exercising in spirit

Thanksgiving is always one of those times of the year when we feel more inclined to be generous. Maybe because there is much to be thankful for in our own lives, or maybe because of the guilt that comes with gluttony. In the Jewish tradition, as in many others, there is an ingrained link between food and love which has led to many hefty, well-loved Jewish children and generations of dieting neuroses. Maybe for this reason, too (the equating food with love, not the neuroses) we find that food-based holidays generate a ritualistic impulse to spread the food, and hence the love. Though the first of the seasonal holidays has come and gone - which means the downhill to the consumer capitalist monster of all holidays is on its way - we know this year that the need at food banks and soup kitchens is higher now than it has been in the last ten years. In 2007, when financial consequences were even less extreme than they are now, 1 in 25 US households reduced their food intake due to a financial shortage, and 1 in 6 households with children could not afford adequate sustenance. (USDA from Time, 12/01/08)

As Thanksgiving comes and goes, and many of us have volunteered to give out a turkey, or a basket, or donate a day to the soup kitchen, remember that there are 364 other days in the year, and we all need to eat on each and every one of those days as well.

I want to reprint an email I got from John Mathews, a quiet guy who works at the front office in the Department of Urban Planning at the School of Public Affairs. It seems he ran a 10k for the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services Center and still needs to raise $70 to reach his total goal of $250. I think his spirit of humor, with a touch of truth, is worth supporting. Let's see if we can put John over his goal, even if it's one yam at a time. I sure wish I had done this instead of that extra five pounds of potatoes!

Look, you know you all hate it, that avalanche of food that overwhelms you during the holidays! What do you do with it all? Well, here's a chance to get rid of that problem once and for all!

Donate some money that would normally go towards a second tray of mashed potatoes, or yams, or some other horrible tragedy of food that would just be piled on more food and smother you in your sleep. Take that money instead and give it to some people on the street who are hungry. Make it their problem!

Click here!

After all, why should you have to deal with too much food for the holidays? You work hard all year. Get rid of that extra food, donate canned goods, and donate some cash so that all that extra food can be someone else's problem! You deserve it!

Happy Holidays!

-John

homeless street soccer at UCLA. Join US!

On their way to the HOMELESS STREET SOCCER WORLD CUP IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (Nov 24-Dec.8th) the founder of Street Soccer USA (SSUSA), Lawrence Cann, and members of his team, will speak at the School of Public Affairs this Tuesday evening.

Join us to discuss their personal experiences, share the positive effects of sports programs in combating homelessness, see clips from their documentary & play some soccer on the roof.

5391 School of Public Affairs Bldg.

Now headquartered in NY under the umbrella of HELP USA, SSUSA launched its pilot program in 2004 out of the Urban Ministry Center in Charlotte, NC. SSUSA has reached more than 20% of chronically homeless living in Greater Charlotte, and realized a 75% success rate in effecting a positive life change such as addressing a substance abuse problem or mental health issue, securing full-time employment or moving off the streets.

Eight homeless men ranging in age from 19 to 41 and residing in California, Georgia, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and Texas will constitute Street Soccer USA's 2008 National Team. They will compete with 47 other nations in a 4 versus 4 soccer tournament. Check out these links to learn more:
www.streetsoccerusablog.com; www.helpusa.org; www.homelessworldcup.org

marriage - it's not just for straight masochists!

LA does everything big. Right now, even two mountain ranges away, I can smell the smoke from the Sayre Fire, one of three major areas still burning outside of Los Angeles. The winds have died down a bit, but the destruction is massive and hundreds of people newly homeless. Some sites estimate up to 40,000 people have been evacuated in the three fires combined. If you're reading this while the news is still happening, check here for the latest fire maps. If you follow the 405 or the 5 south, I live between them in West Hollywood. It's strange to live in a place with almost no rain, humidity hovering in the single digits, and such extreme weather when it does come. This is Santa Ana wind season - hot, fast, dry. It's November and it was nearly 90 degrees yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday... Yesterday a group called Join the Impact helped organize cross-country protests against proposition 8 (and other recent legislation) that is attempting to impose discriminatory and unequal rights eliminating the recently won right to marry for gays and lesbians. In the midst of a historic and awe-inspiring election, it was one giant sour note for Prop 8 to pass here, even if by a slim margin. To imagine the rationale of people willing to remove the constitutional right of fellow humans is beyond my comprehension. So, the cause of the week this week is, generally, equal rights, more specifically gay equal rights, and most specifically the newly developed Join the Impact. Check out their website. Volunteer, join a protest, post your support. And, then, check out this list of supporters of the 'Yes on Prop 8' campaign (Thanks, Tim!) and use the power of your dollars to peacefully choose to go elsewhere.

What a week! When contemplating driving to downtown LA on Wednesday to hear what I was sure would be a fantastic discussion between Wolf Prix and Sylvia Lavin regarding the brand new tower of a school on Grand Avenue, I told my friend Whitney: This week I have chosen the election over architecture. That, I believe, is a shift of consciousness. Or, at the very least, an overt awareness of a shift long in the making.

To vastly oversimplify, I used to see the world through architecture, but now I see architecture through the world. There will be more on that in the weeks to come.

But now, to bask for one more moment in the glory that is this just-passed election.... wow. wow. wow. And the big wow is that we all did it together, we all focused our energy, gave of our time, joined in the cause. What it represents to me is not only the ground breaking idea of who Obama is as a person - black, mixed race, underdog, young, vital, vibrant, liberal, kind, considerate, prioritizing equity, education and rights; or that we all feel we are part of his family, part of his inner circle; or that the rest of the world is once again on our team. What it represents to me is that one person really can change the world. One person really can make a difference. Whatever he does from here on out may be scrutinized, may be more or less what we hope for in terms of our own political objectives, but there is no question that he has mobilized, energized, and unified - locally to globally - in a way I have not seen in my lifetime. It is that engagement, that excitement, that sense of purpose and generosity that we must absorb, expand, export.

In light of that, I ran across an article on the NPR website that Obamaizes the famous JFK aphorism, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." (click here for a link to the article) Though I find his example of journalism a bit weak, his sentiment is strong. In this week, and the weeks to come, what is it we can each do to bring that sense of generosity, equity, and optimism to our own smaller sphere? And not necessarily where it is easiest - to family and friends - but to your community and to your profession. What is a more equitable and optimistic law firm, architecture practice, university, insurance company, film studio, lower school, retail store? What part can it play, can they play, can you play? What can we learn as individuals, as practitioners of our own art, as citizens and humans from this past campaign and its successes? 'Yes we can' is so resolutely different from 'country first' because it is all inclusive, undeniably optimistic, personal, confident and yet egoless.

Many of us got a bit teary on Tuesday, and again when the newspaper covers appeared on Wednesday. I thought it was over until I got a link to this flikr site. Who but Obama would make us feel like we were in the room with him when it happened? Sitting there, watching the TV returns just like we all were doing across the country, across the world, just another member of this family, our family, all of us.

TOMORROW

As you may have heard, it's election week. Tomorrow we have a historic opportunity to turn what started out as a long shot grassroots movement into a real opportunity for nation wide change. To me, this election is not only about a vast divide in policy, but a vast difference in ideology. We have the chance to move our country toward equity, opportunity, creativity, and education. What more important ideals are there if not those? If you need one last push, or if you need to know where to vote, take a look at the latest (and last?) video of this election season.

We are all generally less informed about the 15 propositions on the California ballot. Though my research was not exhaustive, I have scoured the for and against positions, the rebuttals, and the press on most of them, and offer the following for anyone who cares to read my conclusions:

1A (Safe, Reliable, High-speed passenger train bond) and R (Traffic Relief, Rail extensions, Reduce Foreign Oil Dependence): These two transit measures are highly controversial as light rail and subway take a much higher up front cost to produce than buses, yet are much less flexible, carry fewer total passengers, and tend to cater to a more affluent ridership. The bus system in LA is a system of necessity for LA's working poor and is often short-changed in the allocation of funds. R in particular is a regressive tax, burdening all who live in LA county an additional 1/2 cent sales tax for the next 30 years. The Bus Riders Union and the Strategy Center are OPPOSED to R. However, I fear we will not be able to get a better option on the table for comprehensive transit planning that includes transit variety and forward-thinking strategies for mobility, so I'm supporting both 1A and R. If you want to read their position, though, here is a link.

2 (Standards for Confining Farm Animals): This seems to be an 'animal rights' bill, but in actuality it also has several implications for health and disease, as well as balancing the opportunities for small farms with the monopolies of their large bossy brothers. I'm voting yes on 2 because of those latter reasons.

4 Waiting period and parental notification before termination of minor's pregnancy, initiative CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT) NO NO NO on 4. By requiring any woman under 18 to seek parental approval and abide by a 48 hour waiting period prior to receiving an abortion, countless teenagers will seek dangerous, possibly life threatening alternatives. In addition, the right to confidential counseling and reproductive choices should be extended to all women, regardless of age. What we really need is accessible and accurate sex education and birth control options so every woman is knowledgeable and prepared - if at all possible - prior to the time of unwanted pregnancy.

5 (nonviolent drug offenses, sentencing, parole, and rehab) I'm voting yes on 5, which invests in treatment programs that help keep those at risk from enacting crimes in the first place.

6 (police and law enforcement funding, criminal penalties and laws) The Strategy Center says it better than I can: Proposition 6 exploits the fear of crime in urban areas in order to position the prison and police system as the one and only solution to the symptoms of urban neglect and structural racism—drugs, crime and violence—and in doing so, further criminalize the youth and communities of the inner city and further take from social welfare programs. No on the 6.

7 (renewable energy generation): This is a hidden agenda initiative which actually does not support the best and most productive environmental policy. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, this and the 10 (alternative fuel vehicles and renewable energy) are misleading and misguided. No on both 7 and 10.

8 (eliminates rights of same-sex couples to marry. initiative CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT) NO NO NO NO on 8. No matter how you feel about gay marriage - which I aggressively support - our constitution (state or federal) is not intended to TAKE AWAY the rights of any individual in our country. Support equal rights for everyone - no no no on 8.

9 (criminal justice system, victim's rights, parole, initiative constitutional amendment and statute) Again, The Strategy Center: Nicholas' Initiative - Weakens the limited rights of parolees. Prop 9 masks its intentions in the concept of “victims rights.” While no one deserves to be the victim of violence and its pain and trauma are not easily reconcilable, it is necessary that we challenge the reactionary nature of the victim’s rights movement that in fact increases the intensity of state violence against Black and Latino communities. In 2007, of the approximately 173,000 California prisoners, 50% are in for technical parole violations (meaning no new “crime” has occurred), and less than 1% of 5,520 scheduled hearings resulted in someone being released from prison. No on 9.

12 ( veteran's bond act of 2008) - Yes on 12, which is a no cost initiative that extends a program of loans for VA home buying.

The three I have not covered I simply don't know enough about. They sound good on paper - more children's hospitals, more school support, safe healthy neighborhoods - but the first especially seems to already have money in the bank unspent. My inclination from my own reading is No on 3 (hospitals), and Yes on J and Q (community colleges and schools).

Whatever side you take, I encourage you to VOTE, and at the end of the day, fingers crossed, to CELEBRATE.

(thanks to Alvaro, my own personal science advisor, for working through these with me in the car to Nevada this weekend! Photo credits from the Henderson rally go to him, with my touch of design. GObama!)