Dolphins are highly social, playful, curious, intelligent and they make underwater bubble rings just for fun! :-)

• Watch Matt Dancing Badly Around The World
• Top 3 Cool & Funny Dance Videos
• Saving the Planet!
• Microsoft Surface Parody
• Bobby McFerrin Hacks Your Brain with Music

Spot-on! Calvin & Hobbes on creativity…

Sounds familiar? ;-)

• What’s Easier? To Change Yourself or the World Around You?
• Watch Matt Dancing Badly Around The World
• Top 3 Cool & Funny Dance Videos
• The World’s First Computer Bug!
• Saving the Planet!

Watch this absolutely amazing & beautiful video! To really see the details, I encourage you to watch this embedded film full-screen.

Pollination: it’s vital to life on Earth, but largely unseen by the human eye. Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg shows us the intricate world of pollen and pollinators with gorgeous high-speed images from his film "Wings of Life," inspired by the vanishing of one of nature’s primary pollinators, the honeybee.

How do you like this video?

Also see Louie Schwartzberg presenting this video at TED.

• Saving the Planet!
• Douglas Adams: Parrots the Universe and Everything
• Beautiful time-lapse video of the Earth from ISS
• What is Intelligence?
• Wear Sunscreen

Watch this beautiful time-lapse video of the International Space Station’s view from space.  This short time-lapse video edited by Michael König pieces together some truly stunning photographs taken between August and October 2011 above places such as the US, the Sahara desert and Australia. Most impressive are those of the Aurora Borealis and Australis:

In the following video Commander Mike Fossum explained how he took those amazing shots:

• The Hidden Beauty of Pollination
• Project Tuva
• Douglas Adams: Parrots the Universe and Everything
• What is Intelligence?
• The Secret Powers of Time

I recently stumbled upon this great piano cover of the Braveheart Love Theme (For The Love Of A Princess) on YouTube:

This inspired me to create this list of my top 5 movie theme songs of all time:

1) Braveheart Theme

2) Pirates of the Caribbean- He’s a Pirate

3) Imperial March (or Darth Vader’s Theme) from Star Wars

4) Requiem for a Dream

5) Amélie

Bonus

• Mission Impossible Theme
• 2001 A Space Odyssey Opening
• The Bridge on the River Kwai Soundtrack
• The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Theme
• Lord of The Rings – May it be
• ‎"Over The Rainbow" – the famous theme song from the movie "The Wizard Of OZ" (1939)
• Pink Panther Theme Song
• Ghostbusters Opening
• The theme song to Ridley Scotts movie "1492: Conquest of Paradise" composed by Vangelis
• Theme from Highlander: Princes of the Universe, Gimme The Prize (Kurgan’s Theme)
• The Last of the Mohicans
• Beverly Hills Cop (Axel F)
• Shrek Soundtrack – Fairy Tale
• James Bond 007 Movie Theme Music
• Jaws Soundtrack
• Rocky: Full Theme, Eye of the Tiger
• Pulp Fiction – Opening Theme
• Back To The Future Theme
• The Phantom Of The Opera
• The Fall Guy Intro
• Bonanza Theme Song
• Titanic Theme Song
• The Bodyguard Theme
• Dirty Dancing: Time of my Life
• Pretty Woman
• Cruel Intentions: Every you Every me

What are your favorite movie theme songs? Let me know in the comments.

• Man on Wire
• Wear Sunscreen
• Watch Matt Dancing Badly Around The World
• Validation
• Top 3 Cool & Funny Dance Videos

Douglas Adams was the best-selling British author and satirist who created The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

In this fun and entertaining talk at the University of California recorded shortly before his death, he shares hilarious accounts of some of the apparently absurd lifestyles of the world’s creatures. He talks about blind river dolphins, reclusive lemurs, a parrot as fearless as it is lovelorn …

Douglas Adams’ close encounters with these rare and unusual animals reveal that evolution, ever ingenious, can be fickle too.

And don’t miss the funny story about trying to buy – for scientific reasons ;-) – condoms in Shanghai. (starts at 0:49:00)

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• Validation
• The Hidden Beauty of Pollination
• SIGNS
• Project Tuva

Do you remember those moments of real happiness? Think about it for a moment.

I was really happy when…

…when my girlfriend said "I love you" for the first time!

…when I found a lost birdie while cleaning the rain pipe

…when my uncle came to see me; he passed away 8 month ago

…when I became the 1000001st customer at a big department store (The 1000000th won an Audi TT and a 10000 Euro gift voucher). Anyway… in return I am healthy

…when I finally was able to go to the toilet after a 4 hour balloon flight

Did one of those stories put a smile on your face? If yes then do the same for somebody else by sharing your moments of happiness! Remember: Sometimes it’s the little things in life that make us really happy.

Answer the above question by posting a comment below.

• Wear Sunscreen
• Top 3 Inspirational Stories
• The Story of The Pencil
• The Starfish Story: Make a Difference!
• The Penguin Story

The Holstee Manifesto – a poetic homage to the art of living your passion. It is the kind of message that we can never hear too much:

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• Good artists Copy, Great artists Steal
• 1000 Awesome Things
• Will Smith About The Key to Life
• Why We Do What We Do?

Pablo Picasso, one of the most famous artists of the 20th century influenced the artistic world in a unique and original way. So why is he known for saying “Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal”?

Why would someone as original as Picasso say something as ironic? And what did he mean?

Designer Jeff Veen’s interpretation of this quote is that Picasso talked a lot about inspiration when he talked about theft: “He would look at things like African tribal masks and literally steal those principles and bring that into his work when he was experiencing cubism and developing cubism at the beginning of the last century.”

Jeff Veen talked about this in a fun and entertaining ignite talk on the subject of copycat design:

"The key here is to be intentional with what we steal, to look at what the principles are behind the things that are successful, and steal those, rather than just a superficial copy.”, Jeff Veen explains.

Steve Jobs also used Picassos quote in the documentary Triumph of the Nerds, in reference to Apple’s own early principles:

“It comes down to trying to expose yourself to the best things that humans have done – and then try to bring those things in to what you’re doing. Picasso had a saying: Good artists copy, Great artists steal – and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.” – Steve Jobs

So “stealing” in this context is an intellectual activity. You must be able to understand the principles why something works and then be able to apply this knowledge in new original ways. This is related to the Japanese martial arts concept of Shuhari that explains how people learn skills in a 3-stage progression: Shu: Follow (Learn a technique) / Ha: Break away (Collect techniques) / Ri: Fluent (Blend techniques).

It is very ironic in this context that Pablo Picasso very likely stole this quote from T.S. Eliot who said: “Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.”

• Where Good Ideas Come From
• The Holstee Manifesto: This is Your Life.
• Find What You Love
• A Toolbox for Creativity & Leadership
• Will Smith About The Key to Life

Even the most worldly and well-traveled among us will have their perspectives shifted by Hans Rosling. A professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, his current work focuses on dispelling common myths about the so-called developing world, which (he points out) is no longer worlds away from the West. In fact, most of the Third World is on the same trajectory toward health and prosperity, and many countries are moving twice as fast as the west did.

What sets Rosling apart isn’t just his apt observations of broad social and economic trends, but the stunning way he presents them. Guaranteed: You’ve never seen data presented like this.

Hans Rosling and the magic washing machine

What was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution? Hans Rosling makes the case for the washing machine. With newly designed graphics from Gapminder, Rosling shows us the magic that pops up when economic growth and electricity turn a boring wash day into an intellectual day of reading.

Hans Rosling on global population growth

The world’s population will grow to 9 billion over the next 50 years — and only by raising the living standards of the poorest can we check population growth. This is the paradoxical answer that Hans Rosling unveils at TED@Cannes using colorful new data display technology (you’ll see).

Hans Rosling: Asia’s rise — how and when

Hans Rosling was a young guest student in India when he first realized that Asia had all the capacities to reclaim its place as the world’s dominant economic force. At TEDIndia, he graphs global economic growth since 1858 and predicts the exact date that India and China will outstrip the US.

Hans Rosling’s new insights on poverty

Hans Rosling uses his cool data tools to show how countries are pulling themselves out of poverty. He demos Dollar Street, comparing households of varying income levels worldwide. Then he does something really amazing.

Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen

With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling uses an amazing new presentation tool, Gapminder, to debunk several myths about world development. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA.)

Source: Hans Rosling’s Profile on TED.com

• Story Power! Tools to Create Engaging Content
• Story Power! Brain-Friendly Content through Visuals and Storytelling
• What is Intelligence?
• The Secret Powers of Time
• The Birth Of Lord Ganesha

From a trip to India I brought a statute of Lord Ganesha, the elephant headed Hindu God and was curious to learn more about this character from the Hindu mythology.

Ganesha is known as the god of wisdom, literature and worldly success and is revered as the remover of obstacles.

Here is the story of how he came to be and why he is know as the gate keeper:

»Lord Shiva, the Hindu God of death and destruction was away at a war. His wife Pavarti, who was a goddess in her own right, wished to bathe. Having no-one to guard the door to her apartments she conceived of the idea of giving birth to a son who could provide this service for her. Thus Ganesh was created, since goddesses have the power to do such things.

Pavarti gave Ganesh instructions that he was to stand guard at the entrance of her apartments and that he was to admit no-one until she gave word that it was OK to do so. Ganesh took up his post and undertook his assignment enthusiastically.

In due course the Lord Shiva returned from his war and went to enter. Ganesh, according to his instructions, forbade him entry. Shiva was enraged by Ganesh’s impudence and drew his sword and cut off Ganesh’s head.

Pavarti emerged to find Ganesh decapitated and flew into a rage. Even though he was immensely powerful Shiva was upset with Pavarti’s rage. He swore to make amends by taking the head of the first living thing he found to replace Ganesh’s head. The first animal he came across was an elephant. Accordingly he took the head from the elephant an placed it on Ganesh’s body.

Thus Ganesh is depicted with an elephant’s head. Because of his role as protector of Parvarti’s door he is associated, in Hindu culture, with protecting entrances«

• Best of Hans Rosling
• Wear Sunscreen
• Watch Matt Dancing Badly Around The World
• Validation
• Top 3 Inspirational Stories

Little things are extremely important to happiness and Neil Pasricha’s blog 1000 Awesome Things will remind you of a thousand little things from free refills to clean sheets that will make you happier.

Neil never imagined that writing about the smell of gasoline, thinking it’s Thursday when it’s really Friday, or wearing underwear just out of the dryer would amount to anything. A self-described “average guy” with a typical 9-to-5 job in the suburbs, Neil started his blog 1000 Awesome Things, as a small reminder of the free, easy little joys that make life sweet.

He certainly didn’t anticipate that his site would gain a readership of millions of people, win two Webby Awards (“the Internet’s highest honor” according to The New York Times), be named one of PC Magazine’s Top 100 Sites On the Internet, or become a place where people from around the world would come to celebrate the simple pleasures of daily life.

In this heartfelt talk from TEDxToronto, he reveals the 3 secrets (all starting with A) to leading a life that’s truly awesome.

• Wear Sunscreen
• The Holstee Manifesto: This is Your Life.
• Will Smith About The Key to Life
• Why We Do What We Do?
• Where Good Ideas Come From

…a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that they both desire but which neither one wants to start.

Mamihlapinatapai (sometimes spelled mamihlapinatapei)(pronounced mah-me-lah-pee-nah-tah-pa-ee) is a word from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the “most succinct word”, and is considered one of the hardest words to translate.

It describes “a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that they both desire but which neither one wants to start.”

This is how TheRavenOfPoe describes this word:

• Watch Matt Dancing Badly Around The World
• Douglas Adams: Parrots the Universe and Everything
• Wear Sunscreen
• Validation
• Top 5 Movie Theme Songs of All Time

At MIT, Cynthia Breazeal and her team are building robots with social intelligence that communicate and learn the same way people do. Her favorite robot is Leonardo. Leonardo is the most expressive robot in the world today. Leonardo’s expressiveness arises from its ability to establish and maintain eye contact, move its eyes, mouth, ears, and arms to express a wide range of emotions.

Although highly articulated, Leonardo is not designed to walk, it can gesture and is able to manipulate objects in simple ways. Although it is not humanlike, the developers have intentionally given Leonardo a youthful appearance to encourage people to playfully interact with it, much as one might with a young child.

Read more about Leonardo at this MIT Media Lab – Personal Robot Group project page.

The above video is from Cynthia Breazeal TED Talk: The rise of personal robots:

• What is Intelligence?
• When Ideas Have Sex
• Seadragon / Deep Zoom Technology
• Scott Berkun: The Myths of Innovation
• Robotic Spies

Three guys, stranded on a desert island, find a magic lamp containing a genie, who grants them each one wish.

The first guy wishes he was off the island and back home.

The second guy wishes the same.

The third guy says "I’m lonely. I wish my friends were back here."

• What’s Easier? To Change Yourself or the World Around You?
• Saving the Planet!
• Watch Matt Dancing Badly Around The World
• Top 3 Cool & Funny Dance Videos
• The World’s First Computer Bug!

Based on the backstory of one of the most beloved childrenʼs novels of all time comes the extraordinary love story between a simple woodsman and a beautiful maiden:

Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

L. Frank Baum wrote the back story to the Tin Woodsman in his book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man is Whitestone Motion Pictures retelling this little known story of the tragic arc of a beloved character who was once human, made of flesh and blood that turned into tin.

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• SIGNS
• Nuit Blanche
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• Man on Wire

This is a beautiful short film worth 4 minutes of your time:

Nuit Blanche explores a fleeting moment between two strangers, revealing their brief connection in a hyper real fantasy.

Directed by: Arev Manoukian

• Validation
• SIGNS
• Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man
• Wear Sunscreen
• Man on Wire

1. Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

Watch Matt dance with people all across the Globe. The latest of the Where the Hell is Matt videos is showing people of different nationalities and cultures getting together to dance with Matt:

See more of the Where the Hell is Matt videos here.

2. Surprise Wedding Dance

The coolest wedding dance EVER!

3. Evolution of Dance

• Watch Matt Dancing Badly Around The World
• Saving the Planet!
• Microsoft Surface Parody
• Dolphins make underwater bubble rings just for fun!
• Bobby McFerrin Hacks Your Brain with Music

Where do you find love? If we knew, we would all know where to look.
Sometimes all you need is a SIGN.

Sweet, innocent and beautiful short film directed by Patrick Hughes.

• Validation
• Nuit Blanche
• Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man
• Wear Sunscreen
• Man on Wire

This illusion was discovered by MIT professor Edward Adelson.

The dark square A outside the shadow is the same shade of gray as the light-colored square B in the middle of the shadow.

Unbelievable but true! Here is the proof.

Why does the illusion work?

Explained by professor Edward Adelson:

The visual system needs to determine the color of objects in the world. In this case the problem is to determine the gray shade of the checks on the floor. Just measuring the light coming from a surface (the luminance) is not enough: a cast shadow will dim a surface, so that a white surface in shadow may be reflecting less light than a black surface in full light. The visual system uses several tricks to determine where the shadows are and how to compensate for them, in order to determine the shade of gray "paint" that belongs to the surface.

The first trick is based on local contrast. In shadow or not, a check that is lighter than its neighboring checks is probably lighter than average, and vice versa. In the figure, the light check in shadow is surrounded by darker checks. Thus, even though the check is physically dark, it is light when compared to its neighbors. The dark checks outside the shadow, conversely, are surrounded by lighter checks, so they look dark by comparison.

A second trick is based on the fact that shadows often have soft edges, while paint boundaries (like the checks) often have sharp edges. The visual system tends to ignore gradual changes in light level, so that it can determine the color of the surfaces without being misled by shadows. In this figure, the shadow looks like a shadow, both because it is fuzzy and because the shadow casting object is visible.

The "paintness" of the checks is aided by the form of the "X-junctions" formed by 4 abutting checks. This type of junction is usually a signal that all the edges should be interpreted as changes in surface color rather than in terms of shadows or lighting.

As with many so-called illusions, this effect really demonstrates the success rather than the failure of the visual system. The visual system is not very good at being a physical light meter, but that is not its purpose. The important task is to break the image information down into meaningful components, and thereby perceive the nature of the objects in view.

• Wear Sunscreen
• Watch Matt Dancing Badly Around The World
• Validation
• Top 5 Movie Theme Songs of All Time
• Top 3 Cool & Funny Dance Videos

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is without a doubt the most famous work in the entire forty-thousand-year history of the visual arts. It is the enigmatic smile that has fascinated and baffled art lovers for centuries.

With a combination of state of the art mind reading technology and sophisticated computer algorithms I was able to reveal one of the biggest secrets in history: Why is Mona Lisa smiling?

Try this interactive version and explorer many more secrets about Mona Lisa yourself:
Note: Silverlight is required. Switch to full screen (top right button) for optimal experience.

PS: Not all hidden secrets are linked in the top left menu. It’s up to you to discover some of the most sacred artifacts hidden in this painting!

• When Ideas Have Sex
• The World’s First Computer Bug!
• Seadragon / Deep Zoom Technology
• Scott Berkun: The Myths of Innovation
• Microsoft Surface Parody

Validation – a short film (16 min) about the magic of looking for the best in people:

This film tells the story of a parking attendant who gives his customers REAL validation by dispensing both free parking and free compliments.  It’s a great reminder of how we can all create a better world, instantly, by sharing a smile and a few kind words.  It will bring a smile to your face and maybe even some joyous tears!

This movie has played at 34 film festivals worldwide and won 17 awards.

Directed by Kurt Kuenne / USA / 2007

• SIGNS
• Nuit Blanche
• Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man
• Wear Sunscreen
• Man on Wire

A while ago I got myself a pair of Vibram Five Fingers Shoes (the KSO model) to try the new trend of barefoot (or nearly barefoot) running. After a week or so and feeling pain in my knees and hips I decided that this was not for me and shelved those goofy shoes immediately…

Until now…

A friend recommended the book Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. This book inspired me to give barefoot running another try. In the following I like to share what I learned from this book, from various articles on the Internet and my personal experience with barefoot running.

Born To Run is one of the best books ever written about running. As G. MacDonald – one of the reviewer’s on Amazon puts it: “If, when you finish with this book, you don’t immediately get yourself outside and run like hell, then there’s probably not a drop of living blood in you. This book is the perfect antidote to everything that’s wrong with modern running and the way to find everything that’s still so right with it.”

Book Description: Born To Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong. It’s a great read, but also very eye opening concerning the running shoe industry.

The book is mainly about the Tarahumara – a hidden tribe of Mexicans living in the Copper Canyon region of Mexico. The Tarahumara are legendary for their ability to run extreme distances in inhospitable conditions without breaking a sweat or getting injured. They are superathletes whose running method would place them among elite runners of the developed world even though their society and technology are 500 years behind it. They often live in caves without running water, and run with only strips of old tire or leather thongs strapped to the bottom of their feet. They are virtually barefoot.

Tarahumara running is based on endurance not speed. This fact is exemplified by their hunting practices. In order to catch such wild animals as deer, wild turkeys, and rabbits, the Tarahumara simply chase after the animal until the animal drops from exhaustion. Their hunting practices are widely known in Mexico and ranchers have been known to hire the indians to chase down wild horses .

“We’re designed for persistence hunting, which is a mix of running and walking,” says McDougall. “What’s built into that kind of running is a sense of pleasure. You are designed and built and perfect for this activity, and it should be enjoyable and fun.”

After reading this book it was obvious to me that during my first barefoot running attempt I made every mistake possible: Too wide strides, too long distances to start with and not changing my running style at all. To successfully accommodate to barefoot running it was important for me to learn how barefoot running is different from running in my thickly cushioned trainers.

Some background:

From the Zenhabits article The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Barefoot Running:

For decades now, runners (including me) have been sold on the need for good running shoes — if you want to prevent injuries, invest in good shoes. Proper cushioning, and sometimes rigid motion control or stability features, were needed, and if you had injuries, you probably had the wrong shoes.

But recent studies have proven what traditional peoples have known all along — that running barefoot strengthens your feet and is a more natural way to run. Running in cushioned, motion-controlled shoes is like having your neck in a cast for a month — when you take the cast off, your neck muscles will be weak. You also pound your feet much harder with running shoes, causing problems not only with feet but knees and other joints. We’re making our feet weak, and pounding them hard — it’s no wonder we have all kinds of injuries.

From the Wired Science article To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes:

“People have been running barefoot for millions of years and it has only been since 1972 that people have been wearing shoes with thick, synthetic heels,” said Daniel Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University.

Strong evidence shows that thickly cushioned running shoes have done nothing to prevent injury in the 30-odd years since Nike founder Bill Bowerman invented them, researchers say. Some smaller, earlier studies suggest that running in shoes may increase the risk of ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis and other injuries. Runners who wear cheap running shoes have fewer injuries than those wearing expensive trainers. Meanwhile, injuries plague 20 to 80 percent of regular runners every year.

How to Run Barefoot

As funny as it sounds but most barefoot runners use minimalist footwear – so called barefoot running shoes. Those shoes are designed to remove the cushioning and motion control of traditional running shoes. In this way your feet is able to strengthen and feel the ground more while still giving you the protection against getting cut on the soles of your feet. Some of these barefoot running shoes look even more technical and advanced than regular running shoes.

If you’re interested in trying out barefoot (or nearly barefoot) running, keep in mind that it will take your body some time to get used to it. Many people – myself included – make the mistake of doing too much, too quickly. That’s a big mistake. It can lead to pain and injury. Here are some tips to get you started:

• Start slowly: Do quarter-mile runs at most, and build up gradually. Keep barefoot running to no more than 10 percent of your weekly regimen, especially at first.
• Don’t try to run with the same running style you use in shoes
• Shorten your steps: Don’t extend your legs as far as you do with shoes. It should feel almost like you’re running in place.
• Land on the forward part (forefeet or midfeet) of your foot instead of your heels. If you feel yourself landing on your heels, shorten your stride. Be aware: Too much on your forefeet can make your calves sore.
• Keep upright and balanced. Your feet should be hitting the ground almost directly underneath you, not in front of you.
• Stay light. You should feel like you’re light on your feet, not pounding at all. Barefoot runners tend to be a little more springy in their step.
• Run quietly. If you are making a lot of noise with your steps (as shoe-wearing runners do), you’re pounding too hard. Try to run softly, quietly, like an animal.

“The human foot is a work of art and a masterpiece of engineering.”
—Leonardo Da Vinci

“People who don’t wear shoes when they run have an astonishingly different strike,” said Daniel E. Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and co-author of a paper appearing in the journal Nature. “By landing on the middle or front of the foot, barefoot runners have almost no impact collision, much less than most shod runners generate when they heel-strike.

The following short video shows a heel-first strike in a traditional running shoe (left) compared to a midfoot strike in Vibram FiveFingers (right):

After learning all of this and putting it into practice I successfully accommodated to running in my Vibram FiveFingers. This time I really took it slowly and changed my running style over a period of four weeks. I haven’t yet switched to barefoot running completely but as my feet are getting stronger I am enjoying it more and more. Running barefoot is about connecting with the ground, about feeling, about freedom and lightness and most importantly about having fun.

Many runners shelved their high-tech trainers in favor of naked feet — or minimalist footwear like the Nike Free, the Newton All-Weather Trainer and the glove-like Vibram FiveFingers. If you’re still skeptical at all about running bare-footed, or with very minimal foot protection here are some further resources that will give you great insight into why you should consider it:

• Born To Run (book by Christopher McDougall)
• The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Barefoot Running (article by Leo Babauta)
• To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes (Wired Science article)
• Vibram Five Fingers Shoes: The Barefoot Alternative (article by Tim Ferris)
• The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money? (article by Christopher McDougall)
• How To Run Barefoot (article by Jessica Porter)
• Running Barefoot, Forefoot Striking & Training Tips
• Wikipedia: Barefoot Running

• Where Good Ideas Come From
• The Penguin Story
• Put First Things First
• Is Your Office Chair Killing You?
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

The historical film Gladiator directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crow has a fictional storyline. It is only loosely based on historical events.

It’s interesting to read how Marcus Aurelius described the character of the real Maximus:

“Maximus set an example of self-mastery, steadiness of purpose, and good cheer that no circumstance, not even illness, could extinguish. He combined in beautiful measure gravity with charm, and he did whatever needed to be done without making a fuss. Everyone believed what he said was what he thought and that he never acted with an intention to do harm or give offense. Nothing surprised or frightened him, and he never seemed to be in a hurry or slow to accomplish a task.

He was neither intimidated and embarrassed on one hand, nor aggressive and suspicious on the other. So giving, forgiving, and loyal was he by nature that he appeared to be a man whose virtues were inborn rather than acquired. It is unimaginable that anyone ever felt inferior or superior around him, perhaps as a result of his pleasing sense of humor.”

- Excerpt from the Emperor’s Handbook by Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 AD) -

• Man on Wire
• When Ideas Have Sex
• Top 5 Movie Theme Songs of All Time
• The World’s First Computer Bug!
• Scott Berkun: The Myths of Innovation

The following essay was written by Mary Schmich and published in the Chicago Tribune as a column in 1997. She described it as the commencement speech she would give if she were asked to give one.

When you read the speech below, you will be able to relate to some of the things Mary had written and you will enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ‘97:

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-old I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

The most popular and well-known form of the essay is the successful music single "Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)", released in 1998, by Baz Luhrmann. This song was a number one hit in several countries.

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