World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions.
http://www.earthhourus.org/main.php
(via Arthur Magazine Blog)
I have a hard time getting along with people who watch Japanese anime in English dub and then, when given the opportunity to see the original Japanese subtitled version, refuse to watch it, or continue to say that the English is better.
I can’t get along with people who collect 100’s of songs on their computers without listening to the artists’ entire albums. When I try to introduce someone to new music that I find particularly interesting and beautiful and he/she dismisses me by playing some garbage you can find on radio-run-by-major-labels, I have a hard time supressing my temper.
I don’t like being at someone’s house if every time I visit the television is continually running. I’ve learned from my mother that it is bad manners to turn off someone else’s television even if no one is watching it (which reminds me of a time when I had a guest over to my house and she opened the CLOSED door to the playroom and turned on my computer without asking… that kind of made me feel angry).
I really don’t like it when someone tries to have a long-winded conversation with me via text messaging on my cell phone… I can tolerate and even enjoy IM, phone calls, emails, and hand-written letters… and anyone wanting to talk to me so much is always welcome in my home… but i don’t like talking with my thumbs within 160 character limit!
I don’t being around gossips, people overly concerned with material wealth, people who are self-righteous and in constant witness-mode…
I don’t like riding in a car with someone who goes over the speed limit in non-emergency situations (even more, riding in SUVs and large pick-up trucks owned by people who don’t really need the trunk space). It’s a needless waste of energy.
Sorry this blog post seems so bitchy, but when I get ticked off… I GET TICKED OFF!
The concept of a year or a month or a week is just a way of talking, but here are some things I would like to do soon:
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I’ve been reading a lot about life learning and unschooling, something that’s apparently been going on for decades. basically, its the idea that children already have the ability to learn within a natural environment. structured schooling inhibits that ability by imposing rules for the purpose of crowd-control; imposing a curriculum that is one-size-fits-all leaves much to be desired by the individual child.
mainly, i’m reading the book, how children learn by john holt and i’m reading various articles on the internet and in life learning magazine.
as a child and teenager, I always felt that schools in mississippi had been pretty awful when it comes to course offerings and extra-curricular activities. i felt like i was missing out on opportunities that children in other parts of the country were able to easily access (such as music education). now, i find myself subjecting my only son to the same round of disappointments.
current circumstances (and my childhood training for a life of consumerism) have me believing that I can’t unschool him and manage to financially support myself. most of the women who write articles about the wonders of unschooling are married with 3, 4, 5 children who can play and explore the world together. that means the man of the house is making the money that is paying for this luxury of not giving into the sytem; of giving up freedom to THE MAN.
i want for my child what every good parent wants: a better life.
i don’t want Brendan to be overly concerned with the word on a label for a shirt or pair of pants. i don’t want him to feel like happiness can be achieved through the attainment of objects. i don’t want him to graduate from college with a meaningless degree and get a job just because he “wants to make money.”
i feel like despite my good intentions, sending him to public (or even private) school is setting him up for this kind of future.
there was a garden in my backyard.
blueberry and raspberry bushes that had failed the year before were big and alive and heavy with fruit.
there was a water feature bubbling quietly amidst trees and vegetation.
everyone felt enralled and a desire to live in harmony overcame worry for the future and bitterness for the past.
