesday, May 16, 2006

'Jazz and the Art of Connecting' [Presentation Zen]: (1) 'The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.' (Duke-Ellington) (2) 'Writing is like jazz. It can be learned, but it can't be taught.' (Paul-Desmond) (3) 'Don't bullshit... just play.' (Wynton-Marsalis) (4) 'If they act too hip, you know they can't play shit!' (Louis-Armstrong) (5) 'Master your instrument. Master the music. And then forget all that bullshit and just play.' (Charlie-Parker) (6) 'It's taken me all my life to learn what not to play.' (Dizzy-Gillespie) (7) 'You can play a shoestring if you're sincere.' (John-Coltrane) (8) 'When people believe in boundaries, they become part of them.' (Don Cherry) (9) 'Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple.' (Charles Mingus) (10) 'I can't stand to sing the same song the same way two nights in succession. If you can, then it ain't music...' (Billie-Holiday) (11) 'A great teacher is one who realizes that he himself is also a student and whose goal is not to dictate the answers, but to stimulate his students creativity enough so that they go out and find the answers themselves.' (Herbie-Hancock) (Garr also has some comments on each.) (Nope, no idea why the dashes.) 11:37:28 PM    comment []  trackback []

Design Science Lab 'If success or failure of this planet and of human beings depended on how I am and what I do, HOW WOULD I BE? WHAT WOULD I DO?' - R. Buckminster Fuller The Buckminster Fuller Intitute reoprts that details for DESIGN SCIENCE LAB 2006 are now online at:http://www.designsciencelab.org/newyork.php (June 21-30) and http://www.designsciencelab.org/asheville.php (July 19-28) The Design Science Lab offers a unique inter-generational, intense, and collaborative environment in which participants develop solutions to global and local problems using present day technology and known resources--'doing more with less'. The program features hands-on training experience in complex problem solving, employing an approach pioneered by R. Buckminster Fuller called comprehensive anticipatory design science. Consider this a recommendation. I cut my teeth on Bucky's 'World Game' -- a month-long version of this -- 30+ years ago. This 'design charrette for the planet,' as I call it, was a deep dive into both big picture systems thinking and nitty-gritty, on-the-ground data -- looking at (1) where we are as a planet, (2) where need to be for success for 100% of humanity, and (3) how we got from #1 to #2 -- reverse engineering the pathway. The clear conculsion: we could find no resource or technology barriers to planetary success, only shortages of human and political will. That set my course -- from World Game to Institute for Local Self-Reliance to Office of Appropriate Technology to Natural Logic (with a few other interesting stops along the way). There's a thread that has run through it all. More on that soon. 10:47:04 PM    comment []  trackback []