the following sites below contain more than the recommended daily allowance of brainfood so eat up friend. maybe they'll shift your thinking sideways a little or maybe a lot.
Recently my father-in-law and I had some ongoing discussions about what makes an entrepreneurial organisation (or even a social entrepreneurial organisation) different to a mainstream corporate one. We were discussing it because he himself founded and still runs a fantastic social entrepreneurial organisation called Hands on Learning and the question has emerged, how is the nature of their organisation different to a corporate? How is the leader of one organisation different to the leader of another type of organisation? I’m particularly interested also because our organisation differs greatly both in management style and strategic development / approach to a traditional corporate. In fact, many people start their own businesses because they don’t fit the corporate mould or don’t wish to work in that kind of environment. When we’re young and unsophisticated we think having our own business is all about not having to work for the man, not having to be in the office by 9am or having to answer to anyone. As we reach a riper professional age, we realise that working in our businesses makes us more productive and more creative because we can work in a way that suits us. We can really understand what things affect us and remove all of the unimportant obstacles so that we can lead fulfilling and productive professional lives. One of the greatest challenges we face in our business, is how to continue to share that entrepreneurial spirit through the business as it gets larger (and more structured). How do you grow without losing the magic? (more…)
We have more than we need, while the 99 percent struggles to survive. This has to change. We believe in an equitable distribution of wealth.
Rich people cop a lot of flak, sometimes for good reason but right now there’s a bunch of rich kids who are standing up for the unwashed masses in the Occupy Wall St peanut gallery and wait for it, they’re blogging about it.
Their blog is called We are the 1 percent and it extends the idea of We are the 99 percent which basically presents the many and varied human faces that have been touched by the US economic situation. It is pointedly directed at the financial industry and government in light of the more difficult situations post- GFC, recession and housing crash that occurred as a result. The main campaign idea is focused around the redistribution of wealth to support income equality to enable ordinary everyday Americans access to food, housing, education and healthcare. It’s a great pictorial campaign, the phrase “We are the 99 percent” was coined by Tumblr, and it’s growing fast.
Conversely, the 1 percenter blog is made up of posts from the super rich. Those rich kids who inherited money, did nothing for it and basically live the life that many Americans could barely imagine. They’ve banded together to show their support for the rest of the country and ask the government to tax them more. The site hosts a number of images and stories from these super rich kids asking the government to take the lead with a more radical distribution of wealth by implementing more progressive tax policies.
As unlikely as it may seem at time when everyone is struggling, it looks like the younger generation of rich kids might just use their wealth for something good. I wonder what it will take to bring these idea campaigns out of the blogosphere and into the government arena.
I see that SL has held it’s first ever Burning Life festival in world. For those of you who are not familiar, Burning Life is the Second Life version of a real Art, Fire and Community festival called Burning Man. Both Burning Man and Second Life began in San Francisco, California, USA, on planet Earth. Check it out here
In Surry Hills one guy is reinventing the idea of the evening meal by opening his space for a weekly gathering of friends & strangers. So grab yourself a seat, pass the wine & pitch in because this is neighbourhood dining at it’s very best.
There are thousands of normal restaurants in Sydney.
This is not one of them.
This innovative restaurant is run by a friend of mine locally in Surry Hills. The project is called Table for 20. The idea behind this project is to create a completely new experience in the dining market. Bucking the trend fancy restaurants & one hat wonders, this is family-orientated communal neighbourhood dining at its best. The restaurant is housed at 182 Campbell St in Surry Hills, in a building owned by Hope St, a local Surry Hills charity. 10% of the takings each night go to Hope St to support them in the work that they do with less fortunate people in the Surry Hills area.
The experience plays out as a neighbourhood supper where local people come & pay a modest set fee to dine at the communal tables.
As is Michael Fantuz’s specialty, the food is festive Italian with a twist. Fantuz is a man who clearly loves his food and can constantly be seen
running up and down tables dishing out a vintage olive oil or rare Buffalo Mozzarella or even a plum mustard which we enjoyed on the night we were
there. The food is undoubtedly exceptional, but unlike other restaurants, Fantuz shuns the idea of food reviewers and would instead prefer them to
come & make a contribution to the mission. “I have no need for fancy hats or stars” Fantuz says, “I’ve finally found an opportunity to do what I love and
help out people along the way.”
The $40 – $50 meal includes three courses – a starter, main and dessert. If you’re lucky, you’ll arrive on one of the nights where Michael’s mother has been
commissioned to create her famous homemade Tirimisu. It’s certainly worth the wait!
Anyone who lives in Sydney will agree there’s no shortage of good restaurants but the one thing the 2010 area was really lacking was somewhere low key where you can just come and have a feed, open a bottle of wine, meet a few people and have a laugh. Sometimes people get so caught up in their day-to-day lives that they just stick to their immediate groups because that they have time for. Social isolation or social poverty is a symptom of the times we live in.
So Table for 20 is a weekly gathering of friends and strangers, locals in your hood. It also throws open the doors for a few of the Hope Street guys who would not normally have the opportunity for a night out at a restaurant. It gives them a chance to interact with other locals from the neighbourhood, and feel part of the wider community. It’s nice to see an innovative self sustaining social ventures rather than just a new brand of salty snacks isn’t it…
This edit has been around on YouTube for a while but worth posting I thought. It’s a great play on our great Prime Ministers’ War on Terror campaign and well worth a look…Shame Australia Shame
This piece “Peacekeepers” is from one of my favourite Australian artists MIGS a.k.a Mike Chavez. Much of his work comments on australia’s culture & political context and his canvases look fantastic. This is a guy with a lot to say and definitely worth a look.
We have more than we need, while the 99 percent struggles to survive. This has to change. We believe in an equitable distribution of wealth. 
