soooooooooo..i think i will just let the man of few words, say a few things!

22 months old…we understand most of the time what he wants, and with few dialogue involved…

he barks like the dog and instantly learned the word ‘”yum yum” from Jordan the grey and uses it is the same context as jordan….when he wants food, sees food,  eating food!

Well so goes life and times in the circus…reason why i am the circus master!

smiles  : )

Memoria y Tolerancia (Memory and Tolerance) is a non-profit
organization with the mission to promote tolerance through
the historical remembrance of geocides (Holocaust, Armenia,
Guatemala, Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Darfur)
From its inception, Memoria y Tolerancia projected a museum
and educational center in Mexico City, keeping in mind that
the best tools for the creation of awareness are learning
and education.
I am working in a video called What is to be a jew? where
it is shown the diversity of jews.and I am interested in showing it in the museum.

For sure if ever down in Mexico City, we shall visit this museum.  I love this picture of Dan and Jake.  Dan being a first time daddy and the love and glow in this picture makes it a perfect moment to keep special.

Memoria y Tolerancia A.C.

Memoria y Tolerancia (Memory and Tolerance) was born in 1999 as a non-profit organization with the mission to promote tolerance through the historical remembrance of the Holocaust and other genocides. Memoria y Tolerancia believes that it is through the study of ethnic and racial genocides, the most horrific examples of intolerance, that we are better able to understand the inherent value of tolerance and justice.

From its inception, Memoria y Tolerancia projected a museum and educational center in Mexico City, keeping in mind that the best tools for the creation of awareness are learning and education. We began by giving lectures in various schools and universities; the response and interest of the young students encouraged us to build a museum, and gave us the will to share this knowledge with all Mexican society.

After many years of arduous work and relentless support from those who believed in this project, the museum will finally open its doors in one of the most important locations in Mexico City: Plaza Juárez, located in the historic downtown.

Why Mexico?

Mexico is a diverse country of approximately 100 million people. However, intolerance towards minorities is a rampant problem of our Mexican society. Social discrimination and exclusion are often associated and reinforced by socio-economic inequality.

Our museum creates a new opportunity to reflect upon the dangers of hatred, discrimination and indifference. Our museum communicates to a large audience the moral lessons derived from the Holocaust and other genocides, as well as the need for tolerance; that is, respect for human dignity and diversity. But our museum’s task does not end at creating conscience. It also encourages social action.

In 2000, Memoria y Tolerancia conducted a poll of 3,000 students in the National University (UNAM is the largest and a leading research and education public institution in Mexico). The poll shows alarming data regarding the students’ views on discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism. The poll also reveals a generalized lack of knowledge on the Holocaust. By opening our museum in Mexico, we have an unprecedented opportunity to position the study of the Holocaust among Mexican students.

Achievements

1. Museum’s location: The museum is under construction in one of the most significant places of Mexico City: Plaza Juárez, which is in the heart of Mexico City’s downtown. The museum shares this Plaza with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico and a building of Tribunals. Thousands of people (including both Mexicans and tourists) travel daily through this important city corridor.

2. Student Agreements:

a) Agreement with the Ministry of Education (Secretaría de Educación Pública – SEP): We agreed with the Ministry of Education to integrate a visit to our museum in the Official Activity Guide (Guía Oficial de Actividades). This guide refers to the visits that every student should make throughout his education (from pre-K to junior high).

b) Agreement with the National University (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México): We agreed with the Dean of the National University to include the museum as an educational tool on tolerance (including yearly visits to the museum).

3. Inter institutional agreements: We have sign agreements with different institutions such as:  UNHCR (The UN refugee agency), OUNHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), CONAPRED (Mexican agency to prevent discrimination), USHMM (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), KGMC (Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre), CDHDF (Federal District Human Rights Commission), UNAM (National University), among others.

5. Unique concept: We are in the process of creating a unique museum that brings together three themes: Holocaust, other genocides and tolerance (human rights, diversity, media, NGO´s, etc.). These three sections are conceptually linked.

The museum is also unique in that its objective is not only to inform the public but to bridge the gap between social conscience and social action. We plan to achieve this by creating a space at the end of the museum’s journey in which different non-profit organizations will have booths where visitors can get information and volunteer to work for the projects of their interest.

Mission

Our mission is to preserve, teach and promote in Mexican society, the history and meaning of the Holocaust and other ethnic genocides, as well as the importance of diversity and tolerance. We also warn the visitor of the dangers of hatred, anti-Semitism, discrimination, and indifference, in order to create awareness, responsibility and respect in every individual.

Objectives

• To make the visitor aware of the consequences of hatred, discrimination and intolerance.

• To promote the values of tolerance and respect.

• To stop oblivion from granting impunity to the atrocities committed by people.

• To remember the victims as a way of serving justice.

• To educate and create a conscious commitment towards the needs of the most vulnerable.

• To challenge the visitor in order to create introspection and a change in attitude.

• To promote reflection that will lead to social action.

• The museum seeks to give a new interpretation to the meaning of the word “tolerance” and its connotations.

Architectural project

The Memoria y Tolerancia Museum is an avant-garde building that profoundly respects its surroundings. Some of the premises on which this project was developed were: the achievement of a world-class structure, a design for individuals, a commitment to the environment, the development of technical and intelligent solutions, and the optimizing of resources.

The site has a total area of 17,000 square feet (1530 m2), with a height of 100 feet (30m) and 77,000 square feet (7196m2) of construction. The Museum will be developed in seven levels:

• Level 5 Introduction, Holocaust

• Level 4 Holocaust and other Genocides

• Level 3 Tolerance, Terrace

• Level 2 Educational Center, Library and Temporary Exhibits

• Level 1 Cafeteria, Administrative Area

• Ground Floor Main Lobby and Auditorium

• Underground Area for Children under 12 years old and Tolerance Work shops

JOURNEY THROUGH THE MUSEUM

An area of preparation will create a feeling of respect that will accompany the visitor throughout the journey. The importance and nature of the museum, and the visitor’s relationship with it will also be explored

The museum is divided into two important sections:

· Memory

· Tolerance

Memory

Half of the Museum’s vast area is focused on remembrance. One of the best tools to illustrate the value of tolerance is through the greatest examples of intolerance that humankind has witnessed: ethnic, racial and religious genocides.

By looking at history from a human point of view, we appreciate the unnecessary suffering and hatred that these atrocities have created. The most important goal is to transmit the belief that the world will begin to change the day we feel the other’s pain as our own.

This area is composed of an introduction and two main topics:

· Holocaust

· Other genocides

Holocaust

In order to illustrate the importance of tolerance to the visitors and to invite them to assume their responsibility in the constructive transformation of the world, we will present the Holocaust.

This genocide represents the destructive capability of individuals. In the Holocaust there was a combination of mass murder of innocents as an end and not as a means, and an extermination system that included dehumanization as one of its basic purposes.

One of the main goals of this area is to show the universal character of this terrible event, as a responsibility of humanity.

Other genocides

We witness innumerable events that prove that we have not learned the lesson. Words such as “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing” have become a part of our everyday language; the efforts to prevent these atrocities have not been enough.

We must learn from the past in order to build a road towards hope. These topics show that indifference can become an accomplice of the atrocities, since those who forget the past are bound to repeat it. Two different rooms will show the history and development of these genocides:

• Rwanda

•Former Yugoslavia (Srebrenica)

These other crimes and genocides will be shown in this area:

• Armenia

• Cambodia

• Guatemala

• Darfur

Tolerance

While intolerance has created dark consequences for humanity, tolerance has paved the way for freedom, justice and peace.

By linking memory to our life and teaching the counterpart of darkness, the tolerance area will introduce light and hope into the Museum’s journey.

Humanity exists because tolerance and non-violence have predominated. Nevertheless, even if humanity in its majority has tried to respect differences, we cannot blind ourselves to the acts of injustice, violence and social exclusion that today- as in the past- we still witness as a result of intolerance and indifference.

This section has a tour of 22 rooms deeply developed by experts in each topic and designed in a didactic way in order that the student learn and reflect about each of the topics.

Far from giving simplistic and dogmatic answers to the complex question of tolerance, this area will discuss concrete events motivated by tolerance and intolerance on global, national, social, and personal levels.

The tolerance area will build its narrative through questions. It will challenge norms and values that rule human interaction –both public and private- with the purpose of encouraging us to reflect upon the importance of searching for points of dialogue, agreement and respect among the diverse.

Additional Areas

Educational Center

This area will provide visitors with further information on topics related to the museum and will keep them updated through courses, seminars, lectures, and debates.

Temporary Exhibits

This space will be dynamic and adaptable; a space for national and international artists to exhibit their work.

Area for Children Under 12 Years Old

It is never too early to begin an education in tolerance: the task of promoting a more tolerant society must begin with the youngest ones. In this pedagogical area the subject matter of the museum will be transmitted through educational tools adapted to the visitor’s academic level.

Computer Lab and Library

A high-tech interactive room containing a specialized collection of the museum’s topics. This area will allow the visitor to complete his/her work by providing access to databases and/or the archives of similar centers around the world.

Auditorium

A space dedicated to culture, offering movies, theater, lectures, and music.

Reflection Area

This is an imposing space that will be recognized as the museum’s icon; it is a place for silence, where our visitors will be able to internalize the museum’s messages.

Someday, it would be nice to go here and see their entire exhibit, after all, Jake is Jewish and it is important for him to know what went on and understand.

smiles  : )

1. Pushed my computer stool to the coffee maker and took the carafe and dropped it on the floor — i had to mop! [apartment 2]
2. Took the concentrated laundry liquid, opened the container and systematically poured the liquid out, probably gleefully watching in amazement! [apartment 3]
3. Opened the back patio screen door, closed it behind him and we are looking for him, only to  think, maybe he is in the back yard, since, Rani the macaw said, “Hi!”
4. Goes into the garage and finds the door that leads him into the back yard —he is quickly retrieved and brought back in the house.
5. Tries again to go out to the back yard via the garage and finds dad has locked the door, so jake tries hard to pull it open and proceeds to tear the already torn screen.
6. Opens the refrigerator and finds his milk  cup and pours the milk out inside the refrigerator.
7. Is there a 7??? day is not over yet!

Bad? No, of course not… just checking dad’s email and getting rid of the junk ones!

hehee, how could i do anything wrong??? I have the face of pure innocence!  Do i stand correct?  Oh, this chair…oh, it is cuz dad leaves and turns it over so i do not have access to his desk!  However the other day, i did get on it when it was upside down!

So goes the life and times of lil jake the active!

dreamin’ of what i need to get into tomorrow!  Planning ahead!

mum needs a mop in both apartments!  I go and dream her a mop!

smiles   : ) still hot in the apartment, and jake is in the stroller…i can see him…he is not near anything to grab!

Okay, where’s Matt?  Who’s Matt? Check out the video!

Matt’s been around, but where is Matt now?

I found jake…but where is dad?

keep an eye on jake – where is dad?  (he is at the end of the book aisle)

where is kaley thinking of going?

where is jake going? (he got stuck)

where’s mum?  (agility day, mum is making sure when it is her time w/kc to be in the ring —rainy day, no need for anyone to be outside —other than in the ring for about, 50 seconds!)

where’s jake? where’s dad? found them both! dad found jake as usual, running towards the street!

no way going to lose jake!

no way gonna lose jake!  (notice the lil blue ring on the strap, keeps him in so he does not slip his arms out!)

just want to know, where is my ball?

wonder where matt is now?

smiles  : )  gotta go check and make sure everyone is where they should be!

sometimes she stands….runs alone being the wild one!!!!!!!

In agility we finally made it out of novice standard!  Out of about, 20 standard runs she made it on the table obstacle 3x!  Off and running in Open FAST (fifteen and send time) , Open standard, and wowowowow, Excellent JWW (jumps with weaves —- all AKC style.  Running in USDAA stuff in April!

Jake is the busy as ever lil kid!  No more play  pen, other than to store stuff in so he does not get it!  Hehehe, we do make all things useful around here! — even the baby gate he destroyed, became a cubicle screen (sheet protectors !

dad’s new cubicle gate! keep kaleycorgi and kid jake out! so far it works!

high…he gets into ‘trouble’….the box moved…he did it!  kaleycorgi saw it all happen!

low –he gets into ‘trouble’…. thought he was stuck…i only had to pick up the stool!

even finds himself in the crate! — no trouble here, he did it himself and got out himself!— all in fun!

park fun!

fun watching kaley corgi eat! –as long as no touching!

when he crashes, he crashes…night night jake!  new day tomorrow!  new adventures!

Got Milk!  Yes i did !  Smiles : )

smiles  : )  i promise —i try to not stay way so long

Yes, Jake Chow has his blog, but hey, someday he might be interested in reading just what all ‘he said’ back when he was  —  15 months old!!!!!!!!!!

when i am not snacking, i am writing on my blog sometimes!  good these bird pellets are —hmm, i see another one! (kaley gets the ones that fall  to the floor and jake goes in the pan to get the fallen ones  —- only means i have to be double fast to  catch jake in the act or  clean paper as fast as the bird plop falls!)

Well — news of what i have been up to go as follows —

I love dog agility with Kaley corgi and still train once a week.  Bought more agility stuff for the driveway – Agility is slowing down or way cold to do any camping out —ps, we did a few weeks ago and it was cold and rained a few hours…  we are rugged and more like CHEAP!

gee, i could use a full size tunnel on the driveway – or hmm, could i?  (hehe, who is saying this, me or her?)

Hey, the economy is really bad now, even if our new president-elect is Barak Obama!

So what else is new??? Jake is 15 months old, but you can always read his blog for his news. He walks and…… no talks, but is on a cup.  Three days of  super heavy duty drama king stuff  (he is not a queen!!)

So –getting ready for winter, tarping  all things up fresh  (tarps do not last more than one season).  and trying to  keep the house front clean and neat—not easy with a flock of parrots, a corgi and a 15 month old.

He gets to all things and soon rubber bands on doors will not suffice .  He carries cans of fruit throughout the house and it is not surprising to find the mandarin oranges in the bathroom.

Hey, he has been seen climbing out of his play pen too!  A sure surprise, for, suddenly he was in the kitchen…his play pen in the garage…….????

i be outta here in a few seconds!

ps, only reason i am writing this is the dear kid is sleeping…. i  know his nap schedule and he takes two naps, one at one pm one later in the early evening…he missed his  1 pm so he was wiped out at  6 pm and i always time my quiet time…i have two hrs minimum….it is only 8, so i am in the clear…he was really tired!

so goes news…boring, huh?

no matter— my day was good and  there is nothing like a good shower  (forget the bath thing, that is for dogs! — heheehe)

so until i have quiet time that is ‘spare time’ you can always find me on flickr!

smiles   : )

The video, jake escapes!

want to know what my life is about, it is all on flickr …and youtube!

and you can read all bout jake on his blog, but for the moment, i bet you know who writes it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agility with kaley corgi on many weekends, now doing the car camping thing.  Just taught her how to swim still doing obedience training.

mum taught me to swim, now i can do it all by myself!

mum and i love agility, we both get to run and mum gets to act silly and be legal about it —-and she is loud!

Daily writing on my www.sansanpups.com and keeping up with my social sites, like  Flickr and www.sansanpals.com , dogster, dog channel, club corgi, dogster style etc.

Time here has to be managed very efficiently, for there are the doctor appts, agility classes, paying the bills, getting the agility premiums off on time, cleaning all the parrot cages, training and bonding with the parrots……did i leave anything major out?

Each day i am glad and happy when some things have been caught up, and the dog has not ran off, and jake the baby still recognizes me as his mum! When the baby cries, yes, i have to stop almost all activity and for ever how long it takes for him to be happy and calm, is how long i am not doing all else that is important on my daily agenda!

and over here is my window to the outside!

hi, would you like to join me?

Life is busy here, and life is happy, and as long as i am alive, i intend to keep it all up….oh yes, gotta check the craigslist to see if there is a medium size pup to pass on to my client i pet sit for….now that would be a great joy and accomplishment —i can not let this get away….would love to pet sit, a dog i sorta chose, but do not have to take care of 24/7!!!!!!  ——ps, next year, i will look for our own new pup!  but not now, no time! hehehe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

smiles : ) ——okay, got this website of mine still in active running, now on to the next ‘thing to do.”

flickr pics the latest trial kaley and i was in to date

jake and bubbles video

cage door shut

food in cage

water in cage

no other birds missing

back gate shut

We had workers, working on our bathroom and they of course were in the apartment, but they are trustworthy.

I miss Merlot, for he would come with me in the hotel, but i chose to take two birds, Jordan the grey and  Roger the Senegal.  They each had their own crate and are pals.  Merlot, small and quiet would have been fine, but he has pals,  Chiquita the sun conure and Bobbers, the blue crowned conure.  He would not have been lonely!  I wish i had taken him.

my lil hand – some Merlot kid!

His last entry is here, on sansanparrots.

Kaley~corgi did not Q, or qualify in any of the 6 runs, Saturday or Sunday. I am not terribly disappointed, since we both have to be rather perfect in the ring!  However she refuses the table still, jumping on and then off and fraping around for  what seems to me to be forever, returning, jumping on and then off.  Sunday, i did get her on, she stayed, after running around, free corgi frap style, but still no Q.

gee, why did i not get to go with you this weekend?

sometimes we look soo good together!

and sometimes one of us looks rather funny! ———(Merlot, where did you go?)

well, see you later mum!

Jake got his usual bath, kaley~corgi spared her bath.  Jordan and Roger were fine in the hotel.

i like my bubble bath, my first ever —-here are my mum’s eyes, know she is sad cuz of Merlot —– and this is how sad she would look!

there is someone missing —– Merlot —–

yes, Merlot had this crate —– and it was on  one of his hotel stays with me —– long time ago.

I was indeed very tired at the end of both days, but a good nights sleep did wonders.  I just wished at this mornings bird count, Merlot was in the cage!

not only am i going to miss you Merlot, Chiquita will.  Birds are not just birds, not just different colors or breeds, they have pals, and families just like we do!

very sad smiles : ) 

flickr pics of the birdateers

my parrot pics galore— flickr style!

are we almost there?

  I have never been to the horse races  before and all was new to me.  I loved every minute of it and had the grand opportunity to enjoy much of it in the Turf Club. Just to go in is $15 and then you have to decide what you are going to eat, buffet or a la carte.  You have your own table, set up with a tiny tv, so you can see the races on the track and other races that day elsewhere.

full house for the afternoon

what a view!

I did place three bets, three different races, and  won one time, picking #8 to come in to “show” which means either 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd.  He came in first, too bad  I did not bet he would be 1st.  For a $2 bet, I won back, $3.80!  No, it did not make me a gambler! 

mum has the winning number——#8!

there is my winning horse, being led into the winners circle!  Chose #8, Chinese good luck number!

Learned there is different courses, grass and dirt, and there is a people ambulance that follows the race, along with a van, probably carrying a vet, and a man on the horse that is alert in case a horse runs wild!

a very good looking race horse! —-a winner?

—or is this a winner?

Before each race, they go to the paddock so bettors can check out the horse, and then right before the race, someone else rides alongside the jockey and horse, to calm the  horse down.  After the race, winner horse and jockey goes to the winners circle and last bit is horses are walked off so to not put the horse back in the stable still wet. 

I enjoyed the afternoon, taking pics along the wall and seeing beautiful horses, having a nice comfortable lunch with friends, and cheered for my horse to come in first.  The last race has long been run, and the news is that the race track will be torn down to make way for housing.  I wonder where all the race horses will go. 

Under construction in 1934 and to be torn down completely soon—-one last ditch effort for a few friends of bay meadows to show their support, at a community meeting, in October!

smiles  : ) 

bay meadows race track

THE BEARS AND I

Black bears typically have two cubs, rarely one or three. In 2007, in northern New Hampshire, a black bear sow gave birth to five healthy young. There were two or three reports of sows with as many as four cubs but five was, and is, extraordinary. I learned of them shortly after they emerged from their den and set myself a goal of photographing all five cubs with their mom, no matter how much time and effort was involved. I knew the trail they followed on a fairly regular basis, usually shortly before dark. After spending nearly four hours a day, seven days a week, for six weeks I had that once in a lifetime opportunity and photographed them in the shadows and dull lighting of the evening. Due to these conditions the photograph is a bit noisy as I had to use the equivalent of a very fast film speed on my digital camera. The print is properly focused and well exposed with all six bears posing as if they were in a studio for a family portrait.

okay kids, smile, we might make National Geographic!

I stayed in touch with other people who saw the bears during the summer and into the fall hunting season. All six bears continued to thrive. As time for hibernation approached, I found still more folks who had seen them and everything remained OK. I stayed away from the bears as I was concerned that they might become habituated to me, or to people in general, as approachable friends.  This could be dangerous for both man and animal. After Halloween I received no further reports and could only hope the bears survived until they hibernated.

This spring, before the snow disappeared, all six bears came out of their den and wandered the same familiar territory they trekked in the spring of 2007. I saw them before mid April and dreamed nightly of taking another family portrait, an improbable second once in a lifetime photograph. On April 25, 2008 I achieved my dream.

Hey, it’s that same photographer again —– you remember him, don’tcha?  Hey, go get mum!
When something as magical as this happens between man and animal Native Americans say,
“We have walked together in the shadow of a rainbow.”

And so it is with humility and great pleasure that I share these photos with you.

Sincerely, Tom Sears

smiles  : )