Bad decisions for love...

One of my friends, got into school and told me that her boyfriend was planning to move with her when the time came. They do not live together now, but certainly will then, and she seems just too excited about the idea. A couple of months ago, she had made the decision that they would not move in together until he got a job. That situation has not changed, but she has clearly softened her position.

As the heartless pragmatists that I am, I think it's a good idea not to move one's emotionally dependent, oft depressed, unemployed bf into one's home, especially when that would necessitate some financial dependence. But, maybe that's why I'm still single. If it makes her happy, is it a bad idea? I suppose time will tell. But that's the problem with 20/20 hindsight, it accounts for info you couldn't possibly have had at the time. Within reason, are there REALLY any bad decisions when it comes to pursuing love?

And clearly the stakes have changed. Maybe it's "better" for him to move in with her, than for her to move out of his life...

The African American Male...

I have been doing some high-school algebra class observations, to learn more about the teaching experience. I'm tagging along with an old expert teacher and we often debrief with someone at the school to discuss what we saw and learned.

We've been recently watching this one teacher who seems to have complete control over the class (real impressive to watch) and in the debriefing the old expert teacher applauded his use of eye contact, and with one reference to one student interaction:

" We're told, the number one rule with African American males.... you have to look them in the eye, acknowledge them and honour their presence."

That seems like a good way to treat anybody really. But, do people really have a special rule book they use on how to interact with the African American male? Is what the African American male wants acknowledgement and honour?

How would I know... I'm not even American.

Funny (NYT)

Article talking about the Bahrain protests. Below is a quote talking about the signs that Sunni minority has been oppressing the the Shia majority:

"Here in Bahrain, we have been in bed with a minority Sunni elite that has presided over a tolerant, open and economically dynamic country — but it’s an elite that is also steeped in corruption, repression and profound discrimination toward the Shia population. If you parachute into a neighborhood in Bahrain, you can tell at once whether it is Sunni or Shia: if it has good roads and sewers and is well maintained, it is Sunni; otherwise, it is Shia.

Funny, because replace "Shia" with "minority" and you have the exact same picture in the US.

Revolution

Who can actually say what has really happened in Egypt? One day I was listening live to Mubarak saying he will stay in power until Sept and not bow to foreign pressure. The next day he stepped down. And now he is missing, with various reports of strokes and mental illness. Where in the world is Hosni Mubarak??

One thing's for sure: the Egyptians got rid of their dictator, and they managed to stay, mostly, nonviolent. One for the history books kids.Yay! Now we all watch, to see if it actually turns into a democracy. Also, the rest of the region is going to hell (or a better place) with Yemen, Bahrain, Iran, Lybia, Palestine... all seeing protests of various sizes and efficacy. Who can say what will happen next?

Here is a video on possible Israeli-Egyptian relations Video

And while I am loathe to give credit to American's for the uprising (though some are trying so hard to take it), here is link to a wonderful set of ideas... non-violent revolutionary literature and it's author. Click on the link "From dictatorship to democracy". Guess what's next on my reading list?

Nerdiness

Ok, lets take a moment to indulge in my nerdy side. Some crazy foreign (I think Japanese) Mathematician, Kokichi Sugihara, has the odd hobby of using pure geometry to fool the human eye into seeing the impossible. Article here. Below are two of his videos. Enjoy!

Aint that the truth (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal)

This generation of young folk is witnessing a disturbing break between the promises of a market economy and our economic reality. Hard work no longer means success. Education does not mean marketability. There are simply no jobs. Nothing is certain. Nothing is guaranteed. No one is left to keep their promises. You know things are bad, when the risk of starting your own business from scratch at 24yrs old, are comparable to trying to find a "real" job. I know I speak for the young here, but those old fogies who got laid off must be feeling the same kind of angst.

Many people have started speculating about what this could mean... a whole generation of disaffected youth, who, having lived through this time, will never "recover" even after the economy does. They say, leaving school in this depression/jobless "recovery" will have a permanent effect on the earning potential of this generation. Some even say, these and related frustrations are at the root of the protests of in the Middle East right now.

Read... here and here. Then enjoy the comic below.

Lessons from Egypt

Things are far from over in Egypt... protests continue; Mubarak is digging in, to try and stay in power until September (!!!!); "Western" leadership are speaking out of both sides of their mouths - supporting democratic aspiration while supporting Mubarak staying in power "for the time being"; Israel is freaking out about the potential fall out from a change in the Egyptian guard - who will keep Gaza's other border locked now? etc etc etc

But while all this is happening, students of political science and history can take notes... what are the potential and limitations of peaceful protests? Will it work in Egypt? Will it work in Palestine? Did it work in Tibet? in India?

Clearly the situation matters.

As a Jamaican, the stories of most of our national heroes instill me with the belief that sometimes, you have to raise your arm in violence, in particular, when violence is used against you. While many factors brought the end of slavery, I have the feeling that violent slave revolts were a necessary precondition. This is the only way to make oppression economically impractical.

Food for thought... interesting discussion below:

Cold weather islander

I always wonder, how being away from home for so long is changing me. As the snow storms rage across the US, the most obvious is how I view cold weather. As an islander, my personal vision of hell is always cold cold cold. I remember how scared I was for my first winter. But my body is changing. Yesterday, it was 19 degrees here in Lincoln and I thought, "How wonderful! What a nice day, I shouldn't have worn so many layers." And I remember the last time I was in Jamaica and I first stepped out of the airport... it was so hot and humid, that for a few seconds, my body panicked... I couldn't breathe!!!

A few seconds later, I remembered. And I thought... this is wonderful. This is how weather is supposed to be. I stepped into my mom's car and went home....

Making a run for it

Another friend of mine at my old company, recently contacted me about the best way to quit as an international hire. Seems like ALL the minorities are making a run for it. Ha!