Hope. Believe. Change the world.
10.14.2008
9.11.2008
10.23.2007
One child dies from AIDS every minute
Last June, I stood in a crowd of thousands at the Veterans Administration campus in Westwood, holding hands with strangers, crying and sharing a moment that would be burned in our collective memories for the rest of our lives. We were watching over 2,000 cyclists ride into a large parking lot, their last stop on a 545 mile journey dedicated to ending AIDS. These riders raised over $11 million dollars that will be used to fund the cure for AIDS. We hear about HIV/AIDS so frequently in the press that we tend to forget, or even minimize, the magnitude of this epidemic that kills. Below are some statistics found on the AIDS LifeCycle website:
In the United States...
We are now at a critical time in our history when deeds are called for and they are desperately needed.
From June 1-8, 2008 I will join almost 2000 other cyclists in riding the 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles in an effort to raise money and awareness in the battle against AIDS.
I am asking for your support, both financially and emotionally. Help me raise money to end this disease that is devestating our world.
One week of Starbucks coffee - $15-20
A nice meal out with friends - $50
A tank of gas - $40
One month of cell service - $100
One month of DirecTV w/ TIVO - $80
Funding the cure to AIDS - Priceless.
To make your tax deductible donation, visit my AIDS LifeCycle homepage: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/5501.
Spread the word.
In the United States...
- There are approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. It is estimated that a quarter of them don't know it.
- Since the start of the AIDS epidemic, 1.5 million Americans have been infected with HIV and more than 550,000 have died of AIDS.
- At least 40,000 more people are infected each year, with young people, men who have sex with men, and communities of color most heavily affected.
- African Americans account for 50% of new HIV infections, although they comprise only 12% of the population.
Globally...
- A total of 39.5 million people now live with HIV/AIDS
- 2.2 million of them are under the age of 15
- Every day 12,000 people contract HIV -- 500 every hour.
- In 2006, 2.9 million people died from AIDS, 380,000 of whom were under the age of 15. That's one child dying per minute.
We are now at a critical time in our history when deeds are called for and they are desperately needed.
From June 1-8, 2008 I will join almost 2000 other cyclists in riding the 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles in an effort to raise money and awareness in the battle against AIDS.
I am asking for your support, both financially and emotionally. Help me raise money to end this disease that is devestating our world.
One week of Starbucks coffee - $15-20
A nice meal out with friends - $50
A tank of gas - $40
One month of cell service - $100
One month of DirecTV w/ TIVO - $80
Funding the cure to AIDS - Priceless.
To make your tax deductible donation, visit my AIDS LifeCycle homepage: http://www.aidslifecycle.org/5501.
Spread the word.
9.17.2007
Let's Go For Drinks! We've Got to Celebrate!
Now, you may be asking yourselves, "Celebrate what?!?" You might also be thinking that this is merely another one of my attempts to find something mundane to celebrate. Well, GUESS AGAIN, my friends, GUESS AGAIN! This is huge - it's.................CONSTITUTION DAY!
Ya. Constitution Day. A whole day to celebrate, study, and reinvigorate our passion for the Constitution. Today's blog will, therefore, be short, in order to give you plenty of time to celebrate (especially if you're reading this tomorrow!).
Raise your hand if you love/loved the School House Rock series? And keep your hand up if you, like me, fell in love instantly with the America Rock series???? Well, if so, it's your lucky day! Click here to listen to the hit song, "The Preamble", whose catchy folk tune will have you swaying in your seat!!
And in case you've forgotten, here is the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. [Remember, this is its mission statement. Also, please note the use of the word "ordain". Ordain, bless, sanctify. This is a document viewed as holy, unbreakable and unchanging by its authors (a much smaller number than you would think). From its inception it was open to change, but only through the most rigorous of methods, one of which includes approval from 2/3 of congress and 3/4 of the states. It's been amended 27 times (out of over a reported 10,000 attempts).]
We the People,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America.
Happy Constitution Day! Now do your patriotic duty and spread the word!!!!
Ya. Constitution Day. A whole day to celebrate, study, and reinvigorate our passion for the Constitution. Today's blog will, therefore, be short, in order to give you plenty of time to celebrate (especially if you're reading this tomorrow!).
Raise your hand if you love/loved the School House Rock series? And keep your hand up if you, like me, fell in love instantly with the America Rock series???? Well, if so, it's your lucky day! Click here to listen to the hit song, "The Preamble", whose catchy folk tune will have you swaying in your seat!!
And in case you've forgotten, here is the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. [Remember, this is its mission statement. Also, please note the use of the word "ordain". Ordain, bless, sanctify. This is a document viewed as holy, unbreakable and unchanging by its authors (a much smaller number than you would think). From its inception it was open to change, but only through the most rigorous of methods, one of which includes approval from 2/3 of congress and 3/4 of the states. It's been amended 27 times (out of over a reported 10,000 attempts).]
We the People,
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America.
Happy Constitution Day! Now do your patriotic duty and spread the word!!!!
9.12.2007
Popcorn (lung), anyone? PART 2
So here's the deal: earlier this year I wrote an entry for this blog about a disease that is becoming more and more prevalent in people who work in microwave popcorn factories. The disease, known in medical circles as "Popcorn Workers' Lung" [bronchiolitis obliterans](I like to think that all diseases have a clever name like this - for example, bronchitis is really called Stuffy Lungs by doctors, or herpes has earned the moniker Itchy Hoo Hoo) is debilitating and unresearched. The disease is contracted as a result of inhaling diacetyl in its vaporous form.
Diacetyl is found naturally in dairy products like cheese, butter and milk. However, during the process of heating, diacetyl becomes a vapor and when inhaled over a prolonged period of time, it can cause the blood vessels in the lungs to swell and scar, resulting in difficulty exhaling. Little is being done by government regulatory agencies (no need to name names, but let's just say the agency that SHOULD be paying attention to the issue has a name that rhymes with SHOSHA.) For those of you who aren't familiar with the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration, they are the agency charged with regulating workplace safety, but they are currently doing little to assess the situation and address it.
With all of that said, A NON-FACTORY WORKER NOW HAS POPCORN WORKERS' LUNG! Run for the hills, start a riot, panic! Do something! Actually, just be aware of the amount of diacetyl you consume/inhale on a regular basis. The man with the disease consumed microwave popcorn two times a day for more than 10 years and "often inhaled the fragrance because he liked it so much" (NYT, 9/5/07).
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) belongs to a subcommittee which oversees the budget for the FDA. Take 3 minutes from your schedule and write her a quick note letting her know how you feel. By clicking here you will be directed to a form that you can complete and submit directly to the Representative.
Some would say Viva Las Vegas. I say Viva La Lungs.
Diacetyl is found naturally in dairy products like cheese, butter and milk. However, during the process of heating, diacetyl becomes a vapor and when inhaled over a prolonged period of time, it can cause the blood vessels in the lungs to swell and scar, resulting in difficulty exhaling. Little is being done by government regulatory agencies (no need to name names, but let's just say the agency that SHOULD be paying attention to the issue has a name that rhymes with SHOSHA.) For those of you who aren't familiar with the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration, they are the agency charged with regulating workplace safety, but they are currently doing little to assess the situation and address it.
With all of that said, A NON-FACTORY WORKER NOW HAS POPCORN WORKERS' LUNG! Run for the hills, start a riot, panic! Do something! Actually, just be aware of the amount of diacetyl you consume/inhale on a regular basis. The man with the disease consumed microwave popcorn two times a day for more than 10 years and "often inhaled the fragrance because he liked it so much" (NYT, 9/5/07).
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) belongs to a subcommittee which oversees the budget for the FDA. Take 3 minutes from your schedule and write her a quick note letting her know how you feel. By clicking here you will be directed to a form that you can complete and submit directly to the Representative.
Some would say Viva Las Vegas. I say Viva La Lungs.
8.27.2007
"SHIfT HAPPENS"
I'm on-board with Whitney Houston.
I, too, believe the children are the future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.
We exist in a time of dynamism. Everything is moving, constantly changing and our lives are seemingly dedicated to keeping up with everything around us. We can no longer keep up with the Joneses because we can't keep up with ourselves. Handheld devices allows us to be reached anywhere in the world. We watch movies on a 2" x 2" screen. Billboards, once used solely on rural highways, now populate our urban landscape and are electronic, changing ads every 30 seconds. We are drowning in information and there is no rescue in site.
Our kids are being thrown into this sink or swim world and they don't have a prayer. A major shift needs to occur in the way we Americans view education. Teachers who have the ability to engage and motivate students need to be hired and retained which requires money. Serious money. Schools need resources to provide students with the tools they will need to be competitive in the ever-changing global market. American education is underfunded and underrated. More time is spent on figuring out how to test our students than on teaching them. Annually, Nintendo spends almost three times the federal education budget on developing video games. Where are our priorities?
View the video above, which is from Karl Fisch's blog, "The Fischbowl". This is Fisch's original PowerPoint presentation that highlights the impact of globalization on our shrinking world, and it highlights our increasing dependence on the global economy and its players. Martin Luther King Jr. was a fan of John Donne's writing, and he eloquently echoed Donne's sentiments on the interpersonal connection when he said,
I, too, believe the children are the future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.
We exist in a time of dynamism. Everything is moving, constantly changing and our lives are seemingly dedicated to keeping up with everything around us. We can no longer keep up with the Joneses because we can't keep up with ourselves. Handheld devices allows us to be reached anywhere in the world. We watch movies on a 2" x 2" screen. Billboards, once used solely on rural highways, now populate our urban landscape and are electronic, changing ads every 30 seconds. We are drowning in information and there is no rescue in site.
Our kids are being thrown into this sink or swim world and they don't have a prayer. A major shift needs to occur in the way we Americans view education. Teachers who have the ability to engage and motivate students need to be hired and retained which requires money. Serious money. Schools need resources to provide students with the tools they will need to be competitive in the ever-changing global market. American education is underfunded and underrated. More time is spent on figuring out how to test our students than on teaching them. Annually, Nintendo spends almost three times the federal education budget on developing video games. Where are our priorities?
View the video above, which is from Karl Fisch's blog, "The Fischbowl". This is Fisch's original PowerPoint presentation that highlights the impact of globalization on our shrinking world, and it highlights our increasing dependence on the global economy and its players. Martin Luther King Jr. was a fan of John Donne's writing, and he eloquently echoed Donne's sentiments on the interpersonal connection when he said,
"In a real sense, all life is interrelated. All men are caught
in an inescapable web of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly affects others indirectly. I can never be what
I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what
you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the interrelated
structure of reality."
If you don't think that all life, all new technologies are interconnected, review the video. Wonder what we are teaching our children today and how that will help them survive the future. What can we do to change it? In Fisch's video, Did You Know 2.0, he suggests asking the principal of a school what is being taught, and asking your legislators to make change. And, like my friends the Temptations, I second that emotion.
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