Stuff

How People Categorize Themselves

2010-10-23T23:26:00.001-07:00

This is one I've been intending to explore for quite some time now- the draft was dated 28 FEB 2008!

It's not a new topic or anything. And I've been told about at least one study on the topic. Of course, I will od my best to bring a fresh, new perspective to the table.

The questions is: how do you subconsciously "label" or tag yourself? The follow-up questions are a) how you rank those characteristics, and b) whether you arrived at the characteristics and rankings based upon how others see you or how you see yourself (or some of both??). Another interesting question is whether you change your rankings depending on who you're speaking to.

For example, would Sarah (sp?) Palin use any of the following adjectives to describe herself: former AK Governor, hockey mom, Idaho-ian(?), woman, former US VP candidate, married, white, maverick(y), Republican, Alaskan, Tea Party-ier, bulldog with lipstick (her own words), conservative, fashionable, (norte) American, etc.

Assuming most of these are legit adjectives Ms. Palin would use to describe herself, question #1 is how she'd order those in importance. My point is that a person who sees themselves as Conservative, Republican, Tea-partier, American, former AK Governor, white, mom, woman, etc. would have a different belief set than if the ranking were woman, mom, N. American, former AK Gov, conservative, T-Partier (no, that's not a French word), etc. However, this is the same person. How do we arrive at our labels, but more importantly, our self-rankings?

Get my point? We'll have to come back and revist this one, as it could get lengthy.

Next up, Michelle Obama.

hasta pronto

2009 in Review, pt. 2- Charles

2010-10-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

The biggest event for me in 2009- yes, that's almost a year away now- actually happened in early 2009. My worst and lifetime-lasting memory of that year will be the death of my dear friend Charles. This should have gone at the top of my list, and I'll leave it at that.

And as promised almost a year ago, my first pix on your favorie blog (o.k., so it's really only a link to fotos . . . .)

R.I.P. Charles. We miss you.

2009 in Review (before 2011 begins)

2010-01-29T23:12:00.000-08:00

I'm back, and I apologize to all around the world who have been waiting very patiently for a new post for the past oh . . . . . year or so now. I thought I'd try to make more of a habit of posting (choose and adjective) interesting/controversial/informative/funny/none of the above perspectives on various topice of importance. With this first, return-to-action post I thought I'd pitch a softball, a nice easy review of some 2009 events. These are in no particular order of importance, and there's no way I can promise chronological rank because I can barely remember what I did last week. The following are just a few of the things that stuck out in my mind from last year:

A) America Day at Madame Toussaud's (sp?) in London: on 20 JAN 2009, the famous wax museum let everyone with an American passport in for free in honor of Barak Obama's inauguration! You know I couldn't pass THAT up- the free bit, that is. That day, not only did we get to go on a "date" to the wax museum (and romantic it was), but we also got to see BO sworn into office, bringing that intangible hope to many Americans. OK, so maybe it was only about 55% of Americans, but that's way more than in either of the Bush elections. And it was very reassuring to see W and Laura ride off in Marine whatever the number changes to when you're no longer the Prez. Of course Cheney is still lurking around in his lair, probably plotting the first US coup.

BO's first year has been not quite what many had predicted. I am hoping that is more a symptom of the challenges of getting anything logical done in DC than his shifting from an evil socialist who wants to make society more egalatarian to el presidente behind the latest Afghanistan surge and the still-opened Guantanamo "detention" center. He also stepped in it on the Honduras thing, you know that little triangular-shaped pais in C. America.

B) My first full club match in London: yes, finally, just under 2 years after arriving in London, I played in my first proper, 11-a-side match with my team from Lewisham. The most striking thing about this match- one of MANY Sunday football matches through London- to probably any Norte Americano is that at first glance they may have thought is was an NBA match, except for the large grass field and 22 people running around. Or perhaps it was an NFL practice (with 2 black QB's- remember when that was a big deal?!) without pads and with all of the players kicking the (round) ball?!

It was neither of these, but the main aspect my US-trained mind picked up on was that it was ALL bruthas, the Jamaicans vs. the Africans. And boy did the the Africans play nice football- we eventually lost about 4-1 or so. Anyway, I just find it so funny when some "African Americans" I encounter- mostly the blacker-than-thou types- always want to bash football and so myopically think it's soft or boring, etc. It's always easier to disregard something about which you have no knolwledge or exposure. The sad part is when you stop your investigation and analysis there.

Well guess what all of you proud-to-be-black people in the US-- pretty much all other black folks around the world play the beautiful game, and most play it quite well- see the Africa Cup of Nations. I'd imagine if some of the heroes of your more narrow world- e.g. Kobe, Reggie B, Neon Deion, Barry Sanders, etc.- played proper football from a young age, not only would you be singing a different tune, but I'd bet money that the US would have won a World Cup by now. Oh, that's the tournament that actually produces a TRUE world champion.

And don't get me wrong, it's not just black folks who don't understand the complexities of football. US whities are just as guilty and see it as a foreign, non-macho endeavor. However, at home, the sport has always been viewed as more of a white sport, though the reality of that looks to be shifting. I'm also simply more critical of my own peeps, who many times are very satisfied, or even feel they MUST be followers of all things "black," whatever that is. Oh, right, those are the expectations and stereotypes we and others place on ourselves, that we buy in to and thereby limit what we allow ourselves to achieve and be exposed to- i.e. to learn.

C) X-mas Play at School: suffice it to say there ain't no separation of church and state here. The kids respective X-mas productions are straight up what you have to go to church to get at home. They sing about baby jesus and dress up as wise men and shepherds, joseph and mary, and basically act it out in front of the full-on manger backdrop.

That's one of the cool things about England. They don't worry about offending anyone. Of course, they're not setting out to offend anyone. They just haven't folded to the whole, stupid PC mindset, where how you phrase something is more imoprtant than what you actually do! i.e. the general part of London that we live in is very integrated, and you don't get all of these people who are either over snesitive about race, which causes others to worry about how or whoat thay say. Most here would describe me as "American" before they'd describe me as "black," or god forbid, "African American." As a result, here they still say "Happy Christmas" (of course, they screwed up the Merry part, but they really do need to work on some aspects of their English here) and act out birth-of-JC scenes in the public schools . . . and nobody really seems to care. It may be a little insensitive, I don' tknow. But that's how they've done it here. And more importantly, people's actions (like their travels, the friends they keep, etc.) speak louder than hollow, conformist words.

It all really hit home with the little muslim girl, head scarf and all, was right up on the risers with the rest of the rainbow coalition of kids singing about Christmas and jesus. Could you imagine such a scene at home? Whoat!?

D) Death of MJ (no, not Peter Parker's dreamboat): this is primarily a mention for my girl, Meena. Of course, I am quite a big fan of "Off the Wall" and consider it one of the best albums ever. RIP Michael.

E) Lagos, Nigeria: this place takes the cake for 3rd (oops, I mean "Developing") World- meets crazy oil money- meets one of the most densely populated cities on the African continent. I don't even know where to start.

I've put in some time in the developing world- from my regular hitch hikes in Honduras to an almost toppling bus in Nepal to tromping around bits of Guatemala and India. But the bustle, traffic, pop. density and the street entrepeneurs who put the Crenshaw and Slauson bruthas to shame were over the top. On one strecth of major boulevard coming back into Victoria Island, the stop-and-go traffic creates an almost bazaar-like atmosphere . . . down the MIDDLE of the road!? No, not on the median, I'm talking between the lanes. You can buy everything from socks, to music, to food, to clothes, to kitchen utensils, to floor mats for your car. It's like a drive through where you don't drive up to the window, but the windows walk up to you.

Needless to say, the whole atmosphere was a bit of sensory overload. For the first time in my life, I really had no desire to leave the big hotel's gated,walled compound and go explore my surrondings. Of course, it must be Lagos. I mean, it couldn't be me just getting S-O-F-T in my old age . . . . .

And that pretty sums up all of 2009- pretty efficient, eh? Note that there are definitely exceptions to those issues I discuss above. However, you can pretty much take what I say as the most enlighttened perspective. Now you can also look forward to hearing from me more frequently in 2010.

JC is Correct

2009-09-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

So I completely blew my New Year's Resolution to drop science more consistently with this blog stuff. The bright side is it probably served to do nada but allow the anticipation to build even more.

First current topic: no, not JZ and the country singer who he just made famous, but Jimmy C and his view that Rep Wilson's outburst during the President's healthcare address was motivated or caused by racism, or something like that.

I think many people missed the point and took Prez Carter to be saying that Rep Wilson IS a racist. As Wilson's AG son said, I wouldn't go so far as to call Wilson a racist. I mean he doesn't laugh at "stupid" (I believe that was the word AG used) jokes. He probably even has a black friend.

But really, what I think JC meant is that Rep wilson wouldn't have pulled such a stunt- regardless of whether it was due to a lack of self control, as asserted by the SC Dem Party Chair- had the man speaking been white. Even if it was Joe Biden, or a male Nancy Pelosi, I gaurantee you he wouldn't have shouted out. Could you imagine if a Democratic rep had shouted "You lie" to W?!? He probably would have been shot on the scene. And Bush actually did lie about a few things- ok, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he made a few poor asessments(sp?). But you still don't yell at the President, no matter how much you disagree, or . . . . can't stand to see someone from the other party, who just happens to also belong to a group that is not supposed to achieve much except in sports, entertainment and incarceration, runnin' the show. I'm not saying that Wilson-or all of the others who speak, display messages, or think violently about the President- actively hate blacks or other minorities. Something just doesn't quite sit right about having someone of a darker hue "running the country," even though you'd imagine they know the Prez doesn't actually RUN the US. He's just the most visible symbol of the count . . . .

Oh, wait, now I get it! You mean there's a nigger who's the symbol of my great country?!? I knew there was something making me uncomfortable; I just cant' quite put my finger on it. "I don't hate him, because, I'm not a racist. I just don't trust him." But it does just make me want to scream; because it's ok to scream at someone you don't truly respect, even though they're more educated, accomplished, and bright than you, not to mention the leader of your nation, whether you like/agree with that individual or not.

If you disrespect the office, you're basically dissin' your country.

So It's Confirmed, There is no God

2009-01-26T14:43:00.000-08:00

I'll keep this one brief, but on Sunday, 25 JAN, one of my dearest friends of almost 20 years, died in an auto accident on a South African motorway. Charles was one of the most generous, funny, fun loving and interesting people you'll meet. And now he is gone, his whole life and family no longer ahead of him.

To all who say there is some reason, or it's part of some grand plan, I say that's pura mierda y paja. If someone, some thing, spirit, diety, force, ideal, demigod, or however you view such things had this as part of their "plan," I do not want to and cannot be a part of that.

And if any of you knew Charles, you're bound to feel the same way.

Charles, we miss you badly.

(Even though I will never forget Charles, I may have to post a picture with this one.)

New Year's Resolution

2009-01-17T00:58:00.001-08:00

To post more of my insightful and sometimes profound (and sometimes not) thoughts for my massive, loyal audience.

Apologies for my absence, but now I plan to be back, and more regularly at that- all starting today!

My boy, O-boogie (thanks Greg P)

2009-01-17T00:55:00.000-08:00

There was some loose discussion about Obama on the way home form school last week, which quickly prompted the following dialogue

O: Daddy, is Obama the President of the whole world?

Dad: No, there is no POT(W)W.

O: Is he the President of England?

Dad: No, he’s just the PEOTUS

*********************************************************************************

Then there was this gem one morning while making desayuno before school- Governments of the world take note, you may have something to learn here.

O: Meena, do you wish a shark would eat Junior (a.k.a. your 4th grade semi-tormentor)?

I guess the horse is already out of the barn, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder about putting such potentially diabolical assassination techniques into general circulation. I’m sure the CIA is reading.

Just think about how flawless, the tool. I mean, how are they ever going to figure out WHICH shark “offed” someone. Or even if they DO find the perpetrator, chances are that the evidence is at the bottom of the ocean somewhere (do sharks drop sinkers or floaters??). Even better, I would argue a shark’s appearing out of nowhere to eat someone as, say, they waited for the bus, would be every bit as surprising as a sniper's bullet fired from who-knows-where. And who’s going to stand up to a shark when he/she shows up to eat someone?? I’m not stepping in front of that . . . . bullet(?). But even if bodyguards, etc do try to intervene, chances are that the shark will just eat them, too. This is especially likely if you happen to have a 20 footer or so at your disposal.

I don’t think it’s so much of a threat now, but with techniques like these (and at such a young age), I picture a more twisted world if my boy ever ends up in a position of power.

Who Woulda Thunk It: An Angelino (Futbol Coach) in London

2008-09-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

So I went to mt daughter's newly adopted football club's SAT a.m. training session this morning expecxint to play my usual, limited supporting role. I usually help shag balls (not sure what the proper English translation is for that?), play in some of the drills, etc. Initially, my participation was simply to support Meena and help her acclimate to new surroundings, faces and sport.

Laura, coach of the Flamingoes, is marvelous, and must be a good player given that she just moved to Arsenal women and was also called up to the England U-21's, The girls respond to her. Today, however, Laura had a match and was unable to make training.

After we had been at the field waiting for the director to arrive, she finally rolls up and asks me, "Rod, Laura has a match today. Can you warm the girls up?" What she really meant was, "Can you take the(entire) session?"I gladly agreed and thought it odd they'd bring an American over to coach a sport that the Enlish are most proud they invented.

France is Fabulous, but . . .

2008-08-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, the more I visit France, the more I love France. I could easily live there . . . especially if I spoke French!

And while there are LOTS of things I love about Francia- my favorites being the incredible pastries and also traffic circles/roundabouts- there is one problem I notices. Insofar as good things, where else is there such a concentration of incredible baking- quiches, tarts, pain au chocolate, even just a "plain 'ole baguette", etc. Boulangeries are about as plentiful in Paris as churches and liquor stores in the hood.

And let's not forget my traffic circles-- they're just fun. If we were not always running just a few minutes behind, I would definitely drive completely around a circle every now and then because it is such a novelty to me. Yes, there are traffic circles here in the UK, but they are not nearly as . . . plentiful as they are in France. Of course, they slow you down a bit, but many times you do not have to actually stop. I can only imagine how much France saves on traffic lights!

There are many other good things about France, but there is also ONE major problem. It is such a problem that I must insert it here right in the middle of the feel-good section.

Everyone knows that there is lots of wine in France, and lots of wine consumed in France. It is not in a US (let's see how much I can drink in one sitting), or a UK (I am obliged to drink as much as I can in one sitting) type way. In France they drink a glass of wine kind of like Mexicans eat jalapenyos-- o.k., so maybe they don't usually have wine with breakfast.

My back-of-the-envelope calculations and Sherlock Holmes-like deductive skillz tell me that our beloved WINE is the root cause of what is perhaps France's greatest shortcoming- lack of sufficiently sized glasses for cocktails. The only one I really care about, thanks to my mom, is Gin & Tonic. None of the three places we stayed had even one glass that didn't amount to a shot glass after throwing in a few ice cubes and a slice of lime. As a matter of fact, at the gite we rented outside of Angers, we had to PURCHASE six glasses for the four of us! And even those were pushing it on size. Of course, there were approximately 20 wine classes and about as many champagne flutes (for a place that can sleep 8 adults), but not one adequately sized cocktail glass. There were coffee cups that would probably have been of proper volume, but I don't think I could drink a G&T from a cup that belongs on a saucer.

Loving Day- R.I.P. Mildred

2008-05-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

She says it was god's work, but I have a feeling that those who passed the law thought they were doing god's work too, as many of THOSE types did.

Either way, I'll have to see if there are any Loving Day events in the UK-- oh, wait, they don't really seem to need it here.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24468808/

The Good 'Ole (not Ole') Immigration Debate- w/ a Twist

2008-04-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how many of you heard about the (black) kid getting gunned down by the (Mexican) pandillero in Central L.A. a month or so ago. The victim was a (american) football star at L.A. High School, and I believe a 17 yr old junior.

People were understandably up in arms due to the shooting, but even moreso because the alleged shooter was reportedly in the country illegally and had VERY recently been released from jail. This comes at a time of some states passing tough (anti) immigration measures, I assume largely out of feelign that the Federal government is not doing enough about it. The LAPD has had a policy, Special Order 40, related to it's authority and intent to question an individual's immigration status. S.O. 40 reads, "officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person."

The story has been reported in the L.A. Times a fair amount, most recently today: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-specialorder17apr17,0,6757309.story. One result of the crime is that the high schooler's parents are trying to get the L.A. City Council to act to alter or rescind S.O. 40. In another recent L.A. Times article, the website let readers post their opinions on the issue. As you can imagine, there were comments all over the spectrum, but if I recall, it was about 75/25 for posts favoring cracking down in illegal immigrants. If I can find a link to the posts, I will past it here.

Anyway, all of those posts made me feel like adding my 2 cents. The prpoblem was that my 2 cents was more like $20 in length, and it wouldn't fit into the alloted space. Thus, I post if here for all of you to read:

It seems to me that many who are posting here against illegal immigration are tending to generalize and target their comments toward hispanics. In the US southern border states, hispanos may comprise a large portion of the immigrants, both legal and illegal. However, that still does not justify sweeping generalizations. Think about how you like (and how accurate are) most of the generalizations about a group to which you belong, be it black, republican, texan, muslim, etc.
I do understand the frustration coupled with illegal immigrants committing crimes, especially violent crimes. However, that frustration should apply equally to anyone who commits a crime.
If we separate violent "illegals" from the non-violent, I have yet to see a post that hits at the crux of the problem, with a few execptions-- ECONOMICS. If you lived in Country X, making $500/year, and you heard that you could make $500/week doing the SAME thing in Country Y, what would you do?? Of course, we would not ALL immigrate, but many of us would jump at the chance to earn multiples of our normal wages for our same hard work. It's like going the the UK and earning the same amount you make in the US for doing the same work-- guess what, these days you would have 2x as many dollars, just like that! What would you do if your salary was suddenly doubled, let alone quintupled or 50X'ed?? Of course it is not so feasible for someone in the US to skip across the border to the UK.
This border osmosis, driven by labor supply-and-demand, exchange rates, and the relative economic health of neighboring countries is not unique to North America. Other countries have similar immigration dynamics/issues-- Chile with Peruanos, and the UK with some former Esatern Block countries. If they were able, most people in the world would choose to make lots more MONEY for doing the same thing-- for the most part, we all want the best for our families and ourselves.
This is not all to say that illegal immigration is o.k., but that if you truly want to solve wat you feel is a problem, you must first look at the root cause. And illegal immigration will not just stop because we crack down on it- it largely boils down to supply and demand- look at how well prohibition went and the current war on (all other) drugs is going. I mean I never hear of anyone using drugs these days. Take it from a former, temporaryily-illegal immigrant-- don't worry, it wasn't in the US!

So, enough venom aimed at illegal (read "hispanic") immigrants already.

I do find it ironic that the article quotes Chief Bratton as saying, "If you are an illegal immigrant out there and basically you are obeying the law and you are not preying on others, you don't have anything to fear from the Los Angeles police in terms of us approaching you solely on the belief you are here illegally." I think the Chief needs to look up the word illegal or we need to relabel the term. :)

Global Warming?!?

2008-04-06T00:57:00.000-07:00

Must be a crock of mierda cuz it is 06 APR 08 and it's snowing here today-- hella.

Sounds more like global cooling to me. And if I recall, the last little Ice Age we had (not the movie for my readers who are younger than 10) was a BITCH!

Recipes: Gravy Sandwich Addemdum

2008-04-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you who marveled at my culinary genius, albeit via a very simple, and quick first recipe, I have a few other variations for you.

If you are not yet familiar with the Stuffing Sandwich- I already have it trademarked- you may have noticed an absence of that American (both N and S) favorite, meat. So, for thos of you who are NOT vegetarians (or maybe thought, "What's this crap, some squirrel or rabbit food that they eat in Berkeley or San Francisco?!") and were unable see the actual ingenuity behind my creation, fear not, I have a "normal" version for you.

As a courtesy, I have repeated the the instructions here:
Because I cannot figure out how to copy and paste from this suspect blog program, the nutshell is to put mayo on 2 pieces of bread; add stuffing on top ot one of those pieces; add gravy on top of the stuffing, and cap it off with the other piece of bread. And VIOLA, your Stuffing Sandwich!
For the original, detailed recipe, see http://tranquilito.blogspot.com/2008/03/recipies.html

For those who want a NON-veggie version, here are a few variations for you:
The Pilgrim- add turkey (cranberry sauce is optional, but good!)
Club- add turkey and bacon
Breakfast- add egg and bacon
el Cubano- add ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, pickles and mustard (add or substitute for mayo)
American- add a hamburger patty (and whatever else you want)
Southern Ultra- add fried chicken and smother top of sandwich with gravy (as mentioned with the original recipe, feel free to fry sandwich before smothering if you're not some sort of health nut)

So there you have it. Feel free to experiment with other variations. As you can imagine, if you neglected to see how in the world a plain 'ole veggie sandwich could possible fill you up, try these variations for some good and hearty, yet complex, eating. One recommended complementary dish would be a nice spinach salad; and if the sandwich makes you feel a little guilty, wash it all down with a diet coke to avoid those empty calories-- so healthy!

Check back occassionally for more brilliant recipe ideas, especially if you are that woman who is in every house cleaning/kids chauffering/cooking TV commercial (they even keep that reinforced here in the, typically, more liberal UK-- don't make me go off on my dos semanas con los tres mulatos!). These recipes could prove to be lifesavers!

Recipes

2008-03-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

This will be the first in a continuing series of haute culture, 5-star culinary tips and ideas for my dedicated reading audience. So, without further adieu . . .

Stuffing Sandwich
Ingredients:

bread- 2 pieces
stuffing- a lot
gravy- to taste
mayo- the usual amount

Warm up the gravy. (My apologies to those who may not know how to tackle the first, important step of MAKING gravy. As this is a recipe for quite an exquisite dish, I cannot stoop to such detail. However, if you need guidance, please see: http://www.recipe-ideas.co.uk/gravy-recipes.htm, or http://www.ciao.co.uk/Recipe_for_a_Good_Gravy__Review_5570071.)

Back to the recipe; Mayo up the two pieces of bread. Place 4-6 good sized spoonfuls of stuffing on one of the pieces of bread. Pour enough gravy over stuffing to cover stuffing generously. Place the other mayo-laden piece of bread on top.

Note: depending on the height of your sandwich, you may want to slice it in half to make it more manageable.

VARIATIONS:
Southern style- if health conscious, pour more gravy over layer of bread; otherwise, fry sandwich and then smother.

Mexican style- 3-4 tbsp salsa on top layer of bread; sour cream, avocado and cheese are optional. Serve with corn chips.

Nada Importante redux

2008-03-20T08:32:00.001-07:00

So, I originally wrote this post from FRA Tuesday evening while waiting- a LONG time- for my flight.

The problem with my particular section of the large terminal was that my particular sector, gates 50-54, had NO electricity outlets. Thus, my 5pm arrival for my 8:30 flight was basically an empty time to get no work done. And I thoght the Germans were all efficient and well thought out on such things. Perhaps the inability to work is not necessarily a bad thing, right? That's tru until the next morning when you've suddenly got 2x as much to do- 1/2 of which could have been done the evening before when you had absolutely nothing to do, except watch the loop of Germany's version of CNN.

Luckly I had my Blackberry so I could at least do a little BBB (Blackberry Blogging).

Then I began to think that perhaps being stuck in an airport w/ no outlets was not so bad, at least not as bad as as living behind a wall for most of one's life. You see, the day before coming to Frankfurt, I was in Berlin. Yes, The Wall has been down for quite some time. However, I saw at least one, perhaps 100m, section that has been preserved.

I just have this feeling that living behind The Wall would have really sucked. The isolated structure that I saw, with a few holes and breaks in it here and there, was not so imposing. However, I'm preptty sure that is due to the fact that I could see the other end of it. When The Wall existed in it its entirety, it must not have just seemed like some barrier you normally associate with an airport or other sensitive installation.

I gathered that the "REAL" wall was about 9 or 10 feet high x 1/2 foot deep at the top and maybe 1 foot deep at its base. The Wall appeared to consist of of sections about 3 feet wide. The a foot base thickness/depth was in addition to an additional 3 foot long slanting foot that kept it standing.

This foot was on the side that was the started the whole "Axis of Evil" club, the USSR. So I guess the allies paid a little more for The Wall and got the nice-looking side. Or perhaps Daddy Evil did not want The Wall accidentally toppling over on the inevitable inhabitant who tried to scale it. They devised over solutions to this problem (a.k.a. moving-target practice) as there are at least two memorials to attest.

We all grew up with news of the wall and also that of it's toppling, but there are a couple of quesitons that I still wonder about:
A) what about the guy who just had one last errand to run from the "good" side to pick up something on the "evil" side?? So he comes out of the convenience store/pulperia/tienda/etc, just to find that the last section had been put in place right where he had transited The Wall just 5 minutes prior!!; and B) if you were born in E. Berlin after The Wall was already up, would it really be so bad as that was all you'd ever know?

And finally, the most burning question: which is worse, the wrong side of The Wall or the wrong side of the tracks??

Homophones: Answered

2008-03-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

So here I am on the train again, but this time w/ good news- I've got not one, but TWO answers to the modern version of The Riddle of the Sphinx (aka Homophones):

1) flew, flu, flue; and

2) do, dew, due

Unfortunately I have to split the prize w/ some Texan (one who thinks the word powerful is an adverb- e.g. "It sure is powerful warm in here")!!

Writing on the Train

2008-03-03T00:42:00.000-08:00

Finally something to help pass the time on the train! It definitely beats reading the free, daily London rags- unless you need the latest (including pix) on Britney, Amy, and lots of other celebs I've never heard of.

Guess I better hit "post" before I miss my station.

(Downside is having to type on the BB.)

O.K., now I'm back at my desk-- I wanted to add that you don't have to worry about me trying to be all into train blogging, b/c I'm just on as into the whole blogging thing as some others-- e.g. Ms. Fam-of-5 (http://family-of-five.com/) and her blogger possee-- e.g. her novia (http://www.aarynbelfer.com/). Beware of these people :)

A Vary Un-L.A. Experience in L.A.

2008-02-28T20:27:00.001-08:00

While visiting S. CA last week, we went to the Los Angeles Zoo.

I'm sure we all have our thoughts and opinions, both positive and negative, on zoos. However, what struck me last week had nothing to do with the animals BEHIND the bars, but those on the outside and my hometown in particular.

When we first drove up, I thought, "Maybe the zoo is closed today." I mean, there were not many cars in the parking lot at all. We could have found a spot in the the front row, but, you know, it would have been a ways from the center aisle down which you approach the zoo entrance. (This center walkway bisects the parking lot into two halves; the other side was virtually empty-- maybe 10 cars in total on a (1/2) lot 10 aisles deep by 1/5 mile long.) So instead we parked about 4 rows out, but right ON the center aisle.

There were perhaps 10 big school buses also parked in the lot (up in the first row, but farthest from the center-approach aisle). This is significant because when we first entered, the youngest of the school kids were just beginning to leave. As we proceeded farther into the zoo, there were a few groupd of middle school students. However, after we got to the farthest point of the park, at the end of our inward tack, I began to realize that there were hardly ANY people there-- maybe 4 watching the lions, 2-4 watching the chimpanzees, 5 watching the orangutans, etc.

As we began the head in the direction of the exit, which was still on the other side of the grounds, I realized that by this point ALL of the school visitors had left- we did not arrive until 12 or 12:30- and that they must have constituted about 1/2 of that day's "crowd."

For 1/2 of our visit, we practically had the zoo to ourselves. Don't get me wrong, there were still usually at least a few people at every exhibit we visited on our way out. The numbers on this part of the walk, however, were in the 2-8 range. There were no large groups which typically require one to wade her way to the front to see the animals, or hold the kid on the shoulders so that he could see.

This zoo visit was so striking because not having to deal with hordes of other people anywhere you go in L.A. (definitely in GETTING where you're going) is rare. It's so rare that it was a little disconcerting at first . . . until you realize that it is actually quite pleasant. Of course, it helped that we went on a Wednesday.

For that afternoon, I once again loved L.A.

Homo . . . phones

2008-02-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

So, this morning I was discussing this with my wi . . ., er, I mean, partner (I forget, we're in England). Her being more the gramattical expert and wordsmith, I asked, "other than 2 (two, too, to), how many triple homophones exist??"

Hint: I don't know the answer (although I THINK it is None).

Rules: No foreign words- e.g. see, sea, si

I await your insight

I'm baaaa-aaack!

2008-02-28T03:17:00.000-08:00

Apologies for my long absence-- I didn't want to slow down the web too much over the holiday season w/ all the traffic generated by those coming to see my site and whatnot . . .

Anyway, there've been more thoughts and theories swimming through my head, and I thought I needed to put them down and see what my "illions" (synonomous with "grip") of readers think. Here's a preview of some things to come: How People Categorize Themselves, cont'd; The Democratic Nomination (and Candidates); The Superbowl With NO Commercials!?; and lots of other stuff- no pun intended.

To kick things off, let's look at our phrases of the week:
"Abuse of Power" and "Above the Law"

If you would like to see an example, just follow this link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23367672/

More to follow

Snoop & Becks II

2007-11-29T16:34:00.000-08:00

Or maybe Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz will be smooth-ass rapperz . . .

Enfermo

2007-11-09T17:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry, but none of my typically profound thoughts today-- I'm fighting off a pretty strong stomach bug.

But not to worry . . . I'll be back! (w/ a big fellow's Austrian accent)

tiraste un pedoj?

2007-11-08T13:19:00.001-08:00

My kids first Spanish phrase . . .

Everyone in the house is sick

2007-11-07T15:37:00.000-08:00

Except for me and 4 year old. Thus, I'm playing Dr. and nurse and don't have much time to put down my usual profound thoughts this evening-- sorry.

However, I did realize today that there is someone in my organizaton who looks a bit like Firemarshall Bill (without the burn and char marks). Let me show you somethin'!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zee050CQx70

How People Categorize Themselves- Pt 1

2007-11-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

it is interesting to see how people rank, or priortize, their characteristics, both observable and not. One of my little theories is that you can tell a lot about a person if you can figure out how they categorize themselves-- this is especially easy b/c in the U.S. we are taught to put everyone into categories. It is also interesting to see how people rank themselves and why versus how society ranks them.

Take, for example, Angelina-- she is a woman with 2 kids. She is a pediatrician who was born in California to Mexican parents. She attends church, votes democrat, is bilingual has a light brown complexion. She is recently separated from her husband of 8 years. She is a Golden State Warriors fan whose favorite food is bread pudding.

So how do you think Angelina ranks her characteristics??

How would you rank them??

I will come back to this one soon.

The Best Jamaican . . .

2007-11-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

Shit-- No, not that kind.

My wife made the BEST Jamaican . . . stew(?) SUN nite.

She took some pix b/c we were pretty proud. It's one of those things that tastes great in a restaurant but seems like it would be difficult to replicate at home-- luckily, that was not the situation here.

Snoop and Becks

2007-11-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

In last Thursday's (01 NOV) "The London Paper", there was a brief article about Snoop Dog(sp?). The main point was that Snoop feels he could help with England's growing gang problem except for one little problem-- the UK has banned Snoop from entering the country due to some past incidents. The article also went on to say how Snoop and David Beckham have been hangin' out in L.A., and among other things, they are planning/making a movie and that Snoop has Becks working with the little dawgs teaching them how to play (the true) football.

That got me to thinking for a second, "What if Snoop really likes soccer or grows to like it, or whatever?" We thought Beckham was helping popularize the game in the US, but imagine the potential demographic shift in players (or should I say "playahs") if Snoop's kids are, or get, really good and/or Snoop began frequenting matches and/or putting footage in videos and/or wearing jerseys (overseas or MLS), or . . . .

If Barry (or Deion) Sanders, etc. had grown up with a ball at their feet instead of in their hands, the US may have already won a World Cup.

Give my life to TAKE that of others?!

2007-11-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

What would a suicide bomber think if (as) (s)he got suicide bombed him/herself?? Would it be, "Oh, that's what it feels like-- that sucks," or, "Who are you to be bitin' my style?!," or, "That sucks because I really wanted the chance to suicide bomb someone else," or, "I was planning to die anyway, so no big deal- same end, different means."

Also, why aren't there extreme Christian siucide bombers? What about Buddhist ones? (maybe they're too self-enlightened- i.e. not stupid enough- to do such a thing)

CS?

2007-11-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

So I'm in the "supermarket" on FRI trying to find CREAMED COCONUT, whatever that is. I'm looking and looking for a can, pouch, etc. of creamed coconut, and given that there are only about 5 aisles in the store, I'm pretty sure I'm in the right vicinity-- canned fruit and veg, soups and a couple of other categories that it could easily fit into. (Of course, I have never heard of or seen CC in my life.)

After my 4 year old starts to point to the various typed of canned pinapple (chunks, crushed, rings, in syrup, in water . . . you get the picture) and tell me he's found CC, I finally break down and ask a woman in store garb if she knows where it is. She asks a coworker up front at a cash register, who confirms that I am basically in the right place for where it used to be, but she is not sure if they still carry it. So, helper #1, comes back to my aisle, does a cursory check, to no avail, then says something to give me the impression that she is going to get more info for me . . .

WRONG!

I look up a couple of minutes later and she's sitting at the register next to helpful (but unfortunately tied to the register) woman ringing people up-- good thing I didn't wait for her to return, eh.

BTW, if you're ever looking for CC for the first time, it's in a little- maybe 2"x4"- package about the size of a pack of cigs, and feels like there's a block of hardened wax inside. I have yet to open it to see what I ended up searching so painstakingly for and eventually finding plenty of in the next two stalls I visited while buying other things on my list-- live and learn, eh.

Must be a Jamaican thang ;-)

No Vindaloo for YOU!

2007-11-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

So we go to try a new curry joint last nite, and homeboy calmly, but firmly, REFUSES to sale us any vindaloo dish-- "it's too hot," he says. So, even here in London, we're treated like gringoes by the Bangladeshis that run many of the Indian food joints?!? (Not to mention, if it's SOOOOOO hot, who DO they actually serve it to??)

BTW, the Indian food here is REALLY good and plentiful-- kinda like Mexican food at home.

This doesn't look like a Milky Way!

2007-11-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today I ate an (English) "Milky Way" candy bar from the office's post-Halloween stash. To my surprise, when I took a bite and looked inside, it looked like a "Three Muskateers". The taste, however, was distinctly Milky Way. I immediately thought, "Ah-ha, another English-American difference." (See: http://family-of-five.com/2007/09/, 22 SEP 07 post)

The cool thing about the wrapper is that the Allergy Disclaimer and the "Not for Individual Resale" warning (like there's a small enough monetary denomination to pay for THAT little piece of sh . . . , er, I mean, candy!?!) come in Polish, Serb, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, and of course, English-- only in Europe . . .

So I guess this is kinda fun for an initial foray (into this Blogging stuff), but I'm just warming up-- there are some other things that swirl around in my head form time-to-time.