clear blue sky
Ann Arbor Mayor’s Green Fair
The ninth annual Mayor’s Green Fair is set for Friday, June 12, 2009 from 6pm-9pm in downtown Ann Arbor. Downtown Main Street will be open only to pedestrians for free entertainment and over 100 exhibitors with environmental information, hands-on youth activities, a clean energy expo, green construction, alternative transportation and green commuting options, BikeFest 2009, walking tours, and booths from the environmental leaders of Washtenaw County!
“The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.” –Benjamin Disraeli
The term “PC” has come to mean politically correct, although from what I’ve seen of politics and politicians they are neither correct, nor even politically intelligent when they use this term. What people usually mean when they use this term is that they don’t want to be polite or compassionate about how they relate to other people.
When we were kids we were taught an old adage that goes like this “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”.
That is a really stupid thing to say considering what emotional and verbal abuse can do to people! For years after an unkind thing has been said to you, it can cause real pain and do damage to one’s self esteem, especially from people we care about. Even off-hand casual remarks can be taken as insults, and when it comes to racial epithets, it is downright rude and meant to hurt the other person’s feelings.
There is no reason to call people names or refer to them in an uncaring and unkind manner, even if we don’t agree with their politics, religion or opinions.
I think PC should come to mean Polite and Compassionate; when a person is polite they are considerate of another person’s feelings and when they are compassionate it means they do care whether their words will injure another person.
Let us always be polite and compassionate on this network, let us care about and think about whether our words are insulting or unkind (this goes for how we name our posts as well).
Sure, sometimes people will post a thread without thinking about whether they are being insulting or hurtful, even couch the insult as being humorous, but if you were being used as the butt of a joke, you wouldn’t think it was funny.
I want us to be cognizant of the power of our words, especially since this is a writer’s group.
Sincerely Yours (and, I might add, at the request of one of our esteemed members),
Diane Tegarden
WPWU Network Leader
The Colorado River
This email came from Coach Chica, a friend of mine.
“I just contacted U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and asked him to protect the Grand Canyon. I coordinated my message with Environmental Work Group (EWG) to maximize the impact.
Did you know that recently the Department of the Interior approved new mining operations near the Colorado River and Grand Canyon? The U.S. Department of the Interior authorized a Canadian mining company to drill for uranium near the Grand Canyon. This approval may only be the beginning. Since 2003, the number of mining claims within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park has increased from 10 to more than 1,100. Increased mining will likely send more toxins into the waterway. And into the water supply of over 25 million Americans.”
Join me in protecting this national treasure: http://tinyurl.com/r8o3hy
I found this quote by Lady Bird Johnson on creativity………
“It is wonderful to be in on the creation of something, see it used, and then walk away and smile at it”.
One can’t help but wonder precisely what she was talking about….hmmmm, a mystery.
Have a tremendous Thursday!
Diane T.
sailing ship
I’m reading a biography on the life of the famous mariner Captain James Cook and found this truly magnificent word within its pages.
SCRIMSHANKER (noun)
1. a shirker or slacker; a person who shirks their work or duty (especially one who tries to evade military service in wartime) Used originally by the Navy referring to a lazy sailor.
Energetically Yours, Diane Tegarden
Diane in Native "broom" skirt
Did you Know that each full moon has a different name in the Hopi culture?
In the Hopitu Shinumu Wheel of the Year, May Full Moon is called Iakapana, meaning corn planting moon. The agricultural calendar calls for the 3rd corn planting of the season, with the first and second plantings coming along well.
At this time there isn’t any particular astronomical significance, as the next marking of the Wheel of the Year will be in June for the Summer Solstice (June 21st), which is called Niman.
If you aren’t growing crops, and are an urban shaman, the personal medicine (lesson or knowledge) is that at this time of year it is prudent to work hard for what you want; your personal energy and the energy of the great Corn Mother is powerful now! At the same time, you must also have an acceptance of life’s realities, and be at peace with the good in your life.
Special Dances/Celebrations at this time include the second round of Night Kachina Dances, both for fun and to bring rain.
Blessed Beeeees on this full moon night, Diane T. and furfamily
Did you know that frogs also “sing”? When gathered in large groups, frogs have a song to identify one from another!
Here’s another fascinating story on frogs:
“PORT LOUIS – Scientists have found more than 200 new species of frogs in Madagascar but a political crisis is hurting conservation of the Indian Ocean island’s unique wildlife, a study shows. The discovery, which almost doubles the number of known amphibians in Madagascar, illustrates an underestimation of the natural riches that have helped spawn a $390-million-a-year tourism industry.
However, months of instability culminating in a change of government after street protests, have compromised gains in conservation.
“The political instability is allowing the cutting of the forest within national parks, generating a lot of uncertainty about the future of the planned network of protected areas,” David Vieites, researcher at the Spanish National Natural Sciences Museum, said in a statement.”
For the balance of the article, go to: http://planetark.org/wen/52759
To Life in all its Multifaceted Glory!!
A Celebration is in order!!!!
Calling all you storytellers, poets and bards to raise your voices, on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month with the “Storytellers, Poets and Bards of the World join Diane Tegarden’s Poetry Readings”!!
This wonderful spoken word radio talk show on Passionate Internet Voices Talk Radio doesn’t have a particular theme, so we can book poets to read on your choice of topics, and if you’d like, you can be among the first guest poets for our Tuesday June 2nd, 2009 show.
To let me know if you’re interested in the show details and guest sign-in information, email me at: rosefirewalker@aol.com.
All Tuesday night Poetry Reading Show Dates for 2009: Jun 2, Jul 7, Aug 4, Sep 1, Oct 6, Nov 3, Dec 1, 2009.
To hear a sample of our shows, you can go to: http://internetvoicesradio.com Click the Archives link, it will go to a list of show hosts, then click on Diane Tegarden, and it will jump to a list of archived shows that are available.
I’ve got an open roster so far, so if you sign up now, you’ll be sure to get your spot!
Good Day Wordmeisters, Wordsmiths, word wranglers and vocabulary vixens! Here’s your weekly word fix:
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prodigious (adj)
1. impressively great in size, force or extent, enormous
2. extraordinary, marvelous
3. portentous, ominous
(from Latin: prodigious=prodigium= an omen)
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Seems like the third meaning is completely different than the first two, yet this same word encompasses all three meanings. Wow, what a word to add to your stockpile!
Energetically Yours,
Diane T.
