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Showing posts from January, 2010

The Incarnation

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Perhaps it was my association with the word Avatar. Some years ago, I gave that name to the big research project my English classes were assigned. it began as an I-Search paper (the personal pronoun I means I, myself search or discover something about a topic I really care about) but after 10-12 years, I gave it a new incarnation. It was pretty much the same assignment, but the many revolutionary changes in technology, especially the internet and email required the assignment be "adjusted" just a bit. The name Avatar was chosen because of the secondary definition: The incarnation of an idea in a person. I wanted my students to talk to people...literally. Might not sound like such a big thing, but I could see the future and it didn't include much face to face contact. Something happens when two human beings with a passion for the same thing get together. That's the experience I was going for; that's the experience that involves some risk-taking. My student

Mississippi Fred McDowell Red Cross Store

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Download: Mississippi Fred McDowell Red Cross Store

History Lesson

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OK, here's the deal. I posted that Oxfam or Doctors Without Borders might be a better choice for donating to Haitian earthquake relief because I read that the Red Cross received millions by text message in just two days. Nothing wrong with that, but the Red Cross can be a red flag. They have a history and often it ain't pretty. If you want all the numbers and stats, just Google Red Cross corruption and it appears like magic. If you are only mildly interested, I'll provide some historical context. In the last 10-20 years or so, after huge natural disaster, the Red Cross his bee the standard go to organization for well intentioned people who wanted to help. Problem is that a huge percentage of the money never got to the intended destination. The fact that the national director was taking home 3/4 of a million dollars didn't help either. After Katrina, the Los Angeles Times wrote: Giving so high a percentage of all donations to one agency that defines itself only

Quake

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Little else matters now. With one sudden jolt, forget about who said what. Who cares about the late night TV wars or hyper insensitive language? Fantasy film worlds in 3-D are nice but not now. No ballgame matters, I can't think about what's for dinner, there are no feel good stories at the moment. Earthquakes can do that. I've been through a few. The Loma Prieta quake was like any of the many I'd previously experienced. Since that day in 1989, I'm never without too many water bottles or packages of batteries from AAA to D. I have a cell phone now, a couple of portable radios, and always, some gas in the truck. Earthquakes will do that. The collage of words and terminology begins to take shape. Tembler, epicenter, 7.1, infrastructure. Pancaked, rubble, aftershock, victims. If things happen for a reason, what are we to think about Haiti. If I were living there in normal times, I could expect to die next year. Poorest country in the Western Hemisphere; ch

The Other N Word

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I'm sitting in my local coffee house answering some emails. About every second sentence I write is interrupted with a jolt from one of the baristas who is laughing out loud. Emphasis on the loud. He just happens to be a gay man (do I call him a baristo?) who has the loudest repetitive laugh I've ever heard. I've heard many, this one is clearly the most outrageous, the most obnoxious. Believe me when I tell you this laugh ranks up there with water-boarding. Even Laura, one of his co-workers acknowledges, "Brian's laugh is just too big for this little coffeeshop." After a while, I go from irritated to curious. I marvel at how people respond. In Portland, people are unusually kind to one another. Oh , we have crime and assholes just like any other city, but for the most part, people are remarkably, noticeably, civil. Aside from a few grimaces, people tolerate this assault on their sensibilities. Maybe it's a well calculated attempt to keep people

Long Night Working

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The best theory of dream interpretation that I ever heard sees dreams as rehearsals. What we are anticipating or rehearsing for are unexpected events or twists of fate that could conceivably leave us caught off guard. Many people I know have the final exam dream. Ever had the dream? You know, it's the day of the final and either yo are unprepared or suddenly remember that you are enrolled in the class. There are many versions, and they can involve actually taking the exam (in the dream, of course) or not showing up. I've read that this is the most common dream for people who went to college. As in all dreams, it's the symbolism that's important. The exam represent anything we need to be more prepared to face. When I taught psychology, most of my students had never had that dream. I should check in with a few now to see how prevalent it is. Popular among adolescents are dreams of losing teeth, dreams of flying or car crashes, and of course one of the top ten, b

Sweet Home

Every now and then a song hits like an asteroid. If you're lucky, it'll become one of those I'll never forget where I was...moments. Last week, while watching the film Up in the Air, I heard a tune that immediately struck a chord. It was like seeing an old friend, or that heady place when you meet someone for the first time and there is an unmistakable connection. I can see the relationship between this song and the movie, but it's slim at best. Up in the Air is fairly predictable, but the acting is good and George Clooney is perfect as the well-groomed but personally vapid businessman who can hear the clock ticking on his coveted life alone. This is the type of song that connects to everyone, in some way. Maybe that's why it struck so deep. It's definitely universal and timeless. From midair to deep in the ground. Click the link and give a listen. When you get a chance, let me know what you think. listen to Dan Auerbach - Goin' Home on @ hypem