,/ Vida de Palabras—A Vegan Editor's Life of Words: Animal Rights @ Change.org has launched!

[+/-]What is the meaning behind "Vida de Palabras"? Click here to expand.

What does "vida de palabras" mean? "Life of words" is the literal translation, but the meaning for this editor and writer is more complex. A few years ago, when I needed to choose a domain name for a new e-mail address, the phrase "vida de palabras" and the ideas I associate with the phrase kept surfacing in my mind. So I decided to go with it, both for my e-mail address and for the title of this blog. And as for my use of Spanish, it is a beautiful language that I adore, a language into which I occasionally meander during conversation, writing, and—obviously—thought.

"Vida de palabras" holds for me two meanings. It is an acknowledgment of my own life—a life about words, words written, read, said, and heard; a life composed of, consumed by, dictated by words; a life in which words have had the capacity to excite me, elate me, and bring me hope and to break me, anger me, and bring me sorrow. And it is an allusion to the life that words themselves take on. Words can dance and float. They can slither and stomp. And when they combine with one another to move from the lips or pen of one person to the ears or eyes of another, they can cut, mend, widen, narrow, create, and destroy. Words rarely die, and even those that do still boast lives that spanned centuries. They are incredible little beings that we disregard too easily, that we misuse too carelessly, that we fail to respect for their histories, their longevity, and their capacity to change minds and worlds and to affect so deeply when they are combined in just-right form.

To e-mail me, please use this contact form.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Animal Rights @ Change.org has launched!

Earlier this week, my animal rights blog at Change.org launched, along with the new and improved version of Change.org. Woo-hoo! Once you see the massive amount of content there, you'll understand that personal dramas aren't the only reason I've been absent here lately. I've been busy writing! Please take some time (you may have to spread it out over a few sittings) to wander through the site and let me know what you think. In addition to flipping through the pages of the blog, you can take a look at the About page, which includes an animal rights primer (not featured as a post anywhere else on the blog) as well as a list and brief summary of background posts on various issues (not all of the blog posts are listed here--just some important background pieces).

Other issues featured on the site are global warming, fair trade, genocide, humanitarian relief, gay rights, women's rights, peace in the Middle East, homelessness, social entrepreneurship, criminal justice, human rights, and immigration. And each issue is being covered by a smart, dedicated, experienced, and all-around fantastic blogger/guide.

Join the site (it's easy and painless) so that you can comment on the various blogs, donate and raise funds for nonprofits directly on the site, post and commit to "actions," network with others in the AR community and the communities for other causes you support, and more.

What the new Change.org blog means for this blog is that most of my animal rights posts will now appear on Change.org (except for when I feel a need to rant and curse to a degree that would not be appropriate for Change.org ;) ), and I'll be providing daily or almost daily links to them here. And I'll keep writing about other things in this space as well.

I should be back to updating Mabel's much-neglected blog in the next few days too; I'll keep you posted.

Posted by Stephanie E. at 9:07 AM

Labels: , , ,

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)