More Public Art

Shoe Shine $15 Pesos

There are in Parque Enriquez fifteen or twenty shoeshine stations staffed by shiners of all ages, who provide a first rate shine for $15 pesos.
The shiners first scrub the shoes with soap, thoroughly dry them, paint them with dye which they brush when dried, add three or four applications of polish, buff with the clasic [...]

D. C. Corruption

Corruption in Washington D. C. has reached such an unprecedented level that the FBI has increased from one to three the number of squads assigned to investigate members of congress and their benefactors.

My Favorite Internet Cafe

A couple of weeks ago and internet café opened a couple of blocks from the dump. That in itself is completely unremarkable as there are internet cafes in almost every block.

This one, though, is now my regular. It, I assume, is run by members of a family as they are each endowed with [...]

Expatriate Interviews

I was recently contacted by a person associated with the website Expatriate Interviews who had happened upon the blog. She asked if I would answer their interview questions. I asked that she send me the questions and I would take a look to see if I was interested.
She did, I did, and [...]

Gold Diggers of 1933

Last evening I attended a University of Veracruz Film School showing of Gold Diggers of1933, a grand production of a rather silly story played out by an all-star cast. Amongst the actors’ names you may recognize are Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, Joan Blondell , and Ruby Keeler. The musical is a part of the [...]

Xico

Having walked around Xalapa enough to gain a pretty good understanding of the interconnections of the arterial streets and where they head out of town, I decided it was time to venture a bit further afield. Additionally I had not driven my pickup since I arrived here August 20th and thought it should have a [...]

Here are a few shot of some public art in my neig…

Here are a few shot of some public art in my neighborhood.
At left is a monument to mothers, in which is bronze woman is holding a child aloft.
So here’s a bronze guy with his arm raise. I didn’t read the plaque but it must be a monument to the workers of the world.
And how [...]

Richard Armitage and Robert Novak

Why did Richard Armitage, who we have learned was the first to “out” Valerie Plame, go to Robert Novak with the information?
I suspect because Robert Novak has been a chief republican media whore for almost his entire “journalism” career.

Grupos Religiosos Radicals

According to Diario Xalapa there are some folks here, characterized by the Diario of representing “grupos religiosos radicals”, who are objecting to the fact that the biology text book for junior high school aged students includes a discussion of the human reproductive system, as well as pregnancy and STD avoidance.
I am at a complete loss [...]

Mes de Patria

September in Mexico is the Mes de Patria, September 16th being independence day. The streets and buildings of Xalapa, and other Mexican cities and towns I assume, are festooned with the red, green, and white colors of the flag, actual flags of all sizes are posted everywhere, and many folks are wearing Mexican flag [...]

The Wobblies Rise Again

I read yesterday that Starbucks’ employees in New York City are represented by the IWW and that Starbucks’ employees in Chicago have notified the company of their intent to seek IWW representation. You know me, I think that is really cool. “Solidarity Forever” in “One Big Union.”

Purposeful Walking

You may remember that last March I reported that a Diario de Yucatan photographer, in the paper’s continuing campaign to shame city authorities into repairing pedestrian hazards, had caught me in mid-stride stepping over such a hazard and that the picture subsequently appeared in the newspaper.
I had commented that one of the things I [...]

My Chairs

I’ve been meaning for some time to post a picture of these really cool chairs. The chair on the left I bought at a tourist shop at Parque Santa Ana in Merida for $500 pesos and the one on the left from a roadside vendor just outside of Campeche for $300. peosos.
The wood supporting the [...]

The Birds of Parque Juarez

There is lots of public art in Xalapa so I have begun to make a point of photographing it as I happen upon it during my explorations.
Here are a number of birds that regularly inhabit El Parque Juarez, which I have mention a few times and which is the main downtown city park, flanked by [...]

Vanity Fair Counts Soup on The Weekly Standard

This is a very creative, funny, and well deserved piece of mischief aimed at that neocon propaganda rag The Weekly Standard cooked up by the folks at Vanity Fair magazine.I urge all of those with access to the magazines to participate.

I’m A Member of Betty’s Video Club

OK. I have successfully fulfilled all of Betty’s Video Club requirements to become a renter in good standing.
My first selection was “Good Night and Good Luck”, a George Clooney project which recounts Edward R. Morrow and his staff at CBS taking on Joseph McCarthey. Being essentially ignorant of popular culture I had [...]

More Government Paid "Journalists"

Here’s an example of why one should be very careful about believing what one is told about Cuba by the USA media, or anything else for that matter.
The Miami Herald reported last Friday that the USA government has been paying “journalists” to write negative “news” stories about Cuba. The Miami Herald has fired [...]

Mas Los Lagos

Here’s a shot of one of the many bridges spanning Los Lagos
This shot shows hot each stone in the curb and retaining wall flanking the walking paths has been carved to fitr its neighbors.
On of Los Lagos includes ducks which live in this colonial duck condo.
And here’s one of the boys who had been riding [...]

Trying To Rent A Video

Unlike my deluxe accommodations in Merida, the dump came essentially unfurnished, so I do not have a TV. I am, however, able to watch videos on my old Dell laptop with a 15 inch screen, which I plug into the mini sound system I bought in Merida.
Having watched each of my seven [...]