1) Being a Freakonomics And Sequels fan, I came across this bit in a more recent Levitt and Dubner installment, “Think Like A Freak”. Around the same time, I came across Jamie The Very Worst Missionary‘s blog, specifically the post this excerpt comes from: “There are a million ways to say it wrong. There are a million ways to screw up something beautifully crafted by using one wrong word or adding the wrong picture. There are a million ways to be misunderstood. And there are a million ways for people to twist good words into total crap.”
Through bugs, kiddie events and interest class-planning-triple-ballet (it’s like you find the perfect little music class with the perfect other classmates and the damned thing clashes with the perfect little swim class and the perfect little chinese class and AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!! AAAAAAAARRRRRGGH! AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHH!!! Murphy’s Law of Interest Classes and Camps and Whatnots states that every “awesome” class just has to be on the same day, preferably within a half hour of each other, in very different locations. Wait- wait let’s also throw in a different receptionist manning the desk every time you call, make a few of them VERY RUDE and others perpetually new and clueless) I had writer’s block. If I just went on a rampage I would have a lot to say. I’ve been told my comments are constructive and other mums are OMG I Would Go Nuts. But before I heated up the keyboard, besides self-censorship, I went a-reading…
Cue quote above. Now look at this one below:
“I went to SE Asia for an intense week and I lived, just like I knew I would. Now I’ll talk about it and no matter who I piss off in the process, I’ll live”
This woman went on an intense trip to cover human trafficking. It’s not mummy blog stuff – classes, scheduling, whatnot. This is a picture off her blog:
My (albeit limited) understanding of blogging is you can do it taking nice pics of food, you can do it around chasing a couple little kids around, you can do it wearing full-face makeup at 3am. Like every other risk-reward relationship, people make choices. The bloggers who participated in this exercise to raise awareness about human trafficking chose to among other things try not to die riding on the back of this scooter thing in the middle of what appears to be red light district rush hour, without a helmet.
However someone finds a way to say something well-meaning is self-serving, I just think this human trafficking one is really not a gig that involves drinks with little umbrellas sticking out of them.
So again – this blogger went on a packed, at times seedy, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking exercise so she could raise awareness about human trafficking and she’s still worried about all the judging, using the wrong pictures, the wrong words. Because people see what they want to see. And then one of the many comments she received stood out:
“…..Ours fears so often dissuade us from action. ………Our power or privilege should come with a certain amount of sacrifice.”
And I started to write again. Not about little annoyances <ducks head>, but a thought about what we say on our blogs… Around this time is when I amalgamate a particular Think Like A Freak story into this. According to messrs Levitt and Dubner, there used to be a certain medieval practice in Hungary for determining innocence, that involved plunging one’s arm into a cauldron of hot water/ holding a red-hot piece of iron, if a court of law was unable to determine guilt or innocence satisfactorily. The authors quoted economist Peter Leeson’s research – according to 13th Century church records in Hungary, out of 208 who decided to do it rather than plead guilty, “only” ~78 got seriously burned.
A 130 miracles thereabouts? In those days, it would seem.
Leeson’s theory was, the priest (or someone else in that position) executing the cauldron for e.g. might have had the chance to dump sufficient cold water into the pot to keep the person on trial from getting hurt. But WHY?
Because an innocent person thinks differently than a guilty one. (Sometimes when you write, you just write. Yes, we all shouldn’t write anything we can’t sign our names to, but sometimes even when your conscience is clear you get this idea someone will find something…)
In 13th Century Hungary where the belief God protected one from the cauldron could actually be held up in a court of law, the odds were that innocent people were more likely to choose to stand on trial. (I hope this does not inspire some lying people to go engineer a “scenario” that involves them coming up with their arm unscathed. I’m just saying…)
How the miracle works is, someone in the position to dump cold water in the cauldron might consider they are “doing God’s work” by keeping an innocent person from harm.
A Christian ex-colleague once instructed me when I looked for Bible verses, that if something abruptly stood out, that was what I was being guided toward. And that it is the same with convictions, when you pray for guidance.
I once found myself stranded alone in the middle of the night, somewhere in Malaysia. Loiterers in the almost deserted parking lot had started to circle and catcall, when a visiting Hongkie friend had shown up in his rented car, driving uncertainly. Next to him, his girlfriend was in her pajamas/ loungewear, having already cleaned up after our dinner party. I think they were originally planning to turn in for the night.
When I read about the dumping-cold-water-in-cauldron theory, this old experience came to mind. Two kids, emergency Cs, so many, many things have blurred many of my memories, but I still remember the shock on his face when he saw me run to his car across the empty lot, his halting, “I.. was just driving back…. to see if anyone was here…” I don’t think he expected to find anything when he suddenly felt like driving. He had no way of knowing I was stranded.
I hadn’t thought about this comment of his in a long, long time until now. I wonder if someone in 13th Century Hungary had a compulsion to dump cold water in the cauldron. I don’t consider it any less a miracle. We can’t possibly know all the ways God works, but when I read that book it occurred to me this is one way miracles happen. Thought for the weekend…
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2) Amazing Waves, the beauty of God’s creations. In honor of Rockstar’s school mate who is attending surf camp (and has been doing so since he was 5 – was so impressed, I didn’t even know they have surf camp in HK).
Dis is not Rockstar’s classmate.
Dis does look like a piece of jewelry though, doesn’t it? 😉
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3) Neither here nor there, but they’re everywhere… Huffington Post’s 10 Reasons Handheld Devices Should Be Banned For Children Under 12. Mental illness and delayed development being the scariest.
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4) Another scary one – if you are like me you will flinch after you google exactly what this is – and then you will feel awe at their bravery. The Brave Colostomy Bag Selfies.
Respect.
Because like it isn’t bad enough you have to get the colostomy to begin with, you have to worry about others too.
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5) Beautiful Doors. Makes you wonder what’s on the other side.
I like that the seeming randomness of the painting makes it look like a kid might have done it…
“I stand at the door and knock………….”
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6) This week’s Rockstar Skit, is titled Batman and Robin Go Joy-karting.
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Me: What do Batman and Robin say when they go out to fight Bad Guys?
Rockstar: They don’t say anything. Oh, but I gotta good one – What do you get when Batman and Robin work together? Rrratman! HAR HAR HAR.
Have a good one, dears.
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