Today is Veterans Day, originally Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I, which ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year in 1918.  The Department of Veterans Affairs tells us that President Wilson first marked the anniversary in 1919, when the President said,

To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…

In 1924 the rememberance was made official by a declaration of Congress, and made a legal holiday in 1938.  Following World War II, in 1954 Congress changed the 1938 act by changing “Armistice” to “Veterans.”  The emphasis of the day thus shifted from remembering the fallen of World War I to the honoring of all veterans, including (and especially) those still living.

Read the rest of this entry »

Abe says no frikkin' way

Just checkin’…did we suspend presidential campaigns during the Civil War, Great Depression, or World Word II?

Photo: onlinewoman’s Flickr Photostream

I’m always excited for new Spike Lee and this one is described a powerful tale that transcends national boundaries, something I am always interested in. Although this looks to be one of his more extravagant films. Do you think Lee’s intimate and political storytelling will work in a larger scale war story? Let us know and takepart to learn more about the “Buffalo Soldiers” in World War II and about Buffalo Soldiers in general.

Read the rest of this entry »

World population is poised to reach 7 Billion by the year 2012 according to a new projection by the United States Census Bureau. There are currently 6.7 Billion inhabitants on the planet according to the report. World population reached the 6 Billion mark in 1999, making it just 13 short years to add 1 Billion people to the planet. To put that in some perspective consider that humankind didn’t reach it’s first Billion people until 1800, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years (depending on which anthropologist you talk to) into our existence on the planet.

When considering how far the natural resources of the planet are already stretched for food, energy and water, the recent US Census Bureau projection provides a jarring reminder of the elephant in the room that nobody is talking about seriously: Overpopulation. While birth rates in industrialized countries have cooled, in many cases even producing net population loss, the growth in the developing countries has been staggering with the introduction of better nutrition and basic medical services since World War II. The population explosion throughout these areas is stretching local and global resources to the brink and preventing so many developing countries from ever moving out of poverty due to the tremendous challenges of overpopulation.

Read the rest of this entry »

Roger Shimomura´s exhibit at the Flomenhaft in NYC reflects his own experience of one of the greatest disgraces in US History, the Japanese internment of WWII. Shimomura was two years old when his family was forced by the US Government to move from their home in Seattle to the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho. The family was amongst 120,000 Japanese-Americans rounded up after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The family was eventually permitted to return to home when Shimomura was five years old.

To reconstruct the experience of his family the artist used the writings of grandmother, Toku, who kept a meticulous diary of their time at Minidoka. Shimomura uses a combination of American Pop Art and traditional Japanese ukiyo-e prints embued with scenes of a childhood lived within the confines of barbed wire in the installation “Minidoka on My Mind”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nicolas Klotz’s Heartbeat Detector (La Question Humaine in French), based on Francois Emmanuel’s novel, is a stylish and subtle film of ideas concerning humanity’s conflict with rigid and efficient ideas of progress. The story centers on Mathieu Amalric’s Simon Kessler, a human resources psychologist working at German multinational petrochemical corporation SC Farb.

What first appears as a basic exploration of corporate greed and the dangers of losing oneself in the corporate world quietly turns into a deeper exploration of present day models of efficiency that go back as far as World War II - the connection between fascism and corporate greed being stronger than one might originally think.

Read the rest of this entry »

The 80th annual Academy Awards are on Sunday and on everyone’s minds. But instead of predicting this years winners, I wanted to write about some of the losers in Oscar’s history. OK, maybe losers is a little too strong. These 5 Best Picture nominees didn’t win the Academy Award. But by highlighting important social issues, raising awareness, and inspiring action, they won our hearts and minds. So get ready to be inspired!

1. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Frank Capra is both a scathing critique of Washington DC corruption and a heartfelt and hopeful story of an individual’s ability to make change in the face of adversity. The film was criticized by the media, politicians, congressmen, (surprise surprise!) who called it Communist and Anti-American. Another measure of the film’s power and reach is that it was banned in Fascist Italy and Spain and Nazi Germany.

_____________________________

So ! You can be a Mr./Mrs./Ms. Smith and you don’t even have to go to Washington. All you have to do is e-mail Washington! Tell Congress to stick to its principles and not cave in to special interests and corruption.

Read the rest of this entry »

Couples Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins as well as Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee have won Valiant Valiant Awards for coupling their efforts to make the world a better place by taking action together. Here is Valiant Valentine Couple #3, whose love for each other, which has already inspired films, books, and videos, and music, will now inspire you.

#3. Nothing says I love you more than risking your life to save the one you love. And this is exactly what Lucie Aubrac did, not once, but twice! And the last time she was pregnant! Lucie Aubrac was a history teacher when she met Raymond, a Jewish engineer and army officer, in France in 1938. After France fell to the Nazis, the two joined the French Resistance, helping found the group Liberation-Sud. In 1943, Raymond, who was now an important leader in the Resistance, was captured by the Gestapo and scheduled for execution. A pregnant Lucie convinced the notorious Gestapo chief, Klaus Barbie, nicknamed the “Butcher of Lyons,” to let her see Raymond and during the visit, she relayed an escape plan. As he was being driven back to his cell, Lucie and other Resistance members ambushed the truck, freeing Raymond and other Resistance fighters.

Read the rest of this entry »