Native Stranger

The Real Labor Day

2006-05-01T18:47:00.000-05:00

(Photo by Luis Sinco of the LA Times)

I had hoped to post about this before, but I've been dutifully neglecting my blog. Be that as it may, I hope everyone out there has shown solidarity with the protests today, either in person or virtually. Many american workers may think that immigrant workers pose a threat to their jobs. Often tensions are high between working class white workers and mexican workers, and in my community between mexican workers and black workers who are sometimes vying for the same jobs. However, we should remember that the fight for rights can never succeed if it is not all-encompassing. Remember what Marx said regarding the beginnings of the movement for the 8 hour work day in the United States: "In the United States of America, any sort of independent labor movement was paralyzed so long as slavery disfigured a part of the republic. Labor with a white skin cannot emancipate itself where labor with a black skin is branded." We would do well to remember this now. If "legal workers" want to see their labor cause strengthened, they must show solidarity with ALL workers.

I think of May 1st as the real Labor Day. Why May 1st? In 1889, the Second International declared May 1st as the day workers of the world would demand a shorter work day. This decision was directly inspired by the American Federation of Labor's resolution that the legal work day should be an 8 hour work day starting May 1st, 1886. What this amounted to, since, of course, that legal right had still to be fought for, was the plan for a massive worker strike on that day. The "Haymarket Affair" occurred on May 3rd and 4th of that year. It is probable May 1st was chosen as the day of strike because of the 1867 May 1st strike in Chicago, and because that time of year had traditionally become a time to fight for workers' rights. Because the American Federation of Labor had planned for another massive strike on May 1st, 1890, the Second International decided to adopt that day as well in its call for a workers' international demonstration for an 8 hour work day. Then, at its next congress, the Second International called for May 1st to be a day to demand worker rights in general, and to promote universal peace. Since the greatest potency of May 1st demonstrations was stopping work, reformists in many labor organizations urged moving the day of protest to the nearest Sunday. In fact, if you think about it, making Labor Day a national holiday is an intelligent way to co-opt it: how can the effect of a protest be felt if workers have the day off anyhow? A much stronger protest includes striking on the day, making the stoppage of work felt as profoundly as possible, making visible the otherwise invisible work done by billions of people.

Why is Labor Day celebrated in the US in September? There are various points of view. One is that after the Haymarket affair, the American Federation of Labor started becoming more conservative, and promoted celebrating Labor Day in September to draw attention away from the communist and socialist associations with May 1st. The September Labor Day was to be a day of rest and enjoyment, not protest. The federal government backed this move in 1894 after several state legislatures had adopted the holiday, and to appease workers after the crushing of the Pullman strike. Another explanation attributes the September date to the New York Knights of Labor parade in September of 1882, or to its genesis in the plans of the Central Labor Union. What is clear is that May 1st was NOT chosen as a government holiday because the government and employers were eager to cover over its radical associations. In 1928, Calvin Coolidge declared May 1st "Child Health Day" to draw attention away from it as a day for worker protest and strike. Guess who's plea it was to make May 1st Child Health Day? The now-conservative American Federation of Labor. Later, Child Health Day was moved to the first Monday of October in 1960, and May 1st became instead "Law Day" (Eisenhower had declared May 1st, 1958 "Law Day - USA", and in 1961 Congress made it official). May 1st also happens to be "Loyalty Day." Hmm...interesting.

Personally, I'm glad May 1st is not officially Labor Day in the United States-it gives us a chance to make more of an impact on the day that is more commonly observed throughout the world. Hopefully today many of us will make a difference in our smaller or larger ways.

En el hoyo

2006-04-09T12:38:00.000-05:00

I saw a documentary last night that is well worth mentioning, En el hoyo (In the Pit), by Juan Carlos Rulfo. It is a portrait of the workers who are constructing the second floor of a freeway in Mexico City called the "periférico." The project was initiated by the mayor of Mexico City, whom I've mentioned in this blog in the past, López Obrador. Usually you hear about the annoyance the construction has caused...it's one of the most used freeways in Mexico City (along with the Viaducto), and motorists were sick and tired of the delays it caused in the already congested traffic. Driving underneath it, though really not knowing much about engineering, it struck me that the design was terrible...in order to ensure it won't fall with earthquakes they've made it a huge, hulking structure. I'm sure there were better designs possible. Perhaps it was important to make it seem sturdy?

The construction of the second floor has been criticized by many. It apparently involves corruption, waste of money, and all the usual stuff of politics. López Obrador was so insistent on finishing it quickly (since he wants to be President) that he has people working 24 hours a day. This film doesn't directly mention most of these things (and in fact some of its funding comes from the city government). What this film shows are the incredibly unsafe working conditions, the lack of gear and tools, the low payment and long hours of the workers, and yet their dependency on the contruction to put food on the table. It also shows the incredible spirit and wit of mexicans, along with the usual cultural idiosyncracies. This is not a "voice of god" narration type documentary. It presents few direct facts or investigation. It is instead an observational documentary with a very generous budget. The words in the film are those of the workers. The cinematography is excellent. The score is one of the best scores I've heard for any movie. It perhaps is a bit too long, but then again, so is the building of the second floor, the periférico itself, the work hours of the protagonists.

It is unfortunate that the subtitles, particularly at the beginning of the film, are not well-translated. A lot of the wit and humor and double-entendre of the workers is lost. You also miss certain references, such as the workers calling the filmmaker "güero" (blond) and their particular way of addressing him ("usted" instead of the informal "tú")--indication of the difference in social status between them. Perhaps despite this for an English-speaking audience, you get the sense that the workers really come to trust and like the filmmakers. Though there is a bit of distance and respect, and the usual posing and acting for the camera, there is also a genuine unguardedness and desire to collaborate with the filmmakers. I highly recommend watching this documentary if you're able--with luck it will get some decent distribution.

Will I Miss the US?

2005-10-19T23:16:00.000-05:00

I'm moving to Spain next year, if all goes well. I wonder if I'll miss my "easy" life here. The land of convenience and consumption. Especially in Durham things can be quite effortless. You leave for a movie 5 minutes before it starts. But I'm really looking forward to living in a real city again....

It's just that as much as I'm tired of this place, I think my sense of identity has become so tied to it that I wonder what the new me, the eventual native in a new strange land, will be like.

Darle Cran

2005-10-19T22:38:00.000-05:00

There's a curious expression in Spanish, "darle cran." I don't know if it exists outside of Mexico. You usually use it to mean doing away with something, destroying it, killing it. My dad told me the other day that the expression originally meant to crank...it comes from cranking a car motor. Literally, then, "give it a crank."

So how did that end up meaning to get rid of something? My guess is that if something was "dead" or not working, you would say you had to "darle cran" to get it started (crank it up). Maybe eventually people thought it meant it was no good anymore and should be thrown away. And then from that it went to actually destroying it.

Junk Blog

2005-10-19T22:09:00.000-05:00

I've just started a new blog to put all my "consumption" opinions, because I realized I kept putting them here and they were out of place. I wanted to call the blog "Consumption Junktion," but of course it's so obvious it's already taken. So I called it "Funktion Junktion" instead--if you can think of a better name let me know! Anyway, there you will find stuff like my posts on the Mooncup and alternatives to plastic water bottles. I have plans for a post on sun protection and endocrine disruptors. Woo hoo!

Mooncup

2005-10-11T23:17:00.000-05:00

It was bound to happen. I accidentally destroyed by DivaCup. What's a DivaCup you ask? I'll just point you to the original post where I introduce it. How could I destroy such a sturdy, fail-proof design?

Uh...well...I put it in a pot of water to boil for five minutes for the monthly sterilization, and I went to my computer because who wants to sit there and watch something boil...and I forgot. About a half hour later I'm smelling something funny, and my poor DivaCup is scorching at the bottom of a very hot, very dry pot. I can't believe the thing didn't melt. I actually almost considered using it, but it had these little cracks in it from the heat, and they just seemed like places bacteria would love to collect.

So it went to the trash...and I went to the internet to buy another one because there is NO WAY I am going back to using tampons or sanitary napkins. This time, I decided to be adventurous and get a Mooncup! It seems almost identical, it's also made out of silicone. But it's got a better name in my opinion, though I always referred to my DivaCup as my keeper, since that's what I had first. Like a tissue is a kleenex. With that, I will have tried all three menstrual cup brands I know about. I wonder if that qualifies me for something.

Holy Crap!

2005-09-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

If you haven't seen the video links on these sites already, check these out. If there was ever a time to watch TV, it's these past few days. I guess I should hook my antenna back up:

onegoodmove: I thought these things might be clues

Crooks and Liars

The Matrix shatters in New Orleans | MetaFilter

Sugar Kayne

and this!:

Mayor Nagin on WWL-AM

The Matrix shatters all right--so well put. It's about time. Too bad this is what it took. Let us hope something good comes out of this, some kind of change, cause this country has been the scourge of the world far too long.

(Thanks, Sam, for sending me these links.)

My Delightful Random Security Check at JFK

2005-08-30T17:34:00.000-05:00

I was flying to Montreal last week when they pulled me aside for a random security check at JFK (for the second time that day). I wasn't even supposed to be in JFK, I was stuck there for supposedly 5 hours (actually 7 due to the delayed flight) thanks to the idiocy of United Airlines. I was already in a bad mood because another guy screwed by the airline yelled and insulted his way onto the next flight in first class, whereas I was on this stupid route that involved a couple more flights and got me in 10 hours later than I was supposed to be there. After having waited 30 minutes to get through regular security at JFK I was not surprised when they pulled me aside again--apparently this was to be the theme of the day.
But this was not to be your regular annoying random security search! Oh, no! This was to be the super annoying random security search in which I was asked to take out ALL my body piercings and go stand in line again! Needless to say, after laughing at their request, I refused.

I was stupid enough to volunteer that the reason the agent's magic wand was beeping near my breast was because I had "body piercings." So then she asked me what piercings I had. I'm not about to lie to these people as I value my freedom and am always at my most gracious when being searched. I answered that I had a nipple piericing and a...uh...genital piercing...which was already more specific than I wanted to get. I had gone through the random search with magic wand in the classic Leonardo position earlier that day, so I thought I'd quickly be shooed on. But no...the agent told me to sit down and wait, and she came back 5 minutes later with the announcement that I was going to have to take out the piercings. What the hell do they do to people who have a pin in their knee or a pacemaker? Surgery?
I told her no way, we're not talking about taking out earrings here...the tissue is delicate and last time I took one out for an X-ray it got infected. So she disappears again for a while and comes back with her supervisor, who sits next to me to "get down to my level" and tells me with a smug smile of pity that unfortunately, if I want to get onto that plane, my only option is to remove all my piercings.
"You've got to be kidding," I tell him. "I've had these piercings over 10 years. I've never had a problem. I travel a few times a year, and I was randomly searched this morning and there was no problem."
"Times have changed," he said.
"Since this morning???"
I told him I'd rather show him the piercings than take them out. "No no no!!!" he said horrified, "That's private!"

So I was sitting there for a while, not in a hurry at all and entirely willing to play this idiotic moment out, until I guess they got sick of seeing me there, and the guy came back and said he would "try" to find a female agent that was "willing" to look at my piercings. Ha ha. You do that, I thought, already starting to savor the story I would tell.

He disappeared and I never saw him again, because the original woman who searched me said "let's try this again" after I waited there for another 15 minutes, and she tapped her wand and waved it over me again. This time she didn't even get a reading on my nipple piercing. When she started waving the thing around my crotch it went off again, but I was like, what about the zipper of my jeans? If I hadn't told her I had a piercing there's no way she would have known it wasn't the zipper. It certainly has more metal than my little ring.
The agent then told me if I let her do a thorough pat-down she might be able to let me go. I was like, "grope away--anything so I don't have to take the damn things out." So she felt me up for a bit and then told me to have a nice flight.

Tattooed Fruit

2005-08-06T09:37:00.000-05:00

Tattooed Fruit Is on Way - New York Times: "'With the right scanning technology the produce could even be bar-coded with lots of information: where it comes from, who grew it, who picked it, even how many calories it has per serving,' said Fred Durand III, president of Durand-Wayland. 'You could have a green pepper that was completely covered with coding. Or you could sell advertising space.'"

What's up with advertising tattoos? Though I'd rather that awful online gambling site would spend their money on fruit advertising than buying people's forehead space.

Unsafe Plastic?

2005-07-25T13:27:00.001-05:00

I have these old #1 PETE plastic Powerade bottles that I refill from my Britta to drink water near my computer and when I leave the house. They no longer make them in the U.S. (you can get a similar Gatorade bottle in Mexico), which is why I have reused the same ones for many years. The reason I love them is that even when uncapped, they won't spill if they fall over or even if you hold them upside down. They have this little one-way valve (a lot like an arterial valve) that only lets water out when you suck on it. (I don't like push/pull drinking caps because they aren't spill proof and they end up hurting my teeth.)

So then a friend of mine pointed out that it's bad to reuse polyethylene terephthalate (AKA PET, PETE) plastic bottles because the plastic breaks down with detergents and heat and it can leach chemicals into your water. AAAAUUUGH!! So he said he's going to buy me a Nalgene bottle, which is really cool of him. OK, I think, maybe I can part with my lovely valve for safety's sake. BUT NOW I READ THAT NALGENE BOTTLES CAN LEACH HARMFUL CHEMICALS TOO! So I set down to do some research and get to the bottom of this. Is there a safe plastic to use? Or will I have to switch to heavier glass or stainless steel bottles? Does it even matter, considering we get toxins from all sorts of stuff in our environment constantly? I mean, the plastic that most Nalgene bottles are made of, Lexan (AKA polycarbonate, or #7 PC), is also found in dental fillings, of which I have several. And, well, uh...my Britta filter pitcher is made of plastic (who knows what kind) and I've had it for years and years.

On one hand, I think that there's a lot of hype surrounding safety issues in the US that keeps people busy from concentrating on real issues. On the other hand, I think we do live pretty toxic lives because of all the chemicals we are exposed to in "modern living" and I want to minimize exposure to ensure my health. Life expectancy is much longer than it used to be (according to the US National Center for Health Statistics, life expectancy at birth went up from 47.3 in 1900 to 77.3 in 2002), but supposedly so are cancer rates (hard to find a reliable statistic for that, because there are so many of them and not all seem to be scientifically rigorous enough--for example, taking into account that people live longer and thus have more time to develop diseases).

For what it's worth, here's my evaluation of all the information I could find on the internet:

First of all, there are various kinds of plastic out of which food and beverage containers can be made, all approved by the FDA (which is no guarantee of safety in my opinion--they are too influenced by corporate interests):

POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (polyester, PET, PETE, recycling code: #1 PETE) These are the most common for soft drinks and bottled water. If it's a hardish, completely clear plastic bottle, it's most likely PETE. You can tell by looking at the recycling code, which is #1 PETE.
HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (HDPE, recycling code: #2 HDPE)
POLYVINYL CHLORIDE (PVC, vinyl, recycling code: #3 V)
LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (LDPE, recycling code: #4 LDPE)
POLYPROPYLENE (PP, recycling code: #5 PP) A lot of condiment and yoghurt containers, as well as those semi-disposable tupperware containers, are made of this one.
POLYSTYRENE (styrofoam, PS, recycling code: #6 PS) Styrofoam cups, take out containers, etc. It doesn't always come as a foam. A lot of disposable plastic cups are made of PS, as well as cling-wrap.
POLYCARBONATE (Lexan, PC, recycling code: #7 PC) Nalgene bottles. Preferred because they are strong and don't retain tastes and odors. (Don't think that all #7s are polycarbonate--#7 is just for "other" plastics).

[For more information on this classification, check out this table.]

So, checking this subject out on the internet you get wildly differing opinions, which often appear to be based on improper evaluation of sources. I think it's safe to say we really don't know how safe these plastics are to use--they will need to do a helluva lot more testing to determine that. Avoiding all plastic is too difficult. I'm not going to stop buying Stonyfield yoghurt because it's in a plastic tub. But maybe I will stop re-using my plastic water bottles over and over or use one of the "better" plastics if there's a risk of bad chemicals getting into my water. So, IS THERE A RISK?

Here's a summary of information on each plastic:

POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (polyester, PET, PETE, #1 PETE)
Why might there be a cause for concern?
Apparently a University of Idaho student claimed in a master's thesis that there was some chemical leakage danger from PETE, but then this got picked up by an email chain letter and is regarded mostly as a hoax (read about it on Snopes.) Critics say that the study the student did was not peer-reviewed and that PETE leaching does not occur, but they support this with what the FDA says, which is just based on no one having done a study that they reviewed that proves that it does occur (very very lousy logic). The Snopes article even quotes the International Bottle Water Association, which is hardly impartial. On the other hand, a bunch of other articles refer to PETE leaching as a proven fact based on this DEHA leaching claim that got picked up by the media, which has not been proven reliable at all. Other articles claim that this type of plastic leaks acetaldehyde and/or DEHP. I'm trying to look into the studies that are the unstated support for these claims.
Several articles say the real danger is bacteria that can build in the bottle if not properly washed. At least a couple of articles reviewing the safety of plastics in the food industry say to stay away from this type of plastic for that reason. But unless there's some specific reason this plastic makes bacteria thrive, I don't see how reusing these bottles is any more dangerous than using any of the other kinds. Plus I think a little harmful bacteria keeps your immune system sharp...heh.

HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (HDPE, recycling code: #2 HDPE)
Often cited as a "safe alternative," though I guess it does retain odors. Some sites list several chemicals it leaches. The thing is, all plastics can leach chemicals under certain conditions that cause the plastic to break down: heat, acid, other chemicals, physical stress, etc. The only website I found that mentions HDPE leaching does not cite any studies so it's hard to evaluate what test conditions they used and if they resemble what your daily use would be. I haven't looked into the toxicity of the chemicals listed by that site.

POLYVINYL CHLORIDE (PVC, vinyl, recycling code: #3 V)
Why might there be a cause for concern?
The phthalates (which are considered to be harmful chemicals) that are used to soften PVC and make it pliable could leach from the bottle. In addition, when they incinerate it, it releases dioxins into the environment.
Should I really worry about this?
I'd avoid this plastic as much as possible. Which may be impossible considering it's so prevalent. Some people claimed that even PVC tubing used for plumbing can leach harmful chemicals. Another good reason to use a filter. There are plastic cling wraps that don't use this type of plastic like Glad and Saran wrap. Most delis use the bad PVC kind.

LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE (LDPE, recycling code: #4 LDPE)
Same as HDPE, often menitoned as a "safe alternative," with same odor-retention caveat. May leach same chemicals as HDPE.

POLYPROPYLENE (PP, recycling code: #5 PP)
Why might there be a cause for concern?
A study done on polycarbonates (see below) showed that a PP container used as a control also leaked an endocrine-disrupting chemical--nonylphenol. However, many sites list PP as a safe alternative, so the question is how and how much does PP leach toxic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

POLYSTYRENE (styrofoam, PS, recycling code: #6 PS)
Why might there be a cause for concern?
Leaches styrene, which is a probable carcinogen, and other chemicals that are endocrine disruptors. There doesn't seem to be much controversy on PS. Everyone seems to agree it sucks.
Should I really worry about this?
I'd stay away from it as much as possible.

POLYCARBONATE (Lexan, PC, recycling code: #7 PC)
Why might there be a cause for concern?
Two studies have shown that the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) can leach from PC plastic. BPA has been linked to endocrine activity disruption and reproductive impairment in mice and rats in many studies. You can read a typical explanation of the these two PC studies in this Balanced Living Magazine article. You can read about late 90s studies that say PC is safe in this report. I think this San Francisco Chronicle article has a fair view on the matter. There are two separate questions:
1. Does enough BPA leach from the plastic in ordinary daily use to be significant?
2. Does BPA in small quantities harm humans?
Who did the studies and what do the studies actually show?
The first study was done on mice by Dr. Patricia Hunt, a geneticist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. In an unrelated study in 1998, her team noticed an eight-fold increase in chromosomal abnormalities in the mice, and found that the culprit was the presence of BPA released by washing PC containers with a harsh detergent. This led them to reproduce the effect in a study specifically for that purpose.
A 2003 study (Howdeshell, KA, PH Peterman, BM Judy, JA Taylor, CE Orazio, RL Ruhlen, FS vom Saal, and WV Welshons 2003. Bisphenol A is released from used polycarbonate animal cages into water at room temperature. Environmental Health Perspectives doi:10.1289/ehp.5993.) showed that BPA was leached into water even from new PC, but old PC leached at 10 times the rate. This test was mainly done out of a concern that using PC cages for animals involved in experiments dealing with the effects of various agents on reproduction might affect the results. It was latched onto by other people as evidence that PC is unsafe to use even at room temperature and when new.
Should I really worry about this?
To be on the safe side, I'm going to assume that BPA is bad for you. The question is then if ordinary use of a PC water bottle will increase your BPA intake. Since it seems pretty clear that the older and more worn the plastic is, the greater the BPA leach is, I think a moderate answer is to wash your Nalgene or other PC bottle by hand using a mild soap, don't stress it with extreme temperatures like boiling water or put it in the microwave, and discard it when it's old or damaged. Actually, you could say that's good advice for all plastics.

So, what's the best choice for plastic? Who knows, but HDPE #2 and LDPE #4 have the fewest claims about leaching, followed by PETE #1 and PP #5.

The Verdict? I think I'm gonna go with a stainless steel bottle until my paranoia turns into apathy and then I'll probably go back to using the PETE #1 bottles if I can find the cool valve ones again. Maybe I'll just be careful about reusing them for too long and won't wash them in the dishwasher.

If you're looking for an alternative to plastic, here are two choices:

1. Klean Kanteen is a stainless steel water bottle. Simple.
2. Sigg makes very chic aluminum water bottles that come in a wide variety of styles and have lots of accessories. You don't have to worry about the aluminum because they have an inside coating: a baked-on "taste-inert, food-compatible stove enamel"--but do you have to worry about the coating? Supposedly not since they changed it to a water-based resin. You can read details here.

Violence Begets Violence

2005-07-07T13:31:00.000-05:00

My thoughts are with the people injured and killed in London today, as they are every day with the people injured and killed in Iraq and everywhere violence creates unnecessary suffering, though they don't get as much attention from our media, though we see those figures and can't help but half-digest them as mere numbers or statistics, far from our lives of routine.

Bush says the "contrast couldn't be clearer between the intentions and the hearts of those of us who care deeply about human rights and human liberty and those who kill, those who have such evil in their heart that they will take the lives of innocent folks." If you take the "of us" from his words to extinguish its sickening hypocrisy, I couldn't agree more.

Another Intra-trans-language-confusion

2005-06-30T14:43:00.000-05:00

Another difference between Mexican Spanish and Spanish Spanish that I noticed. In Spain, if you say "voy a dar clase" (literally "I'm going to go give a class") it can mean EITHER take a class or teach a class. In Mexico when we say "dar clase" it means only to teach it. "Tomar clase" is to take a class.

For a while there I thought Madrid must have the highest teacher to student ratio in the world!

Spanish Spanish

2005-06-28T18:41:00.000-05:00

I'm always amused by those encounters when someone says "oh, you're from Mexico...do you speak...uh..." and sometimes I finish their sentence with "Spanish" and other times they have time to ask if I speak "Mexican." Well, the truth is I DO speak Mexican. In Spain they call their language "castellano," so I guess I can say I speak "espuhgnowl," but it sure is different from Spanish Spanish. Same as the U.S./England differences.
My grandparents were Spanish, so it's not like I haven't been around the accent. Certain words I use like "gafas" (glasses) seem weird in Mexico. Still, I was newly amazed at all the differences between our languages while I was in Spain. I required almost constant translation. And then there's the slang, maybe I'll get to that in another post. Here are some of the word differences. For most, both could be understood, it's just a matter of what's common:

US-MEXICO-SPAIN
toilet-escusado-water (though my grandmother used "retrete")
computer-computadora-ordenador
sandwich-sanwich-bocata, Bocadillo (there may be a difference between these, still figuring it out)
room-cuarto-habitación (in Mexico both are common, but you usually say cuarto for your bedroom)
laziness-flojera-pereza
shower-regadera-ducha
peach-durazno-melocotón
potato-papa-patata
tomato-jitomate-tomate (just about every food item is different)

(That gives you an idea of what I did while I was over there too.)

And then there are other more complex differences. I figured out after a while that my cousin was completely misunderstanding me when I said something like "No me pasarías ese libro?" (Wouldn't you hand me that book?) In Mexico, we have to make everything softer. My cousin would just say "Pass me the book." How rude! Not only do we have to use the conditional (pasarías) to soften the verb, we put it in the negative like we're giving the other person room to say no by assuming the answer is no. Sometimes we don't use the conditional--you know, when we're feeling bold. So every time I said "No me pasas el X" and didn't put enough of an inflection at the end to make it a question my cousin thought I was implying he was rude because he wouldn't give X to me. Even when you know what the other person is saying it's hard not to respond to the attitude you assume them to have because of their words.
I wondered what it was like for them to hear us talk using "ustedes" instead of "vosotros." Usted is the formal version of the plural "you," but for some reason in Mexico they only use the formal in the plural. Vosotros (you-informal, plural) got left out. So we must sound pretty formal and polite to them. I guess it's kind like when we hear other Latin-Americans use the formal singular "you" (usted) in intimate relationships.

Back from the Alive

2005-05-31T23:40:00.000-05:00

So, I've been in Madrid and without internet access for the past month. But I'm sure my obsess with it and then drop it nature is mostly at fault for not keeping up with this blog.

I grew up thinking I had or was influenced mainly by three cultures: Mexican, American, and Spanish. My grandparents were Spanish and I thought that accounted for a lot of the difference I felt between my family and other mexican families. Like certain words we use instead of others ("gafas" instead of "anteojos", for example). But being in Spain I realize I'm entirely a native stranger there as well. So much is familiar and yet so much is so different. I'm still wrapping my head around it.

Wacko Mexicans

2005-04-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

My friend Oliver sent me the following from Harper's Index:

Percentage of U.S.-born Mexican Americans who have suffered from some psychological disorder: 48
Percentage of Mexican immigrants who have: 29
Percentage of Mexico City residents who have: 23

Of course, diagnosis might have a lot to do with it. There HAVE to me more crazy people than that in Mexico City.

ASL Official Language

2005-04-01T23:43:00.000-05:00

A town with American Sign Language as its official language will be built in South Dakota! Here's the article: Town for deaf to be designed.

How We Kick Ass and Get Our Asses Kicked Out

2005-04-01T22:55:00.000-05:00

A friend pointed me to these two articles that I think are worth a read: Wired 13.04: La Vida Robot and Volunteers to Patrol Arizona-Mexico Border.

Happy Bush's a Fool Day everyone!

The Pitfalls of "Contextual" Advertising

2005-03-03T00:08:00.000-05:00

I just came across this in one of those Google ad banners:

Sinus Sale
New and used Sinus.
Check out the deals now!
www.ebay.com

Weight Issues

2005-02-17T23:09:00.000-05:00

Walking around campus and being in the general cultural soup here (ugh), I can't help but notice the contradictory messages on eating and body image that folks are bombarded with around here. Americans (sorry for the gross generalization here) seem to have a completely unhealthy relation to food. There is constant talk about the "obesity problem" (which I completely agree with) juxtaposed with messages like "a thin body is not a healthy body" put out by the Eating Disorders program at the university I go to. I know what they're getting at, and you could just dismiss this as a case of bad advertising, but I think all these mixed messages are bound to create the very same unhealthy relationship to food that they're critiquing. For example, a "sign" that you have an eating disorder from the Eating Disorders website:

"Having rigid rules about food. For example, people may create rules about:
-foods that are allowed versus foods that are forbidden
-the time of day that it is permissible to eat
-the amount of food that they are 'allowed' to eat"

Probably the set of rules that a doctor would suggest to you if you are obese. The doctor says weigh yourself, the eating disorder people say accept your body the way it is. Obviously I *get* what each side is saying and don't think they are mutually exclusive, but all the back and forth seems like a symptom and maybe even a cause of the problem.

Gonna go eat some chocolate cake.

If You Can't Make It, Fake It

2005-02-10T23:41:00.000-05:00

I would have titled the post "Fake It Til You Make It" but in this case they ain't never gonna make it.
Remember those fake Medicare "news segments" that were aired on TV by the Bush administration? They're at it again: salon.com reported that the administration hired a fake reporter to ask scripted questions at Bush's January 26 news conference. Another salon.com article informs us that federal government money (yes, your tax dollars) is used to hire commentators to promote administration initiatives. (You can get a day pass for salon.com by watching some stupid ad--or letting it play while you do something else--and you can register for the NY Times for free.)

Ha, ha...

2005-02-09T20:52:00.000-05:00

In a strange twist I am now editing a local reality TV show. Ha ha ha. Very funny, universe. I took it as a sign to say yes that I'd just posted about it. And now I understand why they put in all the fake drama. I am so proud to be contributing to the production of such quality programming! The weird part is these people totally know that what they say and do is going to be manipulated through editing (not that it even needs to be), but they are so desperate to be on TV they do it anyway. I hope I can come up with the right mix of exploitation and ethical integrity.

"Reality" TV

2005-02-01T23:34:00.001-05:00

So I watched a bit of TV yesterday and I'm blown away by the amount of reality TV shows that are on now. I'm not sure I saw any other kind of programming, actually, except maybe for the news, but you know, same difference. A friend of mine, Cris, who worked for Rocket Science Laboratories (proud producers of such greats as Temptation Island and Trading Spouses) at some point, told me the boom started when there was an actor strike a few years back and networks realized they could pump out these shows for very little money. What's a million dollar prize at the end of a season in comparison to having to pay Seinfeld a million per show? (Or was it three million?)
Well, I have to admit that I am morbidly fascinated by a lot of these shows. I cannot take my eyes off of the plastic surgery ones even while I clutch at my stomach (and I'm not talking about the actual surgery scenes). The Bachelor/Bachelorette shows probably disgust me the most, but even that I have fun scoffing at. Bill Hicks hit the nail on the head when he said watching Cops was like messing with a sore tooth. It hurts but you just can't help yourself. At least when the TV is already on, in my case.
I'm of course not bothered at all by the lack of "reality" in "reality television." I don't really want, need, or expect any reality from my TV. But the level of depravity paraded before the lens here, the lowest of the lowest common denominator, is truly...well, fascinating. But it's not all that bad. I actually watched two shows that I think had some kind of merit. One was Wife Swap. Trading Spouses is being sued for copying it, but they're worlds apart (OK, so that's based on the one episode of each I've watched). Despite the PCness of the Fox version's title, Trading Spouses (which is promptly demolished by it's subtitle, "Meet Your New Mommy"), Wife Swap is the more, uh...humane of the two. It's the same premise: two moms from different families trade places for a couple of weeks and mayhem ensues. But Wife Swap has more of a "let's see what we can learn from this experience" kind of thing to it. In the episode I watched, they traded a single mom with ruthlessly disobedient children with an ultra-rich obsessively organized mom with completely repressed children and a distant husband. In the end, everybody appreciated their own family more but also made some changes with what they'd learned from the other family. Trading Spouses, on the other hand, just seems to revel in criticism and weak attempts at shock value (Oh My God! One of the moms thinks she saw a ghost!). It has an added element where they give the mothers $50,000 to spend and the adopted mom has to do the spending...awful, awful, awful. The other show that I thought was all right was Super Nanny. Apparently both the nanny and the show itself were imported from England. This woman comes into your home and teaches you how to get your problem kids under control. The episode I saw had some really good parenting skills demonstrated...I suppose those Jerry Springer scare-your-kids-into-submission boot camps could be considered the bizarro version of Super Nanny.
They may not be the end-all be-all of TV, and I'd watch Deadwood any day over those two shows, but as far as reality TV goes, I gotta say it's the best I've seen.

Ode to the Tortilla

2005-01-29T23:38:00.000-05:00

I cannot express how much I am missing my fresh-made tortillas now. When I was home my mom and I would buy the "masa" (dough) from the "tortillería" across the street instead of buying tortillas, and then I would make tortillas every morning and night fresh. In the morning for the eggs and at night for the quesadillas. When we bought the dough it would still be warm from having been ground. Making tortillas just right is quite an art. I don't even do it the real way, by hand. I do it with a press and plastic sheets, and still there is some artistry involved in knowing just when to flip over the tortilla. I'm very particular about texture, the amount of time they're cooked, making sure they blow up like one of those mylar balloons so they get the "skin" on one side, getting a good thickness.... Man, if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life it would probably be corn tortillas.
I bought "Maseca" here, which is one of the commercial corn flours they sell, but it is just not the same thing. AT ALL! My aunt says it's because they grind the corn cob in too. It's pale white and it's a lot grittier. The dough we buy at the tortillería is ground there fresh, while the Maseca flour is dehydrated, so that could be another factor. I remember Masa Harina not being as bad a brand, but I couldn't find it the other day (despite there being tons of Mexican "tiendas" here). I went to the Whole Foods store where they used to have it bulk, but they didn't even know what I was talking about. They pointed me to cornmeal, which is radically different than the corn flour used to make tortillas. They add lime to corn to make Mexican corn flour. Not lime as in the citrus, but as in the mineral. I don't know the chemistry of it, but I'm sure it's what gives it the distinctive taste. If you're gonna buy corn flour to make tortillas, make sure it lists lime as an ingredient or says that it has "maíz nixtamalizado" (which means it's corn treated with lime). I'm so desperate for my real corn tortilla taste that I'm thinking of going all out and making my own corn flour with the explanation given on this site. *sigh*

En Defensa de los Estadounidenses / In Defense of Americans

2005-01-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

Conozco mucha gente que odia a los Estados Unidos y a los americanos, y con razón. Pero habiendo vivido acá más de 16 años, me importa que el mundo sepa que no todos los americanos son una mierda. Los medios en los E.E.U.U. no cubren lo extensa que es la oposición a Bush, y por lo tanto pienso que mucha gente en el mundo nunca se entera de la oposición que tiene aquí el gobierno. Por eso pongo estas fotos de las protestas a la toma de posesión de Bush de hace dos días.
I know many people who hate the U.S. and Americans, and with reason. But having lived here more than 16 years, it's important to me that the world know that not all Americans suck ass. The media in the U.S. does not cover the extent of the opposition to Bush, and because of this I think a lot of people in the world never find out about the opposition the government has here. Because of this, I am putting up these pictures of the protest at Bush's inauguration two days ago. [Photos removed]

Una Buena Puntada

2005-01-22T20:58:00.000-05:00

There's a term I like a lot in Spanish that came up when I went to see Ong Bak with my friend Jason last night. Maybe someone could help me with a better English equivalent than I can muster. When a film, for example, has a joke or a comic moment that's really right on, you say it was a "buena puntada"--literally, a good stitch. In any case, Ong Bak tiene muchas buenas puntadas.

By the way, you all should check out Ruth's blog "La Tertulia" if you're interested in different Spanish terms and sayings throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

It's Completely Irrelevant

2005-01-22T20:52:00.000-05:00

...and I'm sure will bore everyone, but I have this thing about filling out surveys, so I have to jump on the one that's been going around Blogger.

3 names you go by:
1. Nayeli
2. Nai
3. Na

3 screen names you have:
1. ilinx
2. mobius
3. nayeligk

3 things you hate/dislike about yourself:
1. my lack of dedication
2. my body hair
3. the worn and broken parts

3 parts of my heritage:
1. my mom's parents are refugees from the Spanish Civil War
2. I'm about 25% Basque
3. I'm 1/32 Philippino

3 things that scare you:
1. being rejected for screwing up
2. the power of the US
3. dying feeling like I didn't live life to the fullest

3 of your everyday essentials:
1. laughter
2. fruits and veggies
3. sunlight

3 things you're wearing right now:
1. a silver ball chain necklace
2. a squint
3. my favorite old blue hoody with the broken zipper

3 of your favorite bands/artists today: (I'm taking this to mean who are still active creatively today)
1. Leonard Cohen
2. Tom Waits
3. My Morning Jacket

3 of your favorite songs at present:
1. Peregrinitos by Estrella Morente
2. Jed's Other Poem by Grandaddy
3. Last Fool Around by Migala

3 things you want to try in the next 12 months:
1. finishing my degree
2. moving out of the US permanently
3. completing some of my film projects

3 things you want in a relationship:
1. honesty
2. understanding
3. creative rapport

2 truths and a lie (in no particular order...to keep you guessing)
1. I've had lice
2. seeing guys kiss turns me on
3. I watch at least 2 hours of TV a day

3 physical things about a love interest that appeals:
1. beautiful eyes
2. long, elegant fingers with perfect nails
3. a smell I find attractive

3 things you just can't do:
1. the splits
2. follow a recipe without messing with it in some way
3. lie to someone I'm in a relationship with

3 of your favorite hobbies:
1. papier maché
2. embroidery
3. puzzles

3 things you want to do badly right now:
1. get my feet warm
2. get a backrub (does that count?)
3. eat warm, chewie brownies

3 careers you're considering:
1. filmmaker
2. film editor
3. carpenter

3 places you want to go on vacation:
1. Japan
2. Brazil
3. Amsterdam

3 kids names (either boy or girl)
1. Aiden
2. Janic
3. Aria

3 things you want to do before you die:
1. skydive
2. make a feature length film
3. build my own house

NPR Just Doesn't Cut It

2005-01-20T18:44:00.000-05:00

Has anyone else noticed how conservative NPR has gotten over the past 3 years? At least it has here in North Carolina. Too much airtime is given to people on the Right. I can understand interviewing some of these people to set up a polemic, but the interviewers are awful about asking tough questions. Neal Conan in particular seems to shield his conservative guests from the hard questions asked by callers of a more liberal bent. And today Terry Gross let Richard Land blab his idiotic conservative agenda unchecked. She seemed too concerned with offending to ask him any really tough questions and let him control the field. Sure, they had Rev. Jim Wallis on for balance, but I'm REALLY missing the acute, ballsy questioning of Loret de Mola and Victor Trujillo on the Televisa news shows in Mexico.

Congratulations Bush / Felicidades Bush

2005-01-20T18:42:00.000-05:00

...for entering your second term with the lowest approval rating ever for a second term president, and for having four more years to ruin the lives of people all over the world.

...por entrar a tu segundo mandato con el nivel de aprobación más bajo de cualquier presidente estadounidense en su segundo mandato, y por tener cuatro años más para arruinar la vida de gente en todo el mundo.

Condie Rice the White House Wife

2005-01-19T22:04:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am back in the U.S. and having a bout of culture shock. Just when I was getting used to Mexico again. Take me back! What is WRONG with this country?
Listening to the confirmation hearings on the radio this morning, I couldn't get the "real" image of Condoleezza Rice in my head...though I've seen her on TV plenty (unfortunately), the voice just didn't fit my memory of her face. There was just this image of a white, ultra-conservative, house-wifey person evading questions and blabbing the party line. Yeah...that's what she is...she's the White House Wife, standing by her hubby. I thought they were gonna use her up and throw her away to clean up the mess last time she was being questioned. But no--she actually got a promotion!
It also struck me while I was hearing Joe Biden question her how "nice" everyone is generally in politics here. "Have a Nice Day!" nice. Biden said he was going to vote for her approval just because he thought the President should be able to choose his own cabinet, and he asked her some hard questions (not like Boxer, but he made some good points), but at the end they were laughing together about his daughter like buddies. The woman is evil incarnate! Don't pander to her! The first week I was in Mexico last year there was lots of news coverage about things getting physically violent in the "Cámara de Diputados" (one wing of the congress) and I was like "oh, man...this is so embarrassing and disgraceful." But I'll take THAT over this fear of getting tough and mean when we need to. Screw "getting along" and false camaradery. We're talking about major crimes against humanity here.
I've never been a fan of the U.S. government, but this administration has got to be the worst one ever. And to add insult to injury, its policies are sickenly sugar-coated with claims of spreading "freedom" and 'democracy." The U.S. should work on becoming a real democracy before it starts dishing around its infected version. "Outpost of tyranny" indeed.

Escuché a Condoleezza Rice en el radio contestando las preguntas de unos senadores que tenían que votar para ratificar su asignatura por Bush a ser secretaria de estado. No suena para nada como una mujer negra...tiene la voz de una ama de casa blanca...y eso es lo que es realmente, la ama de casa de la Casa Blanca, defendiendo las acciones de su "marido" (la administración de Bush). Yo pensé que la iban a usar de chivo expiatorio cuando la cuestionaron sobre los ataques del 9/11, ¡pero ahora resulta que fue ascendida!
Cuando los del PRD se pusieron medio violentos en la cámara de diputados en México el otoño pasado me dio un poco de vergüenza, pero la verdad prefiero eso a la disque-enfrentación que le han hecho los políticos al gabinete de Bush aquí. De los 16 senadores del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado que tenían que votar para ratificar a Rice, sólo 2 votaron en su contra: Barbara Boxer de California y John Kerry de Massachusetts. Los demás demócratas del comité protestaron un poco pero la acabaron aceptando.
Nunca he sido una aficionada del gobierno estadounidense, pero esta administración es la peor de todas. Lo peor de todo es la hipocresía en afirmar que el país intenta traer "libertad" y "democracia" al mundo. Los E.E.U.U. deberían trabajar en convertirse en una democracia de verdad antes de contaminar al mundo con su versión enferma.

Lynching: The New City Pastime

2005-01-19T21:26:00.000-05:00

Something that's been getting a lot of press lately is a case of lynching that occurred in the Tlahuac neighborhood on November 23rd. Three policemen were attacked. All three were beaten and two of them died when the mob poured gasoline on them and set them on fire. The police were working under cover, supposedly investigating drug sales at a school. The lynchers told the media that they thought the police officers were kidnappers, but a few days later a video emerged, taken by someone amongst the lynchers themselves, that proved they knew they were police officers, and that this knowledge is what prompted the murders. The media speculated that the lynchers were from a radical group that controls the area, possibly a group that the police who were lynched were investigating.
There was a huge uproar because the news crews got there before the police. The uncovered video actually shows a couple of officers and judicial police present, some doing nothing and some trying to negotiate for the liberation of the officers, but they were far outnumbered and were unable or unwilling to help. In any case, the controversy resulted in President Fox removing the Secretary of Public Safety of Mexico City.
Since my family had been watching the first three seasons of 24 on DVD, the lynching prompted my dad to comment that he'd love to see a special season of 24: "Jack Bauer in Tlahuac." Now THAT would be entertainment.

The Illustrious Salinas de Gortari Family

2005-01-14T18:43:00.000-05:00

Ex-president Carlos Salinas de Gortari's brother, Enrique, was (allegedly) assassinated at the beginning of December. To give you a little background, Salinas de Gortari was president from 1988 to 1994. He "officially" won the election with 50.4% of the vote, but it is widely known that Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas, the candidate of a coalition of several opposing parties, won the election. This was at a time, however, when the PRI was still in firm control, and they simply stole the election (for more on Mexico's political parties, read the Mexican Politics 101 post). Salinas de Gortari is probably most remembered for signing NAFTA. Now he's referred to as "el innombrable" (He Who Shall Not be Named). In any case, the Salinas de Gortari family is SHADY. They are extremely rich, with properties all over Mexico and the U.S., Swiss bank accounts, the whole bit. The ex-president's other brother, Raúl, is in jail for some kind of illegal money activity, and he was also arrested for masterminding the assassination of José Francisco Ruiz Massieu, though the ex-president claims he was framed and I believe he's now been acquited for that charge. (People speculated he had Ruiz Massieu assassinated because he had threatened to reveal the family's links to drug trafficking.) There was also some speculation about whether Raúl had been behind the Colosio assasination in Tijuana (Luis Donaldo Colosio was going to be the PRI candidate after Salinas, but tension in the party resulted in his assassination and the rise of Ernesto Zedillo, who became the next president of Mexico.) Enrique, the one who was just murdered, was being investigated by Interpol regarding Swiss bank accounts. A real gem of a family, I tell you. And they started at a young age. As children, Carlos and Raúl killed one of their maids with a shotgun.
So the question is, is Enrique Salinas de Gortari really dead? There is some speculation that the body found may not have been his. But even if it was, something fishy is going on. The body was found in a car with a plastic bag over the head. The cause of death is allegedly asfixiation, but not with said plastic bag. And the murder did not take place where the body was found. Someone left the body in a car that was driven to a neighborhood in the state of Mexico. Security cameras recorded all of this, but no license plates are legible. Why the state of Mexico, when the murder is thought to have occurred in the D.F.? Could it be because the Salinas family has connections there? They were able to have the body incinerated only a couple of days after it was found. This is highly irregular. The authorities claim that all the necessary evidence was extracted, DNA samples taken, an autopsy performed. But now there is no body to confirm any of it. The DNA could have been taken from anywhere. I'm sure there's something behind this murder that implicates the ex-president's family.

Budget Blues

2005-01-10T22:49:00.000-05:00

So...the battle for the budget between the president and the "Cámara de Diputados" (the equivalent of the House of Representatives) continues. There was a hilarious skit on El Privilegio de Mandar where Fox (who in the show is not the president but the head of the "Colonia el Relaxo (con equis)") and the "diputados" do a little musical number to fight over the budget. Kind of like a Mexican version of rapping, I guess...it's music from Guadalajara, and they sing in "décimas," a type of verse, taking turns to take down the opponent.
What's really bizarre, something I don't think you'd ever see in the U.S., is that the Cámara de Diputados has put out magazine and TV ads attacking Fox's revisions to the budget (President Fox doesn't want such and such roads to be built in such and such states, he wants to take money away from such and such, etc.). It's the type of thing you see in the U.S. come election time between parties...but here it's happening between different branches of the federal government!

Fox's "Private" Beach

2005-01-10T22:09:00.000-05:00

There was an article in the magazine Proceso about the president acquiring a private beach for himself in the state of Michoacán. The thing is, legally all beaches in Mexico are public. You're supposed to leave a right of way too, so that people can get to your beach. Of course, plenty of hotels will try to kick you off "their" beaches, and they build out onto the beach further than they're supposed to. We used to go to the beach and they'd try to kick us out. I'd love the look on their faces when a 12 year old was telling them that the law says the beach is public so they could go screw themselves. Of course, if I was darker skinned I probably wouldn't have gotten away with it.
Anyway, so Fox allegedly was going to get himself this private beach by buying all the land around it, effectively sealing it off. He's using a third party to make the purchase so his name's not on the deal. But to add insult to injury, the land he needs to buy up to get his beach is part of an "ejido"--communal land that can't be sold. I read today that they started a committee to prevent the sale of the land, but he'll probably get his way.

Three Kings Day

2005-01-06T14:11:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder about the "12 days of Christmas"? Well, those are December 25th through the "Día de los Reyes Magos" (Three King's Day), which is today. Of course, just like with Christmas, we celebrate it the night before. As soon as Christmas is over, Santa Claus mysteriously disappears from television ads and shop windows to be replaced by Baltasar, Melchor, and Gaspar. You're supposed to leave your shoes out on the night of the 5th, and the three kings will bring you gifts and leave them in your shoes. The night of the 5th (and, well, a bunch of days before and the 6th too, since Mexicans like to extend their holidays as much as possible), we have "rosca de reyes" (pictured here). Inside is a little plastic baby Jesus. Whoever gets this doll is then obligated to host a party the "Día de la Candelaria," February 2nd. Supposedly before instead of a baby Jesus they used a bean. Now they go nuts and put in several dolls. One year we practically had the whole manger, three kings and all. This year it turned out Jesus was a triplet.

Bush III?

2005-01-05T16:50:00.000-05:00

I heard Jeb Bush is touring Banda Aceh with Powell.... Could this be his debutante ball for the international community? Will we be seeing him as a candidate in 2008? Or is he over there just so A Bush is doing the rounds, if not W. himself?

Only in Mexico

2005-01-05T15:31:00.000-05:00

I'm sure this happens in other countries as well, but it's a pretty established saying, so....

1. Mexico City's program to prevent drunk driving, which started in September, was suspended Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve to give officers the chance to be with their family members.

2. Since December we have to separate our trash here in the city into organic and inorganic. When the trash truck comes by, they throw it all together. Did they just want us to start practicing?

(From what I hear, trash collectors do a little business on the side recycling cans and bottles and selling salvageable items. There's a whole mafia-type business set up around this. There must be pretty high stakes, because there have even been murders over it.)

Loret de Mola in Indonesia

2005-01-04T11:45:00.000-05:00

The Mexican journalist Loret de Mola (see news shows post) is now in Banda Aceh as a special envoy for Televisa. I have to say he is now by far my favorite newscaster (I never thought I'd say that about a Televisa newscaster). He strongly criticized, on both El Cristal and Primero Noticias, the decision by the American government not to give more than 350 million to the worst natural disaster in recent history. He also had strong critique for Colin Powell, who he says is really only pretending to visit the affected area: he's getting off his jet and onto a helicopter directly to see the devastation from above, but is not actually visiting any of the affected populations. I'd love to know how this is being reported in the U.S. media.
I think at this point, the problem is not how much money and resources are being sent over, but how to effectively distribute aid. What little infrastructure existed for this was obviously devastated by the tsunami. Some areas are getting too much water and medicine, when what they need are construction supplies, and the worst affected areas that need the basics are largely stranded. Loret de Mola said that he observed that because of lack of medical supplies, rescuers are having to amputate limbs that in better conditions could be saved. He reported that the devastation is far worse than it seems on televison. And THAT is saying a lot. I can remember after the earthquake here in Mexico, the incredibly pervasive smell of the dead bodies that lingered. I can't even imagine what it must be like when those cadavers are so much greater in number. The spread of disease, the lack of water and food, the hundreds of thousands or even millions of people left homeless....
I saw on the news an interview with some tourists who stayed to enjoy the beaches. I don't even know what to say about that. They weren't staying to help, and when interviewd, they didn't even have a reason that I could swallow like, "I want to support the area economically with my tourism." They had broad smiles and commented that it was a beautiful day at the beach and the sun and waves were pleasant. I agree with getting on with your life...but I really don't know how I feel about that kind of attitude. Maybe there's no difference with me going on with my life here: I still laugh, I still enjoy. But wouldn't it be kind of like going for a picnic at a cemetary where they're having a funeral? Perhaps because I'm Mexican, I have a pretty dark sense of humor when it comes to tragedy...but I don't know that faced with the reality of the devastation there I could just soak in the rays.

Random Plug (ugh...sorry about the pun)

2005-01-04T02:17:00.000-05:00

OK, so this is completely off-topic, but I thought I'd endorse one of my favorite products, an alternative for women to pads and tampons. Well, actually, there are three products. They are all "menstrual cups" (gotta love the term)--reusable silicone or latex cups that don't pollute the environment and that are healthier to use. You can access them here: The Keeper™, here The DivaCup™, and here: The Mooncup. I've used both the Keeper and the Diva Cup, and though the Keeper is the original one (though different types of menstrual cups have been around since the 1930s), I have to say I prefer the Diva Cup because, being made of silicone, it's easier to keep clean and it can be boiled to disinfect it. I can't personally vouch for it, but the Mooncup looks just about the same as the Diva Cup. They all cost about the same amount of money.
I've been using one or the other for over four years and love that I never have to buy tampons again! The Diva Cup costs $35.75 including shipping and handling and lasts for years, so it's a less expensive option too. So why not help out the environment by lessening the thousands of pounds of waste created by pads and tampons? Feel free to ask me questions.

OK in India

2005-01-01T11:55:00.000-05:00

As a little inspiration to donate to a Tsunami relief fund, here's an email from my friend Sam:

"Hey everybody,

I'm alive & well, up in the north of India in
Dharamsala (home of the Dalai Lama) - hundreds of
miles away from the tsunami that struck the south of
India & other SE Asian countries. Thanks to everyone
who wrote & was worried. I'm sorry I haven't been in
contact sooner, I've been away from the internet fer
quite a while. I'll send out a proper dispatch with
all my recent adventures soon, but wanted to get this
out asap. You may remember me mentioning Cov from my
second dispatch - we were really worried that he was
dead, since his plan was to go to Sri Lanka to go
surfing on christmas (Sri Lanka was the worst hit
during the tsunami). Amazingly, he's alive, and I'm
attaching an e-mail he sent out recently detailing his
experience. The death toll has now reached 119,000,
and will probably continue climbing. Britta is right
now looking into flying down south to help with relief
work - I'll keep ya'll posted.

I hope everyone had a nice christmas, and has a great
new year.

Love, Sam

-------------

Cov's story:

I want to thank all of you who have e-mailed or called
my parents. I am OK, just really sad. I don't know
how my friends and I are alive--I'm still trying to
remember what happened, but all I can hear is the
sound of wave and shattering glass. We had just walked
from the beach where there was a huge sweep of sand
and into a restaraunt composed mostly of windows.
Right after we walked in we looked back and the water
was lapping up on the porch, but it all looked pretty
harmless--kind of like a lake splashing the shore.
People started running out, but I walked back to get
my flip flops which I had taken off a the front. They
cost about $1. I just didn't understand what was
happening. I mean, there was no warning. It all seems
so dreamlike now. Anyhow, a wave came crashing in and
the tables out front just exploded into the windows
and the water came racing in. All I can hear in my
head is the sound of wave and smashing glass. Still I
was confused, and kind of figured it was a tidal surge
caused by the full moon. So as the waves came in, I
jumped up on the wooden bar that was swept violently
in to the corner of the room. One more window was in
tact, and I was wedged between it and stackes of
bottles--cokes and beer and stuff. There was this 85
old man Sri Lankan man who owned the place and he was
quite a fixture, always asleep at a table after having
eaten breakfast. His chair swept past and I was able
to wrestle him onto the bar. Buildings were collapsing
all around me, but I didn't notice. I am traveling
with two of my close friends--now I feel like they are
brother and sister--and Simon climbed up a tree and
Rachel, she ran off. Simon was yelling at me to get
out of there as roofs were falling, but I couldn't
hear b/c I am so deaf, and, like I said, building were
being swept away. But I was wedged in the corner and
the water wouldn't let me out. Plus, glass was
shooting pack and forth in the water in sharp pieces
like huge knives. The window was right in front of me,
and I had this old man to deal with. The window
finally crashed on us, but I only got a few cuts is
all--I don't know how. With that I was sucked out, and
I managed to hang on to the old man. I held him afloat
with my head below water, coming up for breaths.
Another wave rolled though, and I lost him. He just
sunk right there, and I didn't see him again until I
ID'd his dead body that was wedged under some debris.
The water finally receded, and I got my bare feet on
the ground and got out. I don't know how, but my feet
only got cut up a little bit, but I didn't feel the
glass in my feet until this morning. My friend Nathan
and I searched through the rubble, while Simon
searched for his girlfriend Rachel. Parents came back
crying hysterically searching for infants and
toddlers, and frantic spouses for partners. Everyone
took to the hills expecting another series of waves,
which did come, but later, fortunately. We found a man
wedged naked and face down under a roof frame. A few
of us managed to pry him loose. He must have been
stuck there under water for a long time, but managed
to come out ok. Rubble was everywhere. It was at 8 am
so a lot of people were sleeping in their bungalo's
after a x mas night party. No telling how many were
stuck. One family escaped through the roof b/c you
just couldn't open the door with all the water in the
room and pushing from outside. Simon came back and
said he couldn't find Rachel. We searched everywhere
for the next three hours, going to all the hills and
the more elevated areas, but couldn't find her. We
managed to keep it together pretty well throughout the
process, Simon more so that me, really. We found her
finally and just laid on the grass on a hill sobbing.
People were naked having lost everything--no money or
passport or clothes-- Sri Lankan mothers beat the
ground with their fist screaming, houses were totally
washed away, businesses smashed. Nothing on the beach
was left standing. We are still trying to figure out
why, you know, the mechanics of the waves that hit
us--they were not the crashing type that blasted all
around us like dynamite, but more like the rising,
surging type. Had they been of that nature, we would
have been dead instantly. I don't understand it at
all. Why? Just up and down the beach bodies were lying
by the road, buses were turned over and cars were in
trees. Boats were all over the roads.(People had been
out diving, snorkelin and surfing--Simon and I planned
on getting up early for a surf, but overslept.) The
water smashed 3 story buildings, in some places
washing 2 km's inland. Our guest house was up a hill
away from the beach--we had decided to stay there b/c
the family owners were so nice, but a few days before
we almost moved to a little shack right on the beach
which was obviously pulverized. Anyhow, afterwards we
packed up our dry belongings and sat on the street
looking for a ride to Colombo, the capital. All the
gas stations were wrecked so every driver was out of
gas, or their car was totalled. A huge truck drove by
with an 8 member family in the cab. I flaggged them
down, and they asked if we were going to Colombo, and
I said hell yes, so we all loaded into the flat-bed.
We drove inland b/c, of course, the roads and bridges
were destroyed. After a 7 hour trip we made it to the
airport at 2 and managed to get out on the first
flight to Bangkok at 7. We didn't sleep for two days
or eat much. Power and phone lines were down, but I
was able to text message my parents which made me feel
better. But we were in shock for a while afterwards.
We were just stumbling around last night virtually
hallucinating b/c we were beyond sleep, really. It is
just hitting us today after having seen the footage.
Sri Lanka got hit the hardest, and when it's said and
done, I can't imagine how many will be among the dead,
but it will be much higher than the numbers indicate
right now--I'm guessing 3 times as many or more. We
feel really bad that we left them like that, but we're
trying to figure out what we can do. So many lives are
ruined. The homeless survivors...I don't know how
they'll rebuild or with what--they don't have
insurance here or anything remotely comparable to it.
We were thinking that we could help by telling people
like you what we saw, and encouraging folks to make
donations to the Red Cross or some relief
organization. Sri Lanka is the poorsest country hit, I
think, and they are just emerging from a long civil
war. The toursit industry really just took off at the
end of the fighting. All the Sri Lankans were
apologizing to us! People who had lost everything were
apologizing to us. They kept telling us not to forget
about Sri Lanka. So we are safe trying to find all our
other friends who are scattered around Asia on the
islands--everyone went to the islands for X mas.

We are trying to see if we can go back to do anything
to help, but I don't think we'll be of much assisance.
Our thought process is that we would consume
resources, diverting food and water from the Sri
Lankan people. But we're looking to see. Otherwise,
I'm flying home Thurdsday, and I'm ready.

Thanks again to all those who have reached me somehow.

Cov"

The official death count is now up to about 145,000. Thanks to all the people who criticized and pressured Bush, he upped the US contribution to 350 million dollars. No props to him, since he wouldn't have done it on his own, but props to Japan, who is donating 500 million, and to all the other generous countries and people who understand the necessity of humanitarian aid.

Work on making this a happy New Year, everyone!

Death to the Calendar as We Know It

2004-12-31T14:32:00.000-05:00

My mother mentioned to me while we were walking the dog that it didn't really make sense to celebrate the New Year January 1st. I was a bit taken aback when she said this, since from what I've seen it's the only holiday she cares about. I'M the one who had always been saying it's just some arbitrary date. But it turns out she thinks it should be celebrated the first day of winter.
I have to say that makes a lot of sense. I mean, what the hell is up with the calendar we use? I propose some changes. I'm not talking about anything drastic, like changing the number of days in the week or months in the year, though at times that appeals to me also. Just some minor changes. Yeah...start the year the day that marks the cusp between the days growing shorter and shorter and them growing longer and longer. And how about we add a couple of days to February? I mean, why the hell does February have 28 days anyway?* There are enough months with 31 days that a couple could hand one over to good ole February. Leap year February could have 31 days. 7 months would then have 30 days, 5 31, except for leap year, when it would be six and six. You could make it so that the equinox or solstice would fall around the first or second of the month, which seems a lot tidier to me.
I also propose that we start counting the current era from 1970. Make that year zero.** Yes, it's because it's when I was born, but not because I'm some kind of egomaniac or anything, nooooo. I just want to have to dedicate the least thought possible to figuring out how old I am.
Unfortunately, things in the modern world have become so rigid and standardized that changing the calendar would be about as difficult as getting the US to use the metric system, for christ's sake.

So, uh...I guess to kind of reign myself back in to the topic of this blog I'll say something about the Aztec and Mayan calendars. The Aztec calendar is actually an adaptation of the Mayan calendar. They Mayan calendar was slightly more accurate than the Gregorian calendar. And it's very complicated, but it had three basic calendars, one based on the cycle of the Earth, one on the Moon, and another on the constellation we call Pleiades. The one used in everyday life, based on the cycle of the Earth, had 18 months of 20 days each, and then an extra 5 days at the end when you celebrated/mourned the death of the year. And one of their calendars has the new year starting the day after the winter solstice. Very civilized. But the system is way too complex. In some things the days are numbered starting zero, in others starting one. So I don't propose we use their calendar. Though they do have pretty cool names for their months.

*There's a myth that February has 28 days because Augustus Ceasar wanted his month to have as many days as Julius' month, so he stole a day from February. Even if it were true, why couldn't he have stolen from one of the 31 day months? And when did February lose it's other day? Calendar history is really fascinating. On the linked site you'll find some awesome info, such as:
1. Before the Julian calendar was introduced, priests in the Roman Empire exploited the calendar for political ends, inserting days and even months into the calendar to keep the politicians they favored in office. Tired of the chaos that this undependable system eventually gave rise to, Julius Caesar finally set out to put the long-abused calendar back on track.
2. A "tropical" year, i.e., the time it take the Earth to orbit the Sun, is approximately 365.242 days long, but this changes because of several factors, such as the gravitational pull of other planets.
3. Countries started changing to the Gregorian (current) calendar in the 1500s, though some countries like Russia and Greece didn't change until the 1900s, and the Orthodox Church in Russia still uses the Julian calendar.
4. It is a curious fact that although the method of reckoning years after the (official) birthyear of Christ was not introduced until the 6th century, by some stroke of luck the Julian leap years coincide with years of our Lord that are divisible by 4.
5. The Julian Calendar introduces an error of 1 day every 128 years, and to correct for this, when the Gregorian calendar was introduced they had to drop ten days from the calendar. (Can you imagine them trying to pull something like that now?)
6. In order to make up for the lack of days in a year that the Roman calendar had (which was a huge mess), an extra month, Intercalaris or Mercedonius, (allegedly with 22 or 23 days though some authorities dispute this) was introduced in some years.
7. Also in Roman times, leap years were considered unlucky and were therefore avoided in time of crisis, such as the Second Punic War.
8. From 1793 to 1806, France had a Republican Calendar that had 10 days in a week, 10 hours in a day, 100 minutes in an hour and 100 seconds in a minute (that really appeals to me).

**Yes, zero, not one. If we'd had a year zero, everyone could have happily celebrated the New Millennium on Jan. 1st 2000, satisfying their ignorant though more aesthetically pleasing choice without controversy.

In any case...Happy New Year's Eve everybody!

More Tsunami, Sophie's Choice, and the Animals

2004-12-30T22:45:00.000-05:00

OK...so I digress from the Mexico subject again, but I just can't get my mind off of this. Whole islands have disappeared. Now I hear the death toll is 125,000! Sumatra lost about 1/4 of their citizens. About half of those who died were children. I just finished reading The Sweet Hereafter, a novel about a small town that loses most of its children in a bus accident. Imagine a whole nation losing so many children! The impact that will have for years to come....
I saw on the news this Australian woman who said she was holding on to her two children so that they wouldn't get swept away by the water. She just couldn't hold on to both of them because she was going to get swept away too, so she had to choose which of her children to let go of. She let go of the oldest one, who was five, thinking he had a better chance than the 18 month old. Luckily her 5 year old made it by hanging on to a door. Several people in that family are going to need counseling. (I was going to say it bothers me that a lot of the personal stories I see on the news are of tourists instead of locals, but in the last segment I saw there were a few locals as well. Still, the numbers certainly aren't representative.) It reminds me of the randomness of tragedy, how the strangest stories surface. During the Mexico City earthquake of 1985, which of course pales in comparison to this, but it's the closest I've been to that kind of disaster, we had one friend who was on the 13th floor of a building that collapsed. Lying in the rubble, he saw a light from a crack. He climbed out of the building, over the rubble, and onto the street, dusting himself off. After he was out of shock, his shoulder started to hurt, and it turned out he had dislocated it. A friend of my aunt's, on the other hand, was in a two story building that didn't collapse or suffer major damage. But he panicked, and when he ran outside, he was hit in the head by a brick that came off of the façade of the building and was killed.
Another thing that I heard about the tsunami is that they have not found ANY dead animals, even in a wildlife preserve. They think the animals sensed the danger and ran to safety.

Foxilandia and Mexican Politics 101

2004-12-30T19:51:00.000-05:00

It may not be as large a country as Bushland, but Foxilandia is just as steeped in fantasy. What is Foxilandia? It is the country people say President Fox lives in--because with the claims he makes about the country he governs, there's NO WAY it's the Mexico we live in! So...in order to proceed I need to give a little bit of background about politics in Mexico at the moment.
First of all, Fox has been president since 2000, and he has 2 years to go (we have a six year term, but no reelection in Mexico). He is the first president from a party other than the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) to win a presidential election in Mexico in more than 70 years. A lot of people were really happy about this, but I have to explain two things:

1. Fox is from the PAN party (National Action Party), which is the ultra-right party that has close ties to the Catholic Church, and to a secret organization called "el Yunque." Tons of politicians from the PAN belong to el Yunque (Loret de Mola [see news shows post] did an interview with Alvaro Delgado, author of the book El Yunque, la utraderecha en el poder that you can read about (in Spanish) here.) So, frankly, the only good news is that the PRI's hold was, at least temporarily, loosened (now that the PAN is doing such an awful job, the PRI has started winning elections again--most of the governorships up for grabs this year were taken by the PRI.)
2. Although I hear many Americans say Mexico has (had) a one-party system, thus nulling it's claim to be a democracy, at the state and local level, other political parties have had much more of an impact than small parties in the U.S. So in some ways Mexico's democracy is healthier than the U.S.'s. Of course there is plenty of corruption (just like in the U.S., but with a hell of a lot more public knowledge and acceptance of it). When Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas, the leftist candidate, won the election in 1988, it was stolen by the PRI (hmmm...sound familiar?).

In any case...so Fox has been President for four years, and he's from the PAN (furthest right of the three main parties). The head of government of the D.F. (sorta like the mayor), López Obrador, is from the PRD (furthest left of the three main parties). There is a RAGING WAR between the two, which currently centers on the budget for next year. They even had to call in the Supreme Court to settle the dispute. The weirdest thing about this is the way this plays out in the media. Fox does PSAs (payed for by the government, I might add) promoting his leadership. He claims that there is full transparency in government. That Mexican democracy is healthier than ever. That corruption is being extinguished. Thus...Foxilandia. I mean, is he really talking about this Mexico, the one I live in? For his part, López Obrador...well...he doesn't really say much, but he certainly is just as self-promoting. What I mean by "he doesn't say much" is...literally that! The guy utters like one word per hour. I don't know how this guy made it into government. He never answers a question directly, but unlike other politicians who answer with what we call the "Olendorf method" (zestfully and verbosely talking about something irrelevant), he just says things like "let's not get into that," or simply, "I'm not going to answer that." Seeing him on the news is absolutely surreal. But, well...at least he's on the left, right?
Ha ha ha...they're all corrupt. We had high hopes for the PRD, but you can't survive in Mexican politics without being at least a little crooked (or in any politics, I'm sure). Around April, there was a big scandal that is still a main news story over a video where someone from the PRD (René Bejarano) is accepting a bribe from this guy Ahumada. For what, we don't know. But it's played over and over again as evidence of the PRD's corruption. Of course, Ahumada bribed politicians from the PRI and PAN as well...but what was so disappointing was that even PRD was doing it now. Our last hope had fallen from grace. Poor Mexico. The PRI might win the next election just because the fight between the PAN and the PRD has reached such ridiculous levels that they make the PRI seem prudent (imagine that!).

Aside from the corruption, though, politics have really changed in Mexico. Fox makes use of tactics that are very similar to the type of presidential display that Reagan started (or at least perfected): image, image, image, no content. He even hired an American political advisor, Dick Morris (Bill Clinton's former advisor).

I think Fox is probably almost as stupid as Bush is. But what's the biggest difference between Foxilandia and Bushland?

Foxilandia doesn't hold the fate of the rest of the world in its hands.

El Privilegio de Mandar

2004-12-29T14:39:00.001-05:00

El Privilegio de Mandar

There's a show that comes on Wednesday nights called "La Parodia" which has a lot of terrible skits, but one very brilliant segment. It's a parody of politicians and the government done in the style of a soap opera called "El Privilegio de Mandar" (the privilege of commanding). The comedian that imitates the head of government of the D.F., López Obrador, who I mentioned in the post about news shows, is part of these skits. They use whatever has been going on in the news and make great comedy out of it. The guy who imitates President Fox is particularly good. He's got his mannerisms down pat. I've always found Mexicans to be quite savvy politically. It's quite a different atmosphere from the U.S. For example, I've found that in very general terms, Americans seem to associate loving their country with showing some sort of allegiance toward their government. But Mexicans are fiercely proud of being Mexican while for the most part having utter disdain for and lack of trust in their government. They don't let the media and the government pull the wool over their eyes as much as Americans do. Still, when last I lived here, it was uncommon to see such frank criticism on television. Americans have had this all along. Perhaps the government has realized that this type of cultural expression lets people let out steam and is relatively harmless. It's something the U.S. learned long ago. In many ways politics in Mexico are starting to follow the U.S. model (though things are still markedly different here)...but that's a topic for another post.

Mexico Population

2004-12-29T14:16:00.000-05:00

Mexico's population has doubled in the past 30 years. The country now has 110 million people. I was amazed to find out that in Spain, the government gives incentives for families with more than 2 children! Most of the world has the opposite problem. My mother worked doing volunteer work with women in Tlaxcala teaching them about reproductive health, encouraging birth control and regular visits to the gynecologist. She says that every time she felt she was making some progress, the Catholic Church would come around and destroy it. I think it is absolutely immoral to encourage people who hardly have the means to feed themselves not to use birth control! And unfortunately the Catholic Church in Mexico has a strong influence in these matters.

Donate to Tsunami Relief Fund

2004-12-29T14:05:00.000-05:00

It's really easy to make a donation to the American Red Cross for the Disaster Relief fund for South Asian Tsunami Victims though Amazon. Just click here to go to the page, or go to Amazon's main page to find a link.

A lot of people have been collecting food and clothing to send, but unfortunately this isn't the best way to help out. Transporting the goods costs lots of money, and not everything is usable. If you donate money to a trusted relief organization, the funds can be used to purchase the exact type of aid that is needed.

Tsunami Update

2004-12-28T20:04:00.001-05:00

I just heard the tsunami death toll has now passed 55,000. Considering there are still many people missing, I expect the number will be considerably larger. It boggles the mind. Seeing video of the grieving survivors and boards of flyers seems like a much larger version of September 11th. Except this time the anger can't be directed at humans (of course, blame will be found anyway.) What will happen to these areas that have lost so, so many people, all in one fell swoop? I really can't fathom that kind of devastation. I heard the earthquake that set off the tidal wave was 33 times stronger than the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which killed about 25,000. It was strong enough to shift the axis of the earth 5 centimeters, and change the speed of its rotation.

Verb Tense Trouble

2004-12-28T15:03:00.001-05:00

For some reason, a whole lot of people here use the subjunctive tense when they are supposed to use the conditional. I don't remember this being the case before. Perhaps it's just a recent trend. I've heard politicians and news casters do it on TV. It drives me crazy! For example, someone will say "Debiéramos ir al cine" instead of "deberíamos ir al cine." I even caught my dad doing it the other day.

Santos Inocentes

2004-12-28T14:57:00.001-05:00

Today is the "Día de los Santos Inocentes" (innocent saints), which is I guess our equivalent of April Fool's Day. A day to play jokes on people, to make them "innocent"--in the sense of naive. It has an interesting variation, though, that's not a custom on April Fool's. If you ask someone to borrow something, and when they give it to you you say "santos inocentes," you can keep what they gave you (the joke being you weren't going to give it back.) So my mother announces first thing this morning that it's Santos Inocentes, and I lost all chance to fool anyone. I always gave back what I asked for on this day anyway, I felt too guilty.

Downtown Mexico City

2004-12-27T15:40:00.001-05:00

Catedral
Originally uploaded by nativestranger.

Downtown Mexico City is a definite place to go if you're visiting, since it has so many historic buildings and an excavated pyramid. This is a picture of the "Catedral," which is in the main square, called the "zócalo." It seems the city and developers are making an effort to revitalize downtown, which is really a euphemism for gentrification, since downtown has always thrived in one way or another. At some point between my parents' childhood and my own it went from being a place that everyone went to for shopping and entertainment, to being more of a "popular" neighborhood. Commerce became aimed toward middle to lower classes, many elegant restaurants and hotels relocated, and it has been considered an unsafe place to walk around at night. Now they are opening up lofts and remodeling old apartments to attract young artsy people. I have a friend who lives downtown and he's a huge fan. It really has some of the best architecture in the city.

Consiguiendo Trabajo
Originally uploaded by nativestranger.

People regularly set up by the cathedral to advertise their labor. If you need a plumber, an electrician, a mason, you can go downtown and hire one here.

Comercio
Originally uploaded by nativestranger.

On weekends particularly, the streets of downtown get filled with people and "comerciantes" selling their wares.

Bellas Artes
Originally uploaded by nativestranger.

This is the "Bellas Artes" (fine arts) building, where they have concerts and other cultural events. The art deco interior is definitely worth checking out.

Casa de los Azulejos
Originally uploaded by nativestranger.

Some houses downtown have been very well preserved, such as the "Casa de los Azulejos," which is one of my favorite buildings in the city. It's now a Sanborn's, which is kind of what Sear's used to be in the U.S.--a store that sells books, jewelry, electronics, etc., with a café.

Tsunami

2004-12-27T14:42:00.001-05:00

Once in a while something happens that makes you feel very lucky. The earthquake and resulting tsunami have left over 22,000 dead! That's even more than the civilian body count from the intervention in Iraq (http://www.iraqbodycount.net/). I read that Italy and France have sent aid...the rest of the "first world" better get on it if they haven't already! I can't wrap my mind around that many dead. On the news I saw video of a man crying and hugging a dead boy...and each person of the thousands dead is one like that boy. What an incredible amount of pain.

Sarcasm in the News

2004-12-17T20:42:00.001-05:00

I just realized that the main difference between the Mexican and U.S. news shows is that newscasters in the U.S. are really not sarcastic. I'm talking about your regular evening news. I like my news with some sarcasm.

News Shows

2004-12-17T14:27:00.001-05:00

Carlos Loret de Mola

Every morning we watch two news shows that are a refreshing change from U.S. news. These are "Primero Noticias", with Carlos Loret de Mola and "El Cristal con que se mira" with Victor Trujillo. I think what distinguishes these shows from how the news used to be here and how it is in the U.S. is the candidness with which the hosts give their opinions and present their critical takes on events and politics in the city. There is no hidden agenda. American newscasters try to give the impression that they are presenting simple fact. Occasionally they will insert an opinion, but they hardly ever do more than insinuate their politics. The main news show when I was last living here was given by Jacobo Zabludovsky, and things were very different then...a lot more like American news shows now, though of course more informative, since news shows here have never been dumbed down to the extent they have in the U.S. Zabludovsky was a lot more conservative, and he stated everything with absolute certainty in a typical newscaster voice. He came off as manipulative since he managed to express his opinions with subtle changes in intonation. This was also at a time when critique of the government in Mexico was almost entirely censured or self-censured.

Victor Trujillo

Now, Loret de Mola and Victor Trujillo present the news and very openly and blatantly make their opinions known. Their critiques are intelligent and funny...none of the fake chuckles and banter like they have between newscasters on U.S. shows.
One of my favorite lines from Loret de Mola, for example: Santiago Creel, the "Secretario de Gobernación" from the PAN (the ultra-conservative Catholic party), has been dressing up in a variety of outfits to seem like "one of the guys" (very much like Bush does). This is all taken as an indication that he is hoping to run for president in 2006. Loret de Mola remarked one day on his dressing like a "charro" (think Mexican cowboy) and then as a fireman. The next day he casually dropped the line, "Santiago Creel, sin disfrazarse de nada, apareció..." (without dressing up, appeared...). He simply stuck it in front of what was otherwise a straight report. Pure brilliance. Both Loret de Mola and Trujillo interview various government officials on the show, and they ask very tough questions. It's a pleasure to see the guests squirm and evade answering.
Victor Trujillo I don't find quite as funny, but his insights are right on the mark most of the time. He always ends his show with the following line: "Nada es verdad y nada es mentira, todo depende del cristal con que se mira." (Nothing is truth and nothing is a lie, it all depends on the lens with which you look at it.) Can you imagine a U.S. news show having that as their motto?!

But openly embracing their subjectivity isn't the only thing that I find strikingly different in these Mexican news shows. Trujillo had another show before his wife died that was even more surreal than most things in Mexico. He appeared as "Brozo el Payaso Tenebroso"--a boorish clown--on the show "El Mañanero," handing out incisive criticism surrounded by large-breasted women. It was crass, it was ugly, but it was better journalism than anything available on TV in the U.S.

Loret de Mola comes off as a square in comparison, but a few weeks ago when he interviewed López Obrador, the head of government of the D.F., they had a comedian who imitates him come on in the middle of the interview to speak to his real life counterpart. I suppose it's the equivalent of a comedy news show like the Daily News. There seems to be some controversy in the U.S. around suggestions that most Americans get their news from comedy shows such as that one, but I'd venture to say that the reason for this is that they present the criticism and humor that is so sorely missing in "real" news shows. Here in Mexico we get it nicely packaged together. Do I think this interferes with the objectivity of the news? I think that's a stupid question. Since there is of course no such thing as objectivity, no such thing as "fair and balanced," wouldn't you rather get opinion stated plainly and outright?

Minimum Wage

2004-12-17T12:36:00.001-05:00

The government just approved a raise in the minimum wage of 1 peso and 35 cents a day (a DAY!), bringing it to a whopping $46.59 a day. That's about $4.15 US dollars. A DAY. Break out the caviar!

Do We Really Eat Crickets?

2004-12-17T00:31:00.001-05:00

I think what I enjoy most about being back in Mexico City is the food. I laugh at "authentic" Mexican cuisine restaurants in the U.S., with their strange versions of "huevos rancheros." Not that there really IS an authentic Mexican cuisine. Traditional Mexican food is extremely varied and in constant change. For example, one of my favorite foods, "tacos al carbón," has only been around since the 60s. I don't much care for northern Mexican food, which seems to be what U.S. Mexican food seems to based on. For one, I like corn tortillas way better than flour ones. Even the restaurants opened by Mexicans that serve tacos al carbón just don't do them justice. The meat tastes different, the tortillas aren't just right. The closest I came to good Mexican food in the U.S. was a place in Chapel Hill called "Besa Mi Burro" that was owned by a Columbian! And it wasn't that the dishes were identical or faithful to anything I've had in Mexico, they just had the right distinctive taste.

There are dishes in Mexico that I'm sure foreigners would find quite strange: iguana, maguey (agave) caterpillars, ant eggs, and "chapulines" (crickets). My mother prepared chapulines for us the other day (pictured here), with "nopalitos" (cactus). They are fried in a red sauce and you eat them rolled up in corn tortillas. To be quite honest I prefer them when they are tiny and you can't quite make out they are crickets. But they are very tasty. Not all Mexicans eat these or any of the other strange dishes that got inherited to us from the indigenous peoples. I gave my mom a hard time all day after this meal saying "mommy feeds us insects"...well, because that's the sort of thing we do in my family.

Christmas Decoration-Topiary Correlation?

2004-12-14T22:32:00.001-05:00

Now that the neighbors have had a chance to put up their Christmas decorations, I've noticed that there seems to be a correlation between the compulsion to snip trees into topiaries and the compulsion to place gaudy ornaments on them. Hmmm....

Paseo de la Reforma

2004-12-13T17:02:00.001-05:00

One of the main avenues in the city, and one of the nicest, is the "Paseo de la Reforma." The broad avenue has many roundabouts with diverse monuments, statues, and fountains which never seem to stay put. Any changes are usually cause for fervent protest (more on that to come in future posts.) This avenue was started by Emperor Maximilian for his personal transport from the Castle of Chapultepec to the Plaza Mayor. The avenue was at that time named the "Paseo de la Emperatriz" (Avenue of the Empress), until Maximilian was executed, when its name was changed to the "Paseo del Degollado" (Avenue of the Beheaded--though he was actually shot) and it was opened for public use. In the 1870's, after President Benito Juárez's death, the name of the avenue was changed to Reforma, after the reform laws promulgated by Juárez. This avenue is where you'll find the famous column of the angel of independence. The column was inaugurated the 16th of September of 1910 to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of our independence from Spain. We just call it "el ángel" for short.

Picking up the pieces

The statue actually fell during the earthquake of 1957. Supposedly a friend of my dad's had the squashed head in his office for a while, but I never know which of my father's colorful stories I'm supposed to believe.
Some other fun facts about the column:

Since the city was built on a filled-in lake, 25 meter pillars were sunk to reach solid enough ground to support the monument. The rest of the city has been sinking, making it necessary to add 14 steps over the years.
The remains of several heroes of the "Independencia" are in a mausoleum inside the monument.
The angel of victory weighs 7 metric tons.

Another famous monument on Reforma, which was actually just moved and uncovered in its new location today, is the statue of Cuauhtemoc, the last Aztec emperor. Amusingly enough, the statue was just one roundabout over from the statue of Christopher Columbus, nicely illustrating the mixed history of Mexico.
The zoo, the Chapultepec Castle, the Anthropology Museum, the Museum of Modern Art...all of these are on the part of Reforma that has the most trees. Here are some other pictures of the avenue, including the Columbus monument:

My Street

2004-12-10T16:20:00.001-05:00

For starters, here's what my street looks like. Mexico City is divided up into neighborhoods called "colonias," and the one I live in is the Colonia Roma. Don't think the whole city looks like this, but this is a pretty typical middle class neighborhood. Notice our neighbors' fondness for topiary pruning, something which annoys my mother to no end. My mother says that when she was a child (1950s), the city was clean, full of trees, and only had about 3 million inhabitants (now it's over 20 million). At some point they cut down a lot of the trees, so in 1990 president Salinas de Gortari (whose brother, incidentally, was just murdered, but I'll get into that in another post) initiated the "Cada familia un Arbol" (A Tree for Each Family) campaign to "reforest" the city, and at least on our street, a tree was planted in front of every house. They did a really half-assed job of planting them, not giving them enough room to grow, and of course no one ever came to check on them again. The fate of each tree was therefore determined by its keeper. My mom, being a huge fan of plants, regularly pruned and fertilized ours. It survived, and did not have to suffer the ignominy of being turned into a little powder puff ball.

This is what is called an "eje vial," a larger street that is one way that carries heavy traffic. My block is between two of these, Medellín and Monterrey. This is Monterrey. As you can see, many buildings on these streets have businesses on the ground floor, making it a very convenient neighborhood to live in. I took this picture during a miraculous break in traffic...don't be fooled.

Life Changes / Cambios de la Vida

2004-12-10T14:19:00.001-05:00

So, I'm in Mexico City, temporarily living with my parents after 16 years abroad. Those 16 years were spent in Los Angeles, New York City, and Durham, NC obtaining (or not obtaining, as the case may be) a variety of university degrees. Needless to say, being back here is a bit surreal. I was born in Mexico City and lived here from the ages of 9 to 18, but I've been gone a long, long time. The place has certainly changed, and so have I. My friend Oliver suggested I start a blog that would let people see the city through my eyes, the eyes of a native stranger. Along the way I'm sure to comment on completely irrelevant things, and as I'll be returning to Durham next year, I'll be playing the part of strange native soon enough. We'll see how it goes. In any case, welcome, and I hope you find something of interest here.

Pues estoy en la Ciudad de México viviendo con mis padres temporalmente después de estar fuera del país 16 años. Esos 16 años los pasé en Los Angeles, la ciudad de Nueva York, y Durham, Carolina del Norte obteniendo (o no obteniendo, dependiendo del caso) una variedad de diplomas universitarios. Seguro no necesito comentar que estar de vuelta es un poco surrealista. Nací en el D.F. y viví aquí de los 9 a los 18 años, pero he estado fuera mucho, mucho tiempo. El lugar definitivamente ha cambiado, y yo también. Mi amigo Oliver me sugirió empezar un blog para que la gente (especialmente estadounidense) viera la ciudad a través de mis ojos, los ojos de una nativa extranjera. En el camino seguro daré mis comentarios sobre temas que no tienen nada que ver con la ciudad. Y como estaré regresando a los Estados Unidos el año que entra, estaré protagonizando la parte de una extranjera nativa allá pronto. Veremos como sale la cosa. En todo caso, les doy la bienvenida y espero que encuentren algo de interés aquí.