I just really like this picture from an Occupy Melbourne protest.
24 October 2011
Sidecars - Without the Au Lait
Since the word sidecar is part of my blog's name, I thought I'd share some of my favorite sidecar shots from TV and the movies. It's my treat to you today, so enjoy!
Starting with a classic Batman and Robin. Robin - poor guy. I'm sure he chaffed the whole way.
From Garden State - fun movie.
No list of sidecar shots would be complete without Hagrid and Harry Potter, right?
Remember Hogan's Heroes?
Ahh - Indiana Jones - Harrison Ford and Sean Connery: two awesome actors!
And well - while I can't say this is one of my favorite shows or movies, because I've never seen it. Heck - I haven't even seen the trailer for it, but - The Rum Diary picture has to be included because you just cannot ever go wrong with Johnny Depp. :-)
Kiva
Ecuador Jordan Senegal
These are three countries to which I’ve just lent some money. In reality, I actually just lent $25.00 each to small businesses located in each of those countries.
Thanks to the non-profit organization, Kiva, people around the world, like me, are able to lend money to small businesses around the world – all in increments of $25.
It’s called micro financing.
According to the website microfinancinginfo.com, micro financing is defined as “banking the unbankable, bringing credit, savings and other essential financial services within the reach of millions of people who are too poor to be served by regular banks, in most cases because they are unable to offer sufficient collateral."
It goes on to say that “(Micro credit) is based on the premise that the poor have skills which remain unutilized or underutilized. It’s definitely not the lack of skills which make (sic) poor people poor…charity is not the answer to poverty. Unleashing of energy and creativity in each human being is the answer to poverty.”
Successful organizations such as the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh San Francisco , CA
Using that as an inspiration, Kiva.org actually works as a central location for potential lenders (e.g. people like you and me) to connect with regional lenders and the small businesses around the world that they service.
Kiva has “a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of micro finance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.”
With Kiva, I basically have $100 in loans floating in their system. What started as a small handful of loans has blossomed into a continued pattern of lending to more and more businesses in need.
While I do my best to support the local businesses here in Grandview
The loans I make are primarily backfills of loans first made by lending institutions that are local to the businesses I choose to support. An example of a loan I made today is to Julian in Otavalo , Ecuador
As money is paid back, I can either get my actual money back or I can choose to re-lend it, which is what I typically choose to do.
I try to make it a point to lend to a different country each time - for variety’s sake, I guess! I’ve lent money to businesses though based on the country, the gender of the owner, payment terms, loan amount or even the type of business – basically, whatever fits my mood at the moment.
So far, I’ve lent to the following countries and businesses.
Paid off:
Repayments in progress:
Still raising funds for the loans:
Personally, I think it’s pretty cool that I can help small businesses out this way. I’m in there as RPCVBG, so you’re welcome to check out what I’ve done with regard to lending.
Better yet, you’re welcome to check out what YOU can do!
21 October 2011
GO BUCKS!
I should preface this by saying that I went to Indiana University for my undergrad studies and (THE) Ohio State University for grad school. I should also say that I will NEVER root against my Hoosiers - even when they're playing the Buckeyes, though regardless of outcome, I'll still claim the win. I just want to be honest about that.
I'm on my lunch hour at the moment asking my coworker what I should write about since I've been marveling at the fact that people in other countries are actually checking out my blog. There's been a rush this week especially, on blog views in Russia. My coworker said I should work to get someone in Liberia to check it out, too. If only I could be so lucky!
Personally, I think it's actually pretty cool that on a dozen separate occasions, people in Russia have wanted to see what I have to say. Maybe it's a slow week there for entertainment, but hey - I'm glad to welcome them here. Большое спасибо, Россия!
Now - if only I can get David Hasselhoff (@DavidHasselhoff on Twitter) to start following me on twitter (@rpcvbg) (Come on folks, please help me with this twitter campaign!) Of course, it's my goal for him to follow me on both Twitter AND here at Au Lait in a Sidecar. Maybe someday I can even get a picture of David Hasselhoff IN a sidecar. Wouldn't that be just grand?!
Maybe it's a tall, dark hair, blue eyes thing. But then again, I'm more of a tall, dark hair and green eyes kind of gal - like Clive Owen, but maybe we shouldn't go there at the moment. (No offense, Mr. Hasselhoff)
Ahem. Anyway...
Back to my discussion with my coworker...I asked him what I should write about for my next blog entry and he, an avid sports fan, suggested the following:
Ohio State's defensive adjustment during their bye-week to the overpowering Wisconsin offense
Apparently we need to worry about Wisconsin's QB who can both throw and run because our defense has issues with both of those possibilities.
It's always something.
OK - fine. Now I'm jealous. My coworker, @brittondiller just told me that David Hasselhoff was following him. Naturally, I checked my sources (trust, but verify?!) and learned this is no longer the case. Sorry, Britton - you've been unfollowed by the Hoff! Whew. Guess I don't need to be jealous.
So back to football: GO HOOSIERS! GO BUCKS!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Updated: Awfully rude of me to neglect Clive Owen. Picture added. Swoon.
Updated: Awfully rude of me to neglect Clive Owen. Picture added. Swoon.
Addiction
Hello. My name is Heather and I'm addicted to yarn. (applause - HI HEATHER!)
While heading out east this past weekend, I first spent the afternoon and evening in Hoboken with my cousins, including some time in Trish's yarn shop. I knew when I went there, I was going to pick up a couple of things. Yeah. Well - I ended up picking up a whole lot and I totally blame Trish for just standing by and not stopping me. lol! I mean, she just stood there while I grabbed more and more yarn. Seriously - it just jumped out at me. I had no choice but to take it back home to Ohio. Yeah. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I like to knit. No. I love to knit, so buying yarn is a hard thing for me to avoid. Like all knitters though, I have far more yarn than I'll ever be able to knit up. From time to time, I trade yarn with my friends, but while I have more than I can ever use, I really do knit a lot. I do actually complete projects as well. I'm in a dinky apartment, but still have a bunch of plastic bins in a storage unit - many of which are filled with yarn. Yes - I'm hopeless. Thankfully, I have plenty of friends in the same boat!
Speaking of friends, my cousin, Trish, opened her yarn shop, Patricia's Yarns, seven years ago. Prior to her opening the shop, I only knew how to knit socks and crochet afghans. Since she opened, I've learned how to do so much more. While I don't get out to Hoboken very often, I can say she's introduced me to a lot more kinds of yarn. I've now officially become a yarn snob and love knitting with the good stuff - such as silk, alpaca, merino wool, seacell, linen, etc. I can't bring myself to buy the acrylic stuff except on rare occasions.
Anyway...here are a few things I've made. I've grown a lot as a knitter since my days of only socks and afghans. I love the creative process and definitely love learning new things. Recently I've learned how to knit entrelac (a basket weave sort of design) and a moebius scarf. Love taking classes at my local yarn shop! These are just a few things I've made in the last couple of years.
Alpaca, fingerless mitts.
Dr. Who socks
Moebius scarf
Wysteria Lace Shawl
Are you on ravelry? What's your Rav ID? I'm there as DizzySpinster. Feel free to add yours below so we can see you there. Happy knitting!
19 October 2011
Occupy Wall Street - October 15, 2011
Last weekend, I got together with a couple of my friends in New York. We went to attend an INSI debate on safety for international journalists, but more on that later.
On Saturday, more than 80 countries around world rose up in solidarity on behalf of the 99% which, in the U.S. is left with only 60% of the country's wealth. The past few years has shown us time and time and again how politicians' work only for those who finance their campaigns. Since the ruling on Citizen's United, the number who do finance them has dropped significantly, to the point where the 1% seem to have all the say.
While in New York this past weekend, we decided to go down and visit Zuccotti Park in Manhattan to see for our selves what the people there were like. The park was filled with good people - decent, hard-working people who have felt sold-out over the last decade for the benefit of those who don't NEED help, but who get extra benefits like icing-in-the-cake tax breaks anyway.
Following are some of the pictures we took while joining them in Zuccotti park as well as in Times Square that evening. When we joined them in Times Square there were several hundred, but we discovered later that there were upwards of 10-20,000 people who had gathered. The enthusiasm was infectious and my friend, Kathy, and I were thrilled to be a part of it all.
Power to the people.
15 October 2011
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