heroism everywhere

the dad: "tonight i went for a walk. you know how they have that wild mustang rescue?"

me: "yeah...?"

the dad: "well, i did some earthworm rescue of my own. i saved 'em from being squashed and i took 'em home for my compost bin. i'd imagine pretty soon we'll become a 501(c)(3) and start soliciting donations for our work."

options to help japan

with links to charity navigator pages for each organization so that you can read about how they spend money.

americares (four star charity navigator rating)

doctors without borders (four star charity navigator rating)

save the children (four star charity navigator rating)

world vision (four star charity navigator rating)

global giving (three star charity navigator rating)

the international medical corps (three star charity navigator rating)

operation usa (three star charity navigator rating)

oxfam (three star charity navigator rating)

peace winds japan (affiliated with mercy corps [three star charity navigator rating]; not evaluated by charity navigator itself; here is the organization's own financial statement)

the red cross (three star charity navigator rating)

second harvest japan (no charity navigator rating)

shelterbox (three star charity navigator rating)


also of interest:

google's personfinder tool
google's crisis response page


with love to japan.

equal marriage rights: not just an abstract question

courage campaign institute: ed watson and derence kernek on the importance of lifting the prop. 8 stay

california's prop 8, which took away the right of gay people to get married in the state of california, was a crushing political defeat for people who believe in equal rights. the california state supreme court is considering a challenge to prop 8, but not until after they take a six month summer vacation—sorry, for judges it's apparently called a summer recess—and in that time, some people have gotten the idea that the ban on marriages while the court case is being settled should be lifted.

and here's one example of why. ed and derence have been together for forty years, but ed has alzheimer's disease and it's progressing quickly. he and derence want to get married before ed's health deteriorates further. note that this video might make you cry.

but i think it's really important to consider that forbidding gay marriages is impacting the lives of real people. it's not just a fascinating legal matter with vast social and political implications. depriving people of equal rights harms them and our society. and it's categorically the wrong thing to do.

more stories and the opportunity to submit your own here.

if i lived in japan, i'd watch entirely too much television.

kittens in bowls!

(and don't forget this!)

i'm sure we can all agree.

if you can't park it, you sure as hell shouldn't be driving it.