We saw a German-Turkish film tonight: The Edge of Heaven, an improper translation of its actual German title. Great acting, directing, cinematography…but a bit D-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-N-G and, some Americans might argue, without a fulfilling ending, although not as unfulfilling as most of the endings of Wong Kar Wai’s pre-millennial movies. This one shared the same plot concept as Babel, but was done much more successfully and didn’t suck as much life out of the audience.

Next up: Werner Herzog’s new flick on the North Pole.

Note: I am watching SNL circa 1975 while writing this post, hence its lack of depth and fluidity.

You thought it was over, didn’t you? Ha ha.

I had my final — really final — appointment last week. It was the “three month follow-up” to make sure my retainers were doing the job and my teeth were in fact still firmly in place. As usual, Doc was more interested in discussing my personal life than my oral situation:

“So how are you?” he asked.

“You mean how are my teeth?”

“No, I mean YOU — how’s life? What’s going on with you?”

Then he fished for details, asked if my boyfriend liked my teeth, then interrupted himself and asked if I’ve gotten another boyfriend. “He liked my teeth back when they were crooked, and he likes them now,” I sneered.

We were back to business after that. Doc cautioned that, a few decades down the line I might require a gum graph over the formerly impacted canine (FIC), and suggested I request cadaver gums — to which I politely coughed, “Cadaver? Are you serious?” (He was really serious.)

If I never see a tooth professional again, it’ll be too soon. Human opinion on oral care varies so dramatically, and is always so intense, I really can’t take it seriously…not that I ever did. Nevertheless, I truly appreciate the stellar job this man and his team of attractive, young Brazilian assistants have done for my severely messed up smile — with no drugs, little pain, and lots of humor. Doc and I Shared a grand goodbye.

(Shaking my hand): “Well, it’s been a real pleasure having you as a patient,” he sighed.

“Thanks,” I said. What else is there to say?

“Don’t be a stranger.” (His words.) I didn’t have the heart to tell him I didn’t plan on just popping in to shoot the breeze whenever I’m in the area, but you know, if we run into one another on the mean streets of Somerville, I will flash him a beautiful smile.

Which, might I add, is always in style.

Tonight I started an evening pottery class at MIT: Beginning Potter’s Wheel. It’s the first ceramics class I’ve done since my brief stint at Mudflat Studios in 1999, and I was expecting to again be the worst in the class. Time will tell, I guess, but I was relieved to discover that after watching my clay wobble around for an hour, I was able (with the help of my teacher) to control the stuff enough to make it relatively centered. I now have a white clay cylinder bowl thing drying on a shelf.

I love pottery, even though I’ve never been very good at it. Tonight I learned what the problem is: I am afraid to push too hard on the clay. To compensate, I push extremely hard down on the wheel itself, cramping my hands in an effort to stay anchored. “You’ve got to be more forceful and control that clay. What are you afraid of?” my teacher asked, psychoanalyzing me, which always works immediately.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I’m afraid the clay will start going crazy and will fly off.”
“So what if that happens?” she said. “We won’t laugh at you.”
“You can laugh at me.”
“Well, we won’t. Just push harder on the clay.”

And I did. And it worked.
I get to do this for another two months, and possibly another two years. Woo!

I’m reposting a great op-ed in the NY Times, which will hopefully inspire me to edit a similarly awesome opinion piece on behalf of GHRE about the same issue of humanitarian relief for people in Burma.

New York Times: The end of intervention – Madeleine K. Albright, Wed 11 Jun 2008

THE Burmese government’s criminally neglectful response to last month’s cyclone, and the world’s response to that response, illustrate three grim realities today: totalitarian governments are alive and well; their neighbors are reluctant to pressure them to change; and the notion of national sovereignty as sacred is gaining ground, helped in no small part by the disastrous results of the American invasion of Iraq. Indeed, many of the world’s necessary interventions in the decade before the invasion — in places like Haiti and the Balkans — would seem impossible in today’s climate.

The first and most obvious reality is the survival of totalitarian government in an age of global communications and democratic progress. Myanmar’s military junta employs the same set of tools used by the likes of Stalin to crush dissent and monitor the lives of citizens. The needs of the victims of Cyclone Nargis mean nothing to a regime focused solely on preserving its own authority.

Second is the unwillingness of Myanmar’s neighbors to use their collective leverage on behalf of change. A decade ago, when Myanmar was allowed to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, I was assured by leaders in the region that they would push the junta to open its economy and move in the direction of democracy. With a few honorable exceptions, this hasn’t happened.

A third reality is that the concept of national sovereignty as an inviolable and overriding principle of global law is once again gaining ground. Many diplomats and foreign policy experts had hoped that the fall of the Berlin Wall would lead to the creation of an integrated world system free from spheres of influence, in which the wounds created by colonial and cold war empires would heal.

(more…)

Just a few of the many wild things I did on my birthday:

• Took the day off work, slept til noon
• Ate four slices of lemon cake for breakfast (thanks, A.!)
• Thought about doing the ridiculous amount of volunteer editorial work that’s been piling up, went to the North End for an early dinner instead
• Went to church, after gelato
• Played half a game of Scrabble
• Lay in bed staring at the ceiling til 4a

In non-birthday news, props to M. in her effort to recite, for the enlightenment of YouTube, all of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Number 29 has always been my favorite…

Reposted from a human rights report I’ve just received from an American currently inside Burma. This information covers conditions in Labutta, a hard-hit area in the southeast of Burma.

TEMPORARY SHELTER
Almost three weeks after the cyclone (May
23rd), the living conditions are still marginally
passable at best. Many houses are still damaged
and unlivable. Thus, most people have
evacuated to various temporary shelters.

The Burmese government has not provided any
support for reconstruction. But it was very quick
to repair official buildings and houses of local
government officials. The cyclone victims who stayed
at the monastery were told to make their own tents
from plastic sheets and bamboo sticks.
One catch: they were told to make the tents
quickly, possibly to prepare for the visit of the
UN Secretary General Ban Khi Moon and his
delegation. Almost all tents were quickly made
within three hours. Few tents were visible when
the volunteer team headed to Labutta, but there
were several long rows of tents by the time the
team passed by the same spot three hours later.
Nearby, tents that were in shelter boxes donated
by the US were clearly visible from the main
road.

AVAILABILITY OF AID
The US government gave 200 Shelter Boxes,
each of which contains one
tent, food, bedding, water, and gas stove.
No cyclone victims were in sight, even though
many people were busily working in the new
temporary camp nearby. Only a handful of
soldiers stood on guard. It has been
suggested that many Shelter Boxes ended up in
the houses and barracks of Burmese soldiers.
This rumor has not been confirmed. It will be
important to find out what would happen to these
tents after the UN delegates leave the country.

WATER
The government has not provided water to
people in general. People living in their villages
have their own water wells, so they use their
wells for all purposes. We are not certain if the
water wells have been salinated or contaminated
with foreign matters due to the cyclone.
Yadana Di Pa Stadium, the temporary camp in
Labutta, does not have a water facility. The
water treatment pumps (reverse osmosis) are set
up by MSF-Holland and Merlin in two ponds
near Yadana Di Pa Stadium, about five minutes
on foot. The resultant water is potable. Not everyone
has buckets, but pots are available for water.

In Ley Htet Monastery, there were
approximately 8,000 people. One water well
provides water for bathing and washing cooking
utensils. In addition, the dwellers
there may use the water for cooking as well as
for drinking. The interviewees felt that the water
had not been tested for potability by any
organization.

INTERVIEW
The man who was interviewed was from Pyin Salu.
Almost all houses in his village was destroyed. He
could see many dead bodies. But the military did not
collect the bodies, and restricted the access to Unicef
and other UN agencies. There is also a night curfew
place in the area. It was rumored that during the curfew
soldiers were dumping bodies into the river. He stayed
there with his family for two weeks. They didn’t have a
shelter, so they lived in the rain for two weeks. They
ate only coconuts to stave off thirst and hunger. Finally,
he found a small boat floating by (almost all boats were
destroyed by the cyclone in his village) and he and his
family left with the boat. They arrived at Labutta harbor
on the 23rd.

He said that waves from the sea were dark, almost black
during the cyclone. The waves took out everything.

Well, just A. and G. looked like this. They were the only ones crazy enough to let me do a full photo shoot.