I am constantly amazed by the possibilities of trash. How can we use it to make our world a better place? How do others use it earn a living? How much do we take our own separation from trash for granted?
And I’m by far from being the only one asking these types of questions! From a PR release from PBS today, if you’re free tomorrow you could do worse than go join the live chat with filmmaker Lucy Walker over on the Independent Lens blog tomorrow (Wednesday, February 9) at 1pm PST.
Filmmaker Lucy Walker will be joining us for a live chat on Wednesday, February 9 at 1 PM (Pacific) to talk about her film Waste Land. The documentary, which airs April 19 on Independent Lens has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The film follows Brazilian artist Vik Muniz, who travels to his native Rio de Janiero to embark on an ambitious mission to create portraits of the local trash pickers out of the garbage they collect the world’s largest landfill.
Don’t have time to join the chat tomorrow?
Go check out the Waste Land’s website here. Learn more about the catadores profiled in the film here. Read the New York Times review of the film here.
[Portrait of a catadore by Vik Muniz]
I especially love this quote from the film that starts out the NYT review from, Tiao, one of Waste Land’s profiled catadores, “We are not pickers of garbage; we are pickers of recyclable materials.” I think this simple quote perfectly elucidates trash’s ever revolving status and notes that instead of simply refuse, it’s also full of reusable materials. Instead of what we throw away being the end of the line, it can also be the beginning of someone else’s livelihood, project or dream.
Want to learn more about trash around the world? Go check out another amazing Independent Lens documentary, Garbage Dreams here. Here’s a preview of the film, about Cairo residents who work in one of the world’s largest trash dumps.
And before you chuck that next thing in the trash? Do you know where it’s going? Can it be recycled? Can it be upcycled? Where will it go after the trash bag leaves your house?
I still think that the possibilities of trash are endless, but in learning more from the stories of trash around the world, I begin to think more about the status of trash and of those working with it, the notion that “one (wo)man’s trash is another (wo)man’s treasure,” and how easily so much waste passes through my own hands each day. Should we be doing more to use our trash in creative ways? Should we be doing more to help those in other countries reuse their trash in more creative ways… especially when their country infrastructure lacks recycling and sanitation programs?
And like what happens whenever you start asking questions… the bottom opens up and suddenly your ideas and the possibilities continue to build and build and build until new solutions form and new projects unfold and shiny new collaborations take hold. And, like magic, from what previously seemed to be nothing, a whole new world shows itself to you.
Not totally unlike what happens when you start to take a real look at the trash in front of you.
[This post was originally posted over at Mommy Do That.]
Did you know that there are 100 million women missing in this world?
When I came across this statistic, I couldn’t believe it. The facts tell a different story. If you take the natural distribution of male/female, there are 100 million women missing from our planet. Why?
Because baby girls are selectively aborted
Because baby girls are killed
Because women are killed
Because women aren’t given an education
Because women do not get the same medical care as men
Because women die in childbirth
Because women are trafficked and sexually exploited
100 years of International Women’s Day, one million women missing for every year.
To highlight the inequalities that still exist across the globe and are responsible for 100 Million missing women as well as the continuous gap of women being represented in decision making positions in the government, the workplace and the media, there is a great Scottish-based initiative which tries to create a debate and… a massive blanket, with 100 Million knitted stitches; one for every woman missing. The great thing is that everybody can contribute to this, by knitting a simple square measuring 15 x 15 cm (6×6 inches). 100 million stitches is an awful lot though, as little as one stitch per missing woman does sound, so a lot of helping hands are needed.
So then, I challenge you my lovely readers to support this initiative. How? Simple. Sit and knit a bit. Knit a square, or two, or many. Ask your friends and colleagues to do the same. Blog about it. Follow on Facebook or Twitter. Organise a Sit and Knit a Bit evening – in your home, in a cafe, in a community centre. And while you do all of this, or some of this, remember the 100 million women missing from our world today. There are so many ways to support this, do head over to the website to get inspired.
Please send your completed squares and stories by 8th March 2011 to Jetson and Janssen, c/o Tramway, Albert Drive, Glasgow G41 2PE. If you have any questions, you can email here. If you blog about it, please come back to this post and add a link to your post in the blog hop below (and the blog hop code to your post, to link them all together).
Sometimes there are no real words to accompany something so raw and good and true. And in those cases, you just introduce those words and bow out. Yes, this is one of those cases.
…let’s linger on the silly details, like the fly that lands on the cuff of a gas station attendant or the type of cucumber that the driver is eating. Yes, let’s write about waking up to another curfew day, looking out on the empty streets and looking up to see a sky full of mocking kites, streamers wagging, strings tugging at delighted children that crowd Nablus’s open windows.
More over here at Kelly Rand for passing this along!
The war rug above is part of a project I’m working on right now. I’ve talked about them before, but what I haven’t mentioned is how reluctant people have been to actually tell me anything about them. How is it we can be at war with a country and not even attempt to better understand the history of these rugs that have popped up in Afghanistan since the Soviet occupation began?
Craft and creativity have been ways to preserve culture for centuries. Given the 28.1% (male: 43.1%, female: 12%) literacy rate in Afghanistan, crafts are how they keep track of their culture. These rugs show how Afghans have perceived war for decades.
The information I’ve read online gets ridiculously contradictory: Some sites say the weavers are men, some women, there are arguments as to whether or not they’re propaganda, in Arabic or Dari or Pashto, and many fully admit that they have no idea when or where the rugs began. When we’re given a lens through which to better understand a culture that we’re trying to help rebuild, why have we been ignoring something so important?
I’ve also heard anecdotes about how the rugs made in the villages differ from the rugs sold to soldiers at bases. Different symbols, different pigments. How messed up is it that Afghan weavers have been making money weaving rugs based on their perception of what they think American soldiers will buy? In all wars locals have made money off soldiers, but the idea that they’re adapting their cultural history based on American tastes is incredible.
So I’ve been looking for resources (soldiers who have been in Afghan villages, books, articles, photos) for awhile now mainly in vain. As I buckle down on actually writing the article this week, it frustrates me more and more as to what is being ignored. Crafts help connect, teach and understand. Aren’t these all things we’re trying to do with Afghanistan right now, “hearts and minds” and all?
These creations are more than just things with which to line your hallway or wipe your feet, they’re a direct window into a culture so far removed from ours that we can’t even fathom anyone storytelling on rugs in the age of computers and technology. But not everyone has access to these things, sometimes all you have is some wool to share your story, to get your voice heard. We just need to remember that if we’re going to make a difference. We need to remember that sometimes the loudest voices aren’t actual voices at all.
So it turns out, yes, there are are apps for everything! Curious, I decided to road-test a handful of apps that have come out recently claiming they help make the world a better place.
The first time I opened this app the screen said, “Got a few minutes? Do something extraordinary” while also mentioning it was looking for opportunities for you to “micro-volunteer!” (Sounds so much better than armchair activist, doesn’t it? Plus “micro” is just fun to say.) Excitedly, I continued on… Until I got a big “DATA FORMAT ERROR” followed by a big loud exclamation mark followed by a quiet tiny “Please restart the application.”
So I did. A lot. While it was thinking about working, it kept giving me lovely little ideas like:
“Riding on the bus? Tag some photos!’
“Standing in line at the post office? Give website feedback!”
“In an airport? Help build a map of airport heart defibrillators!”
There’s a reason why there symbol is a giant Superman-styled E, because in a teeny tiny second you’re ready to take over the world thinking “YES! I DO want to help! Pick me! Pick me!”… Until it doesn’t work. Again. And again. And again. Hopefully it will work one day and I can save the world while riding the train. Just think of the possibilities! In the carpool line! Waiting for rice to cook! In line for the bathroom where there’s only one ladies room! Genius! Until it didn’t work.
Remember those emails you used to get that said something like “For every click on this page [some foundation, Bill Gates, whatever] will donate 1 [dollar, cent, banana] to [some type of cancer, demographic in need, poor helpless kittens?]” Well this app has been created so you don’t have to individually go to The Breast Cancer Site, The Animal Rescue Site and The Hunger Site to click for good.
“You have the power to make a difference at your fingertips. Touch to Give- it’s FREE. Touch an icon to select an issue.”
So I clicked to help the helpless little kittens.
Touch to Give bar popped up along with some merchandise for “The Animal Rescue Site,” and a notice you should “Touch to Give” daily and that any financial sponsors to this charity will “pay for treats” and “100% of sponsor money goes to charity.” One hopes they mean treats for the sweet pups with mange instead of the people who made this app.
Now… who are CharityUSA.com, the website linked at the bottom of all three sites? According to Wikipedia:
The Hunger Site was started by John Breen, a computer programmer from Bloomington, Indiana, in June 1999. Originally a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, the site became popular rapidly. Faced with increasing costs, Breen sold the site to GreaterGood, “a Seattle-based online shopping mall that gave part of its sales to charity” for an undisclosed amount in February 2000. [1] In July 2001, following the dot-com bubble crash, GreaterGood ceased operations after losing $26 million dollars in venture capital. In 2001, CharityUSA.com, LLC, a privately held, for-profit company based in Seattle, assumed control of the company for one million dollars[2]. CharityUSA owns and operates various click-to-donate-sites. CharityUSA currently claims that 100% of the website’s sponsor advertising revenue is paid to the aforementioned non-profit partners. [3] The Commercial Fundraiser Profile Report page on the Secretary of State’s web page for the state of Washington [4] calculates the percentage that CharityUSA returns to its charity clients as being 17% of the company’s total revenue (labeled as contributions, although the company’s explanation on the same page defines this as mix of contributions and sale of products).
Hmm… Not sure what to think of that? That’s A LOT of trading and changing names, don’t you think? And 17%? Think of all the abandoned ferrets that need homes.
This awesome little app won’t open for me. It crashes, but it’s so cute! And inspired by Free Rice.
Happily, however, there is an article over at Addict3d.org that explains how you can actually play the game. Since I am really great at spelling 3-5 letter words, I can’t wait to play so I can dominate… While saving the world. Win win!
Apparently with this I have to “complete a task” and “the same task is assigned to a marginalized person in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, or Haiti. When your answers match and the task is verified, this person gets paid for the work you did together.” Seeing that I’m currently looking for writing jobs, I figured it would feel pretty good to help fill someone else’s wallet while mine is bleeding out.
So I clicked on “Tasks,” where I see “Tasks Available,” where I’m able to:
*Get 5 points for “How much do people like The Karate Kid?” [YES! I LOVE THIS ALREADY!]
“We are trying to analyze trends though statements on Twitter. Below are some things people have said on Twitter regarding the movie The Karate Kid. Please tell us if the statement is positive or negative.”
The tweet just said “Cool kid!” and I was given the choice to rate it either Positive, Negative, Neutral or Can’t Tell. So I clicked on my answer, clicked “Give work” at the bottom of the screen, advancing me to the next question where I could do more helping. Yay! Helping! Easy peasy…
Next up I had to analyze a tweet from Chris Brown (who I want to punch) AND Fred Durst (Are you KIDDING me? What f*cked up algorithms are being used here?). Now I’m getting stressed as I want to pick the answers these displaced people pick so they can earn money. Mini panic attack, as the whole point of trying this app was to help. Judging tweets by my least favorite “celebrities” wasn’t making it any easier. So to distract oncoming anxiety, I started counting the number of questions I answered. 40.
40? Will it ever end? How do I get off this ride? So I clicked again to review yet another tweet and up pops up:
RT from ralphmacchio “wax on, f*ck off” whoever RTs it “wins a ’84 Karate Kid DVD signed by me!”
Ah, saved by Ralph Macchio. Seeing this as a sign, I took a break (after so much clicking it was needed) and watched the Ralph Macchio masterpiece Wax On, F*ck Off as mentioned in the above tweet. I will warn you it does have some, ahem, adult language. There is also Molly Ringwald, so it evens things out.
Even though I was feeling refreshed after this interlude, after 40 questions, I caved and hit the “next” button at the top of screen… Which takes me MORE questions! So in desperation to stop the madness, I clicked on Stats, which told me “The more you work- the more you help.” (Yes! I know this already!)
*Points you’ve earned 270.
*5 points: 1 tomato, 1 large banana, a small bunch of greens
*500 points: 1 week of cell phone data plan (enabling access to email)
So I’m guessing this means I earned something like a cabbage, a cinnamon stick, a yo-yo and 4 bananas. But, wait, wasn’t I supposed to be GIVING WORK? NOT FOOD? Eh? Not so sure, but at least I’m giving something to someone, no?
So to recap. Who’s the winner* here?
I really wanted it to be either The Extraordinaries or Sproutster because they seemed like they would be awesome. I’m sure they will be awesome, once they work. [UPDATE! According to the people behind The Extraordinaries, it’s working now. Yay!] Which means that Give Work was the clear winner here, mainly by default with thanks to Ralph Macchio.
As for the click-and-donate apps? Just make sure you learn how much of your money you’re donating to charity before you click, okay?
*Clearly the real winner is Ralph Macchio, but I’m not writing about him, so will have to default to the apps instead.
ETA: Tweaked some words, added some links and pics. Posting while sleepy = dangerous.
