Dogwood diplomacy: US gift of trees to Japan is cherry on top of Okinawa deal ( video)
Diplomacy is becoming cool again……sign your teen up now to learn the tricks of the trade!
Pens in 7
What’s your teen doing tonight? Are they traveling to Uncle Mario’s backyard to watch the Pens beat up on the Flyerson the big screen?
I was driving my sons to school this morning and had a local radio talk show on as background noise. Just as the last boyo was deposited into his Preschool classroom, a segment came on interviewing Gov. Tom Corbett. You see, Gov. Corbett is in a very delicate position. Both of tonight’s teams are in his state. That’s right, the Golden Triangle, the state of the art tech-savvy medically driven city of champions and…..Filthadelphia.
You see I can say that. I am a born and bred Pittsburgh girl (I’m married to an Eastern PA guy but I converted him easily to the dark side in the 90’s) I go to Steelers games in -20 degree weather, I dress my boys in Black n Gold on Pep ralley days and I woke up my 5 year old from a deep sleep to celebrate the last Super Bowl win.
Gov. Corbett can’t say these things, well at least not out loud, on a radio broadcast. Imagine the backlash….in that other city. So as the radio host jeered and cheered, the Governor diplomatically veered his comments to the neutral zone. He is the true Ambassador for PA.
In the last seconds of the segment, the host grabbed a small victory. Gov. Corbett whilst not completely ousting his loyalty, did admit that the first professional sports team that he followed was the Pittsburgh Hornets…the orignial Pens. A small victory for 100.7 but a huge victory for the ‘Burgh.
I commend Corbett for his ability to steer the conversation, keep me entertained and of course admitting his true alliances (however deeply hidden they are).
Maybe he should be a guest at our I Want to be an Ambassador! Camp in June?
Here’s a link to some photos of the group of people who lined up in support of Tayvon Martin, the teenage boy who got shot in Florida a few weeks ago. Whether you’re on the Martin’s side or in favor of George Zimmerman’s case, no one can deny the beauty in all of these people coming together in support of one person’s death. It’s astounding.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
-Benjamin Franklin
The Burning House
Part Things Organized Neatly and part “OMG my house is burning!”, the new Tumblr blog The Burning House interviews people asking them what would you grab on your way out if your house was burning.
If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It’s a conflict between what’s practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question.
Found on Holiday Matinee via jonathanmoore
Bogota, Colombia. Riot police after being attacked with paint bombs by protesting students and teachers in a march for the defense of public education.
Photo Credit: Guillermo Legaria/AFP/Getty via MSNBC | thepoliticalnotebook
(via thepoliticalnotebook)
School Bullying
Photographer Benoit Paillé was asked to participate in an art installation in Aomori, Japan on the topic of school bullying. Benoit created a large canvas of the children’s eyes looking across at their drawings about bullying on the other wall. All of the eyes in the full set featured on Behance are rich with emotion.
via jonathanmoore
Become a Manager of Time
After the madness of the last few weeks, I thought I would blog and share my thoughts about how I got through it all. Two words. TIME MANAGEMENT.
Being a high school student, a college student, or an adult in the real world, time management is key to a busy schedule. Sometimes, being involved in so many different things, there are just about 7 places I have to be in one day. The most difficult part of this is knowing where I need to be and when!
Have you met my best friend? Her name is planner, and she keeps me sane.
Okay, I do have actual friends, I promise, but my planner really does keep me organized. The minute I get a new assignment for a class or with the newspaper, I write it down with the due date next to it in my planner. I always write down events and meetings I have to attend with the location. I even use the address book in my planner to keep professional contacts straight.
The next thing to remember about managing your time is making sure you don’t get involved with more things than you can handle. And if someone asks you to do a favor for them, such as writing an article or attending a meeting that is not mandatory, and you don’t have the time, it’s okay to politely decline. Most of the time, professors or supervisors would prefer you to say no, than to commit and not be able to do something to the best of your ability.
I hope this helps. Just remember, organization is key!
Cheers,
Abby
Nigeria's Version of Cookie Monster Really Likes Yams
Sesame Square — the Nigerian adaptation of Sesame Street — stars Kami, the world’s first HIV-positive Muppet (introduced by South Africa’s Takalani Sesame), and Zobi (pictured), a blue cab driver who educates children about malaria. The production has its lighter side, too. Zobi is the…
via mentalflossr
Mary Ange, living in a tent camp in Port au Prince, instantly increased her monthly income by 20% by using the charcoal efficient stove. She is using the money she saves from charcoal to send her daughter to school. Learn more at www.theadventureproject.org.
If you don’t stick to your values when they’re being tested, they’re not values, they’re hobbies.
- Jon Stewart (via caughtthelovebug | fyeahthedailyshow)
Last semester, I worked at Disney World. One of the girls I met there encountered a family with two special needs children. She made their vacation a whole lot brighter was able to make an impact on their lives. I added the photo as an attachment, and the description she offered on her Facebook is below.
“A photo a guest shared with me from their trip to Disney. His caption on his Flickr account reads: ‘We met fellow Hoosier Kaitlin (aka “Chris”) as we were leaving the MK. She was everything a cast member should be: cheerful, friendly, and full of energy. Her enthusiasm lifted us up at the end of a long day! Wish I had a better pic…Such a great memory with twins Emilie and Kaitlin!’”
“They were there through an organization that supports caregivers for children who are handicapped. They said they had always wanted to work for WDW so for a few minutes I let one of them hold my sign and the other took the blue thing and they directed people where to go to turn their strollers in, so for a few minutes they worked at WDW,” Kaitlin said.
— Abby, Luminari intern
