T~H~A~N~K~S!

Every year it remains unchanged. I am always thankful for my family.
My giving parents and supportive sister in particular. The sacrifices they make for me do not go unnoticed.
Even with the headaches they give me I am also thankful for my brother, and other distant relatives.
For the last three years I have been thankful for Jason, the one who makes me smile daily and loves me unconditionally. I am thankful for our lives in America, despite some of the dark decisions my country's leaders make I was so fortunate to be born to this life of privilege. So many are not.

This year, however, I am also thankful for many new and little things. Major life changes since last year have made me appreciate many little things in my day-to-day life.
Some of these items are listed here:
~The rain
~Land Transit District
~The Brainard Computer Lab in Allen Hall
~Trees
~My Ickis kitty:)
~MY JOB!
~Photos
~A University of Oregon education
~Twitter
~Online Banking
~The Power of Knowledge
~Cereal
~Music Music Music!
~The Eugene and online community
~It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
~All the little moments that I will always remember:)


Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Be safe and happy this season!

The Adventures of Ickis the Cat Part 2

Ickis is sick! I may just have new~mom syndrome but poor Icky has thrown up three times in the last 24 hours. He is playful, alert, and still able to eat and pee, however, he is a bit lethargic. I will watch him over the next 24 hours and see how he does. I haven't picked out a vet yet so I hope it is nothing serious!

Other than that little Ickis has been quite the joy to have in the house for the past two and a half weeks. He is a VERY loving cat, always wanting to sit right in your lap or by the sink as your brush your teeth. Last night Jason had his arms folded across his chest and Ickis walked on him and sat right on Jason's arms with his head on Jason's shoulder. He is especially attached to Jason and I but really he wants to be around anyone who walks in the door. Ickis also likes to lick like a dog licks, little weird~o.

The only thing I worry about is what it will be like when we get other pets and how he will handle sharing the attention but I suppose I will cross that crossroad when I come to it. Next year I will be purchasing a Flip Video camera so I can catch some of Ickis' little quirks and show them to everyone! For now we will have to do with other people's videos:



Best Wishes,
Kylie

A Sunny, Cold Day

I finished up with my last senior photo client(Jason's little sister), studied for my two exams tomorrow, and played with my cat:) Now it's time to shower, charge up my camera, and go take some photos. Wish me luck!

Photo of the day taken in Newport, Oregon on November 22, 2009



News article of the day comes from the NPR website:

FBI Report Notes Rise In Hate Crimes
by Deborah Tedford
November 23, 2009

The number of hate crimes against religious groups in the U.S. jumped more than 8 percent during 2008 — the most notable increase in a variety of hate-crime statistics reported in data released Monday by the FBI.
In all, 7,783 hate crimes were included in the FBI's 2008 Hate Crime Statistics report. The report covers crimes involving a victim who was targeted because of race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin or disability.
The FBI's report reflects only the information gathered by participating law-enforcement agencies. Experts warned that the numbers may reflect different standards for what constitutes a hate crime, as well as the inability of some law enforcement agencies to coordinate the report because of budget constraints.
"The most frightening thing about these numbers is what goes unrecorded," said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, the Hispanic civil rights advocacy group.

Still, the data show a 2-percent overall increase in hate crime over the previous year and a rise in each individual category, with one exception: attacks based on ethnic bias or national origin. Crimes based on racial hatred made up the largest number of reported incidents. Last year, agencies across the U.S. reported 3,992 incidents in which someone was victimized because of race — a 3-percent increase from 2007.
Heidi Beirich, director of research at the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, said she expected to see an increase in the targeting of African-Americans because of the uptick in hate group activity before the election of President Obama.
"The anti-black numbers jumped around the elections, but we know that doesn't reflect anywhere near what (the figures) actually are," said Beirich. She said experts have noted inconsistencies in some jurisdictions, such as the relatively small number of hate crimes reports in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, where there is a large black population and a history of racial intolerance.
Blacks have historically been the most frequently targeted group. The FBI report showed 73 percent of the victims of race-based hate crimes were black.

Poor Reporting Affects Accuracy

The biggest year-over-year increase was in attacks on religious groups, which rose from 1,400 in 2007 to 1,519 in 2008. Most of the reports involved crimes against Jewish persons, although attacks against Catholics and "anti-other religion" showed the biggest percentage increase. Crimes against Muslims fell from 115 in 2007 to 105 this year, according to the report.

Most of the crimes involve vandalism and intimidation, but they also range from assault to rape and murder.

The FBI figures also showed that there were 1,297 incidents of crimes against gay persons, up from 1,265 in 2007. That represents a 2-percent increase in the number of incidents.

But that crime may be under-reported, according to professor Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino, because attacks on homosexuals are not recognized as hate crimes in some states. In addition, many victims do not want to make their sexual preferences public.

lllegal immigrants are another group that is wary of involving law enforcement, said La Raza's Murguia. According to the FBI data, attacks on the basis of ethnicity and national origin went down in 2008 — from 1,007 in 2007 to 894 last year. Most of the victims in that category were Hispanic.

"We look at these numbers as the tip of the iceberg, and even then, the trend over the past five years is unmistakable," Murguía said.

The FBI does not report hate crime trends, saying differences in annual reports may be attributed to the number of agencies participating in the reporting. Of the 13,690 agencies that submitted data, only 2,145 agencies reported hate crimes in their communities.

Levin said authorities won't have a true picture of the number of hate crimes in the U.S. until reporting is standardized.

"There are problems regarding lack of uniformity and consistency of reporting," Levin said, that should be addressed in order to get a true picture of the problem. A federal survey of victims in 2005 showed there were 191,000 hate crimes in the United States, he said.

The Adventures of Ickis the Cat

Nine days after Ickis has come to live with us and he has already made quite the impression. Most mornings when he hears us wake up he begins whining pathetically at the bathroom door. I run and grab him so he can cuddle with us in bed. This time is hit and miss. Some mornings he is very affectionate and lays gently within the covers. Other days he scratches the corner of the bed and crawls over all of the shelves. During the day it is also hit and miss but usually includes running around at full speed, biting the curtains, playing in the litter box, and gnawing on playful fingers. Then it's two to four hours of sleep in his favorite spot on the couch before getting up and doing it all over again.

We love our little kitten so much! We would like to thank my Mother for finding him, Barb for caring for him, and my Father for making sure he had everything he needed before delivering him to our home.

Customary Controversy

The New York Times reported today on State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. and his powerful stance against gay marriage. Mr. Diaz is an African American Democratic Pentacostal minister in Albany who strongly opposes a vote that, if passed, would allow gay people to marry in the state of New York. Mr. Diaz is quoted in the article as saying, “The people of the nation don’t want gay marriage.” He even sued the city for opening a high school for gay and transgender students.
I am not a gay person but I feel that they should have the same rights the rest of us do, which includes getting married. The nation has tried to please all sides by providing rights to domestic partners which includes those who have lived together for a certain amount of time but to me that is not enough. I understand that others’ religions and backgrounds have given them strong opinions against homosexuality but let me ask you, what affect would allowing gay people to marry have on straight people? Think about it! Would you have less rights? Less money? Less anything? No.
I have always felt that gay people have a right to be married and have never been one to speak up about it, but this article reminds me of important events such as the civil rights movement. Even further back it stirs a reminder in me that not so long ago women were not allowed to vote. How can we say that we have made progress in equality when we still deny others rights that would have no affect on us?
This isn’t to say Mr. Diaz hasn’t done many important things in his career but we are supposed to have a separation of church and state in this country. Mr. Diaz consistently raises arguments due to the values of his religion. Wars have been fought over religion and will continue to be fought over religion, but denying others human rights over it is blind, unfair, and dated. America has not evolved as we would like to think and we are persecuting others for doing something that we carry out ourselves.

Autumn Explosion

The colors swirl and spin around me everyday. I am able to breath them in as I tilt my face towards the sky. The sun is out but the air is still so cold it stings slightly as it enters my lungs. It has been a beautiful Autumn.

Sadly I have many other obligations that don't allow for much photo time. I have had quite a few gigs this fall. Senior photos, advertising, etc. Unfortunately I don't have the time to take photos that I want to take. Luckily I have accepted that while I adore Autumn, school must always be number one priority. Work is number two. Both are privileges in these trying times.

School is going well. Work is even better. Although every person around me seems to be going through a major life change or a difficult time. It has proven tricky to not take on others problems while still being there for them.

The best news is always saved for last: Jason and I are getting a kitten! My mother found him wandering around outside of her car and they were hoping to find a home for him but that has been unsuccessful. Jason doesn't want to take another kitten to Greenhill(we surrendered one down there that someone had abandoned), and he is in good shape so we will be adopting him!

I am guessing he is about eight weeks old. He is gray with a white spot on his chest and white feet. He has bright green eyes and he is very playful. The difficult part now is getting all of the supplies before he gets here. Then we will have to have him neutered and given all of his shots. I have had so many people helping me sort all of this out including Cathy and Rodney Little who offered to give him the shots and my parents who offered to help pay for some of the expenses and have already bought him a cat carrier.

I want to thank everyone and ask if you have any bits of advice for having a new pet in your home. Training, routines, etc. Also if anyone has any extra cat supplies and is in my area give me a holler. Thanks everyone and I hope you are all doing as well as me.

His name is Ickis:)