#49 - Goodbye for Now!
Alright folks! I was so very honored to have the last post here for Blogathon 2005. It's been fun. Tiring, but fun nonetheless. Thank you much to everyone who's supported us throughout this entire thing, those of you who kept Rey, Lisa and I company in the chat room at all throughout the day and night, and of course any of you who pledged or even read or scrolled through the blog throughout the past 24 hours. We appreciate it greatly.
Here's yet another inspirational success story from FINCA just to remind those of you who haven't pledged yet just how very important it is that you do! Please read on.
The Main Bread Winner
Tatyana Panova lives in Otradniy, a town of 50,000, located two hours from the Russian regional capital of Samara. A professional chef, Mrs. Panova worked as a cook in one of the main restaurants in the town for 16 years, but health problems forced her to quit her job in the restaurant. Mrs. Panova's husband worked in the oil industry, but he rarely received his wages on time, so the family -- including the two children -- could not count on a steady income. Because they needed more income, and because Mrs. Panova wanted her children to have an education, she began her own small business. She cooked some small pies, went to the local market, and sold the pies to traders there. Her pies sold well, and she thought she could make a go of it. Then, a few years later, her husband was laid off at the oil refinery. Mrs. Panova's pie business was feeding the family of four. She was working long hours, but was always short of money. "Russian women are used to working hard because they feel a strong responsibility for taking care of their children," she says. Then, in the summer of 1999, she was given an opportunity to make her hard work more productive. She heard about FINCA, and decided to join one of FINCA Russia's first groups, "Talisman." She invested her first loan in meat, sugar, and other raw materials, and started cooking full lunches to deliver to the market. She engaged a number of permanent clients, who waited patiently every day for her lunches to arrive. With her second loan, Mrs. Panova invested in the raw materials to make pastries -- particularly kurniki -- a traditional Russian pastry with meat and potatoes inside. She found some cafes who agreed to carry her products, and now sells 200-250 pastries and 40 lunches each day. Her husband has returned to work at the oil refinery, and their son has also found work there. Thanks to her mother's earnings, Mrs. Panova's daughter can now attend the technical college. When she is not studying, she helps Mrs. Panova with her business. Mrs. Panova dreams of buying a new, modern gas stove with her next loan, and perhaps purchasing a small car in the future to help her deliver meals to her clients. Of her connection with FINCA, she says, "FINCA does the right thing helping women -- they are always the main bread-winners in the family."
Also, before heading on out, I wanted to say a quick special thanks to my partners Rey and Lisa. I know that I definitely would not have been able to do this entire event on my own, so thank you both for being reliable partners who didn't let me down a once! Mango and Pink also deserve some notable mentions here, being the two who've kept us the most company in comments and music throughout the night. Thank you guys much. And of course, those of you who PLEDGED!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your generosity.
And that's all. It's been real, everybody. And for the thousandth time, thank you so much to those of you who contributed. You don't know how much fun you've made this event for all of us!
posted by Joe @ 6:00 AM
138 comments
Alicia Keys' The Diary of Alicia Keys: First of all, it should be noted here, if you haven't already noticed, that hip-hop, R&B, or urban music is far from being my specialty...but there are a few of these artists that really manage to break into my personal favorites, Alicia being one of them. I've had her debut album, In the Key of A Minor, since the very first time that I heard the single she burst onto the music scene with, "Fallin'," but Miss Keys finally blew me away with several of the tracks on this album more than anything on that first record. On the album, there's three songs right in a row -- "You Don't Know My Name," "If I Ain't Got You" and "Diary" -- that I think I could listen to one right after another for the rest of my life if I was forced to.
Tyler Hilton's The Tracks of...: If you've been reading all day during the Blogathon, you know that I got to meet this man along with a friend of mine in person before getting to see him perform live and he was incredible. Just listening to his major label debut album once will prove that Maverick's somehow been getting away with hiding an underrated gem from gaining this huge following. The first track (and single) "When It Comes" introduces you to Tyler and his sound, and the rest of the record just gracefully pulls you into his world, eventually ending with a handful of melodic masterpieces...something that's a rare gift for an artist his age.
Vertical Horizon's Everything You Want: This is another one of those rare albums that I can pop into my CD player and listen to all the way through without having to skip any annoying or irritating tracks, because it's just that damn good. "Finding Me" is probably one of my favorite songs on the album, aside from the obvious tracks that are the singles "Everything You Want" and "You're A God," which you probably recognize from frequent radio play. It's one of my all time favorite albums though and one that I highly recommend.
Jewel's This Way: Most mainstream music fans would probably argue that Jewel's debut album Pieces of You was her best, and it's understandable. That album was a phenomenal record, especially to be her first effort...but I've always found that for that very reason, a lot of the rest of her albums get kind of overlooked, which is a shame because this one -- her third album -- is actually a personal favorite of mine. This album marked a little bit of a "grittier" Jewel than fans were accustomed to on her previous two albums and less "dance club" than her fourth release...which gave this particular Jewel disc a unique sound completely different from the others.
Justincase's Justincase: I was a little late in discovering the sensation that was Justincase and I ended up getting hooked on their album after a friend had sent it to me a couple years after they had decided to go on a hiatus while the kids in said band began attending college, which is really too bad because if their live performances are anywhere near as good as their studio recordings, I'm deeply saddened by the fact that I may very well never get to see them perform together. The first track on this album, "What I Wouldn't Do," is probably my favorite alongside their duet with Michelle Branch, "Without You."
The Killers' Hot Fuss: I already previously mentioned in one of the news snippet posts that The Killers are probably one of the biggest breakthrough bands of the past year and after having this CD as your debut album, you can say that it's definitely well-deserved. The Killers have very easily taken your typical alternative rock sounds and put their own definitive twist on them, so much so that when you hear a song by this band for the first time, you can almost immediately tell that it's them without knowing for sure. "Mr. Brightside" is not only the best track on the album, but also arguably the most widely recognized song of theirs as well.
Josh Kelley's For the Ride Home: Even though Josh's first single off of this album, "Amazing," was a rather tedious and overly played summer song in 2003, the rest of the album was carefully crafted and beautifully put together. It seems as though singer/songwriters like Josh often times choose the wrong singles to release off their great albums. I'm particularly fond of the tracks "Home to Me" and "Angeles." This album is another one that's appropriately titled...as you can sufficiently listen to For the Ride Home when you are, in fact, a good riding companion on your way home from work or vacation.
Incubus' Make Yourself: Incubus has been on both the mainstream and alternative music scenes for quite a while now, having a multitude of different albums throughout the years, but this is perhaps my favorite. Including radio hits "Stellar," "Drive" and "Pardon Me," this album is probably also the most popular and best-selling out of all of the band's efforts and it's easy to see why. This album has a definite mellow sound to a band that's often times come off as a hard rock or alternative rock group.
Heather Nova's South: Much like Aimee, I had heard of Heather Nova's music from quite a few different film and television sources...most notably her contributions to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Felicity. After hearing the sad, cry-fest of a song "It's Only Love" on Buffy, I immediately wanted her album. Again, I'm glad that I did. This album is fantastic from the very beginning to the very end. How is it that musicians such as Heather and Tony Lucca aren't recognized on a wider music market? Just a few of the world's unsolved mysteries, I tell you.
Dido's No Angel: After discovering the song "Here With Me" by Dido as the theme song to the now-defunct television series Roswell, I went out and picked up this album only to be even more pleased by the rest of the record itself. Dido is still perhaps one of the most underrated singer/songwriters from across the pond, and this debut album of hers is proof positive of that fact. "Hunter," "Isobel" and "ThankYou" are just a few more examples of some brilliant tracks on this album.
No Doubt's The Singles 1992-2003: If you managed to read my post about my memorable concert experiences, you'll remember that I stated that No Doubt was and still is one of my favorite musical acts. For more than a decade, they created some of the most moving yet energetic rock music and even had the honor to be the very first band to perform live on MTV in the new millennium. All of this after having gone through hell and back with internal member struggles (Gwen Stefani's brother leaving the band, Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal's huge break-up, etc.) and a plethora of other obstacles. Although each of the band's albums throughout the years have been brilliant in their own right, this collection of each of their singles really showcases their talent and is a true testament to their greatness. Here's also hoping for another No Doubt album in the near future.
Tony Lucca's Shotgun: Tony Lucca is one of my favorite little-known musicians who's acoustic rock music is absolutely incredible. What's unbelievable about this man though is that he was a part of the Mickey Mouse Club with the likes of popsters Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake, and even dated Felicity herself, Keri Russell. His sound is a more grown-up and less "teen pop" one than that of his former comrades. Why this guy isn't a huge rock star yet is a complete mystery to me.
