Weekend Roundup

Interesting articles and other specimens abound online this week; here's a taste of what caught my eye.
There's something for everyone here!

1. Trial of former Guatemalan president for genocide >> For the first time in history, a former head of state has been put on trial - and then convicted - of genocide by his own country's court system.  This op-ed in The Globalist was written by Laura Myers of Limitless Horizons Ixil. Laura was our guide and an ambassador from the Ixil community when I traveled to Guatemala with Belmont University in March 2012. Having lived for over a year and a half with the Ixil people in the remote highlands of central Guatemala, Laura's knowledge, experience, and empathy inform her unique perspective on this remarkable event in local, national, and world history.

photo credit: Eric Johansson

2.
Swedish Photoshop expert creates mind-bending images

3.
French-Namibian girl grows up napping with cheetahs, riding ostriches - incredible photos!

4. Finland's contribution to online shopping: Buy anything you see online! - Cool Helsinki-based company Kiosked makes advertising less annoying and more enjoyable for shoppers.  Read about it in the Huffington Post.


5. "Struggle is progress" - A young mother bares her heart as she chronicles the joys and challenges of raising her two small children.  The genuine emotion and thoughts she shares are a beautiful part of the human experience.

6. "The unbearable beauty of Finnish grammar".  Believe it or not, after living here for 8 months, I've actually started speaking Finnish - real conversations!  Even arguments.  I had to aggressively defend American cuisine the other day when some guy tried to blanket-statement American food is bad ... because he ate bad Mexican-style food from an "American" restaurant in Helsinki (where Finns manager and cook).  The parent company might actually have ties to America.  And I had all the words to set him straight in Finnish!

For all the warnings that you get about this being the most difficult language in the world, it's really not that bad.   I have found Russian most challenging so far.  

7. '13 Bankers', Financialization, and the Economy.  This was posted about 3 years ago, but the message is still incredibly relevant!  Let this be a foreshadowing of one of my newest and most exciting projects.  If you find this topic interesting, stay tuned!

photo: Cata Portin

8.  Philosophy of life: Insight & Inspiration with one of Finland's most loved philosophers. He also happens to be a researcher and lecturer at my university.  I had lunch with Esa one day; he's a brilliant and lovely man.  He's also my neighbor, and by some funny coincidence, I now live in the apartment he used to own - where he raised his kids.  Here's a paper on elevated reflection that serves as a great introduction to his work and passion!
If you've ever been to Finland, you understand how brilliantly Esa stands out!

9. What the World Eats in a Week. This is a super neat photograph collection of families around the world, surrounded by everything they eat in a typical week.  Highlights: I was astounded by the volume of what the German family drinks compared to all others.  I was also horrified by the minuscule 1/12th of the British table that contained unprocessed, fresh edibles.  Mexico appears to adore Coca-Cola; Guatemalans have insanely red tomatoes; bananas / plantains must be in every Ecuadorian dish.  Based on this table analysis, I should probably move to Turkey or Italy.  

Bhutan - photo: Peter Menzel

I dream of Italy! (every night)

I've been dreaming of Italy all night long for over a week now. 


I see myself walking along a gravel path on the outskirts of Florence, passing low, dilapidating stone buildings whose roofs have been permeated, and completely replaced in some cases, by deep green vines.  

All the sudden I'm back in the little castle-town of San Gimignano, buying my favorite berry-flavored gelato from one of the innumerable caffes lining the narrow streets of the completely walled city. 

In my dreams I'm in the middle of Florence on Easter Sunday again, wrapped around some scaffolding several feet above the crowd, just taking it all in.  I catch just bits and pieces of passionately hurried conversations as more and more people crowd into the Piazzo del Duomo to see the fireworks and white doves released in front of the cathedral doors.  I am amazed at the size of the crowd, and the fact that most of them aren't tourists, but authentic Florentines who've come to join in one of the most celebrated traditions of the Catholic tradition.  

The sounds and smells are almost enough to fool me.  I wake up several times during the night, surprised and somewhat disappointed to find myself nine time zones away from Florence.  But it's only a matter of time before I'm whisked away once again into my Italian dreamland.  


This time I've landed in Pisa, and I'm lying in a large field looking up at that beautiful Leaning Tower, every so often closing my eyes as my entire body is cushioned by the softest green newly-sprouted grass I've ever felt.  A smile spreads slowly across my face when I imagine recreating the Leaning Tower of Pisa as my wedding cake someday.  

And then I'm back in Florence, window shopping with my mom as we amble over the old and famous Ponte Vecchio which connects the two ends of the downtown's main street. 

We're just a few blocks west of the Piazza del Duomo, which lies on the same street, just past the Piazza della Signoria where Michelangelo's David stands tall and proud.  This is just a replica, however; the original is preserved inside the Galleria dell'Accademia, also in Florence.

I persuade mom and dad that another scoop of gelato would really be in our best interest, making this the third consecutive day that I have consumed more than the recommended serving of the most delicious, creamy, flavored frozen substance that my taste buds have ever met.  

We're approached by many vendors, beggars, and others who'd like a taste of our wallets.  I giggle as I relive interacting with the very small accordion-playing Italian man who had a sense of humour (although he's obviously just trying to look macho in this snapshot).  

And OH!, the FOOD!  My dream takes a turn for the best as we sit down at our first meal in Tuscany...dinner :)  Platters of succulent meats, cheeses, fresh and cooked vegetables; large bowls of pasta; big prawns with a large eye to body ratio (the eyes and feet were served with the meal for our enjoyment); a giant plate of homemade lasagna with fresh parmigiano and crispy, buttery garlic bread.  Not to mention the wine. 

I must stop now.  It is 1:37am.  All this blogging is seriously cutting into my Italian dream time.  Are any of my readers qualified dream interpreters?  I'd love to know why I'm dreaming of Italy.  It is rather pleasant dreaming; definitely more enjoyable than the recurring dream where I'm sitting on the ground in a forest, watching ants crawl in a single file line from one end of a hollow log to the other.  The worst part is that when this dream shows up, I dream it for hours.  It just loops over and over.  There are never any new ants, they never carry any different-sized or different-colored crumbs, and they never stray from their monodirectional, single file line.  Enough said.  I would rather dream of Italy.  

Good night then. I wish you equally wonderful dreams tonight.