Join us for a night of TED. From Wikipedia: TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading."

Video 1: Tim Jackson's economic reality check
As the world faces recession, climate change, inequity and more, Tim Jackson delivers a piercing challenge to established economic principles, explaining how we might stop feeding the crises and start investing in our future.

Video 2: Paul Collier on the "bottom billion"
Around the world right now, one billion people are trapped in poor or failing countries. How can we help them? Economist Paul Collier lays out a bold, compassionate plan for closing the gap between rich and poor.

Arrive between 7:00 and 7:15 for introductions and to get settled in. We will begin the first video at 7:30. The video is approximately 20 minutes long. After we watch, we'll discuss for approximately 40 minutes. Once we're done with the first video, we'll watch the second video (also approximately 20 minutes long) and discuss (same parameters).

Dog MAN (Music Appreciation Night). What is a MAN? It is an opportunity to get together with other music enthusiasts and be exposed to music that you might not otherwise know about. In other words, it's awesome.

I first started coordinating MANs with the Calgary Culture Club several years ago, but the true origins of my music appreciation events goes back to high school. My grade 10 drama teacher was a very cool guy, and one thing he would do is spend the first few minutes of every class playing some kind of interesting or unusual music for us and we would lay about on the floor just listening... and then we'd talk about the music... and then we would go on with drama class.

The Culture Club music appreciation events are meant to be a similar experience, although we usually sit rather than laying around, and we often visit and socialize during the music (unlike in grade 10 drama class).

All attendees submit up to 12 minutes of music that they enjoy and would like to share with others. Often the events have a theme, and sometimes they don't. When we have a theme, it might be genre-specific (ie. Blues MAN), it might be instrument-specific (ie. Sax MAN), or it might be more open to interpretation (ie. Perfect MAN, Hoochie Koochie MAN or Mystery MAN). The point is to share music you enjoy with others who you think would appreciate the opportunity to discover it. It's not a test! Choose music that you would like to share. If we have a theme, try to choose music that fits your interpretation of the theme.

On the night of the event, we'll convene at our home to share some snacks and listen to everyone's music submissions. We can accommodate up to 8 local folk, and up to 8 more will be allowed to attend "virtually". To attend virtually, you must submit your music by the cut-off the same as everyone else and all music submissions will be shared. Only the songs submitted by the people who attend in person will be played at the event (in the interest of time).

Arrive at 6:30PM for introductions and to get settled in. We'll start the music at 7:00 with a quick round-robin to introduce our songs, then we'll listen to the music selections.

Our home is small, and the atmosphere casual. We'll be sitting or laying around the living room while we listen. Bring a pillow or cushion if you like for maximum comfiness.

Everyone must contribute 8-12 minutes of music for the event.