Simon's Blog

Since arriving in Thailand, I’ve traveled to various communities and have grown to love the people and the simplicity of life here. However, a consistent shadow over my daily experience is the problematic nature of the environment. While Thailand is undeniably beautiful, the constant need to monitor water, air, and land quality detracts from that beauty. The air quality, in particular, becomes unbearable between March and June; yet, despite the thick haze and dire health consequences, the burning continues every year. Agricultural burning seems to be a way of life that has become deeply entrenched in the local culture. Although this issue is complex and may take years to resolve, a handful of communities are taking matters into their own hands. Several villages are now collaborating to clean up their air and water, though they still face resistance from neighbors who prefer the traditional method of clearing land with fire. “With long-term exposure, the number of deaths rises every yea...

How can you buy or sell the sky The warmth of the land If we do not own the freshness of the air How can you buy them?  Every part of the earth is sacred to my people Every shining pine needle Every humming insect The sap carries the memories of the red man We are part of the earth It is part of us The perfumed flowers are our sisters The animals are our brothers This land is sacred to us The water is the blood of our ancestors The rivers are our brothers They carry our canoes and feed our children The white man does not understand our ways His appetite will devour the earth The sight of your cities pains our eyes There is no quiet place No place to hear the unfurling of leaves The rustle of the insect's wings The clatter only seems to insult the ears We do not understand I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes Left by the white man Who shot them from a passing train Whatever happens to the beasts happens to man  All things are connected The earth is our mother If men spit up...

Sun Ra was an American jazz composer renowned for his experimental music and his leadership of the ensemble known as "The Arkestra." Even as a teenager, he demonstrated exceptional talent, attending big band performances and later producing full transcriptions of their songs entirely from memory. By his mid-teens, he was performing semi-professionally as a solo pianist and a member of various ad hoc jazz and R&B groups. Though he was involved in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s, his path took a radical turn when he dropped out of college following what he described as a visionary experience. He claimed that a bright light appeared around him and transported him to Saturn. There, he was told to stop attending college because the world was descending into chaos, and that he would instead "speak" to humanity through music. Embracing this cosmic persona, he abandoned his birth name for "Sun Ra" (after the Egyptian god of the Sun) and claimed t...

My fascination with historical leadership takes center stage with Indira Gandhi. As the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru—India's first Prime Minister and a titan of the independence movement—she was born into the heart of Indian politics. Raised on her family’s estate in Allahabad.  Her early education was unconventional; she attended school sporadically but was constantly surrounded by private tutors. She later attended the University of Oxford, where she studied history, political science, and economics.   By 1964, Gandhi was appointed to the Rajya Sabha (the upper house) and served as the Minister of Information. During this era, India relied heavily on U.S. food aid—a dependency Gandhi deeply resented, as she felt Washington used it as leverage to dictate Indian policy. Relations with the U.S. further soured under President Richard Nixon, whose administration favored Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.   By the mid-1970s, Gandhi’s dominance over ...

Soy milk is a nutritious, vegan alternative to dairy. With its creamy texture and plant-based composition, it offers numerous health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and reducing certain cancer risks. Although the US government originally cultivated soy to feed livestock and produce raw materials like oil, fuel, and plastic, soy milk found a dedicated market among the lactose intolerant and those seeking milk substitutes. Early versions, however, struggled with a bitter flavor profile that many consumers found unpalatable. The market shifted when Vitasoy began selling soy milk in glass bottles—similar to soft drinks—and introduced popular flavors like chocolate and malt. As the product's profitability became clear, more companies entered the marketplace. By the 1960s, processing improvements drastically enhanced the flavor and by the early 1990s soy milk was widely recognized for its health benefits. However, as sales surged, competitors began highlighting soy's phyto...