Mathematical Equation
2 electric guitars + 1 set of drums = one oversized headache
Archive for January, 2008
Journey North
Melissa Wiley wrote about the Journey North Mystery Class challenge over at The Bonny Glen yesterday. How is it that I’ve never heard about this project before? It sounds most excellent, and the kids and I are getting involved post haste - the first “task” was scheduled for Monday, so I’m a little behind in starting, but I don’t think it will matter in the end.
So, what is it? I’ll take the liberty of letting Melissa explain:
Journey North has selected ten classes of schoolchildren in cities all around the world. Their locations are kept secret until the big reveal in May. These are the ten “mystery classes,” and the game is to figure out where in the world they are.
You begin by figuring out their latitudes. Each week you compare your own local photoperiod (the amount of time between sunrise and sunset) to the photoperiods of the ten mystery classes. You graph this data on a chart. In just a few weeks’ time you’ll begin to see patterns and get a feel for where some of the mystery classes might be.
Looking at the site is a bit overwhelming, but I think if we take it in pieces it will be tons of fun.
Dare I say it? I’m freezing!
We have snow on three of our Hawai’i island mountains this morning and Haleakala on Maui is blanketed nicely as well. It’s 17 degrees up on the summit. The cold air blowing down from the mountains means it’s chillier here than usual, and frankly, we’re not set up for chilly! This kind of weather calls for a wood stove. My socks, sweats, and sweatshirts are getting a good workout this week, even if I’m not.
A Hawaii Vacation
Someone just asked some simple questions about visiting the islands; I figured I’d post it here since I’d already typed it up, in case anyone is planning a visit (I know at least one of my readers is!).
Important question: What kind of vacation do you want? Relaxed or busy?
Oahu is the busiest island. Plenty to see/do, but it’s (to me) crazy busy. I was there several months ago on an assignment and I prefer the quiet atmosphere of the North Shore. BUT, that’s my opinion. Downtown Honolulu/Waikiki is the hot spot for visitors, with night life, street performers, lots of water activities, hustle, bustle, etc. It would be worth it to stay for a few nights in Waikiki to see Pearl Harbor, Iolani Palace, Bishop Museum, if those things interest you.
Outer islands are less busy.
Nonficiton Monday: Hungry Planet
Author Anastasia Suen has dubbed the first day of the workweek as Nonfiction Monday. As the parent of a child who has loved nonfiction from a very early age, this is a bandwagon I can jump on! Anastasia will do a roundup each week of all of the participating blogs, which should provide plenty of good ideas if you’ve got a nonfiction fan in your house.
Last week, Woodstone Prairie posted some pictures showcasing families from around the world and what they typically eat in a week. Great pictures, but I pointed out that since the images were from Hungry Planet: What the World Eats it might not be such a good idea to post them on her blog (photos are copyrighted). The exchange prompted me to pull out my copy of Hungry Planet, and it just seems like good timing to post about it here, even though it’s not necessarily a kids’ book.
Hungry Planet is a course in social studies, nutrition, environment, geography, and ethics all rolled up into one gorgeous book. But before you start thinking, “boring!” let me say that my kids love this book!
Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio collaborated on this project to bring eating habits from around the world to our attention. The book is divided into 30 sections, each one focusing on one family. The main image shows the family surrounded by the food they eat in a week’s time. Compare the piles of soda consumed by the Casaleses of Mexico to the stacks of fresh fruits and veggies consumed by the Mendoza family of Guatemala. Or compare the meager grains that the refuge family in Chad gets by on with the abundance of more industrialized nations.
In addition to the main image, there are others showcasing the lifestyle of each featured family along with a narrative on life as related to eating, food, and in some cases, survival. A statistical breaks down the weekly food expenditure.
For a look at some of the images from the book, click over to the excerpt on the Time magazine site.
Eating Local in the Islands
If there is a place in the world where eating locally makes more sense than on an island, I don’t know where it is. The local paper this morning reports that the last dairy on the island of Oahu has closed its doors, leaving only two remaining dairies in the whole state - both on the Big Island. In the 1980s, the state was self-sufficient in its dairy consumption; today, 82% of the milk consumed in Hawaii is imported. To top off today’s agricultural news, the last egg farm on the Big Island is closing, leaving four remaining in the state, all on Oahu.
While the local products are probably superior in quality, they’re not always the least expensive choice, so for people on a budget - most of the folks living here - it’s something of a balancing act. How can we support local agribusiness without breaking the bank? With the economic future looking bleak, I see it only getting worse as people make their shopping choices based on the lowest price available, instead of what’s best for the island overall.
What is wrong with us, that it’s often cheaper to buy food that has traveled long distances, using up fuels and polluting, than it is to support our local farmers? This is a travesty (and one that’s not limited to islands).
Hawaii’s residents have come to rely heavily on imported goods for their survival. What if there’s a natural disaster? Or a dock workers strike? Or a fuel shortage? Without local food producers, the residents of these islands are in a dangerous and precarious place.
Inspiration Strikes
I allowed myself to take the month of December off from writing - which, in the freelance world is often more about selling yourself than actually stringing words together - to recharge and enjoy the holidays. Oddly, when the beginning of January came I was out of sorts with myself and having a hard time getting back to business. Of course it doesn’t help that it seems like every editor in the business has been out of the office since the holidays.
During this time I’ve been thinking and pondering and ruminating over an idea for a book. I reread this book. And on Monday I was inspired to go for it. I did some research and verified that there isn’t anything quite like this out there. It’s non-fiction and completely out of the realm of anything I’ve done before (read: scary), but I’ve spent the past several days working on a proposal for this book idea. And after having not written much for the past 6 weeks, it’s so good to feel like the words are coming in the appropriate order again. Coming at all, for that matter. So far, I’ve got seven pages complete and I find myself hurrying to be done with other stuff so I can write some more. Inspiration. It’s a good thing.
I still need to do some market research and fine-tune the thing, but hopefully by this time next month - or sooner - I’ll be shopping for an agent!
Zits, Redux
I posted about my new buddy Jeremy awhile back. I’ve just switched over from classic google to igoogle. Lo and behold, I can get a new Zits comic on my desktop every day. That makes me happy!
