Meet the Neighbors #2

I had written this post and it was good, but Firefox on Mac is giving me troubles. I know! I didn’t believe either. Nevermind that, it’s time for the second installment of the series where I go down my blogroll and talk about people I’ve linked and why.

So we begin today with And Then, better known as Sylkk. Now let’s be honest friends, Florida hasn’t always been our most beloved state over the years. However they can be quite proud for bringing us this open-minded and kind-hearted blogger. I know about Sylkk because she was linked by mr TheStateImIn himself, which for me is always a good indicator of quality. Her writings about life, love, work, and play are for me always an oasis of warmth. I don’t comment as often as I’d like to, but at the very least I can say it here — I like this blog and the person behind it. Plus, I can remember the first time I saw her photo on buzznet, and it only confirmed how beautiful she is. (remember this isn’t creepy, its just a non-creepy compliment)

Moving down the list, we come to formerly Staten Island’s.. now Philadelphia’s own Being Christine. I met her through myspace, one of the better online communities out there. Last yearI was lucky enough to meet her at Newark Airport and she drove me to the Bicyclemark Family Headquarters. C writes about working as a social worker in crazy Philly, family, relationships, and her own well-being. There’s always that special place you keep for bloggers you’ve met in real life… isn’t there?

And well, there you have it, two more of my blog neighbors. See you next time~

I remember Rwanda

I just finished watching Hotel Rwanda. I just finished watching Hotel Rwanda. I just….


People don’t tend to blog about Rwanda do they? I myself find it hard to reconcile the fact that I want so badly to write pages about Rwanda, and yet I want to simply bow my head in shame and say nothing because any attempt to say something noble would be completely useless and insulting.

I am ashamed Rwanda. I am a European-American… and when I look at you I feel such grief and shame. And yet… when your country experienced such horror. When neighbors killed neighbors. When 1 million corpses of 1 million humans were left to rot in the streets of Kigali, I committed a far more diabolical crime. Just like the journalist in the movie said, I sat home, watched it on TV, thought to myself — That’s Horrible — and then I went back to my daily routine. While I may have been quite young, my western life simply didn’t leave me the time or the will, apparently, to organize a movement demanding that the international community intervene and stop the genocide. Oh yes, it could most definitely have been stopped, but who had time for that… there was Monday Night Football to be watched.

It is often said that we who live in the rich countries of the world are lucky. We have the “great fortune” they say, “to have such a high standard of living.” But I don’t feel lucky. I look at my hands, and at the hands of all our governments, and all I can see is blood. All I can feel is shame and horror. A good international lawyer could and should probably make such a case, take all the governments of the world, and the people which support them through vote or taxes, and charge them with war crimes. What crime? Watching millions die when we had the power to stop it, and then simply continuing to eat our dinners.

AudioCommunique#30 – Fellow Podcasters

This was supposed to be a organized and passionate rant. Instead I fizzled out by the end of the day, started listening to lots of Utah Phillips labor stories, and voila this podcast. I’ll try and better articulate my thoughts next time. Also there’s soundseeing; Brief photoshow on Flickr, just change when you here the bell.

AudioCommunique #30(mp3)

27min+, 64kbps, 12Mb+


Featuring:

Tribute to May Day
Utah Phillips
Adagio for Strings
Response to Podshow Announcement
Queen’s day in Amsterdam with the Mindcaster

City with a Soul

You’ll catch alot of posts out there about Queen’s day. Some writers will talk about the parties, some will talk about the craziness, and others will just talk. I’ve seen alot of national celebrations in my travels; Carnival in Venice, Popular Saints in Lisbon, New Years in Manhattan… all very big and crazy. But none, I repeat- none, has the vibe and the sillyness of Queen’s day in Amsterdam.

To support my case, you need only look to the children. Beneath all the drunkedness, and the techno-crap music blasting from the floating parties, there are in fact many little people who I believe are the backbone of the REAL Queen’s day.

They sing for money…. they sing well.. they sing badly, they sing. They juggle, they drum, or they do that devil stick thing. They make bands and plug in amplifyers to be alterna-rock-jazz stars for the day. They play violin, fife, trumpet, you name it…. give them some change if you like it, or maybe in hopes that they’ll stop. While they are little and an often ignored minority, my theory is that they are the soul of this holiday. They set the pace, the relaxed, silly, friendly, childish spirit that we so often loose along the journey of life.

For my part I had the pleasure of a boatride, city walk, and on the street danceclub with my buddy the Mindcaster. While we took plenty of photos and recorded lots of audio, I must urge you all to go beyond this level of experiencing second hand. Whatever that place you love hearing about, whether its Amsterdam or Rio de Janeiro, you must experience these things first hand. So save those pennies, book the trip, and experience. – Then blog about it, cause it’s fun to read about.

Tomorrow’s podcast will have more on this, and you’ll hear me declare war on something which is brewing in podcast land..

Our Store

I can smell the stench of old beer and urine already, it is Queen’s Night here in Amsterdam, the eve of one of the messiest, nuttiest, look-i’m-wearing-my-orange-shirt days of the year. But let’s leave that for tomorrow, today I’m telling a story from my childhood:

Growing up in Newark, my parents had a store in the Ironbound (Portuguese section). As far as I can remember, this store sold – generally speaking- Portuguese things. I remember records, shirts, table cloths, and oddly enough- large virgin mary statues. The store was called Voz de Portugal (voice of portugal) and everyday afterschool that’s where I would be, in the back room watching cartoons and building McGuyver like objects out of the spare radio parts I found. Oh yeah, we had a homemade recording studio in the back where we would record a weekly radio show for the Portuguese Community.

The one thing I remember about this store, was that it really wasn’t about selling things. It was a front. Not for drug running or money laundering – oh no… it was a community center. I remember everyday the same old men and women would come in looking for my mom or dad, always toting letters in English that they just couldn’t understand. Tax forms, green card renewals, letters from that dam phone company – they brought them all for my parents to transcribe. Often times the regulars wouldn’t bring any letters at all, they would simply bring the problems of the day. Or maybe some gossip from the neighborhood.

While at the time I didn’t think anything of it, and just kept doing my McGuyver thing, looking back, I still carry the lessons I learned then. Like my parents, I too specialize in helping random fish at the fishtank with their life problems. Even if I’ve got tons of things to do, I still put it aside, and help the frustrated international student understand the letter from Canal+ or the foreign police. Only one difference of course, after they leave, in my mind, I’m completely fed up with this inability to say NO.

I digress, the Voice of Portugal was an amazing place to grow up.

Oh and rumor has it BlondeButBright‘s blog is all the talk in Minnesota.

AudioCommunique#29-Interview with a Famous Lesbian

I have tons of catching up to do with podcasting, still lots more to share with you, and much to learn when it comes to audio editing on a MAC. But I did this whole show in garageband (nerd talk) and it works fine. I had a fun time interviewing the internets’ own Madge Weinstein during my lunch break yesterday, so this one runs half an hour just to keep the interview somewhat in tact.

AudioCommunique #29(mp3)

31min+, 64kbps, 14Mb+

Featuring: