Monday, 11 February 2013

Nice Child Photo Contest photos

Crowds watching high-jump participants at the 2nd annual Summer Center Day at the JEC
child photo contest
Image by Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest
Kids from the JEC looked on along with neighborhood kids as participants leapt, threw and ran during sports contests staged at Center Days. The JEC was administered in three parts: one administrative group owned and operated the building; one oversaw the Hebrew School, and one took charge of the community activities program.

Date: 1939
Source: 25 cm x 20 cm
Format: Black and white original photo
Subject: Education; St. Paul--buildings; Jewish Educational Center; Children
Coverage: St. Paul; Ramsey; Minnesota; United States
Part of: St. Paul Jewish Community Center Collection
Local Identifier: S2D-1-3
Link to our record: http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/jhs,380

From the Steinfeldt Photography Collection of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.


2010 Operation Rising Star Final Night - 11
child photo contest
Image by familymwr
Click here to learn more.

(U.S. Army photo by Bill Bradner, FMWRC Public Affairs. Cleared for public release, not for commercial use, attribution requested)

www.armymwr.com

Army wife Gomez wins Operation Rising Star military singing contest

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC Public Affairs

FORT BELVOIR, Va. – Melissa Gomez, who left Soldiering to become a full-time Army wife and mother, won the 2010 Operation Rising Star military singing contest Nov. 19 at Wallace Theater.

Gomez, 29, of Fort Bragg, N.C., prevailed over runner-up Maj. Serelda Herbin, 34, of Fort Hood, Texas, and third-place finisher Senior Airman Joanell Jackson, 24, of Fort Polk, La.

“I thought for sure Serelda was going to win,” Gomez said.

Gomez, who works with a large Army Community Service group at Fort Bragg, had family supporters in her hometown, Philadelphia, and her father’s native Puerto Rico voting early and often in the contest based on the premises of FOX Television’s American Idol.

“ACS and Fort Bragg totally represented for me,” she said. “I didn’t think I had that many people on board, but last night I was getting lots of calls from people saying, ‘We’ve been voting ...’

“They were showing everybody the show.”

After Spc. Nicholas Davis of Grafenwoehr, Germany, (originally from Rockingham, N.C.) was eliminated, the Tar Heel State boarded the Gomez bandwagon.

“North Carolina, in general, was representing after Nick fell out,” Gomez said. “Some of his people said they just needed North Carolina to win.

“I had my church in Philadelphia, my family, my mother’s work, my family in Puerto Rico – they were all watching the show online and voting.”

Gomez joined the Army at age 17 and promptly married a Soldier. She served six years before leaving as a sergeant to become a full-time military mother.

“They kept deploying us separately and I had to keep sending my children to live with my mom,” Gomez explained. “I was in a really active MOS. It was mostly me who kept coming down on orders, so I had to decide to be a mom.”

A self-professed late bloomer, Gomez began singing around age 12. She also plays a few Latin percussion instruments. In 2004, she toured domestic military installations and Korea with USA Express, a stage band sponsored by Army Entertainment Division.

For winning Operation Rising Star, Gomez will record a three-song demo CD at Firehouse Recording Studios in Pasadena, Calif., paid for by the Army Family and MWR Command.

“I can’t wait! I can’t wait!” she said. “I’m mentally prepared for the worst and just hope for the best. I look forward to really, really working with Victor [Hurtado] and Joey [Beebe], two completely talented people that I know can make me sound amazing, and Miss [Debra] Byrd.

“That’s what I look forward to big-time.”

Lisa Pratt, the 2009 Operation Rising Star winner, gave Gomez some tips about what to expect during the whirlwind week in Hollywood, where the new champion hopes to unveil some ideas of her own.

“It feels like I’m going to get to represent spouses and veterans in a positive light,” Gomez said. “I want to focus on keeping it where it needs to be because we have a hard job. I’ve been through it nine months of the year without a husband.”

“Life goes on for us whether he’s here or not – and I’ve got to keep it rolling.”

Gomez rolled through Operation Rising Star Finals Week by singing “I Need You” and “How Do I Live” by LeeAnn Rimes, “Out Here on My Own” by Irene Cara, “I Ain’t Got Nothing” by Alicia Keys, and “Turn the Beat Around” by Gloria Estefan.

Herbin presented a strong challenge with “At Last” by Jennifer Holliday, “I Feel Like a Woman” by Shania Twain, “My Heart Will Go On,” by Celine Dion, “One Moment in Time” by Whitney Houston, and Holliday’s “I Am Changing,” which nearly brought the house down during the semifinals on Wednesday night.

“I think I just said to throw it on the stage,” Operation Rising Star judge Debra Byrd, a vocal coach for American Idol, said to Herbin after her performance of “I Am Changing.” “Well, ladies and gentlemen, she just threw down on the stage. I applaud you because you came here with the determination of song choice, song choice and song choice.

“From your last two performances, you kicked it up into high gear and put a hot sauce on it. I applaud you. I applaud you. Well done.”

The three finalists delivered an entertaining medley of Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” Keys’ “I Ain’t Got Nothing” and Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” during the semifinals on Wednesday night.

“You guys picked these songs to win and I don’t blame you,” Byrd said. “You want to get these biggie songs in. I applaud you for your effort. … I applaud you for the courage to pick these bombastic songs because that’s the mind of a winner – you want to pick the biggie.

“Whew, I know you’re glad that’s over with. I applaud you ladies.”

Second-place finisher Herbin said she was “content, happy and grateful for being here, but it is a competition and we knew the rules.”

“Hey, there can only be one,” she said with a teary-eyed smile and a laugh. “Overall, I had a great time.”

Third-place finisher Jackson, a last-minute substitute in the top 12, was content with the outcome and elated by the experience.

“I’m happy with the outcome,” she said. “I had fun. It was a great experience. Two weeks, 12 people, and now we’re family. I didn’t have that much time to advertise, but people really enjoyed my voice. I was really shocked that I made to the final round.

“I have accomplished what I need to accomplish to prove that I am a singer and that I enjoy singing and that I do have a talent.”


Jackson said she would love to continue entertaining troops.

“Maybe when I finish my mission at Fort Polk and I’m done with my military career, maybe do what Michael has done,” she said of Military Operation Rising Star judge Michael Peterson’s affinity for performing for troops. “I’ve been in Tops in Blue and being able to travel to encourage troops is a great opportunity – I would really love to do that.”

Serving in the Air Force with a husband in the Army, Jackson, who also serves as a mother of four, said someone needs to change careers.

“We’re in two different branches and we’ve been separated for awhile,” she explained. “I want to live with my husband. I miss him so much. I love the military, it’s a great thing, but I really do want to have my family near.”


Upright
child photo contest
Image by Jennifer Kumar
Country Insights India: City and Village Life

By: Jennifer Kumar

Want to know how the average person in India lives? What is it like to live in village India? How does living in the village or in the city create a unique way of life? David Cumming attempts to answer in his forty-eight page book, Country Insights India: City and Village Life, while providing an overview of India’s modern culture.
 
 
Through stories of life in the city of Bangalore (Karnataka state) and the village of Thrickodithanam (Kerala state), the reader gets a good impression of how an average person lives; their triumphs, their struggles, their opportunities and desires for change. The narrations are accompanied by vivid, colorful and realistic images of daily life of average people. The photos of average people quoted throughout the book are not models, they are everyday people doing everyday things- eating their dinners, walking barefoot to school and sweating in the heat. These images may not be glamorous, but provide a raw, tangible aspect to the book. This is real life, whether it is India or America or any other country- there are people of all kinds of backgrounds living different lifestyles and making their lives successful with the knowledge, skills and resources they have or aspire to have. This is one of the lessons I have learned from the book.

 
 

I really enjoyed reading the quotations accompanying the photos. People of all ages share some interesting aspect of their life in one or two sentences. The children’s perspectives are always so simple, sweet and bring a smile to my face. For example, Ashok says, “We have to wear a uniform, like all school children in India. I’m going to be in trouble because I’ve lost my tie.” (p. 31) More cute quotations are on pages 12, 25, and 38.
 
 
As India is so diverse and difficult to describe in kid-terms, I give kudos to the author for achieving this. Though the book reduced stereotypes by focusing on individual people and telling their stories, there are parts of the book that I felt could be improved.
 
 
Throughout the book, the terms ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ are used. It is true these descriptors have a grain of truth- but for whom? Why should, for instance slum dwellers or villagers be labeled as ‘poor’? Is this a label they created for themselves or the author has created for them? And to what is this compared to? It is true that many villagers and slum dwellers do not make a lot of money, but being a graduate of a social work program in India, I do not call these people ‘poor.’ In some ways the villagers and slum dwellers taught me an important lesson in prosperity. When visiting their homes, they had few food or drink items. It is also true they had little money. But, as it is considered puniya (good luck) to serve something to guests, they would do anything to offer us any food or drink item, preferably tea, with milk. Villagers would come together and pool ten or fifteen rupees (US .20-.30) to buy a packet of milk to feed tea to me and my friends. To me this is a wealth beyond financial definitions. Their spiritual, mental and emotional wealth helped them temporarily overcome any financial challenges they were facing. Impressive! A specific example of judgmental wording is seen in the photo descriptor on page 20. Next to a picture of a man in a village sitting next to his one room house made out of what appears to be scrap pieces of wood reads, “None of the people in this Colony have the money to build a good home.” In this sentence are two words I contest:  “none” and “good house”.  To illustrate my contention with these terms, I will share one more story. There was a person in a Chennai slum who wanted a new house. Their house would be a one room wood construction with mud walls. This person was so proud, happy and appreciative to provide a roof over the head of his family. He had been saving for months to have a new home. I met the builders of this house. They were happy to provide this service for this man and his family and were also happy to have a job so they could provide for their own families (see a picture of these construction workers here). It is true, if you put a person like me into that situation to live, I may feel lack or need, but the people who live in these situations may not feel this way at all.

 

I understand it is difficult to write any book, story or blog from a true non-judgmental or biased viewpoint. As humans we write from our viewpoint, which is inherently biased in someway. It is often the reader’s intuition and worldliness that inspires questions. This can be done as an adult, but can children always make this discrimination? Would children question the words ‘poor’ and ‘rich’ especially when coupled with powerful images (such as the man sitting next to his house)? This is important for parents to do when reading books and when sharing any type of media with their children. Because I believe it is a rare find to read or watch something truly unbiased with your children, rather than not share it, share the questions that come up in your mind as you read it with your children. Ask them what they think ‘poor’ and ‘rich’ means or any of these black or white descriptor words. Have a discussion with your children, see the world through their eyes and keep teaching each other about the world around you!
 
Have you read David Cumming’s book, Teens In India? Share your thoughts below.
 
Browse other reviewed items at the archive.
Thank you for reading. If you have ideas of products for me to review for this series, e-mail me.
 
Related Posts/Sites:

www.amazon.com/dp/0817247971?tag=alawavofsou-20&camp=...;
Photos of my Social Work Master's Program, Chennai, India 1999-2001
List of Hindu Holidays   
Interfaith India/America Calendar
 
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April08- Street Children's Photo Contest 1
child photo contest
Image by Vijay Bandari - Moved to other account
shot at my friends marraige :)


April08- Street Children's Photo Contest 2
child photo contest
Image by Vijay Bandari - Moved to other account
this kid is sitting in the window... & shot from a moving train (60KMPH) with my new VR 70-300mm lens..

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