Did I really need another album?

...in this case, I think I did.

Beautiful, emotional Huasteco music from the northeast of Mexico....Los Camperos de Valles, perfect for a quiet and lonely Sunday afternoon.

El ave de mi sonar
Nubarrones sin parar / veo venir en mi horizonte
y el ave de mi sonor / vuela perdida en el monte
y hasta mudo en su nidal / sin cantar esta el cenzontle.

I see endless, immense clouds / Approaching on my horizon
And the bird of my dreams / Flies lost in the jungle
Silent in its nest / The mockingbird is without a song.

Mother & Son

Sunday Morning

6:30 a.m.

Barbaro

Ahem, like I said, mark my words....

(See below. Just a guess really.....or was it an a never-before-tapped intuition about the ponies?)

Tim and Amadisto snuggle up

Who are these freaks?

Cinco de Mayo burrito bash

I originally thought that this blog would have a food theme, hence the "Soulfood." It hasn't turned out that way. I'm not sure what happened....oh yeah..there's that cute baby....

Anyway, we had Tim & Michelle over last might for a mighty burrito feast. As usual, I made WAY TOO MUCH food. We will be eating burritos for months.

Being Cinco de Mayo, the evening was capped off with tequila shots and loud shouts of "Viva Mexico! Hijos de la Chingada!*" Then I realized that everyone was staring at me and wondering what the heck I was yelling about.

Being Cinco de Mayo, we also enjoyed a long call with Cousin Geoffrey in South Korea. It was a sleepy one (his early morning, our late evening), but extremely edifying. Unfortunately, we did miss his birthday, since it was already May 6 in his time zone.

I was up with Amado around 5:00 this morning and I am still quite sleepy. I am trying to solve that by listening to Jethro Tull's Bursting Out album as loud as I can take it in my headphones. That oughta help.

Also, after reading Katie's blog this morning I am also thinking about which horse I would bet on in today's Kentucky Derby if I were a betting man (which I'm not...the last thing I think I bet on was USC vs. Ohio State in the 1975 or 1976 Rose Bowl. I was in junior high, the bet was for $1, and I lost big time). Anyway, just between you and me, I am picking "Barbero" to win the Derby today. I have no reason for this pick, just call it a hunch. MARK MY WORDS!

*See Octavio Paz's classic essay on this phrase, "The Sons of La Malinche," in The Labyrinth of Solitude.

Friday Morning

Father & Son.

Geoffrey James Ivan Corbet

Today, several decades ago, this sprite fellow entered the world. Geoffrey (who by chance happens to be Wendy's cousin) is on an extended mission of mercy to South Korea, where he is busy dolling out English names like "Michael Jordon" and "Dick" to poor students who have none. Geoff...we miss you A LOT and wish you a very happy birthday!

Thursday Morning

Road Trip

This is me in 1985, just after I returned from my first long solo trip to Central America. I had freed myself from "the world," and went on a spiritual trip wandering by myself from war zones in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala to amazing Caribbean beaches in Yucatan, to the land that time forgot of hidden mountain villages in the heart of the Maya Highlands. I took buses from Managua all the way back to California, walking across the border with one small satchel at Mexicali.

After being searched numerous times, I made it across to the U.S. side. Almost as soon as I crossed the border---looking much like I do in this photo---a ragged homeless man with a shopping cart came up to me and said, "Man, you look like you could use some help." "I've been on the road a while," I told him. "Well," he said, "down the road there's a clinic that will buy your blood for $14 a pint" (or something like that). "You should check it out, man. I go there all the time."

I thanked him for the tip, but passed. Later I caught the last bus to San Bernardino.

Tuesday Morning

If I had to learn SpellCheck when I came to America, so should they!

Whatever country these folks are wanting to forge, I want to be part of that vision. It looks very interesting and there is the potential for lots of work for editors like me. ;-)

Seriously, I am very excited by yesterday's action and the rising movement for human rights for immigrants in the United States. I don't understand why the opposition gets so hung up that these folks broke the law to come to the U.S. Afterall, no one is so zealous about prosecuting pot smokers, under-age drinkers, tax cheaters, or corrupt corporate executives. The opposition says it isn't racism, but I have got to wonder. What else is strong enough to suppress good ol' American pragmatism which should know it's obvious the U.S. economy can't allow 4% of its workforce (who do about 99% of the manual labour) to be declared felons and booted out of the country? When it's evident a law isn't working, that law can be changed. That has happened a lot throughout U.S. history, though not too often in ways that benefit the poor.

Toronto's population is about 80% foreign-born, but with hardly any of the "immigrant" trouble that the U.S. appears to have. I don't know why I mention this, but it seems important to point out.

Amado World

This is the picture I used below in the "pop quiz" posting. I like it too much not to post it full size. Click to enlarge.

HUELGA!

No blog today....in support of all those seeking a better life.



See Luis J. Rodriguez' blog on the boycott.

Walk in High Park

Dogwood Spring

Pop Quiz: Biology

Q. What, if anything, is the student biologist able to reason from this set of pictures?

Picture (a): The romantic Potomac riverside - 12 months ago
Picture (b): A fertile time of year - 12 months ago
Picture (c): A child - 3 months old

Phelan

Phelan, California. This high desert town is where I spent grades 6-12 in the 1970s. Except when I lived there there was mostly nothing where that whole development in the middle of the picture is. But we never felt deprived or lacking anything. The desert actually has a lot going on simply because it's the desert----snakes, lizards, coyotes, an amazing diversity of flora and fauna, and of course some real characters. And what wasn't there our imaginations made up for. (For example, a real skatepark might have been nice, but we didn't have one, so we build our own ramps and plus we found some great skate spots in the desert, like the Knolls and the Lost Pipeline.)

Every time I visit Phelan I am shocked to see how much it has developed. I think there is pretty much everything there now---even sushi I hear. But I can still feel the ghost-like presence of the desert town I knew 30 years ago.

Even in this recent picture I can see some houses of people I knew. I wonder if they still live there?

Bath Time

....just moments ago. He hasn't taken to the water too much, but at least he doesn't scream bloodly murder like he used to a few weeks ago. I think he will end up liking baths as much as we do.

Descarga Numero Dos

Even though I loved The Motorcycle Diaries and Gael García Bernal is one of favourite actors, those that know me will know that I'm not a huge fan of Che Guevera or Fidel Castro. But I don't hate them either, as some do. I just think folks (especially those on the left) should have a more realistic view of them. It's hard for anybody who's read much about Che to discount his violent acts and nature. That's hard for a 99% pacifist like me to swallow. I'm enough of a realist to know that revolution is not a nice business and is sometimes necessary. But, in my opinion, that doesn't mean those on the left should idealize Che and the Cuban Revolution too much either. There's been tons of terrible crap purpertrated by Fidel and Che. I know too many Cuban exiles not to understand this perspective.

I haven't seen this movie, but I believe it's important to hear all sides.....

The Lost City
(KP International) Andy Garcia's latest flick, 'The Lost City,' is being banned in a number of South American countries due to the less-than-favourable light in which revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara is shown. Cuban born Garcia, who coproduced, directed and starred in the film, worked on the project for more than 14 years. Now, after a long road to its completion, the film is being criticized for its politics.

"There have been festivals that wouldn't show it," said Garcia. "That will continue to happen from people who don't want to see the image of Che be tarnished and from people who support the Castro regime. He still has a lot of supporters out there."

The 50-year-old actor said, "Some people think Castro is a saviour, that he looks out for the kids and the poor. It's a bunch of hogwash. In the 45 years since Castro came to power, Cuba has been in the top three countries for human rights abuses for 43 of those years. People turn a blind eye to his atrocities."

'The Lost City' costars Jsu Garcia as Che, Bill Murray and two-time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman.

Dime-a-Dozen

As I'm sure Wendy will be happy to tell you, I am totally addicted to the website www.dimeadozen.org. This is a bit torrent site devoted exclusively to "lossless" recordings and videos of live performances. The moderators are quite strict and only allow previously unreleased, non-commercial material on the site. Every morning and night I check the site for new postings. I suppose that I've downloaded about 500 shows since I've discovered this site in September, the vast majority of which I haven't listened to. It is a very good thing that my wife is an addiction and mental health counsellor. [Above: Luther Allison rocks on...]

Here are my downloads for just the month of April (so far....):

*Jethro Tull, July 7, 1973, Dallas, TX (Passion Play tour)
*Santana, Nov. 11, 1993, Polofields, San Francisco (Goodby Bill Graham Concert)
*Neil Young, Encores Greendale Tours, 2003-2004
*Neil Young, Feb. 13, 1991, Hamilton, Ontario
*Miles Davis, July 1963, Antibes
*Pat Metheny Group, Dec. 18, 1981,Shimin-Kaikan, Sapporo, Japan
*Miles Davis Quintet (with John Coltrane), Feb. 16 & 23, 1957, Peacock Alley, St. Louis
*Ozomatli, April 22, 2006, Breckenridge Spring Massive Festival
*Los Lobos, Sept. 9, 2005, Plaza de la Raza Cultural Center for Arts & Education Los Angeles
*Santana, Oct. 2, 1988, Costa Mesa Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, Calif., with Los Lobos, Stevie Ray Vaughn & The Fabulous Thunderbirds guesting.
*Los Lobos, Wolf Survival Kit #1Crack's 2003-2004 Los Lobos sampler
*LUTHER ALLISON - INTERNATIONAL D.O.C. CLUB, STUDIO 1, RAI TV. ROME, ITALY, JANUARY 23 & 27.1989, FM SBD, from master.
*Los Lobos, Wolf Survival Kit #2Crack's 2004-2005 Los Lobos sampler
*Night Music DVD (1989), with Randy Newman, Warren Zevon, Lou Reed, John Cale, Santana, Wayne Shorter, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray.
*Milton Nascimento with Wayne Shorter DVD, Montreal Jazz Festival, July, 1990
*Baba Olatunji 12-31-91 Oakland, CA Excellent SBD
*Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble (DVD), El Mocambo, Toronto, 13 jul 1983
*Wayne Shorter Quartet, April 5, 2006, Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario Canada
*Carlos Santana & John McLaughlin, Sept. 1, 1973, Chicago
*Los Lobos, MAR 12, 1987 The Inferno, Buffalo NY
*Neil Young (DVD), 1984, Austin City Limits, Austin, TX
*Santana, 08.26.1990, World Theater Tinley Park, ILFree Radio Concert - WXRT FM Broadcast
*Los Lobos, Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA, February 25, 2006
*MILES DAVIS GROUP, LIVE UNDER THE SKY '85 (DVD - Complete Version)Yomiuri-land OpenTheatre East, Tokyo, Japan, July 28th, 1985
*John McLaughlin "Free Spirits" Trio, Live at Summer Jazz Days in GDYNIA, Poland, 1993-07-09' PART II

Nectarines

As go cities, so go people

"There is a quality even meaner than outright ugliness or disorder and this meaner quality is the dishonest mask of pretended order, achieved by ignoring or suppressing the real order that is struggling to exist and to be served."

--Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (R.I.P.)

Strawberry Top

Wendy bundled Amadisto up yesterday and took him out for a walk. (It's still pretty cool here in Toronto.) You can tell the boy's already quite the fashionista!

Stand-off in Caledonia

There's been a major stand-off between native people from the Six Nations and the Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.) going on near us in Caledonia, Ontario. For a couple of months the native people had been peacefully occupying a disputed piece of land next to their reserve where a developer had started a new housing development. Last week the O.P.P. raided the protest at dawn, tasaring and arresting a dozen or so protesters. Then native reinforcements arrived from the reserve and took back the land, forcing the police off. Now, with native supporters blockading a major highway in the area, all hell is breaking loose as seriously inconvenienced non-native residents have launched their own counter-protest.

As you might expect, it's all very complicated legally. At root is several hundred years of broken promises, shady deals, and suspect laws that have led to thousands of disputed native land claims that the government isn't addressing. I've heard that the average wait in Ontario for a native land claim to be heard in court is about 30 years. I can understand why folks would be frustrated.

Hopefully the situation in Caledonia will be resolved without any more violence. It would probably help if the native people took down their blockade of Highway 6. That would definitely get them more support in the local community. The O.P.P. also needs to back off---it was their raid that escalated this whole thing. And the local, provincial, and federal governments need to step up to the plate and make sure this claim and the thousands of others are dealt with in a timely manner, even if it isn't politically expedient for them to do so (which it isn't).

I don't have a lot of sympathy for the housing developer. Apparently the federal government sold them the disputed land, but there's no way this deal could have been done without both parties knowing that the ownership of the land would be disputed by the Six Nations. Somebody was trying to pull a fast one and get rich. For many years the claim on the land wasn't an issue because the land was agricultural. Does southern Ontario really need another housing development? There's a growing housing shortage in the area, but I say leave the land alone, built more condos in downtown Hamilton, Kitchener, and Toronto, and centralize everything so the environmental impact of our growing population will be less severe.

Blue Jays vs. Red Sox

Wendy's mom Kathy and I snuck off to a Toronto Blue Jays game yesterday afternoon. We went together a couple of years ago too---when the Jays lost to the Yankees after 17 innings. Yesterday's game against the Boston Red Sox didn't go that long, and it was a good one, except for the fact that the Jays lost 6-3. They had several chances to win with players in scoring position, but couldn't seem to get them in.

A couple highlights were seeing Boston's David Ortiz ("Big Papi") slam a three-run home run into left field in the first inning. Later in the game Big Papi laid down a bunt to the third base side against an infield that always shifts ridicously to the first base side when he bats. It was an easy infield single, even with the not-so-blazing speed of the big man. Anyone who follows baseball will know what I'm talking about. Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun also hit a three-run homer and later nearly tied the game with long fly ball to the right-centre gap with two men on. Boston right fielder Trot Nixon made a great running catch right at the wall to get Boston out of the inning.

Pictures: (Top:) Boston's Manny Ramirez at bat---one of my favourite players even though he plays for Boston. He's "different." (Middle:) The Jays' slugger Vernon Wells up to bat in the bottom of the ninth with two men on. He struck out. (Bottom:) Kathy and I at the game. I had a great time and might have looked a little happier for the picture except that 1) the Jays were losing, 2) there was a wild screaming woman in our section that was blowing our eardrums out the whole game, but at least she was a Jays fan, and 3) the stadium was about half filled with Boston Red Sox fans who cheered loudly everytime the Red Sox did something good. That was depressing. But all in all, the Jays look good this year---they did beat Boston 2 out of 3 times this weekend---so watch for them to take the division this year. That's pretty optimistic when they share the same division as the Yankees and Red Sox, but nevertheless, MARK MY WORDS!

P.S. Here is a link to a Toronto Star article about Ortiz's bunt.

Yahoo!

Mother and Son

Three Months Old!

Here's our little guy. He's very cute these days and is really starting to explode with animation and expression. When you're holding him and looking at his face he seems very big. He's right there with you. However, when you look at somebody else holding him, you see he's just a small boy, still only three months old.

He had his first round of vaccinations this past week. He had two shots, one in the front of each thigh, and they didn't seem to bother him too much. I put up more of a fuss when I get a shot. While at the doctor Amadisto weighed in at 14 pounds, 5 ounces and 65 centimeters long (25.5 inches). Compared to other three-month-olds, he seems very big. Is it our imagination? He has pretty much grown out of his first round of clothes, now on to the second round!

We love him a lot!

Amado's Dream

...hmm, has Daddy been taking a PhotoShop course or something?

Amado's Store

Check it out, down in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, Belize they have already started naming things after our son Amado. He is that beautiful.