Find Youth Info: New Website for Community orgs serving youth

12 federal agencies and departments recently unveiled a great collaborative effort: an information website for community organizations serving youth. http://www.findyouthinfo.gov
helps community orgs access up to date information on Federal programs, funding opportunities and youth-related issues. The site is working to generate maps of community resources, and also features "many federally-developed interactive tools to help users build quality partnerships within their communities and help youth reach their full potential."

Whats Good on Television (according to me)

30 Rock (NBC) The witty, awkward, zaney Liz Lemon (Tina Fey)

Battlestar Galactica (SciFi)

Big Love (HBO)

Flight of the Concords (HBO)

The Life and Times of Tim (HBO)

Lost (ABC)

Mad Men (AMC)

The Office (NBC)

True Blood (HBO)

Old Favorites:

Arrested Development (Fox)

Freaks and Geeks (ABC)

Six Feet Under (HBO)

Under the Banner of Heaven

Under the Banner of Heaven: The Story of a Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

This book loses focus at some points and is too long for the content (gets repetitive) but intriguing nonetheless. I picked this book up because of my obession with the HBO series "Big Love" and wanting to learn more about the reality of polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism. The history of the Mormon faith, which Krakauer also touches on in this book is also fascinating and anyone interested in learning more about the "the great american religion" and how such a faith could come to be in the age of the printing press-- this is a decent place to start.

It started off leading me to believe that he might provide insight to religious extremism in general, the dangers of fundamental anything but instead he dove deeper into the strange and twisted history of the Mormon faith. I find mormonism/LDS so fascinating because there is so much evidence, written history of the time-- first-hand accounts of the wagon train to Utah etc. I may have found another piece of American subculture to obsess about for awhile.

Happy Inaugural Day

My co-worker Samantha and I took an early lunch break today to view the inauguration in one of my favorite public spaces; the Champaign Public Library. I can't imagine a more wonderful place to share this moment then among public library patrons and viewing it in an intrinsically democratic setting. Happy Inaugural Day to all!

Above (from Yahoo! picture news): child in Kenya sports his Obama visor in celebration.

Three Wishes: Israeli and Palestinian Children Speak

Very recently, I have been seeking out more information on the genre of youth nonfiction. I have been looking for books that introduce topics to children in accurate yet kid-friendly, digestible ways--especially about conflict, current events and history. Due to the current conflict in Gaza and the frenzy of emails about it on the SRRTAC listserv (Social Responsibility Resource Table of the American Library Association: http://www.libr.org/srrt) I have been striving to learn as much as I can and compile resources that tell the whole complicated story so that I too, can be an informed citizen and peace activist.

Deborah Ellis’ book, Three Wishes: Israeli and Palestinian Children Speak is an impactful collection of interviews with children through the region. I encourage adults to read it too. Her ability to infuse facts about the history of the conflict with the stories of kids’ real experiences growing up in Jerusalem, Ramallah, the West Bank and elsewhere in the region is really impressive. As is her ability to stay neutral and informative when writing on one of the most divisive and polarizing conflicts in current times. These children's stories will break your heart. Every single child interviewed in this collection knows someone who has been killed by bombs, and each child lives in fear and even with what we would call tell-tale signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet, there are so many aspects of their stories which are universally childhood. their interests, relationships with siblings, school experiences etc. For most kids, this book should be accompanied by facilitated discussion with either a teacher or parent due to the intensity of the topic but I hope more schools and families will choose to use Ellis' works when talking to their kids about current events.

Here is a list of other books and articles that have been brought to my attention related to Palestine and Israel. Some of them I have read, others not but all have come highly recommended by librarians and professors subscribing to SRRT:

A Time to Speak Out: Independent Jewish Voices on Israel, Zionism and Jewish Identity "Jewish voices challenge the crude polarities of the Israel/Palestine debate"

The Civilizing Power of Slaughter (the Dissident Voice)

The Dialogue Project: http://www.thedialogueproject.org/

The Electronic Intifada: http://electronicintifada.net/

Books by Raja Shehadeh: When the Birds Stopped Singing: Life in Ramallah Under Siege, Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape, Strangers in the House: Coming of Age in Occupied Palestine.

The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in Film:

GAZA STRIP
"GAZA STRIP follows a range of people and events following the election of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, including the first major armed incursion into "Area A" by Israeli Defense Forces. The film is filmed almost entirely in a verite style, presented without narration and with little explanation, focusing on ordinary Palestinians rather than on politicians and pundits. More observation than political argument."
Directed by James Longley Palestine/USA Documentary 2002 74 minutes
In Arabic with English subtitles

ENCOUNTER POINT
"A riveting documentary...blazes with a kind of spiritual grace." --Village Voice
Directed by Ronit Avni & Julia Bacha Israel-Palestine-USA 85 minutes 2006
In English, Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles