CBrajkovich Ramblings

In response to all of the logistics, strategies, and calculations that we use to reach dominance, I would like to present a tribute to humanity of a bygone era: The Humanist in the Foxhole. It’s an eloquent  tribute piece to the travel writer, Patrick Leigh Fermor, written by Robert D. Kaplan for the New York Times. Here was a man, once a soldier, who embraced the world and all that it offered. Here was an example to aspire towards. Here are the enumerated qualities that favor humanism in our leadership in order to maintain our continued prosperity.

As Mr. Kaplan states, “…Such expertise can only be built on devotion to subject, with no ulterior motive”  and “The more depth and rarity of knowledge we can implant in our officials, the less likely they are to serve up the wrong options in a crisis”.

What more can be said? Find out directly from Mr. Kaplan’s piece. Here is an example of what we all lost when another little piece of humanity died.

(moment of silence)

My small tribute is also for those countless others who have inspired in their own way towards making this world a better place for the rest of us, but remain known only to their loved ones and the lucky few who know them. You have my everlasting gratitude.

Today I was hit over the head with a report titled, The Single Bottom Line, written by Daniel Altman and Jonathan Berman of the Dahlberg Global Development Advisors. After having read it, the accompanying story on the New York Times site, and Prof. Altman’s comment to others comments on the report (including one to me), I’ve come to the conclusion that we as a society need to embrace a little chaos in our lives. In a gist, the paper was written in support of a single bottom line using calculated formulas (CSV and CSR) for tying corporate goodwill activities to corporate profitability in the long term. I’m not going to go into details as it was painful to read the three times that I did (once at the author’s behest, which I did to see if I missed anything the first two times). Needless to say, I think that this penchant that we Americans have to only move in calculated manners that create benefit for us is both shortsighted and destructive. When goodwill is reduced to cost-to-benefit ratios, then we’ve gone too far off the spectrum of morality.

My question: How does one acknowledge that there are wonders in this world, if we no longer have a soul to use in order to admire those wonders? Continue reading →

Ilise Benun from the Creative Freelancers Blog put up a link to a riveting story presented by Dan McComb of Biznik. The story is told in video form, and the story tellers within Shine: The Entrepreneur’s Journey is one that should be heard because there are so many people out there who fit this mold.

We all know who we are, and know how to try to fit into a stereotype. Every field has a definition, but not all fields are jobs. One such field is that of entrepreneurship. The stories behind the stereotype of an entrepreneur are vast and heart-breaking, as you’ll find in Shine. Continue reading →

Just when you think that you’ve seen it all, the universe throws out something that simply blows your mind. NASA captured an M-2 solar flare on June 7, 2011 that has to be seen to be believed. Here’s a clip, and here’s the link at the NASA site. You’ve got to check out the video. It’s amazing!