The Click Heard Round the World

Who is Preparing Kids to Respond to Bullying, Online and Off?

The New York Times has an interesting article on how schools are responding to incidents of "cyber-bullying" (what a 90s term) that happen among their students, whether or not it occurs on school grounds.  It's obviously a difficult issue for educators, parents and youth workers to deal with, since it involves actions that can occur anywhere and anytime that a young person is online or on their cell phone.

I found the article lacking in examining how youth themselves are positively responding to these new forms bullying among themselves.  Kids are endlessly creative, and as much as they come up with new ways to torture each other, they can also come up with new ways to support and defend each other as well. 

And where are the adults in the lives of these youth who are helping suggest more positive responses to these conflicts, beyond punitive measures against the alleged offender?

"Street Dance" the Movie... coming to the States? (video)

                   

My friend Lynn sends me info about "Street Dance" a UK-produced movie which opened in May all over Europe, but doesn't appear to be schedule to appear on these shores anytime soon. Presumably they are still looking for a US distributor.  Or test marketing to see how an English street dance film plays to an American audience.

Reading the IMDB description, this sounds suspiciously like the UK version of "Step Up." Except the ballerina role is played by a dude.  I can hear the writer's pitch now:

"Here's an idea,we COMBINE street dance and ballet! That would be totally a FIRST in the entire dance world." 

Oh, and did I mention that it's going to be in 3D?  Yep, more b-boys... on yo face.

I will of course totally see this, and probably end up mostly liking it.  Cause I'm a sucker for a classic dance battle flick.

Quakers March for Justice & Equality in Pride Parade! (video)

I was proud to march with a group of about a dozen New York Quakers in the Gay Pride Parade yesterday in Manhattan, along with hundreds of other groups and tens of thousands of onlookers. It was a glorious, if hot, day in the city, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. 

Local Quakers have been marching in the Pride Parade for the entire history of the parade, starting in 1970.  And our presence was really dramatic this year (for Quakers, anyway), with a car festooned with signs, multiple banners, and matching tee-shirts for all the marchers! 

There's nothing like marching with your fellow Quakers and having thousands of people shout out "Quakers! We love you, Quakers!"  The last few blocks on Christopher street, with the crowds of people pressing around us and cheering was so powerful and moving for me and the rest of us.

Thanks to Edd, Helen, and the rest of the organizers for getting together the Quaker contingent in the parade! It's never easy organizing such an independent minded lot like us.

Syncopated Sweethearts performing at Fram (video)

Here's those four cuties Eve, Gina, Lisa and Shana, aka the "Syncopated Sweethearts", performing a solo jazz & charleston routine at Frim Fram last week.  So cute!

It was somewhat bittersweet since Lisa C. is moving this week to live in New Orleans!  Lisa is so much fun to dance with and to watch dance -- she just radiates joy with her movement and her smile. 

Photo Shoot: Me and the Bike on the Manhattan Bridge (pics)

For the past three years, I've been biking across the Manhattan Bridge to get my job -- enjoying the view, the breeze off the river, and zooming down the incline.  I've been wanting to get dressed up and take a bunch of pics of myself with my bike on the bridge for awhile, and finally got around to doing it this morning. The light was gorgeous and I love the graffiti on this part of the bridge.

For all you bike commuters out there, hope you like this!

See the full set here.

Comparison of iPhone 1 and iPhone 4 Cameras (pic)

Here's a quick comparison I did of the cameras in the 1st generation iPhone and the 4th generation.  Both photos are unmodified, other than that they were re-sized and put together in Photoshop.

The main difference you aren't seeing is the size of the images, since the 1st gen has only a 2 megapixel camera, while the iPhone 4 has a 5 megapixel.  You can see that the iPhone 4 has much crisper colors and pulls in more details of the fruits and veggies. 

Here are the originals, unresized : iPhone 4 and iPhone 1.  More Green Market produce pics here.

Winners of the 2010 Mermaid Parade Announced: Brooklyn Bombshells Win Again!

The Chief Justice of the 2010 Coney Island Mermaid Parade has just announced the winners in the various divisions of the Mermaid Parade.  I'm excited to announce that my group the Brooklyn Bombshell Revue has again won first place in the Marching Group division!

The full results after the jump....

Yet Another Smug iPhone 4 User

After only 1 hour and 19 minutes on line at the Soho Apple Store, I am now the proud owner of an iPhone 4. 

Don't hate! As someone who for the past three years has been rocking the original iPhone, with a measly 4 gigs of space, I'm more than due for an upgrade.

Marching with the Quakers in the Gay Pride Parade This Sunday!

This Sunday, June 27, is the LGBT Pride Parade, happening in cities around the world.  I will be proudly marching with the Quaker contingent in New York City.

Other Quakers tell me that our association with the Parade goes back to its roots, the Stonewall Riots that took place on June 28, 1969 in Greenwich Village.  Reportedly, fleeing demonstrators were given refuge in the nearby Quaker Meeting as they hid from the riot police.  And we've marched in every single Pride Parade ever since -- the only religious institution to do so.

While we are a diversity religious society, Quakers have over the decades took strong stands in defense of gay rights, including supporting same-gender unions in many Meetings and opposing homophobia.  My first Quaker Meeting was actually a small gathering in Washington DC that was primarily, but not exclusively, attended by gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons.  And we have an active gay presence in my current Meeting in Brooklyn.

Sunday is going to be a glorious day.  Come out and show your pride!

"Turn It Loose" Documentary Profiles Six of the Top B-boys in the World

Our office intern / b-boy Peter told me about a new b-boy documentary that was just released called "Turn It Loose."  The film chronicles the journey of six b-boys from around the world all gathered for the Red Bull BC-1 competition in Soweto, South Africa in 2007. The documentary stars b-boys Lilou (France), Ronnie (USA), Hong 10 (Korea), Roxrite (USA), Taisuke (Japan), and Ben-J (Sengal) as they compete to be crowned the best breaker in the world. 

It looks pretty dope. No word yet on when the documentary will be available in the States.