Discover everything about art & design from Mikki Jazeker

Het is bijna Pasen, en dat betekent... Paaseieren! Natuurlijk kun je aan de slag met in de winkel gekochte verf, maar je kunt ook een beetje experimenteren met dingen die je misschien al in huis hebt. Veel groenten, fruit, en specerijen kunnen (ook) gebruikt worden als pigment om dingen mee te kleuren, of zelfs om je eigen waterverf mee te maken (maar dat is weer een ander verhaal). Kurkuma, bosbessen, rode kool, noem maar op. Gaat heen ende verft!

En als je geen eieren eet; je kunt er ook andere bepaalde natuurlijke materialen mee verven, en daar vervolgens een paastak mee knutselen, ofzo.

Als je houdt van rivieren, sprookjes, Victoriaanse literatuur, en orale verteltraditie, is dit het boek voor jou!

"Some say the river drowned her... Some say it brought her back to life.

On a dark midwinter's night in an ancient inn on the Thames, the regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open and in steps an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a child.

Hours later, the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life.

Is it a miracle? Is it magic? And who does the little girl belong to?

An exquisitely crafted historical mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Victorian age."

Ik las Once Upon a River, en toen ik dit boek besprak met anderen, kwam iemand met de opmerking 'magical realism is just fantasy, and separating it from fantasy is something done by elitists who think fantasy can't be literary'. Het verschil tussen fantasy, en dan met name urban fantasy, en magical realism is iets waar ik zelf ook al eens over na heb gedacht, maar voor mij zit er op z'n minst gevoelsmatig een duidelijk verschil tussen. Vandaag voor de lol eens even gaan kijken of mensen met hogere intelligentie en meer mentale capaciteit dan ik daar al niet eens iets over geschreven hebben, en natuurlijk hebben ze dat. Kort samengevat: "Magical Mundanity vs. Magic Hiding Behind the Mundane". Voor meer duidelijkheid, zie artikel.

"“From the river to the sea” is “threatening” and “intimidating” speech; it is a call to “genocidal violence.” Perhaps such interpretations are revealing in ways those voicing them cannot quite hear—or admit.

(...)

As Gaza is decimated by what can only be described as carpet bombing; as medicine, food, water, and fuel are running out; as hunger, thirst and communicable diseases spread; as hospitals are bombed, invaded, collapsed, and the health care system as a whole is on the brink of total disintegration; and with over 11,000 Palestinians killed, over 27,000 injured, close to half of whom are children, the mainstream press, university administrations, politicians, and some national Jewish organizations are fixated on the purported threat contained in those words, chanted at peaceful demonstrations around the country and the world. Only last week, Columbia University suspended two student organizations. Gerald Rosberg, Senior Vice-President and the Chair of the recently established “Special Committee on Campus Safety”, justified the suspension of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace on the grounds that they had held an “unauthorized” event. But that was not all: the demonstration on the steps of Low Library “included threatening rhetoric and intimidation.” What was he referring to? “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” he informed the students, is “a call for genocide.”"

"Het is mogelijk om heel Nederland te voeden met plantaardige voedingsmiddelen van eigen bodem, zo berekenden onderzoekers. En we hebben er slechts de helft van de huidige landbouwgrond voor nodig."

"[A] UN report found that 700,000 Palestinians had been arrested since the occupation began, equal to roughly 40% of all the men and boys in the territories. The damage wasn’t only to the affected families, each of them grieving lost years and lost childhoods. It was to the entire society, to every mother, father and grandparent, all of whom knew or would come to learn that they were powerless to protect their children."

Wat cijfers, zo richting de verkiezingen.

Conclusie:

"Kortom

Nederland is veel veiliger geworden, het aantal verdachten is gekelderd, de politie kreeg meer geld en meer personeel en de politie heeft ook niet minder agenten dan in andere Europese landen. Waarom schreeuwt de politie dan moord en brand over het capaciteitstekort?"

Longish read, but very interesting insight in the role skin color plays and has played in the social relations in occupied Palestine and the Zionist settlement of Israel.

"Blackness and the Zionist national character

The first step in this direction would be to recall that what we now consider “white” Jews have been historically racialized as non-white subjects in European societies. Representations of Jews as possessing certain physical characteristics, including a different skin color, marked them as “others” in Germany, France, Poland and other nations across Europe (Boyarin 1997). In this context, and in an effort to take part in the historical turn to nationalism, European Jews embraced some of the anti-Semitic stereotypes attributed to them — and their bodies. For the Zionist movement, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, the construction of a national identity was akin to a process of mental and physical rehabilitation. Such national consciousness, claimed Zionist leaders, could only be achieved by actual deeds, namely returning to their ancestral homeland, cultivating it, and defending it. Imagining themselves as successors of the glorified heroes of biblical times, early Zionists aimed at reconnecting to the region, hoping to feel indigenous in it once again. Within this context, the tan-skinned and masculine appearance of “the new Jew”— crystallized in the image of the Hebrew farmer and laborer — signified a somatic representation of healing the defected diasporic body.

...

On the one hand, the Arabs’ skills and adjustment to local conditions were perceived as an ideal model of indigeneity. On the other hand, Arabs’ bodies and manners were also associated with backwardness and primitivity. As the conflict in the region escalated into violence, positive association diminished, and body features attributed to Arabs often denoted potential danger."

"The term ‘eco-anxiety’ has been popularised as a way to talk about the negative impact of the climate emergency on our wellbeing. In It’s Not Just You, activist Tori Tsui reframes eco-anxiety as the urgent mental health crisis it clearly is.

Drawing on the wisdom of environmental advocates from around the globe, Tori looks to those on the frontlines of eco-activism to demonstrate that the current climate-related mental health struggle goes beyond the climate itself. Instead, it is a struggle that encompasses many injustices and is deeply entrenched in systems such as racism, sexism, ableism and, above all, capitalism."

Ik las Cujo en heb er veel over te zeggen, alleen even niet de bandwidth om die gedachten op papier te zetten. Gelukkig zijn er altijd anderen die dat dan al wèl gedaan hebben, en waarschijnlijk beter dan ik zou kunnen. Interessante review van het boek, dat goed aansluit op mijn mening.