Travel Stories

I apologize for our sluggish posting. All of the MinorMovement staff are spending time with there family or are traveling abroad. We will all soon be out of contact for we will not have access to technology during the next few weeks due to our separate travel plans.
I am writing this from Panama, I have broken my vow of no computers for the duration of my travels to bring two stories to your attention. The first is a serious issue and the second is rather off topic for this blog but is still has a note worthy significance.
It is not the first time that I have traveled to a Central or South American country. I have noticed on multiple occasions in various countries that people have a horrible habit of burning their trash. They do this because they have no where else to dispose of there waste. Dumping it in a land fill requires clearing of land and collection, plus it stinks. Since there is no easy, cheap way of disposing of their rubbish they presume that it would be better to burn it than to live with it near them. At least when it is burnt it is gone. This assumption that the trash simply disappears is wrong; in fact every bit of trash that was burnt thickly toxifies the air the natives breathe and floats in the atmosphere our world. I know that this is a world wide habit not just one that appears in these countries where I have witnessed it. It is an issue that will be difficult to settle but could be solved with a more effect waste management system and education.
The second story I have to share with you I feel is only relevant because it is the holiday season but in reality the happiness we feel at this time of the year should be felt at all times. I was on a small dirt road deep in the Panama rain forest, where the heat and humidity is strong and the mosquitoes persistent. We had past the city, the small towns, the tree farms, the cow pastures, and we had moved out of the general area of habitation and into the area where villages and small and far between. We have come across a few natives walking between villages and the children in the villages all wave back at us when we greet them. We saw a middle aged man miles from any near by village with a large heavy sack on his back. He wore old torn and dirty cloths but when we waved to him his reaction was very enthusiastic. His smile became almost to large for his face and he waved his arm in a great circle a bellowed a warming “HEYYYYOOO!!”. This happy man’s passing greeting brightened my day and my memory of him will continue to do so. It is my hope that I can be as enthusiastically happy with what my life hands me as this lone man in the rain forest is. I also wish that I may have shared with you a bit of his happiness and enthusiasm and have brightened a day somewhere where he can not.

The Story of Stuff

We apologize for the sudden decrease in posts; finals were last week so we were busy, busy, busy! Here is a video we have been wanting to share with you for some time:



As always, feel free to comment, or share your thoughts at mmovements@gmail.com

Talkin' Bout My Generation

After searching the blogosphere, we've stumbled across some pretty amazing things happening, particularly from today's youth. We've found aspiring writers, photographers, entrepreneurs; the list goes on and on.

It came as a bit of a surprise, really. There's been a lot of talk lately targeting our generation as one of apathy, an unmotivated bunch. Surfing the Blogger realm, we encountered an untapped collection of bright, passionate youth, who maintain blogs about subject matter ranging from personal journals, to spaces where they can share their works of writing with a network of potential critics.

The first blog we'd like to note, comes from a 13 year old who is crazy about books.

He writes:

"My blog is a place where we discuss books (mainly fiction, 12+) and
share or recommend books to each other to read. You can also send in
reviews and I will place them on the blog. At Pizza's Book Discussion
you can vote on the polls or even suggest new ideas for me as the blog
is still relatively new.

-Pizza"

Check out: www.pizzasbookdiscussion.blogspot.com

If you're a kid who has done some pretty neat things with their blog, or know of someone who has, post a comment or e-mail us at mmovements@gmail.com!

Drawing the Line

We are very pleased that so many people took the time out of their busy schedules to view our blog. An even bigger thanks to those who took the time to contribute their thoughts. We'd like to share with you an excerpt from an e-mail we received from a Mr. Eugene Grubb (Ret. USMC):

"I served in Vietnam and I have heard horrific stories of torture in Vietnam from my fellow veterans. I saw the artwork by the gentleman on your website and tears came to my eyes. I love America and support the government but the torture of these men at Abu Ghraib was unacceptable. No innocent man should be humiliated and subjected to torture. But I do believe that torture for the safety of your country is necessary. If a terrorist knows where his master's are keeping the American troops hostage, or if he knows where a bomb is I believe that it is a good idea to torture the information out of him to keep our country safe."

This quote sheds light on a very interesting moral predicament that most people find themselves in. We believe it is wrong to torture other innocent human beings, but a part of us feels that in some instances, mainly when we believe an individual is guilty, it is necessary for the greater good.

The question is, where do we draw the line? When can torture be considered necessary, if at all? President Obama has stated that the United States does not torture, and therefore plans on closing Guantanamo Bay. Is this a wise move?

Tell us what you think by posting a comment, or e-mailing at mmovements@gmail.com

Violence on the Door Step

As you may know, the drug cartels of Northern Mexico have been more open and actively violent. The death toll in the past two months alone has reach over 350 people. The deaths have been becoming increasingly gruesome and the severity of the situation continues to escalate. KPBS has created a great site which displays trends in the deaths that have occurred in the past few months in an interactive map . This interactive map shows where the bodies were found each week and other information related to the drug wars raging just over the border. We recommend visiting this site through the links above as it is extremely illuminating and very informative on this pertinent issue.

We the People (may contain graphic images)

Contemporary photographer Chris Jordan recently opened a very fascinating exhibit:

Running the Numbers
An American Self-Portrait

The photographs each represent a certain statistic pertaining to society. Most are related to American consumption, while some touch on ethical issues such as torture, and the tobacco industry.

Here is a piece Jordan calls Constitution, 2008:



Upon further investigation at a closer range, you can see that it is composed of 83,000 photographs, all depicting prisoners at Abu Gharib. This number is, "...equal to the number of people who have been arrested and held at US-run detention facilities with no trial or other due process of law, during the Bush Administration's war on terror." (Jordan, http://www.chrisjordan.com/)

Here is a partial zoom of the photo. We would like to preface it by saying some people may find this image disturbing:




Tell us what you think about torture, contemporary photography, or anything related.
If you have any artists you'd like to recommend, or artwork of your own you'd like to submit, please don't hesitate to e-mail us at mmovements@gmail.com

Are you aware?

We do not have a solution to this major horrific issue with our culture. Recycling is not enough. We as a population can not even begin to understand the implications of this massive problem. It lies in our hands to make the giant shift in culture that would gradually improve the circumstances for people all around the world. The questions we ask ourselves and you; what is the difference between a need and a want? Why is our electronic waste being sold to people that it kills because they have no other way to handle it? Why can't our old computers be used to help develop poorer countries by providing them with access to better technology even if it is not the latest technology. And lastly can we allow this to be present in our world? Can you live on the way you do in our culture knowing that this reality exists?