Well, that was . . . unexpected

But once I think about it, probably pretty accurate.

You are The Tower

Ambition, fighting, war, courage. Destruction, danger, fall, ruin.

The Tower represents war, destruction, but also spiritual renewal. Plans are disrupted. Your views and ideas will change as a result.

The Tower is a card about war, a war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth. The Tower stands for "false concepts and institutions that we take for real." You have been shaken up; blinded by a shocking revelation. It sometimes takes that to see a truth that one refuses to see. Or to bring down beliefs that are so well constructed. What's most important to remember is that the tearing down of this structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Voice Post: Blue Wolf plays at Lake Harriet

[See the Blue Wolf website here.]

I'm a Microlender!

Here's a very cool idea:

I have always been intrigued by the concept of microlending, the idea that by giving extremely poor people, particularly women, a small amount of credit, this enables them to nurture small businesses so that they can repay the loan, and at the same time make a material difference to themselves and the welfare of their families.

I was poking around the Brotherhood 2 site that I mentioned previously (brotherhood2) Apparently, one of their projects is, as they charmingly call it, "Decreasing World Suck":

WorldSuck, as far as John and Hank can tell, is actually somewhat difficult to define. But it’s clear that some things increase WorldSuck, while other things decrease WorldSuck.

Malaria, for example, increases WorldSuck. While corndogs definitely decrease WorldSuck.

As part of the Brotherhood 2.0 project, Hank and John Green have decided to create the Brotherhood 2.0 Foundation for Decreasing Suck Levels Worldwide (also known as the Foundation to Decrease WorldSuck (FDW))

It was on this page on their site that I first noticed the link to an organization called Kiva.

The idea is breathtakingly simple. Kiva matches people who need microloans with people who are willing to give microloans. I have taken the plunge, donating $25 via PayPal to help enable a woman in Togo, Neyo Degboe, buy some equipment to grow her fish-smoking business. She supports, besides herself, eight other people. She'll pay the total loan of $800 back over the next sixteen months (microloans actually have a very low default rate). I get nothing for the use of my $25--no tax deduction, no interest. Just the knowledge that I have, for a very small amount of money, improved someone's life somewhere else in the world. And that's actually worth a great deal to me. Money is so tight for us right now that I have cut back on our charitable giving, but $25 I can spare, and I can feel good about what that small amount can accomplish. Kiva will give me periodic reports on how her business is doing.

Here's a .pdf of a New York Times article about Kiva. This is cool. Let me know if you take the plunge, too.