AudioComm #45 – Dad Remembers Dictatorship

AudioCommunique #45(mp3)

25min+, 64kbps, 12Mb+

Notes:

1 AudioCommunique #45 – Dad Remembers Dictatorship
1.1 Today’s Show features my father’s experience immigrating from Portugal to the US in the 60’s, and more specifically; what it was like to live under a dictatorship.
1.2 First I have to mention listener mail; Brandon in China, Lotte in Amsterdam, Frank of the Overnightscape, its so cool to get email from other shows.
1.3 I miss VivaPodcast… come back Greg and Lisa!
2 On the Skype with Dad
2.1 Portugal and the fascist regime in the 1950’s.
2.2 Clandestine Behavior by doctors, students, etc.
2.3 Poor but happy
2.4 The decision to move to the US
2.4.1 The draft for the colonial wars in Africa and India. (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and what was almost a war in Goa, India.
2.5 Newark. NJ over the decades
2.6 Familiar ingredients of fascism in the US.

Bad Japan

Had a great first day as a podcast consultant for the magazine. Won’t say much more about it, cept that I thought alcohol flowed at the fishtank, at this place they drink in style- starting after lunch.

We got bigger fish to fry; today’s issue is the world. More specifically – I’m pissed off at the Japanese government. Few other nations, but Japan most of all, for this all-out effort to get a permanent seat in the UN security council.

Some of you may need a backgrounder. If you’re really against doing your own research, basically the UN-SC has five permanent seats held by the winning powers of WorldWar II. Recipe for disaster right from the beginning, a group of countries “win” a war and decide the world’s organization for peace and security should be run THEIR WAY. So the US, UK, France, Russia, and China are the only nations in the whole world that have permanent seats, as well as VETO power. 5 nations. Out of the entire world. Oh yeah there are 10 other rotating seats, whenever the music stops – isn’t that cute?

So I’m angry with Japan, and let me not forget Germany, because these two countries are licking all kinds of boots and trying oh so hard to create a new permanent seat for themselves. Japan and Germany, two nations that I normally look to for wisdom and experience, as they have been through it all historically, fighting to be a part of a flawed and unrepresentative body. Instead of demanding change or reform, instead of setting a global example, they just want a piece of the action. – LAME.

If this somehow doesn’t interest you, here’s a movie I think I helped develop, by that famous director xTx.

And if video doesn’t tickle your fancy, maybe motorcycles do and you can listen to DucSloerie ride his Ducati somewhere near Amsterdam.

Today’s Sounds: Fugazi – End Hits

tags:,

A story through pictures

Once upon a time.. the was a powerbook born in China,

After his birth, he was shipped off by the fedex to America

In America he was stranded for many weeks, and lived in a box, until one day, some very kind friend(s) agreed to (help) bring him to Europe.

But our story isn’t over, because the ending only comes two weeks from now, in a town called Amsterdam. So umm.. to be continued.

Obviously I can’t tell a story like the mailman.

Today’s Sounds: Ani DiFranco – Up UP UP

Politics with a genius

The communiqu? presents: a slightly edited version of an interview with my buddy JP who resides in Lisbon, Portugal, and can out curse a sailor when he wants to.

bicyclemark: Well… first off, welcome to the blog JP…

bicyclemark: So JP… do you recall around the time where you and I became pals… tell the tale for the audience at home….

J.P. : you were starting to work in that piece of shit school, it was around February 2002?

bicyclemark: True true.

J.P. : and, I don’t recall the exact circumstances

bicyclemark: Was it my keen vocabulary and style of clothes that led you to become my friend?

J.P. : that, and your politics, and your naivet?, and you having had dealings with the Cosa Nostra.

bicyclemark: I see. And you live in Lisbon.. a city that will forever own my heart… where people barely find the time, between eating, smoking and coffee, to go to work. Could you sum up, in four words… what its like living there?

J.P. : being buggered by apes covered in shit

bicyclemark: nice While we’re on shit covered apes… any words about the prime minister of portugal who just resigned?

J.P. : no words strong enough were invented for that piece of sewage in walking form

bicyclemark: I see… just one more in this subject area… any predictions for the future of portugal?

J.P. : when you flush the toilet you see and hear the future of Portugal.

bicyclemark: Excellent political analysis. Very late-modern.

bicyclemark: Moving on… I have a few Chinese readers.. and I recall your stories of when you traveled china…. when was that again? and why did you go?

J.P. : vacation, August 1996; Macao, Hong Kong, and Beijing

bicyclemark: I see, and there you traveled by train… what was it again? for how long? And what can you say about the experience?

J.P. : 3 days and nights from Beijing to Canton. It was a unique experience. I felt like a black person must feel in, say, Alentejo (who doesn’t know the language)

(editors note: Alentejo- vast rural area to the south of portugal. where portuguese hicks come from)

(J.P. : note again – many people of African descent travel through Alentejo, but mostly they speak Portuguese)

bicyclemark: I was expecting you to tell me to go to hell and defend your home territory.

J.P. : well, no – there are hicks in Alentejo, but most assfucking male-raping hillbillies that I know of live in Lisbon

bicyclemark: ouch. So back to politics, how bad did this last american election hit you?

J.P. : fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

bicyclemark: I see, so we could say.. not well.

bicyclemark: Hey before we go on… thanks for the Transmetropolitan graphic novels…very thoughtful of you on my bday

J.P. : Spider Jerusalem – a man with political ideas after my own heart

bicyclemark: I think he eats speed for breakfast and shoots people when it pleases him.

J.P. : and throws them turds and dog carcasses; his weapon of choice is lovely: the Bowel Disruptor

bicyclemark: sounds cruel.

bicyclemark: Well mr JP. Time to say thank you.. and well.. end this. Thanks for being on the show.

J.P. : I hope I was as helpful as you thought I might be

Today’s Sounds: Paul Simon – Graceland (now digging through landlord’s CD’s)

Chinese Bloggy Style

Today I spend some time helping a good citizen and a new friend, setup his baby blog.. not even one month old. He wants it primarily to write while he is off living in China. Obviously this is one of those cases where blogs are ideal, you want to let your loved ones know what’s up, you want to write your thoughts and observations of a far away place, and you’re up for sharing it with strangers who might bring their own experiences to the table. So I’ve got my champagne bottle in hand, ready to break it over the monitor, and two months before his journey begins, I baptize thee Marc&China blog. May she sail fast and far, weather the comment storms, and not be censored by the internet police.

Being a blogger of the people, it is part of my programming to spread the word, and help all beings get their own blog and go forth happily on their life’s journey. I also like to meet the chicks. I mean.. the wondrous ladies of the blogosphere.. even if they are really middle-aged men pretending.

That being said, there are no bloggers – female or male – who I worship, contrary to what it may seem. I admire everyone for different reasons. For instance, this week I’m laughing my ass off reading the Winter of Discontent’s interview series with the employee who doesn’t stop talking at the library, or the old navy ad. Brilliant abstract journalism right there.

So when I make my own award nominations, or I read about Raymi winning an Anna award, i think it’s nice. BUT THATS IT.. NICE. I don’t subscribe to the madness about who is the best blogger ever or any of that bullshit. It’s a matter of taste, different people appeal to you for different reasons. And everyone’s opinion matters and does not matter, just the same. What I would compliment Raymi on is how she seemed to condemn the idea of her winning the award… now that is cool. Someday I’ll condemn myself for winning something… cause I like modesty.

I thought I was going to end the blog, but Marty McFly is online, live from Sweden, and he’s a wordsmith and a half. Plus he’s shown me these great complaint letters from American companies to Swedish hackers, and the hilarious responses they write.

Mart says:It is the opinion of us and our lawyers 

that you are fucking morons, and that you should please
go sodomize yourself with retractable batons.

bicyclemark says:
thats high tech

Mart says:
i don't even know what a baton is
a fluffy lill animal???

bicyclemark says:
no no
its like what the police hit you with
bicyclemark says:
on friday nights

*And Happy Birthday to J and his Brain. Who has been with the blog since way back. And has been discussing things on the net with me since.. shit.. probably since ’00.

Today’s Sounds: Off the Hook on 2600.com

Partisan Hackery

I’ve been meaning to talk about the CIA documents on China which have been released, what the Dalai Lama said, and the evolving situation in Sudan. But I keep getting stuck on American elections stories. Perhaps it’s the Financial Times that included a one page collection of articles about all the flaws and irregularities of the voting system in the US. Or perhaps it’s the Dutch public television news program NOVA, that in the last weeks broadcasting from NYC, have had two of my favorites, Sy Hersh and Lewis Black, talking about the election. That Dutch host does a nice job, by the way. I still get impressed with the way he hosts the show in Dutch but conducts long interviews in English, and as far as I remember, it’s not even subtitled. I mean, I could do the same, but I like how he does it.

So today I take you to Colorado. I state I’ve never been to, and I really don’t know what I think of it. The only moment where I ever thought cool + Colorado was when Hunter S. ran for mayor of Aspen and barricaded himself, armed to the teeth in his cabin, on election night. OK maybe he wasn’t barricaded, but everyone seemed to be packin heat and expecting to be assaulted by crazy conservatives or the national guard.

I digress, Colorado. There’s a proposition on the table that I quite like. Prop. 36 Which reads like this:


    An initiated amendment to Article VII of the Colorado Constitution adding a new section requiring the proportional selection of presidential electors.

    ?Eliminates current system in which the presidential candidate receiving the most votes gets all of the state’s electoral votes.

    ?Apportions Colorado’s electoral votes based on the percentage of votes for each presidential candidate.

    ?Adds procedures and timelines to the state constitution for certifying election results and recounts, including the November 2004 presidential election.

I like this because it stops the winner-take-all stupidity. If half your state wants Ralph Nader, then 50% of your electoral votes go to him, instead of the usual everyone to one candidate, nevermind the huge percentage he didn’t vote for his ass. (cause its always a HE unfortunately)

During my house warming visit with Blonde But Bright yesterday, I noticed an article she had purposely left out for me in Time magazine. Those sons o’bitches at that centrist rag have been reading my blog! Instead of giving me credit for it, they went ahead and published a story which asks “Shouldn’t the whole world be able to vote in US elections.” Sound familiar? I mean, I believe in sharing, but you should give a brother some credit. I can’t for the life of me find the link, since their archive sucks so bad. Update later.

Today’s Sounds: Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks (thanks BBC Worldservice)