Loud Gringos

by | Aug 21, 2012 | English

(I should mention, incidentally, that there is nothing louder than a group of gringos who, when convened in public, somehow feel the need to show off what a marvelous time they are having, with eruptions of offensively loud cackles. It’s their money, they can...

Choices

by | Aug 17, 2012 | English

Every time I return to the United States I observe something new about my country that formerly remained out of sight. Since we arrived to Seattle I have been thinking about Malcolm Gladwell’s TED talk, the one about the 20 types of Ragu spaghetti sauce. The...
On America Having No Culture

On America Having No Culture

by | Jan 23, 2011 | English

Back in 2005 – when this blog was still a wee pup – I made a mistake common to young American liberals that have recently set out to explore the rest of the world: I claimed that America has no culture. I distinctly remember comments from Derek and Erick...
[Brazil] A Ministry of Culture for the 21st Century

[Brazil] A Ministry of Culture for the 21st Century

by | Nov 28, 2009 | English

What do ministers of culture do? This was the question asked by Slate political reporter Chris Beam back in 2007 when, in the same week, commandos raided the Iraqi culture minister’s house to arrest him for a 2005 assassination attempt on a fellow politician....

Redgrass

by | Apr 30, 2009 | English

Oh my god. I love bluegrass, I love Chinese instruments, and I love cultural globalization. (And, yes, I’m doing my bluegrass dance as I type this.) [via Jeff via Ingrid and John]

The Charitable Light of Transience

by | Nov 2, 2008 | English

Itzpapalotl continues to be one of my favorite bloggers. I love her life vignettes. Today’s sorta took the words right out of my brain-fluff: A nosotros la tierra nos expulsa, cada ciudad es como un trampolín desbalanceado. Vivimos al portal de la semana...

Inventing Identity

by | Sep 14, 2008 | English

When we speak about our identity I believe that we are referring to four different things: 1.) how we see ourselves as we relate to society around us, 2.) how we want others to see us, 3.) how others see us as we relate to society, and 4.) how we perceive...

Brother From Another Mother

by | Nov 22, 2005 | English

Or “Notes for the Begininning of the 1,327th week of my life”. How do I know that this is the beginning of the 1,327th day of my life you ask? Because Google Calculator tells me so. Really. Just go to Google and type in “how many weeks in X...