Posts with Category Mad World

The Mathare Slums

Taken by Justin Ahrens

Taken by Justin Ahrens

A billion people live in the slums of our world.

As one of the 5 billion that don’t, I think we have an obligation to at least know what life is like for the other 17% of humanity. So, I thought we would take a stroll together through the slums of Mathare.

Wait, you are going to wear those shoes? Are you sure? They look awfully white.

Man makes things in straight lines. The Mathera valley is anything but. The tin shacks, rickety antennas, rusting roofs, and winding paths are awkward an uneven, organic. Nature takes what’s given to it and makes what it can. People living in poverty do the same.

This…

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It's not about…

I’m not jazzed for the World Cup, I’m much too wrapped up in American sports in which players are allowed to use their hands, but this commercial on ESPN is awesome.

Take it Bono!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXlBSlyU8xY[/youtube] …

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Africa: Real & Raw

niños en kibera

A week from now my bags will sit at the stair landing in my home, waiting to be thrown in the back seat of my car, lugged onto a plane, and tossed across my shoulder on African soil.

I’m not really excited. I never get excited to go anywhere but home or tropical beaches. I’m a mix of complex feelings. I know when I spend my first week in the slums of Nairobi with Life in Abundance the feelings will grow in complexity.

If I didn’t write about them, I would never make sense of the feelings. Writing helps me make sense of the world.

Last…

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Cat Crap Fever

Not sure if you know this or not, but we live in a world where cats crap in toilets.

You doubt this?

Allow me to introduce you to the Litter Kwitter. It’s a potty training system for your cat, of course.

I’m always amazed at the dumb marketing copy that companies think up. The Litter Kwitter folks say that they’re product “improves people’s lives.” If the presence of a litter box is disturbing the quality of your life, I feel really sorry for you.

They also claim that the Litter Kwitter system is “award winning,” as if there actually is an award for cat pooping systems.

I’m not the chief poop scooper in our house, but I would sooner take on…

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Zombies Stop Healthcare Reform

I couldn’t have written “Where Am I Wearing?” today.

First, lenders aren’t exactly handing out second mortgages any more and I used mine to partly fund my global quest.

Second, our health care costs have skyrocketed.

In 2009 we were on four different health insurance plans the first four months of the year. Starting January 1st, 2009, Annie’s coverage at work became way too expensive. Still we had to bare the expense until Harper was born because…

Health Insurance is Killing us Reason #1: You can’t get coverage if you’re pregnant.

Health Insurance is Killing us Reason #2: Small businesses can’t afford to offer insurance because of the high cost.  Yet employees can’t afford to have a job that doesn’t offer them health insurance. …

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Amen!

A lawyer/dinner guest made the mistake of asking teacher, Taylor Mali, what he made. Awesomeness ensued.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU[/youtube] …

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UnderEase anti-flatulence underwear

As one of the top 10 living underwear journalists in Indiana, I’m always on the lookout for new under-the-radar underwear stories.  And unlike those lazy underwear journalists who’ve built their careers on reviewing low-tech undies that don’t serve a larger social function or are pleasant to wear, I go the extra mile.

There’s no pair of underwear I won’t test drive.

I wish that my career path would’ve worked out better.  Say, that I became a traveling journalist who went places and wrote about it like this guy.  Instead I put underwear through a series of proprietary tests, including “the jumping jack,” “the barn door,” “the wedgie,” and “the marathon.”

That’s right “the marathon.” Some thought I ran the NYC marathon to help…

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A note to the officer who handed me a $215 speeding ticket

I forgive you.

I forgive you for being a jackass.

Sure, “jackass” might be harsh, but how else do you explain a cop that lies in wait on I-80 just beyond the point where the speed limit changes from 70 to 45 before a toll area and pulls over a dog-loving writer on his way to give a free talk at a library?

You broke a law too you know? It was still dark and when you followed me into the toll, you didn’t even have your headlights on.

It was dark, but I could see you. Don’t go thinking that you were “tailing” me or something. I’m sure that day-after-day of picking off motorists who are searching for change to pay the toll and don’t decelerate fast enough gets…

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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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"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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