Drowning in Bobbing Apples

Tribute song from 2005 to help benefit UNICEF
Musicians included:

Win Butler & Régine Chassagne (Arcade Fire)
Beck
Feist
Devendra Banhart
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)
Roky Erickson
Peaches
Dntel
Syd Butler (Les Savy Fav)
David Cross
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Jenny Lewis & Blake Sennett (Rilo Kiley)
Dan Boeckner & Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade)
Steve Jocz of Sum 41
Nick Diamonds and J’aime Tambeur (Islands)

Future Of Journalism

Harvard put on a talk about the future of journalism last night.
Here's my notes from the event. Here's what the Crimson (Harvard's newspaper)
had to say about the event.

What We Know
1. Journalism Matters
2. Current advertisement for newspaper models is broken
3. Economic sustainability is key
4. Multimedia is the future of journalism

9 Basic Elements of Journalism
1. Journalist's first obligation to tell the truth
2. Journalist must be loyal to citizens
3. Essence of journalism is a discipline of verification
4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience

My thesis topic

I am following an idea exploring the different options of lunches for elementary school-age children. My interest peaked when I read about the $1 billion overhaul that President Obama plans to distribute to better school lunches. I'm hoping to talk to people at several schools, and I'm writing to their principals to find out more about their programs.

My originally idea was about adults and nutrition, but my thesis adviser said that I was too passionate on the subject matter to write objectively on it. We both decided it would be best to focus on children since I don't have as big of a bias on this subject matter.

I plan to go and watch schools during lunch period and also to talk with principals, parents, government officials, and nutritionist about lunch program at their schools. I also will go and watch a parent shop for lunches at a grocery store, follow a cafeteria worker as she prepares food, and eat lunch with children during lunch hour.

Since no one has written extensively about the subject matter, and depending upon what I discover, I may seek to have my report included in a publication that explores educational issues.

Push-Up Challenge

Ever do a hundred push-ups in a row? Me neither. This website shows you how you can build up your strength to do it. Each week they increase the amount of push-ups based on your activity level and how many you can do from the beginning. I'm starting at week one and will do a hundred by the holidays.

Host

Sometimes, I admit, I need a fire under my ass to get up and do the things I want to do, be the person I want to be. ED2010 is a match for all young professional writers that want to "be journalists," but are not yet deep in the trenches of the business.

They host monthly events to benefit us newbies and get the buzz going about ways to break in. I recently attended a wine tasting event hosted by a young editor who started his own magazine called Wine Riot. The crowd of us were smiling and supportive. He shared his knowledge about wine and starting off.

Tonight is my event where I get to give something back. Basically, to be a member you host an event at your place, make food and have drinks. I feel good about spending some effort knowing it's going to entertaining guest and meeting people who would do the same for me. Plus the members are a dynamic, engaging bunch!

Editorial Assistant

Before I finish my degree, I will work as an editorial assistant for a writing professor. I will help in the editing and production of an anthology of creative non-fiction by Boston-area public school teachers.

Typically, an assistant does a lot of what you’d normally call secretarial work dealing with the clutter of office life. In the case of a editorial assistant, I will maintain communication with authors and editor, attending editorial board meetings, proofreading near-final copy and help to pitch the final product. Sometimes, there will be plenty of work, but more often I'll be on my own, which is why I shall make it a habit to get organized and have a checklist of what needs to be done and by when.

If someone is going to be a full-time writer's assistant, sitting in front of a computer for eight hours a day, they might as well be writing something that can further their career. Though, I plan to keep working my other part-time position while working as an assistant. Therefore I don't think this can help my career goals as much as it is going to teach me how the process of book editing and publishing works.

There are perks. I will not be working out of a gloomy office or a house. I will be working alongside the professor at a cafe.

The project starts soon and I am looking forward to the experience.

Article I'm working on...

Does buying local products lower an individual’s carbon footprint? In recent years the idea of tracking food miles has been a way to understand the damages that come from importing and exporting foods from far away places. There are many reasons why eating local is important for a community from helping people stay connected with other locals, food is fresher, and it reduces fossil fuel intake. However, is reducing the miles that food travels really good for the environment? New evidence shows the carbon dioxide found in watering, fertilizing, pesticides, and growing crops and meat can be higher in some areas locally than if the products were shipped. Some studies suggest that it can be up to ten times more energy efficient to buy imported fruits, meats, and dairies than local products. In the following months, Wal-Mart plans to include on the label a tracking code of how many miles their food products have traveled before they get into their stores. This article is an investigation into whether buying local is beneficial for the environment or not. I plan to talk to someone in the publicity department at Wal-Mart to help understand why they want to track the carbon footprint on their products. I will also talk to those that oppose the idea of buying local as well as those who only buy local. I will talk with environmentalists who are researching the pros and cons of tracking food miles.

I finished my last pill of accutane today. No more seeing these silly images
scattered around the apartment.

Netflix

Technology is funny. As soon as I get set up with one thing I'm already behind in another. I finally got around to activating my Netflix account. Netflix will never have my heart, I love browsing the covers of movies at indie video stores and the strange guy behind the counter who can recommend me something obscure and thought provoking. Though, Netflix is neat...organized in Criteron categories by genre, country, and even what fellow Somerville residents are watching. What was I waiting for? Probably some service that allows me to watch movies instantly from my Ipod, cell phone, or other hand held device.

While traveling I asked the people I hung out with what are their favorite movies from their country. I filled my notebook with lists of movies and music to eventually check out. Surprisingly enough, most of those foreign flicks are on Netflix. After putting my six titles on my queue, I watched three episodes online instantly of This American Life and I'm officially hooked.

For those interested in knowing what is on the list. I wrote some of them down below:

Head On- Germany
The Class - France
8 1/2 - Italy
Let the Right One In - Sweden
12 days at the San Jose - Austin
Bananaz- Gorillaz documentary- England

Recommendations from my Persian friend.

1.Turtles Can Fly- directed by Bahman Ghobadi
A story taking place in a village in Iraqi Kurdistan on the eve of
the 2003 invasion.
2. Santouri "The Music Man" directed by Dariush Mehrjui
A movie banned in Iran, about a musician whose concerts are banned
and his struggle with drug addiction.
3. Leila also Dariush Mehrjui, about an infertile woman under pressure from her mother-in-law to let her husband take a second wife.
4. Ten- experimental film showing ten conversations of a divorced woman driving in her car, directed by Abbas Kiarostami.
5.Kandahar by Mohsen Makhmalbaf about an Afghan-Canadian woman trying to return
to her sister before she dies. Filmed during Taliban-era.
6. Offside and Crimson Gold- both by Jafar Panahi, both banned in Iran because of criticism of society lone feminist plot and about inequality.
Upcoming Movies..
&. Nobody Knows the Persian Cats by Bahman Ghobadi about underground musicians in IRan
7. About Elly

Volunteering is rewarding.

Not only because I feel I'm doing my part to help the greater good... now I get to see a sneak of Where The Wild Things Are. Dave Eggers, founder of 826 and writer of the screenplay and Spike Jonze the director will be conducting a Q and A.

The first time I saw the preview my eyes filled with tears.

Here's a link to my published article on Terri Trespicio and her recent appearance on The Martha Stewart Show: