Uganda Education Goes On Air!

I recently spoke on a radio program called Hemishpheres, about the education in Uganda.  The program aired on KGNU 88.5 Independent Community Radio in Boulder and Denver. 

Please click here to listen to the hour long interview, where we also hear from a member of Uganda's Educational Board, and a mentor who works with chidren in Uganda:  http://www.kgnu.org/ht/listings.html?show=Hemispheres

Scroll down the page until you reach February 8th.  This is where you will find my segment.  Enjoy!

Now Here's a Journalist to Look Up

Her name is Lisa Ryckman people, and she rules. For starters, she covered the Jonbenet Ramsey case and Columbine. She even worked for Larry King for a while. Before it shut down, she was one of the top reporters at the Rocky Mountain News.

In February of 2009 Lisa published an article about domestic abuse. Her lead instantly catches any reader's eye as it gets to the point in 12 words. "She left him or tried to. But he wouldn't let her go." It's brilliant. It tells enough to catch the attention of a reader, but leaves enough suspense so that the reader can't help but read on.

Back in 2006, she wrote an article titled "Pretzel logic: Researcher claims food choices reflect people's personalities." Once again, she starts her article with a great lead. Here's a paragraph that I especially enjoyed reading:

"When it comes to compatibility, however, thing's don't always make sense Pretzel people, for example, who are quirky, fun, lively and energetic, are most compatible with other pretzel lovers, ambitious potato-chip people or cheese-curl fans. But it turn out that cheese-curl people are most compatible with either potato-chippers or the perfectionist tortilla-chip types."

I love her writing style. She's formal when she needs to be, but knows how to write in a fun and entertaining manner too.

Lisa currently writes for ColoradoBiz. Earlier this year. she wrote an article about corporate women leaving the corporate world to reinvent themselves. It's quite uplifting and you should most certainly check it out.

Fourmile Canyon Revival!

The Fourmile Benefit Concert this past Saturday was one of the most epic concerts I have ever been to. It was six hours of all-out, funky, energetic music. The musicians were incredible, they were so lively. It was obvious the second the music began that the musicians were truly putting their hearts into it that night. I even experienced my first washboard solo, and it was awesome.

And definite props to the 1st Bank center, it is an awesome venue. The a

coustics during the show were amazing, no echoing whatsoever. What I liked best was the fact that not only was there a massive dance floor, there were also bowl seats. I watched the first two acts from the dance floor and the last two from the seats.

My first taste of Phish! Two members of Phish came out, the lead singer and the keyboardist I believe.

Here is the view from our seats while part of Phish was playing on stage. Incredible right?

I don't think it's fair to say that any one band from Saturday night was better than the rest. String Cheese completely blew me away with their spunk, it was the first time I'd seen them. As always, Yonder was incredible, drawing the crowd in with their lively stage presence. When the two members of Phish came on, they played a more mellow set and they played some beautiful songs. Big Head Todd was more rock than Phish, Cheese and Yonder, but the different styles still blended extremely well.

Finally, I have some videos for you all to enjoy! I've got three clips of Yonder, here they are! I also have a clip from Phish and from String Cheese, enjoy!

The Most Beautiful Thing You've Ever Seen

What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? Heavy question, huh? Is it a place? A Person? A landmark? Until this summer, I would not have been able to answer this.

The most beautiful thing I have ever seen, in my entire life, was a seven day old Ugandan baby . While I was living in Kampala this summer, Teacher Joy, who works at Extreme College gave birth to a breathtakingly beautiful baby girl.

Not all babies are cute, let alone beautiful, it's just a fact of life. It's a sad, and a slightly mean observation, but it's true. Some babies look constipated. Some look like aliens. Don't misinterpret this however, and assume that an ugly baby will grow into an ugly person. That is not the case at all. I myself was not the cutest baby, but I turned out okay!

Now this baby, that I was fortunate enough to rest my eyes on, was neither constipated nor alien-like. She was perfect. What struck me the most, was the color of her skin. In African children, the pigmentation does not set in right away. Instead they are blessed with a caramel golden skin tone for the first weeks of their lives . This little nugget glowed, that's how beautiful she was. Try if you will, to imagine a color like this. It was honestly like nothing I had ever seen before.

So what about all of you? What have you been in the presence of, that you can for sure say, is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

UEP now on Twitter!

Hey Everyone! Our organization, The Uganda Education Project, is now on Twitter! Click here to view our Twitter Page! Oh and don't forget to visit our website: www.ugandaeducationproject.org

Earlier this morning Melissa informed me that we've almost raised enough money to buy the land next to Extreme College Namayumba! If you remember one of my previous posts, the U.S. dollar can be stretched pretty far in Uganda. Please show our website to all of your friends, and help us reach our goal!

The hunt for Kony

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Joseph Kony, the man responsible for murdering countless Ugandans, kidnapping hundreds of children and forming the Lord's Resistance Army. This short article by April Wright gives a brief synopsis of his heinous acts.

Uganda Education Project

Hey Everybody, the website for the Uganda Education projected, started by Zach and Melissa is up and running again, check it out!!!