Monthly Archives: April 2012

Choose Your Media Wisely

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In addition to the core family-life focus of Dude Knows Best, I’ve been cataloging groovy ideas and links that I come across. These topics fall loosely under the category of “Dude’s Flow,” i.e. anything the Dude happens to be interested in at that particular time.

I love the idea of being able to look back on the evolution of the Dude Family and the Dude’s interests. Who knows what twists and turns lie ahead.

The internet connects us instantly to an infinite number of rabbit holes that we can explore, and leaving a trail of breadcrumbs – in the form of Dude Knows Best – seems like an interesting practice.

However, this exercise has underscored an important point for me. We need to be careful with the media we expose ourselves to. And more importantly, we need to be extremely careful with the media we expose the kiddos to.

This video from Miss Representation offers a great lesson for The Princess – and all the ladies in our lives – about being selective with where we put our focus.  We need to guard against overexposure to the wrong ideas and cherish the right messages.

Cause & Effect: How the Media You Consume Can Change Your Life

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/38593312[/vimeo]

The Future is Amazing…According to Jason Silva

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Have you heard of Jason Silva? Odds are you haven’t. This dude is out there…in an awesome way.

He’s a “performance philosopher” that is spreading some crazy, but great, ideas about what the future holds. And some mainstream publications are listening. Here’s a lengthy article from The Atlantic, and below is a video of a talk he did for The Economist.

Both are filled with wild ideas about the exponential growth and potential that we have as a planet.

Silva merges ideas from a lot of varied areas, and the majority of his thoughts center around the rapid advancement of technology, which in his mind seems to lead us to merging with technology. A singularity.

A technological singularity is not a new idea, but Jason’s fast-talking approach to “performance philosophy” is captivating. And while he just scratches the surface on all of the ideas he puts out there, it’s intriguing, and he paints a positive perspective of the world…which is nice to see these days.

It could be 90% BS, and all areas require additional research and contemplation, but this dude’s worth watching. If for no other reason than he can help us get excited about the lives we’re living and the potential we all have…whatever that means.

I haven’t made it through all of Jason’s “philosophical espresso” on his Vimeo channel, but the Dude will definitely be tuning in for some more wild ideas.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/40464684[/vimeo]

 

The Power of Music – Part II

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The other day I knocked out a post about the Power of Music, showing how much listening to music can have positive effects on Alzheimer patients. It’s a amazing to see the immediate reaction in the video.

But the power of music goes beyond listening. Playing music may have an even more profound effect. Perhaps staving off degenerative mental disorders like Alzheimers?

A bold assertion, but there is now scientific evidence that “lifelong musical experience has an impact on the aging process.” And “older musicians [have] a distinct neural timing advantage.”

Pretty cool article from ScienceDaily.com.

I’ve always dug great music, but I regret not learning how to play earlier in life. But the great news is that it’s never too late.

I’ve been trying to teach myself the harmonica for quite a while. It’s been a long road, but I’m making progress, and hopefully my efforts rub off on the kiddos.

Let’s start the love of music – listening and playing – early and often. It sure is powerful.

PS – To all you grandparents out there, get to playing. We want you around as long as we can have you.

Dude + Nature = Happy. John Muir Agrees.

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Dude + Nature = Happy. John Muir Agrees.

Dude + Nature = Happy. John Muir Agrees.

The Dude is a sucker for the natural world…and a great beard.

This John Muir cat is one rad dude. Loves nature and beards.

A large part of conservation land in the U.S. can be connected to Muir. But beyond any activism – activism always has pros and cons – I dig John’s view that nature is an integral part of our lives, and that we should break away from civilization to “wash [our] spirit clean.”

Happy spring. It’s a beautiful day. Let’s get out there and wash our spirit.

And Muir had a killer beard. Lookin’ good John, lookin’ good.

For anyone interested, here’s a list of 10 Cool Things About John Muir…see, a cool cat.

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.

The gross heathenism of civilization has generally destroyed nature, and poetry, and all that is spiritual.”

Is That You God? Nope, Just a Dude.

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Ya know the telephone game that is on playgrounds these days? Spit a goofy voice in one end and the the kiddos will hear you on the other end.

I know the parental units out there know what I’m talking about.

How about that game magnified from the top of the tallest mountain overlooking a valley town, forcing anyone with in earshot to listen? And all you need to do is call a phone number to boom your god-like voice over the valley.

Brilliant.

The Dude is 50% Norwegian. Or so they tell me. So this brilliance makes me proud of my homeland. 🙂 Nice work Norway.

I’m not sure what I’d want to say, but as Little Dude has already discovered, hearing your echo is awesome….regardless of what your saying. Usually the dumber the better.

I can only imagine the dumb shit that is echoing across Norway. Love the light-hearted ingenuity.

Via Unsworn Industries:

Telemegaphone Dale stands seven metres tall on top of the Jøtulshaugen mountain overlooking the idyllic Dalsfjord in Western Norway. When you dial the Telemegaphone’s phone number the sound of your voice is projected out across the fjord, the valley and the village of Dale below.

God? Nope, Just a Dude.

God? Nope, Just a Dude.

 

 

Dude, Suess-isms for Life. Love it.

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Seuss-isms

Seuss-isms

The internet is amazing. Such a constant flow of great information.

You just have to know which rocks to look under. And the Brain Pickings rock offers some gems. I’ve added quite a few books to my “wish list” after a Brain Pickings post, but this could be my favorite.

The Dude is a giant fan of Dr. Suess. The poetry is infectious, and the philosophy is perennial. The Good Dr. has just as much to teach adults as kids.

Not sure how I’ve missed this all these years, but I am jazzed to find Seuss-isms: Wise and Witty Prescriptions for Living from the Good Doctor. 

Words to live by.

Think left and think right
and think low and think high.
Oh, the thinks you can think up
if only you try!
(Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!)

Thank you Brain Pickings. The Dudes are going to enjoy philosophizing with the Good Dr.

By the way, you should peruse the B.P. for other super cool book recommendations as well.

The Power of Music

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This video is worth 6 minutes of your time.

Watch how much music effects an Alzheimer patient.

His expression when he first hears the music explains it all.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKDXuCE7LeQ[/youtube]

Hats off to swissmiss & Kottke for sharing the video.

Check out Mrs. Dude’s Alzheimer portrait of her Grandfather, Poppy. Great story and amazing pictures.

Have I mentioned that Mrs. Dude is fantastic photographer?

Take Care of Yourself

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There’s only one person who can take care of you. You.

The other day I mentioned that I was going to expand Dude Knows Best to include some more of the “Dude’s Flow” – i.e. anything that the Dude is currently into. Maintaining my core focus on family life, but also including the Dude’s hobbies of the moment.

Nobody sticks the Dude in the corner.

One of the topics I’ll throw out there from time to time is health. That’s a broad category, but we’ll narrow it down from time to time.

Let’s start with mobility. Strange place to start a discussion on health? Not really. We all need to move well, and to do that we need to focus on maintenance. Mobility is one of the foundations of good health.

Mobility may not seem as exciting as diet and exercise, but the results are immediate and often overlooked.

“All human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves” – Kelly Starrett, DPT

I love stretching and yoga, but there’s a lot more to mobility than stretching. We need to have a consistent focus on maintaining our bodies. It feels great – in a painful way – and you’ll thank yourself for the effort.

This Kelly Starrett cat is legit. His videos are quick and packed with practical info you can use on a regular basis.

Don’t get caught up in every detail of every video. Or get overloaded on info too quickly. Pick the info that makes sense for you.

Two pieces that I’ll point out:

  1. This couch stretch is amazing. Do it while you watch tv. It will hurt…a lot. But that means it’s working. Your hips need to be opened. And this will do it.
    1. And Kelly is entertaining – “Patting the dog…that’s what we’re talking about.”

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZX1QMTdAC4[/youtube]

  1. Get a lacrosse ball – or “pain ball” as Kelly calls it. Start a regular practice of deep tissue massage. You have knots that need to be worked out. It will hurt. But also feel great.
    1. The video is of the shoulder, but this works for all muscle groups.
    2. And Kelly is entertaining. “Don’t ever pass out drunk on your lacrosse ball.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA56ZCzYGTA&feature=plcp&context=C476bcc0VDvjVQa1PpcFOq-qJSvqR-V7LJcSncMlFYyVHJwzw2chQ=[/youtube]

Take care of yourself.

Happy Easter. Here’s to New Beginnings, Dude.

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Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter to you and yours from the Dudes.

Family is the Dude’s favorite part of a holiday. To me, holidays mean a day of uninterrupted family time. A day to refocus on what means the most to us.

However, I know there is a more subtle meaning to holidays – an overt meaning to many, but subtle to the Dude. Religion.

But maybe it’s only subtle to the Dude because I focus on the wrong ideas. I’ve always felt uncomfortable with the religious explanations to holidays. Taking a literal interpretation of religious stories is hard for the Dude to hold onto. Yet, these seem to be the prevalent explanations these days.

A lot of stories – especially important stories – carry subtle, hidden messages. Focusing on literal interpretations can ignore the hidden – more important? – messages.

By refocusing the ideas that build meaning to holidays, perhaps the Dude can feel more comfortable with the religious/spiritual meaning behind the holidays.

Here’s an interesting point of view of Easter from Rudolf Steiner from 1906. I’m just scratching the surface of Rudolf – great name – but from what I can tell, Mr. Steiner has some incredible thoughts.

If you are unfamiliar with Rudolf Steiner, here’s an explanation from Wikipedia:

Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner[2] (25/27 February 1861[3] – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, andesotericist.[4][5] He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher.

Major holidays built around cycles in nature? Seems to make a lot of sense from a human evolution perspective.

Connecting holidays to a natural significance has a much greater appeal to the Dude.

And if we want to take Steiner’s thoughts to the next level, the celebration of new beginnings is much greater the than new beginnings of spring.

Yes, the natural new beginnings are crucial to our lives and evolution – and well worth huge celebrations throughout the millennium. But if we want to think BIG, and build our lives around a spiritual existence, what could be more exciting than celebrating the “resurrection” of a deep connection to the “Greater Spirit?”

From the Dude’s vantage point, there sure does seem like some hidden messages in the story of Jesus. Maybe we’re too literal.

At any rate, it’s Easter. It’s a beautiful Spring day to enjoy with the fam and celebrate new beginnings – however you define that.

Happy Easter.

Surf Break: Follow Your Heart

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A promising career in the early 20’s, and without warning someone with zero surfing experience buys a board, books a surf trip and changes the trajectory of their life. Awesome.

Maybe this is the story of a lot of surf bums. Still awesome.

In this version, of what could be a classic surf bum tale, the surf rat shakes off the materialist shackles to hit the waves and share the surf experience through a 16 mm camera. And the five minutes that are currently available seem well worth the “sacrifices” made.

As if opening yourself to perfect waves, new cultures, and corners of the globe that can only be described as paradise is a sacrifice.

“I’ve surfed perfect waves.  I’ve sailed from Hawaii to Kiribati.  I’ve listened to whales that sound like dinosaurs.  I’ve seen rainbows at night across the open ocean under a full moon.”

Tough sacrifice.

There are a lot of ways to approach life. Find a passion and follow it. Your heart is a better guide than direction from anyone else’s mouth.

Here’s the story of Jeremy Rumas from Inertia.com – “The planet’s largest network of thinking surfers,” by the way.

And here’s a clip of Jeremy’s surf flick, Inside Hangs Upon Nothing…

 [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/39108881[/vimeo]