ambassadorial ethnocentrism

It is sad that some people still espouse ethnocentric values in today's globalized world. It is even more disconcerting when that person is someone who used to hold an ambassadorial position. Check out what John Miller, former ambassador, recently wrote:


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/opinion/03miller.html

The return of El Clasico

On Sunday, November 29 two great teams will meet once again in one of the most enduring and heated rivalries in the world. The Yankees-Red Sox rivlary pales in comparison to the emotions inspired by the Real Madrid-Barcelona matches. In what promises to be a no-holds barred encounter featuring some of the best players in the world, this game is sure to hold the attention of the world. I enjoyed Thanksgiving yesterday and now await El Clasico. It doesn't get better than this.

Thanksgiving (1956) by e.e. cummings

THANKSGIVING (1956)

a monstering horror swallows
this unworld me by you
as the god of our fathers' fathers bows
to a which that walks like a who

but the voice-with-a-smile of democracy
announces night & day
"all poor little peoples that want to be free
just trust in the u s a"

suddenly uprose hungary
and she gave a terrible cry
"no slave's unlife shall murder me
for i will freely die"

she cried so high thermopylae
heard her and marathon
and all prehuman history
and finally The UN

"be quiet little hungary
and do as you are bid
a good kind bear is angary
we fear for the quo pro quid"

uncle sam shrugs his pretty
pink shoulders you know how
and he twitches a liberal titty
and lisps "i'm busy right now"

so rah-rah-rah- democracy
let's all be thankful as hell
and bury the statue of liberty
(because it begins to smell)

Thanksgiving Day Prayer by e.e. cummings

Thanksgiving Prayer

Father we thank thee for this food
for health, strength, and all
things good. May others all these blessings
share, and hearts be grateful
everywhere.
I thank you God for most this amazing day;
for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;
and for everything which is infinite which is yet.

- E. E. Cummings

Samoud

Samoud is the Arabic word for 'steadfastness' and has been interpreted as the 'third way' of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is not violent, but it does not acquiesce readily to proposals demands made to a people who hold samoud to be one of its most cherished principles.

Tunnel Vision in Detroit

I always enjoy travelling through the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. It is a clean and very efficient operation. But the part I like the best is walking through 'The Tunnel' that connects the concourses. In an incredible architectural accomplishment, the designers created a passageway with elongated transparent glass panels on the sides. The light from the panels constantly changes, while New Age music is played and you look ahead through different hues of red, green, blue and purple. For me, the experience never gets tired and it always makes me smile. If you have not been to Detroit, you might have to go just to see this!

Nativism is alive and well

Although I am not a dedicated follower of long-distance running I have always been impressed by the turnouts at the Boston and New York marathons. I do know that is has been many years since an American has won a marathon and I was elated to learn that Meb Keflezighi, became the first American man to win the New York City marathon in nearly 30 years. Unfortunately, I also learned that racism and nativism are still with us as numerous people on online forums question his 'Americanness.' He was born in Ethiopia and emigrated to the United States when he was 12. It was here in the United States where he received all this long-distance training, but there are still those who dispute his 'Americanness.' It seems we still have much work to do to eradicate racism and nativism. How sad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/sports/03runner.html?_r=1

Laila's Birthday

Yesterday I attended the final screening for the Palestine Film Festival, which featured some cinematic gems. The film I saw is called "Laila's Birthday" and is directed by Rashid Masharawi. It details the adventures that a taxi driver must go through/endure to make sure he returns home on time for his daughter's birthday. It is a wonderful film with some comedic elements in it. What I liked about it is that it put on display daily life in Palestine; very little focus is placed on the occupation. This is a nice touch. Check out a clip from the film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hFLmBzGMjI

Henrik Ibsen

I am currently enjoying "A Doll's House and Other Plays" by the Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906). They are excellent and I hope I can convince my readers to read his work sometime. He was very progressive for his time and his signature play, "A Doll's House" deals with the emancipation of women. My favorite character, however, is the manipulative Stensgård ("The League of Youth"), whose machinations recall Othello in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." However, Ibsen injects just enough comedy into the work to make it really enjoyable. I wonder how many colleges/schools have put on any of Ibsen's works on stage. Sadly, not enough.

Latin Alphabet is no longer the lingua franca of the Internet domain world

I have always had a chuckle when people tell me that English is the "official" langauge of the Internet. They seem to forget that in the nebulous world of the Internet where borders are illusory and practically non-existent, people communicate in other languages. English-language imperialism made no headway here. Just recently, it was announced that the Latin alphabet will no longer be the only one used for Internet domains. This is a step in the right direction. To learn more, visit the following site:

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE59T0Z720091030

The Moral Fall

I recently read two books that really resounded with me for the quality of the writing, the plot development, the descriptors associated with the naturalist movement and, more importantly, for the chronicling of the 'moral fall' of two main characters.

In "The Mayor of Casterbridge," by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), the main character, Michael Henchard, auctions off his wife at the beginning of the novel and eventually goes on to a successful career as mayor. However, when the wife reappears in his life, his life begins a precipitous spiral downward that will make the reader catch his/her breath. Thomas Hardy is an excellent representative of the Naturalist Movement at the turn of the 19th century that highlighted the day-to-day life of everyday people.

Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) is another author well known for his naturalist style and his book "Sister Carrie" is excellent. While Caroline Meeber (Sister Carrie) is the main protagonist in this classic novel her ambitions, desires and ultimately the decisions she makes affects two other men--Charles Drouet and G.W. Hurstwood. In fact, one of the characters makes a fateful decision that ultimately leads to his undoing. Like Hardy's Henchard, he experiences a similar fall from grace for a poor ethical decision he made.

To learn more read these two great books! You will not be disappointed.

Does Kindle Ignite or Extinguish Book Reading?

In the October 25th issue of The New York Times an article featured a claim by producers of e-book devices (Kindle, Nook, etc.) that its customers buy 3 times as many books after they they had purchased Kindle. Jeffrey Bezos, the head of Amazon says that there would be substantial growth in the sale of books because of Kindle. I doubt this very much. With access to as many as 1,500 book titles at their finger tips, why would Kindle customers revert to the 'old' way and purchase a book?

The biggest obstacle I have to Kindle and Nook is best illustrated in a simple sentence:

"Battery not included."

Welcome!

This is my first entry into my new blog where I hope to share my opinions and thoughts with you and create a forum for discussion and debate. I am an internationalist and that is why I have chosen "Daily Pensieri" as the name for my blog. "Pensieri" means "thoughts" in Italian and I like the idea of having two languages represented in the name. I come from a bi-cultural background and I work in the field of international education so this title is very representative of who I am. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. It is a work in progress, but it is a project I am looking forward to!