Spinning

Firefox shows a flaming red thermometer for Friday. A click on the icon reveals that Friday will be "very hot (35 degrees celcius) and humid. Right now it is 28 degrees Celicus and it's 8:16pm. It was very uncomfortable in school, and it's going to get a lot hotter this week.

I'm watching out of the corner of my eye. Brad Pitt is visiting a shanti in Africa, kissing a terminal black woman (with Aids and TB), saying, "it's good to see you again."
Shaking hands with babies in a hospital, many of whom are orphaned.
He questions how come one can choose from 28 cough syrups in the States, but a mother can't get hold of a single spoonful for her sick child.

The cost of one sandwich and soda in America can treat a child suffering from TB for up to 6 months. The richest country in the world contributes less than 1% of its GDP to foreign Aid (to Africa). This makes it also one of the most selfish countries in the Developed World.

Having said that, handouts are not the way to solve Africa's (or any poor countries) problem. But being involved, connected, investing, is the best way to help.
There are 300 million people starving in Africa. That's almost a mirror of the entire American population.
We can almost not imagine how dire things are in parts of Africa. Girls who describe a good night in prostitution, where they earned $2.50, and probably none of their clients used condoms. Children who describe their favorite toy as a plastic ball, favorite meal as Kellogg's cereal.
The moral of the story, if we aren't compelled to contribute, or visit, is simply to be grateful for fresh water each day, for nearby food, for a job, for health. And to say thank you, in the store, when we pay for something, thank you when someone who has just cleaned the restroom passes us in the hallway. It is a way we can honor each other, honor life, respect ourselves.

So if Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are tired of having sex with each other, what hope is there for the rest of us?
(Must say in this interview he responds to a question about him being googled over 2.7 millions times saying, "It's misguided. It's strange what people focus on. I know it's entertainment, I understand that, but you know..."
Was interesting to see a famous celebrity turn serious, and be serious. I think to a certain level it seems like everything celebrities do is deliberate, even the stories spun in their name.
But the onus should also be on them to put the record straight (if they don't like their image, or how they are being portrayed), to play inspiring characters in inspiring stories. Like Meryl Streep does. Most of her roles show her to be an intelligent person, with an intelligible view of the world, and of herself. I think Nicole Kidman is becoming a more serious actress, almost as serious as Sean Penn. It's possible to have a sensible persona, even if most of what Hollywood churns out is stylised hokum and eye candy.

The kind of life we want depends on the kind of people we are - our character. It's who we are, who we choose to be, that becomes the life we choose, and the life we have.