What is Beauty?

Are you familiar with TED?  TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design.  In a series of conferences at various venues throughout the country, people - some famous, some not - give a short talk.  The subjects of the talks are, well, everything.  It may be an idea or an experience or a product.

NPR has a show called The TED Radio Hour which I listened to on my drive home last Sunday.  The subject was "What is Beauty?"  Despite the fact that the temperature has been chilly, it's still Spring and Memphis is at its most beautiful (IMHO) with the azaleas, dogwoods, cherries, redbuds, tulips, iris, and I could go on and on.

Margaret Wolfe Hungerford said that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  But is there something that is considered beautiful by people of all cultures?  Turns out there is!  So take a break from your gardening, fix a cup of tea, and settle down to explore beauty with NPR and TED.

p.s. - One of my favorite TED talks is by brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor who studied her own stroke as it happened.

The Beauty of Pollination

You must watch this - it's incredible.  That hummingbird flying upside down!

This is from a TED talk.  If you're not familiar with TED, check it out, the talks are amazing.

And now, one of my favorite poems:  Emily Dickinson's Hummingbird.

A route of evanescence

With a revolving wheel;

A resonance of emerald,

A rush of cochineal;

And every blossom on the bush

Adjusts its tumbled head,

---The mail from Tunis, probably,An easy morning's ride.

Changing the Way We Eat - a TEDx Event

TedxManhattan is presenting a one day symposium called Changing the Way We Eat on Saturday, January 21.  Gary Oppenheimer at AmpleHarvest.org sent this email:

January 20, 2012 Dear Friends, This Saturday, January 21st, at 5:15PM EST, I will be speaking about AmpleHarvest.org at TEDxManhattan. This TED type presentation will be an outstanding opportunity to highlight AmpleHarvest.org to a whole new audience. If you are interested in seeing it, you can visit  www.AmpleHarvest.org/TEDx or www.livestream.com/TEDx.  The event starts at 10AM EST so you may want to keep tuned in all day.  I'll be sure to let you know when  they've released recorded presentations for replay after the event too. I'd personally like to ask that you please help spread the word by passing this email on or by visiting the event on facebook and clicking on "Share."  As you all know, this is a virtual campaign and it is through the  efforts af caring people willing to make a difference that we will reach every community in America.  Thank you and as always, thanks for your ongoing interest in and support of AmpleHarvest.org. Take Care, Gary Oppenheimer AmpleHarvest.org Founder/CNN Hero gary@AmpleHarvest.org Tel: Ample-6-9880 (267-536-9880)  The complete schedule can be found here.  The event will be streamed live:

Watch live streaming video from TEDx at livestream.com