| Ernie and Aaron Neville -- I Don't Want to Live on the Moon |
[Oct. 9th, 2007|11:23 am] |
One of my favorite Sesame Street songs (next to Five Baby Oysters, which I can't find anywhere).
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| black sheets |
[Aug. 27th, 2007|05:43 pm] |
WHERE IN THE SEATTLE METRO AREA (or on the internet) CAN I FIND A BLACK, FULL SIZE, COTTON SHEET SET???
Ridiculous. All I want is black, mostly cotton sheets.
-- NOT black with stripes
-- NOT satin
-- NOT sateen
-- NOT with any sort of raised design
-- NOT overpriced. Paying $50 for a sheet set isn't necessary.
-- NOT separate. I want a package that has a flat sheet, a fitted sheet and two pillowcases.
-- NOT jersey cotton
-- NOT flannel cotton
-- SOLID black.
No one buys solid color black sheets anymore? |
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| guy friend dumb comment |
[Aug. 19th, 2007|11:36 am] |
A guy 'friend' of mine said this to me a few days ago:
"For you to be interested in what's going on in my life, you must have some alterior motive."
Let me say this....hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!! Dumbass!
First off, this person really needs to stop hanging out with stupid bitches. This person needs to think about what it is about themselves that attracts girls to him who are like that.
Secondly, this comment stinks of a massive, inflated ego that needs to be popped with a pin. I give a shit what's going on in your life because you are so friggin hot and awesome I **must** want your hot sexy bod. I am so shy and weak I cannot possibly tell you that I am attracted to you.
I hope you heard the sarcasm in that.
ONCE AGAIN...guys, do not take my friendship for anything more than what it is. If our friendship develops into something else down the road I will follow that but otherwise chill. The reason I am nice to you is because, news flash, you deserve common human courtesy. All of your female friends should treat you the same. I am loyal to my friends regardless of their gender. It is almost as if guys expect me to be a bitch to them. Sorry guys, you deserve a friend who gives a shit. Can't help you in your search for dumb girls.
AND REMEMBER that I take no shame in being frank and to the point about what I want. I have never beat around the bush and don't plan to start. If I wanted to get down I would most definitely tell you so. I don't so I can't so I won't so hey. |
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| the countdown begins... |
[Aug. 15th, 2007|06:39 am] |
I realized recently just how long of a way I've come. Here I am, 26, an adult, on my own and an inch away from earning a super-sweet Bachelor of Science Degree.
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| why hello there |
[Jul. 27th, 2006|12:39 pm] |
It's my four times a year entry in this journal, lol. Yay!
I've been super busy with school, work, dance and what not. To make a long story short I've been having a friggin blast with life. Suddenly life has been giving me all of the things I've busted my ass for all these years. The fact the Creator listens and works is comforting news.
In new news...I'm going to Cuba! That's right, I am going to Santiago de Cuba to study with world renowned folkloric troupe Ballet Cutumba in January. I'm completely giddy about it. Santiago de Cuba is the hub of Afro-Cuban culture.
Now the problem is GETTING THERE. As we all know, the US has been ever so kind enough to ban Americans from going to Cuba straight from the States. Some people have mentioned that they fly from Vancouver BC, but that has proved to be **way** too expensive (like more than a thousand bucks expensive). The solution: sail from Jamaica! There is a charter company that sails from Ocho Rios, Jamaica to Santiago de Cuba. Before I go to Cuba, I'm gonna spend two days in Jamaica. Aaaa!!!!
So here's my planned itenerary:
Seattle, WA --> Dallas, TX--> Montego Bay, Jamaica --> Ocho Rios, Jamaica --> Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
So I get to hang out in Dallas for a bit, chill in Jamaica, sail in the Caribbean and then have some mojitos in Cuba. It's just the break I needed!
After the sweet ass performance at Northwest Folklife, I'm pretty much loving Cuban dance and music. I'm damn near obsessed with it nowadays. Can't...stop...
As far as bellydance goes, still doing my thing. I'm amazed at how much I've improved over the past few months. So thanks to Aaminah and the folks at the Suhaila School for helping that along. I may or may not compete in a bellydance competition so stay tuned.
Fire is going ok, not really much going on for the troupe but practice practice practice.
Busy with school as usual.
That's pretty much the gist of everything. For now, anyways. |
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| Upcoming Performances |
[May. 27th, 2006|05:58 pm] |
May 28, 12:30 pm -- Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle
Charlotte Martin Theater Stage (map on Northwest Folklife Website)
I am performing with José Carrión's Cuban and Haitian dance and music group, Todo Folklore. Todo Folklore will be performing the dances of the Orishas Yemaya, Changó and Ochún, as well as Afro-Haitian dances and the Cuban Conga Santiaguera. This is part of Northwest Folklife's Afro-Latin showcase from 11-2:30. I'm biased but this showcase is gonna be hot. Please come for the rest of the showcase as well as the festival, and laugh as I put on my best conga.
June 9 -- Bizaare Bazaar @ Fuel Nightclub
A benefit for Samba du Sol and the Northwest Fire Conclave for Burning Man. Samba du Sol is a fire / samba fusion project that will debut this year at Burning Man. Bizaare Bazaar features fire dancing, piercing and suspension, a slapping booth (not a kissing booth, a slapping booth) and various other freaky things. The party starts at 10p.
June 30 -- Show at Fuel |
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| Hello stranger |
[Mar. 24th, 2006|06:54 pm] |
What up all! Long time, no see.
As you all have noticed, I really don't post here much. I have spent much time being addicted to tribe.net, the online networking system for counterculture. It's MySpace for freaks!
You can visit me at http://people.tribe.net/tushara
Speaking of MySpace, I have had so many people bother me about not having a MySpace profile that I finally joined and created one. Yeah, I know, I'm late.
http://www.myspace.com/labalianne
Endeavors, school and dance have been going pretty well, so I'm happy. I hurt my foot yet again, so dancing has been at a minimum. I most definitely miss my classes with Adriene and The Fabulous Miss Nabeela. I practice quite a bit, so I should be ready to step right back into the game when I get better.
Fire performance has been great! I am baffled by the sheer number of gigs we get. I can't keep up! I had no idea it was so in demand. It definitely keeps me on my toes. I am also happy with all of the amazing people that are in my troupe; they've all become my new best friends. We all have the same tastes and ironically enough, most of us have birthdays around each other. Coincidence? Nevertheless, look for me with a brand spanking new fire sword and some sweet, sweet fire bowls for balancing.
That be all for now, me thinks. Happy March! |
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| another quiz |
[Dec. 29th, 2005|10:46 am] |
I've been told I have masculine qualities since I was a little kid, so not a big shock. Matter of fact, in many of my dreams I am a man.
Masculine
You scored 73 masculinity and 46 femininity! | | You scored high on masculinity and low on femininity. You have a traditionally masculine personality. |  |
My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: | You scored higher than 76% on masculinity | | You scored higher than 17% on femininity |
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| interesting |
[Nov. 29th, 2005|10:52 am] |
| You Are Likely an Only Child | 
At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated.
At work and school, you do best when you're organizing.
When you love someone, you tend to worry about them.
In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic.
Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management.
You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books. |
According to the folks that study birth order, I have only child tendencies despite having a younger brother. There was a time cut-off, I think -- maybe seven years or so between you and the next child -- before you are considered an "only child" emotionally (I am ten years older than my brother).
And I must say I love it! I love my brother more than anything. I don't have any of those strange quarrels and quabbles that people seem to have with their siblings. Maybe that's because I'm not in this constant stuggle to compete with a sibling. This in itself seems futile, but this doesn't seem to stop people from doing so.
I knew a lot of kids that were sad that they weren't getting their parents' attention when the next kid was born. I was like "Yay now no one bothers me!" It gave me lots of time to do stupid shit I mean explore when no one was looking. One of those times resulted in my thumbnail being burned off, but that is another journal entry.
Mmost of the world's creative freaks, leaders, founders and geniuses are either only children or first born of few children :) |
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| my updates and such |
[Nov. 14th, 2005|03:57 pm] |
fleeting thoughts and updates
-- Seattle city voters voted to ban smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants. The passing of this law makes Seattle one of the toughest on smoking. I told everyone I knew that I thought this ordinance would pass, although I don't necessarily support it 100%. Unfortunately, the dumbasses of Seattle didn't realize this applies to **hookah bars** as well, something that is very popular here in Seattle. Duh der der dummies, hookah is smoke too! Some of the bellydancers I know that were trying to get gigs at hookah bars are now back at square one. I will be thrilled that I won't have to wash my clothes right after I get home from The Baltic Room / Temple Billiards / Trinity / wherever, but not thrilled that I can't do the hookah thing when someone wants to go to Zaina's, the hookah bar downtown.
-- Seattle city voters voted to pass the bullshit that is the monorail, despite the fact the city played favorites with Sound Transit, the company that is overseeing Seattle's new light rail system. The taxpayers of Seattle will still pay for monorail expenses for the next two years.
-- I will be at Sharon Moore's The Gathering this Friday November 18. Me n Aliye, the girls of the Visionary Drummers (as we are called) are providing the live drums, so come and say hello!
-- I am performing at Sharon Moore's / InFusion Tribal's Holiday party with Students of Hipnotica but I can't remember when. I think it is December 16th at the Phinney Ridge Community Center.
-- I am the newest member of Ignis Devoco Industrial Fire Circus. wooot! |
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| update |
[Oct. 27th, 2005|07:13 pm] |
-- Got a big bouquet of flowers for the bratwurst incident from the hubby. I was really really pissed about that.
-- Tired of rehearsals for the University of Washington Faculty Dance Concert. Modern Dance is so not me, and I can feel it.
-- Suhaila workshop coming up this Sunday. Need to see if I actually have any money.
-- Possibly going to Freaknight this Saturday if time and money permits. Did you know this is the ninth one? Wow!
-- Tore a hamstring a bit, but almost completely healed. Sucks!
that's all, me thinks |
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| never send boys to the grocery store |
[Oct. 18th, 2005|10:17 pm] |
My husband said he would go grocery shopping today. Here's what he came back with:
-- Lay's potato chips
-- two cases of Safeway select soda
-- bratwurst...five packages of bratwurst
-- pork chops
-- bread (at least he got that)
-- two cans of condensed milk (he eats these, I'm serious)
-- tortillas (practical)
-- cheese (also practical)
OK...what happened to fruit, juice, milk (not condensed, thanks), vegetables, etc? I told him I needed lunches to take to school, and he just goes out and buys a bunch of bs.
When you buy ***groceries***, do you buy a bunch of bs? Or do you buy some bs, along with lots of practical things? I usually pick the latter.
That's my rant for tonight. |
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| all i see is walking wounded |
[Oct. 6th, 2005|05:42 pm] |
on every face on every bus
I am exhausted. Everyone else around me is also exhausted.
Due to my losing out in signing up for the Biology class I needed (I lost the Biology lotto today), I've signed up for a bunch of dance classes. So I've got Pilates, Jazz and Modern, alongside a physics class and organic chemistry, which has actually proven to be quite easy.
Soooo....pilates three days a week...jazz two days a week...modern three days a week, one of those days being three hours.
Dude, I'd better be a **kickass dancer** by the time the quarter is over. I am sore as hell.
Speaking of which...I'm performing in some sort of abstract modern piece this December, choreographed by Jurg Koch, a teacher in the UW Dance Department.
Faculty Dance Concert
December 1 - 4, 2005
Thursday—Saturday, Dec. 1 - 3, 2005 at 7:30pm
Sunday, Dec. 4, 2005 at 2pm
Meany Studio Theater
Tickets: Adults $10.00/Students & Seniors $8.00
Features choreography by UW Dance faculty, performed by faculty and students.
I also convinced Heather Rastovac of Banat Sahar to be in it (also a fellow UW dance minor), so be there if you want to see us do something way outside the scope of what we usually do. I'll mention it again later. |
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| FUCK!! |
[Oct. 3rd, 2005|04:15 pm] |
Some of you may know I am a big MMA fan. I love it love it love it.
That being said, here's the clip of the day. Not worksafe, really, but not for the squeamish.
http://k04.com/pics/cagerage7od.gif
FUCK!!!
And dude was about to just start beating him anyway! |
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| August Wilson died today |
[Oct. 2nd, 2005|06:44 pm] |
no words because I'm crying
Sunday, October 2, 2005 · Last updated 5:21 p.m. PT
Playwright August Wilson dies of cancer
By MICHAEL KUCHWARA
AP DRAMA WRITER
NEW YORK -- Playwright August Wilson, whose epic 10-play cycle chronicling the black experience in 20th-century America included such landmark dramas as "Fences" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," died Sunday of liver cancer, a family spokeswoman said. He was 60.
Wilson died at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, surrounded by his family, said Dena Levitin, Wilson's personal assistant. The playwright had disclosed in late August that his illness was inoperable and he had only a few months to live.
"We've lost a great writer, I think the greatest writer that our generation has seen and I've lost a dear, dear friend and collaborator," said Kenny Leon, who directed the Broadway production of "Gem of the Ocean" as well as Wilson's most recent play, "Radio Golf," which just concluded a run in Los Angeles.
Leon said Wilson's work, "encompasses all the strength and power that theater has to offer." "I feel an incredible sense of responsibility on walking how he would want us to walk and delivering his work."
Wilson's plays were big, often sprawling and poetic, dealing primarily with the effects of slavery on succeeding generations of black Americans: from turn-of-century characters who could remember the Civil War to a prosperous middle class at the end of the century who had forgotten the past.
The playwright's astonishing creation, which took more than 20 years to complete, was remarkable not only for his commitment to a certain structure - one play for each decade - but for the quality of the writing. It was a unique achievement in American drama. Not even Eugene O'Neill, who authored the masterpiece "Long Day's Journey Into Night," accomplished such a monumental effort.
During that time, Wilson received the best-play Tony Award for "Fences," plus best-play Tony nominations for six of his other plays, the Pulitzer Prize for both "Fences" and "The Piano Lesson," and a record seven New York Drama Critics' Circle prizes.
"The goal was to get them down on paper," he told The Associated Press during an April 2005 interview as he was completing "Radio Golf," the last play in the cycle. "It was fortunate when I looked up and found I had the two bookends to go. I didn't plan it that way. I was able to connect the two plays."
Wilson was referring to "Gem of the Ocean," chronologically the first play in the cycle, although the ninth to be written. It takes place in 1904 and is set in Pittsburgh's Hill District at 1839 Wylie Ave., a specific address that figures prominently, nearly 100 years later, in the last work, "Radio Golf," which premiered in April at the Yale Repertory Theatre.
Pittsburgh, Wilson's birthplace, is the setting for nine of the 10 plays in the cycle ("Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is set in a Chicago recording studio). Although he lived in Seattle, the playwright had a great deal of affection for his hometown, especially "the Hill," a dilapidated area of the city where he spent much of his youth.
Wilson, a bulky, affable man who always had a story to tell, usually returned to Pittsburgh once a year to visit his mother's grave, but he said he couldn't live there: "Too many ghosts. But I love it. That's what gave birth to me."
Born Frederick August Kittel on April 27, 1945, he was one of six children of Frederick Kittel, a baker who had emigrated from Germany at the age of 10, and Daisy Wilson. A high school dropout, Wilson enlisted in the Army but left after a year, finding employment as a porter, short-order cook and dishwasher, among other jobs. When his father died in 1965, he changed his name to August Wilson.
Wilson was largely self-educated. The public library was his university and the recordings of such iconic singers and musicians as Bessie Smith and Jelly Roll Morton, and the paintings of such artists as Romare Bearden his inspiration.
He started writing in 1965, when he acquired a used typewriter. His initial works were poems, but in 1968, Wilson co-founded Pittsburgh's Black Horizon Theater. Among those early efforts was a play called "Jitney," which he revised more than two decades later as part of his 10-play cycle.
In 1978, he moved to Minnesota, writing for the Science Museum in St. Paul and later landing a fellowship at the Minneapolis Playwrights Center.
In 1982, his play, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," was accepted by the National Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut. It was there that Wilson met Lloyd Richards, who also ran the Yale School of Drama. Their relationship proved fruitful, and Richards directed six of Wilson's plays on Broadway.
The first was "Ma Rainey," which opened on Broadway in 1984. Wilson's reputation was cemented in 1987 by the father-son drama "Fences," his biggest commercial success. The play, which featured a Tony-winning performance by James Earl Jones, ran for more than a year.
It was followed in New York by "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" (1988), "The Piano Lesson" (1990), "Two Trains Running" (1992), "Seven Guitars" (1996), "Jitney" (2000), "King Hedley II" (2001) and "Gem of the Ocean" (2004).
Wilson's plays gave steady employment to black actors, not only in New York but in regional theaters, where most of his plays tried out before coming to Broadway. Besides Jones, such well-known actors as Laurence Fishburne, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, Charles S. Dutton, Brian Stokes Mitchell, S. Epatha Merkerson, Roscoe Lee Browne and Leslie Uggams appeared in his plays on Broadway.
"August's work is like reading a rich novel," says Anthony Chisholm, a veteran Wilson performer in such plays as "Gem of the Ocean" and "Radio Golf."
"It conjures up vivid images in the mind, and it makes the actor's job easier because you have something to draw upon to build your character."
Later this month, a Broadway theater, the Virginia, will be renamed for Wilson, a rare honor also bestowed on such theater greats as Eugene O'Neill, Richard Rodgers, George Gershwin, Helen Hayes and Al Hirschfeld.
Wilson, who was married three times, is survived by his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero; their daughter Azula Carmen, and another daughter, Sakina Ansari, from his first marriage. |
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| learning |
[Sep. 15th, 2005|02:29 pm] |
It is interesting going to a dance class where your teacher doesn't speak any English, and your Spanish is somewhat OK but needs work. There is a translator for the class, but it kind of isn't the same, you know?
Lately I have picked up yet another dance class -- the dances of the Orishas, taught by Jose Carrion, former principal dancer of Ballet Folklorico Cutumba de Santiago de Cuba. Orishas are deities in the religion us yanks know as "Santeria," but Cubans call it Lucumi or La Regla de Ocha. They are aspects of Oludumare, the supreme God. The orishas themselves have their own different aspects / avatars.
I understand a good amount of dance terms, plus things like "MORE TORSO", "FLAT FOOT" and "SPIT OUT YOUR FUCKING GUM", lol.
Right now we are learning the dance of the orisha Oya, who is a female warrior that oversees tornadoes, hurricanes, wind, etc. Her dance is a forceful one, with bulging eyes and a whip in one hand (sometimes both hands). Mmmm, dances of the African diaspora are tasty. |
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| tribal bibles |
[Sep. 14th, 2005|02:25 pm] |
People on Amazon.com are selling Kajira Djoumahna's Tribal Bibles for $100+. Really.
I know those books are gems, but DAMN!!! I guess the history of tribal style bellydance is worth $100-$125. |
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| Seattle Mayoral Candidates |
[Sep. 9th, 2005|12:55 pm] |
Political kids, the time is coming near for the Seattle mayoral primary (and other initiatives). Who to vote for? Who's running?
If you live in Seattle, get your voters guide online at http://www.seattle.gov/ethics/el05a/report/vpp/vpp_all.htm if it hasn't been sent to you already. There are only 11 days left for you to make decisions!
Greg Nickels
Incumbent.
Chris Hoeppner
Runs an online socialist paper called The Militant. Wants to provide a socialist alternative to Democratic and Republican candidates for mayor (himself). He is also a working-class alternative to career politicians. His campaign statement talks about a bunch of things that can only be changed on the federal level. Note to Hoeppner: US History 101.
Richard Lee
Recently arrested for allegedly beating up a police officer. Local conspiracy theorist famous for his book "Kurt Cobain Was Murdered," a further look into his conspiracy theory that Courtney Love killed Kurt Cobain. Lee thinks that Love killed Cobain because Cobain wanted a divorce and the prenup stated Love gets nothing.
Al Runte
Former University of Washington professor. Taught Pacific Northwest and environmental history. Came from nothing to become something. Wants to save city parks and other environmental areas in the city, which is a big issue for me. Will probably get my vote.
Luke Williams
Know him personally! He used to hang out a lot at the co-op I used to live in, Sherwood. Kept applying to live in the co-op but the majority of the tenants didn't want to live with him (I personally didn't mind him). Has a good head on his shoulders, but I'm not sure how political he can be.
Christal Wood
I can't put my finger on where else I've heard the name before, but I think she used to be involved in Radical Women or the Socialist Worker's Party. I do remember she ran for mayor in 2000 as a write-in candidate, but her ingenue was overshadowed by a sea of completely batshit candidates, including a hairy man in a dress and propeller beanie that said he could fly and another man who said he wanted to fight against a "European Terrorist Settler Government" (his quote, not mine). Wood has a good history of social and political activism and is another person that may get my vote. |
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[Sep. 3rd, 2005|06:19 pm] |
Woooot! August Wilson is awesome. One hell of a playwright, and nice too. When I worked at the Kroger Beast on Capitol Hill, him, his wife and his kid were always super-friendly customers. What is amazing that when he walks around Broadway, people seem to be unaware of his greatness. He's one of the greatest African-American playwrights that has ever lived! Sometimes it was hard to for me to not be completely and utterly star struck.
It is sad that he has liver cancer now. I have heard it is inoperable.
Saturday, September 3, 2005
August Wilson to have theater named for him
August Wilson, the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who's dying of liver cancer, will soon have a Broadway theater named after him.
Jujamcyn Theaters, which owns five Broadway theaters, will change the name of the Virginia Theater on 52nd Street to the August Wilson Theater, said Jujamcyn president Rocco Landesman.
A marquee with a giant neon sign bearing the writer's signature will be unveiled Oct. 17, The New York Times reported yesterday. Wilson, 60, who lives on Seattle's Capitol Hill, will become the first black to have a Broadway theater named in his honor. |
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| An okay wtf moment when I read this |
[Sep. 1st, 2005|05:31 pm] |
I just have to say...
I get impatient when I see pregnant teenage girls here in Seattle. I don't know about everywhere else in the country, but birth control is free and fully accessible for girls under 18. Tell every teenager you know. Hell, my high school even had a CLINIC IN IT that had doctors and nurses to dispense birth control pills and even basic health services. But still, lots of pregnant girls abound. Most were by the same guys, so wtf? Don't girls talk anymore?
I remember asking a girl in my old apartment building, "What the fuck are you thinking?" when she got pregnant. The free clinic was five blocks away. I got free birth control pills there when I was 18.
Well, here's a WTF article below:
Thursday, September 1, 2005 · Last updated 5:24 p.m. PT
Ohio high school has 64 pregnant students
By CONNIE MABIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
CANTON, Ohio -- Thirteen percent of the female students at Timken Senior High School in Ohio are pregnant. High school senior Monica Selby thought she would be busy this year planning for college, not preparing for the birth of her first child.
"I've been crying every day and every night. I keep on blaming myself for this," said the 18-year-old Selby, who is six months pregnant.
She cries about starting classes this week at Timken Senior High School with a bulging belly, about the emotions of planning an adoption, about becoming part of a statistic that has snagged the nation's attention: 64 of Timken's 490 female students - 13 percent - are pregnant.
The statistic at the school in the heart of this old steel city contrasts with a decade of declining teen pregnancy rates nationwide. But teen pregnancy experts say the problem is not exclusive to Timken High.
Experts, parents and students themselves struggle to explain why such pockets of high teen pregancy rates appear. Are teens getting appropriate sex education? Do they have access to birth control and are they using it consistently? Has the stigma of unwed motherhood lost its edge?
"This might be a school that is forthright with its problems while others are not," said Jay Green, chairman of the Education Reform department at the University of Arkansas. "But this is a widespread issue."
Green wrote a study last year for the conservative New York-based Manhattan Institute for Policy Research that found 20 percent of urban teenagers have been pregnant, compared with 14 percent of suburban teens.
Urban teens as a whole don't use birth control as consistently or often, according to his research, and often have less to lose financially and socially than those in the suburbs.
But Green couldn't say whether those factors applied to Timken. The school of about 1,000 students draws teens from across the neighborhood and economic lines in the state's ninth largest city.
Eric Wilson, 18, who works at a hot dog shop a few blocks from the school while making plans to get his GED and caring for his 2-year-old son, said the spotlight on Timken is magnifying an old problem.
"My mom had a kid when she was in school and now I have a kid," he said. "It goes back to how you were raised. Down here, it's not looked too down upon because a lot of parents had kids when they were kids."
Last school year, both high schools in the city's district reported 55 pregnancies. Ninety-nine pregnancies are expected in the district this year, most of them at Timken, where expecting students get six weeks of maternity leave.
"This has gotten to horrible proportions. I wish I knew the answer to why it's happening," principal Kim Redmond told the city's daily newspaper The Repository. Redmond did not return several messages left by The Associated Press.
Joanne Hinton, whose 16-year-old daughter, Raechel Hinton, is eight months pregnant, said she believes the school's abstinence-based sex education program isn't enough.
"It's time to take the blinders off and realize that these kids are having sex," she said. "Obviously, abstinence is not working. If we have to, just give them condoms."
Abstinence-based programs have been growing nationwide at schools over the past few years. In Ohio, the Bush's administration and the state's health department have awarded $32 million in grants to Ohio agencies for abstinence education since 2001.
Hinton stresses that she doesn't condone teenage sex and that her daughter doesn't fit the mold some may think pregnant teens come from: The Hinton household has two loving parents with a strong relationship who asked the straight-A Raechel "45 times a week if she was having sex, doing drugs, drinking. We were constantly checking on her."
Raechel, who plans to return to the 10th grade at Timken after delivering and completing an adoption, said many students are sexually active and need more information about birth control.
"It can happen to anybody no matter who you are, not just bad girls," she said.
---
On the Net:
Timken High: http://www.ccsdistrict.org/Timken/
Manhattan Policy Institute: http://www.manhattan-institute.org/index.htm
Teen Pregnancy Prevention: http://www.teenpregnancy.org/Default.asp?bhcp1 |
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biodance's journal
chipper
