TED Weekly #1: Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

   Like water, beliefs can become stagnant. This first TED weekly talk hit me pretty hard, challenging me to the realization that I need to do more reflection of my beliefs.
  Personally, I feel like I may have become sort of complacent in my beliefs and inspiration, being constantly surrounded by people that share many of those or at least understand them without much explanation. As if it was understood what my motivations and intentions were in whatever it was that I happened to be working on at the time. So much so, that I may have lost track. Did I really feel so uninspired for so long?
    This talk challenged me not only to re-explore what I believe in and what inspires me, but also to re-explore how I share those ideas and integrate them into my life again, through my work, family, friends, art, etc. Sometimes, our work reflects our beliefs, other times, we have to reflect our beliefs in our work.
   Part of what really moved me in this talk is Sinek's studies of Dr MLK Jr., one of the first awe inspiring historical American figures in my life. So much that I dedicated a grade school research paper on his behalf.
  Anyways, I hope you take a few minutes to listen, engage, and feel inspired to reflect your beliefs any chance you get, because without them, what are we, really? After all, what drives us isn't so much what we do, but, why we do it.

Here's the link to the TED Talk: Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

Introducing: The Weekly TED Post: Talks that inspire and engage

   I've been working at a small neighborhood cafe for the last year and one of the perks is being able to listen to whatever I want to on the radio when I'm cleaning alone after hours.  Of course that sometimes translates to loud music, but one long Sunday night I was flipping through the stations and and started listening to an amazing talk on overcoming abuse and abusive relationships, followed by a yet another amazing talk on how the brain functions under stress. 

   That night I discovered TED Radio Hour on MPR, hosted by Guy Raz. I now look forward to listening every Sunday night. Being that I sincerely believe that people have the power to inspire and inform others to direct the change we wish to see in the world, I also believe that we need to maintain this inspiration our selves in order to pass it on to others.
   Introducing: The Weekly TED Post, to do just that: share the TED talks that inspire me. Each post will be titled "TED weekly:..." and have the title and author so you can either follow the link or use it as a quick reference. Stay tuned, and stay engaged!

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Visit TED.com to learn more and see all of their talks available to watch free online

Transmission #3: Even Bad Decisions Make for Good Teachers

Nathan Posso took his own life on Jan 9 2014 in the skyway at LaSalle Plaza in downtown Minneapolis.

   When I stopped into Hard Times Cafe on Wednesday, there stood a shady figure standing by the door,  smoking a cigarette. I had my 16mo old son in one arm, getting excited to see his mom on break and make up for a morning of not nursing. The weather was whipping us so I hurried him in, politely saying hi to the bearded figure, recognizing him as a friend or acquaintance. His hood was pulled down so far over his eyes, I could barely tell who it was, but the figure didn't reciprocate much so I didn't think much of it. I took Rowan to meet with his mom, as he was getting fussy, and went about my business. After we left, I realized the hooded figure sitting in a booth quietly reading a large novel was Posso, and I wondered why he hadn't reached out to me more, as he normally would, sharing some sign or acknowledgement of our friendship and history. Maybe he wasn't feeling right? Maybe he had already made up his mind...

   It saddens me to know that my son will never get to know the amazing person that I had met many years ago in Milwaukee. A curator of so many seemingly endless nights of random vandal shit, stories, laughter, and love. Posso was a wild-ass, a real free spirit, who really truly loved and cared for his friends.
   And he's not the only one either. I cringe at trying to count the number of at one time close friends that have taken their own lives early, by purpose or accident. It is in a world so full of oppression and hardship that some of the most brilliant stars burn out so fast.
   What worries me is this: When our friends who have made some of the worst decisions for themselves (i.e. experimenting with deadly drugs) aren't around anymore, the teachers of tomorrow will not have these experiences to look back on. Lessons are not only taught by what works, but also by what doesn't, and sometimes even more strongly. Overdosing and dying gives us one lesson, but living through it to tell others of the horrors of the experience(s) tells quite another unique, more direct and personal story.
   We know that certain drugs disrupt the brain's serotonin and dopamine receptors, possibly permanently, and it is obviously an extremely difficult point to continue from. What can we do, as a whole, to keep these stars from dying out so fast? How can we really show the ones who haven't yet gone down this path to avoid it at all costs?
   Anyways, we will miss Posso forever and I hope that other amazing people that have been though some shit and back are still around to hang out with my son. As a matter of fact, come hang out now...

Trasnmission #2: Dreaming of Electric Racists

Buried, deep undercover. Embedded within a right-wing militia group. Knee-deep in institutionally racist, homophobic, mysoginistic 'freedom' fighter culture. Infiltrated and exposed as they were, our team took them down from the inside.

I had a dream the other night, one of those intense all-night-as-if-you-were-just-there dreams, that set a crack team of undercover operatives, me included, smack in the middle of an extreme right wing white power militia. Needless to say, we took them down.

Now, after waking and realizing my life was no longer in danger, I quickly processed "where the f' did that come from?" into the fact that I had spent some screen-time doing some background research into the 'Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson vs. A&E' controversy. The media is referring to the Robertson family as the 'Duck Dynasty clan. Damn, did my brain turn some simple subconscious suggestion into a 'Stetson Kennedy's' life-like all night HBO series?

We may not live in Kennedy's times anymore, but finding this laissez-faire like attitude toward racism is still easy enough; it is extremely prevalent in our society. Mostly found hiding in the fringes of media and informal social interactions, but yet surviving in all regions and classes of peoples. After looking up the controversial statements, I watched some clips of him preaching about the 'ills of sinful behavior.' Typical preacher type stuff, especially for someone who has lived in the south for some years.

It didn't surprise me either when the statements pointing to a presumed racist attitude surfaced shortly after. One can generally conclude that those two attitudes co-exist, institutional homophobia and racism, especially in concentrated in the white and under privileged demographics.

What so interested me is the fact that many people can still portray these extremely racist attitudes and values and yet not believe, or admit, they they embody that same racism themselves. Never the less, whole entourages rush to support these attitudes, as portrayed to Rush Limbaugh and his lemming like supporters. I'd call them 'heritage racists,' pawning off their white guilt on ancestors that 'treated their African and Native slaves with the utmost respect' even better than our 'post-civil rights' society, so they say, ignoring, well, everything really. Its so thick, I don't even want to touch it. Middle School American History anyone?

And sure, people hide behind the obligatory 'merican defense that they have the right to free speech, including the right to make asinine racist and homophobic statements. Alas, I highly doubt A&E will cancel such a profitable show anytime soon.

In short, we have a duty to call them out on it. And we always will, loud and clear.

Fuck Dynasty: End Racism and Homophobia NOW!

(I wrote this a week or so ago, set it aside to edit. The whole family got the flu one by one, and I just finally got back to it..! ugh)

Pedal Pirate Blog Transmission #1

   Having one and a half (of the time) young kids to take care of can keep an aspiring writer/journalist (ever since high school) busy enough to forget about writing creatively, ever. I reckon it is high time to get back to it.

   Here, I've pulled together a personal blog to rant about life, music, bikes, mechanics, kids, punk, politics, philosophy, good friends and old times in odd places, recent life here in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, freezing temperatures and cold ale and whatever else ails ya. Hope you enjoy. Yo ho ho...