Because you love Bralapa news, I´ve added a special, nifty feature in which you can get up-to-the minute news on everything Mexico (according to me) ! There are a few ways to do it, and they´re absolutely free:
1. With some browsers, look for the little orange box in the address line of my page. Click the box and a little menu will appear, with a few different subscriptions. Click one and it will open a new page, where you can "subscribe" to my blog -- basically, you add it to your bookmarks. But wait, there´s more! This fancy bookmark checks my page and whenever I update it includes the entry in a pull-down menu. So instead of having to go through all the trouble to load my page, you just click the button on your bookmarks and see if there´s an update!
2. If you don´t see the little orange dealy-o, you should probably update your browser :) You can also bookmark my page at the right side of the screen where it says ....or bookmark me!"
3. If you have some sort of Reader ( a thingy that collects your favorite news sources and brings them to your homepage, e-mail, or Reader whenever a new article is published ) then click on "free delivery" at the top left of my page.
happy reading!
23 October 2008
21 October 2008
Tuna leaves
Clarification: I periodically change the subhead under my blog header. "Mavericks only" is poking fun at John McCain and Sarah Palin´s excessive use of the word, not my preference in readers from my alma mater, the MSU Mavericks. (The republicans have diluted the word so much that MSU should sue.) Sorry for the confusion.
One of my favorite quotes from election season was from Joe Biden describing McCain´s lack of maverickyness:
"Look, let's talk about the maverick John McCain is. And again I love him, he's been a maverick on some issues but he's been no maverick on things that matter (to) people's lives....So a maverick he is not, on the important critical issues that affect people at the kitchen table."
As a side note, check out Tina Fey´s spot-on mockery of Sarah Palin and you´ll be tempted to add "mavericky" to your lexicon.
***
It´s cliched, but one thing I miss about being in Minnesota is the fall colors. October is a very beautiful month -- the air is crisp and refreshing, leaves are changing and it smells like pumpkins and candy corn every where you go. Mexico has varied seasons but none that produce a climax leading to more extreme conditions, and the most you get from trees are smelly brown leaves that fall off some trees. For a dramatic and hilarious take on leaves and trees, check out this Monty Python spot, from the Meaning of Life, one of my favorites.
***
Yesterday I tried a new fruit: tuna (in English - prickly pear or cactus apple). It tasted nothing fishy, but more like a sweet and juicy cucumber with a slight hint of watermelon. No resemblence to a pear or an apple.
One of my favorite quotes from election season was from Joe Biden describing McCain´s lack of maverickyness:
"Look, let's talk about the maverick John McCain is. And again I love him, he's been a maverick on some issues but he's been no maverick on things that matter (to) people's lives....So a maverick he is not, on the important critical issues that affect people at the kitchen table."
As a side note, check out Tina Fey´s spot-on mockery of Sarah Palin and you´ll be tempted to add "mavericky" to your lexicon.
***
It´s cliched, but one thing I miss about being in Minnesota is the fall colors. October is a very beautiful month -- the air is crisp and refreshing, leaves are changing and it smells like pumpkins and candy corn every where you go. Mexico has varied seasons but none that produce a climax leading to more extreme conditions, and the most you get from trees are smelly brown leaves that fall off some trees. For a dramatic and hilarious take on leaves and trees, check out this Monty Python spot, from the Meaning of Life, one of my favorites.
***
Yesterday I tried a new fruit: tuna (in English - prickly pear or cactus apple). It tasted nothing fishy, but more like a sweet and juicy cucumber with a slight hint of watermelon. No resemblence to a pear or an apple.
19 October 2008
Smells
This is what Popular Science has to say about Mexico City:
"Mexico City is a natural pollution trap. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and located 7,400 feet above sea level, the soot and exhaust from the city’s four million mostly high-polluting cars gets trapped in a cloud over the city, which experiences 300 days a year of exceedingly high ozone levels. To fix things, the city has begun a pilot project retrofitting 25 diesel buses with particulate filters. Now, if it could only retrofit the other 2,975 buses . ."
Mexico City gets a bad rep for its pollution. People (who have never been here) tell me being in MxC is like smoking two packs of cigarettes per day. That`s a naive statement: there`s no way 20 million people would survive smoking 40 cigarettes each day. That`s called effective population control. But you do notice how dirty the air can be. I`ve started sneezing and sniffling constantly in my job. I work on the 20th floor of a high rise, right up there with the thick blanket of haze and smog, and I think the ventilation system sucks in air from way up there.
On the streets, you smell the diesel exhaust from trucks and unburned gasoline dripping out of the old lime-green VW taxis. It can be arresting some times. On top of that you see, smell or step in streaks of dog doo, puddles of acid rainwater or a river of greasy pork slime from a street stand. It's not just Mexico City, though -- any big city has its environmental vices.
Besides the occasional unpleasantry, I've gotten used to the exhaust and smog. In some areas of the city it's not so bad. The worst is the zocalo (city square in downtown). With so much congestion, it's intolerable. When I came here in June
The house I live in, though, is like a mini sanctuary from all that contamination. Almost every square foot has a plant of some type. Plants filter the air, and they add good vibes to any enclosed space. With so much rain and sun, plants grow well in MxC.
I had a baby cactus and another small plant with long, skinny leaves on my desk in the office to maintain the good vibes, but with a lack of direct sun, they were drying and dying, so I brought them back and put them out on the patio. Hopefully they survive.
"Mexico City is a natural pollution trap. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and located 7,400 feet above sea level, the soot and exhaust from the city’s four million mostly high-polluting cars gets trapped in a cloud over the city, which experiences 300 days a year of exceedingly high ozone levels. To fix things, the city has begun a pilot project retrofitting 25 diesel buses with particulate filters. Now, if it could only retrofit the other 2,975 buses . ."
Mexico City gets a bad rep for its pollution. People (who have never been here) tell me being in MxC is like smoking two packs of cigarettes per day. That`s a naive statement: there`s no way 20 million people would survive smoking 40 cigarettes each day. That`s called effective population control. But you do notice how dirty the air can be. I`ve started sneezing and sniffling constantly in my job. I work on the 20th floor of a high rise, right up there with the thick blanket of haze and smog, and I think the ventilation system sucks in air from way up there.
On the streets, you smell the diesel exhaust from trucks and unburned gasoline dripping out of the old lime-green VW taxis. It can be arresting some times. On top of that you see, smell or step in streaks of dog doo, puddles of acid rainwater or a river of greasy pork slime from a street stand. It's not just Mexico City, though -- any big city has its environmental vices.
Besides the occasional unpleasantry, I've gotten used to the exhaust and smog. In some areas of the city it's not so bad. The worst is the zocalo (city square in downtown). With so much congestion, it's intolerable. When I came here in June
The house I live in, though, is like a mini sanctuary from all that contamination. Almost every square foot has a plant of some type. Plants filter the air, and they add good vibes to any enclosed space. With so much rain and sun, plants grow well in MxC.
I had a baby cactus and another small plant with long, skinny leaves on my desk in the office to maintain the good vibes, but with a lack of direct sun, they were drying and dying, so I brought them back and put them out on the patio. Hopefully they survive.
17 October 2008
Baxter in Mexico
Newz:
I´ve been back to Mexico about three weeks now, and I brought my cat, Baxter. He´s a manx, which means he has no tail -- he was born without one, as most manxes are. Some manxes have little stubs, but Baxter, nada. I had never taken him aboard an airplane, and I was nervous he would be crying the whole time (since I kept him under my seat in a Pet Taxi) and bother everyone, but in fact he was fine -- even better than a car ride, which he loathes.
Baxter enjoys Mexico so far. I haven´t noticed any strong reaction to Mexico City´s pollution or altitude. But he was full of matts, his whole body. I took most of them out before I brought him to MX, but last week I had to shave his bottom half. He´s not bald, but he looks more like a baby lion. The pix below are before he was s
I live on the third floor of a giant, old house. The whole top floor is a patio but it has a large studio room and a normal size room, where I sleep. The top floor has an opening to the rest of the house to bring in light to the first floor (which also has an open-air patio). A concrete beam sits perpendicular over the opening, and a slanted ledge parallels the side. The opening is protected by a metal fence, but being a cat, Baxter´s curiosity took over and he walked through the opening of the fence and out onto the beam. Fine. But he also walked out onto the slanted ledge, and being a clumsy, clawless (all four paws) creature, he started to slip down the ledge. Luckily, he scurried back to the fence and crawled back onto the patio before he fell, but it was a close call, so we´ve put barriers so he can´t try to kill himself again; it´s about a 30-foot drop.
Because of his curiosity, Baxter has to stay in my room all day, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. But when he does get to wander around and explore the patio, he´s ecstatic:
Ahmed, Baxter, Mathilde and I.
A wild manx, ready to go for the prey (butterfly).
Just so they wouldn´t get jealous of so many cat pix, I´ve included a pic of our dogs back home: Caly, Sheba, Star, Clarice.
Wanting to exploit the comforts of a wood stool, Baxter has second thoughts: a jacuzzi filled with raunchy water on the left and a razor-sharp plant on the right threaten his mobility.
- My cousin Betsy had her baby on Oct. 7, also the birthday of my bro Isaac. Congratz to Nick, Betsy and baby Grace!
- Wednesday marked two years since my dad died. I miss him. It´s still a shock, every day it is, but I think it´s easier to accept as time goes on. It hasn´t seemed like that long, though. I think part of it had to do with me being back in Mexico -- where I was when it happened. Memories are more urgent if you´re surrounded by the same sights, sounds and smells of when they were made.
- I´ve been closely following the elections, and I´m embarassed to say this, but more so than Mexican news. It´s like getting a nasty addiction to the greasiest McDonald´s food.
I´ve been back to Mexico about three weeks now, and I brought my cat, Baxter. He´s a manx, which means he has no tail -- he was born without one, as most manxes are. Some manxes have little stubs, but Baxter, nada. I had never taken him aboard an airplane, and I was nervous he would be crying the whole time (since I kept him under my seat in a Pet Taxi) and bother everyone, but in fact he was fine -- even better than a car ride, which he loathes.
Baxter enjoys Mexico so far. I haven´t noticed any strong reaction to Mexico City´s pollution or altitude. But he was full of matts, his whole body. I took most of them out before I brought him to MX, but last week I had to shave his bottom half. He´s not bald, but he looks more like a baby lion. The pix below are before he was s
I live on the third floor of a giant, old house. The whole top floor is a patio but it has a large studio room and a normal size room, where I sleep. The top floor has an opening to the rest of the house to bring in light to the first floor (which also has an open-air patio). A concrete beam sits perpendicular over the opening, and a slanted ledge parallels the side. The opening is protected by a metal fence, but being a cat, Baxter´s curiosity took over and he walked through the opening of the fence and out onto the beam. Fine. But he also walked out onto the slanted ledge, and being a clumsy, clawless (all four paws) creature, he started to slip down the ledge. Luckily, he scurried back to the fence and crawled back onto the patio before he fell, but it was a close call, so we´ve put barriers so he can´t try to kill himself again; it´s about a 30-foot drop.
Because of his curiosity, Baxter has to stay in my room all day, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. But when he does get to wander around and explore the patio, he´s ecstatic:
Ahmed, Baxter, Mathilde and I.
A wild manx, ready to go for the prey (butterfly).
Just so they wouldn´t get jealous of so many cat pix, I´ve included a pic of our dogs back home: Caly, Sheba, Star, Clarice.
Wanting to exploit the comforts of a wood stool, Baxter has second thoughts: a jacuzzi filled with raunchy water on the left and a razor-sharp plant on the right threaten his mobility.
10 October 2008
Votes, pesos and cacti
One of the great things about Mexico (among many) is the variety of fruits and vegetables. It´s guayaba season right now and Wednesday I got a kilo of the small, green bittersweet fruits for about 5 pesos. It´s also nopal (cactus), carrot, apple, avocado, orange (as always), tangerine and onion season, among others. Unfortunately, when you eat imported fruits and veggies in Minnesota, most of the time they taste bland, with little texture and crispness. Apart from that, they´re probably genetically modified. When I was a freshman, I was in the cafeteria with a buddy from Kenya and he was complaining that the skin on the orange he was eating was about an inch thick. "It´s probably genetically modified," he said.
Speaking of modified -- holy crap, the peso hit 14.30 to the dollar on Wednesday!!! The global markets taking a hit from the US´ sinking economy. Just last month, the peso was at a multi-year high against the dollar -- 9.50. at this moment its´13.05 to the dollar. To give an idea -- I pay 2,500 pesos per month for rent. I paid the equivalent of $263 greenies last month, as opposed to $175 this past Wednesday, when my rent was due. Of course, I get paid in pesos, so it doesn´t matter as long as the rent is the same. I suppose a lower value of peso is good for gringos converting dollars into pesos. But I doubt it will be for long, as inflation will probably catch up and the price of everything will rise.
Anyway, I got my ballot E-MAILED to me the other day. How cool is that? You don´t even have to leave home to vote, at least in Minnesota. Each state is different, but you can register and request an absentee ballot with little reason other than "I will be away on election day" and voilá, print, vote and mail (postage paid). I think Minnesota is one of only four states that pays your postage.
Speaking of modified -- holy crap, the peso hit 14.30 to the dollar on Wednesday!!! The global markets taking a hit from the US´ sinking economy. Just last month, the peso was at a multi-year high against the dollar -- 9.50. at this moment its´13.05 to the dollar. To give an idea -- I pay 2,500 pesos per month for rent. I paid the equivalent of $263 greenies last month, as opposed to $175 this past Wednesday, when my rent was due. Of course, I get paid in pesos, so it doesn´t matter as long as the rent is the same. I suppose a lower value of peso is good for gringos converting dollars into pesos. But I doubt it will be for long, as inflation will probably catch up and the price of everything will rise.
Anyway, I got my ballot E-MAILED to me the other day. How cool is that? You don´t even have to leave home to vote, at least in Minnesota. Each state is different, but you can register and request an absentee ballot with little reason other than "I will be away on election day" and voilá, print, vote and mail (postage paid). I think Minnesota is one of only four states that pays your postage.
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