"Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically." - D.H. Lawrence
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"Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically." - D.H. Lawrence
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“Antoine Buéno, a lecturer at Sciences Po university in Paris, makes the claims in his new book Le Petit Livre Bleu: Analyse critique et politique de la société des Schtroumpfs, in which he points out that the Smurfs live in a world where private initiative is rarely rewarded, where meals are all taken together in a communal room, where there is one leader and where the Smurfs rarely leave their small country.”
It’s bizarre how this Smurf article comes up this week.
While on a visit last week, I had to go off and do some translation while my two other colleagues were waiting for us to be done. The office had a TV, and there was an episode of the Smurfs playing, so they watched it.
When we got back, we had a discussion on the way back to KL about how the cartoons we watched had underlying tones of real “adult” themes, and how as a child you never really notice these things. The episode of “Pitufo” (as Benjamin calls it in Spanish) that they watched had like a terrorist Smurf, a flood, and a flood relief team, police Smurfs, you name it.
So seeing this article, it’s somewhat weird. Especially, the over-dramatic analysis of the Smurfs being racist, and anti-Semitic!
Though, I have to say, watched old episodes of Tom & Jerry with my nieces, it appeared that the maid in all the episodes, who the audience never saw, was always indicated by a big black hand (!)
Anyway, my main concern growing up was how there were so many boy Smurfs, and only one little Smurfette! Yeah, I’ve seen some terrible explanations for this in the dark underbelly of the Internet. I won’t go into it, but it involved Smurfette being bent over a lot.
0_0
And it seemed to her that in order to be allowed into his life, it was necessary for her to be broken, and for him to fix her up again. Unfortunately, or fortunately, for her, she had been whole for some time.
Quietly, she went back to waiting.
So there’s this board in the office. And whenever you leave on overseas missions, they put your name up there. I’ve been staring at it, willing my name to get on it, because it’s some kind of awesome to read it and see all the people coming and leaving the delegation to all sorts of fascinating places. Afghanistan, Suva, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Geneva, Zurich and much more.
And I’m on there! Finally! I head to Bangkok today, for the first time in almost three years for an ICRC integration course. To think that I was watching that movie on DV428 about being “Lost in Liberia” and had no inkling whatsoever that one day, I’d be doing the same course. Except mine is pretty awesome and in BKK and not some woods in Ecogia, Geneva. Haha! And being in Bangkok again! I’m so excited I could scream. :D
I also got confirmed as a permanent ICRC staff and I got a cool new bag! Tee hee. For the first time in a long time, work wise, there are such good times in my heart.
Grateful, as always. Alhamdullilah.
Every time single time I go for a detention visit, I come back and find the world moving along swiftly.
Today, Madrid, Spain
Nobody expects de #SpanishRevolution… y sin embargo, aquí está. Foto de la manifestación #nonosvamos, por @Martin_Dub.
“And he shut his eyes, unable to look at her.”
Man at a small shrine in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Shaivite sadhus at Pashupatinath, Nepal after a cremation at dusk. They were sitting around preparing the last meal of the day and smoking copious amounts of hashish.
(2006)
