Archive for the ‘The Wide World’ Category
More on the unsolvable morality of the atomic bomb
Remnants of a city, Hiroshima, August 1945 With the recent anniversaries of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there has been the inevitable stirring and rehashing of old debates. August 6 and August 9 (incidentally, the birthdays of my brothers Neil and Carl, respectively) marked military action of unprecedented extremity, and [...]
August 16th, 2010Steve McCurry’s Kodachrome career, and legacy
The famous Afghan Girl, taken by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry You may not recognize the name Steve McCurry, but I bet you have a vivid memory of this photo, and maybe a vague notion of the story behind it. McCurry has made a career out of photographing the world’s faces, many of which have [...]
July 28th, 2010Snapshot Yangzhou: on the street, 2007
Street culture, alleyways, bicycles, vendors… Three years ago this month, I was living in the international student dorms at Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China. By the time June hit, I had been in a selection of other Chinese cities for three weeks, and so I had adjusted to the country and its food. A bit of [...]
June 3rd, 2010Aww, so the little white girl wants to make a difference? Or: The intimidating world of changing the world
Plenty of young people have dreams of changing the world, making a difference, having a purpose in the wider world. Realizing this goal seems more accessible the more the world shrinks, as if maybe through our interconnectedness and supposed knowledge of each other we can somehow bring about change, that we’ve learned enough to avoid [...]
June 1st, 2010