the last of a dying culture

I am stunned into silence when I hear the news reports on the killings in Tibet.

This was a matter of time, before the Chinese government found another opportunity to beat up its younger brother. When I was in Lhasa I remember feeling an eery kind of silence, as though it were a city waiting for something bad to happen. There was no peace in the faces of the monks, just fear towards the Chinese guards who counted their yuan on the rooftop of the Potala Palace.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe a boycott of the Beijing Olympics will do anything. I do agree with the president of the European Olympic Committee who says the only people who are punished in a boycott are the athletes. I do believe Tibetans are getting massacred, and I hope the spotlight that the Olympic Games shines on the situation help to bring it global awareness.

my love affair with the food network

I don’t watch much TV. It’s not the first thing I turn on when I get home, nor the last thing I see before nodding off to sleep at night.

But I will turn on the tube for the food network.

My favorite shows have evolved over time. Certainly, Restaurant Makeover was at the top for a while. Another watch-worthy show is Unwrapped; which takes you through an interesting history of various food items such as pizza, Shreddies cereal, gum, etc…

My favorite host is probably Ina Garten. Perhaps it’s her continually sunny disposition, she exudes happiness and a true love for food and entertaining. Also a favorite is Jamie Oliver. I was apprehensive about him at first because I thought, a British chef? But he’s got a raw edge with the Jamie at Home series; wherein he goes into his garden, pulls fresh produce from the ground and makes quite hardy and simple dishes.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of the food network is its infectious nature, how watching and hearing can inspire anyone to cook. The simplicity of it, and the joy derived from it… I’m certainly enjoying the results!

a look at our history

I saw recently a very interesting film entitled The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey.

Although at times tugging at my patience with technical details – I’m not a scientist after all – it well explained the point.

The San people, with their estranged existence to us, are the very origins of mankind. These Southern Africa bushmen speak the ancient San language, a language whose sounds are unique the world around. How incredible is that?

What amazed me the most where the Siberian nomads, the Chukchi. Their entire existence depended on a healthy herd of reindeer. Once the reindeer depleted the supply of lichen from an area, the Chukchi would pack their tents and “nomadize” – in temperatures dipping to minus 100-degrees C.

Beyond explaining the genetics of where we all come from, The Journey of Man beautifully reveals the extraordinary existence of early humankind. The film is a peek into the distance past and lifts the curtain on a window to a different place in time.