Happy Losar! (Do you know what year it is?)

Today is Tibetan New Year, or Losar. I used the opportunity to discuss the idea that not everyone in the world follows the same timeline, and it made for an interesting discussion. I wore one of the shirts I picked up from Tibet Gallery, which certainly sparked a conversation in and of itself since it's not the typical polo-style staff shirt I usually wear. After that, life got interesting when I informed my students that it was the Earth Ox Year 2136. From there I informed them that according to the Chinese calendar, it is the year 4706; it's 5769 by the Jewish calendar, and for Muslims, it's 1430. That kind of blew their minds a bit and led to a conversation around the B.C./A.D. vs BCE/CE way of marking time, and how we keep track of time in general. It definitely became a good discussion, and I think it helped them to understand, or at least think about, some of the differences that can and do exist between cultures. I also tried to get across the idea that as we become an increasingly global society, we will need to become more sensitive to those differences as well as the similarities, and use them to move the human race forward rather than tear us apart. The concept that not everyone in the world marks their societal calendar by the birth of Jesus Christ was something of a new one for them, and they did not know the difference between BC/AD and BCE/CE. The idea that something as "basic" as a calendar can be so different led them to wondering about other differences that can and do present themselves... I hope.

Savory Spice Shop hits Boulder

Back in 2004, I was strolling down Platte St. in Denver when I came across a newly opened spice shop. I love to cook, and I'm always on the lookout for cool new things around cooking, so I went in. The owners, Mike and Janet, were both there and made me feel right at home in the shop. I browsed around and felt very comfortable asking questions about what I was seeing on the shelves. They had a lot of spices I'd never seen before, and there were quite a few homemade spice blends as well. I left the store after buying several new spices, and decided that I'd found my new, exclusive supplier of herbs and spices. The fact that their prices are comparably priced to even the big supermarket chains was a plus, but their spices were the freshest and highest quality I'd ever seen. After I moved, I found myself going to Boulder more often than Denver with one exception: my regular pilgrimages to Savory Spice Shop to restock my spice shelf. I seemed to always find some new blend as well, so it was always worth the trip. Not too long ago, I was there talking with Dan, one of the employees, who told me that Mike and Janet were looking to expand to Boulder (they had previously expanded and added a Littleton store), and I got super psyched. On Friday I stopped in to the new Boulder store at 2041 Broadway. It's a great store, and they've even added a line of organic spices. The space is bright and comfortable, just like the Denver store, and it has that same warmth to which I'd grown accustomed. Dan is the owner of the Boulder store, and he's doing a great job. The store was hopping, so it seems that Savory Spice Shop Boulder is going to be a hit. If you are looking for spices and live in the Denver/Littleton/Boulder area, you should check them out... and tell them that Todd sent you. ;-)

On an unrelated topic, I grow increasingly frustrated with the lack of the world's response to China's repression of its own citizens as well as Tibetans and its support of the military junta in Burma and the support it lends to the corrupt government in Sudan. For years people thought there was nothing to be done about apartheid in South Africa. It wasn't until American citizens got serious and started leading boycotts against companies that were doing business in South Africa that the rest of the world started taking notice. I can remember news headlines about how much Coca-Cola lost in revenues after people stopped buying Coke until they pulled out of South Africa. So when are we going to do the same to companies that do business in China? It's beyond time for us to stop putting bumper stickers on our cars with the latest slogan and pretending we've done all we can. It's time to actually do things... to paraphrase Gandhi, it's time for us to be the change we want to see in the world.

Candle4Tibet reflections

The light protest went really, really well. Aaron was all kinds of excited to be a part of it, even more so when Channel 4 News showed up; not that he wanted to be on t.v., but more that he knew that what he was doing was actually being noticed, that it wasn't just for the sake of a few tourists that happened to be walking by.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take part in the Sad Smoky Mountains campaign like I wanted to. I called the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks to talk about it, and was told that, while they understood the situation and empathized, at the same time, they couldn't grant me permission to light the flares due to the fire ban on the mountain. I was disappointed, to be sure, but I get it, and so it goes.

I did get a Tibetan flag and had it up today outside of my house before 1:00, just before the Olympics officially kicked off. Not only am I not going to watch the Olympics, I am going to make it a point to fly the Tibetan flag every day of the Olympics. Raising the flag of Tibet - even owning one - is illegal in Tibet and can be punished with imprisonment. I am also going to contact the Tibetan Association of Colorado to see what, if anything, they will be doing during the DNC and how I can be involved.

For dinner last night, I made a Tibetan dish called "momos." Momos are basically steamed dumplings. I decided to make vegetarian ones, and I have to say, they were pretty spiffy. I'm thinking I might make more Tibetan food this week, but I don't want to kill it; Tibetan food is really good and fairly simple, but I don't think Kyle would be impressed with a solid week's worth of Tibetan food.

Ouch and a Candle4Tibet

I have FINALLY gotten to go rock climbing! Ironically, the
injury photos that are here aren't from the actual climb. They are from the hike down afterwards. Overall, the day was great. I met up with two recent graduates, a student who moved to the midwest, and one of the members of the climbing team, and together with my son and his best friend, we headed up to Boulder Canyon for a few hours.

The day was perfect. We got there early enough in the morning that it hadn't gotten really hot yet, so that really helped. We knocked out a couple of climbs, and then around noon decided that it was getting hot, so it was time to go. That's when
the fun began.

About halfway down the trail, there is what is called a talus field; basically a big section of rocks. I was the last one over it, and I guess I wasn't paying full attention, because the next thing I knew, down I went. I pitched forward and landed on my knees and right arm. Not a lot of fun. I actually hit my arm hard enough that I thought maybe I'd broken it, so I rolled over on my back and took a few seconds to make sure I was okay. I did a quick scan and realized that nothing was broken, which was a pretty huge relief. I got up and finished the hike down, then we headed home.

I still can't believe that school starts in less than a month. Wow... this summer went by incredibly quickly!! I'm still working on getting podcasts together, and I haven't had much of a chance to experiment with my Smart Board.

In other news, on August 7th, I would like to encourage everyone reading this to light a candle for Tibet. It's part of a campaign to get 100,000,000 people to light candles the night before the Olympics starts to remind people of what is happening to Tibet and the Tibetan people. It is a nonviolent, global public statement that will help to remind our world leaders that we have not forgotten Tibet. There is also a social network on Ning (which was mentioned during our Global Learners training... see?! I was paying attention!), which I would also encourage people to join. The time to light the candle is 9:00 p.m. local time (whichever time zone that may be). If our world leaders won't do it, someone needs to show them how.