By trying to do the right thing and by designing for the poorest people in the world, we’ve made the greenest laptop in the world. And that’s not just the color!
More over at the Greener Gadgets Blog.
Archive for November, 2008
Words by cefa founder Natacha Beim:
It has been ten years since we first began instilling in children an insatiable desire to learn, to be knowledgeable, and to recognize themselves as an important piece of a very large puzzle: our world.
Core Education & Fine Arts is more than a place to learn: it is a place where children learn to discover themselves, to believe in themselves, and to believe in the freedom that comes with knowledge.
Our schools invite children to explore the world through art, through books, through yoga, and yes, through exploding scientific concoctions!
Dedicating myself to teaching, to learning, and to continuing to develop the cefa curriculum, has been immensely rewarding. It has also given me the privilege to work with very talented teachers and with dedicated parents.
Core Education & Fine Arts now has six schools and thousands of graduates. The cefa program has gained international interest and great recognition in Canada. But although I look back at the last ten years with a sense of achievement, there is still one thing I am striving for and working towards: making junior kindergarten education in Canada a child’s right, not a privilege.
May the next ten years make this wish come true.
CHEERS to that!
Basic sign module uses (left) from the 1989 MTA Sign Manual (courtesy Peter Joseph); and typographic alphabet (right) from MTA Graphic Standards: Signage (1988) (courtesy Michael Hertz).
“There is a commonly held belief that Helvetica is the signage typeface of the New York City subway system, a belief reinforced by Helvetica, Gary Hustwit’s popular 2007 documentary about the typeface. But it is not true—or rather, it is only somewhat true. Helvetica is the official typeface of the MTA today, but it was not the typeface specified by Unimark International when it created a new signage system at the end of the 1960s. Why was Helvetica not chosen originally? What was chosen in its place? Why is Helvetica used now, and when did the changeover occur? To answer those questions this essay explores several important histories: of the New York City subway system, transportation signage in the 1960s, Unimark International and, of course, Helvetica. These four strands are woven together, over nine pages, to tell a story that ultimately transcends the simple issue of Helvetica and the subway.”
By Paul Shaw. Read more on the AIGA website.
“Do you have to be a Medici or a Rockefeller to collect art?
Not according to Herbert and Dorothy Vogel. This documentary film tells the extraordinary story of Herb, a postal clerk, and Dorothy, a librarian – an ordinary couple of modest means who managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history.
In the early 1960s, when very little attention was paid to Minimalist and Conceptual Art, Herb and Dorothy quietly began purchasing the works of unknown artists. Devoting all of Herb’s salary to buy art, and living on Dorothy’s paycheck alone, they continued collecting artworks guided by two rules: the piece had to be affordable, and small enough to fit in their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment. Within these limitations, they proved themselves curatorial visionaries; most of those they supported and befriended went on to become world-renowned artists. Their circle includes: Sol LeWitt, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Richard Tuttle, Chuck Close, Robert and Sylvia Mangold, Lynda Benglis, Pat Steir, Robert Barry, Lucio Pozzi and Lawrence Weiner.”
I cannot wait for the chance to see this film. Please come to Vancouver!
via swissmiss
Early childhood education and care: Private commodity or public good? “is a project of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU). Many thanks to the Canadian Union of Public Employees for funding to support this project.
CRRU is a policy research institute that focuses on early childhood education and care (ECEC) and family policy. CRRU has a commitment to a universal high quality ECEC system and works with researchers, NGOs, advocacy groups and government policy makers. CRRU’s basic operating premise which drives its activities is that public policy should be based on the best knowledge available from a wide range of sources about best practices in policy and practice.
This project aims to gather and develop resources to inform and encourage Canadian dialogue on this important public policy issue. To this end, CRRU has gathered pertinent documents available online and in print. CRRU will also develop and make available resources on this topic such as a comprehensive bibliography of key research. The project will be ongoing and the website will be updated on a regular basis.”