Last month, I wrote about the amazing new RAISE Hope for the Congo CD. Proceeds from the albums sold will go toward helping people of the Congo—particularly women and girls—escape the violence that occurs there on a daily basis due to genocide. The genocide itself, of course, is money-related—surrounding the control of the country’s minerals used to produce products such as computers and cell phones.

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As an addition to her great interview, Peggy Bechko shares her favourite writing quote, advice and online resource.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Read and write constantly. If you can locate a great mentor that’s wonderful, but it’s a bonus.  Reading helpful books by other authors intended to help guide the newbie is good too, but remember not all their advice will be good for you. Learn to pick and choose from all that reading what really applies to you and your style.

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The method of writing has evolved faster than Madonna’s image over the past few decades.  From pen and paper, to typewriters, then electric typewriters and word processors until finally, the PC and laptop.  (Will we all be typing on virtual keyboards or tablet PCs in the future?)



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Graduation—whether from kindergarten, high school, college, or any other program—is an event to be commemorated and celebrated. No matter if your grad was home-schooled, public-schooled, or private-schooled, he or she will likely enjoy celebrating his or her special commencement with friends and family. Getting presents, of course, is always fun, too. Here are a few items you might want to gift your grad with this year.

A Journal: If there’s one thing I wish I’d kept during my early post-secondary years, it’s a journal. If you think that won’t go over well, a camera and scrapbook would always be nice, too.

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If you’re fed up with the college scene, ready for something different, or you just want to supplement your life with a different kind of education, you might want to try Humane Society University. Founded in 2008, Humane Society University puts all of the Humane Society of the United States’ programs all under one accessible school to help people live more humane lifestyles and become better citizens overall.

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When I was in college, I used to make people laugh when I said I wanted to “slap corporate greed!” What I mean was that I wanted to take part in Student Labor Action Week. Having attended a pretty conservative school, this kind of activity was never easy to do—and was definitely never very popular—which, although sometimes more fun, often simply made me feel more nervous and puke-possible than I normally did as a “lone liberal” on campus.

The cool think about the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP! Get it? “Slap” corporate greed? Yeah… nevermind.) is that it hosts events all across the country on campuses that are likely to be near you. So you can always turn to them to get help in hosting an event, taking action, or even simply attending one of their events.

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School ClosingsThe Kansas City School Board, in a budget saving measure with pressure from the school's superintentent, voted to close 28 schools.  A last minute, ditch effort was made to save 12 of those 28 schools, but that measured failed, as well.  The slim margain, a 5 to 4 vote, also caused a lot of emotion.  Rightfully so as children were seen crying and parents were livid after hearing about the vote.

Chris Hernandez of KSHB NBC out of Kansas City, Missouri interviewed a woman who said, I have an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old that will be going to school with 12th graders- and I find that very inappropriate. I don't feel my children will be safe," said Deneicia Williams.

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People from our parents' generation laugh about the shortsighted advice given to them when they were college-age kids ready to start building their lives. They say that all their parents, teachers and guidance counselors encouraged them to go to school and study law, medicine and engineering. Why? Because the nation needed its doctors, lawyers and engineers in those days, so they assumed there would be jobs waiting for them. Just a few years down the road, the professions America really needed were teachers, nurses and computer programmers. It's not that our folks were intentionally misguided, just that they were given well-meaning but ultimately outdated information. As for our generation, we got a similar, if more troubling, serving of bad advice.

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You don’t have to be Chuck Norris (hell, Zeus and Thor and Ra wrapped together don’t have to be Chuck Norris), but knowing some basic self-defense is always a good idea. You never know when you’re going to get yourself into a pickle, whether it’s a dispute over your kid’s coat at daycare or the naked guy trapped in your trunk bursts forth screaming and waving a crowbar.

Do you know what the most important part of your body is when it comes to self defense? I’ll give you a clue—it’s not your six pack abs, bulging biceps, or the taser hidden in your purse.

It’s your brain.

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Obama Asks for $1 billion+ more for educationOk, so Obama is out asking for money again. I’m beginning to get the feeling that he is going to spend as much money as he can as quickly as he can and then sort of deal with it later- and it feels blasphemous to say, because I voted for and love President Obama. But man, do you have a policy or administrative idea that doesn’t cost over $1 billion? Is that even possible when it really comes down to it? Is that just the deal for a country with over 300 million people? Can we do anything for less than $3 per person?

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