Latvian Repose

IMG_2154.JPG
Originally uploaded by tomcakuls.

Tom C is in Latvia right now. he posted some summer solstice snaps. funny, I was just thinking about him, wondering how his visit is going.

here in DC on the solstice we cooked the first veggies from our garden (zucchini, sage, radishes). I don't know if they taste better because they're so fresh or because we grew them.

Black Star

My friend Chet is from Ghana. His family lives near the capital, Accra. He's a member of the Ga tribe, one of many tribes in Ghana. Yesterday we sat together in the cafeteria at work and watched the World Cup match between the United States and Ghana. The World Cup is a big deal here at work. They have TVs set up everywhere, with broadcasts of all the games. It's funny to see clusters of normally staid economists whooping and cheering for their teams. And everyone is doing it; as I watched the game, Chet was seated to my right and to my left was my boss's boss's boss.

I don't really follow the World Cup but I wanted to watch the match with Chet because he was so excited about it. After the second goal by Ghana he was so nervous and excited he was almost shaking. When they won he jumped up and cheered at the top of his lungs. The rest of the crowd laughed and applauded; he was the only one from Ghana in the room and they were happy for him and for the underdog team that had pulled off such an upset. On our way back to our offices he kept running into fellow Ghanaians and hugging them. He gave me a high five slap so hard my hand stung for half an hour afterwards.

I read a New York Times article today about the troubles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (once known as Zaire). The article said 1000 people are dying every day as a result of a four-year civil war. Four million have died so far. That's a lot of people. To us Westerners, Africa is a backwards place, kind of a nightmare continent. If we think about it at all it's usually with pity ("those poor starving people"). Or contempt ("why can't they get it together?"). Much of it is fucked up but its also home to millions of people who are proud of their lives. People like to be proud of their home. And they invest their emotions in a team (the Redskins, etc) because they feel the team represents their home and when that team wins, they can share the pride of being on the winning side. In that sense it's more than just a soccer match. It's fulfilling a basic human need: pride.

Living on the Mechanical Leash

Last month, my parent's computer died. So did the transmission on their car. So did their air conditioner. As for me, in the last 30 days my MOTU stopped working, a DVD I ordered arrived unplayable, and the key to the door of my apartment stopped working. And just as I type this post, the warning "Could not connect to Blogger.com. Saving and publishing may fail" suddenly popped up.

Even when the gadgets are working, I find myself distracted with all the choices: create more iTunes playlists? or update my Flickr page? Yesterday out on the road (in another mechanized piece of my life!) I passed a guy who was typing on his Blackberry while driving 65 mph. I doubt he could compose a very coherent email right then. He certainly couldn't drive coherently.

I've come to realize that the more I automate my life, the more I lose control of my life. There are many things in my life I can't control anyway (death, the weather) but where I have the choice, I now try to run it through the metric "Do I really need this?" "Does this really matter?"

The more things we buy, the more beholden we are to the companies that make them.

I'd type more but I have to call support. I just got an email that my roeshad.com domain has expired...

John Lennon Reads About Brian Jones

Hackmuth alerted me to this great photo, which appeared on The Wit of the Staircase. This is around 1969, when Lennon was looking like a pilgrim and Jones was looking like a Nazi. The SS uniform was his (German) girlfriend Anita Pallenberg's idea. They did a series of photos, some with Brian standing in jackboots on a toy doll. It was supposed to signify an anti-fascist stance but it came across as nothing more (or less) than a blonde rock star dressed as a Nazi. Not a good idea.

blues

blues
Originally uploaded by BarrettJ.

here's a kinda blue photo for a stormy monday

6.6.06

via sleep, eat food, have visions

The Hog Farm network

"In the 70's the Hog Farm had several different Downtown SJ addresses...I stayed for several days at a house on S 13th and another on S 16th, (wherethe bus was parked being fixed ,as always) , in the Fall of '71, one of astring of homes from Oregon to New Mexico, all the way East to NYC and up tonorthern...extreme northern...Canada was across the back fence...Vermont. A network of literally thousands of people, if a bus broke down or someone got popped or hurt, anywhere, the Hog Farm had a friend who would drive the 50 miles, put us up, help us fix it...if you had a phone you could always call Louie or someone who could call Louie and he would get out the "Book" and make some calls. Lawyers, doctors, mechanics, moms, ex-girlfriends as well as musicians, artists, publishers, promoters, loan sharks, famed chefs with fancy restaurants, actors and actresses, writers, filmmakers...everybody was in the "Book" and help was on the way. Of course you were in the "Book" also and would get your calls as well..." recounts an old timer in this blog post