Clare Consultation, LLCPaying Attention
Today a friend posted the notice above on her Facebook page. This friend is a communications and diversity specialist – a Chippewa/Cree woman nearing completion of her PhD as a scholar of decolonization. Another friend, a white Texan in Denver, posted the runoff results in Georgia’s 58th District. Park Cannon, a health advocate, has earned this Congressional seat, filling the post left vacant when Simone Bell, the first Black lesbian to serve in… Read More
Visual Data – Truth or Dare
For all you graphic data nerds out there (and I freely admit I stand among you), a few thoughts on statistics. Perhaps a good starting place – correlation. Correlation is the way fluctuations in measurement of separate variables or outcomes match up. Like the way we keep seeing cigarette smoking correlating highly with lung cancer. The problem with correlation – or perhaps better said, the inherent limitation – is that correlation alone may… Read More
2016 – Heroes on the Threshold
This is in no way a complete list. It can’t be. One distinct generosity of my life is that it has brought so many brilliantly inspiring people of integrity and courage. So while these are the ones I’m thinking of right now, do know there are many many more – lots of you reading this, for example! Michelle Browder – Montgomery, Alabama – was and is tireless in her planning, belief, and… Read More
Christians, Muslims, Jews and the Return of the Light
It’s the winter holiday season. The eight days of Hanukkah have already come and gone. Malid un Nabi, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the turn of the year to 2016 are not far away. And, yesterday we in the northern hemisphere turned the corner from increasing dark to increasing light. Winter Solstice. The shift will be gradual, but the sun’s time above the horizon will grow and grow until, of course, it turns again… Read More
Thanksgiving was Yesterday
And, today Americans awaken to what the commercial conglomerate has named “Black Friday.” The term originated in 1951 in relation to industry and business owners noting the tendency of workers to call in sick the day after Thanksgiving in order to have a four-day weekend. By the 60’s the term was a derogation on the part of law enforcement officers in Philadelphia who had to deal with significantly increased pedestrian traffic on… Read More
On Robots and Listening
As ever, change is afoot. Autumn is heading for winter, for example. Starbucks is well into shifting its holiday paperware (the plain red paper cups a significant and publicized offense to a few “Christmas-only” types). Oceans are heating up, children are growing taller and Artificial Intelligence is animating robots to replace workers around the globe. There’s much more – and too much of it troubling. But you know that. So, this… Read More
in memorium: Nohemi Gonzalez – 10.19.1992/11.13.2015
Nohemi Gonzalez in her words: I am Mexican American and I also happen to be first generation born in the United States. I grew up in Whittier [California] and had a very hard working mother that raised me to be extremely independent. If I had to describe myself in a few words I would say I am very high spirited, clean, orderly and self driven. Nohemi was a student of design, studying… Read More
Halloween, 2015: Brought to you by…
A few days ago, Governor Kate Brown issued a proclamation designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month in Oregon. With that proclamation, she urged citizens of Oregon to join in observances of the vast contributions of American Indian peoples to the well-being of the state and country. Essentially, this is a reminder. Each state’s governor may issue state-specific proclamations related to designations of months to honor groups of people. November has… Read More
Listening for a Change
Here’s a way things are working in the U.S. On January 21, 2009 I got in my car and drove south – then east – then north – then west. A rough rectangle of American highways. 10,000+ miles. I drove to listen to what people had to say. My question: What do you mean when you say the word change? In the process, my purpose led to my own enormous gain. That… Read More
Identity and Work
I was going to title this Identity, Work, Motherhood and Death, but that seemed a touch too ambitious. Nonetheless, all apply. On August 31, at the turn from midnight to midnight-01, and for the first time since I was 15 years old, I became unemployed. Sheesh. Actually, I’m self-employed now and giving a good go at establishing this new career. Still, there’s the tenacious pull of my 30-year academic career. And it’s… Read More