I've spent the last month, in addition to the onslaught of grant writing and billing I've faced, organizing the annual fashion show I co-run. This year we got some pretty fine media coverage as evidenced here:
Thanks to Eva Sollberger for the fabulous coverage.
By the way, cerebral drool reader/commenter Josh made the fabulous "ONE Fashion Event" banner seen in the background. Yeay Josh!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
For Some Things There Are No Words
I have several email accounts and on one of my more mainstream portals, this was one of the top stories listed:
"Joaquin Makes Rap Debut, Declares, 'This Is Who I Am'"
While I support everyone's right to express themselves, this is one of the funnier and sadder things I've seen in a long time. Talk amongst yourselves.
"Joaquin Makes Rap Debut, Declares, 'This Is Who I Am'"
While I support everyone's right to express themselves, this is one of the funnier and sadder things I've seen in a long time. Talk amongst yourselves.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Best of Craigslist
While surfing craigslist this morning, I came across this gem:
hurse (burlington, vt)
i have a 1976 hurse. It has good tranny. Comes with lawn tractor and weed wacker in back. perfect for interested in starting law service. rear struts have a few bee hives. this thing is a tank. Comes with 2 12's in cargo. has rear ramps!!!! Fully autographed cheyy chase sealing. Over sized Breaks and rotors and front break calipers. Rear 33's in back with sick mudden tires. 27s in the front. This thing is great, I have slept, and worked in the same atmosphere for 3 years and it still runs strong. I just bought a new Dodge colt wagon and cannot afford the 20 dollar a month insurance. it comes with an airconditioner for passenger window. i have it rigged to the battery.
This really needs no additional comments. I think it speaks for itself.
I love Vermont.
hurse (burlington, vt)
i have a 1976 hurse. It has good tranny. Comes with lawn tractor and weed wacker in back. perfect for interested in starting law service. rear struts have a few bee hives. this thing is a tank. Comes with 2 12's in cargo. has rear ramps!!!! Fully autographed cheyy chase sealing. Over sized Breaks and rotors and front break calipers. Rear 33's in back with sick mudden tires. 27s in the front. This thing is great, I have slept, and worked in the same atmosphere for 3 years and it still runs strong. I just bought a new Dodge colt wagon and cannot afford the 20 dollar a month insurance. it comes with an airconditioner for passenger window. i have it rigged to the battery.
This really needs no additional comments. I think it speaks for itself.
I love Vermont.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
It's Beginning to Look a lot Like January
From the Burlington Free Press this morning:
There is a chance Burlington could reach 20 below Friday morning for the first time since Jan. 15, 2004. Such a reading Friday would tie a record low for the date set in 1920, according to National Weather Service data.
This just in - winter stinks.
In order to alleviate the crushing depression that comes with a 9 month winter season I've started an informal plant exchange with neighbors . My apartment is currently covered in small jars of water with plant cuttings sticking out of them and I'm really looking forward to a host of weird plants coming in from all the green-thumbed folks in my area. Hopefully everything won't freeze beyond salvation in transport... If anything particularly odd and wonderful comes my way I'll make sure to post.
There is a chance Burlington could reach 20 below Friday morning for the first time since Jan. 15, 2004. Such a reading Friday would tie a record low for the date set in 1920, according to National Weather Service data.
This just in - winter stinks.
In order to alleviate the crushing depression that comes with a 9 month winter season I've started an informal plant exchange with neighbors . My apartment is currently covered in small jars of water with plant cuttings sticking out of them and I'm really looking forward to a host of weird plants coming in from all the green-thumbed folks in my area. Hopefully everything won't freeze beyond salvation in transport... If anything particularly odd and wonderful comes my way I'll make sure to post.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Safety in Numbers
There are few things in this world that horrify me as much as children who kill. In today's AP news stream, a 17 year old was sentenced for killing his mother and wounding his father with gunshots to the head because they wouldn't let him play Halo 3. A few weeks ago, an 8 year old in Arizona killed his father and his father's friend with no apparent motive. According to the FBI, twenty-one children ages 5 to 8 committed homicide in the 10-year period ending in 2004. Quite often, these children are the products of abusive homes but in rare and extremely disturbing cases, there is no evidence of abuse whatsoever, nor is there remorse on the part of the child.
This trend scares the hell out of me. Why? Because every day I go to work with children who fit the description of remorseless youth from abusive homes. Their stories will make you sick to your stomach. Stories of abuse, neglect, and warfare from their war-torn home countries. Stories of hideous and filthy living conditions with several families crammed together in apartments just down the street from our center. Stories of drug addicted parents who prostitute these kids out for drug money. At the elementary school we run the after school program in, 100% of kids qualify for free or reduced lunch and according to the principal, at least 1/2 of all students have suffered sexual abuse. Most days I don't know whether to scream or cry, and neither do the kids.
So we have an "at-risk" population here, to say the least. And we have violence. Last summer we faced a growing number of teens bringing in box cutters and knives they called "shivs" without understanding the jail house connection to the descriptor. This fall we've had to call the police 8 different times to break up fights including one that involved a teen member who beat up his girlfriend in our facility while she was holding their baby despite staff intervention. We've had to call the police many more times than that to break up fights in the park across the street which sees frequent drug activity. So we've instituted safety drills for staff. Most of them revolve around the theory of huddling in groups in a locked room with the lights off. Safety in numbers.
It is a frighteningly real possibility that someone will bring a gun into our center. We've had them at the park, we've had them in the parking lot. We're waiting to have one brandished inside. We now have the Chief of Police on our Board of Directors to try and get a handle on the issues we're seeing. Hopefully he can help. All I know is the first time he toured the building and was introduced to me, he came into my office, looked at the window to the hallway, and told me to get that covered ASAP. A gunman would be able to see me as soon as he or she came into the building. Sweet dreams everyone.
So violence is everywhere. I could quit my job, hide under my table and never read a newspaper again, but I could just as easily be hit by a car crossing the street, so what can you do? I hope some piece of what I do makes a difference with the kids at this center. I hope it helps them become functional adults. But who knows? Too many news stories have prominently featured alumni getting arrested. I'm actually not surprised anymore when staff point to the crime section of the paper and say "oh yeah, he used to go here".
If you're the religious sort, do me a favor and say a prayer for these kids. They need all the help they can get.
This trend scares the hell out of me. Why? Because every day I go to work with children who fit the description of remorseless youth from abusive homes. Their stories will make you sick to your stomach. Stories of abuse, neglect, and warfare from their war-torn home countries. Stories of hideous and filthy living conditions with several families crammed together in apartments just down the street from our center. Stories of drug addicted parents who prostitute these kids out for drug money. At the elementary school we run the after school program in, 100% of kids qualify for free or reduced lunch and according to the principal, at least 1/2 of all students have suffered sexual abuse. Most days I don't know whether to scream or cry, and neither do the kids.
So we have an "at-risk" population here, to say the least. And we have violence. Last summer we faced a growing number of teens bringing in box cutters and knives they called "shivs" without understanding the jail house connection to the descriptor. This fall we've had to call the police 8 different times to break up fights including one that involved a teen member who beat up his girlfriend in our facility while she was holding their baby despite staff intervention. We've had to call the police many more times than that to break up fights in the park across the street which sees frequent drug activity. So we've instituted safety drills for staff. Most of them revolve around the theory of huddling in groups in a locked room with the lights off. Safety in numbers.
It is a frighteningly real possibility that someone will bring a gun into our center. We've had them at the park, we've had them in the parking lot. We're waiting to have one brandished inside. We now have the Chief of Police on our Board of Directors to try and get a handle on the issues we're seeing. Hopefully he can help. All I know is the first time he toured the building and was introduced to me, he came into my office, looked at the window to the hallway, and told me to get that covered ASAP. A gunman would be able to see me as soon as he or she came into the building. Sweet dreams everyone.
So violence is everywhere. I could quit my job, hide under my table and never read a newspaper again, but I could just as easily be hit by a car crossing the street, so what can you do? I hope some piece of what I do makes a difference with the kids at this center. I hope it helps them become functional adults. But who knows? Too many news stories have prominently featured alumni getting arrested. I'm actually not surprised anymore when staff point to the crime section of the paper and say "oh yeah, he used to go here".
If you're the religious sort, do me a favor and say a prayer for these kids. They need all the help they can get.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
La Isla de las Munecas - Creepier than Advertised
Unlike many in Vermont, I own a TV and I watch it regularly. Now, I still don't know much about any current sitcoms or reality shows since I relegate my TV intake to the Discovery Channel, Food Network, and my favorite - the Travel Channel. Last night I had the pleasure and the pain of watching Anthony Bourdain's trip through Mexico on the show No Reservations. I'll spare you the inane details, but there was one tidbit I felt compelled to share: The Island of Dead Dolls...
"Only in Mexico... for over 50 years the reclusive hermit Julian Santana lived alone on a small island in Teshuilo Lake sandwiched in the canal-lands between Xochimilco and Mexico City. La Isla de las Muñecas as it has come to be known is a place rich in myth and legend. The story goes that three girls were visiting the island long ago and one drowned, leaving the island haunted by her spirit... when taking residence there, Santana put up a doll as protection. This gesture soon became habit, as he began to scour the city's rubbish heaps, and amassed a huge collection of dolls that he would tie to trees, or place in a special shed with an altar. Locals began to take their boats out to trade their old dolls for Santana's home-grown vegetables and the collection blossomed. La Isla de las Muñecas became home to over a thousand dead dolls in various states of decay, and following the eccentric hermit's demise the city has planned to build a museum on the site, to be curated by Santana's nephew."
How bad could it be, you ask? Take a look:
While the idea that figures that represent humans can contain their souls is an old one, it is sincerely creepy none the less. I highly recommend a google image search on this one. It's like a puppet version of Apocalypse Now.
"Only in Mexico... for over 50 years the reclusive hermit Julian Santana lived alone on a small island in Teshuilo Lake sandwiched in the canal-lands between Xochimilco and Mexico City. La Isla de las Muñecas as it has come to be known is a place rich in myth and legend. The story goes that three girls were visiting the island long ago and one drowned, leaving the island haunted by her spirit... when taking residence there, Santana put up a doll as protection. This gesture soon became habit, as he began to scour the city's rubbish heaps, and amassed a huge collection of dolls that he would tie to trees, or place in a special shed with an altar. Locals began to take their boats out to trade their old dolls for Santana's home-grown vegetables and the collection blossomed. La Isla de las Muñecas became home to over a thousand dead dolls in various states of decay, and following the eccentric hermit's demise the city has planned to build a museum on the site, to be curated by Santana's nephew."
How bad could it be, you ask? Take a look:
While the idea that figures that represent humans can contain their souls is an old one, it is sincerely creepy none the less. I highly recommend a google image search on this one. It's like a puppet version of Apocalypse Now.
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