wednesday a.m.
From the Web Urbanist. I love good street art.
fay(ola)
only three more days
Is Bale the best Batman? I say “yes,” even though half my family thinks Michael Keaton was.
We take our superhero movies seriously — X-Men, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man, Daredevil. We’ve seen them all and analyzed all the characters, dumb plots (the Fantastic Four — ugh) the costumes (Alicia Silverstone as BatGirl), and the bad casting (Halle Berry as Storm. Angela Bassett would’ve done much better in that role).
This weekend, about 15 of us are going to see The Dark Knight. Yep, 15. There are a lot of us. A friend recently commented on how many cousins I have.
“Flight-buddy cousin, help-you-move cousin, fix-your-car cousin — you have a cousin for everything, don’t you?”
She’s right, I do. Being part of a large family has its benefits: fifteen people means at least seven of us have to take large purses to hide the snacks for everyone else.
satire?
There are so many things wrong with this….and this.
Also, newsflash: An Obama presidency won’t fix the country’s race relations. File that under “doh!”
favorites: july 6-12
There might be some construction around here this weekend, as I attempt to update my ancient version of Wordpress. In the meantime, I leave you with some of my favorite articles/blog posts from the week.
(Also: Is the year really halfway over?)
Rod Dreher on Black Crime, Non-Black Victims: Great post, better comments.
“Do blacks do what Ta-Nehisi Coates did, and think empathetically about whites scared of black street crime? Do Hispanics ever think about their prejudices against blacks? Or is it more the case that most blacks and most Latinos (and most Asians?) do what I suspect most whites do: never think about it, at least not in terms of self-criticism. In other words, I’d wager that for most Americans of whatever ethnic background, racism is something Other People are guilty of, not Us.”
Baseball, Dominican-style: Reminds me of my brief (one summer back in 1995) foray into sports writing. Going to the Caribbean World Series is on my list of Things to Do Before I Die.
Malcolm X Potato Chips and Rap Snacks: No, really.
To Forgive is Divine: A tear-jeaker.
Willie Nelson and Winton Marsalis: Probably the most unlikely duo since Eminem and Elton John.
overheard #3: mcdonalds and the afterlife
In line at McDonalds on Federal Highway, Tuesday afternoon:
Daughter (about 8 or 9 years-old, whining and melodramatic): Mami, ¿qué voy a hacer ahora que perdí mi Barbie? ¿Sí me vas a comprar otra?
(Mommy, what am I going to do now that I’ve lost my Barbie? Are you going to buy me another one?)
Mother (exasperated): No míja, no la necesites. Sobrevivirás.
(No, you don’t need it. You’ll survive)
Daughter: Pero, mami…
(But Mom…)
Mother: “¡No! Ya te díje. Sobrevivirás. Todo tiene en esta vida remedio menos la muerte.
(No! I already told you. You’ll survive. There’s a remedy for everything in this life, except death.)
Daughter: Pues yo creo que hay vida despues de la muerte asi que hay remedio, ¿no crees Mami?
(Well, I think there’s life after death so there is a remedy, don’t you think, Mom?)
(Long pause)
Mother (suddenly cheerful, as the cashier greets them): Niña, ¿qué vas a ordenar? ¿Quieres papitas con McNuggets?
(What are you going to order? Do you want fries with McNuggets?)
postive post tuesday: keep on keepin’ on
I don’t know where I’m at as a writer. Some days, I wonder if I should’ve followed in my family’s footsteps and been a nurse. Everyone on my mom’s side of family, the side I grew up with, is in nursing so naturally, I wanted to be a nurse practitioner. I had very defined goals: I’d work as a midwife in the States for a few years, then I’d go to developing countries and help women abroad.
Journalism sort of happened by accident. I came up to the proverbial fork in the road at age 16, after my mom signed me up for a journalism workshop. By my senior year of high school, I’d interviewed Al Gore and some other Hollywood types, and snagged a journalism scholarship for college. I don’t say that to brag — there’s not much to brag about — but because back then, I thought I was on my way to the New York Times, baby.
Fourteen years later, I’m in a much different place. I quit school, went back and quit again. I’ve lived and worked abroad. Now I’m freelancing, working in ministry — still not sure how that happened — and I’m going back to school next month, in hopes of figuring this out. I have no idea what to major in. It’ll involve writing, somehow, but otherwise, I’m completely in the dark. Will that mean magazine writing? Writing for a non-profit? Freelancing forever? I’m full of ideas, but how does that coalesce into a career?
I’m a planner. I hate nebulous, vague definitions. I need to see it on paper, which is why this stage of my life is so frustrating. My prayers are something like, “Look, all I want to do is tell people’s stories but I have no idea what that will look like. Can you just define that, please? Hello?”
Writing is the hardest and the most rewarding thing I do. I’m not as disciplined as I should be but I’m working on it. Thanks to a few editors who have the patience of Job, I manage get freelance work, even though I’m always busy, always have something going on, and can never seem to find the time write (that’s for you, JC). Sometimes I think I’m a good writer, sometimes I think I suck, and I manage to believe both are 100 percent true.
Which is why the video below is exactly what I needed to see today. It’s This American Life host Ira Glass, describing the creative process and storytelling. I’m going to download the entire series to my iPod and watch it on days like today, when I have no idea what the hell I’m doing.
If there’s one thing I’m finally learning, it’s that the key to getting through this period where things are good, but not yet great, is that I need to a) keep on making “good” until it becomes “great” and b) start listening to the right voices and trust the gifts God gave me.
muxtape monday: the latin alternative music conference edition
If the only Latin music you listened to was what emanated from South Florida’s radio stations, you’d think it was limited to salsa, merengue, pop and reggaetón, which is why the Latin Alternative Music Conference exists — to remind folks that the genre is just as diverse as its Anglo counterpart.
It’s with this diversity in mind that I compiled this week’s muxtape, which includes tracks from artists performing at the conference this week. I figured if I couldn’t be there, I’d make it my theme music for the week. Here’s a brief rundown on some of my favorite tracks/performers.
Vico C: One of the few reggaetón artists I like. It’s not that I hate the genre, nor am I a reggae purist, I loved El General and the genre’s old school acts, but today’s reggae en español es puro perreo — sexually explicit lyrics with an accompanying dances that are just as lurid — think BET, or Pitbull’s “Gasolina.” Or the ride-it-like-a-Ford commercials. Vico C. is different. He earned his nickname, “The Philosopher,” for a reason: his lyrics go beyond the perreo on la radio.
Cafe Tacuba: I first heard about these guys in 1993 when a friend gave me their self-titled debut cassette. I liked them but back then, I was into Luis Miguel and Cristian Castro. How positively fresa, my friend Jeancarlo would say. It was Tacuba’s sophomore album, “Ré,” and a live version of Juan Luis Guerra’s “Ojalá Que Llueva Café” that turned me into a diehard fan. “Ojalá…” is one of those songs that’s so good, no artist should attempt to redo it but Cafe Tacuba made it better when they turned it into a son jarocho, one of my favorite musical styles from Mexico.
Yerba Buena: This NYC-based group is like the United Nations of Latin music. Cumbia, salsa, Afro-beat, pop — they play it all, and well. Its members hail from across LatAm and they’re all insanely talented. Percussionist Pedrito Martinez is worth a post of his own. On the muxtape track, they hook up with flamenco star Diego “El Cigala.”
Guajiro — A punk band from Miami. I love their logo.
Caifanes/Jaguares: Technically not the same band. Caifanes originated in Mexico as rock en español pioneers in the 80s. They broke up in 1995 before lead singer Saul Hernandez and drummer Alfonso Andre formed a new band, Jaguares. Listen to Caifanes’ 1995 album “El Nervio del Volcan” and you’ll learn a thing or two about the country’s indigenous roots and folklore. In any incarnation, Hernandez makes pre-Columbian Aztec jams disguised as rock. It’s good stuff. Hernandez also has one of the prettiest voices in rock.
So that’s what I’m listening to this week. What’s spinning on your iPod?
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