tentacle representation on hard knock radio World AIDS Day Special

Loren Jones, Peer Educator & Advocate & Naina Khanna, Outreach Coordinator at WORLD (Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Diseases), hosted by Anita Johnson on KPFA. Discussion on World AIDS Day 2007, with a special focus on Women & HIV, including Community Summit on Women & HIV.

Check out the radio show:

Hard Knock Radio Thursday, November 29th, 2007

The World AIDS Day segment starts around minute 14.

Olive harvest

The second annual olive picking harvest took place in Davis, CA. Many participants and lots of fun. There are more pictures somewhere and plenty of fresh olive oil even if we have to give some back. anyone wants to add to this post?

Giving thanks

In this National Day of Morning, tentacles had lots to be thankful for. For one, we had each other, and second, we were blessed with multiple amazing meals. But Navina atoned for our excesses by attending this amazing ceremony at Alcatraz Island. What do you have to say Z?

here is a few of her pictures:

Thanks

Cleaner tentacles

Day 8 and we are almost done with the cleanse. This last week the strict diet has taken over our lives. We're glad to have Naina to consult on what is kosher and if she doesn't know, we'll ask Pat. There is an idea to come up with a cleanse cookbook. Maybe the brainstorm can start on a wiki... or not. Can't wait to have burger!jk

Green Cities, Brown Folks

Some of the brown tentacles attended this event sponsored by the (H)Ella Baker Center. Here's what our esteemed O-Dawg had to say about it:

It was a great event to showcase many of the youth, comm organizing,
environmental equity and economic justice orgs that are throwing it down
in Oakland and the East Bay. It was very action oriented and posed many
questions for the crowd to think about in their own neighborhoods and
for their own actions to take. And so many beautiful brown folks too!!
Oakland WILL BE a model green city based in equal opportunity, oh-fo'
sho!

Fantastic party!!!

Our 'Dia de los Muertos' festivities was a great success. There were some great costumes and you can check out peeps in this album:

party

We had the cops come in but by that time the party was pretty much over. I guess the DJ had the music too loud. Next party is a chill out theme party. We'll make sure to invite the neighbors... and Kent this time.

Women & AIDS Fund Convening Nov 3-5, 2007

Palm Springs is weird. I stayed on a little golf oasis complete with pool & hot tub... i guess local food would be cactus... i dunno, didn't leave the resort i was at once in the three days i was there. here's the resort i stayed at:
http://www.doralpalmsprings.com/

yeah, the hot tub was nice but would have been ever so much sweeter with my honey.

anyway, what i was there for was a Women & AIDS Fund convening of grantees before USCA (the U.S Conference on AIDS). This is an INCREDIBLE group of women's organizations from around the U.S. funded by the awesome Ms. Foundation, which has been supporting community-based organizations - orgs that are by women for women, working to address issues around women & HIV in their communities. at the beginning of our two-day meeting, we began with a revealing exercise where Jacqui Coleman (founder of Vision Que! and all around kickass facilitator queen) had us form a map of the U.S repping our cities/states.

let me tell you ~ most of us were clustered in NY and CA. there were a handful of folks from assorted other states - colorado, louisiana, kansas city, minnesota, seattle -- but there was a GIANT GAP in the middle of the country. esp the south, where we now know the greatest crisis is happening and folks are still dying on the ADAP waiting list, waiting for access to medications, absolutely outrageous in this land of excess and pyramid economy. that pyramid which gets narrower at the top every moment.

but these organizations are revolutionary, innovative. the way they've been able to work with women living with HIV in their communities is by grounding, keepin it real, staying rooted. being the women, staying accountable to the women, developing peer-based programs, BY HIV-positive women, FOR HIV-positive women. an example of innovation that's made an org work: the LightHouse Project in CO supports positive women all over the state. some of these women live in hecka rural areas and it would require hours of driving for them to show up at a support group. so they have women call in to the group and put em on the phone with the ladies in the room. they have one woman who's a truck driver, usually on the road, and she calls in every group from wherever she is - is the first one on group, and the last one off.

it takes a daily commitment from each of us to make our work accessible.

yeah women warriors!

for more on the Ms. Foundation, please visit: www.ms.foundation.org