Occupying the Old Theatre

Student occupiers take the Stage of the Old Theatre while a lecture goes on around them.

Student Response to the Massacre in Gaza

Before I get into this, let me explain that I'm NOT anti-jewish in any way. I'm not even entirely sure I'm anti-Israeli, as I don't know enough about the history of the conflict to really choose one side or the other in an ancient and complex dispute.

What I am sure about is that what Israel did to the people of Gaza throughout December and early January was unacceptable from any humanitarian position. I know Hamas agents were lobbing rockets at Israel, creating continuous psychological trauma for Isrealis and even killing a few Isrealis, but the death of 10 is not an excuse for the death of 1000, 410 of which are women and children (315 children.. are you kidding me?). Isreael claims that Hamas agents are using children and women as human shields. I'm not so sure that explains the number of women and children killed.

please see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/14/gaza-city-fighiting-israel-un

The subject troubled me only vaguely during my stay in the US, where popular sentiment, dominated by the way the media presents the information, was heavily skewed toward Israel. I understand this. We watched images of rockets going into Gaza, and I think the average American really didn't care too much, desensitized to the whole thing as (s)he is. Moreover, Israel did not allow any foreign correspondents into Gaza during the 'siege,' so all information presented to the American public was official correspondence from the Israeli media machine. To be honest, I really didn't care about Gaza at all, until I arrived back at LSE, and watched the students demonstrating in the street.

Because LSE is so wonderfully cosmopolitian, humanitarian concerns cannot help but be voiced by a student population representing 160 countries- that's more countries than the United Nations officially recognizes!! There are many muslim peoples on campus, from disparate places such as Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, etc.. a lot of these people are my friends, as I find them very agreeable and easy to get along with.

Interested LSE Students look on during the Union Meeting
in which an initiative to Condemn Israel was discussed.

Thus when I saw some of my friends marching and passing out flyers I was interested- why was this so important to them? I went to a meeting about Gaza, and was presented with images ENTIRELY DIFFERENT from those we get in the USA. The focus was on the children- personal interviews with the children, with mothers, with sons and fathers living in a cramped, 25 mile strip of land, 750,000 strong. The message: as soon as Israel started dropping bombs (phosphorous bombs meant to burn human flesh), the people had nowhere to go, and could only suffer through the shelling.

Why have so many children and women died? Because no refugees can get away. Gaza is LOCKED. In other conflicts of this nature, there is always somewhere to which the women and children can escape. Not so in Gaza.

Things move quickly in the LSE. The same week I saw those images and listened to testimonials from impartial spectators (one of whom was a Jewish professor at the LSE), a student initiative was drawn up to condemn the Gaza situation. I attended the Union meeting where the initiative was presented, and listened to speeches from both sides (one student told us we had no right to voice our political opinions in an instituation like the LSE, to which I have to counter- what else is the LSE for?). I voted along with others that an issue of condemnation be made, not because Palestine or Israel is right in the conflict, but because Israel went too far.

The LSE Union Meeting in the Old Theatre:
The audience was packed (a rarity for these meetings) with concerned students.
Pictured is Mr. Fisher (I believe), the LSE Student President, of sorts.

A Pro-Israel Speech.
Zev (the Human Rights Chair and more or less organizer
of the whole condemnation effort) stands by on the right.

Students Line up to vote. Final was 230 to 150 I think,
in favor of Gaza.

For more information on the offical LSE initiative, click Here

The metaphor for me is like a barfight. Palestine slaps Israel, and so Israel takes a bottle and smashes it over Palestine's head, and then starts kicking Palestine, lying dazed on the floor.

Again, I'm totally pro-Jewish. I have nothing against the Jewish people, but these crazy Israeli militants must be condemned, and they must work toward some other sort of solution to the problem.

Apparently I' not the only one who feels this way. The next day we were shocked to discover that a number of students had decided to OCCUPY the Old Theater in the center of LSE's main building. This is the hall here all important dignitaries and scholars lecture, and indeed lectures continued to commence, with the occupying students sitting peacefully on the stage while talks went on around them. I have lots of cool pictures of this whole event, as I was intrigued by it. What a wonderful way to protest!

Occupation picture; a lecture has just ended.

The occupyers demanded that the LSE condemn the Israeli Massacre as inhumane, and immediately withdraw all LSE investments that might be related to Israeli companies. They also demanded a number of smaller initiatives including scholarships for under-represented Palestinian students, and donation of old computers/ supplies from the LSE to the people of Gaza in the future.

The Occupation included speeches by numerous Rights Activists,
including this one who noted that the LSE theatre was occupied
in the 1980s as well.

I felt the demands were too strong, until I started talking to one of my friends from Rosebery who was an Occupier. As we talked, I realized I was truly interested in the stance the people were taking, and so on the 5th day of the occupation, I joined in and slept in the Old Theatre for a night with the occupiers. The night was incredibly interesting, as I got to listen to the perspectives of the students who'd been there all week, and discuss various aspects of the issue with them.

The Occupation at night.. a little more relaxed, as we hang around,
play poker, discuss politics, and write essays.

We all ended up agreeing at one point that it is a shame that a people as persecuted as the Isreali Jews could be so agressive toward another peoples, the Palestinians. I personally am reminded of a pattern throughout history where one displaced people displaces (and usually horribly mains) another people- for example, Puritan colonists in America who slaughtered Native Americans; Boer Colonists in South Africa who slaughtered Native Africans; French Colonizers in Indochina; Australian Colonizers in Australia, etc.. There seems to be a psychological mechanism of abuse that winds its way througout the world. Only by condemning it and working together can we recognize it and hope to stop it.

At the point of my joining in, the LSE was solidly against the occupiers, as students were becoming more and more polarized around the Gaza issue. There have been a few instances of people shouting racial slurs, and some hateful interactions that must be halted and that students are working with eachother to get around.

Over in the Old Theatre, the Occupiers listen to a meeting
discussing various strategies to keep the initiative moving,
as well as how to respond to school officials in meetings
the next day.

Meanwhile, on the other side of campus, Hundreds of students
and professors coagulate into the Zayed Theatre to hear the lecture
that was originally planned to be in the old Theatre.
The Lecture was on Economic Growth in the EU.

I am happy to say that the occupation ended a few days later, and that the school ended up meeting most of the demands of the occupants. What the occupants did that was most important is that they made us all aware of the situation. Whether we decided to favor Israel and Palestine as a result is beside the point- it is important that we remain aware of the events that transpire around us, and recognize that we are part of a world community.

The Face of Those Who are Against demonstrations of this kind.
This Gentleman was quite peeved, and let everybody know how he
felt about demonstrators 'soiling the good name' of the LSE.

This sort of awareness is precisely what I came to LSE for, and it was an honor to spend a night of uncomfortable sleep on a cold floor with those people who are more aware than I, and who were willing to share and debate their perspectives with me.

Winter Travels, 2008- Ashland

Stop 4: Ashland

The beginning of January saw Haley and I in Ashland for a couple of days. We had a safe trip over the pass down into the Oregon Valley of goodness, and hung out for a day with Dad/ Bear. We took a small trip to Shasta and skied the local terrain; hit a few jumps and worked on our partner skiing. All good fun, and I'm very much looking forward to next ski season with my new Rossignals.. hoorah :)

Da Brothers-- Bear's Jacket is Siick(er)... then again, he's working
on a Ski Mountain.. siiiick :) Hope the weather's still good up there B.

Dad and I are mos' def Anti- Pollution.
.. and Dad likes to grow trees out of his head.

We are nearing Shasta!!
See? There it is!!

Dude! That's sooo cool.. I like, wanna kiss the snow..
Hey Wait! I'm not snow!! :-P
Awww.. this looks Just like Mammoth, except I have a cooler hat
the second time around.

Skiing really was a blast, and Haley got her ski legs back by the end of the day!! Yaay!! We had a lot of fun with Haley's dysfunctional goggles, which were decomposing and left little bits of black foam particles on your face (and in your eyes).. we got rid of 'em (the goggles I mean).

My impersonation of Hancock.

The next day, the sky cleared up and Haley had to journey back over the pass to be with her family in Modesto. There wasn't enough time to fully explore Ashland.. I think Haley has all the cool pictures, as we took a walk in Lithia Park and looked at the duck pond (filled with Alligators, riiight? ;). I was a little sad to see Haley go, but immediately Mom and Ash were there to cheer me up. The next few days involved us all running around town, up to drop a canoe on dad's car, or down to try to catch a yoga class with Mom. We kids had the best of it, as we all ended up together on the top of Mt. Ashland doing some ridiculously stupid sled stunts (Bear, props to you for that one wipeout.. I so wish I had a camera for that one.. For those who weren't there, Bear took his sled as fast as possible down one hill, over a road, and then up a snow drift and into a 5-10 foot drop into powder on the other side.. at some point all I could see from my view beneath him was his sled and an arm stuck out akimbo, floating 10 feet in the air). Bear survived, and it was good. He even found the refrigerated beverage that some kind Ashlander accidentally left for him.

The Indomitable Schleeb!! (we were all still recovering from Sushi the night before)
Aww Bear!! This was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.
Floored, dawg. lol
But Barret is still THE MAN, especially after dominating the Sled Run.

The Chamberlain trio had a blast wandering around Ashland at night.. Ashleigh decided to use her hew "21" powers to feed me too much whiskey, which led to unfortunate consequences (note to self: don't EVER combine whiskey, beer, and sake again). For her part, Ash decided it would be fun to wander around Ashland at 2 AM looking for her cell phone, which was on the floor of the hotel room. The three of us also had fun doing some river-trekking along Ashland creek, hopping over various rocks and navigating dense foliage in our quest to boldly go where none have gone before.. Barrett led the way, and Ash kept us from doing anything too stupid :)

The stay in Ashland was wonderful, and it was truly great to be back with my family. I felt re-charged at the end of the trip, and able to get back into the swing of things in London. It's been two weeks, and I'm still going strong, waking up at 5-6 AM and getting my day going with yoga stretches/ breath exercises. I feel very focused and happy, and am enjoying the time here, with the knowledge that all parts of my family are moving along with their lives.

The final night before my trip to London we all went, on the flip of a coin, to the local Ashland hot springs, which, albeit a bit shady at first, were very relaxing. There was a HUGE freshwater pool heated to 70 degrees that you could swim in under the stars.. I spent a lot of time there. Also the springs included a giant freshwater jacuzzi, which was relaxing as well (though the nudists made the whole setting a tad awkward). I wish London had baths like Ashland-- there's something deeply relaxing about floating in a pool in the dark, with no sounds and the stars above. When I left that place, I felt ready to come back to London.. so I'm thankful for that coin toss, although we still have to catch Bear's movie the next time we're all together.

Lotsa love family- be well, take care, and I'll see you all soon.

Winter Travels, 2008- Palos Verdes thru Modesto

Stop 2: Palos Verdes

Unfortunately no picture exist from this part of the trip. My phone was off for a week. Let me say three things:

Ice Cream
Jacuzzi
Surfing

oh yeah, and sleep :)

It was truly refreshing to be back in a Mediterranean environment. Friends kept telling me that PV was in a cold snap while I was there- I felt comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt. I guess we get used to it up in the higher lattitudes.

Surfing Palos Verdes is incredible- there are numerous coves with breaks that give you 10 second rides, and the locals treat you alright, so long as you don't get in their way. The third and final day I went, the tide was out and there was only a small 1.5 foot break out on the corner of the cove, and yet there were 5 surfers all taking turns on this tiny wave and riding it in as far as possible. I joined in, and one of the rides was in 2-3 feet of crystal-clear water, so you could see the rocks flying underneath you as you rode the wave. It was a tad frightening; wouldn't want to wipe out, but as the wave was so small there was really no danger, and watching the rocks slide underneath your feet is a really trippy feeling.

Another high point was eating raw foods for a while with Jeff, which I found to be very interesting, as my body actually CRAVED the raw milk that I tried out. I think I scared everybody a bit talking about raw stuff the rest of the trip, but something about how we over-cook everything in Western food concerns me a bit.. More on all this some other time. Jeff has a sweet new Porsche, is creating screenplays, and is living the Hollywood art life. Best wishes to you my friend-- keep on truckin, and I hope you prove your Sifu worthy.

We saw "The Wrestler," which I have to say is an excellent movie and highly recommend to anybody in my age group. The story is an amazingly adept description of a man who is stuck in his profession but slowly becoming too old for it, and explores how he deals with the complex situation with his daughter...

We also saw "Waltz With Bashir," which I believe is one of the most potent movies I've ever seen (equal to or more so than Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan). The movie explores the massacre of thousands of Palestinians in refugee camps during the 1982 Lebanon War, through the disjointed memories of numerous soldiers who were in the conflict. The movie is heart-rending, and I recommend it only for those willing to face such truths of human nature.


On a lighter note, I spent a lot of time with Mom/ Ron- we all had a nice little Christmas celebration, complete with (of course) Champagne and Jacuzzi. We ended up at McCormick and Schmidts (how about that Ash?) where Mom demonstrated her enthusiasm for oysters. I'm still learning to appreciate them Mom-- I'll get there :) The dinners were excellent, and the time spent in PV was truly recuperating. I'm thankful for it.

Stop 2a: Grandma and Grandpa Kring in Irvine

No trip to Southern California would be complete without visiting Papa Dean and Grandma Theo! Mom and I grabbed the Porsche and made a trip, and were happy to see the grandparents doing well and keeping happy :) Papa Dean can never stop laughing, and Grandma's always there to poke fun at him, or tell us an amusing story. We traded presents, ate out at Cocos in Corona Del Mar (of course), and enjoyed each other's company. It was nice to see them, but we couldn't stay for too long. I hope Grandma is wearing her scarf, and that Papa Dean is enjoying showing off the new golf balls. I felt like once we'd seen Papa Dean and Grandma Theo, Christmas was complete-- they've almost always been a part of Christmas in the past, and it was good to get to see them this time around as well.

Stop 2C: Rose and Bob in Redondo

Haley and I got to visit Rose and Bob (Ron's Parents). Again I wish I had a couple of pictures, but we went down to the HT Grill in Redondo and had a great conversation about almost everything under the sun.. Haley I didn't know your family's so 'rub elbows' there in New York. As always, Rose and Bob were immensely entertaining.

After a week it was time to leave Palos Verdes. I spent a small amount of time in Orange County (where I was happy to be able to spend an evening with the Betas-- Raf, keep on truckin bro, and best of luck to Christian, Sean, Kevin et al with Pac Life (and Kyle with the world of post-grad bio)-- wishin you guys the best with the next stage-- also best wishes to the current Betas, who seem to be kicking butt and making a name for themselves).

Summer (Haley's sister), You're the ONLY picture from this whole part of the trip :)

Haley and I unfortunatelly had to miss the New Year's Eve celebration in Orange County because we decided to take a trip to be with a special friend (Blackie the cat) on New Years who was very close to parting from this world, but actually rebounded when her best friend (Haley) came back home to be with her. The trip up to Modesto on New Year's was an adventure- the 5 freeway was closed at the Grape Vine because of a pea-soup-like fog-induced accident involving a truck and a dozen other vehicles. Traffic was backed up for miles and we would have been stuck for hours had we not 'bent a few rules' and found our own way over to the 50 mile detour. We ended up going through a very cool wind-farm out near Lancaster, and made it back in time for the New Years (and 8 episodes of How I Met Your Mother).

Blackie rebounded the moment her family was back, and held on for a few more weeks.. Unfortunately, Blackie is no longer with us, but I think our being there on New Years was really important, and am glad we took the trip.

Part 3: Modesto

I still can't believe I don't have any pictures from all of this.. lame!! I must not have been using my phone at all (Orange charges an arm and a leg for calls placed outside the UK).

However Modesto was a lot of fun.. I got to spend some time with the Greenwald-Gonella clan and even attend Jewish services, which involved wearing a Yammuka for the first time ever... my that was interesting :P A picture of that would be quite face-bookable, but once again, people will have to be left to their imaginations. The first Yammuka I wore was orange and too big, but the second one was deep maroon-ish, and fit juust right.

I didn't know Jewish services involve so much bowing.. but there are some very profound moments including time taken to recognize those in the community who are in mourning, or who are going through trials/ hard times. To announce such things to the whole community is very powerful, and I could feel a bond passing through everybody attending in that moment, as well as a few others. I found the experience very interesting, and noticed a lot of similarities to various aspects of yoga and Mormonism.

Haley's mom and I had a good fight in a round or two of scrabble, which I lost (boy, all the older people keep destroying me in board games.. must be some kind of conspiracy). I think she had like a 70 point word or something that completely destroyed me.. REMATCH FORTHCOMING!!

We also went out for Modesto sushi, which involved sushi rolls 3 times the size of typical rolls I've seen in Southern California.. I'm not sure where this kind of sushi comes from, but I got STUFFED.. In fact, I was stuffed the whole time we were in Modesto, and it was goood. There was this egg-noodle custard-type stuff (Kugel, I think the spelling is) that Haley's mom kept throwing at me.. and I kept happily downing it- I'm officially a big fan of the Jewish cooking).

All in all, the trip to Modesto was very dynamic, and very interesting.. I had a lot of fun exploring the Jewish slice of life a bit, and we spent a lot of time taking care of Blackie, who I think was happy to have us with her.

Winter Travels, 2008- Kanab

Stop 1: Kanab, Utah

Ahh, the journey back away from the sloggy and ultra-cold biome that is London begins with a trip back to the ol' Chamberlain homestead, where ironically, it's colder than in London! The weekend we were there saw well over 8 inches of snow, which provided for some spectactular views, even if it prevented much in the way of hiking.

Here's the view from Grandma Earth and Grandpa Sky's Window.
I spent a lot of time in front of this while perusing old econ lectures.

A better view from the windows. I can envision Grandpa looking
through various sectors of the glass, noticing the subtle variations
in the natural world beyond.

Grandma Chamberlain poses in front of her Wedding Anniversary Present.
I'm assuming the shirt is camoflauge.

Kanab in the snow.. unbelievable :)

Time with the family was wonderful- it was great to see Brent, Grandma, and Grandpa, even if we didn't get to do too many things. Mostly a lot of sitting around, talking, and also some of the best eatins I've had in a while- that egg-noodle strogonav is to die for, and I must say the Chamberlain household runs, effectively, on massive amounts of sugar. It was actually quite peaceful sleeping on the floor of the living room, because in the morning I would awaken to the smell of old books and artifacts, which was pleasant, and then I would look out the window (pictured above) and watch the birds and the cat 'playing' in the snow outside. A random digression but watching cats in the snow is one of the most fun things.. they gingerly put their paws down each step as if it's painful for them, and when cats run in snow, they bound up more like a slinky, preferring to spend more time in the air then down in the cold white stuff.

I was amused, and elated to capture the rare picture of the Wild Chamberlain
polishing off the chocolate syrup bottle.
Mission Accomplished. Here's to the tenacity of Chamberlain men!

Dad, who was a tad sick while we were there (but tenaciously hung in there nonetheless!)
poses with some green tea, while Grandma knits one of her amazing hats.

Grandma told me her house is like a museum. There are so many artifacts, rocks,
even meteors tucked away in the rooms. These refrigerator magnets were a blast..
if the house were a museum, this would be the gift shop.

More Artifacts: Kachina Dolls

Grandpa had more cool rocks than I knew what to do with.. for a while, I confess
I was 10 years old, collecting my favorite rocks from various places in the house..
What was left was kind of a "rock-blot" of my own aesthetic proclivities..
My favorite rocks, arranged for full effect. Grandpa you'll be glad to know
Ashleigh took the picasso stone, and Bear is holding onto the bear for you :)

Best moment of the trip for me: After a day of driving around in the snow (we went rock-hunting and looked at a GIANT animal rescue center (literally many acres of horses, cats, dogs, etc..)), we ended up back home and got into an Egyptican rock-capturing game, which Grandpa destroyed me in (they're his rocks after all). Then we were all sitting around, and had this nice, warm family moment-- I remember Grandpa saying how grateful he is for Grandma, and how 'patient' she is with him. Underneath the rocks, the eclectic artifacts, and the various projects in the Kanab house, there is a lot of love, and I'm thankful for it.

Christmas Feast Table Setting: Chamberlain Style
Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Brent see us off after a relaxing number of days.

One last picture of the Scenery. I can understand why you guys love this place so much.