Uncle Sam

As I glided through the streets of Chiang Mai, back in March, I was suddenly sucked in to a second-hand bookstore by my willful subconscious. I subjected myself to this impulse, trusting it to be the friendly me-within who had forgotten why but was nevertheless determined to. Hannah was getting a foot-massage from the 3ft middle-aged Thai lady who had just cut my hair (strangely, many services in Thailand seem to be accompanied by an optional massage), so she wasn’t at hand to guide me. As I perused the dusty books- fortunate leftovers of the tourists of yesteryear- I suddenly realised why I had walked in. I wandered up to the counter: ‘Sawadeeka, I’m looking for a book by Howard Zimmer... or Howard Zinnsk? No, that can’t be right. Er, A People’s History of the United States’.

‘Ah yes, Howard Zinn. Yes, we have’.

I slapped my Baht on the counter and gleefully went on my way, feeling very adult (having bought an actual History book). Sadly, the bookkeeper offered me no optional massage with my purchase. A shame really, considering the amount of time one spends browsing in a bookstore. Anyways, I managed to get through the book- partly in Thailand then in France and finally in the orchards, in audiobook format narrated by Matt Damon.

Fact: Matt Damon was the first to mention A People’s History of the United States to me [see clip].

But it wasn't till Howard Zinn's death earlier this year that my attention was drawn to his works.

"A People's History of the United States is an attempt to balance the scales by writing about the parts of US history that aren't often covered in depth. It focuses particularly on the effects of government policy on the poor, women, and non-whites throughout US history, documents labor movements and equality movements in more depth than one normally sees, and points out the mixed and disappointing records of US cultural heroes. It is, in other words, an attack on assumptions and accepted wisdom about the heroes and important events in history, and on the stories we tell ourselves as a culture" [http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/reviews/books/0-06-090792-4.html]

Needless to say, it's an interesting read. It gives a different kind of bias to US history and is well-worth the effort if you want to deepen your understanding of what the US has been through. Personally, it helped strip away prejudices I held of Americans by separating 'them' from their governmental policies. Much of my political study at university concerned Latin America and so I couldn't help but develop a deep skepticism of any apparent good will in the way America deals with the rest of the world. Digging deeper, as in any history, you get to see the layers that make up a society and are bound to develop some kind of empathy and feeling of kinship with the people themselves. Now I get to meet the American people with positivity and good cheer, approaching them as I would any other culture- with curiosity and fascination- and with a much deeper respect than I would have previously imagined.

October Babies

In honour of Lou and Tim's birthdays this month, I thought we should take a look back at Tim's 2008 summer hit 'Mon amie, Ma Cherie', in which he lovingly expresses:

"Lingerie, mon amie

Magnifique, ma cherie

Tes seins dans mon sang"*

[...]

*Lingerie, my friend

Magnificent, my darling

Your breast in my blood

I had some great footage of Lou as a two-year-old in Tasmania terrorising older kids into acknowledging her lordship over the trampoline but unfortunately the external HD on which I'd saved it has crashed.

Katy and Jean-Michel also recently celebrated their birthdays. Here's some footage from a film I made Katy a couple of years back. The black and white scenes are from Cambrai around 1994. You can see our big old french backyard in the snow. The colour clip was filmed in Tasmania, 1987. It ends with some Saint-Auban action from this week. I hope spanning three decades in two minutes won't make you too queasy!