Monday, October 01, 2007
False Familiarity
Last night my husband and I had a grand opportunity. We met several people from a chat forum my husband participates in. Because I don’t participate in this chat, other than to read over my husband’s shoulder periodically, or listen as he mentions bits of the conversation, I had no preconceived notions of what people would be like based upon their screen names or what they wrote.
Labels: africa, blog, fiction, husband, immigration, minnesota, online chat, people, red
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Whose Destiny Are We Manifesting?
I got a response from Bill on my If You Teach a Man to Fish post that I think warrants a fuller response than I can leave in the comments section. Here's what Bill said:
"Sure........bring the African Contintent into the 21st century meltdown so they can experience that too after we exploit all the continent has to offer. Might get the west another 10-15 years and then we will leave it behind."
I agree with Bill to a certain extent. If every person in the world starts consuming at the rate Americans are, we'll be in serious environmental trouble in no time. It's a sticky wicket, but . . . the deal is that other countries are already exploiting Africa's resources for their own gain. I believe it was Bob Geldof who mentioned one of the "deals" other countries have brokered with one of the countries in Africa concerning the production of pineapple. The deal is set up so that African's aren't allowed to fully process the fruit, so they don't reap the full economic benefit. (If I remember correctly, this tidbit of info came from the Travel Channel's show Bob Geldof in Africa, which I discussed here.
So then, if we take it as a given that no "third-world" country should ever rise up to the standard of living enjoyed by "first-world" countries because it will certainly mean planetary doom, what then is the solution? Let everyone die? Come on, people! That's no solution at all. How about this, then? What if Americans decided to consume less? Sacrifice something to the greater good of everyone? Oh, wait. (Get ready for sarcasm.) We can't possibly do that. Americans believe in Manifest Destiny. We get to manifest our destiny, and, by the way, we'll manifest everyone else's destiny while we're at it.
Some serious number crunching needs to happen. How much money would it take for everyone on earth to enjoy a decent standard of living (i.e. food, clothing, shelter, health care, education) while not sucking the earth's resources dry? I'm not referring to an obscene standard of living here. Twelve houses and a personal jet are not necessities, I don't care who you are. Looking at the state of the world today (and in times past), greed and a hunger for power are at the root of this. Until people decide to curb these appetites, we're in for a long row to hoe.
This is not an easy issue, no matter how you look at it. Bill appears to be anti-consumerism, yet, when I posted before about getting Americans to curb their consumption (also in relation to Africa), I got knocked for being anti-consumerist, myself. (See this link, and this one for the previous discussion.) My little blog certainly isn't going to have much impact on the wider discussion, but it's important to look at our deeper reasons for keeping Africa down. What are you willing to give up so that someone else can live a decent life?
"Sure........bring the African Contintent into the 21st century meltdown so they can experience that too after we exploit all the continent has to offer. Might get the west another 10-15 years and then we will leave it behind."
I agree with Bill to a certain extent. If every person in the world starts consuming at the rate Americans are, we'll be in serious environmental trouble in no time. It's a sticky wicket, but . . . the deal is that other countries are already exploiting Africa's resources for their own gain. I believe it was Bob Geldof who mentioned one of the "deals" other countries have brokered with one of the countries in Africa concerning the production of pineapple. The deal is set up so that African's aren't allowed to fully process the fruit, so they don't reap the full economic benefit. (If I remember correctly, this tidbit of info came from the Travel Channel's show Bob Geldof in Africa, which I discussed here.
So then, if we take it as a given that no "third-world" country should ever rise up to the standard of living enjoyed by "first-world" countries because it will certainly mean planetary doom, what then is the solution? Let everyone die? Come on, people! That's no solution at all. How about this, then? What if Americans decided to consume less? Sacrifice something to the greater good of everyone? Oh, wait. (Get ready for sarcasm.) We can't possibly do that. Americans believe in Manifest Destiny. We get to manifest our destiny, and, by the way, we'll manifest everyone else's destiny while we're at it.
Some serious number crunching needs to happen. How much money would it take for everyone on earth to enjoy a decent standard of living (i.e. food, clothing, shelter, health care, education) while not sucking the earth's resources dry? I'm not referring to an obscene standard of living here. Twelve houses and a personal jet are not necessities, I don't care who you are. Looking at the state of the world today (and in times past), greed and a hunger for power are at the root of this. Until people decide to curb these appetites, we're in for a long row to hoe.
This is not an easy issue, no matter how you look at it. Bill appears to be anti-consumerism, yet, when I posted before about getting Americans to curb their consumption (also in relation to Africa), I got knocked for being anti-consumerist, myself. (See this link, and this one for the previous discussion.) My little blog certainly isn't going to have much impact on the wider discussion, but it's important to look at our deeper reasons for keeping Africa down. What are you willing to give up so that someone else can live a decent life?
Labels: africa, america, consumption, environmental degradation, greed, manifest destiny, power, problem, standard of living
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
If You Teach a Man to Fish . . .
Ever since studying South Africa in college, I've kept an ear half-cocked toward the doings of the country and the wider African continent. I've posted before about most of society's "Poor Africa" mentality, and how there's energy and creativity within the people of the continent who can position it toward a better economy and life circumstances for its citizens. Today, through reddit, I found a very thoughtful post that iterates what I've been thinking about the situation. The post is by Jennifer Brea at American.com and is called "Africans to Bono: 'For God's sake, please stop!"
Sometimes we forget to teach people how to fish . . . .
Sometimes we forget to teach people how to fish . . . .
Labels: africa, bono, creativity, fish
Friday, May 11, 2007
Concert
Go away for a day and come back with loads to talk about. The hubby and I went to a concert in Minneapolis last night. It was at The Cedar Cultural Center - The Cedar for short. The headliner was Andy McKee, with Antoine Dufour and Jeff Schmidt also playing sets. Andy and Antoine play guitar in a complicated picking and percussive style. Jeff does the same thing with bass, if you can believe it. He plays a five-string right-handed guitar with his left hand. Fabulous, and he was quite chatty, too.
The CandyRat record label sponsored the concert. While Andy and Antoine are both on the label, Jeff isn't, but he did tell us how CandyRat got its name. When the label's owner was looking for a name, he had one in mind and went online to register it as a domain name. The name he wanted was taken, but the domain name registration site gave him a list of random alternatives. CandyRat was one of them, et voila! A record label was born.
Watching Antoine, I swore he had six fingers on his strumming hand - not really - he's just that good. I especially like his song "Toi et Moi," which he wrote for his wife. Andy, whose videos have reached number one status on YouTube in the last half-year or so, played his arrangement of Toto's song "Africa." This was an eighties song, in case you missed it. Very cool rendition. He told us that he just had a chance to meet Toto after they had seen his video of the song on YouTube.
This was a phenomenal concert from another standpoint: the audience. The Cedar is an intimate little place. Seating consists of folding chairs on an open, gym-like floor, with a low stage up front. We sat in the third row. Everyone was extraordinarily respectful of the musicians. There were no lyrics to any of the songs, just pure, complicated music, and that's what we were all there for - not to scream, or be seen, or to jabber on our cell phones telling people about the cool concert we were attending. Even Jeff noticed our demeanor and he said we were too quiet! That's when some audience members started lobbing him questions, which he obligingly answered. And, get this, the whole experience was ours for only $15 per ticket, plus the gas money it took us to drive to the Cities. What a bargain.
The CandyRat record label sponsored the concert. While Andy and Antoine are both on the label, Jeff isn't, but he did tell us how CandyRat got its name. When the label's owner was looking for a name, he had one in mind and went online to register it as a domain name. The name he wanted was taken, but the domain name registration site gave him a list of random alternatives. CandyRat was one of them, et voila! A record label was born.
Watching Antoine, I swore he had six fingers on his strumming hand - not really - he's just that good. I especially like his song "Toi et Moi," which he wrote for his wife. Andy, whose videos have reached number one status on YouTube in the last half-year or so, played his arrangement of Toto's song "Africa." This was an eighties song, in case you missed it. Very cool rendition. He told us that he just had a chance to meet Toto after they had seen his video of the song on YouTube.
This was a phenomenal concert from another standpoint: the audience. The Cedar is an intimate little place. Seating consists of folding chairs on an open, gym-like floor, with a low stage up front. We sat in the third row. Everyone was extraordinarily respectful of the musicians. There were no lyrics to any of the songs, just pure, complicated music, and that's what we were all there for - not to scream, or be seen, or to jabber on our cell phones telling people about the cool concert we were attending. Even Jeff noticed our demeanor and he said we were too quiet! That's when some audience members started lobbing him questions, which he obligingly answered. And, get this, the whole experience was ours for only $15 per ticket, plus the gas money it took us to drive to the Cities. What a bargain.
Labels: africa, andy mckee, antoine dufour, audience, bass, candyrat, guitar, husband, jeff schmidt, minneapolis, minnesota, music, the cedar, youtube
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Isn't This Telling?
I found this little article on Boing Boing. Basically, it says that if you Google "African Ingenuity," Google asks you if you're sure you don't mean "American Ingenuity." Do I smell bias here? I believe so.
Labels: africa, america, bias, boing boing, google, ingenuity
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Recycled Fabric
As a fabric artist, I have often wondered what to do with those little scraps of fabric left over from a sewing project. Too small to use, too large to make me feel good about throwing them away. While we donate clothing that's still usable to the Epilepsy Foundation, I never know what to do about clothing that is ripped or has holes. Into the garbage it generally goes. Fabric recycling seems to be the answer for these fabric bits and ragged clothes, but I have yet to find a place that takes anything but the good stuff. The good news is that there IS fabric recycling for the good stuff, but it comes at a price for Africans. Did you do a double-take at that last word? Yes, our clothing recycling doesn't exactly leave a rosy picture for Africans, which I discovered in an article posted on Reddit. It's an ABC News report on what really happens to clothing Americans donate to charity. It still doesn't answer the question about what to do with the crappy stuff. (Sigh . . . .)
Labels: africa, art, charity, clothing, epilepsy foundation, fabric, garbage, recycling, reddit
Thursday, December 14, 2006
More on Malaria
The topic of malaria in Africa is heating up. President Bush & his wife Laura have just pledged funding from the U.S. in order to fight the disease. I have to wonder if it's really going to happen, though, as I just googled "bush malaria pledge" and found a slew of articles on the exact same topic from a year-and-a-half ago. A sampling:
Bush Overstates Africa Aid Increase
Did this aid ever get to Africa? If it did, why didn't it do more good? Hmmm.
Bush Announces Initiatives Targeting Malaria, Education, Women's Rights in Africa
Save the Children Applauds Bush Pledge to Increase Aid for AfricaBush Overstates Africa Aid Increase
Did this aid ever get to Africa? If it did, why didn't it do more good? Hmmm.
Labels: africa, george w. bush, malaria, money, U.S.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Mosquito Nets thru Oxfam
An extraordinarily helpful and generous reader has pointed me to the Oxfam website, where, lo and behold, people can donate money to get mosquito nets to help prevent malaria in Africa, a problem I posted about last time. How cool is this? Someone's already working on the issue, at least on the supply side. (They must have some way of getting the nets where they're needed.) If I've got my currency conversion correct, $1.00 U.S. equals almost 2 British pounds. Two mosquito nets cost 15 British pounds, so that works out to only about $7.50 U.S. (If I'm not correct about this, somebody please let me know!) That's a pretty good deal. Oxfam has some other needed supplies that would make great gifts, if you're looking for a cause to support. Thanks, generous reader!
12/14/2006 - Update (in case you didn't see the comments) - I have the currency backwards. 1 British pound equals $2 U.S. dollars. My generous & helpful reader pointed out my mistake. Thanks!
12/14/2006 - Update (in case you didn't see the comments) - I have the currency backwards. 1 British pound equals $2 U.S. dollars. My generous & helpful reader pointed out my mistake. Thanks!
Labels: africa, currency conversion, gifts, malaria, mosquito nets, oxfam, problem
Monday, December 11, 2006
Honestly, What Would It Take to Solve This?
Thus continues my African saga . . . . I got another Gallup Poll today about malaria in Africa and how getting mosquito nets to the rural folks would dramatically reduce this disease. There are barriers to getting mosquito nets to people in the very rural areas - cost, superstition, but most of all, lack of decent roads. You know, last night I was watching a show on The Discovery Channel about the building of a road across Alaska so that the pipeline could be run through. If we can manage this, how hard can it be to get mosquito nets to rural Africans?
Labels: africa, discovery channel, gallup, malaria, roads, rural
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Outrage
Ever notice that something's always lurking around in this great big wide world just waiting to outrage you? You'll be flowing along, all relaxed and mellow, and WHAM! Someone says or does something stupid or mean or unfair or outrageous and you're MAD! Ready to kick some butt. Change the world. Painful as outrage can be, it gets stuff done . . . sometimes. Depends on whether you focus your energy and get moving or whether you rant and rave and let the outrage dissipate without ever lifting a finger. Once the outrage dissipates, you're back to the mellow - until the outrage strikes again.
Here's a story of outrage for you, no matter which side of the fence you sit on. The National Museum of Kenya is being pressured by evangelicals to hide away its prehominid fossils, so the evangelicals can pretend that there is no evolution. I'm for the evolutionists in this case. Museums are not religious institutions. They don't tell religious institutions what to preach. The purpose of museums is to talk about ALL of history, not sweep disagreeable things under the rug and pretend they didn't happen.
Here's a story of outrage for you, no matter which side of the fence you sit on. The National Museum of Kenya is being pressured by evangelicals to hide away its prehominid fossils, so the evangelicals can pretend that there is no evolution. I'm for the evolutionists in this case. Museums are not religious institutions. They don't tell religious institutions what to preach. The purpose of museums is to talk about ALL of history, not sweep disagreeable things under the rug and pretend they didn't happen.
Labels: africa, evolution, history, mood, museum, outrage
Monday, November 27, 2006
African Microfinancing
Just got this report in from The Gallup Poll concerning microfinancing in Africa. Interesting how Africans see that government regulations make it difficult to start a business. Sounds like the United States to me.
November 28, 2006 Addendum: For those of you new to Filter & Splice, I've posted before on Africa, so this really isn't some extraneous post that has no context. To find previous posts on Africa, click the Africa label at the bottom of this post. :)
November 28, 2006 Addendum: For those of you new to Filter & Splice, I've posted before on Africa, so this really isn't some extraneous post that has no context. To find previous posts on Africa, click the Africa label at the bottom of this post. :)
Labels: africa, business, gallup, U.S.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Ask and You Shall Receive
It's amazing how the universe aligns to answer the questions I have. I wondered where the good news was about Africa, or, at least, a more balanced view and I got just what I wanted. The Travel Channel premiered Bob Geldof in Africa on Monday. It was a 2-hour show that was fabulous in its wide-ranging view of the various people of the continent. Yes, there were stories of war and famine and the slave trade, but there were also stories of people living creatively, living happily, from the Maasai to the people of Somaliland. And, oh! those glorious fabrics! Why aren't these more widely available as an export? As a fabric artist, I'd snap these up in a heartbeat. (Geldof discussed how countries in Africa could be exporting more finished products, but they've been sorely outmatched by the rest of the world in making trade agreements, so they get the short end of the stick.)
What I appreciated about the program was Geldof's explanation of why it has been so difficult to build civilization on portions of the continent. A lot of it has to do with the inhospitable terrain and the lack of population in large areas. His discussion of the fighting in Somalia (which led to Somaliland seceding from the country in 1991), led me to realize how important the guarantee of safety and security is in building a town or a country. There are dozens of tribes fighting each other for control of Somalia, and those with the most guns win.
In honor of elucidating the African story, here are more articles I found on the web:
From The Independent: Bob Geldof: Aid isn't the answer. Africa must be allowed to trade its way out of poverty
From The New York Times: African Grandmothers Rally for AIDS Orphans
From The New York Times: Neglected Poor in Africa Make Their Own Safety Nets
From Akuko: Top 10 Attractions in Africa
Child of Afrika Contemporary Fine Art Gallery
Play pumps used in South Africa
From Damn Cool Pics: Kings of Africa
From CNN: An article on the inauguration of Africa's first elected female head of state - and another on the same topic from BBC News - (Tell me who's the third-world country now.)
What I appreciated about the program was Geldof's explanation of why it has been so difficult to build civilization on portions of the continent. A lot of it has to do with the inhospitable terrain and the lack of population in large areas. His discussion of the fighting in Somalia (which led to Somaliland seceding from the country in 1991), led me to realize how important the guarantee of safety and security is in building a town or a country. There are dozens of tribes fighting each other for control of Somalia, and those with the most guns win.
In honor of elucidating the African story, here are more articles I found on the web:
From The Independent: Bob Geldof: Aid isn't the answer. Africa must be allowed to trade its way out of poverty
From The New York Times: African Grandmothers Rally for AIDS Orphans
From The New York Times: Neglected Poor in Africa Make Their Own Safety Nets
From Akuko: Top 10 Attractions in Africa
Child of Afrika Contemporary Fine Art Gallery
Play pumps used in South Africa
From Damn Cool Pics: Kings of Africa
From CNN: An article on the inauguration of Africa's first elected female head of state - and another on the same topic from BBC News - (Tell me who's the third-world country now.)
Labels: africa, bob geldof, civilization, somalia, somaliland
Monday, October 23, 2006
I Got the Consumption, Arrrrgh!
I posted my Noble Africa blog entry on reddit.com because I thought it might be of interest to a general audience. I got one comment back through reddit and two (from the same person) to my blog. Here's what Cypherx had to say on reddit:
It is not consumerism per se that I have a problem with. Every living thing on earth, humans, animals, plants, consume. That's part of life. It's consumption for the sake of consumption, rather than for need, that bothers me. It's George W. telling us to not worry our pretty heads and just go shopping after 9/11.
I came of age with Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. American consumption is ravenous and doesn't fit with the Reduce part of the equation. The more we (individually and as a country) ramp up our consumption, the more others feel they have to buy to keep up. When there are people in the world without a roof over their heads, how many immodest houses can some of us justify having? How many cars? How many baubles collecting dust in the backs of our closets? I'm as guilty as anyone in a well-off country of over-consumption. I try to curb it where I can, difficult as that is. I don't think I'll ever reach the point of owning only 55 personal items like Dan Ho.
Of course, Cypherx is right about Africa. The continent can become the equal of America through making appealing consumer products (if I need a T-shirt or tennies, I'll consider the attractive ones offered through the (RED) campaign), but a deeper, human equality does not rest on materialism. Does someone become less human because he doesn't have the proper clothing, the right car, impressive shelter? It's the inherent humanity, and the basic goodness housed within, that I wanted people to recognize about Africa.
Flightless posted two links showing another, more positive, side to Africa, specifically the country of South Africa:
A video on YouTube called Today I Woke Up in a Country. This gave me shivers. And, the website for the International Marketing Council of South Africa.
The question for today: Would you be willing to take less so that someone with less can have more?
It is not consumerism per se that I have a problem with. Every living thing on earth, humans, animals, plants, consume. That's part of life. It's consumption for the sake of consumption, rather than for need, that bothers me. It's George W. telling us to not worry our pretty heads and just go shopping after 9/11.
I came of age with Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. American consumption is ravenous and doesn't fit with the Reduce part of the equation. The more we (individually and as a country) ramp up our consumption, the more others feel they have to buy to keep up. When there are people in the world without a roof over their heads, how many immodest houses can some of us justify having? How many cars? How many baubles collecting dust in the backs of our closets? I'm as guilty as anyone in a well-off country of over-consumption. I try to curb it where I can, difficult as that is. I don't think I'll ever reach the point of owning only 55 personal items like Dan Ho.
Of course, Cypherx is right about Africa. The continent can become the equal of America through making appealing consumer products (if I need a T-shirt or tennies, I'll consider the attractive ones offered through the (RED) campaign), but a deeper, human equality does not rest on materialism. Does someone become less human because he doesn't have the proper clothing, the right car, impressive shelter? It's the inherent humanity, and the basic goodness housed within, that I wanted people to recognize about Africa.
Flightless posted two links showing another, more positive, side to Africa, specifically the country of South Africa:
A video on YouTube called Today I Woke Up in a Country. This gave me shivers. And, the website for the International Marketing Council of South Africa.
The question for today: Would you be willing to take less so that someone with less can have more?
Labels: africa, clothing, consumption, recycling, red, reddit
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Noble Africa
Bono was on Oprah yesterday. He was touting a new initiative that will raise funds to fight AIDS in Africa. The initiative is called (RED) and it plays on America's unending materialism. By purchasing (RED) products (T-shirts, jeans, tennies, jackets, cellphones, iPods), Americans can feel good about themselves by knowing that approximately half the proceeds from each purchase go toward supplying AIDS medications to people in Africa.
If I sound a tinge cynical, it's not because I don't think the cause is worthy. Absolutely, it is. But, I'm not sure encouraging Americans to consume more is the best way to go about it. The T-shirts are cute and one of the pairs of Chuck Taylor tennis shoes available from Converse (one of the sponsors of the cause) is made of African mud cloth. Bono said that much of the stuff is made in Africa, so people there are working toward their cure.
Here's my frustration: Why is it that practically the only images we ever see of Africa are of bone-crushing poverty, starvation, female genital mutilation, AIDS, or civil war? Why do we not see the people who are doing well? Where are this continent's leaders? Why are they not helping their own people? Where are Africa's success stories? Surely, these exist.
There's an imbalance here and it does not bode well for Africa. As the situation sits, Africa is pitied by the world because we rarely hear the positives about the continent. Most of the good stories come when some foreigner rushes in and gives a particular African country or cause monetary assistance, or adopts a child. The continent has been presented as lowly and incapable of helping itself. We sling around the term "third-world country" with impunity in reference to Africa. The continent is the world's charity case, and it's very easy for well-off people to see charity cases as not being equal. And, that's the problem with the (RED) campaign. It reinforces our belief that Africa is not equal to America. As we buy, we think, "Oh, those poor people!" In (RED)'s defense, the manifesto says this is not about charity, but that message can't easily be over-ridden by years of bad press.
The world needs to start paying as much attention to Africa's success stories as it does to its frailties. Who hasn't heard of Nelson Mandela and the overthrow of Apartheid by native South Africans? More positive stories such as these will help to alleviate the perceived inequalities between Africa and the rest of the world. When we start thinking of Africa as noble and dignified, we can purchase our (RED) goods without a simpering pity, but with a sense of fair exchange among the world's compatriots.
As I wrote this piece, it crossed my mind that perhaps I've been ill-informed, that I've missed the good news about Africa, so I googled "africa good news" and was rewarded with an article from the Christian Science Monitor dated May26, 2005. It's called, "Africans ask: 'Why isn't anyone telling the good news?'" I could not have asked for a more relevant article. As the article is over a year old, there's still work to be done in boosting Africa's image.
If I sound a tinge cynical, it's not because I don't think the cause is worthy. Absolutely, it is. But, I'm not sure encouraging Americans to consume more is the best way to go about it. The T-shirts are cute and one of the pairs of Chuck Taylor tennis shoes available from Converse (one of the sponsors of the cause) is made of African mud cloth. Bono said that much of the stuff is made in Africa, so people there are working toward their cure.
Here's my frustration: Why is it that practically the only images we ever see of Africa are of bone-crushing poverty, starvation, female genital mutilation, AIDS, or civil war? Why do we not see the people who are doing well? Where are this continent's leaders? Why are they not helping their own people? Where are Africa's success stories? Surely, these exist.
There's an imbalance here and it does not bode well for Africa. As the situation sits, Africa is pitied by the world because we rarely hear the positives about the continent. Most of the good stories come when some foreigner rushes in and gives a particular African country or cause monetary assistance, or adopts a child. The continent has been presented as lowly and incapable of helping itself. We sling around the term "third-world country" with impunity in reference to Africa. The continent is the world's charity case, and it's very easy for well-off people to see charity cases as not being equal. And, that's the problem with the (RED) campaign. It reinforces our belief that Africa is not equal to America. As we buy, we think, "Oh, those poor people!" In (RED)'s defense, the manifesto says this is not about charity, but that message can't easily be over-ridden by years of bad press.
The world needs to start paying as much attention to Africa's success stories as it does to its frailties. Who hasn't heard of Nelson Mandela and the overthrow of Apartheid by native South Africans? More positive stories such as these will help to alleviate the perceived inequalities between Africa and the rest of the world. When we start thinking of Africa as noble and dignified, we can purchase our (RED) goods without a simpering pity, but with a sense of fair exchange among the world's compatriots.
As I wrote this piece, it crossed my mind that perhaps I've been ill-informed, that I've missed the good news about Africa, so I googled "africa good news" and was rewarded with an article from the Christian Science Monitor dated May26, 2005. It's called, "Africans ask: 'Why isn't anyone telling the good news?'" I could not have asked for a more relevant article. As the article is over a year old, there's still work to be done in boosting Africa's image.
Labels: africa, aids, bono, clothing, oprah, poor, red
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Inundated
Every have a situation in which you are inundated with reading material, all of which promises to be fascinating, and you don't know where to start? At this moment, that's me. Here's the blow-by-blow of what sits in a pile on the floor next to my side of the bed. Great tripping material, if nothing else.
I got the new Wired magazine in the mail two days ago. This is one of the few magazines I'll read cover-to-cover. (Discover is another one.) Wired helps me pretend to be at least a modicum up-to-date on digital technology. (A girl can dream, even though she knows she's woefully behind and always will be.) Wired uses a clever technique each month that encapsulates the major theme of its magazine. Next to the date, there's a little box with a snappy descriptive line. This month (the October 2006 issue), the line is "Take With Food." The cover story is called, "The Thin Pill: How Big Pharma turned fat into a disease - and then invented a drug to cure it."
On Monday, one of the books I had placed on hold came into the library and I was able to pick it up. This book is one I've been chomping to read. When I placed it on hold, it was still being barcoded and brought into the library's collection, so I believe I'm the first one to check it out. (God, that sounds like boasting! But, really, I'm just incredulous.) The book is called "The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More." It's by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine. I read one of Chris' articles in Wired and was really impressed. When I saw he had a book coming out on the same topic, I knew I had to read it. It's just pulsating with energy, begging me to pick it up. But, alas! There's that Wired mag to read, along with . . .
Two books by Seth Godin, marketer extraordinaire, and one book by Jay Levinson and Seth Godin. The book by Jay and Seth, which I'm almost through, is called "Get What You Deserve!" The books by Seth are "Free Prize Inside" and "All Marketers Are Liars." The latter shows Seth peeking up from the bottom of the book while wearing a Pinnochio nose. I can't wait to see what he has to say in this one.
And, finally, I was missing reading some fiction, so while I was at the library picking up "The Long Tail," I checked out a book called "The Syringa Tree" by Pamela Gien. The story, according to the dust jacket, is set in South Africa. When I was in college simply ages ago, I had a social studies class in which each student was assigned a country to follow in the pages of the Christian Science Monitor. I was assigned to South Africa. This was shortly before Apartheid was dismantled. I can't recall the details of what was going on. I just remember getting my Christian Science Monitor every day and pouring through it looking for articles on South Africa. My interest in the country went into dormancy until this past year, when I found myself writing a short story that featured the Boer War. (Specifically the second Boer War.) Now, here's where it gets a little weird. My grandpa died this past spring at the glorious old age of 95. He was an artist and I identified with him very strongly in this interest. It wasn't until he moved into a nursing home a couple years ago that I discovered he was a writer, too. After he passed away, my sister had me sort through some of his short stories and I found one he wrote about . . . drumroll, please! . . . the Boer War!
There you have it. I'm inundated. It's purely my fault and I thoroughly enjoy it. It's waaaaay better than having nothing to read.
I got the new Wired magazine in the mail two days ago. This is one of the few magazines I'll read cover-to-cover. (Discover is another one.) Wired helps me pretend to be at least a modicum up-to-date on digital technology. (A girl can dream, even though she knows she's woefully behind and always will be.) Wired uses a clever technique each month that encapsulates the major theme of its magazine. Next to the date, there's a little box with a snappy descriptive line. This month (the October 2006 issue), the line is "Take With Food." The cover story is called, "The Thin Pill: How Big Pharma turned fat into a disease - and then invented a drug to cure it."
On Monday, one of the books I had placed on hold came into the library and I was able to pick it up. This book is one I've been chomping to read. When I placed it on hold, it was still being barcoded and brought into the library's collection, so I believe I'm the first one to check it out. (God, that sounds like boasting! But, really, I'm just incredulous.) The book is called "The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More." It's by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine. I read one of Chris' articles in Wired and was really impressed. When I saw he had a book coming out on the same topic, I knew I had to read it. It's just pulsating with energy, begging me to pick it up. But, alas! There's that Wired mag to read, along with . . .
Two books by Seth Godin, marketer extraordinaire, and one book by Jay Levinson and Seth Godin. The book by Jay and Seth, which I'm almost through, is called "Get What You Deserve!" The books by Seth are "Free Prize Inside" and "All Marketers Are Liars." The latter shows Seth peeking up from the bottom of the book while wearing a Pinnochio nose. I can't wait to see what he has to say in this one.
And, finally, I was missing reading some fiction, so while I was at the library picking up "The Long Tail," I checked out a book called "The Syringa Tree" by Pamela Gien. The story, according to the dust jacket, is set in South Africa. When I was in college simply ages ago, I had a social studies class in which each student was assigned a country to follow in the pages of the Christian Science Monitor. I was assigned to South Africa. This was shortly before Apartheid was dismantled. I can't recall the details of what was going on. I just remember getting my Christian Science Monitor every day and pouring through it looking for articles on South Africa. My interest in the country went into dormancy until this past year, when I found myself writing a short story that featured the Boer War. (Specifically the second Boer War.) Now, here's where it gets a little weird. My grandpa died this past spring at the glorious old age of 95. He was an artist and I identified with him very strongly in this interest. It wasn't until he moved into a nursing home a couple years ago that I discovered he was a writer, too. After he passed away, my sister had me sort through some of his short stories and I found one he wrote about . . . drumroll, please! . . . the Boer War!
There you have it. I'm inundated. It's purely my fault and I thoroughly enjoy it. It's waaaaay better than having nothing to read.
Labels: africa, boer war, chris anderson, reading, seth godin, story, technology, the long tail, wired
I agree with most of the post except this silly bit:
Leave the consumers alone! They get something they want, they contribute to something good. It's the best arrangement possible and well intended anti-consumerism can only muck things up.
In fact, I think the consumerism the author loathes is also the cure for his chief complaint. Africa can become the "equal" of the rich Northern countries...if it makes lots of products that appeal to our consumers (either by style, quality or price). Until then, most of the continent will remain a sad charity case.