Rags to Riches to Rags: New Yorks garment district

Not so long ago New York actually had a garment industry. Imagine that! Here’s a trailer for a new movie on HBO:

And an excerpt from Where Am I Wearing? for good measure:

The Northeast United States was once the bottom. Young girls worked at garment factories and textile mills. They were subjected to prisonlike conditions. Their rights were few, and their struggles many. In 1911, 141 workers—mostly women and girls—were burned to death in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City. Escape from the fire was prohibited by a broken elevator and the presence of only one fire escape. As workers attained more rights, the bottom moved to the South and…

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Thoughts on the balloon boy

Update: As if this story wasn’t sick enough already.  The boy was on the Today Show with his family and started puking all over the place at 5:50.  I’m not sure this story could be summed up any better than puking on national television.  I hope he got some on the cameras.  Meredith ignored the whole thing too.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and

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Record NPR-quality audio from your travels

Kelsey Recording

I’m back on the World Vision Report this week with my piece about rescuing a bird in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

I’m especially excited about this  piece because it’s set to sounds I recorded with my mini-disc player I purchased before my 2007 trip.  I’m pretty much a beginner when it comes to recording audio, but the folks at the World Vision Report have been awesome and offered great advice.

The only other piece that features audio captured while traveling was my interview with Bibi Russell in Bangladesh.

Sometimes I record the essays at home using my mini-disc player, and other times they have me record at Indiana Public Radio’s studio on the Ball State campus.  Either way,…

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Awesome people doing awesome things: Rain Tees

Rain Tees in their own words:

Rain Tees are a 100% organic luxury line of apparel for women and children designed by youth living in endangered rain forests across Central and South America.

Andira donated school supplies to the children and asked them to illustrate what they see happening in their world every day. Each Rain Tee features their thoughts illustrations and names.

For every Rain tee sold, a child involved in Kids Saving the Rain Forest, Costa Rica will receive a tree they can plant to replace one that has been destroyed.

Full disclosure: Beth Doane, Rain Tees founder, just sent me an awesome email about “Where Am I Wearing?” So she is up there on…

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A (few) thousand (weird) words

Everything Ok

Really, what do you expect from a Chinese/Mongolian Grill located in Frankfurt, Indiana, where the high school’s mascot is a wiener dog? Love the honesty.

The Lobster Zone

At an Irish bar in Chicago. At least the lobster’s have a chance.  It’s hard enough winning stuffed animals, which are neither slimy nor alive, with a crane.

Reserved Colon Parking

If you work at a colon & rectal clinic, I’m guessing that you hear your fare share of shameless wisecracks (wiseCRACKS, get it) each day.  But when you label…

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Cussin' to Church

I often think about incompetence.

Tonight for instance, I thought about it a lot. I had plenty of time to do so because I was driving around Muncie for a 1.5 hours with two pecks of apples looking for a church with “Grace” in its name.

I cussed all the way to the west side of Muncie, and then…

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I don't say this often…

Watch Oprah today.

Why?

This is why…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvmE4_KMNw[/youtube]

I watched that video last night with my 9-month-old girl on my lap and nearly started crying.  I’m such a sap….

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"Missing their son" on the World Vision Report

KT_LinXin

My latest contribution to the World Vision Report aired this weekend.  It’s about my experience with the workers who made my flip-flops.  Here’s the official description:

Many people from rural China have migrated to cities in the country’s coastal provinces, in search of steady jobs. Travel writer Kelsey Timmerman met one such couple in the city of Guangzhou. Three years ago, they left their son with his grandparents, and haven’t seen him since.

Give it a listen

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A new reason to listen to me yap…

Earn college credit!

Tonight I’m speaking at Manchester College and students who attend can earn Values, Ideas, and Arts Credit (VIA).   Here’s what the college’s calendar says:

Thursday, September 24 7 p.m.
Wine Recital Hall Kelsey Timmerman on Where Am I Wearing?

What’s it like to go undercover as an underwear buyer in Bangladesh? Kelsey Timmerman can tell you. In 2007, he took out a second mortgage on his house so he could travel across the globe to meet the people who make our clothes. The result is his book, Where Am I Wearing? A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People That Make Our Clothes. Says Timmerman: “If we reduce global issues to…

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