Au Cochonnet Marin

I already wrote about this, but lately, an incident widely reported in the news brought me back to this subject. In August 2022, Sanna Marin (Prime Minister of Finland), was seen dancing exuberantly at a private party, and this raised a political storm. For many people, this activity was taboo. A Prime Minister should not behave that way. And why not?

The dictionary defines a taboo (from Tongan tabu) as “a social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice, or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.”

America with deep roots in Puritanism was for a long time, chockfull of taboos… subjects that could not be mentioned or talked about in public. And Religion cast a giant shadow over this phenomenon. Taboos are like vampires; they are afraid of light and exposure.

Despite some resistance, things are improving. Taboos are one by one unearthed and exposed to light… and nothing horrible happened—just the contrary. The light cleanses and demystifies realities.

The word WAR has become a new taboo in Russia, and if you know what’s good for you, you should not talk about it. I surmise that, like masturbation, it is an impure and “shameless” subject that should be kept in the dark. But now despite many threats, everybody knows about this bloody war, and YouTubers are constantly blabbering about masturbation… and as far as I know, the rate of blindness in America has not significantly increased since this happened.

“It is our attitude toward free thought and free expression that will determine our fate. There must be no limit on the range of temperate discussion, no limits on thought. No subject must be taboo. No censor must preside at our assemblies.” ~ William O. Douglas

 Taboos have always been a way to control or muzzle people. We don’t want you to talk about this; it is unhealthy, and you could be thrown in an “oubliette” or put on the rack if you do it. Don’t tell the truth, it is harmful.

Another taboo has long been prostitution. Despite many laws to prevent it, it is still happening everywhere, and it is not going away soon. But it is also becoming more respectable; it has been given a makeover and it is now known as “escorting”. It is much more palatable to self-righteous folks.

Personally, I don’t bear any prejudice against sex workers. If they are not coerced in any way and if they are willing to do the job, more power to them.

If anything exists, you should be able to talk about it.

“I like talking about things that are taboo because it makes them not taboo anymore.” ~ Sarah Silverman

Alain

My favorite drink is and has always been water. It is the most refreshing and life-sustaining drink on the planet. Champagne is OK, but without water there can be no life, and unfortunately, it is getting scarce… everywhere. Very soon, this humble drink is going to be more valuable than gold, and humans will fight for it.

“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” – Thomas Fuller

Undoubtedly due to climate change, we have had torrential rains, hail the size of golf balls, and at the same time, acute drought all around the world. Ironically, while some people are drowning in water, others are dying of thirst.

Precocious Greta Thunberg rightly said, “no more blah, blah, blah”, the time to make changes is NOW, not 10 years from now. She is absolutely right. As far as I know, relatively little has been done to manage water anywhere and a lot of it gets wasted. It is time to mobilize and treat water like it is out to be treated, with care and reverence.

Never mind Mars or the Moon, what is happening on Earth today is more pressing than colonizing these far away planets. The problem is here, on earth, not millions of miles away. Electric cars are fine, but what is going to fuel our bodies while we are cruising on highways?

Water management ought to be everybody’s primary concern. You don’t wait until the well runs dry to do something about it. Preparing for drought is very similar to preparing for war. It is not when the enemy crosses your borders that you mobilize your troops. You anticipate the threat and prepare for it, years before it happens.

Desalination plants, despite their imperfections, are part of the solution, but we still have very few of them. In California, with nearly 39.2 million residents across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles, we have only 12 of them. it is not enough.

By comparison, tiny Israel with only 8,630 square miles and a population of 9 million people, runs 5 mega-desalination plants. Two additional plants are now in varying stages of construction.

The biggest is not always the swiftest, nor is the battle always to the strong… Remember this old saying : « On a souvent besoin d’un plus petit que soi… » (We often need someone smaller than ourselves.)

 California, America wake up… forget your idiotic, sterile quarrels, and if need be, take a trip to Israel. It might be worth it.

 “No water, no life. No blue, no green.” – Sylvia Earl

 It is that simple.

Alain

“UBIQUITY, the gift or power of being in all places at one time”

 Today, due to various rules and regulations, common mortals now struggle to journey from place to place. But a few very special people have the unique gift of ubiquity, the quality which allows them to be in various locations at the exact same time.

Very few individuals possess this unusual attribute, and I feel very fortunate to know one of them. Only superheroes (easily recognizable by their gaudy uniforms) are usually capable of such feats, but this person looks and acts like any normal human being. No helmet, shield, or hammer… and still, she has frequently been seen at different places at the same.

According to reliable witnesses, this individual was spotted in San Francisco, Mexico, Afghanistan (albeit wearing a burqa) the South of France, and Tahiti at the same time. And I have no reason to doubt the veracity of these dependable bystanders. I even came across a picture of this person standing next to reliable Christine Cragg, somewhere in the South of France, while playing pétanque in Sonoma. Isn’t this enough to prove my case?

What gives these people this unique ability? Is it the food, the drinks, various medicinal herbs, meditation, asceticism, abstinence, or a combination of all of those? It is probably the latter because it is difficult for any human being to be so self-controlled.

Like most people, “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.”  Mae West

And resisting is very difficult, for, the flesh (and the mind) is weak.

But Ann (meaning favor, grace, or beautiful), Anushka (in Russia), or Hanna (in Ireland) seems to be capable of easily resisting or adopting any of those disciplines. This is probably what gives her the ubiquity aptitude.

Unidentified Flying Objects have been seen in various places at the same time, but few humans (except for Ann) are capable of such feats. Don’t trust her amenable stance; under her subdued attitude lurks a mysterious character seemingly capable of being in Beijing, Sao Paulo, and Paris at the same time.

Next time you see her, don’t mention my name, but if you are curious, ask her if she was in Ukraine or San Rafael recently. She will probably deny this, but who would you rather believe? A straight arrow like me, or somebody who magically materializes and dematerializes instantly?

Ann lassie, I love ya.

Alain