I thank him every chance I get.
Pascal Antoine was the man who introduced me to the internet back on 1997! I remember the day well. It was at his apartment in Brooklyn where he, um, loaned me a copy of Teach Yourself HTML 4 which I used to, well, teach myself HTML 4, design my own websites and become the man I am today! (Yes, Pascal, it was a loan. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it! I’ll return it soon!)
Pascal Antoine is the myth, who as “CoolP” was getting tens of thousands of hits to his FreshFinesse.com website back in 1996, when AOL was dial-up, and Mark Zuckerberg was 12 years old.
Pascal Antoine is the legend, who as Rapper “Antoine” was featured on BET (um, that was on my record label), and on whose light and funny video for “canufeelit” I made a cameo appearance.
China readers click here to view
Pascal Antoine is the French-born force for social change who is now founder of the immensely popular HaitXchange.com website, and who uses his considerable technical skills and videographer’s eye to reveal a different side of Haiti for the benefit of residents, expats and the world at large. He even arranges tours to show Haiti to tourists, business prospects and anyone interested in seeing the world through a different lens.
Yesterday, we had lunch at Vegetarian Paradise Two (Yes, Vina, I’m still here), and then hung out in a Starbucks at Union Square where, once again, he’s bringing me (kicking and screaming this time) into the 21st Century with ipads and iphones, and other technology and platforms I’ll be using during my next China excursion. Yes, I’m now seriously considering actually getting a smartphone to replace my camera! I resisted it, but after Pascal blogged about our meeting right from Starbucks (scooping me by a few hours), and responded to emails with voice commands, who knows, Siri might actually become my new best friend!
The man, the myth, the technology maven! Photo by iphone
The man, the myth, the technology maven! Photo by digital camera
Wasting food when children are starving is worse than tragic. I think about it when I throw out leftovers my husband refuses to eat. I do not know how to get my leftover mashed potatoes, pasta, squash, green beans, salad leavings, etc. to humans who might appreciate them. The sad news is that a child dies of malnutrition every six seconds in this world. Isn’t it amazing that we can send troops to almost every corner of the world, but somehow cannot get milk to starving children?
There is some good news. A “60 Minutes” program reported on work being done by “Doctors Without Borders.” Anderson Cooper of CNN talked of “a ready-to-eat, enriched concoction called Plumpynut that is helping to cure and prevent malnutrition in children. Children in poor villages cannot get the milk, vitamins and minerals they need. There is no clean water to mix powdered milk, there’s no refrigeration so milk cannot be stored. Plumpynut is made of peanut butter, powdered milk, powdered sugar, and enriched with vitamins and minerals. It tastes like a peanut butter paste. It is very sweet, and because of that kids love it. It doesn’t need refrigeration, water, or cooking; mothers simply squeeze out the paste. Each serving is the equivalent of a glass of milk and a multivitamin. In a village in Niger Doctors Without Borders hands out Plumpynut every week. Mothers walk for hours to the site to wait for packets or tubs of Plumpynut. They carry them on the tops of their heads or wrapped in their scarves. The work being done by Doctors Without Borders is still just the tip of the iceberg. One would think that if something so simple as a peanut butter paste could help malnourished children in the poorest villages of Niger, we would offer it to all mothers who need it for their suffering children.
Sandra, use your leftovers to make soup, casserole, or stew or turkey ala king. With a little imagination, as long as the food hasn’t gone bad, it can be made into something else, especially veggies. If we all followed the examples of our parents hardly any food will be wasted. My grandmother even reused her foil wrap and plastic wrap and made them last for years. Sure it takes more time, and sure I am a hypocrit since I hardly ever have leftovers get thrown away, teenage boys are voratious eaters, but I saw my Nona’s example, and try to copy her as much as is sensible. It’s reduce, reuse and recycle. I don’t think saving food from wasting her will directly help the poor in other countries, but maybe the money we save on over buying food can be used to help other people learn how to grow their own food? I don’t know, because we can’t just keep airlifting food to impoverished countries, we have to help them, produce and sustain their food sources, or they will continue to starve.