From Crickets to Baseball, Back in Japan

It’s another wonderful Japan visit! This time we start with crickets in the Tokyo suburbs and then move on to the top of the 5th inning, standing upper deck on a friday night, at an exciting Swallows (Tokyo)- Baystars (Yokohama) baseball game. People are getting really drunk all around me and boy oh boy do they love Lopez.

Riding the Trains in South India

30804550430_6ff715ecb0_oIt may draw some stares and annoy my traveling companions, but occasionally I take out the recorder while we are on long train journeys to try and capture the sounds and memories. The following is audio from some of those train rides. Some of South India’s most beloved train lines coming to you directly in audio format. Enjoy!

Videos from Jersey

Having missed my flight, waited a day for another flight, and then arrived here in Lisbon only to have my luggage misplaced for the rest of the day, there was lots of time to catch up on podcasts and especially new video content.

So while I try to figure out where the leak in my roof is coming from, I wanted to recommend one of my favorite new video podcasts (new to me): tvjersey.com.  Not only does it provide excellent segments about things happening in New Jersey, it does something unique… using photos instead of video, with audio to put those photos into context. In effect, these are news slideshows.

One of the lastest video-slideshows that I enjoyed was about a homeless-assistance center in Hackensack that is being shut down.  The images and the sounds from that center, and the voices of the people who work and go there, I get a real sense of what it means to them and what a dramatic turn of events it is that the city is pushing to close it down.

If you’re remotely curious about a unique audio-visual way to report news and tell a story, watch tvjersey.com, as you may find something about it interesting and educational.

Kitchen Radio Berlin

I wandered over a few blocks from where Im staying here in Prenzlauerberg (Berlin), to take part in the latest eipisode of Küchen Radio. The people sitting around the kitchen table were great fun and I loved answering questions and observing their style of running a show.

By all means click and give a listen, you’ll here me talk about media, money, growing up Portuguese-American, some very personal issues, and much more… if you can stand one hour of me and the Küchen friends.. go for it.

Otherwise all is well in Berlin. Many stories to tell and issues to bring up. Also if certain organizations would please return my dam emails, I could continue doing my crusading journalist work!

New Name, Same Great Taste

Breaking News:

Dear Readers, Listeners, Viewers and anyone who does not feel included in those three categories including methodists. As of today I am retiring the title of this site, Bicyclemark’s Communique. After some un-careful reflection, considering that being a podcaster, a blogger, and a videoblogger is more than just a hobby, but in fact, a calling… I needed a change of title.

This change is to hopefully take the emphasis off my internet pen name, bicyclemark, which of course will live FOREVER! And to bring to the forefront what is that I set out to do, especially through my audio and video. Also because I’ve grown tired of people not understanding my title or having no clue what a communique is. A name like citizen reporter should be easier to understand at first glance.

Originally inspired by the Zapatista movement, which I so admired in the late 90’s, the name communique has served me for more than 8 years, going back to my first website where I would write my opinions on world events, before I knew how to setup a blog.

So there you have it, spread the word, make a mental note, Bicyclemark’s Communique is now, CitizenReporter.org. Still committed to breaking down the mainstream, shedding light on the marginalized, and questioning the answers. Naturally with the occasional dispatch relating to life and experiences.

Thanks for your time and support. Now I leave you with a photo of a floating BarBQ.