Pantherball 2008

Before I give this blog post over to Kevin Saiki - the creator and lover of Pantherball - I wanted to call attention to this photographed image of our very own, David Cutter. Before you let little children see this photo, I want you to be advised....this picture of David is like something out of the Xfiles. All we can do to explain it and describe it is to say that Cutter was giving 174% to this game, he was intense, he was screamin, he was going nuts. His team won the championship - and perhaps it was because Cutter morphed into the alien bounty hunter who's sole purpose for existence was to defeat the opposing team - check this out!!

Thanks Matt, that was great.

In considering this post, I have to ask myself: What is Pantherball? I mean, what is its essence? What does it represent? What does it do?

Pantherball does everything you can imagine. It gives you an outlet for raging frustrations with either all the papers you have had to write, all the times you've wanted to bash your friend, and all the times you went to the Nutella jar and found that once again, someone had taken the last scoops before you could get to them. It gives you exercise, which modern society tells us is going to make you live longer and better. It gives you insight into the parts of your friends you've never seen before (e.g. Cutter in the picture above). It teaches you patience as the ref (me) calls ridiculous calls. It teaches you that perhaps you are more violent than you thought you were (Sara punched Matt and received a "ten second on the couch" penalty), and thus, you begin a short night-long journey on a path of rapid self-discovery. But most of all, Patherball brings the people together.

I cannot and will not take complete credit for the idea of Pantherball. I learned about Pantherball from a friend of a friend while I was in University. His name was Josh and he was studying at Cal Poly SLO. That's about all I can say about origins.

But what I will say now is that Pantherball has evolved and will continue to evolve. It is no pointless activity, but it is the product of hours of long and arduous thinking about Community and how to bring everyone together. If we were all pieces of dirt lying on the floor, scattered about the room, Pantherball is the stiff whiskered push broom that suddenly pushes us all together into the dustpan.

Meet the teams. Then meet Brett, who wins the award for My Outrageous.
Top: Spanktops
Next: Panthermals
Next: Monkey Brains (Spring 2008 Champs)
Bottom:PawPurrs

Brett, hands down, wins best costume. Who has ever made a newspaper jock strap? Who has ever made a cardboard helmet, plastic bag tank-top, and wore what look to be business socks in Pantherball? No one has, that's why Brett is the best. Also, he was fierce. Also, he had to bite the cardboard helmet to keep it in place.

Some Pantherball highlights - CCSP's big game

Highlights of this pantherball video:

• Cutter yelling, "174 percent!!!!"
• Kevin getting caught by the camera singing to the chorus of Mariah Carey's song, "Touch my Body"
• Emma making incredible saves left and right
• Julie squealing
• Michelle owning
• Sara punching Matt after a goal and getting 10 second penalty on the couch
• Christy hanging
  

Just walking to the mailbox

I know full well that this is not my personal blog. But since I've got the password to this account, and I'm partly responsible for filling all of you in as to what goes on here during the day - I thought I'd share a quick little mish mash of words, an offering I suppose of things I encountered on my walk today to the mailbox at the end of our long driveway:

The rains have been HEAVY this past week. The waters of Oratia stream have been out of their banks and swollen with all sorts of organic matter. I wonder what the eels and freshwater shrimp do when the waters run so quickly. But, since summer is shedding and autumn is unwrapping itself around here (which means heavy rains) - I've needed to be diligent in spending as much time out- of- doors, as I can. So, down the hill I walked, past the old Catholic chapel, stepping over sharp needles of Scottish Gorse, letter in hand - I felt my head tingling from the cool air (or was it the nip of the peppermint oil soap I used to wash my hair with...yes dad...I washed my hair!) The leaves were swift, riding the currents of a low breeze past my feet - being tossed in a swirl of the wind, it was wonderful. The birds were even more swift - as fantails, blackbirds, Eastern Rosella's, Song Thrush's, Ring Necked Pheasants, and even a dinosaur looking Pukeko all were full of movement and made me tingle with delight (or maybe that was the peppermint soap again) and made think twice about holding my letter tightly, because I could have easily dropped it onto the soggy ground being so aloof with pleasure.

I dropped that letter in the box, something so simple, but so so so rewarding. Have you written a letter lately and put it in a mail box with your OWN HANDS ? Give it a shot sometime this week or next.

On my trot back - a little green friend made himself known to me - by hopping in front of my grassy feet and resting for quite a long time upon a maroonish colored leaf, which had gotten caught in the long grasses of our field. A small green tree frog, who I affectionately named "Meep Zorp" (for its alien looking legs) and then renamed "aidan" - just sat and rested, allowing me to watch him or her for quite some time. Look at that wonderful black stripe that continues through its eye - I wonder if that is some kind of defense mechanism to ward off potential predators.

I sat and got a soggy bum happily - this was one of the nicest encounters I'd ever had with a frog, and I was thankful for it - and for the chance to run and get my camera to take a few shots before "aidan" danced away.


So tonight we play "pantherball" a game dreamed up by the likes of Kevin Saiki - student life coordinator extraordinare - you can be sure of a post about it, and some pictures to boot. But before I go and get myself pumped for the game - I wanted to share this little puzzle piece from my day. A Morepork is calling just about 10 meters away from me right now. Julie just walked in with big goon smile - and the night is clear and cool.

Hot Cocoa? With milk? (rice, soy, or cow or even water buffalo)

Check out what we've been reading about the chocolate we so readily smush into our mouths.  

The problem:  Millions of cocoa and sugar farmers face economic ruin because the price paid for their crops is often less than their cost of production.  The volatile world price for these cash crops leaves growers facing a cycle of poverty and debt, and they are often forced to abandon production with no easy alternative means of income to support their families.  Low prices mean poverty and hunger for cocoa and sugar growers all over the world.  Forced labor practice

(child slavery) is also common within the cocoa industry.  

The solution:  Fairtrade is a way out of the poverty trap.  The extra income from the minimum price, as well as the premium paid to fund the development, means that cocoa and sugar growers have enough money to ensure their families are fed, their kids can go to school, and that their community has funds to invest in health, education, and environmental products.  Appropriate labor conditions prevent the use of forced labor. Through Fairtrade, rural communities around the world have been able to afford the basic necessities that allow them to survive and develop.  

Ressurection Cocoa, Flightless Coffee

Neither Kevin or I, want this CCSP blog to be an "overtly educational" one - rather just an informative resource for interested friends, families, and pals all around the blue/green globe to see what we CCSPer's are up to.  But, while we've got your attention this might be a nice chance to share about a few things that we care about here - issues that we are concerned with learning more about, and doing what we can to contribute to the evaporation of oppression and poverty the world over.  No one here is claiming we can "save the world,"  BUT as the weeks go by, and we sit in class and let ourselves be stirred up by what we are learning, and seeing, and experiencing, it becomes pretty clear that we can love people by how we use our money, by the items we buy, and by knowing where they come from.  And although we might need to do our homework a little bit and try to understand the bigger systems (economic, political) that we are a part of, making ethical choices with our purses is something that feels really good.  

Trade Aid is an organization here in New Zealand, (we've mentioned them before on our blog, I think) that seeks to give Third World producers a fair price, and thus a fair chance at supporting themselves and their families.  Though we are far removed geographically from coffee growers in Ethiopia, or Cocoa farmers in the rich basins of East Africa, or the Olive harvesters in Palestine - we can be close to them in our hearts and with our support.  

[Our support doesn't have to be limited to these big over the sea initiatives either, ya know!  We can empower local people as well, by buying produce that comes from people that live in your area, or purchasing meat for eating from a local (organic) butcher, or even just getting some of your apples from a local farmers market.  It doesn't have to be much, but at least you get to know the guy or gal that you are buying apples from.  Make a friend, eat an apple.  ]

Check out the feature film - 'Black Gold' a film about coffee production and the harsh economics that strangle far away farmers so that Americans and other Western folk can have their massive selection of gourmet coffees.

Late Easter, But I Promised

We never posted about our Easter celebration we had together a couple of weeks back. I'm bummed about it. It's worth it to go back in time and relive the...magic.

Matt and I decided we needed to help recreate some of the good times of Easter Sundays. The good times that seem to be common among us here of being pushed into stiff and starchy pastel colored shirts and dresses, and enduring an Easter Sunday service while we fantasized about finding that old golden egg that had the quarters inside of it. So instead of getting all kinds of plastic eggs, we reclaimed some of our recycling items, some random objects we found lying around campus, and we attached numbers to all the items. We then hid the items and released the energetic little students with the banging on a dinner pot. Almost all items were discovered, with the exception of the yellow squash I hid in the autumn leaves.

Numbers corresponded with prizes for all the participants. Some came to the prize table to claim pleasant little candies, but some ended up claiming envelopes full of weeds or piles of rocks (Matt even put hair in a plastic baggy and had that be a prize). Despite having some pretty terrible "prizes" to claim, it seemed like everyone was rapt with anticipation to see what they would receive. What a time! Except for Emma, who we think received all bad prizes, including a chocolate covered wad of toilet paper, some weeds, and a certificate for a tummy Zerbert from Brett, which she politely declined and passed on to me.

This was Christy's prize, which she certainly didn't let me forget. Her picture, posted on the blog, for all to see (and admire, she says).

Vienen

We've all returned. If it hadn't been raining for the last couple of days to keep us indoors, maybe we wouldn't have even noticed how short of a time we have left here with Spring semester 08. As it is, we are cooling our jets from the last week of travel, reorienting ourselves to being back on campus, and realizing we have a very short time left here together.

Students are back in class with Mick Duncan studying Sustainable Community Development for the second week. We got some class in the mornings and evening, with afternoons off. Ok, we got some nice rain. Ok, We even got some Panther Ball (what's that?) this Wednesday. And plenty of schoolwork to be done, I hear.

Autumn has fully settled in, and it is a nice time of the year here I reckon.

Most everyone headed down to the South Island for break, with a few of us spending most of our time seeing the sights in the North. If we can wrangle up some pictures from the students, we may get a blurb or two from them about their time, maybe have a few laughs about Emma putting herself into fetal position when stepping off the bungy tower in Queenstown or about Sara and Allie being attacked by Kea.

Community News:
Matt was treating his hand warts with garlic. I think it's been a few weeks and they are still around but smaller.
Mallory just bought some new shampoo and conditioner.
Allie rolled a Yahtzee today when we played.
Christy has been learning a song on the guitar.
Brett and Jen are studying.
That's all for now.

Note for the readers: You guys are great. Special shout-outs to Brett's parents and Cutter's Dad. Thanks for writing comments on the blog!