One thing I loved was that she kept of box of what she wanted–for her, places she wanted to travel.  I’ve been thinking more and more about what I want to do when my two years is up, and the more I think about it, the more I think how amazing taking a year or two to just explore the world sounds.  ”There’s a wonderful old Italian joke about a poor man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging, ‘Dear saint–please, please, please…give me the grace to win the lottery.’ This lament goes on for months.  Finally the exasperated statue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust, ‘My son–please, please, please…buy a ticket.’”

Unrelated, but on point: this NYT article about the failure of 20-somethings to become actual adults describes myself…and everyone I know.

Also:

The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.

-Sir Richard Francis Burton (English explorer and “orientalist”)

(Yes, I know, clearly, I’m not over children in third-world countries.  The last one is my absolute favorite.)

This is also interesting.  I find the pictures very beautiful.

Chad

Zimbabwe

CAR

Kenya

Malawi

Cambodia

Life, and luck, are strange.

]]> http://pleasedonotshout.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/postcards-from-hell/feed/ 0 pleasedonotshout 100616_2_Chad_78078712 100616_4_Zimbabwe_98630661 100616_8_Central African Republic_78415649 NORTH EAST KENYA, 6th MARCH 2006 (Photo by Mike Goldwater) A Malawian land worker harvests maize on HIV/AIDS Affects About 170,000 In Cambodia http://pleasedonotshout.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/whatever-the-many-failings-of-my-work-let-it-stand-as-a-manifesto-of-my-love-for-the-time-in-which-i-was-born-%e2%80%9d/ http://pleasedonotshout.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/whatever-the-many-failings-of-my-work-let-it-stand-as-a-manifesto-of-my-love-for-the-time-in-which-i-was-born-%e2%80%9d/#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:34:06 +0000 pleasedonotshout http://pleasedonotshout.wordpress.com/?p=242 ]]> Lovely.

• The details never seem to change…that the child soldiers are backed by American tax dollars this time is hardly surprising.
• Another depressingly static observation.  But I really like the picture.
• Saw this guy on Colbert; while I usually zone out when people start talking about religious doctrine, he actually brought up a lot of interesting points.  Looking forward to picking up his book.
• Something lighter: I found this article in today’s online Economist about French opposition to raising the retirement age two years hilarious.  Budget deficits are certainly not funny, but way to break the stereotype, guys.
• Aaand something heavier: as one of my bosses reminded us at staff meeting today, it is the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto massacre in South Africa–something easy to forget while the World Cup is raging (which, based on all the media coverage, is increasingly making me feel like South Africa is on a different continent than countries like those in bullet one).

Two of my favorite quotes to finish:

“What you risk reveals what you value.”

-Jeanette Winterson (British novelist)

“Art is whatever makes you feel less alone.”

-someone at a dinner party Tom Hanks attended

• Economist chart of the day: IDP trends.  Not good.  Sudan is fairly obvious, but I never would have guessed about Cyprus.
• TED of the Day: the developmental economics professor I wish I had had in college.
• Important discussion on recent wave of attacks on China’s schools; I definitely think is a pattern and certainly has something to do with societal/cultural issues and repression, but that’s invariably difficult to prove.
• And, finally, I loved this FP post about Japanese PM Yukio Hatoyama’s sartorial choices.  Personally I find the shirt rather courageous in a hipster sort of way (coming to an Urban Outfitters near you!)  Also I love his wife.

It’s really gross and rainy out this week.  Everyone on the streets is making what my friend and I like to call the RainFace:

Inspiring:

Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.

-James F. Byrnes (US politician)