This thought for the day reminds me of why I will always be a student of one thing or another. Nothing that we learn is ever completely understood until we look at it through someone else’s eyes. Because every time you do this, you find out that there’s a gap in your own education. No one person will ever see a problem from every angle. There are just too many angles to cover. And each person who attempts to learn this adds one more measurement that changes the angle yet again.

So, if you really want to understand a subject, then try teaching it to others. I learned this lesson years ago while I was a tech writer. And it’s a lesson that continues to push my learning curve, so that I’ll never stop trying to understand a subject. If I do stop, it’ll be because I no longer have the energy to keep going. And I am not looking forward to that day EVER.

This gem from Piccsy is the perfect image of how work should look. Take away the camera and replace it with your tool of creation. I’d say trade, but I don’t want to look at “work” in the old manner of trade – unless it takes the true definition of trade as in sharing and exchanging. No, what I want to concentrate on is that joyful innocence we all carried when we were little and didn’t know about life’s trials.

This is how work should look, shouldn’t it? A youthful vision that finds the enchantment in that piece we created, and reacts to the sheer joy of discovery. It’s pure fulfillment without the chains of economics, rules, and all of those strictures that gradually strangle who we are. This is our reminder that now is the best time to reboot the way we live, so that we can once more experience this level of joy in our daily “work”.

It’s a simple concept that has driven our economy for decades. And it’s now a bumper sticker created by Someguy to make us question just why we’ve been sheeple for so long. Read more about his project, The Economy, at Co.EXIST to understand why it’s becoming more and more uncomfortable for each and every one of us to just sit there and take the value systems we’re told are proper. If they’re not our own value system, then how can they be proper and why shouldn’t we question it? That’s a question that no one’s ever been able to answer in all of the years that I’ve asked it.

And seriously, Someguy does have a point when we are now seeing the debut of the Cheeseburger Crown Crust pizza in the most unlikeliest of places. I’m feeling more than a bit uptight myself, and it’s not because I’m wearing Spanks (um no, not going to happen). And this thought of his resembles my own thoughts (and many other people as well):

I’d argue that I’m a closet optimist, because regardless of the odds, I keep trying to change things. All it takes is for one person to change their thinking, and then another will, and eventually, change will happen.

- thanks Co.EXIST for a great post and reminder to keep trying because we’re not standing alone

This film short, Code Hunters, premiered in 2006 at the MTV Asia Awards, and was done in collaboration with Ben Hibon (Stateless films), Blinkink, and Axis Animation. Code Hunters is another gritty representation of what fighting the system feels like.

It’s especially difficult when you are short of resources against a Goliath, but it’s not in vain if you’ve got the smarts and the will to think on an angle against standard linear approaches. It’s also seems impossible to fight against a monstrous propaganda machine that seeks to create a broad-stroked Wanted poster that fits anyone who doesn’t slide into the mold of status quo. Except that we individuals are doing just that everyday, and its getting stronger. Strangely, our world is rapidly evolving in a way that the status quo is not only being outnumbered, but it’s also being surrounded by the fringe. Sure, we’ve got a way to go before this flip becomes permanent, but it is happening. Laws are not only being protested, but we’re questioning their validity. As are we putting our titanic leaders under a microscope and through a sieve. No matter where you look, the world is being turned on its head, and that’s a good thing. It needs to keep growing.

We are all code hunters who have to fight for the life we want to choose. It’s not about waiting for the hand out. It’s about using these hands for building a light that shines on the absence of all that’s currently wrong with this world we’re living in. Set your focus on the bad and start replacing our evolutionary curve with a better, brighter world than the one you just saw (and the one we’re in).

- thanks to Youtube for this find while I was swimming around

Azureus Rising by David Weinstein

Devils Angels & Dating by Michael Cawood

The Ark by Grzegorz Jonkajtys and Marcin Kobylecki

See, creativity is exploding everywhere. Wow, just…WOW! Such beautiful minds.

Here’s the thought for the day that could change your life:

Never has a truer word been spoken in the context of the written word. Some of the most dangerous thoughts have been written and passed down through time. What counted then counts equally now. Probably because the more we change, the more we stay the same? But that should never stop anyone from wanting to keep on changing…especially when it’s for the better. Go find a book that will impact your life and immerse yourself in it. You’ll come out all the better for the experience.

- thanks Piccsy

p.s. And to show just how much writers can impact the world, check out the news about the writer’s march through Moscow which drew more than 10,000 people.

If you think that this is the best that Shane has, well, go take a look at his site because every spoken word I’ve heard is powerful. Once you’ve heard his voice, you might want to go thank Reddit who once again found this treasure. And then listen to another one, Beethoven, by Shane:

I still have shivers after having experienced these two masterpieces spoken by Shane!

- check out more of the 99% Conference manual at Behance

We’ve all been taught that competition shows who will be the winners and who will be the losers. But do we even realize that we are the ones who create the winners AND the losers? What if we gave everyone the same chance? What if there were no favorites? What if we saw the depth within us all? What if we all gave a ribbon to someone, and then got a ribbon from someone else, and that trend kept going on around the world? What if we all encouraged the differences instead of the similarities? What is there was no list of acceptable and not? What if we all were allowed to be who we were born to be, with no barriers to crawl over?

Well, we’d all be winners. And maybe we wouldn’t allow laws that suppressed and condemned to come into being. And people who transgressed on another’s soul wouldn’t be allowed into places of power. And crimes would not see the light of day because everyone would have a single positive moment to lift them up from the darkness. And bullies would no longer try to hurt the weak because they wouldn’t learn how to be bullies in the first place.

Just think, a positive world could be reached – all because every one of us got a ribbon for something that we’re good at: being ourselves. It’s something we should think about.

This awesomely frightening video came across my Twitter feed and seems pretty appropriate to how we’re currently experiencing life. This is life as we saw it programmed in the movie Total Recall or perhaps coming close to The 6th Day, though this entertaining yet life-resembling video was done by Tom Scott. According to Tom, he actually got inspiration from two books, Jim Monroe’s Everyone in Silico and Rudy Rucker’s Postsingular. I haven’t read these books yet, but now I’m curious (and nauseous) after watching the video.

The sad part is that people are relating to this video because it’s resembling life as it’s currently unraveling in this dangerously expansive IP regime and national security obsession. SF writers tend to write about what they consider to be fantastically futuristic, although the resemblances that real life takes soon becomes alarming for the creator and the reader.

Seriously, is this the life that any of us want? It might have been amusing if not for the fact that it’s resembling an emerging reality that is shaking us all out of our complacency. And no, we do NOT accept your terms and conditions!!!

- Thanks to Cory Doctorow for forwarding the link

SMILE?! I am now that I found this incredible comic artist name RIE (aka midnightride), who has got some amazing illustration talent showing in the work that I saw at both of her sites.  She’s also part of the Game Over team who just finished a successful Kickstarter campaign. You need to go check out her sequentials and covers, because they are some pretty powerfully intricate works that draw you into her awesomely dark and emotional world. The image above is called S.M.I.L.E. and it does so in the same way that horror films on the Chiller channel make you smile. Gonna have to keep an eye out for more of RIE’s stuff in the future!

- Thanks this isn’t happiness for the first step to finding her

Going through Piccsy, I was again led to Cuded because of this mesmerizing picture of Good vs Evil by Thai artist Vipada Jakavanphituk. It’s clear to see the manga/manhwa influence, but there’s something really special about this image that draws me in more than any other of her other creations. Her specialty is clearly coloring because she creates a tableau of light and shade that puts you into the magical world of make believe that holds colors so vibrant.

I can so see the story behind this image in my head!

It really is amazing to see the amount of talent that is popping up around the world at such a young age (I was no where near this talented at 23?!). The passion that the youth puts into their art will come back to them a thousandfold, and I hope that it brings them everything that they could wish for. We’re all benefiting from their creativity through the inspiration that calls to us.

- Thanks Cuded and Piccsy once again

I found out about Joe Mangrum‘s sand paintings through My Modern Met, and wanted to find out more about this detailed and patient artist. He’s been using this medium since 2006, but is very well known for his other works of art. In 2003, he won the Lorenzo de Medici award for his piece entitled Fragile, though he’s exhibited throughout the world with pieces that always contain an important message about life. I seriously love the sentiment in his artist’s statement (here’s a portion of it):

It’s my philosophy that we are all unknowingly and psychologically programed by the urban grid system; A system that efficiently divides the globe into quantifiable sections. Based on the Gregorian calendar into minutes and seconds, it is ultimately out of sync with the natural world, lunar cycle and tides. The result is a world divided from nature and compartmentalized into definable groups, disconnected physically and metaphorically from the whole.

My paintings are visual rebellion of the grid.

- Thanks again My Modern Met for sharing this artist and seaspoke for this inspirational video. Definitely go check out Joe’s site for more close ups of some incredibly intricate work.

And even Iron Giants have a heart! This incredible poster by Laurent Durieux was commissioned by Mondo for the screening of Brian Bird’s movie that will be showing at the Alamo Ritz in Austin on May 26, 2012.

As usual, don’t forget to check out Inside The Rock Poster‘s site to see more incredible art work done for music and film.

Isn’t this cement sculpture incredible?! Going through My Modern Met, I stumbled on this beautiful dragon but was also drawn in by the artist’s explanation. Yang Yongliang is the sculptor and also an admirer of the strength of dragons, which holds a revered place in Asian mythology. I can also remember that most of my favorite fairy tales that I grew up with featured a dragon or two.

Yongliang explains this dragon’s appearance, “In this circumstance, I made a metaphorical creation of an escaping dragon, which is constricted to death, wanting to get rid of the enclosed wall.”  What a dilemma that we create when we manage to imprison the very thing that we hold dear. This dragon shows us that we need to respect nature more so that it can exist in the manner that it needs, which in turn will allow us to prosper in a much more healthy way.

I hadn’t heard too much about this kitten (though I think about it a lot) until Daniel mentioned that someone had shot it while it was outside away from its home. Needless to say, this is so heartbreaking, but especially more so because it’s a defenseless animal. Lately, the level of animal cruelty that I see in this world has been really bothering me more than usual. Perhaps it’s the unwelcome acknowledgement that there are people out there who really love cruelty.

Optimism doesn’t always run at the forefront of my views, as I’m more of a pragmatic realist. But part of me is an optimist when it comes to believing that everyone is capable of doing good. It’s the one idea that I can’t shake no matter how old I get.

I think that even mean people have their reasons that stem from their own hurt. So, before I can accept that people who abuse others (any living creature) who are weaker than them are not completely inhuman, I really would like to understand why they think that they can get away with this horrifying behavior. Lately, this behavior is rampant among people who are little more than spoilt brats who always got their way throughout their lives. Unfortunately, no one taught these people about restraint and selflessness. Frankly, they’re ruining the world for the rest of the caring people who learned to overcome the selfishness.

At least the world has more caring people who choose love over cruelty. I read about it every day, and see examples all around me. Hope is alive because of these good people who are working hard to stand up to the selfish people. Thank goodness for all of these hearts of gold.

I just wanted to put this image up to share with everyone, as Daniel shared it with the rest of us. This one little kitten (though it’s no longer a kitten) made an impact on quite a few lives. And now it’s hurting because of some really inhuman people. I’d like to think that I wouldn’t respond badly if I ever ran into the person who shot this defenseless creature. But I’m not sure that I’d be able to not act in kind – I’m still a work in progress. I hurt when I see another living creature hurt. I will still stand up to protect the defenseless, even if I knew that I’d get hurt in the process. It took more than that single person to hurt this kitten. It also took the gun company who made the gun and ammunition. And the lobbyists who continue to push for reckless gun ownership. And the police who terrorize the minorities until they become true thugs. And the surrounding community that allows people to stay as bullies, instead of showing them another way to be. It’s never a single person who commits a crime. It’s a community, and we see that fact everyday with each new crime.

Let’s stop the cycle together and find a better way to coexist without all of this mindless violence. Hopefully love beats cruelty and this kitten makes a full recovery. I know that there are many animals out there with similar or worse stories. But this is my story because this little kitten found its way into my heart though I never got to meet it in person. That’s just how love works. When it wraps itself around your heart, it’s there to stay. Our hearts have an infinite capacity to love. We just need to be reminded of that fact.

Kitty, please get better. I’m sending love your way. And there’s a whole lot more love from your immediate family who raised you from that day they found you. That’s a whole lot of love. I just hope that it’s enough.

And to finish off the day with another happy-inducing A Cappella group from the same Berklee School of Music, here’s Pitch Slapped singing Love On Top. Love all around. Nuff said.

- thanks again, Reddit

ok, one more…

Seriously, how does Reddit find so many crazy talents out there. For your listening pleasure to start off your weekend, here’s Bop It! by The Y Chromotones. Think of your favorite catchy songs, add some insanely cute sound effects, and a lot of incredibly talented A Cappellas, and you get something awesome that blows your mind and gives you a smile that’ll last all day.

The Y Chromotones are an all-male A Cappella group from the Berklee School of Music. And they are simply necessary to experience if you want to feel good for the rest of the day!

We’ve all heard the sad news that we lost two strong men who made a difference in their own way. Adam Yauch (aka MCA) lost his battle with cancer way too soon. We all knew him because of his part in Beastie Boys, as well as with his outspokenness that came through his music, films, and his activism. He gave us a role model on how to fight for your rights (to go beyond partying). And so much more… Read his tribute on Beastie Boys’ site to understand his full impact on us all, as spoken in their own words.

Then we heard more sad news with the announcement that we also lost Maurice Sendak, the children’s illustrator/author who is most closely associated with his book, Where The Wild Things Are - though he’s equally loved for his belief in not treating kids like kids. His works might have seemed dark to some parents, but they all broke open our imaginations to see past the surface and embrace those things that went bump in the night. Read an interview he did with Guardian UK in 2011, “I refuse to lie to children” to get the genius of his beliefs.

Here are two warriors who fought to change the world view in their own ways. They never stopped until the end. And they were just a part of those change-makers, both well known and unknown, who used their talents to get us to see our surroundings just a little different, so that we could grow as human beings. We don’t just want to remember all of these warriors. We also want to do our part so that we not only pay tribute to their hard work, but also continue it with our own talents. That would be a pretty incredible tribute to them and their loved ones, don’t you think?