May 13, 2008

• An Exploration of Human Emotion

  There was a message in the drumbeats. The final moments of the first
  international Pangea Day event on Saturday were big on symbolism, as
  seven drummers of varied cultures were linked via satellite from Stage
  15 at Sony Studios to an international drum circle scattered across the
  planet.
  
  
  
  There were drummers from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America
  and elsewhere, all beating as one during a worldwide broadcast designed
  to encourage peace and understanding. Pangea Day was a four-hour
  program of short films, live music and brief messages of hope, humor
  and sadness, named for the prehistoric super-continent.  “By sharing stories, we have begun the process of turning strangers
  into friends,” filmmaker Jehane Noujaim told the U.S. studio audience
  in Culver City on the same soundstage where Dorothy and Toto once
  danced down the Yellow Brick Road. Noujaim had conceived of the idea of
  a multinational film festival broadcast, and it was supported through a
  prize from the annual TED Conference, a gathering of creative thinkers
  in science and culture.  Read more…

  I really enjoyed Jonathan Harris.  He is such an innovator.  Harris, “makes online art that captures the world’s expression – and gives us a
  glimpse of the soul of the internet. His projects are both intensely
  personal (the “We Feel Fine” project, which scans the world’s blogs to
  collect snapshots of the writers’ feelings) and entirely global
  (“Universe,” which turns current events into constellations of words).
  But their effect is the same – to show off a world that resonates with
  shared emotions, concerns, problems, triumphs, and troubles.”   You fellow bloggers can search for your own blog on “We Feel Fine”.  I found mine!

  Mike was in town over the weekend, and we had a nice visit.  Have a good week everyone!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  Pangea Day — in quotes

  Pangea Day’s fabulous line-up
  of thought-provoking, inspirational speakers produced no less stellar a
  collection of memorable quotes and priceless bits of wisdom. A small
  sampling of what was heard:

  “By sharing stories, we’ve started the process of turning strangers into friends.” – Filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, TED Prize winner and founder of Pangea Day

  “We
  have a responsibility to expose ourselves to our world, to see our common
  humanity, to learn about other people — not only in times of war, but
  in times of peace. ” – Ishmael Beah, former child soldier and advocate for peace

  “When we look at the earth from space,
  we can see ourselves, our species, in its brave struggle. Yes, we’re
  troubled inhabitants of a small planet, but we’re also dreamers of
  dreams.” – Planetary scientist Carolyn Porco

  “Humans are — and must be — sensitive to differences. But we should find hope in realizing how rich and numerous our commonalities are.” – Anthropologist Donald Brown, author of Human Universals

  “If we are to prosper together in our increasingly small world, we must listen to — and learn from each other’s stories” – Queen Noor of Jordan

  “When we laugh, we change. And when we change, the world changes.” — Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the International Laughter Club

  “I
  feel like a hack… I feel I could be doing more… I feel sexy… I
  just want to feel alive for the first time in my life… I feel so much
  of my Dad in me that there isn’t room for me.” — A selection of feelings, sampled live from the Internet, by conceptual artist Jonathan Harris

  “We
  have the capacity and tendency to separate ‘us’ from ‘them.’ Once
  established, we’re more tolerant to those we call ‘us’ and more brutal
  toward ‘them.’ But increasingly, science shows there’s no limit to who
  we define as ‘us.’ Eventually, someday, there might not be any more
  ‘thems.’” – Psychologist Robert Kurzban
  
  “How can films change the world? They can’t, but the people who watch them can. By changing minds, we change the world.” – Actress Cameron Diaz

  
  

  • 2:04 am
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