Congratulations to Elk Grove Unified’s Franklin Elementary School and Sheldon High School and Robla School District’s Taylor Street Elementary School, who were 3 of the 45 schools to win “Big Lots Lots2Give” prize money. From the contest website:
We asked participating schools to put their creativity to the test by submitting a short video and brief essay explaining why their school is in need of financial support. Then we turned to the public to select the winners by voting for their favorite video. Cash prizes include one $10,000 grand prize and forty-five $2,000 first prizes.
I know that cynicism gets old, but I am cynical about these big corporate “charity” social networking programs. In addition to Big Lots you’ve got the Pepsi Refresh Project and more locally the Raley’s Reach grants. My skepticism only goes so far, because at the end of the day these are actual charity programs and various groups are actually benefiting from them. Charities that fund public school projects in particular are doing great work, as governments consistently fail these schools. But these programs all leave a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to methodology.
Why do people sometimes put an “e” at the end of “faire”? For me, it conjures up images of Renaissance Faire, artificially sized smoked turkey legs (and other body parts) and overuse of the phrase “ye olde”. Alas, I shouldn’t unnecessarily grouse about it, as it seems appropriate in this context. You can’t get much more olde schoole than wine, cheese and bread. Archaeological evidence indicates that all three predate any known archeological evidence and were among the first staples of both ancient diets and religious ceremonies. Enjoying this trinity of basic foods is at the heart of the modern slowe foode movement, subconsciously awakening palates to flavors of times passed.
The Sac Rag 