COSMONAUTS

These are Russian cosmonauts at work in the space. And it was 50 years ago that John Glenn made his first orbital flight.

(via NASA http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2181.html)

FROM WASHINGTON DC TO QUEEN OF A VILLAGE IN GHANA

This lady who lived and worked in the States as an American citizen was all of a sudden made Queen (as a matter of fact King) of a village in Ghana.
What will she be doing with that?
You can ask her questions through the link below:

http://bigthink.com/ideas/42625?utm_source=Big+Think+Weekly+Newsletter+Subscribers&utm_campaign=aa5377920c-The_Electronic_Brain_Your_Mind_012&utm_medium=email

Where darkness meets light

Wow...this must be a beautiful exhibition! A good reason to go to Istanbul!
Read more by clicking on the title of this post!

The purple bracelet

Have you heard about 'the complaint free world'? This project is running for some years already, but today I had to think about it again. Instead of a purple bracelet, you can use any other easy to switch object as well of course!

OUT OF THE BOX

This is what they call thinking out of the box. You might like it or not but one has to agree on the originality!
http://www.bloglovin.com/m/8169/399729223/a/0/aHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRmZlZWRzLmFwYXJ0bWVudHRoZXJhcHkuY29tJTJGJTdFciUyRmFwYXJ0bWVudHRoZXJhcHklMkZtYWluJTJGJTdFMyUyRjNnS3V2UjgtZHh3JTJGc3BhY2Utc2F2aW5nLW1hZ2ljLWhpZGUteW91ci1kaW5pbmctdGFibGUtb24tdGhlLXdhbGwtMTY2MjAz

DISORGANIZATION AND THE BRAIN

An interesting approach to understanding chaos and disorganization some of us often experience.
The article was published in:
http://bigthink.com/ideas/42522?utm_source=Big+Think+Weekly+Newsletter+Subscribers&utm_campaign=61b97feed0-Newsletter2_17_2012&utm_medium=email

ARCHITECTURE

I'm always amazed at the indifference some people show towards architecture. After all it concerns our daily lives, isn'it?
I upsets me being surrounded by ugly buildings. We're lucky that Lisbon, despite its flaws, has this beautiful light that seems to cover some of them.
Dezeen is a most amazing site for those who wish to be informed about arquitecture (buildings and decoration of interiors).
Have a look at a modern gallery in China:

http://www.dezeen.com/2012/02/06/vanke-triple-v-gallery-by-ministry-of-design/

ARCHITECTURE

I'm always amazed at the indifference some people show towards architecture. After all it concerns our daily lives, isn'it?
I upsets me being surrounded by ugly buildings. We're lucky that Lisbon, despite its flaws, has this beautiful light that seems to cover some of them.
Dezeen is a most amazing site for those who wish to be informed about arquitecture (buildings and decoration of interiors).
Have a look at a modern gallery in China:

http://www.dezeen.com/2012/02/06/vanke-triple-v-gallery-by-ministry-of-design/

Empathy and our genes

Researchers of the Berkeley University of California found that we only need 20 seconds to see whether a stranger is genetically inclined to being empathic.
In this research, people who were rated highest for empathy turned out to possess a particular variation of the oxytocin (the 'cuddle hormone') receptor gene.


Read (and see!) more at the Berkeley University website:

SELFLESSNESS NOT SELFISHNESS

Seth Godin has such interesting posts. Have a look at this one:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/02/the-sad-irony-of-selfishness.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

A POEM BY FERNANDO PESSOA

Here is a poem by one of Fernando Pessoa' s heteronyms, Ricardo Caeiro, translated by Richard Zenith and seen in poetryinternational.com

The gods grant nothing more than life

The gods grant nothing more than life, So let us reject whatever lifts us             To unbreathable heights,             Eternal but flowerless. All that we need to accept is science, And as long as the blood in our veins still pulses             And love does not shrivel,             Let us go on Like panes of glass: transparent to light, Pattered by the sad rain trickling down,             Warmed by the sun,             And reflecting a little.

CHILDREN

I'm not a child expert but I sure enjoyed reading this article by an American mother whose daughters were born in France.
The importance of empathy is certainly something to consider. Are we teaching it (by example) to our children?

http://ideas.time.com/2012/02/10/why-american-kids-are-brats/?iid=op-article-latest

Fernando Pessoa

Today the exhibition about Fernando Pessoa will start at Gulbenkian!!

http://www.gulbenkian.pt/section30artId1546langId1.html

A funny and at the same time informative read...

The 'Hector-novels' of French psychiatrist Francois Lelord are so entertaining and informative! These books are about the character Hector, a young psychiatrist, who travels the world to search for answers on the question: what makes people happy? They are written in such an easy, funny way that it's hard to stop reading!

WORK AS PLAY?

This playful space is part of the headquarters of Lego in Danemark. You can see more at the link below.
One whishes one could work there, isn'it?
On second thoughts, it's quite curious how the work spaces have evolved lately. In the beginning of the 20th century offices had dark wooden decoration, black marble on the floor. What happened in between?
Could it be that we are becoming so infantilized as a society that bosses think we're happier with toys around?
Food for thought.

http://www.dezeen.com/2012/01/31/lego-pmd-by-rosan-bosch-and-rune-fjord/
(via Dezeen)