tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165561822024-03-13T07:04:23.525-04:00brainstormingLidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.comBlogger233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-57178483416518545282020-12-28T18:47:00.012-05:002020-12-28T18:51:01.109-05:00Books, too many Books!!! What to do about this...<p>I am in the dilemma, once again, of what to do with the piles and piles of books around my room. I want to weed them out before I move into the ADU in the backyard in late January. So, I need ideas. (Don't be shy - post your ideas in the comments!) </p><p>I have found some pathways already, and I'll share them below for those who would like to pare down their collection. I will update the list as I receive more ideas. </p><p style="text-align: center;">*********************************</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.prisonlit.org/donate/" target="_blank">Prisoners Literature Project</a> </span></p><p>This is one of several organizations that donates and ships books to prisoners; it is based in the SF Bay Area. Here are some of the things they need:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>dictionaries of all kinds (including ASL sign language); also thesauruses, & almanacs.</li><li> how-to books: construction, gardening, drawing, etc.</li><li> books on African-American, Latino, and Native American history and culture</li><li> books on business, self-help, politics, psychology, philosophy, science, mathematics</li><li> fiction by or about people of color</li><li> good quality detective, sci-fi & fantasy fiction paperbacks & Westerns </li><li> books on meditation, yoga, and bodyweight exercises</li></ul><p></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">Their site also has a list of what they will not accept. As is true with most of these programs, you need to contact them ahead of time (which is a good idea anyway, with the current pandemic situation...) It is possible to drop off books for them; the contact info and address is on the website but do CALL FIRST. </p><p>More info on this type of program can be found here:</p><p> <a href="https://prisonbookprogram.org/prisonbooknetwork/" target="_blank">Books to Prisoners Programs</a> </p><p style="text-align: center;">*********************************</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.booksforafrica.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Books for Africa</span></a></p><p>This organization ships books directly to Africa. They have specific needs; here's a list (this and more info is on their website):Acceptable books are gently used and relevant to an African reader.</p><p>Books For Africa accepts:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>popular fiction and nonfiction reading books (soft and hard cover).</li><li>books that are 15 years old or newer.</li><li>primary, secondary, and college textbooks (soft and hard cover) published in the last 15 years.</li><li>reference books published in the last 10 years, except encyclopedia sets.</li><li>medical, nursing, and IT books published in the last 10 years.</li><li>some Bibles or religious books, please place them in a box separate from other donations and mark the box as “Religious texts.” Bibles are sent only when requested by African recipients.</li><li>School/office supplies—paper, pencils, pens, wall charts, maps, etc.</li></ul><p></p><p>Books For Africa does NOT accept:</p><div><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Encyclopedia sets</li><li>Magazines or journals of any kind, including academic journals.</li><li>Home decorating or wedding books.</li><li>Cookbooks.</li><li>Ethnocentric books, such as the biography of Abraham Lincoln or the history of Ohio.</li><li>Foreign language books except for French books. French novels and dictionaries are welcome.</li><li>American history or civics.</li><li>Music books for K–12.</li><li>Murder mysteries or anything with “kill,” “die,” “murder,” etc. in the title.</li></ul><p></p></div><div><b><i>The above lists and the following additional instructions are also on their website.</i></b></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">If you mail books, please do not send boxes that weight more than 50 pounds and do not include any non-recyclable packing materials such as plastic bubble wrap or peanuts. Books For Africa cannot allocate funds for the mailing or shipping of book donations to our warehouses. This helps us keep our operating costs lower so that we can ship more and more books to students who need them.</div><p style="text-align: left;">Interested in donating law books? View our law book donation requirements, or learn more about BFA's Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative!</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">*********************************</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.fopl.org/the-bookmark" style="font-size: large;" target="_blank">Friends of the Oak</a><a href="https://www.fopl.org/the-bookmark" style="font-size: large;" target="_blank">land Public Library - The Bookmark Bookstore</a></p><p style="text-align: left;"> Here's a list of what they accept and don't accept:</p><p> Items That Sell Best:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul><li>Brand new books</li><li>Used books in very good or better condition</li><li>Rare, vintage/collectible books</li><li>Author-signed books</li><li>First editions</li><li>Classics, popular titles, and esoteric subjects</li><li>Topical political books</li><li>Hardcovers</li><li>Large softcovers</li><li>Jigsaw puzzles (complete)</li><li>DVDs</li><li>CDs (audio and music)</li><li>LPs (in good to excellent condition – Classic Rock, Jazz and Classical categories)</li></ul><p></p><p> Items We Cannot Accept: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Any books in generally less than very good condition</li><li>Books with underlining and highlighting</li><li>Books with signs of heavy use or long-term storage</li><li>Out of date medical, legal, travel (2 years or older)</li><li>Older business, investment or economics books</li><li>Computer books (more than 1-year-old)</li><li>Textbooks</li><li>Encyclopedia sets</li><li>Romance novels</li><li>Incomplete sets</li><li>Magazines</li><li>Comic books</li><li>Cassette tapes</li><li>VHS cassettes</li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">*********************************</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.betterworldbooks.com/" style="font-size: large;" target="_blank">Better World Books</a></p><p>This is an excellent place to donate (and buy!) books. They've been around for awhile, so they have their ducks in a row. They support Books for Africa, whose info is above. For every book someone buys, they donate one book. <a href="https://cares.betterworldbooks.com/category/sustainability/" target="_blank">They also recycle and have a sustainable model.</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><span face="lato, sans-serif" style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span>Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-18268588751080476542020-03-27T13:16:00.001-04:002020-03-27T13:16:24.217-04:00Cameron Bellm, Poet<a href="http://krugthethinker.com/">C</a>ameron Bellm came to my attention through her poem, <a href="http://krugthethinker.com/2020/03/prayer-for-a-pandemic/">Prayer for a Pandemic</a>. I was interested in finding out more about the person who wrote the poem... I also found <a href="https://www.ruahstorytellers.com/2020/03/06/cameron-bellm/" target="_blank">this article</a> - it's her, telling her story to one of the writers at <a href="https://www.ruahstorytellers.com/" target="_blank">Ruah Storytellers</a>.<br />
This all spoke to my soul, as a mother, grandmother, and a woman of faith. It struck me that I know a number of young mothers who also have strong faith and might be interested in Cameron's blog, so here's <a href="http://krugthethinker.com/" target="_blank">the link to her blog</a> - you all can take it from here!Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-7713277170489408032016-05-10T12:00:00.000-04:002016-05-10T12:14:25.161-04:00Antidote to being pulled down by the 2016 political campaigns: Reach out!<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last year a friend asked me whether I knew of any volunteer opportunities in the East Bay, a question that I was delighted to hear! I compiled a list for her of some of the opportunities of which I was aware, sent it to her, and planned to post it here, but never got around to it. Then a couple of weeks ago this same topic came up in conversation with another friend, and I promised to send my list from last year...but of course, when I took a look at the list, I figured it could be improved upon, so I spent an afternoon -- interestingly enough, it was an afternoon when I was <i>supposed</i> to go to a Volunteer Appreciation Party -- revising and updating the list*. And here it is:</span><br />
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.oakehouse.org/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251112000&usg=AFQjCNH7cUfZe9U-Uob2EIUW7kAia5r6nQ" href="http://www.oakehouse.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Elizabeth House</a> Provides services and shelter to women in difficult situations... (located next to St Augustine's in what I think is the former convent.) There are a variety of opportunities here.</div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://bfhp.org/get-involved/volunteer/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251112000&usg=AFQjCNGZy0IOwf0WeNe3pSSNG6jUtbXe9w" href="http://bfhp.org/get-involved/volunteer/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Berkeley Food and Housing Project</a> Among other things, they have a <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://bfhp.org/about-bfhp/services-programs/north-county-womens-center/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251112000&usg=AFQjCNECFINM6FBU9NeobeTfCUbFXJUTeA" href="http://bfhp.org/about-bfhp/services-programs/north-county-womens-center/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Women's Center</a> that serves homeless women and families and women with disabilities through a temporary shelter, transitional housing and other services.<br />
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://sites.google.com/site/berkeleycatholicworker/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251112000&usg=AFQjCNFK5zs-R_NQ_uEsBp_YUN3FGBwRvA" href="https://sites.google.com/site/berkeleycatholicworker/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Night on the Streets Catholic Worker </a>-- <b>lots of services</b> (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://bfhp.org/about-bfhp/services-programs/north-county-womens-center/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251112000&usg=AFQjCNECFINM6FBU9NeobeTfCUbFXJUTeA" href="http://bfhp.org/about-bfhp/services-programs/north-county-womens-center/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">click here</a> for a comprehensive list) for the neediest residents of the East Bay, especially around Berkeley. [I have worked with the Sunday morning breakfast for the homeless (starts at 7:15 am in People's Park every Sunday) and the soup and hot chocolate delivery which happens several nights each week in the winter months. Contact JC Orton (info at link above) to get involved, or just show up on Sunday morning :-) ] </div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.oaklandcatholicworker.org/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251112000&usg=AFQjCNHLceNUi6WI_-_EIkpCfAwvox6c0Q" href="http://www.oaklandcatholicworker.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Oakland Catholic Worker</a> -- primarily serving the migrant community -- opportunities to tutor English and work with the clients in other ways and I don't know what all else-- they always need people to help!</div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.rescue.org/us-program/us-northern-california-ca&source=gmail&ust=1462981251112000&usg=AFQjCNEVCujjS_Ohg45DTw7_3fcWigG0Wg" href="http://www.rescue.org/us-program/us-northern-california-ca" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">International Rescue Committee</a> Oakland branch -- helps resettle refugees and provides other services for refugees</div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.plantingjustice.org/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251113000&usg=AFQjCNF_-ctBGTXT2EEAWVwrsg-ldfTiwA" href="http://www.plantingjustice.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Planting Justice</a>-- urban farming resource, food justice, etc., also teaches permaculture skills to local prisoners with the goal of hiring them when they are released and volunteers teach high school students about gardening and food justice issues... a very interesting grassroots group</div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.stanthonysf.org/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251113000&usg=AFQjCNHlhDmb4fE0RHfr1G70wDX0YdS8lQ" href="http://www.stanthonysf.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">St. Anthony Foundation</a> in SF has a variety of ministries (meals, clothing, employment counseling, etc.) that always need volunteers. <br />
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://sfpathways2citizenship.wordpress.com/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251113000&usg=AFQjCNEg5t8fwXmOAngZZ9-nv8St1fJ0FQ" href="https://sfpathways2citizenship.wordpress.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">SF Pathways to Citizenship Initiative</a></div>
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This organization holds workshops every few months, usually on a Saturday (but sometimes on Sunday) where people who are trying to become naturalized citizens can come and get help filling out their paperwork, talk to a lawyer, etc. [I really enjoyed helping out at this.]</div>
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<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.balit.org&source=gmail&ust=1462981251113000&usg=AFQjCNFfx2GD7HQnbIBdztm5CVS8FdV3cw" href="http://www.balit.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Bay Area Literacy</a> looks like a great program -- I volunteered in a similar program in Charlotte, NC, and enjoyed the work very much. (And I'm thinking this might be a good place for me to plug in to help someone with GED prep -- I promised a friend I would do this so I'd better make good on my promise...)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Also, here are some websites that have volunteer opportunities databases or lists:
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<ul>
<li><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.volunteereastbay.org&source=gmail&ust=1462981251113000&usg=AFQjCNGAYaxJikVAbcY6HB9tJUhqcd9StQ" href="http://www.volunteereastbay.org/" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Volunteer Center for the East Bay</a><span style="font-size: 13px;">; as an example, here are links from there to </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://volunteer.truist.com/vccc/org/opp/medallions/?medallion_id%3D10337639932&source=gmail&ust=1462981251113000&usg=AFQjCNEkNTZLXcVl3l3oyarX_GRDPVtC2A" href="https://volunteer.truist.com/vccc/org/opp/medallions/?medallion_id=10337639932" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Education</a><span style="font-size: 13px;"> opportunities (I put in my zip code (94609) and a 10-mile radius) </span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.volunteerinfo.org&source=gmail&ust=1462981251113000&usg=AFQjCNG2ebzNaXDjnKikinsXihJ6zVArnA" href="http://www.volunteerinfo.org/" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Bay Area Volunteer information Center</a><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.cceb.org&source=gmail&ust=1462981251113000&usg=AFQjCNF5YtdT1LwaYPQGkrL7n5rv75GakQ" href="http://www.cceb.org/" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Catholic Charities of the East Bay</a><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">-- a couple of times a month they have a</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.cceb.org/get-involved/transforming-lives-tour/&source=gmail&ust=1462981251113000&usg=AFQjCNGxwCxAg9XbN_5ORVF-TfJpu5n4Pg" href="http://www.cceb.org/get-involved/transforming-lives-tour/" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">"Transforming Lives Tour"</a><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">that gives comprehensive information about their projects and programs.</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">There is also a list of opportunities in and near Berkeley <a href="https://bancroft.berkeley-public.org/documents/uploads/how_can_i_help_volunteer.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<b>*if you don't live in the Bay Area, I hope this list will give you some ideas about what you can do in your own community to reach out and get involved!
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Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-47686657711953814862016-05-10T11:37:00.001-04:002016-05-10T12:19:49.520-04:00How did the constant pi get its name?It's always a good idea for a math tutor to know everything (it's almost like being a mother!) Yesterday a student asked me why π [the mathematical constant] is named with the Greek letter π. Of course I didn't know offhand, though I guessed that since π had an important connection with the perimeter of a circle, that somebody along the way decided to use the Greek letter for "p" as the name for the constant. I was mostly correct, as it turns out, but the actual history is much more interesting... <br />
Read more here: <br />
<a href="http://www.historytoday.com/patricia-rothman/william-jones-and-his-circle-man-who-invented-pi" target="_blank">William Jones and his Circle: The Man who Invented Pi</a><br />
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p.s. While writing this post, I found this: <br />
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<a href="http://www.johndcook.com/blog/greek_letters/">http://www.johndcook.com/blog/greek_letters/</a>Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-41983669705844483302015-10-24T18:02:00.000-04:002015-10-24T18:02:38.728-04:00Social Justice, anyone?<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Last weekend I went to a <a href="http://paxchristiusa.org/tag/pax-christi-northern-california/" target="_blank">one-day conference</a> of <a href="http://www.paxchristi.net/" target="_blank">Pax Christi</a> an international organization (also </span><a href="http://paxchristiusa.org/" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">PaxChristiUSA</a>) <span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">with several local chapters, including the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Pax-Christi-Northern-California-282337153079/" target="_blank">Bay Area Pax Christi</a>. (Here is <a href="http://www.trivalleycares.org/new/PaxChristi-assembly-2015.pdf" target="_blank">a link to the program</a>.) The focus was Social Justice, and there was a very interesting panel to begin the day. Here's more about the panel members:</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> Elizabeth Murray, had been in the CIA but left some time back to take care of her mother while she was ill, and never went back. Now she is working for </span><a href="http://www.gzcenter.org/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Ground Zero Center for Non-Violent Action</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> and writes for </span><a href="http://consortiumnews.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Consortiumnews.com</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Rice" target="_blank">Sister Megan Rice SHCJ</a>,<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> is in her 80's and was arrested in May 2012 and jailed for two years, from 2013-May 2015, supposedly for being a threat to national security. (Find out more about these events <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/4/megan-rice-interview1.html" target="_blank">here</a> and<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/science/sister-megan-rice-anti-nuclear-weapons-activist-freed-from-prison.html" target="_blank"> here</a>.)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><a href="http://www.riverasun.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Rivera Sun</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">, an activist for peace and non-violent action, and the author of </span><a href="http://www.riverasun.com/online-store/the-dandelion-insurrection/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The Dandelion Insurrection</a> and other books.<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I also went to an excellent workshop in the morning entitled "The Housing Crisis, a Catholic Perspective". It was presented by <a href="https://www.usfca.edu/law/faculty/tim-iglesias" target="_blank">Tim Iglesia, JD</a>, a professor at the University of San Francisco. He not only gave a very informative and well-organized talk, but he followed it with a very helpful guide to becoming involved, entitled "Steps for Effective Advocacy", which I am already beginning to implement! For more information on Affordable Housing Resources, go to <a href="http://ebho.org/">EBHO.org</a> And <a href="https://www.usfca.edu/law/faculty/tim-iglesias" target="_blank">Dr. Iglesias</a> is available as a speaker around the Bay Area if you know of a group who would like to hear his presentation.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Lunch was catered by a local non-profit, <a href="https://kitchenofchampions.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">Kitchen of Champions</a>. One of the workers did a short presentation on her </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">experience and the organization. The food was delicious </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">(Foodies take note!) </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">and I was very impressed by the presentation and the presenter. I might just have to make my way down to the St. Vincent de Paul kitchen to sample more of their great food... and make a donation to the KofC!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">In the afternoon I attended the workshop presented by Elizabeth Murray, entitled, "When Following the Principalities and Powers Becomes a Call to Conversion". This was partly about Ms. Murray's own experience, but we also spent a good deal of time in the workshop sharing our own experiences of activism and devising ways to promote activism and social justice in our lives. I left this workshop humbled by the hundreds of years of combined experience in activism among the attendees, and inspired to become more aware and involved, and to spread the word! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">At the end of the day, we gathered again to share our workshop experiences in small groups. This was very helpful, as the limited one-day schedule permitted each person to attend (completely) at most two of the eleven workshops. After we shared our experiences, we had one last consciousness-raising event: the awarding of the [I think annual] Pax Christi Northern California Peacemaker Award, and a short talk by the recipient of the award. The recipient was Lorrain Franklin-Taylor, the founder of <a href="https://www.1000mothers.org/" target="_blank">1000 Mothers to Prevent Violence</a>, a wonderful organization formed to serve families who have been directly impacted by violence. Ms. Franklin-Taylor told her own story about her twin sons being murdered, which you can find <a href="https://www.1000mothers.org/the-founder.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I was, for the umpteenth time that day, speechless with admiration and humbled and energized by the words of a person who is now one of my heroes. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">I left with a renewed commitment to finding ways to become active in social justice efforts here in the Bay Area. As a start, I am creating this post in hopes that my excitement about the Conference will be contagious and inspire others to become involved! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-742927829356943172015-09-20T20:37:00.002-04:002015-09-20T20:37:36.314-04:00Food Justice: Community Gardens and other projects<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
A friend asked me recently about what I thought was a Community Garden at Dover Park. I discovered that this garden is run by <a href="http://www.phatbeetsproduce.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Phat Beets</a> to benefit the community. The Garden, known as <a href="http://www.phatbeetsproduce.org/healthy-hearts-youth-garden/" target="_blank">Healthy Hearts Youth Garden</a>, is an ongoing and evolving project, and the organizers welcome community volunteers who can help out on Wednesdays and Sundays. There is also breakfast at the garden once a month, and other activities are planned throughout the year. </div>
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More about Community Gardens and some related local resources:</div>
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<i>A <a href="http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/opr/s/cgardening/index.htm" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">list of Community Gardens in Oakland</a></i> run by the Oakland Parks and Rec -- the volunteer hours for them are<a href="http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/opr/s/cgardening/OAK031407" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"> here</a>.</div>
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<i>A comprehensive <a href="http://ecologycenter.org/bcgc/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">list of community gardens and other garden projects in Berkeley</a></i>.</div>
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<i><span style="color: #222222;">A local organization that is connected to Community Gardening (but has other gardening-related projects as well) is </span><a href="http://www.plantingjustice.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Planting Justice</a>.</i><span style="color: #222222;"> I keep running into their volunteers, spreading the word and collecting donations, at Berkeley Bowl. </span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222;">One of the efforts of Planting Justice is to create a </span><a href="http://www.plantingjustice.org/farm/" style="color: #222222;" target="_blank">5-acre farm in El Sobrante</a><span style="color: #222222;">. I received a very informative email this week about a work day coming up on Tuesday, September 22, with the focus on <a href="http://www.resilience.org/stories/2014-07-09/creating-swales" target="_blank">building swales</a>*. (Email them at </span><a href="mailto:plantjustice@gmail.com" style="color: #222222;">plantjustice@gmail.com</a><span style="color: #222222;"> or call </span><span style="background-color: #e5e7fa; font-family: proxima-nova; line-height: 20.799999237060547px;">510-290-4049 </span><span style="color: #222222;">for more info.) </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;">Another project is their collaboration with the </span><a href="http://insightgardenprogram.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Insight Garden Project</a><span style="color: #222222;"> at San Quentin Prison. (There are similar programs in other places -- see </span><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/State-s-prisons-develop-gardening-programs-to-6444917.php" style="color: #222222;" target="_blank">this article</a> and<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/socially-relevant/201508/the-rise-green-prison-programs" target="_blank"> this one</a>, for some examples.<span style="color: #222222;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;">Planting Justice's "</span><a href="http://www.plantingjustice.org/transform-your-yard/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Transform your Yard</a><span style="color: #222222;">" program, for people who are interested in back yard gardening but need help getting started, is another of their efforts to weave together many strands to build a better community.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #222222;">*</span><span style="color: #222222;">not a link to PJ, just information about swales</span><span style="color: #222222;">. </span></div>
Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-25469341270270312192015-03-25T01:51:00.001-04:002015-03-25T01:52:05.102-04:00Overthinking...I just found <a href="https://christopherdanielson.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">this blog</a> by a math prof in Minnesota, and wanted to share it with any readers I have who might be interested in math pedagogy and in Talking Math with Kids, about which the same prof has a <a href="http://talkingmathwithkids.com/" target="_blank">website</a>. <br />
<br />
Just FYI. And trying to keep track myself for future reference. Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-65166886461066896772015-01-02T10:38:00.003-05:002015-01-02T10:38:47.676-05:00My 2014 Lists<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>[Please check back again soon! I am in the process of creating and annotating these lists but I'm not at all finished yet...]</i></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><i>Some of my favorite books this year: </i></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="li4"><span class="s1"><b>Mercy without Borders: <i>The Catholic Worker and Immigration</i></b>, by Mark and Louise Zwick. The Zwicks started the Casa Juan Diego House of Hospitality in 1980 in Houston, TX, in response to the flood of homeless refugees from Central America. This is a powerful story of authentic Christian witness in action and an excellent in-depth discussion and explanation of the connections between poverty, illegal immigration, and fair-trade policies. </span></li>
<li class="li4"><span class="s1">W<b>alk in a Relaxed Manner: <i>Life Lessons from the Camino</i></b>, by Joyce Rupp. Joyce Rupp and a friend walked the Camino de Santiago some years ago, and this book describes in a very readable and beautiful manner what walking the Camino meant to her, and the many valuable lessons she and her friend learned while walking. The Walk changed her way of living in the world, and reading this book helped me to see ways that I need to grow and change. </span></li>
<li class="li4"><span class="s1">*<b>The Beekeeper’s Apprentice</b>, by Laurie King. A young woman meets the famous Sherlock Holmes, who is in retirement, and they begin to solve crimes together. (That's leaving out a lot!) This is the first in a series of books; I can't wait to get started on the next one!</span></li>
<li class="li4"><span class="s1">*<b>The Rise and Fall of Great Powers</b>, by Tom Rachman</span></li>
<li class="li4"><span class="s1"><b>All Clear</b>, by Connie Willis (the last book in a trilogy)</span></li>
<li class="li4"><span class="s1"><b>Land Grabbing: Journeys in the New Colonialism</b>, by Stefano Liberti</span></li>
<li class="li4"><span class="s1"><b>The Latehomecomer</b>, by Kao Kalia Yang (actually from Dec. 2013 but too good to leave out)</span></li>
</ul>
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<i>* indicates book on CD -- I do a lot of my "reading" while driving!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>*********************************</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
<i>A selection of new places I visited in the Bay Area this year: </i><span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"> <b>In San Francisco:</b> <b>Elsewhere</b></span><br />
<b> </b>Baker Beach The Botanical Gardens at Tilden Park</div>
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<span class="s1"> Crissy Field The overlooks on Grizzly Peak Rd. (excellent views of the Bay)</span></div>
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<span class="s1"> The Cable Car Museum Corte Madera and Mill Valley</span></div>
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<span class="s1"> Fort Funston Park The Oakland Zoo</span></div>
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<span class="s1">The list of places I want to visit next year is growing!</span></div>
Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-11268288265815095742014-07-08T00:52:00.000-04:002014-07-08T02:12:57.040-04:00Resource list -- current immigration situation/crisis in the U.S.In response to the lack of solid information (and over-abundance of inflammatory postings) on social media sites, I am in the process of compiling a list of links to reputable sources of information about the immigration crisis and large numbers of child immigrants who are coming to the U.S. This is not a comprehensive list but should be enough to get a thoughtful person started on a search for the truth behind the stories that are out there... Please let me know if you have any additions to this list. <br />
[Note: I have, as much as possible, linked not only to the articles themselves, but also to bios of the authors of the articles, so the reader might get some idea of who the author is and why he or she is writing the article.] <br />
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<a href="http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/perspectives/no-childhood-here-why-central-american-children-are-fleeing-their-homes" target="_blank">No Childhood Here: Why Central American Children are Fleeing Their Homes</a><br />
A thorough and very recent report by <a href="http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/elizabeth-kennedy" target="_blank">Elizabeth Kennedy</a>, a Fulbright Fellow who has been doing research in this area for a number of years.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cjd.org/2014/07/01/babies-in-the-river-urgent-humanitarian-situation-part-i/" target="_blank">Babies in the River: “Urgent Humanitarian Situation,” Part I</a>, by <a href="http://www.socialworktoday.com/news/dn_013013.shtml" target="_blank">Dawn McCarty</a>, PhD, LMSW<br />
Dawn McCarty, a social worker and professor in Houston, writes from her own experience at the Houston Catholic Worker House, Casa Juan Diego, and from her search in Mexico of the root cause of the mass migration of children and families from Central America. (Part II has not been posted as of this writing, but presumably it will be posted soon at the <a href="http://cjd.org/" target="_blank">Houston Catholic Worker website.</a>)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.usccb.org/about/migration-policy/upload/Mission-To-Central-America-FINAL-2.pdf" target="_blank">Mission to Central America: The Flight of Unaccompanied Children to the United States</a><br />
The result of a <a href="http://www.usccb.org/" target="_blank">USCCB</a>-sponsored fact-finding mission in November 2013 to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to find out what the situation is there and what might be behind the greatly increased numbers of people from those countries seeking to get to the U.S.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2014/07/07/unaccompanied-children/" target="_blank">Unaccompanied Children: Something Is Not Right in our Hemisphere</a>, by <a href="http://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/author/ckerr/" target="_blank">Christopher Kerr</a> (from <a href="http://ignatiansolidarity.net/about/" target="_blank">Ignatian Solidarity Network</a>)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/missionerosdepadretomas" target="_blank">The Facebook page of Misioneros Padre Tomas</a>, a grassroots organization working with youth at risk of gang participation and helping them to get an education. Of course the children and families who are leaving would prefer to be able to live in their own countries! This is a great example of a program that is helping children to remain in place and better their lives.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27265309" target="_blank">A short BBC story</a> from May, 2014, about violence against children in Honduras<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jul/04/central-americans-deadly-trek-us-flee-poverty-violence" target="_blank">A story in The Guardian</a> about villagers leaving Honduras for the U.S. A q=uote from the article:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If youths want to go out to play, they kill them … If they want to study, they face threats. It is overwhelming them," said Ana Zelaya, secretary of a rights group in El Salvador that helps relatives of dead and missing migrants.</blockquote>
[How many of us in the U.S. would not take drastic action if our children were threatened <i>with death</i> for wanting to play outside or to study? And what if our goverment was turning a blind eye to the situation? Then what?]<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/turning-fleeing-central-american-children-u-s-border-cruel-article-1.1854642" target="_blank">Turning away children at the U.S. border who are fleeing poverty and violence in Central America is cruel</a>, by <a href="http://www.felixvarelaaward.com/bios/ruiz.html" target="_blank">Albor Ruiz</a> An interesting comparison of the current situation and an incident that took place some years ago...<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/missionerosdepadretomas" target="_blank"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></a>
<br />
<a href="http://www.wola.org/commentary/3_myths_about_central_american_migration_to_the_us" target="_blank">Three Myths about Central American Migration to the United States</a><br />
More documentation on the situation from the <a href="http://www.wola.org/about_wola" target="_blank">Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.neighborhood-centers.org/en-us/content/Myths+versus+Facts.aspx" target="_blank">More mythbusting</a><br />
<br />
More links to some of the problems behind the situation -- some of the reasons people are desperately leaving Central America and other countries around the world -- can be found in <a href="http://ideastorming.blogspot.com/2014/06/resources-on-free-trade-and.html" target="_blank">my previous post of June 14, 2014</a>Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-15885280555397471872014-06-14T12:41:00.000-04:002014-06-14T12:48:31.659-04:00Resources on Free Trade and Globalization <div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1">In a recent post I made on Facebook, I offered to share some book and web resources with people who might be interested in learning more about the effects of Free Trade Agreements and Globalization on the people of Central and South America, Africa, and other regions around the world. So, I have to make good on my offer! This is a work in progress -- </span>I'm still learning, and will be continuing to search for more print and web resources on these issues. Please send me suggestions!</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*******************</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Books:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The two books that have particularly helped me to understand the issues are:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark and Louise Zwick, <b><a href="http://www.paulistpress.com/Products/4689-5/mercy-without-borders.aspx" target="_blank">Mercy Without Borders: The Catholic Worker and Immigration</a></b>. Paulist Press, November 2010</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The Zwicks founded the Houston Catholic Worker House, <a href="http://cjd.org/"><span class="s2">Casa Juan Diego</span></a>, in 1980. This is their story of their journey, but more importantly the journey of the people they serve - primarily refugees from Central and South America who have risked their lives to come to the United States. <b>Mercy Without Borders</b> is easily one of the top ten books I have ever read. (Also, the <a href="http://cjd.org/" target="_blank">Casa Juan Diego </a>website is an excellent resource, with many links to articles and other sources of information on issues related to the topics of this post.) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stefano Liberti, <b><a href="http://www.versobooks.com/books/1607-land-grabbing" target="_blank">Land Grabbing: Journeys In The New Colonialism</a></b>. Verso, November 2013 </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Mr. Liberti delves into the background of what is going on with large corporations leasing or buying large tracts of land in countries around the world, and the effect on the local economies and the people of those countries. (At this writing, I am only part way through the book; I understand he addresses issues in Latin America but I am still on the section about Ethiopia and Africa.) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be continuing to search for more print and web resources on these issues. Please send me suggestions!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*******************</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Web Resources:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://maryknollogc.org/" target="_blank">Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns </a><b>*</b></span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their publication, <a href="http://maryknollogc.org/news-notes"><span class="s2">NewsNotes</span></a>, has helped me become aware of what is really going on in the countries of the world that are most adversely affected by globalization and free trade agreements. They also report on conflicts in Syria and other countries, the horrible problems faced by the Palestinians and so forth.</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Documents like these, full of information gathered from the people on the ground in these countries, can be found in the <a href="http://maryknollogc.org/resources"><span class="s2">resources</span></a> section:</span></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="li5"><span class="s3"><a href="http://maryknollogc.org/resources/trade-if-people-and-earth-matter-working-document-alternatives"><span class="s4"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://maryknollogc.org/resources/trade-if-people-and-earth-matter-working-document-alternatives</span></span></a></span></li>
<li class="li6"><span class="s3"><a href="http://maryknollogc.org/article/guatemala-search-mining-justice"><span class="s5"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://maryknollogc.org/article/guatemala-search-mining-justice</span></span></a></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p7">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s3"><a href="http://www.globalexchange.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Global Exchange</span></a></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="li6"><span class="s3"><a href="http://www.globalexchange.org/resources/cafta/oppose"><span class="s5"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement</span></span></a></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">International Labor Rights Forum (<a href="http://www.laborrights.org/"><span class="s2">ILRF</span></a>) </span></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="li6"><span class="s3"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A paper on Trade Justice: <a href="http://www.laborrights.org/strategies/trade-justice-0"><span class="s5">http://www.laborrights.org/strategies/trade-justice-0</span></a></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p6">
<span class="s4"><a href="http://www.cipamericas.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Americas Program<span class="s5"></span></span></a></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A recent article that helps to make the connection between immigration and free trade/globalization: <a href="http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/12191"><span class="s2"><i>Viacrucis: Migrants Step out of Shadows into the Streets</i></span></a></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s2"><a href="http://www.eldis.org/">ELDIS</a></span><span class="s1"> </span><span class="s6">- </span><span class="s1">I am not sure of the agenda of this organization, but it does have a wealth of information, particularly this article: </span></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="li6"><span class="s3"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.eldis.org/go/home&id=31447&type=Document%23.U5xsJJRdVS1"><span class="s5"><i>Signing away the future: How trade and investment agreements between rich and poor countries undermine development</i></span></a></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="p8">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s7"><a href="http://www.oxfam.org/en">OXFAM</a></span><span class="s8"> (</span><span class="s1">description, from their website: “<i>Oxfam works with partner organizations and alongside vulnerable women and men to end the injustices that cause poverty.” </i>)</span></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="li1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s1"></span><span class="s9">Excellent analysis of the situation from a few years ago:<i> </i></span><span class="s1"><i> </i><a href="http://www.oxfam.org/en/node/144"><span class="s2">Spread of Free Trade Agreements threatens poor countries</span></a></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s2"><a href="http://www.nisgua.org/home.asp">NISGUA</a></span><span class="s1">: The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala</span></span></div>
<ul>
<li class="li8"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="s8"><a href="http://www.nisgua.org/themes_campaigns/index.asp?cid=1001"><span class="s2">Trade and Globalization</span></a> </span><span class="s1">(a section of their website that addresses issues with CAFTA, etc.)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/NAFTA_CAFTA_Research1.htm" target="_blank"><span class="s1"></span>GlobaLex</a> - a resource on the NYU Law School website that has links to the actual text of NAFTA and CAFTA and other legal documents as well as to some analysis of NAFTA and CAFTA. It appears that most of the latter are from the governmental/corporate perspective, but I haven't made an exhaustive search through the links provided.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<br />
<div class="p9">
<span class="s1"><i>* Disclaimer: I work for </i><a href="http://www.maryknollsociety.org/"><span class="s10"><i>Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers</i></span></a><i> (in the <a href="http://www.maryknoll.us/home/regional-mission-centers/western-region" target="_blank">Western Region Mission House</a>) and have since October 2012. I credit Maryknoll, and particularly the Office for Global Concerns and Fr. John “Jack” Moynihan, with raising my consciousness about the devastating effects of globalization and free trade agreements in Central and South America. </i></span></div>
Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-6338617562792593892014-03-23T15:41:00.001-04:002014-03-23T18:28:05.659-04:00Where I was on Friday...<i><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">On Friday, March 21, I participated in the <a href="http://www.fosna.org/content/pleasant-hill-ca-conference-march-21-22-2014" target="_blank">Friends of Sabeel-North America, </a></span><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="http://www.fosna.org/content/pleasant-hill-ca-conference-march-21-22-2014" target="_blank">Bay Area conference</a></span>, an excellent gathering to inform and educate people about the terrible injustice that is and has been the experience of the Palestinian people, and what can be done to end the injustice, brutality, and violence and thereby allow peace to begin. Here</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="color: #222222;"> are a few of the highlights and my impressions from Friday. (I was not able to be at the opening plenary of the conference nor was I able to attend on Saturday, so my impressions are limited to Friday mid-afternoon and evening.) </span>Please take the time to visit some of the websites I have linked below in order to become informed about the plight of the Palestinians and how you can be in solidarity with them. </span> </span></i><br />
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;">
<ul>
<li>In one of the break-out sessions, <a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/speaker/ziad-abbas" target="_blank">Ziad Abbas</a>, program manager for cross-cultural programs at Middle East Children’s Alliance (<a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/" target="_blank">MECA</a>), shared his personal experience and some of what MECA does. He was born in Bethlehem and grew up as a Palestinian refugee, and One of the things he shared was about <a href="https://www.mecaforpeace.org/projects/maia-project" target="_blank">why one of the MECA projects is to provide the Palestinian schools in Gaza with water purification and desalination systems.</a> I hope I never again pour myself a glass of water without remembering what he said. He also spoke at length about <a href="http://othersite.org/ziad-abbas-torturing-and-jailing-palestinian-children/" target="_blank">the arrest and imprisonment of Palestinian children</a>. </li>
<li><a href="http://justworldbooks.com/susan-abulhawa/" target="_blank">Susan Abulhawa</a>, author of the bestselling novel <b>Morning in Jenin</b> gave an excellent talk on Friday afternoon. I can't find anything on the web that has the particular content of her talk, but <a href="http://www.deiryassin.org/byboard46.html" target="_blank">this article</a> will give you some idea of her strong voice and her position on the issue of <i>right of return</i>, a term I heard often on Friday and which now makes sense to me. <span style="color: #1d2326; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> L</span></span>ater she read from her book of poetry, <b>My Voice Sought the Wind. </b>She preceded her live reading by showing <a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2013/11/cattle-abulhawa-publishes.html" target="_blank">this video</a> of her reading her poem, "Wala"; it will give you a inkling of the stirring poetry we experienced on Friday evening.</li>
<li><span style="color: #1d2326; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"><a href="http://www.findingourvoices.com/ht/d/sp/i/339/pid/339" target="_blank">Rev. Graylan Scott Hagle</a>r gave a powerful speech making connections between the situation in Palestine and other places and times, such as South Africa's apartheid, the Europeans coming to the Americas and taking land (and taking lives) away from the indigenous people by force and false treaties etc., African peoples being taken from their homeland and sent as slaves to the "New World"..</span></span>. <a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2014/03/american-delegation-israelpalestine.html" target="_blank">T<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">his link</span></span></a><span style="color: #1d2326; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 22.5px;"> contains an excerpt from another speech Rev Hagler gave that was also a part of his speech Friday night. Also on the web is <a href="http://www.plymouth-ucc.org/journey-to-palestine/" target="_blank">a blog he wrote</a> for his congregation about his trip to Palestine in January 2014; he also spoke of these experiences during his presentation on Friday evening.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A footnote: I was looking back at some previous blogposts, and found my own reference to the book <b>Exodus</b> by Leon Uris in <a href="http://ideastorming.blogspot.com/2013/08/favorite-authors.html" target="_blank">my post from last August</a>. I read and enjoyed it back when I was a teenager... but I don't think I will ever look at the book or Israel the same way again after my experience at the conference Friday. </span></div>
<div>
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Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-1445998317752278652013-11-26T02:10:00.001-05:002013-11-26T02:10:25.297-05:00An excellent book...Just finished <strike>reading</strike> listening to <b>The Latehomecomer</b>, by Kao Kalia Yang, this evening. It's been keeping me company the past week or so while I've been driving, and then I couldn't put it down (so to speak) and brought it in the house the past couple nights to listen some more. It is a beautiful, challenging, sad, and love-filled memoir of a young Hmong woman who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and came with her family to the U.S. in 1987 when she was six years old. I especially loved listening to her tell the story of her family; the relationships, the resourcefulness, the history... all of it came alive with her wonderful writing. One of the things that struck me the most was that the author read the story herself. Authors often do read their own work, but I realized about halfway through the book how amazing it was that she did this. She tells how she had great difficulty speaking English for many years after her family came to the U.S.; she would only speak in a whisper, or just nod or gesture, even though she was capable of speaking and she could understand spoken English and read just fine. So it was a powerful statement of how much she had grown, and somehow healed from the traumatic events of her early years. She is very honest about her feelings and some of the very difficult times she experienced. I got the impression that she was making a strong effort to find a balance in her storytelling, and it worked <i>very</i> well. The story carried me away to places and events that were so very outside my own experience, but somehow the author recreated those events in a way that made them very vivid and real. Her book touched me deeply; I don't know how else to put it. <br />
<br />
<br />
(The only other book I have read about the Hmong people was <b>The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down</b>, by Anne Fadiman, which was also excellent but a <i>very</i> different kind of book, and from a vastly different perspective. <b>The Latehomecomer</b> helped me to understand the people and events in this book so much better.) Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-6584291901231151432013-10-05T18:18:00.000-04:002013-10-05T18:18:05.288-04:00My other job... or one of them, anyway...For the past year or so I have been doing some part-time work for <a href="http://www.womenarts.org/" target="_blank">WomenArts</a>, a unique organization dedicated to supporting women artists, writers, filmmakers -- any sort of woman artist. It has been fascinating work, opening up a whole new world to me, among other things. For the past few months I have been updating lists on the website, mostly lists of funding sources, but other types of lists as well. Today I came across some excellent websites from our <a href="http://www.womenarts.org/funding-resources/women-artist-directories/" target="_blank">Women Artist Directories</a> page, and I want to share a few of them to give my readers some idea of what is out there...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://varoregistry.org/" target="_blank">Varo Registry of Women Artists</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sistersincinema.com/index.html" target="_blank">Sisters in Cinema</a>, particularly <a href="http://www.sistersincinema.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=228" target="_blank">this section</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.womeninphotography.org/wipihome.html" target="_blank">Women in Photography</a> Among other things, there are some beautiful photos in the <i>2013 Juried Exhibition</i> section, and there are links to individual photographers (click on <i>Member Links </i>on the left side of the page)<br />
<br />
That's going to have to be it for now -- will try to write more later!!<br />
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<br />Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-14676084404693936372013-09-16T01:46:00.002-04:002014-03-23T18:20:13.405-04:00Food -- I've been cooking again...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...so, just thought I'd post some of the things I've happened upon on food lately. First, a book: <a href="http://michaelpollan.com/books/in-defense-of-food/" target="_blank">In Defense of Food</a>, by Michael Pollan. Years ago when I was active in <a href="http://www.llli.org/" target="_blank">La Leche League</a>, our guideline, "Eat a variety of food in as close to its natural state as possible," along with the LLL cookbooks (most notably <a href="http://store.llli.org/public/profile/199" target="_blank">Whole Foods for the Whole Family</a>) helped me to gradually change and improve my diet and the diet of my family. I was surprised and delighted to read Michael Pollan's three guidelines: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." As he fleshed out these ideas, it appeared that his guidelines mesh very nicely with the LLL ideas about food. I highly recommend both books!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One other book that I want to give a plug to is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Veggie-Revolution-Choices-Healthy-Planet/dp/155591540X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202398093&sr=1-4" target="_blank">Veggie Revolution</a>, by Sally Kneidel and Sarah Kate Kneidel. This is a book about (among other things) how to move from the "normal" American diet to a diet that is healthier and more plant-based, and gives both the why and the how-to in excellent prose and photos as well as delicious recipes. (I actually wrote a review of the book when it first came out; you can read it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R31QHES70BHC5T/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=155591540X&nodeID=283155&store=books" target="_blank">here</a>.) Sally and Sarah also write <a href="http://veggierevolution.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">a wonderful blog by the same name</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another website I came across tonight: <a href="http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/" target="_blank">100 Days of Real Food.</a> Hmmm... I had to move all the way to California to find a website about a family who live in... Charlotte, NC! Looks like a good one, from what little I've seen. I'm making quiche tomorrow and they had some ideas I am going to use (though I made the crust from a different recipe.) Since my cookbooks are almost all in storage, I have been using the web to find recipes, and especially the proportions of what is in things that I already know <i>how</i> to make, like quiche and pie crust.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is it for now, but I hope to add more, and I welcome comments from my readers (if I still have any!) with suggestions for more books and websites about cooking real food. I do have the comments moderated, but if you comment I will try to get your comment posted within a day or so. </span><br />
<br />Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-69763674052236649182013-08-04T20:49:00.003-04:002014-03-23T18:21:09.135-04:00Favorite authors...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/books/review/fallen-idols.html?smid=pl-share" target="_blank">This article</a>, by Margo Rabb, in the NY Times Book Review from July 28 (which I just got around to reading this morning) was very well-written, and great food for thought... It brought back memories of my "encounters" with my favorite authors. Here are some of the ones that have come to mind as I have reflected on Margo Rabb's article.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many years ago I read <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157993.The_Little_Prince" target="_blank"><b>The Little Prince</b></a>, by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint-Exup%C3%A9ry" target="_blank">Antoine de Saint-Exupéry</a>, for the first time, and loved it. I read an English translation, I knew very little French -- just what I have picked up in reading and listening over the years -- and still don't. Anyway, it was my favorite book then and for many years, and some years later when I found that Saint-Exupery had written other books, I read some of them also: <b>Wind, Sand and Stars</b> and <b>Night Flight</b>. Wind, Sand and Stars especially spoke to me, but I loved both these books for their evocative writing, the glimpse into another time and place, and Saint-Exupery's insights into friendship and the human spirit. Then, many years later -- just a few years ago -- I read a biography of Saint-Exupery, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8841.The_Tale_of_the_Rose" target="_blank">The <b>Tale of the Rose: The Love Story Behind The Little Prince</b></a>. It was a real eye-opener, and got me to thinking about the same issues that come up in this article. Of course, Saint-Exupery was a product of his times, but it was still appalling the way he treated the women in his life. It didn't at all reflect my imaginings of him as a sensitive, caring, and honorable individual. I had dreamed up an idealized Saint-Exupery who was very different from the man who actually wrote these books I love. At the time, I was crushed, but since then have begun to understand just what the author discusses in this article. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have also had some connections with authors that were much better than I could have hoped. One was my encounter with Pat Kenschaft, the author of another of my favorite books, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/938107.Math_Power" target="_blank"><b>Math Power: How to Help Your Child Love Math Even If You Don't</b></a>. When I first read this book, which I found serendipitously at the library, it resonated with me more than any other book about math or math education ever had. The author and I shared so many ideas and values. Several years after I read the book, after it had suddenly gone out of print and I could no longer find copies to share with people, the author and I met purely by chance at a math conference. We spent a lovely hour chatting about the book and our lives and ideas, and have continued to stay in touch since then. I was happy to be a small part of helping her to bring the book back into print (the same title, but a revised edition) and even helped to write a little bit of it, in the appendices. Quite a positive encounter! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.geraldjonas.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.geraldjonas.com/" target="_blank">Gerald Jonas</a> wrote a poem that was in a book I owned as a teenager. The book was<span id="btAsinTitle"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000XYS02I/ref=dp_olp_collectible?ie=UTF8&condition=collectible" target="_blank"><b>The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Sixteenth Series</b></a>, a gift from my parents. I lost the book many years ago (along with many of my personal belongings which succumbed to a flood in the basement of our house on Haven Ridge Dr.) and I lost the copy of the poem that I carried in my wallet when that wallet was stolen back in the early 70's. But I always remembered the book and the poem, and wished I could have a copy of the poem again. So a few years ago, I looked for the book on the internet and found it, and ordered a copy, and rediscovered Mr. Jonas's delightful poem. And then I found some contact information for Mr. Jonas on the web also, and wrote him to tell him how much I liked his poem, and he wrote back! He was quite a delightful person, and very grateful that I remembered the poem and took the time to write him. (I still have the letter he wrote me, and the book, though they are in storage at the moment and I can't get at them...or else I would be putting the name of the poem in here...) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span id="btAsinTitle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I once heard Leon Uris in <a href="http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/1999-06-30/leon-uris-author-god-ruins-harper-collins" target="_blank">an interview with Diane Rehm</a> on her show on NPR. I had read several of his novels years ago when I was in my late teens and 20's, and enjoyed them all very much, particularly <b>Exodus</b> and <b>Trinity</b>, his book about the history of the 20th century conflict and politics in Northern Ireland. But in this interview, he was surprisingly quite cantankerous. He was also rude to one of Diane's callers, so much so that she insisted he apologize to the caller and to her listeners. That was an eye-opening experience! </span></span><br />
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<span id="btAsinTitle"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.rachelremen.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Naomi Remen</a> is an author whom I encountered in person, though I didn't get to have a conversation with her. A friend and I were fortunate to be able to attend a lecture she gave at Temple Beth El in Charlotte a few years back. In person, the warmth, humility, kindness, and spirit which shine through her books <b>Kitchen Table Wisdom</b> and <b>My Grandfather's Blessings </b>shone through in her bearing, her face, her speaking. She was in person just like she was in her books. Her talk left us with hope and inspiration to carry with us. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="btAsinTitle"></span><span id="btAsinTitle">One thing I always do when I begin reading a book is to find out a little about the author from the dust jacket or the short bio in the book, or from the web. </span><span id="btAsinTitle"> But as the years pass, more and more I try to keep in mind whenever I am reading that, though the author has a talent in writing (and undoubtedly worked hard for many years to develop that talent) and probably also has a passion for writing and for </span><span id="btAsinTitle">his or her </span><span id="btAsinTitle">subject, he or she is subject to the same human condition that we all are. Beyond any credentials, talents, and skills in writing that the author possesses, he or she is a human being like any other, with successes and failures, struggles, achievements, things left undone, messy relationships and (hopefully) some healthy ones<b> -- </b>in short, not a person to be put on a pedestal or in a "box" of my making. </span></span><br />
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Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-62454277329921166792013-04-01T12:06:00.003-04:002013-04-01T12:06:30.973-04:00No Fooling -- It's National Poetry Month!Just a heads-up to all you poetry lovers out there! You can find more info at <a href="http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41" target="_blank">this link</a>.<br />
The first poems I remember hearing, beyond nursery rhymes, were those of A. A. Milne, the author of the Winne-the-Pooh books. It is true, at least for me, that our mother's voice always stays with us: I can hear, in my mind, my mother reading this poem to me. It speaks so much to me of the playfulness and wonder of childhood... <br />
(And it is appropriate for today in the Bay Area -- it rained all night!)<br />
<div align="center">
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<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Happiness</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: blue;"><b> </b></span></span>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
John had<br />
Great Big<br />
Waterproof<br />
Boots on;<br />
John had a<br />
Great Big<br />
Waterproof<br />
Hat;<br />
John had a<br />
Great Big<br />
Waterproof<br />
Mackintosh --<br />
And that<br />
(Said John)<br />
Is<br />
That.</span></b></span></div>
Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-60649928244876912042013-03-31T16:26:00.004-04:002013-03-31T16:28:31.294-04:00A response to great lossI have been continuing my part-time work for <a href="http://www.womenarts.org/" target="_blank">WomenArts</a>... Currently my work involves systematically researching broken links on the website and fixing them. Sometimes -- actually very much of the time -- this research exposes me to new ideas and/or women artists that I have not known about, or knew about but hadn't investigated before. One of these is <a href="http://www.womenarts.org/swan-day/videos/isabel-allende-swan-day/" target="_blank">Isabel Allende</a>. In my searches today I uncovered this short video and it resonated with me, so I want to share it with my readers. (It somehow seems appropriate for Easter also -- a day when we celebrate the ultimate act of giving, and its joyful outcome.)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/d8kIBxg9R9E" width="420"></iframe> Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-75415978725112777132013-03-07T20:54:00.004-05:002013-03-07T20:56:19.370-05:00Support Women Artists Now!It's March, which means that SWAN Days are here! I've been working with WomenArts for the past six months or so, and the SWAN Day project is one of the many things that WomenArts has done/is doing. Check out the link below for a good example of a SWAN Day event -- this is just one of the 77 SWAN Day events/locations taking place this month! <br />
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<a href="http://www.jamestownupclose.com/home/2013/3/5/support-women-artists-now-in-jamestown-ny.html" target="_blank">SWAN Days in Jamestown, NY </a><br />
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Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-30686147265776066172013-02-06T12:49:00.003-05:002013-02-06T12:49:57.849-05:00BookmobileThis morning on the way back from my PT appointment I saw something I haven't seen in awhile: a <a href="http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=0300021401" target="_blank">Bookmobile</a>! (I didn't get a photo of it -- I was not quick enough -- but if you click the link in the previous sentence, you will see what it looks like.) It brought back such memories... when I was a little girl, we would sometimes get books from the bookmobile in Minneapolis. At least, I remember being in one when I was very little. <br />
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Of course I have loved libraries for as long as I can remember, which is probably why I remember the bookmobile. I can remember vividly many of the libraries I have visited in my life, which is saying a lot: my memory isn't all that great. One of the first public libraries I ever went to was the Children's Library, which I think was in Edina, Minnesota, or perhaps in Minneapolis quite near to Edina. The librarians were all very nice to us kids, and there were little tables and chairs, and we could sit and look at the books for a long time. I remember this place as a free-standing children's library, but perhaps it was just the children's section of a branch library. In any case, it was wonderful. <br />
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Later on I went to libraries in other places I lived and many of the places I have visited. The downtown branch of the Atlanta Public Library, which I visited often as a teenager in the late 60's, was a particularly memorable place. The librarians there were very strict about silence. Also, there was a certain place on the mezzanine, a pass-through from one section of the library to another (all lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, of course) where the floor was squishy, as though it were made of that stuff that now often forms the surface under a jungle gym or the swings in a public park. It looked like solid floor, but was actually probably rotting out underneath. I always found that place and walked across it when I went to the downtown library. More often I would visit the <a href="http://www.buckhead.net/libraries/" target="_blank">Ida Williams branch</a> in Buckhead, which had its own particular charm. It was our library, the one my family most often went to and where they always knew us. <a href="http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/store/Products/78963-buckhead-library.aspx" target="_blank">It is not there anymore</a> -- it's been replaced by a newer building. But it still brings back fond memories, as I am sure the new building will bring to its visitors many years hence.<br />
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Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-75275273709998225322013-02-05T10:57:00.002-05:002013-02-05T10:57:46.142-05:00Morning thoughts...This morning's observations:<br />
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<li><i>There is so much that medicine and science still don't know.</i> I read <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/gluten-free-whether-you-need-it-or-not/?ref=health" target="_blank">an article about gluten sensitivity</a> this morning in which one of the researchers stated, w.r.t. the how to reasonably identify it, "We have absolutely no clue at this point." The researchers/doctors/scientists don't really understand why this affects some people and others not at all, but they have recently classified this as an actual medical condition, separate from celiac disease. </li>
<li><i>Vectors are very interesting...</i> I had the opportunity to work with a student who is taking precalculus yesterday and we worked on <a href="http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/vectors/u3l1g.cfm" target="_blank">vector problems</a> the whole time. I would love to learn more physics.</li>
<li><i>I love books, and libraries.</i> We have one where I work and I get to work with it some. I would like to read about half the books in it. I sometimes wish I had become a librarian... </li>
<li><i>It is important, if you have an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earworm" target="_blank">earworm</a>, that it be one that you appreciate.</i> I like mine this morning. Most of the time I do, actually.</li>
<li><i>Math is everywhere.</i> I already knew this, but was reminded of it again when Frances brought some <a href="http://www.mariquita.com/recipes/broccoliromanesco.html" target="_blank">Broccoli Romanesco</a> (see photo below) home from the market a few weeks ago and then again last weekend. (It is also delicious!) </li>
<li><i>It is hard to think of something to post about every single morning.</i> But I'm going to keep on for as long as I can! I just need to start a little earlier in the morning... </li>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYk6NXJp30c/UREpYKWZ49I/AAAAAAAACE0/biinln0YQaI/s1600/IMG_2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYk6NXJp30c/UREpYKWZ49I/AAAAAAAACE0/biinln0YQaI/s1600/IMG_2017.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-85894709829044398242013-02-04T11:44:00.001-05:002013-02-05T10:59:46.055-05:00Habit-formingAfter posting briefly yesterday I thought, Maybe a daily post will be possible...? Worth a try.<br />
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Perhaps posting links to some of the things I am reading or listening to, or sharing a great side trip, or just a photo with or without comment...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xxERUZayr2E/UQ_lbLRs3VI/AAAAAAAACEk/5q5J8NE3wOw/s1600/IMG_2277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xxERUZayr2E/UQ_lbLRs3VI/AAAAAAAACEk/5q5J8NE3wOw/s1600/IMG_2277.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I took this photo at Stuff, a store near where I am currently living, that has lots of it.</td></tr>
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Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-74100051376682387512013-02-03T18:24:00.002-05:002013-02-03T18:24:15.186-05:00Good job!You know how it is... you're not looking for the next thing to write in your blog, you don't even have time or energy to write blogposts these days... but then in searching for something very specific on the web, you find something else that you would love to post to your blog. Well, that just happened to me. And here is <a href="http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/five-reasons-to-stop-saying-good-job" target="_blank">the article that distracted me</a>. This article addresses something that has been bothering me for awhile, but I never took the time to write about it... and the author of this article does a Good Job, so I'll let the article speak for itself. Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-59575972488109137572012-12-17T02:25:00.003-05:002012-12-17T02:25:31.622-05:00Children, crafts, and beyond...Tonight I had an email from a good friend who asked for my thoughts on children and crafts: if my children ever sold their creations when they were young, and whether I have any ideas on what to do if a young child wants to sell some of the crafts she has made... I've written her back with some of my ideas, but I thought maybe I'd put this question out there for my readers (if I still have any!) I'd love to hear ideas from those of you who have children as well as those who <i>have been</i> children :-) Also, I'll post some of the websites and books I have found on this topic as I come across them. <br />
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One website that I just found is a blog, <a href="http://madebyjoel.com/" target="_blank">Made by Joel</a>, that is all about doing crafts with kids. It is more down-to-earth than some of the other sites I found on this topic.<br />
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I'm also hoping to begin posting here more often, as I have lots to share about my adventures and mis-adventures in San Francisco... Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-52142009038596769722012-08-09T11:49:00.002-04:002012-08-09T11:49:39.201-04:00Surprising things found while looking for work on the internetI've been using the internet to find job openings the past few weeks. I've found some good opportunities and a few great ones, but there are also a fair number of scams out there, and some ads that are downright offensive or hysterically funny. Here's one that amused me just now:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Part-Time group exercise class assistant instructors needed to help out in senior citizens classes!<br />
OPPORTUNITY TO GROW!<br />
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Class Times: Morning and Evening Classes Tuesdays through Fridays<br />
... </blockquote>
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ABOUT OUR PROGRAM:<br />
<b><i>Our classes offer internal exercise to senior citizens to help them avoid getting old,</i></b> [emphasis mine] sickly, and dysfunctional....</blockquote>
I was right with the post until I came to the part in italics. If they have found an exercise program that can help people avoid getting old, I think it would be better publicized than this! <br />Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556182.post-78474793871124209282012-06-20T21:15:00.003-04:002012-06-20T21:16:02.824-04:00Encouragement while moving away<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Found while sorting and tossing tonight -- this one's a keeper!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can kiss family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> -- Frederick Buechner (by way of Aunt Carrie, many months ago.)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm holding onto this idea and encouragement of my friends here, because sometimes I think I might lose my nerve and not be able to do this move. I know I'm going to miss everybody here <i>so much!!</i></span></div>Lidarosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10725067435726920066noreply@blogger.com0