Lisa Napoli's Blog, page 41
June 29, 2011
You can't take it with you….
….and you really should share it before you go, anyway. Today's Drucker Business Forum at KPCC in Pasadena featured Tom Tierney and his new book GIVE SMART: Philanthropy that Gets Results, all about wise charitable giving. And of course while money is important, Tierney stressed that time is, too, and planning, so for those of you out there who say you don't have much, know that there's more to giving than that.
The exciting news is that more people are being philanthropic than ever before; the trend is "giving while living." If you've read Radio Shangri-La, you know that's the bug I got after first visiting Bhutan, the insatiable desire to give stuff and money and time away, for the greater good.
Oceanside Public Library
The Oceanside Public Library is a lovely space with a beautiful courtyard right in the heart of the downtown shopping district of Oceanside, a short walk from the beach and packed right up until closing time. What a wonderful community to welcome me in to their book club. (Thanks, CJ DiMento!) 
There's much debate among publishers and authors alike over whether this running around, from library to bookstore to book club, really is worth the time. Modern conventional wisdom is: isn't it better to broadcast out, say, on FB or Twitter or such? Especially if you aren't a TV star or other notable with a 'platform.'
I can say unequivocally that it is important, especially for a first-time author, and even if it doesn't "scale" on the face of it. I feel like each place I go I get to meet interesting, interested people, who are eager to learn, to read, and to ask challenging questions. It's wonderful. It's exhausting, sometimes, too, but I'm sure it's worth every stop.
June 28, 2011
June 27, 2011
Elements of Happiness: A happy life depicted in diagrams
From the Harvard Laboratory of Adult Development, "an unprecedented database of life histories with which to view the dynamic character of the aging process." 
June 26, 2011
Relocated #refugees and the people who help them.
A beautiful story in the Charlotte Observer about a woman who downsized, started volunteering, and then opened up her garden for use by refugees from Bhutan.
And another about Bhutanese resettlement in Tasmania….in honor of refugee week.
[image error]photo by Jeff Siner of the Charlotte Observer.
Radio Shangri-La at @BN in Oceanside and Library
This Tuesday at 2pm I'll be at the Barnes and Noble in Oceanside, CA (a late add to my schedule) before I head to the library at 6pm for their book club (and public meeting.) Can't wait to take the Amtrak Surfsider there!
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/3104075
And speaking of BN thanks to Liz K for sending along this photo from Westchester, NY yesterday:
June 24, 2011
Booze in Bhutan: "Not just downing but drowning in it"
Recent news that international brands Bacardi and Molson Coors are entering the Bhutanese market was illuminated by about how much locally produced booze is consumed in the Kingdom. Two cases of hootch each year per person (including, the story points out, the ex-pats who are working there.)
To wit:
"Bhutanese across the nation tanked themselves up with close to 1.7M litres of alcohol drink, or as many as 170 petroleum oil trucks last year."
See why those kids in Mongar, Bhutan need a library???
June 23, 2011
"My reincarnation could be a girl:" HH Dalai Lama
That's what he told a television interviewer in Australia. After all, he said, girls are more capable of compassion. He also told the Chinese-Australian interviewer that it's likely she/he will be born…outside Tibet. I'm in no rush to see His Holiness go, but when the day does come, I'm gunning for the reincarnate, regardless the gender, to be discovered in either Brooklyn, Bhutan, or Tuvalu. (In no particular order.) (Thanks for the link, Gada!)
For some kids, a book is a luxury. Help us build a library in Bhutan.
This week we had a dear visitor here in LA from Mongar, Bhutan, and it renewed my resolve to help raise money to build a library in that beautiful part of the country. Look at these gorgeous kids I met there this fall: 
They live in spectacular natural splendor that foreigners spend thousands of dollars to visit, but they don't have access to much–particularly in the way of educational materials. Pencils are hard to come by, much less books.
We've identified an empty building in Mongar town that can be home to a library and community center. The nonprofit group READGlobal will help build out the interior, stock the shelves and train local people to run it and sustain it…if we can just raise a significant portion of the start-up funds.
Help, please? Even $25 makes a difference, and right now an anonymous donor is matching whatever you give, dollar for dollar. This link takes you to our online fund drive page. Or you can send a check directly to READGlobal in San Francisco: PO Box 29286 San Francisco, CA 94129
And here's a story I did for The World about the first READ library in Bhutan, only the second lending library in the entire country!
Stay tuned for a different message on how you bring books to Bhutan if you're taking a trip there. And feel free to forward this one, please.
Mathieu Ricard: The future doesn't hurt. Yet.
A beautiful piece by the monk Mathieu Ricard. Please read it if you can.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/opinion/global/24iht-june24-ihtmag-ricard-30.html
