bicyclemark

Technical Note

Just a little update regarding what is going on with the site and little things you may find useful or of interest:

On the menu furthest to the right you have feeds which you can and should subscribe to; feed for everything, a feed for those who only want audio, video, and even those who want to read latest comments in their RSS reader. What RSS reader do I recommend lately? Google Reader. In the past I’ve also recommended Bloglines which I still think is a fine choice. Using an RSS reader is not difficult and will actually take care of that problem that has been nagging you – “how can I possibly keep up with the blogs that I like, I have no time”. I read 90% of my news, blogs, comments, weather, torrents, you name it… using feeds in my google reader.

Also, although I thought it pointless in the beginning, twitter certainly has SOME usefulness. My twitter account, which basically is an occasional update of what Im doing, where I’m going, and what issues I’m working on, is open to the public. So if you feel that citizenreporter.org has lost some of the personal details of what bicyclemark is up to, you could follow me on twitter or subscribe to my twitter RSS. But beware, twitter can be choc full of useless mundane statements.

Lastly today, especially for those of you who meet with me in different cities and countries, or who like knowing where I’m going next, dopplr has become my preferred method for informing friends about my trips. As you can see on the menu immediately to the right, there is a dopplr box that shows my next few trips. If you login to dopplr you can share trips with me and vice-versa.

This concludes the technical updates which I felt might be of interest.

One Day More

Regularly scheduled citizen reporting will resume tomorrow.

After two months with no internet at home, the corrupt and incompetent phone company is coming to my house to check the wiring. That combined with the fact that tomorrow is the Drag Queen Olympics, means that we can finally expect my work flo to return to normal and lots of interesting topics to discuss. Not to mention, who will win the Stiletto Sprint this year?

Questions About Soy

Among the more typical responses if I ever mention that I’m a vegetarian, is the inevitable question of why. Normally I entertain the question, though I’m usually thinking of how unfair it is to get this question since I never ask non vegetarians why they are what they are.

Frequently I refer to how cattle are raised, the hormones, the odd practice of feeding dead animal parts to animals which eventually led to foot and mouth, and that sort of thing. The more combative people will respond with the “don’t you worry about how your plants are being raised, what goes into your vegetables?” To which I normally respond, “Yes. I worry.”

I’ve just begun to look more closely at the soy industry, as I’m a drinker of Soy Milk, and there is often soy in some of my meals as well as the soy pudding I enjoy eating every now and then. No doubt an astute smarty-pants reader of my blog will leave a long comment about the horrors of soy farming. Let me try to mention some of that to save him/her the trouble:

In places such as Paraguay, soy expansion has had a negative impact on water, the environment in general, and the way of life of many small farmers. In Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso for example, the booming soy industry had led to the clearing of more and more rain forest.

I realize this might only be the tip of the iceberg. But at the same time, this does not summarize what soy means to the world, because I want to hear about the good it can do, and especially the realm of sustainable soy cultivation.

I recently found an organization based here in Amsterdam, “A Seed”, who specialize in reporting on this issue and can also explain how things work with sustainable soy. I’m in contact with them and an interview for the podcast will be coming soon. Lets see what I learn.

bmtv83 Lisbon 1974

The 25 of April is a very special day. As per tradition, here’s a video blog entry paying tribute to 25 de Abril in Portugal.

Perspectives on China

During my time in Portugal I was of course constantly accompanied by my podcasts. Among the programs that I found fairly interesting, On Point Radio was doing their program from Shanghai for a week. At a time where I’m fairly disgusted and often confused about what China is doing to its people and the world, it was of particular interest to hear Tom Ashbrook interviewing various Chinese guests on the topic of the Environment in Crisis and China, Dissent in China, and even China at the Movies.

I imagine many of you also have questions and a desire to better understand what is happening. Questions like, is a boycott the right move or not, and is the situation in China as terrible as it often seems.. etc etc. After listening to these shows I can say, though I may not have the answers, I definitely have a better idea.

With any luck, one day I too can be like Tom and go on my own to someplace in China (Macau for me, in honor of my Portugueseness) and to my own series of podcasts about life and society in China.

Yesterday’s Butchers Today

Part of coming to Portugal and visiting my grandparents means taking them to a supermarket. With my help they can pick up all the supplies they need to last them a month or more, that way they don’t have to ask help from friends or neighbors.

Living in a tiny town in what I like to call the middle of nowhere, we tend to go to the nearby bigger town to frequent their supermarkets. In the last decade the amount of supermarkets has mushroomed from 1 to as many as 4 or 5.

As I push the cart down the aisles, and my grandparents struggle to take a good look at the type of meats behind the meat counter, I take a few minutes to watch the people behind the counter.

Sharpening his blade, I watch a gentleman who must be in his late 60’s, joking with one of the other employees behind the meat counter. His white coat full of blood stains, I noticed the ease and skill with which he does his work. It became clear that this man had been a butcher for most of his adult life. Yet the supermarket has only been there for 6 or 7 years, so where was he a butcher before?

My mind continued to wander, 7 years ago… hell.. 14 years ago.. he was probably a butcher in a local butcher shop, now long since closed down. As I glanced at the back of the store, I watched the fish lady tending to customers ordering fish. Here again was someone who knew her job well, and before the days of the supermarket, had surely done her job in a local fish market, many of which have been scaled down or simply closed.

Both the fish lady and the meat man seemed to be doing ok on the job, here at the big supermarket. I could speculate that their wage is probably pretty small and the amount of rules and regulations they’re subject to, would have to be greater. But the question that kept coming back to be is this: Are they better off? Are we better off as a community and a society, with this brave new world where our local shops and specialties are replaced. From the wages to the working conditions to the human connection of feeling like your job is valued and valuing your work, is this new way sustainable?

As we collected our things and made our way out of the shop, I took one more look at the butcher. He was explaining to a younger kid how to properly chop some kind of meat. I wondered about what his job used to be like… the changes he’s seen.. the life he leads.