FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kim McCullough, Public Relations Director, 630/637-5307

Feb. 13, 2008––North Central College will host “Social Entrepreneurship and New Visions of Community Building,” a forum on applying business principles to effect social change, on Thursday, Feb. 21.

Open to the public, the free forum will feature:

• Gerald Thalmann, associate professor of accounting at North Central College, speaking on “Coffee, Chocolate, Students and Free Enterprise.” A certified public accountant, Thalmann co-advises North Central’s Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization. Among its activities, SIFE works with coffee and artisan cooperatives in Latin America and Africa to provide a profitable, socially conscious product line of jewelry, textiles, tote bags, T-shirts, coffee and other goods that has generated more than $10,000 in revenue for the overseas producers.

• Cliff Parish, CEO and founder of RemoteLink and RemoteLink Philippines, Inc., speaking on “Frontline: Computers, the Church and Education in the Philippines.” Parish is also director of The NewThing Network-Asia, which works to multiply Christian missions in Asia. An active member of the BBL Forum for Christian chief executives, he has been a catalyst for new church plants, Christian schooling and adult education in the United States and the Philippines.

• Kristin Dean, president of the Homan Square Community Center Foundation, speaking on “Homan Square: From Sears & Roebuck to Complete Community.” The Homan Square project, a $200 million redevelopment of the 55-acre former Sears, Roebuck and Co. headquarters on Chicago’s West Side, has won numerous local and national awards including the Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence and two Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards.

• Keynote speaker Esther Benjamin, director of resource development for the International Partnership for Microbicides that works to provide retroviral drugs and training to women in the developing world, speaking on “Education for Social Change.” Benjamin, a 1990 North Central College alumna who serves on the College’s Board of Trustees, is a fellow with the U.S.-Japan Foundation and the U.S.-Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values. She also is a member of the Echoing Green Foundation, which provides grants to social entrepreneurs and encourages careers of social service.

Thalmann, Parish and Dean will speak beginning at 4:30 p.m. in Koten Chapel at Kiekhofer Hall, 329 E. School St. Benjamin’s keynote remarks will begin at 7 p.m. in Heininger Auditorium at Larrance Academic Center, 309 E. School St.

For more information, contact Richard Guzman, North Central College professor of English and director of the master of arts in liberal studies program, at 630-637-5280.

Founded in 1861, North Central College is an independent, comprehensive college of the liberal arts and sciences that offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and graduate programming in six areas. Located in the historic district of Naperville, Illinois, which was rated by Money magazine as the nation’s second “best place to live,” North Central College is just 30 minutes from Chicago’s Loop. With more than 2,000 full-time undergraduates and nearly 550 part-time undergraduate and graduate students, North Central College is committed to academic excellence, a climate that emphasizes leadership, ethics, values and service, a curriculum that balances job-related knowledge with a liberal arts foundation and a caring environment with small classes.

North Central College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It is recognized as one of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report; ranked as “a college for high-achieving students” by Peterson’s Competitive Colleges; and among a select number of schools profiled in Kaplan’s Unofficial Insider’s Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges.

Posted by grumble at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I probably opened up the local news only to find more crazy devastation everywhere again and as usual. Why Why Why?! I kept wondering - I wondered it so much that after a while I stopped wanting to wonder Why - I didn't care. The world stinks and people are depressed and over medicated and we're going to end up like how it was in Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men. Who cares. Yes, DeKalb. That is what I'm talking about. Our Art teacher lives there and goes to school there and there is a road that you pass as you get there called Peace Road - of course then I imagine it all tattered and falling off the hinges like in a scene from Terminator II.

Why Why Why.

That's when I realized that when we ask why we DO care - and a plethora of mottos started rushing to my head. The greats like Make Love Not War, Guns for Plowshares, Question Authority.

So where are we today? Are there indeed enough people who value LIFE - not just being but the QUALITY of LIFE to make the hard decisions - to BUY the GREEN stuff (I meant environmentally safe... by the way) - to DROP OUT of society and live for happiness not money? Honestly I doubt it. I don't think people in general are willing to bust a**... Because that is what it takes. Believe me... and I don't do a fifth of what I'd liek to be doing.

Brings to mind two concepts. One from someone I miss dearly - it is the concept of 'All In'. Like the poker term. All In... All the time though.... What and interesting concept I thought and wondered how many of us live like that? It doesn't mean - to me at least - that we live self indulgently. I believe it means to take risks. Now how about this: Taking Risks BECAUSE it is the Right Thing To Do.

How many people do you know that do THAT? Now those are our Hero's. That is exactly what a hero would do. And we can do this every day with even the littlest of choices - THINK ABOUT IT.

The Other fellow I met "Lost his Shirt" persuing some endeavor. What it brought to mind is that this is exactly what springboards investors - yes I mean YOU - to say bet on something Safe; buy that thing that came out of the coal burning plant because They pay their workers a penny per pound and it's cheap and the profits are HUGE ...HALLELLUJA!

Hmm.... what the heck does this have to do with the shooter in DeKalb?

The answer to that question is embedded in the subtlies of Quality of Life. Are we *medicated* because we're depressed? Are we *consuming Junk*? Do we make time to *meditate and relax*? Are we *Kind* to strangers? Do we *encourage* kindness? I mean as a society... Who are we? Where are we going? And how did we get Here?

Just thoughts.

Posted by grumble at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Diversity issues is one of those things that people seem to want to either be really vocal about or just ignore altogether. Even if it is about ourselves. It's so easy to get on the defensive, or be the 'activist', or pretend prejudice is a thing of the past. I had a conversation with a friend-at-the-time last year about the start of an advocacy group - I fully thought this would be for the oh-so discriminated against Artists who are under-represented (the way we like them) and thought this person would be interested because of his deep passion for jazz and music and art. Before I was able to get into it further he jumped to the conclusion that I was talking about race issues and blurted "I do not affiliate with advocacy groups because my way of equalling the scales is being a big tipper at restaurants - everyone assumes that because I'm (of a certain race) I will not be a good tipper - and I want to prove that I have just as much spending power as anyone else." After unsuccessfully trying to calm him, I discovered that my idea would not get heard that day and it would be best if I just persued another course of action. So what happened here?

When I think about social programs, the ones that have to do with diversity, the promenent ones, tend to pop out in my mind as extreme. As I've traveled along on this little "art project' of mine better known as the cultural center (I should write a dissertation about it!), I have discovered people who want to remind me that I am American afterall you know. I call this my art project because this is the thing that I would like to sculpt to make my world a more beautiful place. This is simply an art project because it is an aesthetic creation. Living public art that you can experience... and hopefully it will be a good one! Anyone can come here and take art or music or just sit around - too bad I don't have a little cafe! Maybe one day! If I were to make a wish list it would include a sitting area with refreshments, an exhibit area with lecture space & plenty of classrooms for languages and the arts. Now how beautiful would that be?!

I had an interesting email from an "underground" artist recently - that was interesting too. I never felt more pleased that I was not organized by a large beauracracy! Although, financially it's a whole heck of a lot safer. Whatever that is. So anyway - it went like this:

Would be nice to join if as the social underground would stop hinting that only blacks with the Obama skin type are really welcome, even if your social IQ is less than expected.
The question is: Is "diversity" now a commercial mantra?

me: Not sure what you are asking - but commercial mantra or not - you are a part of society. And the society you are a part of has a diverse population.

That may be true from a sociological perspective, but in current real-time existence, those of us who have our mental fingers on the pulse of society are aware of pockets of gradual unraveling of traditional social structures. This means that these changes are below the "mainstream radar screen", and the resulting social entity incurs the social risk of not just linguistic and national diversity, but racial diversity, which is a national joke in the greater Chicago. I am trying to simplify what was unclear when I referred to the "social underground".
Certainly by default we all are a part of society, but society is like a Set Construct, and within that Set, there are subsets-(culture/subculture), which are pretty well established understandings of social fabrics throughout the Western world.

{The question is: Is "diversity" now a commercial mantra? } It was really intended to be a rhetorical question, but to amplify its meaning: Where is the reality behind the ‘diversity’ banner, or is it just a slogan to enhance a commercial image? Resipsaloquitur

You discretely or wisely ignored the Obama comment.

Any thoughts?

Posted by grumble at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you voted yesterday it means you are not yet a complete cynic - you haven't given up! Good for you! Polls showed record breaking numbers for the voter turn out - hmmm - wonder why. There were also a number of little tests and quizes out there to see of you are truly aligned with your candidate. Be careful though - as I was wading through them I found a lot had all kinds of crazy sales pitches at the end, or questions that obviously probed for additional information about my demographics. A good quiz will be from a college, university or study (and even still I'd take two because, hey, colleges can be slanty too... not that I'm a cynic or anything)... The irony for me is that they say that less taxes, less government is the way of one group... the group that wants to privatize everything - they keep raising the taxes. The other bunch is supposed to want more government, trust the government, vote for more taxes & they are just the stingiest most curmudgeonly folk I've ever met! They don't even want the government to pay for school repairs - but that's just the cranky ol' people I guess I've been talking to (bless their hearts). Well, whatever. Have a strange surreal experience on me. When I listen to this enough, I start talking with a drawl. It's kinda cool:

Posted by grumble at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A few months ago I read the Golden Compass - fabulous book and would like to find the time for the other two. The movie, however, was not as good. The treasures are in the subtle details of this book and I felt that certain points were unnecessarily exaggerated in the film. The book is very personal and insightful to the flaws and hidden strengths often found when pursuing study of what is known as the human condition.

The website for the film is pretty fun. Go to the website and click on daemon, then click on meet your daemon. Controversy over these terms is really to me just silly arguement over semantics. These "daemons" really are merely an expression of our emotions revealed. Often we cover these, or hide them. But this story examines the idea that our emotions hold truths about who or what we are. If that is so, or not, is irrelevant. The idea is something we all know and experience often enough.. Now, go to meet you daemon - your own personal animal guide and attendant - :^)
Enjoy~

Posted by grumble at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Being a slob is an art - I am convinced of it. You have to be really crafty to be a good slob. Sometimes I revel in it. Donuts and daily vitamins: breakfast, lunch and dinner. That was my Friday. We were completely out of fruits and veggies and someone made the mistake of putting a big box of donuts unattended on the table! What's a poor girl to do?

As I am an Aquarius, I notice that my horoscopes always prescribe to my dilemas a day late and a dollar short ~ Todays read: Watch out for the donuts. Thanks.

Last weekend I went to a Shamanic Journeying session conducted by Dr. Esther Geitner, shamanic practitioner & Hyptnotist (maybe she can help me with my donut problem?) Esther was a student of Michael Harner, founder of the foundation for Shamanic Studies. While there we bundled up and carefully placed eye pillows over our eyes and laid back while listening to drumming rythms. About 220 beats per minute to be exact which is meant to bring the meditator to a 'shamanic state of consciousness'. I'm very interested in this idea of natural living and healing - but I cannot brag about being very disciplined. I was spoiled when I was a child, I guess. I feel I've seen the long term effects of what could be called Un-natural healing & it's just not pretty. Let me think of a few examples, hmm, Elvis.... Liza Minelli... Jackson's (your pick)...

Very creative these shamanic practitioners. The don't prefer to call themselves *shamans* because they say this is an aboriginal word best left defined by those who are decendants of past shamans. I looked into this. It seemed to be quite controversial: a little shamanic drama I reckon. Not even shamans can escape the tabloids.

So I listened and relaxed and was told to travel into an imaginary garden and wish for an animal spirit to visit - it was very clear and very beautiful - there was sagebrush and desert and birds - and depending then on how this animal spirit felt it could be what the core shamans call a power animal - the power animal is the animal guide. It's pretty cool actually. I like animals - they're cute and and cudly and live purely. The idea is like that of finding a 'totem' - that the attributes of this animal are your attributes. Mine was the coyote. I didn't really know what that meant so Esther told me to look it up - Here's what I found:

Coyote is the antihero whose antics make it easier to see ourselves.

Coyote's Wisdom Includes:

Understanding that all things are sacred--yet nothing is sacred
Teaching that only when all masks have fallen will we connect with the Source
Intelligence
Singing humans into being
Childhood trust in truth
Teaching us how to rear our young
Brings rain
Ability to laugh at one’s own mistakes
Placing the North Star
Shape-shifting
Teaching balance between risk and safety
Illumination
Stealth

Well, I didn't really get the part about 'singing humans into being' but the rest brought words to the way I'd been feeling lately. It's fun anyway. I wonder if coyotes eat donuts?

Posted by grumble at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)