(Mostly) heartwarming stuff.

In the midst of all the gloomy stuff that is around in the news at the moment I found an odd story with the headline: "Mais wee, monsieur: Paris finds eco solution to public peeing". It seems that in some parts of Paris, tired of the smell of urine that seeps into stone pavements no matter how much you wash the area, they are trying out a system of boxes on sticks for men to per in. The boxes are full of straw and when enough pee has been added this can make compost to be used on gardens. If it proves successful, the experiment will be extended.

It might be an eco-solution but the very problem provokes the question, why do men need to pee in the street? It happens all over France. And, for that matter, it is very common in Spain too. Behind rubbish containers is a favourite spot. Shop doorways are also popular, which is one reason why so many shopkeepers have to swill out their doorways with bleach in the morning. I suppose it must happen in the UK as well but I am pretty sure it is too a much lesser extent. Does our British reserve lead to a restraint that our less inhibited continental cousins do not have?

Perhaps the "uritrottoir", as this box of straw is being called, will be something of a solution. The inventors themselves admit that it is not a solution for women who are desperate for a pee. Fortunately women seem less inclined to pee al fresco; it's generally more difficult, far more inconvenient and potentially embarrassing.

Here's another story I have found: an artist called Kia La Beija was interviewed by the Guardian. Kia LaBeija was born HIV positive in 1990 and was raised in NewYork's theatre district. So although she is clearly a young lady with a big problem in her life she had some advantages in being surrounded by all sorts of artistic possibilities. She is described as a multidisciplinary artist whose work "explores the intersections of community, politics, fine art and activism. As a visual artist she stages digital portraits as theatrical and uses her photos, self portraits, her self-portraits to show the reality of living with AIDS today. “I had felt incredibly silenced for many years on my battle, and as I got older that began to manifest in other unhealthy ways,” says Labeija. “I have slowly begun to share these parts of me through my work as an artist. I feel incredibly vulnerable, and sad at times. But this is how I know I'm doing something right. I believe all the great artists are great because they are honest. This is as honest and real as it gets for me.”

Here is what she regards as her best photograph: an HIV check-up in a prom dress. I should have found this last week when my homework for my Italian class was to research and present to the class a contemporary artist. She would have been a good subject.

There have been lots of photos of protest in the news lately. Pictures of people protesting accompanied by their children are always appealing. This is one that I find particularly good, since it shows a Jewish child and a Muslim child getting friendly during a demonstration at a US airport. Even better is the fact that the fathers of he two children, realising that their offspring were getting friendly, started to chat, exchanged mobile numbers and have arranged for their families to get together. Perhaps they could send pictures of their cooperation to Israel! Just an idea!

And, while we are on the subject of all getting along together, here is a link to a video from Danish television all about how we should put our differences aside and concentrate instead on what makes us similar to each other. For some reason there are subtitles in Italian!

Heartwarming stuff!