Mr Deity returns

As one or two of the two or three regular readers know, I’m impressed by the Mr. Deity shorts. Well, after a delay following the second season, the third season is available. I recommend it.

Rational local buying thoughts

Over on Flashes of Panic, Parker Morse has a clearly reasoned and written statement about spending one’s funds in stores owned and operated by our neighbors. Take the 2-3 min it will require to jump over there and read his post. It may even be a enough to inspire me to write a letter to the editor. (After corresponding for many years, Parker and I had in-person lunch recently, so I figure it’s O.K. for me to use his first name.)

Candidate debate truths?

Of the two candidates for the US presidency who appeared together last night, who told the truth and who was stretching it? Was Mr. Obama’s assertion about Henry Kissinger recommending talks with Iran without preconditions true? Did Mr. McCain tell the truth about Mr. Obama’s vote for tax increases on people making as little as $42,000? Who was right about the position of Admiral Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on withdrawing troops from Iraq? Was Mr. McCain’s assertion about size of and growth in earmarks accurate?

Well, I don’t want to count on the politicians and their spinners to disentangle these and other questions. I would like to have the facts checked by relatively independent and well-informed folks So, I turned to Annenberg Political Fact Check for clarification. Let me recommend it.

By the way, one of the benefits of not having obtained antennae for our small old television is that we still use radio to tap into these sorts of events. Undistracted by facial expressions, etc., we had to listen to what the candidates said.

HB, Caver

You’ve been in this morass for a year! Nice to have your company. http://starrhillgirl.wordpress.com/2007/08/ive-caved.html

Podblack Cat

I am adding Kylie Sturgess’ Podblack Cat to the links (“blogroll”). Podblack Catis a work on a wide variety of topics, but what makes it merit inclusion here are Ms. Sturgess’ focus on skepticism, atheism, and science. However, because of her focus on education, I also plan to add it to the blogroll on Teach Effectively.

In short, I’ve gone from being ‘just a secondary-school English teacher’ …. to an M.Ed in Special Learning needs; a writer for the new Philosophy and Ethics course in my state; a research-assistant on retention and engagement in schools at a Perth university and the Education Department; an author for several journals on science and critical thinking and (best of all!) a teacher-trainer for the current and next generation of primary and secondary educators in my state.

I’m also writing my dissertation on paranormal and pseudoscientific beliefs in teenagers and work with other professionals in the field. All of these things at the same time, yes.

Sometimes I’m found at conferences, taking too many notes. More often than not, using my blog to post the literature review for my dissertation. The rest of my time belongs to my family – and ballroom dancing. My tango is something to be seen.

Link to Ms. Sturgess’ Podblack Cat. Flash of the electrons to Liz Ditz for alerting me to this source.

Virginia Organizing Project—Here’s to you!

The Virginia Organizing Project, a C’ville-based, Virginia-wide citizens’ group that acts to promote equity and justice, deserves accolades. These folks address diverse issues, including concerns about economic security, voter registration, discrimination on the basis of race or sexual orientation, health care, immigrant rights, worker rights, care for the environmental, imbalances in taxation, and lots more. They deserve a shout out, so Pat and I sponsored a day of recognition for them on WMRA for today.

Link to the VOP Web site. Note that there’s a link in the sidebar.

DIA

Nope, I’m neither referring to the Spanish for “day” nor have I mistyped the acronym for “do it yourself.” I’m referring to Democracy in Action, a group that makes the contemporary tools of electronic advocacy available to its less-than-wealthy friends. Now, I don’t know that I agree with all of the causes these folks advance (I have reservation about the agenda advocated by “progressive educators,” though I don’t mean this to cast aspersions on any of the education groups using DIA), but I like many of the causes and I like the idea of DIA.

DemocracyInAction.org believes technology can be a decisive force for social change. We exist to empower those who share our values of ecological and social justice to advance the progressive agenda.

{CLAW}ing their way somewhere

In case you’re in my neighborhood and haven’t heard about it, allow me to point you toward what appears to be a regular cultural event that merits consideration for support: The {Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers} ({CLAW}). It appears to be a light-hearted (if not light-headed) community-building effort cleverly conceived and executed with a lot of levity.

Although the group’s name is self-explanatory (except why those brackets are there), here’s a description of one of the admirable reasons for its existence from late January 2008:

Thursday night was the first organizational meeting of the CLAW {Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers} at Blue Moon Diner and it was a beautiful thing to behold. Sixteen women showed up (seventeen if you count our awesome waitress) and the camraderie seemed instant. Every one of us are arm-warriors, ready with “terrifying” personas and fake nails, to raise crazy amounts of money for women-initiated causes in our town.

For those who are not nearby, you can play along by monitoring the blog at clawville.wordpress.com. For those who are in the neighborhood, the next matches are 8 April.