What’s on the minds of young people contemplating their future choices on the Navajo Reservation? Find out in a documentary that will air on PBS July 26, at 10 pm EST. I caught a preview for this film while watching my local PBS station Sunday evening. Then I noticed the segement featuring the young people on Native America Calling and listened online. Serious issues are raised about education, culture, generations and being Native in America. Some of the issues are similar for all teenagers –even those swiming hard in the maintream. At its best, when “the box” offers more than moronic junk food it can get us all thinking outside all sorts of boxes. “Up Haertbreak Hill” sure does not sound like mental junk food.
Visit the “Up Heartbreak Hill” site for information about director Erica Scharf and the other filmmakers, including producer Chris Eyre, involved in this documentary –>> http://www.upheartbreakhill.com/
Life is tough and complex for teenagers everywhere so the issues in this film are of interest to everyone, not just Native American/Indigenous/Indian people. How would you handle being a teenager in America in these times?
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 – Native Teens Racing Towards Life:
As teenagers get older and start reaching their last years of high school, many will look towards leaving home to pursue their life and education far from home. But, just how common is this dream? A new documentary, “Up Heartbreak Hill,” follows two bright Native American high school seniors through their final year of high school as they tackle daunting decisions and questions that will alter their life forever. What all is at stake in answering the question, should I stay or should I go? How do economic hardships on tribal nations skew visions of opportunity? Guests include Native youths Thomas Martinez (Navajo) and Tamara Hardy (Navajo) and Erica Scharf, Director & Producer/”Up Heartbreak Hill” Documentary.
Hey the heat is on and your local wildlife is feeling it big time. It’s easy to offer your neighborhood birds some relief that does not entail opening the doors and windows of your home to the great outdoors to invite our fine feathered friends inside for some air conditioning. Create a little bird beach with whatever you’ve got on hand that holds water, is no more than three inches high and which is fairly durable to avoid breakage. I simply put to use an old children’s plastic picnic table for a level steady base and set on it a durable 20 inch round plastic dish that is about 3 inches high. By placing this all under or near some trees or bushes allows the birds to scan for predators before indulging in drinking and bathing. The plastic dish is easy to clean out every day with a rinse and scrub before refilling with fresh clean water. My local wingers seem to enjoy loitering on the lower picnic bench seats and extra table space. Hence, my calling it a “bird beach.” Yes, the squirrels like it too. But they’ve not chewed on it or hauled it off. Nor have I witnessed any squirrels mugging any birds. Everyone seems very polite and patient waiting their turns in the branches of the dead pine tree nearby. O yes, they do seem to keep their own sense of order out there where it’s hot even under the trees.
The orange plastic container featured in this video shows how simple it can be offer birds the water they need to survive. A bird bath does not need to be expensive or fancy. It just needs “to be” in order to offer some life-sustaining water. Please share your bird bathing creations at will.
Thanks to VAbirdwatcher for posting this video complete with music on youtube.
Yes, there’s been a delay in the Recall Shelly effort according to the Navajo Times. My bad for missing this news piece at the time of prior blog post. Apparently some of the members of the Recall Committee were “disqualified.” But the Recall group is regrouping for another effort in two weeks. Full story online at Navajo Times.
Sorry for all the links folks, but I think it’s best that people looking for information regarding this Recall effort see/hear/read it at places where it can be found online so that they have those sources for the future.
I’ve been following Dine’ water issue and watching to see how this all plays out with much interest in how the Navajo people are working together. There’s only one thing I can contribute to this story. It’s been over 30 years since I spent some time at what was then Ganado Community College in Arizona. While there I learned that many Navajo and Hopi people had to haul water from wells, from natural potholes in the ground that caught rainwater, from 55 gallon drums, and anything else that would serve, set out to catch rainwater or that were filled from natural sources and hauled back home. At that time they’d been doing all this water hauling forever. Thirty years later they’re still doing it in many communities. In a video for SB 2109 Sen. John McCain used a photograph of Navajo people drawing water from a well and he made a comment that they have no infrastructure to deliver water to their homes. McCain did not go on to say that this should not be happening in 2012. He did not say, “These people need infrastructure to get water to their homes.” What he did say is that water can be used effectively by OTHERS and should be!
Here I sit where with the twist of a wrist I can turn on a flow of water into a kitchen sink and fill a glass with clean drinking water at will. Another twist and I can send water through a hose at a drip to the local heat exhausted birds foraging in the front yard. I can flush an indoor toilet all day long. Hot and cold showers are available on demand. The laundry machine is just a few steps away for washing clothes. The only water I haul is in a plastic two gallon pail to the little bird beach in the backyard under the trees beyond the reach of the hose. Can you imagine having to haul ALL your drinking, cooking, bathing, gardening water all the time? Think about it. I suggest Shelly, McCain and Kyl think about it too. Furthermore, I suggest they DO it themselves. Yes, I suggest those fellows all get dropped off at the Navajo community furthest from any water whatsoever and be left to their own devices to get their water supply in order to survive. All on their own with no one to help them carry a single drop.
Okay the heat is UP UP UP and so is the electric bill due to the NEED for air conditioning and fans to prevent being boiled alive like lobsters in a pot inside your own home. So here is a suggestion if you’re pressed hard for disposable cash and yet desiring some decent escapism from your local heat wave. Though it is my understanding that in some parts of the world waves of rain are causing very serious flooding. Ah weather extremes–what do they mean. Well if we’re brutally honest we know full well what they mean. But–right now the issue is heat relief and some decent entertainment at a price we can afford. If you’re not aware that your local public library probably has movies available to check out either entirely free or for the nominal fee of one brilliantly useless American dollar, as my public library charges for the price of walking off with a brand new dvd for about a week, then you need to explore this heat distraction avenue asap!
Here is a list of some of the flicks on dvd that I have enjoyed so far via my public library. Several of which they actually purchased via requests for recommendations. Your suggestions and comments are very welcome here. Please share whatever film gems you’ve discovered no matter what the genre. While I’m no ardent fan of Animal House or SAW fare I realize other folks are often on the lookout for such entertainment. So please don’t hesitate to share whatever flicks trip your dvd playing trap.
The King’s Speech — I may have been one of a handful of folks who did not view this film until recently. Unexpectedly throughly enjoyed the damn royal flick trick.
Memories of Murder — Do NOT watch this with the dubbing. Read the subtitles. The dubbing destroys the integrity of the film so badly it ought to be removed as an option. I watched it both ways after making the mistake of trying the dubbed route. Very soon it became evident that something was not right. This is an EXCELLENT Korean film that offers visual beauty, an unnerving and complex storyline and memorable performances.
The Crazies — A surprisingly satisfying modern chemical horror story. Yes, I’m serious, it’s pretty damn good stuff.
Reel Injun– I’ve plugged this documentary earlier and am doing so again. It bears watching–and Chris Hill offers great comic relief.
The Pipe — Viewed this documentary on Hulu–free at the time. It offers an interesting view of the people battling Shell Oil’s proposed pipeline in Ireland. For more information about the protests ongoing for about 12 years now visit Shell to Sea online. Who says the government works for the people?
Okay, now what’s been twirling in YOUR dvd players?
The usual information on all these films can be found on Imdb –>> http://www.imdb.com/
Are you ready for some do it yourself yum yums? Eh? Sure you are. I am always ready for cuisine that tickles the tongue and stirs the imagination. If your idea of good eating primarily entails KFC then go forage elsewhere because this is not mega chain food chop chop. If Yvette Van Boven can’t turn you onto to creating your own meals from scratch–without a shyte-load of expensive culinary toys–then you are doomed to plastic wrapped microwave hell for eternity. Yes, you too can learn how to make bread and cheese and sorbet from scratch via this Dutch Cookbook of 2010 Award Winner which is now available in English stateside. All those luscious red tomatoes loitering whispered slyly to me from the library shelf, “Hey there. You, pick us up! You know you want to. No regrets, we promise!” on first sight. Then, you know how we all do with cookbooks, a random opening and flipping of the pages to see if anything looked good enough to spend time actually making is in evidence. O and was there ever! Oof Verschuren’s photograph of Gooseberry Jam with Orange (p.15) enticed me into spending time right there and then with Yvette’s Zucchini Flapjacks with Basil Cream (p. 54), Biscuits (p.30), Red Bell Pepper Soup with Orange and Tarragon-Basil Oil (p. 1330, Papardelle with Spicy Lamb Ragu and Capers (p. 216), and Raspberry Sorbet (p. 315), and -well you’ve got the idea by now, I hope, that Yvette’s Home Made totally captivated moi via the salivary glands.
If you’re more into photography than food -well–that’s another reason to taste this book’s delights. There are beautiful landscapes of Paris, people, and how to make bread and how to make cheese. If you’re a writer then take note of the engaging and encouraging voice of Home Made: “Let’s get going . . . .” Yvette does not adore ice cream but apparently Oof, her husband, loves it and makes a great deal of it according to his own notions of flavors. Most of which will NOT be found via Ben & Jerry in the frozen food aisle. Guess what, everything looks doable. Intimidating curious would be do it yourself cooks is not the name of Yvette’s game. This is do it yourself cooking presented as it ought to be–try it, change it, go for it, make it your own! Have a great time and enjoy everything you eat!
Oof’s photographs are the sort that fool your hand into reaching out for the green tea ice cream, apple crisps and even the dog biscuits. Yes, the dog biscuits. If you’re a gardener lucky enough to have zucchini, carrots, and onions galore then get a grip on this cookbook for everything from roasting that zucchini to stuffing peppers with cheese you’ve made yourself. If you’re sick and tired of all the same old flavors and textures presented time and again in tried and true cooks’ books then wander through Home Made for some inspiration not found from a Pampered Chef party. Living well entails eating well–and you don’t have to be an Iron Chef to enjoy every meal.
Okay, I’m off to get some raspberries to make sorbet!
Go see all that Yvette does herself in Amsterdam and Paris. What’s a food stylist do? Click the photograph below to find out. Enjoy!
Ahhh, is reading the guiltiest pleasure ever or what? Hmm? Sometimes it’s so enjoyable it’s positively sinful. Jon Steele’s The Watchers reads like a great cup of steaming hot Swiss chocolate on a snowy winter day. YUM! Multiple mysteries move this deftly scored text along to an ending as teasing with potential ‘more’ forthcoming in a future foray into fiction by Jon Steele. Hint! Hint! I am going to try very very hard to glow about The Watchers without tipping Steele’s writing hand–ie, tossing any spoilers. Perhaps it was just a matter of the right book at the right time while in a certain frame of mind desiring a certain sort of meal for the imagination–or perhaps Steele’s first work of fiction is just very damn satisfying. Oh yes, I am a well satisfied reader of The Watchers–all very engaging 574 pages of it from Blue Rider Press, June 2012.
I must confess, and as a visual artist I expect to be absolutely forgiven, for initially being drawn to The Watchers not via any reviews or foreknowledge of the book but by its cover. Yes, the cover art drew my attention like a rich red flower baits and reels in a hummingbird. Light breaking through dark clouds looming over a lighted cityscape complete with pointy towers (photograph “sky” @ Karine Aigner-nicely done, Ms. Aigner). Instead of filling the inner book jacket to overflowing with marketing text Gregg Kulick took the much more enticing text teasing path of less is more.
Click to visit Jon Steele.
O! Let’s go to Switzerland and visit Lausanne Cathedral where we will meet the absolutely adorable le guet Marc Rochat and his Belles. Scramble one Playboy beauty’s brains for sexy appeals and ta da!, Katherine Taylor is just a call away. Where, o where has Jay Harper’s long-term memory gone? Hmm? Perhaps Monsieur Booty knows? I’m not telling. Nope. Not even if interrogated by the Cashmere Copper or those devilishly handsome men who lurk in the shadows. Not a single “mew” will I mew that might spoil the adventure of going up and down and all around Lausanne Cathedral peeking into the crypt, the belfry and the lunchbox.
As a “please, please, surprise me with somethings I can’t predict” sort of reader–I am well pleased with The Watchers. If you enjoy “Could it be this? Or that? Or somethings I’ve not imagined yet, please!?” mysteries then Steele’s tome could answer your prayer for some scrumptious reading fare as delicious as any entrée from Cafe de Grutli. In other words, procure a copy of the damn book and just start reading. Careful when you commence reading the final acts. I stayed up all night, yes ALL night, to complete the adventure.
Excerpt, interview, videos, images, twitter, fb and more! All to get you into the beforetimes, nowtimes and tocometimes.Don’t waste any moretime–just cyber surf to Jon Steele’s cafe nowtime! Steele will even take you inside the cathedral to meet the bells. In my opinion, The Watchers is much more fun than Milton’s Paradise Lost–by far. These fallen angels are much more intriguing. I can’t recall the last time literay apple pie tasted sooo sweet! Johnny Milton’s apples tends to leave a sour taste on my tongue. Yes, I know, stop before I get in any deeper.
If you don’t care to take my words for all the reading yum yum, then just ask Mabel at Blue Rider Press. Yep, that’s Mabel wearing the glasses.
Click Mabel to visit Blue Rider Press.
Blog note: There’s supposed to be an image of very smart dog, Mabel, reading The Watchers above. If Mabel is not lounging in my blogcasa, a mystery in itself, just click the window to visit her at home.
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