State of the Union, part 3

Thursday, January 28, 2016, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)
Meeting cancelled due to snow cover from the weekend blizzard, rescheduled for 2/4/16.

For the last meeting in January, we will wrap-up the State of the Union, focusing on what Obama considers to be the most important question, "How can we make our politics reflect the best in us, and not the worst?" Remember that Obama was elected largely because he wanted to unite the country. HERE is an excerpt of his famous 2004 keynote speech at the DNC. In his last SOTU, he admits that he failed but will continue to try.

For the remainder of the meeting, we will go over the speech as a whole. HERE is a recap from Obama's speech in Omaha following the SOTU. The Whitehouse has created a website to elaborate in the four questions presented at the SOTU.

----------------------------------- Updated 2/6/16 -------------------------------------

Here is the other video video shown at the meeting:

• Obama in Baton Rouge. 

State of the Union, part 2

Thursday, January 21, 2016, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

In our last meeting, we covered the introduction and economy portions of the SOTU. In our next meeting we will continue with the last three parts, technology, security and democracy. There is a lot of ground here; so I though you might enjoy this quick summary of the SOTU by Steven Colbert.

2016 State of the Union

Thursday, January 14, 2016, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Obama gives his last State of the Union next Tuesday, Jan. 12. We can use it as an opportunity to look back at previous year and forward to the next. HERE is a video preview.

For those that watch the speech, please bring your favorite moments that you will like to discuss. I will try to find video clips that we can watch during meeting.

Politics of Fear

Thursday, January 7, 2016, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Welcome to 2016, an election year that may be dominated by the politics of fear. For good or evil, fear has a way of overshadowing other issue which may be more important in the long run. Here are the videos that will be shown at the meeting:

• David Rothkopf: How fear drives American politics
• The Daily Show - Donald Trump- The White ISIS
• Ted Koppel, 'Lights Out'
• Karen Thompson Walker: What fear can teach us

Healing

Thursday, December 31, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

For the last meeting of year, we will keep in the spirit of the New Year by examining examples of healing.

A song does not come from the heart; it comes from your lungs. HERE is a TED Talk by soprano, Charity Tillemann-Dick, who survived a double lung transplant, and with tremendous will was able to sing again.

The will to heal comes from the brain, but what if your brain is damaged. HERE is a TED Talk by game consultant, Jane McGonigal, who healed her brain by inventing a game.


-------------------------------- Updated 12/31/15 ------------------------------

Here are the links to the other videos shown at the meeting:

• Hannah Brencher: Love letters to strangers
• Ramona Pierson: An unexpected place of healing

Joy and Sadness

Thursday, December 24, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

Christmas has been called both the happiest and saddest time of the year. We will review these two emotions in a couple of TED Talks. This talk by Shawn Achor dismisses the ideal that joy comes from success. Instead, he says success come from joy. This talk by Brene Brown is about her discovery that sadness is essential for joy. (This revelation will sound familiar to you if you saw this year's hit movie Inside Out). 

The meeting is on the morning of Christmas Eve, but please come if you can. The group size should be smaller than usual, which is perfect for a focus group to suggest topics for next year.

Purpose

Thursday, December 17, 2015, 10am to 11:30 in the Meeting Room (behind the fireplace)

For the last three meetings of the year, we will take a break from the worries of the world and explore some of life's personal experiences. We will start with something simple, finding a purpose in life.

Vic Strecher, a professor from the University of Michigan, has made his purpose helping his students find their purpose. He developed media that would appeal to his young audience, including a comic book which featured a dung beetle, a creature who finds purpose in a pile of crap. He tells his story in this TEDx Talk. 

Mike Rowe, the host of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel, has a different take. People take jobs without purpose, but they can find purpose in their work. Here is his TED Talk.

---------------------------- Updated 12/17/15 -------------------------------

Here is the third TED Talk shown at the meeting:
Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter

Also here is a TED Talk about dung beetles, not shown at the meeting:
Marcus Byrne: The dance of the dung beetle