It's craft time!

Every year I vow to hand-craft at least one gift per person for the holiday season. These special gifts may take more time, but they are usually appreciated more for the care put into creation as well as the final product. You remember those (not so great) drawings you made as a 5-year-old? They at least had the careful creation part right.

For the next several weeks I will update this blog with projects and links for fun, useful holiday gifts and decor.

If you're ambitiously trying to impress a computer nerd, you might want to get a head-start on this one:

A team at Nokia in Finland created one of the unlikeliest computer displays yet: the world's first ice touchscreen.

Otherwise, check out some ideas for Thanksgiving crafts to entertain the kids (or yourself):
Acorn napkin rings
Thankful tree
Turkey-folded napkins

'Darfur is Dying' review

In 2004 I attended the Portland International Film Festival in Portland, Oreg. Though I had heard of Darfur and seen peers wearing "Save Darfur" T-shirts, I didn't know anything about the war going on and the peoples' search for refuge. This all changed with a documentary at the festival called "Lost Boys of Sudan."

Hordes of Sudanese people attempted to escape the country, many dying along the way from starvation or being caught by the Janjaweed militia. Some escaped, and a few of those boys came to the United States as refugees. Their story is told in the documentary film.

The story of those who remain in Darfur, however, are not told. People attempting to do so have been turned away from the border. But five students who were turned away by government officials in 2005 heard the stories of refugees in Chad. The students took those stories and turned them into a game, Darfur is Dying, to educate anyone with computer access about the struggles of those who remain.

In the game, you choose citizens to play. It is up to you to keep enough water and food in the camp, as well as keep health up and the camp safe from Janjaweed attacks.

As someone who never played violent video games (or any other variety, for that matter) this game seems incredibly grim. On a first attempt, I was able to keep the camp safe and fed for one day. It was only one day before the rape and killing of my camp ensued. Not a very pleasant thought.

Because this game is based on grim reality, you cannot help but take in the information given to you. The people you can play are mostly children, because that is the majority of the population now--they're better at hiding, they run fast and don't require as much food. The game is incredibly difficult because the lives these survivors live are incredibly difficult.

I don't think I could ever play this game for fun, but it is informative and will get players thinking about the horrors in Darfur.

Adult literacy programs

In Back of the Yards:

National Latino Education Institute
Education and Technology Center
2011 W. Pershing Road
Phone: (773) 247-0707

Website: www.nlei.org

Nearby, in other neighborhoods:

Douglas

Tolton Center of De La Salle Institute

3647 S. State St.
Phone: (312) 747-3471
Fax: (312) 842-4142
E-mail: carmrenner@hotmail.com
Office Hours: Mon.- Thurs. 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Program Contact: Sue Perez
Services Offered: Basic Reading, ESL & Math Tutoring, ABE & GED classes, Workplace and Family Literacy

Englewood

Alpha Temple M.B. Church
B.E.S.T. Adult Literacy Program
6701 S. Emerald Ave.
Phone: (773) 723 - 1001
Fax: (773) 723-8351

E-mail: bestadultliteracy@sbcglobal.net

Office Hours: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Program Contact: Shirley Jenkins
Services Offered: Basic Reading Tutoring and Math Tutoring, One-On-One Instruction

McKinley Park

Aquinas Literacy Center
3525 S. Hermitage
Phone: (773) 927-0512
Fax: (773) 927-8980
E-mail: aquinaslit@aol.com
Program Contact: Sister Joan Mary
Services Offered: Economical, Social and Cultural Programs, ESL and tutoring for newcomers to the country

Back of the Yards history

Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood, a part of the New City community area, came from its former life of blood, sweat and tears to its current state involving some of the same, but instead of slaughterhouses violence has taken to the streets.

The neighborhood has typically been home to the working class, giving jobs to people in slaughterhouses and packaging warehouses. (Right: poll in 1920 about the neighborhood's aroma.)

In the early 1900s, the neighborhood was home to Polish, German, Bohemian, Lithuanian, Slavic and Irish families (see map to left).

Now, the neighborhood is more than 50 percent Hispanic, with the next highest population being African-American.

Most of the current neighborhood's residents have less than a high school degree. As of 2008, approximately 36.6 percent of residents were below the poverty level, compared to the Chicago average of 19.6 percent.

The unemployment rate in the neighborhood was reported to be 14.9 percent in the most recent census data.


Demographics available here

Online Journalism video

Check out this video about young adults' opinions about voting.