“In its most advanced sectors, a highly concentrated capitalism has begun selling “fully equipped” blocks of time, each of which is a complete commodity combining a variety of other commodities. This is the logic behind the appearance, within an expanding economy of “services” and leisure activities, of the “all-inclusive” purchase of spectacular forms of housing, of collective pseudo-travel, of participation in cultural consumption and even of sociability itself, in the form of “exciting conversations.” “meetings with celebrities” and suchlike. Spectacular commodities of this type could obviously not exist were it not for the increasing impoverishment of the realities they parody. And, not surprisingly, they are also paradigmatic of modern sales techniques in that they may be bought on credit.”
So, have you ever been to Disney world? Have you been to a Disney “timeshare”? Me TOO.
It was a completely artificial experience. It made me want to seek out nature, and the dark, and something more real.
If you have been similarly dissatisfied with Disney and its sanitized backward-looking version of life, perhaps you might enjoy this video.
This last week, Katya Anderson wrote about the numbing of our compassion when we have heard lots of statistics and lots of stories. I was just reading about this trend in “Half the Sky” and it frankly shocked me, that people could care less and less about greater quantities of people, the more stories that [...]
“We are tired of being the subject of aid.” “We have to reform our economies, change our leadership, and be more democratic, and we have to do it ourselves.” -Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance Minister in Nigeria
I’m not Catholic or anything, but Dorothy Day was pretty damn special. Ms. Day was an American journalist, social activist and devout Catholic convert; she advocated the Catholic economic theory of Distributism. She also described herself as a Christian anarchist. In the 1930s, Day worked closely with fellow activist Peter Maurin to establish the Catholic [...]
Here are 52 ways to fundraise, one for each week of the year! Of these, which ones do you think yield the most money? Which ones, the least? If you have any to add, please leave a comment! 1. Quarterly Appeal letter 2. Grants 3. Your Annual Report 4. Sell Fruit 5. Old-time photograph booth [...]
Do you speak more than one language? Do you speak three or four? Which ones do you speak? I speak English, French, and some Indonesian and Korean. This video shows Bob Holman, one of my favorite teachers, talking with griot, going to Timbuktu, chasing dying languages and traditions. Griot are keepers of West African oral [...]
Five things can make people want to give to you, according to Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence. Reciprocation This is also known as the give and take and take. If you give a donor a flower, they might feel more inclined to give money to your organization. This is also the way the free sample works, [...]
Here’s some advice from Dr. Bernadine Healy, former President of the American Red Cross, who raised over $3 BILLION dollars for them before being fired. She did all of this, mind you, with a brain tumor.
“Life isn’t a straight upward trajectory, but I think you will win more than you lose if you stand for something.”
