The Man Who Could Fly

On Nov. 11, extreme wingsuit pioneer Ueli Gegenschatz died in a Swiss hospital, after an accident during a BASE jump . This spring at TED, Gegenschatz spoke movingly of his desire "to come as close as possible to the human dream of being able to fly." Footage of his spellbinding flights are some of the most captivating on the internet. Our thoughts are with his friends and family, and we honor his vision and legacy.

Choose a Book. Change a Life.

Among the hill tribes of Northern Thailand, children who attend Morwakee School can’t afford to own a single book. So The Asia Foundation asked each student to choose their favorite Thai storybook, and then gave it to them.

The Applied Fun Theory

Join the Global Climate Wake-Up Call

On September 21st, thousands of activists are getting together in public places across the world to hold "wake-up call" events pressing our leaders to take urgent action on climate. Global leaders have only three months to get their act together and sign a strong Climate Treaty in Copenhagen. With all kinds of events in 5 continents organised by Avaaz and their partners, they plan to show our leaders that the movement is massive and unstoppable. Check out the World In Action's Avaaz.org to find events near you and help spread the word.

iTunes U

One of the coolest features in Apple's free iTunes media player is iTunes U, a collection of the best in higher education learning from sources like Stanford, Yale, Texas A&M, the Library of Congress, and MoMA. You can learn a language, learn how to write a business plan, hear Oxford professors discuss the reasons for the global recession, learn Photoshop or the history of Art, or unravel the mysteries of the human genome. If you're interested in global warming, do a search in iTunes U and it will show you a long list of related lectures from all different sources. You can watch one class or subscribe to a whole series. Some lectures are audio only, but many are video, and most include downloadable written support materials. iTunes U is a great source for anyone committed to lifelong learning, and it's all FREE. Watch a video overview of iTunes U here.

From TEDGlobal - July/09

Quote of the week

"Ask yourself this question: 'Will this matter a year from now?'"

- Richard Carlson, writing in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff