Purchase ‘Garbage Warrior’ on DVD

April 4, 2008 | Filed Under Give time/money, Moment of Truth, Pay attention, Thoughts | Leave a Comment 

Since most people don’t have Sundance and won’t be in an area screening Garbage Warrior anytime soon, but never fret: it’s not available for purchase at GarbageWarrior.com.  Viewing this movie is really important.  We all need to be educated on alternative housing whether or not we forsee the possibilities of owning it. 

Every man is selfish and dishonest.  Making excuses.
- Roshomon, 1950

I found these to be among the most poignant and succint words in the Japanese film, Roshomon.  At first I didn’t want to beleive them to be true with regard to my own life, but then I found myself in the kitchen contemplating using Drano in the kitchen sink…just to clear up any potential obstructions.  Those words popped into my head. 

Every man is selfish and dishonest.  Making excuses.

Here I was, not exempt.  If I go around talking about the lack of other people’s environmental concerns, it’s assumed that my concerns would be apparent in my actions…otherwise, what exactly am I critiquing?  Yet, for my own immediate concerns, using Drano was still momentarily a possibility.  And if that moment would’ve lingered enough to become an actual action as opposed to a simple possibility, I would’ve made an excuse.  In that moment I realized I can no longer speak for or about everyone unless I truly am including myself.  

We’ve got to stop making excuses.  I’ve certainly got to stop making them.   If we’re aware of current and imment environmental crises, we can’t keep making excuses for our actions and nonactions.  We have to stop being selfish and start being honest and hold ourselves and each other accountable. 

I’m inspired!

February 29, 2008 | Filed Under Give time/money, Great ideas, Inspiring, Plain cool | Leave a Comment 

My very favorite organization at this exact moment is 826 National, a “family of seven nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18, with expository and creative writing.”  The idea behind the organization is that writing is a democratic process that children need to learn to actively engage in society and that children need one-on-one attention to maximize their educational experiences.  They offer free tutoring, field trips, workshops, and in-school programs. 

All locations are locally designed and locally funded.  To assist in funding, each chapter has its own unique retail experience…and they do mean experience.  There’s a pirate store in San Francisco, a superhero supply store in Brooklyn, the Boring Store featuring secret agent supplies in Chicago, and the Big Foot Research Institute in Boston.  Each location has a storefront with an off-beat retail idea that piques your curiosity while the mission of the stores makes you want to buy something simply because it’s for a great cause. 

The founder, Dave Eggers, is one of this year’s TED prize winners.  As a TED prize winner, you get $100,000 and the chance to make a wish to change the world.  TED helps to make that wish a reality with funding, collaboration, and by providing the platform for them to speak.  Eggers wish was that everyone at the TED conference directly engages with the public schools in their area.  As the result of that wish, Eggers and TED teamed up with a local website design company to create Once Upon A School, where people can share ideas about engaging with local schools, be inspired by those ideas, and share their stories. 

The 826 projects are such wonderful ideas that have the ability to create so much positive change in our neighborhoods and country.  There should be more than seven of them and, in fact, there are plans to create more in the future.  Currently, though, the organization is dedicating its resources to further developing the centers already instituted, but offer information and ideas as to how you can be of service to the children in your community.  If you happen to live in an area with an 826 location, please consider volunteering. 

What’s your form of service and/or activism?

$15 well spent

November 16, 2007 | Filed Under Give time/money, Inspiring, Watch this | Leave a Comment 

Buy one, give one

November 12, 2007 | Filed Under Give time/money, Plain cool | Leave a Comment 

 

One Laptop Per Child has created the $100 XO laptop for purchase and distribution by developing countries. They’ll be available for governments to purchase and distribute to the schools.  Multiple charging options are available including a hand crank and accepting DC power from solar panels.

For two weeks starting today, the computer is available for US purchase for $399.  That price includes a laptop for you, one for another child, and funding for the OLPC program.

The computer was presented at the TED conference.  To see Nicholar Negroponte discussing it, watch below.

 

My question, though, is whether or not this is just a clever cover for a plan to surveil and then censor the poor along with the rest of the middle class?  As much as I’d like to vehemently deny such a devious plan, how can I?

Free Rice!

November 11, 2007 | Filed Under Give time/money, Learn something, Website | Leave a Comment 

New site, FreeRice.com, gives away ten grains of rice for each vocabulary word that you get right.  But you don’t personally receive the rice.  The advertisers will donate the rice to the United Nations to “assist” in ending hunger.  While on one hand, I think it’s a cool idea, on the other, it just pisses me off.  I was on the site for a good twenty or so minutes getting up to the highest vocab level–50–with the help of Dictionary.com.  At the end of it, I’ve donated 750 grains of rice.  I would’ve continued to 1,000, but I got bored.  How much does 1,000 grains of rice cost?  NOTHING!  The advertisers I remember seeing were ReadersDigest.com, Liz Claiborne, Mac.com, and Radisson Hotels.  Multi-million dollar corporations (on the low end) paying pennies to advertise on a campaign to “end hunger.”  Why the cynical quotation marks?  Because ending hunger is easy, but it doesn’t benefit ruling parties so it won’t happen.

It’s a kind of cool idea, though–getting people to participate in something slightly charitable (at least on the surface) while increasing their vocabularies.

Community Health

September 10, 2007 | Filed Under Give time/money, Health | Leave a Comment 

“God is Absolute Truth. I am human; I only understand relative truth. So, my understanding of truth can change from day to day and my committment must be to truth rather than consistency.”
-Mahatma Ghandi

Fortunately for us, Michael Moore’s commitment to truth includes his consistent humor. Watching Sicko! was an important moment for me. It brought up the idea that we don’t value life. LIFE as a whole, not life for the people we think are worthy of it based on their doing what pleases us. The good that I found in Moore’s latest offering–also his most impactful–was not only truth, but shining examples of what’s possible. If Cuba can have universal health care, so can we. Moore was able to depict the characteristics of love and care from the countries he highlighted with universal health care. The doctors he spoke with wouldn’t turn someone away because they didn’t have health care and didn’t want to work within a system that allowed or forced them to.

There are free clinics in major U.S. cities, but most offer only primary care. To my surprise and satisfaction, I came across a health center in Chicago that offers a range of primary and specialty care services for the uninsured. The clinic, called CommunityHealth, was founded in 1993, and has served over 30,000 patients. Each year, they serve 6,000 patients, taking on 125 new patients each month.

CommunityHealth is funded almost entirely on public donations from individuals, foundations and corporations. More than 500 volunteers work with the organization, donating over 33,000 hours of their time in 2006. Moore would be proud.

To learn more about CommunityHealth and the work they do, visit CommunityHealth.org. If you, in fact, value life and would like to make an online donation to assist the continuance of the essential work of this organization, please do so here.

← Previous Page