Today, June 14th is World Blood Donor Day and is dedicated to "thanking and celebrating voluntary non-remunerated blood donors". It always occures on June 14th as this is the birthday of Karl Landsteiner who created the ABO blood group system, for which he won the Nobel Prize. In celebration of this day I encourage you all to give blood, especially those in Bermuda, because we have a large deficit in our blood supply. I would love to give blood, however due to the amount of time I spent in the UK during the BSE crisis I am not permitted to give blood in Bermuda. This policy desperately needs to be changed if we are to increase our blood supply in any meaningful way. There are too many people on the island who are exempt and therefore cannot supply blood no matter their interest in doing so.
Today was a bittersweet day as I said goodbye to my best friend Mia who has gone off to the UK to pursue her music career. As someone who left behind a steady income and a solid life to pursue my dreams I am so proud of her for doing the same, knowing how rocky a road it can be. I am so unbelievably happy for her, but the distance between us is further, especially when I return to LA. To comfort myself I took up my friend Sophie's offer for a free kerastase treatment at Inner Sanctum here in Hamilton, Bermuda. They take microscopic pictures of your hair and show you where it's broken. My hair is soooo soft and shiny now I couldn't recommend it more.
Today in 1928 Ernesto "Che" Guevara was born. I'm not a proponent of communism, but there are certain more socialist ideals that I agree with, universal free healthcare being one of them. I have always felt a certain level of affinity for Che ever since I was young. I have been dying to go to Cuba, and in fact wrote my high school thesis on Fidel Castro and his consolidation of power. Therefore, I have to share multiple quotes from Che:
"Let the world change you and you can change the world"
"Be realistic, demand the impossible!" "Better to die standing, than to live on your knees.”
"We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it."
Today's music is a beautiful acoustic version of Star Mile by Joshua Radin who was born today in 1974. He's an American singer-songwriter and I first heard his music in the film Adam, about an autistic young man. He has such a beautiful voice and this song is incredible both on the album and acoustically, possibly even better live.
Today is Rembrandt's birthday so I chose to share one of his sketches of an elephant. Elephants have special significance for me due to my best friend Mia. On what would have been my father's 60th birthday, Mia presented me with a custom made sterling silver pendant necklace made by our friend Alexandra Mosher . The pendant is pictured and is engraved with the words March Forth. My father's birthday was March 4th, and his grandmother always said it should be his motto for life: to always "march forth". The elephant is significant because elephants are partners for life, and though we're clearly not a couple, Mia is my soul mate. She is one of my favourite people in the w orld and I often feel like I couldn't get through the hard times without her. And of course elephants march. The full story behind the necklace and it's creation can be found on Alexandra's blog . It is also my mother's birthday. I wrote at length about my mum in the post Moth...
I didn't have to look anything up to know what to celebrate today. I am celebrating my mother, Isabella. Although I'm currently living in LA and Mum is living in Bermuda, we have always celebrated the English Mother's Day date, correctly known as Mothering Sunday. Mum was born in Malaysia and moved to England for boarding school at the age of 9, later followed by her parents and brother. She met my father through my cousins' parents (yep, the same ones who inspired the Year of Celebration) who were living in London at the time. My father was living in Bermuda, and he and my mother would meet in New York. 10 months later they were married and then came the three girls: Nadia, Liana and Claudia. As my father was the renowned lawyer in the family, most people don't know that not only did she study law herself, but it was actually my mother who encouraged me to both apply for and complete my law degree. As a result my father, my mother and I all studied Law at the Unive...
Power. After a year’s unintended break, I am drawn back to The Year of Celebration . Today, on my late father’s birthday, I pored through emails, articles, photographs, essays, newspaper clippings and videos. I feasted on his life. The portion I spent with him and the portion before me. I don’t reserve that purely for his birthday of course, but on March 4 th I always celebrate him, because often I just can’t. Sometimes, even now, the pain is too great and to remember him is to remember that he’s gone. And when I lost him, I did everything I could to lose myself. I learn ed many things from my dad. He was my greatest teacher, both in life and in death. His life story rivalled the best of any Shakespearean drama, but if I could condense it into one soundbite, his birthday sums it up: March Forth. It’s not just a date in the calendar, it’s a direction – to do something, to go somewhere. My grief and depression following his death was the launch pad for The Year of Celebration...
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