Simple way to satisfy your sweet craving

I'm a HUGE sweets lover, and just whipped up something so easy to satisfy my sweet fix in a healthy way.

Mix together your favorite Sugar-Free, Fat-Free pudding with some skim milk. Add a banana or two and some almonds. Simply refrigerate until ready to eat. Fast, simple, and healthy in just a matter of minutes.

It's Earth Day! Start brewing at home!

"In 2005, Americans used and discarded 14.4 billion disposable paper cups for hot beverages. If put end-to-end, those cups would circle the earth 55 times. Based on anticipated growth of specialty coffees, that number will grow to 23 Billion by 2010-enough to circle the globe 88 times. Based on hot cup usage in 2005, the petrochemicals used in the manufacture of those cups could have heated 8,300 homes for one year."

http://www.metaefficient.com/bioplastics/innovation-biodegradeable-coffee-cups.html

Check out the site to find other ways to become more earth friendly this year.

The Box Project and Blanketed with Love

My move to Detroit has allowed me to meet some really interesting people, and I'm grateful for each and everyone of them that cross my path...well, maybe not the person who smashed out my car window so much, but there has been a new addition to our GRA team, and I think she is great! I was wondering how she would adjust to our "quirky" environment in the office, but she is fitting in just fine. Throughout her two months with us she has told me about two organizations that I think are great and thought they would be worth sharing.

Blanketed with Love - Blanketed with Love is an organization started by one of Ann's daughters. Oh yeah, I should probably mention that my co-workers name is Ann :) Anyway, her daughter and a few of her friends started Blanketed with Love and their mission is to:

The mission of Blanketed With Love is to help all those in need by giving the homeless, homebound, poor, ill, and disadvantaged blankets throughout the year. Each blanket will be blessed and made with love to help the sad feel less lonely, the ill feel better, and those who have lost their homes or families feel that someone cares.

You have to check out the website! This is great! Service organization started and operated by teens who desire to help others. You go girls! If you can help them out in anyway, please be sure to check out their website http://www.blanketedwithlove.org/ Plus, ironically has the world would have it, it meshes perfectly with Sweet Dreamzzz, an organization I've been working with since September.

Ann also told me about her involvement with The Box Project. The Box Project is a national, non-profit organization that has been matching volunteer sponsors from across the United States with recipient families living in rural poverty in America since 1962. They currently serve carefully selected areas of rural poverty including: the Mississippi Delta and rural communities in Maine, Appalachia (including West Virginia and Kentucky), the Native American reservations of South Dakota and Florida.

They match people in poverty who are looking to better themselves with people who can provide assistance, not only with material items, but with a positive relationship through direct people-to-people assistance. Acquiring an education is one of The Box Project's core values. We firmly believe that education is one of the keys to increasing self-sufficiency and breaking the cycle of poverty. The goal of this steadfast commitment is to help remove some of the barriers to education and make a significant impact on the areas of rural poverty that we serve.

Be sure to check out both organizations, and Sweet Dreamzzz of course, and see if there is anyway you can contribute.

Crime in Urban America

Race Relations in Urban America - Class Notes - 4/14/09

2007: Detroit as "nation's most dangerous city," based on:

• Homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft
• FBI Data

"Detroit Police there to protect the assets of city, and not the people of the city" - student in class

Bias Data on Crime

• Police are assigned to lower socio-economic areas
• Data skewed toward those who are apprehended
• Low income/High Crime areas are more likely to report crimes

Defining Crime

• Pervasiveness of violence in culture: road rage, fights at sports events, workplace violence, family violence
• Some violence praised: War, Vigilantes
• Social Control - capacity of a social group to regulate itself according to a set of higher moral principles beyond those of self interest
• Social Mechanisms: Internalization and Sanctions; Informal and Formal

Theoretical Perspectives

• Conflict: Crime -illegal exploitation by the rich and powerful; Rebellion
• Functionalist: Crime - Occurs when socially approved means are not available for the realization of highly desired goals: Goals, Opportunities, Means
• Interactionist: subcultural approach; differential association

Broken Window Theory

• "The citizen who fears the ill-smelling drunk, the rowdy teenager, or the importuning beggar is not merely expressing his distaste for unseemly behavior; he is also giving voice to a bit of folk wisdom that happens to be a correct generalization-namely, that serious street crime flourishes in areas in which disorderly behavior goes unchecked. The unchecked panhandler is, in effect, the first broken window. Muggers and robbers, whether opportunistics or professional, believe they reduce their chances of being caught or even identified if they operate on streets where potential victims are already intimidated by prevailing conditions. If the neighborhood cannot keep a bothersome panhandler from annoying passerby, the theif may reason, it is even less likely to call the police to identify a potential mugger or to interfere if the mugging actually takes place" (Wilson & Kelling, Broken Windows, 1982).