Tamera

i first heard about Tamera from Jeff, a friend of mine who co-founded a non-profit called The Common Fire Foundation with his partner, Kavitha. he went to eurupe to check out some intentional communities, and when i asked him if any of them stood out, he said, "Tamera."

the more i learn about this place, the more i feel like i need to go. you can see for yourself at tamera.org. the first video is the last segment of a half hour long documentary mostly about the "sunvillage" they are building over there. this last part goes into what Tamera is about as a whole.

the second video is the opening speech from last summer's "university" at Tamera, a ten-day program focused on revolution, ecology, sustainability, love, and sex. the speaker is 19 and a member of the community there.

whoah...

Sunni Patterson - We Made It

this is not a "feel-good" performance or poem, so if you are looking for something purely uplifting, this might not be it. this poem is, however, incredible. sunni patterson invokes the prophetic voice, speaking radical truth and transformation. the first time i saw this was accidental. i was visiting a friend, and Def Poetry Jam just happened to be on tv. my mouth nearly dropped.

so why is this video on bigheartvideos? because having a big heart requires that we open ourselves to the radical proposal of Love. i call it a proposal, because Love is an agreement we make with our hearts. and that doesn't mean it's always pretty. if it is not challenging us to go beyond ourselves, then it isn't love.

she has a lot of other amazing videos on youtube.

i hope you're well.

in love,
ge

Maria Bamford - Dark

so, i know that i just blogged about Maria Bamford two days ago, but she is amazing. so i'm doing it again.

don't be afraid of the dark!

Northern Exposure - Physics Lesson

there's two things i love about this clip:

1. northern exposure
2. physics

who knew it would take science over two thousand years to agree with the buddha?
good work universe.

The Maria Bamford Show

i love this show. a lot. sometimes you just need to laugh, right?

you should probably do yourself a favor and watch the whole series on superdeluxe.com

Keith Olberman - Prop 8, Marriage, and Love

well, it is pretty rare that i am moved to any emotion by a newscaster, let alone a powerful one. this made me get teary-eyed in the lilly library computer lab.

the issue of gay marriage is a complicated one, not because it is morally ambiguous, but because it is an issue that is at the heart of only one segment of the gay and lesbian population which tends to be economically secure, while the issues of working class, poor, and homeless LGBTQ people go untalked about in the dominant discourse.

that being said, the fact that gay and lesbian couples cannot marry in most states is, well, terrible. this is an incredibly beautiful plea from a man who says that he has nothing to gain from making this statement. but he does have something to gain: through speaking out against injustice that we ourselves do not feel, we wake up and begin to see each other again. we reclaim our inter-being, and therefore reclaim a part of ourselves that we have forgotten.

since all oppression is connected, all justice is too.

thanks keith olberman, for not losing your heart in a world that destroys many.

keep calling us out! i look forward to your future editorial on the plight of trans youth of color who make up an incredibly disproportionate number of the homeless population. keep going keith! keep going!

"The Mystic" - Stoil Vatev

i found this little gem searching on vimeo.com. do you folks know about this site? it is a really awesome complement to youtube, and i have my friend, kim, to thank for introducing it to me. the videos are of a higher quality, often created by professionals or at least very talented amateurs. they also have projects that you can do. it also tends to be more international.

what i love about this particular video is that it is magical realism on film. i often dream of fantastical and mystical things taking place in normal life: flowers under someone's hat, a door that leads to the cosmos, an inconspicuous prophet in an alley. all of these things are actually happening, though. we just don't recognize them when they are happening...

in love,
ge



The Mystic from stoil on Vimeo.

Reading Rainbow - Original Theme Song

reading rainbow! i used to watch this show all the time. what a wonderful idea: a tv show about books! it makes perfect sense!

My Digital Year - Bracken James Batson

"Why don't you dance like a robot?"

OMG this is what i am talking about. what i particularly love about this video is...everything!

i miss kids, and seeing this little girl and her father in action reminds me why children are wonderful. would her father have danced like a robot if she hadn't asked him to? probably not, at least not in that moment. who could possibly resist dancing to that little drum beat?

*sigh*

why can't we all be like this for each other? co-creating, encouraging joy, being silly...i've been thinking a lot about how everything we love will be gone some day, but we must love what is fleeting and love with this understanding.

this moment is gone.

and this moment is gone too.

where is the possibility of joy for children whose needs are not met, whether by neglect, poverty, war, violence, oppression, etc.? i'm beginning to realize just how radical LOVE really is and that it asks to transform our lives, to love what dies, and to enter into creation.

you wanna dance like a robot?



My Digital Year (September 2008 - September 2009) from Bracken James Batson on Vimeo.

Buddha With 1000 Hands - China Disabled Peoples Performance Art Troupe

so...the first time i saw this video, i was still living in new york city. i was so inspired after watching it that i got on a train to manhattan with my guitar in hand, starry-eyed and blissful. it was 2:00am or so. i ended up in union square and sang to the night. eventually some folks came over to where i was sitting and listened for a while. after they left, i noticed that it was a full moon, and i decided to talk home, across the williamsburg bridge, with the moon as my guide.

i began crossing the bridge at dawn, and new york never seemed so beautiful and divine.

did i mention that everyone in this performance is deaf?

in love,
ge

Improv Everywhere: Food Court Musical

improv everywhere is awesome. they do amazing stuff all over.

"Here! You can have a napkin!" Brilliant!

sometimes you just gotta shake things up a bit, you know?

Eve Ensler - The Vagina Monologues

here is another wonderful TED talk.

eve ensler is awesome.

Washington D.C. on Election Night: The Possibilities of Communal Joy

this is it, folks. this is what communal joy looks like.

of course barack obama is not going to save the world. of course barack obama is not perfect. of course more work lies ahead.

but we gotta dance!!!! we gotta! how can we not?

the very fact that more struggle lies ahead necessitates that we celebrate now. that we shout. and sing. and hug. and chant. and love. and clap. and glimmer. and kiss.

because this night was not guaranteed. this victory was not inevitable.

let's let our souls shine. let's let our hearts go free! just look at all those people, sweet hearts! look at all those people!

let's sip this one slowly, friends. we must savor every little bit of sweetness we can....

in love,
ge

YES WE DID!!!!

i do not have anything profound to say right now. i am still in shock. perhaps, after the euphoria wears off, i'll have something intelligent to say.

i love you all. thank you to everyone who helped with the campaign.

everyone is beautiful.

let's do this thing...

"About the Dream" - Novice Theory on Jools Holland

so this post requires a little back story. Novice Theory is a band of one: Geo Wyeth. when i was twelve-years-old, i went to Quaker farm camp with Geo, and i had a HUGE crush on him. one time i visited him after camp, and he was the first person to introduce me to ani difranco.

he is so beautiful and brave and talented that it is shocking sometimes. going to a Novice Theory show is one of the most intimate musical experiences one could ever have. he doesn't just sing. he shouts. he yells. he swoops. he lifts. he sways. he saunters. he swaggers. he calls you out.

he sings from a place within himself that is almost indescribable.

and we kissed playing spin the bottle when i was 12...hee hee hee.

thank you for your gifts, geo. i hope you feel honored in your bravery.

"Under Pressure" - Queen and David Bowie

this song is so good and so important that i couldn't decide on my favorite youtube video to represent it.

the first is Queen performing it live shortly before Freddie Mercury's death. the second is David Bowie and Annie Lennox performing it at a Freddie Mercury benefit show shortly after his death.

this song is for us, in all of our beauty and struggle. with the election tomorrow and the current state of the world, this song is as important as ever.

thank you, freddie mercury. you are a star, literally and metaphorically!

The Birth of the Universe - A Four-Minute Film by the History Channel

i don't need to say anything.

the universe speaks for itself.

[dedicated to agng, who is well aware of this]

in love,
elliogr

Chris Abani - Telling Stories of our Shared Humanity

if you can get past the Nokia advertisement at the beginning, this 18-minute video is full of so many powerful, big heart moments. Chris Abani is an author from Nigeria, who i am actually not familiar with, but his mission statement is an important one: sharing stories of transcendence and humanity.

he's charming and sweet and so compassionate.

humbling. that's what this video is, humbling and miraculous.

yay TED talks!