For some reason, the Olympics shared an old video of Kiribati’s David Kataotau dancing off stage on Instagram this week but nonetheless, the vibes are still immaculate even five years later.
Of their recent reels, David’s 2016 dance at Rio has earned the most attention, with 25.8 million views as of this writing.
Captioned, “Win or lose, the Olympic Games are always a celebration! @katoatau, ” I thought it was from this year’s games. But because I’m like the millions of people who are not actively watching the Olympics, I didn’t realize it was actually from Rio 2016 until I looked more closely at the weights David was hoisting.
The same clip was uploaded to the Olympics’ official YouTube channel in 2016.
I’m glad the Olympics resurrected David’s momentous dance. It’s inspirational.
I’d very much like to be like David Kataotau. I’d like to be the kind of person who handles a misstep with that kind of grace and joy.
More on David…
I’ll follow the Olympics’ lead and promote some old stuff. Here’s a 2016 Guardian article on David being a climate ambassador.
From the article:
Dancing has always been part of Katoatau’s lifting routine. He dances when he wins and he dances when he loses. Katoatau first raised eyebrows for his joyous celebrations after winning gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and then burst into the collective imagination with his performances in Rio de Janeiro.
Yet beneath the jubilant dancing is a serious message. Katoatau’s homeland is imperilled by global warming. “I want to see a future for Kiribati and our youth,” he tells Guardian Australia. “I don’t want my country to disappear.”
That’s from 2016. The forecast for Kiribati is still pretty bleak, according to a new IPCC report. The Guardian again reports. Here’s a quote from that piece published this week titled, IPCC report shows ‘possible loss of entire countries within the century’
“We’re going to see more salinity, we’re going to see sea level rise … [that] would mean that significant parts of places like Kiribati, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, just become uninhabitable.”
Some news from Guam…
The Aiashy family from Chuuk several months ago opened a convenience store in Mangilao, Fish and Kon Mart. I wrote about it for the Pacific Daily News.
An update on the Marbo Cave environmental damage issue, from the great Haidee Eugenio Gilbert of The Guam Daily Post. John O’ Connor also worked on this story.
It’s Friday and we are heading into the weekend so it seems like a good time to think about how much we are working and whether it’s worth dying for. Here’s a story about how overworking is killing us.
Finally, here’s something else to contemplate: pretty Pasifika imagery courtesy of @paddlingpalau
The Jellyfish Lake. Been there, swam with them more than 10 years ago. Here’s something to add to your post-pandemic bucket list: Swim with jellyfish in Palau. 🤿
The jellyfish in Jellyfish Lake famously lost their stinging cells and don’t sting.
I’d love to know what you think about David Kataotau’s 2016 celebratory moment.
Thank you for reading. Write to you again soon.
Cheers,
Jasmine
The Husk is a weekly newsletter highlighting Micronesian creatives. It’s the only1 newsletter that shares the same name as a proven natural mosquito repellent. 🥥 Share it with your friends and subscribe to support a fellow Micronesian.
That I know of lol