sarawak & sabah: updated game plan...

( pleasant participants )

BUENO, borneo's been a wet and wild time thus far. too much to tell. loving every second. recap and photos to come... the final rundown: 

10.25  longhouse + waterfalls + durian fruit (@ last!)
10.26  bako national park
10.27  semmengoh (orang-utan sanctuary), kuching – miri
10.28  niah caves
10.29  miri – kota kinabalu (kk) 
10.30  whitewater rafting on padas river
10.31  TAR islands
11.01  mount kinabalu ascent (tallest peak in southeast asia)
11.02  mt kinabalu summit/descent, kk – kl

...should be an intense and unforgettable wilderness adventure//

dispatches from cat city...

IT'S BEEN A LONG FIRST DAY IN KUCHING (literally 'cat' in malay), unaided by the fact that i slept so little last night (if the pillow was hard, the mattress was even harder). woke up @ a quarter to eight and left the "hotel" (AKA bed & breakfastless) shortly thereafter. after sitting around most of the day, watching gaya give session after session in bahasa malay (interspersed w/ kaya toast breaks, mixing w/ attendants and making a skype video tutorial--in malay of course: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8iCjebLnKg) it was my turn to assist in the closing presentation as technologist/expert-on-all-things-clickable. the good news is that the participants (from rural and indigenous communities from around sarawak and sabah) seemed to learn a lot and showed great enthusiasm (@ one point breaking into a traditional sarawak sing-along). it's 10:30 now and we're just packing up, chewing on rambutan (the original 'hairy' fruit). tomorrow promises to be much more tolerable. i'd say more but i'm far too drained to indulge in further pleasantries. time to kick back 'n relax... i've got just the thing:

superlection, elite rule & the lesser of two evils...

WITH ONLY TWO WEEKS TO GO, election season is quickly/finally drawing to a close... but not w/out a last-moment barrage of racist, alarmist and divisive tactics so commonly employed by the right. there may be several important issues to consider, but there's really only one choice (sadly). as i'm flying out to kuching (capital of sarawak) for a communication training workshop tomorrow, i may be MIA for the next little while. i'll be back from borneo november 2nd. until then, laugh and learn:

( supernews: top gov )

( chomsky on real news )

( zinn on real news )

since 2003, according to the u.s. election assistance commission, at least 2.7 million new voters have had their applications to register rejected. In addition, at least 1.6 million votes were never counted in the 2004 election—and the commission's own data suggests that the real number could be twice as high. to purge registration rolls and discard ballots, partisan election officials used a wide range of pretexts, from "unreadability" to changes in a voter's signature. and this year, thanks to new provisions of the help america vote act, the number of discounted votes could surge even higher. // greg palast, rolling stone

our oligarchic class is incompetent at governing, managing the economy, coping with natural disasters, educating our young, handling foreign affairs, providing basic services like health care and safeguarding individual rights. that it is still in power, and will remain in power after this election, is a testament to our inability to separate illusion from reality. // chris hedges, truthdig

with election day fast approaching, it's time to take another look at the considerable differences between barack obama and john mccain on issues that are vital to working americans--and why it's so important that working people vote for obama on november fourth. // dick meister, znet

soundcheck w/ shad...

weekend recap: forty winks @ NBT & porkfest @ miss phang's...

ON FRIDAY NIGHT, andrew, zac and i swung by no black tye for my first ever ska show. the band was forty winks, the sound was standard ska (in my amateur opinion). the opening acts were decent as well. unfortunately, the place/crowd was too classy for any skanking business. on a side note: as there were no seats left when we arrived @ the bar, our server was none too hesitant to kick some locals from their table in order to seat us (sometimes being white doesn't feel so right). on sunday, andrew, apsara and i caught the komuter train out to rawang to visit miss phang, the office manager, and her family. she made us some savory noodles w/ pork, followed up by some amazing curry pork and then capped it all off w/ some cookies... did i mention they contained pork (apparently we can't get enough of it)? her husband was ever willing to offer us one anchor beer after another (and eventually some smokes... obviously). after observing the way the three of us handled our chopsticks, i was found to be the only one w/ proper technique (what can i say, my parents taught me well). they also took it upon themselves to give us all new names; andrew became adam, apsara was sheila and i was given the flattering/boyish ( ? ) title of chai. here's what i got:

my country is the world... and my religion is to do good. // thomas paine

infomania, 10.16.08...

tonight: el derbi madrileño...

malaysia: a nation of econo-eating...

THE FOOD IS SO DAMN CHEAP 'N DELICIOUS HERE, i can't remember the last time i used a stove. haven't had much cake tho//

el verano pasado: randomly reminiscing...

( the tony hawk of unicycling )

( blue is best? )

( united colors of benetton, eat your heart out )

( the b-day boy and the bucket )

( only hours from cheating death... )

( ...and already sweating )

( 'casual' dining in kensington )

( up north )

( the pencil )

( cottage drinking games are mad stupid )

( great mission or the greatest mission? )

( rob, shad and ian in the green room @ mtv )

( the greatest rainbow )
( what a way to go out )

...a solid summer, no doubt//

the triumph of triviality // john f. schumaker

the results of the cultural indoctrination stakes are not yet in but there is a definite trend – triviality leads, followed closely by superficiality and mindless distraction. vanity looks great while profundity is bringing up the rear. pettiness is powering ahead, along with passivity and indifference. curiosity lost interest, wisdom was scratched and critical thought had to be put down. ego is running wild. attention span continues to shorten and no-one is betting on survival.

it wasn’t supposed to be this way...

zeitgeist: addendum...

ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS AND COMPREHENSIVE PIECES OF FILMMAKING I'VE EVER SEEN. covers a broad range of social, philosophical, environmental and technological issues and challenges. while i agree w/ the overall tone and argument, the problems may be slightly more complex than they are presented (partly due to the limitations inherent in the medium, i'm sure). i'm a little skeptical of the way in which some of the concepts are framed, particularly in regards to the institution of "politics." maybe the term 'government' would've been more appropriate. his argument against the fractional reserve system seems somewhat overdrawn yet correct nonetheless. i found the characterization of reality as emergent and symbiotic to be very apt and useful. it's heartening to see that more and more people are embracing the scientific / humanist / anarchist / holistic (interconnectedness of all things) approach to both reality and society, but that's just my POV. if nothing else, addendum should get people thinking differently about these issues and reevaluating their own role in society and potential as free, creative beings//

( let the debate begin )

...if your interested, check out: 

confessions of an economic hitman 

written by john perkins

the money fix

directed by alan rosenblith

the venus project

...olmert admits israel must withdraw, but why?

vive le canada...

IN RECOGNITION OF TODAY'S FEDERAL ELECTION, i'd like to share this sensational piece starring one of our nation's brightest stars:

( hypothesis: celine dion is f*cking amazing )

strategic voting in canada...

"Without splitting the left-of-centre vote, Conservatives could not form the government.

With the Canadian election approaching, incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper appears destined to remain in power, with the only question remaining being: How much power will he attain? Senior Editor Paul Jay sat down with Barry Kay, who's own seat distribution forecast at www.wlu.ca/lispop shows Harper's Conservative Party just two seats away from forming a majority government. This despite the fact that the vast majority of Canadians support parties that campaign to the political left of Harper's policies. Barry explains both the reasons for this phenomenon in Canadian politics, and the sort of strategy which would be required to ensure an electoral outcome more reflective of the Canadian populace."

anti-democratic nature of u.s. capitalism is being exposed...

"'Politics is the shadow cast on society by big business,' concluded America's leading 20th century social philosopher John Dewey, and will remain so as long as power resides in 'business for private profit through private control of banking, land, industry, reinforced by command of the press, press agents and other means of publicity and propaganda.'

The United States effectively has a one-party system, the business party, with two factions, Republicans and Democrats. There are differences between them. In his study Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age, Larry Bartels shows that during the past six decades "real incomes of middle-class families have grown twice as fast under Democrats as they have under Republicans, while the real incomes of working-poor families have grown six times as fast under Democrats as they have under Republicans."
Differences can be detected in the current election as well. Voters should consider them, but without illusions about the political parties, and with the recognition that consistently over the centuries, progressive legislation and social welfare have been won by popular struggles, not gifts from above.

Those struggles follow a cycle of success and setback. They must be waged every day, not just once every four years, always with the goal of creating a genuinely responsive democratic society, from the voting booth to the workplace." // chomsky, 10.12.08, irish times

thoughts on individual participation in imperfect democracy OR in reluctant defense of operating within a plutocratic, expansionist state polyarchy...

ONLY THREE WEEKS TO THE MOST HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED, WILDLY-SPECULATED, MONEY-DRIVEN, STAGE-MANAGED, DIGITALLY-AUTOMATED, CLASS-BASED POLITICAL SURROGATE SELECTION PROCEDURE... oh, the excitement! american 'democracy' is truly a thing of beauty--if defined as a proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory; in short, paradoxic. still, voting matters... at certain times, under certain conditions. it may not always represent 'real' or substantive change @ the most basic level (in our day-to-day lives), but brutal wars, imploding economies and natural catastrophes (among other realities) may present such a possibility. sure, corruption and injustice @ the institutional level will undoubtedly persist (as w/ any state), yet elections remain one of the few non-private mechanisms for non-elites to participate meaningfully in the organization of society (provided they are adequately protected from manipulation and falsification). after all, universal suffrage was fought for, not given. it's true, the ballot options are narrowly-limited and the political economic system is heavily-tilted (and confronting these problems is vital). yet it is equally true that choosing a leader can affect the direction of a nation and, ultimately, the policies that determine the quality of our lives and the very potential for our continued existence. of course, this process is only democratic if politicians manage to retain the most minimal moral decency (by sticking to their word and responding to popular pressure) and citizens are sufficiently educated and informed (through systems of education [schools] and information [media] that reflect the public interest) to make sound judgements. the decision to abstain from the electoral process, or the 'system' in general, must be weighed carefully (and always taking into consideration the immediate plight of others). regardless of one's final decision, the state, along w/ its flawed electoral system, will prevail for (@ least) another day. thus, political activism and engagement mustn't be reserved to election day; the struggle against illegitimate authority, domination and hierarchies must be sustained indefinitely. in the end, even the most serious revolutionary is necessarily a dedicated reformist//

*the preceding piece was written w/ apathetic youth, countercultural cynics and the canadian electorate in mind

this must be the place (cover) // mgmt (early)

one builds one's philosophy like a beaver, one is forced to and does not know it. // nietzsche

infomania, 10.09.08...

weekend recap: panda-monium in subang...

notnot muchnot much to . .. .

ALL RIGHT, you good to go, macbook? super. not much to report this weekend. pretty uneventful--lots of walking, which was somewhat unwarranted, as i was nursing a leg injury. still, i managed to limp around the baru kampung night market (wasn't a whole to see, save the traditional raised houses and inquisitive street cats), little india (once again partially-abandoned, leaving us silk shirtless and utterly uncool) and merdeka square (@ night). today we took the 'komuter' train out to subang jaya where apsara showed us around her hood. it's claims to fame: one of the best curry claypots in town (served on massive banana leaves), a big mall (surprise) w/ one of only two ice rinks in malaysia and... the "world's largest pencil" (which was eraserless; apparently malaysians don't make mistakes). apsara was kind enough to drive us around in her ultra-compact people-mover, showcasing her abrupt braking abilities. round two in subang will surely involve a visit to the sunway theme/extreme park. special mention goes to the explicitly racist marketing campaign put on by pizza hut (see: "eat like mexicans do" and "give your best mexican pose") and the indelible chef wan noodle packaging (you had me @ that ingenuous raised arms "chef pose"). some visuals: