Melanie

http://youtu.be/UvcdSFCwrao


Every Mother Counts

Some statistics from their website:

1. Approximately 358,000 women die each year due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. That's one woman every 90 seconds.

2. For every woman who dies each year in childbirth, 20-30 more suffer from lifelong debilitating disabilities.

3. Pregnancy is the number one cause of death in women, ages 15-19, in the developing world. Nearly 70,000 young women die every year because their bodies are not ready for parenthood.

4. Over 200 million women who would like to choose when they get pregnant don’t have access to family planning.

5. The United States ranks 50th globally in maternal mortality, even though it spends more on health care per capita than any other nation in the world. African American women are four times more likely to die in childbirth than Caucasian women.

From their facebook:

Every Mother Counts is an advocacy and mobilization campaign to increase education and support for maternal mortality reduction globally.

Description
Every Mother Counts seeks to engage new audiences to better understand the challenges and the solutions while encouraging them to take action to improve the lives of girls and women worldwide.

Every Mother Counts was founded by Christy Turlington Burns after the completion of her documentary debut, "No Woman, No Cry" which tells the personal stories of pregnant women and their caregivers in four countries as they try to avoid adding to these troubling statistics.

General Information
Hundreds of thousands of girls and women around the world die every year from complications in pregnancy or childbirth, creating a rippling effect that devastates children, families, and communities. Almost all of these deaths are preventable.


The issue
How you can help

 
 
Melanie
02 May 2012 @ 04:01 pm
If I could afford it, I would totally do this, but I'll pass it on in case someone else can :) Just so you guys know, they've also clarified that it isn't just a percentage of this going to PP, it would be the entire amount.

Originally posted by [info]xlickety_splitx at Help Us Support Planned Parenthood
Originally posted by [info]theljstaff at Help Us Support Planned Parenthood



Join us in standing up for reproductive health and education. Planned Parenthood, the organization that delivers reproductive health care, sex education and information to millions of people worldwide, has come under fire in the U.S. lately, with many politicians on both state and federal level seeking to end funding (and in a few cases succeeding).

During the month of May, you can send a specially designed Planned Parenthood vgift to your friends to help support this cause. (And if you need someone to send it to, [info]frank is always happy to receive gifts!) There are three variations ($1, $5 and $10) for you to choose from, but they'd all look good on your profile when your friends know that you stand by something so important.

                    

Thank you all for your help in our support for Planned Parenthood. This promotion ends June 1, 2012; LiveJournal is not affiliated with Parent Parenthood. For more information about Planned Parenthood, please visit: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

-The LiveJournal Team

(If you'd like to help spread the word that we're raising funds for Planned Parenthood, you can crosspost this entry in your own journal or community by using the repost button below!)

 
 
Current Mood: fullfull
 
 
Melanie

http://youtu.be/1qE6UZqEZ4g


Bif Naked!

I was going to go on and on about her, but watch that video up there ^ and she will say it for me ♥ You can hear bits of some of her music there, but a great example of her music is this song.

I, Bificus was one of my favorite albums when I was in high school, I love absolutely every song on it. One of the things I always liked about Bif Naked's music was that she has absolutely no problem singing obvious love songs about girls (and boys, pretty equally, hehe). She's also pretty bad ass, and I was really into anything involving strong women kicking ass back then XD And now, of course, but back then, I never thought much about why I enjoyed it so much, or how much what they were doing meant. Her music has given me a lot of strength at times when I needed it most.

I also find her to be a really inspiring person in other ways. She's overcome many issues with her health, including breast cancer, but her outlook on the world and everything in it is beautiful. She has an entire song about her guilt over killing a bee!
 
 
Melanie


Baseball games!

It's so funny - I am probably the last person anyone would ever think of when they think of sports, any kind of sports, lol. I don't care that much about any of them, including baseball, certainly not enough to watch them on TV.

But I love actually going to baseball games. I'm even still a bit fuzzy on some of the rules and details involved, but I get the basic point enough to really enjoy myself. And there's just something about the atmosphere! It's never aggressive the way it seems like it is with other sports (or at least, it hasn't been in my experience). Everyone seems to just have a really good time. There's also the smell. The combination of beer, hot dogs, peanuts... something about all of them together just puts me in a really good mood :) I never miss hot dogs more than I do at baseball games!

I think that in all, it feels great to be part of something of a really fun tradition that's been around so long.

Yesterday, I went with my mom to see the Tigers play the Texas Rangers. We lost terribly, and I am now coated in aloe because I managed to forget my sunscreen (horror!!!) but it was still a lot of fun. Also helps that I was supposed to work, and my supervisor gave me the day off for it last minute :3
 
 
Current Mood: soreowwww my flesh
 
 
Melanie
17 April 2012 @ 11:20 pm


[info]macfrosty is doing this, and it looks like a great incentive to post :) I thought about using her idea, which is "100 Things That Have Shaped Me", but today was a really nice day in many ways, and I'm feeling better about life than I have in a very, very long time. I don't know how long it will last, but I've decided to make my theme:

"100 Things That Make Me Feel Better About The World"

Starting with:



Gardening!

I have never gardened before, but today I bought some zucchini seeds and planted them with my mom :) This spring/summer, I'm going to help her around the yard and she's going to teach me how to properly garden. I'm excited about it! I'm going to buy more seeds and hopefully grow a lot of veggies to add to my diet this summer. It felt so great to spend time out in the sun, and I will really enjoy having things to care for <3

(Btw, my credit union charged me not one, but TWO fees for my issues while shopping on Sunday. I emailed them and they refunded me one charge, but wouldn't refund the other. Sucks, but today was so wonderful that I can't even bring myself to care.)
 
 
Current Mood: goodgood
 
 
Melanie
15 April 2012 @ 03:09 pm


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Melanie
26 March 2012 @ 08:12 pm
I'm home ;_; Byeeeeeee, L'Arc and my amazing weekend ;_;





There are more pictures, but I am already behind on working on my homework that was due yesterday because nothing inside of me seems to want to accept that it's all over, and further, everything inside of me is rebelling against the fact that I have to work at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Seriously feel like I am dealing with Post L'Arc Depression or something ;_;

For now, I will say that the concert was phenomenal, Hyde's dancing was the closest I have ever come to a religious experience, they performed Niji and I cried and was left completely wobbly for hours after, AND I FINALLY got my feather from when they blow them out into the audience at the end of that song. Two, even! Thanks to the wonderful and amazing [info]tmsj's perseverance ;) I'm going to try to make them into earrings ♥

Speaking of wonderful and amazing people, this weekend was positively loaded with them, and you will hear more about that later when I have time to write up something better than this, but [info]nepenthes59 would be at the top of that list. I don't think words exist that could describe how much this weekend meant to me, and I owe every single second of it to her :))) I thanked her like a million times this weekend, but I feel like it will never, ever be enough!
 
 
Current Mood: melancholymelancholy
 
 
Melanie
18 February 2012 @ 06:11 pm
A little while ago, [info]eirenebellatrix asked about me posting some of my work from my recent classes where I had to do some digital illustration for the first time ever. I've been meaning to share some of it, and since my entries lately have been so RL-heavy and work and blahhh, I thought now would be a good time! :)

Cut for images )
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Current Mood: fullfull
 
 
Melanie
04 February 2012 @ 06:49 pm
Last night's episode of Supernatural was the first episode since... I think Route 666 that I remember actually not liking. It was the same people behind it too, right? Usually I can ignore the way the show treats women or look past it, but that episode made it really hard not to (I found myself asking, more than once, "Are they... actually doing this?"), and I worry that it seems like it's going to carry over a bit.

I got one of my tax returns! \o/ Also, I had a bit of leftover money from my financial aid. That has NEVER happened to me! I get so jealous whenever Natalie and Kyle talk about the money they get, because usually I end up having to pay some out of pocket. It wasn't tons or anything, but every penny counts. I also applied a few more places *running out of fingers to cross*

As my reward for, I dunno, not being broke anymore, I got myself the twin app finally :) I couldn't have my name, so I went with Cupcake Bandit instead, hehe. I know it's dumb, but I'm sort of amused by the coincidence of Bill ~revealing~ his newly silver/grey hair a few days after I find my first XD
 
 
Current Mood: mellowmellow
 
 
Melanie
23 January 2012 @ 02:15 am
Originally posted by [info]electricdruid at The fiasco continues

ACTA in a Nutshell –

What is ACTA?  ACTA is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. A new intellectual property enforcement treaty being negotiated by the United States, the European Community, Switzerland, and Japan, with Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada recently announcing that they will join in as well.

Why should you care about ACTA? Initial reports indicate that the treaty will have a very broad scope and will involve new tools targeting “Internet distribution and information technology.”

What is the goal of ACTA? Reportedly the goal is to create new legal standards of intellectual property enforcement, as well as increased international cooperation, an example of which would be an increase in information sharing between signatory countries’ law enforcement agencies.

Essential ACTA Resources

  • Read more about ACTA here: ACTA Fact Sheet
  • Read the authentic version of the ACTA text as of 15 April 2011, as finalized by participating countries here: ACTA Finalized Text
  • Follow the history of the treaty’s formation here: ACTA history
  • Read letters from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden wherein he challenges the constitutionality of ACTA: Letter 1 | Letter 2 | Read the Administration’s Response to Wyden’s First Letter here: Response
  • Watch a short informative video on ACTA: ACTA Video
  • Watch a lulzy video on ACTA: Lulzy Video

Say NO to ACTA. It is essential to spread awareness and get the word out on ACTA.

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