The Long Now Foundation

Posted by Mie on April 27, 2007 | | Comments (0)

I had a really great evening tonight. Went to see Frans Lanting present his "Life: A Journey Through Time" for the Long Now Foundation. Truly beautiful, amazing, and inspiring. Frans went around the globe photographing landscapes, animals, marine life, patterns, colors, etc. that represent life from the beginning until now. There is a type of lizard that survived the dinosaurs, there are landscapes that look like what earth looked like thousands of years ago, and there are animals that represent a jump in evolutionary progress. Through his photographs and the technology to share them (along with music from Philip Glass), Frans is able to show us that we really are all interconnected.

Very timely. I'm inspired to be hearing pretty much on a daily basis now about the environment whether about new studies, political change, or mainstream consumer awareness. I have a distinct feeling that we will experience a huge shift in the next 10 or even 5 years. Dav and I will one day tell Tesla about the gross over-consumption we grew up with, and hopefully by then living more responsibly will be a norm for her.

I was also inspired that, although a donation is appreciated, the Long Now seminars are free to the public. How lucky and generous is that? This city rocks (although it's true that the people who go are from a rather narrow sector of the population).

What also made my evening was

  • I submitted a question for the Q & A, and it was the first to be read! It was my first time to submit a question. Too bad they couldn't figure out how to say my name and said, "me...who is me? raise your hand" but the lights were down so even though I was waving my hand, they didn't notice. (Another reason I love the name "Tesla." It's unique but so easy to pronounce!)

  • Tesla was an angel. She was in the ergo and I had to sway her to sleep for about 20 minutes at the beginning, and she groaned a bit until she dozed off, but she slept beautifully.

  • As I left, another mommy with a 4 month old gave me her contact info saying, "I'd love to meet up with other adventurous mommies." I told her about 2 month old Tesla at Burning Man; hope I didn't scare her away.

  • At the end, I bought Frans' book and got it signed to "Dav, Mie, and Tesla." It was huge so I had a hard time carrying it back to the car. And when I couldn't figure out where to pay for parking, the foundation's founding board member, Stuart, and his friend assisted me.

    • The last 2 bullets are special as they wouldn't have happened had I been with Dav. He's off prancing around at Cochella. Of course I miss him, but getting cute text messages from him, and having encounters I wouldn't have had if we were together make it fun.

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