Showing posts with label homeless. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeless. Show all posts

Monday, 24 February 2014

"Invisible Young" - White, homeless kids in USA

Seth Auberon, Dev, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Steven Keller (invisibleyoung.com, differentialfilms.com); Pasadena Area Liberal Arts Center (PALAC), Throop UU Church
What I do is never shower: If I stink, I won't get raped. Hungry? Go to the dumpster; dive in.

SEATTLE, Washington, USA - Dumpsters are their cafeterias. Trash bins are their supply stores. If they're lucky they can find enough cardboard for some warmth and a temporary makeshift shelter. The homeless young in Seattle have found ways to survive.
 
I'm trying to get away from all this.
Documentarian Steven Keller has lived outside Seattle for over ten years. Like most Americans, however, he didn't really see homeless youths he encountered. They become invisible. When he did see them he asked, Why?

What did the system do to protect me?
Eighteen months later "Invisible Young" was completed. In it Keller answers the most compelling question of all, "How does a 13-year-old end up on the streets of a prosperous country?" In his film he focuses on the riveting stories of four youths who were homeless in Seattle, in the great Pacific Northwest of the USA. Synopsis
Can you spare some change for an all-American girl, mister?

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Life of the Buddha (video)



The Four Signs (smith.edu)
The Buddha (the "Enlightened or Awakened One") was born Prince Siddhartha Gautama, future king of the Shakyas. He is also known as Shakyamuni, the "Sage (muni) from the Shakya Clan."
 
He was born approximately 2,600 years ago into a royal family. Where is disputed, likely in what is now Afghanistan, on the northwest border of Gandhara, India. But earlier British archeological work determined it was Nepal, just north of India, and the controversy has been on ever since.  (See ranajitpal.com).

Prince Siddhartha lived a protected and carefree life of luxury, until one day he came face to face with the harsh realities of life he had always been protected from seeing: old age, sickness, and death. (The fourth sign was the sight of renunciation offering a possibility of escape from certain suffering). It is believed that the devas (fairies) contrived it all, ensuring that he would eventually see these four momentous signs.
 
The Buddha, wandering teacher (WQ)
The four sights or signs changed the course of Siddhartha's life. Rather than becoming king as he had been raised, he embarked on a spiritual QUEST on behalf of all beings to find liberation from the suffering of the world.

He would eventually discover the truth of suffering (disappointment) and how to bring about its end. He achieved enlightenment, a profound and irreversible awakening, under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India.

And from that moment on he was known by the title "the Buddha." (See also the BBC documentary Life of the Buddha, which tells the story very well in less than 50 minutes. Here is a condensed collage version set to music that takes even less time).

Wednesday, 27 November 2013

The First Thanksgiving (cartoon and dinner)

Ashley Wells and Editorial Team (confessions) Wisdom Quarterly; dinner organizers Dave, Adam, Allyson, Justin, Kristina, Lisa, Prabhat, Tony (L.A.V.G.) HAPPY THANKSGIVUKKAH!
(JM) Instructions on how to prepare a proper cruelty-free Thanksgiving meal are given below.
Hungry Alicia Silverstone was raised to love ALL kinds of living beings like these:
Kind food tastes good (WQ)
A few years after coming onto the human plane, my mother said to me, "You know you were an accident?" "Thanks," I shot back. That was the first time I gave thanks. Been saying it ever since. How about you, Ash?

I was born just outside of wedlock to parents too caught up fighting about waspy matters to take much notice of me. I, apparently, led to their marriage and therefore their unhappiness, which didn't keep me from being a bastard. (Is that the feminine form of the word, or is it the other B-word?) We were Christian back then, obviously, through no fault of my own. Other than choosing it, pre-birth, all part of my divine plan to graduate to a more sublime teaching.
 
(Simpsons) Lisa became a Buddhist on Xmas.  Bart ruins Thanksgiving.

Thank you. That's nothing. My dad used to yell, "You kids are going to drive me to the insane asylum!" I always wanted to go out and start the car, to make a statement. I would have been punished. We didn't have nice, neat "groundings" like everyone else. We had punishments. Wow. You're dark. Next? That's not all! He also used to say, "You don't s--t from Shinola!" And I would ask, What's Shinola, dad?" "I'll show you what it is!" he would threaten. He drank a lot. How about you, Sands?

I was asked once, seriously, if "my people" celebrated Thanksgiving. Like we're not American enough to celebrate the same holidays. (It's like the time Joseph got asked on "King of the Hill"! Did you guys used to celebrate it?) Not really, not because we never did, but because it was too much trouble for my mom. I used to go over my girlfriend's house. Hey, just like Joseph. *Laughter*

I was raised without parents. So I guess that would technically make me an orphan. Worst thing about it was they were there. Physically. They were "checked out" in every other way. One drinking, the other spacing out. One emotionally distant, the other smothering. One aggressive, the other passive. One yelling like a lunatic, the other too brow beaten to speak up. So, essentially, we can agree, We were all raised by a Homer and a Marge?

What if the Griffins were America's first family, the Simpsons?
 
Native American Joseph is cheating with the asker's blond wife.

So is everyone going to a Vegan Thanksgiving (veganevents.org) this year? Unless you guys are planning to harass and hurt animals with paint balls? *Laughter* No, we'll be there, and I'm making California guacamole, which everyone loves all year long.
 
Everyone welcome to the potluck!
FREE Vegan Potluck Picnic on Thanksgiving
Vegan pizza (Animal Advocacy Museum)
When: Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013, 11:00 am-4:00 pm. Where: Rancho Park, 2551 Motor Ave., L.A., CA 90064. (Enter at the first entrance south of Pico on Motor Avenue or see this nice map). 
What: Veggie feast attended by hundreds because it is promoted all over the county, and most people do not RSVP. See Facebook.
 
There may be similar events all over the country, but this is the annual Vegan Thanksgiving Day Potluck Picnic. It continues for its third decade at the same Rancho Park location. Invite friends. Non-vegans are more than welcome, they are encouraged to attend. This is LA's longest-running single day vegan tradition.
 

It's a potluck to look forward to every year with hundreds in attendance. Join a peaceful, turkey-friendly Thanksgiving. Share delicious food, desserts, and drinks. Connect with beautiful people. Enjoy the outdoor environment with music, live performances, and an open mic! So feel free to bring drums or other musical instruments, a Frisbee or a ball to toss. It's a great place for children. Well behaved animal companions like dogs (on leashes) are welcome. More
 
http://www.kathyfreston.com/