The Christian festive season is over, new year’s eve and new year’s day have come and gone and, as sometimes happens, I’m behind schedule.

(Well, OK. I admit it. “Sometimes” isn’t quite accurate. In fact, I’m almost ALWAYS behind schedule these days. But that’s another story…)

Anyway, today I looked at things I wanted to post for the holiday season, rued my lack of time and discipline (or a

Today I got an email from Brett Solomon of Avaaz asking me to sign a petition for peace in the Middle East.

Avaaz is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.)

Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is

Fewer people will read this entry than other entries on this blog.

In a way, that’s a good thing.

Because the purpose of this site, and by extension this blog, is to highlight the good in a world that sometimes seems to be full of evil, sadness and despair.

I think on balance there’s more good news in this blog than there is bad – at least I hope there is. If not, I’d better get back

Jill Lester stepped out of Power Street to go swimming with the minnows, and she's found her purpose. Connie Levett reports.

Was she interested in taking over as global chief executive of The Hunger Project? She had never heard of it, so she did what she does best - got to work and found out. The job offered a distillation of work she had focused on all her life - economics, building social infrastructure, mentoring and networking, assessing and improving the movement of money - but at village level.

The Sydney Morning Herald, December 20, 2008

Some people are just naturally good at things. They excel at whatever they do, and they seem to do it effortlessly.

Swedish golf dynamo Annika Sorenstam, unarguably the best woman golfer in the world today, is a case in point.

According to her website bio she is:

"...the most dominant player in women’s golf. Throughout her storied career, she has rewritten the LPGA and Ladies European Tour record

You know that old cliché “we’ve got so many things to be thankful for”?

Well, guess what? Like many clichés, I’ve discovered that, for me at least, this one turns out to be true.

Not only that, the more things I’m thankful for, the more they seem to multiply.

A couple of months ago, I started writing a daily list of some of the things for which I feel grateful. (Hmmm, well, actually “ALMOST daily”

I love Ode magazine.

It’s simply the best magazine I’ve ever read. Ever. I devour each issue from cover to cover. It’s a constant source of new ideas, thought-provoking articles and inspiration.

The October 2008 issue has two particularly interesting articles, one about alternative education for children, the other about the merits of failure (which I’ll save for another day).

The first,

As children, we tell stories, practice magic and deploy the power of our imagination naturally. We don’t think about it.  We just do it.

We easily weave grand tales of heroes and monsters in which fantasy and reality become wonderfully blurred. We have no inhibitions. Our creativity knows no bounds. Anything (and everything!), is possible.

Sadly, as we “grow up” that delightful capacity

A year ago this week, I wrote Brent Kinney's obituary.

It seems like yesterday that he and Elaine and I sat outside on the back patio at their home having dinner and talking about important issues. Despite being ill, tired and in pain, he was interested, engaged and full of opinions about the future of Dubai and the world.

I wish he was here now to share his views – I’m sure he’d have

Louise and Pascale are dynamic, amazing, inspiring women, who always seem to be doing something a little, well, offbeat.

The last time I went to a party at their place, Louise had dressed up as a smurf , blue skin and all lol...

Anyway, to celebrate Louise’s 40th birthday, they decided to do an Ironman triathlon,  an endurance race comprising a 2.4 mile (3.86 km) ocean swim, a 112