VLF is finally in 2008!

The one nifty tool that I never added to Viva la Feminista was the subscribe by email option. Honestly, I didn't think people wanted it. That is until someone asked me why it wasn't offered a few months ago. So ta-da! It's now available. Just go over to the sidebar and look for "Connect with Viva la Feminista" and click on the email link. I'll be tweaking with how the email will look, so forgive any ugliness that occurs at first.

And back to your regularly scheduled program...

A Chicago Teacher Finds His Parents in Haiti - Now What?

This was originally posted at the AWEARNESS blog. 

A short note from a friend asked for my attention over the weekend. Her son's preschool teacher returned to his homeland of Haiti to search for his parents. He found them, but that is just the first part of what appears to be a long journey through immigration bureaucracy.

Jean-Paul Coffy is currently with his parents at a hospital and somehow was able to get their passports reissued, but now he is awaiting judgment from the American government as to whether or not he can bring them to his adopted hometown of Chicago:

...he had an appointment scheduled for Thursday with the United States Consulate in Santo Domingo to apply for temporary visas to take them to Chicago. Another possibility would be humanitarian parole, a special temporary immigration category that is rarely granted.
His case will be particularly difficult, immigration experts say, because Mr. Coffy, while a legal resident with a green card, is not a United States citizen.

I'm sure that Coffy's story is merely one of thousands just like it. Sure, he's not a U.S. citizen, but if Coffy and other Haitians living in the USA have a home and the ability to help heal their loved ones here, we should let them. We seem to be all too willing to allow orphans across borders, but here we have two elderly people with a son that already supports them from his home in Chicago, and who can offer them safety and shelter during a difficult time. I hope that our government will allow the Coffy family to come home to Chicago where they can get the medical treatment they require and give Haiti time to heal itself as well.

You can keep up to date on the Coffy family at their blog, Help Coffy.

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Risotto

I can't believe, ok maybe I can, that I forgot to post this recipe that I made a few months ago. My thoughts on it are YUM! What I learned from making my first risotto from scratch: When the recipe says to cut into small pieces, DO IT. I don't think the taste would had been as strong if I had cut the pumpkin pieces into smaller bits. I do this a lot when cooking, take shortcuts like the cutting. I learned my lesson! I also learned that my family does not like risotto. This recipe also produces A LOT of risotto. For my family of three, I should make a half recipe at most. Of course now I need to figure out what a single serving looks like.

If you make this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you!

As I get another year older...

I get that much closer to being a member of the Red Hat Society! I know I can join anytime...hehe. I've always chuckled at their antics and their new year resolutions don't disappoint:

Ruby RedHat's Top Ten Rules for Living Plus ONE


1 Accept reality and live in the here and now. Ruby can't be bothered by what-ifs or regrets. She says they interfere with her fun!

2. Accentuate the positive. Ruby always chooses to find the good in any situation she is faced with. She says she would rather develop laugh lines than frown lines.


3. Nurture yourself. Ruby listens to herself and provides for her own needs. When she needs a break, she gives herself one!


4. Indulge your sense of humor. Ruby heartily appreciates the value of laughter.


5. Play! Either Ruby never grew up all the way or she has regressed. In any event, she knows how to have a great time.


6. Dress up! Ruby adores embellishing whatever she is wearing with glitz, glitter, and glam.


7. Cultivate an openness to new things. Ruby will try almost anything.


8. Express your creativity. Ruby thinks "outside the box."


9. Exercise compassion. Ruby loves to laugh and cry with others.


10. Have courage! Ruby knows she is up to the challenge of whatever may come.


11. Make up for the sobriety of your youth! Ruby says that she, too, was dutiful in her younger years and now she has a lot of quirky stuff that she needs to get done!

Winding down

Obviously this month has been uber busy and the originally blogging has taken a holiday. My only solace is that hopefully y'all are just as busy and don't have time to complain. ha!

I hope that you all are safe & warm where ever and which ever holiday you are celebrating.

Here's to 2010 and all the fab adventures she holds for us.

Final Ideas for Change

The top 10 ideas for change have been revealed and NONE of the top three women's issues made it:

• Pass the DREAM Act - Support Higher Education for All Students
• Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace and Non-Violence
• Free Single Payer Health Care
• Develop & Implement a National Strategy for Sustainability
• Pass Marriage Equality Rights for LGBT Couples Nationwide
  

• Make the grid green in 10 years
• Legalize the Medicinal and Recreational Use of Marijuana
• Get FISA Right, repeal the PATRIOT Act, and restore our civil liberties
• Save Small Business From the CPSIA
• Health Freedom IS Our First Freedom

All are great ideas, except the marijuana one for me, I think we have more urgent things to tackle. And while abortion rights came in the second tier, I am sad that it was the top women's rights issue. That said, I was pleased to see marriage equality make it to the final 10 as it has repercussions that trickle down into many other issues. And as someone who works with college students, I was uber-happy to see the DREAM Act win out too. We must find a pathway to citizenship or at least documentation for children who are brought here without the proper paperwork. If we don't, we are simply wasting the talent of these children.

Three more days people...three more days.

Does your New Year's resolution include dancing?

**This week's giveaway is a $10 card to both DonorsChoose & BuildaBearville**

Then you are in luck! The Revelette's are looking for new members:

The Revelettes, Chicago's hippest and hottest performing go-go troupe, are inviting Chicago's cheekiest chicas to don their white boots and join the go-go revolution! Auditions will be held Monday, January 26, from 7:30–9:00pm, at Joel Hall Dance Center, 1511 W. Berwyn. The Revelettes perform 1960s-inspired go-go to beats from the past four decades at such venues as darkroom, Betty's Blue Star Lounge, Empty Bottle and The Double Door.

Check out photos, video, and info at www.myspace.com/revelettes

They also performed, quite patiently, at the Bitch fundraiser I held in May. So they're kewl, ya know.

And no, I'm not going out for the troupe. First, I'm an awful dancer and second, I can barely find time to knit much less practice & perform. Revelettes come in all sizes, shapes & colors, so don't let your holiday extras keep you from trying out. Do let me know if you audition and make it. Good luck!!

Would living next to the POTUS make you feel safer?

Apparently the real estate market near the Obamas Chicago home is heating up:

The first house to sell in “Obama-Wood” since the presidential election was a 12-room, three-story Georgian that closed on December 3rd with a sale price of $1.25 million. (That was also the asking price—and the house sold in under a week.) Built in 1924 and owned for the past three decades by a University of Chicago professor and his lawyer wife, the house sits just 50 feet outside the barricades that have gone up around the Obamas’ block.

It's not just the idea of living in the same 'hood as the POTUS that may be driving this baby. It might also be the idea of living in the safest place in Chicago.

They didn’t come to Kenwood because of Obama—Coe grew up in Hyde Park and has several family members still living nearby—but they already appreciate the presence of the president-elect’s family. “There’s so much security in the neighborhood, I feel like our three-year-old could go out and dance in the middle of the street,” says Coe. “Security issues have always been a problem in Hyde Park and Kenwood. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that for a while now.”

I was chatting with someone who has been living near the Obamas for quite some time a few weeks ago. I joked that she lives in the safest place and she gave me the look - You have no idea. She went on to spew a series of complaints about living in the 'safest place' in Chicago.

She has seen young men being harassed not to mention the very idea of so many police & security forces is unnerving for many young people, especially young people of color. I immediately realized the error I had made. I assumed that all people feel safe near police.

While I grew up in a working poor suburb with plenty of other Latin@s around me, but I never felt scared of the police. I was raised to obey. I dunno if it was a girl thing, a Latino thing or even an assimilation thing.I remember once uttering the "P" word in front of my late mom and woo boy did she lay into me. It reminded me of how as a grown Latina raising a Latina in Chicago, that I see the police is a different way. This is of course after moving to Chicago from the suburbs and seeing how some police have treated POC in my presence. I don't want to go into details, but I've seen things that I thought was only for movies to a naive suburban chick. I think of a post la Mala wrote earlier this year about teaching her own daughter about the police & the subway.

I am conflicted about the police. But I know it would be too much of a pain in the ass to live near the Obamas. I hate giving my ID when I attend meetings downtown much less having to give my ID to go home.

I love parades!

Especially when they Rick Roll us

Save the date - October 1st is official bitch day!

On October 1, 2008, for the first time ever women of all ages and backgrounds have the opportunity to let it all out and let their true feelings heard. Fabulously40 will allow you to gain freedom and liberation, by bitching about everything and anything, in a safe, protected environment. The day will be full of bitching events. Win prizes, meet women, and most importantly- LET IT ALL OUT!

I've been told that this is not just for those of you wiser women over 40, but for any of us mujeres who have a thing or twenty to get off our chests. As you might expect it is a social network site, but it's not like we all don't have a million already right? haha...all these SNS's remind me that a decade ago I was addicted to newsgroups. alt dot whatever...Aw, memories.

This and that...

OMFG I am drowning in things to blog about, yet I still have writers block. That's me. Instead of trying to sort thru it all, I present you with a list of things to read and do:

• American Express is giving away money to non-profits, but they need your vote. Women for Women International’s (W4WI) Help Women and Children Survivors of War Rebuild project is now in the running to receive part of $2.5 million in grants. The Winning Project will receive $1.5 Million in funding, the 2nd Place Project: $500,000; the 3rd Place Project: $300,000; and the remaining two Finalist Projects will receive $100,000 each.
• Michelle Goldberg attended the Women Against Sarah Palin demonstration. Read all about it!
• I created a calendar for this blog. I was trying to blog upcoming events, but that fell by the wayside...instead I present to you my picks for feminist events in Chicago that you should be attending. Yeah, most of them I'll be at or have a hand in promoting, but still, you should be there. If you have events that should go on there, feel free to send them to me.
  
• My buddy Amy is now selling Tastefully Simple. So go check out their goodies and email me your order by September 24th. Please note...she does not have a consultant page, so we need to send her an email with our orders. And if you want to send me a Solstice/Christmas/birthday present....beer bread.
• AAUW releases their AAUW Releases Congressional Voting Record. "To help the electorate make an informed decision, AAUW also released voter guides for the November elections – not just for the presidential race but also for some key Senate races. Additional voter guides will be added throughout the fall."
• I got myself on the hook for a nice list of encyclopedia entries: Adams, Abigail; Girlhood and Motherhood; National Organization for Women; Public Policy and Mothers; Stanton, Elizabeth Cady; Suffrage Movement and Mothers. Um...anyone want to help? Details are forthcoming.
• I must also mention again that I'm now writing over at AWEARNESS. You can click on my profile and find just my pieces as well as subscribe to my RSS feed. But seriously you should read the whole blog. But you just love me, that's kewl too. :)
  

whew!

TMI Panda peeps!

On days like today when I'm a bit overwhelmed, I peek over at the panda-cam at the National Zoo. Today's update read like a medical chart with far too much info than I was prepared to handle. But here's to more baby pandas!

March 25

As we reported last week, Mei Xiang ovulated on March 19. She has continued to show estrous behavior, bleating at her keepers and walking backwards with her tail up when she sees Tian Tian through the window that sits between their yards. Tian’s internal scent analysis tells him that her estrogen has waned and she deserves barely a glance. However, he still chooses frequently to rest near her on the other side of the fence line. We will continue to do daily vaginal swabs until her cells return to their normal everyday composition. Externally, her genitals look almost normal again, only the faintest blush of pink remains and the swelling is just about gone. One has to wonder, if in the wild, very young male pandas would gain valuable experience interacting with females in estrus that have been abandoned by bigger and wiser males.

If I'm run over by a bicyclist, you know why

Chicago is a bicyclers' city. We have miles of bike paths and our mayor is an avid cyclist. He also has an idea of making Chicago like Paris with bikes for rent all over the place. I like that idea. I live on the far north side of the city and work close to the Loop. I also need to drop off the kid each morning and I'm not doing that in a bike every day in the morning and evening. But I would love to have access to a bike to get around my work neighborhood without having to bring my home bike into the office.

BUT...

The latest idea from the City Council is to crack down on drivers. Why? Because bicyclists have been killed and hurt by reckless cars. OK? I can get down with that. But the increase in wanting to protect riders comes after a rider went through a RED light and a SUV struck him and killed him. Apparently driving on a green is bad in the bicyclist world. Seriously, I saw bicyclists on TV say something like "You can't always believe everyone will obey the law." Um, that's what the rules of the road is all about. Yes, I don't hit the gas the millisecond the light turns green...I've seen too many cars run red lights for me to know better. But if my light is green and the law says that a bicyclist needs to stop on red, then I'm assuming it's ok to drive.

The article linked above says that the City Council wants to target bicyclists too, but so far that hasn't happened. Instead us drivers are targeted. I wonder if I hit a bicyclist who weaves in and out of traffic lanes if that is all my fault or not.

That said, I do admit to not always looking before I turn, but I feel like I do it 99% of the time. If I hit someone because I wasn't looking, fine, arrest me, fine me. But if I hit someone because they run a red light, stop sign, or ride in front of me while I'm driving, I don't think so. There needs to be a balance to responsibility on the road. When I'm riding my bike, I don't dart into traffic and usually do stop at reds and stop signs. I know if I hit a car, I'm probably going to lose.

Technorati tags: cycling

Holy Thorn Birds!

Ann at La Bloga received a Priestcake Calendar!

“I got something for you Ann, I won it at a Yankee gift exchange and I just know you’re the only one who’ll appreciate it” my friend Tom told me earlier this month. “My brother got it at the Vatican.” He set it down in front of me, a 2008 calendar featuring black and white photographs of thirteen handsome young priests, one for each month and the best looking for the cover. And it is “con cenni storico artistici sul Vaticano.” With historic notes about the Vatican! Yeah! As I flipped through the pages, each month boasting another dark-haired, dark-eyed young man in vestmental garb, my jaw was on my chest. “It’s a priestcake calendar!” I exclaimed. “This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen!” Tom’s smile couldn’t have been wider: he had found the calendar the perfect home. As I left his office—did I mention he’s our college president?—I decided I just had to know more about the calendar’s history.

I guess if they can't let women become priests, they can let the men become pin-ups. It gives a whole new meaning to "Forgive me Father for I have sinned." And yes, I know I'm going to hell. I'll save ya a seat.