Rainy Day Comeback

Hi everyone- sorry I took such a long time coming back. I have been kinda busy- here are some of the things that I have done since I last posted:

• I saw Ozomatli play in Millenium Park with my family. It was so cold, but the music was awesome, and we warmed up by dancing and drinking some red red wine.
  
• I had a barbecue, complete with some vegetarian hotdogs that didn't go down so well. One of my guests that I didn't know very well shot me a dirty look and told me she wasn't a vegetarian, which really bothers me for some reason... Does not being a vegetarian mean not having an imagination or an open mind? Does it mean that you can't eat vegetables?
  
• I visited my father's grave in memory of his birthday. He would have turned 60 this month. It was an odyssey getting there and by the time I did get there, it was closing in half an hour! We spent some time walking around looking at other gravestones with some being pretty substantial. My little niece pointed to a crucified Christ and asked me why he was hanging that way. Being an avowed atheist, I don't believe in propagating Christian beliefs, but she is not my child so I didn't know what to say. it was kind of funny. I ended up telling her that she needed to ask her mom (my sister) or her grandmother (my mother).
  
• I completed and submitted my application to my dream job. Cross your fingers. Countless hours of wishing and studying and working and stressing- hopefully will come to something.
  
• I read the following six books

• Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin- A novel about a 14 year old boy that has to not only survive, but protect himself and his younger siblings from his abusive mother. It was hard to read because the violence and the anxiety it produced were so real. The main point was that there were plenty of adults that knew what was going on and did nothing to help. It really reminded me that very one of us has the responsibility to help one another when we see abuse occur. Its so easy to turn the other way, or make excuses (i.e., that's not my business, it's just discipline, etc), but it really is a serious problem. And it doesn't have a clear answer. I mean, DCFS isn't always a better alternative.
  
• Un Lun Dun by China Mieville- an urban fantasy set in London (get it- Un-London). The idea is that every major city in the world has an alternative/parallel world attached to it where everything that is discarded in this world goes to. It was very much like Alice in Wonderland and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, with a young heroine who finds herself in a very strange world with crazy characters and has to save it's people from the evil ones. I didn't really enjoy it because I felt that most of the descriptions were too long and not intriguing in any real way. But I'll end on a positive note, the author also added some drawings within the text that were truly creative in their grotesque way.
  
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green- I loved this book. First of all, it is set on the North side of Chicago, which meant that I recognized a lot of the places and street names in the story. Its about Colin, who has just graduated high school and gotten dumped by his girlfriend Katherine. The problem is- that he has had 19 girlfriends, all named Katherine, and each one has dumped him. So he feels depressed and puzzled about this and decides to go on a roadtrip with his friend Hassan. It was really funny and easy to read.
  
• Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox
  
• Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox- These are two fantasy novels that are part of a 'duet.' Knox very skillfully creates a whole world where dreams are caught by professional dreamhunters and sold to the public. But, there is a sinister government force that is using these dreams to exploit and control people for its own financial and political gain. I can say no more- just go out and read them if you like the fantasy genre mixed with some negative utopia, plus some great female roles.
  
• The Atheist's Bible: An Illustrious Collection of Irreverent Thoughts This is the only book in this list that is not YA (young adult). It consists of atheist quotes which I love. I think quote books are a corny thing, but I just love how quotes can condense whole philosophies on life into 1 or 2 sentences.

So, that's what I've been up to.

I will be posting again soon...

*Muah* to all my readers (that means you sis ^_^)

Soon..

Sorry I haven't posted lately, I've been reading and preparing for book discussions. I moderate 4 in 2 weeks!
I will soon write my thoughts on the books that I have been reading.

Chola against consumerism

I was looking at this blog- Ask a Chola which I find simultaneously hilarious, irritating, a little reactionary and yet right-on target culturally. Well, I guess I'm still trying to figure it out... I gotta say that I love the title of her blog.

So, I came upon this video which seems to perfectly combine the things I've been riffing on lately-

Beat poetry
Latino culture
anti-consumerism
humor

So check it out and maybe you'll laugh too:

Keep your overhead low

I just read a Slate article called On the Road Again where friends and scholars talk about Jack Kerouac's contribution to the literary world and American culture.

2 quotes jumped out at me:

• "Keep your overhead low"

I like this because it seems to speak against the conspicuous consumerism of our current culture (really, is there a time-warp? did we go back to the 80's somehow?).
But it can also be interpreted in a broad, almost spiritual way. Keep yourself and your needs simple. Don't over-extend yourself. Its the only way to really be free.

• "You realize that a man can take a train and never reach his destination, that a
  man has no destination at the end of the road, but that he merely has a starting
  point on the road—which is Home."

Again- a thought that expresses an outward and inward reality.
I would add to this that the destination point is also Home. No matter where you go, what you study, who you meet, it always leads back to you. You can only know yourself through others, and through experiences.

At this point I should admit that I never finished On the Road. My older sister loved the book and so I tried to read it, but I think I was too young to understand it. I was probably like 12 when I attempted it and I had a short attention span for what I considered rambling stories.

I think I could appreciate it now, so I will pick up a copy and read it- finally. I know, its really late...

When I read it I will blog my thoughts on it. The way I see it, either I will either be completely disappointed by it after having anticipated it for more than a decade, or I will adore it and berate myself for not having read and re-read it earlier. My main goal is to begin and complete it.

These chickens want books

cheesy joke but since I love libraries and animals alike, I though I'd share...

A pair of chickens walk up to the circulation desk at a public library and say, 'Buk Buk BUK.' The librarian decides that the chickens desire three books, and gives it to them...and the chickens leave shortly thereafter.

Around midday, the two chickens return to the circulation desk quite vexed and say,' Buk Buk BuKKOOK!' The librarian decides that the chickens desire another three books and gives it to them. The chickens leave as before.

The two chickens return to the library in the early afternoon, approach the librarian, looking very annoyed and say, 'Buk Buk Buk Buk Bukkooook!' The librarian is now a little suspicious of these chickens. She gives them what they request, and decides to follow them.

She followed them out of the library, out of the town, and to a park. At this point, she hid behind a tree, not wanting to be seen. She saw the two chickens throwing the books at a frog in a pond, to which the frog was saying, "Rrredit Rrredit Rrredit..."

I like how the librarian is so helpful!

My Country, Tears of Thee...

Yesterday, on Labor Day, Lawrence Ferlinghetti was on DemocracyNow to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac, and its significance to the Beat Generation.
He read a beautiful poem that hasn't been published yet because he just wrote it.

Pity the nation whose people are sheep, and whose
shepherds mislead them.

Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages
are silenced, and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.

Pity the nation that raises not its voice, except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero, and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.

Pity the nation that knows no other language but its
own and no other culture but its own.

Pity the nation whose breath is money and sleeps the
sleep of the too well-fed.

Pity the nation -- oh, pity the people who allow their
rights to erode and their freedoms to be washed away.

My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.

Of course I love the political sentiment, but it is also just beautiful art in that it is timeless and placeless yet completely rooted in its time and place of our modern U.S.:

Also- He's 88 years old and still creating art that expresses his radical
ideals!
Which goes to show that one does not have to grow conservative with age, as all of us young(ish) lefties have been told numerous times. Don't believe it- keep fighting against injustice!

Six Sucias

I've been reading Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez's blog a lot lately and she's been talking about casting for the movie version of her novel the Dirty Girls Social Club (if you haven't read it- go and borrow or buy it already! It's only one of the best books ever!).

In the novel there are 6 Latina sucias and this is how I would cast them:

Lauren- Jessica Alba

Sara- Alexis Bledel or Cameron Diaz

Elizabeth- Rosario Dawson

Rebecca- Eva Longoria


Amber- Julieta Venegas/Catalina Sandino Moreno


Usnavys- Eva Mendes (with some extra weight)

Alberto Gonzalez: FTP

(if you don't know what FTP is means, watch this George Lopez video)

QUE TE VAYA BIEN

QUE TE MACHUCE UN TREN

Y QUE TE REMUELA BIEN

Just look at him staring lovingly at Bush!!! --------------------->>>>

If this picture doesn't define coconut, then I don't know what does.

So on August 27, Alberto Gonzalez FINALLY announced that he will be resigning as U.S. attorney general on Sept 17, 2007.

Break out the glasses and the tequila bottle!

I just realized that he is exiting the day after Mexican Independence Day. I'm sure that wasn't on purpose, yet on the day of celebration, please join me in celebrating our independence from this idiot who unfortunately is of Mexican descent (or as Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez would call him a "Texican").

Let's all spill a little tequila on the ground for this fallen homie.

But even within my happiness at this turn of events, I must still express my disappointment. Ground-breaking and essential Latino civil rights organizations like League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) did NOT come out and publicly and officially condemn him, even after he made it clear that he has no respect for human rights and upholds torture as a legitimate tactic in this phony and deadly war against the world. We Latinos that struggle for human rights cannot let our movement devolve into one of tokenism, where we get behind anyone with brown skin or a Spanish last name. Capitalists, dictators, and oppressors come in all colors and speak all languages.

So what will Senor Gonzalez be doing now that he's out of a job?
One suggestion I've heard is that he use his extra time to actually read the U.S. Constitution which would be a great idea, although a little on the late side, don't you think?

I'm also thinking he should hook up with another bush-loving, self-hater like Linda Chavez or Rosana Pulido and have little coconut babies and live in coconut heaven (and far far away from me).



You may also want to read:
Latinos Must Speak Out on Gonzales