Annual Survey Fix and Purfeckshunism

Some of you have reported a problem with the annual survey from the last blog post not appearing in your subscription email. Sorry. I don't know why, but I really appreciate the heads up.

This link should take you directly to the survey form online. Don't forget to hit "Submit" at the end.

Survey Link

Now if this doesn't work, you can always go to the post on the Man-Making Blog and fill it in there. Can you tell I REALLY want your feedback?

Nice to be able to leave some of my perfectionism behind in 2010.

Blessings for 2011!


Earl

---

If you're not yet a subscriber to the Man-Making Blog, and you'd like to receive these posts by email 3-4 times a month, go to this link for a free subscription.

The Annual Man-Making Blog Survey

Wow, that year went fast! At the end of year seven of publishing the Man-Making blog, we are holding steady around 500 subscribers with a very low unsubscribe rate. I guess that means you still like what I'm putting out.

As the new year approaches, I want to sharpen my content focus and see if there are other types of material I could add to make the blog even more interesting or useful to you. With that in mind, I'd appreciate it very much if you would take the very short, 5 question survey just below.

Enter your responses and then hit the "submit" button on the bottom of the survey to send the data along.

Anything you're willing to offer by way of comments or suggestions will be very much appreciated.

Thanks for your time, support, feedback . . . and most importantly, thanks for your interest in man-making.

Earl Hipp

---

---

If you're not yet a subscriber to the Man-Making Blog, and you'd like to receive these posts by email 3-5 times a month, go to this link for a free subscription.

Eyeballs - e-Book - Gifts - and a Great Year

This will be the last post of 2010. It's been a great year. With almost 500 subscribers and growing, that's a lot of eyeballs for my 58 posts. THANK YOU! I'm a very grateful blogger because that means there are a lot of you out there who care about this topic, and just possibly are or are considering making a difference for men and boys.

One of my recent victories was turning my Man-Making book digital. The PDF e-book version of it has just come available. This means that for those of you across an ocean, you can now have a copy in a blink of an eye. While it will soon be available at Amazon and other mainstream book stores, it is currently found at WOWIO. You can always get the print-book version at Amazon, or contact me and I'll hook you up with a great price on either!

I'll be back soon with my annual reader survey. If not in late December, early January for sure. In the past I have learned a lot from all of you and made some major changes to the blog. Without indulging in shame generating, end of the year commitments, next year it would be fun to:

• have some posts with  Podcasts, audio interviews of people working in this field (do you want to be interviewed?),
   
• possibly add a chat button to this site so we could connect in real time (I'm at the keyboard a lot anyway),
   
• maybe even offer a Webinar where a bunch of us might gather online and kick some ideas around about a specific man-making topic,
   
• Your suggestions?

Who knows what the new year will bring, but it is going to be full of opportunity.

So thank you for reading this blog, for your leads to resources, and for the gifts of your time and attention. You are much appreciated.

May your holiday season be safe, contain some joy, moments of serenity, times of loving and feeling loved, and lots of gratitude for the many gifts already in our lives.

See you back here in January.

Earl Hipp

---

If you're not yet a subscriber to the Man-Making Blog, and you'd like to receive these posts by email 3-4 times a month, go to this link for a free subscription.

Aboriginal Elder in Norway

My brother in mission, Eivind Figenschau Skjellum in Norway, runs a great site called Masculinity Movies. I like his tag line: Where boys study films to become men. I have profiled him and his site previously in this blog and really recommend a visit. But that is not what this post is about.

Aboriginal Rites of Passage

Eivind recently had a chance to interview Australian elder, Bob Randall. Mr. Randall, affectionately known by many as "Uncle Bob," is a Yankunytjatjara Elder and a traditional owner of Uluru, or Ayer's Rock in Australia. Bob is one of the Stolen Generation of the Aboriginal people, taken from his family at the age of seven. Throughout his life, he has worked as a teacher and leader for Aboriginal land rights, education, community development and cultural awareness. To learn more about Elder Randall, check out his page on the Global Oneness Project site. On that page you can also hear a clip of him singing "Brown Skin Baby (They Took Me Away)," which has become an anthem for the Aboriginal people.

In the video clip below, Eivind is talking with Elder Randall about what Rite of Passage for boys looks like in Aboriginal cultures. What I like so much is the fierceness the initiating Uncles and Elders put into this work. I think you'll find the cultural differences to be quite profound. Listening to this conversation did invite me to take my commitment to man-making more seriously. I'd be interested in your reaction (as a comment to this post).

---

If the video isn't visible, you can see it at this link.

---

If you're not yet a subscriber to the Man-Making Blog, and you'd like to receive these posts by email 3-4 times a month, go to this link for a free subscription.

Grandfather Energy Meets Elder Hunger

At 66, I'm still a little surprised when I notice young males hovering around me. Sometimes it's questions, opinions, or showing me something they have or created. Sometimes it's simply proximity, hanging out in the same space. It's as though they don't really know what they want from me, but are pulled in my direction. I call this experience "Elder Hunger."

The truth is I'm very often late to notice them, and I don't immediately know how to (naturally) respond. Of course they want what I (still) long for, the witness and blessings of being seen and appreciated by older men. I'd say for the last five or so years of my life I've been growing into this Elder role/responsibility, seeing and blessing the young guys, and loving it.

When Paddy Murray, an Elder brother in mission from Bundanoon Australia, sent along an article about men from TOMNET ( Toowoomba Older Men's Network) working with high school kids, and getting a half-million Australian bucks to do it, it made perfect sense to me.

The article from Paddy talks about how these Elder men are helping high risk kids at the Toowoomba South State School with homework, building a school garden together, and sharing communal meals twice a week. Everyone involved loves it and the program has "blossomed" over a very short period of time.

In addition to all the wonderful benefits of what I might call "grandfather energy" meeting "elder hunger," there are some unique benefits for both the kids and the elders. By being together they have found an answer to one of the biggest challenges facing both some of the young and the old . . . isolation.

The article states: "When older men retire, they haven't got work and they feel as though they're not making a contribution, even though yet they have a lot of wisdom and experience. The younger kids feel isolated because many of them have dropped out of mainstream school and have been in trouble or come from difficult backgrounds.

"A lot of programs have been aimed at fixing kids up, and the missing link has been getting the community to take part in that solution. That's what's happening here and the kids feel like they belong to the community and that's what is important."

Getting older men involved with teen boys is a potent man-making strategy, and it doesn't have to cost a half-million to implement. Just get some old dudes together and invite them to "hang out" with some young guys and let the chemistry of Elder hunger and grandfather energy take over. It's actually a very ancient formula.

---

If you're not yet a subscriber to the Man-Making Blog, and you'd like to receive these posts by email 3-4 times a month, go to this link for a free subscription.