Blogging in Mexico Day 5 & 6

So day 5 was a horrible oopsie. I forgot my camera/phone. So all the pictures from the incredible and beautiful museum of Anthropology will have to wait. However, day 6 provided a ton of fun pictures from Chapultepec castle. The seat of government for Colonial viceroys from Spain, Mexican emperors, A military academy, Dictators, and now, a museum to be defiled by yours truly, and his three favorite cousins/rugrats.

Mario, Fernando, and Paula (My Cousins) climbing over the symbol of the grasshopper on a mountian, or in the Aztec language "Chapultepec"



Chapultepec Castle



A beautiful ceiling mural of a "Kid Hero" from the military academy who according to tradition, wrapped himself in the flag, and threw himself off the ramparts to avoid the flag's capture by encroaching American forces during the war with the U.S. (Note the American flag on the bottom right hand)



An incredible Mural Depicting the Spanish conquest where an eagle warrior is pierced by a spanish blade as he plunges his spear into the spaniards throat. In other words, the vile merciless Aztecs were conquered by the Vile merciless Spanish.



Some of the spanish Viceroys that ruled over "Nueva Espana" . Yeah, the first guys is an inbred cross-eyed goon.


Santa Ana's (Of Alamo Fame) Wooden Leg



After the castle , we went to a Oaxan Restaurant where my mom fed us all sweetbreads.


Then it was off once more to the plaza of the three cultures where you can see a colonial church that overlooks aztec ruins. under the shadow of Apartment buildings.



It was here that Fernando made a gruesome discovery
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By this time, the kids (and I) were getting slap happy, so we headed home as the sun set behind the Angel of Independence.

A history of canines.

My dental history reads like a Russian Novel. Hundreds of characters hurtling towards eventual ruin, and not a happy moment in sight.

For starters, my teeth are retarded.
It seems that my canines (The pointy meat-eating teeth in the front), never came in. They just didn't. Where my canines SHOULD have been, there was a gap. So my parents, being the sort who care babout their children, decided to enter me into a journey of Braces, Retainers, Headgear, Veneers, and endless other dental procedures, in order to make me look presentable. To that end I've aided them by losing about 30 retainers in various fast food trash cans, breaking braces in the middle of european vacations, refusing headgear, breaking teeth, losing teeth, etc. Never knowing that they were all the while planning their revenge. It seems that the doctors and my parents plotted in my young days to "Fix" my teeth by pushing back teeth forward, and sharpening baby teeth to look like canines. An aesthetically reasonable decision that came with a caveat.
"Eventually, the baby teeth will rot off. Then we can just put some crowns in and all will be well."

Ah "eventually", may you be far in the future.

Well, time passed and the much feared Wisdom teeth were complete No-Shows, proving ample speculative fodder to jokes regarding my posession of widom.

One day about 2.5 yrs ago, while noshing on a particularly uncooperative frozen banana, "Eventually" chipped my left front baby/faux canine. Not a big chip, and certainly one I chose to ignore.

Eventually, maybe about a year ago, darkness descended on my toof. ("TOOF" is a bad tooth, in the Alf lexicon)
I was faced with the horrible reality that I should probably figure that shit out. So I made a decision to go see a Dentist, as I chewed on the ice from my drink, i felt my molar go. Awwwcrap! now i had 2 repairs. but the Molar hurt. Bad
there was something exposed there. I went to the DDS. He says "We need to fix that molar". I get it fixed to the tune of a cool K, straight out of my pocket. "Now, about your canine. We need to see a specialist, who will fit you with a new tooth."

I $ee.

"It'll involve some slight jaw surgery that i can't do here, but i have a great guy"

Yeah.

So a year later, here i am. My toof doesn't hurt, its not too black, but there it is. Its almost a tribute to my inability to get all my shit together. Every time i flash a smile I'm reminding people "It's ok, but I don't have dental insurance"

I sot of like it. It's extra sharp, almost weapon like. I gnawed on my old phone with it, and the marks were sweet. Moreover it makes me imperfect in a town where that's considered somewhat unique. I also consider it a visual reminder of how much better i need to be doing. Every morning, i wae up, smile, brush my teeth and gently remind myself. "Today, you will get people jobs. Today, you move one step closer to dental insurance."

Not much of a post, i know. But i was feeling self-concious about the toof on Saturday, and felt i should explain myself.

That's all.

Memories of Strikes gone by.. (A Photo Gallery)

As the WGA strike looms over Hollywood like a fire in the hills, the mind recoils in horror as the body gently sits this whole mess out, poolside with a drink. True, its difficult to imagine Marc Cherry and Patric Varrone overturning cars (Though I can easily picture Nick Counter pressure-hosing women and children). However, lest we be lulled into false security by the puffy nature of WGA membership, let us recall the strikes of yore through this pictoral stroll down Hollywood (STRIKE) Blvd.

1919 Actor's Strike


Actors' Equity joined the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and called a strike seeking recognition of the association as a labor union. The successful strike of 1919 ended the dominance of the Theatrical Syndicate, including theatre owners and producers like Abe Erlanger and his partner, Mark Klaw. Mark Klaw is credited as being the father of all draconian-sounding theater owners. The 1919 Strike also sees the very first Strike Photo Op, one of those hats is supposed to be Ethel Barrymore, who had made a comeback after beating her Laudanum adicction at age 10.

1941 Disney Animator's Strike







The bitter animators' strike of 1941 at Walt Disney Studios was a psychological turning point within the company. The strike had relatively little effect on Walt Disney's reputation with the public, who generaly could give a rat's ass about these kind of things, but damaged his standing with commies and pinkos who had heralded "jazz, porn, and the animated cartoon" as the three art forms which America had given to the world. The strike destroyed the paternalistic relation between Herr Disney and his animation staff, and cemented the studio's derogatory nickname of "the mouse factory". The strike turned violent when Disney struck his head animator with a wooden mallot, causing retaliation in the shape of an anvil dropped from the second story of the animation building. It was this strike that would ultimately cost Clara the Cow her career.

1945 Set Decorator's Strike (Holy shit! Don't fuck with decorators!)







Hollywood Black Friday is the name given, in the history of organized labor in the United States, to October 5, 1945. The WGA immediately submitted a complaint since it was not consulted on the name, and several other events had claim to the title. Regardless, on that date, a six month strike by the set decorators, represented by the Conference of Studio Unions (CSU) boiled over into a bloody riot at the gates of Warner Brothers' studios in Burbank, California. The strikes helped the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, which was eventually replaced by the studios with the Hope-Crosby act, which was mistakenly believed to be more funny.

2000 SAG Commercial Strike





The commercials strike of 2000 was extremely gay. Some factions within SAG call it a success, asserting that it not only saved Pay-Per-Play (residuals) but it also increased cable residuals by 140% up from $1,014 to $2,460. Others suggest almost identical terms were available in negotiation without a strike, and if the actors had stopped their soliloqiues for a moment, they would have notcied. In the wake of the strike, SAG, and its sister union AFTRA, gathered evidence on over 1,500 non-members who had worked during the strike. SAG trial boards found Elizabeth Hurley and Tiger Woods guilty of performing in non-union commercials and both were fined $100,000 each, which was equal to the total box office gross of Bedazzled, and doomed TIGER!: The Musical.

2007 (Dare to dream.)

SIMON SCHAMA'S: POWER OF ART

History Nerds such as myself who mourn the death of Eugen Webber, or who thrill at a Keegan lecture are undoubtedly familiar with the fantastic work of Simon Schama. His series THE HISTORY of BRITAIN was nearly esquisite in its ability to entertain and inform. Not to be outdone, Schama has come out with an absolutely thrilling new series called: THE POWER OF ART.

My girlfriend and I accidentally stumbled onto the Carravaggio episode, and were riveted at the lunatic tales of these artists on the edge.

From the PBS website:

"In 1941, during the Nazi occupation of Paris, the Gestapo visited Pablo Picasso's Left Bank flat, where a member of the secret police spied a postcard of the artist's most famous work, Guernica. The giant mural memorialized Germany's 1937 aerial obliteration of a small Basque village. "Was it you who did this?" the Nazi demanded of Picasso, to which he replied, "No. It was you." In the eight-part SIMON SCHAMA'S POWER OF ART, internationally acclaimed scholar and writer Simon Schama recounts that story while challenging viewers with a typically provocative query: "Shouldn't art just stick to what it does best, the delivery of pleasure, and forget about being a paintbrush warrior? Or is it, when the bombs are dropping, that we find out what art is really for?"

If you think this is dramatic, you need only tune in to the series to see that this is par for the course. The Artist profiled and their definitive works are as follow:

* Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) and Wheatfield With Crows, (Pictured above with Andy Sirkis as Vincent)

* Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Guernica,

* Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) and David With the Head of Goliath,

* Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and The Ecstasy of St. Theresa,

* Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and The Conspiracy of the Batavians Under Claudius Civilis,

* Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) and The Death of Marat,

* J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) and Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On),

* Mark Rothko (1903-1970) and the Seagram murals.

After watching the Jacques Louis David episode, I have an all new appreciation for a painting I had always ...admired (?)
If you are into Art, watch it. If you are into History, watch it. If you are into Love, Violence, Politics, Intrigue, Sex, Death, and LIFE, watch it!

I have found the following Episodes online (If you find more, let me know!):


Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and The Ecstasy of St. Theresa


Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and The Conspiracy of the Batavians Under Claudius Civilis



Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) and David With the Head of Goliath (TOTALLY INSANE!)

Sic Transit Eugen Weber

"No WUNdah the RRRomans ate PahStah in thee sisTAINE chapel." The queer cadences of the Hungarian Born, Paris Educated professor of European History are familiar to students everywhere. THE WESTERN TRADITION is the primer for all students of History and Eugen Weber is the voice, face, and incredibly sopoforic master of the PBS lecture series. For me, he filled in the gaps of the basic European history texts of my High School career.

He may not be too important to too many people, but he and his series help cement my love for History and in a wider sense my love of knowledge. His Death at the age of 84 last week would have gone by unnoticed by me had not my closest friend alerted me of his passing today. I was planning on being clever and making fun of Eugen for his accent and sideburns, but truth be told, since this may be one of the few random Eugen Eulogies on the web, I'll leave the prof alone, and allow him to do the lecturing.