So this morning as I sipped on my cafe con leche and munched on my butter bagel, I began reflecting on something described to me by the local coffee shop girl. She's a traveler, which as usual stuck in my mind, when I first met her 6 months ago. Today, she was back from a long goodwill trip to Africa. But what was interesting was not that it was a goodwill trip, but that she's trying to start her own goodwill organization.

The name (still not quite decided) will be 'Imagination Reclamation', and the focus of the organization will be to start creative arts programs in the slums near Kenya's largest city, Nairobi. Anyway, though I have not been to Nairobi; though I can surely associate the conditions there with the conditions of a more developed city. For instance, in Rio De Janiero, where the favelas (or slums) are mixed in with the skyscrapers and other neighborhoods, and just in a sad condition all together. Note: Watch the movie City of God sometime if you want to know what the favelas are like. Speaking of which, I was told that the conditions in Nairobi are well depicted in the movie The Constant Gardener as well.

Anyway, at first I thought: 'Creative Arts education in the slums? Don't they have much bigger problems to deal with?' But the more I think about it, the more I started to warm up to the idea. I mean - maybe this is one of the things that can drive these slums out of being a slum. Instead of treating the symptom (poverty) with money and stuff, maybe we should in addition help foster creativity in the youth of such places. Helping them realize the truth that "I can do anything with this life, it is my choice". Anyway, I had never really thought of it that way. So wish the coffee shop girl Adrienne much luck in the adventure of realizing her dream.

As soon as a website gets put together I'll update this post so that we can... ya' know... donate our hard earned cash to a noble (and non-corporate sponsored) cause.

Anyone ever heard of Sopris Clothing Company? Well, if you were a little more trendy you just might have... Everyone remember Miss Jaime from the APO days back in Boulder? Well she's started her own clothing design company: Sopris. Nicely done Jaime. People, let's buy her out of stock :)

Maybe I'll even get one of these swanky beenie hats from her newly released winter line...

Check out this sweet artwork!

Links to a batch of Leideigh's paintings.
Links to a batch of Leideigh's portraits.

Who's the artist? Many of you remember Jennie from CU Boulder? She moved all over from Hawaii to LA and San Diego and I just caught up to her thanks to myspace the other day. If you like her artwork, try and buy one off of her :) Her homepage where you can look at all of her art is leideigh.com. Enjoy!