Today marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Wikipedia article indicates that “On November 9, 2009, Berlin will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a `Festival of Freedom’, during which over 1,000 foam domino tiles over 8 feet tall will be stacked along the former route of the wall in the city center and toppled.” Intrigued, I did a little digging and found this pretty amazing video of what I’m guessing is a dry run:
I was twelve when the wall fell, but growing up in a household in which we never talked politics or world events, I had no idea what was really happening, much less what it meant. I was in Europe on the 10th anniversary, and arguably paying even less attention.
All over the world there are ceremonies and symposia and vigils being scheduled to commemorate the 20th anniversary of these events. Last Wednesday I attended a panel discussion about the construction and collapse of the wall, and tonight I’m planning to attend a screening of the documentary, When the Wall Came Tumbling Down: 50 Hours that Changed the World.
Anything going on where you are? How will you remember?
Update: there’s some interesting archival video footage from ABC News here.
I am not the Pickle Freak. But stories about pickles just seem to be popping up all over the place, and when they come with such purty pictures, it’s hard not to pay attention.
I don’t eat pickled products perhaps as often as I should, but last year on a grand southern jaunt I did encounter (and purchase) some fine pickled merch from the Carolina Cider Company. I don’t know anything about their business or investment practices or their take on important social issues, but I do know this: they deliver! Looks like it could be a Fried Peanut Christmas this year!
And for the record, this right here is a little bit of heaven on earth.
Okay fans, you’ll remember a while back I mentioned my thing for Mallard Ducks. Well guess what I found? Whilst digging through boxes recently I happened to stumble upon, what else?! My duck lint remover! It’s possible you may have thought me full of shit when I claimed to have one, so just for fun: here’s some proof!
Yesterday I pointed to an interview with Barbara Kingsolver. This week I also caught Tom Ashbrook’s interview with John Irving, another author whose books I have tended to devour over the years. These were my two favorites:
Anyway, several years ago I was perfectly underwhelmed by The Fourth Hand, and subsequently bought but did not read a used copy of Until I Find You. His latest novel is called Last Night in Twisted River. I don’t know if or when I’ll get around to reading it, but if you’ve ever been an Irving fan, his interview with Ashbrook is definitely worth a listen.
I’ve been listening to book talks with various authors on NPR this week. This afternoon while I was folding laundry I listened to a podcast from the Diane Rehm Show where Susan Page interviews Barbara Kingsolver about her new novel, The Lacuna. I haven’t read it yet. Maureen Corrigan reviewed it for Fresh Air and was disappointed. I’m still thrilled to hear that she’s come out with another novel, though.
My excitement derives more from overwrought sentiment than anything else, because nearly ten years ago Poisonwood was a life shifter. I realize that sounds pretty sensationalist and corny, and this was even before Oprah picked it for her book club! I was living in Europe at the time and bought the UK version in an English language bookstore in Lyon. This is the cover here. It’s difficult to tell from the image, but her name is written in bright red, and I loved how the red contrasted with the light blues. I would crawl up to the Roman amphitheatre behind my apartment and read for hours. I was mesmerized by Kingsolver’s story, by so much beautiful language, by the characters who were so out of place in their African village — with their Bibles and hymnals and God nonsense — as out of place as I felt as a young twenty-something sitting amidst those vast ancient ruins.
I suppose in the wake of such a reaction any other book would seem disappointing. I won’t expect to love The Lacuna as much as I did Poisonwood. But like Prodigal Summer, I’ll read it anyway.
I wrote some about the Hate Crimes law that was signed last week by President Obama. I’m revisiting it a bit today, because it is still a bright spot in spite of what happened at the polls yesterday. The result in Virginia was totally unsurprising (what an awful campaign by Creigh Deeds!); New Jersey a bit more so; and Maine downright heartbreaking.
Which is why I’m ignoring all of that (!) and focusing instead on this lovely piece by Stephen Sprinkle of the Brite Divinity School. He writes, in part:
“Passage and signing the Matthew Shepard Act into law will not magically stop the killing. Record numbers of LGBTQ Americans, especially young transgender people of color, are dying violently all across the land. But the high water mark of hatred has been scotched with the stroke of a pen with President Obama’s signature on this historic bill. The end of the beginning of full equality for my people has come. And we who believe in the fullness of justice will not rest until it comes and will continue to preach, to pray, and to advocate until all of us our [sic] free to love without the threat of violence.”
It’s historic; it’s moving; and it’s about time. Today President Obama will sign The Matthew Shepard & James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. There are many stories out there, but here’s a succinct one from NPR’s Morning Edition. Not only is this a tremendous victory for those people who have been working and fighting and organizing and lobbying for many years, but it also represents a significant first in the history of this country:
“`It’s the first time that transgender people will be in federal code in a positive way,’ says Mara Keisling, director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.
`That’s a really important historical moment for the country—certainly for transgender people, but really also for the country,’ she says.”
Finally, from HRC’s Back Story blog, I wanted to post this video tribute to Dennis and Judy Shepard that honors them for all the work they have done throughout the past decade to help get this legislation passed. It was shown at the HRC national dinner earlier this month before the Shepards received the first Edward M. Kennedy National Leadership Award. Check it out below.
My friend Pickle Freak has been all over the Pickle Press lately, and this new video just affirms her quick rise to the top of the jar. She’s floating on top of the brine these days, and I couldn’t be more thrilled for her. Check her out around the 6 minute mark as she speaks to the PP during New York City’s 9th Annual International Pickle Day that was held earlier this month. She’s interviewed right alongside Pickle Girl, who just won my heart when she said: “It’s just a great big social network of pickles!”
I have to say, I’ve got no real feelings for Balloon Boy, his parents or siblings. I was not glued to the television or computer screen watching the `drama’ unfold on live tv. The first I heard about it was on NPR as I was leaving work that afternoon. I was stopped at a red light when the “news” was reported that a giant silver balloon [that everyone had apparently been following for hours] had landed safely in a field and the little boy who was thought to be inside was nowhere to be found. Cut to me, thinking: “What the fuck?” as I turned the radio off.
So, anyway …
* Flash forward: Balloon Boy is safe.
* A little further: everyone’s on television and I hate the Today Show even more.
* Further still: Balloon Boy blows the family’s load on national television with his “did it for the show” comment.
* And still more: wait for it, waiting, hurting, burning a little where you pee aaaannnnnddddd: HOAX.
Amazing. And now I can’t go anywhere, read anything, or watch anything for more than a week without running into the story. One radio host on NPR a few days later, in response to a scathing email from someone bashing the press for spending so much time focusing on the balloon rather than covering stories of actual import, defended such coverage because it gave America a common focus for its hope and because, once he was discovered safe and sound, we could rejoice as one that this innocent little boy was all right. Read: Balloon Boy brought us together.
And once more back to me turning off the radio, thinking: “Get off the air and go write cards for Hallmark.”
Anyway, when I saw the title of this op-ed from Saturday’s Times, “In Defense of Balloon Boy’s Dad,” I wondered not why someone would defend the man, rather how they would go about it. Frank Rich, who wrote the article, focuses attention on a media establishment that is more in the business of infotainment than on actually reporting the news of the day. Rich combines this critique of the media with the grim realities of a down economy and the desperate attempts that people will make to ensure some measure of financial stability.
He writes: “None of this absolves Heene of blame for the damage he may have inflicted on the children he grotesquely used as a supporting cast in his schemes. But stupid he’s not. He knew how easy it would be to float `balloon boy’ when the demarcation between truth and fiction has been obliterated.”
Someone once described Wikipedia to me as a gauge by which to judge what is [currently] important to us as a society — a cultural benchmark against which to measure what we value in terms of knowledge and information. In many ways, we can say the same thing about the press — or at least what they choose to cover. Which begs the question: is the press simply shameless for covering such drivel or are we, the rabid consumers of that drivel, somehow culturally bankrupt for demanding it? I don’t know. But a quick scan tells me that the “Colorado Balloon Incident” already has a Wikipedia entry with almost twice as many footnotes as articles about U.S. Hate Crimes Legislation and a Public Health Insurance Option combined.
Remembering The Wall
November 9, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Wikipedia article indicates that “On November 9, 2009, Berlin will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a `Festival of Freedom’, during which over 1,000 foam domino tiles over 8 feet tall will be stacked along the former route of the wall in the city center and toppled.” Intrigued, I did a little digging and found this pretty amazing video of what I’m guessing is a dry run:
If you read German, there’s more here.
I was twelve when the wall fell, but growing up in a household in which we never talked politics or world events, I had no idea what was really happening, much less what it meant. I was in Europe on the 10th anniversary, and arguably paying even less attention.
All over the world there are ceremonies and symposia and vigils being scheduled to commemorate the 20th anniversary of these events. Last Wednesday I attended a panel discussion about the construction and collapse of the wall, and tonight I’m planning to attend a screening of the documentary, When the Wall Came Tumbling Down: 50 Hours that Changed the World.
Anything going on where you are? How will you remember?
Update: there’s some interesting archival video footage from ABC News here.
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Tagged: anniversaries, Berlin, berlin wall, East Berlin, East Germany, fall of the berlin wall, GDR, Germany, West Berlin, West Germany