http://ideamagazine.org ideamagazine.org en-us Idea Magazine DW Alliance LLC http://www.dwalliance.com http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=cf0f9ca69851de38aacecb6a9ff8880e&from=rss blah blah Catherine Black 2008-03-11T10:05:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=621e8b16f0f718ee8bc9ce8f8ff8ac65&from=rss Critics and whistle-blowers in the art world have alleged that the acclaimed Sindika Dokolo collection -- featured at the current Venice Biennale -- is splattered with the blood of dictatorships and the unsavory Angolan diamond business. Whatever the truth of these allegations, before the scandal blows over the astute observer will be able to glean many lessons about how the business of culture is done today, across national boundaries, old colonial hurts and fuzzy ethical boundaries. Marcelo Ballvé Entry 2007-07-20T09:15:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=6248f1a3ae10d8b53aaa2babc367f00f&from=rss Christian Denes Photo Essay 2007-06-25T21:41:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=ae34194ffd5e11f7f1eaacb4612ba690&from=rss Christian Denes Photo Essay 2007-06-25T21:41:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=210537af614d7f4d8122d5cec9de5b52&from=rss Christian Denes Photo Essay 2007-06-25T21:41:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=d26f38e09299bd68e8c19a6317f73853&from=rss Christian Denes Photo Essay 2007-06-25T21:41:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=6449bc174857e328a31bed292450b019&from=rss Christian Denes Photo Essay 2007-06-25T21:41:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=4fe1a90a1e3660a1c1b7823f0e7f0eb8&from=rss Christian Denes Photo Essay 2007-06-25T21:41:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=4caf0b318041c267cb2a9be17a365a12&from=rss Christian Denes Photo Essay 2007-06-25T21:41:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=14e4add2596bd6b7930a4a7b26f76ded&from=rss In northwest Argentina, most structures are built from readily available materials, such as the adobe bricks that come straight from the earth. This creates a synchronicity of textures and colors across the landscape; and nearly everything else, eventually, fades to match the ever-present beige.It was because of this uniformity that the doors started to call my attention. Not only the solid, recently painted colors, but also the partially faded reds and greens that could not be created willingly on a palette. Christian Denes Photo Essay 2007-06-25T05:41:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=b6733fdc6782e6ec458e7413949feb0c&from=rss Hace poco un compañero de mi escuela de kung fu me pidió mi opinión sobre la relación entre wu wei y la disciplina. Wu wei es un concepto clave del Taoismo que se puede traducir como “sin acción,” y que se puede interpretar como la idea de “hacer sin esfuerzo”, "acción sin acción”, “no resistir”, “fluir con la corriente”, o actuar en armonía con el universo. Catherine Black Ensayo 2007-06-18T09:15:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=2842111f724e4ebe87f9432f91914891&from=rss What the powers-that-be describe as "piracy" is in fact an endemic and unquenchable practice. "Piracy" is both the community's reappropriation of some segments of production which were unaccessible until a few years ago (e.g. the burning of CDs), and consumers' revolt against inflated prices, immoderate profits, the quality decrease of mainstream music, and all legal/technological obstacles to making private and safe copies. Wu Ming 1 Essay 2007-06-18T08:15:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=11a28c48737b00922473d0ead6d5777c&from=rss Si estás leyendo esto probablemente sea buena idea advertirte que estás al borde de arruinar la poca (si acaso) magia de la imagen que te trajera hasta estas líneas. The thing is solo un pequeño chiste: de antaño las madres pretendían enseñarles a sus hijas que debían casarse con un hombre de dinero para ser felices, y que siempre que les invitaran a cenar debían pedir langosta (siendo usualmente el plato más caro y una especie de símbolo de status)... Cristian Caccavelli Imagen 2007-06-15T14:01:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=4d65f550b11ab9e8628444c85880907f&from=rss 2007-06-15T14:01:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=f12b3ee9ecc6382e0205aa5c5eaf3097&from=rss This is really just a little joke: in the old days mothers tried to teach their daughters that they had to marry a man with money in order to be happy, and so if they were invited out to dinner they should order the lobster (since it is usually the most expensive dish and a kind of status symbol)...Click here for expanded version of this image.Texto original en castellano. Cristian Caccavelli Image 2007-06-15T09:01:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=a03ff746affada1651e38f3780629551&from=rss What is Ramsar? Ramsar is shorthand for the international Ramsar Convention on Wetlands—an important and yet low-profile intergovernmental treaty named for the place where it was signed, Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. Think of it as the United Nations for water. It is arguably the most powerful organization overseeing the world's water—especially freshwater—resources, though very few people know of its existence, or the relatively unconventional manner in which it operates. Marcelo Ballvé Post 2007-06-13T09:15:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=df3ca44e39a9f9d716a286647bfdf797&from=rss Wu wei is a key concept of Taoism roughly translated as “without action,” and can be interpreted to mean “effortless doing,” “action without action,” “not resisting,” “going with the flow,” or acting in harmony with the universe. As martial arts students, many theoretical and applied principles in our training stem from the concept of wu wei, but we also know that studying and excelling in any art requires a great deal of discipline.Versión en castellano. Catherine Black Essay 2007-06-11T11:16:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=b4cb2d13ceb9f75b5bf44e563b239bab&from=rss Puerto Madero is the name of the redeveloped old docklands in Buenos Aires. They have been transformed from rusty, univisited relics to an upscale district. Like many planned communities, Puerto Madero is a highly regimented area. Once I'm on its sidewalks I immediately notice the environment's artificiality. Many familiar features of the Buenos Aires street landscape are absent: there are no towering sycamores, cracked sidewalks, or deep rain gutters clogged with leaves and refuse. There are no newspaper stands or overflowing trash cans. There are no lottery vendors standing on street-corners, spools of numbers in their hands.Photo by Christian Denes Marcelo Ballvé Essay 2007-06-08T07:16:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=0f4706e58073bfbb42c0d31607831114&from=rss Impunity rides the coattails of amnesia and oblivion. Without memory to link the present with the past, current wrongs seem like historical aberrations, rather than the consequence of accumulated injustice. Authoritarian regimes and their allies know this well and are keen to snuff out those who reflect too thoughtfully on the past. By continually wiping the historical slate clean, they are free to do as they please. Teo Ballvé Essay 2007-06-06T07:37:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=1d11550a00cd11a4f696359127cad53f&from=rss Measurable, logical, pragmatic, physical time— does it exist? A quick and simple answer to this question might be "yes," but this answer is a result of historical and social conditioning. We are trained to think there is little reason for questioning the degree to which our concept of time is well-founded. So, we say "Time" is a clock, a calendar, minutes, seconds, years— it is past, present and future. The intention of this essay is to expand these narrow notions that normally limit our thinking about "Time."Lea la versión original en español aqui. MonoRecargado Essay 2007-05-31T13:27:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=324dd4107f1bf68f4c82a32fba84c857&from=rss El tiempo medible, lógico, pragmático, físico, racional, ¿existe? Una respuesta rápida y sencilla a este interrogante puede ser sí. Esta respuesta surge de un condicionamiento histórico social en el cual no cabe, ni siquiera, la más mínima posibilidad de poder repreguntar que grado de asidero posee. Lean traducción al inglés aquí MonoRecargado Ensayo 2007-05-31T13:27:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=44a13b6d57bc04be9a79420c1ca27143&from=rss These days it seems journalists have become less popular than lawyers. The widespread perception of journalism is that it is a field full of pedantic windbags and hacks with hidden agendas. For anyone who might be looking for evidence there is such a thing as a journalist with something mind-expanding to say, whose work is potentially as life-changing as a great film or novel, I recommend Ryszard Kapuscinski. His books might serve to dissuade journalist-haters from their blanket dismissal of our kind, the scribbling tribe. See related link dossier: Kapuscinski: Racist, Liar or Path-Breaking Writer? Marcelo Ballvé Essay 2007-04-28T07:03:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=1246e4923ddae12b6e69e2102aea09a5&from=rss Marcelo Ballvé Link Dossier 2007-04-28T01:03:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=305f8a9fa526a0333d03504c3da40ab9&from=rss Overall, I agree that there is a certain malaise afflicting the American populace, that might be described as a symptom of the decline and fall of an empire, as the fruit of too much comfort and distraction, as the apathy, cynicism and ignorance of people with too many resources and too little struggle. To me, the strongest example of this is the fact that, despite the political ideology and professed beliefs of millions of Americans who oppose military aggression in Iraq, no one is willing to get in the street, get arrested, or do anything much but voice their opposition through political polls or consumption of opposition media.A response to Cynicism: Can We See Beyond It in '08?. Michael Siegel Response 2007-03-30T08:13:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=f01b89041b1c28f7dca0e4ac3b80d3e0&from=rss Lately I’ve been astonished by the extent to which the cynical attitude has penetrated the American mind. So it struck me that Barack Obama maintains that the chief opponent of his presidential campaign is cynicism. I would extend that sentiment beyond his campaign to include all of us Americans living in the early 21st century: for perhaps the first time in the short but vibrant history of the United States, the pioneering spirit that built this country faces a formidable foe from within. Cynicism is proving to be our greatest obstacle to moving forward in these dark years. Catherine Black Essay 2007-03-14T07:33:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=3facaf160d4c53005a54017faaa867d4&from=rss “C’mon, muchachos, let’s go!” With this abrupt order, Celia Eumesa and a group of Nasa Indians under her command jumped into a van. They drove off in hot pursuit of a handful of guerrillas that had just kidnapped some people from her community in southwest Colombia. Armed with no more than decorative staffs, which they carry to symbolize indigenous authority, they sped behind the guerrillas’ car. A caravan of 60 other Nasas trailed behind her. When they had inched close enough to the car, Celia told her driver to beep the horn to see if the men would pull over. When the guerrillas refused, she told her driver: “Punch it. We have to pass them.” Teo Ballvé Article 2007-03-03T22:19:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=3c271c44a123d6a4635c79b9554af17c&from=rss It was exactly forty years ago that the musical revolution that came to be known as Tropicália was introduced to Brazil, and the world. Tropicália's genesis can be dated with some precision. It came when two musicians in their mid-twenties, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, courageously took to the stage at a 1967 song festival in São Paulo with compositions that they knew would sorely stress the boundaries of musical taste. Their performance was epoch-defining. It was a kind of big bang from which much that came afterward in Brazilian pop music history evolved. Marcelo Ballvé Essay 2007-02-22T16:56:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=c2f7d23c279c931587232eb01d4dccd1&from=rss The Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary, where my husband Jon and I lived for six months, is located in the dwindling rainforest of Kerala state in India. It is adjacent to a national forest and is a privately owned sanctuary of over 50 acres for native Indian plant species, as well as native species of birds, monkeys, snakes, frogs and other animals— even elephants at some times of the year. The sanctuary was founded by a German named Wolfgang and his Indian wife Leela. Wolfgang has been in India for some 37 years and the sanctuary is over 25 years old. Photos by Suprabha Seshan, Sandilya Theuerkauf, Jennifer Knox and Jon Grainger Jennifer Knox Essay 2007-02-15T23:16:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=292ca6373a99af5538fce389ff197db8&from=rss The first time I saw Obama speak, I had never heard of him. After a few minutes I called all my children into the house, told them “sit still, be quiet, and listen...you are watching history in the making.” Since then I’ve pondered quite often, just why that speech moved me as much as any I’d ever seen. I had to conclude it was the union of a complete and exceptional person; mind, heart, soul. And, since were talking about saving the Democrats...let’s also include balls. But perhaps the thing that appealed to me most was his shredding of the blue and the red, the left and the right, the political clichés that we have been limited to. A response to Why Hillary Should Run as Obama's VP. Andrew Johnston Response 2007-02-08T05:55:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=3a14c7b988cb3651a09c1ca6e03f7072&from=rss If I think long enough about the black water slinking along formidable gutters and gushing into the reinforced drains of this street, I might see it as evidence of low-lying land, a clue that this area's true loyalty is to the river. Then again, the buildings along it belong to the century before last, so it has been a long time since the river has exercised rights to this patch of land. Photo by Christian Denes Marcelo Ballvé Essay 2007-02-02T00:49:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=e3ef9b12f19ca5f47d783f84e1903726&from=rss We must be willing to take radical risks these days because the old rules of cautiously plotted campaigning no longer apply in an age when star-power and spin can turn an election. What I propose is that the two brightest stars of the Democratic Party, Hillary and Obama, unite in an unexpected ticket: Obama for President, Hillary as Vice-President. Although the inverse seems like a more practical compromise at first, Hillary’s presidential candidacy would still be far too divisive for the vast camp of swing voters that only Obama as the frontrunner stands a real chance at winning. Catherine Black Essay 2007-01-24T01:10:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=2ca40cd0c9ce92ed0605f6ef2bba3a4f&from=rss -- Short and long-sleeve t shirts and BBQ apron for the 4th of July. Click here to purchase online. from Why Hillary Should Run as Obama's Vice President by Catherine Black 2007-01-24T01:10:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=f95eeb624d3034566a7a7a4630e3c6b0&from=rss We depend on them to clean our urban air, to provide shade on a hot day, to soothe our eyes after staring all day at screens, cars and people. They offer us oxygen and relief in the concrete jungle, but do we ever stop to wonder what it's like to be a tree in the city? Catherine Black Essay 2006-11-09T04:02:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=8ce6b60bee39cde4c023ab17d32024f5&from=rss I call it going to the river. Once or twice a week, I leave my apartment building and head east, toward the river. I always walk down the same street, paved with cobblestones for most of its length, which descends toward the river after passing through the heart of our neighborhood, San Telmo, in the oldest part of Buenos Aires. Marcelo Ballvé Essay 2006-10-31T09:36:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=50bffd2a90cba4817e485c7ae5eebdd8&from=rss I can’t erase the memory of what I saw while I worked in the New York City public school system: Temporary trailers, windowless rooms with sewage waste dripping from the ceiling, disconnected teachers sitting behind newspapers, multiple uncooperative administrations crammed into one building. Also, it’s hard to ignore the fact that New York City has roughly the same secondary school enrollment rate as Argentina, and its graduation rate is comparable to that of Brazil’s. Christian Denes Essay 2006-10-17T13:18:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=56ef8fe60441f60fcefff212cf0f1f32&from=rss It is not a matter of blaming at this point, but assuming responsibility, and admitting that all of us, Democrat or Republican, citizen or immigrant, hawk or dove, anyone who has a stake in the country must share in the shame of the United States at this point in its history. No half-measures are possible at this point. We must feel this shame, admit to it, and repair what we can. Marcelo Ballvé Essay 2006-10-04T11:56:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=373dfe233b93ccbf2b75c58ac345e0ae&from=rss -- In several colors and sizes. Click here to purchase online. from Shame by Marcelo Ballvé 2006-10-04T05:05:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=24d6be40a9fd04590139598a3e50174d&from=rss -- A 5" x 3" sticker. Click here to purchase online. from Makoto by Cristian Caccavelli 2006-09-27T05:05:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=7059a18018ef85988371719f0f22f27a&from=rss Rather than be defined by a fate that was imposed upon him by forces beyond his control, Che stubbornly fought to overcome his own limitations and personal history, best represented by the ever-present spectre of asthma. He fought tooth and nail until he had overcome his fear of “drowning” and could create his own destiny—that of Comandante Che Guevara. Catherine Black Essay 2006-09-07T13:51:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=241872ccd6e6665328e2b36120e39921&from=rss What's the ineffable secret ingredient that defines youth? When do we begin to grow up and grow old? This reflection on the "millions of tiny things" that remind us we're alive echoes the curiosity and passion that characterizes the truly young at heart. Lea versión en español Cristian Caccavelli Essay 2006-08-28T12:55:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=f15ebccaf106d8790d1a6ab7ff8f0665&from=rss ¿Qué es lo que determina la juventud? ¿Las actitudes? ¿Las ideas? ¿Los sueños? ¿Los sentimientos? ¿Acaso ser un adulto es ser aplastado por la rutina y eventualmente morirte sin darte cuenta que estabas vivo en un primer lugar? Cristian Caccavelli Reflexión 2006-08-28T05:05:05-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=b2843a0f4f714a9ddd1bd01b385a58f9&from=rss You develop a different view of reality when you’re surrounded by water: the island becomes a miniature world unto itself. Knowing that an immense expanse of space stretches away from you in all directions produces a sense of self-containment hard to find on continents. When you can’t expand outward, you are inevitably re-oriented inward. And the world beyond your shores, so removed, becomes an abstraction, a story passed on by visitors. Catherine Black Essay 2006-08-18T14:48:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=4f188a8f4f77ddd0dc48665ef1b3b40a&from=rss A holy Indian town at the foothills of the Himalayas, a chance conversation on the banks of the River Ganges, a mysterious gift from a stranger ... There are many reasons I believe in magic, but one that comes to mind is the story of the white rose. Catherine Black Reflection 2006-08-15T14:15:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=9121db477f404016c1b2f836a9f4d4f2&from=rss Insect-eating bats rely on hearing sonar echoes for navigation. This might make them easy prey for predators with better sight, but they get around this problem by being nocturnal and often living in the dim light and tree-tangled air of tropical forests. Fruit bats, also nocturnal, do not echolocate but rather rely on an acute sense of vision and smell to find their food – succulent mangoes, lychee, figs, and other tropical fruit. What we know as twilight is equivalent to the day's beginning for families of Chiroptera who wake to stretch their wings and take flight in search for the first day’s meal. Kevin Olival Poem 2006-08-01T20:51:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=81e27872ad2c397c1124f5b740f0329e&from=rss One day I left Tai Chi practice in casual conversation with a classmate who walked me the entire 16 blocks home without batting an eyelash. It wasn’t due to any romantic interest that he went a half-hour out of his way (he is happily married), he simply did not want to interrupt our conversation. He acted out of an ingrained habit of prioritizing graciousness and courtesy in human exchanges whenever possible-- an attitude known in Argentina as educación. Catherine Black Essay 2006-07-22T10:17:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=0cc4058de822536a15a6b8c57f8fe8a3&from=rss Milk and water sold in plastic bags; a maddening proliferation of papers, receipts, slips, forms and ink stamps; the mysterious absence of stray cats; busy intersections transformed into open-air markets-- what kind of a world is this? Teo Ballvé Essay 2006-07-21T10:30:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=504fd32b31be17a3bd68d7c1f3b3e944&from=rss En el año 1988 (si mal no recuerdo) mi padre estuvo de viaje por Japón durante 6 meses. Fue un viaje de estudios (y trabajo) y anduvo conociendo parte de esa gran cultura. Mi padre trajo de Japón, entre otras cosas, un termino, "makoto". A lo largo de los años siempre lo he escuchado decir (casi siempre refiriéndose a la cocina) "esto es rico porque está hecho con makoto". Según el, eso significaba que algo estaba hecho con amor. Read English version Cristian Caccavelli Ensayo 2006-07-21T05:05:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=c9c948d760db21fcff250ff218da697c&from=rss The sun is warm and clear and penetrates like a rain of golden arrows, sending shivers through me. I quicken my pace beneath it, spurred on by the promise of a great release ahead, while the stones along my path slip cool and smooth under my silvery belly. It feels beautiful to move. Catherine Black Reflection 2006-07-19T08:42:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=590feca24f0874c0c07f4ed1e8e0d619&from=rss I suddenly felt small in comparison with an old woman who often inspires a desire in people to give her a kick in the butt so that she might stop nagging them for a minute. My grandmother, with her few simple words, shattered my view of the world. Lea versión en español Cristian Caccavelli Reflection 2006-07-18T16:01:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=d8b66009f80152787f8fd30e9c271167&from=rss It was the day after Argentina lost to Germany in the quarterfinals of the soccer World Cup. I was sitting on a bus winding through the quiet streets of Buenos Aires on a Saturday morning. And I was trying to understand why I was filled with such sadness at the team’s loss. Catherine Black Essay 2006-07-08T10:17:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=da2772e6446e02649b6736f912743b20&from=rss Critical thinking is a positive tool for living a discerning, self-aware life. But unlike critical thinking, the critical attitude -- a knee-jerk negative positioning in thoughts, words and behavior -- results in a narrowing of experience. Catherine Black Essay 2006-07-05T08:15:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=859fc0c8a7269155796860461a8acc8d&from=rss She awoke at the sound of Tsering closing the door. His robes rustled on the rough wooden floorboards, their hems dusty from the street outside. There was a difference in his demeanor—something wilted that she hadn’t seen before. Feigning sleep, she watched him through a slitted eye. He stood for a few seconds inside the door, looking at the cot where she lay. Then he sat down wearily, the plastic chair squeaking, and stared at the floor. Finally he put his head in his hands and, to her shock, began sobbing quietly into his crimson sleeves. The heat and dust of late afternoon in Karnataka filtered through the flimsy wooden walls in bands that striped his robes and shaved head. Catherine Black Fiction 2006-02-06T04:05:05-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=a5c44da6fd85b3e0ca9e304d6168a578&from=rss These are crazy times. Perhaps never before has humanity been faced with challenges of such a global nature—from international terrorism to the environmental crisis. There is a pervading atmosphere of helplessness and distraction as people watch the world spin out of control. How can we rescue a sense of meaning from the chaos around us? What can revive a spirit of optimism when cynicism is most people’s response to the spectacle of violence and indulgence we live in? How can we define new sources of hope and optimism about our future? Catherine Black Essay 2006-02-01T00:32:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=923f8b1bc81eb6b7de8ca305d29c9b37&from=rss Listeners, to a much greater degree than is commonly acknowledged, determine people's ability to express themselves. Here in Argentina, when someone really knows how to listen, my spoken Spanish can be two or three times better than it is with someone who doesn’t. Catherine Black Essay 2006-01-29T22:32:00-08:00 http://ideamagazine.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=ea94abba0da3f00ff90de4fbdfe7f483&from=rss I was idly watching the sky from our rooftop hammock the other day when it suddenly got dark and I realized that I had been lounging for over two hours. I was thrilled by the fact that for the first time in years I could sit and daydream about nothing in particular without feeling like I was wasting time. I’ve been detoxing from an overdose of life on the info-stimulation superhighway for over a year now. Catherine Black Essay 2006-01-28T23:32:00-08:00