Tuesday, 30 November 2004
Still Packing
I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow. We've been in West Hartford for three months and it feels like maybe three weeks. Funny how the time goes away.
It looks like we're pretty much all packed up now though. At least, all of our stuff has been thrown into a pile on the dining room floor. Two backpacks, two daypacks and a suitcase. That's not bad, is it? Especially considering we'll be leaving a ton of stuff in Australia.
So here's the schedule so far:
- Dec. 1 - Depart Hartford for LA. Chill with Koh Phan Ngan Andre and my family. Celebrate Fiona's birthday on Dec. 5.
- Dec. 7 - Depart LA for Fiji. Free eight day stopover in Fiji. Fucking sweet.
- Dec. 17 - Depart Fiji for Melbourne. Arrive in Melbourne, slather on some sunscreen and throw some shrimp on the barbi for a Xmas cookout. Ever celebrate Christmas on the beach? You should give it a shot sometime. It's weird as hell.
So that's pretty much the plan. At least, as much as I can remember given my current state of mind.
Oh, and for what it's worth, when my Grandma left this morning for the airport it was SNOWING. Hard to believe a week from now we'll be drinking kava on a tropical beach in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Finally, I posted some pictures from Thanksgiving here. Enjoy.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 30, 2004 at 05:12 PM in Moving | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Monday, 29 November 2004
Packing
Going crazy trying to get all our crap sorted. Where do you even begin when you know you're leaving for a year? I figure as long as I've got a camera, two T-shirts and my leatherman I'm alright. The rest I can pick up along the way.
Actually, if you can think of anything you think I might be forgetting (or have any good tips on packing light) feel free to leave em in the comments.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 29, 2004 at 10:08 PM in Moving | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Sunday, 28 November 2004
Losing Languages
When I was in Cambodia in 2001, I was staying in a guesthouse on the beach in a town called Sihanoukville. It was late at night, probably around midnight or so, and I got to talking with one of the kids who worked as a waiter there. If I had to guess, I'd say he was probably around 18 years old.
He told me that he was from Phnom Penh, and his uncle knew the owner of the guesthouse. He told me how lucky he felt that he was able to get this job where he worked from 6 AM until 12 midnight every day of the week. When he went home at night, he stayed in a room with five other Cambodians who all worked for the same guesthouse.
The most incredible thing though, was what he said when I asked him how much he made working at his job. His salary was 0. He made no money at his job. He told me that his payment was the moments he could steal every day when he got a chance to speak English to tourists. In this way, he hoped to learn enough English to find a different job someday.
Obviously, the drive to learn English is strong all over the world. The internet and the global economy have positioned English as the international language. But at what price? Is it worth the effort to preserve languages? Are languages and culture intristically linked?
I don't know the answers to those questions, but here's an article illustrating some of the repercussions of linguistic homogenization.
However, in the years following their first contact with the outside world, in the early 80s, they have begun to commit suicide, drinking their own curare. Out of a population of only a couple of hundred, just this past summer eight adults and teenagers committed suicide in the same day. No one fully understands why this people is beginning to kill itself. But the answer seems to be related to their sense of fragility and smallness as a people, the idea that their language, culture, and values cannot compete with those from the outside. It is as though they take the death of their community literally.
For many people, like these Amazonian groups, the loss of language brings loss of identity and sense of community, loss of traditional spirituality, and even loss of the will to live. To save languages like Banawá, Pirahã, Suruwahá, Oro Win, and hundreds of other endangered languages around the world will require a massive effort by linguists, anthropologists, and other interested individuals. We need, as a minimum, to identify which languages are endangered around the world, to learn enough about each of them to produce a dictionary, a grammar, and a written form of the language, to train native speakers of these languages as teachers and linguists, and to secure government support for protecting and respecting these languages and their speakers. A daunting task. But a vital one for all of us.
If you find this stuff interesting, here's another article on the subject from the NYT.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 28, 2004 at 04:04 PM in Culture | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bad Sushi?
You've probably heard about the recent election in Ukraine. There's a lot of infighting right now regarding the legitimacy of the vote, but that's not the only thing going on:
Mr Yushchenko has accused the Ukrainian authorities of poisoning him. His detractors suggested he had eaten bad sushi. Adding to the intrigue, the Austrian doctors who treated him have asked foreign experts to help determine if his symptoms may have been caused by toxins found in biological weapons.
Medical experts say they may never know what befell Mr Yushchenko. But the condition has dramatically changed his appearance since he entered Vienna's private Rudolfinerhaus clinic on September 10.
Mr Yushchenko was known for his ruggedly handsome, almost movie-star looks. Now his complexion is pockmarked and a sickly green. His face is haggard, swollen and partially paralysed. One eye often tears up.
"It's becoming a puzzle," said Dr Marc Siegel, an associate professor at New York University's School of Medicine who has studied the case. "The longer it goes on, the less I think of food poisoning."
[...]
John Henry, a toxicologist at Imperial College London, said photographs indicate Mr Yushchenko may have a condition known as chloracne - a type of adult acne caused by exposure to toxic chemicals.
"There aren't really very many other explanations. You don't just get this horrible acne-like illness out of the blue in a middle-aged man," Dr Henry said.
Steroid treatment or mercury poisoning could cause similar- looking acne, he said, but the greenish tinge of Mr Yushchenko's face is more suggestive of dioxin poisoning.
Take a look at the before and after:
This is the same guy. The photo on the left was taken at the beginning of September, and the one on the right is from a few days ago. Scary.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 28, 2004 at 01:35 PM in World News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, 25 November 2004
A Night at the Opera
A few months ago, the Hartford Courant ran an ad looking for extras for the Connecticut Opera's production of Aida. Basically, it said if you're a "well-built man" in good shape between the ages of 18 and 55 and would like to hold a spear or fan a pharoah then to call a phone number. I figured, "Why not?" I gave them a call and they told me to come in for rehearsal a few days later. Naturally, for the next couple of days I sweated whether or not I was "well-built" enough to cut the mustard, but as soon as I got there I realized I had nothing to worry about. Compared to the rest of the jokers who showed up I was practically the Governer of California. After the performance the review said we were "the most well-fed bunch of Egyptians the world had ever seen." Ouch.
Anyway, I went to all the rehearsals and wound up getting a relatively big part. I played the role of "Bowl Holding Priest". For all of Act 1, Scene 2, I was to be onstage. Before the curtain went up, we would all be in position. I would be standing almost in the center, next to Ramfis the High Priest. When the curtain was raised, the smoke machines were to go off, Ramfis would bless the holy sword and wash it in my big gold bowl for about a minute while he sang a little ditty. When he's done washing, I would turn, walk up to the top of a platform and look straight ahead into the 3,000 person audience for the rest of the scene.
Pretty straightforward, right? Maybe for you, buddy... but simple directions are no match for me.
The first night of the performance went off without a hitch. Fiona and my Mom were in the audience, and I held that bowl like a pro. My technique was flawless, and I feel safe in saying I made them proud. The rest of the opera was okay too, I guess.
To be honest, I was a little bored of the whole thing by that time. After sitting through two weeks of daily rehearsals, even the "Grandest of the Grand Operas" starts to lose it's luster. I knew every note, and every stage direction, and it was getting old.
Anyway, the second and final night of the performance rolled around on Saturday. I went to the Bushnell, slithered into my costume, spackled on my stage makeup, grabbed my bowl and went upstairs to watch everybody get ready.
The opera began on time, and it sounded great as always. The orchestra was humming along, and the sopranos were wailing through their parts, so I decided I could let things take care of themselves for a while. I headed back to the stagehands room to watch the Red Sox game.
After a couple of minutes I heard a round of applause and figured it was time for my scene to begin. I walked out of the stagehands room, and to my utter and complete horror, I saw everyone onstage and in position. They were holding the curtain for me.
As this realization dawned on me, some girl saw me and yelled/whispered "Where the hell have you been?!" I bolted out onstage and got into my place feeling like a total loser. Which, obviously, I was. Luckily, I was only about 20 seconds late but as I'm sure you can imagine, 20 seconds is an eternity in dramatime. Understandably, Ramfis was absolutely freaking out. If I hadn't been there, he would have had to pretend to wash the sword in a bowl that wasn't there for over a minute. Instead of looking like a High Priest he would have just looked High.
So I ran out and got in position, and just before the curtain went up Ramfis shot me a look that could have melted iron. Every single person in the cast was looking at me like I was biggest asshole to ever set foot on stage at the Bushnell. It was awful.
The curtain came up and I stood there while Ramfis washed his sword. Then, after that excruciating minute I turned and walked up to my spot on the platform where I stood and began looking out over the audience as I slowly spiraled into insanity.
"You stupid idiot," I said to myself, "you don't even like sports, fer Chrissakes!! How could you miss that cue? Now everybody hates you." I wanted to disappear. I stood facing 3,000 people in suits and gowns and I saw them all shooting daggers at me. I began pleading with the man upstairs. "God," I said, "I know I screwed up. But please, if you could just do something to get me out of this I would love it. I don't know what, maybe like a mass murderer or something. Anything. Please."
Needless to say, God didn't drop Ted Nugent into the Bushnell Theatre. Instead he set the fire alarm off.
I couldn't believe it. My prayer had literally been answered. I stood onstage with my mouth wide open as the orchestra was drowned out by the deafening wail of the fire alarm. I cannot possibly convey the joy that filled my heart at that moment. Seeing 3,000 tuxedoes slowly file out of the performance hall was one of the happiest sights my eyes have ever seen.
We stood outside in full costume with the rest of the audience for a full 45 minutes while the fire department came and verified that there was indeed no fire. They blamed it on an overenthusiastic smoke machine, but I think we can all agree on what the REAL cause of that alarm was. After everything was sorted out, everyone came back into the theatre and the rest of the show went off without a hitch. My enormous screw-up became an inside joke, and we all had a good laugh at the tardy Bowl-Holding Priest.
I have a few pictures from the opera posted here. Enjoy.
Now it's time to get down to business. There's a turkey waiting to be stuffed and there's a grandma waiting to be kissed. I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving, and I promise I'll do my best to keep the posts coming more regularly.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 25, 2004 at 11:49 PM in Little Stories | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, 20 November 2004
Survey Sez
Take the test at politicalcompass.org and find out where you are on the political spectrum as compared to world leaders like Gandhi, Hitler and W.
Thanks to my boy Josh for pointing this one out.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on November 20, 2004 at 08:12 AM in Cool Stuff | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Thursday, 18 November 2004
Some Strange Photos Of Cameron Diaz and JT On the Attack
Seriously, I would not fuck with these two. Check out Justin Timberlake all up in that dude's grill.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on November 18, 2004 at 03:18 PM in Weird Earls | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
iDVD Burning Issues
I just burned my first DVD from iMovie using iDVD. It came out great, but I had some weird issues.
I'd edited down my movie perfectly in iMovie, exported it to iDVD, and set up my whole project with menus and everything. Ready to go, or so I thought.
When I clicked "Burn" in iDVD it would ask for a blank DVD-R and I would insert one off my spool of 25. iDVD would then proceed to spin for about 30 seconds and then it would eject my DVD-R.
How rude.
After a couple of times it became apparent that I needed a new game plan. By this point, I was pissed because the only reason I got this PowerBook in the first place was so I could burn DVD footage while I'm travelling the world. It won't do me a lot of good to be able to edit footage from my DV camera if I can't create a DVD out of it.
In the end, it turned out that I was using the wrong kind of blank discs. Don't ask how long it took for me to figure this out, but apparently there are two kinds of blank dvds: DVD-R and DVD+R:
DVD-R/RW was developed by Pioneer. Based on CD-RW technology, it uses a similar pitch of the helix, mark length of the 'burn' for data, and rotation control. DVD-R/RW is supported by the DVD Forum, an industry-wide group of hardware and software developers, and computer peripheral manufacturers. The DVD-R format has been standardized in ECMA-279 by the Forum, but this is a private standard, not an 'industry' ISO standard like the CD-R/RW Red Book or Orange Book standard.
DVD+R/RW is also based on CD-RW technology. DVD+R/RW is supported by Sony, Philips, HP, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha, and others, and has recently been endorsed by Microsoft. DVD+R/RW is not supported by the DVD Forum, but the Forum has no power to set industry standards, so it becomes a market-driven issue.
Technical Answer
DVD+R is a dvd disc that allows multiple layers for one disc where as dvd-r only allows one layer. They will not compete to become the de Facto standard, because they are both here to stay. Multi layer DVD+R can allow extra capacity per disc than DVD-R hence its high cost!
Who knew?
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on November 18, 2004 at 03:09 PM in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Wednesday, 17 November 2004
Halloween
I finally got around to pushing up some pictures from Halloween. Better late than never, right?
It was a splendid night of drunken debauchery, and it was painful sorting through the pictures. Some of them were downright unpublishable. Well, they're certainly publishable on some sites, but not this one.
For those of you who use Typepad to host your blogs, I came across a great script called iPhoto2Typepad. It allows you to build an album in iPhoto, add titles and comments to each photo, and then push up the entire album to a photo album in Typepad. It's cool as hell, and it's especially great because it allows you to circumvent the Typepad "feature" of not being able to explicitly dictate the order of your photos. You just arrange them in iPhoto according to your pleasure, click "Export", and WHAMMO! There it is up on the internets.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 17, 2004 at 11:43 PM in Photos | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, 16 November 2004
Come On Down!
But first, please be aware of the unwritten bylaws of The Price Is Right:Posted by SmooveJ Zao on November 16, 2004 at 04:52 PM in Random News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I'm Back
As you may or may not have noticed, I took some time off after the election. I didn't stop reading the news entirely, but I cut way back, and obviously I stopped blogging entirely.
It was nice.
I spent time with my family, went for a few long runs, and did some other stuff which I can't seem to remember now. Most importantly though, I stopped making myself crazy over stuff I have absolutely no control over.
Anyhow, the short of it is that this blog is now about to undergo some changes. For the past few years, Fiona and I have been planning on doing some travelling, and I put this site together so that we'd be able to keep in touch with people while we're gone. I've been using it to spew propaganda, but soon it's going to become a collosal egotistical exercise. A veritable shrine to yours truly.
I offer you the following pictures as a thank-you for all your comments, emails and whatnot over the past few months:
- The finest Ronald Reagan photograph ever taken.
- Dick Cheney
- The Bishop Don Magic Juan of optical illusions
Finally, Fiona and I would like to wish each and every one of you a belated Happy Halloween:
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on November 16, 2004 at 12:34 AM in Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, 04 November 2004
View From Afar
In case you were wondering what the rest of the world is thinking:
Thanks to Alison for the tip.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 4, 2004 at 10:51 AM in Funny Bush | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Wednesday, 03 November 2004
Concession Speech
It is a time for healing. A time for coming together. In these tumultuous times, at least we can all thank the sweet baby Jesus that we're Americans.
Nah, fuck that. Those ignorant redneck hicks have sold us down the river and we're going to spend a long time trying to undo the damage. Adam Felber puts it into words perfectly:
My fellow Americans, the people of this nation have spoken, and spoken with a clear voice. So I am here to offer my concession. [Boos, groans, rending of garments]
I concede that I overestimated the intelligence of the American people. Though the people disagree with the President on almost every issue, you saw fit to vote for him. I never saw that coming. That's really special. And I mean "special" in the sense that we use it to describe those kids who ride the short school bus and find ways to injure themselves while eating pudding with rubber spoons. That kind of special.
I concede that I misjudged the power of hate. That's pretty powerful stuff, and I didn't see it. So let me take a moment to congratulate the President's strategists: Putting the gay marriage amendments on the ballot in various swing states like Ohio... well, that was just genius. Genius. It got people, a certain kind of people, to the polls. The unprecedented number of folks who showed up and cited "moral values" as their biggest issue, those people changed history. The folks who consider same sex marriage a more important issue than war, or terrorism, or the economy... Who'd have thought the election would belong to them? Well, Karl Rove did. Gotta give it up to him for that. [Boos.] Now, now. Credit where it's due.
I concede that I put too much faith in America's youth. With 8 out of 10 of you opposing the President, with your friends and classmates dying daily in a war you disapprove of, with your future being mortgaged to pay for rich old peoples' tax breaks, you somehow managed to sit on your asses and watch the Cartoon Network while aging homophobic hillbillies carried the day. You voted with the exact same anemic percentage that you did in 2000. You suck. Seriously, y'do. [Cheers, applause] Thank you. Thank you very much.
There are some who would say that I sound bitter, that now is the time for healing, to bring the nation together. Let me tell you a little story. Last night, I watched the returns come in with some friends here in Los Angeles. As the night progressed, people began to talk half-seriously about secession, a red state / blue state split. The reasoning was this: We in blue states produce the vast majority of the wealth in this country and pay the most taxes, and you in the red states receive the majority of the money from those taxes while complaining about 'em. We in the blue states are the only ones who've been attacked by foreign terrorists, yet you in the red states are gung ho to fight a war in our name. We in the blue states produce the entertainment that you consume so greedily each day, while you in the red states show open disdain for us and our values. Blue state civilians are the actual victims and targets of the war on terror, while red state civilians are the ones standing behind us and yelling "Oh, yeah!? Bring it on!"
More than 40% of you Bush voters still believe that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11. I'm impressed by that, truly I am. Your sons and daughters who might die in this war know it's not true, the people in the urban centers where al Qaeda wants to attack know it's not true, but those of you who are at practically no risk believe this easy lie because you can. As part of my concession speech, let me say that I really envy that luxury. I concede that.
Healing? We, the people at risk from terrorists, the people who subsidize you, the people who speak in glowing and respectful terms about the heartland of America while that heartland insults and excoriates us... we wanted some healing. We spoke loud and clear. And you refused to give it to us, largely because of your high moral values. You knew better: America doesn't need its allies, doesn't need to share the burden, doesn't need to unite the world, doesn't need to provide for its future. Hell no. Not when it's got a human shield of pointy-headed, atheistic, unconfrontational breadwinners who are willing to pay the bills and play nice in the vain hope of winning a vote that we can never have. Because we're "morally inferior," I suppose, we are supposed to respect your values while you insult ours. And the big joke here is that for 20 years, we've done just that.
It's not a "ha-ha" funny joke, I realize, but it's a joke all the same.
Being an independent candidate gives me one luxury - as well as conceding the election today, I am also announcing my candidacy for President in 2008. [Wild applause, screams, chants of "Fel-ber! Fel-ber!] Thank you.
And I make this pledge to you today: THIS time, next time, there will be no pandering. This time I will run with all the open and joking contempt for my opponents that our President demonstrated towards the cradle of liberty, the Ivy League intellectuals, the "media elite," and the "white-wine sippers." This time I will not pretend that the simple folk of America know just as much as the people who devote their lives to serving and studying the nation and the world. They don't.
So that's why I'm asking for your vote in 2008, America. I'm talking to you, you ignorant, slack-jawed yokels, you bible-thumping, inbred drones, you redneck, racist, chest-thumping, perennially duped grade-school grads. Vote for me, because I know better, and I truly believe that I can help your smug, sorry asses. Vote Felber in '08! Thank you, and may God, if he does in fact exist, bless each and every one of you.
[Tumultuous cheers, applause, and foot-stomping. PULL BACK to reveal the rest of the stage, the row of cameras, hundreds of unoccupied chairs, and the empty field beyond.]
Posted by flow Frazao on November 3, 2004 at 09:22 PM in Our New President | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
And So It Goes
What America wants, America gets.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 3, 2004 at 12:42 PM in Scary Bush | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tuesday, 02 November 2004
West Hartford Turnout
My town has had a few referendums over the past few months, and I've worked the polls at both of them. You know, cause that's what retired people do.
Anyway, over the past few weeks I've made friends with the other poll workers at my precinct. When I went to vote today at 1:00 I was talking to the people there and they were absolutely frazzled. One of the men actually followed me outside and asked me if I could possibly come by to help out at around 4 when they get hit by the after work crowd.
He said that voter turnout in our precinct was already over 50%. He predicted that the final tally would be around 93% turnout.
The fact that he can even make a prediction like that with a straight face is incredible. I'm looking forward to going over there this afternoon. It's going to be madness.
UPDATE: Got home a few minutes ago. I can't speak for the rest of West Hartford (much less the rest of Connecticut), but at our precinct we got just over 80% turnout. Pretty incredible. Let's hope the rest of the country is just as motivated.
We only had one problem. In Connecticut we use the big, old, honking voting machines from back in the 20's. At around 5:30 some guy came in and wanted to do a write-in vote and everybody was like "How the hell are you supposed to do that?" The Moderator, who had worked at the past 6 elections, had never had ANYONE ask to do a write-in.
The Moderator got on the phone to Town Hall and spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out how to do it. Meanwhile this guy was sitting down being all like "I don't see what the problem is here. It's my constitutional right. I can vote for anyone I want." His girlfriend, naturally, was standing by the door saying, "Can't you just do something normally for once?"
Anyway, we finally figured out how to do it, and the guy went into the voting booth and pulled the lever, closing the curtain behind him. He stood there for a second and then called out, "Um, does anybody have a pen?"
The look on his girlfriend's face was priceless.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 2, 2004 at 02:28 PM in ReDefeat Bush | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Crack - It's What's For Dinner
I guess crack is kind of bad for you. Who knew?
UPDATE: Here's another one, in case you haven't had enough.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 2, 2004 at 08:49 AM in Random News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
That Was A Close One
God forbid the Republican party isn't allowed to exercise it's rights:
The right of a political party to exercise voter suppression tactics is one of the basic tenets of American democracy. The Republican party should be proud to uphold the high standards it fought so hard for in the last election.
Fuckers.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 2, 2004 at 08:19 AM in ReDefeat Bush | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, 01 November 2004
Deputy Governor of Baghdad Killed in Drive-By Shooting
Iraq is great. Our policy is great. Don't change horses in the middle of quicksand. War is peace. Ignorance is strength. It's hard work. Stay the course.
Hatim Kamil was assassinated in a drive-by shooting, said Baghdad Governor Ali al-Haidari. He had no other details.
Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman said Kamil was killed when gunmen opened fire on his car in the southern Doura neighborhood. Two of his bodyguards were also wounded in the attack, Abdul-Rahman said.
Insurgents have killed dozens of Iraqi politicians and government workers in recent months in a bid to destabilize the country's reconstruction.
Posted by flow Frazao on November 1, 2004 at 07:08 AM in Iraq | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack