bicyclemark74: East-West Ride and Earthquakes

Riding my bike across Amsterdam discussing the Earthquake, feedback I got, and the inspectors who worked in Iraq.

AudioCommunique #74(mp3)
24min+, 80kbps, 13Mb+

Discussed in this show:

Krizushka’s interviews
Andywho said podcast while on bike please
The fact that militaries are poorly trained for humanitarian emergencies
I race Tram10
UN inspectors and the great interview I heard today
The CIA is one giant failure – close it down.
Radio Nation
Mikeypod on the Bayou
Casual Arts Podcast

Music:

Something off the Motorcycle Diaries soundtrack
Bright eyes – I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning

Flashback to my Hairline Alert

I’m sleepy and I wrote fun things a year ago, so let me take you back to Oct. 12th 2004 – cue the music:

I’ve appointed a personal independent counsel to observe hairline security. I suspect there is serious receding going on, but I’m reluctant to declare the onset of balding. Jimmy Carter and his team will be helicoptering in later to assess the situation.

For the first time ever, I met an online friend/a blogger I read – in person. Lilia Efimova aka Mathemagenic, rolled into Amsterdam from Pisa yesterday evening, and we immersed ourselves in Tibetan joy. They had the best tea of all time that I swear had dinosaur eggs in it. Rawr.

While sometimes you might meet an online friend in person and somehow you might not get on well, hardly the case with Lilia. Not only did we talk about bloggers and blogs that fascinate us, but we also let our nerdlyness hang out she shared the joy of her tablet pc with me. Tablet pc… that thing was sweet as sweet can be. I once thought they were some silly microsoft idea, the spruce-moose of computers, but NEE. This little puppy was sweet, portable, and downright sexy(if machines “do it” for you). I was initially worried that she would not want to talk about blogs because so much of her worktime is spent doing so, but no sir e, she was happy to shoot the shit about her adventures with Scandinavian bloggers in Sussex and her work related to knowledge management (km).

Overall, the dinner and blogwalk gave me a renewed sense of what I’m doing, why I do it, and that I’m not a complete freak. Well.. a partial one, but certainly not alone. Nevertheless, I know that I definitely want to pursue post grad studies in this realm, not to mention teach the people – spread the word.

Part of the conversation yesterday involved relationships between bloggers and readers, especially between individuals that are traditionally isolated from each other. As I read through Morgan Spurlock‘s blog this morning, I recognized that very situation. His documentary, Supersize Me, continues to float around the world, and has started appearing in schools across the US. But that’s not what gets me, what gets me is that Morgan is the director, not to mention the star, yet he blogs for all to read about how things are going with the film and his own daily life. He also includes his adventures, hopes, worries, trials and tribulations. Not everyone might see his blog the way I do, but you have to admit, its a far cry from a time where documentaries or any film is made and we as an audience have zero interaction with the director and understand nothing of who he/she is, besides the DVD extras which also changed film watching quite a bit. Anyway this idea of directors or authors or journalists blogging presents an interesting new arena connecting people, to some extent, who in the past would never have been connected. What do I sound like I’m preaching? In that case, pass the collection plate around.

And lest I forget= Happy Anniversary Soweto, place that gave us Mandela, Tutu, and countless others who fought and suffered for a better future. I might go out and buy Cry Freedom just to get more into the occasion.

Today’s Sounds: Iron & Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days

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.

bicyclemark73: Individualism, Public Relations, and Politics Part 2

This is part 2 in my miniseries on how Public Relations, inspired by theories of Freud and other social theorists, manipulate the public for the benefit of business and government.

AudioCommunique #73(mp3)
30min+, 80kbps, 17Mb+

Once again I follow the audio from Adam Curtis’s Century of the Self documentary, which is now available for download on archive.org.

The discussion gets into:
A response to comments on part 1
The challenge to Freud’s theory of the unstable self
Wilhelm Reich’s theories and an except from “Listen Little Man”
Marcuse and the student movement against brainwashing
The mass appeal of individualism and improving yourself
Business’s attempt to galvanize the individualist movement
How politcs borrowed these techniques with the Reagan, Clinton II and Blair campaign.
The result of all this manipulation on democracy

Music:
Sweet Honey in the Rock – Your Children
Dresden Dolls – Bank of Boston Beauty Queen
etc. etc.

Amstel Heaven


Yet another endearing Amsterdam factoid – you’re never more than 30 minutes from total nature. And by total nature I mean lush green fields, old men fishing, stinky fat sheep, and endless bike trails without petrol powered monsters.

I’m involved in a top secret internet related project in a town called Ouderkerk on the Amstel (pictured). All I have to do is ride south along the Amstel river, for about 45 minutes, and I see the cityscape turn into farmscape. In the blink of an eye its cow paddies everywhere. Hell, even that repulsive smell is charming; I kind of lose myself in a blend of nature and podcasts as a cruise down there on my two-wheeled grey goose.

Occasionally you run into tourists on those open roads. I act like I don’t see them, because that’s part of my snobbish – Im a local – attitude Im working on.

A Peruvian Trap

You know how it goes when you’re a world citizen blogger. One day you’re talking about Poland, then Frisbee in Amsterdam, and before you know it, it’s time to talk Turkey. Or as we say in Portuguese “Peru” .

Not sure how much you know or the world’s media tells you, about Peruvian history and politics, but myself – I’ve been watching the events unfold for the last 6 years with great frustration. Let me catch you up:

From 1990 to 2000 there was a most terrible president by the name of Alberto Fujimori. A tyrant and dictator who used all kinds of violence and secret tactics to maintain power and oppress oppositional groups. But fortunately in 2000 his ass got chased out of Peru and back to Japan (where he is also a citizen). The country slowly started a process of investigating the crimes of the Fujimori administration, eventually arresting one of the major murderous assholes- Vladimiro Montesinos, who was the head of the secret police during that time, and was also very talented at profiting from drug smuggling. Unfortunately they still haven’t gotten their hands on Fujimori, because Japan refuses to hand him over.

So now there are elections coming up, and Fujimori – even while hiding in Japan – says he will run for president again. And having heard about this, I have a plan for Peru:

Being that it is necessary to deal with the past in order to face the future. And being that Alberto is responsible for a whole lot of human rights violations during his time as el presidente, I say he must be captured – in a clever way. Therefore – I say tell him he is running for president. Tell the whole country to “make pretend” .. and then pretend he wins.. and when he arrives at the airport with that smug “I killed lots of you the first time and youre stupid enough to elect me again” look on his face, ARREST HIM! YAY! Then comes the trial and people can throw tomatos and poof.. national reconciliation mixed with justice and even a bit of fun!