Showing posts with label transition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transition. Show all posts

Monday, September 24, 2012

Brooklyn Book Festival & Young Humans


The Brooklyn Book Festival is a 1 day event filled with 5 days of content.  Endless tents and happenings scattered around downtown Brooklyn.  From the BK Law School to the magnificent St. Ann's, you had to hustle for seats at the 180 panel discussions available throughout the day.  

These four books are going onto my Nook!

R.J. Palacio's Wonder.



Andrew Zolli's Resilience.



Isabel Wilkerson's Warmth of Other Suns.



And Karen Thompson Walker's Age of Miracles.



Does the YA genre provide a unique dynamic in terms of moral reflection?

This came up during a session.

Youth seem to internalize a society's moral yardsticks and then hold it directly against reality.  For me, the matter becomes whether YA authors are writing to the raw dreams/frustrations of young audiences - or whether we're only writing from the tempered sentiments of adult reflection.  Are we writing about youth or for youth?  YA is a genre.  It's also a market.  However, I never want to forget that it's primarily an audience that thirsts for stories.  Stories that resonate.  And maybe YA is primarily about stories that go straight to the raw roots of our conflicts, our dreams, and our human fears?

Perhaps we should rename Young Adult?  Let's call it Young Human.

Now for something completely random.


Sunday, April 29, 2012

A Green NYC? (inspired)

What if we were forced to quickly adapt to new energy sources, new food sources, etc.  What's possible?  How quickly would we adapt?  How might we rethink the urban landscape?

What if people started digging up concrete and planting food/herbs?

image from SphereTrending
image from thefreefarm.blogspot.com

What if "green became the new graffiti?"  

WATCH THIS DUDE.

Urban Farming is real.  Action towards sustainability in Hunts Point, Bronx, is real.



Green roofs are real.  This is Chicago's city hall.


I think it's going to spread (in spite of maintenance and liability hurdles).

image from WorldChanging.com
image from the Green Roof article.
image from sierraclubgreenhome.com

Solar energy?  There are entire towns running on solar and wind.

image from BBC
What about algae?  Photobioreactors are coming.

image from BIOS blog

Imagine bio-fuel growing all around us.

images from EcoFriend.com


New ways of thinking about sustainability are here.

image from Tuvie