A great opportunity to meet other local bloggers !
Host: The Boston Weblogger Meetup Group
Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Algiers (cafe)
Street: 40 Brattle Street
City/Town: Cambridge, MA
Phone: 617.492.1557 (Algiers)
Email: alaiyo@gmail.com
Description
This month's meetup will feature a discussion about political blogging and will be led by local blogger, Ofer Inbar, who was a blogger and Internet advisor to several state legislative campaigns.
All are welcome to attend. We will be meeting upstairs at Algiers in Cambridge.
The Boston Weblogger Meetup Group is a monthly meetup group for people that are interested in blogging and meeting others who are interested in blogging. Topics discussed range from blog content to blog software. All interest levels are welcome.
The Boston Weblogger Meetup Group:
http://blog.meetup.com/3/
Friday, November 16, 2007
Give me a break...
There are times where I really hate being associated with Cambridge, Massachusetts.
I heard that Cambridge officials had put a stop to the local Boy Scouts care package drive for the troops in Iraq at polling places because "political messages are not allowed inside polling places."
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, not a fan of the Boy Scouts based on their history of and current practice of discrimination, particularly of homosexuals and not a fan of the war-we need to be out of there.
However, the troops need our support and care packages mean much. The scouts were supporting the soldiers NOT any political world order. IF you substituted "soldiers in Iraq" for "victims of wildfires" or "homeless families," it would be the same act. I think that is must also be said that many of the places where people voted in this past round of anemically attended elections are community places-churches, community centers, etc. where what these scouts did would not be out of the norm.
I don't understand where common sense has gone. The head of the election commission received the complaint from one resident that the message was "pro-war." I saw one of the bulletins in Cambridge mentioning that this was taking place and nothing about it was pro-war. If anything, it was pro-'so while you are taking time out to vote, you can do even more good by dropping something of for the soldiers in Iraq that may be your child, sibling, parent, friend or someone else's child, sibling, parent, friend. The city's law department was consulted and they gave the permission to pull them.
Based on one complaint? A complaint that apparently did not reflect the true language of the flyers? It usually takes a fatality in spite of many complaints for the city to do anything constructive in the interest of public safety but they jump because someone said that they saw care package collection boxes that might have read "pro-war"?
Of course those who have for years been skewering Cambridge for its more radical, liberals elements are having a field day-witness the editioral in the Boston Herald: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view.bg?articleid=1044992
I can't says I blame them.
Those who want to support Troop 45's effort can send funds to purchase the supplies (toiletries etc.) for care packages for the soldiers in Iraq can send them to:
Boy Scouts
Troop 45
P.O. Box 381241
Cambridge, MA 02238.
Of course checks should be made payable to Troop 45.
I heard that Cambridge officials had put a stop to the local Boy Scouts care package drive for the troops in Iraq at polling places because "political messages are not allowed inside polling places."
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, not a fan of the Boy Scouts based on their history of and current practice of discrimination, particularly of homosexuals and not a fan of the war-we need to be out of there.
However, the troops need our support and care packages mean much. The scouts were supporting the soldiers NOT any political world order. IF you substituted "soldiers in Iraq" for "victims of wildfires" or "homeless families," it would be the same act. I think that is must also be said that many of the places where people voted in this past round of anemically attended elections are community places-churches, community centers, etc. where what these scouts did would not be out of the norm.
I don't understand where common sense has gone. The head of the election commission received the complaint from one resident that the message was "pro-war." I saw one of the bulletins in Cambridge mentioning that this was taking place and nothing about it was pro-war. If anything, it was pro-'so while you are taking time out to vote, you can do even more good by dropping something of for the soldiers in Iraq that may be your child, sibling, parent, friend or someone else's child, sibling, parent, friend. The city's law department was consulted and they gave the permission to pull them.
Based on one complaint? A complaint that apparently did not reflect the true language of the flyers? It usually takes a fatality in spite of many complaints for the city to do anything constructive in the interest of public safety but they jump because someone said that they saw care package collection boxes that might have read "pro-war"?
Of course those who have for years been skewering Cambridge for its more radical, liberals elements are having a field day-witness the editioral in the Boston Herald: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view.bg?articleid=1044992
I can't says I blame them.
Those who want to support Troop 45's effort can send funds to purchase the supplies (toiletries etc.) for care packages for the soldiers in Iraq can send them to:
Boy Scouts
Troop 45
P.O. Box 381241
Cambridge, MA 02238.
Of course checks should be made payable to Troop 45.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Tis the season...
Tis the season...
The holidays are upon us. The first harbinger is the annual list of the most dangerous toys in America. Not surprisingly, many of them were made in China.
People are starting to get antsy with Thanksgiving only one week away. This weekend will be "fun." I still have to buy much of the fixins' for dinner and I imagine that much of this will be raped and pillaged by the time I get to shopping on Friday and Sunday. Still, to battle! Fortunately the turkey is spoken for. I ordered it from Bates Turkey Farm, which provides the best turkey in this country. They are located in Alabama and they have been the gold standard for turkey in this family.
Finalizing the Blogger Meetup (http://blog.meetup.com/3/) has been good. I've been posting far and wide about it. A local political blogger will be talking about what he does and how he does it.
I checked out my blog at MySpace and was pleasantly surprised to see that there have been views and other things. I got my highest numbers this time last year when I blogged about my time in New Orleans from November 8-14. I think it was some of my better blogging.
MySpace blog:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&friendID=3592208
The holidays are upon us. The first harbinger is the annual list of the most dangerous toys in America. Not surprisingly, many of them were made in China.
People are starting to get antsy with Thanksgiving only one week away. This weekend will be "fun." I still have to buy much of the fixins' for dinner and I imagine that much of this will be raped and pillaged by the time I get to shopping on Friday and Sunday. Still, to battle! Fortunately the turkey is spoken for. I ordered it from Bates Turkey Farm, which provides the best turkey in this country. They are located in Alabama and they have been the gold standard for turkey in this family.
Finalizing the Blogger Meetup (http://blog.meetup.com/3/) has been good. I've been posting far and wide about it. A local political blogger will be talking about what he does and how he does it.
I checked out my blog at MySpace and was pleasantly surprised to see that there have been views and other things. I got my highest numbers this time last year when I blogged about my time in New Orleans from November 8-14. I think it was some of my better blogging.
MySpace blog:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&friendID=3592208
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A little bit of this and that
Currently I am listening to "Young and the Restless" and am shaking my head over Abby Carlton's "gee willikers" description of what she learned about Native Americans in school..."We learned that they used to live in wigwams...and they used to tell great stories...."
One of the members of the Massachusetts Bloggers at NaBloPoMo asked where people were from. Below is what I answered:
"I was born in Boston and grew up in Cambridge. I was about 5 when the Blizzard of '78 hit. I have two outstanding memories from that:
A) I remember my uncles opening the window of our second floor apartment and finding snow for as far as the eyes could see and the hand could touch.
B) Walking to my aunt's house much later after the Blizzard when you could finally move. The snow piles were not only at least 3 ft over my head as a child but well over my mother's head (She was the height I am now-5'3", so we are talking about at least 8ft.) It all looked like that maze scene in the original version of "The Shining." "
Another laundry list day-event planner's day is very long. Made some progress on securing the venue for a nonprofit I volunteer for. Now I have to make the appointment and let the fun begin. The work on the Ball is going along slowly but surely. I need to motivate the committee to really work on obtaining things for the raffle. We are at the half and we need to adjust what we are doing. Blog Meetup is getting there.
One of the members of the Massachusetts Bloggers at NaBloPoMo asked where people were from. Below is what I answered:
"I was born in Boston and grew up in Cambridge. I was about 5 when the Blizzard of '78 hit. I have two outstanding memories from that:
A) I remember my uncles opening the window of our second floor apartment and finding snow for as far as the eyes could see and the hand could touch.
B) Walking to my aunt's house much later after the Blizzard when you could finally move. The snow piles were not only at least 3 ft over my head as a child but well over my mother's head (She was the height I am now-5'3", so we are talking about at least 8ft.) It all looked like that maze scene in the original version of "The Shining." "
Another laundry list day-event planner's day is very long. Made some progress on securing the venue for a nonprofit I volunteer for. Now I have to make the appointment and let the fun begin. The work on the Ball is going along slowly but surely. I need to motivate the committee to really work on obtaining things for the raffle. We are at the half and we need to adjust what we are doing. Blog Meetup is getting there.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Well, falling off a bit on the posting every day thing, but I mean to work harder at it.
Well, falling off a bit on the posting every day thing, but I mean to work harder at it.
Today has been 'NPR' day. I decided to listen to some of the archives in addition to the regular broadcast. I actively sought the broadcast that covered Tom Anthony and his book about the song, "House of the Rising Sun." I remembered this because I found the story fascinating. I actually don't think I have heard all of the versions of the song. Yesterday I heard and saw finally in its entirety the Animals version of the "House of the Rising Sun". I saw the original tv tape and the 2006 concert with a much older Eric Burdon. I think that older Eric gave the song a rawness that was missing in his younger incarnation. It was said that the Animals version of the song held an "allure" and I would agree with that. The "allure" was missing in the older Burdon's performance. It makes you wonder about the fantasies of youth where something like a song of ruin and reckless can be attractive and of age where once older is now wiser and the skull is seen beneath the skin.
I also heard today on On Point about disparity in divorce rates in classes, a rough report card on day care, a review of the movies '300' and 'Sicko' and 'How Doctors Think.'
Divorce rates and class: Maybe. I found it curious that they did not look at a class of people that want to get married but cannot in any state in this country except Massachusetts. I suppose that's another story.
'300': I saw the movie and liked it for the entertainment that it was. A strong memory for me regarding this was a girl named Marin who brought along a copy of Thucydides' version of the event that was published by Oxford, which is always awesome in providing maps, timelines and commentary. I thought it was curious that mention was made by the Iranian guests and host Tom Ashbrook about the darkness of the Persians' skins and the whiteness (Ashbrook said Aryan) of the heroes. Actually, I found it curious that the Iranians were so upset and adamant about the fact that their characters had dark skin and one went as far as to claim that the Greeks were actually the dark skinned ones as if being dark skinned was a despicable thing-even more than Xerxes being portrayed as an immoral "drag queen" that does not value his people or family values.
'How Doctors Think': I think that the idea that you need to be your own best advocate was reinforced. Women especially need to do this-damn the 'b--tch' perception and full steam ahead.
'Sicko': I saw 'Sicko' finally at MIT yesterday. I was upset by it because I am still hopping mad over Massachusetts' mandatory healthcare reform program that only benefits the health insurance companies and not the people. This documentary only reinforced what I already knew. I am also upset at the Phoenix because you know, it's real easy to portray young people (20s and 30s) as careless, selfish and thoughless-we have a society that hammers that home all the time with cartoon character media portrayals. To say that they are all these things because they see the Emperor doesn't have any clothes (the fact that they are paying for health insurance that over time with certain jobs, will almost certainly insure that they will be behind-but they will be covered-kinda) points out that the writer and the experts advocating for this really don't see this for the racket that it is. I also find it a bitter taste in my mouth that many of us will still pay Medicare taxes and then be asked to carry a policy.
I understand that as an employee of a company, you would need to pay this anyway and of course the larger the company, the better it is in terms of what portion you pay (usually).
My problem is with being made to take a policy or risk getting fined by the state.
The argument that most make for this measure is the fact that most people who are uninsured only get medical attention in the Emergency Room which equals huge expenses and well then they don't pay their bills to the hospitals that treated them and they wouldn't have been there anyway had they gone for regular checkups with a regular doctor.
It seems to me that proponents seem to forget a few things:
A) People don't get regular checkups and/or don't go for treatment at a clinic not because they can't afford to take the time off from their job. All of the proponents of this "healthcare reform" assume that everyone has these dreamlike employers that will not give them grief about taking part of a day or a whole day off to have the checkup. They forget that particulary for the groups of people that they are seeking to put on the rolls, this more often than not is the exception and not the rule-particularly when it comes to those with children. In some cases, you will not get paid for this time that you take off.
I know that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure and losing a half a day's wages is worth it when the alternative is more lost wages or death. My larger point is that we live in one of the most expensive states to live in for everyone, where choices are made all the time between paying the rent or eating two meals vs. three meals. It is easy for those who don't have those worries to think that it is all so very easy to do-this go to the doctor's on your time (which is usually company time).
B) The assumption that now that everyone is covered by health insurance that there will be this rash of people going to their doctors and not going to emergency rooms to receive care. See A.
C) Choice. Many managed care plans offer choice and as 'Sicko' illustrated in one poignant story, a person may not have a choice where they can get emergency treatment, which makes no sense at all.
I don't think that the countries Michael Moore profiled are the magic bullets per se but I think that we as country may need to let go of our hubris and revisit the BIG PICTURE and look at the fact that if we don't solve our problem with health care in a meaningful way that respects all of our citizens and not just the ones that make a buck on it, then we can't cry about the results.
I found this quote from one of my favorite all time authors:
"We must still do our own thinking and act upon it, for even though we make mistakes, experience is still the best teacher, and thinking and experimenting develop character."
- Laura Ingalls Wilder -
Today has been 'NPR' day. I decided to listen to some of the archives in addition to the regular broadcast. I actively sought the broadcast that covered Tom Anthony and his book about the song, "House of the Rising Sun." I remembered this because I found the story fascinating. I actually don't think I have heard all of the versions of the song. Yesterday I heard and saw finally in its entirety the Animals version of the "House of the Rising Sun". I saw the original tv tape and the 2006 concert with a much older Eric Burdon. I think that older Eric gave the song a rawness that was missing in his younger incarnation. It was said that the Animals version of the song held an "allure" and I would agree with that. The "allure" was missing in the older Burdon's performance. It makes you wonder about the fantasies of youth where something like a song of ruin and reckless can be attractive and of age where once older is now wiser and the skull is seen beneath the skin.
I also heard today on On Point about disparity in divorce rates in classes, a rough report card on day care, a review of the movies '300' and 'Sicko' and 'How Doctors Think.'
Divorce rates and class: Maybe. I found it curious that they did not look at a class of people that want to get married but cannot in any state in this country except Massachusetts. I suppose that's another story.
'300': I saw the movie and liked it for the entertainment that it was. A strong memory for me regarding this was a girl named Marin who brought along a copy of Thucydides' version of the event that was published by Oxford, which is always awesome in providing maps, timelines and commentary. I thought it was curious that mention was made by the Iranian guests and host Tom Ashbrook about the darkness of the Persians' skins and the whiteness (Ashbrook said Aryan) of the heroes. Actually, I found it curious that the Iranians were so upset and adamant about the fact that their characters had dark skin and one went as far as to claim that the Greeks were actually the dark skinned ones as if being dark skinned was a despicable thing-even more than Xerxes being portrayed as an immoral "drag queen" that does not value his people or family values.
'How Doctors Think': I think that the idea that you need to be your own best advocate was reinforced. Women especially need to do this-damn the 'b--tch' perception and full steam ahead.
'Sicko': I saw 'Sicko' finally at MIT yesterday. I was upset by it because I am still hopping mad over Massachusetts' mandatory healthcare reform program that only benefits the health insurance companies and not the people. This documentary only reinforced what I already knew. I am also upset at the Phoenix because you know, it's real easy to portray young people (20s and 30s) as careless, selfish and thoughless-we have a society that hammers that home all the time with cartoon character media portrayals. To say that they are all these things because they see the Emperor doesn't have any clothes (the fact that they are paying for health insurance that over time with certain jobs, will almost certainly insure that they will be behind-but they will be covered-kinda) points out that the writer and the experts advocating for this really don't see this for the racket that it is. I also find it a bitter taste in my mouth that many of us will still pay Medicare taxes and then be asked to carry a policy.
I understand that as an employee of a company, you would need to pay this anyway and of course the larger the company, the better it is in terms of what portion you pay (usually).
My problem is with being made to take a policy or risk getting fined by the state.
The argument that most make for this measure is the fact that most people who are uninsured only get medical attention in the Emergency Room which equals huge expenses and well then they don't pay their bills to the hospitals that treated them and they wouldn't have been there anyway had they gone for regular checkups with a regular doctor.
It seems to me that proponents seem to forget a few things:
A) People don't get regular checkups and/or don't go for treatment at a clinic not because they can't afford to take the time off from their job. All of the proponents of this "healthcare reform" assume that everyone has these dreamlike employers that will not give them grief about taking part of a day or a whole day off to have the checkup. They forget that particulary for the groups of people that they are seeking to put on the rolls, this more often than not is the exception and not the rule-particularly when it comes to those with children. In some cases, you will not get paid for this time that you take off.
I know that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure and losing a half a day's wages is worth it when the alternative is more lost wages or death. My larger point is that we live in one of the most expensive states to live in for everyone, where choices are made all the time between paying the rent or eating two meals vs. three meals. It is easy for those who don't have those worries to think that it is all so very easy to do-this go to the doctor's on your time (which is usually company time).
B) The assumption that now that everyone is covered by health insurance that there will be this rash of people going to their doctors and not going to emergency rooms to receive care. See A.
C) Choice. Many managed care plans offer choice and as 'Sicko' illustrated in one poignant story, a person may not have a choice where they can get emergency treatment, which makes no sense at all.
I don't think that the countries Michael Moore profiled are the magic bullets per se but I think that we as country may need to let go of our hubris and revisit the BIG PICTURE and look at the fact that if we don't solve our problem with health care in a meaningful way that respects all of our citizens and not just the ones that make a buck on it, then we can't cry about the results.
I found this quote from one of my favorite all time authors:
"We must still do our own thinking and act upon it, for even though we make mistakes, experience is still the best teacher, and thinking and experimenting develop character."
- Laura Ingalls Wilder -
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Working...
More working and organizing-especially the Resolution Ball and the Blogger meetup (http://blog.meetup.com/3/). For the meetup, I am working on a political blogging discussion.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Busy, busy
Today was a laundry list day where bills were paid, work was done and plans were made. One of the biggest things I have going on is recruiting volunteers for the Resolution Ball (http://www.resolutionball.com/), which supports the Ellie Fund (http://www.elliefund.org/), a nonprofit that provides assistance to breast cancer survivors by assisting them with everyday needs. I am the chair and it (the committee) has been merged with fundraising and well...we shall overcome.
I was listening to Judge Judy, which apparently is "child support" and "stupid fight" day.
I was listening to Judge Judy, which apparently is "child support" and "stupid fight" day.
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