Archive for July, 2024
The real thing
A true nephew of Uncle Ho.
While Mr. Trong was happy to open up Vietnam to the West, he remained suspicious of Western democracy.
“Behind the multiparty system in reality is still the tyranny of capitalist corporations,” he wrote in a 2022 book.
He added: “The reality is that the democratic institutions according to the ‘liberal democracy’ formula that the West tries to promote and impose on the world do not ensure that power truly belongs to the people, by the people and for the people.”
Nguyen Phu Trong, Powerful Vietnamese Leader, Is Dead at 80 (NYTimes)
“Since I Been Down”
The woman who sat next to me on the train from Olympia to Seattle this weekend directed this terrific documentary.
Simplicity is beautiful*
Filling out the customs form before crossing the border north into Canada this Sunday, I noted that I was bringing some food back. When the customs officer asked me what food I got, I explained that I had a carton of instant mashed potatoes and two boxes of Grape Nuts breakfast cereal. He said, what the heck are Grape Nuts? So I showed him the boxes. Then I added: “I am so pathetic that my girlfriend had to buy them for me!” and got a laugh. (I think I’ll quit while I am ahead – not gonna try to make a custom officer laugh again!)
A few months back it dawned on me that one could no longer purchase plain “potato flakes” in Vancouver. Each variation of instant mashed potatoes was “flavoured” and was filled with everything from soy, milk, citric acid, and wheat to pyrophosphates and silicon dioxide. I wanted hardcore *plain*. It felt ridiculous that I couldn’t find any! I found out about “Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods” on Amazon, but it would cost an arm and a leg to ship their potato flakes to my place north of the border. That is where my partner stepped in.
During my visit she also guided me to a local Safeway so that I could stock up on Grape Nuts, that weird and crunchy cereal that was discontinued during Our Time of Covid. It has reappeared in parts of Canada – allegedly! – but certainly nowhere near me. I have long truly treasured Grape Nuts. During times of real poverty, I used to eat them with warm water instead of milk – and felt like I had just won something.
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* The title of this post comes from Juliana Hatfield’s very fine song of the same name. Love these lyrics:
Blues soul rock country
Red green blue yellow
Morning laughing talking walking
Bread rice water fruit
It’s a simple feeling
Hold feel save me
Baby brother sister parent
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