Archive for October, 2008
Friday, October 31st, 2008
Day 3: I have been waking up several times in the night and have been getting up around 8am without alarm clocks because apparently I suck at setting them. They either go off at night instead of the morning or not at all. This morning I had to send off a few e-mails and take a shower so I went into Alex’s room (Host families daughter) and hooked up to the modem. Afterwards, I took my shower. The hot water heater here is a bit awkward. It makes a buzzing
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Thursday, October 30th, 2008
See this Craigslist posting about a documentary to feature ni-Vanuatu learning from American hosts:
KEO FILMS, a UK-based company is producing a documentary for a reputable US cable network in which a small group of tribesmen from the island of Vanuatu (South Pacific) will visit with several different families throughout the US this fall.
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Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Day 2: Today I woke up around 8am and was fairly sore. I went downstairs to eat breakfast (desayuno) with my host family. I had a plate of fruit waiting for me that contained a strawberry, kiwi (not like the U.S. version – it was clear and was full of black seeds), and mango. I also had some scrambled eggs full of stuff that I wasn’t fond of like onions, jalapeños, and whatever else. I ate a small amount of it and finished up with fruit paired with some kind
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Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
DAY 1: Curtis woke me up at 6:30 this morning. He allowed for a great morning where I was able to slowly wake up and not rush. I didn’t get much sleep as Curtis and I were up late packing and doing things to get ready. I had lost my packing list I wrote so I was running around trying to figure out if I had everything. I would look at Curtis, as I would realize the things I forgot to pack like bras, my green pants, and my pink
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Monday, October 27th, 2008
[Originally written for the Vanuatu Daily Post.]
There should be a trenchant, thought provoking column in this space, but I find I have nothing to gripe about. For today, at least, we live in the best of all possible worlds.
Sure, Vanuatu faces innumerable challenges. It’s still miles behind in education, health services, infrastructure, wealth… you name it. The rights of women are neglected, often criminally. The cost of living is going up, and the financial world is crumbling all around us.
But everywhere I look, I see problems worse than ours.
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Originally published at the Scriptorum. You can comment here or there.
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Monday, October 27th, 2008
About once a month or so, I’m tempted to dump 25 bucks on Flickr to upgrade to a ‘Pro’ account, just so I can plop more than 200 photos into that particular bucket. I admit I’ve been on the cusp a couple of times.
But I never do. The plain fact is that Flickr is a terrible photo viewing interface.
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Originally published at the Scriptorum. You can comment here or there.
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Friday, October 24th, 2008
[This week's Communications column for the Vanuatu Independent.]
[Yes, it's a re-hash of this rant. ed.]
As a computer geek, I’m supposed to be suffused with enthusiasm and excitement over the features of the latest software. By rights, I should be the one carrying the techno-tablets down from the mountain, telling you how the latest in frobnalising effemitry is going to change everyone’s life. I’m the one supposed to show you where to sign up and what to do with it once you’ve got it.
I have a confession to make: I hate most software.
90% of software is crap. As author Theodore Sturgeon famously said, that’s because 90% of everything is crap.
I save a particular loathing for word processors. For any but the simplest tasks, their interfaces are utterly ridiculous. I haven’t liked a word processing interface since WordPerfect circa version 5, which ran on DOS (remember DOS?). If I had my own way, I’d still be using it.
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Originally published at the Scriptorum. You can comment here or there.
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Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
Timor-Leste’s tortuous history since the mid-1970s is a sad chronicle, alternately agonising and enraging. Even its high points seem to be characterised more by pride than joy. None of them end very well, and those few that do… well, one senses that they are unfinished, unresolved.
One of the most striking individual stories is that of Major Alfredo Reinado. Respected by all and lionised by many, he died during a 2007 firefight that erupted at the residence of President Jose Ramos Horta. The President was gravely injured during the attack and spent months convalescing in Australia.
On the same morning, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, riding in a three car convoy with his security detail, was shot at on the road to Dili. This attack was perpetrated by Alfredo’s second-in-command, Gastão Salsinha.
Reports of the incident characterised it alternately as an assassination attempt, an abortive coup and as a meeting between the rebel leader and the President that went tragically awry.
Hundreds of people attended the Major’s funeral. Ramos Horta publicly forgave him and, far from vilifying him for his role in the turmoil that displaced as many as 150,000 people, most people remember him as a patriot and a hero.
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Originally published at the Scriptorum. You can comment here or there.
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Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
The first signs have appeared that the internai credit crunch is touching even tiny Vanuatu.
Sort of.
In another moment of inspired self-promotion, the Vanuatu Very Short Film Festival today announced that they would be bailing out both Westpac and ANZ banks. After castigating the banks for their financial and fiscal wantonness, the festival organisers reminded everyone that the deadline for entries is fast approaching. The only way to keep these banks alive, apparently, is to ensure a good turnout at the festival.
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Friday, October 17th, 2008
[Originally published in the Vanuatu Daily Post’s Weekender Edition.]
Tawi blong mi;
I write to you from the enthralling, magical island of Manhattan. This jewel of the North Atlantic is a marvelous place. It is visited by all the races of the world. They are drawn by its legendary abundance and wealth. Here, one can achieve one’s every desire. One has only to learn the curious local rituals to gather a bountiful harvest.
The Manhattoes – as they’re known – seem peculiar to us, but we should not judge them based only on a passing glimpse of their kastom and tabus. We can’t expect everyone to be like us.
The people of this lovely island have a peculiar cargo culture in which they equate meaningless numbers with material goods. I confess it’s a difficult concept to grasp. Let me explain….
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Originally published at the Scriptorum. You can comment here or there.
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