two keynote speeches today were particularly inspiring. the first, by Larry Brilliant (head of Google.org), was about 21st century philanthropy and his causes for optimism. the second by Malcolm Gladwell was about the power of human potential, and the things we do to stifle it. fortunately, you can see a webcast of these keynotes (use the pulldown menu in the player to skip to the Brilliant and Gladwell chapters).

Brilliant talked about philanthropy in general, and the human desire to do good for others, despite all the bad things we're clearly capable of. he shared some of the things google.org is working on, and used his past work on the eradication of smallpox as an example of what people can do when united to solve a daunting problem (Obama's refrain "Yes, we can" rings particularly true here). he then made his case for optimism, citing the Dalai Lama's belief that "humans are getting better." he closed with a call-to-action, saying that today was a good day to start changing the world, which led to a standing ovation. very inspiring, this man, in an unassuming and touching way.

Gladwell spoke about the idea of "capitalization" as it relates to human potential (he also gave this speech at Pop!Tech 2008). his basic thesis is that people often fail to achieve their potential due to three limiting factors: economics, stupidity (of societies and organizations that suppress capitalization), and cultural attitudes. a lot of the successful people in the world, he concludes, succeed because they are given opportunity and because they persevere to achieve their goals, because they believe in the notion of meaningful work.

the common theme for me in these presentations was the potential for change, and how we can drive it if we want to badly enough. it's amazing that on the same day i hear these presentations, we elect the first black president of the united states. it makes me believe in a lot of things: the power of individuals, the strength of communities, and the opportunity for positive change and a brighter future.

it makes me want to get off my butt and do something.

maybe part of me liked this so much because the visual style is so akin to Get Your War On.

is Obama a socialist? John McCain goes on Larry King and says 'No' and then in a speech the next day says that Obama's positions put him to the left of Socialists. and then there's Joe the Plumber calling him a Socialist, and McCain putting Joe on the stump. is Joe a mouthpiece for McCain or the other way around? who can tell? what fraction of the US population even knows what a Socialist is? Steven Colbert recently had the Socialist party candidate on his show, and asked him if Obama was a Socialist, and he said No, unequivocally.

is John McCain a perfect clone of George Bush? Obama asks crowds to name one point in terms of economic policy on which McCain and Bush disagree. who is even remotely qualified to answer this question with any degree of certainty? i'm sure that even if McCain is pointing the generally same direction (i.e., trickle-down economics blah blah), that there are policy differences.

tax cuts. tax hikes. redistribution of wealth. the creation of opportunity. good for you. good for me. bad for you. bad for me. bad for everyone. blah blah blah.

we've known their fundamental positions for a long, long, long, long, my-God-i-want-to-slash-my-wrists long time. let's just vote. let's see which way the country wants to go, like a democracy should. get it over with and see if i need to consider moving to New Zealand.

uncomfortable scenario 1:
"Hey, nice costume!!"
"What costume?"

uncomfortable scenario 2:
"ummm...am i supposed to know what your costume is?"

you can probably guess which one happened to me at work today. :-)

case in point -- as i age i find that two things are happening: 1) my eyesight is getting worse (i now need to wear reading glasses), and 2) i am becoming slightly more forgetful. when you combine these two things together, what you get is the fact that i am constantly in situations where i need my reading glasses, but i have forgotten to bring them, and hence can't see what i'm doing.

in evolutionary terms, as my friend chookyfuzzbang points out, this would normally mean i'd be blown out of the gene pool at this point. fortunately, we live in modern times, and i'm not subject to being eaten by large predators because i forgot to bring my stylish reading glasses on the hunt. i do, however, often find myself in situations where i can't see my food when i go out to eat.

as my father-in-law is fond of saying, getting old sucks.

this store appears to be a complete departure from his street art, but it doesn't surprise me after reading Wall and Piece. he's done plenty of things that fall well outside the realm of street art, including "vandalizing" art museums by placing variations of known pieces on the walls and waiting to see how long they stayed up before anyone noticed (check out the films portion of his site, then click 'Museum').

what i like so much about Banksy is his unique combination of artistic ability and caustic social commentary. he seems to see the world in a way that many don't, and can express his vision in unusual, creative, and often surprising ways. some might consider him an artistic terrorist because of his non-traditional approach, but i think it's just a way for him to amplify and strengthen his message. if he wanted to put traditional art in galleries, he's clearly got the talent to do so, but that wouldn't serve his purposes. he wants as many people as possible, not just art-museum denizens, to see his work, to let it sink into their conscious and subconscious minds and either work its magic or wreak havoc.

the best way to appreciate Banksy is up close and personal, but for those who haven't had the opportunity, here are a few pieces and links to related information:

• One Banksy at the Cans Festival
• Banksy on Wikipedia
• Banksy images from Google
• Banksy group on Flickr

by most accounts, we have just built the most complicated machine in human history: the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). the startup on september 10 was met with accolades and cheers. the following shutdown was met with sadness and groans. regardless of when it comes back online, it remains the most exciting thing to happen in fundamental particle physics in decades.

so what's all the fuss about?

you should watch the speech...don't allow my synopsis to stop you. it's 15 minutes of your life, which is a small investment to watch one of the great innovators and entrepreneurs of our times. it doesn't matter if you like Apple or even care about the whole tech industry, because the things he shares are pretty universal.

in his mind, it all came down to three things:

• you can't connect the dots looking forward, only backwards. as a result, follow your heart or intuition, even when it leads you off the well-worn path.
• you've got to find what you love, in life and in work, and you'll know it when you find it. do not settle for less.
• your time is limited...don't waste it living someone else's life. have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

one anecdote that i found powerful was something he did every day. he'd wake up in the morning, look himself in the mirror, and ask, "if this was the last day of your life, would you really want to be doing what you're going to do today?" if he answered no too many times in a row, he realized it was time for change. this mindfulness, the ability to step out of the river that can often push us downstream in life, is key.

deceptively simple messages. on the surface, they may seem naively idealistic, but are they? really? follow your heart, realizing that you've got limited time. one chance. no do-overs. this is your one-and-only life. make it count.

thanks, Steve (and Rita).

in summary, i'd have to say that during the 12 days we were in China, i probably ate better, and more continuously, than i have at any other point in my life. each meal (most of which were orchestrated by my father-in law Eric) was an adventure, filled with surprises and delights at every mouthful. from banquets in imperial palaces, to hot pot at a college student hangout, it was all amazing...this culinary journey was just as much a part of our adventure as the places we visited.

after a tragicomic series of mishaps, elaine and i finally managed to see Sunshine, the latest effort by director Danny Boyle (Millions, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later). i was a huge fan of both Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, and so have been very eager to experience Boyle's take on the sci-fi genre.

and so, after all our trials and tribulations with seeing this film, was the wait worth it?

during our stay in Beijing, we visited the spectactular Summer Palace, playground for the emperors. it's a massive complex, with more than 200 buildings, scattered around several man-made lakes.

five days in Shanghai wasn't nearly enough to sample this huge metropolis, but it was enough to get a sense of things. we had an absolutely fantastic time here, ending our trip with a stay in the Grand Hyatt Pudong.