Dance of the Soldiers

One day, I will have mastered this dance.

Tuneskis: What do I get?

Books: The Devil's Highway

I read this for my class "Culture, Power and Violence in Latin America" last semester. The author is Luis Alberto Urrea, from Tijuana. Sophomore year I saw him speak with my pa in Berkeley. He's a funny guy and a great writer.

The book is about the Yuma 14/Wellstone 26, a group of people who attempted to cross the "Devil's Highway" desert of the U.S. Mexico border. Their death caused a controversy around the world, yet did not inspire much change in U.S. immigration policy. He writes the story from a literary liminal space, weaving fiction and non fiction to tell the story of all those involved- the migrant, the coyotes, the gangsters, the border patrol, the desert itself. Urrea captures the simple human aspects of immigration. The coyote who wanted to build a house for his mom, the Wellton Border Patrol that raised money to build safety stations, the migrant who's wife made sure her husband wore green socks to match his green slacks in order to look good for his job interview.

It really cut me up inside when I thought about how easy it was for my levi's skinny jeans to cross the border from Mexico, but hundreds of people die trying to cross just so they can build a house or send their kids to school.

Soviet Swag

Dispatches/ Tuneskis: Veterans Day

Veterans day was Thursday, November 11th. Honestly, I didn't do anything to commemorate the day, I forgot about it, which I regret. I wished I'd lit a candle, taken a moment of silence, done something to commemorate the sacrifice of our troops. To me, veterans day is not about politics or patriotism, but simply acknowledging the sacrifice soldiers make. The sacrifice of their lives, their humanity, their youth in war. What really cuts me up is that it's so easy for me to forget about this. I get to talk about avant garde films and celebrate Thirsty Thursday at the most expensive liberal arts school in the country while kids my age are fighting and dying needlessly over in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I ask that you take a moment to ponder the sacrifice our veterans have made. Maybe this song will help. It's Joe Strummer's version of "The Minstrel Boy," a song written by Thomas Moore in remembrance of his friends killed in the 1798 Irish Uprising.

Dispatches: Halloween

So my last minute halloween costume turned into "camo wearing guy drinking 40s."

Originally, I intended to put together a costume of Subcomandante Marcos. Subcomandante Marcos is a figure of the Zapatista struggle in Chiapas mexico. I don't really know how to explain the Zapatistas and Marcos, so peep this interview:

or, if you prefer something shorter or wish to gain further information, peep this

(2:05)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxRDwA9SXbw

or this:

(2:59)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlW9sS7CSAc

This is their official web site:

http://www.ezln.org.mx/