My Kid Could Paint That...

Just finished watching the film 'My Kid Could Paint That..'

For anyone who hasn't seen it, or heard of it, it's the film of a little girl, called Marla Olmstead. Read the Wikipedia page here...  In short, Marla was a four year old girl who, between the ages of 4 and 7, produced amazing pieces of abstract art. 

As you watch the film it moves from a story about a little girl and onto:

-  a family 

-  a community 

-  a nation 

After this the story takes a really interesting twist, and into a different journey about story. 

The documentary ends by saying "it's a story about what happens to stories", about the nature of narrative. 

To me the heartbreaking part of the documentary was what it had to say about what we do with the 'my story - your story - our story - the story' stuff, how distrust breaks apart the narrative we all depend upon to build common cause and community, and how hard it is to build again when trust and faith have been broken.  Do watch the film... 

American Fervour...

Just watched the third of four parts of 'The American Future'. The BBC/Simon Schama series on recent, post independence, history. This third part looks at the connection between Religion and Politics in the American context.


I've always really liked Schama's style of presentation and it's really interesting to see and hear a 'secular Jew' commentate so incisively and sensitively on this subject. Those in the UK can view it here.

The programme has always made really solid links between the past and present, and this third programme is no exception.


He never reverts to cheap gags or even the easiest of obvious shots, he just make a self-evident case that the Church has lost it's way in politics, away from the intent of the Founding Father's and the earliest Christian leaders who fought against injustice, and too into the hands of the American Right.... and back again?!


Do take a half an hour just to watch the last 30 minutes, it's brilliant. And watch he face at the end of a Mega-Church service... priceless.

McCain

This made me laugh...

"He's George W. Bush without the prudence and caution."

... and cry!

Back to my roots?

I've just clocked that the title of this post has just a slight overtone, with connotations of race for some. Well, as that is so far off the mark of what the post is about, I'll leave it up. 

I know for most people the success of Barak Obama's fundraising strategy will be of little interest, but for those of us who cut the teeth of our early careers in fundraising it's really fascinating, for three reasons:

1. At the start of his campaign turned down a guaranteed $150m (£86m) in state funding, because state funding would limit his spending. This was a significant gamble, but I'm sure the team had good numbers to back it up. 

2. His fundraising drive is based on a beautiful synergy between proposition, message and values. Saying to people 'I'm not taking your money unless you volunteer it', is simultaneously; pro-choice (in the non-abortion use of the term), anti big-government and participative.

3. The rest of his campaign is based on large-scale participation on the ground. Yet... his fundraising campaign is also large-scale participation (the average donation in the last month has been $84 (£49), with a supporter base of 3.1m) This, again, blows away the concept that we have two types of people - those who give and those who do. Giving and doing are, increasingly, seen as two sides of the same coin.  

Truth, Good, God, and Fullness

I found this really interesting piece through Andrew Sullivan, (who incidentally has been writing and collating the best stuff on the US election).

In a blog called Postmodern Conservative (multiple contributers) James Poulos writes the following under a post "Truth, Good, God, and Fullness..."

"We start longing for the experience of conversion, the gratifying sensation that we are surrendering ourselves completely to an insuperable power, rather than longing, say, to have been converted. This presumptive longing for the sudden, totalizing experience of comprehensiveness is, I think, a bit too driven by envy. And our longing, post-conversion, for the enduring, permanent experience of fullness is ditto too driven by pride."
I think his point about 'rather than longing to be converted' speaks about a preference for nice experiences over and above transformation.

Landslide...?!?

Are we really talking about a landslide..?!

We continue to hope...

Well, as the 'Palin Bounce' has well and truly lost it's edge, and Obama moves ahead in a key states,  and these comments from Andrew Sullivan a moderate Catholic Conservative... we continue to hope.

Philanthrocapitalism....

Two good friends of mine (Matthew Bishop and Mike Green) have finally published their new book - 'Philanthrocapitalism'. 

The book is about the changing face of Philanthrophy, with increasing numbers of the super rich giving away the vast majority of their wealth... but.. using the principles they have used to build the fortunes they have built. The biggest examples of which are Bill Gates the Clinton Global Initiative, the Google and Ebay guys. 

They have launched a website at www.philanthrocapitalism.net.

On the site there are a number of very interesting bits and bobs; 1. a very interesting, very recent, interview with Bill Clinton (whoever he is?!?). 2. Five Bonus chapters edited out of the book on the previous 5' Golden Ages' of Philanthropism, panning from the Ancient World to Carnegie.

I got a circular email from Matthew last night, in which he says... "Some people have commiserated with us for our timing, launching our book just as capitalism is falling apart. But we believe the financial crisis makes our message more timely than ever, for three reasons. First the super rich are likely to fare better than everyone else during this crisis. Look at Warren Buffet, who is already invested in Goldman Sachs and GE at a bargain price. Second, government budgets will now be tighter than ever, so there will be even more demand for philanthropy. Third , every philanthropic dollar will need to be used even more effectively than ever so the new business like approach we call philanthrocapitalism is even more necessary."

If you watch the video on the home page, it might appear that Matthew is more concerned with catching the wine waitress as she passes by that talking about the future of giving.

 

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