Author: pfspirit

Thoughts on Occupy Wall Street

My first post (other than the generic welcome post) was a link to the LiveStream of the Occupy Wall Street movement not long after I learned of it.  Since that bare-bones post, Occupy Wall Street has grown into a sizable movement with franchise locations (to borrow business speak) around the country.  The mainstream media initially lagged in its coverage of the band of young protesters occupying Zuccotti Park (renamed Liberty Plaza in solidarity with Liberty Square/Tahrir Square) and has consistently downplayed its significance by characterizing the assembled group as lacking a clear message or set of demands.  Several weeks in, this seemingly hapless group of protesters has demonstrated a quality that I admire from afar – persistence in the face of doubt.

I’m inspired to say the least.  My first trip to Paris was in the midst of a grève (or strike).  At first, I was put off by the inconvenience I suffered because most of Paris decided to strike the day I arrived.  However, the day I stood on the sidelines and watched labor group after labor group march by in solidarity protesting France’s proposed retirement changes, I was in awe.  I was also confused.  Why didn’t we as Americans EVER protest?!  My short answer is that we have no safety net from which to operate.  If you lose your job, you lose your income (obviously) and your health insurance.  Replacement rates for unemployment compensation are not tied to your income in a proportionate manner but placed at a low-level threshold that offers no real safety net in the event of job loss.  Job loss in the United States comes with higher stakes than in Europe where the replacement rate for unemployment compensation is a percentage of income and lasts longer than the ad-hoc legislative extensions here in the US.  Survival in the US’s individualistic society pretty much dictates not rocking the boat.

After seeing news reports of The Arab Spring and how citizens took to the streets to effect drastic regime changes, the silence in the US was deafening.  Later, The Indignados’ protests in Spain seemed as if the concepts of protest were moving closer to something we, as Americans, could grasp.  And still, the silence was deafening.  Now, we have OWS spreading around the country and it feels as if somehow those on the streets have joined an elusive fraternity centered around solidarity instead of special and individual interests.  Viva OWS!

Now for some data…

It’s news articles like this that demonstrate how out of touch policy makers and politicians are with the sad reality of American life.  It was almost surreal to hear President Obama talk about how the country was out of recession and how the economy was improving in June 2009.  Yet, the indicators to which he referred were for the business sector.  After having shed thousands of jobs, corporations were seeing huge profits quarter after quarter.  However, if one were to compare the corporate reality to that of everyday citizens; recovery, recovered or recovering were not words that could be used to describe citizen reality.  Unemployment was at an all-time high (and still is), Congress left many dependent on unemployment compensation to suffer while they debated the merits and downfalls of extending unemployment compensation.  This, during a period of high unemployment.  To be exact, this much unemployment (by percentage of the population over 16):

Year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2009

7.8

8.2

8.6

8.9

9.4

9.5

9.5

9.7

9.8

10.1

9.9

9.9

* don’t take my opinion about it, figures courtesy of Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov

If you were to look at corporate profits for that same period of time, profits as well as unemployment rose (these numbers are in billions):

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

1,175.2

1,262.3

1,438.8

1,571.6

* don’t take my opinion about it, figures courtesy of Bureau of Economic Analysis

So much for the trickle-down theory in action…

I end here for now.

Occupy Wall Street. Heard of it?

I was somewhat familiar with it but unable to find news/information regarding it – until I ran across this gem of an article about the occupation of the former Liberty Park (now named Zuccotti Park) near Wall Street.  I’ve (hopefully) embedded the Livestream video below.  The Arab Spring and Spain’s Indignados may have inspired some activity here.  Who knows.  Stay tuned…

Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com

What Happened To Excellence?

It used to be that in the past one looked to people who excelled in given areas as a source of inspiration to fuel the creativity or drive needed to develop their own excellence. However, reality TV has seemed to turn the tables on the concept of excellence so that instead of fixing one’s sights on a great model for inspiration and developing one’s talents and abilities to the best of their individual capacity, people take malicious pleasure in being crowned the “winner” because they are better than someone else while the “loser” is subjected to all manner of vituperation as entertainment. Considering the amount of television watched by impressionable children, what does this teach children who watch these programs? Is the new standard for excellence being remade to mean “I’m better than some other person” as opposed to “I’m operating at my highest level and achieving excellence”? Ten or twenty years from now, will we have a nation of adults who have suckled at the breast of this poisonous mindset who think that in order to succeed or excel it must be at someone else’s expense?

In my heart, I feel there is room for everyone to succeed. The changes brought forth in the 20th century alone show the evolution of inventions and innovations, at one time barely conceivable, being brought to rapid fruition. If “world kind” could create and expand the limits of possibility at that time, why can it not do it now and in the future? If that is the case, why are people fighting over the seemingly few conceivable crumbs of possibility when it has been demonstrated that the inconceivable is attainable?

Take a look inside and challenge yourself to bring forth the excellence you are capable of achieving. Compete with yourself, why limit your potential based on the outside benchmark of someone else?

Dining Out For Life April 24 – Where Will You Dine?

April 24 is the National Dining Out For Life day around the country. Where will YOU dine?

What is Dining Out For Life? ¹

Dining Out For Life® is an annual fundraising event involving the generous participation of volunteers, corporate sponsors and restaurants. In exchange for their financial support, restaurants are listed in a city wide marketing campaign in an effort to increase customer traffic.

In 1991 Dining Out For Life® was created by an ActionAIDS volunteer in Philadelphia. In 1993, ActionAIDS made it an international event offering licenses to AIDS Service Organizations around the country. Since Dining Out for Life International’s founding the event has grown throughout North America and is now produced in over 46 cities.

The Board of Dining Out For Life® is constantly working to expand the number of licenses around the country, as well as to gain sponsorships that benefit the entire country. On average five to six cities a year are being added.

More than 2,800 restaurants a year donate a portion of their proceeds from this one special night of dining to the licensed agency in their city. Over $3 million dollars a year is raised to support the missions of agencies throughout North America. With the exception of the annual licensing fee of $600, all money raised in these cities stays there.

Who does Dining Out For Life benefit?

The short answer is the HIV/AIDS community. The proceeds from the fundraising events go back to the HIV/AIDS service organizations in each local area. If you dine in Saint Louis, the proceeds benefit service organizations in Saint Louis. If you dine in Washington, DC, the proceeds benefit service organizations in Washington, DC. The time and money you invest in your local community remains in your community.

However, I’m never known for my short answers. In a broader context, DOFL benefits everyone. HIV/AIDS service organizations obviously provide support to those who are HIV+ or have AIDS. Support takes on many dimensions in this arena; counseling to deal with the emotional aspects of the condition, legal assistance for issues that come up as a result of being HIV+ and medical services (quite often at a reduced fee). In addition, they work to educate the general public about HIV (that is a BIG task) and prevention. They provide accessible HIV testing and counseling for those unsure of their status. They work with people in identified high-risk groups in an effort to curb the rate of new infections in those populations. In some fashion, the work of HIV/AIDS service organizations benefit everyone.

By extension, Dining Out For Life, as an event that supports local HIV/AIDS service organizations around the country (and Canada), can be said to help everyone as well. So on April 24, choose participating restaurants and pick up breakfast, order in lunch and go out to dinner. Help yourself!

To find a restaurant in your city, go to Dining Out For Life – National.

If you live in the Saint Louis area, go to Dining Out For Life – Saint Louis.

¹
Information from Dining Out For Life website

Taking The Time To Notice

I’m a tense, testy little person. I don’t have a lot of patience sometimes and I have a lot of things tumbling around in my mind like a load of laundry in the dryer. Not to mention, I’m extremely hard on myself when I think I’m not accomplishing things near my potential. At any given time, I’ll have long running commentary going on in my head about any number of things.

However, for a moment today as I was rushing somewhere in the cold (where did the high around 50 degrees go?), I actually stopped to look at a bare tree. The tree was bare of leaves but amazingly (this is why I stopped) had buds on it.

I had a former coworker once tell me that cooler fall temperatures weren’t on the way when I said the trees knew something that we didn’t currently know. It was hot as hell at the time the conversation took place but the leaves were changing colors. And pretty soon, the temperature dropped and it felt like fall. There was no gradual transition, it just happened that one day it was hot and the next it wasn’t.

There are still patches of icy snow on the ground here. However, I still think the trees know something we don’t yet – spring is coming. I’m glad I noticed…

My Oscars Moment

First of all, I have to say that I fell asleep before the end.

But, before I fell asleep I had the opportunity to see one of my FAVORITE actors accept his Academy Award – Javier Bardem. I have always been drawn to his performances since the first time I saw him in Before Night Falls. I started watching the movie in the middle and didn’t know what the movie was or what his name was (I was watching cable at my sister’s house and didn’t know how to get to the guide – just think I’ve worked for cable companies) and wouldn’t know until much later. Since then, I’ve been hooked. He is a very masculine man but it is his nuanced ability to portray the tenderness and vulnerability of his characters that sends me. Last night’s acceptance speech provided another opportunity to admire Mr. Bardem – he attended the awards ceremony with his mother (instead of a “Hollywood” date) and he took time during his speech to thank his mother, although I have no idea what he said. From watching his interaction with his mother off-stage, he is definitely affectionate.

Insert {BIG SIGH}

I saw No Country for Old Men solely based on the fact that he was in it (and also because I was curious to know what in the world WAS that thing that he was toting around killing people?). To steal a song from another of last night’s Academy Award winners, La Vie en Rose, “Non, je ne regrets rien”.

Around The World In A Couple Of Hours

Today I went to Celebrate the World: An International Cultural Arts Festival held in Maryland Heights. While there, I had the opportunity to see: young girls from the Philippines perform ceremonial dances; a Japanese drum group (composed mostly of non-Japanese students) perform traditional drum performances that could compete with marching bands; a group of dancers of various ages (from grandchild to grandmother) perform traditional Greek dances; a group of dancers and drummers perform traditional West African dances and music (where are their backbones?); and a Latin orchestra perform Latin music accompanied by various salsa dancers.

Best of all, it was FREE! I had to cancel a trip to Europe that I had half-planned for this month but feel as if I’ve traveled farther than the original trip would have taken me. This afternoon, the world came to me.

An End To Yet Another Period Of Unemployment

I’ve been in Saint Louis for a little over two years and have found myself unemployed twice – the first time, unwillingly due to a layoff; the second time, willingly due to a bad fit. I took a huge chance by leaving my last job and I’ve gone through some tough times since I made that decision. Initially, I was ecstatic to have taken a stand for my own peace of mind but the cost of that stand almost also destroyed my piece of mind. Just when I was starting to doubt myself and the decision, a wonderful opportunity came along. In many ways, it is exactly what I need for where I am now.

During this job search, I’ve gone on interviews where I felt as if we both were thinking “who the hell is this?!” I even went on two separate interviews where the interviewers asked me pointedly personal questions about how I felt about the bad times that I’ve had since I’ve been in Saint Louis. I have done and continue to do a lot of soul-searching about the chain of events that have occurred since I’ve been here, however, I don’t think I want any job so bad that I’m willing to bare my soul in order to be considered for it. Just as asking a person’s age or if they have children during an interview is considered to be inappropriate, so too is asking a personal question of that magnitude. Don’t get me wrong, if asked out of concern, I will answer a personal question. However, neither of these instances were examples of people asking out of sheer concern. I once was accused of maybe having too much pride but I don’t think it is too much pride but a certain level of dignity I prefer to maintain.

However, those incidents are in the past and I have a wonderful future to look forward to at my upcoming job. For just a moment I needed to vent, now I’m going to keep it moving.

I Don’t Like To Cook But…

I was in the kitchen the other morning preparing some truly southern comfort food – grits. Not really liking plain food, I decided to jazz it up some. Following is my “recipe”:

4-6 slices of bacon cut into thin pieces
“some” herbes de provence
“some” salt
2 cups water
1 cup milk (makes the grits creamy)
1 cup grits
“some” cheese

Cook the bacon and the herbes de provence together until mostly done. Add the water and milk and bring to a boil. Add the grits and some salt to taste, reducing the heat to simmer. About two minutes before the grits are done, stir in the cheese making sure to also scrape the bottom of the pot so that the grits don’t stick (you probably should do that periodically but I only do it once).

Voila!

My next adventure in grits land will include shrimp. I will share if it tastes good. I will probably also share if it doesn’t taste good, after all, I did mention that I don’t really like to cook so there will be some disasters…

Currently listening:
Collected
By Massive Attack
Release date: 04 April, 2006