I just heard recently for the first time of the North Pacific Gyre. Apparently, it is a huge collection of floating garbage covering twice the surface area of the state of Texas. It floats in the Pacific Ocean somewhere between Hawaii and California. All the garbage there is said to weigh more than 3.5 million tonnes. The thought that something like this might exist first came to me on an isolated beach on a small island named Ikema. Ikema Island is in the island chain of Okinawa. This island chain traces a line from the southern tip of Japan to the island of Taiwan. Directly north of Ikema Island is the peninsula of Korea. Further south is the Philippines …
I discovered this gem of a video today. An interview with the owner of a hotel where Yasujiro Ozu wrote the scripts for many of his most important films.
Last night, I saw a free screening of this movie by Michael Franti, I Know I’m Not Alone. The movie captures the journey of Franti’s journey to Iraq, Israel, and Pakistan. On the film’s website, Franti says in a statement, “This film came out of my frustration with watching the nightly news and hearing generals, politicians and pundits, explaining the political and economic cost of the war in the Middle East, without ever mentioning the human cost.” The film is very simply made and edited. Franti is our guitar-playing guide and intermediary to the lives of the people he encounters. It’s a simple set-up, but much more intimate — you feel like you’re there, too, with the people. The film’s website is here: http://www.iknowimnotalone.com/
Here’s more of a straight-up music video, not shown in the movie, but featuring one of the movie’s main songs:
