YouTube EDU Launches, So Go Learn Something

Six Happiness Tips Advice from Tal Ben-Shahar

Permission to Be Human
1. Give yourself permission to be human. When we accept emotions — such as fear, sadness, or anxiety — as natural, we are more likely to overcome them. Rejecting our emotions, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.

Combine Activities that are meaningful with those that are fun for you
2. Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable. When this is not feasible, make sure you have happiness boosters, moments throughout the week that provide you with both pleasure and meaning.

* 3. Keep in mind that happiness is mostly dependent on our state of mind, not on our status or the state of our bank account. Barring extreme circumstances, our level of well being is determined by what we choose to focus on (the full or the empty part of the glass) and by our interpretation of external events. For example, do we view failure as catastrophic, or do we see it as a learning opportunity?

* 4. Simplify! We are, generally, too busy, trying to squeeze in more and more activities into less and less time. Quantity influences quality, and we compromise on our happiness by trying to do too much.

* 5. Remember the mind-body connection. What we do — or don't do — with our bodies influences our mind. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits lead to both physical and mental health.

* 6. Express gratitude, whenever possible. We too often take our lives for granted. Learn to appreciate and savor the wonderful things in life, from people to food, from nature to a smile.

Should Internet companies be more transparent in their advertising?

An Icon That Says They’re Watching You

You have to wonder on the logic of those who no matter what information or what credible source is place before them will deny culpability or insist that they've been done wrong.

If we didn't torture, then (as Thomas Ricks puts it), you must know something that the International Red Cross doesn't know. Red Cross on US Torture


The best passage of Ricks' post reads as follows:

This makes me think more than ever that we need a truth and reconciliation commission -- not to punish the low-level guys who inflicted torture, but to set the record straight on who thought it was a good idea to make the use of torture U.S. national policy. Those are the people who dragged this country's name through the mud, and who also didn't understand that we can't win a war for our values by undermining them.

how's obama doing?

Is a Food Revolution Now in Season? The power of symbols.

Do you want controls or not. Is it good when your parent joins facebook and keeps you honest or is it a restriction of your freedom? What's the balance between freedom, self-development, and the courtesy and respectfulness we're expected to maintain within the earshot of our parents.