Friday, September 23, 2011 at 2:43PM 
We're happy to share this image from the August installation.
And now, this is a link from Falling Whistles to information on the candidates in the elections coming up in Congo in November.
Some of you may recognize Yves Muya on the Falling Whistles site. He was one of our speakers at the 50,000 Bones Preview Installation and we met him through his work with them.
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 1:30PM I get google alerts on a number of different topics; one of them is "genocide." A google alert is a daily email, on a topic you've choosen, that collects references and links whenever (or often when) your selected topic (keyword) appears in the web title of articles, blogs, videos, etc. A couple days ago, the notice I got included this headline and link:
Lack Of Media Interest Makes Genocide Cover-Up Unnecessary ...
AFMADOW, SOMALIA—Utter global disinterest in the wholesale slaughter of 250000 ethnic Bajuni people this week has caused Somali warlord Maj.
www.theonion.com/.../lack-of-media-interest-makes-genocide-...
At first I wasn't sure what to make of it, but when I realized it was from The Onion, I decided to spend my time looking at other links. I usually find The Onion funny, but I couldn't imagine even they could make anything having to do with genocide humorous.
Then yesterday, this came in my Google Alert email for genocide:
Onion article about genocide doesn't make us laugh
Washington Post (blog)
A story, today, does just that, under the headline “Lack of media interest makes genocide cover-up unnecessary.” Utter global disinterest in the wholesale slaughter of 250000 ethnic Bajuni people this week has caused Somali warlord Maj. ...
This one I decided to look at. And I'm glad I did. It points to the importance of the work that One Million Bones is doing to bring attention to genocides, atrocities and humanitarian crises, work that the media should be doing a better job with, and that all of us should be paying more attention to.
There's a Chinese proverb that says, "The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is today." That's how I feel about making the changes we need in order to create a citizenry that's educated about issues and activated to use their freedoms to support a better world and a better life for everyone. The best time to have started that work was years ago, but the second best time is today.
Your participation in the One Million Bones project is vital, and we appreciate your support of the work of making those changes.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 12:20PM 
August 27th started out the way most Saturday mornings do on Central Avenue: quiet and calm. While it ended up being a typical hot, crystalline blue summer day the morning was lovely, and cool. At 8am or so volunteers in white started moving into the stillness and workers in trucks began barricading the street and setting up the canopy, everyone going about the work of getting ready to lay 50,000 Bones in the street at Central Avenue and Fourth Street.
By 10am, we were ready and a lone volunteer in a white dress walked up the empty street with two white bones in her hands. She laid them in the street, bowed her head, and moved away, silently. We started slowly, a few volunteers moving up the street with bones, laying them down and walking back. Eventually, a quiet line of volunteers formed, everyone dressed in white, everyone still, everyone carrying bones. For the next two hours, over 200 volunteers laid over 50,000 bones in the street, one at a time, until almost the entire block was covered.
When the laying of the bones was finished, we all gathered under the shade of the trees outside Amy Biehl High School for short talks by survivors, Eric Ndaheba, Kigabo Mbazumutima and Yves Muya; anti-genocide advocates Carl Wilkens and JD Stier, heartfelt words from our MC, Hakim Bellamy, and for a performance by Albuquerque’s own Matunda Ya Yesu/South African Orion Duet. Every one of them spoke to our hearts, and we’ll share this quote from Carl Wilkens which captures the heart of One Million Bones, “When we make something with our hands, it changes the way we feel, which changes the way we think, which changes the way we act.”
After the presentations, everyone was invited into Amy Biehl, a most generous partner in the event, for lunch and refreshments. We all had a chance to rest, to think about the day and what it meant, and to spend some time with others who worked along side us all day.
Around 2pm, we headed back out into the sun to start the reclaiming of the bones, and many, many of the volunteers, who had spent all morning working, spent the afternoon working as well. By about 4pm, the bones were reclaimed and packed, ready for their next use in Washington, D.C.
By 5pm, all the tables and equipment, volunteers and boxes, bones and water jugs were gone, leaving the street as quiet, but never as empty again. I can’t walk past that intersection without seeing the expanse of white bones lying there in the sun, an accounting of crises around the world, and a tangible demand for actions to end them.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 4:08PM Oh readers,
I hope we haven't lost you entirely. It was crazy in the run-up to the 50,000 Bones installation. But we did it, and it was beyond amazing. I'll post images and a overview of the event in a day or so, but in the meantime, this link will take you to a video and transcript of a discussion about the importance of the upcoming elections in Congo from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Speaker Series. This info was provided by OMB's wonderful research assistant, Kim Woods. You'll hear more from her over the next months.
We'll be really focused on Congo over the next month or so. There's a lot of work going on right now to bring pressure to provide support for free and fair elections and especially to demand and implement a widespread minerals certification program. These are links to our beneficiary, The Enough Project's Raise Hope for Congo Campaign, where you can find really important information about conflict free minerals and what you personally can do. And that's the important point: there is something that YOU CAN DO.
So, we'll be back on schedule now, with images, more info, and soon to come, updates from Naomi's three month residency in New Orleans.
Keep checking back, or better yet, sign up for our RSS feed.
As always, we love to hear from you in the comments.
Monday, August 22, 2011 at 12:03PM That's all we're talking about today. We've got 24 hours to make the last $2,000 and we need YOUR help to do it.
This is a link to our KICKSTARTER page.
Tweet it! Put it on your Facebook page. Text it or call somebody up and remind them. Any amount helps; $1, $5, $25. It adds up and we're grateful for all of it.
This is a link to our KICKSTARTER page.
Are you seeing where this post is headed?
Help if you can, and thank you.
We'll post some event updates and start talking about the DRC later this week.