The Reiterations of Hieronymus Bosch

Futbol

2010-06-21T17:11:00.005-07:00

Soccer makes me happy. I'm not sure why or at what point this might have come to be. My earliest memories of the sport are from playing in the local Boys & Girls Club league in Chula Vista. I played in this amateurish indoor soccer league and never developed any real talent as a result. Nevertheless, I always enjoyed my time playing in that league and even practiced on my own time in the backyard of my house with my brother. I am surprised that the fence posts that I would kick the ball against were still in tact after all those years of being kicked against.

While playing a sport is always the most important factor in determining one's appreciation for it, I think that I was also able to establish an appreciation based solely on the spectator side as well. Growing up I vividly recall the soccer viewing parties that we would have with family and friends around the neighborhood. I remember the 1994 World Cup and thinking to myself how amazing it would be to go and cheer on one of my preferred teams at the stadiums. I remember everyone in the house going wild whenever that goal came, or didn't. I remember the camaraderie and solidarity amongst people from all over. I remembered how people from different parts of the world would care about a team from another part of the world, even if they normally wouldn't think twice about it. Soccer brings people together. It may sound trite to say that, but I firmly believe that this is true.

When I was in Mexico for the 1998 World Cup, I remember being completely caught up in the fervor once again. Nostalgia about the sport already pervaded my memories, but this time I was in a country with a culture that actually had a passion for it. I played soccer video games, played soccer in the streets, in the backyard, and when the time came for Mexico to play, I couldn't imagine a viewing party that could be more fun and passionate. This is probably why I love the Mexican national team.

Tomorrow "El Tri" takes on Uruguay. While I am not down in Mexico or with friends and family to enjoy what is sure to be an incredibly exciting match up, you can trust that I will wake up in the early morning to watch. Even by myself, whether I am watching the Red, White, and Blue or the Green, White, and Red, I am always brought back to those days in my child hood living room with friends and family screaming their lungs out for those very same colors.

Meditación

2010-06-20T03:28:00.002-07:00

Hubo un tiempo
en el que tuve que hacer algo
para ser algo
Y ahora que lo hice
¿que sere?

El ebanista

2010-06-14T17:31:00.013-07:00

I climbed a mountain the other day. The path I followed was long and arduous, but the sights at the top made the journey entirely worth it.

I decided to go along this trek with a man who I am almost certain has a mental disorder which I cannot determine. I first met him at the workers shelter that I had been staying at and initiated a conversation with him in Spanish which was very promptly overpowered by his disposition to incessant chatter. He seemed knowledgeable about a plethora of subjects, but primarily talked about fish. Since I was interested in learning about the fishing industry, I heard him out as long as I could but finally had to excuse myself. At this time I was convinced he had severe ADHD.

My second encounter with this guy was again at the shelter. This time, the conversation did begin normally but again became a scatterbrained barrage about fishing, canneries, and whatever else was on this guy's mind throughout the day. At one point in the conversation he started going through various different trigonometric formulas and applications of the formulas. He was completely unable to read the very obvious non-verbal messages that I was sending regarding my complete lack of interest in what he was talking about. I reevaluated my previous assessment and began thinking that he might actually have Asberger syndrome.

Last Sunday I ran into the man at church. I smelled a faint hint of alcohol around me and assumed that it was the old Filipino man in front of me. I´m not sure why I made that assumption but it was unfounded since it turned out to be the dude I know. I could not for the life of me, figure out why someone would drink a couple of beers before coming to church. He told me this was the only time he could drink beer because it was his only day off and he only drank in the mornings. He never takes communion as a result.

I walked back with him that day, and was invited to a lunch consisting of real Mexican mole and tortillas. His apartment was a bit untidy but uncluttered. I noticed a few papers, magazines, and a textbook on contemporary American literature. I also noticed that there were at least 6 pairs of Xtra Tuffs scattered all over the apartment.

I mentioned my intent to climb Pillar mountain (the mountain adjacent to Kodiak) that day and he proceeded to invite himself along. I didn´t mind. It was nice to have someone to talk to on the long walk, even if it was a two way conversation with no real back and forth.

The man lives frugally. I learned that he came to Alaska some 20 odd years ago. He has not been back to Mexico and very rarely goes to the lower 48. He drinks beer every once in a while, but lives a relatively austere lifestyle otherwise. I know that he has money in the bank, but I don't think he spends very much of it. Somehow he has a significant body of knowledge, but none of it connects into a coherent line of inquiry. Except for the fish. All I know is that he is single, has a niece that he would leave his life insurance policy to, and has been working in the canneries for a very long time. He appreciates education but has no ability to ever apply any of the academic knowledge that he has acquired over the years.

This man lives to work. He has somehow come all the way across the globe from the bustling metropolis of Guadalajara to the remote and mundane world of the Alaskan canneries. This man, who can recall Pi to the hundred thousandth, and talk for hours about trigonometric formulas, compounding interest rates, the price of fish, the tides, and Mexican soccer, at the end of this day is a very lonely man. I am glad I went on a walk with him that day.

plans

2009-05-04T06:04:00.000-07:00

The problem with going with the flow is that sometimes the source goes dry.

More to come on this point...

small town america...

2009-04-13T22:31:00.006-07:00

So I just watched this movie titled "The Straight Story"; a heartfelt tale about an old man and his journey to rekindle his relationship with his estranged brother. Emotionally compelling and visually stunning but that's not my point.

While I was watching this movie I kept thinking back to all the small towns that I have passed through on my journeys throughout the past year and about the magnitude of the void that exists between myself and everyone in them. So my new goal, after I am able to dig myself out of this rut - which, by the way, is going really well as a result of my new perspective - is to take a trip, maybe through the northern and midwestern states this time and make a concerted effort to stop at one town per day and meet at least one person who is willing to tell me, not their entire life story, but something substantial that will help me understand where they come from.

I don't really expect anything to come from it but I think the desire to embark on said journey is borne from a romanticized notion of small town America which I seem to have recently developed. I see all these little towns on Google maps, and I am absolutely fascinated by them. Take for instance, Scobey, MT population 1,082. I look down on Main St. and 1st and can only imagine the ideal small town interactions that take place there on a daily basis. It doesn't matter if something does or doesn't happen, because life just happens in those places. People are born and they come and they go and so it goes.

I spent most of my life in suburbia and the rest in transience. I hope I am not looking for a mundane lifestyle in the midwest. I think I look at these places with the an unique mixture of intellectual curiosity and voyeuristic satisfaction that comes from the knowledge that I do not have to relegate myself to a confined existence such as that. Despite the obvious condescending tone of the previous statement, I realize that at the end of the day it can only be beneficial to reflect upon the merits of that existence as it compares to mine and I think that is all I'm looking to do.

American Dream

2008-09-25T08:13:00.003-07:00

The poll numbers are looking up again. Last time I paid close attention to the poll numbers things were not looking as well as they probably should have, given the recent news of Sarah Palin.

Fortunately for anyone against McCain, the presumptions of his folly in selecting Sarah Palin are slowly turning out to be more and more true. Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish outlines several the the lies that Sarah Palin has been telling.

On the ground the story you hear is more of the same. The same tired rhetoric that has been injected into the minds of many a Republican voter, the racist, the anti-liberal economic agenda (which I have tried to dispel to no avail given the obvious ideological contradictions), and anti-abortion religionists. Try as you may you will never be able to break the fortifications these individuals have built up against fact.

It seems to me that more than anything it has become a question of identity. As Bauman has previously asserted with regards to information societies, we are living in times that require constant consumption and disposal of not only material goods, but the information that is constantly being circulated around us. Personally I find it very difficult to conceive an existence that consists solely of my house, cars, family, work, and church, all situated within a relatively confined community to which I am relegated. For most people this is still the American dream.

Driving

2008-09-15T23:33:00.004-07:00

Driving through the southwestern United States has always emoted a romanticized narrative of the American dream. While trudging along, one is inevitably reminded of horse drawn buggies and oxen laden wagons that strewed the streets of many a town within the relatively small scope that is American history, and there is something that elicits a sense of solitude in these thoughts.

There is also something inspiring about the red and blue and pale green pastiche of color that is illuminated by the rising or setting sun in this part of the country. To stand on the high plains and look up at the soaring mountains and plateaus being piercing by the rays of the sun over an uninhabited and pristine landscape is like no other feeling I have experienced.

Maybe this is what pits this country one against the other. There is something I will never be able to call my own and it is the feeling of riding up to the top of one of these plateaus and look out onto the vastness below me and the land that has permanently blistered my hands. Although I can appreciate this feeling, it will never be something that I can own. This feeling of looking out onto the land below and knowing that there is nothing between you and the land.

But at the same time, I have my own. Looking out onto suburbia and feeling complete isolation despite the purported bonds of community that associate most people. While not as romantic as the prior, there is still a profound sense of self satisfaction in knowing that even in the mix of it all, you still have time to find yourself completely engrossed in nothing more than yourself and a personal reflection on your place within your community. The same or something similar can be said for the city dweller.

In a word, introversion comes to mind. More than that, however, it is the sense of independence which is so important to us all as Americans. This will never be taken from the American psyche, but we must also acknowledge how we were able to come about this. As the old saying goes, you can't raise a barn with only one person. The collective is an inevitability. Individualism is not a right, it is a privilege.

As I was driving through the Southwest I took some pictures from a first person perspective. I wanted to document a small portion of the ride and some of the landscapes that truly impacted my impression of this country, if only the purely aesthetic side of it.

Conspiracy Theories

2008-09-04T15:28:00.006-07:00

In an effort to dispel some of the myths that are being circulated by conservatives through grassroots electronic methods such as those bogus emails many have become familiar with, Media Matters has released this flowchart outlining the origins of many of those surrounding Obama:

Librarians

2008-09-04T08:39:00.002-07:00

It has been said countless times since the announcement of Governor Sarah Palin vice presidential nomination, she is not ready.

The Daily Show recently pointed out one of the many of the inconsistencies which plague the logic of conservative punditry. With regards to Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, Mr. Rove has this to say:

He's been a governor for three years...He's been the mayor of the 105th largest city in America...So if he were to pick Governor Kaine it would be an intensely political choice which would say, "You know what? I'm really not first and foremost concerned whether this person is ready to be President of the United States."

So if that's the case, how are conservatives supposed to sell Governor Palin to the American people?

Last night was an excellent example of the lacking substance in the Republican's message this time around. This ex beauty queen was very well poised in her attempts to berate the Senator, but at least she was able to auto-designate one of the possible epithets which many could now assign to her. "You know they say the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is the lipstick."

I a sense, this works out great for both parties. The Republicans were able to energize their base, while further alienating the rest of America. Efforts to stress American unity by the Democrats were underscored by the divisive testimonies of most Republican speakers.

In the end, the ad homonym attacks on Obama are probably not going to do much to change the polls too much. However, it never ceases to be provide reason for disconcert and perplexity among most rational citizens who are forcibly exposed to such vitriol.

A great deal of the chatter coming off the convention floor as soon as it happened hearkened back to an earlier election, the 2000 presidential election which brought Bush to power. The word that kept being repeated aside from maverick was "character." As if character were enough to give you the fortitude to tackle the most important position in the world. We all known how well things went by going on that logic alone.

The interesting thing about this term is that it implies nothing about any of the concrete abilities we would like to see in one of the most important leadership positions. I personally like to see intelligence, charisma, wisdom, gentility, articulateness. Can all of these be lumped into the term character? For one, I don't think intelligence can be. Many intelligent people throughout history have lacked character. On a categorical basis, take computer nerds, for instance.

Furthermore, gentility goes into that as well. Gigolos behave like perfect gentlemen but may be dumb as a box of rocks beyond their knowledge of proper social etiquette when wooing a lady.

Where the hell am I going with this? Sluts. Sluts. Sluts.

Everyone is a slut; but especially conservatives.

The one thing I do appreciate about Sarah Palin is the sexy librarian look. Somewhere out there in the heartland there is some kid cultivating a librarian dominatrix fantasy, and its all thanks to John McCain.

Polls and the Media

2008-09-02T13:59:00.002-07:00

Has anyone been paying attention to the latest polls? Well, the major news networks have and apparently Obama and McCain are pretty much in a dead heat. If this is true, then why are the numbers saying otherwise. In an earlier post, I expressed my delight after observing an obvious shift in poll numbers, which by my understanding of polls and statistics, showed a significant shift in public opinion. CNN, however, didn't see that shift. If they didn't see it then obviously Fox News saw the opposite. So let's see what they saw...

On August 25 the Gallup Poll General Election Trial Heat showed Obama down by two points to McCain at 44 to 46. On the 26th however, the numbers shifted in favor of Obama to 45-44. OK, I can see that as a dead heat. However, since that date the number have been climbing steadily. From the 27th onward, Obama has enjoyed at least a 6 point lead up till now: 42-48, 41-49, 41-49, 42-48, 43-49, and 42-50 on September 1.

OK, fine, that's just one poll. However, the only contradictory information to come out since the Democratic National Convention that may support the claims of the major news networks is a CNN/Opinion Research poll that shows McCain at 48 and Obama at 49. I am forced to ask myself about the methodology of a poll that comes out with these results which every single other poll shows otherwise: Diageo/Hotline, 39-48; CBS News, 40-48; USA Today/Gallup, 43-50; and American Research Group, 43-49.

All of these numbers show that the Democrats have made huge gains as a result of their efforts at the convention. Why then, is there misreporting by CNN. It is to be expected by Fox, but everyone knows that most media is largely dominated by the ideological leftist elitists right? Well the numbers are right here people. I am only posing the question, the responsibility is yours to make up your own mind.

Poll numbers provided courtesy of PollingReport.com

UFN

2008-09-02T00:57:00.003-07:00

Anyone remember Thursday? How about Glassjaw? OK, what about Converge?

Converge is a classic, but the previous two I can honestly had escaped my more recent musical repertoire. I was recently reminded of these late/post high school bands that dominated my stereo at the time by the news of a hardcore/screamo/grindcore supergroup. Word on the street has it that members of the three bands I just mentioned are coming out with a collaboration entitled, United Nations.

Glassjaw got overshadowed by the shifting trends in the scene that introduced Head Automatica, but news of a side project with a reinvigorated edge from Palumbo was definitely a welcomed surprise. Similar sentiments were aroused by news that Thursday frontman Geoff Rickley was in the mix as well. Despite my inevitable evolution in musical taste, there is still a soft spot in my heart for those dissonant sounds of discordant youth.

The timing for the release of this album seems to coincide perfectly with the allusion of the political undertones that the name of the band seems to imply. Upon preliminary listenings of some of their tracks and their names this allusion definitely seems to be validated; you can check out their album at their www.myspace.com/unitednations. The final lineup hasn't been revealed, but you can definitely hear the memorable vocals of Rickley. As for the rest, check them out for yourself and be sure to pick up the album when it comes out.

Personal Histories

2008-08-30T22:27:00.006-07:00

The Republican Party irreverently lauds itself as the party of American values, Christian values. When looking at the plain facts, John McCain doesn't seem to have a very good track record on family values. Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times writes in 2000, about a troubling period in the Senator's life after coming back from Vietnam. His physical problems after his experience led him into a post as the Navy's liaison to congress. This post forced him to travel throughout the country to meet with different representatives. It was during this time that he met Cindy Lou Hensley. "Although he was still living with his wife, he was aggressively courting a 25-year-old woman who was as beautiful as she was rich." This courtship led to his remarriage which eventually gave way to the sequence of events that would grant him his current lot in life.

This is not a snide commentary on the character of John McCain, but rather a sincere cause for perplexity to me because of the accommodating nature of social conservatives. As I can recall from my admittedly limited knowledge of the Christian faith, thou shalt not commit adultery is one of the ten commandments is it not? Even though one may not be able to construe his actions as outright adultery, though he did apply for a marriage license prior to the finalization of his divorce proceedings ("McCain Revealed" CNN, 8/30/08), they probably should be construed as somewhat of an affront to marriage; especially by those who so ardently defend the definition of it.

By the way, has anyone seen a family portrait of the whole McCain family, including the children from the previous marriage? I haven't.

¡¿Mogwai and Palin?!

2008-08-30T01:56:00.006-07:00

The question is, which is cooler. I'm thinking the McCain campaign screwing up is way cooler, although those of you who care about music more than politics might be more inclined towards the former.

Mogwai's sixth LP, The Hawk is Howling, has some of the classical Mogwai signatures but with a more epic feel to it than some of their more recent works; somewhat of a throwback to Young Team without taking too much away from the freshness they bring to this album. The dissonance and crescendos are lightly dispersed throughout the album in a way that they have been doing since they started, without giving way to the influence of many purely commercial post rock composers that are so prevalent in jingles and pop ditties, to say nothing of the W.G. Snuffy Waldenesque take; which I may, or may not, be referencing. This is one things I think Mogwai has always done really well, putting the focus more on the composition of their nuanced melodies rather that the structural elements of the genre. Definitely an album worth buying, if you're into that.

But on the more pleasant note, I had to be extra nice to my father today. We've been going at each other for some time now any time the names of Obama or McCain were mentioned, but today, we were finally able to reconcile our political differences and reconstruct our filial bridges over the ideological divide that had been severed by the hail of political uncertainty and in light of the "fierce urgency of now." I consoling my father over the joyous fact that McCain might have blown it. If this is some sort of political maneuver a la Carl Rove, I'm not seeing it. It all seems a little bit short sighted of the Republican campaign, especially a day after Obama's speech. As all the pundits keep acknowledging, he has just lost one of the major points of contention for the Obama camp, that of experience. Not only that, but she's not really even qualified.

There are a million different reasons why this is good for Obama and Biden, and I personally can't wait for the debates, especially the vice presidential debate. I heard one of the Fox News pundits say today that Palin is going to be a difficult person to tackle by someone like Biden, especially given his "loquacious" persona as defined by the media. He went on to say that the public was not going to be very receptive to the hard hitting commentary that democrats are so accustomed to when it comes to someone like Palin, and that democrats were going to soften their blows if they wanted their strategy to be effective. What bothered me most about this commentary was the sexist intonations of it; which I'm sure may be obvious to most people. I'm sorry buddy, but if you're going to bring a woman into the picture who does not come close to filling the shoes of some of the other prospective Republican VP choices, as a political move to attract Hillary voters, you better bring in someone that can stand there blow for blow with the rest of the boys. After all, isn't that what Hillary was all about?

It's working!

2008-08-28T18:05:00.003-07:00

Whatever has been said over the past 4 days of the Democratic National Convention seems to be working. Before things got started on Monday, McCain had taken a 2 point lead in the Gallup Poll's general election trial heat. Today that deficit has been erased by the Obama campaign and they have taken a 6 point lead; and Obama hasn't even made his acceptance speech! Things are on the up and up for democrats at the moment. With all the hype that's been dedicated to this speech, let's hope that they can keep the momentum going.

Chinese punks

2008-08-28T00:05:00.004-07:00

The main guy in this video reminds of the pitfalls that loom before misguided wannabe-intellectuals in a world that's moving just a bit faster than they are (he also reminded me a lot of the Uruguayan skins I met in Montevideo). Not that most of the people reading this haven't at one point experienced something similar to where he's coming from at least. I guess I hope the readership of my blog might be able to understand some of the simpler pleasures in life that come from the naivete of being antagonistic towards the aspects of your life that bear the most frustration because you are completely incapable of engaging them. Basically, it's fun to get drunk and say fuck the government when you're young... just as long as you don't base your whole life on that mantra.

Obama's official nomination

2008-08-27T18:21:00.003-07:00

Is the American dream dying? There's no question more pivotal to our future as a country than this question right now. If you don't trust Obama, for whatever reason, just listen to Joe Biden. If you don't trust the Clintons, just listen to Joe Biden. Who can question the character of this man? He has a proven record in American politics, and he has a proven character among men of virtue. A family man, a son of the working class, this is just one more example of what makes this country great. If you don't trust Obama, then trust Joe Biden. Of all the speeches given today and in the previous days of the convention, his speech possessed a personal aspect which reached further than the political rhetoric which it espoused.

Biden asked us in his speech today, "remember when the world used to trust us?" While many Americans ignore the reality of our interconnectedness in the global market, we cannot shy away from the implicit truth in this question. As our position as the world's leader in the economy becomes more tenuous with the meteoric rise of the Chinese economy, we must stay true to the values that made this country great in every other way.

We are a young country. Let's keep that in mind. Should we really throw in the towel by assuming the system is as good as its going to be? Conservativism is the delusion that things were better in the past than they could be in the future. This assumption defies the lessons of history. If history has taught us anything is that with every event that takes place, if we so choose, we can learn from it and build upon it.

We are obviously at a turning point in our history as a nation. A recent article in the new york times begged the question as to whether or not 'Mr. Obama’s success [will] further the notion that the long struggle for racial equality has finally been won?' The article discusses fears by many African American leaders that this historical election, if won, will cause many Americans to assume the former assertion to be true. While some may come to this conclusion, we must also look to the popular discourse that goes on among opponents to the Obama presidency on the basest of levels. The obvious answer would be no.

Race is just one of the many issues that still affect the character of our country. While electing an African American president will do much to curb the effects of a racist past in this country, there is still much to be done about the effects of inequality in poor urban communities, regardless of race. All of the issues are addressed by both parties and both can be dismissed as the meaningless discourse of a system out of touch with its populace. Is it really the political discourse out of touch with the populace or the populace out of touch with its political system?

One thing remained clear tonight, there is a group of people in this country that believe in changing this country for the better. Whether the proposed changes are far reaching and earnest remains to be seen. For the moment, however, it is enough to know that the potential of our democracy might at least be enough to point us back in the right direction.

Haiku

2008-08-26T21:17:00.004-07:00

I'm trying to make a global phenomenon of the Haiku tradition in the bathroom stalls at W&M. Here's one I wrote recently:

metafísica
las almas suelen volar
antes de caer

Hillary Clinton

2008-08-26T20:27:00.004-07:00

Hillary did a wonderful job today as the keynote speaker at today's convention. However, I couldn't help but notice how much the focus has shifted from the message of "change" and "hope" to a message of "anything but Bush;" and of course his mirror image in McCain. This hardly seems like the time to be deflating the imagery evoked by the message being put forth. It seemed like the overwhelming majority of the speakers today focused on the dissimilarities between Obama and McCain, while injecting the rhetoric that has already been diffused into public discourse.

Although I am personally touched by the vast implications that are carried by the fact that a woman must throw all her support to an African American in order to defeat their rich white male counterpart, I am worried that this alone is not enough to inspire most Americans to vote Democrat this November (needless to say, the issues are my first and foremost inspiration). However, if the economy is not enough to influence voters with regards to the issues, what more can the democrats do when the polls say that republican politics of the last presidential election are by and large irrelevant in this election? And is addressing McCain as Bush's twin really enough to fix the recent Gallup poll numbers showing McCain up by 2 points?

The Carl Rove strategy is dead. Well, maybe it's not dead; but it certainly is not being employed and national numbers show that abortion and gay marriage are not as hot ticket issues as they were in the previous election. In fact, a recent poll conducted by ABC News/The Washington Post shows that about 54% of Americans in this country believe abortion should be legal in most cases. McCain's support of repealling of Roe v. Wade is certainly not going to help him out with republicans for choice and the evangelicals have certainly lost a great deal of the clout they had in '04 which would have been pivotal in steering public interest with regards to this issue.

The fact is, the economy is the most important issue in this election. It is common knowledge that the voters tend to vote with their pocketbooks, and they are clearly screaming democrat right now. With people continuing to lose their houses to foreclosures and the failure of Indymac acting as a harbinger of things to come, it seems ludicrous that McCain has jumped ahead in the numbers. There is, however, one possible explanation for these numbers, and it is probably one that no one really wants to admit to; that some voters are still just too uncomfortable voting for an African American president. With this in mind it is going to be interesting to note the reaction of Hillary supporters for McCain in the weeks to come. For obvious reasons, let's hope it doesn't come down to our reliance on the pocket book axiom to keep our dreams of change alive.

reality

2008-08-26T13:37:00.002-07:00

So you are left with the question of reality. What is it really supposed to be all about? I would like to think that today is a new day and it can all start again, but in reality, I am left thinking about the countless hours I have spent in front of this computer screen wasting away my mind. Am I really being productive by looking at movies all day and trying to learn the perfect method to wasting time? Of course not, but for some strange reason, I feel like I am perfecting the American dream.

Consumption is the ultimate goal in these situations. You sit down, you watch some television, you eat some food, and you consume more and more information until you are bursting at the seems with trivial knowledge and a disctinct ability to replace any information of worth with the perfect method for going to the bathroom, making something to eat, add a drink with that, and somehow make it back in time before the commercial break.

This is what our society has been reduced to. We are a bunch of assholes looking for nothing. We don't even need a mouth, just open wide and regurgitate.

What are the things of worth in our life? Your computer? Certainly mine is. The penultimate tool for a post-consumerist society. You can sit at your computer and desk all day long and conduct your entire life from that one place. Trade and sell stocks, that takes care of your monetary issues. Read some of the news, that takes care of your global awareness. Order a pizza, that takes care of lunch. Download a movie - now it gets a little complicated - and add some music in with that too. You need some new sweat pants? Just head on over to walmart.com. Now the most important part or your entire day. Your social utility. This is what separates our generation from the last.

Today you are planning on doing exactly what you do every day, and I'm quite certain that if you are between the ages of 13 and 26, your daily routine will include the checking of one of our grand social utilities known as facebook or myspace and be supplemented with a more direct form of electronic human interaction by way of aim, msn, or google chat. Now your day is complete and you never even had to leave the comfort of your own desk chair. Head to bed and repeat the next day.

This formulaic existence can be repeated add nauseum for the rest of our sorry lives, because despite my ability to observe such a mundaneness of our modern plight, I cannot extricate myself from the comfort that it provides. There is a comfort in knowing that you can know all of the knowledge in the world with a few clicks of the mouse. We will never know it, because we are constantly replacing information with more trivial information and being stuck in a repetitive cycle which will only change when we are old and gray and then finally we will begin to engage life and maybe read some more books, or maybe not. Maybe we are simply condemned to be the relegation of information consumption, never again to return to the realm of material satisfaction.

Shitty Week

2007-10-24T20:32:00.001-07:00

My camera got stolen, oink was shutdown, and my house nearly burned down.

I am never going to blackout again.

I've seen the Andes mountain range from within 3 different countries. I've gotten smashed with at least 3 different cultures. Not counting the foreigners I've met along the way.

There was shitty snow in Bariloche. It was an excellent ski resort. The Argentine party schedule was not conducive for the enjoyment of both nightlife and skiing. I prioritized, but nevertheless, thumbs up to the bars we did go to. 24 hours there and 20 hours back. The Argentine countryside is not very attractive, not in the pampas, imagine a bus ride from Denver to St. Louis. Word to the wise, double check what day you are actually leaving and do not go by your instincts when you're having fun. They don't replace your tickets when you miss the bus by a day. We found that out the hard way.

Drinking with Uruguayan skinheads was a solid experience. SHARPS mind you; paradoxical nonetheless. Not that it's hectic here, but I have never seen such a relaxed metropolis as Montevideo. Nothing like any primate city I have ever visited. 3 hours from the port of Buenos Aires by ferry.

Buenos Aires is a wonderful city. The postcolonial monumentalism is completely apparent, and to the foreign, and possibly domestic eye as well, it is impressive. In contiguous juxtaposition are the graffiti and clandestine monuments which are just as awe inspiring in their audacious defiance of the demagogic symbolism. Palermo Viejo evokes a cosmopolitan hipness that can be found in the progressive neighborhoods of most major Metropolises. La Boca is cultural clusterfuck of color and touristy establishments, veiling with relative effectiveness the decrepit conditions which surround it. If you want to get a picture dancing some sidewalk tango it is just the spot. All this is just 1:15 minutes from where I live. I don't go there enough.

The partying has gotten a little old. When out of the cradled atmosphere of complicit collegiate degeneracy it doesn't seem as appealing; it becomes mundane in a sense. After all, you can't really enjoy a blackout.

The nights are not really nights, but transitions into more nights. By the way, hogs ain't shit by these standards. Here in La Plata I guess I've fallen into a routine cycle which is only broken by these few escapes into different parts of the country. Drinking with amusing friends, not great friends, losing the weekend in a blur and then reading for the rest of the week, with a few interspersed points of interest. A completely pointillist tempo as Bauman would have it. I guess that's the nature of living without a grounding element.

airports

2007-07-02T00:55:00.000-07:00

The transition has been smooth. I am now on yet another continent and have had the good fortune of making it all the way to Santiago, if only to the airport. I am currently staying in a house with a group of student activists and volunteers from the US and Latin America.

Chaos. Dirt. Smog. Noise. Overcast. Petroleum. Pilsner. Cristal. Tizon. Huachipa. Gringas. Cheap taxis. Futbol. Mexicanos. El Peru.

The past few days have been a whirlwind.

I started my trip off without any sleep. This has apparently become a necessary aspect of most of my flights at this point. I justify it by the fact that I can sleep on the plane which makes sense at first but does not account for unplanned occurrences as would take place in "El DF."

I get off the plane and arrive at the more lax hours of operation in el DF. Nevertheless, the chaos and grime that is Mexico City permeates the atmosphere, in a good way.

My addiction guides my course through the airport in hopes of taking a few puffs and subduing my inclinations for the several hours that I have yet to travel. I sit down, have a sandwich and some juice since I could foresee the unfulfillment on flight meal that I would be graced with. I ended up chatting it up with a scottish expat who had been working on an oil rig and was going back to his wife and kids in Brazil. He didn't like scotland.

Perhaps it was intuition which induced an anxiousness in me at the time. I said goodbye and went off to find my departure gate, only to find out that there would be no flight to Lima that night. The plane had crashed with a transport vehicle. This inconvenience was, needless to say, disconcerting but I went with the flow and hopped on a flight to Chile. It turned out to be the best flight I had been on in a long time. All the wine I could drink and a wonderful entree of tripe and rice.

In the morning I woke up to the sight of the Andes on the left, approaching the beautiful city of Santiago. The sight of the mountain range from the airport exacerbated my anticipation of exploring Patagonia's mountain ranges on my stick.

That would have to would have to wait until after Peru. Lima is unique geographically and culturally, but other than that it encapsulates many of the idiosyncrasies of most major urban centers in its chaos, pollution, pace, and general feeling of consumerist superfluity. So far so good.

I get to the house and am struck by an odd sense of deja vu. I feel like I knew the house already, for it is exactly what I had envisioned. Nice setup. Turns out it is only a 10-15 minute walk from the ocean.

We go out and look for ceviche but fail at our attempt to find it so we get cheap sandwiches then go to a bar next to the compound-like intellectual center that is "la Catolica" in order to watch some football. 40's are 2 dollars at the bar. Me gusta.

The rest is where it gets hazy. US got worked. We went out. Sargento Pimienta's, Watdajel, Tizon, and then this weird bar in a touristy part of town that reminded me totally of Tijuana and Revolucion street.

Friday night. Ate ceviche, delicioso, not like Mexican ceviche. Played soccer next to the cliffs. Team gringo lost, just like the real one. Got a bottle of Bacardi. Challenged Matt. I drank almost an entire fifth of rum, then we went out. Needless to say we had to come home and bring Matt back. Bacardi, Tizon, Ozo. Quote of the night:

"They always say no the first time." -Kiet

Saturday. What a day this was. I am "crudo." You intuit the translation. We make it out to Huachipa finally. This is the region of Lima where I will be working. The conditions are appallingly squalid. There is a surreal layout to the area since there are no trees and the ground has been torn apart by the practices of the brickmaking industry.

Child labor is a huge problem in the area. The school is impressively lacking. We spend our time working on the playground. Word to the wise, don't start spinning the kids around unless you have a lot of energy. It was fun. The kids are cute.

Night comes. People come. Pretty soon there's a party. Sargento Pimientos. Gringas. Party. Jesus Freak. "Fresa" who is full of shit. We finally make it back to the house. Drunkenly stumble after late night munchies.

Today. Mexico won.

Pre-departure formalities

2007-05-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

The Argentines are continuing to make bad impressions on me. Up to this point I have not been able to get in touch with anyone at the Argentine Embassy. Their working hours must be wonderful because they are apparently open only 3 or 4 hours of the day. That's bureaucracy though. We'll see what happens tomorrow at the embassy though.

My current stay at home has led me to a state of lethargy I have come to embrace ever since the end of last summer's break. I don't know how exactly it is that I have become so languid but it is becoming rather disconcerting.

On a more pleasant note, I have been drinking far less. Part of that might be correlated to the fact that I have been going out to far more expensive bars with a more exclusive crowd. So getting drunk at the bars with a bunch of college aged alcoholics doesn't seem to fly as well out here.

However, the club scene seems so irreverently hedonistic. I can appreciate going out to a trendy club and spending a few extra dollars for the ambiance, but when I take into account the fact that the more trendy the club is the more materialized the people become the experience becomes deflated. The people in these clubs effectively cease to be fully human and take on an artificial persona which is all part of the prescribed norm for such environments.

Don't get me wrong, in the moment I still definitely have a good time, but to tell the truth, I would much rather be in a sub-trendy (sub-culturally trendy) dive bar which allows for a more personalized experience, and effectively detach myself on my own accord, i.e. through my own intoxicating behavior, and not by the societal imposition.

On an entirely different tangent, Johnny gets out here tomorrow. The plan is to go bum around Venice beach, to which I have personally never had the pleasure of visiting, despite the fact that I have lived in Southern California my entire life. Not that it's ever been that enticing to go there, but there are a few cultural aspects of that place that I should probably partake in.

I am also making use of this trip to go out to the Argentine Embassy and confirm the documents I am going to need for my student visa. We'll see if the Argentines actually redeem themselves or if they're going to let me down yet again.

I have also found out that it is much more difficult to get your criminal history than I had previously expected. There are only a few times during the week that this can be obtained from the police department and the official documents need to be obtained through the submission of various forms to the state.

I think it wouldn't be too far of a stretch that by the end of this process I will be more apt in my maneuvering through bureaucratic institutions, which is good since the socialist state is founded upon the bureaucracy.

I am currently listening to the "boys of melody" by The Hidden Cameras, which is an amazing song by a gay band. Literally. Apparently the shows are a riot but unfortunately they are not very well known amongst non-gay circles. I became acquainted with them through the soundtrack of the movie Shortbus.

I recommend this movie for those who are truly not homophobic because there is a great deal of male nudity. The movie explores human sexuality through the scope of several individuals in an exclusive salon in New York whose purpose is to provide a medium for the sexually gifted and challenged to come together.

Netflix is awesome, by the way. So is HDTV. Combine the two and I may have found the reason for my lethargy.

I need coffee and a cigarette.