DweezelJazz Art Blog » Environment and Society

Volunteer Work at the Kampala Music School, Uganda

DweezelJazz — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:55:54 +0000

My niece, Elspeth Addicott, is going to Uganda this summer to spend six months teaching saxophone, flute, clarinet, and

Elspeth and her sister busking

oboe at a music school. She is just finishing her degree at the Royal Welsh College of Music and will be able to share the knowledge she gained during her four years there. She’s exceptionally talented at communicating and getting along well with all types of people, of all ages. I’m always very impressed by her skills.

British Airways has set up a competition in which they’ll give away free tickets to outstanding applicants. They include comments and ratings left by the general public in their assessment of the applicant.

I’m writing this post to ask if you could take just a few moments before the application end date, March 29th, to go to Elspeth’s page on the British Airways site to rate and leave a comment on her application. In her own words: “BA are offering free flights to winners of their competition, which seeing as mine would be £500-£600, would be really really useful!”

Thank you,
cheers,
Nat

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The Way In Which We’re Changing Our World

DweezelJazz — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:00:00 +0000

I spend a lot of time thinking about how our world is changing and what we, as the human race and dominant animal on our planet, are doing to our environment and ourselves. My mind goes round and round wondering how it is that we can continue in behavior that clearly does us harm. There are all sorts of examples of this, both obvious ones and not so obvious ones. We can become addicted to all sorts of behavior, substances and even emotional circumstances. The question is why?Most people are well-meaning, considerate and wouldn’t intentionally hurt others. But it seems the truth is, we’re not being alerted to certain conditions quickly enough to trigger a healthy response to ensure ourselves a better future. Today someone sent me a video entitled: “Why havenâ€™t we rallied our collective power to solve global warming?”, and it happens to cover this very question and seems to provide an answer to this query.I don’t usually link to videos because they can often take more time than a person might want to give. Here is the choice of listening to the well-prepared talk by Dan Gilbert in video format, or a shorter summary in print. (The print version includes a reference in the title which I would not personally use as an example in today’s world as something offensive to the general public’s morality and I don’t wish to offend anyone by linking to this. But if taken as simply an illustration that can be replaced by something that is offensive to the reader, then the point being made remains apparent.) I do recommend watching the video talk if you can spare the time – it’s about 14 minutes long.If I understood it correctly, Dan Gilbert, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, is saying that because our brains aren’t wired to pick up gradual, impersonal changes we don’t vividly compute such changes as an immediate threat even though they may be tremendously dangerous to us in the future.I’ve always thought that if every breath I take didn’t hurt (it doesn’t hurt when I’m in pristine country air) I too would completely forget about global warming, pollution, the overuse of chemicals, cleaning products, laundry products, fabric softeners and perfumes. But each breath racks the lungs with burning pain and the brain with the continual question: why?I remember how vibrantly blue the sky looked against a beautifully crisp green tree when I looked up as a teenager. I remember specifically telling myself to always remember that snapshot view because it was so fantastic. And today these truly brilliant colors of nature around us can still be seen, but only rarely and on especially clear days. And I wonder how we can forget what our world was not so very long ago and how we can tolerate it…and I’m not that old!And then when I watch a beautiful bird, an African Grey, scratch and fleece herself of her feathers in very specific spots and become lethargic and dull, as a result of being poisoned in that same chemically poisonous atmosphere, my cry of anguish and the question “why?” becomes even more excruciating. Previous post “Jasmine and Her Continuing Tousle With Air Quality” gives the background to this, if you’re not familiar with Jasmine.Somehow I feel better with the understanding that Dan Gilbert’s talk gives. I knew it wasn’t malice on our part as human beings, but it seemed so inexplicable and has been perplexing me for some time. Hopefully soon we can show our intelligence on a large scale, to save the beauty of our planet, ourselves and the other living beings we share it with, both microscopically tiny and large. I hope it answers something for you too. Cheers.

Listening Is Vital To Effective Communication

DweezelJazz — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Listening is one of the most important parts of effective communication. No matter what method we’re using to communicate there are a couple of things it’s good to keep in mind:First: we understand who we’re trying to communicate withSecond: we know what we want to say before we say itIt doesn’t make sense to think of what we want to say if we don’t know who we’re saying it to, or what frame of mind the person we’re saying it to might be in. Do you ever get so caught up in the tasks of the day that you become less aware of your surroundings? Sometimes this is beneficial to getting the work done, but if it becomes a habitual state we can miss what’s happening around us and this can impair our ability to communicate well.It’s easy to express what’s important and relevant to us, without fully considering the person we’re expressing it to. This can lead to some frustrating moments for people we spend time with. By observing and listening to someone we can determine what’s the best approach or response, or even if it’s an appropriate moment to speak.It requires concentration and effort to listen properly. We might find ourselves replying before the other person has finished talking. By not hearing them through, we may misunderstand what they were trying to say and it’s very likely that we leave that person feeling unheard.Body language and tone of voice are good indicators of meaning and feelings. Trying to understand how another person may feel allows us to remain open to possibilities we may not foresee. It gives us an additional opportunity to open communication in a way that we may otherwise miss.Just as when we’re writing someone a letter, when we write an article, a book, or we speak, we first need to consider if the person receiving it will enjoy reading or hearing it, find it interesting, fun or useful? Sometimes we write or say something for ourselves. If this is so, we need to be extra careful to assess whether it’s relevant and interesting before presenting it to someone else.How we interact flavors our life; it can often even determine what happens in our life and what choices become available to us. It’s worth understanding how to communicate effectively to optimize our possibilities and have as much fun as we can in the process.

Apartment Living, Part II

DweezelJazz — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 07:00:00 +0000

All buildings convey character of some kind and affect us when we see them. Houses, apartments, office blocks: they all have some impact. The external part of an apartment building can very much influence how we might feel about living there.The colorful shutters, as we also saw in the Apartment Living, Part I post, brightens this facade and gives the otherwise somewhat worn look of the building a community feel and friendly atmosphere.This front is well maintained and the focus is strongly on the balconies and windows. A balcony makes a huge difference to the experience of living in an apartment. If the balcony catches the sun then this gives the residents an opportunity to be in the sun in the relative privacy and convenience of their home.A resident’s selection of an apartment can depend strongly on whether it has a balcony, its size, and when that balcony is in the sun.Some people decorate their balconies with lots of flowers. Tables with sun shades enhance a balcony’s use as a living space in the outdoor air.Other buildings have more of a stately look to their exterior. There’s almost the impression that these balconies are more for show or giving the odd speech to passersby than for any real practical use.The insides of apartment buildings vary enormously, even from one identical layout of apartment to another. Sometimes a modest outside can yield a beautiful indoor living space. It’s impossible to guess what a person’s home looks like from the appearance of the outside.Some apartments are very high, with their window space looking down on most other buildings. The tops of trees are far below, and the ground looks amazingly distant.Sky panoramas can be quite magnificent in such apartments. The view is almost cinematic. High apartments can be both exhilarating and also isolating because they’re so remote from the ground.Apartments that are constructed like very large houses can also be very nice to live in. Looking out, the views are similar to what they would be from an upper floor in a house. With the windows open there are all the familiar sounds of birds, people walking nearby, car doors shutting, and all the more natural sounds of being close to the earth.There are many different places to live and many different ways to live. In crowded regions the majority of people live in apartments. Some apartments are bigger than some houses. And there are all kinds for whatever circumstances and tastes a person may have.

Apartment Living, Part I

DweezelJazz — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Apartment blocks are a common feature of modern times.They provide a compact means of housing many people on one relatively small piece of land.In areas where there’s a shortage of space it’s inevitable that there will be many apartment buildings.Large numbers of people live under the same roof often knowing only a very few, if any, of their immediate neighbors. Society has come to be segmented with many people living in relative isolation to those around them. Communities used to be bound by the proximity of families, business and friends. These days many of these elements of a community are scattered over large distances and aren’t necessarily present locally.There can be great advantages to living in apartments. Some blocks have pleasant grounds where children can play safely. Heating and maintenance are usually more economical than they are for a house.Shops, schools, community centers and public transport are often located nearby.Apartment blocks come in all sizes, shapes and colors. Some are very modern looking, others have been around a while and retain an old city look.Some are quite glaringly dashing and impossible to overlook.Others have a simple, quiet homely appearance.Some apartments are mixed right in with businesses in the main part of a city.These look more like large town houses rather than apartment blocks. And even though they’re in the center of a city they have a charm that adds to their convenience.These apartments are more in the tradition of the old town style, with shops down below. The colorful shutters add a great flavor to the outside, making it bright and fun to look at. It’s surprising how the quaintness of this gives the scene a feeling of calmness; there’s little clue that just round the corner is one of the busiest streets in the city.The exteriors of apartments, and the types of buildings they’re in, greatly influence the feel of a neighborhood.For more about apartments, stay tuned for Part II.

How Do You Want To Help The Environment?

DweezelJazz — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 07:00:00 +0000

There are all sorts of ways to do something to improve our environment. Some are easy, some are a lot of fun, others may be difficult or possibly not even feasible depending on our circumstances. But there’s always something that each one of us can do. Every little bit helps, more than might at first seem so.There are the commonly routine things that can be done, such as recycling, taking reusable bags for our shopping instead of using plastic throw-aways, changing to low-energy light bulbs.We can remove appliances from the mains which, when plugged in, remain on and pull energy even when we’re not using them: such as remote control televisions, hifis. This can be done easily by plugging these appliances into an extension cord with a mains switch on it, allowing the appliance to be easily cut off from drawing current without having to bother with pulling the plug out each time. This way the convenience of the remote control can be enjoyed when the appliance is being used, but does not remain on all the time.When there are alternatives, we can avoid buying electrical devices that use higher amounts of energy to run than another brand or technology that performs the same function. A BBC News article on July 4th entitled: “Gadgets ‘threaten energy savings’” reported that much of the electronics being bought is less energy efficient than older technology, with flat-screen TVs and digital radios being the worst offenders. When we have these devices it’s clear that it’s even more important to turn them off when we’re not using them.On July 25 another BBC News article reported that The Energy Saving Trust has urged retailers to stop selling outdoor patio heaters as a report shows that their use will almost double over the next year. These are being used privately outdoors at home and also people are choosing to preferentially go to cafes and pubs that use them outdoors.These are consumer choices. If we’re consumers, we can help the environment with our decisions on what and where we buy.We can use non-toxic cleaning agents when we’re cleaning. For more information see previous DweezelJazz blog posts: “Cleaning With Non-Toxic Substances” and “Chemical Sensitivity and the New EU Chemical Law”. Powerful cleaning agents contaminate our air and water systems. If we minimize our use of them, there will be far less polluting of our environment.There are lots of fun things that can be done. If you like to garden, you can set up a garden that will benefit the wildlife around you. Recently there have been a number of articles about the decline of bees; a good starting point for reading about this is a post at Patagonia’s The Cleanest Line blog “Precarious Predicament for Pollinators?” Some plants are beneficial to bees, others to butterflies. And in many places both bees and butterflies are endangered. There are many varieties of gardens that can be set up. You can see a very nice example of a drought tolerant garden at Mooky’s Hood in a post called “A Small View of my Garden”.If you like to go on outings, another thing that’s fun to do is to volunteer to help with an environmental project. On 2nd Star To The Right there’s a really great article called “SOS”, which stands for Save Our Seahorses describing, with fabulous photos of the seahorses, a volunteer project to help save seahorses in Malaysia. Today another article has been posted reporting that this same area is in danger of development in petrochemical and maritime industries. If you can spare a few minutes to read the article and sign a petition for the seahorses requesting that this area be conserved, that would be another great way to do something to help the environment!Is there something you like to do that could be combined with some effort to help our environment?