February 01, 2012

A Former Slave Writes to his Former Master

Dayton, Ohio,

August 7, 1865

To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin’s to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.

Well worth reading in full.

Posted by Anupam Chander on February 1, 2012 at 05:26 PM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 03, 2011

Natives vs. Immigrants (in the plant kingdom)

Anthropologist Hugh Raffles, of the New School, has a fascinating and controversial op-ed. (We, by the way, put in native California plants in our landscaping redesign a year ago--those our our California poppies popping up all over our yard today in the picture.)

just as America is a nation built by waves of immigrants, our natural landscape is a shifting mosaic of plant and animal life. Like humans, plants and animals travel, often in ways beyond our knowledge and control. They arrive unannounced, encounter unfamiliar conditions and proceed to remake each other and their surroundings.

Designating some as native and others as alien denies this ecological and genetic dynamism. It draws an arbitrary historical line based as much on aesthetics, morality and politics as on science, a line that creates a mythic time of purity before places were polluted by interlopers.

 

Posted by Anupam Chander on April 3, 2011 at 03:43 PM in Globalization, Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 15, 2011

The Heroism of Rescue Workers

At least 750 workers evacuated on Tuesday morning after a separate explosion ruptured the inner containment building at reactor No. 2 at the Daiichi plant, which was crippled by Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. The explosion released a surge of radiation 800 times more intense than the recommended hourly exposure limit in Japan.

But 50 workers stayed behind, a crew no larger than would be stationed at the plant on a quiet spring day. Taking shelter when possible in the reactor’s control room, which is heavily shielded from radiation, they struggled through the morning and afternoon to keep hundreds of gallons of seawater a minute flowing through temporary fire pumps into the three stricken reactors, where overheated fuel rods continued to boil away the water at a brisk pace.

From New York Times story.

Posted by Anupam Chander on March 15, 2011 at 10:34 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 01, 2011

Valuing Mothers Through Architecture--Google's Brilliant Move

Posted by Anupam Chander on March 1, 2011 at 07:51 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 25, 2010

Remembering Those Without Presents Under the Tree

From a book of Christmas poems dated 1909 (found on Google books)--by Rosalie M Jonas, a Harlem poet, who passed away in 1953 at the age of 91.  She promoted social projects in Harlem. Warning: She employs the awful n-word, but for poetic effect.

Posted by Anupam Chander on December 25, 2010 at 09:37 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 02, 2008

Untold Stories from India on AIDS (Day-Late World AIDS Day Post)

"In the groundbreaking anthology, AIDS Sutra, sixteen renowned writers tell the hidden story of the AIDS crisis, illuminating the complex nature of one of the major problems facing the developing world. 

India is home to almost 3 million HIV cases, but AIDS is still stigmatized and shrouded in denial. Discrimination against HIV-affected individuals in hospitals, schools, and even among families is common, just as discussion about HIV and participation in prevention or treatment programs are not. In this riveting book, sixteen of India's most well-known writers go on the road to uncover the reality of AIDS in India and tell the human stories behind the epidemic.

Kiran Desai travels to the coast of Andhra Pradesh, where the sex workers are considered the most desirable; Salman Rushdie meets members of Mumbai's transgender community; William Dalrymple encounters the devadasis, women who have been “married” to a temple goddess and thus are deemed acceptable for transactional sex. Eye-opening, hard-hitting, and moving, AIDS Sutra presents a side of India rarely seen before." 

Posted by Anupam Chander on December 2, 2008 at 08:26 PM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 16, 2008

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Mondavi, for Making Possible Many Wonderful Evenings at the Mondavi Center

Link: Mondavi Center.

Robert Mondavi, famed winemaker and philanthropist, died today in Yountville, California.

The University of California, Davis community will long remember you.

Posted by Anupam Chander on May 16, 2008 at 07:20 PM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 08, 2008

Slouch! Study Argues that Sitting straight 'bad for backs'

Link: BBC NEWS | Health | Sitting straight 'bad for backs'.

Posted by Anupam Chander on May 8, 2008 at 11:51 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 12, 2008

Dolphin rescues stranded whales - CNN.com

Link: Dolphin rescues stranded whales - CNN.com.

A dolphin swam up to two distressed whales that appeared headed for death in a beach stranding in New Zealand and guided them to safety, witnesses said Wednesday.

The actions of the bottlenose dolphin -- named Moko by residents who said it spends much of its time swimming playfully with humans at the beach -- amazed would-be rescuers and an expert who said they were evidence of the species' friendly nature.

The two pygmy sperm whales, a mother and her calf, were found stranded on Mahia Beach, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northeast of the capital of Wellington, on Monday morning, said Conservation Department worker Malcolm Smith.

...

"Moko just came flying through the water and pushed in between us and the whales," Juanita Symes, another rescuer, told The Associated Press. "She got them to head toward the hill, where the channel is. It was an amazing experience. The best day of my life."

Anton van Helden, a marine mammals expert at New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, said the reports of Moko's rescue were "fantastic" but believable because the dolphins have "a great capacity for altruistic activities."

These included evidence of dolphins protecting people lost at sea, and their playfulness with other animals.

"We've seen bottlenose dolphins getting lifted up on the noses of humpback whales and getting flicked out of the water just for fun," van Helden said.

Posted by Anupam Chander on March 12, 2008 at 08:15 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 24, 2007

Top Ten Worst Lyrics

Link: BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | U2 feature in worst lyric top ten.

Top 10 Worst Pop Lyrics

1 DES'REE - LIFE
I don't want to see a ghost
It's the sight that I fear most
I'd rather have a piece of toast
Watch the evening news

2 SNAP - RHYTHM IS A DANCER
I'm as serious as cancer
When I say rhythm is a dancer

3 RAZORLIGHT - SOMEWHERE ELSE
And I met a girl
She asked me my name
I told her what it was

4 ABC - THAT WAS THEN BUT THIS IS NOW
More sacrifices than an Aztec priest
Standing here straining at that leash
All fall down
Can't complain, mustn't grumble
Help yourself to another piece of apple crumble

5 U2 - ELEVATION
I've got no self control
Been living like a mole now
Going down, excavation
High and high in the sky
You make me feel like I can fly
So high
Elevation

6 TOTO - AFRICA
The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti

7 OASIS - CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA
Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannonball
Where were you when we were getting high?

8 DURAN DURAN - IS THERE SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW?
And fiery demons all dance when you walk through that door
Don't say you're easy on me you're about as easy as a nuclear war

9 HUMAN LEAGUE - THE LEBANON
Before he leaves the camp he stops
He scans the world outside
And where there used to be some shops
Is where the snipers sometimes hide

10 BLACK SABBATH - WAR PIGS
Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses

Posted by Anupam Chander on November 24, 2007 at 08:46 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack