Jacque Fresco: HUMAN

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Jacque Fresco is a human who cannot be summarized in a few words. He is often described as a "futurist", but that one word doesn't do him justice. Jacque has a way of seeing the world as it truly is, derived from a deep understanding of the problems that plague modern society. He is able to explain these problems and illuminate solutions for our collective benefit. Like many great humans who work to improve the conditions for all humanity, they are seldom appreciated while they are alive.  

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you,
then they fight you, then you win
— Unknown

    Last year  we took a quick trip down to Florida to visit family and to meet Jacque and his partner Roxanne Meadows at the Venus Project for one of their monthly seminars.

    At 100 years old, Jacque cohosted the seminar with his partner Roxanne Meadows. The two of them shared ideas on how to improve the world through intelligent urban design, innovative construction techniques and most importantly a "resource based economy." This system would be an evolution from the current monetary system, which as many of us know is already failing.  He explained that future generations will deem this current system completely inadequate.

Some of Jaque's Building Designs at his home in Venus, FL

Some of Jaque's Building Designs at his home in Venus, FL

    In this new system, all of the Earth's resources would have a common heritage. Preserving the environment and maintaining a higher quality of life for ALL humanity will trump individual monetary interests. Love and compassion will be woven into the very fabric of the society. This would be the win-win solution to our inefficient socioeconomic class struggle that is perpetuated by our current system. Money would become obsolete. Humanity would evolve at a tremendous pace to unprecedented levels that we cannot achieve, much less understand under our current system of socioeconomic organization.

    Jacque has designed and built hundreds of models; ranging from homes to skyscrapers, excavators, ships, planes and everything else a modern city would need to function. He envisioned cities where space is maximized for humans to thrive with little negative impact on natural ecosystems. Many of his models are currently on display at The Baker Museum in Naples, FL. The exhibit is called: Jacques Fresco 100 Years of Vision . If you find yourself in Naples, do not miss it!

We are happy to have been able to say a sincere "THANK YOU" personally to a human that worked all his life for the betterment of all HUMANITY!

We took our time publishing this post, feeling that our words would not be enough to paint a picture that would capture the essence of who Jacque was.

   We say "WAS" because like everything in this universe,

Jacque was impermanent. 

Jacque Fresco died on the morning of May 18th 2017 at The Venus Project, Venus, FL, his home for the past 38 years.

Like many great humans before him, his work will not be lost or in vain. 

     Future generations will learn about Jacque and wonder, just as our generation looks back at our past great teachers and say: "Why couldn't they understand? The solutions were there the whole time!" 

“If you want a better world you have to work towards it. If you do nothing, nothing will happen.” 

Jacque Fresco 1916-2017

 

Thank YOU again Great Teacher and Great Human! 

    Below we have posted a few of Jacque's talks. Jacque tackles difficult questions head on. He does not skirt issues and tries to explain everything in terms that everyone can understand.  The way he thinks, and how any intelligent human does, is that if you can prove him wrong, everyone will win! This is not the usual "my way or the highway" thinking. This is rational thinking, not ego driven thinking. If you are not prepared to think from a rational place, so that you can start to understand the way our current culture and society is lacking and deficient,  then we suggest you stop here!  You must be willing to listen to new information, process it, debate it. You can do it! 

Read all about Jacque's here

The Best that Money Can't Buy - Beyond Politics Power, Poverty & War

The Greatest Talk of Jacque Fresco: The Venus Project
Part of the Venus Project event in London held in October 2009. Full video: http://vimeo.com/7866864
 
 
Jacque discusses "what is depression?" and talks about elements of self-image and identification that produces a low self-sufficiency. Covers how projections create disappointment, how "looking within" rarely works, and shows how certain reward/reinforcements often provide only palliative help. Discusses the importance of learning new things and gaining predictability when dealing with depression.
 
 

Let's Talk HUMAN to HUMAN

Poverty is not just a global problem it is a problem right here on our own soil. Growing up it was easy to think that poor people should pick themselves up by their boot straps and get a job. However, poverty is much more complex than simply getting a job. Eradicating poverty is complex, especially when the power structures in place seem to be the cause of the problem they are trying to solve.

It is critical to understand that no human CHOOSES the circumstances of his/her birth. If that was the case poverty WOULD NOT EXIST! (Food for thought...)  If you are born into a place where you can HELP others you should seize that opportunity. 

This series of documentary films and talks provide an inside look into the world of poverty and some of the compassionate humans who are trying to help others rise out of dire circumstances.

A Path Appears. Maro Chermayeff. 2015. DVD. 

America's Native Prisoners of War. Aaron Huey. TEDxDU. 2010. Online video clip. Accessed from TED.com. <http://www.ted.com/talks/aaron_huey?language=en>

Unspoken: America's Native American Boarding Schools. PBS KUED. 2016. Dolores Dore Eccles Broadcast Center ( EBC), The University of Utah.  

If You Build It. Patrick Creadon. 2015. Dir. Christine O'Malley and Neal Baer. DVD.

Poverty, Inc. Michael Matheson Miller. Produced by Michael Matheson Miller.  2014. DVD. 

The Salt of the Earth. Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders. 2015 Blu-ray written by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders, David Rosier 

Why Poverty? - Dir. Hugo Berkeley & Osvaldo Lewat. 2012. Prod. Eli Cane. Normal Life Pictures.  (We also included this series in our Blog on PBS.)

“You give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day. You teach him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.”
— Chinese Proverb (?)

OR IS IT? Click here for more information about the history of this famous quote.  

 
 

Lindsay and Paul Feyer are the Owners of Anicca Float Club. When they aren't at the Club, they spend countless hours reading and watching non-fiction material. 

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PBS Passport: Pandora's Box* has opened!

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Our constant search for more non-fiction content to expand our minds to become better human beings has lead us to PBS.  PBS has plenty of free content available, but if you want access to everything on demand they have created something called PASSPORT

PBS Passport gives you unlimited access to PBS on demand content. You can watch more than a 1,000 episodes whenever you want!

To activate passport, you must  support your local PBS Station with a commitment of $5/month or $60 for a whole year. It usually takes a few days to get set up, but it is definitely worth the wait. Plus, they are a 501(c)(3), so your donation is tax deductible. 

This week we have watched Episodes of:

How We Got To Now - Premiered October 14, 2015- How We Got to Now with Steven Johnson is a six part documentary series that reveals the story behind the remarkable ideas that made modern life possible; the unsung heroes that brought them into the world - and the unexpected and bizarre consequences of each of these innovations has triggered.

Why Poverty? -2012- Why do a billion people still live in poverty worldwide, and what can be done to change this? The Series Why Poverty? uses documentary film to get people talking about this global problem, its causes, and its solutions.

The Series has 8 episodes:

  1. Welcome to the World
  2. Education, Education
  3. Poor Us: An Animated History of Poverty
  4. Land Rush
  5. Stealing Africa
  6. Give Us the Money
  7. Park Avenue: Money, Power & the American Dream
  8. Solar Mamas

Uranium Twisting The Dragon's Tail - Premiered July 2015 - Host and physicist Dr. Derek Muller unlocks the mysteries of uranium, one of the Earth's most controversial elements. Born from the collapse of a star, uranium has brought hope, progress and destruction. It has revolutionized society, from medicine to warfare. It is an element that has profoundly shaped the past, will change the future and will exist long after humans have left the Earth.  


*Pandora's Box - Today the phrase "to open Pandora's box" means to perform an action that may seen small or innocent, but turns out to have severely detrimental and far-reaching negative consequences. The action cannot be reversed.

Opening the "Pandora's Box" of knowledge is also an action that cannot be reversed. While it may have detrimental results for humans who oppress, enslave and exploit other humans, opening the box of knowledge will help everyone understand what is happening in the world. A rising tide raises ALL SHIPS!

By sharing the knowledge, we all benefit.


Watched Documentary Recap

To get this knowledge party started, we had a busy September! Since we had exhausted the documentaries that interested us at the Naperville Public Library, we turned to iTunes, Vimeo and then to a free trial of Netflix. It will take time to list everything off, so here is an assortment of interesting pieces. Feel free to leave comments below on what you think, what you liked, what you didn't like and WHY! If you have suggestions we will add them to our own watch list.

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The End of Ownership. VPRO Backlight. 2015. Online video clip. Youtube.com. 

Human Planet. Season 1, Environments, BBC, 2011. Online video clip. Netflix.com

Manufactured Landscapes. Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky. Foundry Films and National Film Board of Canada. 2007. Online Video. iTunes.com

Science of FastingSylvie Gilman and Thierry de Lestrade. Java Films. 2011. Online video. Vimeo.com.  

Neuroscientist Shows What Fasting Does to Your Brain & Why Big Pharma Won't Study It. Arjun Walia. December 11, 2015. Online article. Collective Evolution.com. 

Watermark. Dr. Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky. Six Wave Productions. 2013. Online Video. iTunes.com

Where To Invade Next. Dir. Michael Moore. Dog Eat Dog Films and IMG Films.  2015. Online Video clip. iTunes.com.

 

Learn Everyday

Image from Pexels.com

Image from Pexels.com

In order to learn something new we all need to have an open mind. We have to be willing to surrender old beliefs that no longer serve us or were not true in the first place.  We are starting this blog on this rainy day in September to encourage you to continue learning all the time!   

Start by watching The Gospel of Doubt by Casey Gerard, a TED Talk from February 2016. Casey makes the argument that it is time for all of us to start to doubt and ask more questions.

Subscribe below to follow this blog as we learn new things and share them with all of you!