Doc. Film 'Wings of Evolution' Completed

Hi all
This is news from two weeks back. Our second documentary film, 'Wings of Evolution' on a revolutionary system of education for homeless and underprivileged children is now complete and ready to go. We are just getting it DVD-ready for film festivals and possibly other screenings in the near future. The trailer and preview clips should be out in a couple of days. So watch out!

BRAVE NEW THEATRES

Brave New Theaters provides world changers like you with films and organizing tools to bring attention to, raise money for, and take action around the issues you care deeply about. Your ticket to the people-powered movie revolution starts here...
If you want more information about the social activism in the upcoming independent media...please do not hesitate to take a look at the issues dealt by the movies in this site...There is more to the world than what hits the eye...
The pictures about Poverty, destruction by war, water deficiency in many parts of the world etc., have been coming out once in a while... for a very long time now...I understand that we do not need to repeatedly see the pictures to know about the situation of the world...but what else would remind us??
We see them, feel bad and forget about them...the regular media does not concentrate on showing things like this ...so what can we do about it?? When there was tsunami ...we saw a lot of tv coverage for a short period of time only..after that the media totally stopped showing it...that does not mean people are not still affected by tsunami..people are still suffering from its effects...but when we do not see the pictures or on the tv..we think it is over and nothing is wrong with the world..same things happen for the people who starve in the world...we have become so numb seeing the pictures...but do not do anything about them...we see so much poverty around us and what do we do????
TRY AND TAKE TIME TO NOTICE OTHER THINGS IN THE WORLD...WITH THE HELP OF THE INTERNET IT IS POSSIBLE...AND THERE IS SO MUCH TRUTH BEYOND WHAT THE EYES SEE AND BELIEVE...

IDEALIST.ORG

My friends and some people who know me say that I am an Idealist...All I want is Peace in this Planet...and a sense of togetherness...and I came across this website where the Idealists of the world...are already working together on a lot of issues...please join the Idealist network and help make IDEALISM a way of life...
"The Internet is the cloning of our collective soul. That's where the human consciousness resides right now," says Dr. Chopra...explaining that with blogs and other outlets on the Web, one can reach millions of people on a regular basis. "We have the means to make this shift...the shift that is so needed right now..."How true!

Go here for more on Idealist.org

Protest with Flowers and love actually works...

Immigration Voice, a group that advocates for high-tech immigrants in the U.S. on visas recently protested in a compassionate and Gandhian way...
The situation...
Engineers, computer programmers, and tech workers aren't known for outspoken collective action and political protest. But when denied the permanent U.S.residency they'd been promised, high-skilled workers took to the streets in non-violent protests and even sent flowers to the USCIS.
The point here is the method they dealt with...
Hundreds of green-card applicants sent flowers to the director of U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. The flowers and the rally were modeled after the nonviolent protests of Mahatma Gandhi, and they emerged from Immigration Voice...
The result...
The USCIS has reversed its memorandum and provided an extension for the application process.
For details please click here...
and here...
Picture Courtesy: Immigration Voice
No matter what the situation, there is always a peaceful alternative to deal with it...the point I was trying to make through this - is highlight the method of protest... What will happen if all the humans decide to end poverty through a peaceful protest all over the world? What if children took to the streets to persuade the adults into finding a solution for poverty and hunger in this world? What if Protests had more flowers than deadly weapons? Then, PEACE might be possible...let us think about it!!!

Gesundheit - SDaS 2007 - 5 : Social Activism

One of the humans who shared his knowledge with us was Robert Naiman..He is part of JUST FOREIGN POLICY.ORG...He is favoritely called the Economics Man (by one of the concerned citizens of the planet)...

How to produce more activism:

a) spend more time doing activism

b) be more efficient

c) recruit more People to be activists

Activism is the normal state of human affairs and although some people view activism as deviant social behavior they appreciate the results of it. Bob suggested that we attempt to break this view and recruit more activists. He said the best way to do this is start out on a personal level.

He used the example of trying to figure out how to help a blind person cross the street saying most people would not stand by and not help the blind person. And he uses this as an analogy that one doesn't pass by unthinkingly not trying to find a simple solution to solve problems.

Bob: Why do people push to get one the bus? When people see a bus half empty they are polite and let others ahead of them but when they see a bus is jammed... people push to get on the bus. A normal person would just say that people are rude and complain about it. But an activist would say: "We need more buses" (seeking an alternative)

Bob stated that "Language (words) are a major barrier for activism in the U.S."

Bob then returned to questions on public/private ownership?

When does something controlled by the government belong to the public?

He asked that we reformulate and think of examples... examples given park, sidewalk, library, hospital, etc.

Patrick, another concerned citizen of the world, pointed out the difference between belong and control. Is it a public park if it has bum proof benches and riot police?

Bob asked us once again to reformulate the problem, where we lower our standards to where something useful is taken away or privatized and asks would that make us upset.

Focus our attention that we should be concerned about socialism/capitalism and pointed out that there are some things controlled by government that belong to the public that we believe are ours and would fight for them if taken away.

Bob : Activism is a 'good' and more activism is needed.

Cassandra (another concerned citizen): There is the march against war, there are certain amounts of activists and what amount of activists is needed for the activism to be effective?

Questions you can ask yourself or others...

Activism is a good produced by Activists, are we producing enough?
How can we produce more?

Activism is the normal state of human affairs
How do we contribute?

Why do people push to get on the bus?
Why is money so annoying?"

A Mammoth of an Elephant

Given that I'm a sucker for creatures of gargantuan proportions especially in mythological realms related to time travel, it's no biggie that I absolutely love this piece of work - The Sultan's Elephant. Amazing effort and coordination by the artists. You gotta watch this.

The Sultan's Elephant is a show created by the Royal de Luxe theatre company, involving a huge moving mechanical elephant and other associated public art installations. In French it is called La visite du sultan des Indes sur son éléphant à voyager dans le temps (literally, "Visit From The Sultan Of The Indies On His Time-Traveling Elephant").

The elephant is made mostly of wood, and is operated by over ten puppeteers using a mixture of hydraulics and motors. It weighs 42 tons, as much as 7 African elephants. A replica of the elephant was built in Nantes (France) in 2007, as part of the Machines of the Isle of Nantes permanent exhibition.

Courtesy Wiki.

How far would you go to bring PEACE on Earth?

From 1953 to 1981 a silver haired woman calling herself only "Peace Pilgrim" walked more than 25,000 miles on a personal pilgrimage for peace. She vowed to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food."

Courtesy: Peace Pilgrim

Other links: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/11/2468/

John Taylor Gatto on System of Education!

I asked this question in Yahoo...

Why does the current system of Education in our world alienate theory & practice, confuse & burden the child?

Children of today's world are burdened with heavy syllabus and they have no concept-based learning. What they learn in school for 17 years and college for 4 years has no connection with what they experience in the real world of work. Moreover, they are always made to understand that education has to be related to the amount of money they earn in the current world. The result is that children lose their interest to go to school and the actual learning process and mostly are exam driven and they have to force themselves to go to school simply because they have to survive the current system. Many children drop out of schools and some of them are so stressed out that they cannot handle any issue without being scared. Education on the other hand has to be fun for the children and not intimidate them and push them to the edge.

...and I got an answer from Limbonia asking me to read books written by John Taylor Gatto...

Please read the following pages to get an idea about what Gatto's work is like...
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history4.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history5.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history6.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history7.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history8.htm
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history9.htm

WE ARE EVERYWHERE - A Must Read Book!!

Courtesy: http://weareeverywhere.org/

We Are Everywhere is a book of stories, stories written by activists from the front lines of resistance against capitalism and economic globalization, tales of struggle and rebellion from participants in a movement of movments that is gaining ground on every continent. These stories, told with both words and pictures, have been collected over the past three years by a collective of activists, writers and artists, all of whom have deep connections to the movement.

The book explores and celebrates what activist, academic, and media commentators have recently come to refer to as the "anticapitalist" movement. One of the great strengths of this movement has been its capacity to re-kindle the idea of a global political project, a project defined by notions of autonomy, ecology, democracy, self-organization and direct action, notions which are explored in We Are Everywhere.

For further details of the pdf format of the book, go to WE ARE EVERYWHERE.

IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS!!!

Humans who belong to this planet called earth…here I am…hurt but inspired, helpless but motivated and I could go on and on…but let me stop here and share with you the real reason of my writing this…
I had the opportunity of meeting with another human called Patch Adams whose love came straight through from his heart to people around him…what more can I say? He asked us a disturbing question; “have you ever held a starving dying child in your arms?”
And I could not help the tears that followed…
He showed a few pictures which were taken in one part of this very planet we all live…photographs of people and children who were dying in starvation. Not one or two…we saw many lives being wasted away without even having a chance to know what living and loving is all about…we saw mothers holding starving children close to their bosom, feeling helpless because they could not help but watch them die, we saw humans bury their young and old ones side by side who died of starvation, we saw humans waiting for others to die so that they did not have to share their few morsels with them, we saw a vulture sitting close to a child dying of starvation – waiting for the child to die and prey on it even before the soul could leave the body, we saw children drink from the wastes, we saw humans who were dehumanized by war, struggling for a few more breaths in this merciless world, we saw endless poverty which screamed into every grain of the sands and every atom of air that surrounded it…we saw the never-ending abyss of hopelessness in their eyes…we saw that thinking was drowned somewhere in all that misery and had become extinct for years in their souls, what we did not see in those pictures directly but realized was that – reason on the whole was being drowned in poverty, money, selfishness, war, greed, blood and many more entities of the so-called human world…

We saw how countless human beings were born in some parts of the world just to die without even knowing what living was all about…and to think that we talk about intellect, arts, technology, war, politics, government, humanity, peace etc while remaining oblivious to what is happening around us. What kind of a world are we a part of where we totally ignore such realities and still shamelessly say ‘IGNORANCE IS BLISS’??
My tears flow while I type all this…why was I made to see all this? To just feel bad for a few hours, forget and then move on??

NO, NO, NO!!!

These will remain in my mind, heart, body and soul as long as I live and I will see to it that I will share this with as many humans as I can and inspire them to do something about this inequality…

I cannot stop questioning myself again and again about all that is going on? If ignoring such realities and living without an iota of feeling responsible to do something for the world is all called living in this world, I feel sad to be a part of it…but wait!!!
What then is our duty in this design? What is the purpose of our existence in this world?
What can we do to make this world a better place?
How can we expect a soul to love or think when even the basic needs are not met??
Of course we can make a difference…TOGETHER!

HUMANS OF THE PLANET, UNITE!!!

Picture courtesy: www.nutrisci.wisc.edu/NS350/images/somalia.jpg

Gesundheit - SDaS 2007 - 4 : Summer School Report

Summer School Report-June 2007

Courtesy: SDaS

We enveloped ourselves in a potpourri of unusual offerings for the summer school's point of departure. We've been at the Gesundheit Institute, where costume activist "Madd Maggs" literally wrapped us in clown pants and tie dyes throughout the month -- so logically we had a clown pants fashion show, with most participants opting for the "waist around the shoulders" look (see right). This came in tandem with the "art everywhere" exhibition, which included a showing of the month's returns on art projects that included painted shoes, stencils, hand-crafted paper, political wedding dresses, wish flags...for more check here...

Gesundheit - SDaS 2007 -3 : SUMMER SCHOOL SESSION

SUMMER SCHOOL IN SESSION from SDaS...JUNE 15th 2007
During the first week, we discussed our personal "courts of criteria" -- the "voices" in our heads that we consult when we make a decision. This culminated in an uprising of cartooning, which illustrated the various criteria people consider when making a specific choice. The first week also saw the start of a flurry of "desire statements" writing. We broke into "design groups" to connect...for more check here

Gesundheit - SDaS 2007 -2 :Detour Towards Earth

Rob Scott of SDaS has made it possible for everyone to access the (13MB) pdf of "Detour Towards Earth" booklet which was done by his design group.
The Booklet has been formatted so that when printed doublesidedly, it makes a document with
pages numbered "A" to "Z" plus a cover page.
Happy Reading!!

COUCHSURFING!!!

"CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding."
Courtesy: http://couchsurfing.org/help.html
I came across this website which connects a lot of people around the globe...opening your homes to the beautiful people of this world...It makes me want to believe in the good of the people..

Gesundheit - Clowning 2007

CLOWNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGG!!!
I always ask myself this question from time to time - "When was the last time you did something for the first time??" (courtesy: Discovery Channel)
Gesundheit, WV is a place that makes you feel at home the minute you arrive there! And we were given with this opportunity of entertaining around 200 elderly people who were celebrating their 80+ birthdays in the town.
Well, we had not had any experience in Clowning but our hearts were open to it and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and saw to it that we spread the joy, love and laughter that was part of the clowning to all the people who who were there at the town hall.
Sometimes it is good to just be open to anything and let go of the fear of the unknown...becoz that is when we trust our hearts and take that path which leads us to true happiness!
So, my friends, try something new once in a while...and try clowning once your lifetime!!!

Gesundheit - SDaS 2007 -1 : My Experience

Hey Beautiful People!!!
Am back after a whole month at the Gesundheit Institute...I was there for the Summer School for Designing a Society...
The experience was amazing...the whole place was filled with so much vibrant energy and I got lots of it to share with the rest of the world...WEST VIRGINIA is a wonderful piece of art by the Creator...
During the train journey, I was engulfed in total awe at the sight of the endless mountains and sky which seemed to hold each other in an embrace that was breathtaking...
There were moments when I asked myself, "If there is so much beauty around me, then what change did I want from the world around me...for a moment, I felt the earth was perfect and there was no chaos or war or hunger or pollution or any atrocities of any kind...How can something so beautiful be messed up?? But my memories of the news about war, poverty, unrest, insecurities etc that existed in the world outside this place brought the harsh reality to me!!
Is it even possible to transform something that is so perfect into something that is totally un-livable?? well, we somehow managed it I guess! SIGH!
This is the first of its kind! More to come my comrades!