Quote of the Day- Frida Kahlo

I must profess when my girlfriend Louisa (pse) left me for an unemployed car mechanic in Duluth, Minn., that she meet on the Internet, she did cite the fact that I spent way too much time blogging as a factor!

So, it should be no surprise to those who know me well that I am devoting 32 quotes from 32 people, both alive and dead, from the 32 countries in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which starts (yikes?!) tomorrow with a game between the host country and Mexico that will air at 9:30 a.m. in Boston and Miami (and the rest of the American east coast as well as places like Toronto, Canada).

Today, we feature a quote from the late Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) who was the subject of the film "Frida" (2002) which starred Mexican actress Salma Hayek in the title role.

Frida is popular not in Mexico but throughout Central America as there is a popular restaurant named Frida's in Antigua, Guatemala, that we couldn't get into because there was a long, long line waiting outside (?!) when we there in 2005. We've since read from travel writers that many Americans who go to Guatemala have trouble getting a seat in this restaurant, which is known for its cocktails and quesadillas.

As for the painter Frida, she was known for her Realism, Symbolism and Surrealism. She was also a bisexual and a communist, which made her life, as tragic as it was, even more interesting!

She was married to fellow Mexican artist Diego Rivera. And, she had affairs with the African-American singer Josephine Baker as well as the Russian socialist leader Leon Trotsky, who was murdered in 1940 while in exile in Mexico. Trotsky also lived for a while in Turkey. My late Turkish aunt happened to spend her summer residence on the island of Buyukada off the coast of Istanbul where Trotsky lived in the late '20s and early '30s before heading off to Mexico.

Frida also suffered from massive injuries that she suffered from a bus accident which happened when she was 18. Those injuries haunted her for the rest of her life. She died under mysterious circumstances, and there is much speculation that she committed suicide.

An exhibit of Frida's paintings is currently taking place at a museum in Berlin, Germany--- a city where one can also see Knut the Polar Bear (at the Berlin Zoo, of course!).

Here is today's quote from Frida:

"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?"

Earth Day Turns 40

Today Earth Day, which was started by a couple of men in their early twenties who had just finished college and protesting the Vietnam War in the Dupont Circle section of Washington, DC, turns 40 (which happens to be my age).

Events are planned all over America and the world this week. In Washington, DC, on April 24th, the National Zoo will have an Earth Day Clean-up Day in which area residents can help zoo employees tidy up the zoo by picking up aluminum cans.

In Durham, NC, there will be a Durham Earth Day celebration downtown with music and food in which area residents will learn about green projects they can conduct in their lives.

And, in Idaho Falls, Ida., on Saturday, there will be an Earth Day celebration at the Tautphas Park Zoo which will include music, arts and crafts and conservation education.

There are some folks like my good friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC, a political libertarian, who once dubbed Earth Day "Nerf Day," who think the resolutions to our environmental problems cause too much government regulation but the increasing scientific evidence does suggest that measures like Cap and Trade are vital even if coal exectuives from West Virginia will lobby firmly against them.

Today also brings to mind Knut, the polar bear cub raised in captivity at the Berlin Zoo in Berlin, Germany, after his mother's death in 2006. Apparently, Knut who remains a popular tourist attraction is all grown up now, which means that cuddly creature can now eat us!

21 Words in Turkish (21 of 21)

Zoo


Hayvanat Bahcesi (literal translation: animal garden)



This is an image of Knut the polar bear cub who was raised at the Berlin Zoo. We understand he has grown considerably within the last year.

Our series, which my mother gave a thumbs down too (but I enjoyed putting it together), is over. Now to wrap up the Norwegian word series on my other blog