I find this CNN online poll very disturbing. It isn't scientific, but it really shows how close to fascism we really are.

Are there circumstances in which waterboarding of prisoners is acceptable?

Yes	53%	17280
No	47%	15286
Total Votes: 32566

I wonder if the answers would be any different if instead of waterboarding it read torture.

Witchhunts - I can smell them coming....

There is so much to do - or better put, there is so much I need to be doing.

Yet I don't have the wherewithal to even begin.

Two notes:
1. In Italian there is a great word that fits in where I have the "better put" that does not have an English equivalent: anzi. I find this frustrating at times. I want the equivalent of a word that exists in a different language. Moral of the story: avoid learning foreign languages - it is the cause of unnecessary frustration.

Second note: ........now I forgot. I think I was going to write something about the word wherewithal. Hmmm...not sure if that was it. But since I am on that topic, wherewithal is usually I word we use when we don't have it. And it is a cumbersome word for a period of time when we are feeling overwhelmed and unable to tackle some issue(s).

So there it is. The end of the semester is upon us. The realization that break is not really a break, rather a shift in activities. I will welcome the break in teaching. Four courses is just too many. It is not fair to the teacher and not fair to the students.

I am off to find a different way to avoid what it is that I need to get done.

It was bound to happen sooner or later.

I got my first official rejection of the job hunt season. It came via email. I am not even worth a stamp. At least it is environmentally friendly.

It just came at a bad time. It has shaken my confidence a little and my sinking morale went a little lower.

I need the semester to be over.

But before I wallow in self-pity too long, I need to send positive energy to a friend who is battling her own woes: health insurance claims denied (among other things).

When will we live in a country where it isn't a privilege to be healthy?

Órale, wassup with this? I should be a pepper not some Japanese flavor. And truth be told, most of what we call wasabi is just colored horseradish.

I'm tired. So I may be incomprehensible at this point.

Your Score: Wasabi

You scored 50% intoxication, 100% hotness, 100% complexity, and 75% craziness!

You are Wasabi!

You're pretty much insane. You're probably from another planet, even. When you're around people, you go straight for the crown chakra and get them all tingly. You're often imitated by those who want to be like you, but you're definitely one of a kind.

Link: The Which Spice Are You Test written by jodiesattva on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Off to DC

To the Anthropology Meetings.

Be back soon.

Thanksgiving 2007


A walk in the park.

Company: two dogs.



Soundtrack:
Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert





Yes, this is Manhattan.

It should probably be called the forgotten corner.

You might say, how can it be forgotten if no one ever knew about it.




But the Wappani knew about it: they called this place Shorakapok and lived in the caves found here.

I am glad it is forgotten, but I honor the Wappani on this day of Thanksgiving.

Weather

The sun returned today. Good thing I mentioned that I missed it yesterday. Speaking of weather, you know who would make a great weather person?

Steven Wright

I hate how weather people say the temperature as though it were the most amazing thing in the world. It doesn't matter whether it is cold or hot, whether it is far from the norm or just what is expected. I guess newscasters do that in general. I hate that false emphasis on everything. I believe Steve Martin mocked this in his film LA Story.


I also hate how local news now teases you throughout the telecast with bits of weather. They force you to watch inane bits or abuses of tragedy just so you know whether you should take your raincoat or not.

Which brings me to this. You know who else would make a great weather person?

Lewis Black.

Quick, direct, no BS weather.

I can only dream.

Sparsity

Who knew that was a word? My spell check seems to be ok with it (it doesn't like ok, though). It seems like I used to be comfortable here and putting random thoughts, whine about a unimportant grievance, or just letting my brain fart away. I do not do that anymore. It is true that I am busy - four classes, job applications, a stalled research project, and general life demands will do that to you. However, I have time to dilly dally in other brief and random endeavors, so why not here. Is it the pressure I put on myself to spew something worthwhile? Have I - gasp - become self-conscious? Or have I just become bored with this medium (I do bore easily)? Truth is, I do not know.

But here I am...probably because I am home alone. The dogs are here, but Sara is off to San Antonio to see her grandmother, father, and family.

I thought I would have more free time, but so much crap has piled up and there are so many random errands that need to be run that I have been as short on time as ever.

Who knew it was so complicated to send a large envelope to Canada via priority mail with a way to track it? Tip: it is worth the extra few dollars to send it express (not that it really is express - it take 5 business days). Why? Montreal is much closer to New York than California, where I can send something overnight.

Just to let you know, avoid the Inwood post office station in NYC. I will spare the details. If you want to know, ask.

Why are people so unaware of others around them? Different post office: a woman took five minutes trying to decide between the Christmas knit stamps and the Madonna and Child stamps. In the end, she decided that she didn't like either and got THREE regular stamps. Mind you, that was the only window open and there was a line out the door. I thought the woman in front of me was going to strangle her. That would have been entertaining and worth the wait. I think she was 90 - the strangler, not the indecisive one.

I miss the sun. It went missing a few days ago.

I gave my Introduction to International Studies classes a naturalization test during our lecture on immigration. Based on the results, most of them need to be deported. They probably would also do poorly on the English language test and they might have a hard time showing their attachment to the Constitution (since most of them are quite ignorant of what it states) and proving their "Good Moral Character".

Most of my students' knowledge of geography is also abysmal.

What is even more discouraging is that NJ is supposed to have one of the better secondary education systems.

Our dogs are healthy - determined by a recent vet visit. They are also quite cooperative. The impressed the vet.

We put the notes left by our dog-walker praising them on the fridge.

I bet Zeus is smarter than some of my students. He definitely is more worldly - he's been to 3 countries and 27 states.

I like The Hives new album and I have rediscovered The The.

It's time to eat dinner.

Sure Sign You are Getting Old

You do online quizzes for your dogs on a Friday evening because you are too tired to do anything else...

Zeus's DNA

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And Zephyr's

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Land of the Brave

Despite Oso's previous traumatic encounters with delinquents around the world, he was brave enough to embark in the lengthy trek from Brooklyn to the hinterland of Upstate Manhattan to meet up for dinner last night.

He brought along someone for protection (or to distract the potential assailants): Dr. Cereal. I have followed the Dr.'s adventures in Monterrey and on Southwest Airlines online, but I had never had the opportunity to meet him.

Oso has become my official social network agent as he helps me meet online personae who are fun and fascinating (the previous example being Nathan and Rosario). I can't wait to meet up with him again because I am sure I will meet yet another interesting individual(s).

We decided (more like I dragged them) to take in some of the local cuisine (or rather the cuisine imported by the local Dominican community). The food was good and the conversation ranging from the mundane to the insightful. It is strange to me that I have only met up with Oso three times, yet it feels like I am meeting up with an old college buddy. It is interesting how this new dynamic medium is changing the nature of social interaction.

We did discuss the veracity of online personae and how it reflects and differs from the actual producer of the persona. Oso sheepishly insinuated that I am whiny online (which I am), but claimed that I wasn't in real life (yet I am - just ask Sara). During the conversation, I realized how much of an academic I have become. Theoretical questions bounced around through my mind: What would Weber have to say? Does this relate to Durkheim and his concept of organic solidarity? I bet Goffman would have a cool blog and he would probably use it to mess around with people's minds. I also questioned why did I have to immediately relate our conversation to the academic. Couldn't I just take it for what it was? Three guys enjoying some Caribbean food over beer and sangría?

Nonetheless, it was a very enjoyable evening. I hope to meet up with Dr. Cereal again since he lives nearby (although a very long subway ride) and he has just started a job that I would like to hear more about.

And as far as I know, Oso got out of my 'hood without incident. I even walked him to the subway to ensure his safety. Although I was tempted to turn to the dark side after glimpsing his iPhone (which he demurely kept shielded even as he used it to look something up).

Stressful Days

In addition to the loads of work that is consuming my life right now, the fires in San Diego have consumed my attention.

My mother's home is safe - thank goodness. However, they woke one night to the eerie red glow of the night sky. From their window they saw the fire come around a large mountain not too far from their home. They were packed and ready to go. Fortunately they did not have to.

While my mother and stepfather are quite pragmatic (and hence I didn't think they would be in danger), both have put so much time and energy into their home that I could not bear to think of it going up in flames.

Beyond the immediacy of my family, it grieves me to see so many people displaced, so many of the places I know damaged or destroyed. My rational mind tells me that homes will be rebuilt and lives will move on, but my emotions take pause in the wrath nature has brought. The earth has been speaking to us, complaining about how we have treated it. When will we listen? Probably when it is too late.

A HUGE thanks from me goes out to Nathan (and his co-workers) whose hard work at KPBS has helped so many stay informed and connected. If only more of the media worked for the public good we would be much better off.

Visual DNA

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I would say I am more of a dreamer and escape artist than a go-getter and conquerer, but these tests don't lie...

Thanks to Heliosphan

Sorry About the Wait

Ok, I know I taunted you with the picture and left you hanging for some time.

So what the heck is it?

I am a little disappointed that there weren't more guesses.

As to what it is, there is some debate and I guess it depends on the observer.

I consider it art, or at least a form of artistic expression. I call it Manchamantel.

Sara begs to differ (as her comment indicates, she isn't too happy about the picture).

She sees it as what it is: a stained tablecloth at Rosa Mexicano in New York City.

It is the mess we made during our dinner on Mexican Independence Day, featuring mole oaxaqueño, guacamole and chiles en nogada of a special menu designed by Susana Trilling.

While Sara sees the tablecloth as an embarrassing blemish of our lack of class, I see it as the fruit of us engaging and enjoying our meal - thus artistic. A clean table cloth is but a canvass on which we can feel free to create our gustatory designs while partaking of food.

The more spritually inclined might even see inspiration; perhaps spotting religious iconography in the image.

So there it is, perhaps it is banal and mundane or perhaps it is inspired expression. Who knows?

What IS that?

Since I probably don't have any readers left, I can without worry offer $5.oo or a secret-prize to whomever can correctly guess what the above picture is (Sara is not eligible to win). If you do guess, let me know along with your answer whether you would prefer the cash or the prize.

Today: Acatl - Acatl - Chalchihuitlicu: 13-Coatl (snake)

As a year bearer, Acatl (Reed) is the sign of day in the tonalpohualli that gives its name to this xihuitl (year). This sign is associated with the direction of the east.

The 13-day period Acatl (Reed) is ruled by Chalchihuitlicue, goddess of lakes, rivers and seas, goddess of horizontal waters. This trecena signifies the transitory nature of all that we may gain in life: it is a reminder to view success and failure, gain and loss, as matters of fate and not as matters of personal worth. The elementals do not reward nor punishment our efforts but, rather, construct the maze within which we might perfect our hearts. The 13 days of this trecena reveal our hearts to us, based on whether we have decided to live within the house of shadows or to seek the secret of happiness elsewhere. These are good days to travel to new places; bad days to hide in fear.

Citlalicue, Her skirt is Stars, is the provider of the Spirit Soul (Teyollia) for days with numeral 13 (mahtlactli-omei). The volatile for this day is the Parrot (Toznene).

The protector of day Coatl (Snake) and provider of the Shadow Soul or Tonalli is Chalchihuitlicue. Coatl is the day of the snaking river that always changes without changing. It signifies the fleeting moment of eternal water. A good day for humility, a bad day for acting on self-interests.

Another year...

Bidding Summer Farewell



My absence here is a combination of my hectic schedule and mental apathy.

Um...that's all I got.

Caveat q*uech*up

I would like to warn everyone that there is a nasty spamming worm making its way through the cyberworld. The way it works is as follows:

• You get a message: "Invitation from Xoloitzquintle".
• When you open it, it sends out a message from you with the same invitation.
• The invitation is to a "social networking site" that really is some crappy dating service in Britain.

I, unfortunately, fell victim to this stupid trick and had to send out a warning to everyone who had ever corresponded with (I use Gmail and it keeps all that info), some of which are quite important and influential people.

This is a stress I don't really need right now.

I always wondered...

Via Sherri who I bow to in nerdom respect.

"Home" Work

Despite our astronomical rent, our apartment has lots of "quirks". Things need fixing and tending to. Over the past couple of weeks I have had to:

• Deal with the return of "Miguelito" - our unwelcome rodent guest. This involved setting up multiple traps (stick and snap). After several appearances, he seems to have gotten the hint and moved to other quarters without having to lose a limb or worse.
• Take our fridge apart to figure out why the freezer was working but the fridge wasn't. The problem was that despite the lack of frost in the freezer, the vents between the freezer and the fridge got clogged with ice.
• Learn how to fix a leaky tub faucet. I still need to get some tools to address the problem, but I think I know how now.

You may wonder why I don't call the "super" (aka the building superintendent who lives on site and should be responsible for these things) and have these things taken care of.

1. From the stories I have heard from other tenants, he is not very reliable and it often takes several tries for him to get it right. From what I have seen in our bathroom, his work is not very good (it was patched up before we moved in).
2. Trying to coordinate a visit with our schedules and the dogs is too much of a headache.
3. I should learn how to do these things anyway.

In addition to these home duties, I have also been training as a iMac repair person. With all the crashes and errors I have experienced, as well as the calls to tech support, I have become a pseudo expert. I think I have isolated the problem: either one of my memory cards is bad or one of the slots is bad.

So my vacation is coming to an end - back to work next week - and I am tied up with home duties. Actually work already started as I have been putting in many hours working on my courses this past week. These four weeks "off" have really flown by. I could use another four.

Reflections...

Going back to Mexico always leaves me in a contemplative mood. There are memories, thoughts, nostalgia, regrets, changes, and observations to process. They whirl in my head without my even knowing it. Perhaps that is why I am feeling tired, almost exhausted.

I hope to get to them, but not now. I am not sure when...