shouting hallelujah
June 2011
18 posts
May 2011
15 posts
“Is it an endearing quirk among European explorers to imagine that every geographical feature they clap eyes on for the first time is in need of a new name, or is it just a plain silly one? As far as I understand it, humans have been knocking around around this part of Africa for — give or take a birthday candle — three million years. The existence of a large wet patch smack in the middle of them had not gone unnoticed. [… Dr. Livingstone] gave it yet another name, in honour of the elder of a tribe of white people on a small island five thousand miles away. Endearing, or silly? I really can’t decide.”
—
Nicholas Drayson, A Guide to the Birds of East Africa: A Novel
[one of the two books I nabbed with astonishing restraint at the Friends of the Library book sale earlier this month]
Uganda anti-gay bill 'shelved by parliament' →
bbc.co.uk
A pretty balanced appraisal of the situation — less infantilizing of Ugandans than some of the stuff I’ve seen in the New York Times.
It's Really Okay To Watch TV And Snack With Your Loved Ones, Guys.
I’m not a big reblogger, but this is def. worth reblogging.
All these articles on the LOOK AT US, STARING AT OUR RESPECTIVE MONITORS AND GLOWING BOXES INSTEAD OF COMMUNING WITH OUR LOVED ONES phenomenon drive me a little crazy.
Last year, my mom got her much-needed knee replacement, and I went up to Canada to hang with her for a month. Obviously, we didn’t really have the option of spending a lot of time zip-lining, right, so in the evenings we did a lot of companionable quiet reading, which is somehow Uniformly Good, as opposed to “watching all the back seasons of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ together,” which is Very Bad, but was also a whole lot of fun, and actually substantially more interactive than companionable quiet reading.
I was thinking about this, last night, while drowsily watching the new Neil-Gaiman-penned episode of “Doctor Who” with Industrious Husband. It was a meaningful experience! Beats the hell out of playing Scrabble, which I think would be officially considered Better.
And then you get the “in the Depression, we all gathered around the piano and sang” crowd, which, um, awesome, but, again, not intrinsically better than communal “Doctor Who” viewing.
I guess what I’m saying is, if you’re very busy, and finally get home at night and just want to lie in bed next to your loved one and watch “30 Rock,” please do not feel like you’re a slacker. This is a legitimate form of happiness you are feeling, and the Lazy Reviewer loves you.
repatriating retro t-shirts from Africa (for a good cause) →
good.is
Conflicted about this. I mean, I won’t lie, I brought home some sweet market finds from Uganda that no doubt were created in China, originally worn in the US, shipped to Africa, and brought back home by me. And it was easy to see people walking around in unintentionally hilarious shirts — I remember a surly woman in Fort Portal sporting a shirt that proclaimed, “Kiss Me! I’m Canadian!” Also, Smallbean is pretty cool, from what little I know.
(And sorry for being so quiet this week. Moving + starting the new jobz. Crazywonderful. Also, requiring a lot of sleep.)
But I worry about all the unnecessary fuel costs involved in this venture. So we make our clothes in the developing world, import them, wear them, discard them, then buy them back when they can be considered vintage? Something about that strikes me as just a little too profligate to be “for a good cause.”
consider
- I have gotten two jobs in one week.
- I am moving next week.
- My current job ends the 16th.
- I have a final exam Saturday.
- I left my planner at home. I think.
Cue the brainsplosion.
spiced parsnips cupcakes →
eggsonsunday.wordpress.com
To use up the last of the diehard winter farm share before we move.
