http://jimgrisanzio.com Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:59:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://0.gravatar.com/blavatar/454ffbf313a83131c926602e3b6b37ce?s=96&d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png http://jimgrisanzio.com http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/listen/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/listen/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:52:42 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19878 ]]> Think our leaders are listening? Think they are interested in engaging?

Filed under: Leadership ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/listen/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_8001 IMG_8007 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/waiting/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/waiting/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:43:14 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19875 ]]> Are you still waiting for your leader to arrive? Don’t bother. All you need is a mirror.

Filed under: Leadership ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/waiting/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7994 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/empty-full/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/empty-full/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:54:35 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19868 ]]> Everything entering a space changes that space …

Filed under: Japan Tagged: trains ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/empty-full/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7952 IMG_7945 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/toilet/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/toilet/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:18:53 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19863 ]]> The bathroom was only 100 feet away …

Filed under: Japan Tagged: toilet ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/toilet/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_8035 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/busy/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/busy/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:20:45 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19855 ]]> Everybody is so busy out there. Are you?

Filed under: Japan Tagged: busy, stress, tokyo ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/28/busy/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7894 IMG_7895 IMG_7891 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/winter-rice/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/winter-rice/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:35:59 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19835 ]]> Rice fields in the winter …

Filed under: Japan Tagged: rice, snow, winter ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/winter-rice/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_0076 IMG_0055 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/fear/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/fear/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:07:42 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com/?p=19832 ]]> Be afraid, Americans, be very afraid. It’s all about fear. We are on our own.

Filed under: Communications Tagged: politics ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/fear/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7678 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/alternatives/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/alternatives/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:11:07 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19827 ]]> Ron Paul is the only U.S. presidential candidate talking about alternatives in health care. Shouldn’t people have some say about the treatments to which they are subjected? Seems reasonable.

Filed under: Health and Medicine Tagged: ron paul ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/alternatives/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7651 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/drinking-sugar/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/drinking-sugar/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:49:38 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19823 ]]> Don’t eat refined sugar. It’s poison. Instead, drink it raw right out of the cane.

Filed under: Health and Medicine Tagged: Japan, sugar ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/drinking-sugar/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7642 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/running-2/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/running-2/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:12:31 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19814 ]]> We’re always running around …

Filed under: Japan Tagged: bridge ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/running-2/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7523 IMG_7527 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/relaxing/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/relaxing/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:07:54 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19811 ]]> Sometimes it’s good to just relax …

Filed under: Japan Tagged: boats ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/relaxing/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7528 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/dark-days/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/dark-days/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:07:05 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19807 ]]> Can’t help but think that bad stuff is going on out there …

Filed under: Politics Tagged: politics ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/dark-days/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_1077 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/a-world-beyond/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/a-world-beyond/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:04:29 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com/?p=19803 ]]> What we see is an illusion …

Filed under: Japan Tagged: buddhism, spirituality ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/26/a-world-beyond/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_1109 IMG_1113 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/22/focusing-or-multitasking/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/22/focusing-or-multitasking/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:51:05 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19793 ]]> Focus. Step by step. Master each task. Do not multitask. Just watch the Shaolin monks in China training (here, here, here) for a jarring lesson in focusing. I can’t find a better example anywhere. Or go on being distracted and flitting from thing to thing while mastering nothing.

Filed under: Buddhism Tagged: China, focus, multitasking, shaolin ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/22/focusing-or-multitasking/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_3222 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/22/empty-garage/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/22/empty-garage/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:17:48 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19789 ]]> Life after the car. Well, you may as well use the garage and front lawn, right? No sense wasting space.

Filed under: Japan Tagged: car, garage, Japan, space ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/22/empty-garage/feed/ 0 jimgris photo-2 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/21/transparency/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/21/transparency/#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:04:55 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19785 ]]> Some reporters are perfectly transparent …

Filed under: Communications Tagged: media, politics, propaganda ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/21/transparency/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_2513-y http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/20/selective-outrage/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/20/selective-outrage/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:56:08 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19761 ]]> It was interesting watching the Internet light up against SOPA/PIPA. I see even the mainstream media noticed. If this activism influences legislators and the American president to do the right thing (for the people, I mean) that would certainly be a good thing. Internet freedom is important because it’s a free speech issue and that touches everyone. However, by comparison, I can’t help but wonder about the relative silence when President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act a few weeks ago. The reaction to that little gig sounded like a field full of crickets chirping away across the Internet. What gives? Oh, well. I suppose if Americans aren’t outraged by an American president killing American citizens without due process, then why worry about something as innocuous as a little “indefinite detention” tucked away in the NDAA, right? As long as I can get net access in my cell I’m ok, eh? Rock on.

Filed under: Politics Tagged: freedom, ndaa, sopa ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/20/selective-outrage/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_1163 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/17/free/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/17/free/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:50:32 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19753 ]]> “Americans often proclaim our nation as a symbol of freedom to the world while dismissing nations such as Cuba and China as categorically unfree. Yet, objectively, we may be only half right. Those countries do lack basic individual rights such as due process, placing them outside any reasonable definition of “free,” but the United States now has much more in common with such regimes than anyone may like to admit.” — Jonathan Turley, Washington Post

Filed under: Politics Tagged: Civil Liberties, civil rights, freedom, turley ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/17/free/feed/ 1 jimgris IMG_1207 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/14/better-art-through-technology/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/14/better-art-through-technology/#comments Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:31:24 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19740 ]]> Here’s an excellent documentary on how technology liberates talent — PressPausePlay. Technology has enabled everyone (well, not everyone, but more than just the elite) to express themselves and create and distribute their content globally. But are there any down sides to this trend? Will art suffer as a result of these new easy-to-use development tools where anyone can be an artist? Some interesting opinions are articulated here. I tend to agree with the liberation of talent part of this issue on an individual level. The more art the better. But on a macro level I’m more concerned about the use of technology to constrain civil liberties and invade privacy. That’s not addressed in the film, but to me it’s the elephant in the room of any tech discussion these days. And I couldn’t get past it here. But as far as it goes, PressPausePlay is a very good view.

Filed under: Communications Tagged: Communications, creativity, innovation, talent ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/14/better-art-through-technology/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7655 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/13/open-closed/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/13/open-closed/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:07:39 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com/?p=19734 ]]> It’s always a challenge keeping things open …

Filed under: Communications Tagged: closed, open ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/13/open-closed/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_1237 IMG_1236 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/12/dangerous/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/12/dangerous/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:38:19 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19729 ]]> Fascinating that Ron Paul is considered “dangerous” out there. Dangerous to who?

Filed under: Communications Tagged: Communications, dangerous, politics, propaganda, ron paul ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/12/dangerous/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_1238 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/11/on-time/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/11/on-time/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:09:49 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19722 ]]> Rain, sleet, or snow …

Filed under: Japan Tagged: snow, trains ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/11/on-time/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_1293 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/10/summer-or-winter/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/10/summer-or-winter/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:22:37 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19718 ]]> January or July? Which do you prefer?

Filed under: Japan Tagged: summer, winter ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/10/summer-or-winter/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_1643 IMG_0758 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/10/2012-diving-into-the-dark/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/10/2012-diving-into-the-dark/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:08:17 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19713 ]]> Here’s James Howard Kunstler’s take on 2012 and beyond: 2012 Forecast: Bang and Whimper. Warning: It’s all pretty dark. In fact I’m not sure who is worse, Kunstler or the Mayans. Kunstler publishes a weekly podcast as well, so you can pick a regular pile of gloom right on your phone to distract yourself on those long train rides home. I listen all the time. He’s very informative and entertaining, and his stuff rarely makes it into mainstream commentary. Basically, Kunstler talks about how industrial society is collapsing and how we’ll all live in the (near) future. Oh, well, I’ve been complaining about how complex life is getting and I’ve been feeling the need to live a more simple and mindful life Kunstler’s advice/prediction for Japan’s move to a pre-industrial state seems timely give where I live). Be careful what you wish for.

Filed under: Environment Tagged: 2012, economics, future, kunstler, society ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/10/2012-diving-into-the-dark/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_0748 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/here-or-there/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/here-or-there/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:17:39 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19707 ]]> Are you here? Or there? The biggest problem I have with my phone is that it takes me away from here and transports me over there. It’s rude when you’re physically with people in a space, but even while alone I find when I’m poking around on the phone I completely miss what’s going on right around me.

Filed under: Communications Tagged: distraction, multitasking, phone ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/here-or-there/feed/ 0 jimgris cell http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/rush/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/rush/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:47:41 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19703 ]]> Why do people in cities rush all the time? Train stations in Tokyo are utterly frantic places. It’s difficult to walk slowly and mindfully among the cortisol-soaked masses buzzing by in every direction. But why? Out in the country among the trees no one worries about saving two minutes – literally — by diving on to that express train. Why the hurry? Are we that inefficient that we can’t take it easy getting from place to place?

Filed under: Health and Medicine Tagged: tokyo, trains ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/rush/feed/ 0 jimgris shi http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/eat/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/eat/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:33:02 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19699 ]]> If you had to, could you feed yourself? Or are you dependent on credit cards and supermarkets?

Filed under: Politics Tagged: food ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/eat/feed/ 0 jimgris 1807170285_df2073bdb0_o http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/assert/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/assert/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:21:03 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19695 ]]> When people push to exploit, do not back down. Instead, deflect. Assert.

Filed under: Politics Tagged: assertion ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/08/assert/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7677 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/07/bare/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/07/bare/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:43:06 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19682 ]]> Sometimes the bare minimum works …

Filed under: Japan ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/07/bare/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_1186 http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/07/wash/ http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/07/wash/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:31:05 +0000 Jim Grisanzio http://jimgrisanzio.com/?p=19676 ]]> Very few dryers around here …

Filed under: Japan Tagged: laundry ]]> http://jimgrisanzio.com/2012/01/07/wash/feed/ 0 jimgris IMG_7531