There’s a petition that’s been making its way around our western Colorado community this week. You see, school started on August 4th — between 2 and 3 weeks earlier than it has in years past.
And as you might guess, most families are not happy with this change.
Being an online petition at Change.org, it’s fascinating to read the comments. “Bring back summer,” reads one. “Don’t take away vacation and family time,” reads another.
The Vacation Equality Project (#VacationEquality)
So I was pretty much primed for petitions, when the next one, a national petition in favor of vacation hit my virtual desktop yesterday. Created by the Vacation Equality Project, this petition calls on the President and Congress to support guaranteed paid vacation days for all Americans.
As it currently stands, the US is the only economically advanced country that does not guarantee paid vacation days. Our system of employer-based vacation benefits works pretty well for 75% of Americans, but one in four working people, about 28 million, don’t get any paid vacation.
And the Vacation Equality Project thinks that’s wrong. It’s not just that some people can’t go on vacation, but they can’t even take time off to watch a child’s Little League game.
When I think about it this way, it seems wrong to me, too.
The Vacation Equality Project is sponsored by the travel and tourism industry and Hotels.com created the promotional video. Clearly, these people have an economic interest in more vacation days. But then, really, almost everything that our government does has an economic interest lurking in the background somewhere. So why not promote vacations?
If you’re interested, check out this amazing 2 minute video of sandcastle art. The creativity alone may spur you to sign the petition. And why not? It’s probably a conversation worth having…when the Congress and President come back from their vacations.
PS: The signing deadline is August 15th.
Get Your Snow Stoke On!
Whether you’re on vacation or not, hot August days are a good time to take an afternoon and watch a movie.
During the summer of 2011, I must have been really focused on movies, because I wrote two posts about them.
The first, Ski Movies Make You A Better Skier, gave my summertime picks for virtual training on the couch. While the listed films are now 3 seasons old, there’s always a new crop to enjoy.
And, not only will the steep ‘n’ deep shots inspire you, but I think watching the world’s best skiers has an “imprint” factor.
Picture them. Picture you. Then merge those pictures together next time you’re feeling a bit trepidatious at the top of a run. It works, I tell ya!
The second post, The Nine Best Ski Movies of All Time, starts with 1969’s Downhill Racer and ends with 1988’s The Blizzard of Aaahs. The titles in between range from familiar (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977) to obscure (Deep and Light, 1949). I still haven’t seen them all, but I’m trying!
Two films that I’ve discovered that aren’t on this list include Charade, an entertaining 1963 caper film with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant that starts at a tony Swiss resort during skiing’s long-lost glamor days and Spellbound, a 1945 Alfred Hitchcock film that really isn’t very good, but does feature a laughable ski scene in which Ingrid Bergman “skis” the easily identifiable slopes of Alta, Utah.
It’s so bad, it’s fantastic.
Of course, there’s really no reason to turn to Netflix or Redbox when you’re in the mood to watch skiing. The internet has plenty of sites and endless videos, both good and bad. Currently, our favorite site is Unofficial Networks, a partner of USATODAY Lifestyle/Action Sports, with everything from blog posts to video.
Here’s my favorite video from today’s offerings.
Your jaw will drop and it will blow your mind…in just over 3 minutes.
Enjoy!
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