Modernalities

The Photo that Changed My Wedding

Sat, 25 May 2013 01:32:00 -0500

Photo Credit|Shahidul Alam

This is a picture taken from the collapse of a garment factory in Bangledesh. The factory collapsed and killed more than 900 people, some estimates take the death toll as high as 1,100. In the rubble these two people were found, holding each other in one final embrace as their world came crashing down around them.

This post could have easily been titled, “Why I won’t buy a dress from David’s Bridal,” but it would be entirely unfair to single out one culprit when there are so many guilty parties.

Someone is responsible for this. Someone needs to pay.

In case you didn’t know, many (read, most) wedding dresses are made in or assembled from parts made in developing countries by sweat shop labor. To be more accurate most of the clothes you wear are made in such conditions. These mass produced pieces of white fluff, are pieced together by people who make $38 or less a day. Hence, you can buy a Chinese wedding dress and have it shipped to any corner of the world, generally, for under $800.

So that is why I have decided to protest - with my wedding.

In 1911 the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burned to the ground, leaving in its wake 146 dead immigrant laborers, most of them women. The average age was 19. The doors to the factory were locked from the outside so women threw them selves from 9th story windows in an attempt to escape being burned to death.

At the time few laws regarding fire codes, extinguishers, exit signs, or fire doors existed and there were no organizations to protect workers from exploitation or unsafe work environments. This fire and several other events caused the creation of effective labor unions, legislation and what is now effectively OSHA.

While I, admittedly, find some of OSHAs regulations and rules over cautious bordering on the absurd, at least we have them. We have someone to stand up for American workers and say, “What you’re doing is wrong.”

This couple had no one.

So, I am going to make a political statement with my wedding, as a tribute to the two people in this photo - I will not buy my dress unless it has been made using fair trade materials that were manufactured by workers who earned a living wage and work in good conditions.

Because this couple never got their chance at a Happily Ever After.

Yup! Ready for the color run!

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:06:05 -0500

Yup! Ready for the color run!

Sigma Alpha is racing against autism! Good day to be out at...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:32:52 -0500

Sigma Alpha is racing against autism! Good day to be out at Fonner Park!!! @SigmaAlpha (at Fonner Park)

Taken with instagram

Wed, 02 May 2012 20:38:33 -0500

Taken with instagram

O! yeah!

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:03:39 -0600

O! yeah!

Photo

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:53:24 -0600

Dear Wells Fargo, Thank you for treating me like I would want to be treated - if I was a convicted...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:30:48 -0600

Dear Wells Fargo,

Thank you for treating me like I would want to be treated - if I was a convicted white collar criminal or a identity thief.

Though I appreciate that you have a concern for the safety of the money in your possession, I ask you this: why, if you thought I was lying, would you let me withdraw any money from my account? And why would you let me talk you up from letting me withdraw $40 from my account to letting me withdraw $50?

I understand that my n-card is not a legal form of identification. I do not understand how my n-card (which has my photo on it) in conjunction with my phone number, birthdate, address (local and permanent), social security number, recent account activity and location where I opened the account, does not allow me access to my bank account!

This is not the first time that I have been royally screwed by your bank considering it took me almost a year to get the automatic payment turned off on my credit card. And that was after I had used the internet, the bank and finally got so frustrated with your customer service that I had to actually talk to one of the higher up bankers at a branch office.

So here is my solution to my problem. I am closing my accounts - all of them. I will be opening new accounts at the credit union down the block from your on campus location. I will be blogging about my experience with you and I will be writing very angry reviews on every single website I can find.

Better luck with your other customers,

Sincerely,

Ashley Burns

"You don’t know india. Anyone can tell you about India. But you don’t know India till you..."

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:35:28 -0600

“You don’t know india. Anyone can tell you about India. But you don’t know India till you see India.”

malamargalarga: Remixed Raja by Meanest Indian on Flickr.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:19:10 -0600

malamargalarga:

Remixed Raja by Meanest Indian on Flickr.

Photo

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:42:59 -0600

The other 98%

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:22:00 -0600

Since my nay-saying hater companions, who don’t like animal agriculture and don’t like their food grown in a field of more than six acres, enjoy using scare tactics to make a point, for one post I will abandon all logic, like they do, and hope you get MY point.

Consider this - Every American farmer, rancher and horticulturalist decides stop producing.

Congratulations, people united against agriculture, you won.

So farmers plant enough food to care for 26 people, enough food for their extended family and a little extra. 26 is the average number of people a farmer produced food for in 1960.

According to the United States census of 2010 there are about 308 million people (308, 745,538 on April 1, 2010) of this population less than 2% are farmers or ranchers (but for the sake of argument and easy math we will call it 2%), so about 6 million people.

If each farmer only raised enough food for 26 people they would feed 160 million people, which is still impressive, but that means that there would be 148 million (148,000,000) people who would not have food.

How are you going to feed them?

I bet what you didn’t realize was that you are in the 98%.

The 98% that don’t farm.

We could hold your food supply hostage. We could let you go hungry. I would let you go hungry. Be glad that farmers have kinder souls than journalists.

You have no food.

We did what you wanted, we only produced enough to feed ourselves.

Are you happy, now?

This is really sad. My friend Kay did a story about waste...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:28:06 -0600

This is really sad. My friend Kay did a story about waste pickers when we were traveling in India. You can read her blog and the story on the link provided below.

kayabroad:

A fire near a large slum in New Delhi destroyed 350 homes on Jan. 31.The people affected in this fire are mostly wastepickers, according to Shashi Pandit, an advocate for wastepickers in New Delhi.

I interviewed Shashi last summer about environmental issues and the lives of wastepickers. He said many of these residents have lost most if not all of their belongings.

For more information about the fire, check out the Times of India. To learn about New Delhi wastepickers, read my article at digitalmediaindia.org. (Shashi provided this photo from the slum.)

I concur

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:03:00 -0600

I recently read a blog by one of my good friends and fellow agricultural journalism students, Ellie, also known as the NE Beef Gal on Blogspot.

Though we would probably disagree on blogging platforms we both agree that agriculture transcends stereotypes.

When I am not wearing my favorite chapped leather and blue cowboy boots I probably look like someone who should be bumming around the beaches of northern California, in my flip-flops and loose fitting beanie.

Though I prefer wearing my sweats and hoodie above any Abercrombie and Fitch gear and go most days without an ounce of make-up I am an adamant supporter of agriculture.

I think that sometimes we as agriculturalists tend to consider those with vegan or vegetarian leanings uneducated and often, well, stupid. When really, you are probably doing just as much for the agricultural community as those who eat three meals at McDonalds, if not more.

I commend your veggie loving tendencies because I simply couldn’t do it. Steak is just too darn good.

I am sure that this is while you veggie loving people probably think that we are primeval and, often, well, stupid, too. Here is the thing that you should consider. Somewhere there’s a farmer going out to the tractor to feed the momma cows (aka, cows). He has a Ph.d. from Cornell and owns three Armani suits and when he’s retired or dead and gone, his son or his daughter is going to take over the farm. Because its still a family farm.

That same farmer goes out to his pastures three or four times a night to make sure that none of his cows are having a hard time calving.

Last night he stayed in the barn with a premie calf for eight hours trying to keep it alive, and the calf still didn’t make it. He buried it this morning. And he said a prayer for the calf in heaven.

Some animal rights activist would have you think that we are all animal hating, baby killers. But we aren’t. Contrary to popular belief, we love our animals. They are our livelihood and living creatures who need us to care for them. We do care about the environment, but, like any industry, there are a few bad eggs that dirty the face of agriculture.

Today, people are completely disconnected from their food source. They don’t know that the way tomatoes are harvested is different from apples. I am sure that there are people out there that think apples and tomatoes come from the same plant.

I have a feeling that you are thinking, well I watch the news, I know what goes in to my food. I saw Food, Inc.

If so good for you. But here you have a real omnivores dilemma.

It isn’t fair that farmers get roped in with packing plants and fast food restaurants. Believe it or not farmers aren’t blood sucking leeches that are just trying to get every last penny out of that calf that they can. They do care. They really really do! When that steer leaves that feedlot or cow calf operation it is as wholesome and healthy as it can be.

So here is a challenge for you too my fellow farmers and aggies, listen to the vegans, don’t completely discount them. When it comes to wheat protein and mango salsa tacos, they might be on to something. They have ideas too. They might even have good ideas.

To ensure that we all have something to eat in the future we are all going to have to work together.

So what are MY credentials to be saying all this stuff about the agriculture industry. Where do I get off thinking I know more about agriculture than you? (Which depending on your age, education level and years in agriculture, I may or may not.)

I grew up on a small farm in California. My family owns twelve acres; with six acres of walnut trees that we raise organically, but we can’t afford the certification to actually sell them as organic. We also raise meat goats and dairy goats. I spent eight years doing FFA and 4-H. These programs taught me how to write, how to speak and most of all how to be a responsible member of society. My best friend’s family runs a cow/calf operation in Northeastern Nebraska and my boyfriend, Trav, will be a fifth generation farmer. This is how I know WE care.

Trav can rattle off pesticides and herbicides and seed identification numbers. He knows fertilizer application rates and irrigation scheduling. But he also can name off native grasses and loves to watch pheasants walking across the snowy field. He cares about how much fertilizer runoff goes into the streams and rivers and when to apply the chemicals to reduce runoff.

Trav isn’t some special case either. I have never met people who care more about their families and future generations than farmers. When you work all day with your hands in the soil, you want to teach other people about that dirt too. Every (normal) grandpa, gets that sweet look in his eye when he holds his grandchild. He wants that kid to have a better life than he did. The same goes for farmers who are grandpa’s too.

Yes, farmers and ranchers do want to make a buck at the end of the day. We would be lying if we said otherwise. But think about this my vegan friend; do you really think the farmer who sold the $4/pound tomatoes that you bought at Whole Foods wasn’t trying to make a buck? What made him so much more altruistic than the farmer who didn’t get his tomatoes certified? Also you do realize that the farmers and ranchers who can pay for the certification to be considered organic are often HUGE farms and ‘corporate’ farms, right? because the little guys you profess to support can’t afford the certification or the extra input costs. Also many studies show that organic farms produce more greenhouse gases than traditional or integrated management farms because of the increase in labor and need for more mechanization causes an increase in emissions.

In our own ways we are all self righteous. We will never completely agree. You hipsters in your tight pants and Toms shoes may not consider setting foot on to a feedlot, but at least I am willing to try your vegan wheat protein tacos with mango salsa.

Ciao!

Cont.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:16:59 -0600

I would also like to point out to the Daily Beast that when something is useless it has no use. This would be true of someone who studies Latin, to some extent. Latin is a dead language, it has no use, no applicability, therefore it is useless.

What your article actually entails are job areas with little job growth. Not necessarily trades that are ‘useless’. Infact agricultural and life science have more areas where they can be applied than most areas of study, like English (another ‘useless’ career).

I will reiterate one more time; people don’t do what they love because it makes them money. People do what they love because they love what they do.

People in glass houses should not throw stones

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:43:00 -0600

Also known as: people with presumably useless degrees (Journalism) should not throw stones at people with other ‘useless’ degrees (agricultural journalism).

So heres the thing - I appreciate the Daily Beasts and Terance Loose’s insight into the job growth within various sectors with in the economy. I do however suggest that they do a bit more research in terms of what people in these careers actually do. For example a person with a specialized degree or advanced degree in animal science is probably less likely to end up working at an all night Denny’s than a person with a general bachelors in business administration. Also thank you for providing such generalized images for your piece.

Daily Beast - in your 20 Most useless degrees, you don’t exactly leave a lot of options for useful degrees. If I was to choose a major from the very short list of majors you don’t mention, those you apparently don’t find useless, I would probably end up with something like accounting (no offense to accountants, but tax forms just aren’t my gig) or computer science: hooray, just let me grab my pocket protector.

I guess that this just furthers the point that people will follow their hearts regardless of statistics. If we just went off statistics alone, we probably we still be using a slide rule, we would never have stepped on the moon and Picasso would never have gotten creative with facial features. Because at one point I am sure that people thought computer science was crazy, it was impossible to go to the moon and well, art has never been a high paying trade.

We would end up shoved in to cubicles; being lonely and bored and our world would look like something out of an Orwellian dystopia.

However, I would like to point out that the Daily Beast is not entirely wrong, if you graduate with a general, totally general, agricultural science degree with no specialization you will probably, please note, probably have a more difficult time finding a job than a person with a specialized degree. For example a person with a degree in agricultural journalism, or animal science with an emphasis in feedlot management is probably more hirable than a person with just general agricultural knowledge. This is simply because agriculture is so broad it would be impossible to adequately cover the entire industry in four years of education.

People will always do what they want - whatever it is. Cold hard statistics will only go so far.

A person who wants more than any thing in the world to compose symphonies is not going to look at that article and say, “O no! I shall never make any money composing music!” If I had to venture a guess they probably knew that already.

Also people do not major in Latin under the misconseption that latin will become the new English. Or if they do they should probably go see a shrink (Oh, wait, thats another useless degree. Oh, Silly me!)

I highly suggest to the Daily Beast, though the US Department of labor is a very reliable source, they should also take into account other studies that have come up with different findings. For example a study from Purdue University (which was funded by the USDA) which found that there will be an estimated 54,400 annual openings for college graduates with in the life sciences and natural resources industries between 2010 and 2015. With that being said, the study also projected that there will only be 53,500 qualified graduates per year. Another study from Georgetown also found that there will be significant growth in the agriculture sector. The agriculture sector is also responsible for 1 one in 12 jobs on average in the US economy, and the percentage goes up in rural states. In Nebraska, the agriculture industry accounts for 33% of jobs.

Feeling Nostalgic winterabroad: This is Jen Gotrik’s...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:08:03 -0600

Feeling Nostalgic

winterabroad:

This is Jen Gotrik’s #indiawesome interpretation of our trip.

50,000 followers Giveaway!!!

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:59:26 -0600

FOLLOW!!!!

powderdoom:

We promised a giveaway once we hit 1,000 followers, but then we reached 10,000, then 20,000… and have been stalling and stalling, gathering products, writing for projects, until 50k finally creeped up on us last night. So here you go: a giveaway we hope is worthy of your support.

Here are the prizes. Since Chi-Chi & I are on opposite coasts, the items might be separate but there will only be one winner, and they will receive two individual packages, one from Chi-Chi and one from me. This is U.S ONLY.

More photos & how to enter after the jump.

Read More

What's The Rush?

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:01:00 -0600

I stopped blogging because I got tired of writing. But a lapse in writing can only go on for so long in a person who believes that they are a born writer, e.g. me.

So here I am back at my computer to expound upon self evident truths and life being lived.

Over the Winter/Christmas/non-religiously committal holiday break I began surfing Alfred Angelo, a wedding gown website. Said site has a series of Disney inspired dresses that I am quite fond of. Surfing of said bridal website probably also lead my watching a rash of Disney princess movies but it also got me thinking.

I am a born rusher. In middle school I was so concerned with getting to class on time (it takes two minutes to get across campus walking at a painfully slow pace) that I would power walk my way there and make it to gym class in thirty seconds or less.

In high school I was probably also one of the first people to take the SATs and I started college shopping before my high school freshman year.

So yes, I am a born rusher.

But Why?! What is the rush?

I could have taken the time to walk with friends to class.

I could have looked more on the positive side of high school.

Ok, well maybe I am stretching on the high school one, but lets be honest here it wouldn’t exactly have killed me to just take a little more time to get there.

People are always so obsessed with taking the next step. Taking the plunge. Moving forward. That they forget to just stop and look around at all of their blessings.

So ok there might not have been a lot to look at in either of my high school or middle school former lives, but now as I look around I have realized that there are a lot of people, a lot of really cool people that I haven’t taken the time to get to know. There are a lot of old friends that I haven’t stopped to check in on. All because I have been so obsessed with making it to the graduation finish line and taking the marital plunge and then getting a career and then getting preggers and then having kids and then buying a bigger house and then getting a new car and then buying a dog and then taking the kids to school and then taking the kids to soccer all while being super career mom!

WHY!?!

What is really the point? Wouldn’t all those things be more enjoyable if I just took it all one step at a time? Gave everything its own time and place?

Why, yes. That sounds like a grand idea. So here is my plan. Say hi, to the friends I pass on my way to class. Have a conversation with someone I haven’t seen in a while. Make dinner for the roomies. Make dinner for Travis. Take the time to really watch a movie and not think about what comes after. Go to a club meeting and actually volunteer for something. Bring myself to go running. Lay out my yoga mat and just enjoy pigeon pose and a good work out.

Because doing all these things and will get me to the ring, the career, the baby, the car, the dog, the house and an infinite number of blessings that I haven’t even considered yet.

Because when you love life, life loves you back.

goodneighborsusa: “Once you know what happens to others, it is...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:34:07 -0600

goodneighborsusa:

“Once you know what happens to others, it is your duty as a human being to take a position,” she says. “Pretending that what’s right in front of you doesn’t exist just because it disrupts your comfort zone is unacceptable.” #humantrafficking

(via Sold for sex in Eastern Europe – CNN Photos - CNN.com Blogs)

Fit Villains: Selfish, Shameless, Sassy, Fitness.: First Time Diabetic Halloween Success Story...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:06:33 -0500

Fit Villains: Selfish, Shameless, Sassy, Fitness.: First Time Diabetic Halloween Success Story...:

fitvillains:

Just wanted to give a shout-out to my bad-ass nephew and his awesome attitude this Halloween.

This was the first year my nephew went out for Halloween as a diabetic. As some parents know, with all the candy it can be daunting for first time diabetics to head out trick or treating. It’s…