When I Was French

Between the now successful move to a new host, busy days at the fishtank complete with overtime (easy thing for the part time king), and the arrival of my love – my powerbook g4, I haven’t been blogging properly. Take one of these and call me in the mornin, I should be telling you. I’ll get to the thank you’s and the Powerbook Porno shots tomorrow, today I wanted to tell you bout how my present and my past are linked.

One of the French fishes at the tank decided for all my hard work and all the bla bla bla I have to endure from international students, I deserved to have dinner cooked for me. And she decided she’d do the cooking, and baking I might add! And so I made the trek to that suburb that -I vow- I will never live in. because it’s just NOT Amsterdam when its that far away, and sat down to a meal full of reminiscing.

This because she’s from Marseille, and I studied just outside that city, in Aix-en-Provence, Southern France. But that was a whole 5 years ago, back when every weekend you’d find BM in a different country and I was heartbroken about some feminina back in Jersey. Aix was a ritzy city with cushy programs for foreigners like myself. School shacked me up with a lovely yet quirky madame, probably because we were both veggies or because I myself am quirky.

But I digress, this is about my meal and the conversations about Marseille. We talked and talked. I still remember the street names and the different neighborhoods, 5 years and I still know what goes on all around the Vieux Port. She spoke of the towns we used to invade for the day; St. Tropez, Cassis, and even the poshy-posh Cannes. Some of my memories of those places have spilled over into each other. St. Paul de Vence tastes alot like Grasse. Antibes smells like St. Tropez. Sloppy memory, making a mess.

She had even cooked a few familiar dishes, a very provincial salad, a gateaux, and that cheesebread that I forget the name of. For shame, I’m forgetting names. But one thing for sure, I’m not forgetting that dark city. The mountains of Couscous, the fleet of ships, the Gateway where France meets the wondrous realms of North Africa and the Middle East. Snobs in Aix used to say “Marseille, ce n’est pas la France.” Ah non? I used to respond, well that not-France city over there, overflowing with culture and history, I absolutely love it!

I also met the Mindcaster today. More proof that if you get along online, you’ll have just as many laughs and things to talk about in real life. More on those great conversations in the next podcast.

Today’s Sounds: If I lean in close, I still cant hear I peep from the New Powerbook

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AudioCommunique Portuguese Special #1

This podcast is in Portuguese. But I hope you’ll give it a listen even if you don’t speak Porutugese. Listen to the sounds of a language maybe you don’t hear too often, even if I do have one of those Portuguese-American accents. This was basically an intro and explanation as to why I did it in Portuguese. (cause I wanted to!)

AudioCommunique Portuguese Special #1 (mp3)

15min+, 64kbps, 7.2Mb

Este Programa:

  • MFA no 25 de abril
  • O meu amigo Waldemar Bastos
  • Comprimentos para todo mundo
  • Os Portugueses de Amsterd?o
  • Sakamoto e Jobim-Morelenbaum
  • Skype em Portug?es
  • Os Humanos

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Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Weezy, We Movin on Up

Dear readers, romans, and internauts:


Today I have decided to move hosts, from Hostica in California, to a cool top-secret host in NYC. What can I say, I’m an east coast boy. This is just the beginning of some cool changes here at the Communiqu?. You might even like some of them. (bye hostica, thanks for the memories)

So if this shit goes down… keep in mind… it’s coming back up ASAP.

Meantime read Jamie… Jamie is a very good person.

Today’s Sounds: Other keyboards in the fishtank

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Bad Japan

Had a great first day as a podcast consultant for the magazine. Won’t say much more about it, cept that I thought alcohol flowed at the fishtank, at this place they drink in style- starting after lunch.

We got bigger fish to fry; today’s issue is the world. More specifically – I’m pissed off at the Japanese government. Few other nations, but Japan most of all, for this all-out effort to get a permanent seat in the UN security council.

Some of you may need a backgrounder. If you’re really against doing your own research, basically the UN-SC has five permanent seats held by the winning powers of WorldWar II. Recipe for disaster right from the beginning, a group of countries “win” a war and decide the world’s organization for peace and security should be run THEIR WAY. So the US, UK, France, Russia, and China are the only nations in the whole world that have permanent seats, as well as VETO power. 5 nations. Out of the entire world. Oh yeah there are 10 other rotating seats, whenever the music stops – isn’t that cute?

So I’m angry with Japan, and let me not forget Germany, because these two countries are licking all kinds of boots and trying oh so hard to create a new permanent seat for themselves. Japan and Germany, two nations that I normally look to for wisdom and experience, as they have been through it all historically, fighting to be a part of a flawed and unrepresentative body. Instead of demanding change or reform, instead of setting a global example, they just want a piece of the action. – LAME.

If this somehow doesn’t interest you, here’s a movie I think I helped develop, by that famous director xTx.

And if video doesn’t tickle your fancy, maybe motorcycles do and you can listen to DucSloerie ride his Ducati somewhere near Amsterdam.

Today’s Sounds: Fugazi – End Hits

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Guests and Contacts

One of my favorite co-workers saw me today and asked “Are you down in the fishtank today?” And as a reflex answer I said — “yeah all day.” And as I walked away, I thought to myself — wha? fishtank… only my blog readers call it … that…

Anyway, have you looked in your email address book lately? It can be mindblowing how many people you know. Especially if you’re a very social, active, and wired blogger/podcaster. Also doesn’t help if you hop countries a few times, more friends in random places. I’m looking at my Gmail contacts, guess how many I’ve got (after sorting through and deleting those I don’t actually know anymore): 426! 426 people I am at least an acquaintance of. As I look over all their names, I see a great mix of people from my past and present, former roommates, classmates, workmates, professors, bosses, family, internet friends, bloggers, podcasters, and random important people that I correspond with occasionally. I’m both horrified and pleased with myself, for liking so many people and hoping to keep some kind of contact with them.

Speaking of contacts and old friends, I sent a mass email to lots of them today, and I can already see the influx of visitors to the blog; welcome here friends of b-mark, be not afraid, blogging isn’t a sickness and people are usually quite friendly. Be daring, leave a comment!

Towards the end of the week, my best friend, heterosexual-life-partner and DC resident extraordinaire – D-Rock, will be guestblogging on the Communiqu?. There’s no telling what the man will be discussing, but you can bet it will involve monkeys – chimps more specifically. Just because.

Oh, and staying on the DC topic, Ms Thingk 2.0 is a hot blog, and her photos make me want to live in the district. (just a lil)

Today’s Sounds: 3Canal – tracks from Caribbean Free Radio

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