Archive for March, 2009
Amichai Lau-Lavie – The Toilet Paper Dilemma
It was an impossible situation for Amichai Lau-Lavie. He was “sitting on the john one Sabbath afternoon” and realized that there were no more squares of toilet paper left from the pile that his older brother had precut in advance of the Jewish day of rest. On the Sabbath, observant Jews are called upon to cease from creation; to be and not to do. In this Orthodox Jewish household, tearing toilet paper off the roll was considered doing, because “you take something that is and create a new entity” and was therefore not allowed.
2 commentsEpisode 5 – Michelle Kydd Lee – White Hats and Black Hats
This week’s guest is Michelle Kydd Lee. Michelle is the Executive Director of the Foundation at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a talent and literary agency based in Century City. In this role, Ms. Lee serves as a consultant to clients, executives and corporations on their philanthropic and pro-social initiatives.
2 commentsEpisode 4 – Thomas Humphrey – The Hands-On Movement
Photo by Amy Snyder
To illustrate the reaction that visitors often have when they visit San Francisco’s Exploratorium where he works as the Senior Scientist, Thomas Humphrey tells the story of two 16-year-old Goth girls who came to the museum with major attitude and posturing that betrayed their lack of interest in the surroundings. As soon as they saw a particular exhibit that caught their attention their facade dropped instantly. Suddenly they were like little kids, caught up in the wonder of scientific discovery and how “cool” everything was.
2 commentsEpisode 3 – L. Hunter Lovins – My Good Rope Horse Is Not For Sale
During one of her trips to Afghanistan, L. Hunter Lovins put out the word to some of her young guides that she wanted to meet with Ismail Khan, a warlord known as “The Butcher” who president Karzai had recently appointed as the Minister of Energy for the country. One of the guides said he might be able to make a connection. Two nights later she got a call asking if she was still interested in meeting Khan. She responded in the affirmative. “Then we go now”, said the voice on the other end of the telephone.
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