Dear Friend,

If you're receiving this letter, then you either are or have been a gifted student, a parent of a gifted student, or know or have known a gifted student at some point. No matter which of these categories you fall into, you probably know very well some of the trials and tribulations gifted students face, even in the best of schools. Many of you also probably know some of the extracurricular programs developed for gifted students within the schools, as well as some of the summer programs. Unfortunately, in this economy, many of these programs are drastically underfunded, many of the summer programs find themselves needing to cut corners wherever possible, and overall, the quality of education is not as high as we all might like it to be. While we cannot fix everything at once, we would urge you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to SPARC, the Summer Project for Academic Reach and Creativity. As a 501(c)3 organization, SPARC is aiming to create a summer enrichment program to serve gifted students not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. Our goal is to use charitable contributions to help us attain the best faculty and staff, as well as campus rental, all without having to be so expensive that it becomes difficult for most families that currently have gifted children, i.e, the ones who need it most, to afford it. Any and all contributions to add up, and will have the effect of improving not only the academics of the students, but helping to enrich the lives of all involved.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Rebecca Robare, President

Gil Cnaan, Vice President

SPARC INC 501 (C)3
111 N. 9th St #300
Philadelphia, PA 19107
http://www.SPARCSummer.org
becky@sparcsummer.org
gil@sparcsummer.org

Dear Friend,

If you're reading this letter, then you either are or have been a gifted student, a parent of a gifted student, or know or have known a gifted student at some point. No matter which of these categories you fall into, you probably know very well some of the trials and tribulations gifted students face, even in the best of schools. Many of you also probably know some of the extracurricular programs developed for gifted students within the schools, as well as some of the summer programs. Unfortunately, in this economy, many of these programs are drastically underfunded, many of the summer programs find themselves needing to cut corners wherever possible, and overall, the quality of education is not as high as we all might like it to be.

While we cannot fix everything at once, we would urge you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to SPARC, the Summer Project for Academic Reach and Creativity. As a 501(c)3 organization, SPARC is aiming to create a summer enrichment program to serve gifted students not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. Our goal is to use charitable contributions to help us attain the best faculty and staff, as well as campus rental, all without having to be so expensive that it becomes difficult for most families that currently have gifted children, i.e, the ones who need it most, to afford it. Any and all contributions to add up, and will have the effect of improving not only the academics of the students, but helping to enrich the lives of all involved.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Rebecca Robare, President

Gil Cnaan, Vice President

SPARC INC 501 (C)3
111 N. 9th St #300
Philadelphia, PA 19107
http://www.SPARCSummer.org
becky@sparcsummer.org
gil@sparcsummer.org

From this.

( Cut for people who don't want to read about someone praising Obama )

The Wicked Faire and Steampunk World's Fair teams will gather tonight to present Halloween in December: a benefit for Isaac Bonewits...and snow be damned! Tell your friends!

7 p.m., IHOP of Somerset, 900 Easton Avenue, Somerset, NJ, five dollars to get in, wear a costume if you'd like, bring candy for trick-or-treating if you want, but just come on out!! Pass it on!

(Let me go xpost this to wickedfaire..)

Okay. When I said I wanted to receive offers via email? I was thinking, say, a few times a month, possibly once a week. Not every other good-griefin' day.

Unsubscribe.

...probably the least-biggest-fan out of all Amanda Palmer fans.

But seriously, the new ukulele video? Props, Amanda. For that, you get props.

So right now, life has entered a new level of craptastic. But this post is not about that. It's about two other things. One is a really important event this Sunday, one is about academics.

1. Event: Halloween In December! (Because Dec 25=Oct 31?) So Isaac Bonewits, who's an awesome and talented author, speaker, and creator of religion, is fighting cancer. There's going to be an event for him at the IHOP of Somerset, NJ. http://www.wickedfaire.com/2010/halloween-in-December/ for details and the facebook event.

2. Academic: Forwarded from a good friend of mine:
For the last few years, I have been working at a research lab and I am now working on designing a learning experiment that will hopefully lead to helping people with aphasia (a language disorder people usually get as the result of a stroke or traumatic brain injury).

For this to happen, I need native English speakers between the ages of 30-80 to read the attached stories (Gil's note, please e-mail me or her for the stories, I'd be happy to share them) and rate them in terms of their emotionality. The specific instructions are in the attached document and please feel free to ask me any questions. If you could please take a few moments to complete it, it would be a tremendous help. If you don't meet the criteria but could pass it along to your friends and family who do, that would also be wonderful.

Again, the attached file has all of the instructions and the form to complete. You can fill it out on the computer and e-mail it back to me (my email is rachel.kamen@temple.edu).

...some reliable, reliable volunteer assistance for Wicked that will last all the way up 'til late February. Anyone out there want to help and not overwhelmed with other things?

..and for some reason haven't been told where it is, email me before 2:30 today, or text me, 'kay? : )

...about a "non-suggested" way for an author to respond to a negative review.

While I'm fascinated by the whole thing (it's at http://www.amazon.com/review/R1BA0D6J2GS59/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg1?ie=UTF8&cdPage=1&cdSort=oldest) - one part struck me particularly strongly.

Ridley says:
You're insane. Heads up.

No one owes you a living. Once you write a book for publication it's the reader's prerogative to like, dislike, recommend or warn people off the book. They don't need your permission to do so, and they owe your tender feelings nothing.

The purpose of Amazon's customer reviews is to help people shop. Honest evaluation is key for that to work.

Yes. Exactly. That's exactly the perspective I want to keep in mind about everything I do, too. Work for it, fight for it, make it be...and recognize that while, yes, some reviews might very well be frivolous, uninformed, biased, or wrong... you will often get the reviews you deserve, and if you don't like the reviews, do it better.

Hey all,

If anyone is able to get to the Borders in Bryn Mawr tomorrow between 11 am and 3 pm, we're doing some wrapping for SPARC, trying to raise money and spread the word.

Best,

~Gil

And of these things my days are made. Wicked really is created primarily through hundreds and thousands of individual interactions. I don't handle all of them - that would be insane - but I handle many, primarily through email.

Just got:

Just talked to Eric. One way or another, we'll have a gift basket for the
silent auction. Maybe one for the Wicked gifts too. ;-)

And by this news, my day's vastly brightened, just as emails like, "We have some trouble and need to either spend more money here, or do without so-and-so" make my day more full of things to turn around and challenge.

I like to get both--I like to work with as much as possible!--but emails like the first really make my day; every little plus, every little (and not so little!) piece of good news is vitally helpful to me.

So go ahead....make my day.

Halloween in December
The IHOP of Somerset - Starting at 7 p.m.
December 20, 2009
All proceeds go to benefit Isaac Bonewits

Please repost!