Equalogy

Archive for the ‘just for fun’ Category

During dinner with week, my friends and I have been talking about the different customs that take place during the meal.  My perspective as an American is that dinner time is the place where everyone gets to talk about their day, however as I have learned it is customary in India to give respect to the food and not talk at all during the meal.  Going with that theme, I wanted to post a few of the different kinds of way people say grace, found on Yes Magazine as part of their Food For Everyone series.  These are just the few that I liked, but feel free to check out the whole series along with beautiful drawings by Nikki McClure.

LATIN AMERICAN To those who have hunger Give bread. And to those who have bread Give the hunger for justice.

BUDDHIST This food is the gift of the whole universe. Each morsel is a sacrifice of life, May I be worthy to receive it. May the energy in this food Give me the strength To transform my unwholesome qualities Into wholesome ones. I am grateful for this food. May I realize the Path of Awakening, For the sake of all beings.

ASHANTI, GHANAEarth, when I am about to die I lean upon you. Earth, while I am alive I depend upon you.

SIOUX, NATIVE AMERICAN I’m an Indian. I think about the common things like this pot. The bubbling water comes from the rain cloud. It represents the sky. The fire comes from the sun, Which warms us all, men, animals, trees. The meat stands for the four-legged creatures, Our animal brothers, Who gave themselves so that we should live. The steam is living breath. It was water, now it goes up to the sky, Becomes a cloud again. These things are sacred. Looking at that pot full of good soup, I am thinking how, in this simple manner, The Great Spirit takes care of me.

I was very proud when a friend of mine shared an article with me about a new restaurant opening in my home state of New Jersey.  The concept for the restaurant is based off a “Robin Hood” model that was started by a woman in Ohio.  Basically, the menu offers suggested prices for items, and a community item which is free.  If you can’t pay anything, you must eat the community item, or volunteer for an hour and have other options to choose from.  People who pay more for items help subsidize for others.

Some customers we’re so inspired by the concept that one woman who dined there paid $6 for a $1.50 cup of soup.  The restaurant is not only kind to the community, but also kind to the environment.  The food they use comes from mostly local farms, they also use no plastic or Styrofoam and compost all food scraps.

Denise Cerreta, founder of One World Everybody Eats in Salt Lake City is spreading the word on her idea and is talks with 50 or 60 other east coast groups interested in copying this model.  She says the idea took off so fast that she moved out of her home and is now on tour spreading the idea with just a suitcase and her cat.

Read the rest of this inspiring story by the Star Ledger here.

Eight women from commonwealth countries Cyprus, Ghana, India, Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, Jamaica and the United Kingdom are undertaking what seems like the impossible – skiing over 900 kilometers from Antarctica to the geographic South Pole.

Marking the 60th aniversary of the Commonwealth, the expedition aims to demonstrate the potential of greater intercultural understanding and exchange, while at the same time highlighting the achievements of women across the world.

The team members from Brunei, Cyprus, Ghana and Jamaica will be the first person from their nation to ski to the South Pole. Those from India, Singapore and New Zealand will be the first women from their country to do so.

Fantastic as these achievements will be, the expedition is about much more than national and global records. The team members will return to their home countries as role models to inspire others, particularly women, to reach beyond the expectation of others and follow their own path.

Representing a Commonwealth of 52 nations and 2 billion people around the globe, the expedition team is a diverse group of real women selected from over 800 applicants. Before joining the expedition many of the team members had never been in sub-zero temperatures, put on a pair of skis or spent the night in a tent – a fact which makes the challenge they are undertaking even more remarkable.

The 900km journey from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole will take around 40 days. The team will survive on lightweight dehydrated rations and melted snow. They will sleep in tents on the ice at night and pull sledges containing all the food, fuel and equipment they will need. Travelling without a guide, the team will need to rely on each other to navigate themselves safely to the bottom of the world.

The team expect to arrive at the South Pole around New Year’s Day 2010.

You can watch a video of a practice run in New Zealand here and read more about the expedition, such as what they will eat and wear for the 40 days it is estimated to take trekking through the snow.

Since I’m all the way in India and can’t celebrate Halloween, I thought I would pass on some costume suggestions from Planned Parenthood of NYC Blog:

From Megan Carpentier, Editor, News & Politics at Air America Media:

• Dress normally. Since STDs often can’t be distinguished with the naked eye, it’ll be up to you to tell people what you are.
• Dress in pink and carry a pink hula hoop all night: you’re a NuvaRing!
• Dress all in copper and put copper pipe cleaners on your head: you’re an IUD!

From the writers at Slate’s Double X blog:

• Draw a calendar on your shirt and carry a bongo drum: You’re the Rhythm Method!
• Drape ivy over your shoulders and paint a big “F” on your shirt: You’re IVF.
• Dress like a baby and attach test tubes to yourself (or drink from them): You’re a Test Tube baby!
• Wear all your winter gear and curl into the fetal position whenever possible: You’re a frozen embryo.

From the pro-choice comic Katie Halper:

• Wear galoshes and carry an oar: You’re roe v wade
• Walk around with a bunch of babies: You’re “abstinence only” sex education
• Wear a Trojan helmet and a clear raincoat: you’re a Trojan condom. Alternative: wear a raincoat and put on a name tag that says “birthplace: Troy”

And a few ideas from the PPNYC staff:

• Wear all black, but then spell out the word “Damn” on your chest with bright green dental floss: You’re a Dental Dam!
• Dress in pink and don a knit cap: You’re a cervical cap!
• Wear all black and attach small pink erasers to your outfit – you’re a rubber!