Hop and Squidoo - Updates

Hello, and welcome fellow Squido Lensmasters! For those who aren't travelling here by blog hop and don't know what Squidoo is, it's just a place where you can make nifty little web pages about any topic you choose, and maybe earn a little money for yourself or a charity in the process.

This time I'm keeping it short and...well, sort of self-promotional.  Sorry, but don't worry...I'm working on some helpful tips for next hop that I just don't have time to finish now.

UPDATED LENSES
The following lenses I've updated since I posted here last:

Blog Giveaway Linkies
Selling Your Art Through Print on Demand
Shop For Charity
Nazareth - An Interactive Exploration 


IN THE WORKS
I'm working on a lens on props and set design for Bible Theater, VBS, Sunday School presentations etc.   If you know of any tips that might be helpful, I'd love to hear if you don't mind me using them!

Aloha Friday/Two Question Thursday - Poetry

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question for you to answer--nothing that requires a lengthy response.  I'm combining this with Two Question Thursday (same idea...only TWO questions).

This week I've stumbled on a Poetry Giveaway Event. I'm a poetry lover, so the chance to win books of poetry is exciting to me.  Which brings me to my questions for this week...

So, this week's questions are related to that:

1. Do you enjoy reading poetry?
2. If so, what's your favorite poet or poem?

You can answer in the comments.  Thanks!

I love poetry, and my favorite poets are Seamus Heaney,  Sarah Teasdale,  Shakespeare, and a lot of poets who aren't so famous, who I met online.

If you have a blog and would like to post your own questions you can leave your link on the appropriate day at the linkys at 2 Questions Thursday and An Island Life.

Aloha Friday - St. Patrick

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question for you to answer--nothing that requires a lengthy response.

Last week I asked what was the first that came to mind of when you thought of St. Patrick's Day.  Here's the answers I got, in order of most to least...

• Green (or wearing green) - 5x*
  *more than that if you include green clover or green beer, or green Shamrock cookies.
   
• Corned beef and cabbage - 5x (2x with potatoes 1x with carrots mentioned)
   
• Shamrocks, clovers, or 4 leaf clovers - 5x (if you count the shamrock cookies)
   
• Green beer - 3x
   
• Irish Soda Bread - 2x
   
• Leprechauns - 2x if you count...
   
• Leprachaun, the Movie - 1x
   
• Posts of gold - 1x
   
• Gold coins - 1x
   
• Rainbows - 1x
   
• Guiness - 1x
   
• Green shamrock cookies - 1x

I was surprised that Ireland or Irish wasn't mentioned (except as part of Irish Soda Bread).  What I wasn't surprised about was that St. Patrick himself, or anything in did or was thought to do, wasn't mentioned.  Until a few years ago I had no idea who he was or why a holiday was named after him.  Turns out he was a fascinating man with a fascinating story.   If you'ld like to learn more about him, there's a great blog post about that here.  But before you read that, please answer my question...

• What do you know about St. Patrick?

You can answer in the comments.  Thanks!  And, if you would like to join me for a Linky Party celebrating St. Patrick's Day as a religious holiday, I will be posting up a linky at my other blog, Scribbleprints sometime today.

7 Facts About Modern Slavery

Did you know that there are more slaves today than there were before the civil war?  While legal slavery in the US ended with emancipation, throughout the world and even in the US, slavery continues.   I'm not talking about people paid too little, or "enslaved" by their circumstances, but slavery in the traditional sense, where people are forced to work or prostitute themselves and kept enslaved through  fraud, coercion and threat of violence.

This page formerly listed 10 facts about modern slavery, but new research has caused the need for an update (this post was updated in January 2014).  Here are 7 updated facts from recent reports about modern slavery.

1. There is an estimated 27 million people in the world enslaved today.  
2. Human trafficking is the modern term for the "slave trade."
3. Traffickers maintain control of their victims through various means, including violence, coercion  and threats of harm to loved ones.  
4. 27% of known trafficking victims are children. 
5. Sex trafficking accounts for 58% of all human trafficking.  Forced labor makes up around 38%.  Other forms of human trafficking include forced marriage, transportation of people for organs, and forced enlistment of child soldiers.  
6. Victims of  forced labor have been found in nearly every job setting imaginable...including factories, restaurants, private homes, medical facilities, farms, and construction sites. 
7. While poverty can leave people more vulnerable to enslavement, this is not just a third-word problem.  Slavery is present even in developed nations like the United States.

SOURCES:  U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report - 2013 (1, 3, 6, 7)  Polaris Project (2) UNDOC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons - 2012  (4,5) SlaveryFootprint.org

Would you like to do something to stop slavery?  One simple thing you can do is spread the word!  Please feel free to copy this list and share it on your blog, tweet about it, etc.   I don't require any credit or back-link, but if you use this list verbatim, please also let others know that they may share this list.

For more things that you can do to fight modern slavery, click here. 

---

References:   Below are links to the sites where I found this info.  Unfortunately some of articles I used as references have since been removed.

1. AlterNet 2. BBC Ethics Guide: Modern Slavery 3.  DoSomething.org 4. Wikipedia  5 - 8. International Justice Mission's Sex Trafficking Fact Sheet 9. Traffic 911 10. Free The Slaves.

2 Question Thursday - Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question for you to answer--nothing that requires a lengthy response.  I'm combining this with Two Question Thursday (same idea...only TWO questions).

This week I'm looking for gift suggestions:

1. I'm looking for a really good gift for a 2 year old boy.  We have trains and legos already.  Suggestions?
2. And what's some good cheap gifts for boys ages 6-7?  Especially anything educational!

You can answer in the comments.  Thanks!
If you have a blog and would like to post your own questions you can leave your link on the appropriate day at the linkys at 2 Questions Thursday and An Island Life

Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question for you to answer--nothing that requires a lengthy response. 

My son doesn't like peanut butter and he doesn't like meat.  Yeah...so I've been sending him to school with bagels and cream cheese.  I need something else.

Any suggestions for meatless sandwhiches or other bag lunch items OTHER without peanut butter or meat?

If you have a blog and would like to post your own question you can leave your link at An Island Life and Thrify and Chic Mom.