Did you hear about the woman who was trampled at a Florida Walmart in a crush of people trying to grab 29 dollar DVD players at the after-Thanksgiving sale? If you haven't, here's the blurb:

ORANGE CITY, Fla. - A mob of shoppers rushing for a sale on DVD players trampled the first woman in line and knocked her unconscious as they scrambled for the shelves at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Patricia VanLester had her eye on a $29 DVD player, but when the siren blared at 6 a.m. Friday announcing the start to the post-Thanksgiving sale, the 41-year-old was knocked to the ground by the frenzy of shoppers behind her.

You know, this is sad. I don't understand how people can care more about saving a few bucks on personal electronic gear that about human life, but that the way it is.

Posted by andrew at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Dudu xay, mamao com leche, susu esi.

In any language, it's the perfect beverage, for me anyway. I've had a papaya milkshake fetish for years. It doesn't matter where I am, in Cambodia, in Samoa, in Brazil, or even here, I'm always on the lookout for some combination of papaya, milk and ice.

In Samoa I had access to supercheap, unbelievably good papayas (I even had a tree growing from underneath my my house). When I picked up an excellent blender and started making them myself, I was in heaven.

If you lucky enough to live in a place where you have access to decent papayas and you have got yourself a blender, you can use my recipe, if you are so inclined. Here goes.

Get yourself a papaya a little larger than your fist. You want a papaya that smells a little sweet when you put your nose up to it. Some of the best are from Hawaii and have an orange flesh. If the flesh tone is more pinkish, like most of the ones from Mexico, don't bother with it. Your milkshake will be bland and you'll never appreciate the sublime nature of this particular beverage.

Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and carve out the flesh of the fruit and stick aside in a little bowl or something. You want to use about half as much ice as papaya. Throw the ice into the blender. Then pour milk, and you can choose whatever type of milk you like, my favorite being vanilla soy, so that it fills up to about 3/4 the level of the ice. You can always add more later. Toss in the papaya and start 'er up. The blender should struggle because you want this thing to be as thick as possible. Only add more milk if the blender is stuck and needs some lubrication.

That should be it. It's as simple as it is satisfying. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

Posted by andrew at 01:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recently saw War Photographer, a documentary about one of my personal heroes, James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever. The film was both moving and incredibly disturbing, but having pored over Natchwey's photos, I was expecting that.

What I really enjoyed about the film was seeing the methodology of this great photographer. The documentary film makers attached a micro-videocamera onto Natchwey's Canon 1-V so that you could see over his trigger finger right into the action he was shooting. You could see him change shutter speeds and aperture settings. I saw that he used 400 speed film, which is a surprise since his pictures are so sharp. You could see how meticulous he was about taking notes, and about keeping his camera clean in less than ideal circumstances. You could see how he traveled. You could see how interacted with his subject matter. You could see how close he was to the action. It was amazing.

If you want to check out some of Natchwey's work, and I highly recommend it, though it's not for the faint of heart, here are some sites:

James Natchwey's site
www.jamesnachtwey.com/

Salon: James Nachtwey
http://dir.salon.com/people/feature/2000/04/10/inferno/index.html

Times - James Natchwey
http://wtc10048nyc.free.fr/174.html

Posted by andrew at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

You might not have noticed this, but between the 11th of November and the 24th of November, failed to log a single entry. It's not that nothing happening. Plenty happened. It's that I was away from the computer, didn't have access to the web and basically blew it off. Here's the question: Should I go back and fill in the missing days with the stuff that happened to me, post stories and pictures or should I just get on with my life?

Posted by andrew at 01:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today I was pushing my mom's bike down the street to get the tires filled at one fo the local servos and I had two epiphanies (brought on either by the incredible scenery or the extreme cold).

One was that it was nice to walk down the street and not worry about being attacked by vicious dogs. Just as I was having that thought, I was scared out my boots by a piercing bark from a boxer that was thankfully tied up the porch of the house I was walking by. So much for that.

The second one was that even though I'm 33, I feel very young. I feel more like 22. I don't know how to explain this. Maybe I don't feel like I thought I would at 33 when I was 22 and thinking about how I should or would feel at 33. Whatever the case, I don't feel old. I like this feeling. Who wouldn't, right? The thing I wonder about is how long is going to last. One day, perhaps, I'm going to look in the mirror and not feel 22 anymore. Maybe I'll be 55 and feel 55. What then?

Posted by andrew at 01:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

...they'll kill you!

This paraphrase comes courtesy of an acquantaince of my mom, George, whom we ran into yesterday at the checkout line at Basha's supermarket here in Sedona. George was explaining to my mom that in 1970 the US government commissioned a 30 million dollar food study. George: 30 million dollars in 1970 is like 1 billion dollars today (it's really only about 150 million).

In this study, the government discovered that cooked food is respsonsible for every disease that we have today (he said "every disease"). The government, fearing the destruction of the restaurant industry, shelved the report. However, according to George, the study was recently leaked by a government insider to the folks who are fighting the FDA over the issue of supplements and whether or not they should be regulated. Aha. A conspiracy.

I know this is just the sort of thing that keeps left-wing wackos up at night, that the government is hiding information that would protect us and keep us healthy. And maybe some of it is true, but so what? The truth is, obesity is responsbile for many (not all) of the health problems we face in this country and if George would just amend his hypothesis to "fried food" instead of "cooked food", people like me (people of reason) might not dismiss him out of hand. Then again, we're talking about Sedona here.

Thus enedth today's lesson. Excuse me while I go cook a turkey burger for lunch.

Posted by andrew at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My mom dragged me down to the neighboring hamlet of Cottonwood so that we could pick up a new DVD player for the den at the Walmart. I've got her hooked on movies, signed up for Netflix and all that.

I was wandering around the cat toy aisles, as I'm wont to do now that I'm back in the good ‘ole USA, and I spied this toy that I couldn't live without. It's a long wand, about 20 inches long attached to a longer piece of leopard print felt with a piece at the end that looks like a gigantic fly fishing lure with feathers and such.

The cats go crazy for it. Insane, really. They are on a mission to kill it. I can get Mak running around in circle until he nearly passes out from exhaustion, such is his devotion to annihilate this little toy. Both Mak and Fil perform mighty aerobatics in attempt to bring it down out of the sky when I flutter it above their heads. Oh, what fun we have.

It's far and away the best four dollars I have ever spent in my life.

(if you're interested, you can find out more information about the SmartyKat™ WildStreak™ Wand )

Posted by andrew at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

What would you do if you were me?

Ok. So I'm on the cusp of making a major life decision here. The Peace Corps is done (at least for the moment) and I have a lot of options for my future, which is great. I don't have any debt, I have very few liabilities, except my kittens (despite the fact that they think they are an asset), and I have an incredible amount of freedom.

Here the are the basic options:

1) Travel
2) Go back to school
3) Go back to work
4) Do nothing

Each of these options is attractive in a number of ways. Well, except number 3. I
don't really want to go back to work. Let's discuss.

Number 1 is the most appealing. Of course. Courtesy of the Peace Corps, I have 1132 dollars to use to buy a flight anywhere United or their myriad partners flies. I'm not not going to use this. The only question is where and for how long. Originally I had planned to fly to northern Brazil and work my way down the coast through Uruguay and eventually return home via Buenos Aires. But now I'm leaning towards India. Then there's the length of time. I'd like to go for more than 6 months, but I have my kittens to think of. I believe I will be disowned if I leave my little charges in the hands of their surrogate mom for any longer than 3 months. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

Number 2 is also very interesting to me now. I've always planned on returning to university to work on a Masters degree. The problem now is where to go and what to study. I don't want to get into huge debt, so I'll probably stay in California where I have "residence" and go to a public school which is the most affordable despite spiraling fees and an absurd cost of living. My heart is telling me to go with my passion and study photojournalism. My head is telling me not to be an ass and get an MBA so I can get a job when I graduate. I'm torn. I want to decide soon because I don't want to take both the GRE and the GMAT. One of those insufferable tests is enough for one lifetime. I made almost nothing this year while I was in the Peace Corps, so I will be at the top of the list if I apply for financial aid, a huge benefit of Peace Corps service, to be sure.

Like I said, number 3 is the least attractive option. I'd like to never work another day in my life. If I chose number 3, I think I could make it another 2 years without having to set foot in an office or take orders from some self-important jackass, which I'm assiduously trying to avoid. On the other hand, I could go into business for myself, which is immeasurably more appealing. Here are the options:

Start an import business and bring in crafts from Southeast Asia. This is something I've flirted with for years. It will probably never make me rich, but it will satisfy my wanderlust and my need to be productive. I've always concerned about the viability of such businesses during a downturn in the economy. Can someone explain the Bombay Company to me?

Start my real estate empire. I have some money for a down payment, If I can just decide where I want to live, I can actually buy a place. Of course, this will dictate that I get a job to service the mortgage, but I can deal with it, as long as I'm building equity, which is always fun.

Teach English abroad. Yes. Teach English abroad. I could make myself very useful and go teach my native language in another country. Again, this brings up more questions. Do I want to do it for the experience or to make money? Making money will lead me to Japan, Taiwan or Korea, while and interesting experience would send me off to Cambodia or Eastern Europe. Tough decision. Japan is the frontrunner at the moment.

Take an actual job in a real place. Despite appearances, I actually do have some marketable skills and worked in a few impressive places (CNN, for example) that look really good on a resume to prospective employers who don't know any better. I could take a job in DC or NYC, settle down to a middle class, materialism-driven life and do what everybody else is doing. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I could write. I know I have a few books in me. There's at least one cookbook, one children's book and several travel books. I have published a few travel articles and I have considered making that a full time career but haven't been willing to make the plunge like some of my more courageous friends. I feel like I need more seasoning, however, the more I travel and the more I write, the better I feel about my skills and my chances of success if I make a go of it.

Doing nothing is essentially what I'm doing now. And I must tell you, I'm enjoying it plenty. It's been easy for me to do nothing both because of inertia and because of my sister's wedding, which made it hard for me to make a decision that would necessitate me being away from San Francisco where the ceremony was taking place. There's a 99% chance that I'm departing for India some time in the next 6 weeks so that will put the decision off even further, which is fine by me. I know I can't do nothing forever, but I can enjoy it while it lasts.

So that's it. These are the choices, at least the ones that I can see with my socio-economic, Judeo-Christian blinders on. Any insights anyone out there has would be really interesting for me to hear.

thanks,

Andrew

*If you don't get this reference, you don't watch enough TV

Posted by andrew at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

The most secure currency in U.S. history was introduced into the economy on October 9th, as a newly redesigned, colorful $20 bill was issued by the Federal Reserve System.

You can find this blurb on the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing website.

It took a week for counterfeit 20s to start showing up in circulation. Some woman named from Missouri was caught passing fake twenties back on the 16th October. God bless the heartland of America.

Posted by andrew at 02:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For all of us who have had shitty low-paying jobs (or even worked at McDonalds, as I have) comes the that Merriam-Webster is not going to back down from the pressures of the corporate fast-food behemouth and that the word "McJob" is here to stay.

The dictionary now defines "McJob" as "a low-paying job that requires little skill and provides little opportunity for advancement." The CEO of MickeyD's, Jim Cantalupo, calls this a slap in the face to all the workers in the fast food industry. Whatever, dude. Let's be serious here. If McDonald's cared a wit about their employees they wouldn't consistently lead the charge against raising the minimum wage. Put your money where your mouth is Mr. Cantalupo. And I say that as shareholder.

I first heard the term "McJob" from the work of Douglas Coupland. I can't remember if it was Generation X or Shampoo Planet, probably the former, but I will always associate it with him, even though Merriam-Webster cites the New York Times and other papers around the world as the source and doesn't mention Coupland at all. Whoever coined the word, it's brilliant because it's accurate, funny, and you instantly know what it means.

Posted by andrew at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Don George has a dream job. He gets to travel around the world and write about what he sees and does for Lonely Planet. He also gets to interview famous travel writers. Before I left for Samoa, I was able to see him talk with one of the giants, Jan Morris, on the campus at Berkeley. I also was lucky enough to take a travel writing seminar with the man around the same time.

On his website (part of the LP world), you can find transcripts of many of these interviews and his weelkly columns. His latest is about the politics of travel after 9/11. It's interesting even though he comes across as a Lonely Planet wonk, but since they are signing his (hefty) paycheck, I can't really find fault with him.

For anyone who has traveled abroad since September 11, 2001, his article elegantly confirms what we've already experienced, that travel security is a pain in the ass and that most people in the world are able to differentiate between Americans and the actions of the American government. For anyone who hasn't, and I suspect that is most of you, the article is a window in the realities of the world outside the headlines.

Posted by andrew at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you want to check out a few interesting articles about safety and security of the Peace Corps volunteers, check out Casulaties of Peace on the Dayton Daily News wesbite.

This special section includes dozens of articles with commentary and letters the to the editor. It's fascinatiing stuff, even it is somewhat misleading. The first story, Mission of Sacrifice is subtitled "Peace Corps volunteers face injury, death in foreign lands". Well, some might. Many more face injury and death in this country.

Keep in mind when you read the article that there have been something like 250 PC volunteer deaths in the 40+ year history of the organization. (There have been two deaths amongst PCVs in Samoa since the PC arrived there in 1967. Thomas Barakatt drowned in an underwater cave in 1994 and Alan Banner was killed in a shark attack in 1972). Also keep in mind that volunteers are not serving in Switzerland. Everyone knows there is element of danger when they volunteer, just as people who sign up for the military are aware that they may see combat.

For what I experienced in Samoa, the Peace Corps does almost everything possible to ensure the safety of volunteers. The policies sometimes go way to extremes, but the Peace Corps has blanket rules which must be adhered to by every country, which is absurd, but that's they way it is. If the Peace Corps had it's we'd all be wearing bike helmets 24/7.

Here's part of the response from Peace Corps Associate General Counsel H. David Kotz. (you can read his whole response here).

Finally, it is important to recognize that in the Peace Corps’ 42-year history, more than 170,000 Americans have served in 136 countries, almost always under conditions of hardship. The Peace Corps works in some of the least developed countries and in some of the most remote areas in the world. Health, safety and security risks are an unavoidable aspect of volunteer service. Our challenge is to operate the Peace Corps in a way that minimizes risks and maximizes security, while also providing a meaningful experience for our volunteers and their host communities — a challenge the Peace Corps has been successful in meeting. As situations and world events inevitably change, the Peace Corps will continue to adjust procedures and develop new systems and policies for safety and security that reflect the needs of the time.