Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Nebyue, Ghi's nephew and an explanation
Ghion's family in Ethiopia...I suppose I should update this a little more often. This is a long story, actually a pretty amazing one and one worth telling. Gimme a few more days.Of course updating it would have to do with me not being a culture-shocked kid. Life has been uber out of touch in a way for me as of late, and I am not quite sure what to think of it. Any suggestions? I'm happy to hear them.
Q: Why don't elephants use cellular phones?
A: So the rest of the world won't know their plans.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A little creepy, eh?
A lovely day on the beach in Hasik and there are dead puffer fish washed up all over the shore. What could be the reason? Alive, they're quite cute, big eyes and funny lips, slowly cavorting thru the water. Dead, still cute.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Ashes to Mekong
A dusty tribute to Grandpa in Vietnam with the Irrawaddy dolphins to hang out with in the Mekong. Jesse took this photo and this is his hand as well.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Beach Clean Up
For those of you who will be visiting Salalah, specifically February 25 and 27, I am organizing a 2,000 volunteer-strong beach, reef and beyond clean-up. Let me know if you'll be around. You're invited, all of you. You will also get to watch my trash-rich, interdependent ecosystem presentation after we wash our hands and eat the snacks provided by the local University. After all this hard work, we will be rewarded with a barbecue at my house afterwards. We will be serving roasted plastic bags, cigarette butts, lighters, flip flops and some more plastic tidbits with green cumin sauce…mmmm...kidding. But, Pete will be cooking, and hopefully all of you have had the opportunity to eat sweet Pete's deliciously delectable gastric delights. And if not, get over for the clean-up. You won't be sorry, about the food that is. You will, however, most likely be shocked by the amount of trash on the beach and being spit out by Mother Nature at low tide, leaving a bare scrabble of rocks and rubbish.
The Smiths say it Best: Meat is Murder
Speaking of meat, did you know that if all the greenhouse gases measured in CO2 equivalency from the millions of trains, planes and automobiles spewing out their excrement each day were compared with the excrement, hormones, antibiotics, and feed waste from the world's livestock, guess which has the greater impact? That's right you meatheads! And don't forget about all the water and land degradation Ms. Cowie Hamburger dearest is causing as well. Don't be involved in the industry of death as Jesse says…*And right on Nanako! I learned of your recent abdication of meat, and am so proud. And as for the rest of you…..? At least you're not eating shark fin soup. I watched this dismayingly informative movie the other night, Shark Water and was sadly devastated to learn that in the two hours I sat and drank a Corona watching the movie, 15,000 sharks were killed. For every one person killed by sharks (of which more people are killed by soda machines each year), more than 73 million sharks are cruelly slaughtered, and mostly for the mere texture of their tasteless fins in shark fin soup. After which the still-alive and finless sharks are thrown back in the water to sink to the bottom and die. They are truly one of the most important keystone species on Earth and there is not one of the 400+ species left that isn't endangered. Tragedy of the Commons, depressingly. Most of their numbers are down 60 to 99% from their original numbers. But, do not be too distressed because you can help... http://www.sharkwater.com/ has heaps of ideas on what you can do. And if you see shark for sale at a grocery store or a restaurant say something, and don't go back if they don't take it away. I made a huge scene at a shop in Jakarta in May that was full of shark jaws, teeth, cartilage pills and other souvenirs. Any potential customer within ten meters was not going for in for a little browse, that's for sure. 
Little piggies
I am getting fat. The fucking Hilton buffet dinners with 40 dishes to spoon onto your plate (ok, only about 28 for me and my refusal to chew thru flesh), is to fault. And then there are fifteen desserts touchingly displayed underneath palm canopies. What is a sugar-toothed, green-scarfed person to do? Shun dessert? I don't think so.
And I'm sticking my stomach out.
Rainy smells and scarves
While the clean smell of rain had vanished from the sky, yesterday evening Peter and I took a little walk thru the souk (market). The air in the souk, supple with indecipherably aromatic perfume mixtures, was very still and quiet. I was the only woman, except for the few swathed in hijabs, with only their eyelined and blacked eyes visible, behind the counters selling frankincense. We bargained for three gorgeous Pashmina scarves, and proudly wore the green ones to barbecue night in the garden at the Hilton.
And yet another momentous event happened in Salalah last week. It rained in January. Three nights ago, the sky opened up and finally succumbed to the marinating heaviness that had been hiding and lurking around all day. It even rained out in Rub Al Khali, which only happens every twenty years or so unless oneiric, and never in January…As much as the plants and I enjoyed the out-of-turn-moisture, it begs the question: Global Warming in action?
Black tipped reef shark
A baby. We never see sharks diving here anymore because people are doing shit like this and then selling the fins at the fish market. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that we are catching one billion pounds of shark each year. They are killing the Earth. I know this sounds extreme, but sharks are so important in the ocean ecosystem, and the oceans, being 70% of the Earth are responsible for most of the oxygen we need to stay alive, (thanks mostly to phytoplankton), they moderate the weather and climate, 10% of human protein intake comes from the ocean, we get heaps of minerals from the ocean, they regulate and recycle our toxic poisons, the list goes on...and on....Pay attention!!
Finning
I know you all know now about finning and its evils. This morning Peter called from the harbor to tell us that someone had caught about 15 baby sharks and was cutting them up for their fins. We went down there as quickly as we could with a camera and got in this guys face and took photos. He smiled and didn't stop or slow down his slicing in any way. We emailed the photos to the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Tourism in Oman with a letter reminding them this practice is illegal in Oman. We'll see what happens.
January Happenings in Salalah
Last week Thursday was a National Holiday for all of Oman. Omani's didn't have to go to school (where, I just learned the government gives $208 per month to every person enrolled), or work and nearly every shop was shut, including the pot planting and seed shop where I still need to get soil to pot my 10 free plants from the Ministry of Agriculture. The poor little plants are still sitting in their garbage bag homes on the front steps, being used as barf bags by the scarred and whiny neighborhood cats. Last night there was white puke #1 and yellow puke #2. Both stunk. 
But, football, not puke was the occasion marker for this Omani ebullience and freedom: the big win in the Gulf Cup. Oman beat Saudi Arabia in a sudden death penalty shoot-out. In the 35 years since Oman entered the GC they have never won. The first five goals went in for each team and on the sixth kick, Saudi missed it and Mohammed Rhabir, with the best shot of the day into the top left corner, won the Cup. Oman went wild and Sultan Qaboos responded in turn with the holiday. On the drive home we joined everyone and their grandparents dancing in the middle of the street, put on our hazards and perma-horn honking. Now Oman has a chance to go to the World Cup in South Africa. A monumental day indeed. And are any of you Cape Town Brentwood kids upholding our World Cup promise and going back for 2010?
But, football, not puke was the occasion marker for this Omani ebullience and freedom: the big win in the Gulf Cup. Oman beat Saudi Arabia in a sudden death penalty shoot-out. In the 35 years since Oman entered the GC they have never won. The first five goals went in for each team and on the sixth kick, Saudi missed it and Mohammed Rhabir, with the best shot of the day into the top left corner, won the Cup. Oman went wild and Sultan Qaboos responded in turn with the holiday. On the drive home we joined everyone and their grandparents dancing in the middle of the street, put on our hazards and perma-horn honking. Now Oman has a chance to go to the World Cup in South Africa. A monumental day indeed. And are any of you Cape Town Brentwood kids upholding our World Cup promise and going back for 2010?
Monday, January 05, 2009
beware of the lionfish..they'll get you
Oman is great! I'm putting together a curriculum for school kids on the atrocities and dangers of plastics in the ocean and elsewhere. Hopefully this will turn into my own NGO and spread throughout the country. And then the world!! Ahahahhahaha.
REDUCE, RE-USE! Take those canvas bags to the grocery store, abstain from the water bottles. I have to go eat lunch and will write more tips later...
REDUCE, RE-USE! Take those canvas bags to the grocery store, abstain from the water bottles. I have to go eat lunch and will write more tips later...
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