Kenya Journal May 2006

I've decided to publish my journal from a trip to Africa. It's summer but travel seems out of the question, so I wanted to remember a special trip in May of 2006.

Day One. Elephants.

Kenya, Africa.

My terror of flying was exhausted after 18 hours in the air, so I was almost calm on the 45-minute puddle jumper from Nairobi to ol donyo wuas in southern Kenya even with the wind taking fierce stabs at the plane.

Twenty-five hours to get here and what a here to be. Green and noisy with life: birds, bugs, green plains stretch out dotted with trees and then the hills. The pilot, James, says the hills are covered with green Acacia trees and bushes because of a steady cloud cover. Where the clouds end on the Chyulu Hills, the tree line ends abruptly and the plains begin. It’s nothing like I expected Africa to look. It’s the end of the rainy season and the earth is full.

Africa. The cradle of civilization. The mother of us all. With one exception, the dominance of Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance is Africa’s son (it’s in Tanzania).

Right against Right

In an elliptical feat of no small measure, a "New York Times" book review on Sunday July 5th of a biography of I. F. Stone entitled "American Radical," reviewer Jackson Lears wrote that in a "New York Times" book review from 1967, Stone wisely observed that "The essence of tragedy is a struggle of right against right." I have always admired Stone for his insights and common sense.

"Lost in Austen" over and over again...

Spent the weekend watching "Lost in Austen, "a clever and long time travel switching places movie. It got my partner thinking about other Austen movies worth making:

"The Ladies of Longbourn and Their Pubic Topiary" (also sometimes appearing under the title, "Longbourn Landing Strips")

"Meryton Madness: Lydia and Kitty's Midnight Merrymaking with the Men in Regimentals"

"Caroline Bingley: Lit Bitch"

"The Collins Brothers: Snot Goes the Weasel"

"George Wickham, Able (and Constant) Swordsman"

"True Tales of Bourgeois Bellyaching" (also know as "If I Had Ever Learnt, I Should Have Been a Great Proficient")

"The Fuckable Fitzwilliam Darcy"

Nurse Jackie

Oh yes. Edie Falco is back and luminous as a no-nonsense nurse with an attitude on a new Showtime series "Nurse Jackie." She's the scrappy nurse that will save your life while practicing her own form of justice. It's funny and dark and worth every second of your time.

The doctors are cartoonish, but hey, this is from the nurse's POV. My sister is a nurse and, while nurses aren't all saints, some doctors are baffoons.

My favorite line is when Jackie is talking to a barely out of the womb yappy intern: "Let me ask you something? Shut up. I like quiet and mean. those are my people." Priceless.

http://www.sho.com/site/nursejackie/home.do

Recession Easter Basket

Easter

It's almost Easter.  It's the holiday that my partner considers a personal holiday.  As we say in our house, "There's only one blessed event here." So, I fill a basket with t-shirts, toys, candy, and other unique ephemera that I have collected all year.  And every year, no matter how much I've collected and how overflowing the basket gets, I want to add more. There's a big hole this basket is meant to fill.

Spring At Last