(no subject)
g'dammit.
just when i thought i was in the clear in regards to missing spain i've been hit by an incredible desire to go back. this was not helped by my mother who, in true taking in interest in my life form, took out a book from the library about spain (written c. 1950). she read aloud the beautiful prose describing the castillian table as it extended and weathered into the lush rolling hills of andalucia interspersed with jagged and unworldly rock formations and the beginnings of a desert that would stretch its fingers into the next continent, littered with cacti and a shade of yellow that parches your throat simply looking at it.
well he described it better than i, but i couldn't help but feel my heartstrings tugged for the land of 75 cent espresso, children with huskier voices than lauren bacall, horses, and firey personalities.
true to anne form, i have already begun to unload my luggage of memories of any that are remotely unpleasant and romanticize that which could never have been quite as perfect as i will describe it to be.
but don't worry, i am an equal opportunity sap, and i believe that by the time i left spain, boston had acquired a castle made of gold, streets paved with chocolate, and the charles river flowed directly to the emerald city.
and overzealous irish pride the emerald city does not make.
yesterday calvin and i went to a session of the boston international film festival. we picked (inadvertantly i swear) a free session, and not quite so inadvertantly two of the three films pertained to south america (argentina and venezuela). the third addressed the horrific starvation that has plagued sudan- i found myself so utterly appalled by the situation that even now words fail to adequately describe that which i was overwhelmed by. the greatest tragedy is that it should be SO EASY to remedy. granted, it would be far more effective to plant crops thus feeding the people over a long period of time than airdrop food. but the fact that we have invested billions and trillions of dollars into conflicts that are so complicated, that extend as far back into recorded history as the bible, rather than diving into something as simple as FEEDING PEOPLE WHO ARE WALKING SKELETONS is FUCKING RIDICULOUS.
there i said it.
when i THINK of the food that i throw away, that papa ginos throws away, that stop and shop throws away- the salads in which a gnat has been found, thus meriting the immediate disposal of said salad, the apples that i have passed upon as their skin indicated one too many imperfections for my personal taste... i could go on. my point is this- something is awry with humanity. our eyes have been averted from africa, central america, and southeast asia for entirely too long. i'm done with the isreali palestinian conflict- there i said it. it may be an unpopular opinion, but if we truly believe that that conflict (along with iraq... but lets not start upon that) are most deserving of our attention, we have absolutely no global perspective.
i DO care about what is happening in israel. it breaks my heart for both parties involved in the conflict. but i see no easy resolution. certainly not one as giving food to someone who is starving and coming up with a plan that would allow the people some alternative to starvation in times of drought.
i dont really know what im saying. its hot.
just when i thought i was in the clear in regards to missing spain i've been hit by an incredible desire to go back. this was not helped by my mother who, in true taking in interest in my life form, took out a book from the library about spain (written c. 1950). she read aloud the beautiful prose describing the castillian table as it extended and weathered into the lush rolling hills of andalucia interspersed with jagged and unworldly rock formations and the beginnings of a desert that would stretch its fingers into the next continent, littered with cacti and a shade of yellow that parches your throat simply looking at it.
well he described it better than i, but i couldn't help but feel my heartstrings tugged for the land of 75 cent espresso, children with huskier voices than lauren bacall, horses, and firey personalities.
true to anne form, i have already begun to unload my luggage of memories of any that are remotely unpleasant and romanticize that which could never have been quite as perfect as i will describe it to be.
but don't worry, i am an equal opportunity sap, and i believe that by the time i left spain, boston had acquired a castle made of gold, streets paved with chocolate, and the charles river flowed directly to the emerald city.
and overzealous irish pride the emerald city does not make.
yesterday calvin and i went to a session of the boston international film festival. we picked (inadvertantly i swear) a free session, and not quite so inadvertantly two of the three films pertained to south america (argentina and venezuela). the third addressed the horrific starvation that has plagued sudan- i found myself so utterly appalled by the situation that even now words fail to adequately describe that which i was overwhelmed by. the greatest tragedy is that it should be SO EASY to remedy. granted, it would be far more effective to plant crops thus feeding the people over a long period of time than airdrop food. but the fact that we have invested billions and trillions of dollars into conflicts that are so complicated, that extend as far back into recorded history as the bible, rather than diving into something as simple as FEEDING PEOPLE WHO ARE WALKING SKELETONS is FUCKING RIDICULOUS.
there i said it.
when i THINK of the food that i throw away, that papa ginos throws away, that stop and shop throws away- the salads in which a gnat has been found, thus meriting the immediate disposal of said salad, the apples that i have passed upon as their skin indicated one too many imperfections for my personal taste... i could go on. my point is this- something is awry with humanity. our eyes have been averted from africa, central america, and southeast asia for entirely too long. i'm done with the isreali palestinian conflict- there i said it. it may be an unpopular opinion, but if we truly believe that that conflict (along with iraq... but lets not start upon that) are most deserving of our attention, we have absolutely no global perspective.
i DO care about what is happening in israel. it breaks my heart for both parties involved in the conflict. but i see no easy resolution. certainly not one as giving food to someone who is starving and coming up with a plan that would allow the people some alternative to starvation in times of drought.
i dont really know what im saying. its hot.