The election is close.
Ridiculously close.
The stock market isn’t doing any better and my 401(k) might as well not exist. I’m watching it all, day by day, like anyone else is. I pretend it isn’t real.
I have so much hope for what will happen aster it gets worse. My name, in Vietnamese, means phoenix. I have, always, maintained that is represents everything, rising from the ashes.
Hopefully, there will be no ashes to rise from, but if there are, let’s hope we’ll rise.
I stumbled upon this map at graphicdesignr today through journalistopia.
It’s got a google mashup of all the layoffs and buyouts announced this year. It’s staggering.
McClatchy said it is reducing workforce through both voluntary and involuntary separations, as well as managed attrition, involving about 1,400 full-time equivalent employees (FTE’s). The company will retain its strategic focus on sales, news and online operations as it realigns operations, with decisions about the size and profile of changes differing by location.
McClatchy historically has not used broad layoffs to manage staff size, relying instead on attrition and selected job eliminations through outsourcing. This has been an effective strategy, resulting in workforce reduction of 13% between the end of 2006 and April 2008, but today’s more competitive media environment and challenging operating conditions mean the company must move more aggressively to shape the overall workforce.
I don’t have anything to say…yet. This is scary.
Today started out normal. I was almost late for my volunteering shift at a local AIDS non-profit. i had some avocado on toast on the way there.
Today turned magical pretty fast.
Around 9:30 a.m., I hear from the kitchen of the place I volunteer at “Kim! Turn on NPR!”
I had no idea why. I’d apparently been living under a rock. Today, the Supreme Court would rule on gay marriage in California.
It took us about 30 minutes to figure out what station NPR was, and then it was jazz. The internet was down, so we couldn’t keep an eye on that.
A little after 10 a.m., the Internet came back up and I heard another shout. We all piled behind a desk and read the story on the Sacramento Bee.
It was legal. A narrow 4-3 vote. We stared in disbelief, then I saw two of the people who work there hug.
Oh my God.
He started crying. Then there were frantic calls. I stayed, looking at the screen, reading the whole story. One of the men said his boyfriend was coming home soon.
“We might just go to the courthouse Monday.”
I smiled. Such a simple thing, a piece of paper. Yet it means so much to so many.
There was just a gigantic 7.5 earthquake in China.
I know I don’t really report on “news” here, but something about this photo disturbed me.
(photo from sina.com)
It just looks like people have no idea what to do.
Here’s a BBC news report
It’s gearing up to be a crazy summer, I think.
Artichoke Dreams 