Lifestyle
The internal battle royale between responsible parenting and my principled position that English is drunk
One of my favorite dichotomies of “life as a parent” is when a toddler drops a cookie or something on the ground and goes to choose it up and eat it. As a parent, it’s my job to maintain them from eating it off the ground due to germs. Also, yuck. My internal dialogue is, “I’m telling him no, but I’d eat it because of the five-second rule,” especially if we’re at home; not in public.
This whole struggle is how I feel about raising my children with English. I actually have long been certainly one of those individuals who thinks that English, and language basically, is incredibly fluid, and in relation to effective communication, many rules aren’t only unnecessary but additionally misleading, since most individuals can probably tell the difference between following certain rules and not following them.
For example, I imagine in commas, but I hate commas. oxford comma. Some people love them, though. But the actual fact that there are two sides to this debate means that nobody should lose points on a paper or test or be penalized for using or not using a comma before a conjunction in a listing of three or more things. For example, I find Oxford commas annoying, silly, and anti-Black. I do not use Oxford commas. I’ve had editors get upset after they don’t see them. Why can either be correct?
I hate that the word “conversate” is denigrated. While the word has already been entered into the dictionarymany individuals think its use is an indication of a person’s lesser education. That’s complete nonsense to me, especially when imperfect humans are those who got here up with the foundations in the primary place. Basically, most of our formal language makes it look like some governing body has accepted a person’s version of events, and then the remainder of us have to just accept and follow those rules. Or until someone changes them. And that’s true in all languages, remember. The only reason a door is called a door is because the one who called it didn’t call it a foot. Let that sink in. We can walk around doors and open them with feet. Or feet. Why are a couple of foot called feet? But if I actually have a couple of shoe, I actually have… shoes… not beets. Again, drunk. (For the record, I really like and use the word “feet” to explain a couple of foot.)
Lifestyle
This feud with language is fun for me because I’m a author and I can play with form and function on a regular basis, and it’s hard to argue with that because the alternatives I make are intentional. Ultimately, I really like that I can play with words in that way. I’m an artist. I make artistic things. Art may be used to advance ideas, so I’m really a revolutionary. I talk while others talk, and yet we’re all doing the identical thing. Words are fun. Usually, this feud doesn’t cause much of a stir. Mine is a private crusade, and while it’s fun to have conversations, there’s rarely any stakes involved.
And then people like me grow to be parents, which forces me to decide on between a crusade and ensuring my kids don’t get failing grades on their essays or English assignments because “my dad thinks English was drinking shots of Jameson all night and is dead drunk!”
I recently bumped into the identical problem when my son was visiting a friend. We picked him up and asked him what he ate while he was there and he said he had a “saLmon sandwich”. He pronounced the “L” since it’s THERE within the word and he knows find out how to spell it. My wife corrected him and said you don’t pronounce the “L” and I silently seethed because truthfully, I believe it’s silly to not pronounce the letters. I actively pronounce the letters that are there. To me, that’s p-neumonia. If we’re going to call it neumonia, let’s just drop the “p”. I don’t care if the word is Greek or Latin. It’s 2024, fix it. It’ll be tremendous.
I realize that much of recent English… irregularities… are the results of the blending and merging of countless languages - it is a matter of evolution. With that in mind, evolution should proceed in a way that is smart, which suggests returning to old means and leaving some room to maneuver. But alas, I’m just a person in love with a language that doesn’t reciprocate my feelings.
Why something happened and the work I’m doing now haven’t got to be connected anymore. Now you would possibly ask, “P, how do you pronounce Ptolemy’s name?” And I might pronounce it the way in which he told me to, because despite the fact that I believe the spelling is suspect, I come from a creative tribe of black individuals who spell things in other ways that don’t necessarily align with how you’ll actually pronounce something phonetically. I actually have to just accept proper names, and I’m not anti-black creativity. We all have our stuff, people.
Anyway, you have got no idea how hard it was for me to not indicate to my son that if he desired to say “L,” he could say “L.” But the underside line is, I used to be at a restaurant recently and the owner said “L” and I didn’t think she was being sarcastic. While I wasn’t being judgmental, I wondered if she knew that wasn’t the way it was pronounced. See how contradictory that is? I’ll all the time say it, but I’ll do it brashly, but people might wonder about me the way in which I wondered concerning the owner. That’s the conundrum; I would like to ensure that my son knows how society works—he must learn the foundations so he can work out which of them he feels most comfortable breaking, so he can defend himself fairly and be okay together with his decisions. Until then, I would like to ensure that nobody has a reason to make fun of him or judge his education, or worse, his upbringing. I am unable to let people have a look at me, my father the author, with a crooked eye because my son dies on the Salmon Hill “L” station.
Although I would love to shout from the mountaintops that if the word “knife” has a “K” in it, it is a kuh-nife knife (shouting to Kat Williams (who understands my struggles) I actually have to do that thoughtfully so my kids don’t go to high school screaming about kuh-nifes and then we find yourself in a parent-teacher conference where I actually have to inform the teachers that what they’re teaching is silly, but most significantly, it’s anti-reading and I risk offending someone. Then my child has to suffer for my rules before they will form their very own.
Le sigh. When my children are sufficiently old, there will probably be an unlearning. I’ll give my children the chance to think concerning the language we speak, how we use it, and why we won’t make decisions because another person has already done it. Words and communication will all the time be fluid for me, and for that reason, English will all the time be drunk.
Lifestyle
What is GiveTuesday? The annual day of giving is approaching
Since it began as a hashtag in 2012, Giving on Tuesdaythe Tuesday after Thanksgiving, became one of the largest collection days yr for non-profit organizations within the USA
GivingTuesday estimates that the GivingTuesday initiative will raise $3.1 billion for charities in 2022 and 2023.
This yr, GivingTuesday falls on December 3.
How did GivingTuesday start?
The hashtag #GivingTuesday began as a project of the 92nd Street Y in New York City in 2012 and have become an independent organization in 2020. It has grown right into a worldwide network of local organizations that promote giving of their communities, often on various dates which have local significance. like a vacation.
Today, the nonprofit organization GivingTuesday also brings together researchers working on topics related to on a regular basis giving. This too collects data from a big selection of sources comparable to payment processors, crowdfunding sites, worker transfer software and offering institutions donor really helpful fundstype of charity account.
What is the aim of GivingTuesday?
The hashtag has been began promote generosity and this nonprofit organization continues to advertise giving within the fullest sense of the word.
For nonprofits, the goal of GivingTuesday is to boost money and have interaction supporters. Many individuals are aware of the flood of email and mail appeals that coincide on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Essentially all major U.S. nonprofits will host fundraising campaigns, and plenty of smaller, local groups will participate as well.
Nonprofit organizations don’t have to be affiliated with GivingTuesday in any method to run a fundraising campaign. They can just do it, although GivingTuesday provides graphics and advice. In this manner, it stays a grassroots endeavor during which groups and donors participate as they please.
Was GivingTuesday a hit?
It will depend on the way you measure success, but it surely has definitely gone far beyond initial efforts to advertise giving on social media. The day has change into an everlasting and well-known event that focuses on charitable giving, volunteerism and civic participation within the U.S. and all over the world.
For years, GivingTuesday has been a serious fundraising goal for nonprofits, with many looking for to arrange pooled donations from major donors and leverage their network of supporters to contribute. This is the start year-end fundraising peakas nonprofits strive to fulfill their budget goals for next yr.
GivingTuesday giving in 2022 and 2023 totaled $3.1 billion, up from $2.7 billion in 2021. While that is loads to boost in a single day, the trend last yr was flat and with fewer donorswhich, in accordance with the organization, is a disturbing signal.
Lifestyle
BlaQue Community Cares is organizing a cash crowd for serious food
QNS reports that Queens, New York-based nonprofit BlaQue Community Cares is making an effort to assist raise awareness of Earnest Foods, an organic food market with the Cash Mob initiative.
The BlaQue Cash Mob program is a community-led event that goals to support local businesses, reminiscent of grocery stores in Jamaica, by encouraging shoppers to go to the shop and spend a certain quantity of cash, roughly $20. BlaQue founder Aleeia Abraham says cash drives are happening across New York City to extend support for local businesses. “I think it’s important to really encourage local shopping habits and strengthen the connections between residents and businesses and Black businesses, especially in Queens,” she said after hosting six events since 2021.
“We’ve been doing this for a while and we’ve found that it really helps the community discover new businesses that they may not have known existed.”
As a result, crowds increase sales and strengthen social bonds for independent businesses.
Earnest Foods opened in 2021 after recognizing the necessity for fresh produce in the world. As residents struggled to seek out fresh food, Abraham defines the shop as “an invaluable part of the southeast Queens community.” “There’s really nowhere to go in Queens, especially Black-owned businesses in Queens, to find something healthier to eat. We need to keep these businesses open,” she said.
“So someone just needs to make everyone aware that these companies exist and how to keep the dollars in our community. Organizing this cash crowd not only encourages people to buy, but also shows where our collective dollars stand, how it helps sustain businesses and directly serves and uplifts our community.”
The event will happen on November 24 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 123-01 Merrick Blvd in St. Albans. According to the shop’s co-owner, Earnest Flowers, he has partnered with several other Black-owned brands in the world to sell his products at the shop. Flowers is comfortable that his neighbors can come to his supermarket to purchase organic food and goods from local vendors like Celeste Sassine, owner of Sassy Sweet Vegan Treats.
At the grand opening three years ago which was visited by over 350 viewersSassine stated that the collaboration was “super, super, super exciting” to the purpose that the majority of the products were off the shelves inside hours.
Lifestyle
Keke Palmer Recalls the Key Advice Will Smith Gave Her as a Child: “It’s Hard to Be First”
Like many young people, actress Keke Palmer went through a phase wherein she clashed along with her parents. Recently in a performance at “Toast” podcast.Palmer revealed that fellow actor Will Smith helped her take care of the situation along with her family.
As a child star who has appeared on Nickelodeon and Disney productions, the “Akeelah and the Bee” actress explained how juggling fame has affected her and her family relationships — a lot in order that she admits she once considered emancipating herself from her parents.
Although her lawyer tried to get her into counseling, Palmer said it was Smith’s words that ultimately modified her mind.
“A couple of weeks go by, I’m on the set of ‘True Jackson, Vice President’ and I get a call from a very, very unknown number. And I said, “What? If it was strange, I would not answer,” she said, mentioning that she simply went back to work. Later, while retrieving her phone, Palmer received a voicemail from the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star.
“Hey Keke. This is Will. We’re here filming ‘The Karate Kid’ with (my son) Jaden and I just want to let you understand that I’ve talked (to your lawyer),’ Palmer continued, impersonating Smith. “He let me know every little thing you are going through and I need you to know that sometimes it’s hard to be the first, but you may do it. Just stay focused, love your loved ones and every little thing shall be high-quality.
Palmer remembers struggling as a child with the attention and fame that got here with climbing the ladder in the entertainment industry. While trying to adjust to the demands of her burgeoning profession, the actress recalls feeling that fame meant she would have to “throw (her) family away.”
“It’s something that happens when you leave and you can become a child artist, you can be the first person in your family to go to college, or you can be the first person in your family to get married,” Palmer said: explaining her feelings at that moment. “There are so many firsts that can happen as the generations of your family grow and evolve.”
Ultimately deciding not to undergo the emancipation process, Palmer emphasized the importance of getting a healthy community when navigating the entertainment industry.
“I think I’ve always felt like a lot of people, whether they’re big names or whether they’re my lawyers, have been a good community,” she added. “Also, my parents made sure I was around (people) who would encourage community rather than discord and separation.”
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