The Hazel Files
MY RECENT POSTS
- A bright spot
May 19, 2012 03:03PM - Revealed Lives
April 30, 2012 10:48PM - A Lost Opportunity
April 25, 2012 04:33PM - Grace in the midst of evil
April 19, 2012 09:09PM - Censorship in Africa: the
Chinese Influence
April 16, 2012 05:24PM
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “Bell was an essential
component of my education when
I first
got to
university:…”
March 22, 2011 07:25PM - “Thanks John”
February 22, 2011 06:53PM - “Thanks for this...I
always find your posts very
meaningful to
me.”
February 17, 2011 07:59PM - “Thanks for this post. I
appreciated having the
accompanying
photos.”
November 13, 2010 05:00PM - “Glad I found this!
Thanks for thoughtful writing
and.... for
just
thinking.”
November 13, 2010 04:58PM
Hazel Singer's Links
MAY 19, 2012 3:03PM
A bright spot
The New York
Times reported today that Malawi's new president, Joyce Banda, declared
on Friday she wanted to repeal Malawi's laws against
homosexuality. Malawi may be a small country, but this is huge
news on a continent that has become an increasingly dangerous place
for gays and lesbians to l/… Read full post »
APRIL 30, 2012 10:48PM
Revealed Lives
Half-Blood
Blues by Esi
EdugyanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This novel is tightly written and strings the reader along as the author reveals, not just an aspect of history not well known, the painful past of the characters and how some of them seek resolution in their old age. This is … Read full post »
APRIL 25, 2012 4:33PM
A Lost Opportunity
Epistolophilia:
Writing the Life of Ona Simaite by Julija
SukysMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book had so many possibilities for greater success! The letters and diaries of Ona Simaite reminded me of Victor Klemperer's "I Will Bear Witness" diaries: the difficulties of daily life, the minutia,/… Read full post »
APRIL 19, 2012 9:09PM
Grace in the midst of evil
Between
Shades of Gray by Ruta
SepetysMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
When the world claims to not know, we are all complicit. This book is not just a testament to the power of survival and grace, it is a demonstration that when humans are trapped in evil it takes courage for/… Read full post »
APRIL 16, 2012 5:24PM
Censorship in Africa: the Chinese Influence
Thanks to
Mohamed Keita, the Africa advocacy coordinator for the
Committee to Protect
Journalists, for his opinion piece in today's New York
Times. The title of his commentary is "Africa's Press Problem". This
press "problem" is one is related to other "problems" I have
commented on/… Read full post »
MARCH 27, 2012 10:04PM
Cypress Trees
House
of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East by
Anthony
ShadidMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is told in two concurrent parts: Anthony Shadid's family history as shaped by the Levant and the emigration to America, and his restoration of his family's home in Lebanon,/… Read full post »
MARCH 15, 2012 11:29PM
The San Andreas Fault
It
is very strange to visit the San Andreas
Fault. I blogged about this last year upon seeing it from
above at
Joshua Tree National Park. Here is a photo seen from
there:
The two photos below show the Fault at ground level in the Coachella Valley Preserve: those butte-like formations/… Read full post »
MARCH 5, 2012 8:40PM
Overlords and the Underworld
Interesting
commentary in
Sunday's New York Times about the leader of North Korea and his
family: while the people of North Korea starve, the members of the
Kim family have been acting like mafia dons: they have put
millions into criminal enterprises.
There have also been both print and radio re/… Read full post »
There have also been both print and radio re/… Read full post »
FEBRUARY 29, 2012 2:50PM
Slaves at sea
A horror story: an investigation of chartered commercial
fishing vessels. Shame on the government of New
Zealand. Shame on the chartered commercial fishing
vessels. Shame on the slave runners. Read the story by
clicking on the highlighted sentence above.
FEBRUARY 27, 2012 11:14PM
How Rome almost succeeded in burying Lucretius
The
Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen
GreenblattSuch a great romp through the classics: history and literature; complete with scheming and corrupt churchmen, book hunters, purges, and discovery.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
FEBRUARY 16, 2012 11:10PM
Dislocation
Shards by
Ismet
PrcicMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The crazy-making that is war. The warping that is the result of growing up in war. The living in the present-past, past-present. The misshapen soul that results from all the above when children have to invent themselves over and ove/… Read full post »
FEBRUARY 9, 2012 1:26AM
Truth is better than fiction!
Perusing
today's New York Times, I found an amazing selection of news items
in the category of Wonders Never Cease.
1.Russia Plans to Prosecute Dead Lawyer in Tax Case
2.Myanmar's Guerrilla Golfers Take Time for a Few Rounds
3.Putin to Cut List of Officials Who Can Flout Traffic Rules
4. Letter: Tar Sand… Read full post »
1.Russia Plans to Prosecute Dead Lawyer in Tax Case
2.Myanmar's Guerrilla Golfers Take Time for a Few Rounds
3.Putin to Cut List of Officials Who Can Flout Traffic Rules
4. Letter: Tar Sand… Read full post »
FEBRUARY 1, 2012 7:47PM
Syria: Beauty and Pain
A great story
on PRI's
The World today about Syrian composer Malek Jandali
And here is another video of a different type from PRI
And here is another video of a different type from PRI
JANUARY 19, 2012 11:06PM
A story of Stegnerian reach......
On
Canaan's Side by Sebastian
BarryMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A book of utter and astonishing beauty and sadness and poetry.
JANUARY 18, 2012 4:20PM
Snow in the Northwest
JANUARY 14, 2012 10:00PM
The ANC turns 100
The 100th
anniversary of the founding of the ANC is a milestone to be
contemplated and considered. That it took 82 years to bring
about the official end of Apartheid, as South Africans had their
first free election in 1994, says something about the difficulty
of change and the tenacity of… Read full post »
DECEMBER 31, 2011 10:27PM
The last post of 2011: South African bureaucrats must be rubbing their hands with glee....
.....at potential kickbacks and the US government should be ashamed of itself. There is an article in today's NYT on the proposal by Shell Oil and others to start digging for gas under the Karoo. This is as bad as, if not worse than the rape of the tarsands… Read full post »
DECEMBER 15, 2011 9:03PM
Strange Relations
In the
Department of Politics makes Strange Bedfellows, here is a recent
article in the Seattle Times on the
close relationship between Turkey and Native Americans and the
negative response from the Armenian American community. And,
not only is this relationship quite long standing, but
Democra/… Read full post »
DECEMBER 7, 2011 10:10PM
Reality According to Assad
The BBC aired
the ABC Barbara Walters interview with Bashar al-Assad early
this morning (Pacific time). Later in the day, BBC
interviewed Barbara Walters regarding this: it is worth
listening to her comments and outrage. The only factual
error she made and the only grain of tr/… Read full post »
DECEMBER 2, 2011 6:37PM
Mugabe and Nando's Chicken Commercial
Mugabe was not
amused and objected to the Nando's Chicken commercial, so, Nando's
caved and pulled it. How wimpish. See my previous post
on 29 November.
Let's spread the word.
NOVEMBER 30, 2011 6:32PM
The sham that the ANC has become
An
op-ed piece in today's New York Times. A whole show on
On The Media.
Reportage on the new law.
Commentary from Kenya. A letter from Desmond Tutu to Jacob Zuma. The ANC is beginning to wear the robes of its former oppressor. How chilling is that. The new secrecy/c/… Read full post »
Commentary from Kenya. A letter from Desmond Tutu to Jacob Zuma. The ANC is beginning to wear the robes of its former oppressor. How chilling is that. The new secrecy/c/… Read full post »
NOVEMBER 29, 2011 2:05PM
How to sell chicken.....
Nando's
Chicken, a South African fast food chain, has launched a new ad
campaign. Check this out for a few laughs. A story
about this was featured on
PRI's The World.
NOVEMBER 17, 2011 1:54PM
China + Russia = Laugh of the day
This has got
to be one of the more amusing news items....yesterday, the
New York Times reported that China has awarded the Confucius Peace
Prize to....Vladimir Putin. For what you ask? His
decision to go to war with Chechnya in 1999. This is more
than an oxymoron and 1984 doublespea/… Read full post »
Hazel Singer's Favorites
Judy Mandelbaum
Stella Lambert
Katy S
Alan Nothnagle
Poppi Iceland
2HLionsUpdates
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Boring stories of... (OS)
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Reflections on Memorial Day (Update)
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The War Whistler
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The cat came back: Felix's incredible Berlin odyssey
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My Book Plus More Writing Exercises...
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An Indo-American in Silicon Valley - Part 17
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Stacy Szymaszek
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Conservatives Create Easter Effect In Dying Union Movement.
Salon.com