Do Gooding
As I've mentioned here before, I use a FEED bag to carry my groceries (and a few other random cloth bags, if I need them -- the FEED bag carries a crazy amount). The proceeds go to the UN's World Food Program and helps feed the school children of the world. Anyway, people always ask me about it at the market, which is nice because I feel like I (a) am helping the environment, (b) am spreading the word about the WPF, and (c) get to feel cozily self-congratulatory about both! Anyway, the WFP is doing something new that is also entertaining AND nicely procrastinatory. It's a simple vocabulary game, where for each word you correctly ID, 10 grains of rice are donated to the WFP. Because I am a word nerd, I am trying to get to vocab level 45, but it's not easy. I am also the person who will yelp, "none of these options are ENTIRELY CORRECT" on occasion, because, again: nerdy. Howsoever, it's a fun way to do some good whilst simultaneously sitting around and IMing people and watching TV -- my favorite kind!
Whee, that was fun. Got to 45 and 220 grains before I got juju wrong. Sad.
Posted by: Kate | October 28, 2007 at 04:03 PM
I keep hitting level 44 and then get stumped and drop back down. but I did manage to contribute over a thousand grains of rice - so that's at least a bowl or two, right?
Posted by: marissa | October 28, 2007 at 07:10 PM
I'm addicted -- I've donated over 5000 grains of rice! I also covet the FEED bag, but I'm still using my Product (Red) bag from the Gap (which I just hope was not made by children, sheesh). Maybe I should get a FEED bag.
Posted by: Mint Mogul | October 28, 2007 at 08:18 PM
Thank God I'm not the only one arguing with some of the answers.
Posted by: RandomRanter | October 29, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Fun fun! Got up to 46, then everything I answered after that was wrong. Yeah, I disagreed with some of the answers as well.
Posted by: mrhooks | October 29, 2007 at 12:31 PM
That is way too fun. Especially when I have things to do. But I feel free to justify it because it helps people. I disagreed with some answers as well. Humph.
Posted by: Meeks | October 29, 2007 at 01:20 PM
not directly related to this post...though you go with your do-gooding. i just noticed you're reading the historian. how amazing is it? i couldn't put it down.
Posted by: kt | October 29, 2007 at 03:58 PM
Yeah, it's great. I just finished it last night. So good -- and scary!
Posted by: Jessica | October 29, 2007 at 04:31 PM
completely addicted. made it to level 47 (!!!!), finally appreciated my rudimentary latin knowledge, realized that I know a lot of weird words immediately (when did I learn gloam meant twilight? and graymalkin meant elderly female cat?), and I've donated 4,000 grains of rice.
So. Addicted.
Posted by: margaret | October 30, 2007 at 09:32 PM
The latin helps me, too -- as do those old SAT trick of taking the works apart and figuring out which each part means, and, when stumped, go with your first instinct. I also have discovered that all my reading of historical novels has helped. I TOTALLY knew that, like, all the old-timey insult-y words.
I got to 47, too, for like ONE WORD and then I choked.
Posted by: Jessica | October 30, 2007 at 10:52 PM
Margaret- Did you ever see/act in Brigadoon? There's a line in one of the songs "The mists of May are in the gloaming..."
Posted by: Kate | October 31, 2007 at 06:26 AM