Laura's Buffalo Hunt - Fin
I believe that's the French word for The End - or Italian, or something like you used to see at the end of art films.
As promised, here's a shot I like better of the "Punk" bison, or Don't Judge a Bison by is' Cover. It is behind bars in the courtyard of that art museum. If you can't see it here, he's got a blue mohawk, a nose ring, and a portrait of an Old Timer waving his fist and shouting "those young ...Punks."

"The aim of art is to present not the outward apperance of things, but their inward significance."
- Aristotle.

I chose to end with this bison because we're back in Moorhead now, but it should be no surprise to most of you that I'm posting from Wisconsin - where I've been for about two weeks. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the buffalo hunt and got to see some of these two amazing towns that have been my home for the last year.

If you really liked the bison, you should check out www.herdabouttheprairie.org You can see more bison there. These are only the ones I shot and there are actually 74 of them!

Laura's Buffalo Hunt- Part Seven, I think

This picture looks like one of those where you have to find hidden objects in the picture. See if you can find the Buffalo tiltled Home on the Range hidden among the scorched July grass. Then see if you can find a) my bike, and b) the other side of the Energy Buffalo that looks like it's on fire.
Tiaglo - This is on the Fargo side of the Main Ave bridge. This shot is a recreation of the orignial shot I took on Memorial Day. I took it while sitting on a bench because I shot 20 bison in one day while walking everywhere in Fargo and Moorhead and was extremely tired. In fact I walked so much I was sore for two days afterward and for some reason the buffalo's face didn't show up in the picture so I had to come back and shoot it again. Maple Leaf Bison - on a different day, after work, I went exploring to try and find this bison in Lindenwood Park, and after an hour or so I found it but the bison wasn't there! THey moved it and it showed up later in the month here in front of the Civic Center.
This guy reminds me of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He's really realistic looking from one side, and pure metal on the the other. I hope for his sake Magento doesn't show up!
This Beach Buff - buffalo lives next to the Fargo pool in Island Park. The detail on his towel and shorts are amazing. I love his flippers and rubber duck inner tube too!
'cept he appears to have some kind of wacky comb-over. Why, I'm not sure!
The natural side of Industrial Bison, from before.

Laura's Buffalo Hunt -Part Six
There wouldn't have to be so many parts if it would just let me post all the pictures I want at once.

This picture is bad because of the shadow, but this is Mica Star Boy outside of the NDSU's equivalent to the Performing Arts' Center, and the design on him in white is actually little triangles of something glued down to his painted body.
Surprise! These are some of the middle school students of the Linking Up Summer Leadership Program outside the stadium where we went to see a RedHawks minor league baseball game. This bison stands alone, further down. It's a mosaic decorated bison.
This buffalo titled A Foot in the Past, and Eye to the future is prominently displayed on NDSU's campus. It might be feeling a little schitzophrentic though because if you look closely at it's feet you can tell that...

this is the other side of it: flip flops, cell phone, an earing. I don't know what's up with the shorts, they appear to be made of burlap... makes me nostalgic for college though. Just looking at him makes me want to run out for Ben & Jerry's at quarter to twelve.
Bob.

Laura's Buffalo Hunt part five - "Fargoside Story continued"

Look what it did! It put two pictures next to each other. Weird. I didn't ask it to do that. But now I can't type under these two. - !
This beautiful bison, featuring a Buffalo Head Nickel on her flank is Heart of the Prairie, pictured here in her original location outside the historic Fargo Theater which has a real organ and someone plays it before a movie! You can barely see Heart of the Prairie in the first picture although I was standing in the middle of Broadway to take it, because I was trying to get in the entire marquee, so I took another picture before they moved her due to vandalism, even though I almost ran over a woman on my bike on my way to take that picture. (Like how was I supposed to know she was going to walk out of a shop at that instant. I said Excuse me. It's not like she was paying attention.)

This sunflower Bison has Starry Starry Nights on the other side and a portrait of Van Gogh for a face. It's cleverly titled Gogh Bison GO! Did you ever hear the Art Garfunkle song about Vincent Van Gogh? I like that song.
This colorful and cartoonish bison is named Heartbeat of the RedRiver Valley and is at the base of my favorite street in Fargo - you guessed it! Broadway! Where everything is, including Bab's coffee shop's new location, around the corner from this bison!
This peice of artwork is called Spirits of the Prairie (are you sensing a theme?) and she's right up broadway from Heartbeat who is across the street from the one about the Fargo Fire. (I can draw you a map.) I'm just trying to give you an idea of how many bison one sees in a day.

Laura's Buffalo Hunt - Part Four "the Fargo side of the bridge"

(Grumpily: in no kind of order) This shiny bison, commemorating the Pony Express stands on Broadway in Fargo near Dempsy's Public House - my favorite Irish Pub in Fargo - and the only bar in Fargo it can be said I "frequent." Anyway, I like the Pony Express bison.

This little guy lives in front of the Fargo Civic Center. (yes, those are the Ten Comandments in the background.) I believe his painting was sponsored by Excel energy - or some energy company because one side is an illustration of Wind Power - very important in North Dakota, and the other side - what looks to me like a picture of Hell - is an illustration of Coal Power. I also appreciate the portrait of Earth he wears on his forehead.

This Bison stands at one end of Broadway. One side of him commemorates the Fargo Fire of 1893. The other side the Red River flood of 1997.

This Texas-Hold'em playing Bison with the shades stands outside the very large and impressive Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre building which is in my favorite park, Island Park. It took me a while to find this one even though the map said there were two bison in Island Park. It's a big park. The sign should be advertising the summer production of Anything Goes but for some reason that didn't show up in the picture although I tried to get in in there. Maybe it blinked or something.

And why not, after all put this bison next to the Welcome to Fargo sign last? I don't know his title, but he's got a beach scene with two little kids painted on one side of him which reminds me of the innocence and venture of childhood summers. Isn't it sweet?

Laura's Buffalo Hunt-Part Three "Now that Buffalo's Gone"

We're coming up on the last of the Moorhead Bison, but I've tried to save the very best for last. This is "Now that the Buffalo's Gone" by Timothy Ray.


This buffalo features four versus of a song by artist Buffy Sainte-Marie, who I am very interested in learning more about since being introduced to her poetry by this fine bison. More information on Buffy Sainte-Marie can be found at http://www.creative-native.com

Can you remember the times
When you have held your head high
And told all your friends of your Indian claim
Proud good lady and proud good man
Your great-great grandfather from Indian blood sprang
And you feel in your heart for these ones

When a war between nations is lost
The loser we know pays the cost.
But even when Germany fell to your hand
Consider dear lady, consider dear man
You left them their pride and you left them their land
And what have you done to these ones?

Has a change come about Uncle Sam?
Or are you still taking our lands
A treaty forever George Washington signed
He did dear lady, he did dear man
But the treaty’s being broken by Kinzua Dam
And what will you do for these ones?

Oh it’s all in the past you can say
But its still going on here today
The government now wants the Iroquois land
That of the Inuit & the Cheyenne
It’s here and it’s now you must help us dear man
Now that the buffalo’s gone

Copyright Gypsy Boy Music 1965

I love this majestic Bison where it stands in Moorhead overlooking this bland stretch of road rather close to bar watching the cars pass by and reminding us of the lost prairie. And as I was admiring it, a train happened to pass. (well, actually I came back and waited 20 minutes for a train so I could take this picture.) But still...it is haunting.

Laura's Buffalo Hunt - Summer '06 Part Two

If this is how this is going to go, you're going to have to scroll down and read part one first. It's taken me a long time to create these posts, because it will only let me post three pictures at a time - or at least thus far. But stay tuned to the results of my Fargo/Moorhead Buffalo Hunt and my ongoing battle with posting pics on Blogger.

Ok, not the order I would have them in, but apparently I have no say-
This one is called Wacapi Wanagi (Ghost Dance) and is designed and painted by Laura Youngbird. The webpage says Laura used a process called acrylic transfer, incorporating historical images. The images are related to the Ghost Dance, the slaughter and the near extinction of the American Bison, the massacre at Wounded Knee (mostly women and children), due to the fear of the religious movement (the Ghost Dance). The premise of the Ghost Dance is that if you prayed, sang the songs and danced (which is also praying), lived a good life, the suffering would end, the oppressors would leave and the buffalo would return. It is one of my favorite Bison and it's very powerful up close. In Moorhead this bison stands in front of the Hjemkomst Heritage Interpretive Center.

Bi-Sun, is the title this colorful Bison stands outside the Moorhead Center Mall and looking at it reminds me of the hottest days of summer when it got up to 104!

This one looks the most like a natural bison, from the front and he's got a nice scene with the American flag down his side. Stood in the middle of busy main avenue to get this picture.

This guy is called Sam. No idea why. No clue what's up with the Christmas lights either, but it was nice to see some blue in the Main Avenue area. It's not a color you usually see unless you're looking up at the sky... You can see the main avenue bridge and the railroad bridge that lets you know we get a lot of trains coming through...quite often.

Ok, at long last here's my updated post. You can see fron the date on this (probably) that I've been working on this one for a while and saving it as a draft. Most computer's don't want to let me post mutliple pictures.

Laura's Buffalo Hunt - Summer '06 Part One

Tatonka - is the Lakota word for Bison. A sacred animal, the legend has it that Tatonka was once part of the earth and looked up from within the ground and saw the people suffering on the land with no food, no shelter or clothing. And so Tatonka came up from the earth to give the people what they needed. This summer in Moorhead and Fargo there have been Bison statues all around town as part of a Lake Agassiz Arts Council project called "Heard about the Prairie". People from the community of all walks of life have designed and decorated Bison with different themes. Starting on Memorial Day, I made it my project to go on a Buffalo Hunt and photograph as many as possible. Here are the results of my quest so far.


This buffalo was painted by students at Horzion Middle school, the same school where my Linking Up program takes place. This specimen is titled "Spudicus Maximus" because the Moorhead Middle School "Spuds" designed it based on the artwork of Peter Max, an artist from the 60's. From the design of the buffalo I take it his work was really similar to the way Dr. Teeth and the band painted Fozzie's studebaker in The Muppet Movie. Here it is pictured in front of Moorhead Public Library.

This bison is located in front of an art museum I've never been in. Watch for it, it will come back later because I didn't really like this picture.

Buffalo Borealis shows the Native people of the plains gathered on one side to witness the northern lights. I also tried to capture the medicine wheel painted on the buffalo's forehead and a little girl running in the park in the background. I think I over reached.

A Few Words

I promised to update today, so here's a few words:

"nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak."

- In Memorandium

Nominated!

For all you out here in the blogsphere, I thought I'd post on the results of my interview: which is that I was nominated to the Peace Corps. This means, as I understand it, my name is temporarily joined with a program and my file now goes to the Placement Office for further consideration. Right now the program I am nominated to is in Eastern Europe and I would leave in May of 2007, but that can change. I still have to get physical examinations and issued a health clearance and a legal clearance (gov't background checks and the like.) As always, I will keep you updated on the process. It looks like I will be leaving to serve in the Peace Corps sometime within the next year...and hopefully sooner than May, but we'll see.

I'm off to see the Wizard!

No, but that's what it feels like. I'm bound for Minneapolis tomorrow for my Peace Corps interview so everyone wish me luck! The interview should take an hour and a half and will determine if my file gets sent to Washtington D.C. for further review.

Because there's nothing more I can say about the interview because it hasn't happened yet, I thought I'd update my readers once again on all things Brokeback Mountain.

Specifically I'd like to congratulate Jake G. and Heath Ledger for winning Best Kiss at the MTV movie awards, and to inform some people that it's not the first time a male-male kiss has won the award. Jason Biggs and Stifler won for American Pie 2 but that was kind of a high school - isn't it funny that two guys kissed- nomination. This was different because as far as I know it is the first time a male-male kiss with actual attraction between the characters has won. This time it is a real honor, and true to honesty and brutality of the film, not making fun of the situation of two men kissing in a movie, and I just wanted to say I love how Jake G acknowledged that with his acceptance speech.

And now, forever Up On My Soapbox, I present you with another link: www.walkforjustice.org you can use to sponsor me and the People Escaping Poverty Project in the Walk for Justice on Sept. 17th. For more information about the walk or about PEPP you can email me or see the June 12th blog entry below.

Happy Birthday to PEPP!

Last weekend I celebrated the 20th Birthday of the People Escaping Poverty Project with a folk fair in the park! There was music, free food and tie-dying, although I was one of the face painters who spent a day at a table adorning all kinds of children in colorful hearts, rainbows, the occasional peace sign and the frighteningly complicated tie-dyed “Hello.”

I know I’ve mentioned PEPP before on this blog with a casual – I’ll have to explain more about that later. PEPP for instance is the group that offered the free community organizer training I attended every Saturday in April. PEPP is a community nonprofit organization in Moorhead and I am on their board. To be on the board of a nonprofit is usually a big deal. As Duke who’s worked at PEPP for some number of years pointed out to me, I’m technically his boss. It’s a great experience getting to see the inner-workings of a nonprofit, and PEPP’s board is really involved so I also get experience doing fund raising and loading chairs on and off trucks for events like PEPP Fest.

I should say that PEPP is not part of my job with Americorps. It’s just something else I’m involved with in the community. And how I got to be involved was the last person who had my job with Americorps was involved, so when I came into town they called and asked if I would be interested – and what am I not interested in?

Her Story of PEPP

PEPP was founded in 1986 by a small group of women who received financial assistance organized, fighting a 30 percent cut in Minnesota’s Aid to Dependant Families with Children program. These women started a grassroots movement in the Moorhead community fighting the welfare cuts. The group organized and collaborated with others groups and individuals throughout the community, and ultimately defeated the cuts.

PEPP’s work is focused on developing a shift in power, resulting in real and immediate changes in people’s lives by impacting the issues at the policy level, rather than the individual being assisted by direct service. PEPP’s goals are to be a powerful organization led by people with low income and to develop alliances and partners to working together as a collaborative community force to creating positive changes in Fargo Moorhead and regional areas.

PEPP’s Vision is committed to building community, empowering people, and uniting for power justice and equality.

PEPP’s Mission is to strategically challenge the power dynamics of systems and institutions, by organizing powerful people and resources through intentional relationships.

The best thing about the important work PEPP is doing in this community is that you can be a part of it!

I am counting on my friends to sponsor me in the Headwaters Walk for Justice on September 17th in Minneapolis. Headwaters raises and distributes money among nonprofits like PEPP that are dedicated to social justice. For every dollar the PEPP team raises we keep 70%! The rest goes to Headwaters so they can continue giving organizations like PEPP grants like the $10,000 we just received to start a Tenants Action Network in Moorhead.

Just go to www.walkforjustice.org and click on sponsor a walker, then type in my name! It’s that easy! Help me reach my goal or raising $300 for this worthwhile organization!

And if you have any questions about PEPP please email me or check out our webpage at www.pepp.org

Rogers for State Senate 2016!

I know it's been a little while, but I wanted to give my gentlemen readers a chance to contemplate how their lives have been improved by the statements on the below poster. (See "I'm not a feminist, but...")

So I went to this awesome Women's Leadership Conference where I met a lot of cool people and felt a little bit like I was at summer camp - staying in the dorms at NDSU, but it was fun. Let me say too that I now finally understand what it meant by networking. I always thought before that networking was something scuzzy self-promoters in wing-tips did in bars with martini's in one hand and business cards in the other. That might be someone's version of networking, but I like my version better.

Networking is also when you meet someone and hear about what issures they're passionate about and think "hey, I should connect you with so-and-so." It's also when you meet a campaign manager for a candidate you support and say "I need a job in August! Do you have any long-term volunteer opportunites?" It is especially cool when networking can be a woman you met four days ago announcing she will run for office in her community and you say "can I make a campaign contribution." That's what made this conference different than summer camp. There was a real sense of mutual support among all the participants (which I've also experienced at summer camps) and with a higher purpose. I found myself quoting Arlo Guthrie's song Alice's Restruant from time to time.

"They'll say it's a movement. Because that's what it is."

I do find that business cards help.

I could say more about NEW Women's Leadership Institute but I'm hungry and I don't want to bore you with details of what I learned about public speaking, public policy, fundraising, campaigning, what it was like to hear Winona LaDuke speak (if you don't know who she is - when I voted for Nader, I voted for her for Vice President. Once.)

Instead I'll just say that this conference did make me think more seriously about seeking office one day - which I was already thinking about - but now it's not just the school board. It's the state legislature. As I put it to one person (you know who you are) Who do you want voting on issues in the state that affect your life? Me, or some other guy? So watch out state of Wisconsin and watch out friends or as I like to think of you - future campaign contributors!

Can I count on your vote in 2016?

Chew on this!


I was going to post something about my anti-racism training on Wednesday, but so much conversation has happened around it afterward that I was inspired to put up this. Hopefully I'll catch up with typing out my anti-racism training observations after my Women's Leadership training this weekend and next week. However, I thought maybe posting this would help me start off the conference on a good note!

P.S. This poster and clever shirts and stickers are available at www.oneangrygirl.net

Say Goodbye...

It's one of those times when I know I need to update, but I suddenly feel like I don't have anything to say. I guess I can comment on how crappy the weather has been lately (cold and rainy) and that I've been doing a lot of reading lately.

I should say that this month (man, April flew by in a hurry) I'm trying to organize about 8 weeks of fun activities for middle school kids over the summer. We're going to go to a ropes course, a minor league ball game, do a fundraiser - and what I'm most excited about - host a carnival for the A Child's World day camp kids, so our middle schoolers get to put on a fun day of water balloon tosses and finger painting for 6 year olds. It's going to be an exciting summer. I'm just hoping that more kids sign up for our program!

-And that we get our funding. This is the time of year when we're in a mad scramble to find the funding to keep our program alive for one more year -hopefully funding will be more solid after 2007. Right now I'm calling every civic organization and church group in town and asking them to pitch in some dollars.

When looking for funds, I tend to start out slow and then kick into over drive. I've taken on few extra fundraising projects at the same time. The organziation People Escaping Poverty Project - which I am on their board - is also constantly fundraising. One of the ways they get money is the Headwaters Foundation Walkf for Justice - which is in September, but watch for that because I'll be looking for sponsors. My goal is to raise $300 for PEPP. PEPP just got a 10k grant from Headwaters to start a Tenants Rights group hear in Moorhead, and we're really excited about it. (I feel like I'll have to explain more about this at a later date.) And Churches United for the Homeless needs a new coffee percolator, so I've made it my personal mission to find away for my church to come up with the money. Those are my side projects.

Highlights of the week: This week Wednesday I get to sit in on the Minnesota Collaborative Anti-Racism Initiative (MCARI) level 1 anti-racism training I helped to organize. Not really organize, but I was the point person who communicated with catering and reserved the rooms. I printed the nametags. (shut up! It wasn't easy. Word didn't have that particular template.)
So I'm looking forward to that. Then - starting Saturday I get to go to a NEW Leadership Conference for Women about bringing about positive change in the community - how to be an instigator, if necessary, but basically how to be a leader and influence things in the community for the better. It's at North Dakota State University and it's 5 days long. I'm excited about attending, but not too keen on staying in a dorm room. I'll let you know how it goes.

Finally - the bad news. Two things have happened recently to throw my entire live into upheaval! Or at least my comfortable pattern of existance: 1) school ended at Concordia - changing the gym schedule, screwing up my evening work out routine and making it more difficult for me to watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. 2) Tonight: is the Series finale of the WEST WING!! (now I don't even feel like I want to work out Sunday night - if the gym were open!)

I know, such an event deserves a post unto itself, but its still too fresh. Perhaps I will write something more about it soon.

Vital Stats:
Musical of the month: Mama Mia
Working out: at 5! (ug! there's nothing on tv)
The Daily Show: miss it!
The WEST WING: (sob)
Weather: >: (
Movies: I wrote in the newsletter for the church I've been going to - Anyone interested in a Da Vinci Code matinee Sat. the 27th followed by pancakes and discussion should contact me. We'll see if I get any takers.
Plans for the weekend: I'm going to be at a conference. Everyone call me this weekend so I'll seem like I'm really cool!
Recipes of weeks past: Greek salad as per Nicki's description, fennel basil salad with tofu and couscous, and a really worthwhile recipe for sundried tomato and asparagus fetticuine. This weekend I ordered a pizza.

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps

"You won't admitt you love me, and so
How am I ever to know,
You only tell me
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.

A million times I ask you, and then
I ask you over again
You only answer
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"

Ok, for those of you who've been talking to me on the phone, this post is at last the final answer to the most recent Brokeback Mountain conterversy plauging me, and therefore also plauging those who converse with me regularly. To those of you who don't speak to me regularly on the phone - I promise to try to make this my last post about Brokeback Mountain ...for a while.

The question has been, since I recently saw the movie again on DVD over Easter - in the scene where Jack goes to Mexico, a song is playing in the background in Spanish. I thought I recongized the song. (I would like it noted here for the record that one can be obsessed with a movie and just because you happen to know a song that happens to be in the movie is purely coincidence and doesn't necessarily make you a freak.)

After the scene I would find myself humming the Spanish song, and with shock I thought that Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps? Cake released a CD in 1995 on their album Fashion Nugget (which was a highly influential album for me in my 10th grade year and I really recommend it. For a while it was all we played in the high school journalism office. Perhaps... has special meaning for me because of that year and a prank involving an answering machine.)

It struck me too, that the lyrics are stunningy appropriate for that scene. If you don't know what I'm talking about see the movie again - and you should see the movie again no matter what. (C'mon, seeing a movie once is like not seeing it at all.)

"If you can't make your mind up
We'll never get started
And I don't want to wind up
Being parted Broken Hearted

So if you really love me, say Yes
And if you don't, dear, confess
But please don't tell me
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"

My intense research has revealed that the song Quizás, Quizás, Quizás was written by Osvaldo Farrés in Cuba in 1947 and recorded by Nat King Cole in 1958, therefore making it non-anaronistic to the film (we call that "Period") and rerecorded by Cake in '95.

If you're interested in this it's easy to find a direct translation of the lyrics online. Posted here are the English lyrics as Cake sings them.

Being someone who cares about movies and loves, LOVES, when a film is done well, I hope this new knowledge of the lyrics to the incidental Spanish song brings you to deeper understanding of the charcter and closer to the message of the film.

I don't think it's a mistake that the lyrics reflect so well the character's state of mind and situation. As a friend said to me recently while embroiled in this discussion "everything in a good production is a choice." So you film and theatre fans who want to shrug at me and say to yourselves - "Man, she needs to get over it!" (and I do) is it possible that what's playing in the background in that scene has no impact on the greater movie? Could it be that I am over-analyzing this?

"Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"

But I feel better knowing and sharing that knowledge with you.

You are Ennis Del Mar. Fair, strong, and willful, you take time to consider your decisions and you stand by what you believe in.

It had to happen....
Among all the things I've wasted my time doing today, I finally found the What Brokeback Mountain character are you? quiz that I (ahem) approve of. Even so, it's not very good, so someone should show me how to make quizes on this machine and I'll make you a quiz that will knock you flat on you're, well, you know.
Also, you can guess that I scored 100% correct on the How Obsessed are You with Brokeback Mountain quiz - and the person who wrote it doesn't know how to spell Alma.

Just so you know - I'm probably nowhere near done with this topic, but I will move on because this is going to be a subject of much discussion for probably, say...the rest of my life.

Vital Stats (I'll try and keep it brief and update more frequently)

River Report: the river crested the Wednesay after my last post and we didn't get as much rain as expected so all's well. Now it's a matter of mobilizing volunteers to take down the sandbags.

Weather Report: Gorgeous and sunny! A little windy and chilly if you're outside without a jacket but BEAUT-IEFUL! Like butter!

After School Program: Over for the school year! Aww! I'm going to miss those kids, but I've got a little over a month to figure out what's going on next year - and pull together the summer program! Oi vey!

What else am I doing: Community Organizer training with the People Escaping Poverty Project...it's really exciting/interesting. I'll have to tell you more about it some time.

Musical of the Month: Jesus Christ Superstar! Duh!

Easter: Went home and saw my mom and brothers and spent a little time with the puppies. Talked politics, movies, movies and movies, it was good.

Train Status: Dropped me off in Fargo at 4 a.m. this morning!

Movies I'm looking forward to: Da Vinci Code, X3, Pirates 2, and Thank You for Smoking. Right now no solid plans to see any of them.

Recipe of the weekend: Oh, I don't know but I recently experimented with Sam's Enchilada recipe and modified it to include spinach, brocoli, tomatos, peppers, shallots, corn and some black beans. It actually worked too! They were quite tasty!

Oh in other news: My Peace Corps application has been submitted. So in about a year from now I should (hopefully) be getting stationed somewhere?

Got something to say? Sure you do! Post a comment!

(here's a picture of me from a couple months ago. I have to post it on here so I can put it on my profile. Actually, I don't look like this now because I dyed my hair RED with magic henna, but it's been losing color rapidly. I bought this shirt in Fargo just before Christmas. Do you like it? Funny, because I'm wearing it right now.)

The River is Rising!

I got an excited call from my supervisor on Friday because the Red River is flooding, as I understand it does every year, but when she said she wanted my help coordinating a Concordia College Flood Response I didn't know what to think. My first thought was that houses were under water. This has not been the case yet, though I was told the river has gone up three feet a day and is expected to crest at 37 feet on Wednesday - which is 3ft less than it was during the Flood of '97 which I learned in Hurricane Relief training was serious business.

So, we're not dealing with houses under water yet, just trees, parks, baseball fields, one basketball court that I saw with the water up to the headboard and one bridge submerged. Students are mobilizing to fill sandbags and help homowners dyke their property. Roads are closed and the city is putting up dykes in the street to stop the water from coming into town. That's the good news.

The bad news is it's supposed to rain. It was supposed to rain all day yesterday but it didn't, but it's raining now and we don't know when it will stop or how high the river is going to get - so we keep our fingers crossed and our phones on and wonder right now if classes will be canceled tomorrow so students can go out and help homeowners prepare to deal with rising water.

Personally I'm sick of rising water. I saw that basketball hoop today and I didn't expect to be so affected by the image - but I've seen a lot of crazy stuff this year, and I haven't yet written a post about my Mississippi trip.

Also this weekend I was on a board retreat for a nonprofit in town. I'm on the board of the People Escaping Poverty Project which does a lot of really cool grassroots organizng around issues that affect people in poverty and mobilizng them towards change. I'm really proud to be part of this organization and wish I could stay in the community longer so I could contribute more, but I learned a lot this weekend about strategic planning, framing issues, fundraising and more. I get to go to PEPP organizer training for three Saturdays in April and I'm really looking forward to learning a lot there.

All in all it was a busy weekend - but I also managed to finally hammer out those Peace Corps application essays! I hope to send in my application within the next week. Now I'm tired and hungry and doubtful I can make it to the grocery store and back before it's time to work out and watch The West Wing - so I'm just updating the ol' blog to say look for an upcoming Vital Stats April.

And Brokeback Mountain comes out on DVD Thursday. If you don't hear from me for a while you know why.

I am the Great and Powerful OZ!

That's THE WORD on the Colbert Report I-don't-know-when-but-it-was-on-last-night. Check it out. I'm not remiss to be posting Colbert Report clips because I've still outposted The Daily Show. And this is some brilliant political comedy writing! Pay attention to the Colbert Report and pay attention to The Word!

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/index.jhtml

What does it take to get me to update my blog these days?

Sorry, I haven't updated in so long. Luckily it's laundry week! Where was I last laundry week (two weeks ago)? I was coming down from returning from my second trip to the Gulf Coast - what an experience - and it was too soon to write anything. Also while I was doing my laundry I was on the phone.

So you'll have to bear with me as I post a bunch of random musings. It's been so long I can hardly still comment on the academy awards which I had so looked forward to (and went pretty much exactly as I'd expected). But I will say the Oscar Goes to George Clooney for best acceptance speech.

Happy Anniversary! to me. I'd hoped to publish this sooner on my blog because it is something very special to me. March is my 1 year anniversary of being a vegitarian! Something I'm very proud of because for a long time I didn't think I could do it. While it's been a year, with a few mistakes but mostly successes and I'm very happy with myself. I recently learned that Monday March 20th is The Great American Meatout (www.meatout.org) It's also the First Day of Spring, and it would mean a lot to me, if you're interested if you decided to not eat meat at all for one day and see how it is. I'm not saying everyone has to become a vegitarian because I don't want that - for my sake. It's a personal decision. But if you choose to not eat meat for a day - in honor of the meatout, in honor of my anniversary or in honor of anything at all - I would be honored.

Vital Stats
The musical of the month is neither a musical or a month, but I've been listening to the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack a lot lately so, so should you.

After School Program : Going good! Working hard on figuring out how the program will be sustained next year, and trying to make sense of how we run the summer program.

Recipe of the weekend: Actually it's Garlic and Herb flavored Gormet Dog Buscuits. I made a treat to send to my brother's puppies back home. I still smell like garlic.

Transamerica
I'm not one for reviewing every movie that I see, but this one craved two comments. Look out - spoiler alert! For the most part I enjoyed it a great deal and I wish that Felicity Huffman could have one the Oscar, but didn't see Walk The Line so there you have it. Two things about this movie slightly offended me though.

• The young man about to discover that his father is a preoperative transexual has been working as a street hustler - having sex with men for money. He later moves into the gay-porn arena. The boy's sexuality is never touched on in the film - and that's what bothers me. Not that it matters. I know that a person can sell sex to members of the same sex and not be gay - but the film doesn't make that point to the audience. Maybe it's not all that important but I feel like the point could have stood being made, especially since the young man is also the victim of sexual abuse - which makes it even easier to sell sex since he sees it merely as a way to make money, not as an emotional interaction between two people in a relationship. I suppose anyone interested in seeing this movie probably doesn't need all this explained to them, but I felt it could have been another educational element of a film which already does so much to humanize and bring to light people of trans experience and other-than-manstream-sexual-experience.
• However, here's what really bothered me: If you're trying to be a supportive parent and build a relationship with an estranged child and you find out said child is working in the Porn industry - and you don't want to alienate them further by yelling at them - hence "trying to build a relationship" - the first thing out of your mouth should be ARE YOU BEING SAFE?! Am I crazy to think we can't afford to miss an opportunity to talk about safe sex? Especially for those acting in porn! This is important! And it's something a supportive parent would ask. It's neither a condemnation nor is it a free pass to all the filmed gay sex one can make a profit off of - it's a serious issue and something that deserved to be mentioned. CONDOMS, people! Condoms. Whether you're in pornos or not, but especially if you are in pornos!

Random Thought: Last weekend I was standing at a salad bar - after I saw Transamerica and I though about a scene in which the father/mother and son couple pick up a hitchhiker who claims to be a vegan. Normally I'm against picking up hitchikers but it occured to me - if you knew your passenger was a vegitarian would that make it easier? I think a vegitarian is a lot less likely to murder you in cold blood. That's just my opinion - but it brings me back to where I started!

Post comments! I love comments and I never get them!