Sublime Surprise

GRAD SCHOOL PEP TALK

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:51:51 -0600

collab: pony-oh and WSWCgradschool

Absolutely. Without a doubt.

In Which Karen and I discuss China and Africa and iPhones

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:24:20 -0600

Karen: who did you interview this week?
Me: Maj. Gen. Chenghu of the PLA, Amb. (ret.) David Shinn, some student group
Karen: PLA?
Me: People's Liberation Army - China
Karen: What was he doing in [Colorado]?
Me: Annual conference held by the Center for China-US Cooperation. Which is run, ironically, by a Taiwanese professor. He was talking on China's growing role in Africa.
Karen: Oh wow. How was that? What's at stake for them in the motherland? I have a book abt that I need to read!
Me: Resources. Resources, resources, resources. They love them some oil and rare earth metals. They'll get in bed with Mugabe and al-Bashir for it, too. And it's seriously undercutting our efforts to promote good governance and human rights, too. Why should Malawi get a loan from us if it's conditional on government transparency and anti-corruption measures if they can go to Beijing and get the same package with no questions asked?
Karen: Ding ding. Good job, China.
Me: Ding ding. Ironically, that's the sound my phone makes when you send me a message. And that phone was made in China. Probably with rare earth metals from a conflict zone in Africa.
Karen: CIRCLE OF LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE

God, yes. Tell me bout it.

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:03:37 -0600

God, yes. Tell me bout it.

An official excerpt from today's State Department press conference about Andrew WK's Middle East party mission

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 09:27:43 -0600

Q: And then secondly -- and this is a really kind of bizarre -- there's an entertainer who goes by the name of Andrew W.K. who says that he has been named or appointed by the State Department to be a cultural ambassador to appear at some event in Bahrain. Do you know anything about this?

MS. NULAND: And here I thought we were going to get through this whole briefing without that point coming up.

Q: Oh, you do -- you do. Is it -- is it true? You have something?

MS. NULAND: I do have a little something on this. So we had a Bahraini entity that approached the embassy about co-sponsoring a visit by this guy, who I take it is pretty popular there in Bahrain. That was initially approved, and then when more senior management at the embassy took a look at this, the conclusion was that this was not an appropriate use of U.S. government funds.

Q: Is that -- is that -- did -- would they -- the government would have paid for his trip over there had it -- (inaudible) --

MS. NULAND: I don't know what the details of our sponsorship were -- (inaudible) --

Q: Can you explain why it was -- was it -- I mean, his -- (chuckles) -- that the -- was it -- was the -- it was decided that it was inappropriate to send someone over there to Bahrain to represent the United States whose hits include, you know, "Party 'Til You Puke" and things like that? (Laughter.) Is that -- is that why it was -- is that why it was decided it was inappropriate?

MS. NULAND: Thank you for sharing that. I think --

Q: No, is that -- is that why?

MS. NULAND: I think the conclusion was when they looked at the body of his work that we didn't need to be part of this invitation. I'll leave --

Q: (Inaudible) -- and just hold on -- just to make clear, it was -- the invitation was actually never extended to him?

MS. NULAND: Frankly, I don't have the details. There may have been some preliminary conversations with him. But he is not going to be going to Bahrain on the U.S. government's dime.

Q: All right.

section9: hollye83: Slick Willy would very much like to see a...

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:56:27 -0500

section9:

hollye83:

Slick Willy would very much like to see a binder full of women.

Never. Gets. Old.

You should see the one he has. No one else’s comes close.

Mongol Rally Postmortem

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:45:31 -0500

My brother did the Mongol Rally, a race from London to Mongolia this summer. Here’s a write-up on him in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

LITTLE ROCK — The farthest Little Rock resident Michael Buckner had ever ventured from home was Seattle. The last time he went camping, he broke the poles to his borrowed tent. Driving a car with a manual transmission was as foreign to him as, say, Kazakhstan.

Yet, Buckner found himself with three other Arkansans traveling across Europe and Asia - including Kazakhstan - in July and August this summer, camping most nights and, yes, taking his turn at the wheel of a car with no automatic transmission. It was all part of Mongol Rally 2012, a car rally that begins in England and - about 10,000 miles later - ends in Mongolia and which organizers bill as the “greatest adventure in the world.”

Buckner joined the team of Chase Green of Fayetteville, Joseph Vance of Sheridan and Alyx VanNess of Little Rock, who dubbed themselves The Arkansas Chuggabugs and laid claim to being the first Arkansans to enter and complete the competition, all the while raising $2,000 for a couple of charities.

Buckner and friends went through 16 countries, ruined three tires, wore out the aforementioned transmission and changed it out in Kazakhstan for $100 and were almost jailed after refusing to pay a $500 bribe to clear a speeding ticket. Not all say they would do it again, but Buckner would.

“When you get to the finish line, you say, ‘Man, I would love to go back and do all of that,’” he said.

The Mongol Rally is an annual event that began in 2004 with six teams. By this year it had grown to 297 teams from 39 countries. Requirements for entry are few: Teams must use a very small vehicle with an engine displacement of no more than 1,200 cubic centimeters, which makes crossing about a third of the planet all the more challenging. Teams choose their own routes for the roughly 10,000-mile journey from England to Mongolia.

The teams also must raise at least $1,000 for charity. Team Arkansas Chuggabugs members said they raised about $1,000 for Heifer International and a like amount for Lotus Children’s Center in Mongolia, which cares for abandoned children.

Green was the driving force behind the Arkansas team. Now 25, he became enchanted with Mongolia in high school when thumbing through atlases trying to imagine what the maps of countries on the page looked like in real life. He went on to study geography in college.

“I had fallen in love with the idea [of going to Mongolia] my sophomore year of high school,” Green said. “It’s one of the least populated places on earth and everywhere was gorgeous.”

The population density of the nation is about 3.27 people per square mile compared with the United States, which has a population density of 51 people per square mile.

Mongolia didn’t disappoint.

“It blew my expectations out of the water,” Green said. “Every 30 kilometers is the most beautiful scenery you’ve ever seen in a completely new way.”

Green learned of the Mongol Rally when he was a senior in high school in 2004, and figured that would be his ticket to Mongolia. “If you Google Mongolia enough, there’s only so many things that pop up.”

It wasn’t until a little over a year ago that Green began planning in earnest for the Mongol Rally 2012 when he had enough money to pay the entrance fee, which is about $1,600.

Green recruited two friends who later got jobs and had to resign from the team. Joseph Vance, a friend from Green’s days at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts in Hot Springs, signed on.

“If you have the stomach for it, I recommend it,” Vance said.

Buckner and VanNess signed on earlier this year. Buckner, who obtained a degree in digital film making from the University of Central Arkansas last December, said he was won over by the chance to use the trip to make a documentary. Buckner, with the help of the other team members, hopes that it will be finished early next year for entry into film festivals and for sale to the general public.

As part of the planning, Green had to locate a small, affordable car. Through rally connections, the team obtained a 2003 Suzuki Ignis, a four-door subcompact for about $1,600.

They also found a roof rack that came from a Mercedes van. It hung over the roof line by several inches, causing team members to bump their heads getting out of the car, Vance said.

That, however, wasn’t as problematic as getting used to not only the manual transmission but, at least starting out in England, driving on the opposite side of the road. Vance was the only one with experience driving a manual, but even he was unprepared not only for driving on the left side of the road but sitting on the right side of the car as well.

“It was real scary,” Vance said.

On a lighter note, because the instruments were reversed, team members spent much of the trip turning on the windshield wipers when they wanted to turn on the headlights, he said.

The four spares they carried came in handy because they ended up using three of them, Buckner said.

The clutch was unable to hold up under the misuse of four drivers and gave out in Kazakhstan. It was the one time Vance thought they wouldn’t make it. It didn’t help matters that a spare Suzuki clutch was unavailable. But Kazakhstan ingenuity won the day.

Mechanics fitted an Opel clutch into the Suzuki and the team was on its way, only $100 lighter for the trouble.

“It was amazing,” Buckner said.

Green and Vance miss the Suzuki, which they were required to leave with organizers who turned it over to Mongolian authorities to re-sell in Mongolia.

“That little guy, he went through everything,” Vance said. “We treated him so bad, and he still took care of us.”

Not everything went smoothly. VanNess dropped out in Georgia about a month into the trip, fearing the misery she felt would be a bane to her teammates.

“Everyone had a different experience,” she said. “I had gotten to the point where I learned what I wanted and grew as a person.”

Besides, VanNess said, her teammates could use the extra space they gained with her departure. “Our car was incredibly tiny and cramped. I knew they would appreciate the extra space.”

Indeed, on the last three weeks of the trip, the remaining teammates took turns sleeping in the back seat.

Both VanNess and Vance were struck by the friendliness of the people they encountered.

All described chance encounters with people who invited them into their homes, introduced them to family and friends, and shared their food.

“It blew me away how generous everyone was,” VanNess said.

Their least favorite country was Azerbaijan, where a speeding ticket could only go away with a $700 charge, that included a bribe, they refused to pay, the team recalled. The police didn’t jail anyone but did hold Green’s visa and other travel documents before finally relenting.

Buckner missed having ready access to the Internet as well as the concept of free drink refills that is regular part of life in the United States. The cash economy took some adjustment for people used to debit cards. Eating food on a budget was interesting. Pickled tomatoes, for instance, became a breakfast staple.

Showering was an infrequent relief.

Green liked that the adventure had higher aspirations than just completing a journey.

“That’s the idea that stuck with me, that you also were raising money for charity,” Green said, adding that fundraising was the most difficult part of the planning. “That money wouldn’t have been raised otherwise. People don’t raise money to go to Costa Rica and donate to a charity.”

Vance said it would be difficult for him to travel anywhere as a tourist now. “Full immersion is the only way to go.”

Teacher’s strike in Chicago just got real.

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:04:19 -0500

Teacher’s strike in Chicago just got real.

Perfect.

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 13:10:55 -0500

Perfect.

All I heard when I was in Brussels was that a day trip to...

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 02:30:47 -0500

All I heard when I was in Brussels was that a day trip to Cologne wasn’t worth it, that there wasn’t enough to see or do and the city has no life.

I found exactly the opposite. Fantastic museums, a city that is well-managed and clean, with a history both amazing and tragic. I absolutely loved it. Wish I had enough time to visit again.

One of the things I love about being in Brussels is its...

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 07:37:46 -0500

One of the things I love about being in Brussels is its connections to international rail. Being one of the smaller countries in Europe helps, as does its location. Since Belgium was a little slow to develop its own connections with neighbors, the Dutch, Germans and French basically pitched in to connect their networks via Belgium. Thalys, the Belgian high speed equivalent of the French TGV or the German ICE, has only 10% of it owned by the Belgians.

Long story short, I can get to Lille from Brussels in 30 minutes for only 14€, each way. BAM!

My girlfriend is spending her summer working at an NGO in Vienna...

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 05:49:11 -0500

My girlfriend is spending her summer working at an NGO in Vienna that documents the stories of trafficked women, and helps them gain working skills and learn German so they can gain legal residency in Austria. This isn’t a notice from her NGO, but from one out there that is working on same of the issues. I like it.

DIA Conspiracy Theories = Sigh of Relief

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 13:21:56 -0500

French EU Worker: Ah, you are from Denver?
Me: (Please, please, please don't ask about the shooting) Yes.
French EU Worker: You have a, uh, what you call it? Cursed airport?
Me: This is the first time I've ever been glad to hear someone bring up those crazy conspiracy theories.
French EU Worker: Quoi?
Me: Nothing. So, yeah. About DIA...

Hello. I was perusing the Colorado tag and happened upon your post. I'm from the Denver-metro area and while reading, your second point resonated with me. I grew up very near Columbine and my father was one of the first police officers called to the scene. I've felt irked all day by the dredging up of past memories that help little with the tragedy at hand. I thought your simple statement (and post) summed it up well and it's nice to think someone else noticed. Thank you. That's all.

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:17:00 -0500

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m still a mile high newbie. But it’s telling that no one talks about Columbine in Denver. It’s a trauma that’s still very real and visceral, and it’s rubbed off on me in a lot of ways. The fact that news organizations and people with personal agendas try to make that connection is shameless and with done utter disregard for the emotions and memories of people in Denver and Colorado overall.

They should know better.

I’ve been living in Denver for the past year or so of my life, and it is one of the most...

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:46:00 -0500

I’ve been living in Denver for the past year or so of my life, and it is one of the most gorgeous, wonderful places I’ve ever lived. The people are kind, the weather is amazing and it is impossible to have a bad day when every time you look to the west you see towering mountains with snowcapped summits.

What happened in Aurora is shocking. There’s simply no other word for it. I could barely get any work done today, trying to track down my friends and family to make sure they were okay. Now that I know they are, I’ve had some time to think about what people are saying and how they’re reacting to the news out of Aurora:

Colorado has open-carry laws. This means that anyone who isn’t banned from owning a gun can have one on their hip or under their am, so long as it is visible. Guns are a part of Colorado culture, regardless of whether you believe that to be good or bad.
Stop with Columbine. It is still within living memory of nearly everyone in that city, and the comparison serves no purpose beyond sensationalism, some cheap pull for boosted readership or emotional responses.
When you take an event that has resulted in the death of others and politicize it for your own selfish, short-sighted reasons, you’re doing nothing less than making your stand on the corpse of someone’s dearly departed.

"The first issue is with the nature of the project – as I infer from the title on page one (the cover..."

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:56:00 -0500

“The first issue is with the nature of the project – as I infer from the title on page one (the cover page) of your research design, you are interested in the ‘GEEK-TURKISH’ conflict. Those Geeks are creating some dreadful problems for the Turks, as well as for NATO, so this is a worthy topic for research, but I don’t know how you are going to get at all of their nefarious activities without going undercover and penetrating their networks. Although I can imagine that you could do so easily without too much disguise (I’d say you were a natural for undercover work in Geekdom) it may not be possible within the limits of an MA thesis.”

- - Unnamed MA Social Science Methodology Professor.

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this hard at myself before. One friggin’ typo, and this is what I got in return (Plus an A!)

I’m back.

Photo

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:11:17 -0600

The Smallest Bit Helps (click)

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:08:00 -0600

The Smallest Bit Helps (click):

So, my friend Megan is participating in the Cherry Blossom 10-mile run to raise funds for Run for Congo Women. A 501(c)(3) organization, funds raised will help women in the DRC who have lost everything with direct financial assistance, job skills training, rights awareness education, and the resources to find the stability and self-sufficiency they need to get back on their feet. The smallest contribution will help. If you can’t contribute, at least reblog.

A Conversation About Reagan At The Berlin Wall

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:59:00 -0600

Me: I have to interview the guy who wrote "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall" tomorrow. PRESSURE
Drew: MR GORBACHEV TEAR DA CLUB UP
Me: MR GORBACHEV WATCH THE THRONE
Drew: MR GORBACHEV GO SUPER SAIYAN
Me: MR GORBACHEV DIE DIE DIE MY DARLING
Drew: MR GORBACHEV RELEASE THE KRAKEN
Me: MR GORBACHEV SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Drew: MR GORBACHEV HOW'S ABOUT A PIECE OF PIE DING DONG DING DONG
Me: MR GORBACHEV SHE WON'T LIVE FOREVER BUT THEN AGAIN WHO DOES
Drew: MR GORBACHEV COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE
Me: MR GORBACHEV HAVE YOU EVER DANCED WITH THE DEVIL IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT
Drew: MR GORBACHEV I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS
Me: MR GORBACHEV IT'S CLOBBERIN TIME
Drew: MR GORBACHEV THEY PEED ON YOUR RUG DUDE
Me: MR GORBACHEV ATTICA ATTICA ATTICA
Drew: MR GORBACHEV AS FAR BACK AS I COULD REMEMBER I WANTED TO BE A GANGSTER
Me: MR GORBACHEV THATS LIKE YOUR OPINION MAN
Drew: MR GORBACHEV DOES MARCELLUS WALLACE LOOK LIKE A BITCH
Me:MR GORBACHEV COME IN HERE DEAR BOY HAVE A CIGAR YOU'RE GOING TO GO FAR
Drew: MR GORBACHEV DID YOU EVER KNOW THAT YOU'RE MY HERO
Me: MR GORBACHEV JUMP AROUND JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP
Drew: MR GORBACHEV LIVE FROM NEW YORK IT'S SATURDAY NIIIIIIIIIIGHT
Me: MR GORBACHEV C C C COMBO BREAKER
Drew: MR GORBACHEV ITS-A ME MARIO

petervidani: STOP PIPA AND SOPA

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:40:32 -0600

petervidani:

STOP PIPA AND SOPA

What he said.

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:41:35 -0600

What he said.