“The Lion King” is now the highest-grossing Broadway production of all time. Julie Taymor hadn’t seen the Disney film when she was approached to direct the project, but she had spent years studying the masks, mythology, and ancient ritual drama of indigenous peoples in Indonesia. She tells host Alec Baldwin how she incorporates theater’s primal magic into her many stage and screen projects: from the Beatles-soundtracked cosmic narrative of “Across the Universe;” to the elemental brutality of “Titus;” to her recent hallucinatory production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Brené Brown on what resilient people have in common
Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability—the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome—is the only path to more love, belonging, creativity, and joy. But living a brave life is not always easy: We are, inevitably, going to stumble and fall.
It is the rise from falling that Brown takes as her subject in Rising Strong. As a grounded theory researcher, Brown has listened as a range of people—from leaders in Fortune 500 companies and the military to artists, couples in long-term relationships, teachers, and parents—shared their stories of being brave, falling, and getting back up. She asked herself, What do these people with strong and loving relationships, leaders nurturing creativity, artists pushing innovation, and clergy walking with people through faith and mystery have in common? The answer was clear: They recognize the power of emotion and they’re not afraid to lean in to discomfort.
She writes, “The most transformative and resilient leaders that I’ve worked with over the course of my career have three things in common: First, they recognize the central role that relationships and story play in culture and strategy, and they stay curious about their own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Second, they understand and stay curious about how emotions, thoughts, and behaviors are connected in the people they lead, and how those factors affect relationships and perception. And, third, they have the ability and willingness to lean in to discomfort and vulnerability.
“Creativity embeds knowledge so that it can become practice. We move what we’re learning from our heads to our hearts through our hands. We are born makers, and creativity is the ultimate act of integration – it is how we fold our experiences into our being… The Asaro tribe of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea has a beautiful saying: “Knowledge is only a rumor until it lives in the muscle.”
Mother Raccoon teaches kit how to climb a tree
A mother Raccoon teaches her kit how to climb a tree in Jeffrey Reid‘s yard.
That time Tupac rode on a Roller Coaster at Six Flags, 1990s
A souvenir photograph from the Viper Roller Coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain Theme Park in Valencia, California, featuring Tupac and friends. The paper frame is inscribed, “Peace Daniel, Be a Homie, 2Pac.”
The math behind Michael Jordan’s legendary hang time
Michael Jordan’s legendary slam dunk from the free throw line has been calculated at 0.92 seconds of pure hang time. But how many seconds could Jordan have gotten were he doing the same jump on Mars? Or Jupiter? Andy Peterson and Zack Patterson share the math equation behind hang time.
Cynthia Connolly’s Great Book ‘Banned in DC’ Is Finally Back In Print
After nearly 10 years out of production, Banned In DC is finally back in print.
It was thought that the sixth edition – which was released in 2005 – would be the final version of the book, as the many of the negatives used to make the printing plates had deteriorated beyond use. However, due to consistent demand, Connolly decided to undertake the laborious task of recreating the book, hewing as closely as possible to the original design only this time as a permanent digital negative.
Assembled by Cynthia Connolly, Lelsie Clague, and Sharon Cheslow and originally released in December of 1988, Banned in DC collects hundreds of photos, flyers, and stories documenting the DC punk scene of the mid-’80s.
The intention of the book – one of the first to be published on punk in the US — was to capture the feeling and energy of the movement, using stories from the many people who were involved. Images of many of the bands of that time can be found in this book: Minor Threat, Faith, Marginal Man, Scream, Red C, Bad Brains, Nuclear Crayons, Insurrection, Hate from Ignorance, G. I., Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, Void, Second Wind, and many more.
With the seventh edition of Banned in DC, publisher and founding author Cynthia Connolly has added an eight-page afterword explaining how and why the book came together. The story highlights years growing up in Los Angeles in the late ’70s and early ’80s – going to shows and discovering and documenting the punk scene in DC after her family relocated to the area in 1981.
– See more at: http://www.dischord.com/release/SDP01b/banned-in-dc#sthash.yZghp9W6.dpuf
Melissa Bel and Brooke Palsson Cover The Pokemon Theme Song
Pokemon, (gotta catch them all) its you and me
I know its my destiny
Pokemon, oh, you’re my best friend
In a world we must defend
Leonard Cohen Narrates NFB’s ‘Tibetan Book of the Dead’ Film From 1994
This two-part series, narrated by Leonard Cohen, explores ancient teachings on death and dying. It was filmed over a four-month period on location in the Himalayas where the original text still yields an essential influence over people’s views of life and death. A Way of Life contains footage of the rites and liturgies surrounding and following the death of a Ladakhi elder. The Dalai Lama explains his own feelings about death, while other scenes within a palliative care hospice in San Francisco depicts the use of the texts to counsel dying AIDS patients. This film, by revealing ancient teachings on how to think about death and dying, can be a valuable source of counsel and comfort.