The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje

"I promised to tell you how one falls in love."

The rest is history. Simply one of the most intoxicating, haunting, and beautiful romance novels ever to have been written. Its poetic grace lifts off the pages and drowns the heart in nostalgic torture. And a very timely read for me, personally. Falling in love is never easy. The Cave of Swimmers is one of greatest chapters I've ever read. The end of it poses one of my newest favorite quotes: 

"We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as caves. I wish for all this to be marked on my body when I am dead. I believe in such cartography- to be marked by nature, not just to label ourselves on a map like the names of rich men and women on buildings."

There is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America, Philip Dray

There’s a rumbling storm crawling up the spine of American history. Here there be details that politicians, Wall Street bigwigs, and textbook writers on propaganda commission don’t want you to know about. It is history seen from the eyes of the middleman, the lower class, and all the fighters for economic reform that have been stifled by the armor of militant suppression. The history of America is coated with the blood of its builders, not by the rhetoric of elitist figureheads that occupy the White House. A great and bloody civil war has been going on for decades, a subtle one. You’d be surprised how often union strikes and civil rights protests ended in violence (provoked by authorities, not peaceful demonstrators). The whole story of labor in America is here baby; this knowledge is bonafide classified, at least in history classes.

Unions were originally effective in organizing workers’ rights, whether they be about wage, safety, child labor, or hours-per-week issues. The amount of violence that these civilians had to withstand to obtain these rights over the years is staggering. As the unions evolved and gained more influence they were loosely connected with Communism after the Red Scare of 1919. It was mind-blowing to read about how J. Edgar Hoover unconstitutionally ordered the deportation of thousands of suspected communists (many of whom were influential union leaders that didn’t even identify with the ideology). During the Great Depression many of the workers’ rights we know and love today came into effect thanks to FDR’s New Deal and other Supreme Court rulings.  All the struggles of the past were finally worth something.

One of the more disturbing facts about unions is that, as they grew in strength and merged, their political affiliations became more corrupt. I was shocked to learn that the largest union in the nation’s history, AFL-CIO, backed the Viet Nam war and its members were highly influential as the “silent majority” for keeping the war going. Well, every rose has its thorn.

In addition to outlining the epic history of labor vs. capital, the book’s concluding thesis offers that the future of union organization can only depend on transnational compliance. I’d have to agree, because it doesn’t matter how many rights are won. Corporations always sell out to the cheapest bidder, and the world will always have a new one unless the power to strike is not universal.

I Let You Go

    Hey Little Chibi standing on a hill with the sunset behind you and the wind ruffling your skirts, I let my mind wander through the fantasies of the future and the distant memories of lives once passed.  Sacred nights spent in blissful anticipation watching your glorious aura that illuminated the bakery whenever you saw my face, your eyes shining like newborn oysters on a prismatic beach, hearing your laugh and watching your face ignite with joy, I made you laugh, yes, I made you laugh.  Touch my body, caress my chest and let your hands follow the happy trail that gave me such intimate delight, but it’s gone now, all gone; you took it away from me and left me here all alone for all the summer which I should have been spending with someone who’s in love with me but can’t now that the smite of fear hath rendered thee immobile.  But I can’t dwell, I must move on and get over your anciently crafted face in the unbelievably green park of happy people that watched us holding hands in newfound love, short lived yet strong enough to last through lifetimes.  How could you let it happen, how could you find yourself unworthy of such health and happiness, what has happened in your past to trick yourself into thinking I never loved you?  What awful illusion has been painted over your eyes to see anger where there is passion and indifference where there is tremendous care?  I wished to lift you from the clutches of molten lust that melted our skin into one another’s and set you free yes like a bird I let you go and see the stars the Auroras the Milky Way, that silver brick road in the sky dazzling in the bounteous cavern of the universe.  Let it go, no please no, it couldn’t have been, you can satisfy me just have courage and patience and take it slow because I’m afraid too, yes, I’m so afraid but I still have the strength to face the crash of love’s thunder.  Now with a deep breath I blow out the candles that alighted your face on the divine platforms of holy sand and stormy hope I let you go and fly away fluttering and trusting the next eagle that cometh along swooping on the seas where your life goes I let it go yes I let the rain wash away your memory and the summer’s warmth to dry your tears I let you go like the beautifully flawed bird that you are I sing I weep I set you free to fly across the hills where your life goes yes I will I let you go…

Major Earthquake Predicted to Hit Pacific Northwest

    When you think of major earthquakes, the Pacific Northwest probably isn't the first place that comes to mind.  California, Alaska, Chile, Indonesia, Turkey, Japan- these might come to mind first, and for good historical reasons too.  I tend to snicker when people worry about "the big one" hitting California, because they are unaware that the largest earthquakes in the United States can only happen in Alaska or Washington.  The assumption is that because California gets the most earthquakes it will also get the largest, but that's not true because of plate tectonics.  Here in Washington, I've only felt an earthquake every five years, and none of those quakes were large or even alarming.  However, a big one is due, and seismologists are predicting it will be soon. 

    Strike-slip faults like the San Andreas in California and the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey are narrow and weaker than other faults seen around the world.  This is because the plates are moving parallel to one another.  The reason for them being weaker is that there is less stress and strain on the plates, even though they may be extremely active.  California and Turkey are renowned hotspots for earthquake activity, but you will rarely see a 7.5 magnitude or greater earthquake in these regions.  That's not to say 7.5 isn't devastating; it certainly is, but it's nowhere near the kind of destructive potential seen in the 9.1 Sumatra earthquake in 2004, which killed over 200,000 (mostly by tsunami).  Faults like the one in Indonesia are called reverse faults, and they can only be seen in subduction zones.  Subduction zones aptly mean that one plate is subducting another, creating enormous stress on the ground above. 

    In the Pacific Northwest we have what's known by seismologists as the Cascadia Subduction Zone.  It's not a very active fault system, but that only means that the stress has been building up over many years. When the fault finally releases the stress, it will do so in a big way.  Scientists believe the Cascadia fault ruptures every 300 to 500 years, producing some of the most powerful quakes the world has ever seen.  The last time it broke was in the year 1700, so it's due to rupture any moment now.  It's estimated that the entire Seattle skyline would be destroyed and tens of thousands of lives would be lost.

    There's also the possibility that Mt. Rainier could erupt in a big way.  Vulcanologists list it as a Decade Volcano, meaning that it's one of the 16 most hazardous volcanos in the world.  It's kind of far from here- about 60 miles- but the Rainier lahars could easily reach half that distance and penetrate the metropolitan area. 

    I couldn't bear to see this beautiful city crumble to pieces.  I don't know if the M9 quake will happen soon, or even in my lifetime, but when it does, I pray that it's deep enough to prevent widespread damage.  It won't matter how far away the epicenter is, in fact there won't even be an epicenter since megathrust quakes effect an entire faultline.  I'm writing this because it's important for us in Seattle to be aware that we are at a major risk for natural disaster.  Lest we fall asleep during the calm before the storm and get too cozy drinking coffee while listening to the soothing rainfall.  A great thunder may come, not from above, but from the Earth below.