Evelyn Rodriguez writes “[M]ost public education (to be differentiated from self-education) is geared toward the job mindset which doesn’t adequately prepare one for the present or future, including within a job.” Via Dane Carlson.

From Otis White’s Civic Strategies newsletter:

Ever hear of the Ithaca Hour? Believe it or not, it’s a local currency, printed in Ithaca, N.Y., accepted by about 400 local businesses and is, apparently, completely legal. (Taxes must be paid on goods bought by Hours, just like those bought by dollars.) The Hour is the brainchild of Paul Glover, who printed his first batch in 1991 as a way of boosting the flagging local economy. (To learn more, visit the Ithaca Hour web site by clicking here.) Slowly, the idea has caught on. Local currency boosters say there are now about 20 other cities around the country passing around some kind of home-grown greenback. Latest to consider it: The Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, where city council member Denis Dunn is pushing for a currency he’d like to call “the Kirtland,” after a prominent 19th century resident. What’s the benefit? Local currencies are intended to keep money circulating locally, and the more times a dollar “turns over” locally (that is, is used to buy local goods and services rather than stuff sold by out-of-town companies), the wealthier the community becomes, economists say. “Since this is money with a boundary around it, it bounces around,” Glover explained. “It shakes more hands than dollars do.” What does it take to start a hometown currency? Basically, a “bank” to exchange dollars for local scrip (a bookstore pays the role in Ithaca, Lakewood promoters want to use the chamber of commerce), a respectable number of merchants willing to accept it, and citizens willing to spend it. Nice side benefit, said Glover, is that people get to know their hometown businesses. “It helps weave people together as fellow community members,” he said. Footnote: So what’s an Hour worth? $10. It’s also available in Quarter Hour and Half Hour denominations. Why called Hours? In 1991, it was thought that most people’s hourly wage would be about $10.

Guess where I’ll be shopping this Saturday between 3 and 9PM?

Jack Ricchiuto writes:

Virgina Postrel’s The Future and Its Enemies suggests that people interact along a continuum between dynamism and stasism - people who thrive on change and learning and people who thrive on predictability and repetition.

I’m now seeing a new hybrid in the civic space, pseudo-dynamists. These are people calling for new projects and changes that further strengthen the status quo. Examples: industrial age convention centers, agrarian public hearing events, and stone age economic protectionist policies.

Here’s another reason why I won’t willingly quit blogging:

Amidst all the darkness, all the sorrow that has visited me lately - I found this posted on a blog where I now have the honour of being mentioned. Brewed Fresh Daily - a blog about NE Ohio. This was one of the recent posts there…

The reason why *I* decided to post this myself is because last year, right before the holiday season, when I was ‘finding out’ about what my husband had done to me - to us - to himself - to our marriage, a friend of mine (and a Yoga student of mine) sent me this link…I have now come full circle to that, and so I have put this up to remind myself and all of you out there - all the people I love, all the people I have problems loving, and everyone in between - that there is hope. There is always hope. There is always love and kindness deep within each of us - we just have to know where to look for it. And while I don’t want to get cheesy or corny I felt that this link conveys that message beautifully. I will post more later - but I want you all to think about this message from this link.

Be thankful. As a friend of mine said to me recently; paraphrasing a ‘prayer’ he had heard - we should be thankful not only for what we are given, but for what has been taken from us as well. It’s all an opportunity for learning, for healing, for forgiveness, and most of all for grace. May you all find the grace in your lives that will help you to live each day you have here on this earth to the fullest. You are exactly where you need to be right now.

Thanks, Collette. I hope we all find that grace too.

This link came from a friend. Click the view presentation button.

Last week at the Ryze mixer, I talked with Martha Loughridge about the Yoga@Work program. If I had a job, I’d love it if my employer did this.

But for us free agents who live downtown, Martha teaches a class on Tuesday nights at GOPA, 2512 Church Ave in Ohio City from 7:30 to 9PM. Drop-ins are only $12.

BFD readers in Cleveland Heights should check out this What’s Up Northeast Ohio post, particularly the action itme at the bottom.