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Month: May 2012

The Gathering helps raise funds for Year of Boulevard project

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TED is an annual conference of sorts that asks the world’s greatest minds to share what they’re passionate about, broadcasting these “ideas worth spreading” live and across all mediums.

For more than two years, Atlanta has hosted its own independent TEDx events, inviting Georgia-based thinkers and advocates to speak on an impactful theme such as “community.” That was the theme for March, when I attended. (I was mainly inspired and impressed. Check out my Tweets from the event on March 13.)

Out of that session came an initiative to move TEDx out from the Westside consulting agency where it’s held and into the community.

The Year of Boulevard is a project spearheaded by the Atlanta councilman for the area, Kwanza Hall. Hall is a strong supporter of economic equality and culture — you’re just as likely to see him leading a neighborhood clean-up in the Old Fourth Ward as you are chilling at the Sound Table.

Now you know Boulevard can be a straight mess. “Live Mas”? Not if I have to get food from the Taco Bell off Parkway. Let’s not even get started on the gas station off North, or the corner store just south of Edgewood.

According to the TEDx site, “the TEDxAtlanta Community is working to bring a Summer of Possibility to the kids of the Boulevard corridor through summer-camp scholarships, internships and entrepreneurial mentoring. … Our most immediate challenge is to raise the money needed to cover summer-camp tuition for the kids of Boulevard. It costs an average of $110 to send one child to camp for a week.”

Yes, $110 is steep. But you can contribute by donating a few bucks at the Gathering tomorrow night at Space 2. Kai Alce and Ramon Rawsoul are spinning, along with guest DJ Jamie 3:26 from Chicago.

The $5 admission does not include a donation to the Year of Boulevard, so bring a little extra.

ChanteSez … If you’re semi-sure, don’t use a semicolon

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The semicolon is probably the most misunderstood piece of punctuation ever. ChanteSez don’t use it unless you’re 100 percent sure on its proper placement.

The most appropriate use for a semicolon is to group items within a list, and the list should follow a colon. For example:

  • I went grocery shopping today and picked up several things: from Kroger, deli meat, bread, mayonnaise, baby spinach and tomatoes; from Trader Joe’s, some wine, cheese, and chocolate-covered almonds; and from Aldi, graham crackers, bread crumbs and garlic bread.

The other most common use for a semicolon is as a “link” in a sentence when “and,” “but” or “for” are absent. An example:

  • You could tell that the vocalist practices her instrument as much as any lauded pianist; the audience’s response proved it.