I *heart* Kid Ethnic

Maggie gushes:
My pal Saleem makes me as giddy as a kid on a sugar high sometimes. Or... just a "hot mama" high on wasabi rice crackers?

See for yourself why my crush endures.

Weekend reading

Maggie says:
I find myself fairly uninterested in the Superbowl this weekend (despite the compelling coaching storyline), and am instead puttering around in typical un-American fashion. Such puttering affords me lots of time to read, go shoe-shopping, have the strongest margaritas on the planet with Marjorie's fam, and go hiking. So before I meet Mikaela to head over to the foothills, here's what's peaking my interest word-wise this weekend:

• More than good food and friendliness. Facing South, a fantastic blog produced by one of my fave organizations, compiled a list of its top-five books on Southern populist history. I have a couple of these, and the comments remind me that I'm still hanging on to a Loomis loaner that I need to return. This list is a great place to start diving into the rich promise that those who love the South know it very much holds. After you're primed with good 'ol Southern history, give this important Nation cover story a try before you start trash-talking about how we'll be safe ignoring the South in '08. Who knows... it just might influence your pick for the party.
  

• Biden: not just inarticulate. Joe Biden's recent gaffe is, as this Times article points out, not a gaffe at all, but the latest proof that most Americans are still surprised when non-whites sound smart. The word of attack here is "articulate," and with good insight this article points out the so-called compliments we're compelled to offer up for non-whites who sound... white. '"Al Sharpton is incredibly articulate,” said Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. “But because he speaks with a cadence and style that is firmly rooted in black rhetorical tradition you will rarely hear white people refer to him as articulate.”'

• Off to La-La Land. I'm heading to Los Angeles next week for a conference, and nothing has been amusing me in advance of the trip more than Curbed LA, a deliciously acerbic blog on planning and real estate in LA. More East Coast-oriented readers might enjoy the original NYC-based Curbed a little more. Same snarky real estate banter, only denser. Where else can I be pointed to the coolest Google image search result ever (for "urban planner") and news like this: "In order to make sure that Chinatown is catching up to the rest of downtown yuppie invasion, the City Council fast-tracked the approval of a new mixed-use development at 900 N. Broadway." Hee hee hee... Oh and!, see the sister blogs of Curbed for foodie talk: Eater and Eater LA. How much would I love to see a Curbed ABQ one day... Any takers?
  

• Local poets at it again. Yesterday I was lucky enough to get a preview of The Wellesley Poems, the forthcoming tome from local poet Adam Rubinstein. Adam's lastest poems are ruminations on growing up in the suburbs, the dangers of inventing - or ignoring - collective identity, and what "home" really means. Not to get ahead of myself, but I think this work is going to be my favorite of anything he's ever done. So while Adam's finishing this fantastic collection, go and peruse his other stuff to satiate your need for good words.

• Still loving 'Little Children'. I can't tell you how much I loved this movie, far and away my favorite of the year. I'll be cheering heartily for it to win Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. Kate Winslet is her typical brilliantly glorious self, Jackie Earle Haley is a revelation, and the writing is the best I've seen on film in forever. I wish the downtown theater would bring it back in time for the Oscars, but this is ABQ, so I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime, Google "Little Children" for a wealth of goodies, including interviews (don't miss anything featuring director Todd Fields), long think pieces on suburbia and infidelity, and more. Yum yum yum.
  

Ready for Change

Mikaela says:
While I'm feeling more and more like a career professional these days, complete with no internet surfing and little interest in being on the computer at night, rest assured that I'm still managing to be outraged by several recent news stories.

• The ongoing abuse of the constitutional balance of powers by our President through signing statements ... the latest one claiming the right to open YOUR MAIL anytime they want. Uh-oh. This one affects everyone.

• The death of the first elected Black mayor of Louisiana days before his swearing in. Coroners have ruled it a suicide, but it sure doesn't feel like that to me!

• The rushed hanging of Saddam Hussein for minor crimes before he could be put on trial for the larger crimes he perpetrated with support and knowledge of the U.S. government. Convenient, no? And now our government won't even condemn the taunting of this man moments before he was put to death. We're one of the only "civilized" countries that still puts people to death, despite the fact that each method of capital punishment eventually is ruled "cruel and unusual punishment" when it's discovered to torment the dying. Maybe it's just me, but the evidence pointing to a lack of "painless" executions may lead to the conclusion that execution itself is cruel and unusual... and not really a punishment at all.

Despite the bellweather news out of D.C. today with Democrats taking over Congress, I'm still left with a dreadful sense of foreboding and simmering rage. If Bush submits a "balanced budget" cutting federal programs like Social Security and medicare without even mentioning the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I just don't know what I will do.

There's just so much to do, where do you even start? Congress has got to come out swinging and take these first weeks to change the ballgame. Forget the past issues. Claim new ground. Name new rules. Remind this country what's at stake and why things like social programs, environmental protections, and efficient use of goverment benefit us all.

I am so ready for signs of change.

Blind Consumption of Life Itself

marjorie says...

How do you like my dramatic title? What can I say...it was the thing that popped into my head as I was reading Erik's great history post about Sam "The Banana Man" Zemurray over on Alterdestiny. Yes, I'm having a bit of a lovefest with Alterdestiny this week...but its well-deserved. In this post, Erik describes the life of this guy Zemurray, who in order to build a banana empire in Central America provoked insurrections, coups, and armed conflict all in the name of his own profit. Its a very instructive synopsis of how money can corrupt government, and how democracy is never a given but rather constantly in danger of being completely undermined if not simply eliminated. Erik also gives an incredibly concise description of how blind consumption of goods that are "marketed" to the public can lead to not only mass bloodshed but incredible environmental destruction. In this passage, he describes the environmental consequences of one man's determination to make money off of bananas, which had before been considered a luxury item:

"The US demand for bananas, which soon became one of the cheapest fruits on the market, also spawned widespread environmental destruction. Millions of acres of native jungle were destroyed to provide for bananas, decimating wildlife populations. The monocultures that replaced the jungle became susceptible to diseases such as Panama disease and Sigatoka disease. Today, much of that originial Cuyamel and United land cannot support bananas."

This is, of course, how the much vaunted market works. A person decides to make some money so looks for a product. Upon coming up with an idea, that product is "marketed" to the public, composed of people who probably never realized before they needed that product. And because it is generally presented completely devoid of any kind of context about how its production impacts people or the environment, the public will blindly consume it.

We see the impacts all the time. Sweatshops are a good example, or piecework at home that forces young children to work brutal 20 hour days. I saw that with my own eyes one evening after dark in India...a child sewing away on a beautiful sari. Or the food production industry in this country that abuses animals at the same time it grossly pollutes our water supply. Or the complete destruction of the ocean itself. There are countless examples, from history and from today.

This dilemma of blind consumption begs for a new way of doing business. Rather than digress on an elitist tear about the grossness of the American public, I will simply note that there is no systemic way for the public to make informed decisions about these things. Specific issue activism itself is a great thing. For instance, child labor laws are, in my mind, one of the greatest points of progress we've made as a society, and the elimination of child labor should continue to be an issue actively pressed everywhere. But we have to think broadly when it comes to how consumption decisions are made. We certainly see heightened awareness of this issue when it comes to Global Warming. And certain efforts, such as the Fair Trade movement, are a step in the right direction although not an actual solution. Our government recognized a long time ago that capitalism has to be countered by strong social welfare programs and regulations. In the face of how capitalism works, its imperative now that we construct mechanisms to counter the destructive nature of our consumption.

Shocking exposé: Optimism at m-pyre!

Maggie laughs:
'Burque Babble has sounded the alarm: we wear rose-colored glasses at m-pyre! Now it's true - I know I have a few pairs... but Marjorie and Mikaela would probably be horrified at being accused of rosiness. Back from vacation and feeling the need for reprieve, Scot's requesting we go negative. Problem is, I don't know if I can... And in my own way, I'm already pretty bitchy. Didn't comparing Heather Wilson to John Lennon in a Nehru jacket a while back count? And I did ask readers to kill some woman in Kansas last year. Hmmm...

But hey: I'll admit it. There are things I'm nervous about. Next Tuesday is going to give lots of folks heart attacks around here, including me. I feel better about the national outlook, but maybe only because there's some distance there. I'm not a good eleventh-hour player, never have been. That's why I was never a great athlete, either. No killer instinct when it counted. I guess that's also why I asked readers to destroy Kay O'Connor instead of saying I'd do it myself.

Okay, now I just feel lame. Thanks, Scot.

But really, thanks for always making me smile. (Dammit! Optimism again!)

Sushi time

Maggie says:
My oft-mentioned pal Saleem has a charming video on his blog that is likely to:
A) Inspire cravings for sushi
B) Spark wonder and appreciation for other cultures
C) Cause confusion as to how suburban North Carolina could possibly produce someone like Saleem*
D) All of the above

Watch "Sushi Time" featuring Saleem: friendly narrator and Apex High's "Best Personality" back in the day.

*Not a dig. The old high school crowd always wonders this. Not to mention how "The Peak of Good Living" produced the rest of us, too.