Kerry

Best sentences

2013-05-18T04:30:12Z

Ezra Kelin's Wonkblog is something I read daily because I generally like his take on the political news. Lately though, I have really enjoyed their new feature Best Sentences We Read Today. Some recent examples:

"The market for methadone vomit in prison is lively, and the preferred recipe for this cocktail is one part puke (strained, please, bartender) to one part Tang."

On the new Star Trek movie: "Watching it is like talking to a salesman who stops every 40 seconds to ask if you’re still with him, and then slaps you in the face just to make sure."

"The difference between photojournalism and photography is ethics."

"Cursive should be allowed to die." with a link also to counterarguments.

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Awareness?

2010-12-06T05:56:30Z

This blog post, the comments it has received and the ensuing FaceBook discussions has me thinking about this whole "awareness" thing. What is the value of awareness?

I bought some shoes a while back, they had a little tag on them with a pink ribbon, which is for breast cancer awareness. I bought them because they fit, not because of the little tag. I left the tag on and didn't give it another thought until this came up. It didn't make me aware of breast cancer, it didn't prompt me to donate to a breast cancer cause, though I usually give something during the course of a year. I cannot imagine that anyone else saw me wearing those shoes and became aware of breast cancer, certainly no one ever asked me what that pink ribbon was on my shoes.

Please tell me, what am I missing? Are these awareness campaigns making any sort of a difference?

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Happy Birthday!

2010-08-12T15:13:24Z

to cynthia1960 !!!

Treat yourself today!

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World Building and Imaginative Reading

2010-08-03T16:04:18Z

I am still mulling over this blog post from Alyssa Rosenbuerg on Ta-Nehisi Coates blog discussing world building by George R. R. Martin, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling and more. What do you think?

Edit to re-credit authorship.

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LJ/DW craft swap

2010-03-19T22:49:08Z

The first five people to comment in this post* get to request that I make them a piece of jewelry in the medium of my choice. It will likely take me a while to make it, but within the next few months should be doable. Please comment with colors that you like or often wear.

In return, please consider posting an offer in your journal (offering graphics, vids, writing, crafts, whatever), regardless of your ability level.

* The first five on each of my main journals -- Livejournal and Dreamwidth

This entry is a meme I've taken from serene and wild_irises

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HAES reading

2010-02-20T00:12:01Z

yesterday ,cynthia1960 pointed out this excellent post from thingswithwings which if you have not read yet, I highly recommend, because, well, yeah.

I would now like to recommend this post from Prof. Susurro at Like A Whisper which is equally filled with win, though in a totally different way.

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This and That

2009-06-29T23:23:54Z

I wish I knew what to say about inequality and injustice, but after reading this blog post today - thanks to Body Impolitic for the pointer - shortly after reading this editorial I am about speechless.

( Excerpts I find particularly striking )

Why is it still acceptable for some to have more rights than others? We have to begin to recognize and honor the humanity of every person. We just have to make it happen.

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Standing to work

2009-06-26T20:42:49Z

Well, we finished setting up my standing work set up, and I really like it! I do need a comfort mat to stand on though, working on that. The installation of the swing arm for the monitor has more leftover parts than I think were used in setting it up. But it hasn't fallen down yet, so I will just hang onto them and see what happens.

Stood for a lot of the day yesterday, which while it feels better on my knee at the time may have caused a backlash. I could barely walk this morning. No idea about whether it was that or something else yesterday. MRI scheduled for next week can hopefully get to the bottom of the knee issue. For today i went back to wearing the brace, which is uncomfortable, but it feels a lot better.

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Feeling half finished

2009-06-25T16:10:09Z

When I left the office yesterday the Facilities guy was busy installing my new standing-is-optional office set-up. This consists of a new keyboard tray that goes up and down and a swing arm for my monitor so it can move up and down also. I didn't really think there was much point to hovering over him while he worked, so I took off figuring all would be set in the morning.

It sort of is. The keyboard tray is awesome, I really like it, it's easy to reposition and has a perfect range for my height. But the monitor has not been set up yet. The Facilities guy is not in yet, so I can't check with him, but I suspect he went as far as he is comfortable with without an IT person involved. So here I am waiting....

I hope I can get this set-up completed today.

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Yep

2009-06-10T18:44:49Z

So the educated guess was correct, and Kiva launched loans to entrepreneurs in the US this morning.

I couldn't resist this loan, cause I do like board games, and they are in San Francisco, and one of the guys works with people with disabilities and they are veterans, and yeah, anyway, it's a long term, but nice loan.

Erik and Shane seem an unlikely pair to run a board game shop. Shane works as a behavioral specialist for people with disabilities at a local non-profit while Erik is a veteran of the Iraq War with a background in sales. But they share a love of board games, and opened Just Awesome to provide the community with a family-friendly game store. While serving in the Air Force, Erik learned a game from a young Iraqi which he developed into Just Awesome! He donates all of the proceeds from this game to Operation Iraqi Children. Just Awesome! will also pay to ship any board games to American troops serving overseas.

With a thoughtful business plan and a passion for their product, Shane and Erik are new entrepreneurs poised for success. They will use their $7,500 loan for advertising and inventory.

Visit www.justawesomethewebsite.com

Honestly i didn't think I would want to make a loan in the US when they became available, but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow...

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Kiva announcement

2009-06-09T20:13:21Z

Kiva, the online lending platform which has previously served developing countries is making a big announcement tomorrow on Good Morning America. I don't want to steal their thunder, but as someone who follows their activity closely over at Kiva Friends i am pretty sure I know what it will be.

I recommend that if you want to check out Kiva to make a loan to an entrepreneur in the developing world you might want to go there today, before they get bombarded tomorrow. However, if you are interested in making a loan to an entrepreneur closer to home, well tomorrow could well be the day for you.

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