A friend shared this collection in Time a while back, but I stumbled upon them again today. The pictures are by photographer Peter Menzel and are part of the book “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats“.

Bhutan, Shingkhey Village — $5.0
Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork

Before coming to university, I never really thought about food beyond ‘what’s for dinner?’ but since coming here I have to admit my perspective on food has really begun to transform. Aside from learning that I will never make it as a chef, through friends I’ve become exposed to the politics of food, from the meat industry to global food production. I’ve had to research on the Green Revolution and learn in class about agricultural genomics. I’ve gotten to know about the current food crisis, food and women’s rights and even food and homelessness in lectures and conferences.

I am really fascinated by these pictures because they capture a truly colourful cross-section of cultures, juxtaposing some startling differences between what we eat, and how much we [are able to] spend on our food. But I think what is even more striking is the nuanced story that the foods set on the table tell about each family, painting a unifying narrative of the human condition and our basic needs– needs that make us human. It seems as though food ties into every aspect of health, environment, economics and justice in a very subtle yet important way. After all this, it has become a tiny bit harder for me to look at the dinner plate the same way.

*Picture source. The exhibition is on display at Montréal Science Centre until May 3^rd.

“Don’t want to be your exotic…” She declared after the round of applause at her entrance. The music gave way to silence, a few whistles, then in darkness the whole room hushed. “… like some colorful dark fragile bird imprisoned.” she said resolutely. Adorning a red glittery shawl, she let every page fall to floor as she showed us her mother, strength, her Brooklyn, the New Orleans she had seen, the Palestinian that she was, the poet, the daughter, refugee, landless, broken levees, falling bombs, fragility, prisons, youth, loss, men, women, beauty, skin… the nuances of being.

I had the privilege of seeing Suheir Hammad here in Montreal last night. Although I was excited, in retrospective I am not sure what I expected walking up Boulevard Saint-Laurent that afternoon. I had seen her performances on Def Poetry, but seeing people behind the screen, you can never be certain of what is real. When she took the stage, it was almost hard not to feel mesmerized as words —beautiful words, brutal words, few words— fell so effortlessly into their natural habitat, budding from each one a thousand thoughts, and from each of those a thousand emotions.

Brilliant! What a lady. She’s the real deal.

The past few days Montréal’s temperature has averaged a cool -20°C, otherwise known as nostril-hair freezing cold. This kind of cold is not really a great motivator for hanging out outside. So I’ve been occupying myself with the news (a mix of alarming and horrifying), drinking tea and re-reading some Vonnegut. I find myself coming back to these books year after year, and every time finding them more powerful, more truthful… and myself crying like a baby. This is from Timequake, his answer to… why bother?

“Many people need desperately to receive this message: ‘I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.‘”

ps. This blog has a new look and a new name!
pps. How awesome is that door garden gnome? I want one.

From: I’ve Been to the Mountaintop (April 3, 1968 – with audio)

Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop.

And I don’t mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

If you haven’t heard about this already you will definitely will within the next few days. The past few weeks Google has been unrolling new technology left and right. The most exciting debute, though, belongs to Street View, part of the Google maps suit, and something which will likely be integrated into Google Earth soon. The name of the feature is pretty self-explanatory. Essentially by selecting “street view” on the map, you are given the option to zoom in to one of several cities (currently the feature is available for five cities in the US) and take a ride in the streets, viewing a 360° view of your selected location.

This has been done in the past, both by private and governmental organizations and the pictures are readily available online if you look hard enough for them. Google itself, in fact, has contracted several companies specializing in street photography. (View some of their work) However, what I think is exciting about Google integerating this feature into their service is thier ability to take a currently existing technology, take it to the next level, and make it available to the mass population. Additionally, I think that being able to view the world on the street level in Google maps and Earth was an inevitable next step.
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I found this music video by Sarah McLachlan through Media that Matters Film Festival several months ago and since then I haven’t been able to help but admire how well it is executed. To an extent, pictures and words of the suffering in the world have made me somewhat desensitized to that particular thing. But this is an exception, someone actually DID something… every time I view it I am moved by its empowering, uplifting message and cannot help but feel– simply inspired!

“The song is about trying not to feel paralyzed when we see all that is wrong with the world, and remembering that even the smallest gesture can make a difference — corny but true. I wanted a video that wasn’t about me and wasn’t preachy, but one that would help shine a light on the tragedy and turmoil in the world and also show the beauty and strength of the human spirit. Sophie and everyone else who touched this video worked tirelessly and for free to make it happen. This was a labor of love for all the right reasons and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
-Sarah McLachlan

Sometimes others’ plight, others’ worlds, seem so distant from our own. We become so wrapped in our cocoons that we lose perspective of where we stand in the world, we lose touch of reality, we exaggerate– the bumps in our path transform into mountains, our pain transforms into unbearable suffering. I have always been afraid of that– afraid of forgetting the things that matter the most, afraid of falling into the lines of the consumer culture.

The world is on fire, literally, and if you are reading this, like me, you are probably part of a fortunate minority, and elite who growing up has escaped the wrath of poverty, hunger, persecution, war, addiction, droughts, homelessness, helplessness among the entire body of humanity. There is an ever-growing gap among us and we, this fortunate elite, are not in this position because of our great merits. But rather, in an interconnected world, the quality of life and wealth that we enjoy as a society is built on the life and suffering of other human beings. We take, we take… and we give back so little. If you and I can’t help anybody else, if you and I do not each take a share and repay the debt that we owe to the world, to our fellow human beings and our planet, who do we expect will do it for us before our choices come back to haunt us?