Monday, March 16, 2009

Podcast Open Valley 08 - Reading: Wordsworth’s 'November 1'

In this Open Valley, I read William Wordsworth’s sonnet entitled “November 1.” This Open Valley is a Reading, something I haven’t done before, meaning I’m just going to read and not add a lot of commentary. Now this poem reminded me of something I wrote years ago, and so I’m going to read that as well. I don’t share, very often, things that I’ve written, but the subjects of both of these writings are very similar.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Podcast 2_35 - The Truth about Truth

In "The Truth about Truth," I discuss the meaning of truth and read a wonderful passage from Emerson's "The Transcendentalist."

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Podcast Open Valley 07 - The Imagination of Birches

In this Open Valley, I simply read one of Robert Frost’s most famous poems, “Birches.”

Friday, September 19, 2008

Podcast Open Valley 06 - Blake's Innocence

In this Open Valley, I read from William Blake’s famous "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience" and briefly discuss an alternate view.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Podcast 2_34 - Technology as Destination

In "Technology as Destination," I talk about the problem of treating technology as a destination, and I make an analogy to “A Descent into the Maelstrom” by Edgar Allan Poe.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Podcast Open Valley 05 - Natural Empathy

In this Open Valley, I read a poem from Emily Dickinson and explore thoughts about shared, natural empathy existing within us and Nature.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Podcast Open Valley 04 - Locked in a Graveyard

In this Open Valley, I share my experience of getting locked inside of Rome's Protestant Cemetery where Keats and Shelley are buried.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Podcast 2_33 - Economic Individualism

In "Economic Individualism," I talk about recognizing our personal economies, and I read from Emerson for some guidance and inspiration.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Podcast 2_32 - Reality is Only Feelings

In "Reality is Only Feelings," I talk about the movie, The Graduate, and how it unearths a true reality below the weight and confusion of society's institutions and traditions.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Podcast Open Valley 03 - The Sonnet

In this Open Valley, I discuss the surprisingly intricate structure of the sonnet poetical form and read from Wordsworth and Shakespeare as examples.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Podcast 2_31 - Love is Yours

In "Love is Yours," I talk about beauty and love, and I read one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Podcast Open Valley 02 - Whitman

In this Open Valley, I share my theory on a potential hidden code in one of Whitman's most famous poems, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer."

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Podcast Open Valley - 01

An Open Valley is not a typical episode. It's a way for me to give you an update on the podcast, an update on personal items, or some info on other items that wouldn't fit into a normal episode. In this first Open Valley, beyond the house keeping stuff, I do briefly mention what a Rendevous was in the Rockies early in the 19th century.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Podcast 2_30 - Music's Emotional Manifest

In "Music's Emotional Manifest," I explore the idea of music's direct emotional effect on us while reading a famous poem from Wordsworth, and I'll also share a couple piano pieces I wrote.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Podcast 2_29 - Reinventing Intelligence

In "Reinventing Intelligence," the idea of intelligence is approached again and this time I'll look at a movie character who helps flesh out a reinvention.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Podcast 2_28 - Hearing the Unheard

In "Hearing the Unheard," I talk about our buried sense of hearing, and I read some insightful lines from Emerson.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Podcast 2_27 - Jumping the Gap

In "Jumping the Gap," I look at how the world we've manufactured for ourselves brings up many questions, and I'll recite some words from Thoreau and Wordsworth.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Podcast 2_26 - The Power of Positive

In "The Power Of Positive," I talk about some of the nuanced wealth in being positive around others, and I read a poem by Wordsworth that illustrates this idea.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Podcast 1_25 - One Year of Nature's Lead

In "One Year of Nature's Lead," I celebrate one year of the podcast and talk a bit about myself and Nature’s Lead.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Podcast 1_24 - A Moment's Miracle

In "A Moment's Miracle," I read a poem by Whitman that captures the essence of how we should approach each moment.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Podcast 1_23 - The Breeze of Happiness

In "The Breeze of Happiness," I look at the transient potential of happiness and read from a beautiful poem by Coleridge.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Podcast 1_22 - The Great Fortune of Rough Emotions

In "The Great Fortune of Rough Emotions," I read a poem by Keats that helps me reflect on the power of rough emotions, and I also tell my humorous cemetery story.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Podcast 1_21 - The Deception of Progress

In "The Deception of Progress," I talk about how the ideas of advancement and progress in society can be misleading, and I highlight a few lines by Emerson on the subject.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Podcast 1_20 - Finding the Needle in Noise

In "Finding the Needle in Noise," I read from James Joyce's "The Dead" and talk about how important it is to find underlying truth below the noise of social gatherings.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Podcast 1_19 - Reflecting a Raindrop

In "Reflecting a Raindrop," I look to the rain as Nature's active pursuit of our hearts, and I read some excerpts from Thoreau.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Podcast 1_18 - Open to Inspiration

In "Open to Inspiration," I emphasize the need to be open to various sources of inspiration in our lives. As an example of this, I look at the famous movie, Citizen Kane.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Podcast 1_17 - Everything is Alive

In "Everything is Alive," I approach the intelligent, innocent idea of our youth that there is life in the inanimate, and I look at some of Wordsworth's lines from the famous poem "Tintern Abbey."

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Podcast 1_16 - Defending Against Information

In "Defending Against Information," I explain why I think allowing ourselves too much free flowing information in our lives can be hazardous, and I talk about a famous quote from Wordsworth.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Podcast 1_15 - Nature's Delicate Immensity

In "Nature's Delicate Immensity," I read from Emerson's work, "Nature," which both defines Nature and speaks of its significance to humanity.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Podcast 1_14 - Human Gravity

In "Human Gravity," I talk about the need to gain perspective on the power that is pulling us together, and I look at some lines from a work by the Romantic poet, Lord Byron.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Podcast 1_13 - The Nature of Creativity

In "The Nature of Creativity," I'll examine the natural power of creativity and look at the way some Romantic writers approach the idea.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Podcast 1_12 - Unlocking Our Genius

In "Unlocking Our Genius," I'll read many quotes from Emerson's famous "Self Reliance" which focuses on our inherent, internal genius.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Podcast 1_11 - Our Silent Breathing of Nature

In "Our Silent Breathing of Nature," I read a great poem by Walt Whitman that encourages our direct relationship with Nature, and I’ll touch a bit on how science is proving out this theoretical connection.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Podcast 1_10 - Assimilation of Spirit

In "Assimilation of Spirit," I dip into some excerpts from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Man the Reformer" which discusses our suspect world of business and luxuries.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Podcast 1.09 - Forever Looking to Learn

In "Forever Looking to Learn," I talk about the need to create situations and experiences that allow our minds to grow. I’ll share a thought by Michelangelo, and I’ll talk about a pleasant experience I had last week.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Podcast 1.08 - Nature's Stinging Truth

In "Nature's Stinging Truth," I share a moving, personal experience from last week that illuminates the rough reality of nature.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Podcast 1.07 - The Greatest Known Fact

In "The Greatest Known Fact," I share a quote from Thoreau you've probably never heard, a quote that I feel is the most valuable quote you could ever know; and I also touch on the idealism of the Romantics.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Podcast 1.06 - The Problem of Perfection

In "The Problem of Perfection," I address the flaw many of us have in so often, unknowingly, expecting perfection, and I look at how this is illuminated in part by Samuel Johnson's Rasselas.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Podcast 1.5 - To Change is To Live

In "To Change is To Live," I describe how change is essential to living, and I take a look at a poem by Shelley entitled "Mutability," which means the abiliy to change.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Podcast 1.4 - Leaping Heart

In "Leaping Heart," I look at a poem by Wordsworth that helps establish a central theme of the value of innocence in the Romantic era.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Podcast 1.3 - The Beauty of One

In "The Beauty of One," I talk about seeing the beauty of the individual, and I touch on our connection with Nature.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Podcast 1.2 - Our Obsession With Ourselves

In "Our Obsession With Ourselves," I talk about society's intense focus on itself as marked by Wordsworth, and I try to separate society's view of what's important from the individual's view of what's important.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Podcast 1.1 - The Beginning

This first episode introduces the Nature's Lead podcast by explaining the format, establishing a couple baseline concepts, and defining its purpose.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Initial Post

Mutability. Just a traditional first word I like to start out with. Mutability is the ability to change, and it is one of the baseline concepts I introduce in the podcast/blog.

Nature's Lead aims to be both a podcast and Blog with the Blog mainly being a transcription of the podcast. There may be some extra posts to the Blog, but a readable view of the podcast is the initial purpose.

The podcast is a biweekly five to ten minute series, and the links are on the side. I invite you to listen to a few or to go ahead and subscribe to the RSS feed. The first episode explains everything a little more in detail, and the episodes thereafter are typical in that they present and discuss a particular topic.

E-mail me any questions to: info AT natureslead.com

And don't forget to follow Nature's Lead.