Some international reach in this week’s WWR, from Malaysian elections to Japanese yo-yo performers to… a fake city in our backyard posing as a foreign country’s metropolis. Enjoy!
Karianne Fallow
Having just returned from Malaysia, which faces an election of historic magnitude, I was fascinated with the campaigning efforts there. (Note: I am by no means an expert on Asian politics or elections, but merely an interested onlooker.) The election on May 5 is being touted as one that could potentially change Malaysia forever.
The current ruling party, which has executive authority and ruling power over government, is the Barisan Nasional coalition, which consists of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and others.
At breakfast one morning, with a number of local resident women (three Americans, one Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indian), it was clear that the BN party was overwhelmingly seen as the corrupt party. Stories of corruption were far and wide, they explained, with the wife of the Prime Minister having ordered and received a diamond ring that cost millions of dollars and then denying that she had purchased it. The women at breakfast were hopeful that victory by a more democratic and moderate party would result, but also admitted that election fraud would probably be rampant. They believe that May 5 will be a good day to avoid the streets.
I was reminded of the breakfast conversation when I saw the news this week about a brawl in the Venezuelan Parliament. Yikes! It’s true— politics can get very ugly. It’s a good reminder that we live in a more respectful democracy. Even when American politics gets polarized, it still remains more civilized than some!
Amanda Watson
Before the Beginning- Wyoming Wildlife: I am a regular subscriber to Wyoming Wildlife (it’s my way of retaining my rugged, country roots) and found this Jim Houston article about an ancient Shoshoni camp fascinating. Archaeologists unearthed the camp in the 1970s and found the remains of more than 200 Pronghorn Antelope that had been killed and harvested in one day using archaic tools (literally) a feat that would be nearly impossible even today with modern tools. And, because Wyoming is still slightly archaic itself, Wyoming Wildlife does not have an online version to provide a link to this story. If you’re interested in learning more, I found this abstract on the Eden-Farson camp that will undoubtedly be a page turner.
How to Fix 17 Basic Cooking Mistakes: Real Simple intrigued me with this article because I enjoy cooking and am always trying to improve as a cook- plus it was a list article, which I recently learned is more popular. I was fairly certain I wouldn’t make any of Real Simple’s 17 “basic” mistakes. Sadly, I was an offender of at least five including using a tiny cutting board, storing tomatoes in the fridge, tossing oil in pasta and using a nonstick pan for everything. In any case, the article is worth a read even if it does deflate one’s confidence a bit.
Justin Nyquist
Yo-yo world champion has more to offer than just a cool trick: A young Japanese performer has one of the most inspiring TED talks that I’ve watched this year…and he only talked for a couple minutes! You should definitely watch the talk here. After his short speech, he gives a jaw-dropping yo-yo performance on stage. Here’s the summary of his speech and his success:
- Find your passion
- Master your passion
- Effort + true passion = nothing is impossible
Why Men Should Read More Fiction: Brett & Kate McKay created a headline that jumped out at me from my Facebook newsfeed and made me click on the link. As both a man and a lover of fiction literature, I was immediately intrigued. And hey, I actually learned something new from this article – about a little something called Theory of Mind. I won’t ruin the surprise; you should read about it for yourself. The article was posted on a site called The Art of Manliness, which posts a lot of stories that are sometimes funny, occasionally heartwarming and always entertaining or informative.
Holy Cow This Looks Awesome: Imagine an interactive screen that is projected onto the surface of the water. Well, imagine no longer. Using motion technology, Japanese researchers have developed a prototype of what they call the AquaTop. Users will be able to interact with the “screen” by using different motions with their hands. For example, to move a picture or tile to another place on the screen, simply scoop up the water underneath and drop in into the desired location. If you do click on this story, make sure to watch the embedded video!
Gloria Miller
I came across an interesting article: “Think Money Can’t Buy Happiness, Think Again.” It’s an overview of a study from the Brookings Institute. It basically said it’s not the actual amount of money that you have in your wallet or bank account that creates happiness, it’s the freedom it allows you that makes a person happy. I liked this article because it gave me a new perspective to a standard quote I hear used over and over. Besides, who doesn’t like to be happy!
Doug Self
The Myth of America’s Tech Talent Shortage: I can’t say I agree 100% with this piece, but I feel it is an important discussion as issues such as immigration and complex tax schemes gain enough public momentum to capture attention from legislators. Just this week, Mark Zuckerberg spearheaded the launch of FWD.us a 501(c)(4) lobbying group to persuade lawmakers to vote in favor of immigration reform (particularly around H1-B visas) and improvements to science, technology, and math education in the United States. These issues that seem to matter only to those in the tech space are making their way to the general public, expect more tech celebrities to step in front of a camera to stump for their cause.
I’m still here: back online after a year without the Internet: Paul Miller is a tech journalist. The guy lived technology and was therefore chained to the Internet. Then, he decided to quit the Internet cold turkey. It sounds insane, and from his account, made life substantially harder in our over-screened world. While he wrote along the way (on an internet-less laptop and hand delivering them to his editor via USB drive), this final post is enlightening and a fascinating look what can and cannot be accomplished without the series of tubes we’ve come to rely on.
Amber Broeckel
Drones Hit New Turf: U.S. Farmland: Drones have been making the news lately for their controversial involvement with the military, but Oregon State University is discovering how drones can help farmers. My father is a wheat farmer so I am always interested to learn about all the new ways technology is helping make a farmer’s jobs easier. What a wonderful difference technology can make!
Has Social Media Changed the College Experience for the Better? Going to college seems to be a cinch with school apps for campus maps and school schedules, Facebook to meet roommates and multiple other ways the Internet has made doing homework more convenient. It is amazing how social media has changed the college experience. Now whether it is for the better or worse, that’s up to you!
Chad Biggs
The Company That’s Buying Up All the Key Pieces of the Online-News Ecosystem: I’m an avid Instapaper user and while it meets my core needs of capturing articles for a time when I can devote my full attention to reading them, many people are excited by its acquisition by Betaworks. I had never heard of the company – which is semi-embarrassing considering bit.ly, ChartBeat and Digg are part of their portfolio. This Atlantic article captures how Betaworks has a foothold at every part of the content process – from content management system to Twitter to aggregator to analytics and all over again. An interesting read purely from the business approach.
Unknown ‘city’ in Idaho desert a virtual warzone: I never realized how desensitized we’ve become to military jets and other sights and sounds of combat preparations we see and hear in Boise until my father-in-law mentioned it during a recent visit. Now a military training facility triple the size of Boise is a mere ten-minute flight away. KTVB gets an extensive look, and shares how it will help soldiers prepare – down to the rancid smells and human decoys appearing out of nowhere.
Jessica Flynn
Silicon Valley’s Start-Up Machine: If it’s possible to be both extremely proud, and extremely disappointed at once – that’s how I feel this morning. Immensely proud of Boiseans and friends Michelle Crosby and Jeff Reynolds who took their vision for Wevorce – a company committed to disrupting divorce – to Silicon Valley and the esteemed Ycombinator (a bootcamp of sorts for promising startups). This fantastic New York Times piece profiles several of Ycombinators latest startups, including Wevorce.
My disappointment comes from the fact that both Michelle and Jeff are leaving Boise (at least for the time being) to continue to grow their company in the Bay area. Any time great minds leave our Valley, we lose a little bit. The hope is that they find success and perhaps boomerang back – wiser for their experiences and are willing to pay that knowledge forward.
Take This Town and Love It: Keeping with that theme of the emotional feelings we have for our hometown – I loved this piece in Boise State’s Blue Review by Chris Blanchard. He reviewed the keynote at this week’s State of Downtown event by Peter Kageyama, producer of the Creative Cities Summit and author of For the Love of Cities:
The book boasts a simple premise: get people to love their cities and good things follow. As Kageyama explains, city leaders have a basic obligation to ensure that their cities are safe and functional. Using the filling of potholes as an example, he shows that those basic services don’t add up to a citizenry that’s more invested in place. Kageyama’s presentation clip art shows that cities that feel comfortable, generate conviviality (a term reserved for European urbanists meaning “hospitality”), and FUN are the ingredients that matter most.
Blanchard’s overview of various economic development theories was wonky but fascinating (at least for this ‘promotion of place’ fan), and I have a new phrase to use – high–touch entrepreneurs (HTEs).
A ‘Whom Do You Hang With’ Map of America: For fans of place AND of data visualization – this is a must read. NPR did an amazing job illustrating that there are ways to see America not as 50 states, but as regions where people do stuff together – do business, buy things, connect via mobile.
