I attended the ACB convention in Orlando for the first time in Orlando My flight left at 10:30 AM, so no early morning for me!!! I got all of my belongings in to a large backpack and a medium-sized purse, so no checked luggage!!! However, I stupidly left all of my toiletries on the table, so I had to buy them when I got there. I had no security or transfer problems, and I got the the shuttle just fine. I met another pennsylvania person on the shuttle and we talked about convention since I had never been there before.
There was check in drama, since I was the first person in the room and was paying with a credit card. After 40 minutes, they charged my portion and left the other twofor later. After begging in the room for an hour, I wandered to get food. I ordered three slices of pizza and coke, thinking they were small.Three of thepieces were like six of dominos, OMG, so much food!!! Later, my second roommate, Erin, came. She is awesome. She helped me set up my netbook. I didn't know you could do that with narrator, enterin the administrative info, windows settings, ETC. After that point, I could use system access to go, since I hadn't brought my JAWS and was't connected to the internet at that point. We had a nice discussion about Sociology, since that was her major, and we complained aout research methods and statistics.
The next day, we had breakfast with Sue and John Buckley, members from Erin's aaphiliate in Tennessee. We discussed ACB vs. NFB, and other things, since John has his doctorate and Sue used to manage a YMCA. I think Sarah, 3kitties, came. She was sick the first day se wass there, and I don't really remember everything we did that day. Oh, at some point, two hotel staff showed us around, the emergency exits and the basic layout. We also made a gift shop stop since I had to buy toiletries and Erin needed shampoo, since her airline threw it away, even though it was in her checked luggage.
I went to the exhibit hall and made the whole circuit the first day. I saw familiar technology and ti was fun to look at new things from each company. Throughout the week, I bought an adventurine ring, a garnet necklace, an opal, a Braille alphabet bracelet, and a flamingo bracelet from a blind vender. We also went to the GDUI suie where I bought lab earrings, a harness sign/pouch, and Guide Dog Handlers First Hand.
Sarah, Erin, Kevin, and I spent a lot of time together, eating in the cafe, drinking coffee (in my case hot chocolate,( and just talking and laughing. One day, after all of us went to the exhibit hall we met Pawpower, Lisasalli, and Maia, who sells cool dog accessories. We made another trip back to the GDUI suite where I bought a cat bell, a clip with two regular bells, and a keychain with a glass pendant that says peace in Braille.
Some night, we met Megan, Glen, Amanda, and Kerrie and had dinner at the caf. After that, I went to Amanda's room with her, Kerrie, Megan, Glen, and eventually Amber, who used to be an NFB member. I had fun with them as well as Hester, Buddy, and Boots, the dogs.
I visited Rox and Lisa a few times and bothered their dogs too.
I did actually go to a few ACB events, the GDUI ones where Kathy Nimmer spoke about her book two plus four equals one, an anthology of service dog stories and poems. I would like to submit something for it, I just don't know what. I also saw Seeing Eye instructors Barbara, Jan, and Lucas. It was nice and awkward at the same time, sice Barb worked with Zorro and I during training and retirement process. I also met people from all guide dog schools and asked them questions.
There was a speaker who did animal rescues. He rescued a dog from huricane Katrina, and he kept it with him in the trailor, even when he sent all of the others back with volunteers. A man and his son *walked* to the animal rescue trailors; his wife had died during the huricane and they couldn't get out since they had no gas money. The terrier he had been keeping belonged to the little boy, and it made him feel comforted during the grieving time.
Tuesday was Magic Kingdom@!!! I've never been there before, so I was really excited. I met Natasha caninespirit while walkign through the park and we connected wih Jill and dog Holly, Mike and dog Rick, and an older lady Marilyn. We went to many shops, looking for jewelry and other souvenirs. We went on the teacups and Mike and Marilyn held the dogs. We went somewhere where I had chicken nuggets and fries. Later, we went on the winnie the Pooh ride,, which was cute and shopped there too. Marilyn wandered away so we spent awhile worrying and trying to figure out whereshe was. She was all the way near the outside of the park!!! We spent some time lost but didn't do too badly, which was great. We and the dogs were totally exhausted and were glad to go back to the hotel.
Erin is considering applying for a guide dog!!! She loves dogs and is a toy poodle breeder. She and her friend are also starting a pet supply business, and that is aweome!!! She left Thursday, and I was glad to spend so much time with her and hope we se each other again!!!
Friday, Amanda, Rox, Lisa, Maia, and I went to Cracker Barrel, wher I had chicken fingers, fries macaroni and cheese, biscuits, coke, and hot chocolate. We stopped in the gift shop, were I bought a huge Mr. Good bar and pop rocks. Rox'e decided to have pop rocks with coke and we could hear th fizz from the next room. I didn't sleep at all, packed my stuff and went to the airport. I had no problems there or on my three flights and finally got home at 2:30 Saturday.
Sorry for the incoherency; I thinkk I am still recovering from my vacation, :)!!! 'm glaad I met all of you from LJ and will hopefully do it again some time!!!!
There was check in drama, since I was the first person in the room and was paying with a credit card. After 40 minutes, they charged my portion and left the other twofor later. After begging in the room for an hour, I wandered to get food. I ordered three slices of pizza and coke, thinking they were small.Three of thepieces were like six of dominos, OMG, so much food!!! Later, my second roommate, Erin, came. She is awesome. She helped me set up my netbook. I didn't know you could do that with narrator, enterin the administrative info, windows settings, ETC. After that point, I could use system access to go, since I hadn't brought my JAWS and was't connected to the internet at that point. We had a nice discussion about Sociology, since that was her major, and we complained aout research methods and statistics.
The next day, we had breakfast with Sue and John Buckley, members from Erin's aaphiliate in Tennessee. We discussed ACB vs. NFB, and other things, since John has his doctorate and Sue used to manage a YMCA. I think Sarah, 3kitties, came. She was sick the first day se wass there, and I don't really remember everything we did that day. Oh, at some point, two hotel staff showed us around, the emergency exits and the basic layout. We also made a gift shop stop since I had to buy toiletries and Erin needed shampoo, since her airline threw it away, even though it was in her checked luggage.
I went to the exhibit hall and made the whole circuit the first day. I saw familiar technology and ti was fun to look at new things from each company. Throughout the week, I bought an adventurine ring, a garnet necklace, an opal, a Braille alphabet bracelet, and a flamingo bracelet from a blind vender. We also went to the GDUI suie where I bought lab earrings, a harness sign/pouch, and Guide Dog Handlers First Hand.
Sarah, Erin, Kevin, and I spent a lot of time together, eating in the cafe, drinking coffee (in my case hot chocolate,( and just talking and laughing. One day, after all of us went to the exhibit hall we met Pawpower, Lisasalli, and Maia, who sells cool dog accessories. We made another trip back to the GDUI suite where I bought a cat bell, a clip with two regular bells, and a keychain with a glass pendant that says peace in Braille.
Some night, we met Megan, Glen, Amanda, and Kerrie and had dinner at the caf. After that, I went to Amanda's room with her, Kerrie, Megan, Glen, and eventually Amber, who used to be an NFB member. I had fun with them as well as Hester, Buddy, and Boots, the dogs.
I visited Rox and Lisa a few times and bothered their dogs too.
I did actually go to a few ACB events, the GDUI ones where Kathy Nimmer spoke about her book two plus four equals one, an anthology of service dog stories and poems. I would like to submit something for it, I just don't know what. I also saw Seeing Eye instructors Barbara, Jan, and Lucas. It was nice and awkward at the same time, sice Barb worked with Zorro and I during training and retirement process. I also met people from all guide dog schools and asked them questions.
There was a speaker who did animal rescues. He rescued a dog from huricane Katrina, and he kept it with him in the trailor, even when he sent all of the others back with volunteers. A man and his son *walked* to the animal rescue trailors; his wife had died during the huricane and they couldn't get out since they had no gas money. The terrier he had been keeping belonged to the little boy, and it made him feel comforted during the grieving time.
Tuesday was Magic Kingdom@!!! I've never been there before, so I was really excited. I met Natasha caninespirit while walkign through the park and we connected wih Jill and dog Holly, Mike and dog Rick, and an older lady Marilyn. We went to many shops, looking for jewelry and other souvenirs. We went on the teacups and Mike and Marilyn held the dogs. We went somewhere where I had chicken nuggets and fries. Later, we went on the winnie the Pooh ride,, which was cute and shopped there too. Marilyn wandered away so we spent awhile worrying and trying to figure out whereshe was. She was all the way near the outside of the park!!! We spent some time lost but didn't do too badly, which was great. We and the dogs were totally exhausted and were glad to go back to the hotel.
Erin is considering applying for a guide dog!!! She loves dogs and is a toy poodle breeder. She and her friend are also starting a pet supply business, and that is aweome!!! She left Thursday, and I was glad to spend so much time with her and hope we se each other again!!!
Friday, Amanda, Rox, Lisa, Maia, and I went to Cracker Barrel, wher I had chicken fingers, fries macaroni and cheese, biscuits, coke, and hot chocolate. We stopped in the gift shop, were I bought a huge Mr. Good bar and pop rocks. Rox'e decided to have pop rocks with coke and we could hear th fizz from the next room. I didn't sleep at all, packed my stuff and went to the airport. I had no problems there or on my three flights and finally got home at 2:30 Saturday.
Sorry for the incoherency; I thinkk I am still recovering from my vacation, :)!!! 'm glaad I met all of you from LJ and will hopefully do it again some time!!!!
- Mood:
content
Five days before ACB convention, I went to Millersville to hang out with Beckie and her friends for her birthday. I took a train from here to Lancastor. No transportation problems, just annoying people. I purchased my tickets online and had to pick them up at the window. I asked a person sitting in the station where is the ticket counter? He showed me and the person gave me my tickets and said he would come get me when it was time to board. The man who helped me get to the counter said, now you sit here, the man wil come get you, ok? *pats shoulder* OMG, I amm not a child or a person incapable of thought, sigh sighted people sometimes.
After I got to the train station, Beckie, Josey, Warren, and I went to the burger king and the mall. I bought a brush and bonine because I get motion sick on rides. When we were leavig the mall, we bought smoothie/slushy drinks and spent forever wwalking around the entire parking lot, Since Josey forgot where she parked the car. Later, we went to a party with fire spinners. They also spit fire by putting lamp oil in their mouths and blowing on huge sticks. They also danced with the sticks and everyone said it was really cool.
The next day was Hershey Park!!! We went on the swings, the tilt-a-wirl, teacups, whip, some music thing, the log floom, and a couple of other rides. We also ate soooo much food. I had a hot dog, fries, huge soda, huge s'more, and more drinks. I met Beckie's friend Lynn and had a Harry Potter discussion while Beckie and Co. were waiting in line for the roller coaster.
Monday, I went to Beckie's writer's workshop class. The question was what is your passion and how has that passion hurt you or changed you, something like that. Guess what I wrote about, the first two don't count LOL, dogs. Afterwards, we went to the Millersville University store where I bought a wallet and parrot keychain. We had lunch at the Sugarbowl, where I had chicken fingers and fries. During lunch,GDB *finally* called and said someone is coming between July 29 and August sixth for my interview. I asked Beckie if I could stay with her since she lives in Bloomsburg and I want to be on campus for my route. She said yes, so I will be in Bloomsburg some time soon. Later, we were going to go to CC's pizza but got lost and ended up going to Five Guys, a place with amazing burgers and fries!
Josey accidentally pulled the tubing for insulin out of her leg and was almost out of supplies, but Beckie talked her into staying till Tuesday. We went to the Olive Garden where Beckie and Josey ate the soup and salad special and I ate nothing because I can't eat before I travel long distances. We made it to the train station with only five minutes to spare, and I had no problems going home.
The next day was 7:45 AM work. We went to Jennifer's to work on ssetting up her gmail account in windows live mail. We also talked about guide dogs. She applied to leader and they *finally* got back to her after a year. She said she thoughthat was normal time and I assured her it wasn't. Some of her paperwork got lost which caused the year wait. She applied to the Guide Dog Fondation while I was there because of the combo training of class and at home. She has some health problems so the less time far away, the better. Afterwards, I went to India's, where we did more gmail and downloaded descriptive movies and talked.
After I got to the train station, Beckie, Josey, Warren, and I went to the burger king and the mall. I bought a brush and bonine because I get motion sick on rides. When we were leavig the mall, we bought smoothie/slushy drinks and spent forever wwalking around the entire parking lot, Since Josey forgot where she parked the car. Later, we went to a party with fire spinners. They also spit fire by putting lamp oil in their mouths and blowing on huge sticks. They also danced with the sticks and everyone said it was really cool.
The next day was Hershey Park!!! We went on the swings, the tilt-a-wirl, teacups, whip, some music thing, the log floom, and a couple of other rides. We also ate soooo much food. I had a hot dog, fries, huge soda, huge s'more, and more drinks. I met Beckie's friend Lynn and had a Harry Potter discussion while Beckie and Co. were waiting in line for the roller coaster.
Monday, I went to Beckie's writer's workshop class. The question was what is your passion and how has that passion hurt you or changed you, something like that. Guess what I wrote about, the first two don't count LOL, dogs. Afterwards, we went to the Millersville University store where I bought a wallet and parrot keychain. We had lunch at the Sugarbowl, where I had chicken fingers and fries. During lunch,GDB *finally* called and said someone is coming between July 29 and August sixth for my interview. I asked Beckie if I could stay with her since she lives in Bloomsburg and I want to be on campus for my route. She said yes, so I will be in Bloomsburg some time soon. Later, we were going to go to CC's pizza but got lost and ended up going to Five Guys, a place with amazing burgers and fries!
Josey accidentally pulled the tubing for insulin out of her leg and was almost out of supplies, but Beckie talked her into staying till Tuesday. We went to the Olive Garden where Beckie and Josey ate the soup and salad special and I ate nothing because I can't eat before I travel long distances. We made it to the train station with only five minutes to spare, and I had no problems going home.
The next day was 7:45 AM work. We went to Jennifer's to work on ssetting up her gmail account in windows live mail. We also talked about guide dogs. She applied to leader and they *finally* got back to her after a year. She said she thoughthat was normal time and I assured her it wasn't. Some of her paperwork got lost which caused the year wait. She applied to the Guide Dog Fondation while I was there because of the combo training of class and at home. She has some health problems so the less time far away, the better. Afterwards, I went to India's, where we did more gmail and downloaded descriptive movies and talked.
- Mood: content
I used to have hair that reached my waist. I made of the mistake of having an inexperienced hair colorist bleaching it then dying it red. After that, I had to hack off 8 inches.
I've been slowly growing it back and weaving my natural hair color back in. However, how bad is it that my hairdresser razored the front layers and back of my hair to thin it out?
I've been slowly growing it back and weaving my natural hair color back in. However, how bad is it that my hairdresser razored the front layers and back of my hair to thin it out?
Last week as we heard in New York from Potter producer David Heyman, there will be ultimate collector's editions of the Harry Potter films due out on Blu-ray and DVD. Tonight, Amazon.com has the first two discs in the collection already for pre-order: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, with the label reading "including 'Creating the World,' " and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, wit...
I'm back from my trip to the ACB Convention, and will write a post about it at some point. However, I'm sick at the moment. I'm not deathly ill, just not the picture of health. I'm running a low grade fever, tired, sore throat, coughing, etc. I really need to be well by Wednesday because I'm speaking to two groups of twelve teenagers, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I'm talking about the technology I use and taking questions, oh, and there's going to be a bit of guide dog stuff in there for good measure. These are teens with various degrees of blindness. So, it would be helpful if I could use my voice without it squeaking or dying altogether, and it would be nice if the fever was all gone so I'd have my wits about me. I feel like I'm just living on the border of coherence at this point. I worked today, which is another story for another time, came home, and took a nap. I'm catching up on the net for a little while, and then it's back to bed for me.
I also did a bit of a friends' list clean-up. I always feel like I need to explain myself when I do this. It's nothing personal, honestly, I just feel like I can't keep up, and needed to make some changes.
Thanks for reading my rambles, and I'll produce something of a bit more substance in the near future.
I also did a bit of a friends' list clean-up. I always feel like I need to explain myself when I do this. It's nothing personal, honestly, I just feel like I can't keep up, and needed to make some changes.
Thanks for reading my rambles, and I'll produce something of a bit more substance in the near future.
- Mood:
sick
Its MTV Half-Blood Prince video interview madness, with a whole host of funny interview clips from Dan Radcliffe and Emma Watson now online. Check out seven clips here, read the article with Emma discussing filming the Hermione's kiss scene with Ron/Rupert for Deathly Hallows here, and see interviews from the New York premiere on their potions wishes here. Enjoy!Thanks to MTV!
Internet movie ticket retailer Fandango sent us a press release that had a few eye opening statistics, including noting that now over 1,000 screenings of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince due to open tomorrow at midnight have now sold out. "Harry is tracking to match last year's juggernaut, The Dark Knight, in
advance ticket sales," says Rick Butler, Chief Operating Officer of
Fandango. "S...
advance ticket sales," says Rick Butler, Chief Operating Officer of
Fandango. "S...
Over the years, one topic of debate hotly discussed in our fandom has been actor Michael Gambon and his portrayal of Professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series. Adding fuel to the fire has been his previous comments over the years regarding his deliberate choice to not read the source material found in the works of author J.K. Rowling. Michael Gambon repeats those same sentiment...
As reported here previously, actress Emma Watson was to make an appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly today. Thanks to our Order Partner Emma Watson.net, you can now watch the video here. Update: It is also now available here in our galleries.
I had a lesson this morning, to make up for the one missed on Friday due to crossed signals. That shift with an extension that's been giving me fits? Yeah, well, er ... I was playing the wrong note. It turns out the extension is not quite so far as I thought, and it is, in fact, quite manageable. How embarrassing.
Besides that, I am, once again, not bowing quite straight across, only this time it is mostly on the D string. Strange. Back to the mirror again. KInd of frustrating, really. I did learn some things about minor scales, which was interesting, and the different types of minor scales. I ordered a theory book from Amazon, and I'm hoping to get that before my camping trip so I can take it with me. I won't be able to take the cello, so it would be good to have something musical to work on. Or maybe I could use that ten days to start learning to play the guitar? (Yes, you, too, can learn to play guitar in ten days or less! LOL) It will be sad not to be able to make music while I'm camping; now that it has become part of my life, I'll miss it.
Besides that, I am, once again, not bowing quite straight across, only this time it is mostly on the D string. Strange. Back to the mirror again. KInd of frustrating, really. I did learn some things about minor scales, which was interesting, and the different types of minor scales. I ordered a theory book from Amazon, and I'm hoping to get that before my camping trip so I can take it with me. I won't be able to take the cello, so it would be good to have something musical to work on. Or maybe I could use that ten days to start learning to play the guitar? (Yes, you, too, can learn to play guitar in ten days or less! LOL) It will be sad not to be able to make music while I'm camping; now that it has become part of my life, I'll miss it.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
enderfem, Esq.
I hope your day has been a celebration of the awesome that is you and that every day in the coming year is another celebration.
Be well and be happy.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
*raises glass* (yeah, that's a bad pun on your first name...deal :D)
enderfem, Esq.I hope your day has been a celebration of the awesome that is you and that every day in the coming year is another celebration.
Be well and be happy.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
*raises glass* (yeah, that's a bad pun on your first name...deal :D)
- Current Dreamscape:The 732
- Mood: calm
Huge Thanks to our non-stop hardworking ace galleries crew, we now have all of the new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince previews that aired over the weekend during the ABC Family Harry Potter movie marathon weekend. While some of the snippets we just saw released in the various UK specials over the weekend, of note is this feature with Tom Felton on Draco Malfoy. The others include:Hermio...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to purplevenus!
I hope today has brought you peace of mind, peace of the heart and peace of the soul.
I hope that today and every day in the coming year brings you light, laughter and joy.
SMILE BIG and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
purplevenus!I hope today has brought you peace of mind, peace of the heart and peace of the soul.
I hope that today and every day in the coming year brings you light, laughter and joy.
SMILE BIG and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
- Current Dreamscape:The 732
- Mood: calm
Satin Rollers:
So I've been researching ways to style my hair without heat or damage and I came across satin hair rollers that you put in at night :O
All you do is put your hair in the rollers, the size of the roller determines how tight or loose you want the curl....then you sleep with them ON a satin pillow case!
I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes.....of course this is something I'm experimenting for us tight wave/curly haired girls. In a few articles it says that it is a way to "set" your hair and since you are using satin to define... there is little to no frizz. (well unless you move around like CRAZY in the night). So basically by putting our hair in the rollers we are munipulating the way in which our hair curls :D it sounds super exciting.
If anyone has had ANY experience with satin rollers and has tight wavy/curly hair please do share your experience!
Weather:
Why is it that on hot, dry and even windy days make my hair a LIVING hell? It seems like my hair is always so pretty when it's moist and cool...does anyone know exactly WHY my hair does this? I'm hoping to move to Tokyo in the future (if I can convince my fiance) and I'm hoping the weather will be something that won't screw up my hair like hot Nevada.....D: eek even when I visit San Diego in the summer my hair goes nuts
Hair Bun:
Is it damaging to put your hair in a loose bun with something like this (AKA loose cloth head band):
So I've been researching ways to style my hair without heat or damage and I came across satin hair rollers that you put in at night :O
All you do is put your hair in the rollers, the size of the roller determines how tight or loose you want the curl....then you sleep with them ON a satin pillow case!
I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes.....of course this is something I'm experimenting for us tight wave/curly haired girls. In a few articles it says that it is a way to "set" your hair and since you are using satin to define... there is little to no frizz. (well unless you move around like CRAZY in the night). So basically by putting our hair in the rollers we are munipulating the way in which our hair curls :D it sounds super exciting.
If anyone has had ANY experience with satin rollers and has tight wavy/curly hair please do share your experience!
Weather:
Why is it that on hot, dry and even windy days make my hair a LIVING hell? It seems like my hair is always so pretty when it's moist and cool...does anyone know exactly WHY my hair does this? I'm hoping to move to Tokyo in the future (if I can convince my fiance) and I'm hoping the weather will be something that won't screw up my hair like hot Nevada.....D: eek even when I visit San Diego in the summer my hair goes nuts
Hair Bun:
Is it damaging to put your hair in a loose bun with something like this (AKA loose cloth head band):
- Mood: hopeful
Rosemary and Rue Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire). DAW, $7.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-7564-0571-7
Singer-songwriter McGuire adeptly infuses her debut with hardboiled sensibilities and a wide array of mythological influences, set against a moody San Francisco backdrop. October “Toby” Daye is half-human, half-faerie, a changeling PI with a foot in both worlds. After spending 14 years as a fish following a botched assignment, she's desperate to avoid magic, but the dying curse of a murdered elven lady forces her to investigate the killing, with the price of failure being Toby's own painful death. Toby struggles with court intrigue, magical mayhem, would-be assassins and her own past, always driven by the need to succeed and survive. Well researched, sharply told, highly atmospheric and as brutal as any pulp detective tale, this promising start to a new urban fantasy series is sure to appeal to fans of Jim Butcher or Kim Harrison. (Sept.)
seanan_mcguire). DAW, $7.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-7564-0571-7 Singer-songwriter McGuire adeptly infuses her debut with hardboiled sensibilities and a wide array of mythological influences, set against a moody San Francisco backdrop. October “Toby” Daye is half-human, half-faerie, a changeling PI with a foot in both worlds. After spending 14 years as a fish following a botched assignment, she's desperate to avoid magic, but the dying curse of a murdered elven lady forces her to investigate the killing, with the price of failure being Toby's own painful death. Toby struggles with court intrigue, magical mayhem, would-be assassins and her own past, always driven by the need to succeed and survive. Well researched, sharply told, highly atmospheric and as brutal as any pulp detective tale, this promising start to a new urban fantasy series is sure to appeal to fans of Jim Butcher or Kim Harrison. (Sept.)
- Current Dreamscape:The 732
- Mood:
geeky
The White House Office of Urban Affairs and the Domestic Policy Council hosted a day-long discussion about the future of America’s urban and metropolitan areas. Participants included policy experts from across the country, several cabinet members, and elected officials. Discussions covered the evolution of metropolitan areas, best practices in urban communities, and how the federal government can be a more effective partner in these communities.
After the roundtable discussions, the President spoke on some of the challenges facing urban communities today. The President is personally familiar with these challenges after spending much of his life in urban areas, saying he received his greatest education working in Chicago’s South Side. These challenges are only exacerbated by the recession, which is why the administration has been committed to making sure our cities not only rebound, but also prosper in the future:
But what's also clear is we're going to need to do more than just help our cities weather the current economic storm. We've got to figure out ways to rebuild them on a newer, firmer, stronger foundation for our future. And that requires new strategies for our cities and metropolitan areas that focus on advancing opportunity through competitive, sustainable, and inclusive growth. And that's why all of you are here today. And I know that there were a lot of ideas that were shared throughout the morning and afternoon.
Now, the first thing we need to recognize is that this is not just a time of challenge for America's cities; it's also a time of great change. Even as we've seen many of our central cities continuing to grow in recent years, we've seen their suburbs and exurbs grow roughly twice as fast -- that spreads homes and jobs and businesses to a broader geographic area. And this transformation is creating new pressures and problems, of course, but it's also opening up new opportunities, because it's not just our cities that are hotbeds of innovation anymore, it's our growing metropolitan areas.
(President Barack Obama speaks at the Urban and Metropolitan Policy Roundtable meeting in the
Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Monday, July 13, 2009.
Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
The President outlined some of his administration’s proposals:
And we're also going to take a hard look at how Washington helps or hinders our cities and metro areas -- from infrastructure to transportation; from housing to energy; from sustainable development to education. And we're going to make sure federal policies aren't hostile to good ideas or best practices on the local levels. We're going to put an end to throwing money at what doesn't work -- and we're going to start investing in what does work and make sure that we're encouraging that.
Now, we began to do just that with my budget proposal, which included two investments in innovative and proven strategies. I just want to mention these briefly. The first, Promise Neighborhoods, is modeled on Geoffrey Canada's successful Harlem Children's Zone. It's an all-encompassing, all-hands-on-deck effort that's turning around the lives of New York City's children, block by block. And what we want to do is to make grants available for communities in other cities to jumpstart their own neighborhood-level interventions that change the odds for our kids.
The second proposal we call Choice Neighborhoods -- focuses on new ideas for housing in our cities by recognizing that different communities need different solutions. So instead of isolated and monolithic public housing projects that too often trap residents in a cycle of poverty and isolate them further, we want to invest in proven strategies that actually transform communities and enhance opportunity for residents and businesses alike.
The President highlighted the policies of Denver, Philadelphia and Kansas City for their innovative solutions to urban challenges. With these fresh ideas and successful solutions, and the help of the federal government, we can reinvent our urban and metropolitan areas for the 21st century.
As mentioned last week, President Obama received thousands of comments and questions from over 80 countries worldwide related to his visit to Accra, Ghana. Several regional journalists picked a few questions for the President to answer which is covered in the video below.
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So here I am, finally making a post after... how long? Argh. I don't even want to think about it. I have been busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest. First with moving... then school, piano classes, summer activities... then, of course, I volunteered for staff at Border Raids (an SCA event)... And now I have been asked to be the Minister of Arts and Sciences for our Shire and I volunteered to produce a Shire newsletter as well.... all of this while attempting to get MAJOR contracted work done on my new property...
Of course, John starts preschool in a few weeks... and it is an all day program... meaning I will have (hopefully) more time to devote to stuff...
One hopes.
~misty... busy bee
Of course, John starts preschool in a few weeks... and it is an all day program... meaning I will have (hopefully) more time to devote to stuff...
One hopes.
~misty... busy bee
- Mood:
busy
The global premieres for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince continue as James and Oliver Phelps (Gred and Forge) were in Madrid, Spain for the premiere of the sixth Harry Potter film. Here via Getty are images from that event, as well as fans who turned out in Australia to see their premiere as well.UPDATE: Thanks to our friend Alejandro at Bloghogwarts, we can see more photos of the event ...
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- latinanewschic : ACB convention [+0]
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leaky_cauldron : Pre-Orders for Two DVDs from Harry Potter Ultimate Collector's Edition Now Available [+0] - lisasali : Takin' Care of Business [+2]
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- leaky_cauldron : MTV Half-Blood Prince Interview Videos Galore! [+0]
- leaky_cauldron : Fandango: Over 1,000 Half-Blood Prince Showings Now Sold Out [+0]
- leaky_cauldron : LA Times: Michael Gambon "Sees No Point in Reading" Harry Potter Books by JK Rowling [+0]
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- leaky_cauldron : Galleries Update: ABC Family Half-Blood Prince Previews Including New Draco [+0]
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- whitehouseblog : A Few of Africa's Questions [+0]
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- leaky_cauldron : James and Oliver Phelps Attend Madrid Premiere for Half-Blood Prince [+0]