tales from new york

2007 Year in Review Pt. 1

2007-12-31T18:07:00.000-05:00

2007 has been one of the best years in recent memory. Here's a month by month breakdown to be followed up with a photo entry.

January: I traveled to the Philippines December 29th and stayed for two weeks at Balay Kalinaw at the University of the Philippines, Diliman campus. During that time, I met with members of GABRIELA, MIGRANTE INTERNATIONAL, SAMAKANA, and TASK FORCE SUBIC RAPE. I ushered in 2007 in Tagaytay (an hours drive, depending on the traffic from metro Manila) with some friends. I believe the way I spent the last few days of 2006 and the beginning of 2007 set the tone for the rest of my year.

February: J and I traveled to NYC for a weekend visit to celebrate our 10th, yes 10th, anniversary. We ate at a fabulous Greek restaurant on Bleeker street, stayed at a very cool gay-owned B and B in Chelsea, and watched the Indianapolis Colts whoop the Chicago Bears in a classic Super Bowl match-up somewhere in the West Village . . .good times.

March: J and I traveled to Minnesota to visit some friends. The highlight of the trip was visiting Minneapolis once more, one of my favorite cities in the U.S.

April: Some down time.

May: J and I drove to West Virginia for her mother's surprise 80th birthday party. My mom traveled from Ohio (she was on her own personal journey during the summer) to meet up with us and partake in the celebration. The big event took place at Eccles Baptist Church in Eccles, WV . . . the church was packed with relatives that had come from far and near to celebrate Viola Barry's birthday! She never looked happier than when she saw her sisters (hailing from TX and OH) walk through the door.

June: Some much needed down time. We worked on getting our vegetable garden planted and our backyard together for some summer fun.

July: J and I went to Ireland for 10 days. This occasion marked the very first time J had ever traveled out of the country. I thought it was particularly fitting that we would visit Ireland, where many of her relatives are from. We rented a car (Nissan Micra), braved driving on the left, and toured the entire country. It was fantastic. I visited some migrant organizations to discuss the migration of Filipino nurses to the country.

August: Enjoyed the remains of the summer by the creek, enjoying a campfire with our hound dog. Prepared for the beginning of Fall semester.

September: J and I went to Connecticut and Rhode Island to celebrate the 69th birthday of my mentor and friend. Took a boat tour around Rhode Island to see "how the other half" lives . . . swank, swank, swank.

October: I traveled to Hartford, CT to attend a conference. Enjoyed the panels and made some wonderful contacts along the way . . .

November: J and I flew to Amsterdam and Edinburgh. Needless to say, Amsterdam was all I had hoped it to be and more. I met with members of MIGRANTE-Europe and learned about the situation of many Filipinos who work in the service industry there. In Edinburgh we visited with friends and a former colleague we used to work with at MNSU. The highlight of Scotland was the chance to drink some very nice whisky.

December: J and I spent the Christmas holiday in a cabin in the Adirondacks (Indian Lake, the central part of the Adirondack park). With the hound dog, we embarked on two trails (Rock River and Rock Lake) and snow shoed our asses off. And, tonight, on the last day of 2007 we are spending a quiet night at home with some friends. A little wine, a little bubbly, and hopes for a peaceful 2008.

Down Time

2007-12-12T15:12:00.001-05:00

The past month has been a whirlwind of traveling for J and I. In November we took off for Amsterdam and Edinburgh for an 8 day visit. On Monday we returned from the mountain state after a short visit with Js family to usher in the holiday season. Thankfully, we are grounded for a while, at least a month, barring a few day trips here and there, to catch our breath, clean the house, and return to our natural winter state of being house cats.

A Tangled Affair

2007-10-23T22:08:00.000-04:00

For the past couple of months a peculiar drama has been unfolding on an academic listserv to which I subscribe. On any given day, you are likely to receive at least 10-15 messages from people advertising jobs, posting CFPS for journals or conferences, posing pedagogical questions, etc. The list is ruled with a firm hand by a techie-type matriarch who lurks about making sure the topics and postings are confined to areas of teaching and NOT politics. Often times, people will stray off course, only to be publicly admonished for an "off topic" post. Should one accrue multiple warnings from the self described "nag," all privileges to list will be revoked. Personally, I think her rationale for keeping the listserv so narrowly focused is stupid. I don't think one can be a good teacher without understanding how one's pedagogy is influenced by politics and political discussions. But, I digress.

It would appear the nag has "left the building" as they say, because a troubling, yet fascinating, academic drama has been unfolding without a peep from our ever diligent list serve owner. The drama concerns a well known academic researcher (a mentor to a former "friend" (deep sarcasm here) of ours) and her involvement, er, "investigation" into a controversy surrounding the publication of a 2003 book by a researcher/scientist some have considered an unethical, hack, peddling in pseudo scientific theories re sexuality. The well known (and well respected--at least before this broke out) researcher has taken it upon herself to write a 60 page essay about the controversy--essentially determining that the while the science and research is shoddy, the attacks on this work by detractors, is far worse. Obviously, this essay is being read by many as an "apology" for the 2003 publication . . . drawing the ire of many, and refueling the controversy.

A few months ago a CFP was posted to the listserv for a panel critiquing both the 2003 monograph and the 2007 "investigation" by a grad student. Unfortunately, the author of the 2007 investigation is on the list and had a very public, meltdown. For the past several weeks she has written a torrent of hateful emails accusing these people (including the grad student) of attempts to "ruin" her reputation in the same manner they tried with the author of the 2003 study. Threats of lawsuits based on defamation of character have been made . . . all on this listserv! What would compel such an implosion? Isn't "critique" the heart of academic inquiry? Why the fuss? Why would a well known academic feel threatened by a conference session organized by a grad student?

More importantly, why am I so fucking absorbed into this drama?

Life in the academy is a tangled affair. It's also a very, very, small world. The researcher who is imploding on the list happens to be the mentor of a person that I had the unfortunate occasion to be "friends" with at my last institution. And, like mentor, like student, this "friend" exhibited the same type of arrogance and bullish behavior her mentor has been exhibiting on the list.

I've gotten some pleasure, as shameful as it is to admit, from all of this mess. I always wondered if there ever would be justice in the world . . . if people who really screwed people over would ever experience the pain and hurt they inflict on others (an eye for an eye? perhaps). This "friend" would use her association with her mentor as a trump card--a badge advertising how cool she was to be affiliated with such a "top notch" researcher in the field . . .and now, what must she be feeling as her mentor slowly goes down in flames, publicly humiliating herself in front of peers?

Schadenfreude? Absolutely.

End of the Beach Bum

2007-10-16T20:03:00.000-04:00

I'm sipping on the last of my corona lite, winding down after a pretty chill vacation at home. i needed to leave the stress of publishing pressure, class preparation, fellowship applications, and all the other tedious aspects of my job. despite the beer intake, which seemed inevitable, i managed to stay on diet pretty well. i've subsisted on a steady diet of shellfish (lobster, blue crabs, rock shrimp) and fish (sea bass--i've felt guilty about this one, given how overfished it is these days, but i couldn't resist when i ate at one of the better chinese restaurants in altamonte, fl: eastern pearl). so, i figure indulging in my love of beer should be ok. plus, i simply hate red wine in 88 degree heat. fuck diet. enjoy vacation.

While here, I acquired some pretty cool reading material: Naomi Klein's *Shock Doctrine* and Susan Faludi's *Terror Dream*. The latter I'm reading for both an online reading discussion to take place on Nov. 19 over at Pandagon and for my upcoming women and war class . . . I think Faludi is doing some interesting stuff that might resonate with this generation. And, Klein's book has been heralded since it was published . . .though the media (mainstream that is) has pretty much ignored her. What else is new?

I take off from the 'house of the mouse' at 6:00 pm, back to the cool, fall weather of upstate NY. It's been good. Hope to return soon.

F-L-O-R-I-D-A

2007-10-14T19:51:00.000-04:00

October in Florida is surreal. It's mad hot in the day, with warm, humid breezes cooling everything down in the evening. There's no bugs. No hassles with skeeters. Just fresh, salty air that sticks with you the rest of the night -- gets in your clothes, your hair, your skin.

Driving North on US-1 from Titusville is a great way to see "old Florida." Live oaks with spanish moss, trailer parks, palm trees, alligator farms, flea markets, remains of former fruit stands bankrupted by one frost too many, and in the fall, an abundance of pumpkin patches! I've only been here for three days, but I've already lost track of time. I had totally forgotten it was Fall . . . where's the cider? The sweaters? The chill in the air?

New Smyrna is gearing up for Biketoberfest . . . just another reason to party around here. Tourism remains the only stable industry amidst a sea of foreclosure signs decorating the front of condominiums. Cranes hang like old skeletons, hovering above three stories of unfinished concrete blocks of tackiness--another development project gone belly up. Perhaps the silver lining in this dismal national economy can be found in Florida, where the boom of development is having to take a break . . . give the gators a rest, the egrets a place to hang, the turtles a chance to hatch, and the shoreline a mere moment to breathe. But only for a moment, I'm sure.

Taking US-1 from Ormond to Daytona will take you through the grittiness of my birthplace. The seedy hotels with neon palm trees flashing "vacancy" and "clean rooms," chicks hawking their wares in cut off shorts, emergency pregnancy centers (this was the actual name), cash checking businesses, krispy creme donuts, tobacco exotica (a favorite high school haunt), and good old, "bucks gun shop" complete with a picture of a .38 emblazoned on a big yellow sign. Slimy store fronts in run down strip malls advertise religion, jesus, and salvation. My favorite sign: 7 days without Church is a week without Jesus.

Guns, God, and Pink Flamingos. I love being home.

DEsperate Housewives Sucks. Click below to find out why.

2007-10-04T16:20:00.001-04:00

Whether it's Mel Gibson going ballistic about Jews, Michael Richards hatin on blacks, or Rosie, dear Rosie, saying "ching chong", it all fucking sucks and hurts the communities targetted. Racism is virulent in the United States. I wonder if these fuck-wits at ABC know the colonial history between the US and the RP? Are they aware of the numerous treaties established to coerce med students in the RP to practice in primarily poor areas in the US? It all goes back to 1898 my friends . . .

Free the Jena 6!

2007-09-20T14:06:00.000-04:00

I sat for the Jena 6 on my campus today, while thousands upon thousands of people descended on the small town of Jena, LA to protest the unjust arrests and sentencings of 6 black youths. On the morning news, I heard media pundits describing the events of today as the possible dawning of a new "civil rights" era in the U.S. We can only hope this is the case . . . it's important that the outrage and public protests is carried on well after September 20, resulting in real systemic change. And, I think we need to galvanize the anger this case has generated into a larger movement that is capable of connecting this case of domestic racism to the larger world where the US is running roughshod over the global south, destroying communities, nations, families, etc with its neo-liberal agenda and illegal occupation of iraq (soon to be iran). our policies of hatred, violence, and destruction are coming back to haunt a country that has never healed from its foundational moments of slavery and genocide . . .for more on the jena 6, check out this website.

Life and Death

2007-09-19T12:53:00.000-04:00

My Dad turns 70 today. I feel like I officially entered the stage where I have an "elderly" parent. As long as both my folks remained comfortably in their 60s, I was content to think of them as "getting old" but not really old. And, maybe 70 isn't that big of a deal, but I can still recall when my mom hired a banner plane to fly over my dad's office (ok, yes, this may seem excessive, but it is my family and one hell of a memory) that read: Life Begins At 40 Rene! Love, Gayle, Anne and Malcolm. I was still in elementary school, pigtails and all, learning the harsh lessons of reading, writing, and arithmetic, when I was called out of class to see my Dad's birthday message. For those familiar with my Dad and I, you already know we have had a rocky, inconsistent, relationship. Still, for all the months filled with silence, brought on by one of his tantrums about one thing or another, he is my Dad and he has done well by me. I just got off the phone with him and it was strange to hear him tell me how much he "hated" turning 70 before launching into this sad list of all his friends that have died within the past month. A lot of his colleagues seem to be dropping off like flies . . . so he assured me his PSA levels are good, his blood pressure is stable, and his diabetes is under control. As he talked about his health, we were interrupted by his errant fax machine which kept beeping (Dad never was good at hooking up electrical equipment), and he kept trying, unsuccessfully, to fix it. I imagined him padding around in his slippers, trying to "silence" the "goddamned" machine. More than likely, he broke it, because all of a sudden, it was silent. Just me and Dad and all these years between us.

Week in Review

2007-09-16T18:21:00.001-04:00

Monday: Prep like hell for Tuesday's classes.
Tuesday: Finish work, drive to Ithaca for Nanci Griffith concert.
Wednesday: Same as Monday.
Thursday: Work, meeting, wine.
Friday: Work (kinda), meet with friends, pub, noodles, bed.
Saturday: See 3:30 showing of The Brave One, cook chili.
Sunday: Football in the afternoon. Watch Oscar hunt down mouse and slowly torture until J. spares the poor rodent further humiliation. Bags mouse, throws outside for nature to do its thing.

Bleaching your Bum

2007-09-12T15:23:00.000-04:00

I know. I was just surprised as you might be to find out that a process known as "anal bleaching" exists. A student made a casual reference to this in class, and I could not resist the google temptation to find out more about this latest phase in body "beautification". Here is a good article exploring the low depths people have sunk to for the sake of a good looking ass. Pink cheeks anyone?

The Coup - Ride the Fence

2007-08-26T14:21:00.001-04:00

M.I.A. - Jimmy

2007-08-26T13:52:00.001-04:00

Unrest in the Philippines

2007-08-26T13:22:00.000-04:00

speaking in fragments

2007-08-18T18:38:00.001-04:00

this morning i walked around with a cup of tea, mumbling nonsense, repeating random (maybe not so random) words like "bad," "bitches," "bad,", etc. you get the picture. there's a nanci griffith song that mentions a "worried mind" (though she uses this to refer to jealousy, or at least i think she does) but i felt it aptly described my morning state of being. i was jacked up on the last of a pg tips tea bag, speaking in fragments, hoping to heal a rather wounded ego from the previous day's battering by an anonymous reviewer. by mid-afternoon, i pulled it together, trudged to the office, printed off two essays, brought home three books, and plowed through the first 50 pages of a textual analysis of sexuality, love, and desire. since my latest effort was characterized as "stubbornly unreflective," by some anonymous turd with a little bit of power, i spent the afternoon reflecting on how every feminist text i read these days feels like it was hooked up to foucault's (or derrida's, or lacan's, or lyotard's, or whatever the name of your favorite postructuralist is) brain by ethernet and transferred to the hard drive of contemporary feminist criticism. it's this type of reflection that gets me into trouble and it's more than likely why i typically generate the most unpleasant outside reviews. though this latest one stung, it also reminded me of my very first paper rejection i received in grad school . . . i was described as creating a "demonic postcolonialism". imagine that. me. demonic. postcolonialism. i should title my fucking book that for all my anonymous fans.

to continue with yesterday's post: i'm out of the mainstream with my discipline. i'm out of step with most people writing on similar things. i don't want to treat my work like a mad lib and plug in "agency" "power" "constitutive" "resistance" in random spots to illustrate how well i've absorbed the good teachings of postmodernity. instead, i use terms like "exploitation" "prostituted" "liberation" and, god forbid, "nationalism" only to be treated like a relic from another planet. and, don't bother talking about imperialism, cause that shit aint cool these days. it's all about representation baby . . . and, isn't it a shame that feminist crit. seems to have drifted further and further away from reality/material conditions (at least in the U.S.) at the precise moment things are worsening around the world? when another foreclosure sign gets posted in front of a house sending shady and unscrupulous investors hiding under their hedge fund, or 500 people are blown to bits by suicide bombers, or the petraus report is really the bush report, or any number of things that are bound to happen to us in this fucked up situation of satellites and domestic spying, theorists are going to have to come to grips that this aint no simulacra . . . no imagined community. this shit is real with enormous consequences. i remain stubbornly convinced that we should theorize these things to make sense of our world, and as the old saying goes, to change it. damn. is that so hard?

Not of the Mainstream

2007-08-17T20:04:00.000-04:00

Markos Moulistas (founder of the Daily Kos) had an interesting take on the use of MSM by some of those in the blogosphere when referring to the mainstream media. Markos argues that we should not distance ourselves from the mainstream, but embrace it, thereby pushing right wing pundits to the fringe. I don't agree. He supports his comments by pointing out that blogs have more power than ever, are representative of what a democracy should look like, etc etc etc. All this is true, but I don't want to be the mainstream . . . life on the fringe is better. . .gives a clearer picture of things. Mainstream is boring, boring, boring stuff. I was disappointed that many progressive blogs are failing to acknowledge the current crisis in the Philippines or the recent detainment of the activists. This should have been news considering the Philippines is in lock step with US policies concerning "terror". I digress. In my own sequestered world, otherwise known as the life of the mind, I am reminded by peers through anonymous reviews that I am not mainstream enough . . . too fringe . . .too "stubbornly unreflective." The peer review process is a lot like posting scathing, derisive comments on someone's blog, just cause you know you will never have to meet the person or actually have a decent conversation with them. Anonymity makes people assholes. Instead of wallowing in my own deflated ego today, I've decided to embrace this outlaw status in my field -- one governed by idealogues worshipping at the temple of all that is diverse and complex. Fuck em.

Off the "watchlist"--GABNET 3 Update

2007-08-15T14:34:00.000-04:00

Apparently, the Arroyo regime lifted Enrile, Rosca, and Mirkinson off the "watch list" and allowed them to return to the United States yesterday. I guess GMA and her cronies felt 9 days of unwarranted harassment were enough. What a mess.

Free the GABNET 3!

2007-08-14T12:57:00.000-04:00

On August 5th, Dr. Annalisa Enrile (chairperson of GABRIELA NET USA) was prevented from returning home to the U.S. after a month-long stay in the Philippines. According to airport authorities she was on a "watchlist" of the Philippine government. In addition to Enrile, Ninotchka Rosca and Judith Mirkinson (both renowned for their work on women's rights, Filipino activism, human rights, etc) are allegedly on the watchlist too . . . they had plans to board a plane on the 14th, but we'll have to see what happens. I would offer you a hyperlink to the various articles concerning this deteriorating situation in the RP, but due to a new computer, operating system, what have you, the toolbar in blogger is preventing me from doing so. I might have to download Mozilla Firefox to see if that changes anything, but in the meantime, I will paste the pertinent information below. Clearly, the impact of the recently passed "Human Security Act" in July 2007 by the Macapagal-Arroyo regime are being illustrated by this unjust detention of human rights activists. To update: since her election in 2001 there have been 885 extra-judicial killings in the Philippines, and hundreds more disappeared. Of this number, 98 are women activists, mostly associated with GABRIELA the umbrella federation of women's groups. Below is Enrile's letter to the U.S. Embassy and a chronology of events.

  Letter of Prof. Annalisa Enrile
to the US Ambassador to the Philippines

August 8, 2007

Her Excellency Kristie A. Kenney
Ambassador. Embassy of the United States of America
Roxas Boulevard, Manila
Philippines

Your Excellency:

I am an American citizen, an assistant professor of the University of
Southern California who recently brought and led a graduate class of
25 for direct field experience on the subject "Feminist Theory and
Social Change."

I am requesting the Embassy's assistance because the Philippine
government is refusing to let me return to the United States even
though I know of no charges or cases against my person.

Furthermore, I have been and am being shuffled from the Department of
Justice to the Bureau of Immigration to some office called NICA.
Since August 5, 2007 when I was stopped from boarding my flight home,
I have not been told any specific reason as to why I am being
prevented from returning to my home country.

My human and civil rights are being violated by this surrealist
procedure dictated by some unknown entity/person. This is causing me
extreme distress, as well as jeopardizing my professional standing
and causing me financial hardship.

As I have not made provisions to stay in the Philippines beyond August
5, I am practically a homeless person, dependent on the good will of
friends for my board and lodging.

I am of mind to sue whoever gave the "hold" order for actual and
punitive damages, which are accumulating daily. It would be good if
the Embassy can help me find out the basis for this hold order and
its veracity, as well as its origins so that I may seek justice.

Please find attached my signed declaration on the events of the past
four days. I may be reached at 0918-273-0744.

Thank you very much.

Respectfully,Annalisa Vicente Enrile, Ph.D., MSW
Assistant Professor
University of Southern California
School of Social Work

**********

Chronology of Events

On August 5, 2007, 8 p.m., I checked in my luggage for my flight back
to Los Angeles via Philippine Airlines.

I was accompanied by three other women who were all US citizens. Five
of my students who were on the same flight had gone ahead and checked
in without incident. Twenty students and an instructor who had earlier
flights also were able to leave without incident.

I paid my airport terminal fee and proceeded to the Immigration booth
to have my passport exit-stamped. The agent scanned my passport and
then called a supervisor over. The two conferred. They asked me my
name and I gave them my name: Annalisa Vicente Enrile. They said I
was on the watchlist.

I asked them what that meant and what was a watchlist. They said I
couldn't leave the country; that I needed to get clearance from the
Bureau of Immigration and Deportation. They then returned my boarding
pass, having written "offloaded" on it. They also returned my
passport.

As it was already quite late, I had my bags taken off the plane and
proceeded to a friend's house so I could wait for office hours. The
next day, I went to the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation where
they told me I had to file an affidavit of denial because the name on
the "watchlist" didn't have a middle name nor a birthdate on it. I had
to seek the help of a lawyer to prepare this affidavit.

When I tried to file the affidavit of denial, the Bureau of
Immigration and Deportation told me to get clearance from the
Department of Justice. By this time, I was so exhausted and
traumatized that I asked a lawyer-friend to help me get the
clearance.

At the Department of Justice, she was told to get a clearance for me
from NICA. At NICA, she was told to go back to the Bureau of
Immigration and Deportation.

Today, August 8th, we were told by the Bureau of Immigration and
Deportation that we should go to the Department of Justice.At this
point, it became clear that this process was one of intimidation and
harassment, that there was actually no legal nor ethical basis to
hold me in the Philippines and to prevent me from returning to my
home country.

This is such an overt violation of my civil and human rights that I
decided to seek the help of the US Embassy in Manila, which in
accordance with the stated foreign policy of the US government,
should be in support of open, clear and democratic processes, and
should be fostering respect for civil and human rights, first and
foremost for it's own citizens. -

Annalisa Vicente Enrile,
Ph.D., MSW Assistant Professor
University of Southern California
School of Social Work

On vacation

2007-07-16T11:13:00.000-04:00

J and I are off to Ireland tomorrow for a 10 day research trip/vacation. And, no, we aren't researching how many pubs/pints of guiness we can consume (though I'm sure we will do our fair share). I'm looking into the Filipino diaspora from the Irish side--to determine what jobs most women perform, why they choose Ireland, conditions of employment, organizing efforts, etc. Most Filipinos migrate to Ireland as nurses/caregivers . . . an interesting situation considering that Ireland (pre-EU) was primarily an exporting state with nurses being a hot commodity at one time. How does a primarily white country deal with the new influx of migrants? The one thing they do have in common is religion . . . so I wonder if that is part of the appeal for Filipinos? I shall soon find out. I have plans to attend a "clinic" with the Philippine Consulate on Saturday (Js birthday). Will try to post as often as I can from the Emerald Isle.
Until then, I'm out.

Post Your Comment

2007-07-13T09:31:00.000-04:00

What is the purpose of a blog? I return to this question each and every time I wish to hit the "delete" button on this damn thing. Not that it really matters anyway. But, I marvel at the popularity of "blogs" these days which simply rehearse/repost a news item, followed by a bunch of anonymous armchair cultural critics, posting their missives for all to see, waiting for the next flame war to ignite. The power of anonymity. Everyone is in on the game. For every crappy news item about Paris, Scooter, Nicole, Cheney, Iraq you can "post a comment." If you want a taste of virulent racism, sexism, classism, go to the "comments" section at the end of a "news" item and read to your heart's content. In reaction to a news item posted about the return of Venus and Serena to Wimbledon, someone repeatedly used "savages" and "tribe" to describe the Williams family. On Culture Kitchen, there was a recent post about the horror of eating food at Bob Evans Restaurants. Accompanying this post was a grainy photo (I'm sure shot with a trendy PDA phone) of a salad which had a mysterious dressing that distressed this dear, "liberal", blogger. The classism, evidenced in the judgemental tone and observations of the blogger (noting that every diner in Bob Evans was overweight), was so fucking blatant it made my skin crawl. Oh, to be a NYC blogger, with all the hip toys of the digital community, completely removed from the world, save for a few adventures into "rural" America. Hypocrites.

Feminists have made an impact on the progressive blogosphere, rankling the deep-seated conservatism of 10-65 year old men who have nothing better to do at the office then whip out some of the most disturbing mysoginistic messages. To claim we have "moved on" in terms of systemic oppression is to ignore the world of the blogs . . . where all the reactionaries converge, concealed and comforted by the anonymous world of electronic communication. Still, even these feminist blogs leave me wanting for more. It's tiresome to discuss gender and sexuality in a vacuum . . . sometimes accompanied by a penetrating analysis of race and class . . . only to be shot down by an "expert" on the comments section accusing one of hating white people and/or men. So simplistic are these analyses . . .

Today, I read a post discussing the current state of Katrina victims (yes, for those that did manage to live in one of those chemical filled, pressboard, toxic "trailers") who are still waiting for permanent housing and help from the federal government. Fat chance sucka. It didn't surprise me to see one of the very first posts accuse Katrina victims of not doing enough, individually and collectively, to survive. In other words, this person wondered why haven't they formed shopping cooperatives? Why haven't they formed collective day care units? Why haven't they done more dammit? Oh, I get it. Wow. What a fucking brilliant idea! Cooperatives! Maybe even an organic garden too . . . if only we could be assured that the soil won't make our skin peel off.

And what, exactly, is the purpose of all those little gadgets, annoying buttons (diggit, reddit, stumble, etc) that now grace the end of individual blog entries? What used to be a unique and innovative perspective, has now become so thoroughly commodified and homogenized, it's hard to determine the purpose these days.

Of course, I count this faltering little piece of e-real estate I founded 2 years ago, to be among the guilty.

Underdog

2007-07-09T13:40:00.000-04:00

Like other tennis fans around the world, I spent the last two weeks waiting for the crappy London weather to break so some tennis matches could be played. I was amazed that bright sun greeted me on Saturday AND Sunday as I watched Venus win #4 and Federer #5. After one of the most amazing men's finals in recent history, I found myself bummed out, irritable, and agitated that Rafa Nadal lost in the 5th set -- after having two break opportunities at 15-40. During the match I found myself engaged in a school yard text-message fight with a friend who didn't seem to understand why I would root for the underdog Nadal. In sports, I tire of one player constantly dominating. Plain and simple. I always enjoy the upset. I don't see how this is an odd position to take, and I'd wager many feel the same as me. Speaking of wagering, it's always fun to bet on the "long-shot" horse too . . .

I think, however, my rooting for the underdog results from feeling so miserable with the current state of world affairs. Living in the global hegemon, with a military capable of taking over the entire world, it feels natural to want to see an underdog emerge victorious. Now, I am not so foolish to compare a tennis match, bourgeois sport that it is, to this unjust war on terror. However, I always feel compelled to root for the so-called losers . . .Anyway, this stupid fight over Federer's greatness resumed this morning via an email message from aforementioned pal--still bullying me about my love of Nadal's game. And, then, I realized that the biggest underdog in this situation is my poor, insecure friend who cannot feel good unless they belittle/berate their peers.

Life is too fucking short to bicker over idiotic nonsense when Iraqi's are geting blown to smithereens on a daily basis while the Scooter Libby's of the world get a free pass to be thieves, liars, and scoundrels. Enough.

Summer '07

2007-06-28T13:22:00.000-04:00

Three months later and I'm back to blogging. Here's an update on events since I last posted.

1. The PPT (Permanent People's Tribunal) found both Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and President George W. Bush guilty of human rights violations. Today, the death toll in the Philippines since GMA assumed office in 2001 is over 850 political activists, many women, and all opponents of her regime.

2. Speaking of the Philippines . . . there is a 2004 documentary titled Imelda which is worth checking out. Not surprisingly, this is not a flattering protrayal of the former beauty queen.

3. Movies: J and I have been visiting the theaters this summer, mostly to break the monotony of our work schedules, and to enjoy some AC during these hot days. The one flick I recommend thus far: Waitress. I'm looking forward to Sicko.

4. Travel: We cannot wait for our Ireland trip. Just a little over two weeks before we head there. I've made contact with a migrant rights group in Dublin, so we are going to stay about two or three days there (including Js birthday) before heading to Belfast and Galway. I'm a bit nervous over the driving situation, but I believe driving is the only effective way to see the country. In the fall we would like to visit the wine country in CA for a weekend trip. And, for next summer: the Netherlands, with a short stop in England, and Spain for a conference!

5. Music: J downloaded this country chick: Miranda Lambert (worth a listen to) and the White Stripes Icky Thump -- this is one of my favorite albums.

6. Books on rotation: Ellen Meiksins Wood: Empire of Capital, Paul Kramer: Blood of Government, Cynthia Enloe: The Curious Feminist and Bananas, Beaches, and Bases, John Bellamy Foster: Naked Imperialism, E. San Juan Jr., On the Presence of Filipinos in the United States and Filipina Insurgency, Delia D. Aguilar: The Feminist Challenge, Toward a Nationalist Feminism, Michael Chossudovsky: The Globalization of Poverty, William Blum: Rogue State

Permanent Peoples' Tribunal

2007-03-21T11:37:00.000-04:00

The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal Second Session on the Philippines will begin today at the Hague. Although UN Representative Alston's report essentially indicted the AFP and Arroyo for committing human rights abuses, the militarization of the urban areas continue. On a symbolic level, the Tribunal is important for airing the Philippine people's grievances against both Arroyo and the United States for plundering the country's resources -- material, natural, and human. 820 people have been murdered or disappeared since Arroyo assumed office in 2001. A large part of the Tribunal will focus on these issues.

I Did It!: Satire on the 'Confessions'

2007-03-20T09:31:00.000-04:00

This is funny!

Illegal Occupation: Year 4

2007-03-19T17:11:00.000-04:00

On the 4th anniversay of this despicable war, I'll keep my comments brief. Aside from the various pundits weighing in on what the state of Iraq is (chaos anyone?) after four years of occupation, I've been struck by the propaganda machine in Washington. For the past several days, MSN has greeted me with one news item after another declaring another "high profile terorist" confession. Today, we learned the "mastermind" behind the Cole attacks has confessed at a Guantanamo hearing. And, the day before, another mastermind has confessed to 9/11. One has to wonder how many years of torture the masterminds endured to finally 'fess up. Our media is too stupid to care. In a recent issue of The Nation, there was a piece about Jose Padilla's upcoming trial. Apparently, his lawyers are saying he cannot aid in his defense anymore because the US government has driven him insane using "sensory deprivation" techniques (total isolation (9X7 cell), blacked out goggles when moving in daylight, and earphones to block out noise). After a period of deprivation, they begin to use "sensory overload" techniques (blasting heavy metal music, shining light in his face, etc). This type of "humane treatment" compliments of the United States, went on for over 1000 straight days. For a glimpse of what I'm describing check this article out. And, I doubt the torture stops there . . .

Impeach Bush. Arrest Bush and Cheney. They need to be prosecuted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court. War mongers.

Spring Fling

2007-03-07T09:26:00.000-05:00

Three months into the year 2007, and here is where we find ourselves:

1. Still frigid in the Northeast, buried beneath a Valentine's Day layer of snow. No melt in site.

2. Mired in a deadly, bloody war that was predicated on nothing but lies, fabrications, and deception by Cheney, Bush, et al. As J likes to say, "it's rotten from the top down."

3. After 4 long years, Libby is indicted, only to have Fitzgerald declare the CIA leak case "closed." Cheney and Bush must be made of teflon. Will nothing stick to these war mongers?

4. The US media continues to suck ass. Example: comparing Coulter's latest moment of idiocy to the Dixie Chicks. Are you fucking kidding me?

5. UN representative Alston visits the RP in February to investigate the 800 "extrajudicial" killings that have taken place since Arroyo assumed office in 2001, issuing a damning report indicting both GMA and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Militarization of the urban areas continues.

6. The Arcade Fire releases their second album yesterday, making the mess we are in, almost bearable.

Weathering the Blues

2007-02-26T13:21:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to beat the winter bleakness that is central NY. So far, the grimness of winter and all that accompanies it (dirty pants, dirty streets, wet cars, freezing temps, icicles threatening to kill you the moment you walk out the door, and relentless (annoying?) snowfall) appear to be winning. In other words, I'm blue. Very blue. Super blue. Bluer than the color blue. Blue dammit. Oh sure, I can tell myself that the fucking groundhog saw his shadow indicating the early arrival of Spring, but can a bucktoothed rodent named Phil really pull me from the grips of winter sadness? Can it melt my frigid, icy, mood that grips me from morning 'til night? I could also order one of those razzle dazzle lights that will emulate natural sunlight (without the cancer causing agents), but I'm so fucking sick of winter and everything associated with it, I can't even do that small task. Oh, I should recall my motto: laugh, love, fuck, and drink liquor. Well, I have no problem with the drinking aspect (though I prefer a good red to the hard stuff), which is probably part of the problem. Le'ts break this motto down for fun . . .

1. Laugh: Over what? I suppose TV has served some of it's entertainment puposes. Idol is fuck all funny. And, Saturday Night Live has been having its moments. Hard to laugh about the country though. We are headed to war with Iran and the stupid ass media continues to spew more idiocy from the "senior" administration officials. Have we learned nothing?

2. Love: I've been doing more hatin than lovin lately. Must be the scorpion mixed with the winter that has created this awful brew. I do have some writing pressure breathing down my neck which makes loving anything fairly difficult. I love the fam. I love the cats. I love the dog--but found this weekend a little difficult to bear. He's also fallen prey to the winter blues or what I like to call: "Getting Fat in February" because I do LOVE to eat. Caught up in a moment of wild, canine frenzy, our beloved hound scoped out some used tampons (oh yeah, the period does nothing to uplift my spirits) and ATE them. He must have consumed 4 total (3 regular and one super). Smith got no love from me. I wanted to photograph a turd with a tampon string coming out the end, but found it simply too distasteful, even for this rather nasty entry. He shit a Playtex Multipack all weekend. Dumb dogs.
For all those who are bitter about romantic love, I suggest listening to the latest gem from Lucinda Williams: West Bitter, Raw, Obsessed. I enjoy it more each time I hear it . . .

3. Fuck: None of your business. But I aint complaining.

4. Drink Liquor (wine): We have resorted to buying wine by the case and I think we should double the order. At least til Spring arrives. Cheers mothafucka. I'm out.

My New Motto

2007-02-22T09:26:00.000-05:00

The other night I was cooking dinner to The Coup's Pick a Bigger Weapon and was struck by song 3's funky ass rhythm (actually, for all you funk fans, this album is a a hell of a ride) and refrain:

Laugh, Love, Fuck and Drink Liquor (and help the damn revolution come quicker).

In an instant I knew this would be my motto for 2007.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

2007-02-18T16:20:00.000-05:00

Since returning from the RP, I've been rather short on items to blog about. It's not as if I don't do anything day in and day out, but sometimes life in the village feels like the Bill Murray flick "Groundhog's Day" or the classic Dunkin Donuts commercial "Time to Make the Donuts". In short, life in the village, especially during the winter months, feels rather redundant.

Speaking of winter, I am very glad I don't live in Oswego, Parish, or Mexico, NY where snowfall totals in a week's period were simply beyond comprehension. 8 feet of snow? Are you fucking kidding me? FREEZE LAKE ONTARIO! FREEZE! Just as I was counting my lucky stars for not living near the lake, the 2007 Valentine's Day Nor'easter (the bold is for dramatic effect) strikes central NY, dumping approx. 32 inches of snow in a 24 hour period. Pics are fothcoming. Seriously, since Wednesday, we have been living in a Siberian-esque hell. Help!

Here's what's been in rotation since I last posted:

1. NYC weekend visit: Entire time spent in West and East village. Lots of shoe stores, coffee shops, restaurants, bars. Recommend: Loves Save the Day. A very cool popular culture store in the E. Village. The Cubbyhole: Good old fashioned eye candy for the queer girl.

2. Shut Up and Sing: Another cool Barbara Kopple documentary. I haven't seen one of her docs that I haven't enjoyed, but my favorite remains Harlan County, USA.

3. Ear Candy: Kanye West's The College Dropout, Band of Horses Everything All The Time

4. Reading: Weekly, Kathleen *The Communist Party of the Philippines: 1968-1993*, Mulder, Niels *Filipino Images*, The Nation, Harper's

5. TV: American Idol, Food Network (Barefoot Contessa, Nigella Bites), The Weather Channel

2007: A Cautionary Tale

2007-01-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

I have some pics I need to upload to help visualize my previous entries on the Philippines--will get to that this weekend.

At present, I'm listening to "Karma Police" by Radiohead. Probably one of the best tunes/bands to listen to while suspended 39,000 feet in the air. Actually, it was at this altitude, on a trip to Florida, that my appreciation of this band developed. Unfortunately, I'm sitting down, back in front of the old desktop, plugging along on reading schedules, assignments, and the like. Karma.

The past five days have sucked. I've been wide awake every evening at 3:00 am. This morning I stayed up until the sun rose, only to awake again an hour later. I've had physical sickness from water, food adjustments. And, my karma, is way off at the dawn of 2007. Why? In the Philippines, most believe that how you spend your new year's eve is indicative of how the rest of your year will go. I laughed this "superstition" off Jan. 1, but now am beginning to believe I am, indeed, cursed.

Here's how my last day of 2006 shook out: To avoid the fireworks and gunfire (a tradition in the RP, and apparently, a dangerous enough one that my mentor wanted to avoid) we took off to Tagaytay, a resort area about 3 hours away from Quezon City. Because we booked our reservations so late, we ended up at this "apartment/hotel" that only cost P2000 for 5 people. This roughly translates into $8 per person. A bargain. Before checking in, we spent the day cruising around the village, taking in the beautiful sites of Lake Taal (pics forthcoming), Imelda Marcos' failed project: People's Park in the Sky, Mahogany Market (typical eating place where we indulged in "special bulalo"), and a swank eating resort that offered a range of ethnic food. By 6pm, we were back at our home away from home, resting, reading, watching tv, and anxiously awaiting the crack of fireworks. Mosquitos were intense this evening, but K and I hung out for a while on the roadside, chatting about this and that, until we finally gave in and retired early. This is where the trouble begins. M and I were in the front room facing the bathroom and its fussy toilet. In other words: flush at own risk. On any other occasion (that is with my stomach cooperating and not revolting against water) this would not have been a big deal. However, with a rumble and a roll, I had to dash to the toilet, pray the thing would flush, and return to my bed unnoticed by surrounding company. Not to be. The whole things overflows (from the tank, base, everywhere, my waste is slowly floating out to my bedroom). And, it's not midnight, yet. Eventually, things subside and go down the floor drain, but it's still a troublesome situation to be in. Next person up: flushes. And the next: overflows. This steady leak of fetid toilet water continues well into the morning (Happy New Year!) with the five of us practically running away from our beloved room. K and I (sorta serious and sorta not) wondered if this meant 2007 would be shitty. Judging from my awful re-entry/re-adjustment since returning to the states: definitely shitty.

If anyone has some old fashioned advice on reversing this trend while it's in its early stages, let me know. Perhaps I should engage in a reenactment of Dec. 31 sans diarreah, leaky toilets, and gunfire?

Philippines Pt. 3

2007-01-10T01:39:00.000-05:00

Today is my last day in las islas filipinas. This trip definitely surpasses the one I took 10 years ago. I'm much more politicaly aware these days than I was back then, and I've even surprised myself by just how much I do know about this country. I'm not one too brag, or to boast about knowledge, but I am happy to know that all my years of studying this country has, indeed, paid off.

In my two weeks since I've been here lots has transpired, providing good source material for an essay I plan to launch once I return to the states. The transfer of Daniel Smith to the US embassy, the beginning of the ASEAN summit in Cebu today, the ongoing political killings, the supposed "peak" performance of the peso (now P48.9 to the dollar) for the first time in six years, and the endless propaganda of GMA has given me more than enough to think about.

I've also been wondering about my own role as a researcher interested in furthering and understanding women's liberation in the Philippines. A friend I met here asked me to think seriously about how my work in the US would further women's liberation in the RP. I don't know just yet . . . but I definitely feel that if I contribute anything, it cannot be compared to the level of devotion and committment I've witnessed among the many people I've been fortunate enough to meet. That is, I am safe in the academy writing and analyzing the contemporary situation in the RP, far from the daily, dangerous, bloody struggle that has come to characterize Philippine life in the early part of the 21st century. And, it is a struggle with all sorts of people my age, willing to participate in the revolutionary movement for national liberation--an unfinished struggle begun in 1896 with the launch of the Philippine Republic. I suppose my confusion (angst?) is typical of those who are engaged and committed on an intellectual level, in the classroom, to furthering social justice. It is the clear cut crisis of theory v. practice. I believe Lenin and others always knew that practicioners alone cannot win the struggle . . . and that being a practicioner didn't automatically mean that one would necessarily have a theoretical understanding of the situation. So, perhaps the division between theory and practice, as I've sketched it out here, is truly false. One needs the other . . . but I've always found those engaged in the daily grind of life (brave, willing to die for a cause) far more interesting than what I've become: an intellectual who derives great pleasure from musty books and theoretical argumentation. I'm not prepared to sacrifice the comforts of the "life of the mind" . . . probably because deep down I know I'm just a coward. I can only understand life through words--it is my training and a privilege granted to me by class and nation. And, so, it is with all these inconsistencies and contradicitions in my own life that I will have to find some sort of solace. But the memories and conversations I've shared with those that I've no guarantee will be around the next time I visit will always remain with me. It is the way they have chosen to live their life, that will now always inform the way I choose to live mine.

Philippines Pt.2

2007-01-09T02:52:00.000-05:00

Logging on to blogger has been an arduous task since my last entry. Each time I've attempted to post my thoughts after a meeting or a particular interview, I've been thwarted by a "Cannot Find Server" notice. So, this time, I'll spare you with my political ramblings and keep this post focused on my observations as an outsider Fil-Am atempting to negotiate life in the Philippines.

1. Coffee: Whenever the opportunity arises to get fresh "brewed" coffee, take it! Instant coffee is the rage here for obvious reasons: it's cheap and easy to prepare. You don't need a coffee pot. So, it's only been within the past 3 days that I've discovered the joys of a genuine caffeine buzz . . . and I'm no coffee drinker either, but on one particular outing I made a point to down three cups! Also, due to the tropical climes, you will only get powdered creamer.

2. Palmetto Bugs: Gross. The ultimate cockroach. Only this one has wings. I had the unfortunate experience of having one fly over my head the other night and it scared me to death. I swear this thing was the size of a bat!! God. Try to keep your head about you when this occurs and realize that this is part of the adventure.

3. More bugs: Yesterday I awoke with 8 bites concentrated on my right elbow. Being a total germ freak, I've made the necessary adjustments with the ants, the mosquitos, the other unidentifiable things that go bzzz . . . but I'm not so clear on how my one elbow got so mangled in the night. Guess there was more crawling around in the night (or the bed) than I realized.

4. San Miguel Pale Pilsner: That's right. Anyone that knows me understands how much I enjoy my beer. Since I've been immersed in the world of books for 2 solid weeks, I've missed my beer. I finally (can you believe it? 3 days before I'm to leave this country??) found the UP hotel where they have a restaurant selling San Miguel. Oh happy day. Kind of. Being a woman in this country, drinking beer, is often met with strange looks. Beer, afterall, is the world of men. So, I've been twice to the hotel and had beer with my dinner, but my order is always regarded as strange . . .and last night one of the waiters (trying to fuck with me I'm sure) told me to "avail" myself of the special offer: buy 4 beers and get the 5th one free. Feeling weirded out, I slammed my second beer and promptly left. Ah, it aint easy being a woman.

5. Lost in Translation: That's me. I have missed more than half of every conversation I've been involved in. Sad but true. I must take a crash course in Tagalog--just to understand the world around me. I'd feel better taking public transportation too . . .

6. Filipino TV: a propaganda machine for GMA. Every commercial features the same pictures of her holding a sick baby with a bad Filipino band playing in the background. At midnight, she has a show called: The Working President which features GMA in blue jeans cutting ribbons, showcasing sewers, etc. It's a sham and I think most everyone can see right through it. To further divert the population from the grinding socioeconomic conditions around them (the RP is currently on the same level as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) you can tune into: Philippine Dream Academy, Philippine Idol, and Pinoy Big Brother. The latter is the same series that is in Britain and the US . . . only Pinoy Big Brother cuts out the sex scenes. You can't shake 350 years of Spanish colonization just like that, now can you?

7. Malls, malls, malls: The commodification of everyday life is everywhere around you, making for some very sharp contradictions. For instance, the RP is home to the 3rd largest mall in the world The Mall of Asia (The Mall of America is ranked 6th or 7th). But who can shop at these malls? 70-80% of the population is poor. Not only that, they are hungry. Consumerism is not going to develop this country. But it will depoliticize the youth . . . an unfortunate consequence when you understand the essential role they have historically played in the revolutionary movement here. So, why discuss national liberation when you can go and eat Taco Bell at SM North?

8. Ah, I'm not sure of you can google image the Philippine 100 peso, but if you can, it's worth looking at.

I only have 2 more days in the country, but I'll definitely return. And, this time I won't wait another 10 years. It's too exciting here. There is much to explore, much to discover.

So long from Alicia's Internet Cafe (my home away from home for the past 2 weeks).

Philippines Pt.1

2007-01-02T22:50:00.000-05:00

I arrived safe and sound to Aquino International Aiprort Dec. 29. Took the official airport taxi to the University of the Philippines campus and have been having meeting new people almost every day. I've already conducted 3 interviews and I haven't even been here a week!

Initial thoughts:

1. Pollution: It's really terrible to take public transportation around here, even though it is the cheapest, because the air is so thick with fuel, gunk, and fumes that feel like they are asphyxiating you by the end of your ride. Not fun.

2. The legacy of Spanish and US colonialism is evident everywhere you turn around. To even believe this country is remotely independent is a misnomer. Take for example the Daniel Smith case. Smith, a US Marine, was convicted of raping a Filipina woman last year. He was ordered to spend his time in Makati Jail and sentenced to 40 years. On Dec, 29, Smith was shuttled out of the jail and into the safe arms of the US due to the VFA where he will wait his appeal or whatever the hell he's doing. What matters, though, is the soveriegnty of the RP has been completely sacrificed AGAIN. In other words, this country is completely dominated by US interests.

3. The issue of corruption leads me to think about the current administration of GMA. She wants to push through a charter change (referred to as "Cha-Cha" around here) which would effectively change the 1987 constitution. So, for example, right now the RP has rules that states 60% of corporations/businesses have to be owned by Filipinos, with the remaining 40% owned by outside, foreign interests. If this charter change is pushed through, GMA wants to remove these barriers and open up the country to 100% foreign ownership. She also is working on pushing through a "Constiutional Assembly" (known as "Con-Ass" around here) which would ensure here rule and her cronies rule for many years to come (it would move the RP to a parlimentary system). So, everywhere you look you see signs that read: No to Cha-Cha! No to Con-Ass!

4. The military. How can GMA pass these initiatives and retain power? The military. Though the govt. vehemently denies any involvement in the incredible number of political killings ravaging this country (approx. 186 or 187 in 2006), the military is moving from the provinces into the urban centers targetting human rights groups, lawyers, activists, and journalists. Scary. What makes her different from Marcos is she doing all of these things without declaring martial law! And, she's targeting the human rights workers in ways that Marcos never did.

5. The debt. The squatters. The poverty. The privatization of public utilities. The corruption. The endless corruption.

6. For more information check out this site.

7. Committment to political organizing and activism is incredible. Unlike anything I've witnessed in the US. And, the women's movement? I'll save that for tomorrow or the next day. Suffice it to say that this is what a movement really looks like . . .it's not contained and isolated in the hallowed halls of the academy.

From Quezon City, I'm out.

Last minute details . . .

2006-12-26T22:16:00.000-05:00

I've been scurrying around all day with a list in hand, checking off last minute items I need before I depart for the Philippines Thursday morning. Whew. And, of course, I've begun another list this evening for the super last minute details such as: bank, plug adapters, international phone cards, cameras, and mosquito spray. So, if all goes well, I should find some time every few days to file a report from the RP. Stay tuned to the blog . . .

Happy New Year!

2006-12-19T11:02:00.000-05:00

You Call This An Apology?

The View should be yanked from the air. How much stupidity can be packed into one idiotic show? This entire so-called apology is a train wreck.

help! my blog is gasping for life!

2006-12-19T09:37:00.000-05:00

for someone that once found blogging to be the most exciting thing since sliced bread, i now find myself veering ever closer to hitting the "delete blog" button. originally, i had illusions of grandeur and wanted to form a group blog with some other smart people i knew. of course, the aforementioned smart people are often prone to debilitating bouts of procrastination, thus resulting in yet another imcomplete project. a pipe dream you might say. nonetheless, over a year ago, i decided to form my own blog and see what happened. well, it ended up being a personal diary of sorts. a journal of every mundane, boring ass thing that has ever happened to me while residing in the middle of ny state. and, trust me, my geographical location has never fallen short of providing me loads of boring material to blog about. for example, "today, another leaf fell from the tree." or, "there are tiny strawberries growing in the yard". let's not forget that where i reside, we don't even have a local paper to make fun of . . . just a weekly piece of local gossip that costs a buck and takes 30 seconds to peruse while cruising the local grocery store (which just returned this summer).

ah. i've also spent countless entries blogging about the hound dog we acquired (to stave off further boredom) in march -- complete with pics. to update: the old hound ended up in the hospital recently for chewing/ingesting stuffing from his favorite toy. he's ok now, but toyless. see what i mean? the fun never ceases around these parts.

i depart on an international journey in 9 days. perhaps i'll find the time to blog from there . . . if not, maybe my travel adventures will give me some more material for this here journal of mine.

we can only hope.

The Importance of Curiosity During a Time of War

2006-10-24T13:36:00.000-04:00

Thursday Oct. 19, 2006: Attended the opening lecture of the Feminism and War conference at Syracuse University. Featured Speakers: Cindy Sheehan and Cynthia Enloe. I'm assuming that most readers would be familiar with Sheehan who lost her son Casey in 2004 to the war in Iraq--she's been ridiculed, demonized, arrested, praised, loved, admired, etc since she began camping outside Bush's ranch to protest the illegal occupation of Iraq. Thanks to the growing support she has garnered over the past several years, she now owns 5 acres in Crawford, TX (Camp Casey) and promises to be a burr in Bush's ass until he's impeached or indicted and imprisoned on war crimes at the Hague. Most are probably less familiar with Enloe who, as a feminist theorist specializing in international relations, has had a prolific career being "curious" about masculinity, femininity, motherhood, wives, militarization, trade agreeements, pimps, prostitutes, etc. I'd suggest reading: Bananas, Beaches, and Bases, Maneuvers, and The Curious Feminist for an idea of what Enloe examines in her work. Anyway, on a rainy and blustery night in the northeast, these 2 speakers held at least a 100 people in rapt attention on the Syracuse University campus -- reminding us (hopefully) that we must be vigilant in protesting the unjust, violent, and illgeal actions of the Bush administration. My emotions ranged from frustrated to inspired to hopeless to determined by the end of the night. As an individual I cannot end this war, but I can do my part to encourage others to think critically, to question the news we are being sold by Murdoch and others, and to be curious as Enloe's work reminds us to be. Without curiosity, we are in the end, complicit. We need to ask the hard questions about this occupation each and every single day--we need accountability from an unaccountable administration. We need to fire Rumsfeld, Rice,Cheney, and Hughes. We need to demand Bush be impeached and tried for war crimes in the same way the international community demanded it of Milosovic (even though he died before seeing a verdict). And, as Sheehan encouraged the audience to do, we need to demand more of the Democratic Party--because they are equally complict in this war and occupation. Unlike my more moderate and liberal friends, I don't feel casting a vote for a Democrat means the world will change or become more compassionate. As long as the rules of the game in the US continue to favor the ruling elite in the country, voting becomes an empty and symbolic gesture. Actually, all this anti-war talk emanating from the Democrats needed to come years ago . . .it's a bit opportunistic now. The more radical contingent in the anti-war movement already knew what a fucking disaster this war would be . . .and those predictions have not turned out to be wrong.
Civil War? Yes. Massive deaths? Yes. Destroyed infrastructure of occupied country? Yes. Secured private contracts for "rebuilding" for well connected Bush associates? Yes. Does destruction pay? Absolutely.

Monday Oct. 23, 2006: Attended a lecture by Les Roberts, a co-author of the Lancet Study which declared 650,000 deaths in Iraq since US invasion. Another good use of curiosity . . .just how much has the death rate spiked since Bush declared "victory" in the war? Don't beleive those bloggers that tell you this is an untrue or unsound study plagued by faulty methods. Instead, ask why bloggers and other pundits working for right wing think tanks want you to believe that this figure is inaccurate. What's at stake here? Why go out of our way to deny the massive death rate in Iraq? Why ignore it?

And, you certainly don't have to take my word either. Be curious. Think for yourself. Do some work. But quit being complicit.

Tuesday Oct. 24, 2006: End of rant.

On the Road, In the Air

2006-10-13T22:01:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe it is already mid-October. In a few short weeks, J and I are leaving the confines of our cozy abode to enjoy sunshine, warm temps, and ocean air in my beloved, yet overly developed, state of FLA. Oysters, catfish, bloody mary's and birthday celebrations are all on tap.

Once I return from my tropical excursion, I'll have a little over a month before I hit the air for a marathon 20 hour flight to Manila. While I haven't made all my lodging plans yet, I'm hoping to stay near some friends, on the UP campus. Yay for start-up funds.

After the New Year, travel should slow down a bit before we hit the air again at the end of May for a 2 week study tour in China! Very exciting. I'll upload our itinerary as the time draws near.

And, finally, the trip we have been looking forward to the most (though China is pretty high on my list): Ireland. We have some colleagues who have a house there, so we are going to try and coordinate our summer plans to coincide when they will be available to show us around.

So that about sums up our travel trajectory for the coming months. Of course, I won't rule out a trip to see old friends in Minnesota. It's been too long. A reunion with Cheryl, G, and Becky is definitely in order. Thanks to texting, though, we are never too far apart.

My Eyes are Bleary

2006-10-05T16:39:00.000-04:00

I've been working since early morning, so I'll once again keep my comments brief:

#1 time sucker: EMAIL. I click "Get Mail" every five seconds, log on and off, on and off, on and off, and gee, should I check my mail again? Whoever said this was a time saver and would make life more efficient was out of their head. This electronic communication takes up way more time ithan it should.

#2 time sucker: TEXT MESSAGING. I'm a convert, probably because it feeds into my insane email addiction. Look! I can email on my phone at all times. Another e-device to control and manage our lives. I know the rest of the world has been texting their ass off, but I'm always about 2-3 years behind the fad. At least it keeps my consumer tastes and desires to a minimum.

#3 time sucker: Oprah at 5. Sad but true. With all the texting and emailing in my new wi-fi, hi-fi life, I need some downtime on the couch, with the hound, watching the mind-numbing adventures of Gayle and Oprah's Summer Road Trip series.

In Rotation

2006-10-04T09:55:00.000-04:00

1. Catastro-fuck: Jon Stewart coined this term last night on *The Daily Show* to describe the sorry state of affairs in the US. I love it.

2. Paradise Now: A 2005 film directed by Hany Abu-Assad. If you haven't seen it, go rent it now.

3. Food Processors: Rural living is turning me into a cook. I must, absolutely must, have a food processor. Luckily, my sister-in-law treated us to a generous gift certificate to Williams and Sonoma (how else could we shop there?), so my puree dreams will be fulfilled on Friday.

4. Sick of shit: Literally. The hound has been suffering as of late, and I am absolutely sick of wiping dog ass, cleaning dog puke, and wiping more dog ass at 5 in the morning. Enough.

5. Fall!: My favorite season has officially arrived. Yay. Although, I approach this fall with some trepidation . . . in less than a month, I will be turning 35 years old. Is this middle-age or not? Blek.

6. Bettye Lavette: She keeps it real.

7. Being queer: Oprah had an episode on Monday afternoon dealing with "gay wives". HAHAHAHAHAHA Made me so happy to be queer. Of course the sex is better!

65-34: US tells rest of the world to piss off.

2006-09-29T14:49:00.000-04:00

In another stunning display of stupidity, the US congress voted yesterday to pass the Terror Detainee Bill by a vote of 65-34. Just when you thought certain Republicans were beginning to distance themselves from Bush (ie McCain, Powell), a so-called "compromise" is reached with the passage of this bill. Although McCain has said this legislation will be in accord with the Geneva Conventions, this news reports explains:

The detainee bill would create military commissions to prosecute terrorism suspects. It also would prohibit blatant abuses of detainees but grant the president flexibility to decide what interrogation techniques are permissible.

How much more flexibility does this President need? For more on this sad story click
here.

In related news, a leading women's rights activist in Afghanistan has been murdered by members of the Taliban earlier this week. Safia Hama Jan was killed while riding in a taxi Monday morning. Because the United States has pretty much forgotten about Afghanistan in their rush to destroy Iraq and capture oil profits, the Taliban is reorganizing itself to re-establish control of the country once again. Big surprise.

Sunnyvale, CA and other random Tuesday morning musings

2006-09-26T11:04:00.001-04:00

My lurker returned twice this morning . . .but this time chose to stay on for 27 minutes, rather than the usual 0:00. How nice. Still no commentary from Sunnyvale aka Inktomi aka Yahoo.com . . . sigh. Soon they will have to be banished from the site.

A run down on what has me boggled this final week of September:

1. Gapless Playback on Itunes v.7.0 Why is Apple doing nothing to address the fact that this new version of ITunes is corrupting music files by the thousands? Most folks on the discussion boards appear to attribute the problem to the beast known as "gapless playback".

2. Clinton, Wallace, Bin Laden: Ho hum. I know everyone in the blogosphere has already sliced and diced this story since Clinton accused Wallace of "smirking" and cleverness the other evening. Nonetheless, Jon Stewart did a wonderful montage of how our "free and democratic" media chose to focus on Clinton's emotional well-being (his anger, meltdown, throbbing veins in neck) rather than the facts and information presented during the interview. When Rummy, Bush, and Condi get their panties in a wad (and there are plenty of instances when this has occurred) the media's lips are zipped shut. Ah, it takes me back to the Chvez speech I blogged about earlier. Most folks (including Clinton I believe) felt he ruined his repuation for using the term "devil" to describe Bush. Again, all this focus on Chavez's rhetorical delivery, detract attention away from his message concerning US foreign policy. And, let's not forget, the US was involved in a coup attempt against Chavez during the early years of his administration in Venezuela.

3. Keith Olberman's "Countdown": JB has made me a believer in this cat. Read #2, and proceed to conduct a search on Olberman's "commentary" on the entire Clinton/Wallace debacle.

4. Life and Death decisions during a Hurricane: The sad stories about Katrina never cease--despite the fact that the Superdome is back for the football fans, NO tourism, and network ratings. 60 Minutes aired a segment about a doctor and a group of nurses who are accused of delivering "fatal" doses of pain medication to terminally ill patients in a nursing home during the storm. Nobody knew when rescue workers were coming to the aid of the nursing home, so the doctor made a decision to ensure that certain patients were made "comfortable" and denies any wrongdoing. Now charged with "murder", the high court in New Orleans is going to have to determine whether the case goes to a grand jury. This raises many ethical dilemmas over life, death, and accountabilty during Katrina.

Somebody's Watching (Lurking) Me?

2006-09-22T09:36:00.000-04:00

Rockwell's song has been buzzing in my ears for about a month now . . . since the beginning of September I have had a person from the INKTOMI (Sunnyvale, CA) corporation checking in on my site for what appears to be 0:00 seconds. Day after day they make their annual check--but never comment, never stay longer than 0:00 seconds, etc. On the one hand, I'm flattered someone is checking in on the old blog, but on the other, I think it's time that the mysterious person from INKTOMI reveal themself(ves) or buzz off. I'm watching you now.

2006-09-21T12:40:00.000-04:00

Chavez speech at UN!

I'm sure there are many Chavez-haters out there, but if one is interested in hearing informed, thoughtful opinion, on the sorry state of US foreign policy decisions currently being made by the Bush administration--click play. Wouldn't it be nice if our President was only half as informed as this guy?

Been a Long Time Gone . . .

2006-09-21T11:39:00.000-04:00

But I'm back. And, I'm pissed off. The latest issue of Harpers's Magazine has a piece by Lewis Lapham titled "Lionhearts" which disputes media accounts that depict the war in Iraq as a complete and total failure. Lapham, in fact, states just the opposite. Comparing Bush and company to the railroad barons and early entrepeneurs of this country, he asserts that this war is a success story. Why? Just take a look at the stock share numbers for corporations "rebuilding" Iraq between 2003-2006: Lockheed Martin $52-$72, Boeing $33-$77, Exxon Mobil $36-$65, Chevron $36-$66, Halliburton $22-$74. Yes, capital accumulation is proceeding unimpeded at quite a clip, regardless of the human/psychological/emotional toll of warfare.

And, now, the US has to be embarrassed once again as our president attempts to deconstruct the meaning of "torture". Derrida (the grand master, patriarch, father of deconstruction) should be rolling over in his grave if he were to witness this stooge engaged in lingusitic acrobatics.

We are fuct.

9/11 War Profiteering

2006-08-31T14:11:00.000-04:00

The primary beneficiaries of "the war on terror" (inspired by the 9/11 attacks) appear to be CEOs. For those that refuse to believe the drivel being spewed about freedom and democracy by Bush and Rumsfeld, it won't be too surprising to learn that war profiteering is at an all time high.

Read this new report about the rising profits for CEOs of US corporations. No wonder our idiot-in-chief is on a whirlwind tour vowing not to "back down" in Iraq/Afghanistan/Syria?/Iran?

In the loo with CNN!

2006-08-30T15:11:00.000-04:00

Ah, more YouTube fun!

From NewsBusters.org

I think listening to CNN's Kyra Phillips take a whiz and chat with her friend is far more interesting than Bush's speech yesterday. I wish more anchors would leave their mics on to drown out this moron.

Katrina, Ernesto, Twisters, Bush

2006-08-29T11:04:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder why we name Hurricanes and not Tornados? Perhaps it has to do with time and space. With a name, we can make the hurricane real, present, track its every swirl, wind gust, measure its eye, send a jet screaming directly through its center. A tornado is quick, sudden, catches you by surprise, wicked, deadly. Before you can give it a name, the damage is done. Space and place destroyed.

The name "Katrina" will always be associated with death, levees, floods, Superdome, New Orleans, Nagin, Brownie, and, Bush. The media is in a "1 year" anniversary frenzy today, with pundits like Matt "bulldog" Lauer asking Brownie the hard questions about why FEMA failed so miserably. We mark time. In the 9th ward, time has simply stopped. Nothing moves there. Poor. Black. Forgotten. I heard a white woman call into the Washington Journal program this morning and state: "If I lived in New Orleans I would have walked right out of there knowing the storm was coming." Blame the victim. Funny how privilege works. Bitch probably never lived in a hurricane zone. How does one move/walk out of their home, their space, their place, their city? Where do they go? How do they mark time?

I lived in southern Minnesota for three years, always on the ready for the dreaded "tornado" siren that would mournfully wail from across town. Neighbors would gather on the sidewalk, nervously wondering if this was "the one" that was always/already "due" to strike our bleak, flat, unappealing, treeless landscape that we called “home”. Last week it struck. Quick. Deadly. Destructive. Anonymous. Much like a bomb I imagine. Minus the wind. Add the bodies. Some soldiers, unfortunately, have the nasty habit of writing greetings on the missiles/bunker busters/cluster bombs that are dropped by planes, helicopters, on civilian targets. Collateral damage "courtesy of the USA" as Toby Keith likes to sing. Radiate. Destroy. Poison. Obliterating space. Place. Time.

Pass the buck. Michael Brown blamed Bush's "talking points" for the catastrophic failure that is New Orleans. He "regrets" following orders. Talking points?

Today my mother is shuttering her house to prepare for Ernesto. Technicolor weather maps have predicted it will hit FL, either as a tropical storm or a Hurricane, by tomorrow. So it goes.

Florida's Confederate Heritage?

2006-08-18T19:15:00.000-04:00

Florida is preparing for another battle over this proposed license plate. As usual, the lines are drawn over whether or not the confederate flag represents slavery/racism/bigotry/etc. or state pride and heritage.
Personally, this is a non-issue. Find another image for the license plate. Have we not learned any lessons from South Carolina? The flag, regardless of its original meaning, has been used as a symbol of white supremacy for so long in this country's history that it is beyond redemption.

Confessions of a Pack Rat

2006-08-17T16:27:00.000-04:00

Today I began the tedious task of sorting through high school (actually, junior high and elementary) memories, figuring out what to toss and what to pack and ship home. I began by reading my high school yearbooks (9th-12th grade), trying to recapture/remember the type of person I was. According to friends, I was "funny", "strange", "sweet", obsessed with tanning (if they could see me now), a practical joker, "cute". Most of my teachers were kind in their comments, save for one: Mrs. White. The dreaded, evil, Mrs. White of 9th grade Algebra. She wrote: "Stop being so uptight. A bundle of nerves." Is this what junior high teachers should write in their pupils yearbooks? I think not. I've been rather peeved about it all day. Bitch. Ahem, back to the 1980s. My hair was absolutely, hands down, atrocious. My motto must have been: the bigger, the better. I'm surprised I had any friends at all.

On to college. My first notebook I decided to read was from my "Major English Writings I course". First up: notes on Old English, Chaucer, and Beowulf. My typical journal began: "Oh god, not another poem in Middle English!" Still, my prof. gave me a 9/10 for my "style" and confessed that she, too, was not a huge fan of this time period. Ha.

Stuffed in different notebooks, I discovered the "love letter" collection . . . Damn. Too hokey to re-create for the blog. Too hokey for me to stomach. Yet, I'm not sure I can ditch these memories. We'll see. They remain in the "maybe" pile.

Aside from this chore, I love being home again. This is and will always be home to me. The minute I arrived, I tossed my shoes off and walked into the ocean. Living on the beach is beautiful. And the food and drink aint too bad either. My, how a bloody mary tastes with steamed oysters!

Back to memories.

What do the new photos reveal? (and other Monday afternoon ramblings)

2006-08-14T14:27:00.000-04:00

With a tentative cease-fire in place between Israel and Lebanon, I was excited to finally hear something about the state of Castro's health. As these photos reveal, he's looking pretty damn frail two weeks after surgery. I haven't bothered to turn on the news this morning because I'm convinced the latest photos will have Little Havana practically rioting as they pray for his death. But, I was encouraged by his 80th birthday statement. I appreciate his honesty, and his determination to assure Cuban citizens that the state of the country remains in good hands. And, by the way, isn't Chavez a dashing head of state? Obviously, I've been following the events in Cuba with excitement and dread . . . with the Middle East in turmoil, I don't even want to consider what could happen if Castro were to die. But, I suppose we should simply take his words at face value and believe that he has a plan in place should his death occur. I imagine Lula and Chavez are closely monitoring events as well. In other Latin American news, seems like the Mexican election went belly-up under the weight of mass corruption and fraud. I hope Obrador and his supporters remain vigilant in their civil disobedience. A partial recount? Sound familiar? I guess the US was probably getting nervous at the thought of their southern neighbor swinging towards the left too. Call it a consipracy theory . . . but I'm sure our government had a hand in pressuring Vicente-lapdog-Fox into making sure Obrador did not assume office!

Now, in other random news:

I heart WEEDS! We finished the first season this weekend and I am totally hooked. Tonight is the premiere of the second season, but we don't have showtime, so will probably have to wait another year before I can get my Botwin fix. The slogan: putting the herb back in suburb, tells only part of the story. I love the show for its critique of middle to upper middle class values . . . and this goes way beyond smoking weed. The show's commentary on the blandness and sameness of US life (read: strip mall after strip mall after gated community after gated community after boring coffee shop after boring coffee shop) is spot on. I was worried nothing could catch my attention once Six Feet Under finished its run, but man was I ever wrong.

So I realize that J and I hatched a plan to forego any and all tv watching except for cable series and film, but since the Time Warner empire has taken over our carrier, I now feel compelled to get basic digital just so we can have this channel. J's mom had this station in WV, and I watched it with the intensity of a crack addict. Yes, America, that is just how starved us queers are for some programming that reflects our fucking lives.

Hairspray, Soda, and Saline Solution: The War on Terror Continues

2006-08-13T12:33:00.000-04:00

On Thursday I received a rather rude awakening from my mother who was taking an early morning flight from Daytona Beach to Ohio for her high school class reunion. On the way to the airport, she heard the broadcasts that travelers (domestic and international) were not able to bring any liquids on board. Now for those that have never met my mother, a few facts are in order: she carries 2 purses for every day use (one for wallet, brush, and other items she thinks could be needed while shopping around and the other full of miscellaneous items (hair ties, purel, tissues, another brush, receipts form 1985, etc.). When she travels, one entire bag is dedicated to make-up. Yes, my mother is a high femme. It's no wonder word of my queerness sent her into such panic. So, on this fine Thursday morning, she was unceremoniously stripped of her hairspray by airport officials and forced to repack/ditch some of her cosmetics before boarding the flight. By the time I reach her during her layover in Atlanta, she is in a forlorn mood: gone was her new bottle of hair spray and her cosmetic bag had been reduced by half. And, this, before her 50th high school class reunion. What's a girl to do?

Later that afternoon J and I watched the steady stream of talking heads parade across the television warning US citizens that we were on the verge of a massive attack. Terrorists were hell bent on committing mass murder in the airways. Apparently, a fizzy drink (or an imposter) could be ignited using a remote control key thing-a-ma-jigie. No more cokes, Ipods, saline solution, and, yes, hairspray. Thanks to the brits, and of course Tony Blair, our lives were safe.

As usual, feeling cynical, J and I wondered aloud over breakfast if this was yet another fucked up ploy by the Bush/Blair administration to spike/strike fear in the hearts of everyone . . . due to sagging polls on both sides of the Atlantic.

Today, a friend sent me a rather distressing article about this whole mess:

Aug. 11, 2006 -- According to knowledgeable sources in the UK and other
countries, the Tony Blair government, under siege by a Labor Party
revolt, cleverly cooked up a new "terror" scare to avert the public's
eyes away from Blair's increasing political woes. British law
enforcement; neo-con and intelligence operatives in the United States,
Israel, and Britain; and Rupert Murdoch's global media empire cooked up
the terrorist plot, liberally borrowing from the failed 1995 "Oplan
Bojinka" plot by Pakistan- and Philippines-based terrorist Ramzi Ahmad
Yousef to crash 11 trans-Pacific airliners bound from Asia to the
United States. In the latest plot, it is reported that liquid bombs
were to be detonated on 10 trans-Atlantic planes outbound from Britain
to the United States.

When I read things like this, I just know that soap operas could never be as whacked as our current reality. Murdoch is wiretapping Prince Charles who is cooking up a plot to oust Blair . . . so Blair and Bush cook up counter plot based on an 11 year old foiled terrorist attempt from Asia to the US. Meanwhile, Bush is burning brush and biking in Crawford, while the US prepares another shipment of bombs to Israel.
And my 68-year old mother has been stripped of all things that make her feel like a woman . . .all in the name of terror. If this story turns out to be true (which we'll never know for another 20 years), I'd be pissed if I were her.

MBFB PT. 2

2006-08-07T10:17:00.001-04:00

What I find myself still thinking about from yesterday: A NY TIMES interview with the co-founder of *Bitch* Magazine, Andi Zeisler. I read this interview over coffee Sunday morning and found one comment/question Deborah Solomon raised rather intriguing: "It seems as if its original vision of social equality has been undermined by third-wave feminists like yourself, who limit your critiques to, say, Tori Spelling's breasts. Doesn't the obsession with popular culture risk trivializing feminism?" Ok, if I were Zeisler, I would have probably been very pissed off by this question and come back with a witty, smart defense of my magazine and its focus . . .however, this is not what actually happened. Instead, Zeisler responds: "Many young women today have more day-to-day contact with "Desperate Housewives" than with the radical feminist writings of Germaine Greer or Shulamith Firestone." And, now, this morning I awake to several blogs discussing how stupid Solomon was/is, how kind Zeisler was, how young feminists are completely misunderstood by the older ranks, yadda, yadda, yadda. I do believe Solomon was attempting to hit upon something other feminists (young and old) have been discussing: the focus of the third wave. When I was still in grad school an excellent piece emerged about the Third Wave's lack of social critique--and it's endless celebration of individual acts of resistance, girl power, so to speak. I do think popular culture is important if it is constantly grounded/reflective of the consumerist culture in which we live. Maybe the fact that young women today are more cognizant of Desperate Housewives than the writings of Firestone and other feminist thinkers IS indicative of a problem--and one that needs to be addressed. I support the third wave and think some of the blogs out there are fascinating. However, I, too, find some of the analysis lacking or base at best. For example, I don't think we should celebrate the first time US women entered the Navy. Ew. Rather than an accomplishment, we should seriously wonder why a social movement supposedly against militarism, violence in all of its forms, would want to enter the ranks of the enemy. Sorry folks, that aint girl power to me, much less progress. And, for all the talk of eroding abrotion rights, let's frame the debate in broader terms: reproductive health care for all women. Low-income women, historically, have been coereced into pregnancy OR coerced into sterilization programs (ie the famous case of the Relf sisters). Now that Roe v. Wade is teetering on the brink of obsolescene, everyone is having a march on Washington or somewhere. I certainly don't want to see Roe V. Wade overturned, but I'm tired of the single-issue, personal narrative, D-I-Y approach to feminism that has come to characterize our present-day. We must connect the dots . . .and just talking about the intersections or the holy trinity of race, class, gender/sexuality doesn't mean you actually have an ANALYSIS that coherently connects the dots between these competing categories of oppression. Instead of celebrating/wearing t-shirts that proudly claim: "This is What a Feminist Looks Like" we need to get our collective shit together and think about why the feminist movement, at least in the US, has not made much of an impact on areas like foreign policy . . . at a time when we need to quit thinking about vibrators, dildos, and breasts (all fine things to talk about in their proper context) and refocus our attention on the massive amount of women being displaced/killed by our corrosive, destructive, foreign policy decisions AROUND the globe--not *just* in the current war du jour. But I digress. A friend of ours bought a subscription to *Bitch* and I enjoyed reading it for the most part. I'm just tired of the knee-jerk reaction of the the so-called Third Wave against the so-called Second Wave (read old, outdated, un-hip, etc). Read the blogs this morning . . . you'll see what I mean.

Things to do today: Quit surfing web. Work on paper. Go to library. Walk dog. Eat.

What I'd like to be doing: Drinking bloody mary's at a dive bar/seafood establishment somewhere warm with a cool breeze . . . perhaps Key West?

My Boring Fucking Blog PT. 1 Hereafter Known As MBFB

2006-08-06T18:06:00.000-04:00

What I Did: Ate hash and eggs, removed cat hair from various home furnishings, rearranged rooms, showered.

What I'm reading: Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg

Plans for Saturday night: Drinking wine in my old house, with my girl. Eating fish, vegetables, and couscous. Drinking more wine. Sleep.

What I'm listening to: Taking the Long Way Home, the Dixie Chicks. Yes, the Dixie Chicks.

What I've been thinking about: Relationships. Making them work. My dog. Transgendered lives. Fall semester. Shit heads I used to work with. Reading lists. Discussion questions. Nationalist feminism. US military rape trials: Iraq, the Philippines. Why does it always seem to be the Marines? Baghdad Burning. How many bombs were dropped on Lebanon today? Being good. Calm. Landis is guilty. Athletes suck. Who cares if Paris is celibate?

What's in the Netflix rotation: Weeds Season 1. Funny as hell, smart, well worth it. Next up: Paradise Now or final episode of final season of Six Feet Under. Since Nate died, I haven't been able to put the final nail in the coffin. Best cable series I've ever watched.

Homage to S-K

2006-08-05T12:25:00.000-04:00

How bummed was I to learn last month that Sleater-Kinney had decided to go on an "indefinite" hiatus after their summer tour ends. It's sad because there are so few chick bands out there willing to seriously rock it out. In their honor, I provide you with some videos of my fave tunes. Paste the links in your browser and prepare for some kick ass songs.

1. http://youtube.com/watch?v=ubyVReV2gDc&mode=related&search=

2. http://youtube.com/watch?v=NNpKjmNaJpQ

3. http://youtube.com/watch?v=vZA_7FtttRY

4. http://youtube.com/watch?v=IoCDSngUGmY

Hot, Hot, Hot

2006-08-04T11:24:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not referring to one of my very favorite Cure songs, but to the dreadful heat wave the northeast has just suffered through. In this old house we managed to live through 98 degree weather with only two, yes, two fans running. At one point, our bedroom reached 85 degrees. Not good. As citizen Gore would say: global warming is, indeed, an inconvenient truth.

A few days after my last post, Fidel ceded power to his brother and Little Havana went crazy. I was seriously disturbed by people celebrating in the streets over news of his surgery. Today I read where Bush actually helped rally the exiles with talk of bringing "democracy" to the island. I imagine we'll just go ahead and drop a cluster bomb (if we haven't sent them all to Israel) on the island and be done with it.

And, now, back to the weather. We live in the middle of a rather long street. One evening, after excruciating humidity levels, a storm broke out while J and I were enjoying a late afternoon reading session in the living room. Although the dog was acting squirrely, we thought nothing of the thunder claps and brief flashes of lightning.
As these pics reveal, however, a fairly benign storm turned into a powerful wind machine that took down some very, very, big trees in certain parts of our street and surrounding neighborhood. Of course, we have this huge, leaning, decrepit old pine tree over our kitchen that poses a constant threat to our overall well-being. So far, so good. Keep fingers crossed until we get a tree removal service on the job.

In other news, J's birthday came and went. As part of her festivities, I bought her a digital camera since our old one went bust after one year's use. Hopefully our new digital technology will enhance the "look" of our oh-so-popular blogs. Haha. I make myself chuckle. To celebrate, we kept the festivities simple and local: in other words, we drank the night away at one of the 2 dive bars in town. Not THE dive bar we typically like to frequent, but a dive bar nonetheless. I'm trying to upload a mini video we took after our night of consuming massive quantities of Dewars and soda. Unfortunately, blogspot keeps giving me an "error" messsage, reassuring me, however, that the "engineers" are aware of the problem. When the engineers let me know what the hell is up, I'll upload and let you see some of our ramblings.

Later.

Viva Cuba

2006-07-26T12:05:00.000-04:00

While waiting for the roofers to arrive this morning, I read an interesting article about a recently proposed bill in Cuba which would provide free sex change operations and hormonal treatment for transsexuals! Wow. According to Mariela Castro (Fidel's niece), the bill is receiving positive support. Here's the article:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/06/29/cuba.sex.reut/index.html

Anyway, for all those intellectuals who often dismiss/discount communism/socialism/Marxism on the grounds that gender/sexuality are ignored, I would suggest they look to Cuba for an alternative example. Although Castro notes in the article that homophobic attitudes persist, there have been remarkable changes around gender issues over the past several years. For evidence of this, read about the Cuban Women's Federation -- a real model of progress that the US women's movement should examine. It's fascinating to think queers were forced into work camps in the 1960s, but by 1979 the country reversed this position and outlawed the crime of sodomy. Tell that to Texas and all the other stupid states/cities in the US that still have sodomy listed as a criminal act--not to mention sex stores or purchasing dildos. Democracy? What democracy? Oh, today US-style democracy is managing to expedite missiles to Israel while the 9th ward in New Orleans remains untouched almost a year after Katrina hit. Bullshit.

Today Washington upheld their gay marriage ban, joining a long list of other states (including NY) who refuse to acknowledge gay unions. I hope Cuba passes this bill which many believe would make it the most liberal country in Latin America. And, I hope the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela continues to inspire and spread like wildfire . . . Cindy Sheehan (whom Bitch Face Coulter called the Dennis Rodman of the anti-war movement) has visited Chavez twice and has been publicly ridiculed in the US media for her decision to spend time with him. As she said, Chavez can speak unscripted, for hours, about most any topic, while our commander in chief is lucky if he can read the back of a cereal box.

Summertime Rolls

2006-07-19T16:51:00.000-04:00

I knew once family members arrived in town the blog would go straight to hell. Not that anyone really reads this damn thing. Oh well. I suppose writing about my rather boring life in upstate keeps me sane, and enables me to talk about myself in ways that I typically don't in public. Who really cares about strawberries growing in the yard? My ongoing lawn mower woes? My old hound dog? Creeps at the park? Sigh. In spite of the fact that this blog has no regular readership (which I completely understand) it does provide me with a window into my first year living in the village. Friday July 21, Js birthday, also marks the occasion of our first year living in the old house, in the old village, on the very old street. Reflecting on the past year, I'd have to say our move and decision to take a new job was a very good one.

I'm hot in this room, though, so I'll keep my blog short this afternoon.

Here are some summer resolutions J and I recently made:
1. No TV! Ok, always exceptions for sports, and The Closer. Sorry, still have Sedgewick on the mind.
2. FILM/SERIES ONLY. We are finishing up Six Feet Under, and are two episodes into the second season of Deadwood. I can't believe Calamity Jane has staggered back to camp.
3. READ. Read novels or essays for writing journal articles or book chapters. Lay off the gossip online!! Help. This will be hard since Gayle and Oprah have recently declared they aren't gay. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
4. GO TO LIBRARY 4-5 times a week. This won't be so hard since it is one place around here that has air conditioning pumping all day long.
5. Use my own body for summer transportation. Since we do live in a village, walking and biking are really all you need to get around for basic errands.
6. Drink lots of wine.
7. Avoid the news broadcasts at all costs. Not only did our dipshit commander in chief act like a frat boy during the final lunch of the G8 summit, but he also groped the chancellor of Germany, and acted like an all around idiot.
Plus, he vetoed (his first of the administration) the stem cell research bill because it "crossed moral boundaries". I suppose letting Israel run roughshod over Lebanon (because "Israel has a right to defend itself" with our weaponry of course), and continuing to kill hundreds of Iraqi civilians and US soldiers in a greedy, selfish war is perfectly moral, right?

I'm sure there's more to my list that I cannot recall, but that will have to suffice for now. In the meantime, check out this link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kk4O6B0CML4&search=bush%20groping%20chancellor

Happy Pride!

2006-06-23T12:22:00.000-04:00

In most major cities this weekend, Pride celebrations are taking place. Of course, you wouldn't even know anything remotely queer existed in this tiny village of big box drug stores and pizza places. Oh well, I digress. I'd really love to be in NYC this weekend to experience PRIDE. J and I were too hung over to fully enjoy the PRIDE in Minneapolis a couple years ago, but we managed to catch a glimpse of the parade and I even got teary-eyed over seeing parents march in support of their children. Fat chance I'd get either one of my folks involved in such things. My mother has taken to prefacing everything with: "he/she is a gay/lesbian, but that's ok". Oh, thanks. I get so fucking pissed at her for this behavior, or for privilegeing weddings, babies, and the entire existence of heterosexuality . . . I've been aware of being queer since I was in high school, but didn't really deal with it until undergrad, and even then it took me until grad school to "Come Out". A truly horrifying experience . . . I actually attribute a lot of my problems with my father to my queerness. The family betrayal and shame they displayed for a long, long, time made me hate my sexuality even more, often internalizing that anger on a partner, coming close (or in certain cases) ending the relationships. Now I find myself in a very settled, comfortable life, with a partner I love more than anything. And, frankly, I don't give two shits if it still bothers my parents . . .what a few years will do for your soul.

In honor of Pride 2006, I read an essay titled: *Queer Anti-Capitalism: What's Left of Gay and Lesbian Liberation?" by Alan Sears in the Jan. 2005 issue of Science and Society. Many points in the article reminded me of an interview with Barbara Smith in which she criticized the gay/lesbian liberation movement for it's abandonment of radical politics in favor of reform and consumerism. Indeed, the movement, as a whole, has been subjected to some of the most intense forms of commodification and, according to Sears, the movement exists happily (for some) and comfortably within the confines of advanced capitalism. Located within the folds of capital, the gay/lesbian movement finds itself in contradictory spaces. For example, Sears argues that during the last 30 years the movment has gained ground as more places/spaces have opened up for the queer identity, while other social movements went in "retreat". How did the gay liberation movement find itself progressing during a major rightward shift in our country's history? A lot had to do with changing social conditions . . .mostly related to a form of moral deregulation that accompanied the broadening of the neoliberal state. Who cares about "morals" if you can make a quick buck--so market niches were created, commodification intensified, while the bodies of poor queers, and queers of color, queer youth, and lesbians (in most cases) continued to be ignored. As evidence of this, take a walk down the Castro district in SF, and you'll see nothing but bars, businesses, hair salons, etc catering mostly to middle-class, upper-middle class white, gay men. Who works in these queer businesses? And, how are they treated? And, as usual where are the women? Another example involves the corporate sponsorhip of PRIDE marches. Smith was livid to see the Citibank (or some other label) logo on the back of PRIDE t-shirts . . . as I recall the Minnneapolis marches, the same corporatization of all things queer were everywhere . . .leading many to believe we had actually come a long way. No, we just brought in a ton of money for a market that gladly takes in queer dollars, while simultaneously policing other aspects of our lives. Such is the contradiction surrounding contemporary queer politics. As the movement became increasingly commodified, the more radical sectors that were born immediately after the post-Stonewall riots of 1969, seemed to give way due to lack of funding and resources . . . gone were community centers, shelters, AIDS activism and other cultural aspects that once defined a much more militant demand for sexual liberation. And, theoretically, Foucault marched in to the minds of queer thinkers, effectively removing any, liberatory potential that might have once existed. As the body of thought known as Queer Theory emerged, the politics took on a more playful, reformist, anything and everything goes mentality, completely divorced from the materiality of social life. And, so it goes. Not much has really changed, which is why I was thrilled to see an essay attempting to apply a marxist feminist analysis to the queer movement. I dug it for the most part, but it made me sad to see how the 1980s pretty much killed off any type of grassroots,radical analysis created in certain sectors of the gay/lesbian liberation movement. However, Sears concludes on a hopeful note: in the midst of growing global justice movements (at least those with an explicit anti-capitalist agenda) a space for queers needs to be developed and explored to get us back on the path towards liberation for all and not for the middle-upper-middle classes who have much better security over their working-class counterparts (marriage, domestic partnership, housing, health care, etc). I show the film *Southern Comfort* in my Intro classes, because it is entirely focused on poor, southern, transgendered people . . . and it provides a nice balance to the trendy, transgressive, images of gender "insurgents" that we are saturated with in the major cities (again the west coast comes to mind). Sometimes, if you don't live in a SF or NYC, being queer is lonely, tough, and not near as playful as one might think. On the pther hand, there are a ton of queer youth in this city having to hustle just to stay alive . . .mostly expelled from their own communities that refuse to accept anything other than a straight identity.

I'll end here. Happy PRIDE and may the tides start to turn towards a more progressive analysis in the 21st century. God knows, living in the heart of empire, we need a return to radical politics. And, fast.

In a Fix

2006-06-22T18:01:00.000-04:00

One week later, here is a not so happy post about the John Deere. After working on my paper for a couple hours, and suffering through a miserable US World Cup loss to Ghana, I decide to clear my head (in more ways than one) and start mowing! I manage to get most of the front yard done, when attempting to drop the blades for one last go around the clothes line, it fails to drop. Dammit. I knew from a month or so ago exactly what this meant: mower belt has come off. Ugh. This happened a month into owning the damn thing, and we immediately called the person we bought it from and they were cool about coming over. I just don't know if I want to do this again . . . on the one hand, I want to call her, but on the other, I don't want to be this annoying, neighbor who is going to fuss over every problem this mower has--we did buy it and maybe we should begn dealing with it? For those of you that troll this site and for those that respond, I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter. Here's where I stand: I'm ready to call our old lawn guy up and tell him to mow the backyard for the next 2 weeks until I get back from WV and we can handle it . . . here's why . . .

I began writing my paper yesterday and feel fairly focused about the direction it is heading in. And, to be perfectly honest, I don't need the distractions of this yard right now--and mom is coming in next Sunday, so I really want to get this finished and submitted PRONTO. Sigh. I don't mind the flowers, or the garden, but I'm really trying to work hard for the next week or so . . .which leads me to . . .

the realization that hard work, particularly of the intellectual kind, makes me drink more than usual (I think, could be the onset of summer, though I probably say this for every season). I doubt this is a good thing, but it appears to be working, so why tamper? Plus, it gets me away from World Cup soccer and bad Lifetime movies which has to be a good thing. I haven't, however, given up the YOU TUBE fixation.
Over on Feministing they had a funny post about a classic, Sandra Bernhard smack-down on The View. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwIO-DpLeHE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eavclub%2Ecom%2Fcontent%2F

Not sure if this will be a live link (just paste it) to see what I mean.

Not much else new, though I think Broken Social Scene's song "Hotel" is hot.

Later.

Strawberries!

2006-06-15T14:11:00.000-04:00

As I was in a weed whacking frenzy yesterday, I stumbled upon several patches of strawberries growing in and around our yard! It was hard to get a good pic of them, but they are pretty much everywhere.

Last night I was reading the local paper when I stumbled upon this comment in the "Through the Years" column: 95 Years Ago . . . Several flagrant instances of nocturnal raids on strawberry pacthes in this vicinity have been reported. Next to chiken stealing this is the most aggravating form of thievery and should be severely dealt with. And, that about sums up life in the village.

I'm procrastinating like a mo-fo today. I don't wanna do anything productive even though it is a beautiful day outside. So, instead I'll post some pop culture things I'm currently interested in:

1. Ruth Rendell's *13 Steps Down*--I'm always up for a summer mystery/crime novel so I'm gonna try Rendell and see what I think. This books has been getting favorable reviews (not that that really means much these days) in some different mags I've been reading.

2. Allison Bechdel's *Fun Home*--according to an interview Bechdel was inspired by *Maus* and wanted to create her own graphic novel memoir. I might go and buy this soon. I've only read her comic strip "Dykes To Watch Out For" a few times while browsing in bookstores, but I'm intrigued by her memoir.

3. I have a new crush on Kyra Sedgewick. Dunno, but when J would watch *The Closer* last summer I never could get into it that much. Since the season opener on Monday, I've been reading nothing but positive reviews about her character and the show in general. I think Season 2 is gonna be a good one. And, she's hot. Seriously.

4. Deadwood Season 2. I'm waiting for J's return to begin watching the second season. I think the final (or I believe some think it will be the final) season is currently showing.

5. The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs *Show Your Bones* is my fave album right now. Also, finding myself sucked into the MTV Spin of Gnarls Barkley's song "Crazy".

6. Quote that best sums up my state of mind today: "When everything is lonely I can be my own best friend. I get a coffee and the paper, have my own conversations." --Lua, Bright Eyes

Early to Rise

2006-06-14T13:11:00.000-04:00

6:30 AM: Wake-up to begin new dog routine. After an interesting chat with the trainer I learned two things: we have unwittingly been putting Mr. Jones in harm's way by letting him devour his rawhide bones. Ok, for those of you smirking and saying . . . "well, no shit!" just keep it to yourself. I feel like a big enough dumb ass as it is. Gees. Cats were never this fucking complicated for me. Anyway, I also discovered we haven't been feeding him correctly (apparently, this has to do with dominance, hierarchy, etc) so as pack leader I cleared out the cats this morning and let him eat breakfast at 6:40. And, by god, he munched and munched.

7:00 AM: Dog back on leash, coffee in hand, I march back to the bedroom so he can "digest" and I can lay back down and zone out watching "Washington Journal" on C-Span. I typically catch this show on the weekends, but I enjoyed it a great deal this morning because they were discussing Bush's "surprise" visit to Iraq. It's interesting (and despicable) that some of his minions claimed the 3 Guantanamo suicides were a "PR" stunt last week, but viewed his trip to Iraq as "courageous" and "daring" (um, they never let him in a car, he's in the most fortified zone of the country, and he's in and out within 5 hours) and get ruffled if you dare call it a PR move to help the Republicans in time for the mid-term elections. Sorry for the run-on sentence . . . too tired to rephrase. Anyway, some wacko called in and said he thought George Bush was a "wimp" just like his father and instructed people to google his name along with someone else to learn about his "gay" relationship!! What the fuck? It was funny to see the host squrim, thank the nutbar for his "commentary", and cut him off.

8:30 AM: Time for a brisk, 2 mile walk at Smith's favorite park.

9:15 AM: Breakfast (a delicious egg and cheese sandwich on english muffin).

9:30 AM: Deal with the dreaded gas weed-eater. Oh, how I hate small engines that won't start when you want them to!! Being a chick sucks for these reasons . . .after fixing its string, filling it with gas, and pushing the choke button 18 times, vrooom! My arm is now killing me from all of my weed whacking. I'll finish tomorrow--but as usual, I had to stop because we are now out of string.

10-ish: Destroy mushroom that was threatening to take over front yard. Seriously, that shroom sprung up after 6 days of solid rain last week. Fuck. I started to feel embarrassed by it because I could spot it down the road while driving. It took a shovel and filled a garbage bag to destroy--but mushroom be damned!

I've lost track of time: Mow an acre of grass and pray I have enough gas. My John Deere did not fail me! How I love our riding lawn mower. I should write a blog just about it one day . . .

12:30-ish: Hand weed our garden. Perhaps the most despicable outdoor chore I have to do. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to get every, single blade of grass and clump of clover out of there, but after 30 minutes I'm spent. Whatever. There are no major weeds choking the garden and I can walk down the rows with ease--seems good enough for me.

1:00 PM: Rest, relax, blog. I need to work on a document for school that's due Friday, and I need to hit the grocery store (yay, our local store has opened up, so it's just around the corner) for some grub this evening. Not sure if either will get accomplished.

Until tomorrow . . . I'm out.

Nada

2006-06-13T20:48:00.000-04:00

I got nothing to say today . . . but in an earlier entry I promised to update my blog on a weekly, if not daily, basis. So here goes...

1. Been reading *White Love and Other Events in Filipino History*. As an anti-nationalist text, it will help in my own effort to recuperate an anti-imperialist, nationalist feminist mode of analysis amidst all the disjuncture, chaos, and desire that continues to characterize most feminist theorizing.

2. One of the most overused words in academic writing is: constitutive.

3. 1 bottle of Corona Light poured into a pint class and topped off with Clamato juice (sprinkle of salt is optional) is one of the most divine summer drinks ever created. A bottle of bud, miller, or other innocuous light beer will work too. For my beer aficionado friends: I know, I know. This combo really sounds hideous, but for my low brow summer beer drinking months, there's nothing comparable.

4. Scotch and soda has now officially surpassed vodka and tonic as my second favorite summer drink of all time. MMMMMMMM Good. Because I enjoy them so much, I have chosen not to drink them while alone for the month of June. Not a good idea.

5. I've become addicted to "Little People, Big World" on the Discovery Channel. And, sadly, find myself tuned in to "Cheaters" late-night-- a program that is perhaps one of the worst television shows to hit the airwaves. How does that "host" not get his ass totally kicked?

6. "Baghdad Burning" remains one of my favorite blogs. Enjoyed her latest posting on the killing of Zarqawi--she poses a simple question: do policy-makers, puppet legislators, and war-mongers really believe that that his killing will end the insurgency as long as a foreign military continues to occupy Iraq? It was a strange coincidence: the very day his dead body was paraded all over the corporate media I received my monthly copy of *The Atlantic* titled: Jihad with a pic of the Most Wanted photo of Zarqawi on the cover.

7. Read a Marjorie Cohn piece about the 3 Guantanamo suicides . . . discovered the Bush administration was currently spending $30 million to build permanent cells.

8. Attention "illegal aliens": if you want to stay in the United States here's a quick and easy way: sign up for the US armed forces and after serving one day, you will be eligible for US citizenship. The US govenrment has been particularly successful using this strategy with the Latino population. Stevie Wonder's "Frontline" is running through my head.

9. Have become fascinated by "You Tube" videos!

10. Miss my girl like crazy.

Dirty Old Men

2006-06-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

I guess this belt buckle says it all. In my opinion, there is nothing more gross than a dirty old man cruising a park in the morning. Soon after we got Smith, I took him to a park and was approached by this old geezer who A) wanted to know if the dog was friendly and B) wondered how long the park/trail was. On the surface, these questions seem benign, but the creepy smile, leering eyes conveyed a different message. Maybe you have to be a chick to know these things. Once I responded negatively to question A, dirtly old geezer left me alone.

On this fine, overcast, chilly June morning, my boy and I were happily taking our morning walk at another park when I saw a black sedan driving slowly through the park. As we approach, the sedan stops and an elderly man gets out to examine a ball field. Hmm . . . I figured he might be an umpire of a little league game or something. By the time we pass, he's back in the car, giving me a slow wave. Not wanting to appear unfriendly to old folks, I wave back and proceed along my way. By the time I reach the end of the trail, I spy the car approaching us again . . .this time very, very, slow and now the window is rolling down. Ok, this time I figure old man is going to give a compliment to my very handsome dog--something that has become a regular part of our walks (sorry to brag, but the dog is dashing). But no. He leans his head out the window and says: "You cutie speed walker." As if he's used to repeating himself (maybe to his friends back at the home) he says it again with even more gusto. Aha! He appears to be missing some important teeth! God, had I stood there one more second, I am convinced he would have flashed me in the car. And that, my friends, is something I did not want to see!

I wish Mr. Jones would be more tolerant of other dogs because there is a cool group of women (and I'm all about the chicks) that drove by me today with their dogs . . . they must meet at 8 and take this beautiful creek trail (though I would have imagined it to be really, really muddy considering it poured rain all day yesterday with plans to continue through Saturday) every morning. One chick caught my eye, because she had this beautful retriever and seemed equally impressed with my son. I swore I wouldn't become one of these people who wanted to be a part of the dog bunch, but I think I'd prefer their company over lecherous 80 year old men driving dark sedans.

Hmmm. I have cooked up a plan to try to be with people, real people, and not shedding, meowing, barking, creatures either this evening or tomorrow . . .but I hope I don't attract my usual gaggle of freaks (see my post a few days ago about my trip to WV). I was thinking coffee shop, but that seems lame, and I prefer a bar, so I'm going to hit this place that several people have mentioned. It looks clean, and maybe a place where I could take a book if all else fails . . . but hopefully I can have a meaningful conversation that consists of more than: want to go out? are you hungry? etc. If I remember to bring my PDA, I'll document the adventure.

Ok, there's more to say, but I have to get back to the books. I've been reading Aijaz Ahmad's *In Theory* and have found it to be indispensable for my own thinking, writing. I ordered my own copy, so hopefully I can get the books I need to begin the writing process. If anything, Ahmad has reminded me of how much I absolutely love theory . . . something that my old job pretty much beat out of me, but man, am I ever glad to be back to it. I feel like I'm in grad school again . . .it's so invigorating! Now, if only the rain would break, and the temps would warm up, my life would be perfect.

Being Public Enemy #1 in a Time of War

2006-06-05T20:27:00.000-04:00

As I was mowing, weeding, and doing all those things I promised in an earlier blog that would make me more than an aesthetic butch, I couldn't help but think we live in one of the most *fuct* countries. Before dragging myself outside today I did my usual web surfing: check email, check favorite blogs, read stupid MSN gossip, watch MSN video about Shrub's latest efforts to fuck over us queers, stop. Check email again, read more blogs about the Federal Marriage Amendment, stop. Oh, fuck it. Here we go again. Why am I so surprised? In the midst of more bad press concerning the Haditha massacre--and yes, I consider this shit to be a massacre--let's talk about those damned queers undermining the morality of our nation, our children, and our families. I guess living in a militarized state, invading and occupying a sovereign country, detaining (I'm starting to hate that word) thousands more in orange jumpsuits with burlap sacks over their heads, proudly posing beside dead Iraqi bodies, isn't all that menacing, or immoral, or sick, or unjust, as two people who simply want to marry in this country. Er, two people of the same sex! Egads!!

Anyway, I was going to blog and go on and on this latest presidential diversion until I received this article from a friend. Check it out:

www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060506A.shtml

Theater of the absurd indeed.

BAD TV

2006-06-03T19:01:00.000-04:00

Because it has been raining all damn day, and I've been stuck in the house with the hound dog, I've done nothing but watch bad, very bad, tv. And, yes, the infamous "network for women" was involved, but it all started going downhill with another vapid MTV show titled: "NEXT". I just googled this program and discovered they are accepting applications right now . . . so if any of you are "Hot" and "Outgoing" and between 18-25, and willing to be the next biggest imbecile to hit MTV, do a google search and sign up! Seriously, the show's premise revolves around a male/female (straight or gay--you know MTV is incredibly hip to the token) who wants a date (not very original . . . Chuck Woolery's "Love Connection" was sooo much better) and they have 5 people to choose from. The episode I watched involved a young, white man who liked the "Rat Pack" era in music and wanted a like-minded gal. The 5 contestants were all competitive, shallow, catty, "stupid girls" (a la the Pink song/video) who really made women look like fucking fucks. Sorry. I can't think of anything else to call them. They made me embarassed to be a chick. Ugh. At least I'm not straight.

Anyway, between that show, My Super Sweet 16, The Hills (the spin-off of Laguna Beach) etc. MTV has really taken a terrible nose dive in the 21st century. Now, I know there are some high minded people out there who have never found value in MTV, ever, but I do think it had some potential for a while--potential to talk to a young demographic about social issues (AIDS, sexuality (and not the token stuff), class, race, etc). All that has been abandoned in favor of the ruling elite and their offspring. Oh god. It's simply reprehensible. And, what ever happened to the music videos??

I don't recall ever living in a place where it could simply rain non-stop for over 24 hours. It has never stopped raining today . . .in a moment of guilt and careless abandon I decided to leash up the aforementioned hound and take him for a walk in the rain . . . and then for a drive around "town" just to get out of the soggy, depressing house. Getting soaked with your mutt is far better than sitting on your ass watching 18 year old girls describe how a doctor took "3lbs" off each breast!!!!

On another rant about tv, has anyone seen the recent Miller Lite commercials? I think there should be a letter-writing campaign about their recent "Man-Law" series which features a group of men (all ages) sitting around a conference table discussing "man laws". The most offensive, and one that J brought to my attention, involves this slogan: You poke it, you own it. Of course, they are supposedly talking about when waiters grab beer off of a table and put their fingers in the bottles to hold them, but seriously . . . when you hear a chorus of men stating "you poke it, you own, it" and then declaring proudly "MAN LAW" . . . it takes on a completely different meaning. Just tune into any sporting prgram and you'll see a bunch of these stupid commercials. They might even be paired with the Burger King commericals which feature men, er excuse me, real men hungry for their beef. I think BK is doing a little Helen Reddy parody of "I am Woman".

Back to the couch. Hopefully the weather will break and I'll have more stimulating stuff to talk about tomorrow.

Ready. Set. Go!

2006-06-02T17:40:00.000-04:00

Today begins a month of separation for J and I. I'm excited for her fellowship, and am looking forward to hearing about the research/interviews she conducts while in WV,VA, and KY. In the meantime, I'm trying to adjust and cope with the SILENCE of this big, old house. And, of course, figuring out how to keep an old hound dog occupied and not fixated on the fact that his favorite pal has flown the coop for a while. He seems anxious and nervous (never a good sign for Smith J), so I've tossed some football and done some brushing to keep him from nipping at my hands.

Seems like all of our old friends are keeping busy with their academic/scholarly research over the summer. I think phone calls and emails will help to keep some of us on task. I figure I'll go ahead and make a book order this evening and begin mapping out my chapters for this book project of mine. It helps keep me sane if I only think of this in small chunks--paper by paper--instead of a monstrous book that I must (absolutely MUST) complete. So, for those of you interested in my work, I'm planning to recover/recuperate a nationalist feminist project. Specifically, I aim to map out the trajectory of current feminist theory on transnationalism and the way this particular form of thinking has been used to understand the Philippines. Unfortunately, I believe most hot, trendy, feminist thinking these days has continued to obscure the structural inequality wrough by globalizing processes, ignored the vital role nationalist, anti-imperialist movements have and continue to play in the RP, and simply celebrate the exotic, Pinay/Pinoy identity. In short, what's currently in vogue these days is about as anti-revolutionary as you can get--and it's happening when the civil liberties of Filipinos in their homeland are being curtailed on a daily basis by a paranoid government hell bent on silencing any enemies (ie primarily those located on the Left) via murder and intimidation. It's really a scary and serious situation that requires an equally rigorous and serious analysis--not the fluff that is currently masquerading behind buzz words such as complexity and hybridity. This kind of thinking will more than likely get you tenure, but what impact does it really have on figuring out contemporary realities?

Don't take me to a bar with you

2006-06-01T13:39:00.000-04:00

in mid may we traveled to wv to attend j's sister's graduation from nursing school. with smith in tow, we made the 9 hour trek to parkersburg and settled in for a weekend of graduation festivities. after the usual graduation dinner, a group of us went out on the town for some libations, karaoke (i bailed on this event), and good times. living in the middle of nowhere ny made this outing all the more fun . . . after many beers, we found ourself at the fine establishment known only as club 47. i should have known something was amiss when we sat down and noticed a mirrored wall that stated in gold lettering: pole dance at own risk yes, tis true. we took a photo to prove it . . .just waiting for c (j's sister) to send it our way. anyway, aside from the lone gold pole situated in the corner, club 47 was your average karaoke, rough neck, type of bar. feeling buzzed and generous, i go to the bar and ask for some more beer and shots for the table (some red bull concoction with vodka that was recommended to me by a fellow graduate). this, my friends, is where the fun ended.

awaiting me at the bar was jesus. yes, jesus. only this jesus was tending bar, high as a kite on what appeared to be crustal meth given his nasty and un-jesus like temperment. when i placed my order, jesus snarled at me and said: "give me your id". when i showed him my beer that i ordered from the bar just a few minutes ago (as drunken proof that i had already passed the id test and been served), he accused me of sneaking the beer in and trying to gegt his establishment closed down!!! NO SHIT. Meanwhile, while my ass is being chewed out for crimes I did not commit, J and others are having a fine time bantering with this guy . . . he's serving them, but NOT me. Finally, he gives me my order and I leave it at that.

Although shaken up by this total asshole, I find myself distracted by a song I've never ever heard before (and god willing, won't ever have to hear again):Cadillac Pussy. Yep. Again, all this is happening in the same night. Perhaps this is not the song title, but it sure as hell was the refrain, and seated in front of the gold pole, we witnessed a woman show off her supposed c.p. Time for another shot. As I approach meth head with some trepidation, I order a shot, a beer, and a diet coke for c. instead of a diet coke, he gives me a jack and coke. i explain that i never ordered a jack and coke and he FREAKS out on me and threatens to kick me out of the bar. yes, friends, it is not good when jesus turns on you.

in the midst of this turmoil, i'm also having a conversation with a guy named cletus (clee-tus) who performed some metallica songs on stage. cletus was a nice enough guy, though a bit odd, who had a classic t-shirt that read: save a tree, eat a beaver. or something along those lines . . . i was trying to buy it off of him, but was quickly reprimanded by my girl. anyways, i have many photos to prove this adventure took place. i'll post as soon as they arrive . . .

Get your till on.

2006-05-30T12:03:00.000-04:00

Whoa. This has been a spring/summer filled with small engines, choke buttons, gas, oil, and sore muscles. We bought a used John Deere riding lawn mower in early spring, followed by a gas weed eater, and just this past weekend rented a mid-size roto-tiller. Ouch. A few weeks back J told me she believed I was an "aesthetic butch" -- meaning my "butchness" began and ended with my mannerisms, clothing, etc. Although I agree with her characterization, I believe this summer of mowing, weeding, gardening, and other home improvement projects (deck painting) will transform this aesthetic butch into all-purpose, handy type of gal.

Since summer has arrived, I promise to keep my blog updated on a weekly (could be daily) basis from here on out. There's no excuse for my monthly postings, other than sheer laziness and fear of not having anything meaningful to write about. As J prepares to embark on her great adventure, I am mentally mapping out my plans to survive a quiet existence in what is commonly referred to as: "centrally isolated" New York. For starters, I must write every single day. No excuses. And, that writing does not include the blog. I must get back to my research and get cranking. I am pretending that I am writing a diss all over again . . . deadlines, daily sentence construction, new/fresh ideas (easily the most daunting part of the whole thing) and have 25 pages written by the end of June. This is completely possible. I could, considering how much I've "read", bang out a paper in a much shoter period, but I am an agonizingly SLOW writer. I hate to put pen to paper, finger to keyboard, etc. You get the picture.

Aside from taking care of my intellectual self, I will nurture the physical through hard labor mentioned above (weed-eating, mowing an acre of land, weeding a massive garden, pruning flowers inside and out) and walking a 60 lb hound we call Smith Jones. Because of his recent hostility to anything he perceives as encroaching on his pack (me, J and the house) J suggetsed we change his name from Smith Jones to simply Smith and Wesson. Spiritually, I will probably read some novels, preferably the good old junk mystery novels of Grafton (I've been stalled on Q for over two years), and some Literature that I have on hand at the house. And, Netflix. Add in some phone calls to friends, and the month of June should whiz by . . .

So, I'm in my office on a 90 degree day, preparing to reflect on my year. I should close for now, but check back for a new dispatch from me tomorrow.

Kudos to Rolling Stone

2006-04-21T09:46:00.000-04:00

Now the Drudge Report, among other conservative websites, are having a field day with this Rolling Stone cover--set to hit stores today. As usual, in their simpleton, knee-jerk manner, they are questioning the credibility of Sean Wilentz's assessment of this presidency. I know I've often wondered if he could be worse than Ronnie, and other bloggers have made the case that he's bad, but he's not as bad as others. I disagree. Given the world events that have occurred while he's been in office, events that have been provoked in many ways by US foreign policy decisions (see PNAC), the course this president is one is a predictable one.

In late March Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog From Iraq was short listed for the Samuel Johnson Non-Fiction Award. For those unfamiliar with this book, I suggest you drop everything, run to your nearest bookstore (or go online and order), and read, read, read. Better yet, you can find everything online at:
www.riverbendblog.blogspot.com
I wasn't aware of the blog's existence back in 2003 when the US launched the illegal war against Iraq. Still, reading the book 3 years into the occupation, makes me realize how badly things have gone wrong. We are lucky to have a first hand account of what it's like to live in the middle of chaos, to live in the midst of unrelenting bombing, raids, abduction, rape, and fear. Because the blogger uses the pseudonym "Riverbend", writes in English, and has computer access, albeit intermittently, many critics have accused her of being a fraud. It reminds me of the controversy surrounding I, Rigoberta Menchu that surfaced a few years ago when a scholar decided that Menchu fabricated some of the deaths of her family members in Guatemala. By quibbling over a few details, or a few words, these detractors miss the larger point of war, paramilitary death squads, and illegal, unjust occupation. But, I suppose that is their ultimate aim: to serve as apologists for US imperial aggression. Many of the death squads in Guatemala were trained in Ft. Benning at the School of Americas (er, should I say the western hemisphere institute for security and cooperation), and well, we all know about the debacle in Iraq.

I was having dinner with some friends a few weeks ago when someone posed this question: what is the best thing that can come out of this war in Iraq? Minutes ticked by before the answer: the US is finally being revealed as an imperialist, occupying country. Of course, many folks around the world already knew this, but maybe, just maybe, more US citizens are beginning to see through the fog of jingoism, yellow ribbons, and magnetic flags to see the horror of US foreign policy. I was pleased, but disappointed to see 4 generals call for Rumsfeld's resignation couple weeks ago. Why disappointed? It's a little too late. We needed these voices prior to the invasion. And, Rummy isn't the only enemy. It's Bush and Cheney pulling the strings. It's Bush that authorized the leak in the Plame case. Where are the indictments? Where are the criminal charges? Where are the calls for resignation?

Code Pink has recently released a 20 page report about the situation of Iraqi women during the occupation. The report is grim:

Not surprisingly, Iraqi women fared much, much better under Saddam. How's that for liberation, US-style?

Christian Values

2006-04-14T11:58:00.000-04:00

this past week i have received two emails detailing homophobia on college campuses.

incident #1: a student at the university of cumberlands was expelled from school after administrators discovered he was gay through a "my space" website. according to an article printed in the lexington herald, the school defends its decision because the student "promotes sexual behavior not consistent with Christian principles".

incident #2: A federal lawsuit has been filed against Georgia Tech on behalf of religious students who feel their constitutional right to free speech has been threatened by the "gay tolerant" policies of Georgia Tech. Here's more:

The lawsuit alleges that the school policy discriminates against
Christian and Jewish students by barring them from speaking out against
homosexuality and other issues.

Ruth Malhotra, a conservative Christian, one of the students represented
by the ADF, said she has had her free speech "stifled, hindered and
threatened". The other student, Orit Sklar is president of Hillel, the
Jewish student group. The lawsuit is also being supported by the campus
Republican club.

Nice, huh? See what happens to basic human rights when you live in a right-wing, militarized, anti-immigrant, war-mongering police state? I'm not sure I can last until 2008.

Half Empty

2006-04-10T22:05:00.000-04:00

I live for the weekends these days. A bit of wine, good music, tasty food, and smart conversation are all I really need for a good weekend. By Monday, however, all those good vibes quickly disappear, and I feel like this wine glass--half-empty, shot, beat, kicked, you name it. I don't want this entry to turn into one of those cliche "I-hate-Mondays" rants, but I'm seriously already zapped before the week has begun. Last week was a bear. I had a conference to attend, 8 days to think about whether or not the "spots" on my mammogram were simply "spots" or bad, evil, eating-me-alive spots, papers to read, grade, read, grade, read, etc. It was a bear. Because I'm simply too tired to write normal paragraphs this evening, I'll just give a list of things that I've been up to since my last post about dogs.

1. Mammography: a torture machine. Waiting over an hour for a doctor to read your results in a waiting room with 6 other women wearing the same flowered robes watching Martha Stewart: even more torturous. Being the only one left out of the original gang of six in my robe watching reruns of Seinfeld? Terrifying. And, finally being told that I need an ultrasound to clarify whether "spots" are liquid or soft? Well, anyone that is remotely acquainted with me, can already guess how I took that news. Cried like a baby--in my car of course, since I had another hour to kill before the little breast that could be crushed no more was once again put under the spotlight. I feel thankful for the thoroughness of the doctors, and will continue my yearly check-ups, but there's nothing like that phone call telling you of "spots" that can quickly turn any good day (or 8 for that matter) into a paranoid, fretful, stew of worry and dread.

2. The Conference: this occurred the Saturday before #1, so I was caught up in the stew of worry and dread, but bound and determined to read my paper, and continue to forge ahead with professional duties. I, unlike many of my friends, loathe conferences. I love the cities and the sight-seeing, but somehow I don't really enjoy the conferences themselves. This time was no different. However, I did get to spend some qaulity time with my former diss advisor and her husband--and learn about their trip to Venezuela. The Bolivarian Revolution is pretty damned fascinating. More on that later . . .

3. Walking: Smith Jones has J and I walking all over this village. I've been up one street and down another, into one subdivision and out the other, up one major hill, in two different town parks. Rest. Sleep. Pant. Drool. Do it all over again! Having a dog sure beats a Y membership . . . I guess.

Those are the major personal things that have me at half-mast this Monday evening. I'm just spent from a week of worrying, writing, and walking.

Canis Familiaris or You Lucky DOG

2006-03-22T10:33:00.000-05:00

This here is a picture of Smith. A german shepard mix of some sort (chow? collie?) that J and I met last Monday in WV. At the time, Smith was not Smith, but simply "boy" and/or "puppy". We were hanging out on the porch of J's mother when we first eyed this fine specimen of dog over at the neighbor's house--and were immediately taken by his friendliness and good looks. Although Smith was quick to greet everyone in the neighborhood, he tended to retreat to Freddy's (neighbor) porch--thus we assumed he belonged to Freddy's family. As the week progressed we noticed that Smith never went in the house (even when temps dropped in the evening), prompting us to worry a bit about his food and shelter situation. Freddy's other dog had a house outside, but Smith did not. How could this be? One day during a pleasant walk, we took some leftovers to Smith (meatloaf and potatoes) which he promptly devoured. We knew we shouldn't probably do this (since we thought this was Freddy's dog), but damn, he looked hungry and cold. On Friday, J awoke to a loud raucous next door--barking, barking, barking, and looked out the bedroom window to see a white truck taking Smith away. ANIMAL CONTROL. Bad news. Someone (more than likely Freddy) called the law on Smith. Visibly shaken, the two of us jumped in the car, pajama pants still on, to try and track down the truck! When this failed, we called the local shelter and gave a description of the truck (they confirmed this was an animal control vehicle and said they would drop all animals off to their shelter--they advised us to call back in two hours to see if Smith was dropped off). After busying ourselves for the next couple of hours, we called the shelter back; it was confirmed that our "boy" had been dropped off and was now sitting in a cage waiting to be adopted. Because the shelter was full, they told us that after 5 days Smith would be euthanized!! In one of our most spontaneous decisions ever made as a couple, we hauled ass to the shelter, plopped down $30, and sprung Smith from the humane society. As cat lovers, and owners of three indoor cats, we really had no idea what to do with this new dog we called Smith. The rest is history . . . we adopted him on Friday, took him to the vet and groomer, and hauled his lucky ass back to NY on Sunday.

Now we have three cats and a dog. Since Smith was such a sweet animal towards people, we hoped and prayed he would would be decent with our kitty cats. Not so. In the house we have to keep him on a leash or in a kennel until he shows some respect . . . we will not take any risks with our cats. But, we have decided to commit to Smith, and will be patient while he adjusts to his new housemates and vice versa. I think the cats are mostly curious . . . albeit a bit frightened . . . but we are spending quality time with everyone to ensure no trauma or hurt feelings.

Spring Break Road Trip 2006 really turned out to be an adventure. We are new to this dog thing, and feel wore out most of the time, but it's turning out to be a pretty cool experience. He's a bud and one hell of a lucky dog.

Road Trips

2006-03-11T20:42:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we set off on our Spring Break road trip 2006. I've always enjoyed the *idea* of road trips, but typically, I'd rather fly to save on time and/or car mileage. Yes, the latter is a weird little neuroses of mine that is directly related to my fiscal issues. Anyway, this year I am trying to break old, bad habits. In addition to becoming a better wife, I am determined to become a better road tripper. So, as we head for warmer climes and mountain air, I am definitely geared up for the adventure. We might stop off in a cool city during our return trip to do artsy/touristy things, another advantage driving has over flying--those unexpected side trips.

I hope to get some work done while on break too. I have a conference coming up at the end of March and I really need to get cracking on a paper. So, like every other trip I take, I've packed a ton of books (around 10) with the full intention of reading, taking notes, etc. Hopefully, this trip will be different than my previous ones, where I simply end up throwing my book bag in a room, never to take one note or read one word while vacationing. Oh well, maybe my books provide me with a sense of security or comfort--even if they remain unopened.

J and I took a lovely walk through our town this afternoon. I'm enjoying the hell out of 50 degree weather and sunshine. On our way back we placed we an order for a pizza at a local eatery. Let me say that you simply cannot, absolutely cannot, beat a NY pepperoni and mushroom pizza. When we left the state to embark on our midwestern adventure, I felt sad to leave the NY pizzeria's behind. Sad no more. In almost any town in NY, you are bound to find a decent slice!

I doubt I'll be doing much updating to my blog while on the road, but I hope to take some cool, grainy photos of our trip with my PDA to share upon our return.

Now, to finish my packing . . .

On Not Being a Wife

2006-03-10T11:06:00.000-05:00

i hate grocery shopping. i'll manage to weasel my way out of this domestic duty for months on end. it's terrible. i feel bad for j, cause she's always burdened with planning meals, and making lists, and planning more meals, and running errands. so the cycle goes. oh, i'll pitch in with the laundry--especially when it warms up (because i'm a fool for hanging clothes out on the line), and i'll cook the food that j picks up at the store, and i'll occasionally find myself obsessed with keeping the kitchen super clean . . . but overall, i suck at being a "wife". other than money (because i'm way too neurotic about finances, something i try to work on, but still have a LONG way to go), reproductive work is probably the only other issue we have that comes between us. sigh.

we've been down to one car for a while, so i decided to drop j off to school this morning and do our shopping (mind you, it was only 3 items that needed to be picked up) for our road trip we are taking tomorrow. during this experience, i realized that i could start to enjoy the store more if i just went at the 9:00 am hour. the store is empty, no screaming kids, just me and the "early bird" set winding our carts up and down the aisles with no apparent purpose. i had to get some cat litter too, so i found target equally exciting!! just me, my cart, and a huge, generic, box store all to myself. i've actually been in a super mood since doing my "chores", so hopefully i'm making a break-through. i think there's still hope i can become a better wife!!

maybe my mood has been enhanced by the warm weather today. we are nearing 60, with overcast skies (as usual), but it feels awesome not to don a coat, hat, and gloves. spring is definitely in the air. and, i'm now officially on break for the next 17 days. woo-hoo.

happy friday!

grief

2006-03-08T12:09:00.000-05:00

i've always been told that grief comes in waves. i'll say. i've been missing my nana like crazy these days. it's been 4 months since she died, and i still miss hearing her voice on the phone, or calling for a weekly update to see how she's feeling. i don't know. things just haven't been "right" since she passed. mom has begun the depressing task of cleaning out her house, transferring car titles, dealing with hospital bills, etc. death. ma told me that she found a tape "nana's favorites" that j. and i made for her years ago. i still remember when nana called to let us know she received the tape--buzzed on bloody mary's with johnny cash or willie nelson blaring in the background. good times. the other night when i was overtaken with grief i begged nana to give me a "sign" that she was ok. i guess this is what we do when we grieve. we just cling to something, some sign of "life", some hope, something. i wonder if she knew how much i loved her? i hope so. still missing you nana.

ael

Misanthropic

2006-02-28T11:41:00.000-05:00

Am I a misanthrope? Perhaps. The past few weeks would certainly indicate that I am veering ever closer to becoming one. Lately, I've been surprised by just how stupid, reactionary, and intolerable this world has become. What I've become most bothered by, and this could be due to my occupation, is the unabashed hateful, attacks on the LGBT community, and the unrelenting assault/backlash on feminism. Oh surprise! Yes, I have often ridiculed and critiqued aspects of the women's movement for it's classism, racism, and ethnocentrism (to name a few), and I grapple with the direction it is currently heading in, but these critiques are quite different from the overtly stupid people who fear/ridicule the movement, poke fun of people they don't like, or still believe it is "male-bashing." Did I say stupid?

1. The homophobe. Hands-down the homophobe is the most irritating person to deal with. Whether it be the booster club at Gonzaga State chanting "Brokeback Mountain" to the opposing teams, or a machete wielding fool in New Bedford, Mass, or a personal acquaintance/friend/family member, the homophobe's irrationality regarding sexuality is laughable, idiotic, and DANGEROUS. I've had to deal with this kind of behavior from my own family members, but I refuse to suffer these fools in my own life/friendships.

2. The anti-feminist. Closely related to the homophobe, the anti-feminist is a deeply insecure individual that lacks the intellectual ability to re-imagine a world not based on sexist, racist, classist, or homophobic relationships. The anti-feminist comes in a number of different guises: the right wing reactionary, the elitist, intellectual snob who snubs the discipline of feminist inquiry because it is "soft" and supposedly "anti-intellectual," or the threatened male/female who believes feminist analyses are nothing but victim-spewing vile. Like other social movements, feminism certainly has its share of troubles and internal divisions, but to dismiss the movement altogether is just stupid and dumb. And, I personally, am quite tired of idiots.

3. The "I blame Katrina victims for not leaving when they had a chance" dumb ass. Oh, really? Wow. Recent reports indicate that most charitable foundations have now run out of money, or at least exhausted 2/3 of received donations. Great. J told me about an interview she recently watched with "Brownie." When Shrub and Dick asked Brownie to assess the situation in New Orleans, Brownie reportedly stated: 90% of people living in the region have been displaced. To which Shrub responds, 90%, huh? So, what happened? 11,000 trailers became ruined because the federal government couldn't get it together, and people still don't know whether their family members/friends are still alive, and death and decay are everywhere while people are back to drinking it up on Bourbon Street. Mardi Gras my ass. It makes me sick.

4. The "we are making progress in Iraq" fool. Have you checked the death count lately? Civilian deaths are anywhere between 28,000-32,000. When Shrub was televised over the weekend expressing worry over an impending Civil War in Iraq, I just had to fucking laugh. We had a teach-in at another university where my colleagues were predicting a civil war . . . now the Bush administration is worried? Give me a fucking break. Our teach in was over three years ago.

Wars, natural disasters, homophobes and anti-feminists have my blood boiling these days. And, yet, somehow we can all manage to turn on our computers, open newspapers/magazines to see if Britney is pregnant again, to see if Tom and Katie are going to stay together, to see if the Olsen twins are eating, or any other stupid item that now counts as "news" in this overly saturated, celebrity-obsessed culture.

Good riddance Justine

2006-01-28T11:46:00.000-05:00

Tsk Tsk Justine. What a terrible, terrible show of bad sportsmanship. You had a stomach ache? You doubled your anti-inflammatory meds for your shoulder problem, which led to your tummy troubles? You won $600,000 for retiring because you "didn't have any legs"?? You take away what should be a sweet victory for Mauresmo by retiring because you knew that you couldn't win the match when you stepped onto Center Court? I have stayed awake at nights watching this long tournament unfold, and I feel like this is one of the worst (only 4th time in women's finals history) displays of unsportsmanlike behavior I've seen. No, I'm not a fan of Henin-Hardenne. But, all my personal feelings aside, I think this was a terrible end to a pretty damn good tournament. I've seen Samparas puke on the court, Roddick writhe with muscle cramps in between points, Venus play with a pectoral muscle strain, Serena down Pepto Bismol on the sidelines, Lindsay hit balls with a whole host of injuries, Clijsters hit amazing shots with a bad wrist AND hip, but this Justine? A sour stomach from meds? Give me a break. And, you are not gracious in defeat. No, not you. Instead, during your post match interview, you claim you had no pace on the ball, you were playing away from your baseline, therefore allowing Mauresmo to have "time" make shots, and lessen her chance for error. So, really, had you been playing 100% the title would have been yours, right? Get over it. You were outmatched, plain and simple, and you freaked, and threw in the towel rather than suffer a good ol fashioned ass kicking. This is another blow to women's tennis, but I hope people will begin to see through Henin-Hardenn's sorry tactics. There's other people out there with a pretty backhand--and I think one of them goes by the name of Mauresmo.

Grizzly Man

2006-01-06T10:15:00.000-05:00

Last night we watched the documentary *Grizzly Man,* detailing the life of Timothy Treadwell. For those that don't know the story, Treadwell had been spending the past 13 summers living among grizzly bears in the Alaskan wilderness. In October of 2003 he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were mauled to death the day before he was set to head back to CA. The majority of the documentary consists of video shot by Treadwell during his summer "expeditions", revealing some unbelieveable footage of grizzly bear activity/behavior. What made Treadwell such an interesting subject was his persistent belief that he could live, survive, and eventually become a part of the grizzly bear habitat/community. Some of the footage shows him touching grizzlies on the nose, swimming with grizzlies, camping next to fox dens, etc. Of course, his behavior drew the ire of many for what they considered his naivete, and the "dengerous" message he was sending about humans attempting to live among wild animals. All of these concerns are valid and interesting, but what I want to focus this entry on is Werner Herzog's (director) treatment of Treadwell's material.

All documentaries, at some level, reveal the filmmaker's desire to convey a certain message. Although this film has garnered much critical acclaim, I think Herzog's manipulation of Treadwell's story ultimately detracts from the compelling story of his life. Thus, while viewers might ponder the ethical questions concerning the attempts of "man" to conquer nature, I became distracted by Herzog's attempt to conquer Treadwell. For example, on several different occasions, Herzog inserts himself in the film via narration to take issues with some of Treadwell's positions about grizzlies and nature, or to simply censor Treadwell's anger against the Park service. In one revealing scene, Treadwell is seen ranting at his camera over the park service (they were threatening to ban him from the park because he wouldn't follow their rules about keeping safe distances from the bears), poachers, and others who wish to kill or harm animals. Herzog allows viewers to see this footage, but turns the volume down because he (Herzog) doesn't think Treadwell is being "fair" to the National Park service. This certainly raises interesting research and methodlogical questions, and I'm thinking this would be a good film for a research methods course. All that said, Herzog does have sympathy for Treadwell, and I am definitely glad such a film was made. It's a must see if you ever get a chance.

Happy 2006.

strike on!

2005-12-21T14:53:00.000-05:00

Day two of the NYC transit workers strike has Bloomberg in a tizzy. I just watched a news conference with him where he described the strike as: "illegal" and "selfish." Since the strike has begun, the union has been slapped with a million dollar fine, and a 2 day wage loss for each day an individual striker remains on the picket line. Apparently, jail time is the latest threat looming over this situation. During his news conference, Bloomberg did what most politicians and anti-labor folks do: they complain about the inconvenience of striking, without ever once thinking about the structural reasons that propel people to risk wage cuts, loss of jobs, etc to strike for what they believe they deserve as workers. Some of the examples he used included people not being able to get to their chemo/radiation treatments, hospitals in short supply of necessary blood supplies for surgery, etc. No doubt the health care and maintenance of all people is important to consider, and the strike certainly is trickling down and impacting folks in a number of diffcult ways. However, much of this nightmare and "inconvenience" could have been avoided if negotiaters could come to a decent agreement. And, pensions, wage increases, AND health benefits are some of the issues the strikers want resolved. If anything, what this strike illustrates is how the low-wage laborer, literally keep global cities like NYC running. We hear how the strike is costing the city 400 million a day, without ever once hearing what low wages, lack of pensions for newly hired workers, and the absence of decent and affordable health care cost workers every single day. And, as a multi, multi millionaire (or billionaire), I seriously doubt Bloomberg is in touch with these realities. So, it's easy to distort and manipulate people's emotions during a strike by lambasting the worker as "selfish" and the strike as "illegal" in the all too pro-business, servile press.

Speaking of manipulation, it would appear that our famous war-puppet's latest speech to the nation has netted him some points in the popularity polls. Wire taps be damned. Fuck civil liberties. Instead of screeching about people on the picket line, we need to take to the streets and push for an impeachment of this ILLEGAL and SELFISH presidential adminstration. J and I saw Syriana the other day (the same day we received a $500 gas bill (what timing)) and it made my already bad day get even worse. The movie was good, but it pissed me off because it only reiterated what many of us knew: wars are all about oil and energy.

That's all from the Sunshine State.

. . . a break in the blog

2005-12-14T23:18:00.000-05:00

it was two days after i last posted that my grandmother passed away, and until this evening i haven't really had the urge to get back to blogging. the past couple of weeks have gone by in a bit of a blur for me. grief sucks. i've been thinking about reading didion's *the year of magical thinking*, but someone told me that while it is an excellent read, it migh make me feel worse. while at home helping my mom deal with the endless business of death--and i cannot believe how much buiness is involved, i kept thinking about *six feet under*. during our many funeral home visits (a family run outfit), the funeral director(s) were complaining about this corporate-run funeral home in the area that runs death notices in the local papers for a week--simply as a way to advertise their services. here's my crash course in the death industry: caskets. pick a color. pick a gauge. pick ornamentation. really. military caskets. wood is for men. women like rose and pink. in death, you can't escape gender. or the military. obits: one day is free, after that it's $160 with picture, a little less without. pick a good picture. most important. pick a good picture. flowers. casket sprays. whole casket or half? don't forget the flowers. roses are a good choice. take an ativan. always take an ativan. or two. grief. i miss calling to find out how she is doing. i miss our broken conversations because she didn't have her hearing aid in, or she had the tv on too loud. i miss everything about her, every single day. 1918-2005. nana.

Poor Darwin

2005-11-26T22:33:00.000-05:00

Last week I read a short article detailing the trouble the American Museum of Natural History recently encountered when trying to raise funds for the new Darwin exhibit. Private individuals, who apparently aren't completely fucking nuts, raised the $3 million necessary to get the show up and running. You know this country is going to hell when you can't get a corporation to hawk an art exhibit for fear of getting involved in the absolutely ridiculous creationism/intelligent design/evolution debates! In a not-so-scientific (dare i even mention science?) CBS-poll, over 50 percent of Americans don't believe in evolution! Really, I couldn't believe this number. CBS or not . . . it just shows that more and more Americans are getting dumber by the minute. For further proof of the country's rapid descent into fundamentalism, this same article stated that the Creationist Museum (I didn't even know such a place existed) in Cincinnatti, OH was able to raise $7 million for its operations. If you want to read the article, go to:

Mass. gets heating relief from Chavez

2005-11-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

We just received our monthly heating bill which covered Oct. 12-Nov. 9 and got an early taste of what this year's heating costs are going to be. Keeping our heat at 60 degrees and walking around in sweatshirts, did not prevent our bill from being $265. Ouch. And, it's not even that cold yet. As J and others have been predicting, US energy companies recently posted record profits. Of course, the profits are not going to help any poor folks in this country heat their homes, much less keep the heat on/running in what could be a devastating season for many.

Just when it was beginning to look super bleak, I just discovered that US representative William Delahunt has recently brokered a deal with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to have 12 million gallons of gas shipped to Massachusetts for low-income families and charities/institutions that deal with the poor! According to the agreement, which should be signed today, Delahunt worked with Citizens Energy Corp (non-profit energy group), and CITGO a Houston subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA. 9 million gallons will go to low-income families and 3 million gallons to homeless shelters and other like-minded institutions.

I know many critics of Chavez, particularly in our media, will view this as a publicity stunt to further shame Bush and US energy companies. I don't care--I think Chavez along with Lula and other leaders in Latin American countries are paving the way for a renewed socialist revolution that begins to put people at the center of analyses instead of profit. I believe the failed trip by Bush to push the FTAA is but one small sign that people are no longer willing or able to abide by the "Washington Consensus."

Score one for Mass.

ok computer

2005-11-20T23:18:00.000-05:00

this weekend i have spent the better part of my time performing some computer/technological upgrades for our house. on saturday, i bit the bullet, pulled out our old router, and figured out how to install a wireless network so we can run the laptop at home. although it wasn't too difficult, i did have to tinker a bit to ensure security, etc. i think i'll have to get a better router, though, because our connection downstairs leaves a lot to be desired. i'm not sure if this is due to the wireless connection or not, but i think it's odd that certain pages either: won't load, or take an incredible amount of time to load (in excess of a minute, which is an eternity these days online). any thoughts or suggestions on this matter would be more than welcome from my tech savvy friends.

tonight i decided to switch my web browser from IE to the latest version of Firefox. So far, so good. There are some minor differences I've noticed, but I think I'll adjust and feel better knowing that there are fewer problems with spyware, freezing, and security vulnerabilities. I'm also enjoying the numerous extensions available from Firefox to make your surfing more pleasurable. so far, I'm finding: http://www.stumbleupon.com quite fun to search. I just used this tool to search alternative websites and discovered a 2004 news story about 2 people who actually passed out $200 bills with Bush's face on it at a fast-food restaurant and a retail store--without being caught by store clerks!! hahaha

i've also fallen prey to the A&E documentary series: Intervention. J got sucked into this a few weeks ago, and now I'm totally hooked. Most of the shows I've watched have centered around meth addicts, but J saw one with a beer drunk. that one would have been interesting . . . I think.

oh my god. in other bad tv watching news, we saw some program about anorexic twins living in australia. seriously, they are 32 years old, and weigh around 50lbs, take 100 laxatives a day, and somehow still manage to get up at 6am to exercise. for more information, go to:
http://www.insider.tv.yahoo.com/celeb/3284/

i'm out.

another casualty of the US-led war on terror

2005-11-13T12:32:00.000-05:00

The US-led war on terror is a total and complete failure. While most of the attention has been focused on the daily bombings and mounting death toll in Iraq, let's not forget that other countries are having to play "host" to the US military for "counter-terrorism" exercises. For example, in 1999 the United States entered an agreement with the Philippine government (certainly NOT the Philippine people) that would provide the US military with over 22 ports of access to conduct "training" exercises with the Philippine military . . . this deal, signed into law against massive public protest, came to be known as the Visiting Forces Agreement or VFA. One of the provisions of the VFA, and one that has alarmed many activists in the country, states that any crimes committed against the Philippine people by members of the US military, will be dealt with by the United States. Once again, the soveriegnty of a country is completely trampled by the United States. Let's not forget that a massive anti-bases campaign was waged in the Philippines during the 1990s to close the two US military installations in the country (Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay) which was successful and represented a major victory for the Philippines. Just a few years later the introduction and ratification of the VFA effectively negated this short termed "victory".

Fast forward to Oct. 31/Nov. 1 2005: A 22-year old Filipina woman was gang-raped by 6 US marines in Subic. After hanging out with the men at a karaoke bar, she was invited to join them in their rented van. When she did this, witnesses (including the van driver--who has allegedly gone into hiding to avoid being implicated in the case) claim she was raped by the 6 marines and then tossed out of the van unconscious on the side of the road. WHERE WAS THE MEDIA COVERAGE? To be expected, the Marines are being held in the US embassy in Manila, but have requested they be moved (under the terms of the VFA) to Okinawa for the remainder of the investigation. I'll keep you posted, should this happen.

Now the Philippines is not the only country that has lost their sovereignty to US interests, or had their people terrorized by US military exercises under the guise of "Visiting Forces Agremeents". But, as a neo-colony of the United States, the Philippines is a perfect example of how this "war on terror" impacts other countries not being directly bombed . . . and, we need to demand justice and accountability from our military when this kind of atrocious shit happens--and it happens ALL THE TIME.

To think, after all this country had to endure with the images of prisoners being tortured in Abu-Ghraib, Cheney and his minions would be pressing for the US to be allowed to torture to get information from "combatants." And, now, the US military will probably do all it can to protect these 6 marines from facing prosecution for the crimes they have committed. Who are the real terrorists?

things i learned on my trip to dc

2005-11-07T10:16:00.000-05:00

1. Don't try and photograph the IMF or World Bank! A major goal of mine on this trip was to enter the sacred confines of the IMF and World Bank to see the kind of information they offered on development, lending strategies, and 3rd World debt. Of course, since the major policy makers worship at the alter of the "free"-market, I wasn't surprised to see that most of the history/timeline offered at the IMF remained in line with the current neo-liberal economic order. Anyway, once outside the IMF, I asked J to take a picture of me, only to be yelled at by a security guard, rent-a-cop type. He said only staff member can photograph the building. Fearing for our beloved disposable camera, we slipped across the street and photographed from a nearby park. We managed to enter the World Bank, but once security discovered we didn't have an appointment with anyone, they escorted us outside. Sigh. I feel like creating one of those awful touristy t-shirts that reads: I went to the IMF/WB and all I got was this lousy photograph.

2. According to the Smithsonian exhibit on America's military "adventures," the Iraq war appears to be over. J pulled me aside to read their description of our current war, and it was all written in the past tense, described as a brief "entanglement" that was now completed. Hmmm . . . I guess the daily bombings and deaths of Iraqi civilians and US military personnel are all simulacra, media inventions, hallucinations? Perhaps more absurd was the manner in which the museum described the onset of the war in 2003 . . .it stated the US had to respond because Iraq was testing the America's power in the world. Really? I thought the US government went ahead and voted for a preemptive strike of a sovereign country,based on (as we all know or should have known when this was being "debated") lies, lies, lies, and more lies put forth by the corrupt, incompetent, despicable Bush administration.

3. School children don't like going to the Capitol. Despite the overwhelming presence of the good ol yellow school buses positioned everywhere around the mall, museums, etc. school kids seemed positively BORED with learning about US history. Most were tuned in to their IPODS and tuned out of the Smithsonian. Other young children had the unfortunate experience of being dressed head to toe (in their strollers) in camoflauge, while older folks were standing in line to buy "authentic" dog tags.

4. The Metro is much easier to navigate than the NYC subway system. Thank god for public transportation!!

That's all I can think of at the moment, but overall, I did enjoy this trip. Leaving the village life for some urban action was a must, and we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to hook up with some old friends from grad school. Our conference panel went very well, and it looks like J and our friend John, are going to have plenty of material to draw from for their upcoming edited collection on the corporatization of academy and its impact on contingent and part-time junior faculty.

Ah, here's an update from the money pit: we sprung another leak. But, it's probably our fault, because the house inspector said we should have the roof checked out . . .last night we experienced 55 mph winds for about 30 minutes and the drops started coming in the family room. Blah. We should just move to the backyard and set up a tent.

boo!

2005-10-31T15:36:00.000-05:00

As I was crossing the street to get to class this morning, I experienced my very own Donnie Darko moment. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a giant bunny riding a bike up the hill towards campus. Ears flopping, teeth in full view, this bunny was on a mission. And, just now, I spotted Elvis cruising through our local village grocery store. Wow. I love Halloween, and normally we go all out for this particular holiday, but I think most of our stuff remains packed away in moving boxes, and neither one of us felt the need to unpack a skeleton, cobwebs, and blinking pumpkin heads when we are still figuring out where to put sweaters and other essential clothing items! Damn, we didn't even buy a pumpkin. I hope kids don't think we are scrooges . . . to make up for our lack of decorating, I just plopped down 10 bucks on skull pops, and other sure-to-make-your-teeth-rot candies.

In perfect timing for the holiday, I see our beloved president has nominated a rather scary character for the SCOTUS. Samuel Alito, AKA Scalito, appears to be the perfect candidate to mollify the disgruntled far right. Now, what kind of counter-strategy will the Dems employ with this nomination? I won't hold my breath. A few gems about Alito: lone dissenter in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, doesn't believe in Title VII, Family and Medical Leave Act, or anything else that deals with race, class, gender, and dare I mention sexuality? Creepy times indeed.

2046

2005-10-27T15:08:00.000-04:00

I have a new film hero: Wong Kar-Wai. We just went to see 2046 last night and I have to say it's one of the most visually stunning, seductive, haunting films about love, timing, and loneliness I've recently seen. A sequel to the 2000 In the Mood For Love (which I haven't seen), 2046 is a complex film set in both the 1960s and 2046. But, the number 2046, comes to represent much more than just the future . . . it's also a number on a hotel room door and/or a "place/space" to retrieve lost memories (or not). Definitely a difficult plot to capture in one single viewing, but I can assure you that it's a definite must-see. From the camera work, to the costumes, to the soundtrack, one gets to experience the raw emotions of longing, missed opportunities, love, and human relationships in a manner that most mainstream films fail to adequately capture.

We were able to see this indie film thanks to our local museum's annual Film Series. Driving 10 miles to see a good film sure beats an 80 mile trek to Albany. Every Wednesday and Friday, the art institute features an independent film to view--next up is Broken Flowers and June Bug. I've also heard Cornell has an excellent film series, so I'm anxious to get a schedule and plan a trip to check out Ithaca.

In other pop culture news, I just want to say how much I've been enjoying Season 4 of Six Feet Under. Damn. This series has to be considered one of the best that has aired on television. Because we don't have HBO, we've been screaming through the series thanks to Netflix, and we are 2 episodes away from awaiting the final season's release on DVD. Of course, most entertainment mags this year have given away the main plot/challenge of the Season 5, but I still can't wait to see it. I think Deadwood might place a close second, but I still think the acting, writing, and directing of Six Feet Under is far superior.

Well, I'm about to move closer to my mid-thirties next week, but I feel pretty ambivalent about growing older. I think 30 is a big one, as well as 40, but mid-thirties? Kind of boring.

On that note, I'm out.

october snow

2005-10-26T12:16:00.000-04:00

Seems like most of my recent posts have revolved around weather. I'm at my office staring out at wet, white, slushy snow that dumped on the campus (and apparently only the campus, because our house, located only a mile away, received primarily rain). We are now riding out the end of a Nor'easter that has left more puddles, more mud, more gray slush on top of an already soaked October. I've just been enjoying a spot of sun, which only lasted approximately 15 minutes, before the clouds took over and the winds increased.

My mood reflects the weather. Normally, Fall is my favorite season, but this year I feel like the dead leaves scattered around our yard, reminding us that a brutal winter is right around the corner. I don't know why I feel such a sense of sadness. My knee is working better than ever, we've had lots of company this month, job is going well . . . I wonder if some of it isn't connected to the general state of affairs in this country. Sitting in classes, talking about missing women in Juarez and Guatemala, welfare deform, the brutality of neoliberal economic policies, and an ongoing war with no end in sight, I guess it's not hard to feel pretty low. Yesterday, US military deaths in Iraq reached 2000, Iraqi civilian deaths hover around 100,000 (reported), and Condi just testified that Bush is keeping his "options" open to launch wars against Iran and Syria. Although Bush's sagging ratings in the polls and the possibility of Rove (among others) being indicted in the Plame leak, offer me a glimmer of hope, I'm convinced that little will happen to Bush, Cheney, or Rumsfeld. Sigh. I guess I'm suffering from a good case of the blues.

We attended a speech by Katha Pollitt last night. She read two autobiographical pieces and then did a brief q and a. One person asked her what she thought about the state of journalism. Her reply wasn't all that surprising: disgraceful. She said it was pretty sad to think that Paul Krugman (a moderate if anything) was appearing to be down right "radical" when compared to the majority of columnists working today. She discussed the rightward shift of the NY TIMES, and the disappearance and fear of liberals to call into question anything that is happening these days. She didn't even mention the Left.

rain, rain go away!

2005-10-12T18:06:00.000-04:00

ok, it's been 6 days since we've had any sunlight, and the forecast predicts more rain and showers for the remainder of the week. a colleague of mine told me the first year she was here it rained for 28 days straight. oh god, let's hope we aren't out to crack that record! i need sunlight dammit. i'm already feeling the grips of S.A.D. D., so electricity bill be damned, i'm keeping the lights on to maintain a semblance of sanity.

we had some friends visit over the gray, rainy weekend, which provided some temporary relief. we watched *hotel rwanda* . . . which i am glad i had the chance to see. i've been putting it off for the obvious reasons, but feel like it was "well done"-- how fucked up is that? here i am writing about a movie's description of a genocide as "well done". fuck. it's been a long day, but i've heard that *sometimes in april* is also a good film about rwanda. oh well, it's not like the west really gives too much of a shit anyway--look at darfur.

i haven't been keeping up with the news lately, but a friend told me there could be the possibility of a cheney impeachment? i won't hold my breath. seems these weasels always grease their way out of scandal. but, i have tried to half ignore/pay attention to the growing spectacle/circus that has become the harriet miers supreme court nomination. again. fuct. how crazy is the united states these days? here's a funny piece by maureen dowd on the whole "george bush is the most brilliant man i've ever met" saga.

www.truthout.org/docs_2005/101205E.shtml

another related story indicates rove told james dobson (creepy creepy) that miers was a bona fide conservative evangelical--apparenlty she even gave some money to Texans United For Life--but nobody can say for sure that she is pro-life. uh, excuse me? what the . . .?

oh, j has been waging her own personal mission to figure out why we have the highest sales tax in the state! we pay a whopping, whopping 9.75% sales tax! it makes me cringe during each and every transaction. i'm convinced j should enter local politics and demand an explanation. one night, while enjoying some damn good wine, we decided to figure this out on our own--before launching a premature campaign. apparently, this county has a lot of medicaid patients and it can't bear the costs of medicaid unless it raised taxes. now, this could also be interpreted as another scapegoating technique of the poor in this county--i can't be sure--but that appeared to be the primary reason that we pay 9.75%. i should just live in the fucking city.

oscar continues to grapple with the pains of being a teenager. his one blemish disappeared just in time for another to sprout up. still, i'm not convinced it's time to take him to the vet. by next year, he'll be in his early twenties and his acne will be a distant memory.

oh my god, i can't believe i forgot to mention that my requested funds were approved for the next three years. when thinking about how i wanted to spend money and make it connect to my work, i relied on international travel. so, i've now got money to go to the philippines, ireland, and england! woo-hoo. all of this is spread out over three years, with england coming during the third year, but this is very cool stuff, no? i'm very excited. i mention engalnd because that's where mushy is and i've been missing her a great deal--along with other buds in kato. in fact, i'm gonna have a guiness this evening in mushy's honor.

off to brave the rain.

Morning

2005-10-07T08:42:00.000-04:00

There is nothing worse than having your sleep disrupted early in the morning by a plumber that only has grim news to tell you. Yes, we are back to our earlier plumbing woes. We are still dealing with the family of plumbers in this town, I think this guy might be the third or fourth generation, and they typically only respond to an emergency. We called a few days ago to let him know that the tile in our bathroom was leaking and causing the water to drip down into the dining room. Now we have to deal with the tile guy, and I'm really hoping he is not going to be near as difficult to contact as our plumber. Since the source of our problem is the tile and not pipes or caulking around the tub, I'm curious as to why the plumber wants to switch our bathroom valves. Our piping is on the external wall and fourth generation appears convinced that they (pipes/valves) are going to freeze and burst this winter (though they must not have done this in previous winters) and cause him to tear down all the new tile work we are preparing to have done. So, I'm not sure if he's inventing work or truly convinced that we need a major bathroom renovation. We'll start with the tile man and proceed from there. All I know is this is a monumental pain in the ass.

So, it's morning. I wanted to sleep in a bit today, probably because I know I have to face another annoying chore later this afternoon: getting tags/license for my car. After this, I have to get the car inspected and it will fail because my tail light is burned out. I'm not sure which is worse: mechanics or plumbers? Of course, being a chick, I'm always convinced I'm getting fleeced the moment I walk in with a car problem. The whole "inspection" process has me jaded too . . . if my tail light was working, I'd probably still have a number of things wrong. Oy.

Our friends (former profs) are coming to see us for an overnight visit tomorrow. I'm excited, but wish the weather would cooperate a bit more. We've had this incredible weather the past week, and now we are in the midst of a flood watch. The leaves haven't changed all that much, I'm suspecting the middle of October will be the peak around here!

Oh, ever heard of Staceyann Chin? We went to see her spoken word on Wednesday, pretty cool stuff.

Off to obtain my caffeine buzz.

A day late and a dollar short

2005-09-30T11:37:00.000-04:00

When I was younger, I recall my mom using this expression quite a bit to describe a late-comer to a trend, movie, news event, what have you. Most often, this phrase was used to describe me for a number of reasons that I won't get into here. So, I heard mom's voice last night when I went to the local video store to rent "Crash". After all the hype, rave reviews, countless interviews with Ryan Phillippe and Matt Dillon, etc. etc. I was finally going to see what the hell this movie was about. In many ways, I did feel like a late-comer to this Hollywood success.

Now, having watched the film, I have to wonder why this crap gets hyped at all. I have a friend that periodically swears off Hollywood films, then falls off the wagon and sees another, only to swear them off again. And so the cycle continues . . . I'm starting to wonder if I'm doing something similar. I had great hopes for this movie (ah, the power of reviews, thumbs, stars, and slick marketing) when we turned it on, but by the end I was so annoyed and angry I couldn't wait to press "stop" on the DVD player. The first thing J said: "how contrived." How contrived, indeed. I'm sorry, but if you are going to have all these characters intertwine, leave it to someone like Altman (or, pick your favorite director) who can weave a story with multiple characters, and with greater skill and subtlety. Maybe subtlety is the key here.

The problem, in my opinion, about discussions of race is the lack of a unifying factor/analysis that can explain the internal contradictions of race/racism in the US. I don't think Crash did anything to help untangle this for viewers. In the end, you are left with these people whose lives have all been connected somehow via "race" or a "racial" incident, but you never know how internalized racism occurs or how prejudice between groups of color get maintained or exacerbated, etc. Matt Dillon's character maybe comes closest to problems around "race"--working-class white guy, from working-class family, disempowered in a class system, ends up using only privileges he has left: whiteness and maleness. The LA riots exemplified the kind of prejudices groups of color feel towards one another--the "looting" of Korean businesses acutely described the disempowerment in a capitalist system many folks of color feel when jobs and resources are scarce. But, unfortunately, the only thing that came out of the riots was the infamous phrase: Can't we all get along? LA and the rest of the country have learned very little.

These are very rough, initial thoughts on the film. I'm sure I'll return to these later to figure out what I want to say. Suffice it to say, though, that when we talk about "race" as if divorced from the political economy, or only look at social issues via the lens of "race," again devoid of any political context, I fear we won't get to the core of racial divisions and antagonisms.

I'm thinking of Katrina now . . . for an interesting perspective on how to view the fall-out in the Gulf Region check out Adolph's Reed piece in The Nation titled: "Class-ifying the Hurricane"
www.thenation.com/doc/20051003/reed I also think this article gets to the heart of my uneasiness with Crash.

Essentially, Reed contends that "class" rather than "race" will be the better predictor of why so many people were left behind in the Superdome or Civic center. He argues that "race" as a category for analysis is often vague and doesn't lend itself to accurately describing the "bipartisan" neoliberal ideology that continues to disempower the poorest of the poor--both locally and globally. This neoliberal ideology couldn't have been more present/visible as when Bush told the US that he was going to tap "private" resources to rebuild the Gulf Region. Happy days for Kellog, Brown, and Root. For more on the rebuilding process: www.mondediplo.com/2005/10/02/katrina

I also agree with Reed when he says that looking solely at "race" (and most media accounts talked only in terms of race) without a class analysis (and this by no means makes race nor gender a sub or competing category) ends up with the call for more representation from people of color on local planning boards, housing committees, etc. What does this accomplish? According to Reed, and I'm inclined to agree, those chosen to participate in these discussions tend to be drawn from the bourgeoisie of the Black or Latino communities--who also participate in the erasure of the poor.

Ok, time to abruptly switch topics. I decided to postpone Oscar's vet visit for a week or two to see if his acne will clear up. We removed the pink plastic bowl, so we are hoping to see some clearing up in the future. Oscar also has a real desire for plastic bags. He loves to chew on them, play with them, etc. Now, we don't like him to do this (I, for one, fear suffocation) but if we leave a plastic bag around, he tends to get into it. I'm thinking his fondess for plastic (bowls and bags) is leading to the slow death of his beauty. More on this later . . .

Today is gourmet Friday where J and I try to drum up something other than our usual, boring, recipes that we have been eating together for years. Any recipe suggestions would be most welcome!

Happy Friday!

Zits

2005-09-27T12:33:00.000-04:00

I truly hate the word "zit". Having been plagued myself as a young teenager with a bad bout of acne, I cringe at the mere sighting of a potential outbreak. But, this blog has nothing to do about me or my acne. Instead the subject of today's commentary concerns our dear cat, Oscar Beauregard, who at the young age of 2 1/2 appears to have developed an unsightly blemish on his chin! At first, I scoffed at J's concern and thought it was only a scab from a fight with Mitts Millhone. By the third day, I was leaning towards tick . . .but then part of this black matter began to flake off--making me convinced that it was indeed a scab. This morning, however, it appeared to be a bit larger in scope. J has been searching the web for feline skin problems, and that's how we discovered a picture of a cat with a similar black splotch on the chin. According to the pic, this was a classic case of cat acne, beginning with an unsightly blackhead, that could eventually spread all over the chin. Oh no! We have made an appointment (as each and every website has encouraged us to contact a vet upon initial sighting of acne to make sure it isn't something more serious etc) for Friday, so I'll post an update then. Meanwhile, has anyone else ever heard of cat's getting acne outbreaks? Plastic bowls, stress, and food allergies can be among the possible culprits. Oscar has always fancied his "pink" plastic bowl, so we have removed that, and we are ordering some Innova--food that all three cats appeared to prefer before we moved and couldn't find it anymore. Thank god for online shopping. Could he be stressed? I think he took the move the hardest. Victoria Alexis once suffered from "non-specific" stress when I moved, making it all the more likely that Oscar has been upset with the relocation.

On another level I'm worried because Oscar began his life in frail health: originally diagnosed with leukemia, we had to keep him locked up in a room, away from the other cats, for two months before re-testing him. He was cleared of the virus, given his shots, and appeared to be doing fine . . .until the zit appeared. Well, I have to believe that he was/is indeed free of the virus and this blemish has nothing to do with his previous health issues! I now see why the two of us should never have children. Too much stress! I'll probably get some kind of sympathy outbreak on my own chin!

On to a new topic: The Money Pit. Yes, just like he 1980s film starring Tom Hanks, J and I appear to be living our own 2005 version. Having made a mere two payments on this fine investment we now call "home," I'm starting to hear the slow "sucking" sound . . . we now have a gaping hole in our dining room ceiling resulting from a leak in the upstairs bathroom. Anyone that has ever dealt with plumbers, knows that we are in for some expensive reparis. Our leak couldn't just be a broken seal or busted pipe . . .no, ours is a bit more complicated. It appears that the shower is leaking behind the ceramic tile and has probably been doing this for over a year! Wow. At least this explains why the house has smelled so bad . . .

This and That

2005-09-23T11:37:00.000-04:00

Went to see The Constant Gardener last night ! Wow. It was directed by Fernando Meirelles, who also directed, City of God. Aside from the subject matter of big pharma implementing unethical drug trials/experiments in Africa, the films was technically beautiful. I love the way this guy shoots a film . . . the frenetic camera work, grainy pictures, etc all lend themselves to beautiful scenes that make the viewer feel more than just a voyeur . . . but it was probably the subject matter that is most disturbing. I know drug companies/science/medicine conducts tests on the poor--we only have to revisit Tuskegee--but what gnaws at me is how we view people in the mal-developed world as expendable, as throw-aways, as cast-offs. I recently read somewhere (the latest issue of *the economist* I believe) about the amount of deaths from 9/11. The journalist pointed out that one country in Africa experienced 2 9/11's a day for a year--as a result of AIDS and other related infections. I don't have the article in front of me, but I'm believe I'm recalling these figures correctly. An entire continent is being wiped out and their bodies are being used as tests sites for "modernization" and "development".

In other news, has anyone heard about the anti-Asian incident that just happened at the University of Michigan? An Asian couple was harrassed and URINATED on by two males who hurled all sorts of racial insults at them . . .unbelievable. An open letter has been submitted protesting this kind of behavior . . . but the fact shit likes this still happens on an ongoing, everyday basis pisses me off.

Miscellaneous

2005-09-10T17:34:00.000-04:00

i saw a commercial for wal-mart last night that featured a number of workers and managers urging consumers to donate to the red cross for katrina relief. this wouldn't be so noteworthy had wal-mart along with mcdonald's and ups not stopped paying their workers in the gulf region a mere four days AFTER the storm hit. of course, papers only paid brief attention to wal-mart's abandonment of employees, so people viewing the commercial probably see this as an altruistic move on the company's part. although, wal-mart and altruism really don't seem to go together.

i've been meaning to blog about this cool food/travel show i've been watching lately: *no reservations* with anthony bourdain. some friends of mine have read his books, but this is my first econounter with bourdain and i am absolutely loving it. this guy is nuts! i love the idea of mixing food and travel together in one show--it's a good combination. and the food? wow. there were some episodes featuring vietnam and malaysia that were fantastic. seriously, check it out on the travel channel.

ok, gonna watch the us open women's final. go clijsters!

Relief organizations information

2005-09-09T10:18:00.000-04:00

As the govenrment prepares to send a whopping $2000 to those impacted by Katrina, I thought I'd pass along the links to some very useful websites if anyone is interested in donating money to help in the efforts:

www.sparkplugfoundation.org/katrinarelief.html

(directory of organizations that focus on the (rural) poor and people of color)

www.tidesfoundation.org_0905.cfm

As 25,000 body bags make there way to New Orleans, I wonder what Barbara Bush would say? Would she figure the lives of the destitute are better off dead? Probably.
See http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/national/nationalspecial/07barbara.html?ex=1126929600&en=1a350dcefa6bb00d&ei=5070&emc=eta1

More later . . .

enter Halliburton . . .

2005-09-03T23:13:00.000-04:00

The Navy has turned to Halliburton to help rebuild in the aftermath of Katrina. Under a 2004 agreement, KBR (the same one that has behaved rather badly in Iraq), a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., is required to provide services to the Navy and other military installations after a natural disaster. Gee, the war-hurricane connections keep growing, eh? And so does Cheney's wallet. Check out:
www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/politics/04halliburton.html

Anne Rice has an editorial about New Orleans:
www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/opinion/04rice.html

In other celebrity news, Celine Dion definitely went "off script" on Larry King this evening. I've never been a fan of hers either--and I doubt I'll run to Vegas to see her show--but the "diva" made some good points about the U.S. being able to deploy helicopters and tanks to destroy a country in no time--but can't seem to get it together to send food and water to people stranded in a flood. And, mad props for her commentary about "looters". I know there are tons of people making similar observations, but sometimes I think it takes these mainstream powerful celebrities to say these kinds of things on live tv. Good to see CNN stay on air while she made her anti-war critique.

"george bush doesn't care about black people" or why kanye west rocks

2005-09-03T16:52:00.000-04:00

did you see him last night? did you see mike myers squirm and look a fool when kanye "went off script" during the hurricane relief concert to deliver an honest and needed criticism of the slow us response to the people in new orleans? although nervous and a little disjointed, his message kicked ass. of course, nbc has issued a formal apology for west's "rant", but c'mon people. the telethon was so overly scripted and dull, west's comments were a welcome relief. particularly on a day when i heard these stories:

1. a woman that had just arrived in baltimore, told a cnn correspondent that a huge convoy of buses arrived to the ritz carlton on thursday evening to rescue 300 people. she was so thankful to the doctors (stranded along with her at the ritz) who "commandeered" a walgreens to get antibiotics to everyone before they ventured out into the sewage infested flood waters. i like the way she used "commandeered"--sure beats "looting". i'm happy for anyone that gets out of the mess, but i was fascinated how buses could get to the ritz on thrusday evening for 300 people, while thousands were left in the convention center and stadium.

2. just found out that charity hospital, a public hospital in new orleans serving mostly indigent patients, was finally evacuated late last night. funny, how non-essential staff at Tulane was helicoptered out of the area days before . . . while over 200 patients at charity (and medical personnel) were left to wait around with corpses in stairwells because the morgue was flooded.

3. looks like 2000 or more people are going to have to wait until tomorrow (sunday) to get out of the superdome. reasons for the delay (!) are still unknown.

4. projected death toll in lousiana: over 10,000

so back to kanye. i have to admit, he hasn't been one of my favorite hip hop artists . . .though i have grown to enjoy college drop-out more and more. i'm going to support late registration--not because the critics say it's a five star album, but because this guy has the sense to use his power as a celebrity during a live telethon and tell it like it is. we need more people to "go off script" . . .

FOUR DAYS?

2005-09-02T16:44:00.000-04:00

As you can tell from my previous post, I am totally pissed off by the lack of federal government response to the crisis in the Gulf area. I have watched, much to my dismay, this president use his "trip" to the area today for more opportunistic photo ops with people in AL and MS. I *think* he might be in LA right now, but I bet he only does an aerial tour of New Orleans. For once, the servile media, has begun to criticize this president and his misguided policies regarding the environment, domestic spending, and disgusting war-waging abroad. There have been some great editorials in the NY TIMES about this being a "Can't do government" that likes to wage- war, slash environmental polices, but not spend any kind of money on preventative measures that might (just might) have averted this massive crisis. The most devstasting images I've seen have been the dead bodies outside the convention center (supposedly 1000 National Guard troops have been marching into the center earlier this afternoon, but the dead bodies continue to decay in 95 degree weather). People are apologizing for looting a rite-aid because they need diapers, band-aids, and other necessities that have been promised to them for days--but have never ever materialized. Bush condemns "lawlessness" and says there has to be a 100% crack-down on looters. This administration we are living under (or should I say suffering under) is lawless. And, I know I'm not saying anything new here, but when the majority of people who are gonna fucking die as a result of the US government's negligence (and it is criminal) are mostly poor and black--don't tell me race and class don't matter in this country. This hurricane was not a tornado that appeared on the horizon without warning. I am disgusted.

Meanwhile, in between all the horrible images on tv, reporters keep reassuring everyone that the oil pipelines will be ok. The market is going to be ok. Gas prices are going up, but the market will stabilize so everyone can have a nice Labor Day holiday.

Oh, and the hearings for John Roberts are still on schedule for next week. What a break for Bush and Co. The population can be distracted with New Orleans, while Roberts and his despicable record can move right on through . . .and we all know he'll be appointed. We all know this hearing process is a sham. Just when the plight of poor blacks actually makes the news--we can look forward to a future Supreme Court justice who didn't really believe in civil rights "issues" during the Regan administration or wage gap issues for women . . .what perfect timing.

As for Iraq: Well over 100,000 civilians are dead and close to 2,000 soldiers. On August 31st, Bush gave another press conference (I'm with the New Orleans Mayor who said we needed to put a moratorium on press conferences) to say we were in Iraq (gasp!!) to protect the "vast oilfields" from falling into the terrorists hands. Oh my god. This IS NOT a legitimate presidency.

And, what's gonna happen to dear Pat Roberts? That story seems to have faded from the news. Here we have a person in power (at least in major religious circles) calling for the assassination of Hugo Chavez. Wow. And, incredibly, he said we didn't need to have a "war" to accomplish this (that would be too expensive), but we could just use our "operatives" and the "oil" would be safe. In an apology this week, Roberts wanted to clarify that he never said "assassinate"-- rather, "take out" Chavez which in Roberts feeble, evil mind could also mean "kidnap".
I can't fathom how many international laws have been broken with these comments . . .but I know nothing will happen and the 700 Club will continue to broadcast to the flock of faithful.

Ok, I'm gonna go now. I'm too mad to type anymore.

Statement on Katrina by the International Action Center

2005-09-02T12:10:00.000-04:00

This was forwarded to me by a friend. I couldn't find the link to the piece, so have pasted the article in its entirety. AEL

The Hurricane and Bush’s Criminal Negligence:Bush Slashed Flood Protection * Bush sent emergency personnel and equipment to Iraq* Bush’s role in global warming * Oil Profiteering * Bush failed to develop an evacuation plan * No emergency relief program, even now

Statement from the International Action Center
With every hour that passes, we see and hear new stories of the horror and devastation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. What makes these images more shocking is the realization that much of the death and destruction could have been prevented.Almost all of the death and destruction arising from the hurricane is the direct result of criminal neglect by the Bush Administration. This crisis was predicted in numerous reports and news articles and little, if anything, was done.While natural disasters are beyond our control, the preparation for expected and predicted disasters is something that we can control. Natural disasters do not have to be catastrophes if plans are made in advance to protect people and their homes, but these plans were not made.President Bush has diverted funds that were needed to prepare for this type of natural disaster to fund a war of conquest in Iraq. He did this despite being warned of the potential for danger by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) as early as 2001. The Houston Chronicle reported on Dec. 1, 2001: “New Orleans is sinking. And its main buffer from a hurricane, the protective Mississippi River delta, is quickly eroding away, leaving the historic city perilously close to disaster. ...So vulnerable, in fact, that earlier this year the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked the potential damage to New Orleans as among the three likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country.” The Bush Administration knew of the danger and they knew how to prepare for it. But they chose to do little or nothing – they actually slashed funding for preventative and emergency measures, leaving the people of the region helpless to deal with the inevitable disaster. Now, with the destruction of New Orleans and numerous surrounding communities, tens of thousands of people are without food, water, or electricity. Thousands of homes are destroyed and the death toll continues to climb. This is a disaster of unprecedented proportion. It is poor and working people, particularly people of color, who are suffering the most from this disaster.No preparationIt was clear from watching the disaster unfold that no real plans had been made for evacuating the region, even though everyone, including Federal authorities and meteorologists, knew that a hurricane of enormous magnitude was descending on the area.For the elderly, the handicapped, the poor, there was no provision for evacuation or shelter. It was “everyone for themselves,” and those who didn’t have the ability to flee or the means to finance their own evacuation were left to perish. There were no arrangements for more than 100,000 people in New Orleans - 20 % of the population and overwhelmingly the poorest part of the population. Those with out cars, credit cards, and hotel reservations had few alternatives but to stay home and face the coming deluge. The death toll continues to mount, and it becomes more and more apparent how little the government is concerned for human life, particularly the lives of poor and working people.There were many obvious things that could have and should have been done if the government were concerned about the lives of the people. Trains, airlines, buses, and other transportation could have been put to use evacuating people. Convention centers, hotels, and college dormitories throughout the region could have been used for shelter. The government uses eminent domain to take working people’s property for the benefit of corporate developers; this would have been an excellent opportunity to use eminent domain in a way that actually benefits people. Because there was no plan for evacuation, more than 20,000 people were herded into the Superdome without adequate food, shelter, water, or medical care for days. The New York Times said, “By Wednesday, the stench was staggering. Heaps of rotting garbage in bulging white plastic bags baked under a blazing Louisiana sun on the main entry plaza, choking new arrivals as they made their way into the stadium after being plucked off rooftops and balconies. The odor billowing from toilets was even fouler. Trash spilled across corridors and aisles, slippery with smelly mud and scraps of food.”Videos of the situation (see below) show just how desperate the situation is—people are without food, water, and medicine. Bodies are piling up on the streets. The people have been absolutely abandoned by the government.Only massive immediate Federal intervention can relieve the situation. The government has access to stockpiles of food and medicines and it has cargo planes and helicopters to deliver them. Yet the Administration has chosen not to act while people are dying.Slashing emergency preparations to fund war and tax cuts for the wealthyKnowing that a hurricane of this strength was eventually inevitable, the Bush Administration slashed the budget of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the area by $71.2 million. This cut eliminated hurricane and flood protection projects as well as a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane. This cut was part of the Bush policy of slashing essential programs to pay for a tax cut for the wealthy and for the occupation of Iraq. Comparing the cuts of more than $71 million for flood protection to the $1.7 billion taken from the people of Louisiana for the war in Iraq. This is one more example of how the Bush policy of endless war endangers the population here.The Aug. 30 Editor and Publisher revealed that $250 million in crucial projects planned by the Army Corps of Engineers in the delta for shoring up levees and building pumping stations could not be carried out. “The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security—coming at the same time as federal tax cuts—was the reason for the strain.“The 2004 hurricane season was the worst in decades. In spite of that, the federal government came back this spring with the steepest reduction in hurricane and flood-control funding for New Orleans in history.”Emergency Specialists and Equipment sent to IraqThe National Guard, who would normally be deployed to aid in evacuation and disaster relief, is unable to respond adequately because 40% of the Mississippi National Guard 35% of the Louisiana National Guard is in Iraq. So is much of their equipment, including dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators that are essential to dealing with this type of emergency.According to the Washington Post, "With thousands of their citizen-soldiers away fighting in Iraq, states hit hard by Hurricane Katrina scrambled to muster forces for rescue and security missions yesterday -- calling up Army bands and water-purification teams, among other units, and requesting help from distant states and the active-duty military."Many of the members of the National Guard are also emergency medical technicians and firefighters. They should be at home helping their neighbors recover from this disaster, not in Iraq maintaining an illegal occupation.Contempt for Environment exacerbates disasterThe flooding is exacerbated by the elimination of wetlands, which provide a natural buffer. The Bush Administration has removed Federal protection from as much as 20 million acres of wetlands. The Bush Administration has demonstrated utter disregard for human life and contempt for international law by refusing to abide by the 1997 Kyoto accord, a treaty signed by the United States and 54 other nations. The agreement is designed to limit emissions that cause global warming.Sir David King, the British Government's chief scientific adviser, says that global warming may be responsible for the devastation reaped by Hurricane Katrina. "The increased intensity of hurricanes is associated with global warming. We have known since 1987 the intensity of hurricanes is related to surface sea temperature and we know that, over the last 15 to 20 years, surface sea temperatures in these regions have increased by half a degree centigrade. So it is easy to conclude that the increased intensity of hurricanes is associated with global warming." Loss of life is avoidable – Cuba a U.N. model The massive loss of life in Louisiana and Mississippi was avoidable, if those making decisions were interested in funding emergency measures rather than spending money on war and occupation. Cuba lies directly in the path of many hurricanes, and yet the loss of life is usually minimal, because the government has systems in place to aid orderly evacuations, provide emergency shelter, and look after the elderly, the handicapped, and the poor. In 2001, when Hurricane Michelle, a level-4 storm, hit with sustained 125-mile-per-hour winds and widespread floods, more than 700,000 people were evacuated. Only five Cubans lost their lives in the storm. In September 2004, Cuba endured Ivan, the fifth-largest hurricane ever to hit the Caribbean, with sustained winds of 124 miles per hour. Cuba evacuated almost 2 million people--more than 15 percent of the total population. One hundred thousand people were evacuated within the first three hours. An incredible 78 percent of those evacuated were welcomed into other people's homes. Children at boarding schools were moved. Animals and birds were moved. No one was killed. The UN declared this to be a model of disaster preparation.Cuba, a country blockaded and isolated by the U.S. for 45 years has been able to evacuate millions of people in an orderly fashion without loss of life. Natural disasters do not have to be catastrophes.Oil profiteeringBeyond the horrific loss of life and homes in the region, working people everywhere will suffer as the pay more than $3.00 per gallon for gas, as oil companies rake in record profits. In some places, gas has reached as much as $5.00 per gallon.Releasing oil from the Strategic Oil Reserves could easily offset the loss of oil refineries in the region. Nearly 700 million barrels of oil are stored in underground salt caverns along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. This reserve was established to cushion oil markets during energy disruptions or other emergencies, and sitting on the oil rather than releasing it only keeps the price of gas high and ensures greater profits for the oil companies.While George W. Bush and his friends at the Big Oil companies are growing rich from escalating oil prices, while working people, who are already suffering from the economic policies of the Bush Administration, are having to spend more of their shrinking paychecks to pay for gas to get to work and school.Venezuela offers to help while Washington refuses to actPresident Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has demonstrated more concern for working and poor people in the U.S. than George Bush has. Chavez has announced that Venezuela will be offering poor people discounted gas through its Citgo chain. He has also offered to send more than $1 million in oil, food, and and equipment to the region. In addition, the Venezuelan government is offering two mobile hospital units, each capable of assisting 150 people, 120 specialists in rescue operations, 10 water purifying plants, 18 electricity generators of 850 KW each, 20 tons of bottled water, and 50 tons of canned food.A senior U.S. State Department official said he was not aware of the Venezuelan offer, and then dismissed it as "counterproductive."The real looting: Bush Administration steals from working people to fund war and corporate greedRather than focusing on criminal neglect by the Federal and State governments, the corporate media is reporting that the real danger is looting. In an attempt to shift blame from the policies of the Bush Administration, the news networks are demonizing the victims. In a blatant appeal to racism, those being portrayed as “looters” on the news are without exception black males. Tens of thousands of poor people have been stranded by a policy of neglect. Many are without food, fresh water, baby formula, and medicine, and the government has refused to provide even basic relief.The real looters are not the hungry people taking what they need from an abandoned corporate superstore. The real crime is that they were left in this situation by a government that puts war and corporate profits ahead of human needs. The Bush regime has looted billions of dollars of the people’s money, slashing programs that provide basic necessities and robbing from agencies that are tasked with preparing for natural disasters in order to fund a war of conquest against the people of Iraq. There are dangerous looters, but they are Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld, not the poor people of New Orleans trying to feed their families. It is clear that the Bush Administration is increasingly putting the entire population of the country in growing danger by relentlessly slashing every social program, infrastructure maintenance program, and environmental protection program.Money for Human Needs not War!It is the Bush Administration, and the Big Corporations it serves, who are directly responsible for the disaster, and they, not the working people of the region, should be responsible for rebuilding and providing relief.In a speech on Wednesday, President Bush said, “our hearts and prayers are with our fellow citizens along the Gulf Coast who have suffered so much from Hurricane Katrina.” But the people of the region need food, clothing, shelter, and jobs, not hearts and prayers. He grinned as he said, “recovery will take years,” but offered no plan to assist in that rebuilding. The people of the area need, and are entitled to, more than empty rhetoric and vacant smiles. The crisis demands a massive national mobilization to meet emerrgency needs and facilitate rebuilding efforts. The disaster is beyond the scope of local authorities or private charities to handle; the Federal government must devote its ample resources, which are now being used to wage war, to provide immediate and long-term relief.We call on the Bush Administration to:* Stop funding war and occupation. Use the money instead to fund emergency relief and rebuilding.* Erase the debts incurred by working people who had to pay for gas and emergency shelter because of the government’s refusal to plan for evacuation.* Provide emergency unemployment relief to the tens of thousands who have lost their jobs because of the devastation.* Immediately exercise eminent domain to use all available space to provide emergency and long-term shelter to those left homeless.* Provide a massive jobs program at union wages for rebuilding. Millions of unemployed workers could be hired to help construct housing, schools, and other public facilities.* Food, water, clothing, medical supplies, and other necessities should be immediately commandeered for the emergency from agribusiness, supermarket chains, and pharmaceutical companies. Government food storage supplies in warehouses throughout the country should be made available immediately.Watch "Desperate Struggle" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9156612 click on “Launch” under Free Video

sheltered lives or just plain dumb?

2005-09-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

I was browsing in our local wine store yesterday when another customer walked in and asked the owner for Merlot recommendations. After he (owner) lists off a few decent, affordable bottles, the customer makes her selections and proceeds to check-out. As she is about to leave the store, she pauses and asks the owner (apparently she detected his accent) where he is from. He replies: "South Africa." As I'm waiting for her to LEAVE so I can pay for my wine and get on with my cocktail hour, she backs up, lays her keys down on the counter, and says: "Seriously? How long have you been here?" He looks amused and asks: "Why?" More silence (meanwhile, I'm just standing there witnessing this bizarre exchange) on her end as she stares incredulously at this guy. Finally, she makes a move to leave, but not before uttering this gem: "South Africa, huh? And you are white!! Wow." He begins laughing (I'm not sure he could do much else at this point) and says "Yes, white people live in S. Africa you know. We had this little system called apartheid for many, many years." She grabs her keys, all the while shaking her head in disbelief, and says: "whatever man, have a good one!" Still seeming a bit stunned, he looks at me and mutters: "sheltered lives, sheltered lives."