Tag Archives: india

Asian Life Versus North American Life

Somebody let me know if they’re holding a telethon on NBC or CBS or QVC or whatever. Drop me a line if every website and its mother has a banner to help the victims of the earthquake in Kashmir. Inform me if your preferred news station immediately flew Anderson Cooper or some other khaki-clad gumshoe to the scene and he got emotional about the world sending help. Cause honestly, I don’t think they’re doing it, and I will never stop finding the lack of value for human life in non western countries, by the wealthy western international community, disgusting.

Whats the toll in NOLA at… 1,000? Fugetaboutit… I see your grand and I raise you 30,000 minimum. Where the hell are all the dedicated movie stars and their money donations? Maybe they’re on the way, let me know.

PS — I bet the Pakistani and Indian military got there faster. If so, they should send instructors to the US to help teach the so-called emergency management experts.

Até logo Lisboa

Last night was my last night in Lisbon. For this vacation anyway. Like so many nights when I did live there, I took myself to dinner, chose a little table in the corner at my favorite Indian restaurant, and ate very slowly while listening to the cornocopia of conversations going on in the room.

Lisbon is such a strange town for me, on so many levels. I’ve never fit in because I’m a Luso-American, born into a Portuguese family in New Jersey. Though I tried for years to act the part, saying good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to every old person in my neighborhood. I guess I hoped they’d start to see me as one of them. But they never did and now more then ever, they still don’t.

But one thing has changed. My desire to gain their approval. I stopped giving a shit and realized who I am as a Portuguese person, does not depend on their judgement. Beyond that, I’ve come to realize, regardless of the little money and property I actually own, class and education seperate me from these people. They look at me, they hear my accent, they observe my strangely polite mannerisms, and they decide that I’m somehow wealthy. Or maybe, I look at them and I realize that somehow I exist in some completely seperate privledged class.

Maybe its none of these. Rather- it goes back to my own insecurities. Whatever the cause, I still love the old neighborhood in Lisbon. Lots of things have changed of course, since my days working there. I do so miss the group of friends from those days, I miss the little restaurants and pubs that have since changed name and ownership. But still, there are things that never change in wonderous Lisbon, and people who I love that are still there. Those are the people and things I will forever come back to visit.

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.

Who are the bloggers? 1

A while back I said I would start a series about blogs in my blogroll and why I have them there. A type of explanation as to what I like about bloggers in my neighborhood, because I feel they deserve not only more attention, but to know why I appreciate them so. This will be my first entry in the “Who are the Bloggers in your neighborhood” series. Each post will focus on two blogs starting from the top (alphabetical sort of) where it says “blogolas”.

First blogger on the list is Indiana’s own Mr Hugh of Three Bed Two Bath, a blog titled after an advert of the house he was buying or sold, can’t quite remember which. I also don’t remember exactly how I found 3B2B, but I do remember that in early 2004, when I kicked blogging into high gear, I took notice of this blogs honesty and writing that simply appealed to me. I later came to realize we don’t share similar politics, or views on many things, but I wasn’t looking for someone I agree with. I like this blog for its stories and simplicity. And I mean simplicity in the greatest sense of the term, a good guy with daughter #1 and #2 and the wife who occasionally guest blogs. While I may not read it with a fine tooth comb, I definitely browse it regularly, as I have for over a year now, and will continue to do so.

Second blogger on my list, and a true blog celebrity, is internationally celebrated The Accordian Guy, Joey Devilla. Funny thing, a case of one of those bloggers who I’ve never spoken with, but know much about his life. I enjoy the fact that he plays accordian, and I like following the course of his life, including his job with Tucows and his beautiful relationship-soon-to-be marriage with another blogger. Add to this the fact that the Accordian Guy lives in the greatest city in Canada, Accordian City (toronnnno), and there is little doubt why he’s immensely popular. He often posts audio and video specials for his readers, and my favorites are when he posts video of himself playing accordian in the middle of a street festival somewhere in Ontario. Most recently, Joey, being Philippino as well as Canadian, taught me all about those beautiful shirts – barongs. Even the title rocked “If Alternative Formalwear is Barong, I Don’t Want to be Ba-Right.” I definitely want to wear one around Amsterdam now.

So there you have it, the first two reviews of the Bloggers on my blogroll. Go forth.. browse.. read posts.. dig through archives. As I’ve said before, they get my seal of approval for a reason — they appeal to my tastes as a reader and a weirdo.

Today’s Sounds: Al Pacino is yelling in that movie City Hall

tags:,

Dig Deeper

On Tuesday nights, I seek television shows that will wisk me away to a fantasy world of witty humor, indie music, and tormented lovers. It used to be the O.C., but that’s gone, and my old standby is back EVERWOOD. Which sounds like a porno, but isn’t.

Nevermind that, this is actually going to be a serious post goddamit. So sit up in that chair, cause this is big stuff.

If you’ve been round the Communiqu? before, you know that bm is a big critic of media and government. Some might say I’m a cynic, but I prefer to call myself a wacko pinko watchdog. (in private) Because whenever I listen to a politician or consult the media after something tragic happens, they consistantly act like they just landed on earth and have no concept of history or society. I’m talking worldwide here, not just the US or Europe. A terrorist act is committed, they talk revenge. Someone is murdered, they talk severe punishment. Rarely to never, do they ask WHY and WHAT are the conditions in which this thing happenned.

So I’m following this story of the kid who shot classmates and himself on an indian reservation, and silly me, I’ve got this hope about the discussion that will follow. I skim the articles looking for anything about poverty, unemployment, depression, mental illness, alcoholism, or the history of how Native Americans have been treated for generations. And no matter how much I’ve skimmed the last few weeks, I can find barely a shred of such discussion. Lots of boring sad pictures of memorials and people crying. A little bla bla here and there about guns, schools, arrests, and whatever. Same old shit that got us here in the first place.

Chalk it up to another dropped ball. Another clue completely missed. And both a government and a national media who lack any kind of real analytical and investigative tradition. Who the hell votes and reads for these morons?

Course there is hope, besides blogs, there’s this.

Me, I read WRITEHARD.. cause he can tell a tale that keeps me on the edge of my seat.

And Jill/txt wrote one that hit home for me as she was fingerprinted at the gates of the promised land.

Today’s Sounds: Ray Charles – Ultimate Hits Collection (disc2)

BM versus Nucs

Hey… Adam Curry is talkin bout lil ol me on the SourceCode today… again. Thanks mon!

Disclaimer: I’m not a scientist, but I play one on the internet.

I hate nuclear energy. It’s over-rated, over-promoted, under-reported, and a general bummer for the earth. Yeah yeah yeah… tons of energy from a very small and potentially deadly scientific process. GREAT. Meanwhile there are missiles in every corner of the world loaded with this fun technology which can potentially murder everyone at once. And the US, Russian, Indian, PAkistani, Iranian, Israeli, French, UK, Chinese, N. Korean, etc. governments think they have the right to further develop this crap, cause despite the good chance everyone will die of some new cancer, they feel it’s worth it so we can charge our Ipods and they can make up for their penis envy. (missile envy since all of those governments are run by men)

And oh the waste. Lots of megawattage, but they have no clue where to put the waste. Tons and tons that will slowly kill us all or just maybe contaminate our drinkin water and kill us nice and secret-like. Some old rich white men in the US congress want to put it in the mountains of Nevada or somethin…. you can bet my friend Ashabot isn’t down with her mountains being a hiding place for nuclear death.

In France they just throw it on trains and stash it overground in small towns where local people are seemingly considered too dumb to actually kick up a big enough fuss. Little do they know we got some crazy and intelligent people ? la campagne!

It’s crazy crazy. Even if you’re up in beautiful Sweden you’re gettin milked for you kroners so these wonderful nuclear facilities can keep bringing you juice and shitting radiation.

I know.. I know.. we like the energy right? What do you know BM… bitchy little C-List blogger that I am. Asking for donations just to buy a powerbook, what makes me qualified to say if its right or not? –back off man… I’m an activist-journalist, this is what we do.

If I had my way.. we’d haul them all to court in the Hague… or in Rwanda.. doesn’t matter. I’d hire a lawyer-blogger to represent regular people, and all this governments and the nuc companies they bend over for, would face crimes against humanity charges.

oooh.. and much love to the Verbal Chameleon for the tip in the jar… a mac user herself I might add.

Today’s Sounds: Daily Source Code from Yesterday