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Loving vs. USA ♥️

6/10/2020

2 Comments

 
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When love was a crime in the US
 
Mildred and Richard Loving were woken up abruptly in the early morning hours of July 11, 1958. 
 
Someone was in their bedroom, standing menacingly over the bed. The couple, sharing their marital bed in their own home in Central Point, Virginia, reached for their clothing, at first thinking the interloper was a burglar.
 
“Get up!” the voice barked, training a powerful flashlight in their eyes. “Y'all both under arrest.”
 
“What did we do?” Richard protested, shielding his wife.
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The officer explained the crime they were being charged with and ordered them to dress and get out of bed. But Richard and Mildred explained that it all must be a big mistake. She pointed to their marriage certificate, hanging in a frame on the wall.
 
“That ain’t valid in Virginia!” the officer spat, marching them out of their house in handcuffs and placing them in a waiting squad car.
 
The young couple was transported down to the local station, where they were booked and charged with Sections 20-58 and 20–59 of the Virginia Code and thrown in the same cells that were used to house hardened criminals. 
 
They soon found out that the police raided their home in those early morning hours based on an anonymous tip. Hurling insults and racial epitaphs at them, they learned that the police hoped to catch them in the act of having sex, since that would have brought additional criminal charges.

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So, what was the Lovings’ crime? 
 
They were married and happened to be an interracial couple. 
 
Since Richard was white and Mildred was “colored” as it was called in those days – a mix of black and Native American - that was enough for the police to lock them up in Virginia.
 
In fact, Section 20-58 of the Virginia Code made it a crime for couples of different races to be married (referred to as ‘miscegenation’) out of state and then return to Virginia. 
 
And Section 20–59 classified miscegenation as a felony offense, which came of a prison sentence of one to five years.

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Richard + Mildred; young and in love
 
Mildred Delores Loving was born July 22, 1939 there in Virginia. Ironically, there may be some confusion as to her racial origins. 
 
During her drawn-out legal nightmare, she identified as African American (or black or “colored” in those days).

​But the night she was arrested, she told the police that she was “Indian” and later on, claimed to be Indian-Rappahannock. However, she may have denied being partially black to try to deflect the charges, since the intent of these laws left over from the Jim Crow era was to separate African Americans and whites.
 
We do know that she was a soft-spoken, gentle, and a pretty woman, growing up in the same small Virginia community of Caroline County where she eventually met her husband, Richard Loving.
 
Richard, born October 29, 1933, came from a family that owned seven slaves according to the 1830 census, and his grandfather, T. P. Farmer, fought for the Confederates in the Civil War.
 
But in their small community, there was more racial harmony and mixing than we might guess. 

“There’s just a few people that live in this community,” Richard described, who looked like the typical young southern white in those days with a blond crew cut. “A few white and a few colored. And as I grew up, and as they grew up, we all helped one another. It was all, as I say, mixed together to start with and just kept goin’ that way.” 
 
In fact, Richard's father was a loyal 25-year employee of one of the wealthiest black men in the U.S. at the time, and a lot of Richard’s best friends were black or racially mixed, including Mildred’s older brothers.
 
Either way, Richard and Mildred met in high school and quickly fell in love, becoming inseparable. When Mildred became pregnant at the age of 18, Richard even moved into her family home.
 
Knowing full well that it was illegal for them to marry in Caroline County due to Virginia's Racial Integrity Act, the young couple traveled to Washington, D.C. where they could legally marry. 
 
They came back to Virginia several times to visit family in Central Point, and it was during one of those visits in 1958 when the police barged into their bedroom in the wee hours and arrested them.

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Good ‘ole fashioned southern racism
 
The racial climate in Virginia was all-too-typical in those days. In fact, out of all 50 states, only nine did nothave a law against interracial marriage at some point. And by the 1950s, the majority of U.S. states (and every single state in the south) had a law against miscegenation. 
 
There had been laws against racial mixing or marriage all the way back to the colonial era, which were renewed during Jim Crow. Most of the laws focused on keeping black men away from white women. The rape of black women by white slave owners or men was commonplace, leading to the "one drop of blood" rule (if someone had even one drop of African American blood, they were considered black in the eyes of the law).
 
But those laws were far less barbaric than trial-by-mob, as black men were frequently attacked or lynched for even talking to a white woman.
 
The law and courts held no refuge nor justice. The case of Pace v. Alabama in 1883 went all the way to the Supreme Court, where an Alabama law against anti-miscegenation was deemed fully constitutional. 
 
And in 1888, the Supreme Court ruled that states had the legal authority to prohibit or regulate marriage based on race.
 
In Virginia, that was codified in 1924 with the Act to Preserve Racial Integrity, with violators facing a prison sentence of one to five years in the state penitentiary.
 
By the time the Lovings were pulled out of their bed and arrested, 16 states still had anti-miscegenation laws on their books – most of them in the south.

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From jail to a Kennedy’s help
 
Sitting in jail and with no resources or recourse to fight the charges, the Lovings both pleaded guilty on January 6, 1959. Their crime was officially documented as "cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth.”
 
Per the Act to Preserve Racial Integrity, they were sentenced to one year in state prison, but the sentence was suspended when they agreed to leave the state of Virginia and not return.
 
Happy to evade a prison term but sad to leave the community and people they grew up with, the Lovings fled to the District of Columbia, settling into a D.C. ghetto. They were poor but lived in peace, and raised their three children, Sidney, Donald, and Peggy, there.
 
But they had increasing financial difficulties and missed their home and families. When one of their sons was struck by a car in the streets of D.C. (he lived and recovered), a frustrated Mildred wrote a letter to the young Attorney General of the United States, who she thought may be sympathetic. In the letter, she documented the Lovings' plight.
 
She never expected to receive a reply, but she did hear back from that Attorney General - Robert F. Kennedy. Of course, Robert’s brother had been the progressive President John F. Kennedy, Jr, who had been assassinated a few years earlier in 1963.
 
Robert Kennedy connected Mildred with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who agreed to take on her case.



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All the way to the steps of the Supreme Court
 
The ACLU assigned two volunteer attorneys, Bernard S. Cohen and Philip J. Hirschkop, to the Lovings' case. They filed a motion to vacate the criminal judgments in Virginia’s Caroline County Circuit Court, stating that the Act to Preserve Racial Integrity violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
 
After nearly a year of waiting with no progress, the pair of ACLU attorneys filed a class-action suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
 
After hearing the case, Judge Leon M. Bazile ruled against the Lovings, including this statement:
 
“Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.”
 
The ACLU appealed Judge Bazile’s decision in the Virginia Supreme Court on the grounds that it violated the constitution. However, in 1965, Justice Harry L. Carrico wrote an opinion for the court that upheld the constitutional legality of anti-miscegenation laws.
 
Finally, the Lovings and the ACLU appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1. While Mildred and Richard were not in attendance as their lawyers made oral arguments on their behalf, Bernard S. Cohen passed on a message from Richard Loving: "Tell the Court I love my wife, and it is just unfair that I can't live with her in Virginia."
 
On June 12, 1967, the United States Supreme Court came back with their ruling. With a unanimous 9-0 vote, the highest court in the land overturned the Virginia criminal conviction and deemed anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional. 
 
The Supreme Court opinion, written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, struck down any laws regulating interracial marriage since they violated Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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Life after their landmark case
 
At least on a federal level, it was no longer illegal for racially-mixed men and women to marry, thanks to the Lovings and their attorneys. 
 
The landmark case was one of the most significant civil rights wins to date in the United States, at a time when civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated the very next year.
 
I wish I could tell you that the Supreme Court ruling changed things, rooting out racism in U.S. society, but we know that's not the case. Despite the Supreme Court ruling, many states resisted, begrudgingly changing their laws against interracial marriage – if at all.
 
In fact, Alabama was the last state to accept the Loving vs. Virginia ruling, not removing its anti-miscegenation laws until 2000. 
 
That’s not a typo; it was still technically illegal for people of different races to marry in Alabama only 20 short years ago.

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The Loving legacy
 
In the movies, the courageous defendants stand proudly in the Supreme Court alongside their lawyers. But in real life, it rarely works that way.
 
Instead, the Lovings lived on a quiet farm in Virginia during much of the prolonged legal battle, trying to stay out of sight (to avoid the media as well as a safety precaution). But after the Supreme Court decision, they moved the family back to Central Point, where Richard built a small house and they raised their children in relative peace.
 
In 1975, Richard was killed when he was hit by a drunk driver while driving in Caroline County, Virginia. He was only 41.
 
Mildred was in the car with him and lost her right eye in the accident but lived. She passed in 2008 of pneumonia in her home in Central Point at the age of 68.
 
We’re not sure if Richard and Mildred fully realized the societal and cultural shift they’d started. Over the decades, their story has been the subject of several songs and three movies, including Loving, which debuted at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
 
Their case also served as a precedent for other civil rights cases since, including Obergefell v. Hodges, a landmark 2015 Supreme Court decision that lifted restrictions on same-sex marriage.
 
In 2014, Mildred was honored posthumously as one of "Virginia’s Women in History,” and in 2017, a historical marker was dedicated to her in front of the building that formerly housed the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.


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Making the term ‘interracial” obsolete
 
Back in the 1960s, 0.4% of all U.S. marriages were between interracial couples. By 1980, that number had increased to 3.2% of all marriages, and then to 8.4% in 2010. 
 
Today, about 19% of all newlywed marriages are between interracial couples, or almost 1 in every 5.
 
By 2050, there will be so many multi-racial people that the vast majority of marriages could be considered interracial, although we probably won't even bother keeping track of that statistic anymore.
 
To recognize the sacrifice and plight of Richard, Mildred, and many others like them, June 12th – the day of their Supreme Court decision - has been designated Loving Day in the United States.
 
-Norm  :-)

P.S. Thank you for sharing so we can try to spread some positivity and understanding.
 
***
This blog is dedicated to my old friend, Kyle McGee, who taught me so much.

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10 Things to feel ridiculously, gleefully, unabashedly hopeful about

4/17/2020

11 Comments

 
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Whoa. 
 
That’s the feeling we get every time we turn on the news or check social media these days, as things seem to keep getting worse.
 
It’s hard NOT to feel down, depressed, and despondent during these unprecedented times, with millions of people sick, thousands dying, and the whole economy shut down. 
 
There seems to be no quick solution or even solid answers, and it sure feels like the average person has been left to his or her own devices.
 
It’s all too much.
 
Then again, in those rare occasions that I'm able to throw the covers off and actually get out of bed, put down my third bowl of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch (note: I highly recommend it), or stop walking in circles around the house like a zombie, I realize that maybe things aren’t completely hopeless.
 
In fact, the sun is shining. I’m blessed to still have a roof over my head and food on the table, and the ability to control my own destiny, no matter how difficult that task may seem.
 
As usual, things may not be quite as bad as they seem. 
 
I can hit you with rosy platitudes like “It’s always darkest before the dawn,” or even start singing “Don’t worry; be happy,” but I’m not going to minimize what we’re up against (and you don’t want to hear my singing!).
 
Furthermore, intangibles and Trumpian double-speak do us no good at this point. We need some real and substantial cornerstones that make us feel optimistic about coming days.
 
So, here are 10 things to feel ridiculously, gleefully, unabashedly hopeful about:

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1.  Animal shelters are emptying That's great news if you're a pet lover, as people are adopting and rescuing dogs, cats, and other lovable critters at a record rate. In fact, some dog shelters have posted videos lately, showing that they're completely empty! It turns out, we all want a lovable four-legged friend at home to keep us company.

​(My dog, Pupperoni, is patiently waiting for me to return to the Philippines or I'd adopt five more here in Connecticut!)


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2.  The words ‘neighbor’ and ‘community’ mean something again
During good times, we were all a little guilty of fortifying ourselves in our McMansions and going about our own business.

​But now, people are more interested in helping, supporting, and just getting to know those around them again. We're sitting on our front porches and saying hi, making meals for seniors, and giving away things we used to try to sell. Young people, especially, are stepping up and showing character.


Isn’t it ironic that we’re more isolated than ever but feel a new sense of communal and civic pride?

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3.  Mom-n-Pop businesses are getting love
I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the rejuvenated relationship we have with local restaurants, Mom-n-Pop stores, and neighborhood businesses that are still operating. It seems like we appreciate them more than ever, and we’re actively supporting them with our dollars, (our stomachs), and by spreading the word. 
 
Think about when this is over; will you head to Chilis or Bed, Bath, and Beyond?! No! You’ll run to a local or Mom-n-Pop business to eat, drink, and shop to your heart’s content!

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4.  In some ways, we're becoming more human
As we traverse this storm of suffering with no relief in sight, I've noticed that people are becoming more human again. I liken it to the days after 9/11, when everyone waved and said hello, held the door open for each other, and generally remembered that we share the planet with others.

In fact, charity donations and volunteerism have skyrocketed already during this crisis, a heartwarming trend I expect to continue. 

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5.  We have time again​
Are we finally stopping to smell the roses? Looks like it, as we finally have a moment to pause, breathe, and not be rushed every minute of every day.

​Sure, we're bored, but our family dinners have become longer, we're talking to friends and family more than ever (even if it's virtually), and we're dusting off long-forgotten hobbies and passions. We're taking bike rides, doing yoga, learning (online) and reading, and taking walks with our kids every sunset. There may not be too many silver linings to these challenging times, but the fact that we can hit pause on the world for a moment is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

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6.  People are getting their priorities straight
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Although what’s to come will be extremely painful, we also are recalibrating our priorities, which will have a positive effect for the rest of our lives. All of a sudden, we are filled with appreciation just to have a hot meal, the chance to talk to an old friend, or when we get to hug our family safely every night. And just being healthy for another day feels like an enormous blessing.
 
Maybe we needed a little wake-up call? 

Well, this is it, and many of us are already listening, focusing on simplifying our lives and living with newfound gratitude.

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7.    Nature is our saving grace!
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My anxiety (ok, abject panic!) often rises to a boiling point when I stay inside to work, watch the news, or scroll through social media. Then, I step outside, and everything feels better. 

Even a few minutes out in my backyard or at the local park reminds me that some of the best things in life are the fresh air (allergy season notwithstanding), blue skies, blooming flowers, and wild animals. 
 
Many of us are lucky enough to experience nature in one way or another, and the planet even seems to be healing itself a little with less pollution and more space for wildlife to roam again.

A lot of people around the world (more US people will start doing this if they're smart) are even starting to plant home gardens and grow their own food. Clean energy may even become more sustainable through all this. Hell, maybe there is just a spark of hope for the planet? 

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8.  We have a new appreciation for the little people (who, it turns out, were never little at all!)
We'll look back at these dark days and remember the heroes, new leaders, and regular people who exhibited remarkable courage and sacrifice. We all have a new appreciation for teachers, police officers, first responders, doctors and nurses, bus drivers, grocery store workers, social workers, and all sorts of other extraordinary humans that sometimes go unappreciated. 
 
I'm sure you've seen the videos of New Yorkers applauding and cheering their local healthcare workers during the nightly 7 pm shift change. I propose that we keep that tradition alive after this is all over – and expand it to show love and respect for a whole lot more "little people" who are huge in our lives.

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9.  Change is coming
Just a few weeks ago, the world we live in now would be inconceivable.

(Would you ever imagine that you're required to wear a mask when walking into a bank?!)

Absolutely everything has changed, and we're still trying to wrap our collective psyche around that. 

There will be pain and suffering to come; there's no avoiding it. But this grandest of transformations will also bring a chance to reinvent just about every aspect of our society - and even the human experience.  We are blessed and cursed with the responsibility of rebuilding our world, and no one knows exactly what that look like except that it will be new.

Change is inevitable as it is imminent. It's now the age of rebirth for activists, artists, healers, designers, dreamers, teachers, empaths, environmentalists, inventors, underdogs, outcasts,  leaders, and, especially the youth, as we've turned this world into a fuster cluck and it's time to let the next 

The meek may just inherit the earth, after all...and I'm hopeful that they'll take far better care of it than we ever did.

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10.  People are ready to start living again 
Psychologists outline a process that we go through whenever we suffer a grave loss or tragedy, with stages from shock to denial, anger, bargaining, depression, reconciliation, and then, acceptance. 
 
I don't know about you, but I think they're missing a couple of stages like, "Wearing the same sweatpants for 72 hours" and "Drinking wine at 10 am while holding a full conversation with the mailbox."
 
But there will be an eighth stage at the end of all this: Ready.
 
People will be ready:
Ready to work.
Ready to rebuild.
Ready to experience.
Ready to learn.

Ready to heal.
Ready to give.
Ready to connect.
Ready to love without censor or fear.
 
Very soon, we’ll be ready to LIVE again!
 
That alone is something to feel incredibly hopeful about, and I think it’s coming sooner than we may realize.
 
Trust me when I tell you; You’ll want to be around for the dancing in the streets after these dark days are over!

-Norm  :-)

PS If you found this helpful or uplifting at all, can you please do me a favor and share it on social media? Thanks a billion!

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Your December postcard from Norm - Bringing you Christmas traditions from around the world.

11/28/2017

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As you read this, I’m 30,000 feet up in the skies, flying from New York to Dubai to Bangkok, and then back to the Philippines. I’m eager to get back “home” to the Philippines in December for Christmas, since it’s the most spirited, vibrant, and colorful season there.

Looking out this little window at the solemn, cold night sky, I’m thinking about all of the countries and the people I’m flying over, and what they do to celebrate Christmas. (Actually, I’m thinking about why I was too cheap to pay for an exit row seat and when the flight attendant is coming back with the drink cart, but the first version sounds better.)

So I decided to research and jot down some fascinating Christmas traditions from around the world, reminding us that through our many differences, we are all really the same.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 

(Ohhh…here comes the drink cart!)
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The Philippines
Although the Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia, its residents are about 90% Christian and 80% Roman Catholic due to Spanish colonization, so Christmas is a BIG deal. In fact, they celebrate the longest Christmas holiday in the world, spanning from September until well after New Years. 

Aside from ubiquitous light shows, malls filled to the brim, and decorated trees, there are many great Christmas traditions in the Philippines.

Many Filipinos practice the tradition of Simbang Gabi, where they attend church service at 4 am for the nine days leading up to Christmas Eve.

On Noche Buena - Christmas Eve - the whole extended family gets together for a feast of lechon, or a roasted pig.
 
Singing is always popular in the Philippines, but even more so around Christmas, when children go door to door singing carols.

There’s even a Giant Lantern Festival  (Ligligan Parul Sampernandu) in the country, held the Saturday before Christmas in the city of San Fernando – the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines.” Local residents, visiting Filipinos, and even foreign travelers gather to witness hundreds of paper lanterns lit and send aloft by candles, or even electric-colored bulbs these days.

But I have my own new Christmas tradition in the Philippines, as I dress up like Santa Claus and visit sick kids with cancer as well as give out food to street kids. It’s damn hot in that suit! ​

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China
The Christians in China, who celebrate Christmas, decorate their homes with ornate paper lanterns, all lit up for the big day.  The Chinese version of Santa Claus is called Dun Che Lao Ren.

​Turkey

Turkey is now a predominantly Muslim nation, although moderate, and their winter holiday revolves more around New Year's Eve, called The Great Day. But they also hold the distinction of being the historical home of real-life Santa Claus, or Noel Baba in Turkish, a monk named Saint Nicholas that lived in 280 A.D. Some Turkish people and visiting foreigners still visit Saint Nicholas’ ancient home for the Christmas season.

France
In France, Santa is known as Pere Noel and is always attended by Pre Fouettard, who keeps the list of who has been good and bad for him.  Pere Noel comes to deliver small gifts to the children on December 6 and then returns with more on Christmas day, but the adults wait until New Years Day to open theirs.

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Ghana
Christmas is a huge celebration in this part of Africa, with preparations and festivals for many weeks beforehand.  Everyone tries to get home by December 24 to visit their ancestral birthplace.  Huge feasts of goat, mangoes, cashew fruits and chicken stew are prepared, and a mango, guava, or cashew tree in the center of the courtyard is decorated with lights and paper ornaments. ​

​Italy

The exchange and opening of presents doesn't happen until the 6th of January, the day believed to be when the Wise Men reached the baby Jesus. Instead of Santa, the Italians have La Befana, a women who gives gifts to those who have been good and punishes bad children, based on the woman who refused to help the Wise Men with food and shelter.

India
In India, they decorate their houses with lights on windowsills, a star hung outside, and strings of mango leaves.  The tradition is to make thali, a sweet holiday dessert, and give it to friends and neighbors.

Denmark

Santa Claus is called Julemanden, and his elves are Juul Nisse, but they live in the attic of their homes, not the North Pole.  Children leave out rice pudding and saucers of milk for them, not cookies.

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Japan
The Japanese are not a Christian nation, but celebrate a form of Christmas with the giving of gifts from a Santa Claus-like figure called Hoteiosha. But an even more colorful Christmas tradition is their affinity for feasting on Kentucky Fried Chicken for the holiday, with special menus, lines around the block, and a Japanese Colonel Sanders wearing a Santa Claus outfit!  

​Mexico

Mexicans call Christmas, Navidad, celebrated for nine days with Las Pasadas.  They follow a tradition of dressing like Mary and Joseph and going door-to-door reenacting events of the Bible, when there was no room, and then celebrating with food, song, and a Pinata for the children.  Finally, on the ninth night, they are told yes, there is room for Mary in the stable, and everyone heads to church to celebrate.

Belgium
The children here believe in a Saint Nicholas who delivers their presents, but this one rides a horse.  So it’s a tradition to leave hay, carrots, and water outside the house on December 6 for Saint Nic’s horse.

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Russia
The Russians used to celebrate Christmas with great glee before the revolution of 1917, carrying sticks with stars on them through the streets, representing the Stars of Bethlehem.  After it became the Soviet Union, religion was banned so the traditions went dormant for many decades.  But now, they've been reintroduced with slight differences – Saint Nicholas is now known as Grandfather Frost and wears blue, not red, and they decorate a tree and celebrate on New Years Day.

Sweden
Santa Claus is actually called Tomte, who is a gnome that emerges from under the floor of the house or barn, carrying a sack of presents for the kids.  Tomte rides a sleigh, but it's pulled by a goat, not reindeer.

The Netherlands

Santa Claus is known as Sinterklaas and rumored to originally come from Sweden by boat, after starting out on December 6th in Spain.  Sinterklaas goes house to house on horseback delivering gifts and fills the children's shoes that are put out with candy and nuts by Christmas morning. 

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Venezuela
The South American country of Venezuela may be in a state of emergency right now, but they still have some serious fun for Christmas. In fact, residents of Caracas, the capital, lace up their roller blades and skate to church for Christmas Eve mass. No one really knows how this started or why, but the rollerblading Christmas celebrators have become so popular that roads are even shut down so they can skate to church safely.

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Iceland
For 13 nights leading up to Christmas, the children of Iceland leave their best shoes by the window, hoping that the Yule Lads visit them while they’re sleeping. The boys and girls that have been good receive gifts in their shoes, while the bad ones get rotting potatoes.

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South Africa
Since it's sits far in the southern hemisphere, Christmas comes in the middle of their summer, so people enjoy the outdoors with camping, swimming, gathering in parks and for festivals, and other outdoor activities. But they also have many remnants of UK Christmas traditions, like dressing trees, singing carols, and gift giving, called fir. Boxing Day - the day after Christmas - is just as big!

***


Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just a great holiday! I'll see you in the New Year!

-Norm :-) 


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Requiem for a radio show.

9/13/2017

0 Comments

 
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This week, I had the opportunity to be a guest disc jockey on Dumaguete’s own 93.7 Energy FM radio station, filling the how usually reserved for Jeff the Solar Guy’s show.
 
Jeff pre-qualified me tediously for the job by checking to see if: 1) I knew what a radio was; 2) Could speak in complete sentences; and 3) Had a pulse. Assured that two out of three wasn’t bad, I was offered the position.
 
The experience was a blast, and thanks to a few entertaining guests and a solid producer, at least my show didn’t embarrass the station.  But I must admit that I had butterflies of anticipation leading up to my 4 PM On-Air time since it’s been a long time since I got behind the mic.
 
My timing was a half click too fast and my transitions were rusty, but I still remembered the three golden rules of radio: 1) Always read the copy advertising, 2) Repeat the station’s call letters and guest names every ten minutes, 2) and don’t swear like a drunken sailor. 

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​But it wasn’t my first foray into being a radio DJ…
 
A million years ago (OK, 1992-3) I was a Disc Jockey for my college radio station at the University of Connecticut. 91.7 FM went by the call letters WHUS, with the slogan “Radio for the people.” The only problem was that there weren’t any people listening – at least to my show.
 
As a newbie, I was awarded he worst possible time for a radio show: 2 AM to 5:30 AM on Thursday mornings. My first class, Weightlifting 101, was at 8 AM so it was a challenge just to show up, yet alone bench press with that lack of sleep (and lack of muscle).
 
Manning a professional radio station by myself was also a big responsibility. I had to read public service announcements (PSAs) every 15 minutes, report the weather once an hour, and announce the call letters frequently so the people would know which station they weren’t listening to.
 
There were about 1,000 buttons, dials, and levers in the sizable radio booth, at least nine of which I mastered after six months of practice. Also, I was informed very seriously that if I cursed while I was live on air, the FCC could fine the station $10,000 and could put them out of business. 

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​But I had plenty of leeway to make mistakes since the station was empty at that hour. That was fine by me, since I didn’t particularly care for the kind of person who would be a college radio DJ (present company excluded).
 
The other members of WHUS chain smoked, reserved sour lemon looks of scorn for anyone not deemed as “alternative” as them, and obviously spent hours perfecting their disheveled outfits until they’d give off an “I don’t care about my outfit” vibe.
 
But I made the best of it, and I was rarely alone. My roommate, Garnett, always came along with me to listen to the newest hip hop records, and, circa 2:30 AM, Jake the Pizza Delivery Guy would always roll in, red-eyed and carrying a few free pizzas he’d managed to commandeer.
 
Together, to pass the three hours of silent blackness, we turned the radio show it into a big party. 

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​“Stormin Norman in the Morning” was born, but this was no cult of personality, as the show was all about the music. At that time, there was no YouTube or iTunes, and people couldn't even listen to music online (Napster came in 1999). So to hear a new song, you had to tune in on the radio, watch MTV, or go to a record store and buy it.
 
But every record label sent early releases to the station to promote their hot new artists and albums, so we got Nirvana, Dr. Dre and Snoop, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Counting Crows, Radiohead, the Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, and others all six months before the general public. It was heaven for this music lover.
 
We turned the volume way up. We danced. We tried to rap. We laughed. I ranted and raved on-air. We used the station’s phone to make long distance calls. We stole duplicate CDs. We took turns falling asleep on the couch. And we recorded endless mixes as if this music jackpot might suddenly disappear.
 
I gave shout-outs to friends all the time just so they would listen, spread maliciously irresponsible rumors about our teachers, and invited anyone and everyone in as a guest so we could discuss their sexual exploits.
 
By the time the middle aged and well mustached soft jazz DJ showed up at 5 AM to prepare for his morning show, the studio was littered with empty beer bottles, dank clouds of smoke, stacks of vinyl and CD cases, the remains of Hawaiian pizzas, and a snoring Garnett.

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​The rest of the college campus was still sleeping, too. My radio show was so desolate that when a blizzard struck one winter night, I didn’t bother showing up. No one seemed to notice that the station was broadcasting dead air until a confused morning jazz guy brought it back to life.
 
It snowed a lot of Thursday mornings that winter, and thus my inglorious DJing career at WHUS soon came to an end.
 
I ended up failing Weightlifting 101, a new low-point in my already low academic career. But Garnett and I were sought out for our new mixes and soon recruited to DJ parties. Jake the Pizza Guy would even stop by.
 
Twenty-five years later (wow!), getting into the booth at ENERGY FM rekindled those memories. Pulling the mic close and shouting out those call letter maybe even created an itch that needs scratching.
 
Perhaps I'll volunteer to guest DJ in Dumaguete again? Or, even better, I can record my own little podcast about traveling, culture, and general musings about this thing we call life.
 
But this time, I think I'll call it “Stormin Norman in the mid-afternoon," and strong coffee will replace all of those cold beers. I can even make a call to see if Garnett and Jake the Pizza Guy are available.

-Norm  :-)

P.S. A version of this story first appeared in the Dumaguete MetroPost newspaper.

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A map of the Philippines as Game of Thrones

9/3/2017

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Are you fan of Game of Thrones?

The most popular TV series ever has countless fans all over the world, including the Philippines. But the archipelago of 7,500+ islands and 120,000 million residents is quite wild, beautiful, and majestic in its own right.

​So I started thinking about what if Game of Thrones was actually in the Philippines? From Manila to Mindanao,  North of the Wall to Kings Landing, here is my interpretation of Game of Thrones - Philippines' style! 
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How did I do?
What did I get right or wrong?
How would you map look different? Feel free to email me with any feedback! 

-Norm  :-)


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My new job as a dancer in a Cambodian hip hop video.

4/10/2016

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I was walking home to my hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia one day last year, just finished with a workout in the public plaza along the riverside. 

A group of young Cambodian dudes approached me, saying they were filming a hip hop video and needed people to dance in the background. 

I politely declined at first  even though they seemed legit, as they were setting up huge speakers and professional video cameras. I walked past them but then looked back. What the hell do I have to lose and why not embarrass myself a little? 
So I walked back and told them I'd be happy to be one of the people dancing in the crowd.

Two Khmer-American guys from Minnesota and Canada introduced themselves as Bross La and Tony Keo. 

The beats started pumping and they started warming up on the microphone. 
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​But it was too late to back out and 3-2-1 the filming started. BOOM! I was in a Cambodia rap video. I didn't even have time to stretch or exchange my flip flops for Tims or anything! But I got dancing, all the while thinking, "Don't look stupid, don't look stupid." But it actually turned out to be fun, and the random Japanese girl was a sick hip hop dancer. The song was pretty good, too, and I've developed an affinity for the Cambodian-American hip hop scene, which is small but thriving in both countries.


After it was over, sweaty and disheveled from dancing through five takes in the tropical afternoon sun but happy I'd embraced the experience. I said goodbye to Boss La and Tony and didn't think anything else of it...until a few months later a Cambodian waitress at a bar said she'd seen me in a rap video, and then kids on the riverside said the same, and a random guy that stopped his moto to say hi along the busy road. 

Apparently these guys were pretty famous in that scene and the video blew up, with well over 200,000 views to date. 

Hmmm...maybe being a backup dancer in Cambodian rap videos could be a new career for me? Or I could even go out on my own and do a solo album? I could be the next Cambodian Drake - "MC Cake!"

Nah, better not quit my day job just yet.

-Norm  :-)

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Want to live to 120 years old? Take these health lessons from the longest-living cultures on earth. 

3/19/2016

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​The average lifespan in America is now around 75.5 years old, though that’s expected to rise in the future thanks to modern medicine and technology. But that’s still nowhere near the life expectancy of people in some cultures around the world.
 
Called “Blue Zones” for the astounding average lifespans, they are defined as areas where people have three times the chance of reaching 100 than we do in the U.S. 

In fact, the island inhabitants of Okinawa in Japan, the Titicaca Indians in mountainous Peru, the Abkhasia in the Caucasus Mountains in Southern Russia and other areas, super centenarians are common (those who live to 110 years or more) and there are plenty of documented cases of people living to 120 or even 140!

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While there is no secret fountain of youth for these cultures, scientists and doctors have studied them intensively and identified several health, diet, and lifestyle factors that they all have in common. The current consensus among among medical science is that only 25% of your longevity is determined by your genetics, with the other 75% a factor of how and where you live. 

In this blog, we’ll introduce you to the people and cultures in the earth’s Blue Zones, and then summarize those practices that keep them happy and healthy well past 100 years old!

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The islanders of Okinawa in Japan
This small south Pacific island in Japan holds the honor for the longest disability-free life expectancy in the world. Known as the “land of immortals,” Okinawa has an incredible 900 people over 100 years old, the highest number of centenarians in the world despite having only 1.385 million people. How is that possible? Researchers noticed that the people there eat most of their food lightly steamed, eat more tofu and soya than anyone in the world, drink green tea, and eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, especially the dark green leafy kind. Unlike some of their vegetarian counterparts in other Blue Zones, the people of Okinawa do eat meat, though interestingly they usually only eat fish and it is often raw. They are always physically active even in advanced years, elders are greatly respected, and their “island attitude” results in a largely stress-free and communal life.


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Southern Italian and other Mediterranean cultures
The island of Sardinia in southern Italy in the Mediterranean Sea holds the highest rate of male centenarians in the world. It’s estimated that the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, also common in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, parts of Spain, etc. help account for such long and healthy lives. That includes daily consumption of olive oil, called liquid gold for its health benefits, along with plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and low consumption of meat and dairy. Don’t forget the glass of wine with every meal, a great source of flavonoids. Elderly people in this region also get plenty of exercise, sunshine, fresh air, and stay active in their homes, families, and communities. 

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The Abkhasia of Southern Russia
This unforgiving environment in the Caucasus Mountains, located between Europe and Asia, was once referred to as the “longevity capital of the world.” In fact, the longest-living man in the world, Shirali Muslimov, who lived to the ripe old age of 168, was from Azerbaijan in that region. The people there mostly eat freshly picked nuts and whole grains, and locally grown fruits and vegetables. They only rarely eat meat, and with the fat removed, but drink a special fermented beverage for vitality called matzoni, made from goat’s milk. They are constantly walking up and doing hilly paths and mountainous terrain, so every person is trim and fit no matter what age. Just like in Okinawa, elders are revered and respected in their society.


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The Hunza of North Pakistan
High up in the inhospitable mountains in Pakistan, the Hunza tribes have lived for many centuries, isolated from the rest of the world but enjoying very long, healthy lives. Due to the mountainous conditions the Hunza have to walk almost everywhere, and farming the soil is a full time job that keeps them physically fit. They subsist on a diet of fresh fruit most of the year and keep dried fruit to get them through the winters. In summer months, their diet also includes beans, corn, roots, tubers, squash, and sprouts, all extremely healthy. Most of the time their food is eaten raw because even cooking fires can be hard to come by. Eating meat or dairy is an extreme rarity, as the mountains don’t even allow for grazing of animals. Incredibly, they are virtually disease free during their lives, despite the harsh terrain and their hard lives.


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The Vicalbamba Indians of the Andes Mountains
In high-altitude valley in the peaks of southern Ecuador, the Vicalbamba people commonly live to 110 years old or more. Of course they stay active and physically fit, walking and hiking and cultivating the land, but like many of these people with extraordinary long lives, they also enjoy a strong sense of community, a stress-free life full of laughter and the warmth of extended family, and a sense of purpose long into live, as elders are looked up to. The Vicalbamba also share an almost-vegan diet, eating some cooked whole grains and lots of vegetables, nuts, and fruits all harvested with their own hands from their lands, with very little animal products.

Other Blue Zones around the world:
On the Greek island of Ikaria, there are an alarming number of centenarians and chronic disease and dementia are almost non-existant. Costa Rica spends only 15% of what America does on healthcare, yet their residents have a far longer life expectancy than almost all developing nations - and even many wealthier societies.  The Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica is one such Blue Zone, renowned for having elders live well into their 90s and 100s. 

There are even Blue Zones evolving within the United States which proves that it's not just environment or hereditary factors that determine longevity. In Loma Linda, California, emerging data reveals that residents live at least ten years longer than the national average due to their lifestyle, health, and diets. Alaska contains another Blue Zone. 

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So what do they all have in common?
So if you want to live to 140 years old, too, should you just move to one of these places? I don’t think it quite works like that, but the good news is that you can replicate many conditions of their lifestyle to improve your health, even back in the United States.

Researchers who collected extensive data from these regions came up with several striking similarities between cultures in the Blue Zones:
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  • Diets that consist mostly of vegan, and/or vegetarian and organic food.
  • They typically ate only 1,700-1,800 calories a day at most, even with physical activity filling their daily lives.
  •  That caloric intake was between 69-73% carbohydrates, 15-18% from fat and 10-13% from protein.
  • Food was grown and harvested local, without any chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, additives, GMOs, coloring or preservatives.
  • A good portion of food was eaten raw.
  • Vegetables, legumes, and fruits made up a large portion of their diet.
  • They ate little or no sweets, no processed sugars, and no salt except possibly sea salts.
  • They ate little or no animal products (0-10% of their diet, depending on the culture), and if they did it was lean and low fat.
  • The fats they did eat were extremely healthy, coming from fish, eggs, olive oil, etc.
  • They stayed lean and physically fit by walking, working, and staying active. No one had an exercise routine per se, but the activity in their lives dictated that there was zero obesity in their cultures.
  • People in all of their cultures had low levels of stress in their daily lives.
  • They used natural remedies and plants and herbs to heal ailments, not synthetic or chemical pharmaceuticals.
  • They all laughed, interacted with family and friends, and enjoyed a sense of community with all of those around them.
  • They believe in something greater than themselves; a purpose to their daily lives whether that be religion, spirituality, or just community.
  • As they grew older they still had a sense of purpose, as elderly people are all greatly revered and respected in their cultures.

-Norm :-)

I originally wrote a version of this blog for Dr. Lance Casazza at Casazza Chiropractic in Sacramento, California.
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Cabbages & condoms? A perfect pairing for a great cause at this Thailand restaurant

3/15/2016

1 Comment

 
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​If you’ve spent enough time in Thailand, very little will shock you, and yet I had to do a double take when I saw the sign across the street from my hotel in the Hu-Gwang Bay area right outside of Pattaya: “Cabbages and Condoms.”
 
I was not mistaken; nor was I hallucinating – that was really the name of the restaurant (that adorned the Birds and Bees Resort, appropriately.)
 
Amid all the idyllic white-sand beaches, tropical islands, Buddhist Pagodas shrouded in incense smoke, spicy street dishes, local Thais warm smiles and plenty of Muay Thai camps where they are trained to knock out someone’s warm smile (I was there for something like the latter – a karate training camp) lies the bacchanalian madness of Pattaya. 

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​In fact, Pattaya is like the Las Vegas of Thailand; and consider that Thailand is like the Las Vegas of the world; that actually makes Las Vegas the Pattaya Super Light of the United States.
 
But if you scrape beneath the cliché tourist facade you’ll actually discover fragments of a fascinating and meaningful culture, and that was the case when our karate Shihan (instructor/master) and longtime Thailand resident, Judd Reid, brought us to Cabbages and Condoms for our celebratory last meal of the training camp.
 
It definitely defied easy definitions when we first walked in. A path led us into the jungle like explorers of yesteryear wielding machetes to cut back the bush on their way to an epic discovery. As we meandered deeper into the grounds (which is also a resort with great villas and a beautiful infinity pool) we passed tropical gardens, flower beds, bamboo foot bridges about streams with tropical fish, and saw chickens and even rabbits running free on well-manicured lawns.

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​As we walked along the footpath under rustic bamboo hanging lanterns, I stopped short more than a tuk-tuk in Bangkok traffic, intent on snapping a photo of almost every sign along the way. Some of them listed self-help mantras, anti-government rhetoric, famous poems, quotes by notable human rights activists, and even prompted us to make philosophical and political choices depending on which way we walked.
 
Once we reached the restaurant there were even mannequins dressed in garments pieced together with hundred of condoms (sans wrapper) – a bizarre fashion show with prophylactics the wardrobe.
 
I barely had time to process it all as we arrived at the restaurant and ended up at a series on outdoor decks that staggered down the hill and jutted over the ocean, with a view of locals joyfully playing in the waves on the sliver of private beach below. 

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​The only thing better than the view as the flaming sunset slipped behind the horizon was the food - which far surpassed expectations.

What on earth is this place, I thought – both one of the most beautiful and paradoxical settings I’d ever witnessed.

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In fact, Cabbages & Condoms is not just one restaurant but a chain, with establishments in Chang Rai, Khao Yai, Krabi, Bangkok and Pattaya in Thailand, as well as two locations in the UK.  (Note: Although the Bangkok restaurant is the original, I had friends eat ether and said the food was subpar.)

​It was originally the brainchild of one man named Mechai Viravaidya, a half-Thai, half-Scottish national who grew up and was educated in Scotland and Australia with a focus on family planning and social advocacy. In 1965, Viravaidya returned to Thailand, where he began working to curb the substandard medical care for women, ignorance as to proper family planning strategies, and traditional norms that were prevalent in the country.

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At that time, condoms were still very much taboo and not at all popular (and expensive), and so locals rarely used them. Socially transmitted diseases - and later HIV and AIDS - spread unchecked throughout the population, and family planning and modern women’s health was almost nonexistent among the poor, uneducated, and those living in remote rural communities.

​Noting that you could buy cabbages in any market, shop or restaurant, Viravaidya declared that getting condoms should at least be that easy.
 
“You can go to any shop around Thailand and you will always find cabbages,” he explained years later. “Condoms should be like cabbages which are ubiquitous and accessible to everyone.”
 
Hence, the origin for the name of his restaurant, Cabbages & Condoms, was born.

But this restaurant wasn’t just a novelty. Cabbages and Condoms was actually the keystone initiative of a non-profit service organization called the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), which aimed to better the lives of the country’s poor. Viravaidya left his civil service job in 1973 to found the organization (called the ‘PDA’) and enlisted some creative measures to popularize condoms and remove their stigma, including condom blowing contests for school kids and gave condoms to taxi drivers to disseminate (pun intended!) to their customers.


All of the profits from the newly formed restaurant, Cabbages & Condoms, went to support PDA programs focusing on primary health, birth control, education, HIV/AIDS, environment, poverty eradication and water resource development, eventually becoming one of the biggest NGOs (charities) in Thailand with more than 600 employees and 12,000 volunteers.
 

Viravaidya gained admiration and respect for his efforts and went on to serve as the deputy minister of industry, minister of tourism, information, and AIDS, and even on the Thai senate in 2004.
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​His legacy is still gold-plated in the Kingdom of Siam, where condoms are still sometimes referred to as “mechais,” a tribute to the first name of “Mr. Condom.” More importantly, even as HIV and AIDs spread rampantly in many developing countries around the world in the 1980s and 90s, reaching epidemic proportions in many African and other Southeast Asian countries, Thailand reacted quickly thanks to the tireless work and social progress Viravaidya. Not only were HIV and AIDS levels normalized, but the average number of children in Thai families decreased from 3.7 to 1.5 during his tenure – a testament to education, family planning, and the societal acceptance of condoms.
 
In 2007, Mechai Viravaidya was honored with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Gates Award – including a $1,000,000 check - in recognition of his life’s work of family planning, HIV and AIDS awareness, women’s health, and advocacy for the poor.
 
That explained why there were photos of Viravaidya posing alongside Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Warren Buffet, and other philanthropists, celebrities, and heads of states adorning the restaurant walls; not at all what you’d expect from a restaurant with the slogan, “Our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy.”

 


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The CRAZIEST sh*t you'll see in Southeast Asia!

3/1/2016

1 Comment

 
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog with the FUNNIEST sh*t you'll see in Southeast Asia and shared it with you. The response was so great that I decided to follow up with a new two-part blog with the CRAZIEST sh*t you'll see in Southeast Asia!

From Cambodia to Laos, Vietnam to Myanmar, and Thailand to the Philippines, there's definitely NO place on earth that will make you sure in amazement and scratch your head like in Southeast Asia, where the wild, hilarious, and downright bizarre are a daily occurrence. 

So enjoy, and look for part 2 of this blog coming soon! 

If you want to read more about life in Southeast Asia, read my new book, The Queens of Dragon Town.

-Norm   :-)
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In Southeast Asia they put cobras and scorpions in liquor bottles and let them ferment in there, with claims that drinking it will give you the animals' power.
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Who needs a barber chair when you have freaky mind-over-matter skills.
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In the west, they have Missing posters for cats, dogs, and maybe stolen bicycles, but in Asia, they're trying to track down that lost flip flop.
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No stretch limo? Just weld a couple of mini vans and station wagons together.
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I call "Not It" being the guy playing with power lines with a stick up his ass!
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If expensive sex change surgery is out of the question, there are easier and faster (but probably a little more painful) ways to get it done.
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Hell NO I'm not stepping foot inside the "Zippa Ripper" bar.
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Well you can't argue with the name of that bar.
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One of the NASTIEST things you'll see/eat in Southeast Asia (and that's saying something) is Balut - or semi-fertilized duck embryos. They walk around selling them to beer drinkers and it's like a delicacy .
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Just a random Korean tourist de-pantsing while standing on a bar in the middle of a crowd. No big deal.
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If your psychiatrist is named Dr. Meth...chances for a full recovery are not good.
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Wait, you said it's the black wire?
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Interesting name for a drug store, no?
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Is that a grenade?
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Well that's one way to attract customers.
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No. You. Didn't.
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Does anyone else find it super creepy that the spokesmodel for a sweet condensed creamer is a super-Arian blonde haired white kid...in Asia? Huh?
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My question isn't so much about this establishment that sells pre-rolled joints, marijuana-topped pizza, or Indian food...but why they have a photo of me tacked on above it. Seriously.
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It floods so much during the rainy season, that even this classroom in Thailand was underwater. No joke.
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We have our "Type AMEN and share to bring good luck" memes, and they have their weird cobra religious stuff going on memes.
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Now THAT'S my kind of gym!
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Most kids I grew up with went to soccer or science camp during the summer, but urology camp? Sounds like a blast.
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Either you're going to be preparing a lot of rental agreements, or they're promoting promiscuity.
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This is actually brilliant, as riding a moto or even a car through water in the rainy season will stall it and could permanently mess up the engine...unless you have a "snorkel."
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A "phone booth" in the Philippines.
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"Honey, do you want fried dwarf sperm with oyster sauce for dinner tonight?" "No, I had that last night. How about pizza?"
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I know it's someone's name, but it's funny that this accounting firm is named "Socheaty."
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This isn't a real image of course, but what's shocking is that people from Southeast Asia aren't quite sure at first...
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...because they really do pack every spare inch of every vehicle with as many people, boxes, and even animals as possible!
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Like this motorbike thats carrying a wide load (I like how the driver is on his cell phone instead of concentrating!)
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...or this van.
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When was the last time your mattress was delivered by a puny moto?
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Even animals are "transported" in close quarters. (Sorry, vegans.)
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Any place that's reasonably flat and in the shade is a good place to sleep.
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You see people wearing surgical masks everywhere in Asia because of pollution and fear of germs spreading/getting sick. But I've never seen a person wrap themselves completely in plastic on an airplane.
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...but I have seen a guy wearing a full-body mosquito net suit in the airport!
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Was the architect drunk?
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With SO many people living in close quarters in Asia, the burden on infrastructure like electrical lines is insane. It's not uncommon to see fires break out on the circuit boxes high up on the electrical lines. Fearing the fire will spread to nearby buildings and burn the whole block down, proactive citizens climb up and start throwing buckets of water on the fire (and the electrical box!) or start throwing water at it from their apartment windows. Insane!
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Pepperoni, pineapple, or scorpions pizza toppings?
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I have no idea but it's funny.
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There's nothing like a nice painting of a Chinese opium den to warm up your office waiting room.
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The electrical grid isn't the only thing that sucks in many parts of Asia, the Wi-Fi sucks, too. In fact, in many remote areas or on the islands (and especially in the Philippines where the telecommunications system is so corrupt), people take matters into their own hands by constructing these homemade Wi-Fi extenders for their phones and raising them high into the trees!
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Or sometimes you just have to get create your own Wi-FI signal!
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I have no idea. I really have no friggin idea.
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In Southeast Asia there is a common practice called "coining." When someone is sick or just not feeling well - no matter what the ailment - they take Tiger Balm and load it into the cap of the jar and scrape the shit out of their backs. They swear that it helps make them feel better. Tiger Balm does contain small amounts of aspirin, but it might be a lot less painful just to take some aspirin!
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15 Things you didn't know about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and MLK Day

1/14/2016

3 Comments

 
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​1.         We know the iconic man as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but that was not his given birth name. In fact, MLK Jr. was Michael on his birth certificate, named after his father (hence the Jr.). But after a trip to Germany in 1931, Michael Sr. decided to change his name to Martin Luther to pay reverence to the historic German theologian of the same name. His son, Michael Jr., was only two years old at the time, so the elder King decided to change his son’s name, too. Thus, Michael King Jr. became Martin Luther King Jr., as we know him.
 
2.         It was a tragic day for America and the human race when Dr. King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, but he wasn’t the only one who died at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis that day. In fact, Lorraine Bailey, a hotel worker and wife of the owner, passed away from a heart attack after hearing of King’s shooting. Lorraine was working the hotel phone switchboard at the time and suffered an incapacitating heart attack after seeing King shot, later dying from the coronary. Since there was no one else working the switchboard, that caused a long delay in calling an ambulance and getting King medical treatment, though it’s unclear if that would have helped him survive the shooting.
 
3.         The fateful day in 1968 wasn’t King’s only brush with an assassination. A decade earlier on September 20, 1958, MLK was signing copies of his new book, Stride Toward Freedom, at a department store in Harlem when a female patron named Izola Ware Curr approached him and asked if he was indeed Martin Luther King Jr. King answered yes, at which she replied, “I’ve been looking for you for five years.”  She then took out a seven-inch letter opener blade and plunged it into his chest. MLK was rushed to the hospital but the doctors couldn’t operate for three hours, as the tip of the blade was pressed against his aortic valve. When the blade was finally removed safely, the doctor told King that if he had even sneezed during those three hours, he could have ruptured the aorta and died instantly.
 
While recovering in the hospital, King reaffirmed his philosophies of non-violence and stated that he bore no ill will or anger towards the mentally ill Curr.
 
4.         A young King was not only a born leader, but prolifically intelligent. In fact, King bypassed the 9th and 11th grades altogether, entering Moorehouse College at the tender age of 15 in 1944. He graduated with distinction by 19 with a degree in sociology, the first of many degrees and accomplishments in higher learning.
 
King attended graduate school at Boston University and earned his Ph.D. in systematic theology. He also attended divinity school and got a doctorate from Pennsylvania’s Crozer Theological Seminary at the age of 25.
 
5.         Over his lifetime, Dr. King Jr. was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and a Medal of Freedom. But few know that he also won a Grammy Award in 1971 – out of context for a civil rights activist – for Best Spoken Word Album for “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam”.
 
6.         King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at the age of 35, the youngest person to ever win the prominent award at the time. When the brave and inspirational Malala Yousafzai won the Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17, she became the youngest ever, a torch MLK would have been honored to pass down to her.
 
Winning the Nobel Peace Prize came with a sizable $54,123 payout (about $400,000 today). But instead of pocketing the money, King donated every penny to the Civil Rights Movement. During his acceptance speech, King During his acceptance speech, said, “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.”
 
7.         Martin Luther King Jr. Day is now a national holiday observed on the third Monday in January. This year, it will fall on Monday, January 18, though his actual birthday was January 15, 1929.
 
8.         Only two other people in American history have a national holiday commemorating their birthday, George Washington and Christopher Columbus. Therefore, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the only native born American to have a national holiday honoring his birthday.
 
9.         Congressman John Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan, introduced legislation for a holiday commemorating the deceased Dr. King only four days after his assassination. But getting Dr. King’s birthday approved as a national holiday was not an easy road by any means. The bill was repeatedly stalled, and Coretta Scott King, Stevie Wonder, Rep. Shirley Chisholm  (D-NY), President Jimmy Carter and other prominent politicians and Americans had to fight for it over the years, finally presenting 6,000,000 signatures to congress in 1982.

10.       Finally, in 1983, Congress passed the bill and President Ronald Reagan officially signed legislation creating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a national holiday, despite opposition from Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Gordon Humphrey (R-NH), who attempted to block it.
 
11.       But some states still resisted observing the holiday. As of January 16, 1989, only 44 states observed Dr. King’s birthday as a holiday. In 1992, Arizona finally approved the holiday only after a tourist boycott. In 1999, New Hampshire changed their Civil Rights Day to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and finally, Utah acquiesced in 2000, the last of all 50 states to observe.
 
12.       There are now more than 700 streets named after Martin Luther King Jr. all over the country, as well as plenty of schools, libraries, and other civic buildings.
 
13.       Over his career as a civil rights champion, Dr. King was arrested 29 times on record. He was often arrested and incarcerated on trumped up charges during his campaign of civil disobedience, a tactic used by local law enforcement and segregationists to try and scare Dr. King and dissuade the movement (it didn’t work.)
 
14.       Few people realize that on the fateful day Dr. King was shot on that motel balcony in Memphis, he was actually standing out there to smoke a cigarette. In fact, MLK was a regular smoker, though he always hid his habit and never appeared in a photo with a cigarette because he didn't want to set a bad example for his kids or to advocate or popularize smoking in any way. Before Dr. King was loaded into the ambulance after being shot that day, one his associates, Reverend Kyles, tossed away the fallen civil rights leader’s cigarette butts and removed the pack of smokes from his shirt pocket.
 
15.       King’s impact on the black community went far beyond the Civil Rights movement that caught the national attention. When Nichelle Nichols, a young black actress on a new sci-fi television program, wanted to quit after the first season amid harassment and threats, Dr. King, a fan of the show, encouraged and persuaded her to stick it out. She did, and became a pioneer in the industry, the first black television character portrayed as intelligent and capable, respected as an equal with her white actors and peers. (Up until then, black actors usually played maids, servants, or other diminished and stereotypical roles.)
 
The show went on to be a smash hit and Nichols’ character portrayal served as a positive role model for many black kids who went on to achieve great success, such as actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg and astronaut Ronald McNair, the second black person in space. Nichols even had the first interracial kiss ever shown on national television in America.
 
By the way, her character was named “Uhura” and the show, Star Trek.

-Norm   :-)

***
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    Norm Schriever is a best-selling author, expat, cultural mad scientist, and enemy of the comfort zone. He travels the globe, telling the stories of the people he finds, and hopes to make the world a little bit better place with his words.   

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