25x52: United Way

From the United Way info page:

“United Way is a worldwide network in 45 countries and territories, including nearly 1,300 local organizations in the U.S. It advances the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all, by focusing on the three key building blocks of education, income and health. The United Way movement creates long lasting community change by addressing the underlying causes of problems that prevent progress in these areas.”

Organization Homepage:

http://national.unitedway.org/

Why I chose the United Way:

The United Way helps provide people with the opportunity to live better lives. Through their three building blocks of Education, Income and Health they offer support and challenge everyone to do their part in making sure we are all afforded the chance to make it.

One of the best parts of the United Way is that it is a community based organization, with each of the nearly 1300 chapters across the country tackling the issues of its local neighborhoods. By establishing partnerships with local schools, businesses, governments, etc. they are able to serve the needs of the citizenry and bring the community together.

On the national level, the United Way has created partnerships with organizations such as the NFL, which gave them a visible presence in your living room during games--promoting the work they do with the players who come aboard to support them. The organization is also a part of the current efforts to raise funds and bring aid to those affected by the recent quakes in Haiti, which is just one more reason to support them.

Plus, my future sister-in-law works for them, and for me that right there was as good a reason as any to donate (she's good people).

Click here to donate to the United Way

25x52: American Red Cross

From the American Red Cross’ Info Page:

“As part of a worldwide movement that offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war, the American Red Cross distinguishes itself by also aiding victims of devastating natural disasters. Over the years, the organization has expanded its services, always with the aim of preventing and relieving suffering.”

Organization Homepage:
http://www.redcross.org/

 
Why I Chose the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross is well established and well regarded, offering a host of services to help those is need. I had already picked the Red Cross for week three when the earthquake hit Haiti the other day, so when I went to make my donation yesterday and the option to direct my contribution to relief efforts there came up, that is of course where my money went.

Normally I would only focus on the organization I’m giving to this week, but the situation in Haiti warrants further exploration, and the Red Cross isn’t the only organization out there marshaling its resources. If you plan to give elsewhere, make sure you aren’t being scammed by checking out the organizations credentials first. If you aren’t sure, ask a friend for a recommendation, or head over to Charity Navigator, an organization that tracks and vettes charitable organizations, they currently have a list of groups providing aid to those affected by the current crisis in Haiti.

Donation Page:
The American Red Cross' "Giving and Getting Involved" page

My Donation Receipt:

The 42 Challenge Review...

...will start next Thursday, January 21st 28th. [Because I can't get my act together, so I'll have two reviews then]

While I have finished the first book I was planning to review (Mary Robinette Kowal's debut story collection Scenting the Dark and Other Stories), my unexpected trip into New York City on Tuesday sort of knocked me for a loop, shifted my plans and further exacerbated my already wonky sleeping schedule. The concert we saw (that sooper-secret show I mentioned before, which may not have been as sooper secret as I assumed, more on that later) was well worth it, but trips into NYC always leave me tired and usually with headache, this one being no exception.

Rather than throw something together and possibly give a less than well thought out review, I've decided to hold off another week and get my balance back. In addition to Scenting the Dark I've already got a bunch of stuff lined up to absorb and review from various media (books, TV shows, music), and look forward to sharing them with you.

Don't be disappointed, the world isn't going to end because of this. I've delayed that, too.

Tuesday’s Unique Music

The week got off to an interesting start, as two music related events greeted me on Monday morning.

The first, which I don’t think I can really talk about (I’ll have to confirm with the person who made the offer), prompts me to visit New York City today with Catherine for a secret concert—which I should be attending shortly after this posts (the wonders of scheduled blogging, you know). I’ll let you know how it went later, and reveal the deal if it’s not a sooper-secret event and I’m allowed to tell you all. I know for sure I won’t have pictures to offer, as they have asked attendees to refrain form taking any. Bummer, but I only have my iPhone camera which isn’t all that great anyway for high quality pictures.

The other bit of news is that I won a contest. SF Signal, a great news site for all things SF/F related, ran a contest to giveaway three copies of John Anealio’s SciFi Songs CD. SciFi Songs is a collection of Anealio’s science fiction inspired music, among my favorites’ is “George R. R. Martin is Not Your Bitch” which if you don’t know who he is and why he’s not your bitch, is probably not all that amusing (I won’t go into the long backstory here, but it involves Mr. Martin, Neil Gaiman, and a bunch of angry fans). Sadly, that one is not on the album, but other cool cuts are. You can check out some of his songs on his site. I’ll most likely have a review for the 42 Challenge after I receive it, it should be fun.

The 42 Challenge

Back on my New Year's Day post I named two projects I was going to be undertaking this year (two of several, but what those others are among the unnamed will have to wait for now, they're not ready to play with you, Internet Peoples). The first was my 25x52 giving project, which has now has two weeks worth of goodness under its belt and is rolling along nicely. The second, also numerically inclined, is the 42 Challenge.

While 25x52 was my creation, the 42 Challenge was born of and is curated by Becky of Becky's Book Reviews (and a few other blogs; aside from leaving a comment on her blog announcing my participation, I haven't really made her acquaintance yet, but I will remedy that soon enough). I had heard of it last year and thought it was a neat idea, but didn't give any more thought to it until I saw a link to it again at the end of the year (or two weeks ago, take your pick), when I read her call for 2010 participants. I have been wanting to put up reviews here for a while (along with interviews, so far only one in that category, but hopefully more this year), and this seemed like a nice way to do it and hopefully get a little more traffic the Manifesto's way.

What is the 42 Challenge? Well, the short of it, borrowed from the Challenge's blog, is to...

Review 42 sci-fi related items: short stories, novellas, novels, radio show episodes, television show episodes, movies, graphic novels, comic books, audio books, essays about science fiction, biographies about sci-fi authors, etc. Adapted or abridged works are okay as well.

Keen, no?

Originally, my first entry was going to be a review of Avatar, but everyone's mother has already done one, and I have ever-growing mixed feelings about it to posit any kind of decent review. Instead, I just received a long-anticipated short story collection from Subterranean Press that I'm almost through and can't wait to tell the world about.

Starting next week the 42 Challenge reviews will post on Thursday afternoons, weekly, until I hit the magic number--and maybe beyond if I'm inclined. I'll keep my requisite running list as per the challenge rules on the sidebar somewhere with linked entries to each of the reviews (that'll go up when the first review does).

Until then...

25x52: WFUV

From the WFUV’s Info Page:

“WFUV is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station, licensed to Fordham University for 60 years. Serving nearly 350,000 listeners each week in the New York area and thousands more worldwide on the web, and a leader in contemporary music radio, WFUV offers an eclectic mix of rock, singer-songwriters, blues, world and other music, plus headlines from National Public Radio, local news and sports and Metro Traffic.”

Organization Homepage:
http://www.wfuv.org/

Why I Chose WFUV:
To be honest, my betrothed is the real fan here. This is her station when she’s on the road with the radio on. Like the their info page says it’s an eclectic mix of music and programming and one worthy of continuing.

This is actually my second donation to the station. Last year my 23 year old car finally crapped out beyond the point where it was worth fixing (I had only had it for a couple of those 23 years). Rather than just junk it, Catherine suggested I donate it to WFUV, which I did. The process went smoothly except for the tow truck driver getting caught in traffic on the way to our house from NYC so he was a little later than anticipated. I don’t recall how much they got for the car, but I don’t think it wasn’t enough to qualify me for a tax deduction (and even if it was, I’m bad at that kind of thing, so I doubt I would have).

Donation Page:
http://www.wfuv.org/contribute/

My Donation Receipt:

Tales of Pending Rejection: Nasty in the Cupboard online

My story Nasty in the Cupboard is now online at Everyday Weirdness. Go read it, it's cool. And so is the site--read that, too.