Danny Rose?

The fact that many Iowa restaurants feature Reuben sandwiches makes me question my prior notions about their ethnic origins. But my belief that this state could benefit from some more delis (like the one in the photo) still stands.

Home Cookin'

Whenever I miss New Jersey, I head over to the Hy-Vee and purchase a product from my home state. Because when I think of authentic New Jersey food, I think of . . . . banana crisps?

Once, Twice, Three Times a Colbert-y

I suspect Mr. Colbert was again doing some late night snooping on this site the other night. After seeing my appeal for DonorsChoose.org, he decided to invite Craig Newmark on his show. Newmark, of http://www.craigslist.com , is a strong supporter of DonorsChoose. The website got some serious mention during the interview.

Here's the funny interview . . .

There's Magic in These Signs

In Battle Creek, IA, all you have to do is put up a sign, and the item you desire appears behind it. All was well and good until somebody put up a "Future Site of a Future Site Sign" sign. The town has been in a constant state of sign removal ever since.

Cherokee Library

Every other website? Get your click on.

Tally it Up

Keep track of how well we're doing. See the post below to find out what we're doing.

The Challenge

As I previewed last week, today is Blog Action Day. What's neat is that there's no guarantee blogs can really deliver on a philanthropic/civic-minded project. There are many isolated examples of success, but nothing systemic. But this is an advantage. Free of the shackles of what's worked in the past, each blogger can try something different in the hopes of supporting this year's theme, the environment.

My method is to promote DonorsChoose.com. DonorsChoose let's lets teachers create proposals for projects that need funding. Potential donors visit the site, browse through potential projects, and can choose to fund all or part of a project.

DonorsChoose . . .

• Rewards teachers for creative ideas and articulate proposals.
• Provides a forum for donors who are searching for something out of the ordinary.
• Combines the ease of online money transfer with the spontaneity of donating to a good cause.

To align with this year's theme, I have selected one science-minded project from the hundreds on DonorsChoose. I hope you will consider donating to it. Perhaps, together, we can fully fund this project.

I selected this project because

• It helps a teacher in a district where 84% of the students, due to povery, are on a free lunch program. By comparison, my high school, High Point, is at about 5%.
• It helps a Los Angeles teacher who is in the Teach for America Corps. Teach for America is a noble effort to increase the number of highly-qualified teachers in classrooms and hopefully keep them there for good.
• The project is already partially funded. This is important to me because it emphasizes that if everybody chips in a little bit, even if they're complete strangers, great things can be accomplished.
  
• It aims to put some actual objects in the hands of science students. As a visual learner myself, I can appreciate this.
  
• The teacher's proposal uses the word "realia." Therefore, it helped me learn a new word.
  

If nothing else, I hope you look at the neat things going on over at DonorsChoose.com.

Now I know some of you are saying, "Curtis, if I give enough money to fully fund the project, then nobody else will have the opportunity to donate to it. Therefore, I probably shouldn't give any money at all." That's hogwash. Stop saying that.

The project is $332 $297 short of it's its goal. Please consider clicking below and reading about the project. Then, consider chipping in some funds. According to DonorsChoose, if it's fully funded, every donor receives not only a personal thankyou, but the teacher is given a disposable camera to take pictures of how your money is being spent. Please click below to look at the challenge I've created.

Help Public School Kids by Funding my Challenge at DonorsChoose

Hold the Schmaltz

It's not too late to buy a meal from Congregation Beth Shalom today. The best potato latkes this side of the Little Sioux. (keyboard not included)

Dinner in Carroll, Iowa. Not the flowers. But they were there too.

I AM America

Today I'm going to hit upon two common themes:

1) Rediscovering videos I made in college.

2) Stephen Colbert and I are secretly collaborating. Also, one of us has a time machine, thus explaining the time gap between our similar projects.

First, be amazed by last night's interview segment.




Then watch my take on it here, from late 2006.

Blogging for Change

Google is helping promote some really neat projects that combine blogging and philanthropy. These are two worlds that are bound to collide. Some say I actually predicted this with a presentation I gave in college. Others don't say that at all.

Either way, if there's some neat projects out there that need trying, like the one advertised above, I'm game.

Plus, Iowa is all about Clean Energy and being green. So there's plenty to write about. It's like a perfect storm of ideas. Not that I endorse global-warming-induced perfect storms.

Multi-State Zone

Here's yet another reason why you can't use road names to guess what state you're in.

Trivia:
If these two signs were all you had to deduce your location, what state would you say you were in?

Who said Vermont? That's incorrect. While Rutland and Burlington are cities in Vermont, everyone knows those hippies don't have road signs. They just let the homeowner pick a name that creates the most Zen with their hemp furniture.

The correct answer is Iowa. Trick question.

Confessions of a Wiffy

I guess my guilty conscience obligates me to refer you to this previous post, and then to the following report from the Colbert Report last night.