I think one of the hardest things to do as a facilitator is master the art of giving instructions. Even for facilitators, public speaking can be a stressful experience, and there is nothing worse than trying to give instructions to a group while your knees are shaking and your mouth is dry. But for all facilitators, and and especially those of us who work with radically new ways of meeting, this is a whole art in itself. Giving instructions poorly leads to confusion and chaos and can quickly erode the trust of a group. Being too direct can shut people …
My friend Alan Stewart reports on a meeting he had with Pete Seeger: An Encounter With a Guy With a Big and Bobbing Adam’s Apple. Included in the article is a new verse for Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.”
I have submitted to the cloud. As I get older and juggle ndiverse projects I notice that my memory is starting to get worse. My mind is incredibly active these days, full of ideas, snippets of poetry and song, meeting designs, half written blog posts/ I have had a mish-mash of ways of recording these ideas in the past: audio notes on an iPod, photos on a camera, notes in a Moleskine, or on a blog somewhere. Recently I acquired my first iPhone, and this has made life easier but has changed a lot of my routines. …
The beautiful after the storm. Thin winter sunset outside my window. http://yfrog.com/h4wzjylj # I am increasingly suspicious that we aren't going to have much of a real Canadian winter here on BCs south coastal islands. # Last night's near full moon brushed the forest with hoarfrost. # How to say Thank You in Skwxw7mesh (and why): http://squamishlanguage.com/blog/thankyou/ Chen kw'mantumi @DustinRivers # Unexpected wet snow in the morning almost always combines delight with a little chaos. # The sound of water is everywhere this dark morning. Falling from the sky, trickling from melting snowbanks and churning on the windy sea. # …
My poor Barmah hat has failed. A nasty hole has opened up at the seam and my trusty rain hat, my portable shelter for four years or so now has given up the ghost. So today searching for hope through the route of repair, I contacted Barmah’s Canadian representative, Brian Smith, who resides not far from me on the Sunshine Coast, on the west side of our inlet. I sent him the picture and he commiserated and we agreed that at times entropy has to have its way. But for being a good sport he offered me a replacement hat …