Somethink2Say in El Paso, Texas

My False Desert Dichotomy

2010-09-02T05:33:00.001-06:00

I hate to think that I'm a bad person;
uncaring, and unkind when it comes to Juarez
and all the killings and mayhem over the past few years,
if not centuries of unrest in that impoverished land.

That I don't care about the plight of immigrants

who enter our borders under cover of darkness

or remain here past the limits of their visas

is absolutely true.

I don't care much about their plight.

They have sown the seeds of criminal activity

regardless of their altruistic or nefarious intents

for being in the USA without documentation.

Legalizing marijuana in the USA
might be the answer to those drug wars across the border,
but the criminal activity in Mexico is so deeply entrenched
and gangsters always know how to find the element
of coercion in order to make their money.
Thing is, we are talking big money
copious amounts of dinero.
Can loss of just that revenue really hit them that hard?
It's a tough question.
Having all that money remain within the US
can't be a bad thing, but is it justified?
Yeah, I think marijuana should be decriminalized.
I don't believe anything major will happen
except more jobs will be created
(but those will go to illegals)
and more taxes will be earned for our treasury.
Maybe legalization will hurt the drug cartels
but I don't think it will slow them down much.
Some people are afraid we will become a nation of zombies
if we legalize marijuana.
Look around, we already are to a large degree.
More people than you realize have been smoking marijuana
for entire lifetimes, and will continue to do so, legal or not.

I know undocumented immigration is illegal.
More than half the population seems to know this.
I'm not sure about the rest of them,
it's as though they have racism blinders on
and cannot see past anything but the color of their own skin.
Our President does not seem to recognize this illegality...
his insanity seems to be showing
while filing suit against Arizona
and fairly endorsing illegal immigration.
And this against the concensus of the greater population.

Recently I ran across this post at
Cinco Puntos Press' Blog.
I left my comments,
but they have obviously not made it past some censor.

On that note:
Bloggers who encourage comments
but do not allow comments of dissent are cowards.

So I've taken the opportunity to post my thoughts
to response here on Amor por la Frontera:

If your perception is that immigrants are demonized, it is directly related to all of those illegal immigrants you wish to defend. Entering our country or remaining illegally after visas and green cards expire is a crime and the laws should be enforced. When the proper channels are sought and utilized, nobody will slight the immigrant for following the letter of the law. This is the proper procedure to follow in every major country the world over.

Sneaking in to our country is a slap in the face to those who seek and utilize the proper immigration channels. This sense of entitlement needs to stop, and those who support these illegals and their criminal activity need to look again at what constitutes immigration -vs- merely skirting the paperwork and creating these never-ending downward spirals of undocumented people demanding U.S. citizen rights which they rightfully do not hold in these United States of America.

The policy of enforcement is exactly what our country needs in order to protect us from those who wish to do harm. Indeed, who are your neighbors? Without proper documentation, you may never know.

The idea that immigrants want to come here for work and opportunity is not missed, but not all work and opportunity is above-board, or legal. Most of these so-called innocents are here to work and support their families, trying to make an honest living? (wait, honest? Whose social security card are they using to obtain that job?)

By making that first illegal step across our borders each illegal immigrant is taking a step toward perpetuation of ignoring, indeed flaunting our legal system, and the lawful operations therein which we, as citizens, must all follow.

I know I am not a bad person.
Love for the Border?

Why do I feel so ill?
Perhaps all the fear-mongering
as spread by our past administration has finally sunk in.
I'm afraid of who may cross our porous borders
with relative ease and lack of scrutiny.
I am embittered by those who bloat our schools
and fill our hospitals,
who drive throughout our cities uninsured.
These illegals who take the dole
using forged documents,
while tax-paying citizens who might need a hand up,
a bit of assistance, are left out in the cold.

My eyes have begun to gloss over--
I find myself disheartened by all of this.

Old Friends and New Lovers

2010-08-21T08:28:00.000-06:00

Or New Friends and Old Lovers?

Mi familia, mis amantes, mi vida, con todo mi amor.

Lately I have been stuck in the social networking cycle via facebook....
and I do mean stuck.
It's addicting.
Yes, I realize I'm possibly the last person on earth to sign on.

I had always been reluctant to go there,
as I suspected I would find every person from my past and present
clamoring for my attention.
Yes, thank you very much;
I realize that I live and lie incredibly within my own mind
where these fantasies do exist!

My biggest fear was that those I've disconnected with
would be coming back to haunt me asking to be my friend.
I'd be all....hell no, I never liked you to begin with!
Or the tables would be turned,
and I'd find my long lost cousin or
an aunt I used to write letters to in 4th thru 7th grade.
I'd attempt to befriend them only to be shot down with,
where the hell have you been all these years?

Oddly, the first facebook friend request came from
Kinky Friedman, a few years ago
before I ever got a facebook account
Yeah, this guy...

(I stole this image from uulyrics.com)

I should have taken him up on the offer,
because now he's got too many friends and I cannot get in.

By the way, if I were gonna be some old Jewish male
cowboy, warped author, musician, cigar smoker I would choose to be
Kinky Friedman!
Maybe Chinga Chavin is the real Asshole from El Paso,
but I rank a close second.

So...where am I headed with all this talk of friends and lovers?

I have always had close relationships among family
and I have found myself even more involved with distant relatives
now using facebook
because we did't find the time to talk on the phone
or email very often, or write letters.
By collecting us all in one place we have more involvement
more real-time interaction
more love to contribute.
That totally rocks!

Here I sit talking straight to the joy
of how my life has become enriched by this simple tool
as I've found my way back to my closest, dearest friend from the past.

Of all the things I've seen and done over the years
this surely ranks at the top of my list.
I have missed that woman, my friend, my sister, my lover.
(No, not in the physical sense) but I had ya going, eh?
It feels fantastic!

And I thought I was going to title this little blog entry
"I Hate People"
Boy, am I a strange bird, or what?
Don't answer that.

A word of advice about facebook:
Don't start playing games there
unless you have impeccable self control.
You don't really need a virtual farm
hatchling eggs, or colored feathers...
No, you don't!
I can't tell you how many times I've started up a game module there,
got stuck playing for hours
deleted the game modules
only to go back to restarting again 2 days later.
Seriously...I have to remove them cuz I've got no self-control.

(stole this from ehow)

I justify the damn monotony of it all and keep going back
because my blood pressure tends to go way down after playing these games.
Yeah that's it.
It must be that eerie low monotone voice saying 1 minute...Go!
Or the screen turning gold, in effect penalizing me,
for amazing speed!
Stupid blitz!
Hell, I thought it would cause my BP to spike!
Stop trying to convince yourself, Reesa...do not go back.
LOL, you know I will.

Countdown to....by Masters of the Obvious M.O.T.O.

2010-08-07T12:12:00.001-06:00

Paul, I gotta love you man....
but this song has haunted me all summer
and as much as it made me laugh so hard
the first time I heard it,
like, what?
Ten years ago?
Now, I don't like it!
Not one little bit!

Sorry I missed you when you came through Las Cruces.
M.O.T.O. spam...just for you my pal.
I hope you are having a great time
and keeping your mis-fires
right in tune with the rest of the world.
Hahaha.

My only explanation for missing your show.....
well, this may give you some idea:

Countdown to Menopause

Sag baby sag,
it's a
countdown to menopause

Sag baby sag,
it's a
countdown to menopause

Here it comes
Here it comes
Here it comes

Now Baby don't you weep

Here it comes
Here it comes
Here it comes

Now Baby don't you weep

Sag baby sag,
it's a
countdown to menopause

Sag baby sag,
it's a
countdown to menopause

Here it comes
Here it comes
Here it comes

Now Baby don't you weep

Here it comes
Here it comes
Here it comes

Now Baby don't you weep

Here it comes
Here it comes
Here it comes

Here it comes
Here it comes
Here it comes

Now Baby don't you weep....

Eat the soy, Reesa.
Just eat the damned soy!

Pink Petal Pricks and Yellow Faeries

2010-07-17T11:08:00.000-06:00

Pink Prick - Bosque del Apache, New Mexico

Desert Faeries - Fabens, Texas

Dagger over Pass - Franklin Mountains State Park, El Paso, Texas

Red Ants - Gila Wilderness, New Mexico

Black Hole - Bosque del Apache, New Mexico

Digital photography is wonderfully frustrating
in that we end up with an overabundance of images,
and not enough time to sort through them all.

I ~~shutter~~ shudder to think of the actual number
of unedited images I've got waiting on assorted hard drives
jump drives, storage drives, rewritable discs, and dvds.
Thousands upon thousands?
Probably.

Little by little, I will edit and compile them all,
as they continue to endlessly multiply
like the rat bastards they are.

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights

2010-07-16T07:09:00.005-06:00

Freddy Fender sang it best.
But his lyrics have nothing to do
with blame for making me blue.

I guess the title reminds me
of all the partying intermingled with
all the kicking back of my youth
after high school here in El Paso.

"Kicking Back" it's what a lot of us do.

Kickin' Back by Tamara Thomas

Little did I know that I'd be wasting away time
well into my adulthood.
I thought I'd be different by now--
responsible,
respectable.
Or did I?
Nope, just some grand delusion
convenient to say, but I'm well aware....
wasting comes from inaction.

Yesterday I asked a friend's 10 year old son
what he had been doing this summer
and he answered "Kicking back."
It's a term I've emulated for years,
but hadn't heard from a young kid's mouth
probably since I myself was a kid.
I guess it struck a chord
I felt like some alter-piñata self
filled with sweet dread and regret,
being clubbed by the innocent.
Admittedly, that could have been the beer
and sun combo and not just some cliché
wreaking havoc with my psyche.

Oh, I really do manage
to get plenty done, but
I pick and choose my goals
though at first blush
they appear to have little meaning....
most falling into routine and drudgery.
All too often
the task of listing books for sale
falls into that description
and I have to step away from it.

I redeem myself by taking time for others
baking something special for them;
a short quick call to say I care,
but don't want or need to talk further.
Thinking about you, Love ya, gotta go!
Short, sweet and simple....
Who knew that a batch of fresh made beef-jerky
could create such joyous smiles
on the faces of 12 and 46 year old boys?
Inviting a friend for dinner or
a trinket I've made or photos I've printed
just to make them blush
does the trick to keep me sound.
It leaves a lasting impression, believe me.

These are my small motivations
such minutiae to keep my mind and heart fresh.
Somehow it works for me
even as I rue my seemingly endless inertia.

I am my own contradiction
happy to wend my way through this life
or idle away the time in reading
or writing, or art and the art of cooking.
These I often consider as "doing nothing"
although they accomplish much.
They get me through the wasted days
and my Brett, yes my Brett
gets me through the wasted nights.

I've been Kicking back
for too many years...
or have I?
Sometimes all one needs
is their own little pep talk
to make the world right again.

Hip, hip, hooray!

Displays of Patriotism?

2010-07-02T13:09:00.005-06:00

Where's my Stars n Stripes?

I created that city fireworks scene a few years ago
using ms paint (the most basic version).
I used to enjoy "painting" with paint
(it's so freaking difficult).
I need to get back to it.

Here's some fireworks from last year's Chamizal 4th Extravaganza

oooooooooooh!

yaaaaaaay!

wow!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

huh?

Whoooweeee!

applause!

See you at the KLAQ street fest tonight.
I'll be the one trying to take pictures of Foghat
and watching Brett get silly about Cheap Trick.

Oh, and there will be fireworks.

Yay!

Pepe the Bad One

2010-06-24T12:20:00.004-06:00

Just the other day I was at the thrift store and I ran across this book:
Pepe the Bad One.

I had to have it. I love the illustrations by H. Tom Hall but more importantly, it was just such a strong reminder of what's been going on around El paso lately, and I can't help but think of that kid who was shot by Border Patrol earlier this month. Pepe the bad one...well I think that rock throwing boy was Sergio the bad one, although the media is gonna allow people to try to paint him as a saint.

I haven't read the story yet, but I'm sure we will find out that Pepe ain't so bad after all. I can't help but wonder if Pepe is going to throw rocks or run into trouble with the law, or have a fight with gringos in this book. It was published in 1966, and the authors Frank and Agnes Johnston Dazey lived many years in Mexico. It states on the flap of the dust jacket that these authors wrote many screenplays and wrote more than half of the Mickey Rooney Andy Hardy series. I'll bet they spin a great yarn.

Yeah, I'm pre-judgung this thing, but I'll be sure to let you know just how bad Pepe turns out to be.

24-7 Nothing but BP Twenty Four Seven

2010-06-10T10:17:00.003-06:00

Damn it to hell, what's up with this country?

We've got BP spewing oil all over the Gulf of Mexico
killing wildlife and industry, and people's spirit.

We've got BP killing illegals along the Mexican Border
causing spewing of opinion left and right
no end in sight.
Human rights, human rights?
Doesn't a Border Patrol Agent
have human rights?

The country needs a change.
A big change, with cojones to follow through.

I'm really sick of what big business
manages to do to our political process
with all that money they use
to sway and coerce our elected officials
with the greasing of the palms
and the sliming of our shores.
Our country has become
a stagnant parody of itself.
The political "we" scoffs at our own laws?
Scoffs at protecting our own,
to the detriment of our land
our resources and our people?

No way should we be drilling in the oceans.
There are too many alternative energy technologies available
to continue on this current path of self-destruction.
What has happened with the British Petroleum fiasco
is shameful, harmful, and outright pathetic.

Enough is enough.

No way should illegals enter our country
and not be deported immediately on discovery.
These illegal trespassing criminals
deserve nothing more than any other criminal deserves.
No way should a BP agent be chastised
for attempting to uphold our federal laws
in regard to patrolling our border!

I'm sick of the rhetoric,
I'm sick of the posturing,
I'm sick of the Mexican President's opinion
on matters of US policy.
Take care of your own for once
and stop trying to be the stepchild
of a United States who will not claim you, Mexico.
You are an orphan, and you must find your own way.
American citizens, and legal immigrants
should not have to foot the bill
for your inadequacies.

Isn't a secure border
a matter of National Security?

Damn it to hell,
No justice.
I'm sick of it all.

How to Break Free of the 2010 Tiger Curse

2010-06-05T09:32:00.004-06:00

I'm not exactly positive the above title is appropriate,
but I want to break out of 2010 and go right on to 2011.

This year has been trying on many levels.
I blame it on the Chinese Horoscope I read in January...
it basically spelled out for me 9 months of bad luck
and 3 fairly decent months this year.
Who believes in such hooey?

Well, I'm sorry to say
that I'm right on track for those predictions.
I'm a Tiger and this is the year of the Tiger.
I guess that causes some major clash
in the psyche of the netherworlds
and ruins my year.

Not everything has gone wrong,
maybe because my husband is not also
a Tiger, but a Dragon--
and his good Karma is squashing my bad.
Yeah, he's destined for 9 good months and 3 bad.

Do I know how to pick 'em or what?
Wait, who believes in such hooey?
Not I!
Nope, no karma, no fate,
all odds of 50/50
no gods.

Astrology...
hmmm, I may just have to pay closer attention.
Really, Reesa.
How stupid can you get?

Wait, did I just say all odds of 50/50?
That's some wisdom from my Sister-in-Law.
The more often I hear it
the more I agree with it.
Something either happens or it doesn't.
50/50.

You want to redo the tile in your shower?
50/50 chance that there will be
some plumbing problem to go along with that.
I was on the losing end of this scenario last month.
And it ain't over yet.
Now I've also found a cracked drainpipe and
some major repair work ahead.
That skews the 50/50
or does it?

Need to go to Juarez for some dental work?
50/50 chance that you'll get shot down in the streets.
I will not be testing this one
but I sorely need some dental work
and this is the year for Tiger pain
according to that damned horoscope.
Oh hell, I'm getting depressed.

My swamp cooler looked like it was ready
to spring a leak when I looked at it in February.
It was so coated with hard water deposits
all gunked up and rusting.
50/50 chance it would be serviceable.
A lot of elbow grease in March and
a little can of marine coating for the pan
and some minor fixture replacement in April.
I dodged the bullet of a huge expense
and she started beautifully in May.
Hopefully I can eke out another full summer
on that maintenance, hey...50/50 chance
of getting this thing to give me
another full summer in 2011 too.

Yeah, I'm an optimist
when I'm not a pessimist.
See, there's that 50/50 again.
My Sister-In-Law is Brilliant!
That Chinese Horoscope is a bunch of hooey!

50/50 chance it is wrong!

A Mighty Wind

2010-04-01T08:40:00.007-06:00

An Easter Story from 2009.
I vow not to repeat this scenario on Sunday...
damn the winds,
I'm going to get my confetti head this year!

On this Easter Sunday I have foregone the tradition
of having children crack cascarones upon my head.
I normally derive exquisite pleasure from this ancient ritual.
That look, as they “sneak up” to attack you with forceful,
tiny blows…their little faces ejecting peals of laughter
as you stare at them indignantly for having done you wrong.

Today I am lost,
with no stew of colored bits of paper to surround me.
I mourn for those confetti eggs my nephews so lovingly designated for me
by writing my name on them.
They may still sit in the carton,
inevitably settling on some other, less-appreciative, head.

Scent of 7-bone wafting from the grill
cannot entice me to venture outside.
I am all about the womb-like safety of my home.
Untold disasters could befall me here,
but I try not to think of my natural graceless fumblings
and their ability to wreak havoc in my life.
No, today I think only of infernal wind
and the sensation of air blowing at me—
static, cold, dry, and volatile.
I can still hear it out there, horribly gusting and surging.
Incongruously, my husband thinks it is a beautiful day.
Foolish soul that he is,
he has left me here to face my demons alone.
Secretly envious, I sit here sipping hot tea.

This irrational sensation has followed me
to the beautiful beaches of California,
the icy frigidity of Indiana and Alaska,
and here in my favorite desert oasis.
It literally creeps me out.
Oh yes, I have always known,
there is the Devil in that wind.

Through blasts of sand
stinging my eyes and skin
as I attempted to walk home from school,
the dirt-deviled tumbleweeds swirling about me,
forcing my small self: 1 step forward, 2 steps back.
Boulders tumbling down the Franklins at break-neck speed,
pushed along with awful force towards the 54
as I dodge them in my father’s Trans-Am.
Bent remains of a massive billboard, steel-beams twisted
and tortured by this freak of nature
will forever be embedded in my mind.
My broken and bent garden, plants with tattered leaves,
and chewed-up blooms suffering in their silent screams.
I am sickened to think they may not survive its force.
I hate the wind.

What is it that makes it so?
It has always been this way for me; a deep-seated fear
of the almighty El Paso wind.
Keeping me indoors yet again,
the thought of it on my skin instilling some ill feeling....
an impending sense of doom.

It may have something to do with Marilyn Monroe
standing over a heating grate in that all-too-famous photograph,
holding down her skirt for dear life.
As girls we always wore shorts beneath our dresses
to avoid such embarrassment, forcing us
to be embarrassed anyway by our grandmothers
who disapproved of such ill-mannered dressing.
More than likely the root of all my hatred for wind
could stem from my first memory
of bursting from my mother’s loins
on a blustery, thunderstruck evening,
meeting the world with my shock of black hair,
my non-stop shrieking at the horror of it all.

April is the cruelest month....

Kenny Hansmire apologizes...Cook? (mum's the word)

2010-02-09T15:36:00.004-07:00

Mr. Hansmire seems to have realized his mistake
in talking smack about El Pasoans,
and I am willing to accept his apology.

Apologizing was the right thing for him to do,
and it's only right for me to forgive him his indiscretion.

I am really sorry I didn't stick around
long enough to witness the final quarter
of Texas vs the Nation.
I missed the finale, and missed our own UTEP alum
Cornelius Brown winning the MVP award.

After hearing the comments made by mayor Cook,
and the rest of the trash talking
that ensued on the radio broadcast
about my great city and my paisanos,
I just couldn't take it...I was freaking pissed off!
I almost threw my 8 dollar beer on the ground
before I stomped outta there,
but slightly calmer and thirstier brain cells prevailed.

Maybe it isn't too late to save face.
Maybe it's not too late for this game....

I am ashamed of our Mayor...
John Cook, you should recuse yourself from office.
Spare yourself the embarrassment of
so-called "leadership" of my city.

Ah, I've been looking for this all day--
here it is: Raul Martinez of KVIA 7 and
Raul's Rant

Mayor John Cook, Where's my Apology? Texas vs the Nation?

2010-02-08T11:20:00.011-07:00

Texas vs the Nation?
Who cares, who cares?
Well, I'll admit I did care.
I cared a lot!
I cared enough to go out and purchase a ticket
to watch this college showcase game
and root for our Texas boys.

Now?
Well, let's just say...
I'm all about this:
The City of El Paso vs Mayor John Cook!

Mr. Cook, this butt's for you.....

As I sat there in the Sun Bowl stadium, doing my part for this cause, I heard the disparaging comments on radio 600 coming from our disgraceful politico head honcho yet again. Mayor Cook should be ashamed at how poorly his tourism development works. He should be ashamed that his head is so far up his rear he cannot look himself in the mirror and see that this event should have been hyped by those who are paid to do so. Who dropped the ball? Really?

So, the mayor spends the evening before the game discussing the future of this event, only to find that he is the individual who is severely lacking when it comes to supporting our city. How much time did he spend previous to February 5 discussing advertising, hype, tourism and the like with Hansmire etal? Talk about epic fail...John Cook, you owe me and the other people who supported this game a huge apology. I saw so little about this game in Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, or ESPN magazines, not to mention the lack of hype online. The EP Times managed to get some hype going during the week of the game, but where's the year round advertising? Where's the blurb in the AAA Texas guide for events in El Paso? Where do we see El Paso Tourism doing the job it is paid to do?

I was so ticked off by Cook's and other's comments on the radio, that I left the game during the 3rd quarter. My husband was hard pressed to calm me down after that. I'm still fuming mad about this

...and another thing!
When UTEP prevents us from parking on their property to attend sporting events held on their property, what are they saying to us? When tickets are advertised at one price, and $5.00 surcharges are added to that price, what are they saying to us? Service charge for me to drive over to the box office on campus and stand in line to buy a ticket? That really chaps my hide!

UTEP is notorious for double booking or overlapping events at the Sun Bowl and the Don, or having sporting and concert events occuring on the same days. It never works out well, and some aspect is going to suffer for it. Of all the idiotic moves, scheduling this event on a UTEP basketball game day is injurious to UTEP basketball and to the city, as seen in this fiasco.

To schedule it the day before the Super Bowl is adding insult to injury. Planning a Super Bowl party is a highlight of the year for many folks in the USA, and it costs money! Discretionary funds to see a game like Texas vs the Nation won't come so easily at a time like this, when there's beer, sodas, smorgasbords, snacks ~~and betting pools~~ to contribute to.

As to the comments about this town not having what's needed to attract an NFL team...Just look at how many families sport their $100 football jerseys every Sunday. From the littlest kids to the adults, they're all sporting their colors for the NFL.
Texas vs the Nation is not the NFL.

I was really looking forward to see Trindon Holliday run like the wind, and glad to see his abilities were not hampered by the Nation's defense. Having UTEP's Cornelius "Cornbread" Brown named MVP was icing on the cake.

Maybe this game won't be back in El Paso next year, and I will be sad to see it go. Certainly, Mayor Cook will not be back again when his term is over, and that's a change I'll embrace with open arms.

Centennial of the Mexican Revolution

2010-01-14T15:37:00.021-07:00

For events scheduled January 2010--May 2010
City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs

Pass of the North (Juarez/El Paso) History
GET A FREE EDUCATION

Ask anyone today about what they know of the Mexican Revolution, and you'll find a lot of misinformation, speculation, and or dumbfounded stares. Seriously, ignorance runs the gamut. Ignorance on the subject runs through my own brain, and I have been fighting to get it out of there. It is too much to take in at once, this Mexican Revolution. I did attempt to read the Katz book on just the subject of Pancho Villa, but I fell at least a thousand pages short. I'll have to get back on that one when I have a year to kill. Sometimes when discussing this Revolution I'll hear comments about how there is a need for another Mexican Revolution. Right now. Others will tell you it is actually going to happen some time in this 100th Anniversary year.

An uprising of the oppressed people right here along our border? Again? What did the first one really accomplish if indeed there is to be a second? The more I've read, the more interested I become in this history of ours, yet it is often felt as a sore which I cannot nurture. What has passed is done, and tomorrow is another day, not meant for me to dwell on. I decide now, in this moment, to cease thinking of that perilous past in relation to the perilous future, instead listing some local history events for your own consideration. Learn something. I hope I can.

These are ongoing free events at El Paso Museum of History, UTEP, El Paso Downtown Public Library Border Heritage Center, with more to come.

Welcome

click to zoom

Lectures

click to zoom

LECTURES
The Mexican Revolution in the Greater El Paso Borderlands

The El Paso Museum of History, with funding from Humanities Texas, presents the second in a series of lectures that will highlight events of the Mexican Revolution.

The Significance of the Borderlands in the Mexican Revolution: A General Overview--January 21, 2010, 7:00 p.m. Presented by Dr. Oscar Martinez, University of Texas at El Paso.

Booker T. Washington in El Paso during the Mexican Revolution--February 18, 2020, 7:00 p.m. Presented by Dr. maceo Dailey, University of Texas at El Paso.

The Experiences of Children during the Mexican Revolution--March 25, 2010, 7:00 p.m. Presented by Dr. Yolanda Leyva, University of Texas at El Paso.

Each lecture is held at the El Paso Museum of History located at: 510 N. Santa Fe, El Paso, TX 79901. An R.S.V.P. is suggested for each event. Cost to attend the series is free. For more information contact Sue Taylor (915) 351-3588, taylorsl@elpasotexas.gov

Exhibits

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EXHIBITS

Pancho Villa and his involvement with the Mexican Revolution--
February 2010. The Border Heritage Center of the El Paso Public Library will display its rare book collections and periodicals from the Cleofas Calleros Collection: Cabalgando con Villa: Illustraciones de Luis Sanchez; Historia Grafica de la revolucion, among other Spanish titles. The exhibit is open to the public during library hours and is free. The Border Heritage Center is located in the Main Library at 501 N. Oregon St., El Paso, TX 79901. For more information contact Marta Estrada at (915) 543-5440.

Children of the Revolution--
March 2010. The Border Heritage Center of the El Paso Public Library will have on exhibit a Soldadera in costume along with photographs from the Mexican Revolution. The exhibit is open to the public during library hours and is free. The Border Heritage Center is located in the Main Library at 501 N. Oregon St., El Paso, TX 79901. For more information contact Marta Estrada at (915) 543-5440.

¡Viva la Revolucion! The Money of the Mexican Revolution--
March 18, 2010. The El Paso Museum of History hosts a traveling exhibition from the American Numismatic Association Money Museum. The bilingual exhibit features actual coins and currency produced across the Mexican States during this tumultuous time period. The exhibit is open to the public during library hours and is free. The El Paso Museum of History is located at 510 N. Santa Fe Street. This exhibit is free. Visit the Museum's website at www.elpasotexas.gov/history. For more information contact Barbara Angus, Curator at (915) 351-3588 ext. 7009.

The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts Presents:

Up Against The Wall: Posters of Social Protest*
April 15--August 7, 2010. Rubin and L Galleries: Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at UTEP. An invitational exhibition that features a group of international graphic designers who use posters to engage important contemporary and social issues. The exhibition raises awareness about the role of graphic design in spreading the ideals of the Mexican Revolution. This bold and colorful display of 100 posters from a group of 12 high-profile graphic designers highlights the power of design to engage people in creative thinking about world problems.

Solidarity and Struggle: The Politics of Graphic Design in Mexico during and after the Revolution*
April 15--August 7, 2010. Project Space: Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at UTEP. The exhibit showcases historic posters from Mexico's foremost political workshop, Taller Grafico Popular borrowed from the collection of the University of New Mexico Art Museum. These will be on display alongside several copies from 1911-12 of the illustrated political magazine El Hijo Ahuizote from Special Collections at the Library of The University of Texas at El Paso.

*Opening Reception for Up Against the Wall and Solidarity and Struggle
Thursday, April 15, 2010, 5:00--7:30 p.m.

For more information contact the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, The University of Texas at El Paso at (915) 747-6151or via email: rubincenter@utep.edu. Visit their website at: http://rubincenter.utep.edu

Educational Events

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EDUCATIONAL EVENTS

The XV Contemporary Mexican Literature Conference (2010): "The Mexican Revolution in Contemporary Literature"
March 4--6, 2010. This annual event will focus on the impact of the Mexican Revolution on diverse literary and cultural manifestations produced in contemporary Mexico. cholars from the U.S., Mexico, and other parts of the world will meet at the University of Texas at El Paso to present papers on these issues. Panel discusiions will take place at the Thomas Rivers Conference and will be open to the public. The XV Contemporary Mexican Literature Conference is sponsored by BorderSenses, the Revista de Literatura Mexicana Contemporánea, and the Department of Language and Linguistics at UTEP. For additiional information please contact: Willivaldo Delgadillo at wdelgadillo@utep.miners.edu. (915) 747-7043 or visit www.utep.edu/rlmc

5th Annual Teacher Institute--Teaching the Mexican Revolution
June 25--26, 2010. The two-day teacher workshop will feature workshops with experts and tours of local sites significant to the Mexican Revolution. The Center for History Teaching & Learning at The University of Texas at El Paso invites all grade K-12 educators, including teachers, librarians and media specialists, and technology coordinators in public, public charter, private, or religiously affiliated schools, as well as home schooling parents. The Institute will take place at the El Paso Museum of History and is free. For more information contact (915) 747-5878 or visit www.utep.edu/chtl

Films

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FILMS

100th Anniversay of the Mexican Revolution Film Series

The El Paso Public Library presents the special film series. All films begin at 6:00 p.m. and are held at the Main Library located at 501 N. Oregon St., El Paso, TX 79901. Admission is free. For more information please contact Mike Payan at (915) 543-5446 or Gloria Aguilar at (915) 543-5412.

Old Gringo (1989)
January 13, 2010. A famous aging and dying American writer goes into Mexico to capture some of the anarchy that was revolutionary Mexico. (119 min.)

And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003)
February 3, 2010. Hollywood makes a deal with Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa to film his war and recreate his life, but he is rather shrewd and manipulates the media instead. (112 min.)

Zapata: Amor en Rebeldia (2003; in Spanish; 1st half of mini-series)
March 3, 2010.
Zapata: Amor en Rebeldia (2003; in Spanish; 2nd half of mini-series)
March 4, 2010.
Features the life of Mexico's revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata who works for the son-in-law of the dictator Porfirio Daz. He is in love with the daughter of a wealthy land owner and Zapata realizes that their relationship cannot be a lasting one as they face many problems. (258 mins.)

The Frozen Revolution (1973)
April 7, 2010. Mexico: Documentary presents a comprehensive socio-historical analysis of Mexico, and of the government's failure to live up to the promises of the revolution. (65 min.)

Mexico: Revolution and Rebirth (1999)
May 12, 2010. Tells the story of the Mexican Revolution that was waged by Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata and others, and the modern nation that was born plus the problems that face the nation today. (50 min.)

Museum of History screening:

Mexico Revolution Sites in El Paso, Volume 1
Saturday, March 6, 2010, 2:00 p.m. The El Paso Museum of History in cooperation with Jackson Polk will present a free screening of Capstone Production's video Mexico Revolution Sites in El Paso, Volume 1. The video features a walking tour with historians Leon Metz and Fred Morales of sites in El Paso that figured prominently in the Mexican Revolution. This event is free and open to the public. The El Paso Museum of History is located at 510 N. Santa Fe Street. For more information please contact Sue Taylor at (915) 351-3588 or taylorsl@elpasotexas.gov

Stakeholders

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Team Coco

2010-01-13T18:42:00.015-07:00

Conan O'Brien image by Mike Mitchell.

Coco Pops (notice the eerie resemblance?)stolen from this site: The Start of Something

Female Coco de mer seed stolen from this site: wikimedia commons

Coco Monkey stolen from this site: darkhorse

Coco Krispies stolen from this site: The Retroist>

Go, go Coco!
Jay Leno sucks!
I'm With Coco

Artistic Endeavors

2010-01-08T09:12:00.008-07:00

I've got 2 brothers with artistic talent up the ying yang.
Their artistic styles are actually like ying and yang.
Art is subjective, but artistic prowess runs in their genes.

My father earned his first award in art for a painting he did
called "Evening Chores" outside Spartan Mill in S.C.
but he never pursued a career in art, though he dabbled in it
over many years. I wish he had done more.
I was told that my mother also had artistic abilities.
Hell, maybe I've got the same genes lurking within,
but I didn't practice the craft my entire life as my brothers have.

The elder

My oldest brother Stan Turner resides in Las Cruces, New Mexico
and has been working as a graphic artist for too many years for me to count.
He's created designs for so many major companies it boggles my mind
(well, yes my mind is easily boggled, but pay that no never mind!)

I adore this painting he created of his lovely pit bull Heddy.
She was a loving and devoted family member for 11 years.
We all miss that pretty pooch.

Most recently I've seen his work for the Las Cruces
"Whole Enchilada Fiesta"
t-shirts and fiesta branding.
He also designed
High Desert Brewing Company's
new t-shirts and their website.
Stan has a knack for capturing puppy whimsy.
"Bloo & Earl" are a fine example of this.
For more about Stan's work and his freelance rates go here: Stan Turner

The younger

My youngest brother Sam Turner has a knack for hiding out,
being extremely difficult to track down,
and creating some wild and sick designs.
His claim to fame: "2008 NACCC champion of Foot Down"
Sam has been seen drinking from an artificial leg
riding a stuffed pink pony,
and being a cycle jerk all over the mile high city.

Here's Sam doing his infamous "Superman"

Last I heard he was working on some new art
and will have another gallery showing in Denver.
This may be one of my favorite works by Sam
although I do still have some early comic cats
he drew in 7th grade.

Sam spends most of his time on a bicycle, or sleeping.
It's a wonder he manages to get any work done,
but he did manage to create the "Fire up the Blades" cover,

and has done several poster and t-shirt designs for
Canadian metal heads 3 Inches of Blood.

Sam also creates designs for Never Summer
Snowboards, skateboards and apparel,
as well as his varying original designs with very limited print runs.
Sam and a couple of his buddies run
Denver's Track Shack @ 1338 Tremont.
The Plastisol Free For All is a yearly t-shirt design contest
run by Indy Ink.
Sam won the People's Choice Award for his overly sick
"Black 100" design in 2008.

I claim bragging rights.
Way to go bro's!

Taking a Bite out of Philly

2010-01-04T07:54:00.002-07:00

Dallas managed to take a bite out of Philly on Sunday. 24 bites, if you're counting..and I'm counting! Those among our circle of friends who are Cowboys fans took several bites...delicious bites of cheese steak sandwiches.

When we gather to root for our team, it often becomes more about the food, and less about the outcomes. Ha ha...who am I kidding? It's ALWAYS about the outcome! Our friends Paul and Maria have an ongoing invitation to watch the Cowboys in their home. They are gracious hosts, week in and week out, for almost every game. We have a blast. Sometimes it's a potluck affair, others it's a pizza party experiment, or ribs are on sale and we smoke large slabs of 'em. You name it, we try to mix it up and sometimes the party starts at a different home, but we all manage to gather together and yell for our team.

This week with the Cowboys clan taking on the Eagles we decided to make some Texas style Cheese Steaks and take a bite out of Philly. Yeah, baby...I love a good cheese steak sandwich. No Philly green bell peppers for us, but we did use red peppers and plenty of jalapenos, onions, mushrooms, and 2 kinds of cheese.

Many years ago I worked at a little hole-in-the-wall joint called The Back Door Lounge. It was on Rio Grande at Mesa and it boasted an original cheese steak sandwich as created by Ala Haney and Dennis Calabrese. I learned to make some delish cheese steaks when I worked there; ask just about any local and they remember just how good that sandwich was. That's the place I actually got to play pool with Don Haskins (yeah he was merely placating me, but still...I'll never forget that). After 5 years of being away from El Paso, and returning in 2000 I found the Back Door beckoning again. Imagine my surprise when I found the restaurant had moved and was getting ready to re-open in downtown El Paso! I needed a job, and was right on time to start anew right where I had left off. This story is not so much about the Back Door Lounge as it is about good food...and specifically that cheese steak sandwich.

So Maria was worried about how to go about making cheese steaks for our Cowboy crowd this weekend. To make it easy, she wanted to make one huge sandwich and cut it up. No way, Jose! I told her in the typical George Lopez fashion "I got this!" Kids hate everything, some among us don't like onions, or peppers, or jalapenos, or they are allergic to mushrooms, etc., and etc., infinitum! I was willing to do individual order taking (short order cooking sticks with you once it's in your blood), but luckily there were plenty who wanted "the works" and others who wanted almost all the works without the hot jalapenos...then there's my uncle who cannot eat the mushrooms, and lastly the kids, who wanted meat, meat and nothing but meat. I was able to make several sandwiches in batches, and the rolls were real small and snack size...which made it easier to feed a bunch of us at once. Dang, I so enjoyed doing this. Imagine my surprise when everyone crowed about how good these sandwiches are! The kids? Them cute little brats liked 'em? LOL. That was truly shocking!

I had such a good time cooking, I forgot to take pictures! The ingredients I used to make our cheese steaks yesterday were not the same recipe as I knew from The Back Door Lounge, but without that prior knowledge to go on, I'd have never known really how to go about it. So here's to good people, good sportsmanship, good food, and a great recipe from a place I once worked at in El Paso, Texas.

Today I Took a Tumble

2010-01-02T18:45:00.005-07:00

I am not a gymnast, nor am I a motorcycle daredevil...but today I pretended I was Evel Knievel and attempted to jump the gorge. Actually it was just a small hole in the ground, and I was really trying to avoid falling into it. Hey, a girl can exaggerate, can't she? Down I went, and I'm gonna be sore tomorrow. Hell, I'm already sore.

For a few years my husband and my brother have been talking about the dirt bikes they wanted to buy, and they finally started the hunt and actually bought a few last year. Next thing you know there's a slew of us with bikes and we've been tearing up the desert on 'em. There's nothing quite like flying across sand and hard pack with the wide open blue skies and mountains all around. Watching my nephews start out pretty scared and getting to the point of wanting to ride all day has been an experience. I'm very lucky to have family that gets along and enjoys one another's company. El Paso is just a fantastic place to live for all year outdoor fun. It was chilly and sunny out there, the best type of riding weather.

At one time I was very irresponsible (young, dumb and drunk) and I flipped off a 3 wheeled ATV right smack into my face. Damn near tore my bottom lip off. Of course I wasn't wearing a helmet, and I was tanked up on Budweiser. I told you- DUMBASS--that was me, and pretty much every other person riding that day with us some 25 years ago. The fact that I ended up in the hospital was a pretty compelling reason to not want to get on motorcycles again, except I know how much fun it can be.

Today we still see families out with their very small children riding with absolutely no protection for themselves or their kids. I want to scream at them all and show them that photo of my H.R. Pufnstuf, head which I forced my sister-in-law to take of me when I was battered and bruised in that hospital bed. It's one scary image, like some grotesque Halloween mask, but it was so real. I know, I lived it.

It's no fun having gravel scraped out of your tongue with a wire brush, or watching your breast skin get peeled off with your hospital gown from the weeping road burns that have adhered to the cloth. I spent the rest of my days in hospital with my perky boobs hanging out for all the world to see, cuz I was just not having that fire-ant sensation of skin removal again! I'm lucky I didn't break any bones in that wreck. I flew through the air like superman, but my arms never had a chance to break my fall; I landed on the backs of my wrists, then my lower lip hit gravel and began to peel and tear the skin at the edges of my mouth. I looked like a ventriloquist's dummy, (dummy being the operative word). My chest and shoulders were burned raw. Luckily my nipples were not scraped completely off. Are you getting the picture? Good.

Now I wear full gear. Helmet, goggles, riding boots, gloves, body armor, sunscreen, and lip balm! I do not drink any alcohol out there, and I have just about the most legal fun I've ever experienced. Sure, I fell today, and my arm hurts a little bit, but I got back up, got back on that little Yamaha and sped back around to see where I had made my mistake. Ah, that's the problem...I was following Brett, and he's a freaking maniac! No, it really wasn't like that at all, but this teaches me to be more wary on certain approaches, and try to improve my skills as a dirt-biking daredevil.

Life is good!

New Year, New Attitude?

2010-01-01T08:41:00.002-07:00

Here's wishing a joyous and prosperous New Year to all!

Now to the meat of this message...what is it about a new year that invokes the desire to begin anew? As if we can stop being that undesirable individual, with all our flaws, extra pounds, procrastination, and any of the litany of our past faux pas, to become a new and improved us? What, indeed? As if by some miracle we can take this day and turn it into a fresh start. Eat some collards and black-eyed peas for luck, set goals and resolutions to not be us any longer, since we are obviously lacking, and need to improve! Do we find nothing but disdain for self, so much so that we are compelled to become something which we are not?

At what cost, this striving to be perfect? To have the bodies we and others can admire; to be healthy and fit? To have the minds we want; sane and unencumbered by stress? To give more, to exercise more, to eat better foods....It's obviously unattainable, this search for betterment, since year in and year out, we seek this "truth" only to find that we are utter failures, and in the end, we are what we are.

You've heard it a million times, you cannot change people, they have to want to change themselves. So true, and even when an individual deigns to attempt change within himself, her old habits will come creeping back in, the hard fought weight loss creeps back on and you are fat again! An ode to niceness becomes a glimmer of a ghost of that altruist within us, and our demeanor reflects what we have always known...nice is as nice does, though crab apples are hard and bitter until they ripen. Really, a new year does not give me any indication that I have ripened...so why bother with resolutions that will fail? When do we know when the time has come....when we are ripe enough to find success at resolutions?

With this in mind, I have resolved to make an effort to write in this blog, day in and day out. Something, anything, just for my own peace of mind. Writing is catharsis, and a way to de-stress and a way to stress myself out beyond belief. I will love grandly as I can, and will make no excuses for being me. I'm absolutely wonderful, in case you don't know it, and if you look deep inside yourself, you will find that you too are an awesome and wonderful person. I have no aims to lose 5 pounds, nor to get up and exercise, or attempt to change my evil ways. I will not pretend to stop looking on with disdain towards many of my fellow human beings. No, I have no such delusions set for today.

Today is my day to write. That I can do...and if I fail to keep up the charade, who will stand up and take notice?

Mexican Revolution: El Paso History in Song

2009-09-17T08:02:00.008-06:00

photo stolen from riowang blog

The El Paso region is rich in history and drama.
As an epicenter of the Wild West,
the Mexican Revolution,
a massive military contingency
our Chihuahuan desert;
this Pass of the North--
our international border
is unlike any other place.

I aim to learn more about this city...
a place I have called home for many years...
alas, with both eyes barely open.
I hope to find a little more of myself
as I experience our historic culture....

'Corridos of the Mexican Revolution 1910-1920 and Beyond'

Tonight:
Thursday Sept. 17
Museum of History, 510 N. Santa Fe,
6:30-8 p.m., free, 351-3588

Free lecture on the popular lyric-narrative folkloric music.
The presentation will offer historical recordings of ballads
made between 1904 and 1974 in the United States and Mexico.

Guest speakers include Local Historians:
Elias Bonilla, Leon Metz, and Miguel Juarez.

Part of the 100th Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution ongoing events.
Countdown to the 100th Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution

image stolen from mexicowoods.com

Do You Have a Story or Memento of the Mexican Revolution?

I have become involved in the efforts of this committee
to document and archive stories and mementos of the Mexican Revolution.

Do any of you know people who have first-hand knowledge
of the events that occurred during this tumultuous era?
If you do, we would like to hear from you.

This committee has a goal:
To archive a vast collection of interviews, photographs,
bibliographies, writings, films, advertisements, etc.
pertaining to the Mexican Revolution.

Any items or stories you might have to share
In English or Spanish language
in El Paso or in Juarez....
would be captured on hi-def dvd
and entered into the archive or time-capsule
to be revisited at a date some 60 years from today.
The committee will provide all contributors
with their own disc of what they have shared
immediately after it has been documented.
We will come to you, film your story
and or mementos, and give you a dvd copy.

Please consider sharing your knowledge
so that future generations will have access
to the important details of their heritage.

Are You Ready for Some ....

2009-09-16T10:17:00.005-06:00

Pizza?

I mentioned a few months ago
that I have been slowly working on this project
since I first read about it back in December.
Sunday was the day.
We fired up that portable pizza oven,
and here is what happened:

I scrambled Saturday night to create a Neopolitan style dough.
Having never made one, I was a bit nervous,
and waited until the last minute to go and purchase flour.
By 11 pm I had managed to throw together
2 double batches using a mix of all purpose,
whole wheat, and bread flours.
I tried to keep the hydration high,
as this is essential for this type of pizza
to be cooked at high temps.
I wasn't too sure about the amount of yeast needed
but I did document the exact weights for each ingredient
and set the doughs aside to rise.

Brett and I took off to drink a few brews
and throw darts at my cousin's house.
Well, not at her house
but we did throw them at a dart board inside her house.
By 2 am I was home witnessing with alarm
the blob that ate my kitchen....
2 extremely full bowls of dough.
I needed to transfer these into larger receptacles,
so out came the really big bowls.
The growth of this dough really surprised me,
and I was sure I had erred somewhere in my calculations.
Well, that's okay...this is a learning process
which I intend to master over time.
Maybe a little less yeast...who knows?

8 am and I hear Brett's concerned voice in my ear--
the bowl you stuck in the microwave for safe-keeping has
overflown.
Oh hell, I don't care...let me go back to sleep...
3 minutes later and I was jumping up to view the chaos.
I spent about 5 seconds pondering
over whether to take a picture of that mess.
We had just purchased a new camera
and I hadn't taken it out of the box yet.
In the end, I decided it just didn't matter.
I was surprised this dough had expanded
almost beyond control;
although it was messy, it was not a disaster.
Grabbing all that dough, punching it down
and giving it a gentle few kneads
transformed it from a bubbling experiment into
a gorgeous silky orb of sweet-smelling succulence.
Whooooo baby!
I got my game face back on!
I separated it into 200 gram portions,
placing each blob into a sandwich bag; setting them aside
to begin that incredible bulking process once again.
27 dough balls later, and we were ready!

We had planned for this day at the Raisch home,
with their refreshing pool and hottub
available to relieve stress if needed.
We had the Dallas Cowboys to divert our attention,
and 17 witnesses to the mayhem that would ensue.

I am seldom nervous, but I began flailing my arms
and causing my friends to wonder if this was a good idea.
Here we were in unknown territory,
and I had no idea how it would all turn out.
Brett had cautioned me several times,
(damn why does he do that?)
to just try this at home first,
but I wanted to see all the reactions, good or bad.
I am not afraid of failure.
It was gonna be interesting no matter what,
and we had back up food plans if needed.

At halftime, Dallas led the game and we lit up the grill.
While Paul and Brett monitored the heat,
Jon declared it was never going to get hot enough
due to lack of oxygen. Yeah, thanks, bro.

I nervously went inside and tried my hand
at rolling out the pizza dough.
Not the simplest thing to do with that wet stretchiness,
but I could see that I may actually have a decent mix
since the dough was acting just like it should.
I managed to build the first pizza onto the heavily floured peel.

We were beginning to get real heat on the pizza stones,
the top stone was getting over 500 degrees,
and the bottom stone had just hit over 400.
Once we acheived 500 on the bottom stone,
I opted to get that first pizza on,
knowing the top stone would be much hotter.
It looked good after just 90 seconds of baking,

but it was burning on one side--
too much flame coming up around the fire brick on that side,
and no charring on the bottom yet.
I panicked and took off that first pizza at just over 2 minutes.
Everyone was amazed because this really looked promising.
Jon stayed off to the side, with his doubtful eye on things.

Virginia wanted to try her hand at tossing the next pie
(she worked at Domino's when she was a teenager)
and it was her skills that literally saved the day for me.
She's a pro, I tell you.
We began to crank them out, and began calling out
to each kid and kid-at-heart for their "special orders"...
The stones began to smoke and burn red (exaggeration),
we were beginning to get into the high 600's and the hot spot was hotter!
We tried spinning the lid every 30 seconds to force the overdraft
but the hot spot was caused from my not cutting that firebrick to fit.
I'll fix that and eliminate the problem.

The pizzas were cooking beautifully
with a decent rise to the crust edge,
beautiful charring (leoparding) on the bottom,
and nice browning on the top.
The pies were cooking through within 2 to 2-1/2 minutes.

Wow!

After about the 6th pie, I sensed we had lost heat,
and sure enough the flame had gone out.
We thought it might have been the wind's fault,
but it turned out to be....
the lack of oxygen my brother kept warning me about.

I'll need to modify the cutout on the bottom of the grill
where the flame element enters, and leave a larger gap around there.
At the moment it has maybe a 1/4" gap all around
and most of that is taken up by the foil liner.

I also need to cut the firebricks so they set flat,
and hopefully eliminate that hot spot flaming up around one edge.

We had to get the heat back up, so we had a lull at this time.
Enter my cousin the "Michilada Queen".
With our tasty red spicy beers in hand
we resumed the process and lifted the lid
sporadically to keep the flow of oxygen going.

By now, Virginia was literally tossing and spinning dough!
The look on her face was magic.

I was maneuvering the peel and sometimes fighting
to release the pizzas onto the stone
without flopping everything right off the dough.
I did fold one before it got all the way off the peel
but we just made that one into a calzone.
Some of those pizzas were literally flying off the grill.

We had many toppings to choose from.
Pepperoni, canadian bacon, cheap red sauce,
mushrooms, black olives, sausage, jalapenos,
green chiles, onions, pineapple, mozarella...
I was going to bring some other toppings:
roasted red peppers, fresh basil from my garden,
white or garlic sauces, a variety of cheeses (feta, parmesan, asadero)....
but this day was sort of overwhelming already.

I've got to give kudos!
Props to all those who inspired me at Pizzamaking.com.
If it weren't for all their modifications,
and their exuberance and helpful tips
I would not have reaped the reward
of high fives, broad smiles,
and the virtual shock and awe
of fantastic made-to-order personal pizza
anywhere we want to make it!

This one is a keeper.

Hatch Chile and The Whole Enchilada!

2009-09-09T12:34:00.022-06:00

In all the years I've lived in El Paso,
I had heard from everyone who had gone before
that the Hatch Chile Festival was not worth attending.
I should have ignored them, and I finally did ignore them.
In 2006, the year of the great and devastating floods,
Brett and I drove out to Hatch
along with my brother and his family
who had recently moved to Las Cruces.
The festival had to be moved to a different location
due to the city being mostly flooded out
and partially destroyed by all the big rains that summer.
We did not really know what to expect,
but we made the most of what we found there.

I won't lie;
a major disappointment for us was the lack of a beer garden.
The change of venue had created a glitch
in their ability to obtain a license
to serve up that particular brand of "cold ones."
Chile without beer, a travesty, I tell ya!

When we attended the fest in 2007 the beer tent was up
and Diana earned her Designated Driver Badge.
This year the beer garden was missing again,
and we could only speculate that something nefarious had occurred.
Perhaps a father had gone too far
as we witnessed in the parking lot this year,
The elder man slapping down his son
while the family goaded him
and the small children looked on with fear;
their mother screaming all the while.

The deep fried green chile chips
all but made up for the lack of cerveza
(okay, now I really am lying).
This year there was not a fried chile chip to be had.
Typical fair fare was consumed en masse by our little group.
We tried almost everything, all the while noticing...
there weren't really a lot of chile-specific types of foods.
This festival is annoyingly inconsistent.

Why was nobody serving chiles rellenos?
Where's the chile ice cream?

Aha! This year a very cool display of chile ice cream making,
and the sensation was almost perfect; hot and cold, spicy and sweet.
We stressed to this entrepreneur that he should roast the chiles
for that perfect chile flavor,
but he expressed worry about charred bits in the ice cream.
Obviously, the man does not know chile consumers,
but he's got a cool John Deere set-up churning the cream.

While I spoke to the gentleman about his ice cream
Brett managed to break the camera,
so that was the end of photos for today.
We've decided he will be getting a disposable camera
for use on Labor day from here on in.
He broke our last camera on Labor day last year
by driving full bore through a stream in the Gila Wilderness,
soaking me in the process and flooding the camera to its death.

Somebody needs to make a roasted-chile scented candle!
Wait, I read later that someone did just that
but we never noticed, because they weren't allowed to burn it.
Fire laws won't allow them to burn a candle
even while chiles are being roasted non-stop.

We have speculated each year on how we could create
our own chile concoctions and get in
on our own slice of the chile fest pie.
With our collective ideas we'd have the longest line;
we'll slay 'em with our chile-cookin' prowess!
Just you wait and see!

My nieces enjoyed the carnival rides
loads of laughter and whooping it up
these jubilant joy-riders...
spinning in bright silly machines.
Their teenage sensibilities kick in--
finding this festival to be a collosal bore
gives them leave to stay home from now on.
Killjoys, the lot of them!

I gotta say this:
Hatch's Chile Festival leaves something to be desired.
It's such a puny festival in a podunk town.

The town of Hatch is at once beautiful and a little sad.
Oddly, this quiet beauty is exactly what makes it so charming.
Hatch's Chile Festival delivers something
not to be found anywhere else in this great country.

Why do we keep going back?
For the chile, silly.

The Whole Enchilada Fiesta
runs September 25 thru 27 this year.
It's a much larger scale event
with Los Lobos playing on Saturday night
and many bands throughout the days and evenings;
and multitudes of rides and booths to choose from.
We especially enjoy watching the process
of cooking up the World's largest enchilada.
This year, we hope to have Brett's Alaskan nephews
here to enjoy the festivities.
My brother Stan did the T-shirt art again this year.

Inglourious Basterds

2009-09-08T10:47:00.002-06:00

I am fortunate that I have a husband who tends to enjoy the same movies I do.
We find comfort, fear, and a somewhat joyful disgust
in the same sorts of celluloid dreams and nightmares.
He also likes to attend sporting events,
and I have a love/hate relationship with that concept
of sitting in the stadium, gymnasium, etc.
and watching others duke it out.
I find it utterly frustrating,
especially when my team ain't winning.

Today I've got 2 sets of "Inglourious Basterds" to discuss,
so I think I'll start with UTEP's inglorious football team.

photo stolen from www.mill1on.com

We've got a history here.
A history of dashed hopes and broken dreams.
It goes back many decades and I lost interest long ago.
It's just too freakin' painful.

Several years back, when Mike Price was gonna convert our team
into something respectable, I was reluctant to jump in
and try to be a supportive UTEP football viewer.
Still, I went along with Brett's desire to get season tickets.
I regretted it almost immediately and feel that regret more today.
Half the battle is getting through the tailgating
without wanting to throttle somebody who has indulged too much.

image stolen from Fox tv

Then there's the other dilemma
of wanting to throttle players, referees or coaches
for all the bone-headed plays and poor calls.
Saturday's showing by UTEP against Buffalo was excruciating to watch.
I'm not going to say that our team is weak.
I don't really think they are.
The Miners showed great promise in what they were able to execute.
What they also exhibited was a severe lack of discipline.
Some of the most ridiculous mistakes were made over and over and over again.
All those yellow flags declaring incompetence.
I can only sum it up in one way:
Pathetic.
My husband can find somebody else to go to the games with.
I've had my fill of wasted days and wasted nights.

Adios to Mike Price, and hasta la vista Paydirt Pete.

Image stolen from art.com

I feel calmer already.

And now for part 2 of my observations on how I spent my Saturday:

Despite many flaws in the Quentin Tarantino film,
I'd definitely recommend it.
I'd take in 3 movies like this over 1 UTEP football game any day.
For most who know me, that should be taken as a resounding
"No, don't waste your money, you will hate it"...
unless you like Tarantino's films.
This guy knows how to weave magic.
His ability to make you laugh
while trying to choke back the bile
after seeing someone get their head bashed in
...pure and simple film harmony.
It is all about the details
and it is all about the lack of details...
Taking great liberty with history
casting Brad Pitt in this redneck character
the absolute brilliance of Christoph Waltz

image stolen from hollywoodreporter.com

...a truly mesmerizing performance by Waltz
...that weepy close-up sadness in the eyes of LaPadite
...the fantastic imagery of Shoshonna's fiery face on the big screen.

Every nuance cleverly calculated by the director
and I'm sure I missed out on a lot of it.
A second and third viewing is in order to catch each one
and I aim to see this one again very soon.

It was bold and brash, and almost excruciating to watch
but there was no worry about this film's final score.
2 thumbs up and no sign of yellow flags on that battlefield.

image stolen from fotosearch.com

Tis the Season...

2009-09-05T13:32:00.004-06:00

In El Paso there is one thing
to cause me to rejoice each year
more than any other thing.
The end of summer.
Don't get me wrong,
I enjoy the summers
with the incredible heat,
and sometimes torrential rains.
Hailstorms are always a special treat as well.

Festival season and UTEP football,
cooling breezes,
motorcycle riding weather,
my favorite fall fever in El Paso finally has arrived.
This time of year has always made me giddy.
I'm no spring fever chicken,
what with all the spring cleaning,
and the ugly windstorms here.
April is the cruelest month.
Give me autumn.

Yesterday I got a call from my brother.
You still going to the chile festival?
Sure, it's on the 26th.
No, it's tomorrow, it's always on Labor Day weekend.
Huh? I looked it up, it's on the 26th.
No, that's the Whole Enchilada Fiesta.
You mean the Hatch Chile Festival,
I thought that was in October...
Nope, tomorrow and Sunday.
Oh, gee, thanks bro, for calling me up at the last minute.
No, really, thanks for calling me.
Now, I won't have to miss it!

Today is the season opener for UTEP football.
My husband and I have already made plans
to check out the movie Inglorious Basterds,
and then to the Sun Bowl for some Miner Football.
Hatch will have to wait until tomorrow,
but rest assured,
I'll be getting my fill of Chile Verde and beer.

I'll be back in a few hours
and attempt to critique the movie,
which I am sure I will thoroughly enjoy.

What's better than rednecks and Nazis
trapped in Tarantino land?
I'd venture a guess...
NOTHING!

The Temple of my Familiar

2009-08-06T19:55:00.003-06:00

For whatever reason,
Alice Walker's book resounded deeply with me
when I read it 10 years ago.
I may need to read it again,
but there was something strikingly familiar
about the way she wove the character of Miss Lissie.
I especially latched on to Miss Lissie's idea
of seeing a different person
within the many photographs taken of her
through the years
(appearing older when she was young,
and child-like in later years,
boyish in some, sultry in others).
I have witnessed a parallel
in the photos taken of myself
over the years
captured looking so unlike myself,
but seldom on purpose
or with any forethought on my part.
Many images in which few who know me
can believe what they are seeing.

I'm not talking glamour shots
in some studio, garishly made up
like those poor girls on America's Top Model
or whatever it's called.
I never knew how truly funny and harsh this show is.
It's all about the edge,
being a poseur for the big superstar model payoff,
and catering to any whim the advertiser might whip up.
Seeing a model wannabe
crying about her recently made-over short shorn hair
and then being reprimanded by Tyra Banks
for the inevitable tears in her eyes.
Too sweet for words.
It's evil mean in a very materialistic way.
Yeah. I guess you could say I liked it.
If anyone is dumb enough to hook up with a reality show
and not know they will be propped up for ridicule,
they deserve my laughter at their expense.

So anyway, I was trying to write about Alice Walker,
and this particular photo aspect of her book,
when I decided to download the pictures from our recent vacation.
I'm a multi-tasker, dontcha know?
These reminder pictures of July 2009,
coupled with a memory of watching a television show
about models trying to win a career posing for pictures,
and the beginning premise for this blog today
about the photographic aspect in Walker's book
it's just too much coincidence.
trouble is, I don't believe in coincidence
or karma or anything like that.
So what the heck am I talking about, huh?
This must be my age of Sternonation,
which of course you have no idea
what I'm further rambling on about now.
Sternonation is on the comeback, I tell ya!
You'll see.

So in this novel, The Temple of my Familiar,
I also read with interest the feelings of this character
about having lived many lives before,
and a knowledge that she would continue to travel
through time and gender.
Not that I really believe in reincarnation,
but it is a subject I have studied
since I was in high school.
I find the many aspects of it intriguing
and confusing, and rather ridiculous.
I want to know what happens to those images,
those faces who aren't really you
but some pixelated product of electricity.
Do they become pixel dust?
Do we?

Photographers always scared me.
My earliest "studio photo" when I was 4
shows an intense face,
non-smiling with a slight hint of frown.
It looks just like me!
My father informed me
I sat there under threat of spanking
if I didn't stop fidgeting, complaining or crying.
Almost all earlier photos of me show a screaming,
terrorized, deer in the headlights face.
Maybe it was the flashbulb with that bright explosion
of light that so terrified me.
Maybe my father's threats worked to a degree,
as I didn't see many more crying visages in print afterwards.
Still, I don't like to have my picture taken.
Invariably, there I am looking like I'm chewing cud,
my eyes half open, looking like I'm 80 when I was 25!
Yowzers!

Is the camera the temple of my familiar?
Does it hold all of the secrets to who I am?
Is it stealing my soul with every click?

Que Barrio?

2009-07-16T07:38:00.008-06:00

So, there I was in San Dimas, California, enjoying a few brews (not with Bill & Ted) and practicing my Spanish with Ricardo Mares (an illegal immigrant dishwasher) from Arizpe, Mexico. We had just finished our shifts (I was the cook and he was the new dishwasher) at the Old West Steakhouse, a stone's throw away from Zendejas' restaurant.

(player card image from insidesocal.com)

We were drinking a 6 pack of Beck's Dark in the parking lot, like all good working-class peons do after an evening of toil.

One of the first questions he asks me is "Que Barrio?" I laugh. "La Loma," I tell him. La Loma? He has no idea...I then tell him about my life in El Paso, and he says El Chuco? Oddly, I had never heard the term outside of El Paso, and here was this young kid, telling me how his uncles had all emigrated to El Chuco, or to Los Angeles via Tijuana and Juarez.

Mares told me how they would struggle to get into the USA and infiltrate the restaurant industry.

(photo from worth 1000)
They'd become cooks, waiters and dishwashers, and skirt La Migra as best they could; constantly saving their money to bring yet another cousin or brother in. They avoided the coyote traders, and did it all themselves to save money and avoid being ripped off. He mentioned that some coyotes would take their money and then turn them in to the officials.

(photo from www.internationalist.org)

After years and years of working in the U.S., and saving what they could after sending money home, they might try to bring in their female family members: wives, girlfriends, mothers, and sisters.

I asked him about his traditional name, which I knew had to include at least 5 surnames, and he delivered a very long and rhythmic identity that I cannot possibly recall with about a dozen surnames attached. He commented on how far his family was from an ocean or sea, to be given the name Mares and living so far from water was too ironic even for him, the bearer of that name.

I liked this kid, and the vibrance in his actions and manner of speaking. There was a spark about him which I found to be very intriguing. He was just there struggling to survive with his on-again, off-again 6th grade education, a huge amount of humorous street-sense, and a determination to make a better life for himself and his extended family. His strongest wish was to bring his girlfriend to California and make her his wife; to settle down and have a family. I was curious as to why he wanted to marry at such a young age. Amor! He missed his girlfriend of 3 years, she was pregnant, and they had been planning their matrimony for a year before his uncles secreted him across the border.

Was he worried about being caught? No. He knew from experience that it was a simple matter to come back. He laughed about this. I felt a bit betrayed, knowing that our lack of enforcing illegal immigrant laws provided this freedom for those who were willing to abuse them. I could not fault the boy for his actions, though I did ask him about going through legal channels. He told me it wasn't needed, all that paperwork and waiting years when he could just pay some guy for his counterfeit papers. He showed me his California Driver's License.

(photo at photobucket)
Okay that is not it, but his id looked legit to my untrained eye, although it showed him to be 5 years older than his 17 years, so he could get into the bars. I admit, I sympathized with him, even as I became angry at his mocking tone. Que onda cabrón?

I have thought often about Ricky Mares over the years. I always wondered if he got married, brought his mother across, or got caught. I worked with Ricky near 17 years ago. Did he bring his girlfriend across quickly enough to have an anchor baby? One more kid to drain our system?

Our immigration laws need to be enforced. I have written to President Obama. I will continue to write to him and I will continue to write to Silvestre Reyes. Our country is dying in the most agonizing way, and allowing illegal immigration to continue in the manner it has does not behoove us. Putting up that atrocious fence is not the solution. Amnesty is not the solution. Enforcing the law is the only viable way towards reformation, and harsh penalties for those who hire illegals is a must.

Please write to your President and to your State Representatives.
They are your voice, and they need to hear you, loud and clear.

(presidential seal found at idea champions)

Opinions are like

2009-07-11T10:04:00.003-06:00

...you know the rest.

Common phraseology that speaks ill of our ideas as well as our posteriors.

I certainly don't see a literal correlation between opinions and a-holes. But I've thought upon this popular saying many a time since it makes no sense to me. Not a hell of a lot in life makes sense to me.

While we all have many varying opinions, and many of us expound upon our own virtue, there are few of us who can claim more than one A-hole. Who would actually want to admit to it? All that spouting from the mouth, or from a keyboard. Spouting...damn visuals. This is not a great topic. It's just rambling. Back to the scatalogical ramblings. Damn, I've got a problem.

Why does this always happen? Gut, gas, bowels, brains...I think too much, and the detritus gotta come out somewhere.

BURP!

Gets out the cobwebs.

Today I've been trying to cheer myself up. Earlier I was having difficulty thinking. Functioning. Speaking. I can't stop worrying about my friend. So I'm trying to laugh. Nothing really works. Until very early this morning. I'm free.

For many years I've played an odd role on a bookseller forum...played at being an old Southren man whut's got an overwhelmin' innerest in sheep an othah strickly ass-backards thangs. What started as a fun an generally harmless game, ended up making me feel impotent. Who the hell am I, that I can switch from one persona to the other and be compelled to act upon it in a public forum? It all began to weigh heavy and I'd lay off the posting for long stretches, even as I found joy in the laughter I was able to arouse in others. Nothin' bettah in life than a good ol' belly laugh 'bout sumpin' stupid. Sho' nuf cain't hep mesef on 'at.

Now I've given up the ruse. They knew ol' fried weren't fo' real, but they egged him on, made him real, and I couldn't find a way to keep it up indefinitely. I mourn for the loss of my alter-ego. He ain't a comin' back no mo' but I keep feeling sweet relief that I can stop hiding behind that codger. He's prolly gwine remain out back moonin' ovah a ewe or 2. Laws if'n dis doan beat all. He don't wanna go way!

Separation of Church and Self

2009-07-09T07:58:00.006-06:00

Faith.
What is it?

This past week has been difficult for me. We learned that a good friend in California was attacked on the 4th of July and is in critical condition. My head and my heart ache for him. I need for him to be better, to pull through, to fight for his life...though I fear he doesn't yet know what has happened to him. I don't want to cry, because that seems defeatist, but the tears come. He's got a brilliant mind, and I fear he won't be the same. Sadness pervades my very core just thinking about this. What can I do?

Praying is not an option for me. Who would I pray to? Possessing belief in a higher being just is not in the cards for me, and that may prove to be my undoing. I'm very conflicted, with rampant thoughts of who to call out to. I don't believe in God. I find the concept of a higher being to be completely irrational. I've been calling out to Chris...be well my brother...you are loved, please, be well.

In the past, when my grandmother was still alive, she would tell me to pray to Jesus whenever she knew I was troubled. Each time I would tell her that I don't pray, and that I don't believe. She always thought I was joking. One day she realized I was sincere, and she was truly shocked that my Catholic upbringing was that easily brushed aside. No grandma, it was not easily brushed aside, but slowly and deliberately negated by my own rational thought processes. Grandma would always tell me that she prayed for me. That gave me comfort, and I thanked her for that each time she mentioned it. Could the strength of her faith actually help me? Somehow, I was able to hold my own semblance of faith in that.

When an individual accepts that faith in God, it seems to comfort them. For me, faith in God makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. I've had uncountable discussions about this with many people over the years. Many of these friends and family members pray for me, and it is indescribable how that makes me feel. The strength in their faith is powerful, and I don't see it as a waste of time because they do actually own their faith. It's a tangible thing to them. I don't begrudge or belittle a person for having religion in their lives, as I see how it enriches them. That's a good thing, right?

I suppose this blog is a request to those who do pray.

Please say a prayer for my friend Chris Bowd.

We need this ornery cuss in our lives.
Be well my friend.

Get a Rope?

2009-06-29T07:33:00.004-06:00

I admit it. I'm very late to the party, and not fashionably so.

photo: www.rampantscotland.com

No way could I have foreseen that I'd be jumping into the fray where local politics are concerned. I find others really have an aversion to discussing politics in mixed company. They are always trying to change the subject, or avoid looking me in the eye. Once I dig in I can be just like a pit bull who thinks she's just a little old lap dog. You didn't see that one coming, did you? Oh, the multitude of things I could say about how stupid people are about their so-called knowledge of "menacing" pit bulls. Alas, this is not my intent today.

photo: haynespitbulls.com

No doubt, I've got my ass-backwards opinions and self-righteous 'tude just like anybody else, but I mainly disturb my immediate friends and family with them. Why I ever decided to begin blogging about my idiosyncratic life, I'll never quite be able to fathom. This no doubt says a lot about me, and my troubled *pysche. I've spent a long time doing things I thought were important. Listening to and respecting the voices of children who grace me with their wonderful presence has always seemed so important to me. Those kids have taught me so much about life; yet I realize there is still something missing. That something was "civic involvement" and actually striving to leave something better for those children I hold in such high regard.

(*furtive glancing, to-and-fro, for the men in white coats)

Many moons ago, at an El Paso high school far, far away (about a mile from my house which I walked to every day) I was granted the

Rona Barrett critic of the year award during my Junior year. My Senior friends found this an apt title (those bitches!). I had no idea what they were talking about. Probably had my head stuck so far up my ass, I was simply oblivious to my own BIG MOUTH.

The next year, I was told by "Skeets" Aguilar that I talk a lot of shit. My jaw dropped. I gave him a good hard slug in the arm, but I knew he was right. Then he called me a Candy Ass, and the game was on. I rather enjoy talking a lot of shit. It's good for the soul, to let out what ails you. I enjoy forcing debate, even when I know I am dead wrong. It is amazing how some folks can be easily swayed by words. It is also amazing how some folks can see right through the bullshit.

How dare they?

Anyway, there's actually another party that I will not be late to, and that's Mayor John Cook's so-called lynching party. "I never mind going to a lynching as long as I'm the guy holding the rope, not wearing it," --El Paso Mayor John Cook.

I'll be sure to drink a few Margaritas to numb the pain, and maybe some refritos while I'm at it (you never know when backup power may be called for). I'll be sure to wear a steel collar around my neck, just in case. I do expect Cook to bring his now infamous rope, and I expect to keep my own neck out of his line of sight by any means possible. If this meeting actually does take place, I'll try to keep my feet moving...float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, and all that. I'm hoping we won't have to resort to the rope-a-dope tactics. I swear, vigilantes get no respect, whether they're giving or receiving injustice.

Convoluted logic: The best kind!

www.motifake.com/demotivational-poster

The fiasco of Johnnie Washington forcing her will upon Cook to kowtow to some perceived racial slur or politically incorrect slight just absolutely amazes me. Mayor Cook, you never should have apologized to her. You should have apologized to those you directed your statement to, if you actually thought there was anything wrong with your joke. I smirked when you directed your comment to us, because it was slightly amusing...but you fail to see that you already hold that rope, and you're trying to lynch your citizenry with many of these "progressively divisive" tactics of late.

What a bunch of hoo-haw over Cook's comments, which were fairly straightforward and most decidedly directed towards the few individuals who deigned to darken the city council meeting last week, trying to talk about bridge locales. Another overblown cry of racism for nothing. NOTHING? I'm no fan of politically correct humor. Political correctness is the worst oxymoron of our times. I'm no fan of Mayor Cook, but his remarks were nothing about race, and everything about desperation. While most would see lynching as no laughing matter, the impetus for Cook's use of the phrase is decidedly humorous.

It still galls me that no proper plans are forthcoming before the bridge feasibility can be determined. Is this a 2 lane proposal, a 15 lane monstrosity? A commuter footbridge?

Where's the meat of the matter? Where's the public disclosure? My own witnessing and realization that half of city council has no idea how their MPO works, or how they conduct their business is appalling. I assume they are too busy taking time off to get to the real nitty-gritty and boring paperwork involved in deciphering that mess. I lost a good part of my life these past few weeks doing just that, only to be greeted by city council with stone-cold stares, and a few suspiciously over-anxious remarks from Steve Ortega. I'm no public speaker, but I said my piece for what that's worth. City council could give a rat's ass about what any of their constituents have to say. (apologies to Eddie Holguin, who actually seems to be hearing something). It creates more work for them if they actually have to pay attention to any of it.

Before anyone gets their panties further bunched up, I'll preface this next part by saying that I wish no harm to come to any person of any race, creed or political affiliation. It's merely my summation of the absurdity of what compels us to act and react to life as it assails us. (my own absurdity included!) My husband has warned against posting this, but I don't listen to him most of the time. Why does he put up with me? Cuz I'm special? Yes. That's it, exactly.

Here is a little politically imbued ditty that sums up fairly well what I think of all this bollocks:

Cock Sparrer: Get a Rope

Get a Rope

From the streets of Aberdeen to the Brighton scene
There's something going wrong
From the Woolacomb shore to the tots dance floor
They all shout what's going on?

You promised us a country fit for a queen
But the queen doesn't have to pay
You promised us a future bright and clean
For a vote on election day

Is there no-one left to shout?
There's some people round here need sorting out
'Coz for you there's just no hope

Get a rope, get a rope

Sitting warm and snug in your council seat
In comfy shoes and tweed
With your rules and regs wrapped nice and neat
Deciding what my kids can't read

We're sick and tired of your liberal views
What's politically correct?
Come judgement day, I'll be tying the noose
And slipping it around your neck

Can't you hear us shout?
There are a lot of people like me about
But for you there's just no hope

Get a rope, get a rope

We want to make life one big joyride
But the roadblocks get in our way
We want to fly off to the Spanish seaside
But the plane's always delayed

We want to sing songs on radio 1
but the BBC says no!
And we want to do deals on a mobile phone
and have something left to show

Can I stand up and say
There's some people round here need blowing away
'Coz for you there's just no hope

Get a rope, get a rope
Get a rope, get a rope
Get a rope, get a rope

So, I have posted this with full expectations that I will now be called a racist, card carrying member of the KKK, a Commie asshole, skinhead, or an Oi! idiot.

Alt Press review on Cock Sparrer's Here We Stand

Idiot may not be entirely stretching the truth, but I'm willing to be your scapegoat on this one. Go for it. I welcome the discourse and I have no regrets.

Recess Monkeys?

2009-06-24T19:27:00.016-06:00

The other day I got a note from CoolArrow Steve of The Xit Wounds.
He was telling me about an SCTV episode where John Candy plays drums in a band called Recess Monkeys (SCTV, Second City Television Network Volume 3). Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy and John Candy make up this power trio of Recess Monkeys, and sing the Chilliwack hit "My Girl (Gone Gone Gone)." It's so awful, I find it hilarious. Just looking at John Candy's 'fro cracks me up. I guess it reminds me of what happens when my husband and I get together to play music. While Brett is a very talented player on guitar and bass, I realize I'm merely a hack who hates to practice. In truth, I'm lazy, and it shows. My attempt to deter scrutiny by making crazy faces, giving myself beer baptismals, or hitting myself over the head with a beer can or a microphone (if anyone has been dumb enough to put a mic in front of me) is usually quite successful.

One of Brett's favorite shows growing up was Fernwood 2Night. We keep hoping they'll release the episodes on DVD. Many of the best episode clips can be found on YouTube.

The outrageous musical stylings of Happy Kyne and the MirthMakers are a sight to behold. Martin Mull and Fred Willard had some great comedy there, and were a perfect match to the Mary Hartman/Mary Hartman ethos. Total silliness. I sort of lost interest in the show when it morphed into America 2-Night. It turns out that the song Skateboard Angel had hit Brett so hard between the ears, he had to appropriate it and crank it up to match his own punk stylings.

RIP Farrah aka skateboarding angel

I always thought Skateboarding Angel was his original, until he told me where he got the idea. No wonder it's such a great song. Frank Devol and Tommy Tedesco wrote it.

While searching for our elusive tocayo Recess Monkey, I came across a wonderful site of Fake Bands

and a reference to the book Rocklopedia Fakebandica by T. Mike Childs. All your favorite, almost ready for prime-time bands can be found here. I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment:
"...one of the most refreshing online wastes of time since the birth of the Web..." -- Information Week.

While there are a plethora of fake bands who never really amounted to anything, there are a few who actually had talent, and commercial success. Spinal Tap (...but these go to eleven) and The Blues Brothers

(rubber biscuit?) are the first to come to mind.
Something about the comical talents of SCTV and Saturday Night Live alumni when mixed with their musical talents creates magic. I was watching an episode of Conan O'Brien a few weeks ago, and Eddie Murphy was talking about how James Brown seriously wanted Murphy to play him in a biopic based on his James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub antics. Maybe Eddie should have taken that bait. I miss the old Eddie Murphy irreverence and political incorrectness.

This man could seriously make me laugh until I cried.

Another amazing musician is Chevy Chase. He opted out of continuing to play drums with Donald Fagan and Walter Becker (Steely Dan) to pursue other interests. How is it that so many of these talented actors and comedians are also well-rounded musicians? It boggles the mind. In all honesty, some of them are better musicians than anything else they pursue.

I'm amazed at how well Steve Martin can play that banjo of his.

What happens when Spinal Tap mellows out? A Mighty Wind ensues. While this movie was not necessarily a comedic gem, it's soundtrack certainly is. In 2004 Eugene Levy wins the Grammy for A Mighty Wind Best Song written for a motion picture, television or other visual media. I'll never forget seeing the Folksmen perform Blood on the Coals on MadTV, and seeing Harry Shearer as Mark Shubb in drag (maybe on Letterman?). My first thoughts were WTF? and I went out to rent the movie the next day. Gotta give props to the ingenuity, and brilliance of it all.

Have you ever heard of the The Queenhaters? I never saw this episode of SCTV. Yep, that's John Candy in that picture above. Check out the youtube video featuring Martin Short's snotty vocals in this quintessential punk parody.

Feasibility study for Yarbrough Port of Entry

2009-06-24T07:49:00.017-06:00

(Illustration by Keith Allyn Spencer / El Paso Times)

What does this mean?

Feasibility studies try to answer the following questions:

What exactly is the project? Is it practical? Can it be done?

El Paso MPO is currently in process of conducting a feasibiltiy study for a new Port of Entry between the Bridge of the Americas and the Zaragosa bridge. They have hired San Antonio consulting firm Structural Engineering Associates, Inc. MPO then directs the public to go to the SEA website to track progress of this study. That's all fine and good, but there are no projects listed on their page. Perhaps they are conducting the feasibility of whether they should even list projects on their website....Oh, SEA built the groundwork, sure enough...a project link that leads to nowhere.

The area of feasibility for the proposed ~~Yarbrough~~ POE is limited to this 9 to 10 mile stretch between 2 major bridges already in existence. Depending on which day of the week you talk to the MPO (or watch yet another of their varying powerpoint presentations) about this study, there are 5 main feasibility areas within this 10 mile stretch, or there are only 3 remaining areas still on the table for this study, or, wait...it's back up to 5 areas, and is or is not referred to as the ~~Yarbrough~~ Port of Entry. Who are they trying to fool? It's been called the ~~Yarbrough~~ Port of entry since day one, because every plan, map or idea about this proposed POE has been centered around the fact that Juarez already has an 8 lane highway to this ethereal bridge just waiting for a connection at Calle Francisco Villareal Torres, less than 2000 feet southwest of ~~Yarbrough~~ at Cesar Chavez as seen at the bottom left of the satellite map. Patrons of Shawver Park and Cowan Aquatic suffer enough as it is with proximity to Border Highway Traffic, let's just save them further suffering by building a bridge on top of it. Let's have another Glass Beach campaign while we're at it.

Why all this gnashing of teeth over a new bridge?

artwork by Sam Turner

Bridges are already woefully understaffed. We cannot keep the lanes available in operation as it is. We don't have the manpower to create fully functional Ports of Entry. Building more bridges will never solve this dilemma. It's a Federal offense, and City Council would better serve this community by pushing Silvestre Reyes, and Homeland Security to straighten out this mess, and fast. My Lower Valley neighbors don't want the added traffic going to and coming from that bridge. We have enough problems with traffic filtering off the Border Highway, and city council would like us to believe that alleviating traffic flow from other areas is going to decrease pollution in our area. We are already fighting EPA standards, and are not in compliance especially near our bridges. Okay, let's just add another red zone to the EPA map of non-compliance by building this bridge at ~~Yarbrough~~. What's another non-compliance in the face of all the existing ones?

After weeks of research on the internet, trying to discover the scope of this plan, I found nothing but focus specifically on ~~Yarbrough~~ as the locale for the new bridge. Four renderings of the proposed bridge can be found in the presentation (BORDER CROSSINGS: Evaluation of ports of entry for the International border...) an MPO page that links to powerpoint downloads but nowhere can I find any other specualtive renderings for any other locale along this 10 mile corridor. This same presentation shows a map on page 7 with a mysterious green demarcation line squiggling along from Int'l airport in Juarez up Calle Fr. V. Torres and ~~Yarbrough~~ all along through Global Reach and on to El Paso Int'l Airport. Most MPO maps that show that bold green line are indicating major proposed road reconstruction, but MPO wishes us to believe that no major road is in the plans, and that no homes will be disturbed by building this new bridge in the lower valley.

I take umbrage to the cry of overreaction by our Mayor Cook,

and told him so at the city council meeting yesterday. If his wish is for non-action, then he's got another wish coming; that one just won't fly. When the MPO and the city decide to show the entire scope of their plans, and stop trying to mete them out to the public inch by inch of road, and penny by penny of taxation, perhaps we can all come to a better understanding of just what the hell is going on in our fair city. When city council members seem oblivious to the MPO process as I witnessed yesterday, something seriously needs to be addressed. When Steve Ortega asks where we are getting these maps, and we tell him MPO, he retorts that they are speculative theory, or wording to that effect. Mr. Ortega, all of this is supposedly speculative. Every last bit of it is speculative until your feasibility study has gone through the motions, and you are granted your bridge into the heart of our valley.

If, as Beto O'Rourke stated at yesterday's meeting, he would be glad to see this new bridge in his district, by all means, give it to him. They can build it right there downtown, and "revitilize" that area even further than planned. I'm sure his father-in-law, and Paul Foster will be overjoyed to have it there, and they can go ahead and build the "Cheesecake Factory" under it's shadow, so Chris Lopez will have a suitable place to eat. Danger, danger Will Robinson, all I see from these guys is "Crush, Kill, Destroy" all that was once magic in El Paso, Texas.

A boon to any business district, eh Beto? Well that just may be where a new bridge is needed. Not here in my valley where all we have are close-knit neighborhoods with homes, schools, and a precious few parks.

Other projects for ~~Yarbrough~~ already include the building of Park and Ride structures at ~~Yarbrough~~ and I-10 with CNG/LNG fueling station(project T405), and additional park and ride lots at ~~Yarbrough~~ and Montana (project T407), at ~~Yarbrough~~ and Montwood (project T408), at ~~Yarbrough~~ and North Loop (project T505), at ~~Yarbrough~~ and Bordey Highway (project T504). There are also plans to create an interchange at ~~Yarbrough~~ and North Loop (probably an overpass).

Is it feasible to add another International bridge here? Of course it's feasible. Merely cut out a small chunk of the fence, lay down a steel beam to span the cement channel, and voila, a bridge. A commuter bridge, no less! A bridge! Thank the Lord, another bridge; the answer to all of our worries.

Wait just a second. That won't work.

(photo by mekong.net)
You've got to make that bridge elevated for the ship traffic coming down the Rio Grande. "The reason is that the U.S. Coast Guard considers the Rio Grande to be a navigable river requiring bridges that ships can pass under the bridges." (David Crowder--Newspapertree, March 25, 2009) That's right. An elevated bridge to allow the hordes of KLAQ river-raft racers ample room to continue on their path to glory and the inevitable dousing of beer.
(photo stolen from haunting thunder blog)

Oops, I guess it has been many years since the Q sponsored a river raft race.

Probably just as many years as it's been since we had all the lanes opened on any of our ports of entry.

I say put it to a public vote, and not a vote from city hall.

People are a- okay

2009-06-15T20:43:00.000-06:00

Thanks.

Thank you people for enriching me.

TexMex Americano Sandlapper

2009-06-14T06:58:00.008-06:00

Here's another submission I wrote for that El Paso Times writer search in April:

Mutts?

Like many of you raised here in El Paso, I was born of different ethnicities. My mother, a typist in the Steno pool at Biggs, my father, an Air Force clerk who saw her and was at once smitten. He was a handsome gavacho hayseed, with no power to resist the sultry beauty of her mysterious, dark Spanish eyes. Okay, maybe it was her Latin thighs that captured his imagination, but I’ll not venture further speculation there. My point, if there is one, is that I’m a half-breed. You ‘member, Cher sang a little bit about it back in 1973. It was a song I could embrace.

I was raised on Lucha Libre and HeeHaw. My parents came from less-fortunate families who struggled to make ends meet. Poor Southerners and poor Mexicans--Mexican Hillbilly, one in the same? Pintos or black-eyed peas, cornbread or tortillas de masa, hominy grits or posole, green beans slow-cooked with a hunk of fatback and pintos refritos cooked up in lard. I’ve eaten fried green tomatoes, tripitas, collards and bunuelos all in the same day.

I love drinking a glass of buttermilk while trying to replicate Grandma Nell’s biscuits. Her gentle mixing and patting, then buttering each one immediately after baking to allow the tiny delicacies an extra succulent burst of flavor. Grandma Tommy made my favorite tortillas de masa when I would visit. Lovingly buttering each one as it came off the comal, serving me one after the other, until I could eat no more. Migas y frijoles for breakfast one day, and buttermilk biscuits with sausage pan-gravy the next. I learned that buttered grits alongside huevos con chorizo is a filling treat, seriously! Mama would drop pig knuckles into the menudo. Daddy was partial to pickled pigs feet. Yuck to both of them, but I witnessed my older brother eating them with greasy abandon.

My favorite story of theirs: she never forgave him for not getting her home from picnicking at McKelligon Canyon in time to see the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show. Or was it Elvis? My pet peeve: those forms asking about our ethnicity. I always claim “other”, because I cannot be forced to choose one heritage over the other. I can see the look of consternation on those government official’s faces, as they wonder if I’m Scandinavian/Inuit or Mexican/Italian. Other, no clarification, that’s me.

Old-school etymology would have nobody speaking these derogatory words: Half-Breed, Mezclado, Mestizo. This nation has been renowned for it’s very nature of the “melting pot” and a large majority of us have blurred the lines of heritage as our forebears hooked up and spawned such awesome creatures. Derogatory? I beg to differ. Irreverent? Well, yes, I have been told that I speak my mind with a little too much recklessness, but I find myself in the company of our esteemed President on this matter of race, and I aim to chocolate-milk that for all it is worth. I rejoice in it.

Mixteados unite!

Portable Pizza Grill

2009-06-12T21:30:00.018-06:00

Who likes pizza?

From what I understand, damn near everybody! I have to admit, it just ain't my favorite thing to eat, because so much of it is just really so bad. I am not fond of pepperoni, it gives me heartburn, so, of course, my husband loves pepperoni. That probably began my fear and loathing where pizza is concerned, not to mention the weekend late-night drunken rituals of I'm hungry, what can we eat?
Chico's!

Yeah, I stole that pic from Taco Journalism

But nobody is sober enough to drive to Chico's Tacos.
Bummer.

So, by default the answer is Pizza-they deliver! Oh so convenient, and oh so awful. Don't get me wrong, good pizza I can handle. But that's a subjective comment if I ever made one. What constitutes a good pizza? You'll get varying answers to that question from around the globe, and I can't even pinpoint exactly who makes the best pizza for my taste. I aim to change that trend very soon, and be happy with pizzas I make on my own.

We used to make some pretty decent pizzas in our home oven back in the day, but they were always just sort of....ehh, okay. Fun to make on a Friday night, but the oven never really got hot enough to make a decent pizza pie.

About 8 months ago I was browsing through craigslist, (a daily ritual) and I saw a nice Kitchenaid Mixer listed for 75 bucks. I snagged that quick when I saw how new it is. I love to bake, but I really started thinking about pizza when I got this thing. Being the internet scavenger that I am, I had to find the best recipes for the right style crust. I was also trying to find a whole grain recipe, which is another story within itself. I ran across a couple of really interesting sites such as pizzamaking.com and the PMQ Think Tank. You can't get any better than this for learning about all things pizza. These folks have pizza down to a science. I've learned that it really is a science. Mind-boggling when you see the full scope of all the styles of pizza and all the styles of baking those pizzas. The lengths people will go to for good pizza, you'd be amazed. Who would have ever thought you could cook pizza using the cleaning cycle of your home oven? Well, they did, and they do. Boggles the mind, don't it?

So, I'm web surfing along, specifically seeking whole-grain pizza dough recipes, and I come across this forum post at Pizzamaking.com with a beautiful picture of a 60% whole-grain thin crust. That's Villa Roma's picture of a beautiful slice of cheesy pie!

I am truly amazed at what else I find at pizzamaking.com. Any style pizza crust you want, multitudes of recipes, resources for all things pizza, and a pleasant, helpful community. I could hardly believe I had found the thinner chewy crust I wanted, made with whole grain, and really good, concise information about how to actually recreate it. This particular poster calls himself Villa Roma (what a great name). It wasn't just the pictures of this guy's pizzas that blew me away, but how he was cooking those pies. He had taken one of these:

and turned it into an 800+ degree pizza oven. He cooks his pizzas in less than 2 minutes, and he calls the contraption a little black egg or LBE. There is a growing faction of LBE aficionados, and they have made some fascinating modifications to all manner of Weber Smokey Joe's. Of course, I've now got to have one for myself, knowing no pizza made in my kitchen oven is ever going to amount to anything I really, really want to eat. Sure, I'll eat pizza, but seldom do I wholly crave or enjoy it. Looking at my forlorn and neglected Smokey Joe Silver sitting on the back porch, knowing I had abandoned him to my BIGGER, better grill...well, I just knew I had to try and make one of these pizza cookers. I'm a project type of gal, dontchaknow?

I've been trying to get my husband on board with this experiment, but every time I'd mention it to him he'd say "That sounds dangerous." photo courtesy of skylighter.com

My first reaction is to do a double-take...A man who loves pizza is worried about a little ol' hot-ass pizza cooker? One that we can take camping? One we can take anywhere? WTF? So I do what I always do, Image credit to Farm1

and keep him out of it, while I talk it up to friends and family; this is what I do, I talk them up about all my hair-brained ideas until they begin to see the light. Finally, I wear him down, and before you know it he is purchasing the burner element required for this little contraption. WooHoo! I'm on my way! I get so excited I call my brother and another friend and tell them the game is afoot. I get out my Craftsman work station, a drill, an old hacksaw blade, protective goggles, some duct tape and needle-nose pliers, a few screwdrivers, my Dremel, Tungsten Carbide cutting bit, hearing protection, and consume a couple bottles of Bud Light. Fully prepared, I commence to making the cut-outs needed to modify the Smoky Joe.

Drilled a couple of pilot holes in the lid, and started the difficult task of cutting out this oval shaped vent with a flimsy length of broken hacksaw blade (one end ensconced in duct tape to protect my soft and delicate hand). I smoothed out those rough edges with my dremel, one little burr at a time.

I'll need to take some more pics to show you the end result. After I pried off the vent assembly from the bottom of the grill using my husband's Leatherman I began cutting out the hole for the burner assembly to fit into. I found it much easier to use a smaller drill bit, and forget the hacksaw blade completely. Many pilot holes later, I was able to Dremel cut my way through and create a semi-round hole. It was easy enough going for a few hours work, and altogether satisfying.

I love the way this burner I took from the Outdoor Gourmet Deluxe Fryer Stand fits perfectly upon that little ash tray underneath the grill. We found the burner locally at Academy Sports. They sell component parts there as well, but I needed the regulator and hose assembly, so I just bought the kit which was cheaper in the long run.

I posted a want on craigslist for a few firebrick splits, and a very nice gentleman from central El Paso responded. So I now have a buffer for the flame which is going to need to create temperatures of at least 600 to 800 degrees. That's some powerful heat. How do you know when you've reached optimum temperature? I suppose you could hold your hand over the surface, and try to gauge it that way, nope, not me! This is the tool of choice: Infrared Thermometer or something very close to it.

I will still need to order a good pizza stone or kiln shelf for a cooking surface, as all others who have gone before me can attest. A crappy stone will last through baking one pie, and then it will crack. If I can't find a round kiln shelf through my ad on craigslist, I'll have to break down and buy one. I was going to order a stone from Fibrament (possibly the best on the market) but their smallest stone at 13 5/8" is a little too big for my grill.

It's only a matter of time, but I shall soon have completed this project, and I'll be posting the end results once I get there.

The Self Sufficient Urbanite?

2009-06-11T16:15:00.008-06:00

I just wanted to give props to one of the first blogs I've ever encountered that I found useful and extremely interesting, and wanted to see more of. The Self Sufficient Urbanite

I am copying their public profile here, because Nathaniel knows more about himself than I do:

About Me
madeinmanhattan
Nathaniel Martin is an urban gardener, woodworker, beer brewer, vinter and general DIY handyman living in New York City. This blog chronicles his projects and describes how to live in a frugal and environmentally sustainable manner by making and fixing almost everything yourself.

There you have it. DIY and very informative. I spent day after day reading every post in that blog, and found a kindred spirit. I really love what is represented there, with the reuse, renew, recycle ethic exhibited throughout. So many things we can do ourselves, so much waste in the world that doesn't have to go to a landfill. Such a wonderfully presented blog, Nathaniel! I enjoy looking at it, and the projects therein very much. Scavenging for wild fruit in Central Park is just amazing for me to think of. I try to find wild asparagus here, but all the good places we knew as children are dried up. I am dying to try collecting mesquite pods
photo by Wynn Anderson

before the critters eat them up, and make something tasty with them. One day, I'll pick the multitude of fruit from prickly pear cactus and make jelly. One day.
photo courtesy of ohric.ucdavis.edu

Last Christmas I asked my husband to buy me a dehydrator because I wanted to make jerky. Now, I know that I could use various methods to dehydrate foods, especially with the abundance of sun we have here in El Paso. That would require building a solar dryer, and that's what got me looking at blogs to begin with. Honestly, I don't want to be outside in that hot sun checking the progress of the drying, and surely, fighting off bugs. image courtesy of visual.merriam-webster

So I got my Christmas wish dehydrator and started buying produce when it was on sale. I found that banana chips are good, but apple chips are the bomb.

mmmmm....those up there are the pears. How could I forget the pears?

Where a sour green apple is too tart for my tastes, a dried green apple chip is an absolute delight. I really, really love dried grapefruit. I cannot get enough of it, and neither can my husband. He eats it all up, and I get pissed off. Who would have ever thought dried cantaloupe would be edible? Well, my sister-in-law thinks it is disgusting, but she craves the fruit roll-ups I make, as do her sons. Fruit roll-ups, any flavor, very simple to make.

I have dried tomatoes, dried mushrooms, dried blueberries, dried carrots, dried celery, dried roasted peppers.

This fresh pepper looks almost like we could call him
macaca rojo or Luchador El Diablo!

Mask Maniac Archangel Mask.

Oddly, I've made no jerky! That's hilarious. Here I am 6 months later, and no jerky. I do have 4 London Broil in the freezer, and will be making jerky this month. I really need to get my camera software onto this computer so I can show you some pictures. One of these days, I'll get it together. Yeah, right. A girl can dream, can't she?

My niece took a brewing class at NMSU last year, and I have been aching to brew up a batch of Oatmeal Stout. I wonder if I'll ever get there. I wondering if she'll see this and say, let's do it! I wonder about a lot of things. My brain just won't quit. One could even say I'm obsessive. Even I could say I'm obsessive. Okay I've said it. Don't fault me for it, it's such a charming trait(she said with exuberance)!

Anyway, kudos to Nathaniel in New York.
You have inspired me to just keep plugging away at the things that I want to do. Life can be so fun, if you just let it.

Pancho Villa

2009-06-11T14:37:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I was helping out my friend Rich at the book table for the El Paso Women's Club Antique Appraisal Fair. I met some very interesting people there, and really enjoyed my day. One of the people I met was Elias Bonilla, and he began talking about Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution. I know so little about both these subjects, and have felt remiss in my lackadaisical approach to learning all about my city and the rich history here. I seek knowledge, yet am very poor about retaining that knowledge, or even finding a way to approach certain subjects. I may love to learn, but I'm awfully lazy about just getting off my ass and DOING something about it.

After speaking with Elias, I went home and began reading a book I had on my shelf:The Paradox of Pancho Villa by Haldeen Braddy. Though the book was interesting, it was also rather dry, and not very in-depth. Elias suggested I read The Life and Times of Pancho Villa by Friedrich Katz, so I called up my Judge Marquez Lower Valley Library to see if there was a copy available. Things sure have changed for the Lower Valley branch since I used to visit the tiny library by my grandma's house over on San Jose. I was in luck, they had the book on the shelf, and I also had them pull David Dorado Romo's Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez, 1893-1923 and hold them for me.

I spent some time looking at the offerings by Cormac_McCarthy, but there seems to be a dearth of his titles at the El Paso libraries. Knowing I may become overwhelmed with the historical tomes I had in hand, I chose some fiction by Aaron Latham entitled The Cowboy with the Tiffany Gun. He's got a great way with words, and I rather enjoyed his Code of the West a few years back. Latham may single-handedly be responsible for the Cowboy attire craze that swept the nation in the early 1980's, since he wrote the screenplay for Urban Cowboy. I recall our dismay at the time, since we wore boots and pearl-buttoned shirts when they were not some trendy new fashion statement. Oh dear, now I'm referencing John Travolta and clothing fads in a post about Pancho Villa. Speaking of which, just how much did Travolta contribute to the platform shoe craze? pimpinshoes.com!

Well, as you can see, that's just how my scatological brain works. You read that right; scatological. Hahaha. I'll spare you the imagery.

I guess Pancho Villa started his own fashion trend when Frito-Lay decided to mimic him with their Frito Bandito. Which begs the question: Why does society demand to take everything in our cultures and create political incorrectness out of the simplest of things? Backlash over silly trivialities. Humor has become humorless with these racial special interest groups railing at injustices foisted upon them by clever and sanctimonious marketing ploys. WHATEVER! I loved my Frito Bandito eraser, and Speedy Gonzales, Pepé Le Pew, and the little leprechaun on my box of Lucky Charms. I'm not so sure about Ralph Bakshi's take on giving Mighty Mouse a boost of energy from sniffing some magic dust, but I digress.

Word is, Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution will be feted in 2010. It should be an interesting ride, and I'm going to try and get a first-class especial ticket to the festivities after I get edumacated on the history. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

That's Not My Fault

2009-06-10T07:54:00.008-06:00

The other day I mentioned that I caught a catch phrase from Willie Cager. He likes to say "That's not my fault". I found that rather hilarious, and now it's stuck in my head, like all the other trivia stuck in there.

Let me start this little story from the beginning...

About 4 years ago I was out book scouting and ran across this 1966 Flowsheet from the University of Texas at El Paso. There was our famous coach and

NCAA winning team, and I could not have been more excited to find such a gem. Shortly thereafter, Dan Wetzel's book came out and of course,I had to have a copy, so I purchased one at the UTEP bookstore and had Don Haskins sign my book and my Yearbook, and got a personal and in depth glimpse of just what the man thought of all the hullabaloo. I loved hearing him tell stories. I appeared on Fox news to tell my story about how I acquired this yearbook, and how that 1966 game is one of my earliest memories, since I was 4 years old when my father had us all cheering for the Miners.

Before I knew it, all of these major events were being announced about Glory Road the movie; the players, and the actors were all coming to town, a big to-do for the movie premiere, etc. The dollar signs began to flash before my eyes.

I knew I could get signatures, if I was persistent, and I could then sell my wonderful yearbook to the highest bidder; that's what I do, sell books. I then got very sick with the flu (I rarely get sick), and had no desire to go anywhere that week. I claim that I don't believe in karma, but maybe somebody was trying to send me a karmic jolt.

Later that week I learned that there would be a huge gathering of these basketball stars at the Sunland Park Barnes & Noble. I took some aspirin, blew my nose, and drove to the west side. I purchased a few more copies of Glory Road for friends, and stood in line to have Wetzel and Haskins sign them. I then began the wait for the players to begin trickling in. I was approached by a curious El Paso Times reporter who wanted to know more about how I got this Yearbook. I told him about my forays into garage sales, and thrift store hunting. I then told him I was going to attempt to get all of the players signatures in the yearbook. He points out a tall gentleman to me as Jerry Armstrong, so I ask him to pass the 66 Flowsheet to this tall man, and ask him to sign it. I'm quite embarrassed to say that the signature was not of Jerry Armstrong, but of Steve Tredennick (class of '65). My heart sank. No offense to Mr. Tredennick, who is hardly at fault for honoring my unusual request to sign a Yearbook which he did not even appear in!

I thought to myself, self-you got what you deserve. Everyone and their mother was trying to cash in on this Glory Road craze with signed books, shirts, basketballs, Wheaties boxes and the like. You name it, there was mass signing going on. Damn if that karmic jolt had not morphed right into a thunderclap!

I came to the conclusion that I had lost sight of what made this item so special in my own life. The history, the youthful memories, cheering for something I knew so little about, and the creation of a basketball fan at the tender age of 4.

There we were, at Loma Terrace elementary school (around 1970?), when Willie Cager, fresh from his degree in education, shows up as Physical Ed. teacher, and we were in awe, just in awe of him. UTEP basketball was a very big thing to me, from 1966 on. It was exciting to stomp our feet on those wood bleachers in Memorial Gym. Witnessing the masterful coaching and great players that came through UTEP who played their hearts out. I still can't believe I played pool one time with Don Haskins, at the Back Door Lounge on Mesa, where I worked back in the days when he was still coaching. He would tell me "little girl, I don't want you to embarrass me" whenever I would beg him to shoot a game with me. "Just one game!" I would say. "I know I'm no challenge, but please!" I would implore. One day he indulged me, and was nice enough to let me break. Of course he proceeded to slaughter me with sinker after sinker, within a few short minutes, if it was even that long. I played pool with Don Haskins, and got to hear his stories. He was a very funny man. That's all that really mattered.

I took my books home from the Barnes & Noble that day, and thought no further of signatures, or capitalism where Glory Road was concerned. I thought, instead, who deserves to have this yearbook?

Who, indeed? I became convinced that most of those players from the 1966 team could not afford to purchase a yearbook. I knew then that I needed to go on a mission to find out who I could give this yearbook to. Mr. Cager was my first choice. I knew of his philanthropic efforts for children's causes here in El Paso, and the fact that he continues to be active with Loma Terrace programs, and the Willie Cager Foundation. I wanted him to have his college yearbook, if he didn't already have one. After a few attempts to contact him and a dead end conversation I had with somebody I cannot even name, because I don't keep good records and I am rather addle-brained, I just forgot all about this. The 1966 Flowsheet sat on a shelf gathering dust for awhile. Every so often I'd think about it again, call the Cager household to hear a fax machine buzzing in my ear, and I'd let it slip away yet again, until I'd see Cager at a UTEP game, and there I'd go again...telling myself to do something, but forgetting all about it just as quickly as it would take to drive home from the game.

Which brings us to June 8, 2009. I had just received my new phone books, and called that same home number, and heard that same fax machine. I got online and looked for the Willie Cager Foundation again, and called the number there to a direct "Hello, hello" from the man himself. Finally, I had arrived. It was a quick trip to YISD, and I told Willie the story of my cheering at a black and white television along with my father and brothers, our childhood pride of having him as a coach at our school, my capitalistic endeavors, my dismay at things gone wrong, my realizations of what was right, and my interest in helping him preserve his legacy, with that errant signature serving as a reminder to something. Something-but I'm not exactly sure what. We talked and laughed for hours, and I truly enjoyed that time spent with him.

I am overjoyed to know that Willie has his yearbook now. Of course he could never afford it in 1966, but "that's not my fault." It has reached it's rightful owner, and I know it never really belonged to me.

Somethink2Say

2009-06-09T10:27:00.000-06:00

Well, ya know, I wrote that "Dry Heat" piece for the EP Times public search for a new writer towards the end of April '09. I submitted 2 other little stories about El Paso that same day, but decided to remain anonymous since I know a few people on the Times' staff. As has been implied... I've got a big mouth. soooooo......

I let that anonymous caller out of the Somethink2Say bag, and that may have been an unwise decision in seeking a writing nod at the Times, but I cannot be positive, since I've heard nothing back, and seen no new references to what's going on with their writer search. I'm not what you'd call "in the loop" and I'm not so sure I want to be in the loop. I sort of travel on my own loop, and it certainly does not go around the city of El Paso. Oh hell, there I go again, wanting to talk about roads. Nope, this is about me, forget the roads for now. Let's talk about run on sentences.

Being fond of run-on talking, and brainstorming talk for the sake of talk, and arguing for the argument's sake are all traits ingrained in my psyche. My father was an early argument for me, and he once told me he enjoyed arguing for the sake of argument. Now I'm stuck with it. It is rather fun, if you try not to get too personal, unless warranted. Expect to see run-on sentences and stream of thought verbiage here. I can't get enough of words, thoughts, ideas, viewpoints, cultures...yet I am very decisive about a few things, until I'm not. Change my mind, I dare you. Maybe that brands me a "flake" just call me flaca, even though I'm not entirely Skinny, I can definitely be flakey, and I'm not just talking about my scalp in the dry El Paso winters. Hell, I can talk your ear off, and I will.

So, I finally just decided to begin writing in this blog. My head spins if I let the words rest. They must come out, vociferously, passionately, and shamefully, seldom with subtlety. I hope that I can spare some people who are near and dear to my heart, who can come here to read my diatribes, rather than be subjected to them first-hand. I'm hoping I won't just be giving them the double-whammy, personal and weblike. If they come here to read any of this, well then, that's not my fault. LOL. I just picked up that little catch-phrase "it's not my fault" from Willie Cager yesterday, and it's stuck in my head.

I want to say everything right now, but I'll save it for another day, or another hour, or ten minutes from now. Let's just see if I'll continue to have somethink2say in El Paso, Texas.

But it’s a dry heat…

2009-06-09T07:55:00.004-06:00

How many times have you heard this? “You live in El Paso ? Isn’t it hot there?” Of course it is hot here. It is the desert, after all! We reside in the midst of the Chihuahuan Desert to be more precise. A unique ecosystem within itself, my desert home explodes with flora and fauna as seen nowhere else on this earth. I hear many other interesting comments when people learn I’m from El Chuco, but for now I want to focus on an aspect near and dear to me: The stark beauty of my surroundings.

Our desert climate poses a direct threat to those of us attempting to wear our green thumbs proudly upon our sleeves. Drought-tolerant landscaping and water rationing are old–hat to most of us by now. Still, I manage to choose a few unsuspectingly perky little plants that eventually wither and die under my passive-aggressive care. Both tender and indifferent, I’ve been known to kill cacti, many times. I save their brittle carcasses: a testament to my neglect. Someday I hope to apply what I have learned from my gardening mistakes, and spare the innocents this undue trauma.

Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus coccineus), Anthony Gap. Photograph by Gertrud Konings, 7 April 2003.

Thankfully, I am not a complete failure, and have managed to get past caliche as well as the brutal force of direct sun with some robust specimens now flourishing in my yard. I delight in the visiting assortment of hummingbirds, and Monarch butterflies attracted by the fragrant pink of desert honeysuckle, to the Desert Willow or Chilopsis linearis, with its purple flowers.
Photograph by A.H. Harris.

I am joyously witnessing the arrival of yellow sprays atop my Spanish broom for the first time since I planted them. I had feared they would never bloom. When the pecan begins to fruit in 2 more years, I will be beside myself with joy. I do hope I have treated her well, and that she will bear fruit beyond my desire. My grandmother always had an apricot tree, and this is my next choice for planting. Somehow, I am inclined to believe that she will help me have success with that choice, from beyond the grave. I know, I’m a bit weirdo.

One of my favorite things about El Paso is found at the heart of it’s people. There is such warmth here, friendliness, a je ne sais quois about that connection to the earth and an even greater connection to the familia. Not unlike the simmering of a pot on the back burner of your O’Keefe & Merritt, handed down from abuelita’s kitchen, there remains a promise of something wonderful if you’ll only take the time to let things brew. The time to stop and enjoy what you have, the people that you have in your life, the surroundings which implicate you in their dastardly plot to make you feel and to care about something wonderful. El Paso is very brown, warm and rich with the beauty of the shifting sands and light sienna skin of the masses. A dry heat indeed…