SOME GOOD

Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

If you have a quick moment, watch this short video, Cain’s Arcade, about a boy and his cardboard arcade. Simply put, this is a good story and what I want to strive to do every day even in the smallest interactions. Then read this short article on a Recycled Amusement: Ugandan Playground of Water Bottles. My favourite line from the article is when the artist says “I shifted from doing artwork to just hang on walls, having little influence on society, to doing art that solves community needs.”

From TEDblog’s blog on social games, I’m sharing this list of 10 games with a social purpose. I’ve already told you about Jane McGonigal and all the many people working to facilitate the application of gaming time to the solving of real and important problems. So here is a list of games you can try and lend your hand to practice of solution-contribution.

World Without Oil
Also a McGonigal creation, players in this game are dropped into a world where oil resources have been tapped and where they must get creative to survive the massive global shortage. The best part of the game? It teaches easy ways to use less oil in the real world—habits that players report keeping up when they aren’t playing.

FoldIt
An online protein folding game, FoldIt allows its quarter million players to help with scientific research by stabilizing strings of amino acids. Think of it like biological Tetris — FoldIt makes a competition out of biological pattern recognition, leading to innovative solutions to problems that have frustrated scientific communities for years.

WAY
Communicating across languages and cultures isn’t easy. But in this online game, two anonymous players — culled from different locations around the globe — must learn how to speak to each other as they navigate obstacles. Developed by CoCo & Co, this game took top honors at this year’s Games for Change Awards.

Budget Hero
Think you could balance the national budget? Then you’ll want to play this game from American Public Media, which lets players see what happens to the national deficit when they increase funding to programs or opt to make difficult cuts. “Every member of Congress should be required to play this game,” said one of its creators.

Pain Squad
Children and teenagers with cancer are often asked to keep pain diaries — paperwork that is not only boring but focuses their attention on their discomfort. The iOS app Pain Squad makes the whole process fun and interactive — while also helping doctors provide better treatments for young patients.

Spent
When your bank account is in the black, it’s easy to think that anyone could pull themselves out of poverty by their boot straps. But in this online game, players are charged with looking for work while surviving on $1000 a month — highlighting that poverty and unemployment are systematic and not just the result of character flaws.

Evoke
Created by the World Bank Institute in conjunction with McGonigal, this game is a 10-week crash course in social innovation, giving players challenges from “food security” to “urban resilience,” and encouraging them to become a think tank on local challenges.

Unmanned
Most video shoot-em-up video games make war seem action-packed and glamorous. Unmanned aims to paint a far more realistic portrait, casting players as a soldier dealing with boredom and traumatic dreams, in addition to military duties.

Plot.Form
This slick game seeks to make charitable giving fun and interactive, rather than passive and forgettable. Currently fundraising to build homes for teenagers on the street in Moshi, Tanzania, Plot.form allows users to donate—and pick out building materials, colors and more for parts of the homes.

Lastly, some of my students’ friends have started an organization to do some work in Lagos. I want to introduce you to WeCyclers and invite you to do some good and support them in their seed funding campaign.

Wecyclers is an organization that gives low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through incentive based recycling.

We are excited to announce the launch of our StartSomeGood campaign, a step forward in tackling the daunting waste challenge that faces communities in the developing world.

Through this campaign we are raising funding to launch our pilot recycling program in Lagos, Nigeria this August. We will establish a proof of concept pilot to test our SMS platform and collection infrastructure and develop the business case for scaling up to reach hundreds and thousands of people.

We would love if you could help us spread the word:

1)  Check out our video on our StartSomeGood page and support our efforts. 

2) Share our StartSomeGood page: email it to friends, post it on facebook, tweet about it and help us get the word out any way possible!

3) We've created a template tweet you can use if you prefer to share via Twitter:

Wecyclers is tackling waste in the developing world via @startsomegood http://bit.ly/Nmv6JT Help them launch in Lagos! #socent #recycling

Thanks so much for your support!

ART

Living in London I’m surrounded by art and next weekend I’m off to the Tate Modern to see an exhibit by a friend I’ve met before (who’s also a close friend of a close friend). This weekend I went to see multimedia artist Yoko Ono’s To the Light exhibit at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park. I believe it’s part of the London 2012 Olympic set of events. There are tons of non-athletic events around and leading up to the Olympics so it’s great to take advantage of it. The exhibit is quite odd and interesting. I saw one piece that was called “Apple” and it had a green apple on a glass/plastic rectangular prism. I kept wondering how you reproduce that when it’s from the 1960’s. I’m sure you have to use a different apple. Maybe it wasn’t real. My favourite part of her exhibit was the #SmilesFilm project, a large scale participatory project that records volunteers’ smiling photos (I took one) in a global anthology of portraits. You can try to go to the website and see mine there somewhere.

I think one of the coolest things I’ve done here is go to London Sundance Film and Music Festival. Apparently it was the first year that Robert Redford brought his Utah independent film festival to London to try it out. If it went well (and I think they will deem it a moderate success) they will repeat it in years to come. Someone gave me two tickets and though I couldn’t find anyone to use the second ticket I went on ahead and enjoyed myself.  We only got a selection of films in London, if I understood which films they brought, but there were many good and interesting ones. I’ve been to play festivals and film festivals but never to a film festival that is this big and launches the careers of independent filmmakers like Sundance can. I’m a big fan of Robert Redford (and Paul Newman). I really like them both and see that he puts his money where his mouth and heart are. He really believes in helping to create opportunities for stories that should be told. I love that he has a Sundance institute/school that also helps filmmakers.

As part of my ticket package, I was invited to sit down for an evening conversation between Robert Redford and T Bone Burnett moderated by a London film person (I didn’t know him). If you don’t know Burnett he’s the film scorer for films like “Cold Mountain,” “The Big Lebowski,” and “O Brother Where Art Thou.” I was super excited to hear Robert Redford talk and hear a little about his thoughts on the festival and film and music in general. But what was really cool is that they interspersed the interview with music performances. The first performance is what surprised me—it was Glen Hansard, a performer of whom I had heard legends. He’s this busker (street performer) in Dublin who has original songs and was asked to be in a 2006 Irish independent film called Once. It also stars Markéta Irglová, another singer songwriter. Well, they both agreed to do the film and the entire film score is mostly his music and her music and some jointly co-written pieces. The film took 3 weeks to make and was shot on two handy-cams.

Unbelievably, one of Markéta and Glen’s songs, Falling Slowly, was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2007 Academy Awards. It caused a controversy because they discounted the song because the song may have been written before the movie was made (I think you’re supposed to write the song for the movie). A lot of people protested and the Academy let the song stay as a nominee. And Glen and Markéta won! The entire soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy as well! I was in Ireland in January of this year (2012) and I had hoped to see him on the streets but I didn’t. So I was super surprised to see him come out on stage and do two songs. What also amazed me is that T Bone Burnett said that Once is the best music film he’s ever seen. That’s a huge recommendation by a big film music guy. So I really wanted to see the film.

I finally saw it while flying to India, and it really was quite lovely. It seems like they are not acting and I get a bit confused. But it composed almost entirely of source music (music in the film that is coming from a source in the visual picture, like hearing music when someone turns on the radio or a group of people dancing to music at a dance). Even when it wasn’t source music, it was usually still originally source music that continued to play as they went on to other scenes in a montage to show the passage of time. And it really is amazing music, not because it makes you dance or groove, not because it’s a really good genre but simply because it is simple and heartfelt. It’s kind of a love story, kind of a music story, kind of a friendship story. But it’s short, so check it out. I recommend it. You can always turn it off if it’s not good. J

WeCyclers

Some of my students’ friends have started an organization to do some work in Lagos. I want to introduce you to WeCyclers and invite you to do some good and support them in their seed funding campaign.

Wecyclers is an organization that gives low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through incentive based recycling.

We are excited to announce the launch of our StartSomeGood campaign, a step forward in tackling the daunting waste challenge that faces communities in the developing world.

Through this campaign we are raising funding to launch our pilot recycling program in Lagos, Nigeria this August. We will establish a proof of concept pilot to test our SMS platform and collection infrastructure and develop the business case for scaling up to reach hundreds and thousands of people.

We would love if you could help us spread the word:

1)  Check out our video on our StartSomeGood page and support our efforts. 

2) Share our StartSomeGood page: email it to friends, post it on facebook, tweet about it and help us get the word out any way possible!

3) We've created a template tweet you can use if you prefer to share via Twitter:

Wecyclers is tackling waste in the developing world via @startsomegood http://bit.ly/Nmv6JT Help them launch in Lagos! #socent #recycling

Thanks so much for your support!

Here I am with a business class, and we're having a great time!

Here I am in India with my class. Isn't it fun! 

UPDATE - August 29, 2011

Has this ever happened to you?

You arrive at an event, and as one blogger said, you’re confused as you try to figure out which option you are:
omnivore, carnivore, locavore, flexitarian, pescatarian, pollotarian, raw foodist, vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, lactating-ovulating vegetarian, lactose-intolerant vegetarian, vegan, bi-curious vegan (fantasizes about eggs and milk), gluten-free, glutton-free, or decline to state.


What about this?

You are thirsty and about to grab a Styrofoam cup and someone yells.

“I can’t believe you’re about to grab a Styrofoam cup. That is soooo bad for the environment.”

“Hmmm.” So you change your mind and you reach for a plastic cup.

“I can’t belieeeeve you’re about to grab a plastic cup. Don’t you know how long that
will stay in the environment?”

“No.”

“And don’t you know that’s made from oil or fossil fuels?”

“Ok.” You put it down and you go for a paper cup.

“Are you serious? A paper cup? Do you know where that comes from?”

“No.”

“From a tree, mister. You must be tired today. We’re not killing any trees today. We’re going to be hugging them. Put that thing down, hugger.”

“Ok.” You start hugging yourself but can’t get your arms around your body (or I can’t). So you put down the paper cup and reach for a glass thinking she won’t say anything now. But now her friend yells at you.

“So you’re going to use a glass knowing full well, someone has to waste water and soap on that when you don’t have to use any water to wash a paper cup?”

“But she sai—“

“I don’t care what she said. Why would you waste water like that?”

“I thought it was a renewable resou—“

“Renewable my beautiful thick lips! My lipstick is renewable; it’s called saliva. But water is not necessarily renewable. Are you going to use lukewarm water or cold water?”

“Uhhh, I usually wash with lukewarm water, so---“

“So, you’re going to use water and use the energy of the water heater to heat the water to wash the dish, and your dishwashing liquid isn’t even made from natural ingredients.”

You look around. “Where did your friend go? The anti-styrofoam, anti-plastic, anti-paper one?”

In this environmentally aware age, sometimes it’s confusing to decide which option uses the least amount of energy or contributes the least amount to carbon emissions. At my current job, we have four bins—food compost, recycling, landfill, and glass. We have napkins/serviettes that are made from 100% recyclable materials. When people finish eating, I have seen people throw the napkins into the landfill. I’ve seen some throw it into the recycling bin, and I’ve seen some throw it into the food composting bin. Which is it? And how can you recycle used napkin?

And how am I supposed to use cold water washing to get stains out of clothes that are white cotton? I mean isn’t that the purpose of warm wash and hot wash to get stains out of clothes that can undergo warmer water? I mean I’ve listened to the two women above who were complaining, and I’ve done cold wash, but people always look at me strange when I walk around with stains on my clothes cold-washed clothes or on my jacket. They think I don’t know.

“Hey, you’ve got a stain on your jacket.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, it’s right---hey, where are you going?”

I head out to find the anti-paper woman. I think she’s ok with warm water.


I’ve had a good past few months doing some education work from September through December while waiting for a visa for a new job in London. In the meantime I’ve done some writing for an online newspaper. I’ve listed a few of the articles below if you want to read them. The editor asked me to write about the intersection between science and faith so they are quite controversial and touch writings, but the point was to create conversation and the 2nd one below definitely did that. The first two articles were edited and came out a bit disjointed and poorly ended; I have a better joint version of the two blog entries together. If you want that, I can send it to you.

Role of Doubt in Science & Faith Part I
Role of Doubt in Science & Faith Part II
A Dinner Party
Does Science Make Belief in God Obsolete?
Adam & Eve and Mystery (this entry is pasted in an augmented form at the bottom of this update)

UPDATE
I think the biggest thing going on is that my fellowship is coming to a close at the moment (August 31, 2011). The funny thing about that is so many people still don’t know what I do. So I thought I would take some time in this update not to explain my program and why I moved to DC, but to at least explain what I do day-to-day.

It’s been a really exciting time, though, for me. I still live in quite a boring shell of a life with a superficially regular schedule, but I find ways to spice it up, mostly and usually through interpersonal encounters and relational living. I’ve been blessed to see Beth and Buddy (like 2nd parents to me), Efrat (really good friend from high school who is in the best place in life that I’ve seen her for a long time, though she still argues I’m certifiably crazy), Jose-Miguel (deeply close friend who I’m happy to say is wedding soon. ConGRATS!!). I’ve had some great trips to see different parts of the country and world experiencing the Grand Canyon for the first time and participating in the tornado relief efforts in Joplin, Missouri. And I’ve spent a great deal writing and editing. It always amazes me the vast variety of things I’m asked to write or review. I’ve been working on two chapters on fluid dynamics for a new book later this year, science education policy, the interaction and sociological interplay between drug use, gang violence, and HIV prevalence in South Africa, renewable energy policy and energy security, etc. I’m enjoying it and I hope this continues, but it reminds me of another point.

I had someone close to me, recently, openly criticize me saying that my problem is that I have no focus in my life. “By now, everyone in the world should have heard of the name Victor Udoewa.” This point was underscored when my PhD advisor came to DC because he was being awarded a National Medal of Science by President Obama. At one of the ceremonies, he took joy in introducing me, but he would always say “This guys is good at too many things; he’s good at everything.” This was something he normally said, but then he added, for the first time, “And his problem is that he can’t focus. He has no focus.” This was the first time I heard him say something like that. . . almost as a criticism. So I’ve thought about it a lot. I think the problem with such statements is that they are connected to what I said last time: too many people believe the only people doing real impacting work are famous. Regardless of my beliefs, I’m so happy to report that I have experienced this as untrue. That’s why I’m always overjoyed to see programs that try to highlight the efforts of unsung, unknown heroes because they exist everywhere. CNN has a program on heroes for instance, and I’m always glad to see more good news in the news instead of the biased turn it’s taken towards the negative and horrific.

In general, without men “who didn’t focus” we would lose the imaginative creations and inventions of men like Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin (this guy did EVERYTHING). Yes, with the amount of knowledge we have today and the rate that knowledge currently doubles, it is highly improbable that someone can do as much as Renaissance men like Franklin and da Vinci; I know that just to get to the edge of knowledge today in even one field requires many years of focused study (believe me, I did the “pursuit of focused study”). Still, I say that you need not be focused on one thing or the other thing in order to make a difference. Not only does this ignore the many people, even today, who do it quite well, but it also reduces life our experience to s dualist one ignoring the interconnectedness of fields, studies, intelligences, and realms of work.

So as it gets colder and colder in the mid-Atlantic region and the beauty of changing leaves bursts through our foliage in its ever persistent southward march, I wanted to take a moment to remind of you what I’ve been doing during the day. . . for the most part. :-) Sometimes the oversized, gigantic acorns fall crashing down onto car windshields and distract me. Other times they lead me into a song or a frenzied march of creativity.

CURRENT JOB

I have two roles. I am a Science and Technology Policy Advisor and a Development Engineer. If you remember, I’m in a fellowship program, I’ve decided to include a speech by the boss of my boss, so you can see her mention what it is we do. If you lack the interest or patience for the video, you can skip to the 10 minute mark to see her briefly mention the 23 of us who are doing such advising work.

Here are Secretary Clinton’s remarks. I would listen to the whole thing for context, but I and a few others are mentioned around 10:00.



In my dual role as Development Engineer and Science & Technology Policy Advisor, I have day-to-day activities, and I run two large projects. I advise on any type of infrastructure and construction projects in our international development work (roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, clinics, power plants, shelters/housing) including irrigation systems and water and sanitation projects. Since I’m in Washington, I work in a supportive role for work done overseas helping to give comments and review on proposed projects or the proposals of people seeking to win competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements.

Because this work is often few and far between, I also run two large projects. I have been in charge of the agency’s carbon neutrality efforts with the hope of becoming carbon neutral sometime in the future and eventually broadening that into environmental neutrality. I’ve been working on setting up pilots for this around the world for both operational carbon neutrality (our own energy bills, commuting, flights, cars and buildings we own, etc.) and programmatic carbon neutrality (zeroing the carbon footprint of our development projects, activities, and programs in countries around the world, such as an anti-corruption campaign, building a school, a vaccination program, or training program on disaster risk reduction).

Also I head the agency’s post-disaster/post-conflict initiative, smoothening the transition between our emergency response (post-conflict and post-disaster) and long-term recovery and reconstruction. In this work, I build coalitions and run a network of 54 professionals from academia, private industry, NGOs, and other government agencies.


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