A Globally Complex Epidemic

     The world we live in is much different than what I remember as a child. It is not the world that changed, however; it was me who changed. The changes I've experienced allow me to see the world not as small and individual transactions but as a complex enterprise that we are all involved in. From turning the faucet on to buying groceries, whatever we do on a daily basis affects those around us. It's a simple observation that we, as consumers (including me!), contribute just as much to how humans are treated here in the United States and around the world. Is it possible to avoid corrupt and exploitative practices? 
     Women still earn about 77¢ for every man's dollar, even after "Equal Pay Day" was enacted in 1963. Worse, the margin is even steeper for female minorities. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/women-and-equal-pay-wage-gap_n_3038806.html) On average, woman earn an unbelievable $11,000/yr less than men. Sexism exists, and it's evident in that wage inequality exists in every state. (http://www.nationalpartnership.org/issues/fairness/fair-pay.html)      
     You don't see your local Coca-Cola delivery driver gunning down union workers or stealing water from children, but it happens. Water is big business and Coca-Cola has made sure to get it's fair share. Horrifyingly, while millions of people have little to no access to potable water, "Coca-Cola has negotiated 27 water concessions from the Mexican government. Nineteen of the concessions are for the extraction of water from aquifers and from 15 different rivers, some of which belong to indigenous peoples. Eight concessions are for the right of Coke to dump its industrial waste into public waters." (http://killercoke.org/) The violence of this corporation doesn't end here. Read more...

"Today, at least 1.1 billion people (about one-sixth of the entire human population) do not have adequate access to clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion people lack proper sanitation[2]—causing nearly 250 million cases of disease and 5 to 10 million deaths worldwide every year.[3] And even though water is a renewable resource that can be managed sustainably and equitably, the global water supply is in fact rapidly declining due to misuse, pollution and for-profit privatization gambits." (http://www.foodispower.org/water-usage-privatization) 

     Nestle is not so sweet once you bite into its chewy nougat.  From poisonous baby formula to slave labor, Nestle's got it all. (http://www.organicconsumers.org/fair_trade/slavechocolate060414.cfm) And we eat right out of Nestle's corrupt and slimy hands. Hey, don't worry if you become diabetic: Nestle's got that covered, too. Just use their product Diabetisource, for control-tube feeding.  (http://www.nestlehealthscience.us/products/diabetisource-ac-) 
     The real challenge we face is whether we can avoid this complex and corrupt system. I don't think we can avoid the interwoven climate of consumerism. We're on a self-perpetuating train that rides in circles. Living off the grid is nearly impossible to do in this country. Most people need to purchase "things" from time to time in order to survive. Some of those "things" are produced by corrupt corporations. Sometimes people have little choice but to work for these companies, too - not because they want to but because it dominates the available job market in their region. (http://www.welfaretowork.org/history.htm) 
     I really hope someday I can say with confidence that everything I do, from the moment I wake up to the moment I begin to dream, is pure and has no ties to large corporate corruption and no ties to violations of human rights. It's terribly difficult to escape the cycle because these companies practically sit with us at the dinner table every evening. They dictate our lives through million-dollar advertising and careful product placement. I can't escape it but I will keep trying. 


p.s. If something happens to me, you might want to have a chat with Nestle and Coca-Cola. 

Alanis Morissette, I'm Very Sorry.

I oughta know better than to spend an afternoon creating silly pictures of musicians. I'm sure I could be doing something more productive, but isn't this just a little funny, at least? 

I made this picture. Yes, bask in the glory of my talent as a graphic artist. 

Juicy Jessica, Criminal Mastermind

I want to apologize for committing a serious crime. 

     I was about 7 or so in the mid-1980s and I convinced my friend and I to ride around our neighborhood whilst strutting our stuff on our Big Wheels, asking for cans for Jerry's Kids. We were supposed to redeem the cans and donate the money. I, of course, did all the talking...and had a different, more sinister plan in mind.
     I think we stopped after two or three houses, feeling paranoid by the dead-end street we chose to journey down for my little scheme.

I was so excited: I had made enough money to buy a pack of Garbage Pail Kids! Sorry, Jerry!

The gum was really awful but the cards were gold. 

   
     Even though my criminal past is where it should be - in the past - I still think I possess the ability to be creative in my endeavors, to manipulate my surroundings, and this post is a plea of sorts for redemption.

I will only use my superpowers for Good. 

How can I make a difference?

If you feel like you're out of ideas and hope to make a difference in your community and in your world, you've come to the right place!

Donate Your Time These are just some ideas to give you a head start 

Volunteer at an organization for refugees or immigrants. 

Even one hour a week can make a difference in someone's life! 

International Rescue Committee welcomes you to get involved. 

Award-winning actress Rashida Jones (The Office, Celeste and Jesse Forever, Parks and Recreation) met with Burmese refugees in Thailand. Read more...

You know and love her best as Lori from The Walking Dead. Long time IRC supporter Sarah Wayne Callies is "impressed by the bravery, dedication, and generosity" of those involved in IRC. Read more...

Donate Money/Resources

Many agree that there is sometimes no way, no matter how many bags you give out to friends, neighbors, or coworkers, to get all the fruit off large trees so none is wasted.  What organizations exist in your community?

If you're in Southern California, Food Forward is here to help!

These humanitarian soldiers "rescue food that would otherwise go to waste." 

Clothing: Rescue Missions will usually pick up gently used clothing and other items.

A short guide about what to donate.
Please don't donate that pile of shirts your 15-year-old cat peed on. 

Foster, adopt, or care for an animal in your loving home. 

Blackie, born circa 1996.
Returned swiftly to nature in 2011

Calvin, born 2002.
Wandered into the unknown in 2011 because
 everything scared the living shit out of him.

Check the web: your local animal shelters are always looking for volunteers and foster families. 

Desert tortoises are in danger at a conservation facility.

Find out how you can help.

Picture concept by Wawra Studios                         Sources: [Clip art, nurse] [Clip art, tortoise]

Have a lot of excess money, Scrooge? 

Share your disgusting surplus of wealth: intriguing TEDtalk about Effective Altruism and how you can still live the good life. 

Peter Singer shows us some positive ways to invest our absurd stacks of Franklins. 

Donate Knowledge

Teach adult literacy or read to kids at your local library or community center. 

Guide others interested in community gardening. 

Check out Ron Finley's story. 

Write about what you know. 

Soraya Chemaly
Discusses Feminist, Gender, and Culture Topics
Featured at Fem2pt0.com and Huffingtonpost.com

Prison Culture "Prison Culture is an attempt to document how the current prison industrial complex operates and to underscore the ways that it structures American society."

What are your ideas?

Talkin' 'Bout My Inner Motivation

I admit. I am a phone junkie.

I love all the options I have for my phone! I can shoot ZOMBIES! I can track how many miles I've walked! I can listen to any music in the world! Whoa!!

But apps aren't what make me happy, it's my own personal drive and commitment...

I was the one who originally sought out happiness to begin with. Even if I have apps, it's my choice whether I continue to use them or not.

Runkeeper

Like many other apps, it inspires me to improve but the motivation really comes from within. I like the fact that I can compare my goals to the goals of my friends! Either way you look at it, Runkeeper is a positive experience.

SuperBetter

A Challenge (For lack of another term) Designed by the AMAZING Jane McGonigal

Jane McGonigal's memorable TEDtalk presentation will never leave my mind! Her struggle from a brain injury is so inspirational, and her SuperBetter app is beyond! 

WomanLog

Just keeping up with womanly goings-on is annoying. This app is really helpful! I've been using it now for about 4 years. Really worth it if you are just looking for tracking your cycle! 

I Don't Want To Be Homecoming Queen

The more friends, the better!

     For some, the internet is a foreign land that ought to be visited on occasion. For others (like me), the internet is an extension of their person. It's a place where they journal their lives, even if it is a filtered portrayal of their existence. The internet maintains connections between your past, present, allowing your future to be well-connected.
 
     The advantage to having many friends on sites such as Facebook is not just to feed the ego.

My morning ritual after seeing new Twitter followers

     Having a large database of people on your friends list provides you with almost immediate access to many facets of your life, from your coworkers to your old high school friends (or enemies). I can't tell you how fun it is looking at how much my high school classmates have changed...or not changed. So many baby pictures, laughs, and puppies!

Planning events through social sites can be much faster than snail mail. 

     Social activism is easier if you have a well-populated friends list. Those who support your posts can easily share with others. In fact, recent civil unrest in many regions around the world is attributed to people who shared political messages with large amounts of friends.

   
     Activist artists share their work online and can spread their messages with lightning speed. Talk about word of mouth in the digital age!

Get Off My Lawn: The Unfortunate Consequences Of Fame

     Celebrities deserve privacy just like the rest of us.  Sometimes a person doesn't choose to be famous: he or she is just living life and then

BAM! 

fame follows for whatever reason. 

Economics major
Sex life put on trial

   

     Remember Monica Lewinsky? I don't think she was looking for fame. She was simply a human being wooed by a POTUS penis that was practically waved in her face. 

      

     

     The Steubenville rape victim was scorned and threatened recently in the media and also by her local unloving and hostile community, who harassed and bullied her after CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC announced her name.

Shame. On. Them. 

   

***

     Not every actor, singer, dancer, writer desires fame; most just want to express their art successfully. Wanting to entertain or express your art shouldn't come with the heftiest price: loss of privacy. Photographers (stalkers) shouldn't be able to freely telephoto lens you while you are in your backyard or in the bathroom without some repercussions. If someone did that to you, you would probably think that's creepy and possibly get police intervention. Celebrities, on the other hand, are seen as bad, bitchy, or unappreciative jerks if they request their right to privacy. It's a very curious reversal, if you ask me.
     Why do we continue to pay audience to these stalkers and Peeping Toms if it seems wrong in our own "normal" lives?

     Enough with making more privacy laws! What it really boils down to is a bad moral character on the part of the photographers, then perpetuated by the people who poison their brains buying those magazines.




   

     It seems that, in lieu of a reigning American Royal Family, we have our celebrities to warm our hearts and to entertain us, existing as both the Throne and as the Court Jester.
     They are mounted onto an impossible platform, and this very act of human idolatry creates a striking division between reality and celeb-reality. Without photographers (stalkers) capturing their every move, we would never believe that so-and-so and what's-her-face do "normal" things, like, going to the grocery store for food, tampons, and toilet paper.

Just like the rest of us... 

Whoa. 

http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/vr/crime_victims.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/fox-news-steubenville-rape-victim_n_2901635.html 

The Other Side Of Thirty

     Whoa! How did this happen?!? I've landed on the other side of thirty!!!

Oh. My. God! 

Um, yay?

     Geez-o, it's taken me so long to finish this post! I was sure that I would be on the other side of forty by the time I finished!

     I've gotten a lot of advice over the years - some good and some not so good - but many very memorable. Isn't it interesting that some of the advice we get in life is so important that the other person HAD to share it with you?
     Sometimes, it's really difficult for people to overcome strange, destructive advice they received when they were young. It is part of what shapes their world. It programs into you a series of mechanisms, movements, and thought processes. People can end up in therapy for years to rid the demons of their past.
     I don't have the answers to all of life's questions because I am definitely not a wise woman on a hill, but sometimes it's great to put that advice into perspective, from the mundane to the seriously important, and have a good laugh (or cry).

Stop worrying about it. 

Not so easy to do in the real world, but you really have to take it easy if you wake the dragon in Carcasonne. 

No one will ever love you if you're fat or ugly.

If that were true, these beautifully silly creatures would be extinct.

You can't trust anyone. 

Nephew took biggest ants one too many times

Tampons should only be used by women who've had babies.
...And loose women. 

"The sticky side of the pad goes up. 
Love, Grandma"

It's in the Alamo.

Say Please and Thank You. 

If you tell someone you are mad, he/she will no longer love you. 

You must shave every possible area of visible leg hair, most of your labia majora, and underarm hair. Don't forget about those unsightly butt crack hairs. You are a disgusting woman who lives in a tree hut if you don't shave. 

She didn't get the memo. Horrifying. Tell your children to look away. 

Never speak up. It is not your place to be assertive. ...And how dare you ask again about that salary bump you should have gotten last quarter.

Happy camper.

Take at least a small portion of the casserole, even if you don't care for it. 

Don't hurt Great Auntie's feelings!

You must never smell like a human.