Hotel Rwanda

I’ve noticed that there’s starting to be a glut of advertising for movies that are coming out this holiday season. Before you start making a list of must-see movies, let me suggest one that you might overlook. It’s called Hotel Rwanda, and it will be released nationwide on December 22. As a guest of the USHMM, Jeff and I went and saw the director’s premiere on Tuesday evening, and I now feel compelled to let you know about this movie.

Falling just under two hours in length, this movie completely captured my attention (which if you know me well, you know that that is a difficult thing to do). Without being documentary-like at all, it maintains the historical accuracy that is so often lacking in films about historical incidents. Without being preachy, it makes you question your values and actions. Without being sentimental, it makes you feel that there is good and hope in our world.

The film focuses on the Rwandan genocide of 1994 in which 800,000 people lost their lives in just over 100 days. But more specifically, it focuses on one man, Paul Rusesabagina (played by Don Cheadle), and his courageous efforts, which resulted in the salvation of 1268 lives. Paul, a Hutu manager of a Belgian hotel, is married to a Tutsi woman with whom he has four children. When the Hutus begin to massacre the Tutsis, Paul takes action to not only save the lives of his family, but also the lives of thousands of other people he doesn’t know, putting his own life on the line. While other Hutus turned on family and friends, creating one of the worst bloodbaths of the past half-century, he refuses the command to kill or be killed, and uses cunning, courage, and a bit of luck to prove that one person can make a difference. I’m not going to tell you more about the plot, because you have to go see this movie. While it does not shy away from the horrors of this brutal genocide, the movie contains no gratuitous violence, and much of the violence is implied…you think you see it, but you don’t.

What is spectacular about this movie is the range of thoughts and emotions it evokes without ever making any outright moves to tell you how to feel. One of the most powerful emotions for me was the shame that I felt at being part of a culture that turned its back on this genocide. When all it would have taken was the police force of a middle-size city to stop the murders, we refused to send any help and instead pulled out any forces we had there. Whether subconsciously or not, we (not just America, but the entire western world) said that the lives of these 800,000 people had no value to us. We looked at Africa and saw a distant, perhaps even “barbaric” land that had nothing to offer us. Unlike other wars, which we like to say we fight for “humanitarian” purposes, this one would have been a truly humanitarian fight. There would be no rewards in oil or power. There would only be the reward of peace and life. And apparently for us this was not enough. Like the journalist in the movie said, we watched it on TV, said how awful it was, and then went right back to our dinners. We were completely void of the empathy that is needed to make this world a more humane place. As humans, we must care about what happens to other humans, whether they are our friends and family or are people thousands of miles away who we do not know. They are still humans. They have the same kinds of feelings as us, the same kinds of hopes, and the same kinds of fears. It is our duty to speak up for them when they can’t speak up for themselves. One day we may need someone to speak up for us. After the Holocaust, we promised “Never Again.” But time after time, we break that promise. Rwanda. Bosnia. Yugoslavia. Darfur. Will we ever actually learn that it takes more than words. We have to have actions.

Thankfully, there are people who do take action. In Rwanda, there were a few UN Peacekeepers who refused to give up. There were some Red Cross workers who refused to leave. And there was Paul. His story is amazing. It overcomes you with emotion. It makes you wonder if you would have the same courage if you were in the same situation. It reminds you never to underestimate the power of one person to change things. It gives you a reason to hope that things will change, that people will change, that the world will change. And it inspires you to take action.

I don’t know exactly what to do. It’s a bit overwhelming. But I know I can’t just sit quietly, a hermit in my own immediate world, while so many people in the world are suffering. At the premiere, Paul Rusesabagina himself was there to talk and answer questions after the movie. He was an ordinary man, someone you’d pass on the street without never noticing. But what he did was extraordinary. He’s proof of what we all can be.

So go see the movie when it opens on December 22. And take action to make the world a better place. I’ll keep you posted on ways I find to make sure your voice is heard by more people than those you eat dinner with …on making sure that “Never Again” is more than just a fashionable catchphrase, but a reality.

Beavers in the News

This one is for my brothers.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/15/beaver.bucks.ap/index.html

I promise to do a real post soon. Life is busy.

Remember When He Said He Was A Uniter?

In yesterday’s speech in which Bush laid out his plans for our country’s future (or lack there of), he said, and I quote: “I’ll reach out to everyone who shares our goals.”

Is that really considered reaching out? For some reason, I thought reaching out meant going beyond your circle and attempting to bring other people into it. How, I wonder, is this going to help bring the country or the world together? Considering that a little less than 50% of the country and probably about 95% of the world doesn’t share his goals, exactly who is he planning to reach out to?

It’s already starting. We’re in for four more years of the same “if you’re not with us, you’re against us” politics, of the alienation of once strong allies, and of the deepening of the divide in America. Being President of the USA means representing all people, even those who didn’t vote for you. It’s not like being CEO of a company. You can’t fire me from America because I’m not on board with your policies. You have to find a way to incorporate me. Or at least I thought you did. But lately I’ve noticed that apparently a lot of the things I think are wrong, so hell what do I know.

That’s My Future You Just Flushed Down The Toilet

I’m not surprised. But I am disappointed. Honestly, America, I had higher hopes for you. I thought that maybe you were better than that. Please, do tell me what inspired an ungodly amount of you to vote for Bush. What made you rally behind a man who has led us down one slippery slope after another for the past four years? Didn’t your parents ever tell you that just because one of your friends thinks jumping off a bridge is a good idea that you don’t have to do it too?

Really, I just don’t see what led you to do this. Was it the moronic grin and stupid faces he makes on prime time television? Is it the way he says nuculer instead of nuclear? Was it the fear and terror instilled in you by his sidekick Dick? Was it because you like being unemployed? Did training the foreigners who are taking over your job make you feel like you were having an international experience? Do you have some twisted illness that makes you enjoy being hated? Please, someone explain it to me, because I just don’t get it.

Exit polls show that over 20% of the people who voted said that their number one concern when deciding who to vote for was “moral issues.” And of these 20+%, the overwhelming majority voted for Bush. I don’t understand. Unless of course invoking God’s name every time you speak makes you moral. What, I ask, is moral about fighting a war that goes against every principal of the just war theory? What is moral about outsourcing jobs so that people here don’t have them and people abroad end up working for terrible wages in terrible conditions? What is moral about favoring the wealthy over the poor, about supporting unethical big businesses who leave their employees penniless? What is moral about the death penalty or the support of constitutional amendments that deny people basic human rights? Really, people, if morals are your concern, Bush isn’t your man. And if Bush is your man, be honest with yourself and don’t say that it’s about morals.

Yesterday we had the chance to stand up and say that we think America is a better place than Bush has made it and that we as Americans deserve better than what Bush has given us. We could have said that international cooperation is better than a “don’t mess with me or I’ll kick your ass” attitude. We could have said that the welfare of all people is more important than our own personal wealth. We could have said that what we want isn’t a second home in a vacation hotspot but a safe and secure home for every person. We could have said that war should be the last option and not the first. We could have said that love shouldn’t be restricted or dictated but rather given openly and freely even to those whose lifestyles we don’t always understand or agree with. But we didn’t.

We didn’t vote with our heads, but with our pocketbooks and our prayer books. We didn’t vote with our hopes, but with our fears. We didn’t stand up and say what needed to be said.

I’m afraid we’re going to regret it.

History, Don't Fail Me Now...

All signs are pointing to a Kerry win on Tuesday, according to some of the most pertinent historical statistics out there. For one, every time the Red Sox have been in the World Series during a presidential election year, the democratic nominee has won. Being that the Red Sox even managed to win this year, it seems that the odds should be even more in the favor of the Democrats. Additionally, the Redskins have been a consistent predictor of the presidential election. If they win their final home game before the election, the incumbent wins. If they lose, the challenger wins. Well today was that game, and the Redskins lost to the Packers, so it's looking good for Kerry. Please, history, don't fail this time.

Now for some random thoughts from the past week and half. Yes, I haven't been a great blogger lately.

--When I went through airport security in Louisville on the way back to DC last Tuesday, the guy at the metal detector looked at my boarding pass and commented, "Well that's different. You're the first Mary There I've ever had." I looked at him, and said, "It's Mary Theresa. They cut off the last two letters." Yeah, Mary There. Come on. I know people give their kids some strange names, but really, you actually thought that might be someone's name???

--I took the GRE this morning. Being an English major and planning to apply to History programs, I didn't really care so much for the Math section and did little to prepare for it. But lo and behold, guess which part I did the best on. Yeah, fortunately I did well on both parts, so it's not really a big deal, but it was a bit odd that I would score better on the math section. Not sure what that says. Maybe I should have stayed with science??

--I despise the fact that we just changed the clocks. The sun will now set before I even leave work. Ugh. That's disgusting. I hate winter. It makes me lazy and grumpy. I am convinced that I have SAD. I need to cut back the hours I work, so I get to spend some time in the sun each day. Think that will fly?

--Jeff and I finally have a couch. It is a big, red, beautiful, comfy couch. Seriously, it looks really nice in the room and is quite spacious. So feel free to visit now. We won't make you sleep on the floor.

--We have had no trick-or-treaters. It's sad. Living in a condo complex, I didn't really expect them to come in droves, but I thought we might have a few. But alas, no, all the candy is still sitting in a bowl by the door. Guess Jeff and I will just have to suck it up and eat it all. Man, life is hard.

--Wedding planning is hard. It makes my head hurt. There are way too many things to think about, and each thing has a million alternatives that have to be weighed. My dad said it would be okay with him if we just eloped. I think he was joking, but seriously it would be a whole lot easier. Just joking, I want the whole deal...I just wish it were easier to make happen.

Anyhow, Happy Halloween to one and all. Hope you got lots of treats and no tricks.

It Might be Spotty...But I Like It That Way

The topic of memory has made frequent appearances in my life recently. First, Jeff and I rented and watched the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, which for those of you who don’t know is a film about a man’s attempt to erase a failed relationship from his mind using a scientific process that pinpoints the location of the memory in your brain and then deletes it. Then I went to a lecture yesterday here at the Holocaust Museum titled “The Ethics of Memory: “The Passion of the Christ” as a Case Study,” which addressed the problems with memory in relation to historical accuracy and the way we take upon memories of events that we were not first-hand witnesses of. And finally, I read an article last night in the Washington Post on a new pill that is being tested, which, if given to a person after a traumatic event, is supposed to remove the memory of that event. The preliminary research on that drug is actually going to be presented at the neuroscience conference in San Diego that Jeff is attending this coming weekend.

Memory is a particularly interesting topic to me. Without memory, so many things would lack meaning. First of all, who would we be if we had no memory of anything that had happened to us in the past? Almost every decision we make is based on the memory of another decision, action, or event. Without this memory, we would be a new person every day, and we would have to re-learn everything each day. We wouldn’t know what snow was. We wouldn’t know to look both ways before crossing the street. We wouldn’t be able to drive, to have relationships, to decide what it is we like to eat. Alzheimer’s gives us a small glimpse into what life without memory is like. For many people, Alzheimer’s is the scariest thing they can imagine happening to them. So why, I must ask, are people interested in drugs that can eliminate our memories?

Secondly, history would have no meaning without memory. It has been said that if no one remembers, it didn’t happen. Perhaps this is extreme, but it is, in many ways, true. History, as we know it, is only what we have taken the time and effort to remember and to record in some way so that others can “remember” it. Here at the Holocaust Museum, the exortation “Remember” is frequently heard. It is only by remembering that we have any chance of preventing the repetition of such an event. It is only be remembering that the event will still be real, will still have happened, after all those who lived through it are gone. Our world is ephemeral and things that are not remembered disappear. In the Jewish faith, the tradition of memory is one of the most important tenets of the faith. Every holy day is about remembering, and Jewish faith says that as long as one is remembered, one does not die. It’s a way of thinking that I like very much.

Yes, the world as we know it could not exist without memory, both individual and collective. Individual memory makes us each into people who bring unique and interesting ways of living to the world. Collective memory ties us together as people, as nations, as families. It is the root of all that we are and all that we believe. Certainly there are false memories. Certainly there are gaps in memory. And certainly there are memories many of us wish he didn’t have. But would you really want to play with your memories or let someone else? There are too many unknown side-effects, too many things that we may unintentionally lose in the process. We are who we are, not just because of the good things we remember, but also because of the bad things that we remember. We are studies in contrast. We know joy because we know sorrow. We know love because we know hate. We know gain because we know loss. Without one, it may very well be impossible to have the other. To lose the bad, might mean to lose the good. So I’ll take them both. I like my memories just the way they are.

From Today's Express

The Express is a daily newspaper that is published by the Washington Post and handed out for free at all Metro stops. It’s about 35 pages long, and contains just enough information for me to get through it all between the time I get on the metro at Grosvenor and transfer at Metro Center. It covers national, world, and local headline news, sports, entertainment, and classifieds. Today, there were two things that particularly caught my eye.

On page 10: Starbucks Plans To Extend Empire Into Small Towns – Java junkies often must journey more than two blocks to find a Starbucks, which the company sees as a problem, its chief executive told analysts Thursday. As a fix, Starbucks plans to more than triple the number of its world-wide outlets to 30,000, with half of those in the United States. It has 6,100 stores in the United States. Starbucks will focus its growth in American suburbs and small towns, with many of the new coffee shops being drive-thoughs.

Oh God, two blocks! Are you kidding me? People are currently expected to travel two entire blocks to get a $5 cup of coffee?!? Craziness. What is the world coming to? But thank God, things will be fixed soon. Now not only will there be a Starbucks across from a Starbucks, but also a Starbucks next to a Starbucks across from a Starbucks next to a Starbucks. Come on, people, why, why, why do you support this? Get off your butt and use your probably not exercised enough legs to go find a coffee shop with character, a hometown shop that needs your help to survive the onslaught of mega-chains.

Advertisement on page 25: I am opposed to same-sex marriages. To God, same-sex marriages are an abomination. Same-sex marriages will bring God’s wrath upon America, as He did on Sodom & Gomorrah (He dropped a fire bomb.) I favor the Marriage Amendment, one man, one woman. Rittenhouse for President. “”be RIGHT and write in RITTENHOUSE”.

This man apparently has a direct line to God. He knows exactly what God wants and will do. I need to look into getting one of those myself. And a fire bomb, huh. Wonder if he too thinks that 9/11 was brought about by homosexuality. Where in the hell do people get their crazy ideas? And why is it people like this who think they ought to run for president? Although I’m not a real fan of the two-party system, sometimes I’m thankful for it. If this guy had some kind of party, I know he wouldn’t get elected, but I’d sure he’d still get way more votes than I even want to imagine. Really, I think I’m better off not knowing how many crazies like him are out there.

Fall Weekend Fun

This past weekend was a perfect fall weekend. The leaves are starting to change in some places, and the air has that hint of fall in it, but the sun is still strong enough that it is warm on your face and arms. It was a perfect weekend for Cristina to visit, and for her, Tiffany, and I to get out and enjoy a bit of Washington.

Cristina, who I haven’t seen since we graduated, arrived Friday night. Despite terrible traffic (a DC constant), Jeff and I managed to pick her up on time. After dropping her stuff off at the condo and Cristina grabbing a sandwich for a late dinner, we headed out to COSI in Bethesda for dessert. Although we keep getting the same waitress there and she consistently sucks, I still like the place. I think I just like the s’mores…and the chocolate cake with raspberry sauce was pretty awesome too. We stayed there until close, and then headed home. Despite being tired, we stayed up chatting long after Jeff wished we’d head to bed. (He was sleeping in the living room where we were.) And then once we did go to bed, we stayed up even longer, giggling like little girls at a sleepover. Tiffany was ready to go bright and early the next morning, but Cristina and I were lazy bums and didn’t get moving until lunchtime. When we did finally get out of the house, we headed to Georgetown, where we had a delicious lunch at an Italian café that almost seemed like it could have been in Europe. We then wandered around the packed streets, enjoying the weather and checking out a few stores. I did buy a corduroy blazer, which is very cute. Pooped out, we headed back to the condo where we rescued Jeff from all the football watching he’d been forced to do (poor kid). We finished off the evening at Rock Bottom, with food, drinks, and conversation.

Sunday, Tiffany headed over again, and we grabbed a soup and salad lunch at Le Madeline. The weather was so beautiful we ate our lunch outside. We then stopped in David’s Bridal, which was a highly unsuccessful trip. I didn’t find anything I even remotely liked, and although I was just looking to see what styles might look good, I never got to try anything on, because the service there was atrocious. So it goes. We rounded out the afternoon just hanging around and talking before taking Cristina to the airport so she could get back to her demanding med school life.

Jeff and I still had Monday off, so we took advantage by going to a local farm to pick pumpkins. The day was sunny with a bit of crispness in the air. With jeans and a jacket, I was perfectly comfortable. We walked out to the pumpkin patch and quickly spotted the perfect pumpkin. We snatched it up, but kept looking around to make sure we had the very best one. We did, but we also grabbed a littler one to complement it. Back at the little shop, we also grabbed three small gourds for decoration. After loading them in the car, Jeff had a caramel apple for a snack, and then we wandered down to the pond (where we saw a blue heron) and around the grounds. For $15.50, we got two pumpkins (a 19 lb one and a 6 lb one), three gourds, one caramel apple, one coke, and a perfectly lovely day. Not a bad deal at all. It was fun picking a pumpkin, and although I didn’t wear overalls, and I squatted next to my pumpkin instead of sitting on it while taking a photo, the day reminded me of the family trips we took when I was little to pick our Halloween pumpkins. There were a lot of families there too, many resembling what we must have looked like about 12-15 years ago. It’s nice to know that even when everything seems to change, there are still ways to make it all feel a little bit the same.

Notes on Monday Night Football

*It’s good to have friends. A friend from Rice, who is interning with the Ravens, gave Jeff and I free tickets to Monday night’s game against the Chiefs. Not only did we get front row seats in the club section, but we also got into the pre-game Backyard Bash where we received free food and drink courtesy of Ruth’s Chris. Pretty nice deal.

*It’s amazing how many “macho men” will don purple if it’s for football. Purple, a color most manly men tend to spurn, is worn proudly by tens of thousands of male Ravens fans. As long as it’s in jersey form, color is apparently not an issue. I wonder how pink would go over.

*Apparently Under Armor is based in Baltimore. Every time there was a break in the game (which there were a lot of thanks to TV timeouts), an Under Armor ad came up on the board. The guys behind us apparently were big Under Armor fans, because throughout the game, they never stopped yelling the slogan: “Who will protect this house? I will! I will!”

*I didn’t know that “I’m Proud to Be an American” had gained national anthem status, but apparently it has. When it was played over the stadium’s loudspeakers, everyone stood, removed their hats, and sang loudly. This was then followed by something I am told was the national anthem, but Dru Hill’s version of it did not resemble any song I had ever heard before.

*Who knew that pro football teams had marching bands? I sure didn’t, until the Ravens’ band took the field before the game. They were about as cool as the Rice MOB, which means they weren’t really very cool at all. Now band geekiness isn’t just reserved for high school and college, but can be carried on throughout your life.

*I’m surprised that I didn’t see one single Janet Jackson moment throughout the whole game. The Ravens’ cheerleaders must tape their boobs into their tops, because the tops are so tiny and the boobs so big that with all the bouncing around they do, it’s inevitable that they’re going to pop out.

*I like football the best when there are lots of long throws and runs. Both the Ravens and the Chiefs mainly played small ball on Monday, which isn’t nearly as exciting. The game was still fun, and the three and a half hours passed quickly (I never once checked to see what time it was), but the game would have been better with a few more long bombs.

*NFL games are a lot of fun. I’m glad I got to go and see all the craziness and excitement that is professional football. Everyone should check out the spectacle at least once.

Don't Forget About Poland

For me, that had to be the best moment of last night’s presidential debate. And it didn’t happen once, but twice. You’d think that Bush, even as dumb as he is, would have realized after saying it once that touting Poland as one of your biggest allies is just absurd. But no, he had to go and do it again, making a big point out of it. Poland, ah, yes, Poland. Big, bad Poland. Poland, the source of so many ‘dumb’ jokes, is now our right hand man. Gosh, I feel good. Now I’ve been to Poland (it’s the only country whose border I’ve ever crossed by foot), and I’d like to go back. I think it’s an interesting place that catches way too much grief. But I don’t think it’s any kind of world power (militarily, economically, culturally…the list goes on). It’s great that Poland is giving us some aid in Iraq, but let’s be honest. They aren’t a real partner. I took the liberty of looking up how many Polish casualties there have been in Iraq, and today’s report lists 9. We’ve had 1050+. (Britain has around 90.) It’s our war, and for the most part we’re fighting it alone. Bush can talk about his “Coalition of the Willing” all he wants, but I’m not buying it, and if you are, well then you’re just plain dumb.

Overall, I found the debate to be both interesting and revealing. I didn’t learn anything new, because I try to keep myself pretty well-informed, but I believe those who were undecided were able to see where each candidate stands, at least on foreign affairs (which right now seems to mean only the war on terror…but that’s for another time and place). Although I can’t claim to be an impartial observer, I must say that I think Kerry won that debate. While the Bush clan tried to say that Kerry flip-flopped throughout the debate, even the commentators pointed out that he took a stance and stayed with it. The Bush team wanted to say he said the war wasn’t a mistake, was a mistake, wasn’t a mistake, when in fact, what he consistently said was that the war wasn’t a mistake, but the way we went about the war was a mistake. That’s clearly two different things, and I think he’s right. Bush did his usual and kept repeating the same old lines that don’t really tell us anything. Pretty little one-liners for the non-thinking population. And most of them weren’t even that well delivered. There were numerous instances were Bush was left speechless or stumbling. And I didn’t think Bush did a very good job of adhering to the debate’s rules, always wanting a chance to rebut. But then again, Bush has always seemed to make up his own rules, so I can’t say I’m surprised.
Anyhow, I hope the debate convinced some of the undecided out there that Kerry is a better man for the job than Bush. I’m not going to say he’s the best. I don’t think he is. I think we can do better overall as a country. But at this point, we’ve got two choices, and my choice is Kerry.

There's No Goodyear on the Side of This One

This was over my work today. http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/29/security.blimp.ap/index.html

Are You Serious...This is The Rest of My Life?

Yes, you’re right, I’ve done a terrible job of updating this thing lately. Sorry about that, but I had no idea the real world was so darn hard. I don’t know how people spend their whole lives working. For the life of me I can’t figure it out. I like my job, really, I do. It’s interesting, challenging, and important (I think), and the people I work with are very nice. Still, when the alarm goes off, it takes everything I have to get out of bed. I’m out of the house around 8, and I don’t get back until about 6:30. By then there is only about an hour of daylight left (and soon none, damn you clock changing), and so much to be done. Our condo is still only sparsely furnished, with most things in boxes or piles on the floor, so we grab a few bites of food and then scurry around to the stores until they close at 9. Then when we get home we try to get a few other things done – bills paid, flights booked, etc. By the time that’s done, we’re so tired we’re not worth a dime. And we still have a wedding to plan!

When are we supposed to meet people and hang out with them? When are we supposed to explore the million things that DC has to offer? When are we supposed to eat dinners that take longer than 10 minutes to prepare? When am I supposed to study for the GRE and apply to grad school? When are we supposed to go for bike rides or runs or get any form of exercise? When, people, when? Please tell me, because I haven’t figured it out. I’m hoping once we get the condo fixed up, we’ll have more time. Hopefully then I can apply to grad school and go back to the much easier life of being a student…except I’m not sure where the money will come from then. Job and grad school? There’s no way.

In Case It's Not Who You Were Expecting on the Other End Of The Phone Line...

…and is in fact, instead, a person calling in a bomb threat, don’t worry. I’m telling you now what to do. First, a few tips.
1. Be polite and show interest. (Sir/Ma’am might be appropriate here.)Let the caller speak and listen carefully.
2. Never hang up on the caller. (Your friends and family don’t like it. Why do you think a person with a bomb would like it?) Do not disconnect the line after the call.
3. Establish a relationship by using “I” and “You” in the same sentence. (This, for example, doesn’t work: “I am listening. You are a freak.” First, that’s two separate sentences. Second, name-calling never gets you far.)
4. Write down the EXACT WORDING of the threat. (What? You were too freaked out to remember? Weenie!)

And now that you’re having a polite conversation with Mr/s Bomb Threat, here are some questions to ask. Be sure to have a place to write the answers.
1. When is the bomb going to explode?
2. Where is the bomb?
3. What does it look like?
4. What kind of bomb is it?
5. What will cause it to explode?
6. Did you place the bomb?
7. Why did you place the bomb?
8. What is your name?
9. What is your address?
10. Now, if you get all these answers, ask yourself, why am I not working as a negotiator for a bomb squad? Obviously, I am a genius at this.

But you’re not done yet. There are other things you should take note of while talking. You need to pay attention to the caller’s voice/language and background noises. It might help to have a list available where you can circle the appropriate words. Examples of things to listen for: Laughter, Crying, Stupid Speech, Lisps, Raspy Voices, Congestion, Deep Breathing, Cracking Voices, Squeaky Voices, Taped Voices, Patronizing Speech, Wind, Animal Noises, PA Systems, Traffic, Machinery, Factory Noises, etc.

Got it? Are you ready? I am. If you’re wondering where I got all of this from, it’s from the Staff Emergency Procedures Flip Chart next to my telephone. I have a handy-dandy “Telephone Bomb-Threat Checklist” right at my fingertips. It even provides lines to answer each of the questions and lists with room for circling of any words that describe the caller’s voice and the background noises. Jealous, aren’t you?

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Off To Work I Go

I’m now officially an intern in the Division of the Senior Historian at the United States Holocaust Museum. I started work on Monday, and so far so good. I haven’t really done a lot yet to be honest, but I think I will like my work. Since most of you don’t really know what I’m doing, I’ll give you a brief description of my department. The Division of the Senior Historian (DSH from here on out) consists of three full-time staff members, an Austrian intern here on Gedenkdienst (an alternative to mandatory military service), two volunteers each who come in once a week, and myself. The DSH is contained within the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, and we, along with the library, are located on the fifth floor of the museum building. Our division has three main responsibilities:

1. Answer any questions posed to us by the general public concerning the Holocaust and related events. In a way, we’re like one of those numbers you call and can ask the person who answers any questions and they get back to you with the answer, except our questions are restricted to the subject area of the Holocaust. In short, the people in this department know a whole heck of a lot about the Holocaust. The range of questions goes from very detail-oriented, exacting questions posed by scholars to mid-range questions posed by the media and other people with a fairly strong interest in the material to absolutely ridiculous questions from who knows who, like the one I saw in the log yesterday which asked, “Did Hitler have cats? If so what were there names?”. The only questions we don’t answer are those about what happened to specific Holocaust victims (these are referred to the Survivor Registry people), those that are looking for basic info on reference materials for a paper they are doing (those are referred to the Library), and those which come from deniers (those go unacknowledged as required by museum policy).

2. Ensure that all materials, which originate from the museum or are displayed in the museum, are historically accurate. This means we work with Education, Exhibits, Publications, etc. to fact-check and help create new materials. We also review any book that appears in the museum shop and any video that is shown in the museum.

3. Produce original research on the Holocaust. Each of the three full-time members of the DSH are specialists in specific fields, and they publish research, give speeches, attend conferences, and act as academics. When I’m not doing items 1 & 2, I have been given the task of researching and producing a position paper on the number of Roma and Sinti (Gypsies) killed in the Holocaust. Currently estimates range anywhere between 90,000 and 1.5 million, and the USHMM would like to have a more accurate number than that to give as an estimate. So I’ll be spending a lot of time in the Library looking through records (many of which have just become available in the past years as formerly closed countries have opened and begun to allow access to their records) and reading the latest literature. I think it sounds interesting, and it should help me decide if I really do want to pursue a graduate degree in history.

So that’s it. Yes, not so brief, but that really is just the overview. I’ve spent most of my time so far just getting to know the place and the people. Everyone I’ve met has been fabulously nice, and I think it will be a good place to work. I’ll let you know more after I’ve been here a while.

Uprooting and Replanting

I hate moving. It's an extremely frustrating process. First you have to go through everything you own and decide what comes with you and what stays. That alone is hard because who knows if you'll ever need or want some of those things you've had for years, if not for your whole life. There's so much stuff you live with everyday that you never give any thought to, but when it comes time to decide if it stays or goes you have to figure out just what kind of impact that something has on your life. Once you make all those critical decisions, you then have to box it all up in a way that the majority of it will make it to the new place relatively unscathed. And finally, you have to unload it and find a new space for each and every thing that you brought with you. The perfect shelf or container or closet where it used to reside is no longer available and you have to re-think everything. It's hard.

It's especially hard when you are moving somewhere sans some very important things. Like a couch or a chair or a coffeetable or end tables or bedside tables or shelves or a kitchen table. You get the idea. Of the "important things to have in an apartment", Jeff and I have a bed and a dresser. Yeah, that's about it. There are a few random chairs and parts of a desk and two bookshelves, but none are really appropriate or in the proper condition for fulltime use. We're starting from scratch. Which in some ways is exciting. It's all up to us. We can make this place anything we want it to be (well, if we had a lot of money we could). But at the same time it's frustrating, because we don't even know where to start. We don't have anything to build on. We're painting the walls, buying a couch, finding a coffee table, all with nothing but a blurry vision we have in our minds. And who knows if our two visions are even remotely the same. It sounds like maybe they are, but things are so blurry we could very well be looking at two completely different pictures.

But really, this will be fun. Our place is nice. Jeff did an excellent job of picking it out. For the price we are paying (God, DC is expensive!!), we have a good size apartment that is well arranged. It's also clean, quiet, and conveniently located to both the metro (a 4 minute walk) and any kind of store we could ever need. Plus it's in a residential-type area. We live in a condo in a neighborhood full of condos. But it doesn't feel overly planned or sterile. There are many individual buildings each with a few condos per building. The buildings extend into a neighborhood of sorts, where instead of having a single family house as your neighbor you have a multiple-condo building. In between there are lots of trees, and the area is very green. There's even a creek right down the street. In many ways, the area reminds me of the neighborhood my Grandma lived in. Big oak trees shade the entire neighborhood, and squirrels and chipmunks scurry all around the grounds picking up and burying acorns. The grass is full of clovers and other shade loving ground covering and the dirt is old and crumbly. It smells like my Grandma's neighborhood smelled, which is a comforting thing. I like it.

So yes, our place is currently empty except for boxes and piles of homeless objects, but it has potential and eventually it will become a place that I think I can call home. And if you know me, that's saying a lot. Home is a sacred word in my book.

What's Big, Shiny, and Looks Really Good on My Left Ring Finger?

My brand new, super beautiful engagement ring, of course!

On Friday, Jeff managed to surprise me, Ms. Nosy, as I was referred to by both him and my mom in the planning stages of this event, with a proposal and the most gorgeous ring in the world. While I wasn't oblivious to the fact that a proposal was on the horizon, I had no idea it was going to happen Friday. Jeff apparently asked my parents two weeks prior and began planning with them. Right before it happened, Matthew was also pulled into the planning. It all unfolded as follows: Jeff flew into Louisville early Friday morning and was picked up at the airport by Matthew, who had conveniently taken Mark to school that morning and told me that he was then going to work for a bit. Together Matthew and Jeff had breakfast and then went to a florist to buy me a bunch of daisies (my favorite). After that, Matthew took Jeff up to St. A to get the car from my mom. While Jeff drove himself out to Bernheim Forest, an arboretum near my house that I have been a lover of since I was a little kid, Matthew came home. Having asked me the day before if I was interested in going to Bernheim on Friday, I was ready to go. There was nothing suspicious about this to me as we often go out there, especially when the weather is as nice as it was Friday. Once out there, Matthew says he wants to check out the big lake and I agree. Near the lake is a "Quiet Garden" full of flowers and lily pond. Jeff at this time was positioned behind the wood building in the center of the garden. I, of course, don't know this and not having any idea there is an agenda to my visit, I piddle around the lily pond, throwing berries from a bush at bugs in the water. Matthew lets me do this for a while, but knowing that Jeff is waiting, cajoles me into checking out a bunch of flowers. I look at them and then look up and see Jeff. Matthew disappears, and I ask, "What are you doing here?". He's all dressed up and holding flowers, so really it was pretty clear what he was doing, but all I could think was that he was supposed to be at work finishing up a really important paper he'd been busy with forever. Getting down on one knee, Jeff proceeded to propose, and did so in a very fine fashion, properly nervous and all. At the end, he gave me an antique style diamond ring, and I gladly accepted his proposal. It was perfect. He did a fabulous job with location, the proposal, the ring, everything. I could not have asked for more.

So yes, now I like to use my left hand a lot and I am easily distracted by the shimmering mass adorning my ring finger. It's very sparkly. I'm also trying to plan a wedding, although I'm not really sure how one goes about that. Just looking at magazines apparently doesn't allow it to magically happen. We're thinking late July or early August of next year, and we know it will be here in Louisville, but beyond that, we have nothing. Hopefully soon though since I move to DC a week from today.

Craziness. But good craziness. I'm sure you will all here more about it than you want to over the next year, but just deal with it. If you're good, I'll let you come to the wedding, and that, I promise, will be a really good time.

Some How, Some Way, Athens Got It Done

I've been watching the Olympics every evening since they began. It's interesting to see it all happen, having spent the last year watching the Greeks attempt to pull it all together. So far, I'm impressed. It's pretty miraculous to be honest. I only left Greece a little over a month ago, and at that point, I couldn't imagine them being ready. But in some way that I don't fully understand, the Greeks are charmed. And while you still couldn't pay me to be there in the middle of it all, I am enjoying watching it. Here are some of my observations so far.

*The Greeks obviously paid off the cameramen. Everything on the television makes Athens look sparkling. But really, it's not. I'd love to see the outside of the stadiums, because I know they are not at all landscaped and instead look eerily like alien landscapes. Also, I have yet to see a stray dog, although there is definitely a 1:1 ratio of people to dogs in Athens. And finally, the run-down and abandoned buildings surrounding the new Olympic Stadium have not once made it onto the television.

*I can tell you what the Greeks spent the past month doing. First, they took the scaffolding off the Parthenon and hid it. Then they went to work on Syntagma Square turning it from a dusty construction zone into a little garden oasis. Next they rounded up all the stray dogs and took them to a farm of sorts where they will be kept until the Games are over. (They will then be returned to the streets...I am not kidding.) Then they blocked off all of the roads so the millions of cars that jam them everyday disappear into side streets that aren't shown on television. Then they got rid of the gypsy camp surrounding the new stadium. And finally, they sent almost all Athenians packing to the islands. All this in one month...really I think it's more than I saw them do during the whole year I lived there.

*Has anyone else noticed that the stands are seriously empty? Where have all the people gone? The announcers the other day tried to tell me that the gymnastics event was empty because it was the Feast of the Assumption, and all the Greeks were busy with religious stuff. Riiiight. I was there on religious holidays before, and they never kept people from doing anything else. The Greeks are, as a whole, fairly religious people, but the Greek Orthodox Church suffers from the same dwindling attendance problems common to many other religions.

*Could the commentators please ask a local person how to pronounce the Greek words they have to say? I'll be the first to admit that for living in Greece in a year, I know pathetically little Greek, but I can pronounce the name of the main sites around the city and country. Lykavatos is not pronounced Lick-A-Vat-Os and Patras is not pronounced like Pat-Ross. Really, it's not that hard. It's not like they're asking them to read the Greek alphabet.

*I lived about a mile from the new stadium. If you see a big yellow building with a red roof, that's Athens College. Nike has taken it over for the duration of the Games, so maybe I'll get to see it on TV.

*It must be pretty cool to win an event and know that there is no one in the world better than you at that event.

*It's really sad that the Iranian guy withdrew rather than have an Israeli opponent. Kind of goes against the whole Olympic spirit.

*Iraq's soccer team seems to be the feel-good story of the Olympics. You can't help but cheer for them.

*The Olympics brings out the patriot in all of us...at least in me. Whether you mean to or not, you find yourself wanting the US to win every event you watched. I was watching swimming yesterday, not feeling any particular attachment to it, but as the race neared the end, I found myself yelling "Swim Faster! Swim Faster!" to the American.

So if you haven't watched yet, get to it...and let your inner patriot out for a little while.

Hopping Louisville

Last Friday, my mom and I went downtown for the Trolley Hop, an evening tour of art galleries held on the first Friday of every month. Although the Hop has been going on for a year or two now, neither of us had ever been. Having worked downtown last year, I had popped into a gallery or two, but I'd never really had time to explore all that Main and Market Streets had to offer, so I was excited about our adventure.

We started our tour at Glassworks, a one-of-a-kind facility that brings together glass artists of all sorts. The showroom was filled with vases, bowls, ornaments, jewelry, and a wide variety of other decorative and functional art. One of the most interesting pieces was a table whose entire top was glass. But this was no ordinary glass table where a sheet of clear glass is perched atop a frame. The glass was silver and very solid looking and it curved down around the round table as if it were a tablecloth. In fact, I originally thought it was just a table covered with an extremely starched tablecloth. It was really neat. If I were loaded, I would have bought it. If I were loaded, I would have bought a lot of things.

After Glassworks, we waited a minute for the trolley with a large group of other people, but not seeing it anywhere nearby, we just got in our car and moved down the street to the east end of Market near Clay and Shelby. In this area, the art galleries are really concentrated. We first went into PYRO, a new gallery whose name was inspired by the old fire station it resides in. There I was impressed with some black and white photos, some embroidery art, and the complimentary spread of yummy food. From there we went into Zephyr Gallery, Garden Wall, Flame Run Gallery, Swanson-Reed Gallery, Ray of Light, Towne House Antiques, and a slew of other places. The glassblowing going on at Flame Run was really interesting. Ray of Light had some neat glass lanterns. And the gardens behind Garden Wall and a number of other galleries were very relaxing.

We ended our tour on the west end of Main Street, visiting the Kentucky Museum of Arts + Design and the Chapman Friedman Gallery. We also checked out the Art Cars lining the street for the weekend's annual gathering. All in all, it was an excellent night, and I'm looking forward to making it a recurring event. With the galleries changing their exhibits frequently, it's an event that's always fresh. I highly recommend it.

I was impressed by the Trolley Hop. To be corny for a minute, it was really hopping. I don't know when the last time I saw so many people downtown was. By the time we left around 9:30pm, the streets were packed. People were downtown, enjoying the unique things that our city has to offer. While 4th Street Live does little but bring people to a select destination, the Trolley Hop gets people moving through over 30 blocks of downtown, discovering places they hadn't know about before. Not only did the art galleries get exposure, but so did all of the other businesses along the way and all of the restaurants who provided snacks at the galleries. The one thing that would make it better would be if the restaurants who serve the downtown lunch crowd stayed open for dinner on Trolley Hop nights. I guarantee they'd get a good deal of business.

If Louisville could put together more events like this, the city would really take off. It's things like this, and not things like 4th Street Live, that make Louisville a cool and interesting city. I don't think 4th Street Live is a bad idea...I just don't think it's the best direction for us to go. 4th Street Live is generic. There's nothing unique about Hard Rock Cafe, TGI Friday's or the other bars and shops that compose it. The Trolley Hop, on the other hand, is unique. Sure other cities have similar things, but they don't have our local galleries and our local restaurants. And it's these locally-owned and run places that gives Louisville it's flavor. It's these places that make Louisville somewhere I want to live. So keep 4th Street Live, but explore more unique opportunities for making Louisville into the city it can and should be. I don't want to be Baltimore or Houston or any other city. I want to be Louisville. Let's build on Louisville's strengths, not import other cities. Let's take ideas like the Trolley Hop and go from there. Let's make Louisville into the cool place that I already know it is.

You Can't Fool Me

Are we really to believe that the recent raising of the terror alert level isn't a political move? The information is 3-4 years old for God's sake, and the most recent update to the information they can tell me about was in January...eight months ago! If the information is so accurate and important why in the hell weren't we made aware of it earlier? According to our highest and most trusted (note the sarcasm) officials, it's because Al Qaieda plans things way in advance and then acts. So really we shouldn't worry about anything new going on in the world...just things from years and years ago. Riiiiiight.

So, Tom Ridge make your announcements while praising "the President's leadership in the war on terror," and then go on to tell us the next day, after it comes out that the information is old news, that you "don't do politics in the Office of Homeland Security". Sure, we believe you.

Quit crying wolf. And quit trying to scare your electorate into voting for Bush. That's not the way democracies work. Terror is the work of dictators. And anyhow, aren't you supposed to be fighting terrorism, not inciting it?

Hold On...He's Coming

Yesterday (or maybe the night before) the local news was covering a Louisville homicide. They opened the piece with a woman neighbor/friend saying how "cool" the victim was. I think she was trying to convey that he was a good guy who would be missed, but I got lost in the number of times she said "cool". Murders are unnerving though, so I'll let it slide. The end piece was what was really interesting anyhow. Per usual, they were trying to make the beginning and end personal, with the middle giving the known info on the case. So at the end they interview another neighbor, a man probably in his late fifties, and perhaps a little crazy. This I gather from what he decided was the best thing to say about the man and the tragedy: "Well, when you wake up and find out something like this happened, you know the prophecy is coming true. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming home." (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but I think that's pretty close.)

Hmmm. I'm not sure what prophecy he's referring to, but sure sounds interesting. The victim must have been a pretty important guy for his death to be the pivotal point for the fulfillment of a prophecy. But anyhow, be on the lookout folks. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming home. Are you ready to invite him in?