I just moved to New York City. I never thought I would be saying those words but that's the truth- I did just move to New York City, the Big Apple, the home of about 16 million people, the city with the most languages being spoken at any given moment in the U.S. I was about to call one of the trains I was getting on recently the yellow line, and someone said whatever you do- don't call it the yellow line because you're from DC and that's what they do there. I heard that and I thought about the last conversation I had about the train lines in DC.

Sometimes, life on the Rez is difficult and not very easy. There is nothing to do and a lack of opportunities. There are drugs and binge drinking and social fightings that go on. But it's not all bad things because there is family here, there is a rich spirituality here.

On a deeper level, you can feel the sadness and remorsefulness of a hundred years of slain people, and the wraiths leak up through the very trees and plants themselves, and our people become lost. Most youth here cannot see beyond the moment, or think beyond the day.

Like most people I don’t think of girls as brides, unless they are wearing a costume for Halloween or a school play. However an article in the New York Times this week, “Tiny Voices Defy Child Marriage in Yemen”http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/world/middleeast/29marriage.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=yemen&st=cse&oref=slogin made me aware that girl brides are part of the reality of several countries in the world, and that for these girl brides life is not a game but a painful reality.

In my Introduction to Anthropology textbook, “Culture asGiven, Culture as Choice” by van der Elst, there was a comment that got me thinking, All that is needed for women to fall into poverty is just to have one more child than they can afford. This comment impacted me and got me thinking and it made a lot of sense. One child represents not only the additional cost to support that new human being, but also the opportunity costs of not pursuing other economic activities because of caring for the newcomer.

As the semester has come to a close, I decided to treat myself to a (cheap) deep tissue massage-- a college degree seems to equate more with debt than financial security, so I had to be wise in my search. I began my online search for "cheap massage in San Francisco" and came across links to sex parlors and sex trafficking in San Francisco.

I'm all too familiar with the continued prevalence of prostitution in the Bay Area. I was taught not to judge or be over critical of prostitutes since I knew women who were single mothers, struggling to pay the bills while the fathers of their children were incarcerated. I sometimes find myself trying to speak up for these women: do you really think these women enjoy selling their bodies?

We should all grow some of our own food. No, I don't mean we should all become farmers, but we should grow part of what we consume.  Think about it, at this precise moment there are people going to bed hungry and some are dying of starvation.  The raising prices of basic food such as rice, corn, and flour have become such an international issue that all the advances gained in the war against poverty can be lost quickly if prices continue rising and become an obstacle to people's ability to feed themselves.  If we teach people in urban centers to grow part of their own food in small lots, communal abandoned city lots, and on roof tops we will all have an impact on the demand of some foods and indirectly make food more affordable .

Cradle to Prison Pipeline:
Children's Defense Fund

By
kYmberly Keeton

The
University of Houston Law School recently hosted the Children's Defense Fund
Cradle to Prison Pipeline® Texas Summit.
Marian Bright Edelman, President of the CDF, was the guest speaker.
Numerous workshops and panels were available to the community, academia, and
organizations.

This article, and the comments in response, make me want to throw something. The (white, male) author bemoans the frequency of teen pregnancy amongst the low-income, mostly non-white girls he teaches. He writes:

It happens too often. A female student approaches my desk, says "Mr. Okun?", and and whispers the two words no adult wants to hear from a teenager: "I'm pregnant." I want to scream, I want to cry, I want to shake her with anger. What have you done? Life is not hard enough already? Is it over, have you given up? What about finishing high school? What about college? What about your own dreams? What about enjoying the last of your own childhood? How can you parent a child when you are just a child yourself? How will you support your baby, how will you support yourself? Where is the man, will he be here next year? Will I see you and your baby coldly waiting alone for a city bus that will not come? Please look me in the eye and tell me you know what you have done.

I hope you all are familiar with The Onion - that biting and often close-to-home paper that relishes in sarcasm and wit. If not, get to it immediately. The Onion is an incredible place to turn when the drudgery of real news gets too much (and Stewart or Colbert aren't on).

The Onion today featured a video article about Gap unveiling a new line of clothing "For Kids By Kids".

This is a great video and example of how our daily lives and actions are part of a greater world.

Click below to open video or go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vBUhwJ67jQ

Also, cute kid. My favorite is when he stands under the shower with his rain hat.