Oscars and refugees

First world problems vs real problems

America’s problems:

People who tuned in expecting to see Billy Crystal sing a goofy song were in for a surprise. This year’s Oscars were the most political in recent memory. Leo talked about climate change. Lady Gaga (introduced by a sitting vice president) was joined on stage by victims of sexual assault for the night’s most moving performance. Sam Smith (who could have done a bit more research) used his win to voice support for gay rights. Best Director Alejandro Iñárritu ignored the play off music to call for an end to the focus on skin color. And of course, the entire event was marked by the absence of black nominees from this year’s awards. While that theme might have been hit upon a few too many times, Chris Rock’s opening monologue was America’s best comedian at the top of his game, and at the right place at the right time. He pulled no punches in explaining why diversity in film hadn’t caused protests during previous years: “We were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematographer. When your grandmother’s swinging from a tree, it’s really hard to care about best documentary foreign short!”

Europe’s problems:

The refugee situation, is probably out of control and I am really frustrated with this if not angry… The last weeks in Greece, things are escalating quickly. Many places in Athens, the capital of Greece, are turning into refugee camps. In my way to work every day, I see families overflowing the buildings of the old national airport. These are huge buildings. And they are overflowing.

A small village in north Greece with a population of around 100 people called Idomene is acting as the bottleneck of this wave. Because of its proximity to the F.Y.R.O.M. border it hosts now more than 10.000 people. These people cannot flow directly into Europe due to restrictions set by the neighbour countries. Here are some photos from the field and a video.

Another thing that is not sitting well with me is that scientists found the gene responsible for grey hair. Nothing yet for the hair loss gene.

If you read all this sadness, you are a hero and you deserve it. Deleted Scene from “Batman v Superman” Starring Jimmy Kimmel. This is gold!