Thinking differently about how we learn is essential to create a new world. As Robinson has said in past TED talks, creativity is as important as literacy and should be treated with the same respect and importance.

Here is part one of the video, but all the parts are available on the website link above:

These thoughts on education help us have good talks about what educating people for this world needs to look like. Why are certain things sacred? Why does recess look a certain way? Listening to these conversations, it’s exciting to see that not everything needs to be the way it’s always been. And, in fact, things can’t stay the way they’ve been if we want the world to improve. This is a good start toward looking for change.

I am encouraged to start thinking about things I hold sacred in my own life simply because “that’s the way I’ve always done it.” Is that a good enough reason to do anything? I think we need to ask tough questions and let this process be exciting if we want to live the best lives we can. Love that this was middle schoolers conducting this interview. Sometimes the best press can come from a totally different source than usual.

What are you willing to let go of? What sacred elements in your life could use some investigating. I am going to think about this question this week myself for certain…

First of all, it is a house tour that includes incredible art. It really is a private home in a private neighborhood and has rules to match. When you sign up to go, you get a very intimidating email that tells you what time you are allowed to pull into the driveway. How many people are in your party as you specified and how many cars are permitted. This may seem stingy but when we arrived, I immediately understood why: the driveway only fits about ten cars max, parked side by side in the u shape between the entrance and the exit.

You are not permitted to take photos inside the museum. You are not even allowed to bring your purse inside. It has to stay locked in the car, and unless you want to be a yuppy and drape your cardigan over your shoulders that’s probably frowned upon to bring in as well.

So was it worth it? Absolutely.

The tour is 90 minutes door to door and the collection includes some heavy hitters: ten Marilyn Warhols, de Kooning, Picasso, Oldenberg, de Chirico, Magritte and many others. The room pictured above is actually an annex that Weisman built because there was no room for any more art in the house. The top floor is this gallery and the other floors are the offices of the foundation, still run by Weisman’s widow.

Inside the house you are treated to what it must be like to live as a serious collector. It is immediately apparent what mattered to Weisman. It was not stylish furniture. The furniture is a hilarious contrast to the art that lives right next to it. One bedroom features crazy chintz with a circa 85 Laura Ashley look, and a slightly lower quality Laura Ashley at that. The wild floral print twin canopy beds with matching bedspreads look a bit ashamed to be partially obscuring great art hung on the wall between them. I wish I could provide a photo, but there were no photos allowed. I offer a different example (note the seagrass beach house sofas and barstools alongside an Yves Klein:

Our guide was exceptional, spitting out facts and dates and artists and titles as fact as an auctioneer as we made our way through the house, out to the gardens and then into the annex. If you are local, you will want to come again just to make sure you get a good look at everything. There is no wandering in this house as there are no guards beyond the tour gude and the group must move from room to room en masse.

I was thrilled with this first trip into the house tour goal and am eager to get going on other adventures. Thankfully, Erick is game for this as well. Look for more to come!

I have been doing all the right things, applying to postings, and updating the resume and taking courses and reaching out and all that good stuff. I have had conversations that were exciting and conversations that were scary. And what I really wanted was that at the end of the day it would feel like I was getting somewhere. At points it has. I have had work that I felt very fortunate to be able to do.

And then there are days like today where no matter how much useful activity I cram into a day and how much I throw myself at charitable enterprises or at freelance projects, I feel lost.

The question I really want to ask is “Why is it so fucking hard to get a job these days?”

I have been really afraid to ask this. I have felt this is not the sort of thing that you are supposed to talk about in polite or public company. Like your sex life, or how much money you make. (or don’t)

But when I saw the burning question of the week (“What do you want to revolutionize?”) I really did want to say that work needs some revolutionizing. You used to be able to sign up to school and working hard and getting it done and then this would lead to something reliable. Not so anymore. And there are others who feel the same way. I have watched Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk more times than I can count just to remind myself that I am not alone and that I’m not crazy. I keep wishing that someone will pop out of the woodwork and explain that I’m not disabled, I’m a dancer, or whatever it is I am like the story in the talk. This story makes me cry it’s so simple and wonderful. You will not regret the twenty minutes you spend watching this. I promise.

I have taken my blog web address out of my email signature when I write to potential job contacts because I don’t want them to read this site. I’m not doing that anymore. We cannot go on the same way. It isn’t working. I’m not lazy. I’m not dumb. In fact, I’m the opposite of both of those things. But I do feel like a wasted resource at the moment and I think that’s wrong.

Who else feels this way? And who is with me that something needs to be done about it?

I have been getting back into juicing, and am in the process of fixing up the goddamn yard, so composting seemed the next logical step. For anyone who juices, there is a tremendous amount of guilt- at least there is for me- when throwing all that pretty plant material into the trash. So I was quite eager to make this leap.

I give all credit to my friend Jackie, who found the compost workshop. The bin pictured here cost $20 at the workshop and I think is about $100-$120 if you buy it online or anywhere outside the city class, so that was a steal. They also had a fierce stabbing compost turner that looks more like a medieval weapon (pics to come on that for certain) and worm bins to get started with those little beasties.

This is a new adventure. My mother is a gardening guru, and I have always felt like a big fat failure in this area. So, getting to have a successful compost process and getting this yard all set up will be a big win.

Please do share if your local area has composting courses- I am sure many other cities must offer them. It certainly made me proud of my city to get to learn all this in beautiful Griffith Park on a sunny Saturday. One tip- do bring a hatchback or station wagon. The picture I wish I had to share was of me folded into the 1 square fot left in the car after my friend Sean and I fit our two compost bins, worm bins, and compost turners. It was a little nuts. So plan ahead! And happy composting…

So it was with a bit of arrogance that I thought I could dip my toe into the world of watching a TV show while it is currently airing as a vacation. A sort of “how the other half lives” experience that I would try out and easily drop like a negligee after a good date when the year (or the tv season) was over. Hmmm. Nice idea.

So far, I have watched Downton Abbey, season 2 from start to finish thanks to my friend Rachel and her DVR. That would have sufficed to complete my goal. But I have also dabbled with Drag Race. And this past weekend after a trip to the flea market with my brother and his girlfriend she casually asked “Mind if I catch up on American Idol?” I didn’t mind. I watched two 2 hour episodes with her Sunday and made dinner at their place last night so I could keep up to date. Uh oh. You try and resist this:

She’s 16. WTF?!?

The funny thing is, we don’t miss what we don’t see. I never really cared about these shows. But this summer I should have learned that this might happen after Matt and I went on a So You Think You Can Dance bender once he got home from the hospital. There is something about people pursuing dreams and watching really talented artists go for it. Damn. I am in trouble. I realized on the way home last night that I actually do have basic cable because my internet was cheaper if I got the two bundled together, but I don’t even know how to access it on my TV.

I knew things might be getting out of hand when I started to want to make it work so I don’t have to impede on my brother week after week. The thing that really scared me last night was not that I enjoyed American Idol, but how I was suddenly feeling curious about all the other shows that were advertised as well. Big alarm bells. Perhaps I was wrong to be so confident in my casual relationship to TV. I am rather certain of it.

What addiction do you have that seems silly or easily discarded? Please confess!