Gorillas!

        So I am reading a book called Ishmael (by Daniel Quinn) right now and quite enjoying it. I won’t talk too much about it in case you have not read it (but I recommend it!). But I’ll say this, there is a talking Gorilla who is no doubt a philosopher. (Not too unlike myself I might add). This led me to look for some images of gorillas.

   Ohhh I like this little guy!!!! But Jack, when you say 'not unlike myself' you mean you are like a gorilla right? not a philosopher...or a gorilla-philosopher? I mean, the hair, the eyes, it is a spitting image of you! hee hee...

Look at this sly Gorrilla. Who knows what he's up to? Something mischievous no doubt.

EEEE, I like his fat little fingers! and that smile is mischievous, it is like he is beckoning you forward. 

This is a quote for the beginning of the book that I really liked. This is the first meeting of the main character and Ishmael, the gorilla. (pg 9-10)

For no conscious reason, I lifted my eyes to those of my beasty companion in the next room. As everyone knows, eyes speak. A pair of strangers can effortlessly reveal their mutual interest and attraction in a single glance. His eyes spoke, and I understood. My legs turned to jelly and I barely managed to reach the chair without collapsing.

“But how” I said, not daring to speak the words aloud.

“What does it matter?” He replied as silently. “It’s so, and nothing more needs to be said.”

      Do the eyes of this gorilla speak to you? Later in the book the author discusses that it is similarities between the Gorillas’ eyes and our own which allow for perhaps some disturbing eye contact between us and them.

   I always remember visiting the zoo in high-school and disturbed/ intrigued by the gorillas. There was one sitting against the chain-link fence, not a few feet away. I knew he was concious of my presence and looking into those eyes were not unlike looking into the eyes of my fellow classmates (not that they were animalistic hee hee, but held an innate human quality). It seemed as if they were very contemplative and perhaps signified some form of greater intelligence.

Jack Posts!!!

I figured that I should write something on this blog seeing as never do. So I'll expose a bit of myself....

Sometimes when I cook with garlic, my fingers smell like garlic for days. Is this a common phenomenon? Or do I just suck at washing my hands? Perhaps my mother is right after all…

This is a picture of me before I met Delilah!

This is a picture After:

And this is a picture of our communist Pokémon pet named Grasshopper-Dinosaur

-Jack

Signing out

I was perusing my iphoto library when...

I found these pictures my brother took a few winter's ago...which are awesome. We had a ton of snow and my cousin and Rick decided to snowboard off the roof of the house (teenage boys are crazy), these are the documentation of the event (and these are not photoshopped or enhanced in any way!). Enjoy. 

EEEEEEEE, Delilah

I.Want.Baby.Monkey.

        I "Ohhhh" and "Awwwwe" every-time I look at this picture (monkey? baby? monkey?). I emailed my Mom and told her I wanted a new baby brother and I want him to "LOOK LIKE THIS!"....and that Jake also wanted a new baby brother to play with (FYI Jake is my crazy dog whom my parents treat like their child after they suffered empty nest syndrome when my youngest bro moved out to go to college). C.R.A.Z.Y Dog. Point in case, Jake EATS EVERYTHING! He has eaten a full box of donuts. Very expensive face cream (Clinique). Scar removal cream. Make-up. A package of birth-control (no negative effects were witnessed luckily). Any candies he can get his stinky paws on (Christmas stocking stuffers my Mom bought, then he spat them all over the bed). A chocolate lover boy (A gag gift). My dads tighty-whities. I still adore him regardless of the vacant stare I get whenever I have food in my hand, and the gobs of drool that stream down the sides of his mouth as he salivates dreaming of eating whatever I am enjoying (an orange, a cookie, pasta, cereal...doesn't matter).

P.S The monkey would fit right in, no one would question whether he was my biological kin... notice the red hair. A lot of my relatives, my dad and my brother are redheads; I was lucky and 'dodged the ginger bullet' although my brother still calls me a 'day-walker' because of my freckles!

This is a house I would one day like to own....

       I imagine that this is somewhere isolated in the mountains, with a large complete library so I can lose myself in books and an awesome sound system so I can rock out with the local wildlife (I heard black bears love Neil Young!). Also as you can see on the left, it has a solar panel so I can be self reliant and I will not have to look at ugly power-lines :)

Picture via 24 Free Dinners, via some other blog....

We are going to Czech out the Museum of Communism in Prague!

 Well, it is getting closer and closer to our trip! One week of school left, exams aannndddd then freedom! I know April is going to go by really fast, but I will have a lot of free time to continue to develop an itinerary (I kind of quit my job a bit early, long story). One place we are keen to go to is the Museum of Communism in Prague, Czech Republic. I have heard Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe (my good friend went there and she loved it)...Said friend also visited a park where there were discarded communist monuments from the Cold War era, I can't remember if it was in Prague but I will have to find out, because I want to go there as well!

These are advertisements for the museum, "Get Intimate with History"....I love it....and my, I must say, Stalin really gets the babes! 

Over and Out, Delilah

Still Rocking After All These Years...

I am going to see Neil Young in April and I am very excited! I think it is my 6th? 7th? Neil Young concert? It will be Jack's first....I converted Jack who is more inclined to listen to Rage Against the Machine or Audioslave (that sort of thing). I am a huge fan, since I was about twelve or thirteen. I even went through a period in highschool when I refused to listen to anything other than Neil!!!

Neil Young then: Ammmaaazziiinnngggg...

Neil Young Now: Still rocking; still being political; still amazing!

Love. Power. Peace.

    I cannot remember where I found this picture, but kudos to the photographer! I had it saved under the random folder of random photo's that catch my eye on the net. Very Inspirational!

    I am currently writing an essay (the last one mentioned previously) comparing the history, contemporary challenges and prospects for Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is very disheartening considering that both of these are failed states and the amount of violence that is continually perpetuated. The colonial legacy in the Congo is particularly detrimental, as neo-colonial powers continue to extract resources (such as coltan, which is used in cellphones), revenues that do enter the country are often used to buy foreign weaponry which ultimately fuels internal conflicts. Somalia on the other hand is continually fighting separatist movements and has been in a state of anarchy for over fifteen years (with no governmental infrastructure). I will let you know if I find out anything optimistic for either.... 

    I try so hard to be optimistic! But as a political science/history student sometimes it is difficult when you are constantly reading all of the horrible things that have happened or are happening in the world. Perhaps we just need (A) more optimistic people (a reason to maintain my optimism) and (B) more Love. 

Anyway, enjoy the weekend! First day of spring today! Back to the books!

Love, Delilah

One more essay....

And it is HOME-FREE....Easy sailin' here on out! So from here on out I will forget being stressed, indulge in some chocolate and live for the moment! The countdown for the trip is officially on! Our plane departs May 5th...

We are also going to the Berlin Wall!

 Another must in Germany...we are going to beeline to Berlin to catch a glimpse of the previously named 'iron curtain' as Winston Churchill once dubbed it...Speaking of the fall of the wall, check out Good Bye Lenin, an amazing German film! I went to IMDB to find a picture to post and this is a conversation I observed on the message board...quite entertaining!

Firelucifer- "Why is the movie called goodbye lenin? I dont see any lenin in the cast?"

hardy cvpm- " He is the man whose statue is being carried away by the helicop

ter. He was the father of the soviet union"

Matheushsm- "Have you ever studied history?"

Cracker McGee- "He is a Beatle"

Cansarioglu- "He is the new boyfriend of Paris Hilton?!"

Cool Lester Smooth- "I am the Walrus"

Marxipan- "Here is another clue for you all: The walrus was Paul"

West Bromich Albion: "This takes the award for the most stupid thread"

Otdushy- "be nice= not everyone os familiar with history than you are. It is a perfectly reasonable question"

Humanophage- "Not knowing who lenin was, like not knowing Hitler or Napoleon, is one of those things that one can't justify by poor knowledge of history. It is more likely that the OP is a mere troll"

Redorchetsra- "Who is Hitler?"

David Colbourne- "What do Lenin and Paris Hilton have in common?, the world would be a better place if neither of them had been born"

Arizona Moonlight- "Who is this Germany I keep hearing so much about? I thought it was a person, but then I heard there was a west germany and an east germany and now I'm all confused"

   I figured out by this message board that (a) some people may not know who Lenin is...I wonder if they know Stalin?; (b) some people do not like Lenin...or Paris Hilton; (c)they conclude the person who posted the question is ignorant and is therefor a troll or an american....I got a laugh out of this (especially as a history student) plus I enjoyed the reference to Big Lebowski....one of my favorite movies!

The Disturbing Rest

The Chronicles of Delilah and Jack
Volume II
The Disturbing Rest

Darkness…

He opened his eyes and everything around him seemed to blurry. Just a mixture of black and red; lots and lots of red. He focused harder and things came into view…He was trapped in some sort of cage. He saw a large pool roughly the size of himself, which was filled with muddy water. As he looked around he also saw a very large wheel and a horrible sense of pain and exhaustion washed over him. He coughed, and blood spattered all around. He pushed himself up and realized that he could barely stand. He slipped back down into the pool of blood in which he was lying in, and again blood splashed about. A shooting pain from the upper part of his left leg, led him to shutter. He came to the realisation that the blood in which he was standing in was his own…he quickly closed his eyes horror …Darkness again…

A loud ear piercing screeeeeeeeeeeeeeech wracked his whole body with unbearable pain. The ground shook violently. He opened his eyes, only to watch in terror a huge claw with razor sharp nails scrape against the bars of his prison, creating a horrible ringing sound. The vibrations made his very bones ache. He writhed on the ground, as the violent tremors continued. His eyes were closed again, only to open the next time, amid all the ensuing chaos to see a gigantic furry beast, with huge razor sharp blades for teeth. Again the horrible screeching noise and rattling of his jail caused him the upmost discomfort and unimaginable horror. Then he saw the eyes of the satanic beast. Glowing blood-red circled a pupil of the deepest, darkest pigment imaginable. Two shining obelisks, sending him into a hypnotic state as he anticipated what was about to happen next. While gazing into the endless void of this remorseless creature’s eyes, he felt something pierce the left side of his body. In tremendous pain and agony, he felt himself lifted out of his pool of blood and off the very ground itself. His prison was gone, and all he saw was the blood stained teeth of the demon getting closer and closer. He looked down and saw that the ugly yellowish claws of fiend were now dripping with fresh blood from piercing though his body. “This is it he thought”, as the he was so close to the creatures mouth that he could smell the rotting stench of decaying flesh, dried blood. “This is it”…He closed his eyes….

Darkness…

Jack awoke in a terrible sweat. His was pounding so fast that he was having trouble breathing. He looked around frantically. But when he saw the humming glow of a makeshift fire, and beautiful brown owl sleeping on a tree branch a short distance away He was able to breathe a sudden sigh of relief and calm down.

To be continued...

Signing out, Jack...

The Portraits Of Eric Van Uytven from Belgium....Very Cool!

Images Courtesy of The Wooster Collective!

Urban Food Production...

    The use of urban spaces to grow fresh organic food is receiving attention world wide! Recently, Jack emailed me a video he thought would be of interest to me "Urban Food Growing in Havana, Cuba" (Check it out!), where bits of waste land was turned into areas to produce food following the withdrawal of Soviet support in the country. A genuine 'green revolution' is taking place on derelict land. The promotion os self-sustainability is one I believe needs to be fostered among the younger generation. Not only does it promote local markets (therefore reducing one's carbon emission by consuming locally!), it also promotes a more environmental awareness and introduces green and living energy into the crumbling concrete jungles (or urban areas).(Picture courtesy of www.i-sustain.com) 

     

This is not only happening in Cuba, but Africa and the US as well. I recently saw a speaker at the university promoting urban gardening in Africa for African women as means of generating profit (entrepreneurship) as well as providing for their families. 

    When I went to Chicago I was intrigued by some of the urban gardens which were apparently well maintained outside of Grant Park. There, in downtown Chicago, a beautiful green space juxtaposed against skyscrapers and general city chaos. I must admit I was very much impressed, and Chicago remains one of my favorite cities to visit. (Below is a picture I took this summer)

      Finally, I came across this phenomenon in my own city! Pamphlets were distributed promoting "Backyard Bounty" asking "Want to know how your backyard can make you a hero to your community, provide local jobs and get you free delicious food?" This group uses your backyard (if you are willing to give it up) and to turn it to a 'micro-farm' as people will come each week to tend it. Through this your "backyard will become a beautiful embodiment of a new green economy- an economy that balances economic, environmental and social values." Read more about it on their website!

     This is a movement I would really like to get involved with. I think self-sustainability is the only direction we can take. I believe that educational institutes should begin to introduce gardening into school curriculums as a way to teach sustainability, environmental awareness and self-reliance...as well as to get kids outside rather than inside in front of a TV...this is coming from someone who has had a garden her whole life! and who rarely can be caught in front of a television! Anyways, that is my two cents. I will hopefully do a later post about Guerrilla Gardening...stay tuned...

This is one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken....

This is my cousins daughter Isabella! i think this photo is so cute! I kind of have a thing for octopus' and I used to draw them everywhere (hence the blackboard)...I really like how Isabella was adding bubbles to complete the picture :)

Signing out, Delilah

Dreams...

Soooo Two Months Today...

We will be in an airplane soaring over the Atlantic Ocean to Munich! We plan on Drinking beer, wearing lederhosen and enjoying the scenery!  It will not feel like reality until I am on the plane, thats for sure! 

[On a side note-That guy looks a bit toooo happy don't you think?.....]

No mortgage, no lawn to cut, no carpet to vacuum...

Bed to make? 

Yeah...thats about it....

This is my future.... Absolute Freedom! Nothing but the open road!!