Category Archives: Viva!

Guerrilla Oracle –

What I point to you is only that you shouldn’t allow yourselves to be confused by others. Act when you need to, without further hesitation or doubt.

People today can’t do this—what is their affliction? Their affliction is in their lack of self confidence.

If you do not spontaneously trust yourself sufficiently, you will be in a frantic state, pursuing all sorts of objects and being changed by those objects, unable to be independent.

Zen Master Linji, on self-confidence

via Guerrilla Oracle –.

After 22 Years in New York and Threats of Deportation, Citizenship – NYTimes.com

“Not being wanted in this country, and now working for the F.D.N.Y. and getting my citizenship — it’s amazing how it worked out,” he said last week, before reporting for another shift, responding by ambulance to 911 calls.

via After 22 Years in New York and Threats of Deportation, Citizenship – NYTimes.com.

How UNICEF Uses Mobile Phones to Help Stop Ebola | UNICEF USA

In response to the crisis, UNICEF and partners have deployed a mobile technology called mHero, which stands for mobile Health Worker Electronic Response & Outreach. The platform is designed to work in developing countries such as Liberia, where more than 80% of the population lives under $1.25 a day, yet 97% of health workers own a mobile phone. mHero allows the Ministry of Health & Social Welfare to communicate critical information to frontline health workers via SMS.

via How UNICEF Uses Mobile Phones to Help Stop Ebola | UNICEF USA.

Humans of New York

“I was tired of working retail, so I lied on my resume and said that I had bookkeeper experience. I learned as much as I could from Google before the job interview, and printed out balance sheets to practice on. After I got the job, I read as much as I could every morning on the train. It was nerve wracking at first, but I presented the numbers at the end of the month, and everything checked out. May not have been the best way to get a job, but hey— I’ve got a son to look out for.”

via Humans of New York.

You’ll Never Guess Where Food Stamps Are in Highest Demand | Civil Eats

This kind of silence about receiving food assistance will sound familiar to others who live in rural America. But a report out last month from the Center for Rural Affairs (CRA) illustrates quite a different reality: The percentage of eligible people relying on SNAP is higher in rural areas than it is in urban areas. CRA found that nearly 86 percent of eligible rural residents receive SNAP benefits, compared with nearly 73 percent of eligible urban residents.

via You’ll Never Guess Where Food Stamps Are in Highest Demand | Civil Eats.

Urban Farmist: Resurrecting an ancient practice of growing food | Latina Lista

Standing in a spectacular back yard in beautiful Austin, Texas, I am captivated by the energy permeating from the well-though-out landscape. To my left, a traditional, seasonal vegetable garden proudly contributes an assortment of fresh tomatoes, peppers and onions to the Farmist yield. Directly in front of me, stands a chicken coop expertly fashioned from reclaimed wood and metal.

Paintings, sculptures, painted trees and chickens fill the space between monuments. To my immediate right sits a seemingly out of place mound of garbage. Or is it tree limbs? A compost? My curiosity pitches high.

My older brother, Joseph de Leon is the proud owner and constructor of this urban farm. Soaking in the energy of back yard art, chickens and produce, my curiosity reaches maximum velocity when I finally ask, “What is this mound?” “Hugelkutur,” he replied. “A what?” I asked again. “Hugelkultur. It’s a type of raised bed garden,” he said. I was mesmerized as he explained the process and purpose behind this ancient gardening method.

via Urban Farmist: Resurrecting an ancient practice of growing food | Latina Lista.