Oregon Humanities

The Stuff of Citizenship

I’m sure most of you have heard of Annie Leonard—creator and host of the insanely popular short animated film The Story of Stuff (now at more than 10 million views worldwide). Leonard has written a book of the same name and is currently on national tour. This last Monday she presented at Powell’s, and I went to go hear what she had to say.

It was standing room only, and even though I got there early, I was one of the people crammed against the bookshelves in the back.... Read more

25 March 2010 | Posted by Raina Hassan in Inside O. Hm. New Ideas | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Quiet

We live in a noisy and intrusive society. Cell phones and electronic devices summon us non-stop. They are addictive. They must be obeyed. But no electronic device I know of can teach us how to think nor can it help us find peace in the only venue that really counts: our own heads.

Be honest here. When was the last time you sat on a hillside, a park bench, or even in your own back yard and just listened—let your mind roll on—waited for whatever popped into your head for... Read more

18 March 2010 | Posted by John Frohnmayer in Inside O. Hm. New Ideas | Permalink | Comments? (2 so far)

Planting Seeds in Auschwitz

My freshman year in college, I stumbled into a class on the Holocaust, and four months later, I stepped off a bus in Auschwitz with a dozen classmates, my professor, and a living, breathing survivor of the Nazi camp. This might seem like an incredible journey, but really until I was standing in Auschwitz, the journey had been fairly easy. I read books, I watched films, I cried, and I had found myself hurt and angry at a history that wasn’t mine. But angry and hurt weren’t a... Read more

11 March 2010 | Posted by Jennie Seidewand in Inside O. Hm. New Ideas | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)