I've Moved

Given Googles indiferent customer support in dealing with the problems I have with it's new and supposedly improved beta blogger I've moved the blog to Word Press. You can find it here.

http://expatriateruminations.wordpress.com/

Test

Having read that the length of the post may be related to the problem I've been having connecting to beta blogger I am testing a shorter post to see if it makes a difference.

And to try uploading a picture I have selected the photo of this cutie who was watching the November 20 parade with her parents from the spot next to mine.

Sunday Excursion

Last Sunday Tere, her two sons Eduardo and Francisco, and I piled into the pickup, the youngster in the back, and drove to La Antigua, an enchanting small town a bit North of Veracruz.

The town is near the Bay of Antigua, the location of the landing of Hernando Cortes’ invasion force where he had his eleven ships burned so the planned conquest could not be reversed.

The town’s primary tourist attraction is the Cortes home, or I should say the ruins of his home with a small sign identifying the ruins as such. The town also has real cobble stone streets and is nestled into a tropical forest amongst really large trees. I imagine one could fly over the air and be hard pressed notice there is a town amongst the trees.

The Cortez house is lacking a roof, the walls are either crumbing or consist of a piles of rocks, and there are very large trees growing through holes in the wall that were once windows. None-the-less, the tourist buses were lined up on the adjoining street.

It was raining for about the entire trip there and back, and torrentially when we arrived, so we didn’t tour the ruins of the Cortex home. Rather we sought refuge at a table on the covered patio of a really nice restaurant, for a lunch of fried shrimp, shrimp cocktail, rice, tortillas, and chips, and to watch the pouring rain and the resultant stream flowing down the street.

Earlier Francisco had been asking to go to the beach so I pointed to the muddy stream in the street and told him “there’s the beach.” I was of course kidding; but, none-the-less, after they had finished their lunches Eduardo and Francisco went out to play in the stream, mud, and pouring rain. They spent the hour drive home shivering in their wet clothes in the back of the truck.

They are both bright, polite, nice young fellows. At one point during the drive to Antigua when I pulled over behind a parked semi truck for a bathroom break, both the boys walked over to the truck and pissed on a front tire. Thereafter I took to calling them dogs which they thought was pretty funny.

Next Sunday we’ll visit La Hoya a small community not far from Xalapa on the road to Perote.

Discount Natural Health Products - DNHP

I interrupt the usual program of photos and iconoflatulece (with thanks to Verde for coning the word) to engage in badmouthing of Discount Natural Health Products - DNHP, an internet vendor with whom I have done business a few times, in hopes that those searching the internet for Discount Natural Health Products - DNHP will happen upon my badmouthing.

I have purchased Livatone Plus from Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP for about the last year and a half. Livatone Plus contains Milk Thistle and other antioxidants that do good things good for the particularly the liver. As far as I’ve been able to determine it is available only from vendors in Australia, where I think it was developed, and Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP sells it at a favorable price.

I ordered from Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP last February and, owing to the Mexican customs and postal services, I finally received my package in May.

Last month I again ordered from Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP, and, thus, my grievance with Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP was conceived.

The web site of Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP indicates a “courier” shipping option that is quite expensive but promises a 4 days delivery. I placed an extra large order from Discount Natural Health Products - DNHP and opted for the “courier” service, which turned out to be phony.

When I placed the order with Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP, on October 18, I was informed that I would receive a package tracking number as soon as it shipped. Having not received the package, on October 30 I emailed Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP asking for a tracking number. Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP sent me a tracking number and informed me that the phony “courier” service they use could not track the package past the Sydney airport as the Mexican postal service did not provide tracking services. Mexican postal service?

<>I responded to Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP asking what the Mexican postal service had to do with delivery through their “courier” service. A question which Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP never answered.

Subsequently I emailed Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP and referred to their courier service as “phony”. Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP responded by saying that I had hurt the feelings of their staff. I promise, other than calling the courier service phony I was not the least bit abusive to anyone at Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP.

This past week Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP blocked my email address so I had to create another Yahoo address to send them a message indicating that since Discount Natural Health Products - DNHP mailed my package through the Mexican postal service, just what I had paid $100. AUS to avoid, rather than sending it by courier that they should credit my VISA account the difference between the cost of their phony courier service and the cost of mailing my package, which is what they did. Of course, given their indifferent customer service, Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP has not responded.

So a month after placing the order I had to go to the local post office to pick up my package from Discount Natural Health Products – DNHP which uses a courier service which promises on it web site door-to-door service anywhere in the world in four days.

Meet My Spanish Teachers/English Students

From left to right, Naomi, Eduardo, and Rosio who are coming to my apartment Saturday afternoons for help in learning English and to help me learn Spanish.

Eduardo is Tere's son and Naomi and Rosio her sisters who are living here while attending school.

All three are delightful young folks.

Google Competes With Microsoft

Google, which owns Blogger, the software I use to post here, recently required users to "upgrade" to Beta.Blogger. The problem is that Beta.Blogger wasn't ready for release, as there have been almost nothing but problems since the upgrade.

I guess I shouldn't complain, since the software and hosting are free, but it has been a bit irritating.

Due to the problems my posting may be a bit sporatic until the problems are resolved.

USA Taxpayer Funded Terror In Columbia

This is the Latin American government that receives more USA government aid than any other, and which hosts Latin America's largest USA military force to assist in its efforts to suppress popular uprisings. USA government officials tell us our troops are in Columbia as a part of "war on drugs" and that the insurgents there a communists.

Columbia is but the latest chapter of the USA government's nefarious deeds in Latin America since President Monroe essentially declared that Latin America belongs to the USA.

Those interested in earlier chapters of USA complicity in death squads, coups, and suppressions of popular movements should visit the National Security Archive website hosted at George Washington University in D. C.

Colombian Government Shaken By Lawmakers' Paramilitary Ties

Investigation Leads to Arrest of Current, Former Officials

By Juan Forero

Washington Post Foreign Service

Saturday, November 18, 2006; Page A17

BOGOTA, Colombia, Nov. 17 -- The government of President Álvaro Uribe is being shaken by its most serious political crisis yet, as details emerge about members of Congress who collaborated with right-wing death squads to spread terror and exert political control across Colombia's Caribbean coast.

Two senators, Álvaro García and Jairo Merlano, are in custody, as is a congressman, Eric Morris, and a former congresswoman, Muriel Benito. Four local officials have been arrested, and a warrant has been issued for a former governor, Salvador Arana. All are from the state of Sucre, where the attorney general's office has been exhuming bodies from mass graves -- victims of a paramilitary campaign to erode civilian support for Marxist rebels in Colombia's long conflict.

The investigation, which has revealed how lawmakers and paramilitary commanders rigged elections and planned assassinations, has shaken Colombia's Congress to its core. One powerful senator from Cesar state, Álvaro Araujo, has warned that if he is targeted in the investigation, it would taint relatives of his in the government and, ultimately, the president, whom he has strongly supported.

The arrests and disclosures about the investigation, which is focusing on at least five more members of Congress, come weeks after prosecutors leaked a report revealing how paramilitary fighters have killed hundreds of people, trafficked cocaine to the United States and sacked government institutions while negotiating a disarmament with Uribe's government.

Fox News Weds O. J.

I wonder what the troglodytes who rely on the Faux News Network for their news think of Murdoch publishing and promoting O. J.'s book.

Finally I Have Home Internet Service

I reported in mid-October that I had arranged for internet service trough the local cable company, MegaCable. I was told when I subscribed that the service would be installed within ten to fifteen days. I’m still waiting, almost a month later, and most recently was told the service would be installed on the 21st of this month. Given that I have three times previously been given specific dates and times when service would be installed and wasn’t, I’m not now holding my breath. The installers have not once called me to tell me that they wouldn’t show up when promised.

Most recently the service was to have been installed last Saturday, during which I waited all day in the apartment. The installers showed up Sunday, when I was in Puebla. Since I wasn’t home when they showed up on Sunday I now must wait until the 21st. The fellow with whom I spoke on Monday told me the installers didn’t make it on Saturday because of the weather.

Today (Tues. 11/14) I sent an email to MegaCable management politely telling them what lousy installation service they have. Today I also viewed my bill on-line and discovered a charge for my non existent internet service. So for the second time in two days I walked to the office to straighten out the mistake. I must say that everyone I’ve dealt with in the office has been very nice, efficient, and very patient with my often inadequate Spanish. In fact, when the fellow in the office who told me the installer would be here last Saturday overheard my discussion with a clerk, who is quite familiar with the tardy installation situation, about the internet charge he went to the phone and called the installation department.

The positive aspect to all of this is that I am getting lots of exercise walking back and forth to the cable office, which involves climbing and descending hills in both directions.

UPDATE: Five minutes after I wrote the above I received a call from a fellow at MegaCable who informed me an installer will be here tomorrow (Wed. 11/15) morning at 9:00.

FURTHER UPDATE: It’s a good thing I didn’t hold my breath as I received a call Wed. morning informing me the installation will be Thursday morning between 9:00 and 10:00. At least they called me this time. Tomorrow will be one month and a day since I contracted for service.

FURTHER UPDATE: Of course no installer showed up at the indicated time. So at 11:00 I called the installation department number and explained that six times now I have been given a specific day and time when the installation was to occur and six times no one has shown. The fellow I spoke to initially told me installation was scheduled for Nov. 21. I politely but firmly corrected him and after I explained all of the above to him he indicated that someone would be here in an hour.

When no installer showed up in an hour and a half I called again and was firmer. Within a half hour an installer showed up and within 30 minutes the installation was completed.

I finally have internet service.

Fig Sphinx

One of the nice folks at the internet café I patronize and I were discussing the caterpillar in the photo I posted a few days ago so we did decided to try to identify it.

We came upon this website which identifies the caterpillar as a Fig Sphinx.

http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/pficus.htm

Here is a bit of information and a couple of photos I pirated from the website.

DISTRIBUTION:
The Fig sphinx, Pachylia ficus (Wing span: 4 3/4 - 5 1/2 inches (12 - 14 cm)) flies from Uruguay north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to Florida, southern Texas, and southern Arizona. It occasionally strays as far north as Indiana and Pennsylvania.

EGGS, LARVAE, PUPAE:
Females feed and lay eggs on fig leaves, especially Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea). Ficus carica, Ficus microcarpa, Ficus religiosa, Ficus pumila, Ficus gamelleira, Ficus prinoides, Ficus pumila and Artocarpus integrifolia are also listed as hosts.
Larvae pupate in cocoons spun amongst leaf litter.
There are several color morphs.

Trip To Puebla

Sunday I drove with Tere, the woman from whose store I buy produce, for about two and a half hours to a huge market near the city of Puebla. Tere wanted to check the prices at the market to see if it would make economic sense for here to buy a pickup truck to drive to the market to buy produce for here store. She discovered prices about 40% less than she pays at the market in Xalapa.

I was amazed at how rapidly the terrain and climate changed as we climbed the mountains to Perote, which is the first town one comes to when entering a broad, semi-arid plateau. When we left Xalapa it was raining fairly forcibly; at around Las Vigas, not far from Xalap, we entered dense clouds; climbing further the sun began to shine through the clouds; and when we emerged onto the plateau the sky was blue. Between Las Vigas and Perote the mountains are covered with Pine, Cedar, and other trees of which I am unfamiliar. At Perote the trees thinned and cactus began appearing. A bit further along the trees were completely gone from the mountains and vast irrigated corn fields of sandy volcanic soils spread across the plateau, and the roadside vegetation was withered, quite unlike the green that predominates the Xalapa side of the mountains.

Tere bought two large bags of onions, 4 boxes of tomatoes, a large bag of chile peppers, and some hibiscus flowers, from which a sweet drink, popular hereabouts and in Merida, is concocted and I went for the truck.

I backed out of the parking space, facing the wrong way at the end of a one way street and turned to head for the bounty. A private security guard thought I had driven the wrong way all along the one way street and waved me over. I realized he was not a real policeman and politely explained to him that I had not driven the wrong way down the street but was merely backing out of a parking space. He certainly overplayed his hand when he told me that the infraction carried a $300 pesos fine. I politely told him I wasn’t paying him anything, asked him todo bien, shook his hand, wished him a nice day, and went on my way to load vegetables.

During the return trip we stopped at a roadside chicken restaurant where they roasted probably 50 chickens at a time on long wooden spits over wood fires. The chicken was very good and bill was even better. We paid $100 pesos for two Negra Modelos, two soda pops, half a chicken, rice, shredded cabbage, salsa and tortillas.

More Museo Photos

Part of an alter






























This toy is carved completely from stone.
















As are the children and the swing in this piece.














As I indicated the grounds are meticulously groomed.















I think this is a pretty wild piece.

Museo Antropologia

I’ve been settled in Xalapa going on three and a half months but it was today I visited one of the city’s foremost attractions, it’s Museo Antropologia and its outstanding collection of artifacts from the pre-Hispanic, Mesoamerican civilizations of, primarily, what are now the states of Veracruz and Tabasco.

The term Mesoamerican refers not only to a geographic region which includes parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador; but refers also to Precolumbian peoples who lived in discrete regional communities, but who shared cultural and religious beliefs and practices, a common 260 day calendar, cultivation of maize, a ball game, architecture that included pyramids and plazas, and cultural and commercial interactions.


The museum’s collection is organized based upon regional communities and epochs referred to as Preclassic, Early Classic, Middle Classic, and Late Classic. The Preclassic period is further subdivided into the Early, Middle, and Late Preclassic periods. The admittance fee is $40. pesos and hand held recorders describing the exhibits, in English and Spanish, may be rented for an additional $20. pesos. I opted to practice my Spanish by reading the descriptions.

The collection opens at the entrance with a carved stone Cabeza Colosal (Colossal Head), which evokes thoughts of the stone carvings of Easter Island, and closes with intricate ceramic sculptures of entire human forms. The collection documents the development of artistic techniques from stone carving to the use of ceramics, creation of jewelry, tools, and weapons and development of pigments used in detailed wall murals and in ceramics.

The museum building cascades, level-to-level, as it descends the slope upon which it is constructed. Flanking the museum building is a cascading patio which, as you can see in the photo lends a perspective to the nature of the building. Each display room opens into a atrium room, containing displays, which in turn opens to the cascading patio. The museum building, adjoining patio, and sprawling, meticulously landscaped grounds provide a stunningly beautiful setting for the magnificent display of well preserved artifacts. If you visit Xalapa you must spend a few hours touring the museum.

I will post more pictures in the next day or two. MegaCable staff has informed me that me internet service will be installed tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. I was told it would be 10 - 15 days and it has now been almost a month. Last Friday I was told it would be installed last Monday. I am patiently waiting.

A Very Sweet Movie

If you’re in the mood for a really sweet (with its traditional meaning) movie and you haven’t already seen it, check out Fly Away with Anna Paquin, Jeff Daniels, and Dana Delaney.

George Allen Departs

George Allen, who shares a contrived, phony grits political persona with George Bush, despite their patrician upbringings, will no longer be a Senator come January. Though I say good riddance, as the guy is a real prick, I must say that Allen did the right thing in conceding rather than calling for a recount.

I know that over blown rhetoric is the norm of the election season but Allen, in his concession speech, really over blew the over blown in pronouncing Senator John Warner as the “greatest” Virginian “ever”. Greater than Jefferson, Madison, Washington, or even Lee? Allen apparently paid as close attention in his history classes as did Bush. And the guy was once governor of Virginia. Sheesh.

Though I think that in recent years the republicans and democrats have really been just different wings of the same party, as they are beholden to the same benefactors, I am thrilled that the democrats have gained both houses of congress. I am thrilled, as a stake has been driven through the heart of the Tom Delay, Karl Rove, republican party orchestrated ‘K’ street/Grover Norquist/radical Chrisitian/neo-fascist combine.

Can we please also drive a stake through the hearts of the clichés “seismic shift”, “tectonic shift”, and “sea change”, propagated by TV’s vacuous talking hairdos? And not just in relation to the election results but in all other applications except as applied to the physical phenomena to which they actually refer.

Meanwhile, James Webb, in explaining why he “came to the democratic party” during his victory speech, talked about his desire to promote “economic fairness” and “social justice”. Both of which once were, and once again should be, fundamental principles of the democratic party. Such principles were abandoned by weak kneed democrats, which at the time constituted the majority of federal democrats (call them DLC democrats), in the face of the so called Reagan Revolution” when most federal democrats did their best to position themselves as being republican lite. Hurray for James Webb.

Another Great Encounter

I’ve been settled in Xalapa going on three and a half months but it was only today that I visited one of the city’s foremost attractions, it’s Museo Antropologia and its outstanding collection of artifacts from the pre-Hispanic, Mesoamerican civilizations of, primarily, what are now the states of Veracruz and Tabasco. I will be posting photos and commentary as soon as I upload the pictures and organize the commentary.

As I was walking to the museum a woman stopped me on the sidewalk and asked that I be careful not to step on this beautiful monster caterpillar, which was more than a couple inches long. Though the photo doesn’t indicate such, the caterpillar’s sides are actually light blue.

The woman and I ended up talking for about 20 minutes. I told here I would post a photo of the creature on my internet diary, so she asked for the address, which, of course, I gave her.

It was another of those great completely unexpected experiences.

Incurious George, Rumsfeld, and Gates

Bush, in his press conference today, declared the so called “war on terror” as “amongst the most consequential” wars “in our history”. I suspect that any non-ideological historian would judge the revolutionary, civil, and WWII wars as far more consequential. Of course we all know that Incurious George didn’t pay attention in his history classes, so really has no idea of the subject.

The day after the election Rumsfeld is at long last going, only a week after Bush insisted that Rumsfeld would stay for the remaining two years of his administration. When asked during his press conference today why he lied to reporters last week in insisting that Rumsfeld would stay Bush explained that he didn’t want to “inject” the issue into the election. He then went on to say that he thinks it sends the wrong signal to our troops to inject major military decisions into politics.

Isn’t that exactly what he did? Last week he could have just declined to answer, but by insisting that Rumsfeld would stay he was throwing some red meat to the whako caucus of the republican party. Bush may now be having second thoughts about believing everything Rove tells him.

As a Reagan administration intelligence official, Rumsfeld’s replacement, Bob Gates, worked in driving the Soviets from Afghanistan by arming, funding, and otherwise supporting the Islamic Jihad and al Queda. I guess we now get to see if he an now deal with the blowback from his earlier work.

Introducing Gates today, Bush once again propagated the big lie that radical Islamists wish to “destroy our way of life.”

Meanwhile, in his swan song Rumsfeld once again told us dumb ass masses that we just don’t understand, saying that the “first war of the twenty first century” is “little understood.” Thus again demonstrating the hubris of the administration neofascists, as well as their civilian cheerleaders, that took the nation to the pointless war in Iraq.

OK. I admit it. I’ve been watching CNN.

I Wish I Lived In Texas, Temporarily Anyway

Until a couple of days ago I have never had the slightest thought that I would like to live in Texas. After listening to and interview with Kinky Friedman, though, I wish I lived in Texas so I could vote for him.

Friedman was on the Dave Letterman show the other evening. He indicated that the word politician derives from poly, meaning more than one, and tic, a blood sucking parasite. He also indicated that if elected he will work to decriminalize the use of marijuana so that non-violent offenders could be released from prison to make room for politicians and pedophiles.

VFW - Hijacked? It Sure Seems So

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is apparently more interested in promoting a right wing ideology than in advocating for veterans. The organization has endorsed Peter Roskam in an Illinois congressional election against Tammy Duckworth. Roskam has never served in the military while Duckworth, a major in the reserves, lost both legs in Iaq.

The VFW apparently has been hijacked by ideologues, just has been the Grange, Farm Bureau and other national organizations. Such national organizations, conceived to advocate for specific constituencies, have expanded their membership though provision of cheap insurance and other incentives (the VFW uses bars with cheap booze) and many have subsequently been hijacked in efforts engineered by professional political operatives.

The VFW membership should be ashamed.

Dia del Muertos Alters

Here are a few more photos of Dia del Muertos alters that were erected by various communities in El Parque Juarez.

The alter at let is representative o the pre-Hispanic alters composed by the indigenous people o the region.
















The alters are often tiered and this tiered alter you can see all of the elements usually included in the alters, food, candles, produce, water or other liquid, incense (in the small container on the floor in front of the alter), and tissue paper.











Growers and purveyors of Marigolds must do really well this time of year.

Dia del Muertos

This is pan de Dia del Muertos (Day of the Dead), or bread for the Day of the Dead, which is observed on November 2 this year. My friends at the best internet café I’ve eve patronized presented me with the bread Tuesday as I was leaving from my daily visit.

Dia del Muertos, I am told, is one of the, if not the, most important days in Mexico. The day is observed through the erection of alters in homes, churches, and elsewhere upon which are placed bread, food, flowers, drinks and other offerings to the dead. A path of flowers is often laid leading to the alter and incense burned to guide the spirits of the dead to the alter placed in their honor. The day is also observed with celebrations in cemeteries which include music and food.


The modern observance of the Dia del Muertos combines the pre-Hispanic tradition of honoring the dead through erection of alters and the provision of offerings with Christian symbols, most notably the cross. Alters typically contain elements intended to represent earth, wind, fire, and water, so contain crops, containers of water and other beverages, candles, and colorful tissue paper that moves in the breeze.

The alters and the offering placed therein are often tailored to a particular person. Alters dedicated to deceased children, for instance, may be festooned with offerings of toys, or tequila and cigarettes may be placed on alters dedicated to a person who during his life enjoyed such.

The alter you see in the photo was erected at the Tendedero de Illusiones (literally Clothesline of Illusions) Patio Munoz which is hosting four days of events to observe the Dia del Muertos.

My friends at the internet café also provided me with a schedule of the events of the four days. Wednesday evening featured a display of paper mache art with a Dis del Muertos theme, as you can see in the pictures. There was also tango music; and, after I left there reportedly was dancing.

Saturday evening, as I understand there is each Saturday, there will be Fandango dancing, with which I am unfamiliar but understand is a synthesis of Spanish, African, and traditional dance that is unique to Veracruz.

Election Comments

John Kerry once again shows what an educated moron he is by trying to make a joke at Bush's expsense and coming off sounding as though he suggested that if young folks don't take their education seriously they will end up in Iraq. Almost everyone in the USA realizes that John Kerry does not have a sense of humor, except John Kerry that is. A fact that further illustrates who clueless Kerry really is.

Meanwhile, in case you missed the video, a couple of Virgina Senator George (phony grits) Allen campaign staffer assaulted a guy who approach Allen to ask why he had spit on his first wife, as has been reported divorce documents indicate. What's worse than the assault is CNN's Hiedi Collins
remarking "Wow. The really scary thing about it is that you don’t know what you’re dealing with. He had a backpack on." The fellow was wearing a daypack, such as most school children wear and which I wear whenever I leave my apartment. Collins' remark further illustrates the fact that the most important qualification to serving as a TV newstainment anchor is to have good hair.

The good news is that Webb has pulled ahead of Allen, Senator Crazy Rich Santorum is in the dust in PA, Katherine Harris doesn't have a prayer in FL, Dewine will surely lose in Ohio, and a whole host of other whacko incumbents are trailing badly (for the record I don't consider Dewine to be whacko, just a rubber stamp).