Just a quick note to let you know that we got a nice little write up on SOfix which is an online magazine about the goings on in Brisbane. You can read all about us here: Coffee with a conscience
Archive
Ok, so I was only going to post one of these but they are so well done. This is how you get peoples attention. Feeling really bad that I didn’t do the 40 Hour Famine. No doubt though that these ads played on main stream TV at popular time slots (tongue in cheek).
YOu can find more here: WorldVisionStir
I am still looking into it but this is a very interesting issue that probably does need our attention. Extremely Drug Resistant TB. They are saying that it can be prevented. That is good news, but it still requires attention. For more back ground info on the site watch this TED Video: James Nachtwey: TED Prize wish: Share a vital story with the world.
Hey all, just a quick note to let you know that we will be closing at 1pm on Saturdays from now on. Um that is all for now unless you want to talk about this.
This is a very interesting looking doco about the future of Water. It is said that one day we will be fighting wars over water. Man I hope it doesn’t come to that, it would be a real failing of our society. At Urban Grind I have always said, “Never deny anyone the opportunity to a glass of water or to use the toilet.” What goes around comes around and I might be real thirsty one day and having to rely on the kindness of my fellow man.
The guys at Arcade Tables have offered to leave the table for one more month and if you happen to purchase a table from them because of playing the one at Urban Grind they will donate $25 to our charity of choice. We choose Kiva. So if you have ever been curious to relive those fish and chip shop memories from your child hood you still have some time to try it out before it goes back.
Arcade Tables have been awesome to deal with. They are very professional and extremely helpful. It has been overall a great experience.
This Friday the 19th of September is International PARK(ing) Day. And this year in Brisbane it is going to be big. You can find all of the details, including park locations on the Brisbane PARK(ing) Day Website. Last year we kicked it off in Brisbane but Yen has taken it so much further this year than I ever dreamed. Brisbane is on it’s way to being one of the biggest PARK(ing) Day cities in the world. So if you see a PARK stop and check it out - try it out. And if you get a chance tell Yen how wonderful she is by leaving a comment on her weblog. This would not have been possible without her. You rock Yen!
Just received some great news. One of our first Kiva loans have been paid back in full. How cool is that? You can check out all of the info here. We all made this happen together. Your tips, the staffs volunteering of those tips to Kiva. Give each other a clap. Now I am off to make some more loans. Should be able to make about another 2, but don’t rush to our loans page as it can take about 3 days for the Paypal transaction to go through. So far we have made $125 worth of loans in $25 dollar amounts with one paid back. Thank you everyone. It gives me a real buzz to be able to do this kind of thing.
Just finished watching a movie called Machuca. It was recommended by Karen as one of the movies that we could be lending out from the shop. In itself the movie was great. I am no movie reviewer so all I can really say is that I think it was really well made. What stuck me about the movie was the theme of hatred. It is not the first movie to depict such racial/political/class/etc hatred but this time I thought I might blog my thoughts on hatred.
Besides Internet Explorer I pretty much don’t feel hatred for anything or anyone these days. I used to feel a lot of hatred though, once upon a time - for people mostly. It made me feel powerful even though I know now it was a power that was born in fear. It was an illusionary power that was week in nature and never prevailed. It did not serve me in the end. So to a degree I can understand it when a person hates, but when a culture hates I can’t identify with that on a personal level.
I guess that I am lucky to have never had hatred for another culture instilled in me although in recent times there have been attempts. And just so my government knows. I don’t buy the scare campaigns. I will decide one by one my trust for another person and should a person do me wrong, I will not condemn a whole culture for it.
So in the movie there is this cultural hatred that escalates into violence and ultimately a military coup. And I think to myself for a minute that I am lucky to live in a country where there may be racism and cultural hated but it is mild and it is kept to oneself mostly. I quickly call myself a ‘Sheltered Wanker’ to start with, because I bet there is plenty of cultural hated out there that is affecting people in real and damaging ways everyday. Either I am fortunate or I don’t see it because I am not contributing to it. Then I remember Detention Centres - I do see it, it is just too easy to forget.
But here is the point I am trying to get at. From good soil good food grows. From poor quality soil that is laden with toxic chemicals things still grow, even things that look pretty much the same as things that grow healthy but they are not healthy. Hitler was a plant growing in a soil that let him be the person he was. And there are many other examples like this one. Is the soil to blame? That is, are the people to blame? I am going to go with Yes. But I say it with empathy. I heard it explained once that Hitler’s ‘emergence’ can be traced back along a chain of events. Unchecked sledging that becomes ok on a day to day level makes small things that should not have been ok, ok. And once the small things seem ok it makes the bigger things seem ok too, and on and on until no one remembers how it started. What kind of soil are we? What kind of leaders will emerge from us? Sorry for the long winded analogy - emergence is the key word. Responsibility belongs to us.
I don’t understand all of the details but someone suggested to me once on this topic that Pauline Hanson was Australia’s test and we passed. Maybe, not sure. You might know better - use the comments. I do like the idea though that for all our superficial cultural hatred, if called on it we would walk the other way.
By the way, in the soil analogy there is usually a farmer…
Sophie once drew Rach an awesome angel on a white take away bag using coffee. I think we still have it somewhere. The fact that she could do that was one of the things we loved about Sophie.
