My Dad, Vietnam, and Veterans
This is a photo of my dad. His name is John. This photo was taken when my parents visited me in California last December.
My dad died on November 19. He was 66 years old.
My dad died unexpectedly, from complications related to pneumonia. He had been in the hospital for about a month.
We have a small family, and we decided not have a formal funeral. But, I want to tell the story of his life, and the story of his death, as a way of processing and dealing with it. Our culture has a way of denying death, and we often don’t talk openly with friends and acquaintances about what is happening with us or our families or our lives. I’ve always been a very open person, and I want to start with a story about my dad and his service in Vietnam.
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Happiness
I just wrote a short piece for Yes! Magazine on Happiness – called “10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy.”
To write the piece, I read several books on “postive psychology” – the relatively new area of science that studies what makes, and keeps, people happy. I’d actually heard about the field from my friend Robert Biswas-Diener, who wrote a few articles for Clamor back in the day (Jul/Aug 2002, Jan/Feb 2003, May/Jun 2003, Jan/Feb 2004) and just wrote a book, with his dad Ed Diener, called Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth.
I wrote a longer piece that wasn’t printed – it covers more of the nuances of the science – like do we have a happiness set point? What is optimal happiness? And I’d like to post some excerpts from that here in the future. More soon!
Dov Charney. Again.
I am close to being done writing about American Apparel’s head honcho Dov Charney – but it seems he just can’t stay out of the news. To summarize: American Apparel threatened to sue Clamor, and otherwise has been a thorn in the side of independent media.
But the guy just can’t seem to stay out of court. Two recent escapades: Another harrassment suit and accusations from a former accountant that Dov asked him to cook the books.
I just don’t have the energy to summarize it all right now. You can read about the cases for yourself in these recent articles posted at Jezebel, The Wall Street Journal, Gawker (and here), and Information Week.
Eco-Terrorism in the News Again
So this is an article about how some green extremist groups want to reduce the earth’s population by 80%. But, buried way down at the end of the piece, a quote from an Earth First! spokesperson: “We’re all about communities. Capitalism is the problem and we want to return to a more sustainable time. But we are not about reducing the population, that is just scaremongering by the police.”
Now “Scaremongering.” Great word. Especially since the article presents absolutely no evidence that any kind of mass terrorist action is planned, and only cites cases from 5 years ago of property destruction. Oy.
Get Some Action
My friend Josh just put out this awesome booklet called “Get Some Action!” You can download it as a pdf or you can email to get a copy mailed to you.
I wanted to take a moment to give a shout-out to Josh (and anyone else who worked on the booklet) and thank them for their work on this project – it’s amazing! Intended as a primer to direct action for young people and students just starting to be concerned about the environment and the future, this seems like a great tool to move people on to the next steps – answer the question what happens after the election?
This booklet is short, beautiful to look at, and follows a clear & simple logic – all along illustrated with photos and examples of people-power in action. It basically goes like this: Why should we be concerned about climate change? >> Why should we take responsibility? >> What happens when we work together? >> What is direct action? >>The role of youth >> Success stories >> The Future >> Resources
I think this pamphlet could really inspire people to get involved, because it’s so straight forward. My only criticism is that while it inspires people to action, other than giving them info on organizations doing this work, it doesn’t spell out how to get involved. I think adding a sentence or two saying, “There are groups around the country already doing this work. Get in touch or start your own” would be the absolute only change I would recommend for the entire thing.
If you’re working with youth or people new to the movement, get this booklet to share with them!!
