The Democratic Convention: A Personal Viewers Guide

 

Today the Democratic Convention starts and while the cosplay will not be as good as at most science fiction conventions I have realized I am looking forward to the week. Since COVID is still happening this year's Democratic Convention is online which means we all have more opportunities to go to panels with interesting people or interesting topics. You can check out the day by day Convention Schedule for this week.

In short, the big keynote speakers each night are:

Monday: Michelle Obama 

Tuesday: Dr. Jill Biden

Wednesday: President Barack Obama 

Thursday: Joe Biden 

There are many different ways to participate in the convention:

You can put each evening's program on.

You can follow a particular individual or group of individuals.

You can follow a particular issue area such as LGBTQ+ panels.

You can watch or read a summary of the convention from your favorite news source.

Like all conventions, the best way to enjoy is to choose your own adventure.

For me personally, while there will be many interesting and well-known guests at the convention the one I am following is my Pete Buttigieg. Typically I do not pay much attention to the convention, might watch a few keynotes but that is about it, but this year I am planning on going to several virtual caucus meetings and various tailgating events throughout the week. This is in part because I started really paying attention to the whole political pre-season about a year to a year and a half ago because I fell head over heels for Pete and Chasten, and Team Pete, and the Rules of the Road, and now Pete's Win The Era.  And I am lucky and he will be all over, at panels, a keynote speaker on Thursday, on various news channels, etc and most of his events are free.

So while I know I will not get to everything on Pete's Schedule (especially the early morning stuff, sorry Pete I need sleep LOL or things I have to work too hard to track down links) here is generally which panels I will be at this week.

Pete’s Official Schedule

Follow throughout the week as Pete talks to different organizations, party councils, and reporters about why he’s so excited to help unite our party and work to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We will update throughout the week as appearances and interviews are added.

Note: all times are in EDT and subject to change based on when events start.
Monday

7:40 am – Live on MSNBC Morning Joe
2:00 pm – Black Caucus Meeting – RSVP here
5:30 pm – Youth Council Meeting – RSVP here
8:10 pm – Live on PBS Newshour
8:30 pm – Live on CNN Primetime Convention Coverage

Tuesday

1:00 pm – LGBTQ Caucus Meeting – RSVP here
4:00 pm – Washington Post Live with Robert Costa – Streaming here
6:00 pm – Veterans and Military Families Council Meeting – RSVP here
8:45 pm – Live on MSNBC Primetime Convention Coverage
9pm – Roll Call Across America – Streaming here Watch as Pete, in his role as chair of Indiana Delegation, casts his vote for the nomination of the Biden-Harris Ticket

Wednesday

Morning – Live on CNN New Day
Afternoon – Live on MSNBC
7:15 pm – Win the Era Grassroots Happy Hour – Get your ticket here
8:00 pm – Young Americans for Biden Watch Party – Link to come
8:30 pm – Iowa for Biden Watch Party – Link to come

Thursday

7:30 pm – Voices of Victory Event in support of the LGBTQ Victory Fund – Get your ticket here
8:30 pm – New Hampshire for Biden Watch Party – Link to come
9:00 pm – Pete Buttigieg addresses the 2020 Democratic National Convention live from South Bend – Streaming here

 

 

3 Ways To Support The Post Office Today

We are currently in a time period where the post office, yes the post office of all organizations, has been politicized because certain individuals in government don't want to allow registered voters to be able to vote. While I could write a long post on that alone, and end up very frustrated and angry, instead I am turning to something more productive and exploring 3 ways we all can help the post office right now.

1. Send Mail

If you are in a financial place to do so send some mail to friends and family. You don't need anything fancy, any paper and an envelope will do. You can check-in, say congrats for an accomplishment, send a message of Love, become pen pals with someone, write a note to someone you care about, write a celebrity, write those in senor homes, write a vet overseas, on and on and on. For example just today I mailed some birthday and anniversary cards and while these cards are not going to save the post office by themselves, if everyone who lived in the US sent a handful it would add up quick. 

2. Order Free Mail

Even if you are not in a financial place to send mail, you can order mail which also supports the post office. Order that free catalog even if you just want to look at the pictures or use them for crafts. Order that free sticker, booklet, resource, or product. Order that free travel guide and use your imagination to go on a vacation or pick a setting for your next story or book. It does not matter what free resources you request they all are pieces of mail in the mail system and money going to the post office.

3. Contact your elected officials

Call or email or even write a letter explaining how you expect them to vote to support funding for the post office. Make sure your elected officials know how important the post office is to you and that you do not take it for granted. Unless you make noise and encourage others to make noise elected officials can believe that their constituents don't care about the post office. If we all band together we will be heard.

Wild Paths Of Interconnections

Recently I have been pondering the wild paths of interconnections we all have experienced. 

A few of my recent personal examples:

• A connection made at a street festival in the days long past (well before COVID) which over a year later is reverberating into a soon to be sharing of one of my poems to a new and larger audience. 

• A comment made on someone's Instagram Live promoting their soon to be coming out autobiography leading to interesting self-reflection around what I want, need, and desire in this world and how my own history, my own story, impacts me both positively and negatively. 

• A conversation with a friend around their job search helping me clarify that I am indeed a freelance writer and that I can focus on that path instead of focusing on finding tons of apps to submit simply to feel I am making progress in my job search. That my "job search" can simply be building more freelance clients. 

Interconnections are like starlight and can take lightyears to appear in your sky. Interconnections are like flowers (or maybe Banksy Street Art) which pop up in the most unlikely of places. Interconnections are like a song of justice which starts very softly but grows and grows until it is changing systems.

I have been paying attention to these moments of interconnection, and because I have been paying attention I am seeing more such moments. If you pay attention what moments might you rediscover in a new light?

A Week Of GISH In Review

Last week was a very Gish filled week. I  did a personal record of 25 tasks over the course of the hunt last week. In addition, Saturday I did a personal one day record of 7 tasks.

And together during this past week and earlier miny Gish events, we did an amazing amount for charity.:

Collectively, in this past year, we’ve managed to donate over one million meals to children in families impacted by COVID, almost $200,000 for the NAACP Legal Defense fund, and in this Hunt you also raised over $50,000 to help fight malaria in Africa and over $154,000 for #cut50 and Dream Corps to help reform the criminal justice system in America

I am still catching up on everything that was put on a back burner because of Gish so instead of a long post I will leave you will a sampling of the tasks I did last week.

"Antisocial Butterfly"

"Didactic Statute" 

Mine Was "Be Bold + Love"

"Full Body Mask 6 feet away from a Greebie"

"Something that should never be tie-dyed"

"60's and 70's style postcard art"

"Poster For The Organization Inspringchildren.net"

"Spidermannequin"

"A Cowboy"

Library Chalk Art

Today as I was out on a walk I found some wonderful chalk art leading to the library. Someone on staff is an amazing chalk artist. We all know libraries are amazing so I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Fill Out The Census Now:

The census is only running until Sept 30 this year and much of the door to door counting which has occurred in the past has been limited by COVID. If you have not completed the census yet please do so.

The census is important because it is how communities get federal money. In short, the more people in your community the more funds your community gets for things such as infrastructure or schools. As we continue to sit in the midst of COVID we are all even more aware of the importance of federal money can be. 

The census is maybe even more important because it is how congressional representatives are broken down. Depending on if your community had gained or lost individuals will determine how many U.S house members you get. I think the vast majority of us can see the importance of representation in the current political situation.

The census is so important my city of Chicago has a Census Cowboy to help remind everyone to fill out the census, and we have had city-wide competitions (with prizes of ice cream for the local kids) between neighborhoods to see which can show the greatest improvement in response rates. While the Census Cowboy has been thrown a bit of shade he still is highlighting something important.

So how is your neighborhood doing? 

Check out: Census Hard To Count Maps to drill down and see the current response rate neighborhood by neighborhood.

Do you still need to complete the census?

Go to 2020census.gov 

The questions the census asks include:

1. How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2020?
2. Were there any additional people staying here on April 1, 2020, that you did not include in Question 1?
3. Is this house, apartment, or mobile home ...
4. What is your telephone number?
5. What is Person 1's name?
6. What is Person 1's sex?
7. What is Person 1's age and what is Person 1's date of birth?
8. Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?
9. What is Person 1's race?
10. Print name of Person 2...
11. Does this person usually live or stay somewhere else?
12. How is this person related to Person 1?

None of these questions is extremely personal or hard to answer.

Do you know others who have not completed their census?

Direct them to 2020census.gov. If the person struggles with technology or does not have internet access see how you can connect them with official census takers who can help fill out the form.

Encouragement As August Begins:

Welcome to August. 

(Note: This week is Gish which means I am doing tons fun and wild projects this week (I will post some of these once the hunt is over) and that I will not have as much time to dedicate to this blog this week).

So because today has been a rainy gray day, I decided we all could use a bit of encouragement either for today or to put in our pockets for a future gray day (gray inside or out). Remembering we are made of stardust and starlight is important.

 

8/3/20 

Knowing we have come from stardust,
And we shall belong to starlight once again
We walk forward, step by step by step
Through rains which wash us clean
Through winds which blow us off course
Through thunderstorms which light the skies

Knowing we have come from stardust,
And we shall belong to starlight once again
We walk forward, step by step by step
Embracing the darkness
Embracing the light
Embracing the multifaceted gray in between

Knowing we have come from stardust,
And we shall belong to starlight once again
We walk forward, step by step by step
Knowing belonging
Knowing excellence
Knowing joy

Knowing we have come from stardust,
And we shall belong to starlight once again
We walk forward, step by step by step
We are Worthy
We are Belove
We are LOVED

Knowing we have come from stardust,
And we shall belong to starlight once again
We walk forward, step by step by step
Into what shall be to come
Into what can not be known
Into what magic we can not say