Honey & Salt

Free Rice

It's not for you, it's for the Myanmar refugees in Bangladesh. I'm not sure how the UN's World Food Programme came up with the idea, but in October of last year they launched a website called FreeRice.com in which users play a vocabulary game and send 20 grains of rice to the hungry for each right answer. The rice is sponsored by the site's advertisers.

I've always had mixed feelings about clicking for charity, not because I have anything against charity but because this seems such an odd way for us to participate in it. I think most development professionals will tell you that the best way to engage donors is by involving them in the issue in a way that fosters deeper understanding and leads to a lasting commitment. But heck, if I can send a bowl of rice to a hungry person by playing a vocabulary game for ten minutes, why not? I am really good at vocabulary games; I can rack up 300 grains of rice before you can sneeze.

In fact, maybe I should be spending a lot more of my spare time playing Free Rice. What am I doing diddling around on my blog when I could be wielding my word-hoard for good?

I'm sure this site is popular among teachers, especially English teachers preparing their students for the vocabulary portion of the SAT. (I can tell you that the words start out easy but quickly get pretty tough; I actually missed a few, and I write vocabulary tests for a living.) The activity also provides teachers with an unassailable answer to the perennial question, "why do we have to learn these stupid vocabulary words, anyway?" (To feed the hungry!)

If it's a little irritating, it's because the thoughtless ease of clickanthropy highlights the gap between the rich and poor. Our lives are apparently so valuable that only a few minutes of our time, spent playing a game (and looking at a banner ad) are worth several bites of food to someone across the globe. Shoot, I don't even have to write a check.

Fundraisers will tell you that charity is a two-way street; it affects both the donor and recipient. How will I be affected by playing Free Rice? Will it induce me to think further about world hunger? to write a bigger check at some point? to support the advertisers? Will it improve my vocabulary and help me get a better job writing harder vocabulary tests?

Maybe I can go to work for Free Rice aligning their word lists with the school vocabulary standards for Texas and California. If we could hitch the cause of world hunger to the state test prep wagons we could probably feed half of Asia.

What the Heck Was That?

The photos below show some of the fine work of David Painter and his stalwart crew of volunteers at the Montrose Point Restoration Project. Not pictured are the Magic Hedge, a nascent prairie, and any number of migratory birds, including some rather splashy red-winged blackbirds.

David hosts a volunteer workday on the first Saturday every month. If you'd like to get your wheelbarrow on, all are welcome. Work usually runs from 9–12. Look for the plastic buckets full of tools across the parking lot from the marina, just south of Montrose. You can also go to the Chicago Park District website for more information about volunteer workdays.

Why It's Good to Go to the Beach in May

At the Risk of Repeating Myself

Craigslist people are nice. Yesterday I posted an ad for some free concrete edging, dug up from my garden. The edging consisted of about 15 molded concrete pieces, each between 10–30 inches long. Not my style, but I hated to throw them away, partly because I thought they might give the garbage man a hernia.. I also hated to keep them in a pile in front of the garage door. And, frankly, I hated to lift them again or even to move them anywhere at all.

A woman named Eddy (putting me in mind of my grandmother, Pete) called to say she'd like to have them, so I gave her directions to my house and told her to help herself. I was very pleased to find them gone when I got home and quite touched to find her little note pinned under a rock!

 

That's what I call a win-win-win situation (Eddy, me, and the garbage man).

I Feel Like a Crocus

I will admit it was hard to get up this morning minus the hour of daylight. But it was only marginally more difficult than last week, while it was MAGNIFICENTLY easier to walk out of the office and home from the train tonight, when it looked like 4:00 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m. Honestly, I felt like superwoman and even started making plans to ride my bike eight miles to work tomorrow morning (which I have never done before). When I told this to my sister, she gently reminded me that I am recovering from major surgery and it's probably not a good idea.

I had to concede. But I will submit my ambition as evidence of the power of sunlight, especially on SAD folks like me.

First-Date Don'ts

For you daters out there, a few tips:

• Don't keep your cell phone on the table and don't answer it, unless it's one of your kids.
• Don't admit, even if you know it's true, that you are probably the best guitar player of your genre in Chicago.
• Don't talk at length about how much money you make.
• No matter how much you are dying to know, don't display a keen interest in the end of your date's last relationship: "So, did he break up with you, or did you break up with him?"
• Do NOT discuss your past episodes of mental illness and homelessness.
• Don't forget to brush your teeth.
• Don't brag about the great arrangement you have with your ex-wife: "She doesn't bother me about money, I don't bother her about seeing the kids."

Readers? I welcome your contributions.

More on the Metro Water Reclamation District Race

The Tribune has endorsed Mariyana Spyropoulos, Derrick David Stinson, and M. Frank Avila.

I asked my friend David Painter for his input; David is the volunteer coordinator for the restoration of the bird sanctuary and "Magic Hedge" at Montrose Point, and he knows more than I about quite a few environmental issues. This is his response:

Hi Angela,

I don't know as much about this as I should. But here is what I do know the Sierra Club is endorsing. Mariyana Spyropoulos, Dean Maragos, and Matthew Podgorski.

I think  Mariyana Spyropoulos could be a good addition to Debra Shore (current commissioner but not up for reelection this year)

Dean Maragos worked for MWRD as a legal assistant in 1979. Today, he is a lawyer and accountant at his own firm, and he serves on the Port Authority. He is involved in several civic and government entities.

He supports disinfecting effluent from sewage treatment plants. Protecting lands currently held by MWRD for habitat and green infrastructure. Supports efforts to increase fish and wildlife habitat throughout the Chicago River System.

He has picked up a number of good endorsements i.e., IVI-IPO and Illinois League of Conservation Voters.

Podgorski has his B.A. in Political Science from Northeastern Illinois University and his M.A. of Public Policy from Pepperdine University. He is currently a part time professor at Northeastern Illinois University and a Continuous Improvement and Sustainability Manager for Kraft Foods. He is involved in numerous civic and professional organizations.

He supports disinfecting effluent from sewage treatment plants. Green infrastructure initiatives such as permeable paving and wetlands protection.  Preventing pharmaceuticals from entering our waterways through improper disposal.

To my mind, he is the weaker of the three. I like Frank Avila's engineering experience.

David also threw in a vote for Larry Suffredin:

A highly recommended candidate for Cook County State's Attorney is Larry Suffredin.

Larry has strong support from some people I know who have worked with him and seen him in action. That's always the best recommendation. He is big on gun control and eliminating corruption. He has also been endorsed by many of the politicians that I respect. www.suffredinforstatesattorney.org

That's nice to hear. Anyway, this information will definitely help me vote tomorrow. I hope it helps you too.

Church, Inc.

I couldn't decide whether to post this under "faith" or "commerce:"

This summer, a new corner establishment appeared on my block called "Iglesia de Dios, Inc." For the non-Spanish speakers among you, this means, "Church of God, Inc."

???

Why the "Inc."? By all appearances, this is a storefront church. They have rows of chairs facing a podium with microphone at the front. They hold well-attended services, though not on Sunday mornings. Everything is new and nice-looking. All of the signage is in Spanish; hanging in the window is a piece of paper with the schedule of services (just a couple each week) and a colorful poster with a prayer.

I'm dying to know more. I'll report back.

Planning Your Vote

Go to the website for the Chicago Board of Elections to find a sample ballot for your district. Helps to find your way around the local candidates.

Irish-Americans for O'Bama

We're making t-shirts. Who wants one?