“Boycott the Olympics, Save America”
July 21, 2008 | Filed Under Consider this | Leave a Comment
“How can you hate the Olympics?” they ask me. “Are you some sort of antipatriotic subversive? Don’t you appreciate the genius of Bob Costas? Can’t you understand the majesty of world-class Ping-Pong?” These are the questions I face every other year. Every other year, I am accused of hating the Olympics. Now, this accusation is inaccurate. I do not hate the Olympics; I just don’t like them at all. For as long as I can remember, the Olympics have been completely and utterly unmoving. This is ironic, inasmuch as we’re all about to spend the next VII weeks being reminded of how emotive and heart-wrenching and dramatic these games are going to be. This is not something I need to hear, particularly since the only thing the Olympics ever do is reinforce my dislike for a particular kind of American: people who like the home team simply because the home team is, in fact, the home team.
Read the rest of Chuck Klosterman’s article here.
It exists…
July 21, 2008 | Filed Under Do your research!, Pay attention | 1 Comment
click image to see larger version
To learn more, go to FreeTheSlaves.net.
See the change: Pollution Tourism
July 21, 2008 | Filed Under Health, Plain cool | Leave a Comment
At first glance, it seems like an odd idea. Pollution tourism? But think about it…with the green movement in full effect, pollution tourism not only makes a lot of sense; it’s quite a brilliant idea. Come see some of the wrongs created by humans and their austere customs…or former austere customs if all goes right with the trip to some environmentally hazardous place where tourists learn about the current problem of the place, what went wrong, and perhaps how to avoid the problem from happening elsewhere. Take a visit to the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana to see one of the largest highly toxic Superfund sites or to the Eastern Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean to see a whirlpool of plastic trash. Take a look at Eric Smillie’s “Beautiful Messes: A Travel Guide to Man-made Disasters“.
Environmental NGO Blacksmith Institute works to decrease human health risks from environmental pollution in some of the developing world’s most highly polluted locations. Their site lists the top ten polluted cities in the world and tons of information for pollution tourists.
A little bit of random
July 21, 2008 | Filed Under Do your research!, Health, Pay attention, Random | Leave a Comment
- The Dark Knight broke box office records this past weekend…rather deservingly. Fantastic. Heath Ledger was awesome. Does the film’s genre exclude him from being able to get an Oscar?
- We take for granted the emotional contributions and instability of great actors.
- We’re not saving the Earth!! We’re saving our selves! If we continue to decimate the planet, we won’t be able to live here. We need the delicate balance this planet provides to support our lives. If we weren’t here, life on Earth would flourish. Get it right. Semantics are everything.
- Finally took a gander at the Fast Food Nation movie. The book is definitely better, but the movie has a lot to offer for those with time constraints or for those looking for a supplement to the book. Keep this in mind while watching the movie: it’s a fictional story based off true information. With that, what’s in your meat? Educate yourself on food-related issues; they affect you whether or not you choose to know.
- Heat waves are no good.
YES! Watch the Watchmen!
July 20, 2008 | Filed Under Spotlight, Watch this | Leave a Comment
Hailed as the greatest graphic novel ever, The Watchmen, is set to come to silver screen next spring. I just finished reading the book today…I’m so excited. Next to Batman, Rorsharch has to be one of the greatest fictional detectives. Check out the trailer.
Have a conversation with God
July 18, 2008 | Filed Under Inspiring, Plain cool, Read this | 1 Comment
Engage with and deepen your understanding of God’s Word. This book is amazing. I’m inspired.
Safe water shortage…solution
July 18, 2008 | Filed Under Give time/money, Great ideas, Health, Plain cool | 3 Comments
The UN established Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as part of the Millennium Declaration adopted in 189 nations and signed by 147 state and government heads in 2000. Those eight goals are as follows:
- Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
- Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
- Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
- Goal 5: Improve maternal health
- Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
- Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
One company that understands the roles of corporate social responsibility and social enterprise is working to address a few of those MDGs. The name is Vestergaard Frandsen and they offer several innovative life-saving and quality-of-life-enhancing products that would make any social entrepreneur or human rights activist proud.
The product I fancy most at the moment is the LifeStraw, available for individual or family use. LifeStraw Personal filters a minimum of 700 liters, while the LifeStraw Family filters a minimum of 15,000 liters of water. It would take 40 faucet-mount Brita filters to treat the amount of water just one LifeStraw Family can. And how much is it? $15, half of the cost of one Brita filter. Awesome.
At any given moment, about half of the world’s poor are suffering from waterborne disease, of which over 6,000 – mainly children – die each day by consuming unsafe drinking water.
Today, more than one billion people of the world’s population are without access to safe drinking water, causing lack of safe water supply to rob women and young girls of dignity, literacy and time.
Safe water interventions have vast potential to transform the lives of millions of people. Water filtration tools not only provide safe drinking water but also have a positive health impact on the most vulnerable populations, including young children, pregnant women and those with debilitated immune systems.
Go here if you’d like to help end the safe water shortage by donating a LifeStraw Family. Read more about the LifeStraw here. Discover other portable water systems here.
Read more
Good news: Sudan’s president charged with genocide in Darfur
July 14, 2008 | Filed Under Do your research!, Pay attention | 2 Comments
Finally, some sort of accountability. Despite the ten charges Al-Bashir faces, judges will take several months reviewing the evidence before deciding whether or not to order for his arrest. On top of that, Al-Bashir doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the International Crimes Court. Wonderful.
Read more here.
So…when is it Bush’s turn?
I know I’m late, but…hmmm
July 13, 2008 | Filed Under Do your research!, Moment of Truth, Pay attention, Watch this | 1 Comment
Not paying much attention to the news usually means missing out on some key national events or at least their details.
Earlier this month, Obama got a lot of heat on his “flip flop.” I’m just now getting hip to what that flip flop was and what it means. After promising to oppose the Protect America Act, Obama’s recent vote helped get the bill passed.
He offered a flimsy explanation on his blog. Some believe that this single issue shouldn’t cause voters to abandon their allegiance to the Democratic candidate. This isn’t just a single issue.
To learn more about the latest version of this Act, watch the video and download the text below:
Great words…
July 13, 2008 | Filed Under Consider this, Rewritable words | 2 Comments
“If you do not feel yourself growing in your work
and your life broadening and deepening,
if your task is not a perpetual tonic to you,
you have not found your place.”Â
- Orison Sweet Marden
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