more on connecting ...

I looked at Andrew Leigh's book on social capital again this morning, and he makes about trying to increase our social capital are: reclaiming the footpath by saying hello to people as you walk down the street; using your local stores; donating time (and/or money); using social media to supplement (not replace) connections; reviving organisations you are part of; writing to politicians; breaking bread with each other; and to trying new activities.

So, I'm going to try and do some of these; I will try to engage with my State and Federal representative more this year, and when I get back into the habit of walking I'll try and say 'Hello' as I pass people. Given there are a few great shops in this area, I'll try and regularly shop there.

Disconnected ...

This looks like a fascinating book; its about declining community engagement in Australia. Robert Putnam wrote a similar book called Bowling Alone, about the same trend in America.

Another few articles

The first one, which may not surprise you Cricket Australia's research indicates that the team is not well liked it seems that there's more the public want than just winning.

And another article about how social networking sites are being used...

not sharing...

Interesting to read this piece (SMH) about the sharing of Christmas news - and there's defnintely something in sharing the ups and downs of our year -- though I wonder how likely we are to write openly then, if it seems we find it hard to share what's happening at other times too. How to write 'mass communication' is something to think about - in terms of how much detail to share, and the authenticity of what we share. And maybe there's something about readers only wanting to see the 'good news'.

Friendship and a few bonuses...

One of the trends of 2009 was the growth of social-networking sites - this atricle is a great read about the changing nature of friendship. Another Christmas article, this one's about the 'christmas' songs we could do away with -- (via New York Times)

A final one - about the impact of MySpace - which is a great way to introduce yourself to music (as they often have songs streaming on their pages).

Facebook [undermines] Friendship

It saddens me when I read things like this comment about Facebook and virtual community. I am sure that there is a grain of truth it what he is saying, but I'd love to hear more positive comments perhaps embracing it as something that the church can use.

Cocoon of Silence

A fascinating and challenging read about the impact we all can have in diminishing the impact of hateful beliefs.

The authorities won't be able to stop every "lone wolf" with a gun and a gripe. But we, as a society, can do a much better job of creating an environment where hateful beliefs are never ignored and suspicious behavior never goes unreported.

In 1963, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in a letter from a Birmingham jail, "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people." That's still true. Hateful people are loud — to disguise their cowardice and shame. But good, decent people are by far the majority, and we dare not be silent. There can be no family too close and no friend too dear for hatred to go unchecked. Allowing it to do so diminishes the better, more noble parts of ourselves. These confrontations won't be easy, but doing the right thing rarely is. There is someone reading this column who knows someone who could be the next shooter. What will that reader do?

Couple of Random Shorts..

I just finished reading Chris Abani's "Song For Night" last night. I linked to an excerpt from his address at the Brisbane Writers Festival last year. The address, along with this book is well worth a read. The story is the journey through a warzone from the perspective of a child soldier.

"Every star is a soul, every soul is a destiny meant to be lived out. They fill the night sky, revealing like a diviner's spread the destiny of those gifted in reading their drift, their endless shift, like a desert, revealing and burying the way alternatively.

I have killed many people during the last three year. Half of those were innocent, half of those were unarmed -- and some of those killings have been a pleasure. But event with all of this, even with the knowledge that there are some sins too big even for God to forgive, every night my sky is still full of stars; a wonderful son
for night." [page 59]

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On my travels through the papers was this piece by Richard Glover about how lives are governed by a web of rules, and this interesting article about research addressing a couple of paradoxes puzzling social scientists.

The first paradox is the widespread perception among Americans that the US is a politically polarized country, when in fact ... research shows that most Americans are neither consistently "liberal" nor "conservative." In fact, among self-declared Republicans, 85% take a non-conservative stance on abortion, affirmative action, or government support for health insurance. Similar counter-intuitive results can be found among self-declared Democrats.The second paradox is that people also tend to think that their friends' beliefs are more similar to their own than they actually are—suggesting that people don't know their friends as well as they think they do. [from Friend Sense]

In Praise of Silence

I read and loved this article - In Praise of Silence - from the Atlantic Monthly.

But among the many things that life has taught me over the years is that my first thought isn't always my best thought. And that truly understanding anything ... an issue, an event, or even the emotions swirling around within myself ... requires not just time, but enough space, solitude, and silence to allow some clear tones to emerge from the noise.

On one level, people have understood the power and importance of silence for a long time. It's why we go to the woods, or the ocean, or up on mountainsides to renew ourselves. And why we take up meditation, or spend time in quiet cathedrals. But even the most majestic mountainside loses a large piece of its power to inspire if it has to compete with a cell phone, text reply, or other efforts to stay connected elsewhere at the same time. Or even to record the moment, instead of simply being in it.

Myspace ... myDanger

Herald columnist, Miranda Devine adds her voice to those asking questions about how the internet, and the virtual community are transforming how people think. Devine quotes Mubarak Ali who believes that by 2012 internet addiction will be "classified as a mental disorder in Australia, akin to gambling addiction, only more widespread".

It may be true that we are changing, but it seems to me that there are both positive and negative effects from these changes. Perhaps a point which is often lost in articles such as these is, does anyone really substitute real friendship, with a virtual friendships? For example its true to say that a growing number of people are building real friendships from an "online connection".

The other point made in Devine's piece is around the lack of empathy in today's teenagers, but sadly, there's nothing new in her account of a traffic accident "where onlookers were said to have watched, laughed, chatted and taken photographs, ignoring the pleas for help from one man as he died, treating the scene as if it were entertainment." Stories of onlookers failing to assist in these situations is not new and perhaps could be put down to the bystander effect.

e-friendship..

I really enjoyed reading this article about social-networking sites and their impact on our health. I did find it hard to take the article too seriously given the tone it began with - "is an x as good as a kiss", its quite an assumption to say that trading messages doesn't equate a thriving social life". I have little doubt that there is capital in trading emails, and being a part of an online community. I do tend to agree that with the internet, we can communicate with more people, over greater distances, more often, but at the same time we get into trouble when we attribute
a universally positive or negative value to these conversations.

Links... Loneliness and Childhood..

UNICEF recently released a report the state of children in the world, and a read a piece in the Guardian asked who is the best placed to bring up children.. And how now in developed countries the "majority of parents in the developed world are farming out the care of their children to paid workers. At the same time, neuroscientific research shows - surprise, surprise - that the architecture of the brain is formed largely through the interactions of the early years; love, it turns out, is as important for intellectual as for emotional development." Its interesting looking at how this is changed, and what it means.

Also from the UK, a few pieces about loneliness and the state of solitude. An interesting one about a teacher who was sacked for saying Santa Claus doesn't exist. While I am sure that its not the wisest thing to do in a class-room, I doubt making the same claim about Jesus Christ would have the same result.

Conversational Reading

Saw a couple of interesting pieces in the Australian this weekend -- Bob Carr writes about the case for cheaper books. Or why its beyond comprehension that parallel importing isn't being done for books - in his words "lower prices mean more sales, and more sales means more books in Australian homes". (no link)

There also was a review of an interesting book called the Art of Conversation, which argues that the great irony of the communication age is that we are forgetting how to communicate with each other. The money quote for me is that while how we communicate has changed; the nature of the communication hasn't really changed - I'm sure that in this age, people are writing the beautiful love emails, or having deep conversations on messenger, or facebook. It doesn't sound as romantic to me, but for those involved the experience would be different.

Coffee and Community...

A few bits and pieces I saw this week...

:: This article complete with abstract coffee art is great..

:: On Twitter, and knowing//sharing..

:: Here's a dictionary to decipher Facebook status updates.

Some more reading..

... On our Greatest Social Ill.

Here's a great piece suggesting that our desire for more, is at the front of our social decline, - that the most significant forms of social evil are individualism, consumerism and decline of community. I like the below quote

Firstly, governments need to stop paying lip service to the idea that wellbeing is defined by economic prosperity. Of course, successive waves of politicians make noises along these lines, but as soon as they realise the motivational power of money, they tend to revert to type. Yet we are now inundated with studies that have shown that the accumulation of either money or stuff simply doesn't deliver the sense of wellbeing for which we all long. Despite this, though, we continue with the mantra of economic growth to the almost complete exclusion of any other narrative. Justin Thacker, Beyond the pleasure principle

... on Social Efficacy

The other piece which I found intriguing is 'If at first you don't succeed - you're in excellent compnay, which reminded me:

• Julie Andrews, was initially seen as plain.
• J.K. Rowling's book about a boy wizard was rejected by 12 publishers before a small London house picked up "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."
• Decca Records turned down a contract with the Beatles, saying "We don't like their sound."
• Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who said he "lacked imagination."
• Michael Jordan was cut from his high-school varsity basketball team sophomore year.[there's more in the article]

The question posed is what makes some people rebound from defeats and go on to greatness while others throw in the towel?

On the young ...

I read a couple of interesting pieces about young people, and growing up today, mostly sourced from the US and the UK, but I'm sure they speak to similar trends here.

:: The modern sense of self, and the 'networking sites':

Every advance in technology has raised yellow caution flags waved by old fogies like me. Autos changed the sex life of youth and made the Roaring Twenties roar, and, when I was a lad, rock and roll music eroded moral restraint while fomenting communism, acne and juvenile delinquency. But the social networking sites and cellphone culture aren't just changing habits or style; they are changing the nature of identity.

via International Herald Tribune.

:: Growing up on Anti-depressants

Antidepressants are among the most widely prescribed drugs for teenagers in the US, the below links (the first two via NPR), and the NYT article, make for interesting, albeit a saddening read.

• Growing up
• Comfortably Numb
• Coming of Age, on depressant [via NYT]

:: a wounded generation [related to a report mentioning that 1/3 of girls, and 1/5 of boys may be resorting to self harm]

This means several things. It means listening to young people and asking what support they need to put down their blades. It means working to create a culture that makes young people feel more comfortable with emotional expression, be that at home or in school. Our society tends to think there is strength in controlling and suppressing our emotions, rather than listening and working through them with others. This is something that needs to change.

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Reconnecting...

An interesting article in The Australian's Review over the weekend, focused on the [re]gaining of social capital.

Matchett wrote, social networking sites have taken steps to reconnect us with each other. Sites such as MySpace and Facebook may open up more of the world to individuals, enabling to build a community from their own lounge. Sure, I do wonder about the depth of this community, but I know it runs very deep for some.

I wonder how community and political groups will use these sites, at the moment on Facebook you can join, create, and invite others to join a cause, but where does cyber-activism take us?

I mostly use MySpace to hear new music from bands I know (though sometimes I listen to new music by going to their 'friend's' pages). I use Facebook a little more, as with the plugins there lots of great "procrastinatory" things to do - join tipping competitions, music and film quizzes, and knowledge tests, and with all these you're always intrigued to see who you can 'reconnect' with and the links between your circle of friends.

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Saturday Shorts...

A lovely story from the Rugby World Cup, that you may not have seen:

After the All Blacks beat Portugal 108-13 in the the World Cup. As the two teams hit the showers, the reserves and squad members of both sides went out on to the pitch to go through their separate drills … but in no time at all both groups decided that was altogether too dull. Why not have a game of soccer instead? And so it went.

In no time at all a Portugal v New Zealand soccer match was under way between the 22-metre line and goal-line, and - though the ball skills of both Daniel Carter and Richie McCaw were on display - this time it was the Europeans who triumphed 3-1. After that, the two teams mixed and matched and played a fabulous game of touch rugby, with no one caring what the final score was.
[Courtesy the Fitz Files, SMH]

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Peter Saunders (Centre for Indepedent Studies - not SPRC, yes it is confusing sometimes) wrote an interesting piece in response to Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court proposal to remove Poker Machines from the South Sydney Leagues club; there reasoning being they thought that half of the money lost on the club's pokies came out of welfare payments, and it was inconsistent for the club to sponsor community assistance programs while siphoning money from the very people it was trying to help".

The question Saunders was asking:

Is the problem with the pokies, or with those who play them? Is it the responsibility of clubs to stop tempting us and state governments to limit licenses, or should we be expected to exercise self-control? As adults, shouldn't we accept the responsibility of handling our own money and leading our own lives without needing actors, businessmen or politicians to tell us what to do?

I guess, I'd want to say that both approaches are necessary. While it is true that most may be okay we do need to protect each other, and this courageous decision (hopefully) will be part of this.

A little bit more reading…

Stanley Fish, from the New York Times, writes an interesting article about the three recent books by Dawkins, Harris, and Htichens.

Facebook..

I recently joined – here’s an interesting piece (also from the NYT, but published in the SMH here) on Facebook. [Comments on the NYT article are here]

Australia's Cultural Diasporia

While in Canberra recently, we went to the National Portrait Gallery, which at the moment is housing Australia's Cultural Diasporia, an exhibition of photo’s by Nathalie Latham. The exhibition features photographs of people involved in the Arts, who have left Australia. I found it eye-opening that a large number of Australians who in essence leave Australia for opportunities, collegiality and perhaps recognition; but not many have have definite plans to return.

“Her portraits therefore have a double edge, being both celebratory pictures of courageous Australians going out there into the unknown, and melancholic pictures of loss, of the loss of another generation of young Australian artistic talent drawn to the lure of elsewhere.” Geoffrey Batchen

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Tribal Mind – Tribal Response

I guess I learnt something about the Internet recently; a few Sunday's ago, David Dale, talked about the nature and values of Australia from the National Anthem. I understand that most of the information he used came from the ABS. What I found interesting was the passion in the responses to his article; I found the extent to which David was personally attacked for his views quite amazing: He was un-Australian; he should leave.

For the above reason, I find the 'Your Say' responses, a very interesting (and perhaps frustrating) part of the paper to read. Not only because I often find myself as part of minority but mainly because of the verocity of the responses.

Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised because it is simply part of the median – it provides an opportunity for a quick, emotional response to a topic.

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After seven seasons The West Wing will end. The current season [7th] in the US is the last one. Being honest, I never really thought that it could continue into another presidency, because the staff would be changing, and they would have to build up the viewers loyalty to another President.

I have been recently watching the first few episodes of the Fifth Season, and had wondered how difficult it would be to keep the momentum of the show going while retaining the realism that made the show so great through a Second term. I like the idea of ending with all the original cast together, perhaps after Leo’s funeral reminiscing and playing poker. We'll see; but I for one will miss The West Wing.