Tuesday, January 19, 2010

GIVE NOW

My recent fundraising campaign with Partners In Health is up and running, and I appreciate all of you who have already given donations through this special website. This disaster in Haiti is many times worse than the post-Katrina disaster in New Orleans for a number of reasons, but the bottom line is that it will take thousands of volunteers, medical staff, and troops, and thousands of tons of food and water, and tons of money to keep more people from dying and getting Haiti back to its previous state, which was one of the poorest countries to begin with.

Giving to charities is a noble gesture, but there are so many charities. How do you choose where to send your gift? There are a couple websites that do a great job of sorting this information:
Some of the top charities listed on Google for providing relief to Haiti for this particular disaster are listed here along with their Charity Navigator rating, a numerical value based on the organization's effectiveness:
I noticed that only two of these top organizations (William J Clinton Foundation and Feed the Children) have ratings higher than Partners In Health. Regardless of which organization you pick to receive your gift, please, give soon, and be as generous as you can afford. Every donation helps, even if it is only $10 or $20.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Khoomei - ooh-aahhh-eee-ooo-uuuu-iiii

Ok, I do make fun of the Mongolian art of throat singing, but I will readily admit that I am amazed and envious of this weird, fantastic skill. Unlike, say yodeling, throat singing is not something that just anyone can learn to do with a little practice. It is an incredible talent that only a very few out of hundreds can physically accomplish. After the initial giggles over its unusualness subside, I find this stuff absolutely beautful. Here are a few of the best samples I could find on YouTube this morning.
Kinda shows you what kinds of talent you can develop while living alone out on the desolate wintry tundra of the Asian steppes.

Oh, and just two more, in case you think it is only old men who do this:
But the best sample is Ondar's rap video: http://www.ondar.com/ (scroll down a bit)