Trevor Noah Quote

“Nelson Mandela once said, 'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.' He was so right. When you make the effort to speak someone else's language, even if it's just basic phrases here and there, you are saying to them, 'I understand that you have a culture and identity that exists beyond me. I see you as a human being” 
― Trevor Noah, Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood 

I had this quote listed to send for one of my Thursday quotes after reading Trevor Noah's book "Born a Crime" where he gives his personal accounts and explanations of apartheid and racism that illustrate on an individual and societal level how irrational and dangerous it is to perpetuate the myth that we are different from each other.  Then yesterday I heard the following story on the CBC and it struck me as a great illustration. 

Cheers

Jeanne

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/police-shooting-mental-illness-1.4699217 

'Enough is enough'

"Jimmy Cloutier was the fourth homeless man to be fatally shot by Montreal police over a period of about six years. No officers were charged in any of the previous cases. Cloutier's case is currently before Quebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions, who will decide if any officers will be charged

A CBC News investigation published in April found that 461 people died in Canada as a result of police encounters from 2000 to 2017. Like Cloutier, many of the individuals who died had mental health issues. "

..."The partnership between the Old Brewery Mission and Montreal police was announced in February 2017, weeks after Cloutier's death. To date, more than 240 police recruits have completed a mission-led training session, which covers myths surrounding homelessness, services offered by the mission, and how to intervene. In addition to the recruits, nearly 800 officers are expected to complete the training by the summer.

"It's an opportunity to really, really get to know each other. But not only that, it's how to better intervene," says Carlo De Angelis, the force's Aboriginal liaison officer. "Sometimes we're making an intervention and we realize it's not working exactly like we'd like, but [mission staff] might have that piece that we were missing."

There has also been an effort to build more trust. Since announcing the partnership, dozens of officers have visited the mission to serve dinner. Officers also stop by the shelter's internet cafe.  

"We don't want police officers to come and serve a meal dressed in their civilian wear," Pearce says. "We want them to look like police officers so people realize that behind that badge, behind that uniform, is a human being as well."

Cloutier's legacy

Mission staff appreciate what they see as a more humane approach from officers.

"They're not rough and tough as they used to be," Vincent Ozrout says. "They'll offer choices to the person: 'You can either leave on your own or we can help you out.' Instead of just barging in, grabbing and leaving."

Pearce says the new police chief, Martin Prud'homme, seems as committed to the partnership as his predecessor.

Since Cloutier's death, dozens of Montreal police officers have served dinner at the Old Brewery Mission. (Old Brewery Mission )

And about Trevor Noah (copied from trevornoah.com):

Trevor Noah is the most successful comedian in Africa and is the host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning The Daily Showon Comedy Central. This year The Daily Show has been nominated for a Writers Guild Award (Comedy/Variety Series). Noah joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 2014 as a contributor.

It was recently announced that Noah will debut his 9th new comedy special Afraid of the Dark on Tuesday, February 21 on Netflix. The special was shot before a packed house in New York City at the Beacon Theatre on November 5, 2016. Last year, Noah debuted his one-hour stand-up special, Trevor Noah: Lost in Translation, on Comedy Central. Noah was the subject of David Paul Meyer’s award-winning documentary film You Laugh But It’s True which tells the story of his remarkable career in post-apartheid South Africa. His Showtime comedy special, Trevor Noah: African American premiered in 2013. He was nominated for “Personality of the Year” at the 2014 and 2015 MTV Africa Music Awards and won the award in 2015. Trevor’s success has also spanned to sold out shows over 5 continents.

Born in South Africa to a black South African mother and a white European father, Noah has hosted numerous television shows including South Africa’s music, television and film awards, and two seasons of his own late night talk show, Tonight with Trevor Noah.

In November 2016, Trevor released his first book Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, which was an instant New York Times bestseller. Additionally, his performance on the Born a Crime audiobook was Audible’s highest rated audiobook of 2016, and has remained one of the top selling titles on Audible since its release. It was also nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for Outstanding Literary Work by a Debut Author and another for Outstanding Literary Work in the Biography/Auto-Biography category.

The book is collection of personal stories about growing up in South Africa during the last gasps of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that came with its demise. Already known for his incisive social and political commentary, here Noah turns his focus inward, giving readers an intimate look at the world that shaped him. These are true stories, sometimes dark, occasionally bizarre, frequently tender, and always hilarious. Whether subsisting on caterpillars during months of extreme poverty or making comically hapless attempts at teenage romance, from the time he was thrown in jail to the time he was thrown from a speeding car driven by murderous gangsters, the experiences covered in this book will shock and amaze, even as they leave you rolling on the floor with laughter. The audiobook version performed by Trevor Noah is currently available from Audible Studios.

Quote May 10th

“I DO NOT FEAR DEATH, I HAD BEEN DEAD FOR BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN, AND HAD NOT SUFFERED THE SLIGHTEST INCONVENIENCE FROM IT.” 

Mark Twain

  

This week's quote came from a movie we saw at the Ancaster Film Festival on Monday night. It was engaging, funny, sad and hopeful. About living and dying and the nether land in between where some of us hang out thinking we are alive until something wakes us up (if we are lucky). 

Cheers

Jeanne

​

Reviews:

RogerEbert.com/Susan Wloszczna

Finding Your Feet finds its own footing by putting its trust in its sturdy performers and avoiding many of the usual tea-time clichés as it allows its British cast to be defined by their relatable human circumstances more than quaint Anglo quirks.

Women's Voice For Change/Alexandra MacAaron
There are things that the British simply do better than we do. One of them is creating romantic comedies with old people. Here's a new one, with a marvelous cast that's living it up.

Washington Post/Jane Horwitz
This dramedy about middle-class Londoners in their 60s and 70s getting on with life has a genial watchability - even a stubborn relevance - thanks to its crackerjack ensemble cast, who play characters just eccentric enough to keep things tasty. 

Mark Twain Interesting Facts from the Farmer's Almanac

November 30 is the birthday of Mark Twain, born in 1835.  Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, provided us with endless entertainment through numerous novels, nonfiction books, short stories, and essays—all despite having ended formal schooling after the fifth grade.

10 CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT MARK TWAIN

When Was Mark Twain Born?

Baby Clemens arrived prematurely in a two-room shack in Florida, Missouri, on November 30th, 1835. He was a frail infant and sickly child, prompting his mother to admit, “When I first saw him, I could see no promise in him.”

Mark Twain’s Many Cats

The Clemens family had 19 cats at one time during Twain’s childhood. Over the years he gave his cats inventive names such as Bambino, Famine, Pestilence, Satan, Sin, Sour Mash, and Stray Kit.

What Is Mark Twain’s Real Name?

Sam Clemens tried out several pseudonyms, including Rambler, W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab, and Josh, before settling on Mark Twain (the phrase used by Mississippi River steamboat crews when measuring water depth).

Mark Twain’s Typewriter

In 1874, the author spotted one of the first typewriters, a Remington, in a Boston store window. Although it could only type capital letters and he had to operate the carriage return with a foot pedal, he bought it for $125. Twain also claimed to be the first person in New England to have had a telephone for private use.

How Tall Was Mark Twain?

This literary giant stood 5 feet 8 ½ inches tall and was so well known that he once received a letter addressed “Mark Twain, God Knows Where.”

Mark Twain in New Hampshire

In 1905, he spent the first of two summers in Dublin, New Hampshire (home of The Old Farmer’s Almanac). There he wrote (but never finished) a book called Three Thousand Years Among the Microbes. To keep him company, he rented three kittens from a local farm. While lecturing at the Dublin Lake Club, he noticed that an audience member was knitting a pair of socks while he spoke. Infuriated, Twain declared that he had never played second fiddle to a sock and left the room. The following year, he returned to the Lake Club and spoke for over 2 hours on various topics. He received a standing ovation.

Mark Twain’s Clothing

Twain made headlines in 1907 by walking from his London hotel to a public bath across the street attired in his blue bathrobe and slippers. Back in America, he often wore scarlet socks and all-white suits, which he called his “don’tcareadam suits.”

Mark Twain’s Leisurely Habits

Twain loved to write in bed, and reporters chatted with him there more than once. He said, “I have never taken any exercise, except for eating and resting, and I never intend to take any.”

Mark Twain’s Memory

He once observed: “When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so that I can not remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it.”

When Did Mark Twain Die?

He was born and died when a comet passed, once noting: “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year [1910], and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t.” He got his wish. He died on April 21, 1910, just two days after Halley’s Comet had reached its point closest to the Sun. 

Quote May 3rd

"There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can't fix it you've got to stand it.” 

Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain

This is the last line in Annie Proulx's short story "Brokeback Mountain"

If you want more reading check out the link below.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/10/13/brokeback-mountain

Author E. Annie Proulx won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1994 for her novel 'The Shipping News.'

Synopsis

Award-winning author E. Annie Proulx began her career by writing nonfiction and founding a rural Vermont newspaper. She became the first woman to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for her first novel Postcards (1992). For her next work, The Shipping News, Proulx won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Proulx followed with the 1996 novel Accordion Crimes. In 1998, her short work "Brokeback Mountain" was named an O. Henry Prize Story. It was made into a feature film in 2005. In addition to these, Proulx has written a number of nonfiction, fiction and short-story collections.

For Ted and Tim's wedding

SIN

I’m here to talk about sin, and I’m choosing to speak about the paradox of sin and beauty.

In the Aramaic Language and culture that Jesus taught in, the terms for "sin" and "evil" were archery terms. When the archer shot at the target and missed the scorekeeper yelled the Aramaic word for sin. It meant that you were off the mark, take another shot. The concept of sin was to be positive mental feedback. Sin is when you are operating from inaccurate information and thus a perceptual mis-take. When you become conscious and aware if the results of your inaccuracy you have the option to reconsider what you have learned and do as they do in Hollywood, "do another take.

The thing about sin is that we acknowledge we do not always do what is right or best for ourselves or our fellow man…however it is about making conscious decisions, choices and living mindful of what is and loving it….

Everything we do, everything we say and everything we think has results. With our intended result it is usually easy to see if we have “hit the target”. Unintended results are more difficult to recognize because, for the most part, they may not appear to affect us directly. This unconsciousness is the sin through which much pain can be caused. The paradox of this is that awakening to the realization of the pain affords great opportunity for beauty and good to arise.

Here are three (very short) stories to illustrate this:

A random shot, fired in a street fight missed its target and hit a five year old girl playing Barbie on her 2nd floor balcony above the street, paralyzing her from the waist down.

Two years later the man is brought to trial. The mother pushes her daughter’s wheelchair into the courtroom and up close to the prisoner. The little girl, who knows more in her innocence and joy about living than many of us will ever understand, looks into the eyes of the man who shot her and says, “I forgive you.”

The man, the street fighter, who until this moment had only known fear and anger broke down and cried in front of the courtroom. He spent his time in prison and beyond helping young men like himself transform their lives.

The Paradox: Miss the target…unintended impact; raised consciousness of something beyond ourselves…true beauty arises.

(There is another sin in this story I can’t pass by, which is the unconscious impact on young girls of having Barbie as a role model)

Second story:

On Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists crashed jetliners into the World Trade Center. We all know the pain that was caused by this action. The intended result … destruction and fear… was achieved. Another result; unintended (I assume) was the wave of kindness and generosity that swelled across the country and the world.

The Paradox: Hit the target…unintended impact; raised consciousness of something beyond ourselves… true beauty arises.

And:

This last story illustrates what I believe to be one of the greatest sins that is happening everyday in our education system and in society.

The story goes: A rabbit, bird, fish, squirrel, duck and so on, all decided to start a school. Everybody sat down to write a curriculum. The rabbit insisted that running had to be in the curriculum. The bird insisted that flying be in the curriculum. The fish insisted that swimming be in the curriculum. The squirrel insisted perpendicular tree climbing be in the curriculum. All the other animals wanted their specialty to be in the curriculum too, so they put everything in and then made the glorious mistake of insisting that all the animals take all of the courses. The rabbit was magnificent in running; nobody could run like the rabbit. But they insisted that it was good intellectual and emotional discipline to teach the rabbit flying. So they insisted the rabbit learn to fly and they put him on this branch and said, “Fly, rabbit!” And the poor old thing jumped off, broke a leg and fractured his skull. He became brain damaged and then he couldn’t run very well either. So instead of an A in running, he got a C in running. And he got a D in flying because he was trying. And the curriculum committee was happy.

The same way with the bird-he could fly like a freak all over the place, do loops and loops, and he was making an A. But they insisted that this bird burrow holes in the ground like a gopher. Of course he broke his wings and his beak and everything else and then he couldn’t fly. But they were perfectly happy to give him a C in flying, and so on. And you know who the Valedictorian of that graduating class was? A mentally retarded eel, because he could do almost everything fairly well.

The unintended impact of this (I assume) is creating a world of mediocrity, a common purpose of conformity and a fear of anyone who is “different”. (George Orwell in 1984, wrote about this, Ayn Rand; The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, Margaret Atwood… there is a huge list of books that project the results of this into a not too distant future.)

The Paradox is that this result causes so much pain in many individuals that they look for another way. There is a rising consciousness and appreciation of the beauty in our differences and the unique abilities of every human being.

Imagine what this world would be like if everyone had the opportunity to be encouraged to be a unique human being.

I’m going end with The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent Keith:

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
   Love them anyway.

Sin is anything less

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
   Do good anyway.

Sin is anything less

3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

Sin is anything less

4. The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Sin is anything less

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

Sin is anything less

6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

Sin is anything less

7. People favour underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

Sin is anything less

8. What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

Sin is anything less

9. People really need help but may attack you if you help them.
Help people anyway.

Sin is anything less

10.Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the best you've got anyway.

Sin is anything less

May you find grace in the face of adversity;
And see the fear behind a critic's eye.
May you embrace love and joy as they're offered;
And give generously of your heart and time.

Sources:

When Ted and Tim asked me to talk about ‘Sin’ at their wedding I was a little lost. I had agreed to speak at the wedding a year ago after Ted and I had our conversation with the turkey in California, and for most of that year I assumed I’d be talking about love. Not more than three weeks before the wedding I pressured them (Ted and Tim, not the turkeys) enough to be specific about what they wanted me to talk about that they gave me the word “sin”. I googled “sin”, then read through masses of stuff until I came to the definition, which talked of sin in a way I related to. Unfortunately I did not save this link. The second paragraph is a direct quote from Ted. (2006)

Everyday I receive a quote by email from an organization called Charity Focus. The email includes a quote, an inspiring story, and a ‘Be the Change’ suggestion.

www.charityfocus.org

The story of the little girl who got shot in April this year was from Charity Focus in April. This story stayed with me ever since, I pull it out often when I think about forgiveness. However, now that I have looked it up again I see I have taken liberties with it. The original is even more poignant and beautiful, but forgive me for remembering ‘Barney’ as Barbie.

Here is the direct link to it:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/04/14/i_still_forgive_him

The animal curriculum story is from one of my all time favourite books: Living, Loving and Learning by Leo Buscaglia. It is a series of lectures he gave between 1970 and 1981.

The Paradoxical Commandments I also heard originally from a Charity Focus email.

Here is the link to read an interview with Kent Keith, the author: http://www.bookpage.com/0205bp/kent_keith.html

Thursday quote Edward Burtynsky

“You need to have an inquiring mind. You have to ask questions (…), not accept what is given, but say: “Why is it so?” And it is in that kind of asking that you begin to get behind some of the issues that allow the world appear the way it does. So if you just accept the world the way it is and don’t question it I can’t see how you can go far creatively.” 

– Edward Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky is known as one of Canada's most respected photographers. His remarkable photographic depictions of global industrial landscapes are included in the collections of over sixty major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, the Tate Modern in London, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California.

Burtynsky was born in 1955 of Ukrainian heritage in St. Catharines, Ontario. He received his BAA in Photography/ Media Studies from Ryerson University in 1982, and in 1985 founded Toronto Image Works, a darkroom rental facility, custom photo laboratory, digital imaging and new media computer-training centre catering to all levels of Toronto's art community.

Early exposure to the sites and images of the General Motors plant in his hometown helped to formulate the development of his photographic work. His imagery explores the collective impact we as a species are having on the surface of the planet; an inspection of the human systems we've imposed onto natural landscapes. (From: www.edwardburtynsky.com )

World-renowned photographer EDWARD BURTYNSKY creates stunning photos—“reflecting pools of our time”—that explore large-scale social, political, and economic issues, including water, oil, and the upheaval caused by rapid industrialization and climate change. On stage, he talks about the connection between art and social transformation, human nature and consumption, and industry and environment.

“What took out the dinosaurs was a meteor impact … we, the human species, are now that impact. Humans are shifting the balance of the planet, and the choice rests within us to destroy it all, or not.”

— Edward Burtynsky, The New Yorker

Edward Burtynsky’s remarkable photographic depictions of global industrial landscapes are included in the collections of over fifty major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His life and work are the subjects of the award-winning documentaries Watermark and Manufactured Landscapes, both directed by Jennifer Baichwal, as well as numerous magazine profiles, including The New Yorker. Watermark was awarded the $100,000 Best Canadian Film Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association. His exhibitions, which have all been published as books, include Residual Landscapes, Manufactured Landscapes, Before the Flood, China, Quarries, Australian Minescapes, Oil, and Water.

“I am not out to tell people a unitary story about what they should do to save the earth but, rather, to give people a picture of what it takes to live the way we do.”

— Edward Burtynsky, The New Yorker

Burtynsky’s photos explore the complicated link between industry and nature, combining the raw elements of mining, quarrying, manufacturing, shipping, oil production, and recycling into highly expressive visions that find beauty and humanity in the most unlikely of places. (from: The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau)

Note from jeanne: we went to see his photographic exhibit at Hamilton Art Gallery yesterday and found his images deeply moving and powerful. The exhibit is on until May 13th and well worth a visit. The blurb from AGH is below. Also, check out his Ted talk if you have a chance.

By starting and continuing a conversation about man's impact and the balance of our activities and their impact Edward Burtynsky is raising awareness of subjects that are too massive to even imagine until we see pictures.

Cheers and Happy Thursday!

https://www.ted.com/talks/edward_burtynsky_on_manufactured_landscapes#t-262109

Art Gallery of Hamilton

Acclaimed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky brings environmental issues to our attention through awe-inspiring and often abstract images that document industrial sites. The photographs are a reflection of our times, and show the complex effects that global manufacturing, and the demands of first world consumers have on the planet. From aerial views of oil fields in Nigeria, to salt pans in India, to Italian Carrara marble quarries and nickel tailings in Sudbury, his stunning large-format photographs made over the past three decades bear sublime witness to the reality of current environmental issues. This exhibition celebrates a recent gift of 76 photographs donated by the artist to the AGH; the largest donation he has made to a museum.

Edward Burtynsky’s distinctions include the TED Prize and the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. In 2006 he was awarded Officer of the Order of Canada and currently holds seven honorary doctorate degrees. Burtynsky lives and works in Toronto and is represented by Nicholas Metivier Gallery in Toronto.

Source:: https://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/exhibition/witness-edward-burtynsky/

Pondering 2 days and 2 nights in Rome

The Book













              The Notes