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category archive listing Category Archives: community

In case you were wondering where I’ll be…

September 23, 2009 – 2:11 am

As usual, I’ll be schmoozing and spitting the occasional presentation or project pitch at JALT2009 in Shizuoka on November 21-23, 2009.In the meantime, can find me milling about and distracting people here in my stomping ground of Nara at the annual CUE conference, which will be hosted at Tezukayama Gakuen University, which was the site […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in friendship, career, efl, japan, language, project, education, teaching, learning | Comments (0)

In case you were wondering where I’ve been…

August 4, 2009 – 1:19 pm

Here’s a graphic representation of what I’m up to these days-Still soooo much work to do!

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in perspective, relationship, career, happiness, autonomous learning, life-coach, psychology, friendship, image, learning, teaching, philosophy, personal | Comments (5)

This is fantastic: Margaret Wertheim on the beautiful math of coral | Video on TED.com

April 21, 2009 – 12:19 am

A project everyone should know about.
I have always been into the beauty in simple mathematic representation, and in looking to nature for our answers.
TED Talks Margaret Wertheim leads a project to re-create the creatures of the coral reefs using a crochet technique invented by a mathematician — celebrating the amazements of the reef, and deep-diving […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in education, teaching, human nature, nature, project, art, learning, video, science | Comments (0)

MOJO (Part 2)

March 17, 2009 – 1:17 am

The thing about MOJO is that you already know it well, but you probably can’t define it, or identify its source. Let’s take a closer look before moving forward…
 
Like love, MOJO is not magic, though it is magical.
 
MOJO is certainty; it’s calm; it’s positive emotion:
 
confidence, trust, hope, faith, inspiration.
 
MOJO is momentum.
 
It’s sometimes called moxy, or […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in perspective, human nature, relationship, happiness, self-help, autonomous learning, life-coach, psychology, friendship, environment, personal, learning, education, language, rants | Comments (6)

What is this “MOJO” of which you speak? (Part 1)

March 17, 2009 – 1:03 am

What is this “mojo” of which you speak? (from my Facebook Notes)
Friday, February 27, 2009 at 5:29pm 
(the following is a ‘work in progress’ related to an online community I plan to launch later this year. Bouncing it off of y’all for early reactions, feedback…)
The word ‘mojo’ has many roots, but seems to have its […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in relationship, psychology, friendship, human nature, happiness, autonomous learning, self-help, marriage, learning, environment, health, writing, philosophy, education, personal | Comments (1)

TEDTalks Barry Schwartz: The real crisis? We stopped being wise

February 19, 2009 – 3:30 pm

Here’s another winner from TEDTalks. This time Barry Schwartz dissects the inherent absurdity in building societies atop a foundation of bureaucracies that defy common logic.

This talk echoes some excellent commentary made by Russian Nobel Laureate  Alexander Solzhenitsyn in his 1978 speech at Harvard entitled A World Split Apart:

Legalistic Life
Western society has given itself the organization […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in human nature, perspective, philosophy, history, politics, video, rants | Comments (0)

“Validation” — A short film

February 14, 2009 – 11:00 am

First, a video that is worth 16 minutes of your time, because it will make you think about some issues important to you and your loved ones.
Thanks to Curtis Kelly for introducing the video to me:-D

I think it’s safe to assume that we all appreciate genuine validation. I would go so far as to say […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in human nature, psychology, perspective, happiness, life-coach, friendship, learning, environment, health, film, philosophy, rants | Comments (1)

Happy, connected people

February 9, 2009 – 11:11 am

Over the course of the past year, I’ve been researching the inter-connectedness of communities, confidence, trust, hope, happiness and social intelligence. This is all in preparation for an upcoming project I plan to launch with a few trusted collaborators later this year.   There are many, many videos and articles to share with you all, but […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in perspective, human nature, happiness, self-help, life-coach, psychology, friendship, learning, project, education, science | Comments (1)

President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address

January 26, 2009 – 9:53 pm

Because this speech deserves another listen, and a long, close read…
 

FULL TRANSCRIPT: President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address
President Barack Obama Delivers Inaugural Address at US Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Jan. 20, 2009
Full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama’s inaugural remarks on Jan. 20, 2009, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
My fellow […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in economy, perspective, philosophy, video, education, politics | Comments (0)

Just how high is the bar separating the best from the rest?

December 12, 2008 – 12:47 pm

If you are focused on being the most proficient, or the most skilled, in your field, chances are that history will pass right over you, no matter how close you get. Being the best in most arenas is more than just having the best stats, and has a lot to do with having the most […]

By Steven Nishida | Also posted in perspective, happiness, human nature, relationship, environment | Comments (0)