LEAD - Metro Mag Event

This is a reminder that Metro Magazine's Fashion Fight Night is only one week away! 10% of all ticket proceeds benefit The LEAD Project, so be sure to come out and support us! Tickets are going fast - buy yours soon at www.metromag.com.
 

 
*Save the Date! The next LEAD event will be held on April 23rd. Join us as we cut the ribbon at an exciting new Twin Cities location and benefit an environmental cause. Stay tuned for further details!

Share the Love, Not the Pizza - Punch Pizza

To help extend the spirit of valentine's day, we are encouraging our customers to share their love of pizza with another with a buy one, get one free deal.

Just bring in, or show on your phone, the coupon below.  It's good through Thursday.

Olympics

If you listen to our podcast, you know that I love hockey and have been waiting for the 2010 Olympics for so long. In general, I am a HUGE Olympic fan, I love that for the most part Olympians compete for pride of country versus money. Granted, many of these athletes get endorsements, and hockey players get paid through the NHL, but there are many who work every day like you or me and find time and energy to train as well.

To get pumped for the Olympics I recommend the following three Olympic related movies: Cool Runnings (Bobsled; great story, loved the ending about finishing what you started), The Cutting Edge (Figure skating; yes they pan away whenever they are truly doing a move, but a great story), and the best Olympic movie and one of the best sports movies Miracle (Hockey; makes me cry EVERY time....Do you believe in Miracles???)

Speedskating
This year the US Olympic Speed Skating team is being sponsored by Stephen Colbert & his Colbert Nation (letting viewers pledge contributions to team USA Speed Skating.)  Apollo Ohno is back for another chance at capturing medals, can the US beat Norway and Sweden in the skating?  Depends on who you ask, but one thing is for certain, this event is our BEST chance at obtaining medals, due to the number of competitions and our history in medal count.  It's been awhile since we've been competitive in figure skating, ice dancing, or figure skating pairs.  Moguls we usually take one of the three spots, and hockey will be a tough one as well.  If you're interested in seeing Team USA capture a sizeable medal count, be sure to check out the speed skaters!

Figure Skating
Sad to say the Americans have not been as competitive in this category as the Chinese, Canadians, & the Russians.  However, we have had a few Russians break off and compete for the US, our best chance at capturing the gold.  Do you remember Salt Lake City 2002?  The Canadians gave a cutesy and less difficult performance but nailed it (didn't hurt that they were both very good looking) and the Russians gave a much harder but less perfect long performance?  The infamous scandal with judging (the French gave the Russians the gold in exchange for their vote in ice dancing.)  Well the Russians and the Canadians both skated off with the gold.  The Russians undoubtedly try harder technical performances and the Canadians give better artistic performances.  Has the sport ever really come back after the judging scandal though?  And what about the Chinese?  Their fundamentals are usually off but they are always trying for the SUPER HARD tricks, do you think they've improved their program enough to nail the fundamentals AND the tough stuff?  We'll have to see.  In terms of Americans, this is the first year the US is not expected to medal for Women's or Pairs.  Sascha tried to make a comeback, but did not even qualify for the team.  The women have medaled for the past 11 Olympics, and the pairs have not medaled since 1988.  Could be a tough Olympics for the US in terms of figure skating this time around.

Freestyle Moguls
2006 is the year I was most excited about this event, Torino Italy. A fellow camp counselor and friend of mine Toby Dawson was competing in this event. The cool thing about Toby was that he just wanted to be treated like the rest of the counselors and give back to the kids at Korean Heritage Camp. I remember being SO nervous waiting for him to compete, knowing that everyone out there works really hard but how great of a guy he was and how much he deserved it. When he won the Bronze I was stoked for him, proud of him, and excited to attend camp that year. Toby brought his medal and let everyone wear it, hold it, take pictures with him, with it, it was a really cool experience. If you're looking for updates on him via twitter click here and if you want to visit his site and find out more about him click here.

Now the reason I love the freestyle moguls is it combines speed (to do the tricks), control (all those moguls require some navigation), and the complexity/coolness of the tricks are pretty awesome. They have to complete two different tricks per round (2 rounds, if you qualify.) I remember watching in 2002 with Jonny Moseley doing the 'Dinner Roll' and thinking, that's pretty sweet, wish I could do that! Athletes perfect previously completed tricks and create their own. Pretty bomb, if I must say!

Hockey
Some important things to note for these Olympic games for hockey are the difference between the NHL style play and the Olympic style of play. In most Olympic games, the players are on International Ice, which means 100 x 200 ft versus the NHL ice which is 85 x 200 ft. While 15 ft doesn't seem like that big of a deal, it certainly opens the ice up for more creative play making. This year, due to cost saving measures the Vancouver Olympic games will use NHL ice. Because they are using the arena that is home to the Vancouver Canucks, changing it over to Olympic ice would cost a great deal of money but more importantly put Vancouver on an even longer away game streak. Due to the games the Canucks are playing 14 games in a row on the road. A difficult feat that I think every other team should have been forced to do as well, to even the playing field. Back to the ice, this is a HUGE disadvantage to the Swedes, as they are less physical of a team and excel in playmaking, great passing, etc. However, don't discount them just yet!!

Another difference of Olympic hockey is the auto-icing call. In the NHL you can get the puck to the other end of the ice and if your teammates are fast enough they can get to it first and create a scoring opportunity. As you know from our podcast, this has resulted in career ending injuries and is extremely dangerous. In the Olympics, if you put the puck into the other end an automatic icing is called without the players having to touch it. This forces teams to get more creative in their playmaking. And one of the other major differences is no fighting. I love this rule, others dislike it. The reason I love this rule is just like the bigger sheet of ice and auto-icing is that it removes the emphasis on strong-arm hockey and puts te emphasis on talent, agility, speed, play-making, etc.

To end this piece, I thought I'd include a link to the 5 greatest Olympic Hockey Moments. I'd like to note that two of the five include the performances of Avalanche Players. 2002 Canadian Mens Hockey (Former Captain Joe Sakic) and 1994 Swedish Mens Hockey (Peter Forsberg). To enjoy the article & the movies from Vanity Fair, click here.

Day of Interesting News

Yesterday the city of Minneapolis announced they were implementing a temporary law for parking on the street in Uptown (where I live) from Thursday, February 11, 2010 until sometime in April.  They are forbidding parking on the odd side of a street.  This means they are eliminating half of the parking spaces that are currently available to residents.  If you live in Uptown you will know that parking is hard enough to find without the current law.  I was thinking about this law on the way over to work this morning and have decided that I will just start taking the bus.  I dislike taking the bus and I have things I need to do in the evening but here's my new remedy.  I will leave my car in the parking garage under our building (safe from snow, tickets, and tows) and just take the bus to and from work.  If I have things to do after work and HAVE to take my car I will park on the street.  If it is early enough, I'll simply return to work and jump on the bus.  This definitely doesn't make me happy, but I can't afford to get towed or ticketed for parking in Uptown (again.)

Last night two teenagers fell into the same spot while snowmobiling.  The first teenager was able to pull themself out of the water and crews were speaking with the individual when the second teenager fell into the water.  This concerned me as it was in MN, and I am going snowmobiling on Thursday night to Lord Fletcher's for their $0.25 wings (which by the way, are AMAZING!!)  Here are some snowmobiling tips to follow this winter:
1 - Stay on a path
2 - If you are snowmobiling on Lake Minnetonka, avoid areas right by the channels, as there is typically a bridge above and the sand from de-icing usually falls onto the ice, making it weaker.  In addition, this is typically a lower water level area, so the ice isn't as thick in the first place.
3 - Let people know you are going out so they will know if something is wrong.
4 - Be of age!!  Unless you were born in 1979 you need to have a snowmobiling license.

Yesterday I was on twitter and say CBS post a link about a bridge collapse widow adopting twins from Haiti.  Being adopted, and living in MN I quickly clicked on the link.  I love this story, this is what makes me regret being pessimistic and gives me hope for humanity.  The people who do for one another without knowing each other.  Here I go trying to be philosophical on life.  I sometimes think that evil exists for good to mean anything.  That in every day life there is good and there is evil.  When awful things happen the good pours forth to balance out the bad.  It is not that people are only good during tragedy but that a percentage of them are good all the time, and the need for good is just increased.

Political Conversation: Emotional or Intelligent?

Last night I had the chance to catch up with an old friend, the kind you care about and had great times with but now live in different states and go through the natural ebb and flows of communication.  We finally got back in touch, and it was like nothing had changed and yet everything was different, but for the better.  Our friendship, mutual respect, all the important stuff was the same, the way I believe true friendships should be.  What was different was us, we were older, wiser, more sure of ourselves, and yet still able to be friends.  We had grown up, but we had not grown apart, it was something truly miraculous these days.

The conversation discussed the usual, what are you doing, how have you been, are you ever moving back to Colorado? There was one yes and one no.  The thing I find so awesome about our conversation is that I lean left, and Kristin leans right, but we both consider ourselves more moderate.  I used to be Catholic, and Kristin has recently taken Catholicism up.  We were able to offer each other differing viewpoints based on intelligent thought, mixed with emotion, and each allowed the other's viewpoint to change their viewpoint.  Now, when I say that I do not mean in the superficial or flighty meaning.  We didn't back down from our view just because someone else didn't agree with us, we simply allowed their viewpoint to broaden our viewpoint, to consider what they were saying and reconstruct how we each thought about healthcare, religion, etc.  It was one of those conversations that in this day and age is so rare, it makes you smile.  Imagine, a political and religious conversation between two friends that don't necessarily agree on everything being held in a civil manner, each bringing opinions and facts to the table and each leaving with a broadened view.  Is that even possible in this day and age?

I ask if it's possible because you will see in the media that politics have become SO dividing.  I find it interesting that these politicians are so intent on fear mongering and hateful propaganda of the other side when their true job is to do what is best for ALL Americans.  They may believe their agenda is the better one, but I don't think either side is doing a very good job at making this a better place for ALL Americans.

When you take away all the dividing factors that politicians put before you to make you choose you should realize that in reality, we all want the same thing.  We all want a safer country, whether it be across the street, the town, the state, the country or the world.  We all want to be healthy, have access to healthcare.  We all want our children to have the best education, to grow up, succeed, etc.  We all want criminals to be punished, the heroes to be rewarded, and to be able to drive without fear of bridges collapsing (I-35W) or guardrails falling off onto their car (E-470).  These are fundamental things we all want.  The very things we all want, are really being sidestepped by emotions, sensationalism, fear mongering, etc. 

I know some Conservatives will blame Liberals, and vice versa.  I see on twitter, facebook, and in the non-cyber world both sides bashing each other ALL the time.  I even saw someone on twitter saying they will tweet on each lie President Obama says during his State of the Union speech.  I thought it interesting that they chose that method, as I am unaware of a fully morally intact politician, I think the two are oxymorons.  So while others blame the parties I blame Lobbyists and Politicians of both sides.  Politicians are so concerned about what they can ear-mark for their state, what deal with the devil they have to do in order to get their bill through they've lost sight of what is really at stake, what's right for us.  Lobbyists only help the matter by paying millions of dollars to convince politicians to vote for what they want versus what the American public wants.   Truly, this is what democracy is all about, and what our forefathers fought so hard to establish.  I think they're rolling in their graves right now.

I remember watching The Daily Show (I do love Jon Stewart, as he makes fun of Republicans AND Democrats) and seeing that 30 white, male Republicans were voting no on Senator Al Franken's amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill.  Now, let's be honest I do not know what qualifications Al Franken has in politics, and I didn't vote in the Minnesota elections but rather the Colorado elections so I had no part in getting him to that office.  However, the amendment was in regards to female workers of government contracts over in the Middle East could at the present moment not file charges against their male co-workers or bosses if they were raped or gang raped by them in court but were forced to go through arbitration.  I fail to see how this is a partisan issue.  I wonder how these male politicians can even disagree with this amendment.  Several stated that the government has no such business in terms of enforcing or regulating employment contracts.  While that might work in any other case, these were government contracts, the government was paying these companies to perform a duty.  These employees were then raping their coworker while under contract with the government and being paid with government dollars, or more importantly TAX PAYER DOLLARS.  Many of the opposers stated that they felt this took away a woman's right to arbitration if we made it so they could also file a suit in open court.  This was not the case and was more than likely a cop out.  The most frustrating part of all this is if you just listen to the politicians twist it they make good cases, and then you have to fact check .  Jeff Sessions said he opposed the bill because it would put the will of Congress on individuals and corporations in a retroactive fashion.  However, this particular bill is for the 2010 fiscal year and cannot be activated retroactively.  Nice try Senator.  Senator Cochran of Mississippi said that it was not the government's business and that he would think about voting yes if it only covered rape and did not extend to sexual related abuses.  Senators Chambliss & Isakson of Georgia state that it's unfair to the rape victim to have to go through the court process as this amendment dictates and strips them of their arbitration rights.  Again, this is untrue, this amendment simply opens up the option of an actual court process like any other United States citizen is entitled to, while allowing them to choose arbitration as well.  One noteworthy bit - the Department of Defense also opposed the amendment.  This example only shows the Republicans who were twisting the truth and providing cop outs to voting no.  I am not saying Democrats do not do the same thing, I am simply using this case as an example because it infuriated me as a woman.

In the end, I have become less and less involved with politics.  I find that no one wins when politicians are up for sale and do deals with the devil.  I don't trust any one of them. To those Libertarians out there, your ideas to me sound great in theory, but it requires 100% committment from 100% of the population.  I apologize for sounding pessimistic but I do not have faith in humanity, or rather in fellow Americans to deregulate.  Like communism & Reagonomics,  deregulation is a great theory if people weren't stupid, greedy, evil.  And while not all people are evil, stupid or greedy, even 1 in a thousand in the population can ruin it for the rest of us.  Sorry.

YPOTC Tonight!

YPOTC at Solera Tonight
YPOTC will host the February monthly event at Solera tonight and in the spirit of Valentine's Day, we're hosting a non-profit fair during the happy hour. Local non-profits, including some of YPOTC's 2010 non-profit partners, will be on hand-- sharing with us the love they have of serving those in the Twin Cities community! It's a great opportunity to learn more about these amazing organizations and the work they do, and sign up to give some love of your own!
Event Sponsor: First Class Mortgage

Featured Organizations Include:
US Bank Skyway Open, Benefitting Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities
The 4th annual U.S. Bank Skyway Open will be held February 25 - 27 in downtown Minneapolis. The event benefits the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities and is developed and run by the Downtown Network. Volunteers are needed to help with registration, golf holes and golfer directions. Volunteers receive a t-shirt, parking, ticket for a Subway sandwich and admission to the 19th Hole party at The Hotel Minneapolis.

Bridging, Inc. (2010 YPOTC Non-Profit Partner)
Join YPOTC for the Twelfth Annual SUBWAY® BEDRACE FOR BRIDGING, presented by Cities 97 that will take off at Buck Hill Saturday, March 6, 2010. We are putting together a team of four to race down the tubing hill atop queen-sized mattresses. One hundred percent of registration fees and fundraising efforts benefit Bridging.

Dress for Success (2010 YPOTC Non-Profit Partner)
Brand new to the Twin Cities, Dress for Success promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. At this point, donations have poured in and they need all the help they can get! Please work with us to support our newest Twin Cities-base partner!

Child Neurology Foundation
The Child Neurology Foundation presents the first annual Twin Cities Mardi Gras Event! This costume/black-tie event will be the place to be on Fat Tuesday (Feb 16th, 2010). To include: authentic live-jazz, jugglers, fabulous decorations, magicians, signature chocolate martinis, dancing, live feeds from New Orleans and comedy. Because the event falls on the heels of Valentine's Day, we've made special couples pricing available!

Rotaract
YPOTC and Rotaract have planned a fun and motivating evening with business strategist and keynote speaker Dave Horsager this Thursday. Through his book and program - The Trust Edge - he shares the secrets of using trust to impact the bottom line. There is still time to register for the event online or at the door.
 
Looking for another way to get involved? YPOTC is looking for members to join our Non-Profit Advisory Board. If interested, please contact Dionne for more information: dbraddix@mmm.com.

Who Says You Can't Golf In MN Over Winter?

Ok, while this is indoor put-put golf, it is for a great cause.  Please consider participating in the 4th Annual U.S. Bank Skyway Open Golf Tournament.

Come support the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities by playing a unique 18 hole mini- golf course through the skyways of downtown Minneapolis! Tee-times start Thursday February 25th at 1:00 pm, Friday at 9:00 am and Saturday at 11:00 am. Visit www.skywayopen.org to register.

Favorite New Charity

Thank goodness for Twitter!  Connecting people around the world and letting everyone know what you think about the game, the movie or the President's SOTU speech.  But there are other great things about Twitter as well.  Take the account www.twitter.com/giveyoursole (you can visit their site here) This group organizes shoe collections at races.  Simple enough, donate moderately worn shoes to one of the collection sites this group puts together and help the shoe-less around our country.

LEAD Project Board Opportunities

OPEN BOARD POSITIONS:

MinnPost: 2 board positions available

MinnPost,  a not-for-profit providing high-quality journalism online for people who care about Minnesota, is looking for one or two board members.
The MinnPost board works with the founder/CEO Joel Kramer on strategy and major tactics to help this two-year-old enterprise grow and ensure its sustainability. 
One major focus is to increase our connections with Minnesotans who are under 40, so a board member who has a broad network in that age group and is willing to help us tap into it would be a great asset.
We are also looking for a chair of the board finance committee.  This person should be knowledgeable about financial reports, and would work primarily with our business manager, Bryan Powell, in reviewing MinnPost’s finances and reporting to the board about them.
For more information, contact Joel Kramer, jkramer@minnpost.com.  For information about MinnPost, visit www.minnpost.com, and read our year-end report.
Global Citizens Network/Intercultural Student Experiences: 2 board positions available

In the fall of 2009, GCN and ISE formed a strategic alliance.  The new structure operates with two boards, yet the same individuals serve on both boards and the meetings are held jointly.  One Executive Director leads both organizations.
GCN: Global Citizens Network seeks to create a network of people who are committed to the shared values of peace, justice, tolerance, cross-cultural understanding and global cooperation, to the preservation of indigenous cultures, traditions and ecologies, and to the enhancement of the quality of life around the world.  GCN facilitates short term, cross cultural travel for participants (individuals, groups and families) in 1-3 week small scale community development projects in 15 indigenous communities around the world.
ISE: ISE inspires and educates students of the world through experiential learning across cultures. ISE sends high school students on short term language immersion trips abroad.  ISE students travel to Spain, France, Germany, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, and Mexico.  New programs in development or being considered are in China, Taiwan, Ecuador and Africa. 
Board Search Specifics:
The skills and capabilities desired in board candidates include:
International and/or intercultural experience, a second language, and/or international network a plus.
Commitment to the mission of peace, justice and the societal value of intercultural and international experiences.
Sales and marketing experience, particularly with respect to youth and social networking.
Experience in the training, education, and/ or travel marketplace.
Workplace experience in change management and work with various generations.
See both websites at:  www.globalcitizens.org and www.isemn.org
Please contact Peter Wagner (peter_c_wagner@yahoo.com) if you are interested or have questions.
Kantorei: 1 board position available

Kantorei is a nonprofit, professional, a cappella choral ensemble based in the Twin Cities and conducted by Dr. Axel Theimer. Kantorei specializes in singing unaccompanied choral music from Austria and Germany, and has collaborated with a number of organizations and ensembles in the Twin Cities. Recently, Kantorei was featured as part of Classical Minnesota Public Radio's Holiday Sampler.

Kantorei’s board is structured as a “working board,” which means that much of the work is done in between board meetings. Kantorei is looking for one new board member.

Please contact Raj Chaphalkar (raj.chaphalkar@kantorei.net) if you are interested or have questions.

New YPOTC Event

Young Professionals of Twin Cities

Upcoming Events

YPOTC February Meeting at Solera
Date: Tuesday, February 09, 2010  Time: 5:30pm   add to Outlook   view details
Venue: Solera  - 900 Hennepin Ave.  Minneapolis, MN 55403   view google map
We'd like to invite you to join YPOTC as we venture back downtown to Solera for our February event.
 
The Trust Edge: Leadership & Professional Development of Young Professionals
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010  Time: 5:30pm   add to Outlook   view details
Venue: Neighborhood House  - 179 Robie Street East  St. Paul, MN 55107-2360   view google map
YPOTC and Rotaract have planned a fun and motivating evening with business strategist and keynote speaker Dave Horsager. Through his book and program - The Trust Edge - he shares the secrets of using trust to impact the bottom line.
Non-Profit: Twin Cities Rotaract Club
 
An Introduction to Painting Art Class
Date: Thursday, February 25, 2010  Time: 6:30pm   add to Outlook   view details
Venue: Simply Jane Sudios  - 4801 Nicollet Ave. S.  Minneapolis, MN 55419   view google map
Time to find your inner-creative and test your painting skills. Join other young professionals on February 25th for a painting session.

Podcast

For those who don't know my friend Charlie & I have started a podcast.  We only have two episodes so far but we will be recording every Saturday.  Due to some requests from friends and family we are working hard to do the following things:

Separate Podcasts for Each Topic Grouping - This would mean Sports lovers could only listen to sports and entertainment lovers wouldn't have to listen to sports or news.  We're going to try it out and as always post a full version as well.

iTunes - Apparently I am less technologically advanced than I would like to believe as I am struggling as if my life depended on it.  I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get our podcast onto iTunes.  I may have to enlist my brother Brendan's coworkers, as they are good with technology and I am clearly not. FAIL.

And remember you can always let us know what you would like to hear more of via comment on our site http://popculturetherapy.wordpress.com and follow the show on twitter @courtnchuck or follow us individually @cabeckham or @cmitch21

Thanks for all the support guys, it's really a lot of fun to do!

Great Deal!

You know I am a sucker for great pizza deals! For whatever reason I cannot help but love it!  Well HomeMade Pizza Co has this great little deal Monday - Wednesday.  $3.00 for a 9" pizza and $3.00 for a small salad!  I got a Pepperoni pizza (it was delish as always) and a large Cobb salad.  The Cobb Salad is the only one not featured in the salad deals.  It's so tasty I couldn't resist.  I ventured away from the Caesar dressing and tried Creamy Garlic.  WOW.  I have 2/3 of my salad for lunch today.  I'm pretty excited!!  Remember to sign up for their loyalty card so you can get pizza and salads for free if you buy enough :)