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10.08.2006

raising our awareness

The things I learn trying to win a trip. I had no idea that October was Fair Trade Month. Did you? I learned as much this morning when I discovered a swell sweeps for a one-week trip to Costa Rica for two. Note: The trip coincides with the Discover Fair Trade conference being held in Costa Rica March 25 – April 1; the winner must travel on these dates. It’s a neat itinerary, with stops at coffee and sugar cane cooperatives plus time thrown in for whitewater rafting and sea kayaking. So this would not be all wonk and no spunk.

To enter, click HERE. The sweeps closes November 1, All Saints Day.

Speaking of commemoratives, October packs a heck of a lot of awareness into one month. Breast Cancer, Cyber Security, Diversity, Domestic Violence, Auto Battery Safety. And so on. For several years, there was even Pornography Awareness Week. Now, that’s a jarring premise. “Like Americans could possibly be more aware of porn – every week, every day, whether you like it or not [America] is overflowing with porn awareness,” opined one conservative columnist back in 2002. Obviously, the moniker didn’t capture backers’ intentions. This year, it’s called White Ribbon Against Pornography Week. It starts on October 29, just in time for Halloween, the holiday where adults play out their borderline pornographic fantasies. This gang can’t get it right, can it.

Last evening, Ms. Shoes and I went to the movies. Spontaneously. My favorite way to play. I got to see her new sports car, a Miata. Too fun! We saw the absolutely sensational Little Miss Sunshine and then went to a terrific Indian restaurant for a drink and a bite. I was home early enough to read some of Virginia Woolf’s memoir, A Sketch of the Past. (From the book Moments of Being.) Life is sweet. Okay, not perfectly sweet. (I swear, I would not know what to do.) When I got home last evening I was mulling Little Miss Sunshine and it occurred to me that every character in the movie had serious ambition issues except the mom. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I am however not sure if it is a good thing.