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December 30, 2004
Bloggers Without Borders
"Bloggers without Borders is dedictated to raising awareness for charities and charitable events around the world. We use the tools and exposure of modern citizen journalism as a means to lend a hand in the solicitation of donations and outbound information management."
"Donate to the Tsunami Relief efforts outlined in our Donations Matrix in 2004 and enter a drawing for one of the following prizes. Or, if you want to sponsor our prize pool, please contact raffle@b19s.org and join the heroes. To participate, simply leave your contact info (email address or phone number) in the 'Additional Comments' section. If you are donating directly, please send an email to donations@b19s.org."
Taken from:
Bloggers Without Borders
December 28, 2004
Tsunami
Reports are currently as high as 60,000 dead and increasing.
The above satelite images were found at here.
Additional links courtesy of Cheese and Crackers:
Amateur video (11.7 MB) courtesy of Dagbladet.no
Video (7.6 MB) from Sri Lanka.
Video (10 MB) from Patong Beach.
Hellmut Issels tsunami disaster photo gallery
Please donate here:
Doctors Without Borders
Red Cross (via Amazon.com)
USAID has a list of relief organizations working in the disaster area.
Update:
International aid organizations are accepting donations to help victims of the powerful earthquake and resulting tsunamis that caused widespread destruction in parts of South Asia and East Africa. The groups include:
AmeriCares
Action Against Hunger
ADRA International
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.
American Red Cross
Association for India's Development
CARE
Catholic Relief Services
Christian Children's Fund
Church World Service
Direct Relief International
Doctors Without Borders
Food for the Hungry, Inc.
International Aid
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
International Medical Corps
International Rescue Committee
Lutheran World Relief
MAP International
Mercy Corps
Network for Good
Operation Blessing
Operation USA
Oxfam America
Plan USA
Project Concern International
Save the Children USA
UNICEF
U.N. World Food Programme
World Concern
Digital Retro
I dunno... There's nothing going on right now that I have the energy to blog about. Thought this book looked cool and Barnes & Noble has it for 40% off right now.
Barnes & Noble also has a bunch of other books for up to 40% off right now.
Plus, $5 off $50 with code "BNNINST" (exp 12/31).
December 25, 2004
Do They Know It's Christmas?
(Paul Young)
It's Christmas time; there's no need to be afraid
At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade
(Boy George)
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime
(George Michael)
But say a prayer to pray for the other ones
At Christmastime
(Simon Le Bon)
It's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
(Sting)
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears
(Sting and Bono)
And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
(Bono)
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you
And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Oh, where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?
Here's to you, raise a glass for ev'ryone
Here's to them, underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmastime again
December 23, 2004
American hatred
big?ot (bg
t) n. One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.
As I drove to work today I listened to NPR. It was another story about how middle-America believes they are fighting the good fight to bring back traditional moral values to a country out of control. Mr and Mrs middle-America and their four brainwashed children expound wordfully on the virtues of their prayer group. The regard emphatically the shock that would undoubtedly overwhelm our founding fathers if they knew we needed amendments to define marriage. They continue on and on throughout the piece with the same slurry of religious sentiments you might expect to hear, right up to the activist judges.
This is of particular interest, not because it's a new argument, but because of the actual crux of the news piece, which I've yet to mention: In Nebraska, the constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between 'a man and a woman' is being challenged in the state's Supreme Court. Yes, the amendment which was just passed in November. One of 11 state amendments of it's kind. This law is in danger of being found unconstitutional by the state's highest court and the hateful right are up in arms.
As I write this, it occurs to me to make known a secret hope of mine: I hope one day my grandchildren will read this. I hope they will know that when 74% of the country believes gays are less than equal, that I was not among the majority. I liken it to finding a great-great-grandfather's journal denouncing slavery before emancipation. Perhaps my stance is not quite so brazen, but it is no more popular. There is no question in my mind, in fact I take it as a given, that the coming generations will see this brand of bigotry fall away from the mainstream. That children will be taught about the time in American history when two men or two women would be granted a 'civil union' at best, and have their rights stripped at worst. I imagine these children having as difficult a time understanding this as I did as a grade-schooler learning about slavery, or perhaps more accurately: women's sufferage; an idea so recently realized that our parents remember the struggle.
So love your freedom, grandchildren, and remember the words of Lewis Black:
"America is the land where people are free to dream whatever they want... So long as that dream doesn't make midwesterners feel icky."
December 21, 2004
The Bumper of My SUV
Country singer Chely Wright received a bumper sticker in the mail. It was sent to her by her brother just before he left for Baghdad and it's slogan was in support of US Troops overseas. In his 15 years of Marine service, Chris Wright had never been placed in so much peril, and his sister had never been so proud. So proud, in fact, that she did the only thing she could to help in his his time of need: she placed that sticker square on her truck's bumper.
Wait... no... there must be more. What else could she do to help? Then, as she cut off a woman in a minivan, it all became clear. She sat down, wrought with emotion, and penned the lyrics to her current #1 country hit: "The Bumper of My S.U.V."
Now, if the irony here escapes you, even for a moment, leave this blog and never return, for you are no longer welcome. The song has become a phenominal success in the inexplicably prolific world of country music. People with mustaches can't seem to get enough of her impish crooning and sensible good looks. Since all of the people in question drive trucks, shoot animals, and eat babies (well, maybe not that last one), the irony of supporting the war in Iraq from inside an SUV could very easily have eluded them. She never actually addresses the fact that her SUV is, indeed, and SUV, gleefully ignoring the negative political connotations that accompany the term. As near as I can tell, she only uses the term because it's easier to rhyme than "Tahoe."
There may be no greater symbol of American hubris than the massive, excessive, gas-guzzelling SUV (except perhaps for the promotional image below of Wright standing like a tank-topped Patton before a waving American flag). The cost to fuel a Hummer for 6 months could pay to house and feed an entire family in most parts of the now embattled Iraq for a year. The cost of the vehicle itself could probably purchase... Kuwait... or something... but that's just a guess.
Anyone without a six-shooter strapped to their hip has probably also identified the more specific personal irony involving the song's author and it's muse. This guy is in his 15th year of military service and has been placed well into harm's way in an effort to defend American oil interests in the Middle East. His sister applauds him loudly, stateside, from the driver's seat of the most efficient oil-burning, terrorist-funding contraption available to the public at large. But it gets better! That very same public rewards her with airplay, record sales, and talk show appearances, further incensing the world at large, and continuing to feed the machine that is American Ignorance. She can afford any SUV she wants now!
I'm only going to say this once:
buying Chely Wright albums supports terrorists.
Check out some other suggestions for adorning the bumpers of SUVs at idontcareaboutair.com.
And, finally, I'll leave you with some lyrics:
The Bumper Of My SUV Chely WrightI've got a bright red sticker on the back of my car,
Says United States Marines.
And yesterday a lady in a mini-van held up a middle finger at me.
Does she think she knows what I stand for
Or the things that I believe
Just by looking at a sticker for the US Marines
On The Bumper Of My SUV?See, my brother Chris, he's been in for more than 14 years now.
Our dad was in the Navy during Vietnam.
Did his duty then he got out.
And my grandpa earned his purple heart
On the beach of Normandy.
That's why I've got a sticker for the US Marines
On The Bumper Of SUV.But that doesn't mean that I want war.
I'm not Republican or Democrat.
But I've gone all around this crazy world
Just to try and better understand.Yes I do have questions,
I get to ask them because I'm free.
That's why I've got a sticker for the US Marines
On the Bumper Of My SUV.Cause I've been to Hiroshima,
And I've been to the DMZ.
I've walked on the sand in Baghdad.
Still don't have all of the answers I need.
But I guess I wanna know where she's been,
Before she judges and gestures to me.
Cause she don't like my sticker,
For the US Marines
On the bumper of my SUV.So I hope that lady in her mini-van,
Turns on her radio and hears this from me
As she picks up her kids from their private school,
And drives home safely on our city streets.
Or to the building where her church group meets.Yeah, that's why I've got a sticker for the US Marines
On the bumper of my SUV.
December 20, 2004
Unholy Night
Listen all the way through.
Honestly.
It gets reeeally good near the end.
http://enerve.org/oh.holy.night.mp3
Thanks to Mark for the link.
Google Doodles
I dunno, I guess it's a mistake.
The current iteration of the Google main page has one of their cute little stylized logos. This one's a winter motif with some happy polar bears holding hands. It's an active link, though, so when you click on it, you'd esxpect the it to run a Google query on some festive string such as "Winter Holiday" or "Polar Bear Love" or something. instead, though, it brings you to a strange page bearing (haha) the same logo treatment and some nonsense. The page address is public (google.com/doodle9.html) and the link doesn't rotate. Change the numeric suffix in the address (doodle8, doodle5) and you'll see a whole collection of Google logo treatments for holidays, seasons and special occassions.
Ok, it's not earth-shattering, but I've always loved the little logo cartoons they do and this is a nice way to stumble into a handful of them.
google.com
google.com/doodle9.html
December 16, 2004
5:30:12
Well, it's done. I'm a marathoner. I didn't set any records, but I didn't pass out or vomit either, so in some respects, I totally won.
The weather was cool and beautiful. The scenery was a constant pleasure. The yellow singlet made me look ridiculous. All in all, the conditions were pretty much ideal. Unfortunately, a foot problem that's been plagueing me lately reared it's head around the 16 mile mark and continued to... rear... thoughout the race. Finally, at 22 miles, I told Micki to go on without me so I could sit down and make sure nothing was broken. I walked most of the last four miles, but still finished with a respectable time of 5:30:12. Micki finished in 5:09:25. I'm going to see a doctor next week. Unless he tells me it's a bad idea, I think Micki and I will both be registering for the LA Marathon this March.
Check out our stats at the Honolulu Marathon web page.
Jason: #7243
Micki: #7355
Check back in the coming days for posts about- and hundreds of photos from- our wacky Hawaiian vacation.
December 01, 2004
World AIDS Day
Today is World AIDS Day!
What better day to make a difference? You can do it with minimal effort and a difficulty factor of zero, right here at Receptacle! Not only will you be helping AIDS patients, but you'll be helping US to help AIDS Patients. The AIDS Marathon has consumed our lives for 6 months now and every dollar we earn for AIDS patients makes it seem that much more worthwhile.
We fly out to Hawaii one week from today and run the marathon a few days later. You'll be able to follow our progress at honolulumarathon.com by typing in our runner numbers (which I will post in the next week).
So, help us out. We're still $540 short of our ultimate goal of $6000. Pretty good, but we want to do better.