Rewrite the Rules - Ted Turner on Oprah's Master Class

Rewrite the Rules

These links are to Ted Turner's interview on Oprah Winfrey's Master Class series.  (He is the innovative person who started up CNN, the first 24 hour news channel.) 

The link is not allowing embedding so here they are. 

On Youtube, at 4.5 minutes in, "Rewrite the Rules":
https://youtu.be/e-gd3FTfYnQ?t=4m30s

On his website:
http://www.tedturner.com/2012/01/ted-turner-on-oprahs-master-class-own-part-3/


Fulltext coming soon - I love this clip of Ted Turner's thoughts.  Especially from 4.5 minutes in - about looking after planet Earth.

 i.e. He doesn't poison insects on his lands:  "When you kill insects, you are damaging the ecosystem very badly."  He has allowed natural predators to move back in, and on his extensive lands is allowing it to be natural again.

He feels as I felt, sadness about losing all the buffalo - when he found out - as I did.  He is a thinker.  I feel like we are very similar souls.

Here are his 10 Voluntary initiatives, "a new set of rules to play by" to replace the 10 Commandments. 

1. I promise to care for planet earth and all living things thereon, especially my fellow human beings

2. I promise to treat all persons everywhere with dignity, respect and friendliness

3. I promise to have no more than one or two children

4. I promise to use my best efforts to help save what is left of our natural world in its undisturbed state and to restore degraded areas

5. I promise to use as little of our non-renewable resources as possible

6. I promise to minimize my use of toxic chemicals, pesticides and other poisons and to encourage others to do the same

7. I promise to contribute to those less fortunate, to help them become self-sufficient and enjoy the benefits of a decent life including clean air, and water, adequate food, health care, housing, education and individual rights

8. I reject the use of force, in particular military force, and I support United Nations arbitration of international disputes

9. I support doing everything we can to reduce the dangers from nuclear biological or chemical weapons and ultimately the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction

10. I support the United Nations and its efforts to improve the conditions of the planet

11. I support clean renewable energy and a rapid move to eliminate carbon emissions

Feedback to my company about Enviro Day events it holds

Feeling refocused lately on matters such as this - sludgey efforts of many to become more sustainable.  Recently all the employees were asked for ideas about our company holding their Earth Day or Environmental events.  This is what I said:

I like the idea of the quiz.

1.     I think a huge part of eco living is the time we have to devote towards these things.  Especially with terrible traffic congestion problems of Auckland  The more we can have flexible working arrangements, the more we have time to care and put energy and thought in (instead of being too worn out to do so).  Things like going to bulk food stores, recycling properly, all a challenge if working full time.

2.     Improving transport would be an awesome thing for Downer to cooperate with.  Subsidised public transport, building a path out to that train station behind Kerrs Rd, promoting travelling less.

 

Those are obviously ideas for the environment, not for Downer’s events. But how can we promote those ends through the events?  Otherwise it’s just pointless having the events. 

I found the photo competition to be totally irrelevant to the environment, as it was judged upon photographic merit.  It has to be judged for sustainability value – either in documenting actions / or in new awareness about sustainability.

How about rewarding IDEAS on how either employees, or Downer, can become more sustainable?  And publishing the best ones?  Like that box competition but for enviro.

Why not teach about the areas which we are currently unsustainable – carbon pollution: transport of selves, buying local; zero waste: info/trips how to waste less, places to buy cool zero waste equipment like sandwich wrappers, or stainless steel, buying less crap, home gardens – education on why? Like plastic in oceans/

Etc etc

This all has to be fun and cool or it’s a no go.  There are really cool reusable nappies out there – really healthy, better alternatives for everything.  I think a Downer tips email which was done in a fun, loving, nonjudgemental way would be the best idea ever.

 

Nonavee Dale
Graphic Designer - Projects, Downer
New Zealand

Zebra Art for Vincent

When learning to make zebras on this trip - when I saw real zebras with their vivid stripes - that looked painted on, they were so distinct - I wanted to scrap the idea of using the print I had been using. Each stripe aligned to the zebra's body in a certain way.  I was taken with the essence of this.

I didn't get a chance to paint a landscape with zebras as I had wanted - Shane's visiting family was more important on the trip. But I did get a chance to make a zebra out of white cloth, and then paint each stripe... along the body as I had wanted.  The hair was set right into the seam along the back of the head as alternating bunches of white yarn, black yarn, white yarn, black - as their hair is.

It was no longer soft - with acrylic paint used - but it was art - although nothing close to the beauty of a real zebra, it was a reflection made with imperfection of human hands, but out of love, to encourage the spirit of a wonderful person who fell ill while I was there.

Vincent - Shane's mother Elaine's, husband - holding a zebra made by me in the night - and a giraffe model cut out by Troy - for the purpose of giving someone else strength.

 

Song of the Sea animation, folk tale of the selkies retold and animated by Tomm Moore

I am in love with this magical animation.  Song of the Sea is not just a fairy tale but reflects the truth of the world.

 I love how recently animations have been used to bring back and teach people about the ways and stories of the past - like the Book of Life - of the ways of Mexican culture.

This tale is true. To sing and remember songs and stories will awaken the frozen spirit of the world, which had almost turned to stone completely.

Knitted flower for Kayla's hair - with pattern

One project that happened before the stegasaurus was completed - when I was knitting this toy the pattern asked me to do a "picot" while I was in the Kruger Park and I had no idea what it meant, and didn't have access to the internet. Turns out it's making a chain using knitting - it was to make some spikes coming out of the stegosaurus's tail. While at Earl's, his daughter Kayla was going to a "hippie-related" themed party. To make a knitted flower to wear in her hair, I was able to use this technique to do the centre stamen thingies - but already knew how to make flower petals. Pattern below.

You knit these petals separately, and using the tails of yarn, sew the petals together. But first, after knitting them you singe the backs of each petal with the iron - to control them and shape them better. Easy to make any size but write down and follow a pattern so all petals are identical.

 

Knitted flower - to knit 1 petal:

Cast on 3 stitches

Row 1: K3
Row 2: P3
Row 3: K1, M1, K1, M1, K1
Row 4: P5
Row 5: K5
Row 6: P5
Row 7: K1, M1, K3, M1, K1
Row 8: P7
Row 9: K1, M1, K5, M1, K1
Row 10: P9
Row 11: K9
Row 12: P9
Row 13: K9
Row 14: P9
Row 15: K1, K2tog, K3, K2tog, K1
Row 16: P7
Row 17: K7
Row 18: P7
Row 19: K2, K2tog, K3
Row 20: P6
Row 21: K6
Row 22: P1, P2tog, P2tog, P1
Row 23: K4
Row 24: P1, P2tog, P1

Using needle pass wool through all three stitches and tie off.

Make 4 more, sew all three together, add picot chains in the centre in contrasting colour, and sew onto a hair barrett or clip.

Note: as petals were flat and unrealistic, I passed a piece of wool through all petals to draw them curved in the centre and tied off.

If you want stamens, look up how to a picot stitch (like a casting and creating a chain).

Knitting a stegosaurus for James

 



First knitted Stegasaurus - from the patterns by Clare Garland, "Knit and Purl Pets" (she lives in England), for my mate from work's little boy, James.

I love the plates design - these are brilliant. They are so thick (made up from two sets of two plates which force a disc shape through the thickness) and after I finally figured it out, am going to use it to make dragons. However I am not a fan of the way she does the legs. I prefer my freestyle - leave a button hole, reinsert needles and knit on in the round. I never know what it will look like - and this stegasaurus's legs are not the same length!

Next ones (I have promised 2 more, for friends' children) I will use her plates and my feet - and perhaps make a dragon, combining the Loch Ness plesiosaur shape and the scales?

For the sticky out bits on the tail - I learned how to do a picot stitch, basically a chain.  Which I then used to knit a flower (stamens) for a family friend's daughter's hair.

For the scales I had to yarn over needle, and to practice a few times before I knew where I was going with the pattern.

Zebras with wings (and unicorn pegasuses)

On holiday, I got to make unicorn toys for my daughter, and for a niece I had promised one to, long ago.  I took with me a pattern, but then modified it until I liked the face better.  You can see the first shape in the first zebra (black hair smaller one, Eve) - my modifications in the second (white hair larger, Troy named her Ash).

Later I made wings for the unicorn - and stuffed them, and sewed through the wings so it had a quilted effect.  Troy loved them and begged me for wings for her zebras.

I will post the pattern I made sometime soon!  Kids love unicorns.

I also made her some zebra pants to match her toys.  I love holidays...

The white mane is a knitted piece that uses eyelash wool which is then stitched into the seam - so basically like a plush toy fur texture in a strip.  The horn on the unicorn Pegasus was a piece of leather rolled into a cone.  But I also make them using ram shell horns.

I said no to Troy about giving her zebras horns.