A couple of new links

Longer update tonight, because I actually have something to say today :)! Got through a group presentation in front of the palliative care case study class this evening, and all three of us did reasonably well, especially Katie and Rebecca. I hate public speaking as a rule, but I knew just enough about the subject (from my own personal experience with loss and bereavement), to wing it, and not feel too much of a fool up in front of the class.

Anyway, just wanted to call attention to two other links I've added to the Activism column on the left side of the blog page. One, is the United Hollywood blog, which is being maintained by members of the Writers' Guild of America (WGA), who are on strike. For those who are not familiar wit their beef, the WGA is protesting the fact that many of them get paid peanuts to write scripts for television shows (like Heroes, 24, Prison Break, and, yes, the Daily Show and Jay Leno) and movies, and don't get paid at all for DVD and digital distribution sales (like on iTunes, Netflix, and through broadband streaming off the show websites, e.g., www.nbc.com/heroes). If it weren't for the fact that the term "sweatshop conditions" should be reserved for the very real problem of people, for example in Saipan, working for much less than minimum wage in slave conditions, I would be calling what the writers were putting up with "sweatshop conditions". Update: In fact, it isn't even close, and wouldn't be a fair comparison. Just wanted to make that clear. The writers are still getting screwed over, monetary wise, and that's still bullshit.

The other link is to Children International, which is an organization I have supported for about three years now. Nothing quite gives me a warm inner glow like getting a letter from the child I have been sponsoring, thanking me for helping her and her family, well not exactly escape poverty completely, but at least keeping them from being completely destitute. Best of luck, Vhera!

One last thing before I sign off for the night. I'm starting to clear out my collection of Facebook links, because it's starting to get unwieldy, and I'm thinking about leaving Facebook anyway. I found this link to a video, called "Killing Us Softly 3", which is a lecture about the effect that advertising has on American women's self-image. Very interesting, and somewhat disturbing, in view of how pervasive advertising is in our very environment. It's a couple of years old, but still just as relevant today. Any female visitors to this blog, please take notes.