You stand, remaining upright. You weigh as much as 3 pounds or less than 9 ounces. You are held up by others like you, so alike yet so different, shoulder to shoulder, a mismatching line of colorful beauty.
I grab you, feel you. Initially, there’s a softness to your texture; as I continue through you become rougher, but still nice to touch.
Everytime I'm with you, I have to return to the beginning. The images, or lack thereof, the colors, the shades, inviting me to make assumptions that may be true or false. Every time I want you, every time I must put you down and then pick you up, I must look at the beginning and question or laugh at your original impression.
Suddenly you are colorless: black and white transforming into complex ideas, people and emotions. Inevitably a challenge: enter or break from your world. I usually can’t stop and I barely try. Perhaps sleep will force me to cease. Perhaps responsibilities. But when nothing else matters and I can resist you no more, sometimes for hours, I complete you, and you complete me. And when you finally end, I hold you, maybe tightly to my chest, contemplating how good you are, thinking about who else I would like to share you with, or rarely, how I want to share you with no one, because no one will love you like I do, like I did.
Sometimes I am angry at you. You wasted my time! And I maybe even throw you. But I will never put you in the garbage. I may resell, regift, or donate you, but never toss or burn.
I may have you sit by my bed for a while, until it is time to bring you back to the others, where you will stand proud, perhaps a little worn because you have been trudged in purses or backpacks, in the car and on the bus and train. And as I put you back, I say goodbye to the gifts that you gave me.
And after a day or so, I will find another one, and begin again.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Hope for Haiti Telethon Performances
Some of the performances on Friday night's Telethon were incredible. They are all on youtube, but I thought I'd make it easier for you to find the ones I thought were the best based on no real authority except my musical taste.
I didn't donate to the causes in the telethon. I gave money about a week ago to an organization I know well and trust to do good work (not that I don't trust other organizations, I just haven't done my homework on them) on the ground there.
Anyways, here are the links to the performances.
10. Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban and Kid Rock: Lean on Me
9.Matt Morris and Justin Timberlake: Hallelujah
8.Madonna: Like A Prayer
7.Beyonce: Halo
6.Alicia Keys: Prelude to a Kiss
5. Cold Play: A Message
4.Springsteen: We Shall Overcome
3. Stevie Wonder: When will there be a time to Love? and Like a Bridge over Troubled Water
2.Jennifer Hudson: Let it Be
1. Mary J. Blige: Hard Times Come Again No More
I didn't donate to the causes in the telethon. I gave money about a week ago to an organization I know well and trust to do good work (not that I don't trust other organizations, I just haven't done my homework on them) on the ground there.
Anyways, here are the links to the performances.
10. Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban and Kid Rock: Lean on Me
9.Matt Morris and Justin Timberlake: Hallelujah
8.Madonna: Like A Prayer
7.Beyonce: Halo
6.Alicia Keys: Prelude to a Kiss
5. Cold Play: A Message
4.Springsteen: We Shall Overcome
3. Stevie Wonder: When will there be a time to Love? and Like a Bridge over Troubled Water
2.Jennifer Hudson: Let it Be
1. Mary J. Blige: Hard Times Come Again No More
Monday, January 18, 2010
Need your help with a lesson plan I'm doing on poverty
New lesson based on everyone's feedback
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty line for a family of four (2009) is $22,250 (http://aspe.hhs.gov). If minimum wage in Illinois is $8/hour, a person could work every single day of the year, seven days a week, eight hours a day, and barely make more than $23,360 which is considered above the poverty line. Do you know anyone who works every day of the year 8 hours a day? Probably not.
Imagine, you are one of two parents in a household or even 1 of 1 parent in a household with three children. How far can $23,360 go?
Let’s use the $23,360 number and even round it up to $24,000. Now YOU are the head of the family. Your family of four has to live on $2,000/month. The average rent in Chicago for a 2 bedroom apartment is $1,000 a month (not in Lakeview or Lincoln Park- it’s about double that) What do you do?
So now you have $1000/month to use for the basics: food, clothes, gas or CTA passes, electric bill, etc.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates about 12.5 percent of the average family's spending goes toward food, while the Department of Agriculture puts the figure at 9.8 percent.
One thing that is for sure: Grocery prices jumped sharply in recent years — up 4.2 percent in 2007 and 6.4 percent in 2008, according to BLS. USDA projects they'll rise as much as 3.5 percent for the year.” Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29681240/ns/business-food_inc/
For our project, you will use the 10 percent figure, which would mean $100/month on groceries to feed your family of four. That is about $3.33 to spend on groceries per day for a family of four. You have $30 to spend, so that would be about 9 days worth of groceries. Please by this family of four 9 days worth of groceries with your $30.
We will be donating this food, so please make sure that it is food that you would actually want to eat, that it has some diversity (don’t buy 100 boxes of Mac & Cheese), and that it’s non perishable.
Good luck!
Follow up questions:
What kinds of food were you able to buy? What foods did you want to buy and couldn’t?
Would this be enough to sustain your family for four days?
This family would probably qualify for food and housing subsidies from the government. Should they use them?
How much money do you spend on food for a week?
What did you learn from this activity?
..................
This is a lesson I am going to do this Sunday with 12 eighth graders. I am asking for your feedback to make sure that my math is correct and if I should add or subtract anything to or from it. For the record, I did not come up with this idea (young people going to a grocery store and buying food with a limited amount of money, seeing how expensive things are), but I did research these statistics and came up with this particular lesson plan. Your feedback is encouraged.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty line for a family of four (2009) is $22,250 (http://aspe.hhs.gov). If minimum wage in Illinois is $8/hour, a person could work every single day of the year, seven days a week, eight hours a day, and barely make more than $23,360 which is considered above the poverty line and therefore qualifying for fewer government aid services.
Do you know anyone who works every day of the year 8 hours a day? Probably not.
Imagine, you are one of two parents in a household or even 1 of 1 parent in a household with three children. How far can $23,360 go?
Not very far.
Let’s use the $23,360 number and even round it up to $24,000. Now YOU are the head of the family. Your family of four has to live on $2,000/month. The average rent in Chicago for a 2 bedroom apartment is $2,000 a month (including water and electricity). What do you do? Live in a 1 Bedroom apartment and have your kids sleep in the living room and pay $1,300/month (including water and electricity).
So now you have $700/month to use for the basics: food, clothes, gas or CTA passes, etc.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates about 12.5 percent of the average family's spending goes toward food, while the Department of Agriculture puts the figure at 9.8 percent.
One thing that is for sure: Grocery prices jumped sharply in recent years — up 4.2 percent in 2007 and 6.4 percent in 2008, according to BLS. USDA projects they'll rise as much as 3.5 percent for the year.” Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29681240/ns/business-food_inc/
For our project, you will use the 10 percent figure, which would mean $70/month on groceries to feed your family of four and you are still not considered poor. There are four weeks in a month, so that means $17.50 to spend on your family of four per week. You and your partner are going to have $30 to spend. With that $30 you are going to need to buy 12 days worth of food for your family of four. You have 30 minutes to do so.
We will be donating this food, so please make sure that it is food that you would actually want to eat, that it has some diversity (don’t buy 100 boxes of Mac & Cheese), that it’s non perishable, and by the way, this family keeps Kosher! So everything has to be kosher with a kosher symbol.
Follow up questions:
What kinds of food were you able to buy?
Would this be enough to sustain your family for four days?
What did you learn from this activity?
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty line for a family of four (2009) is $22,250 (http://aspe.hhs.gov). If minimum wage in Illinois is $8/hour, a person could work every single day of the year, seven days a week, eight hours a day, and barely make more than $23,360 which is considered above the poverty line. Do you know anyone who works every day of the year 8 hours a day? Probably not.
Imagine, you are one of two parents in a household or even 1 of 1 parent in a household with three children. How far can $23,360 go?
Let’s use the $23,360 number and even round it up to $24,000. Now YOU are the head of the family. Your family of four has to live on $2,000/month. The average rent in Chicago for a 2 bedroom apartment is $1,000 a month (not in Lakeview or Lincoln Park- it’s about double that) What do you do?
So now you have $1000/month to use for the basics: food, clothes, gas or CTA passes, electric bill, etc.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates about 12.5 percent of the average family's spending goes toward food, while the Department of Agriculture puts the figure at 9.8 percent.
One thing that is for sure: Grocery prices jumped sharply in recent years — up 4.2 percent in 2007 and 6.4 percent in 2008, according to BLS. USDA projects they'll rise as much as 3.5 percent for the year.” Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29681240/ns/business-food_inc/
For our project, you will use the 10 percent figure, which would mean $100/month on groceries to feed your family of four. That is about $3.33 to spend on groceries per day for a family of four. You have $30 to spend, so that would be about 9 days worth of groceries. Please by this family of four 9 days worth of groceries with your $30.
We will be donating this food, so please make sure that it is food that you would actually want to eat, that it has some diversity (don’t buy 100 boxes of Mac & Cheese), and that it’s non perishable.
Good luck!
Follow up questions:
What kinds of food were you able to buy? What foods did you want to buy and couldn’t?
Would this be enough to sustain your family for four days?
This family would probably qualify for food and housing subsidies from the government. Should they use them?
How much money do you spend on food for a week?
What did you learn from this activity?
..................
This is a lesson I am going to do this Sunday with 12 eighth graders. I am asking for your feedback to make sure that my math is correct and if I should add or subtract anything to or from it. For the record, I did not come up with this idea (young people going to a grocery store and buying food with a limited amount of money, seeing how expensive things are), but I did research these statistics and came up with this particular lesson plan. Your feedback is encouraged.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty line for a family of four (2009) is $22,250 (http://aspe.hhs.gov). If minimum wage in Illinois is $8/hour, a person could work every single day of the year, seven days a week, eight hours a day, and barely make more than $23,360 which is considered above the poverty line and therefore qualifying for fewer government aid services.
Do you know anyone who works every day of the year 8 hours a day? Probably not.
Imagine, you are one of two parents in a household or even 1 of 1 parent in a household with three children. How far can $23,360 go?
Not very far.
Let’s use the $23,360 number and even round it up to $24,000. Now YOU are the head of the family. Your family of four has to live on $2,000/month. The average rent in Chicago for a 2 bedroom apartment is $2,000 a month (including water and electricity). What do you do? Live in a 1 Bedroom apartment and have your kids sleep in the living room and pay $1,300/month (including water and electricity).
So now you have $700/month to use for the basics: food, clothes, gas or CTA passes, etc.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates about 12.5 percent of the average family's spending goes toward food, while the Department of Agriculture puts the figure at 9.8 percent.
One thing that is for sure: Grocery prices jumped sharply in recent years — up 4.2 percent in 2007 and 6.4 percent in 2008, according to BLS. USDA projects they'll rise as much as 3.5 percent for the year.” Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29681240/ns/business-food_inc/
For our project, you will use the 10 percent figure, which would mean $70/month on groceries to feed your family of four and you are still not considered poor. There are four weeks in a month, so that means $17.50 to spend on your family of four per week. You and your partner are going to have $30 to spend. With that $30 you are going to need to buy 12 days worth of food for your family of four. You have 30 minutes to do so.
We will be donating this food, so please make sure that it is food that you would actually want to eat, that it has some diversity (don’t buy 100 boxes of Mac & Cheese), that it’s non perishable, and by the way, this family keeps Kosher! So everything has to be kosher with a kosher symbol.
Follow up questions:
What kinds of food were you able to buy?
Would this be enough to sustain your family for four days?
What did you learn from this activity?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
What celebrities and athletes can learn from Miep Gies
The article is in oychicago: http://www.oychicago.com/blog.aspx?id=5202&blogid=142
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Anne Frank on Miep Gies (1909-2010)
The best example of this is our own helpers, who have managed to pull us through so far and will hopefully bring us safely to shore, because otherwise they'll find themselves sharing the fate of those they're trying to protect. Never have they uttered a single word about the burden we must be, never have they complained that we're too much trouble. They come upstairs every day and talk to the men about business and politics, to the women about food and wartime difficulties and to the children about books and newspapers. They put on their most cheerful expressions, bring flowers and gifts for birthdays and holidays and are always ready to do what they can. That's something we should never forget; while others display their heroism in battle or against the Germans, our helpers prove theirs every day by their good spirits and affection.
quoted from The Diary of Anne Frank on the Yad Vashem web site
quoted from The Diary of Anne Frank on the Yad Vashem web site
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
TSA praises Victoria's Secret
The world’s leading fashion lingerie house has announced the production of a new line entitled “Body Scan by Victoria.”
The latest lingerie is in response to body scans, set to enter airport screening areas across the world. This latest screening device is causing panic to both privacy advocates and private parts advocates.
“If the scanners are going to show us naked, we should look our sexiest,” said Victoria’s Secret Spokesperson Samantha Smythe.
Victoria’s Secret has purchased a body scanner so that designers, working side by side with scientists, can best create lingerie that offers the most flattering optical illusion.
The Body Scan line will include push up bras, minimizers, body shapers (gurdles), control top hose, and tape to cover any flaws (stretch marks, discoloration, etc).
The news of the new line was welcomed by the Obama administration.
“Body Scan by Victoria is not only innovative, but it is also patriotic,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitan. “The women wearing these undergarments will brighten the days of our hard working TSA force.”
Body Scan by Victoria should be available in stores, the catalogue and web site in time for Valentine’s Day.
The latest lingerie is in response to body scans, set to enter airport screening areas across the world. This latest screening device is causing panic to both privacy advocates and private parts advocates.
“If the scanners are going to show us naked, we should look our sexiest,” said Victoria’s Secret Spokesperson Samantha Smythe.
Victoria’s Secret has purchased a body scanner so that designers, working side by side with scientists, can best create lingerie that offers the most flattering optical illusion.
The Body Scan line will include push up bras, minimizers, body shapers (gurdles), control top hose, and tape to cover any flaws (stretch marks, discoloration, etc).
The news of the new line was welcomed by the Obama administration.
“Body Scan by Victoria is not only innovative, but it is also patriotic,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitan. “The women wearing these undergarments will brighten the days of our hard working TSA force.”
Body Scan by Victoria should be available in stores, the catalogue and web site in time for Valentine’s Day.
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