Friday, July 31, 2009

Where change comes from-part 1.5

I've been working long hours, traveling and volunteering 5+ hours a day for the last many many weeks on an event that will take over San Francisco next week. I've been too fried to blog. I'm now stuck in JFK, which is usually very conducive to writing but my brain feels broken. All I have to share with you is this INCREDIBLE meditation, romp, historical picture poem on "problem solving" that comes courtesy of Maira Kalman.*


Note the emphasis on creative problem solving - not financing, organizational structure, metrics, performance, impact, outputs, or any other 21st century inside philanthropy discussion topics.

I hope to be blogging again by the end of next week.


*Whose work is beyond influential for me and my family. When she released her illustrated version of Strunk and White's Elements of Style I regained my faith in creativity.

BTW, I had a similar experience this week when I had a walking meeting with a foundation colleague on the new High Line. This park may just be the most impressive example of urban creativity and human scale spatial re-use that I've ever seen. It is incredible. Go there. Smell the flowers. Wonder at the stage, the seating, the scale and the attention to detail. Snoop in the neighbors' windows. Peek at the Statue of Liberty. Think big thoughts. Or, do as Thomas Edison would do and take a nap.

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