A quote from Oprah Magazine

This quote is from an old issue of "O Magazine"...

"I have come to believe...that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood."

Audre Lorde

I believe this quote but I am still struggling with it because so often I do get bruised or misunderstood or both. I try to improve my communication skills at all times - can I be more clear? How can I convey this more effectively? Usually, I am too wordy. I realized a long time ago that the world's problems start with too many words.

I think "too many words" is really a good motto. If you look at how we talk to children, we get a glimpse into how people best learn - at their most primal, at their most basic (where we operate when we are tired or distracted...aren't we always tired and distracted? or is it just me?) Listen to how we talk to our young children - "No." "Good job." "Want a cookie?" "Stop it." "Come here." We believe that we all develop this complex listening system and yet, most people, if asked to do a multi-part task will only follow the first and maybe the second directive before they get distracted by something loud or shiny or just plain more interesting than trying to remember what the heck they were just doing...

Too many words.

April showers

When I get done with NaBloPoMo for March, I will come back to my first blog and pay more attention here. I have overcommitted with too many blogs. I really wanted to do NaBloPoMo though, so it was good. It got me into the habit of posting everyday and learning about how to post YouTube embeds, etc. It has been a good thing. I think I will return my efforts here to complete the Blog365 project on Wild Rumpusing.

More clips just because...

fergie big girls don’t cry


I just like it. I tried to resist. I really did. I remember her from "Kids Incorporated". Yikes.

From the sublime to the ridiculous...

Here are two videos I enjoyed tonight on YouTube. It has been a long week.

Madonna like a prayer


African alphabet song - Sesame Street

Tap Project - Help Unicef Provide Clean Drinking Water

INDIA: A woman and a girl draw water from a pump set up in a tent camp for people displaced by the tsunami in the seaside village of Mudtukadu. UNICEF/ HQ05-0491/Ami Vital

I heard about this on the radio (KPOJ 620 AM) on Air America. The Tap Project was in NYC last year for one night and raised $100,000 by charging patrons of restaurants $1 for a glass of tap water. The money goes to help provide clean drinking water to children and impoverished people all over the world. On the website, it says for every $1 earned, a child will have clean drinking water for 40 days.

On the radio this morning, they said the number of children who die each year because they do not have access to clean drinking water. It is the second leading cause of death for children under age 5 worldwide.

To find out more or to find out how to participate THIS WEEK, go to Tap Project.

I know that we take our water for granted in the United States and, I think, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. We consider our water to be pristine for the most part. And we are lucky. Since I started my 101 in 1001 project, I have been making sure I drink at least 64 ounces of water per day. I guess it has become such an important part of my commitment to myself recently that this really caught my ear.

Here is more information about water taken from the Tap Project website:

Tap Water Facts
The Situation
· More than 5,000 children are dying every day as a result of water-borne diseases
· For each dollar spent on water and sanitation projects, the projected return on investment is from $3 to $34
How UNICEF Helps
· UNICEF works to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, while promoting safe hygiene practices in more than 90 countries around the world
· More than 1.2 billion people gained access to improved drinking water between 1990 and 2004 through UNICEF's efforts, and about 1.2 billion gained access to improved sanitation facilities
· UNICEF's goal is to cut the number of people without sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation in half by 2015

Another website Water for Life talks about a decade of work on the issue. Just remember, $1 for 40 days of clean water. Small price to pay.

BlogAffair - 37 Days

I am in love with a blog right now...

http://37days.typepad.com/37days/

First off, Patti (the author) writes brilliantly and about issues that make my heart hurt - racism, homophobia, women's issues. Her blog from a couple of days ago has a brilliant clip from YouTube with Tracy Chapman singing, "Fast Car" (see January 2008 post "Missing Roby").

I have looked at this blog before - down the rabbit hole I fall into when I am looking at blogs - but I never really took the time to look around and read.

Of particular interest to me today were the following:

Stop doing insignificant work in the world

Women wake us up - Tracy Chapman

I wish I could articulate what happened to me while I was reading her posts - I just felt my throat swell and my heart got that achy feeling when I know that there is something more in this world that we are all meant to do. I was inspired by this and I hope I can hold on to the thoughts that I had and the convictions that I have to be a better person, to try to build a better community and to teach by example.

Since I included her lyrics before, I wanted to add a clip of Tracy Chapman singing "Fast Car". And I added "Talking about a Revolution" for good measure. This is thanks to 37days. I used the embed feature so that people could watch the clips. Then I think they should go to her blog and read.

Tracy Chapman singing “Fast Car” video – from http://37days.typepad.com/37days/ and YouTube



Tracy Chapman – “Talking about a Revolution” 1988

Blog365 Check in

When I started on the Blog365 journey, I thought I would just be here on this blog, but it turns out that I have spread myself a little thin. I have one blog for my reading journey - although I have made little progress in that arena. I have another that I think is just different. I don't know why I have both, but for some reason, they seem to serve different purposes.

The other one is www.pinkmakesmehappydaily.blogspot.com. I wanted to do NaBloPoMo and so I started really posting over there on a daily basis. Luckily, when I read the rules for Blog365, it said that you don't have to post to one blog - just post daily. Early on, I missed a day or two, but I have tried to make up some of the days. I think I will be ok by the time I get to the end of the year.

Brief but Appealing

My Dad - David

Peeps Season

It's not easy being Pink.

I know it isn't Christmas anymore...

I found this great rendition of "Mary Did You Know?" by AI contestant David Archuleta. I liked it and at least now I will be able to find it again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQxi9UjqfKQ

I don't know how to post a YouTube Video here yet. I will learn.

Blogaholic in the making

I can't believe all this blogging was going on all this time and I never really knew anything about it. There are these giant rabbit-holes that you could spend all day in if you aren't careful. Blogs about books, movies, people, politics, crafts, the environment and every combination of every other topic I could imagine.

My eyes are blurry from all the peeking I did today into other people's worlds. It is a strange way to reinsert community into our lives, but I think it is working. I guess if we can't do it the old fashioned way, we have found another way to do it.

That's a good thing. right?