For Japan, with love...

God Grew Tired of Us

Last night I watched a powerful film titled "God Grew Tired of Us," which explored the story of the Sudanese "Lost Boys." The documentary began by charting the course that thousands of young boys took as they fled from Sudan to Ethiopia, crossing hundreds of miles of harsh desert landscape as they escaped almost certain death as caused by civil war and the brutality of rebel soldiers. Hungry, tired, battling disease, with no shoes and merely strips of clothing (if lucky), these boys walked step after step towards an unknown destination - all they wanted and needed was an escape. Little did they know that even as their numbers would decrease by more than half due to starvation, they would not arrive at some Holy Land. In Ethiopia they found a camp not prepared for their needs in terms of food and shelter; they waited it out for two years and then proceeded south by foot once more towards safety.

Enter the Kukuma camp. A UN camp in Kenya, this is where the Lost Boys were able to establish some sense of normalcy and community, although amidst circumstances where a day or two without food during the week was de rigueur. It was here that the Boys played soccer and met in Parliament, the bond over burying the bodies of their brothers (and sisters) complete.


As mentioned though, this camp was far from paradise, with its continuous food shortages, clearly marked boundaries, and limited educational opportunities. The dream for many then, after ten long years spent in Kukuma, was for the Boys to be able to secure American visas through the International Rescue Committee.


The film follows four of the Lost Boys as they travel from Kukuma to their final destinations in America (two settle Pittsburgh, PA & Syracuse, NY) and encounter electricity, potato chips, flushing toilets, the struggles of balancing multiple jobs and maintaining hope as they endeavor to support the boys left behind in Africa while finding whatever is left of the families whom they had once thought lost forever.


This movie made me cry more than once, as I sat on my leather couch eating my delivered (pizza again, I had a craving..) dinner in my high rise condo (and I am almost always the type to hold back tears...what does that tell you?). The pure emotion that these boys displayed on camera, the succinct and clear way they articulated their feelings (their English diction & vocabulary put mine to shame), the grace with which they worked two or three jobs as a welcome opportunity & the zeal which they embraced education and fought for awareness of their cause....it was breathtaking. I can't help but get emotional again thinking about it - this is a life-changing film. The images and words will be burned into your mind long after the film's final credits have flickered on the screen. The way with which we view immigrants, Africans, UN refugee camps, the crisis in Sudan, and our American comforts will be altered. Even something as simple as a film can change you, and this is a film that will stay with me forever.


Here is an excerpt from the book of the same name, authored by John Bul Dau (one of the "boys" featured in the book). The spirituality and maturity conveyed by his words leaves me nothing short of amazed.

"I have witnessed my share of death and despair. I have seen the hyenas come at dusk to feed on the bodies of my friends. I have been so hungry and thirsty in the dusty plains of Africa that I consumed things I would rather forget. I have crossed a crocodile-infested river while being shelled and shot at. I have walked until I thought I could walk no more. I have wondered, more times than I can count, if my friends or I would live to see a new day. Those were the times I thought God had grown tired of us...They call me a Lost Boy, but let me assure you, God has found me." (p. 7)

If you are interested, John Bul Dau has a foundation which helps set up medical clinics & trains workers in Sudan. People are always asking for help (handouts galore!), but do take a look at his site....

Spanish Telenova Tops English Broadcasts (i.e. so what & get used to it!)

Whoever wrote this "Hollywood Reporter" article...needs to have her head fixed. Philiana Ng - came off as thoroughly ignorant in just a few sentences, which truly indicates the power of the written word.

Ms. Ng's article is as follows:

The Spanish-language soap topped Univision and English-language broadcast networks in the adults 18-34 demo in its time period Tuesday.

"It's not a good sign when a Spanish-language soap tops English-language broadcast networks.

That's what happened Tuesday night at 10 p.m. with Telemundo's La Reina del Sur. The program was No. 1 in its time slot in the adults 18-49 and 18-34 demographics, according to Nielsen. In the latter demo, La Reina topped CBS, ABC, NBC and Univision in the period.

La Reina drew 2.9 million viewers and roughly 1.93 million were in the ad-favored 18-49 demo. For Monday and Tuesday's telecasts, La Reina has averaged 1.89 million in the demo, up 7 percent from its premiere week.

In adults 18-34, La Reina had its best ratings to date with 1.13 million."

Ms. Ng...what makes you think (note that I am a lady and will not use the words that I think actually express her ignorance) that a Spanish-language broadcast topping mainstream-American television during the same hour is a bad thing? What about that fact is scandalous, dark, outrageous, or indicative of a larger trend of anything other than the fact that the US now has more Spanish-speakers than any other country, lead only by Mexico? We all know, thanks to our friend Nielsen, that people aren't watching the news at that hour anyway - the top-rated news program  (ABC"s "Nightline") doesn't air until 11:30! That can lead us to believe that Americans are probably watching reruns of "The Nanny" (I still love that show, b the way) or "Bad Girls Club" at that hour...and so Ms. Ng's underscoring point that Spanish-language programming is dangerously outranking local 10:00pm news broadcasts (that relatively few watch) is absolutely ridiculous.

Alternately, even if her point is "I can't believe a Spanish soap opera garnered that type of acclaim," she is still thoroughly in the wrong. Let's not go into lengths about "The Bachelor" finale which aired last night...the results of which have been riding the airwaves since the second the shows ending credits played out on our nation's television screen (well, not mine..I will NOT watch that show!). Last year's finale of the very same show drew 15 million viewers...so why don't you make a crack about that, Ms. Ng and draw some telling conclusions about American culture from that figure!

My point is that the Spanish-speaking population in the United States is quickly becoming the mainstream. Our tastes, our language, our needs & wants will all begin to play into the national conciousness. We can watch novelas and watch Nightline, all in the same evening. Play smart & get with the program - literally - ...and leave your opinion out of it when reporting news, Ms. Ng.

update: VIVIAN SCHILLER RESIGNS

old news by now, but I wanted to provide an update to my last vlog (courtesy of TVNewser)

NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns

By Chris Ariens on March 9, 2011 9:50 AM

Breaking: NPR president and CEO Vivian Schiller has submitted her resignation to the Board of the pubic broadcaster following an embarrassing undercover video captured Ron Schiller, NPR’s former senior vice president for fund-raising, and no relation to Vivian Schiller, calling the Tea Party “racist” and “scary” and questioning whether NPR needs federal funding.

Ron Schiller stepped down from NPR yesterday.

Vivian Schiller’s resignation also follows the very public firing from NPR of Fox News analyst Juan Williams which later cost Ellen Weiss, head of news at NPR, her job.

At the time of Weiss’ firing in January, the NPR board “expressed confidence in Vivian Schiller’s leadership going forward.” Less than three months later, Schiller is out of a job.

Interestingly, Schiller was to be in New York today and in fact at our mediabistro studios to tape an interview for our MediaBeat video series. An NPR publicist informed us yesterday that Schiller’s trip to New York was “cut short” and that the interview would be postponed for a second time.

NPR’s release after the jump.



NPR BOARD OF DIRECTORS STATEMENT ON RESIGNATION OF VIVIAN SCHILLER, NPR PRESIDENT & CEO

March 9, 2011; Washington, D.C. –

The NPR Board of Directors announced today that it has accepted the resignation of Vivian Schiller as President and CEO of NPR, effective immediately.
Board Chairman Dave Edwards said: “The Board accepted Vivian’s resignation with understanding, genuine regret and great respect for her leadership of NPR these past two years.”
According to a CEO succession plan adopted by the Board in 2009, Joyce Slocum, SVP of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, will be appointed to the position of Interim CEO. The Board will establish an Executive Transition Committee to develop a timeframe and process for the recruitment and selection of new leadership.

waves & destruction

Big news this morning about a deadly earthquake which hit the northern coast of Japan and is now hitting Hawaii in the form of a tsunami. Obama's going to deliver a presser at 11:15am, and Japanese officials have estimated between 200-300 casualties thus far (with added reports of missing trains & boats).

Great chart which places this event within the proper context (courtesy ABC News):

Large Quakes since 1900

	Location	Date	Magnitude
1.	Chile	1960 05 22	9.5
2.	Prince William Sound, Alaska	1964 03 28	9.2
3.	Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra	2004 12 26	9.1
4.	Kamchatka	1952 11 04	9.0
	TODAY’S QUAKE		8.9
5.	Offshore Maule, Chile	2010 02 27	8.8
6.	Off the Coast of Ecuador	1906 01 31	8.8
7.	Rat Islands, Alaska	1965 02 04	8.7
8.	Northern Sumatra, Indonesia	2005 03 28	8.6
9.	Assam - Tibet	1950 08 15	8.6
10.	Andreanof Islands, Alaska	1957 03 09	8.6
11.	Southern Sumatra, Indonesia	2007 09 12	8.5
12.	Banda Sea, Indonesia	1938 02 01	8.5
13.	Kamchatka	1923 02 03	8.5
14.	Chile-Argentina Border	1922 11 11	8.5
15.	Kuril Islands	1963 10 13	8.5

top news wednesdays - VLOG

hi! I've missed omgcents so much! Here's vlog #2 - done straight after work, a quick rundown of my favorite news stories - raw, unedited, and me. What do you think of the hair? Should I spring for brazilian hair straightning? Time to bounce & drink some water...I just scarfed down a mediterranean-style pizza with kalamata olives. Delicious, but I'm parched now! 

so many ideas, so little time

Many blog posts sitting in draft mode...apologies, hoping for a slow weekend soon to post some good bites!