Mi retrato

15/10/2006

This is my true picture. I am a detail from the Casa de la Muerte in Copán, which has its own writing system as well. Axé.

Nikolai Bukharin

15/10/2006

When she was 97, my aunt Helen took me to lunch at the upscale Lark Creek Inn. Normally she took members of our family to the Blue Rock, where we would drink gin fizzes, but we went to the Lark Creek Inn because she had been to the Blue Rock the day before. “I am … More Nikolai Bukharin

Class and Classiness

13/10/2006

Edward P. Jones’ story Bad Neighbors, on the intertwined questions of class, identity, and values in a Washington, D.C. neighborhood, is riveting. I have dirty rice from the store on the corner, and the fall afternoon is beautiful. The radio is singing, “It takes a worried man, to sing a worried song / I’m worried … More Class and Classiness

Signs and Symptoms

12/10/2006

It is Columbus Day. Mamita Mala has written a poem about it. Her site has been brought to my attention by Kactus. Kara has an excellent post on the recent counterinsurgency legislation, in which she reminds us that Halliburton subsidiary KBR has been awarded a large, no-bid contract for the construction of detention camps within … More Signs and Symptoms

Iraq for Sale

11/10/2006

Now I have seen Iraq for Sale, on war profiteering, and I recommend it. It is a little bit homemade, and it does not say anything that people who are aware of the Iraq situation do not already know. On the other hand, for people who do not know how much money Blackwater, Halliburton, KBR, … More Iraq for Sale

Mulatos de Esmeraldas

10/10/2006

Here is a beautiful painting, Mulatos de Esmeraldas, made in 1599 by Adrián Sánchez Galque, an ‘Indian’ painter of the Quito school. Right now you can see it in person at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Karen Wilkin reviewed the show for the Wall Street Journal. Esmeraldas, on the north coast of Ecuador, is still … More Mulatos de Esmeraldas

Tony Judt

10/10/2006

Was the Polish Embassy of New York within its rights to get NYU history professor Tony Judt disinvited from giving a talk for a community group which rents Embassy space? Judt’s views on Israel do not coincide with those of the Anti-Defamation League (or of the State Department). The ADL and others put pressure upon … More Tony Judt

Township Rock

09/10/2006

I saw Tsotsi this evening, a much awarded film set in a Johannesburg township and based on a novel by Athol Fugard. I notice that films which receive this many awards, tend to be sentimental. They are often some sort of redemption narrative. This is especially true when they are foreign. It is as though … More Township Rock

On Immigration

08/10/2006

This luminous day is dedicated to Olodumare, who rules the invisible realm. We can buy songs of the Cuban orixás in historical recordings from the Smithsonian Institution, and find stories about them on Orishanet. And if YouTube supported WordPress, I would add videos of Ifa ceremonies in Nigeria right here. Also on YouTube is a … More On Immigration