"Despair is a black leather jacket in which everyone looks good, while hope is a frilly pink dress few dare to wear. Rebecca Solnit thinks this virtue needs to be redefined.

Here she takes to our pulpit to deliver a sermon that looks at the remarkable social changes of the past half century, the stories the mainstream media neglects and the big surprises that keep on landing.

She explores why disaster makes us behave better and why it's braver to hope than to hide behind despair's confidence and cynicism's safety.

History is not an army. It's more like a crab scuttling sideways. And we need to be brave enough to hope change is possible in order to have a chance of making it happen."

"The Library Channel is proud to present the third installment of the Simon Ortiz and Labriola Center Lecture on Indigenous Land, Culture, and Community, sponsored by ASU American Indian Studies Program, ASU Department of English, ASU American Indian Policy Institute, ASU Labriola Center, and the Heard Museum.<br />
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Recorded March 23, 2009 at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, University of Victoria Professor of Indigenous Governance Gerald Taiaiake Alfred talks about the “Resurgence of Traditional Ways of Being: Indigenous Paths of Action and Freedom”<br />
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Taiaiake Alfred is known for his leadership and groundbreaking research in the fields of Indigenous governance, philosophy and history, and also for his incisive social and political criticism. He has been awarded a Canada Research Chair, a National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the field of education, and the Native American Journalists Association award for best column writing."

"It might surprise you that introverts travel differently than extroverts, particularly because most travel magazines, guidebooks, and TV shows are produced by and for extroverts.<br />
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"I don't seek people out, I am terrible at striking up conversations with strangers and I am happy exploring a strange city alone. I don't seek out political discourse with opinionated cab drivers or boozy bonding with locals over beers into the wee hours. By the time the hours get wee, I'm usually in bed in my hotel room, appreciating local color TV. (So sue me, but I contend that television is a valid reflection of a society.)"<br />
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I almost broke my neck extensively nodding in agreement while reading this article. The author also has some tips for the introverted traveler. And if you haven't read it, Jonathan Rauch's Caring for Your Introvert remains one of my favorite things that I've ever featured on kottke.org."

"With each of his books, Taiaiake Alfred challenges us to confront the future with new ways of thinking about where we as indigenous communities have been, where we are now and what thinking tools and warrior tools we need to move forward as indigenous nations. This is a book that needs to be read by indigenous leaders, activists, politicians, scholars, community workers, artists, teachers?in fact anyone who sees their future as an indigenous person in an indigenous world."