Woohoo!!!! At long last, I have an answer!!!! Whoopie pies are part of an Amish cultural heritage!!!

Growing up, these were my all-time favourite dessert that my mom made. But, all of my friends in elementary school thought I was nuts when I brought them in to celebrate my birthday. They were all like, "Whoopie pies?? What a goofy name. Where did you get that from?..... Mmmmm... these are good."

Last night we went to see Lucia di Lammermoor at the Manitoba Opera. It was a pretty good show. I used to like opera a lot when I was about six years old... I'd go to the public library and borrow the opera records to take home and listen to. But, I haven't been in years. And I hadn't thought much about it until I was in Toronto the other week and Katia was explaining to me about the opera she put on in Chile with friends. So, when I came home, I bought tickets.

Things I learned last night:
* Sub-title screens for opera are a FAR better invention than glowing pucks for hockey.
* Tracy Dahl not only has an incredible voice, but she has excellent stage presence as well. She can sing notes while hanging upside down off a bench that normal human beings couldn't do standing with perfect posture and concentration.
* The second act of an opera is funnier than the first act. Whether this is a function of the opera itself or the speed at which one must consume alcoholic beverages during the intermission will require further testing.
* Operas need to be updated in the same way that a lot of films are playing with Shakespeare. Somewhere during Act II (after the consumption of said alcoholic beverage), I decided that Lucia de Lammermoor would be FAR more interesting if they cast a woman in the role of Edgardo. Leave all the dialogue/songs and names/pronouns the same... it ends up being an interesting commentary on marriage, love love and social acceptance. Kind of like the version of Jesus Christ Superstar featuring Amy Ray from the Indigo Girls as Jesus.

Now I'm on a quest to find someone who can actually produce that story....

Like many development agencies and funders, the IDB has an online zine with an email news service. This month's (week's??) issue has a couple of great youth-related articles:

AN ARMY OF VOLUNTEER TEACHERS
In Mexico, a unique program trains young people to
teach children in rural villages, offering university
scholarships and unforgettable experiences as an
incentive.
http://www.iadb.org/idbamerica/index.cfm?thisid=1581

SÃO PAULO'S 'CULTURE FACTORIES'
How participation in the arts is helping to protect
high-risk adolescents from crime and violence.
http://www.iadb.org/idbamerica/index.cfm?thisid=1717

Check out Steve Cisler's Weblog for an interesting review of an event presenting a Stanford University class' designs for more than 30 projects for ICT in developing countries.

It's always fun to see where friends from high school end up....

For the last month, I've been getting daily blog updates (B.E. Against Empire) from my friend Gabe Demombynes. We went to high school together and if one were to search hard enough, there are photos of me in a dress going to a couple of dances (homecoming? I can't remember) with Gabe.

We got back in touch a month or so ago when he sent me his first blog update after being arrested at the San Francisco anti-war rallies. This kind of (ok, hugely) cracked me up because Gabe was always kind of quiet, although political. We always had fun introducing biotech legislation into the Illinois Youth and Government mock-legislative sessions.

It's interesting seeing the new directions he's taking in his work... and even more so in his blogs. Today's email update seemed particularly relevant to issues on youth, peace, and conflict. Funny how easy it is for the media to simultaneously highlight and bury similar actions....

-----------------------
From: Gabriel Demombynes
Sent: April 22, 2003 1:19 PM
Subject: B.E. Against Empire, April 22

Among the horrors of the Iraqi regime was the imprisonment of children:
"Jailed Iraqi children run free as marines roll into Baghdad suburbs"
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/Iraq/0,6119,2-10-1460_1344832,00.html

Oh, woops, our ally Israel is doing the same thing:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2955839.stm
"Some 300 Palestinian minors have been rounded up by the Israeli army over the past year and are being held in crowded lockups, some of them without charges or trial, human rights monitors say."

And so are we, but it's only news in Australia:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s836988.htm

Children held at Camp Xray, US admits

The US military has revealed it is holding juveniles at its high-security prison for terrorists at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, known as Camp Xray.

The commander of the joint task force at Guantanamo, Major General Geoffrey Miller, says more than one child under the age of 16 is at the detention centre.

However, Maj Gen Miller has revealed little more about their welfare.

Maj Gen Miller says the US is holding "juvenile enemy combatants" at the centre, confirming rumours of children being held.

He has refused to reveal how many there are, their exact ages or their countries of origin.

He says they are being well cared for and are kept in facilities separate to adult prisoners.

The children are still being interrogated and will continue to be held at Guantanamo.

About 660 prisoners are in the camp.

They have not been tried or convicted of any offence but are being held as part of what the US calls its war on terror.