This is an article I read on Yahoo. Since we are all in college trying to educate ourselves to get a job and go out into this struggling economy, maybe we should know how it is out there.
"If you still have a job, maybe Friday's numbers from the Labor Department will give you a chance to exhale.
Since the recession began in December 2007, the employment market, for the most part, has been one negative headline after another. Now, we've learned that the U.S. lost only 11,000 jobs in November, that the unemployment rate surprisingly ticked down from 10.2% the previous month to only 10%, and that for the prior two months the total of jobs lost actually wasn't as bad as initially thought.
The last time the data were so bright, if they can be called that, was in December 2007, when the economy added 120,000 jobs. Yet despite pockets of optimism on Wall Street following the latest reading, the truth is that for many workers in America, these are dark days.
As of now, more than 15 million people around the country remain out of luck. Beyond the 10% headline number in joblessness, the situation is actually worse. Factoring in people who have stopped looking for work and those in part-time positions who want a full-time job, the "underemployment" rate is 17.2%. In fairness, that was down from 17.5% in October, but it remains a daunting swath of the U.S. workforce struggling to make ends meet.
Consider that the jobless rate in the El Centro, Calif., metro area is at 30%, the worst in the nation. Shockingly, it was even uglier just a couple of months ago. Though that area is used to higher-than-average joblessness, the problem has been exacerbated by the steep falloff in the region's real estate markets.
An improvement? Yes, but a mild one that still means close to one-third of eligible workers in the area continues to wait for better days. CNNMoney.com quoted one local business owner, Jim Duggins, as saying "our economy is the worst I have ever seen it and it doesn't seem to be recovering." Duggins, who owns a construction company, has already eliminated more than 80% of his workers and has 22 left. More cuts, he indicated, could be coming.
In a much-better known American town, Detroit, the jobless rate was above 17% in September as the auto industry retrenched sharply. That's nearly double the rate of the year earlier.
How bad are things in the Motor City? Foreclosures have been rampant. You could buy a home for $6,900.
The New York Times notes that the number of workers around the country dealing with what is termed long-term unemployment, that is, the inability to find work for at least 27 weeks, has been hovering at an all-time high, tallying 5.6 million people in October. One such individual is Kathy Henry, a 39-year-old Chicago resident who lost her administrative assistant position two years ago. In the time since, she has sent applications to no fewer than 500 jobs.
"It’s a constant cycle," she told the Times. "I’ve applied everywhere, from big corporations to minute corporations, and I don't even get an e-mail back. I'm worried people see me as old and out of touch and decrepit."
There's no doubt the pain has been widespread, and it's even been evidenced in one of the most sacred traditions of childhood -- the visit from the Tooth Fairy. In March, granted that was before the stock market started its rally, WebMD said that children could expect to receive an average of $1.88 for each tooth they left under their pillow, down from $2.09 in 2008. When parents are forced to cut the payouts to their kids by two dimes and a penny, that's saying something.
President Obama and other leaders in Washington say they want to brighten the landscape that's been bleak for too long. Unfortunately, this is another problem they have to solve at the same time they're dealing with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the health care debate and the deficits. Perhaps on at least one level government can be part of the solution -- the Census Bureau appears poised to hire in the neighborhood of 1 million temporary workers to conduct its resident surveys in 2010.
The views on the future, naturally, are varied.
"I wouldn't say that we're totally out of the woods yet because the number of unemployed is still high," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told Reuters Television. "It's very, very high and it's unacceptable, and we need to continue our efforts to focus in on job creation."
John Mauldin of Millennium Wave Investments is optimistic about the longer term, but for now he's planning for a "double-dip" recession. "It's going to be a slow-growth, high-unemployment environment, I think, for quite some time. It's not going to be fun," he said in an interview with Henry Blodget.
Meanwhile, First Trust's Brian Wesbury is in the upbeat camp, arguing that for Main Street, the recovery is "already on its way."
He told Tech Ticker: "It's like the flu. You know, on the third or fourth day of the flu, you are getting better. Even though you don't feel like it." "
(yahoo.com)
Friday, December 4, 2009
...What I Am
Light lies within the
Dark crevices behind my eyes
To embrace my darkness
Is to swallow my light
My mystery illuminates my being
And makes my presence
Real
Defined
I am...
Dark crevices behind my eyes
To embrace my darkness
Is to swallow my light
My mystery illuminates my being
And makes my presence
Real
Defined
I am...
Poetic Justice
It is summer but yet the world's cold
If you are a pregnant 15-year old
She was sweet, quiet as a mouse
But when her parents found out, she was kicked out the house
Now her boyfriend's upset, furious and mad
Because he found out he's gonna be a dad
Now he's walking around the world with a frown
Then he says the baby isn't his, and then he skips town
So she turns to the church seeking what to do
But the pastor says "we don't help sinners like you"
She has so many questions and not enough answers
Bad news keeps coming, her grandma died because of cancer
Feeling abandon and no one to show her love
She turns to a life filled with drugs
Cocaine, PCP, Heroine… yeah she developed a habit
I think it is an understatement to call her an addict
She loved getting high, it would put her in a daze
She started sharing needles, so now she has AIDS
This girl would get high to laugh away her pain it would seem
But I don't find the humor at dying at 15
The doctors did their best, they did all they could do
But there was no hope, the baby died too
Now this isn't a story about Mary Ann or Suzie Q
This is about a Negro girl that looks just like you
This poem isn't made to make you mad but to make you think
This is poetic juice for your mind to drink
If you see this girl drowning, help her before she sinks...
by: Ambrose; TN
If you are a pregnant 15-year old
She was sweet, quiet as a mouse
But when her parents found out, she was kicked out the house
Now her boyfriend's upset, furious and mad
Because he found out he's gonna be a dad
Now he's walking around the world with a frown
Then he says the baby isn't his, and then he skips town
So she turns to the church seeking what to do
But the pastor says "we don't help sinners like you"
She has so many questions and not enough answers
Bad news keeps coming, her grandma died because of cancer
Feeling abandon and no one to show her love
She turns to a life filled with drugs
Cocaine, PCP, Heroine… yeah she developed a habit
I think it is an understatement to call her an addict
She loved getting high, it would put her in a daze
She started sharing needles, so now she has AIDS
This girl would get high to laugh away her pain it would seem
But I don't find the humor at dying at 15
The doctors did their best, they did all they could do
But there was no hope, the baby died too
Now this isn't a story about Mary Ann or Suzie Q
This is about a Negro girl that looks just like you
This poem isn't made to make you mad but to make you think
This is poetic juice for your mind to drink
If you see this girl drowning, help her before she sinks...
by: Ambrose; TN
Window
When I look outside the window,
by happenstance I notice it 's raining
almost as if the world around me notices
the gray skies that compromise the here
and there we have between us,
floating away with the promising day
when your eyes open to a void
and my heart soars to yours...
only to be pushed away by the fickle winds
that change the course of our emotional
walls once again it seems that you've lost
yourself to essence of who I am;
however, I still see the slits of sunshine
moving through these clouds that stay,
reminding myself with the gentlest
whispers of your voice hidden
within the wind that I am yours,
and equivocally the same holds true
in the heart you wish didn't beat a name,
didn't see a face, and time and time again
I wait for the world to say hey, “you're ok,”
but those are dreams for another day...
sometimes the rain smears against the window
and yet, I still breathe the moments when you
could want to exist beside me,
rather than against me...
but I'll stand beside you,
because sometimes love comes up inside you,
get behind you, and you know the rest of the song
you helped write in my heart,
heard or learned from another beat outside;
I'm patiently waiting for the day you “say ok.”
by: Merciful Dark Heart; TN.
by happenstance I notice it 's raining
almost as if the world around me notices
the gray skies that compromise the here
and there we have between us,
floating away with the promising day
when your eyes open to a void
and my heart soars to yours...
only to be pushed away by the fickle winds
that change the course of our emotional
walls once again it seems that you've lost
yourself to essence of who I am;
however, I still see the slits of sunshine
moving through these clouds that stay,
reminding myself with the gentlest
whispers of your voice hidden
within the wind that I am yours,
and equivocally the same holds true
in the heart you wish didn't beat a name,
didn't see a face, and time and time again
I wait for the world to say hey, “you're ok,”
but those are dreams for another day...
sometimes the rain smears against the window
and yet, I still breathe the moments when you
could want to exist beside me,
rather than against me...
but I'll stand beside you,
because sometimes love comes up inside you,
get behind you, and you know the rest of the song
you helped write in my heart,
heard or learned from another beat outside;
I'm patiently waiting for the day you “say ok.”
by: Merciful Dark Heart; TN.
Between the Hollows
In between the crevices of my-
Disillusion, is the stored
Surplus of my indecision
That contributes
To this seemingly impenetrable
Lost state- that I wander in.
This cold fog that forms an
Unyielding maze keeps me
Trapped INside and tricks,
My body into believing I am-
Floating in a warmth of life
When in all actuality
I am not
Living but
Existing, my
Decision (and choices)
Have been robbed of
Merit
My creations-raped
Of superb grandeur,
My eyes- stripped
Of their natural shine,
And my innocence- hides
Behind strong cobwebs
Fabricated from its blatant annual
Neglect.
My body shifts
Into the earths realm
And remains visible
But its substance Hollows
Symbolizing that it projects-nothing
And Stands
for a cause as lost as the soul that wanders
in the chilled fog
of oblivion.
Disillusion, is the stored
Surplus of my indecision
That contributes
To this seemingly impenetrable
Lost state- that I wander in.
This cold fog that forms an
Unyielding maze keeps me
Trapped INside and tricks,
My body into believing I am-
Floating in a warmth of life
When in all actuality
I am not
Living but
Existing, my
Decision (and choices)
Have been robbed of
Merit
My creations-raped
Of superb grandeur,
My eyes- stripped
Of their natural shine,
And my innocence- hides
Behind strong cobwebs
Fabricated from its blatant annual
Neglect.
My body shifts
Into the earths realm
And remains visible
But its substance Hollows
Symbolizing that it projects-nothing
And Stands
for a cause as lost as the soul that wanders
in the chilled fog
of oblivion.
Barbie Doll
In English for our In Class Writing we were given a poem to read entitled Barbie Doll by Margie Piercy. This poem really bothered me and once i read it I coundlnt help but be bombarded and angered, disgusted, then empathetic, reminiscent, and then contemplative, and bewildered at how a doll, a plastic doll can have so much power over a society, a nation, the world. We had a big discussion on this in class which took up the whole class period and i just want to see what other people had to say. I feel it is a major issue in society.
This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.
She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.
She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.
In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending.
This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.
She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.
She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.
In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending.
Spirit
Spirit
flowing from the figer tips
transferring pain, joy, sorrow,
all emotions of the inner being
into the voice: the soul’s declaration to the world.
Voice; demands your acquaintance,
Is made
Known through its lyrical, rhythmic statement,
“Here Me Now!”.
As some friends and I sat in the Union listening to two pianoists imprint their personalities in the keys, stain the shared piano with their story, I closed my eyes and drifted away from my body, from my seat, from the first floor of the WPU,…from Pitt. I traveled into the music and began to listen isnide the notes. I pried through the song and became one with its meaning. The melodic repititions further engrained it into my memory, connecting me with the song, the keys, the players. This is the power of music.
Amidst all the choas, on offspring of the G20 summitt, which circumscribed our campus: the invasion/intrusion/overpopulation of the police, the protests, the riots, arrests that fueled a hollow bomb, music still managed to serve as an outlet. My friends and I were able to escape, for a little while, into a realm of peace.
Hidden beneath, in between, the rising of pitch, and the increasing volume is the tone.
The softer the volume the closer on comes to envisioning the song in a dream, listening to the whisper of the keys.
The whisper…
The whispering of the keys…
Adds to the loudness of Music’s history.
Music brings us all together. It has done so in the past, is still doing so in the present, and will continue in the futur. A perfect demonstration of the full extent of Music’s unifying powers was made paramount when the whole world (black, white, red, yellow, brown) mourned the death and celebrated the life of Michael Jackson. His music touched people of all ethnicities, cultures, religions, and beliefs. To illustrate this further, I was taught the Thriller dance by my white, republican friend from Philadelphia. Through music, the complexions are disregarded, all is forgotten and we just emerse ourselves in the song.
the pianoists got up to leave, the music stopped, and me and my friends drifted back into reality. I could stll hear the song resonating in me ears, the story, the spirit. I asked on of the pianoists, Reggie Wilkins, what music meant to him, he responded “Music is my life. An expression of who I am. One of the most powerful things on earth. It’s a universal language, an extension of my personality”. He couldn’t have been more correct as another Pitt pianoists put it, “[music] is an oppurtunity to escape through melodies and rhythms”. That is the power, the beauty, of music.
flowing from the figer tips
transferring pain, joy, sorrow,
all emotions of the inner being
into the voice: the soul’s declaration to the world.
Voice; demands your acquaintance,
Is made
Known through its lyrical, rhythmic statement,
“Here Me Now!”.
As some friends and I sat in the Union listening to two pianoists imprint their personalities in the keys, stain the shared piano with their story, I closed my eyes and drifted away from my body, from my seat, from the first floor of the WPU,…from Pitt. I traveled into the music and began to listen isnide the notes. I pried through the song and became one with its meaning. The melodic repititions further engrained it into my memory, connecting me with the song, the keys, the players. This is the power of music.
Amidst all the choas, on offspring of the G20 summitt, which circumscribed our campus: the invasion/intrusion/overpopulation of the police, the protests, the riots, arrests that fueled a hollow bomb, music still managed to serve as an outlet. My friends and I were able to escape, for a little while, into a realm of peace.
Hidden beneath, in between, the rising of pitch, and the increasing volume is the tone.
The softer the volume the closer on comes to envisioning the song in a dream, listening to the whisper of the keys.
The whisper…
The whispering of the keys…
Adds to the loudness of Music’s history.
Music brings us all together. It has done so in the past, is still doing so in the present, and will continue in the futur. A perfect demonstration of the full extent of Music’s unifying powers was made paramount when the whole world (black, white, red, yellow, brown) mourned the death and celebrated the life of Michael Jackson. His music touched people of all ethnicities, cultures, religions, and beliefs. To illustrate this further, I was taught the Thriller dance by my white, republican friend from Philadelphia. Through music, the complexions are disregarded, all is forgotten and we just emerse ourselves in the song.
the pianoists got up to leave, the music stopped, and me and my friends drifted back into reality. I could stll hear the song resonating in me ears, the story, the spirit. I asked on of the pianoists, Reggie Wilkins, what music meant to him, he responded “Music is my life. An expression of who I am. One of the most powerful things on earth. It’s a universal language, an extension of my personality”. He couldn’t have been more correct as another Pitt pianoists put it, “[music] is an oppurtunity to escape through melodies and rhythms”. That is the power, the beauty, of music.
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