Rather than send him a script, Action Against Hunger put together a trailer for No Hunger , a film they would like Al Gore to be involved with since he was so successful getting the message across with An Inconvenient Truth.
64, 422 people have already signed the petition.
Will you join them?
Related: CauseWired in Action: Daniella's Apartment Fund by David Armano
Even though I have been following Seattle enlightened man John de Graff of Take Back Your Time Day fame for a while, I completely forgot his related campaign for a Right 2 Vacation act as I was writing about our need for vacations and lack of it in the US.
In March 2008, he shared his thoughts on the topic for Experience Life Magazine with powerful pointers such as Take a Break or Be Broken, More than Fond Memories and A Month of Sundays under the banner of health and wellness.
Funny coincidence as I noted in my previous No Vacation Nation piece that vacations should be included in Health Benefits.
Under Take a Break — or Be Broken , John de Graff quotes the author of Work to Live (Perigree, 2003), Joe Robinson, a former Los Angeles Times outdoor writer who is now a life-balance trainer stating that:
Many of us know from personal experience that it often takes a week to decompress and another week to get meaningful rest at a snail pace (hence the illustration above, a 'grapesnail' from Wikipedia)
As Slow Planet puts it "Slow is not about doing everything at a snail's pace; it's about working, playing and living better by doing everything at the right speed."
Have a relaxing moment (or two) if not a relaxing day!
Related: In No Vacation Nation, She Wants 6 Weeks Summer Vacation, These Americans Settle for 3
A couple I run into on occasion has a taste for travel both in the US and abroad.
What makes them stand out from the crowd is that they take around 3 months vacations a year.
She wants 6 weeks summer vacation, they settled for 3.
Today they are on their way to Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltic Republics.
They organized their work around their play time.
She believes that she keeps him sane, healthy and more productive.
They return from their various trips, batteries recharged and full of new ideas and perspectives.
Refreshing by American standards
As to the reasons why more of us in the USA don't take at least a couple weeks off in the summer, Ezra Klein in Why We Don't Vacation Like the French (American Prospect, July 07) offered an answer:
In sectors such as the hospitality industry, in some states employers who offer 'vacation time' to their staff have the option to pay them less than minimum wage for this 'earned benefit'.
Musician Jonathan Coulton in Summer Vacation (June 17) reminds us that the idea of Summer is to Slow Down:
Should paid vacations be part of health benefits instead?
Like the outdoors, there is an inexpensive option in 2009, the US National Park Service offers 2 Fee-Free Weekends at more than 100 national parks that usually charge entrance fees on the following dates:
Amongst those included is the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (pictured below, from National Parks site).
Working for the Yankee Dollar on Monday Work Etiquette # 96
Previously: Can Boredom Steal the Show at Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston?
In the aftermath of the 'Swine Flu' outbreak or should we call it the 'Mexican Flu' the world seems to be suffering from pig panic.
Even though scientific evidence found no ground for people getting sick by eating pork, BBC reports (April 29) that Egypt has begun a mass slaughter of thousands of pigs. They are raised mainly by the Christian Coptic population.
Guardian notes that Russia has decided To retain pork bans until June 1(April 29).
The same Guardian tells us that UK buys 60m face masks as new cases of swine flu emerge (April 29)
How will all this affect Cinco de Mayo celebrations?
Jane Sigal breaks with the dim news by showcasing a juicy pork top loin in It May Be Cheap, but It’s Also Tasty (NY Times, April 29)
Are you changing your eating habits?
When I read in FT (April 29) the statement made in a press conference by Michael O'Leary of budget airline Ryanair that (I quote) the swine flu outbreak was a risk only to Asians and Mexicans “living in slums”, I was left wondering if I should blame his words on ignorance, insensitivity or prejudice.
Later in the FT piece he is quoted as saying that “It is a tragedy only for people living ... in slums in Asia or Mexico,” said Mr O’Leary, according to a report by the AFP news agencies. “But will the honeymoon couple from Edinburgh die? No. A couple of Strepsils [for sore throat] will do the job.”
It is a clear illustration of how people in positions of influence should think before they speak.
Coming from France, some people might assume that I know anything that comes from this country.
Until today I had to pledge ignorance on at least one topic, the Wines of Jura.
They were a blank page for me so until I attended a tasting (April 27, 2009 in New York) showcasing 10 local producers.
I asked some of them to offer a few things that make the region stand out from the crowd.
Their simple and clear answer: authenticity.
These wines reflect their origin.
They are not manufactured.
This fits perfectly with the motto 'Rise up and stand for something' which greats you upon visiting Think Big Manifesto book site by Michael Port.
Offering a tired more of the same everything for everybody anything might sink your boat faster than you can spell recession.
Shouting from the mountain tops of Jura on Monday Work Etiquette # 87
Previously:
What gets you up in the morning? What keeps you up at night? Alan Webber's Rules of Thumb
The last time I saw Alan Webber in the flesh was at Real Time Philadelphia (the Fast Company event) in May 2001.
On April 21, 2009, his new book Rules of Thumb (Harper Collins) hits the stores and offers '52 Truths for winning at business without losing your self'.
Some of you might know him as one of the 2 founders of Fast Company magazine. Back in the dotcom years it was something of a bible for would be entrepreneurs and people excited by ideas old and new.
Getting back to the present time Rule #23 which I mentioned in my headline actually alludes to keeping two lists: What gets you up in the morning? What keeps you up at night?
One of my favorites is Rule #45 Failure isn’t failing, failure is failing to try.
I guess one rule per week, 52 weeks, 52 rules.
Do you fine tune the process as time goes by and the horizon and the surrounding conditions change?
Alan Webber in a conversation with Polly Labarre will expand on these ideas in Rules of Thumb—A Global Guide to Thriving (Not Just Surviving) in Turbulent Times on Wednesday, April (6:30 pm) at the Japan Society in New York.
It is part of the U.S.-Japan Innovators Network sessions.
Price is $10 per person or $8 if you are a Japan Society member and $5 for Students and Seniors.
I will be attending.
Thanks to Fumiko for inviting me.
Want to dig deeper into the book, Browse Inside Rules of Thumb and check the Rules of Thumb Blog.
Smelling the coffee for Monday Work Etiquette # 86
Previously: Tax Time Fever and Finding Satisfaction Doing Mundane Things
In the dead of the night, a group of US lawmakers passionate about global warming made a law mandating communication between staff and customers in retail and restaurants to be limited to 140 characters.
As less sweating will be generated, water, detergent, gas and electricity used for repeated washes will be significantly reduced.
Thanks to our brave lawmakers for their vision...
Rather than sit at home filled with gloom, perspire and spend the day with people who might even inspire you with free office space to boot.
Just bring your Pink Slip to Office Nomads, a coworking space in Seattle and take advantage of their Pink Slip Special which goes as follows:
"We hope we’re wrong, but chances are you or someone you know recently lost a job. We understand your plight from experience: In one fell swoop you’ve lost your income and the office space and community you rely on day-to-day. Well, we want you to know that losing a job doesn’t have to mean spending days trapped at home alone. Whether you’re job searching or using your new-found freedom to finally dig into that awesome business idea, Office Nomads has space in our tight-knit community for you. The best part? Because we know how tough it can be, we’ll get you started for free.
Two things that stand out on their Membership page, they welcome dogs and they are not afraid of the competition as they list other coworking spaces in the Seattle area.
To conclude, Susan Evans of Office Nomads and 4 co-conspirators will dive deep into coworking and innovation in Regional Whuffie Building: Attracting Innovation to Your City at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin (Sunday, March 15, 3:30 pm)
Positive vibrations for Monday Work Etiquette #80
Previously: Can't Get Enough! Book Lovers at Work sign up for the Six Book Challenge
Related: LaidOffCamp, New York, San Francisco...BarCamp for the Out of Work or Underemployed?
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