"I'm sorry...it's my day off and i just want to dance"

I won't lie... I really like the beat of this song. I just want to dance. It also reminds me of the good times I spent with one of my new friends hanging out.

But, listening to the lyrics and watching the video makes me cringe on the inside. It's very hypocritical, for me to claim one thing one day and then just throw it out the window on the weekends when I'm raging in the city. Makes me rethink my values and my judgement.

It also makes me rethink how judgmental I can be (and how I used to be worse when I was young) of popular culture. I say this because it's always makes you feel better when you think you are 'better than that' and pass judgement on what others are doing; it does!

Is it ok for me to turn off the 'intellectualism' for a bit and just enjoy popular culture?
Can I rationalize then watching Jersey Shore for it's pop-culture value (and secretly enjoy it) but then bash the blatant objectification and obscene portrayal of latino society in this video?
Can't we just dance?

Anal sex and Women and the National Sex Survey

Thought these were some interesting articles about the sex behaviors of Americans; specially in regards to anal sex and women...  Interesting topics... is the taboo dwindling?

Here are the Links

http://www.slate.com/id/2270622/
http://www.slate.com/id/2269951/

My Tumblr Blog

I am updating this more frequently than this blog, as this one I see it as an outlet for more formal thoughts.

My Tumblr blog is fun and short... and sweet.

Link: Elitist Queerdo

Hispanic Heritage Month

Yesterday was the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. It didn't dawn on me until now, that even though this type of 'celebration' exists, there is very little acknowledgment of the Hispanic Heritage in American History, with the exception of a few places. But not nationwide!

It is even more surprising, that negative feelings against "immigrants" (which one can argue is disguised racism) still exist today, to the extent that racial profiling laws are burgeoning in several states. Maybe this is not surprising, given that still in 2010 several states are legalizing structural violence against the LGBT community; and as recent as 60 years ago, racial segregation was still legal.

So, even though Native Americans and African-Americans are still not treated with the fairness they deserve, they are still recognized to some extent as being part of the core value(as romanticized this notion is) of being American. This is not so with Hispanic/Latinos. Why? I really don't have an idea.

The USA is only 234 years old, but that is only because it started with the Euro descendant 13 colonies. As the new country kept expanding to French and Spanish colonies/territories in the continent it kept adding its anglo-puritan ideology everywhere it could, which is why it has taken so long to "accept" and incorporate in the official discourse of the state a diverse (yet limited) view of the population. What conservatives need to understand is that the US is not some ancient civilization that has been successful against the invasion of enemy ethnic groups. It is a mutt-a majority of multiracial/ethnic white Europeans that thrived in a land halfway across their original land. Why is it easier to recognize that American means Irish, Italians, Poles, Germans, Yoruba, Nigerian, Ghanain, Cherokee, Navajo, etc, etc, etc...but not Mexican, Puerto Rican, Salvadorian,Peruvian, Cuban, among others?

This is very hard for me to comprehend (and not go batshit crazy about it) and I'm not going to give a history lesson here (cause I'm in dire need to brush up on this types of histories too) but It's not that hard to see that Hispanic/Latino history in the US is equally American.

1) Remember the whole southwest? The war against Mexico that gained the US, erm, NEW MEXICO, CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, ARIZONA, TEXAS? This only happened approximately 60-70 years after the independence of the US... It's sad that people ignore the fact that these names are in Spanish: San Francisco? really?
2) Burritos, enough said! No really, Burritos started in Juárez, look it up. It was essential in the diets of Mexican Americans in the US around the 50-60's.
3) We fucking clean your hotel rooms! Which means that there is a documented history of Hispanic/Latinos being a subservient minority because of its legal status as non citizens.
4) The Monroe Doctrine!
5) September 11, 1971-look it up-

Like it or not: We're here, we're brown, get used to i!

-signed, angry Puerto Rican token guy

edit-----
PS: I ended going batshit crazy

Hurricane Earl-Email to a friend

I'm going to share an email I sent to a friend about Hurricane Earl, which passed closed to Puerto Rico yesterday night.


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Thankfully it was not a big deal, because it passed right by the island. So people back home felt tropical storm winds instead of full blown hurricane winds. The eastern part of the island took the biggest hit, as it almost always happens. Thankfully, my family lives in the north, near San Juan, so they are OK. Lots of flooding and no electricity, but that always happens with hurricanes so people are used to it. As such, there isn't that much damage compared to a full blown hurricane. As of now, I haven't heard of any deaths (they are pretty rare back home when hurricanes/storms pass). The government agencies in charge of emergencies are pretty good at this, and people that live in flooding areas are always ushered to secure shelters (mainly schools) and given food and stuff. My family is OK, I kept checking with them yesterday. My family's houses are sturdy, so I'm not worried. This is pretty typical. Here are some links to pics from the local newspapers., the captions are in Spanish but the arrows to next and previous are easy to figure out how to move back and forth. While the images might seem like a lot, it's nothing compared to what happens to Dominican Republic when this kind of thing happens (sadly). Here are two links, one is the official newspaper's pictures, and the other is people's pictures of the hurricane.

Thanks for your concern,
Dave the Half-Blood Roboto

(A lot of this pictures, apart from the obvious one show the impact of the hurricane on Culebra and Vieques (Puerto Rico's two island/municipalities east of the main island and people in the shelters)

Map of Vieques and Culebra east of the main island:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Locator_map_Puerto_Rico_Vieques.png


http://www.elnuevodia.com/fotodetalle-amenazaapuertoricoelhuracanearl-769539.html
http://www.elnuevodia.com/fotodetalle-imagenesciudadanas-769870.html

Paula Deen and deep fried yumminess

Talking to my coworker, I realized that once you turn 25 you start to gain more weight if you continue the same high calorie diet you previously had. Which is why I'm trying to eat better. Nonetheless, I must admit that a lot of the delicious food I eat is high on calories and other detrimental factors for your health. While I think on ways to change my behaviors, here is a link an article rightfully titled: Paula Deen Is Trying to Kill Us.

Enjoy

Writer's Block

The concept of writer’s block apparently came up in the 19th century in the romantic era in which literature, poetry and writing were activities that were considered as the result of passions; it could not be forced. The persons who dedicated their lives to such endeavors, were people that were 'skillful' in inciting their own emotions and passions by reeling in 'inspiration'.

As a student, trying to come up with coherent thoughts is hard enough, so I can't imagine what these artists where putting themselves through. They were perfectionists, but did so in their desire of fulfilling the purism expected of the time; a self-imposed purism based on the canons of good writing and the emotions stirred by art.

How hard is it when you think your life depends on your writing skills and you feel what you are producing is not good enough? When you are stuck and rightfully despair into doubt and preoccupation about your work, what should one do? Is it art what students do? I don't consider myself an artist for doing so, but as students we are expected to convey complex 'thoughts' and 'ideas' in a constrained and different language than the one we communicate every day. I bet that those of us who do a better job at this could be considered true artists as they convey 'thoughts' and 'ideas' to others; and by doing so, engage in dialogues that most often than not, stir emotional responses among us (or our professors).


I started this blog to practice my writing skills for my current and future academic life, but a lot of times I think of topics that I wish to elaborate on and fall short of elaborating them for fear that they might not be interesting enough. I think I'm still trying to find a style that suits me. So, I feel I should be writing something for the sake of practicing even though I feel blocked.



In reference to the New Yorker Magazine article: Blocked: Why do writers stop writing.