“When I was a kid, we arrived at this border, on our way from Austria to Slovakia (Czechoslovakia) and we would have to stand at this border sometimes from 24 hours.? They would search every inch of our car, ask questions, and we would be here for ages.”
D tells me this as we drive back from a day trip to Austria today, as we drive past dozens of dusty, abandoned booths and buildings. The sign reads “Slovakia” with the EU blue around it, and the speed limit through the mess of former guard posts reads “40”.? In less then 2 minutes we’re back to regular speed, back in Slovakia, and over a border that when it comes down to it, no longer exists.? And although plenty of people young and old have stories of how the border crossing used to be, you can bet they would all think it insane toContinue reading “Unimportance of Borders”
You’ve heard me mention one of my top 5 programs to listen to, NPR’s StoryCorps podcast. Today I listened to a beautiful edition of the program dedicated to letting individuals and pairs of people tell their stories to us the public and to each other.? This particular edition featured, in part 1 – A mother who served in the US military in Iraq speaking to her young daughter about what it was like when she was away. In part 2 – Two prisoners telling how they feel about their families and their time in prison. Talking about what they miss most from the outside.
Now besides recommending you hear these beautiful and gut wrenching stories, I would also recommend you support the StoryCorps Mobile Tour.? The program has long been great, but being able to hear, for example, prisoners reflect on what their lives are like and how they see the world since being behind bars… that is a rare oppertunity and worth supporting. But getting the recording booths into the prisons requires funds, and thats what I hope they manage to raise. Take a second and click over to their site, consider supporting the mission.
The Union of Concerned Scientists put out a report recently which runs down the last decade of genetically modified crops. As you know thats a topic that greatly concerns this website; what genetically modified crops have done to and for the world.
Although GMO crops have only been in use for about a decade, the? report looks at this decade in terms of yield/production? as well as the impact these crops have had on the environment. The results, as you can read and hear about, are poor for a technology that is supposed to save the world from hunger. In fact, it turns out there are a few other methods that have proven far more productive than genetically modified crops.
In this video entry I go over the biggest conclusions of the report. I recommend you also have a look for yourself, don’t just take my word for it.
One of the fun parts of working as part of a freelance journalist collective in a city filled with creative minds, sometimes you get invited to something interesting and unexpected.? Sometimes its just the opposite.
Today some of my ambitious colleagues asked if I wanted to sit in and give my 2 cents at a meeting regarding the future of television programming (on Dutch public TV specifically).? What started as a meeting of 4 warped into a meeting of 8, with various people coming from TV, radio, documentary and backgrounds of all kinds.? Everyone got a chance to say their piece regarding what they think the future of television should be, what their media consumption habits are, and what kind of programs they would like to see.
I sat there completely conflicted. My blanket answer, Continue reading “Future of Television, Ahem”
Hugh Timmerman has been gathering facts based on his own memory of living under occupation in world war II Holland. The events that took place before his eyes and in his family home would forever be burned into his memory and remain something he wanted to better understand. More than 65 years later his research and his travels have helped him piece together the story of the allied plane that crashed on his property, as well as the stories of all the soldiers that died on his family farm.
This month Hugh returned to the Netherlands from his home in Canada, to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary. Together we sat down to do this podcast, part 1 of 2, on what he remembers from his childhood during the war, his experience as an immigrant in Canada, and how he went about putting together this book.
His Book: Bombers in the Night Sky
The music of Utah Phillips used throughout this program. (Trooper’s Lament and Enola Gay)
So what you know ’bout the pirates terrorize the ocean,
To never know a simple day without a big commotion,
It can’t be healthy just to live with a such steep emotion,
And when I try and sleep, I see coffins closing.
This is the chorus of the song I’m listening to as I read the news from around the world. The lyrics of the great Somali hip-hop artist who immigrated to Canada and is dedicated to performing songs about his hometown, Mogadishu, and the reality he grew up in and the experience of immigrating with his mother, to Canada, leaving behind a country falling into an ever more violent abyss.? I’m listening to K’Naan sing these lines:Continue reading “Without a Big Commotion”