Citizen Reporter

Ice Cream Princess

There was that day where I was crossing the Nieuwendijk chatting away with Mathemagenic, upon our first (of many I predict) offline meeting. Speeding by on her bike was the heiress to the Chilly Philly Ice Cream company. I didn’t realize she was still in the dam, apparently on her own self-imposed exile. I shouted “hello” and kept right on walking, engrossed in good conversation.

Sure enough last night I get an email from the heiress that basically says:

“Hey BM, glad to see you’re still bopping around Amsterdam. I was wondering if you already voted, I’m sure you have, but if not, I happen to have an extra federal ballot, and it could be yours if you want.”

Now, it has been documented that this year I just couldn’t get my absentee ballot in gear since I despise both alleged candidates, but still, I admit to being disappointed with missing the local races. Especially since I’m obsessed with looking at different states’ absentee ballots. So I told the heiress that I would like it, but to be forewarned, I’ll likely vote green and not for her boy JFK. She replied expressing her disappointment, stating that this election was really important. DAM RIGHT, I thought, it’s important I vote for the party or candidate who best represents my ass. And not for the horse I think is going to win the race. But to her credit she is still bringing me the ballot – a federal one, I’ve never heard of such a thing? Credit this fine city and it’s great people, all I did was walk down the street and say hi, and the daughter of alternative ice cream moguls reached out a helping hand.

(PS – If you’re in Philly, tell me if their shit is any good, go to any of these places)

Now, they say Indonesia has a corruption problem. If they’d only add me to the payroll, I might not blog about it. But alas, Wahid didn’t pay me, and neither did Megawati after him. But I was charmed by her long family tradition of politicing and ruling over the world’s largest Muslim democracy. (though we should all know its much more than only Muslim.) Still it’s an impressive thing from where I sit, how smoothly and often Indonesians change presidents thru elections. So welcome Mr. Yudhoyono, now its your turn. Take note Tony Blair, you three term whore.

There are a whole lot of bloggers writing about colored sox today. Especially those who normally write about baby bears.

Today’s Sounds: Outlook on the BBC worldservice – Running Around St. Petersburg with Returning White Russians

Get me to Buenos Aires

As much as I can complain about being a part-time human at the U of A, I sometimes forget that there are perks to workin my gig. No not a whopping salary, my corner desk or the free hot chocolate til I burst, or the lovely exchange students that come and go. One of the best perks are the fieldtrips. I can’t remember another job that had official field trips, except maybe at the Voice where my fieldtrips consisted of knocking on mobsters’ doors, asking questions about their bankruptcies, and then hoping they won’t shoot me as I walk back to my Plymouth. No, the international school takes us out! Wines and dines us, puts us in odd situations. And yesterday was a classic:

meet in a loft in the heart of Amsterdam, dress like fools (my usual), and start painting while champaign and wine make the rounds. And by Vishnu.. did we PAINT.

Of course there will still be downsizing. Or office gossip. Or the occasional falling out. But at least yesterday, for the whole day, it felt good to be an employee. Even if I don’t make enough to afford Richard Bona tickets when he plays Paradiso.

All signs tell me I need to go to Buenos Aires! Yes. It has been announced that Nestor and his government were voted “least corrupt” in 20 years. Of course they only asked business execs, who themselves are probably the most corrupt in 40 years. Still, a poll’s a poll. They even called Menem the most corrupt of all time, which is nice for a guy who’s exiled in Chil?. Yet this isn’t why I need to go, I need to go to check out the Mat? exhibition at the Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo. I wonder if they give tips, I’ve started using mint AND ginger in my mat?. Ernesto Guevara would be proud, this being the month of the anniversary of his death. A fine time to go see the Motorcycle Diaries, if it ever gets here. I’ve watched the previews over and over, and I’m excited. I’ve read the diary, I’ve read Patrick Symme’s version when he followed the path in 1999, I’m ready for the film, and then I’ll take the journey myself!

In other news, the PM of Lebanon resigned, and YES the Torontonienne got a photoblog. Plug for myself- I sometimes appear in the photos! She stole my soul with her photographic device.

Today’s Sounds: Talib Kweli – Quality (Brooklyn’s own)

Partisan Hackery

I’ve been meaning to talk about the CIA documents on China which have been released, what the Dalai Lama said, and the evolving situation in Sudan. But I keep getting stuck on American elections stories. Perhaps it’s the Financial Times that included a one page collection of articles about all the flaws and irregularities of the voting system in the US. Or perhaps it’s the Dutch public television news program NOVA, that in the last weeks broadcasting from NYC, have had two of my favorites, Sy Hersh and Lewis Black, talking about the election. That Dutch host does a nice job, by the way. I still get impressed with the way he hosts the show in Dutch but conducts long interviews in English, and as far as I remember, it’s not even subtitled. I mean, I could do the same, but I like how he does it.

So today I take you to Colorado. I state I’ve never been to, and I really don’t know what I think of it. The only moment where I ever thought cool + Colorado was when Hunter S. ran for mayor of Aspen and barricaded himself, armed to the teeth in his cabin, on election night. OK maybe he wasn’t barricaded, but everyone seemed to be packin heat and expecting to be assaulted by crazy conservatives or the national guard.

I digress, Colorado. There’s a proposition on the table that I quite like. Prop. 36 Which reads like this:

?Apportions Colorado’s electoral votes based on the percentage of votes for each presidential candidate.

?Adds procedures and timelines to the state constitution for certifying election results and recounts, including the November 2004 presidential election.

I like this because it stops the winner-take-all stupidity. If half your state wants Ralph Nader, then 50% of your electoral votes go to him, instead of the usual everyone to one candidate, nevermind the huge percentage he didn’t vote for his ass. (cause its always a HE unfortunately)

During my house warming visit with Blonde But Bright yesterday, I noticed an article she had purposely left out for me in Time magazine. Those sons o’bitches at that centrist rag have been reading my blog! Instead of giving me credit for it, they went ahead and published a story which asks “Shouldn’t the whole world be able to vote in US elections.” Sound familiar? I mean, I believe in sharing, but you should give a brother some credit. I can’t for the life of me find the link, since their archive sucks so bad. Update later.

Today’s Sounds: Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks (thanks BBC Worldservice)

Blogstars

As I mentioned last week, sometimes bloggers go silent or missing. Often times they are amongst my favorites. This morning I found myself reading about the disastrous situation in Iraq and scrolling through my bloglines, I wondered how Chris Missick is doing. Since announcing he’d be moving to a new camp, A Line in the Sand has been silent for some weeks now, nothing but those comments from people who are constantly talking about “praying for him.” What an odd link, I often think, between being a soldier and praying alot. Would some supreme being really support the idea of its creations destroying each other? Doubtful. But that’s not my point, the point is, I miss his writing and I do worry about him.

Then there are the other reasons people also disappear – health. Sure enough, I mention his great post yesterday, and now TPB, Esq. is going on the DL (disabled list) to have some exploratory surgery on his back. He doesn’t trust doctors. I wouldn’t trust anyone who says they’re going to use a knife to explore parts of my body. TPB was one of the first blogs I ever really got into. I remember the post that converted me, he went to some blog convention and wrote about it with a gonzo-journalist style that reminded me of Hunter S. – Ho-Hum. Anyway, there goes another blogger than I’m worried about and will be missed until he makes a triumphant return.

It must seem odd, for some, to hear (or believe) that while I ride my bike through rainy Amsterdam streets, I actually think of or worry about other bloggers – who I’ve never met in person. But I guess it’s not for everyone to understand, unless you’ve lived it – like so many of us in the sphere.

Putting the finishing touches on my course outline for a Weblogging related course I’m pitching to the U of Amsterdam, and I added Salam Pax’s book/blog to the reading list. I had almost forgotten he had made his blog posts into a book entitled: “Salam Pax: The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi.” The amazon review calls him the Anne Frank of this century. At first my reaction is — slow down there buddy. But then again, maybe it is something like that. Still, Where is Raed? is one of those blogs which I wish didn’t have to die. I’m almost bitter at Salam, because he did his thing, got famous and then went on to do other things with his life. (bigger and better perhaps) The Torontonienne says maybe that’s how it works, at some point you don’t blog anymore, you start doing other things related to your experience; teaching, writing, crusading. Perhaps she is right, only time will tell.

Today’s Sounds: Jon Stewart on Crossfire (Its fun to replay)

Brain is Fogged Up

You ever wake up and feel unfunny? No? Well that’s what happened to me this morning. I have this cloud over me, an unfunny cloud. The only human who had to actually deal with that today was allstar- guestblogger the Torontonienne, who’s post I enjoyed and admittedly read over and over. Something about having a guest on my blog, it’s exciting, like having a guest at my place, only minus the Mat?. Or maybe I have some kind of fetish for Canadian theme towns? Whatever it is, I can promise you it’s not the last you see of that lovely Urban Planologist on this here blog.

Cute nephew alert! Credit my brother, Mr Foggy Recollection, for this photo, and credit both he and his wife for making one beautiful great pumpkin. After seeing this photo, I take comfort in the fact that I have purchased a round trip ticket to Jersey, with a 2 day stop in Lisbon of course! As if family and friends weren’t enough, there are great posts like Jamie’s latest on cranberries, or TPB at the meadowlands tattoo Convention, both of those make me miss my wacky garden state.

I swung by the Crazy Dr. M boat last night to polish off a bottle while discussing the finer points of computers, musicals, relationships (gasp), and blogging. Actually I become obsessed with the stack of voting guidebooks he had from his homestate of California, county, and city (San Diego, why not give it all away). I was shocked and impressed by the amount of information they load you up with as an absentee voter. Nevermind listing the candidates in nice neat lists, they have an mammoth list of propositions and then one whopper of a referendum on requiring small and medium businesses to provide health insurance to employees. BUT WAIT, don’t fall asleep yet – there’s more. They also list the pros and cons, drafted by legal experts, and then below- a list of who supports the yes or no vote. For example, on proposition 69 which seeks to limit the amount of clowns allowed in a clown car, Homey the Clown, president of the Ex-Con Clown Association of America, would be listed being against. While John M. Safety, president of the save drivers club, would be listed as for. Ok I confess, that example is real, California is a weird state. Point is, I thought it was an interesting way to approach the vote. I think other states might be quite different.

Crazy Dr. M showed me his sealed ballot, and he confessed to not having voted for Leonard Peltier and the Peace and Freedom party. I disagree with his decision, Peltier is one of my most favorite political prisoners of all time, and gets my vote for pres this year. He was nominated from prison, and I should also point out – has been recognized as a Political Prisoner by the UNHCR, Amnesty, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and the European Parliament, to name a few. If anyone knows about what is a political prisoner, and then being president, surely Mandela does. Oh man, now I’m remembering that Chapelle Show skit- Mandela Bootcamp.

Today’s Sounds: Magnetic Fields (It’s all her fault!)

“The Petrolienne” ?

Althought the name bicyclemark gave me, the Torontonienne, is not a misnomer (I lived in Toronto for the past 7 years, and it is a home to me), my real roots stem from a town called Petrolia. And as bicyclemark heard this morning, this tiny (one stop light) town was the first town in North American to discover oil (hence the lovely name). The interesting thing is, that it wasnt until I was old enough to have traveled to several other areas, and reflect upon my hometown, that I realized I grew up in a THEME TOWN! (of sorts).

Some of the oil-theme features include:

street lights shaped like oil derricks; the following street names: Oil Street, Tank Street, Eureka Street (where they first struck the black gold, Eureka!!); a town mascot named Derrick the Oil Derrick (oh the cheese); one of 4 restaurants is named the Oil Rig; the bar the Pump House; oil-related tourism of course … and I m sure there are more.

Perhaps the touted Disneyfication/ Cultural Commodification phenomena that is talked about so much right now in urban studies is somehow related. Was the formal branding of Oil Town an economic-development strategy by the town of Petrolia? Apparently many communities are seeking economic revitalization through the development of theme towns. Coca cola town, Food Town, Bavarian town (in the USA, and allegedly an economic success), UFO/Alien theme, Wild West town. Yes, the oil history of Petrolia is authentic (which sets it appart from many self-created theme towns), but there was definitely a plan to market the theme. I mean, who decided to creat oil derrick lamp posts?

Keeping in bicyclemark tradition, heres a lil bit of Amsterdam. There is a Ferris Wheel is Dam Square. I like Ferris Wheels, they re fun, nostalgic, and you get a view of the city. But definitely not worth the 8 Euros someone told me one ride costs (hearsay, I didn t actually stand in line to find out the cost). What is the value of a Ferris Wheel ride? When does the experience outweigh the cost? I think I would pay 4 Euros.

Today’s Sounds: the magnetic fields – (i’m addicted)