War/Peace. Matthew Vandenberg

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СКАЧАТЬ Bangkok. Behind the scenes of a tribute to Burma's democracy icon. Time, 176(26), 11.

      4 *Grossman, L. (2010). Manifest Destiny. Time, 176(26), 30-55.

      5 $$Oishi, M., & Furouka, F. (2003). Can Japanese Aid be an Effective Tool of Influence? Case Studies of Cambodia and Burma (Case Study 2: Burma). Asian Survey, 43(6), 890-907.

      SHELLY FREEMAN - 11:11am - December 13 - 2011

      'She's the definition of a lady,' I say. 'She who can walk into a room and turn heads, shy, withdrawn, composed, and calm, fragile, but determined, wise, diligent, and competent. She's remarkable, this Aung San Suu Kyi. She's a fighter, a role model, an icon. She's got short, dark gold hair with a lick so shiny and prominent, flawless skin, a remarkably piercing gaze that's simultaneously warm and gentle. And most importantly, she's a peacemaker. Have you never wanted to be someone just like her?'

      'Like a spy, maybe?' Danielle asks. 'You saying we should spy on the north-siders?'

      'No,' I say. 'We should just talk to them. Hang with them. We know they're not so bad. Let's just try to understand them. Let's spend Christmas in the house, that's what I'm saying.'

      'Shelly, the joint is probably like some kind of nightclub, and you just wanna waltz into the place? What if Adrian isn't there, nor Shaun? We don't have the faintest clue what the people in there will be like? All we know is that the people in the north are under the rule of the Yanks now. This is not good.'

      'Can show you guys something?' I ask, unzipping a knapsack.

      'What?' Danielle asks.

      'Look: my pastor thinks I have always lived in the south, and that I was in the north recently only because I was spreading the good word to lost souls,' I state. 'In fact, he has given me permission to venture forth into the north again. He thinks I might be able to convince some people to come over to the south, to become Catholic. This guy truly believes that a massive earthquake or volcano will wipe out the people in the north soon.'

      'I know,' Jerri says. 'I've heard.'

      'What have you got there?' Danielle asks.

      'This' – I hold up a plastic bag – 'is a bag full of mushrooms. Ever seen Alice in Wonderland?'

      'Of course.'

      'Well: the pastor says that the Wollongong church is at the end of a yellow brick road, and that I am to lead people down this road. Now I haven't tried these mushrooms, but they're the magic type. Should you consume some you will have a profound, mystical experience, feel interconnected with all people and things: you will feel joyous, light and free. So I think that if I enter the beach house with these mushrooms and our pastors find out where we are they will not punish us because we can just say that we were trying to spread the good word to some non-believers. We can act like fools.'

      'Richard Alpert,' Jerri says, shaking her head.

      'Who?' Danielle asks.

      'Um . . . a researcher at Harvard in the 60's, gave psilocybin to a student off-campus. I'm guessing that the Catholic church has no problem with this type of behavior: anything to promote spirituality.'

      'Which can be a good thing,' Danielle says.

      'Sometimes,' I say. 'Eating these mushrooms can increase one's self-confidence, and we all know this would help Adrian and Jamie, and decrease one's nervousness, and increase one's overall well-being.'

      'We gotta go in,' Jerri says. 'C'mon Danielle!'

      'No,' Danielle replies. 'No. Sorry.'

      'Then it's just us two,' I say. 'Yeah?'

      'Sure,' Jerri says.

      ******

      References

      1 Griffiths, R. R., & Grob, C. S. (2010). Hallucinogens as Medicine. Scientific American, 303(6), 76-79. doi: 10.1038/scientificamerican1210-76

      2 9 To 5 – Lady Sovereign

      3 Marshall, A. (2010). Postcard: Bangkok. Behind the scenes of a tribute to Burma's democracy icon. Time, 176(26), 11.

      4 Fighter – Christina Aguilera

      5 Randall, C., [Writer and Director] Catanzariti, D., [Actress] Castle-Hughes, K., [Actress] & Collette, T. [Actress] (2008). Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger.

      JACKSON CURTIS – 12:40pm - December 17 - 2011

      I spin the bottle, my fingers moving at the speed of elastic snapping back, and the bottle spins like a tooth snapping shut, so that eventually the neck is pointing at the tender neck of Shelly, and I smile.

      'My choice,' I say.

      Shelly nods, slowly, cautiously. She smiles with the left half of her mouth. I'm stare at her, intently, for a good five, six, seven seconds, and she lets her gaze pass through mine just once, very quickly, breaking the speed limit for this house no doubt.

      'Shelly,' I say, bending forward. 'I'm an expert.'

      'I know,' Shelly says. She nods again, slowly.

      'I'm an expert at caring for people, in a special way, but I'm also an expert at reading signs. Do you really think that I'm going to force you to kiss me, Shell? When I can see you don't want to.'

      'You can tell? Sorry.'

      'Don't be. I understand. Look: I've got another question, so I'm gonna go with truth.'

      'Ok. Sure.'

      'Shelly, what's your goal? Why did you come here?'

      'Shouldn't Shelly be asking the question?' Chloe whispers.

      'Ha ha. Jackson's a therapist,' Shaun whispers. 'He knows how to probe.'

      'To have fun,' Shelly says. 'That's why we're all here, right? We have no idea what's going down outside so we've all taken refuge in this safe-house.'

      'Yeah, true,' Chloe says. 'But you're a south-sider. This is your side. You're safe. So why did you decide to come inside?'

      'We wanna keep the communication open between the north and south,' Jerri says. 'You've heard of Aung San Suu Kyi right?'

      'The Burmese woman?' I say. 'Yeah. Back in high.'

      'We really just wanna relax,' Shelly says. 'I don't know how it is in the north but everyone on our side is so damn serious. It's crazy. And we got pastors telling us that north-siders are neanderthals who will soon be wiped out at the hands of God.'

      'Really?' I say. 'And people are buying this?'

      'Like it's Twilight,' Shelly says.

      'Not us though,' Jerri says. 'But heaps of people are keeping quiet, too afraid to object, to afraid to voice their opinions.'

      'Worse on our side,' I say. 'They say we're fighting for freedom of speech while the cops chase Moslems and Catholics through the streets like СКАЧАТЬ