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.

bm260 The Other Side of the Filesharing Debate

Following the recent podcast on licences, filesharing, and the pirate bay, I received alot of strong feedback with both opinions that were similar and also very different from those that Peter brought forth.  This podcast features musician and podcaster Michael Harren aka Mikeypod, who talks about things like licenses and artist rights according to his experience and opinions.

We Discuss:

  • Creative Commons
  • The Artist’s Choice and Empowerment
  • Money, making it, deserving it, expecting it
  • Filesharing in terms of music
  • Arists Using CC

 

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.