This is mostly a personal update. The weather has finally been beautifully nice up here, but the kiddo and I have been sick the whole time so we haven’t gone outside to enjoy it. Today, hopefully, we finally will. The sickness is mostly to blame for the lack of substantive postings, as well as some fun games of Scrabulous.
But, the real news is this. My friends, Daniel and Amanda, community members from Nashville, are going to be on the Oprah show today. So, find your TV mid-afternoon and enjoy. …

YouTubesday is going to be slim today, mainly because I have three videos I’d strongly encourage you to watch, and they are a little bit longer then most.
GOOD Magazine has been making some amazing videos. Particularly this one fits well with much of the topics on this blog, it’s about Skid Row in LA. There are two videos here, the first an intro to Skid Row, the second, particularly about kids on the street. If you have to watch just one, watch the second one below.

Kids on Skid Row

(ht. …

I read The Other Side of the River this week. It was a really good book, recommended by my friend Jennie. It’s written by Alex Kotlowitz the author of There Are No Children Here, which I read in 2003 before serving in Atlanta with AmeriCorps. Both of the books where excellent.
I’m not sure exactly how to review The Other Side of the River since it’s basically a story. It’s Non-fiction, regarding a real life incident and it follows interviews and research done by the author. Here’s the back cover synopsis:
Separated …

Alright folks, the Giving Spree is on it’s way. Here’s the basic idea: Take your rebate check that you receive in May and do follow the purpose of spending it to stimulate the economy, but do it in a unique way, give it to meet the needs of others! Here’s some ideas:

If your a teacher, or care about students, books and supplies for kids that need it.
If you care about the environment purchase CFL light bulbs and give them away to people.
or Purchase fair trade cloth bags and give them …

I’ve got a LOT of conversations that I’ve read and haven’t had time to really comment on or dialog about, too many to keep up, so I’ll just post them below like I have before. Hope you find one you enjoy. All bloggers and blogs that I would highly recommend…

Julie always on top of it regarding politics.
Blacks and Latinos don’t actually hate each other. (via Onramps)
Has class trumped race?
Is NOT Voting a Sin?
Why We Dumpster (From my ever lovable friends Daniel and Amanda)
Prayers for Britney? (ht. Pop and Smart)
a Good …

So, if you’ve checked the news lately you’ve heard about this $168 Billion dollar ‘Economic Stimulus’ package that is supposed to help revive the economy. I’m not an economics expert by any means, so I’m not really interested in discussing those details just yet. Basically, the plan will in effect mean that I’m going to get a nice fat check from the government in May, a gift with the express purpose of ’stimulating’ the economy. And here is my dilemma.
My family operates on a budget. We’ve looked at our finances, …

Great collection this week.
Be Part of the Problem (ht. Nathan)

An Example of what the church should look like, Seva Cafe (ht. Miller)

A great perspective on Carbon Offsets (12 minutes long) (ht. While Seated)

Amnesty International Channel Surfing (ht. Osocio)
Amnesty Internationalby tohvri
Innovation in Saving the World, Play Pump (ht. Jeremy and Michael)

I just find this pretty cool (ht. Invisible Red)
Glisseby nicolelievre
Comic Relief with Mr. Bean (ht. Jeremy and Matt)

A good reason to pass on beef (ht. Will)

And finally, bringing break dancing to a whole new level. (ht. indiefeed)

(Sorry, I know that was lame).
I don’t have much to write on this topic, only that it came up and I’m doing a little investigating to learn more. Thanks for the tip from Erin. I’m a skim milk drinker, so this would be a major stretch, but the basic idea is getting unpasteurized milk, straight from the cow, free of all the crazy unknown chemicals they currently inject your milk with.
I’ve been trying to be more intentional about my thoughts about food. Why? I’m not sure, except that …