Human Fat Trafficking: A Price Worth Paying for Beauty?

Four people were arrested in Peru early this month for trafficking human fat, which could be linked to sixty disappearances. Seven other people were wanted, including two Italians. According to the inspector, the fat was to be sold later to cosmetics laboratories in Europe. Moreover, human fat may cost as much as 10,056 euros (approximately USD15,000) per gallon in European countries.

I also heard from other sources that the group of traffickers typically kill farmers or indigenous people who are fat and live in isolated villages. Then they roast the victims' limbs to extract the fat. Without doubt, this is extremely disgusting and inhumane, I thought the movie "Fight Club" in which people produce soaps with human fat was a little exaggerated, but it does happen in reality. There are indeed people who kill others of their own kind to make a living. I do not know else I can say. This is really really sad.

The Purpose of Spam

You don't make much money doing that, right? So what is the purpose of Spam?

The Dream Prison

Filipino prisoners at CPDRC dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller.

How Much Is an Andy Warhol?

This article talks about an interesting scandal in the history of art at "Art by Telephone" by Andy Warhol. A man named Joe Simon bought a red self-portrait of Andy Warhol silkscreen on canvas in 1989 for investment. But then the Andy Warhol Authentication Board refused to certify the work, even the painting was signed by the artist. In other words, the painting is worth nothing. The committee explained that Warhol was not present during the creation of the work - he gave the printer instructions by phone. While Andy Warhol is famous for producing artworks in a mass scale with the help of a telephone and the execution of his assistants and printers, the Board aims to eliminate the "ready made" to preserve those that are rare. Thus, Andy Warhol's "art by phone" has triggered controversies on authorship in general.

I think that "the art by telephone" gives a delicate gray area on the authenticity of an artwork. The works of "art by phone" are not created by the artist himself, but the artist permits, or even demands, the production of the works. It's really difficult to decide whether a work is authentic or not. But I probably agree with the committee - only works that artists create themselves should be considered authentic. Perhaps art investors should be more careful when they encounter "ready made" artworks, especially those of Andy Warhol!

A "Novel" Way To Read Newspapers

Alfred Sirleaf’s ‘Daily Talk’ newspaper reaches thousands of Liberians every day in the tiny African country’s capital, Monrovia, but he always produces only one copy - he writes the day’s biggest stories on a large blackboard beside a busy road, something Sirleaf has done since he founded The Daily Talk in 2000.

Mario Garcia said, "I have found great inspiration in Sirleaf’s model of a newspaper that serves its purpose in grand style, yet he produces it daily by just writing with chalk on a board. It proves that storytelling is more about the stories than the medium or the technology. If we ever needed a reminder of this, then Sirleaf’s newspaper on a blackboard is the ultimate testimony." Well said.

All Cities Should Have Sisters

A beautiful example of globalization.

What Remains of Our Love?

Paris, the City of Love, is not full of love anymore. In response to the severe divorce problem in France, Nouveau Départ (translation: New Starting Point) – the first fair about divorce, separation and widowhood – will take place in Paris on the coming 7th and 8th. According to the organizer Brigitte Gaumet, the fair is intended to help women with marital problems find a new starting point in their lives. I think that the fair, to a certain extent, brings out the trend that marriages and relationships nowadays are generally fragile. More and more people look for practical advantages, such as money and social status, in a relationship rather than the ideal person that they can spend the rest of their lives with. Worst of all, many people always want to be loved, but they failed to realize that they have to be giving in order to make love more rewarding. If we continue to have such attitude, true love will not exist anymore!