Making Origami Cranes can be a bit tricky so here some recommend online directions, it’s especially helpful to watch a video. If you know someone who can make them, ask them to show you!
videos:
http://blogorigami.com/how-to-make-origami-cranes-video
http://origami.org.uk/origamicrane
directions:
http://monkey.org/~aidan/origami/crane/
http://www.savingcranes.org/origamicranes.html
Filed under: you can do it! on March 27th, 2009 | Comments
This story is a background to my peace project (Make Cranes, Not War) –
The story of Sadako and 1,000 paper cranes
Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl who was a victim of the atomic bomb. She was one of many children in a hospital with leukemia and little hope of survival. Inspired by a friend of the 1,000 cranes wish, which the saying goes, if you make 1,000 origami cranes, your wish will be granted.
Sadako began collecting any pieces of paper she could find in and around the hospital and began encouraging her friends to make cranes. Sadily, Sadako only folded 644 before her death.
Sadako’s friends and schoolmates published a collection of letters in order to raise funds to build a memorial to her and all of the children who had died from the effects of the atomic bomb. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also called the Genbaku Dome. At the foot of the statue is a plaque that reads, This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.
Her story is told in some Japanese schools on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. Dedicated to her, people all over Japan celebrate August 6 as the annual peace day. Every day more cranes continue to arrive at the memorial from children all over the world in the hope for peace.
******
this is a very sweet video about how awesome animals are when it comes to taking care of others. Us humans could learn a lot from it!
Filed under: watch this on March 22nd, 2009 | Comments
A friend posted this link today: http://worldofgood.ebay.com/….an interesting concept. Providing eco-friendly and recycled products in a woodsy template is pretty innovative for such a large company. I didn’t see any auctions, but I don’t think that’s the point, it’s more about the power of “where” you spend your money and how “powerful” that is.
Filed under: you can do it! on March 5th, 2009 | Comments
Research has proven that we need four hugs a day for survival, eight hugs a day for maintenance, and twelve hugs a day for growth! Hugs produce a chemical change in the body by stimulating the release of endorphins in the brain. These endorphins give us a sense of well-being and happiness and can remain in the body’s bloodstream for up to four hours. Hugs matter a lot more than we give them credit.
A brave man set out to give “Free Hugs” and learned a lot about our humanity and why this is such an important part of being human! You should watch the video on his site, it’s pretty moving: http://www.freehugscampaign.org - there’s also help on how to start your own Free Hug day in your city. 
Filed under: watch this on February 25th, 2009 | Comments
So I live in Portland, Oregon and have lived here for over 10 years and have never been to a Trailblazers game (our national basketball team). I think it wasn’t very open to it so I decided it wasn’t for me. I didn’t really like sports growing up in high school or college and I don’t watch games on TV.
Well, I’ve realized recently it’s best to try things at least once and then you can make a judgement so I got a chance to go to one of their games last night with my husband and a bunch of friends.
As soon as we got there, I could feel a lot of positive energy in the air and everyone was excited. It helps that our b-ball team has been winning a lot of games and it’s been a fun season (from what I’ve read). We got our seats and settled in with a tasty sausage.
There was so much stimulus and people-watching besides the exciting game below. It felt great to cheer on our team and be part of something bigger. With all the depressed thoughts and energy from the media and government, it was magical to be in a building with other people who, for 2.5 hours, focused on having fun and watching a game. Something so simple can provide something greater than we realize. I was happily surprised when I saw strangers giving each other high-fives and smiling at each other. I think that night restored my beliefs in humanity and that we reallly just need to take a break and enjoy an event.
I will definitely be going back. It was a pretty amazing experience.
Here’s an interesting article about how clothing can help prevent colds and detect tumors!
Tonight I went to my first local neighborhood community meeting. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was happliy surprised by how cool and thoughtful it was.
Topics that came up: the local high school is building a neighborhood garden that will allow neighbors to sign up and have their own plot of land as well as volunteer to help with the high school’s garden. The project to help students grow organically and hopefully integrate the food into the cafeteria. They are also offering a class in gardening in March.
Another topic was about another city project that has been successful in providing affordable apartments and was able to fill all the apartments by Dec 31st, 2009. The apartments themselves were barely finished being built end of Summer 2009. The man who is managing the apartments was very concerned about keeping the crime low and making sure he knew what was happening with his tenants.
Other topics were crime/security awareness, spring clean up day, and the newsletter. Overall, it was a very positive group and made me more at peace that there are awesome people in my community that work hard to keep it safe and friendly.
I recommend going to your local neighborhood association if you haven’t yet. I guarantee you’ll learn a lot and they always seem to like new faces!
