High School Reunion

I'm at my h.s. reunion in McAllen, Tx. I shall return. It's been chingon, so far.

Cholo Word Of The Day - Caga Palo

I imagine Caga Palo can also be spelled Cagapalo. The literal translation means "shit stick." People also say, Cagar el Palo. To "shit the stick."

Word:
Caga Palo, Cagapalo

Meaning According To DT:
trouble maker, screw up, rapscalion

Used in a sentence:
"Le voy a meter sugar a el tank de Shorty, por decir eso."

"Tiralo al Leon Chucho. Porque siempre tienes que ser tan caga palo."

Translation according to DT:
"I'm going to fill vertically challenged's tank with sugar, for saying that."

"Forget about it Chuch. Why do you always have to be such a trouble maker?"

Guest Blogging About Sabado Gigante

I did some en chinga guest blogging about the Sabado Gigante deal.

About Talking Points

I'm going to try to answer a couple of questions about the BBC post I wrote earlier.

1. It's not a sure thing, they may call me - they may not. The lady said to expect a call between 1 and 3 pm.

2. I hope it's on your local NPR. She said it would be, but we all know you can't trust people with funny accents.

3. I hope to answer the phone. I'll be at my h.s. reunion and we're having a BBQ on Saturday!

4. They found me after answering some questions on the Talking Point site.

5. My roommate just walked in and left two minutes later to work out while I sat on the couch eating chips. Now I feel like caca, so I'm going to go for a quick run.

En Sabado Gigante

Whoa, the Presidential candidates are appearing on Sabado Gigante. That's amazing! I've grew up watching that show. My mom still watches it.

Cholo Word Of The Day - Explico Federico

Ethno Queer points out that there is a second part to Entiendes Mendez.

Federico is simply a name that rhymes with Explico.

Word:
Explico Federico

Meaning According To DT:
need me to explain, should I explain

Used in a sentence:
"No se como llegar a la dance en tomorrow."

"Look, nomas vete a downtown y volteas a la left en la Ross. Me entiendes mendez o te explico federico?"

Translation according to DT:
"I don't know how to arrive at the dance tomorrow."

"Look, simply go towards downtown and make a left on Ross. Do you understand me Frederick?"

BBC's Talking Point

I just got a phone call from a producer for the BBC's Talking Point radio show. It's a call in show and she said they'd like to talk to me on Saturday. It'll be interesting to see what type of show it is and what kind of questions they ask. We'll obviously be talking about the election.

The producer told me that this weekend you should be able to hear it on your local NPR station, from 1-3pm.

Cholo Word Of The Day - Entiendes Mendez

Entiendes Mendez is not one word, but a phrase. You'll often hear this in movies or at my former h.s. I'm sure I'll use it a couple of times this weekend when I'm down in McAllen for my 10 year h.s. reunion.

Mendez is simply a last name that rhymes with entiendes. It really has no meaning.

Word:
Entiendes Mendez

Meaning According To DT:
do you understand Mendez, your comprendey, is this clear

Used in a sentence:
"Si me entiendes mendez cuando te digo porque you can't wear your wife beater to church."

"Bueno, Tuti, I'll put on a t-shirt over it. Ya dejame en paz."

Translation according to DT:
"Do you understand Mendez why I tell you that it's not proper to wear a white tank top to church."

"Ok, Tuti, I'll cover myself properly with a t-shirt. Please let me be."

A La Iglesia

It's picture Friday. I've only had one other of these, but I'll still call it picture Friday.

I took this picture with the room completely dark. I was sitting in the corner while my grandmother was getting ready to go to church.



The altar set up for my late grandfather is behind her. For a long time, my grandmother refused to sleep where she and my grandfather used to sleep. There's a picture of the virgen and underneath you can see the picture of my grandfather.

The doorway on the left hand side of the room had only been there for a week or so. It's the new bathroom! Up until a couple of weeks before that, my grandmother still had to get water from her well, heat it up on the stove, and mix and match, if she wanted to take a shower. Oh, the door didn't fit the doorway, so that's why it's off to the side.

God Says It's A Good War

I chatted with my high school friend and part-time college roommate Marine Sgt. Rick Gonzalez today. Earlier in the day he had emailed some pictures of himself patrolling and also one of a Navy medic taking staples out of his leg. He told me he got the staples while rushing out of an area where he was "snooping" around. He said the Iraqi's spotted his unit, so they hauled ass, and in the rush of things, he ran through some barbed wire and kept running until he was safe.

The pictures were kind of neat. In one of them he carried his large weapon, I guess and assault rifle, and in the other hand he carried a handgun. The sun was setting and I imagine if somebody was taking this cool picture of him, he wasn't really in that much danger. In the other picture he's got his pant leg up and the medic is taking a look at him. He's got that big Rick smile on his face and in his right hand he is carrying a handgun, joking that if the medic hurts him, he'll shoot him. Rick told me that he didn't see the barbed wire because it was dark and his night vision glasses weren't working. I said, "what, they weren't working?" He said, "yea, only the Army gets good equipment." I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, but I do know that his equipment wasn't working. Not good.

Tonight, I turned on my computer and visited the NYT. I ran across this great piece on how President Bush feels God is guiding him and God wants the war.

Here's a short excerpt for those of you too lazy to get the free NYT subscription.

What does it tell you about a president that his grounds for war are so weak that the only way he can justify it is by believing God wants it? Or that his only Iraq policy now - as our troops fight a vicious insurgency and the dream of a stable democracy falls apart - is a belief in miracles?

Miracles make the incurious even more incurious. People who live by religious certainties don't have to waste time with recalcitrant facts or moral doubts. They do not need to torture themselves, for example, about dispatching American kids into a sand trap with ghostly enemies and without the proper backup, armor, expectations or cultural training.

Any president relying more on facts than faith could have seen that his troops would be sitting ducks: Donald Rumsfeld's experiment - sending in a light, agile force (more a Vin Diesel vehicle than a smart plan for Iraq) - was in direct conflict with the overwhelming force needed to attempt the neocons' grandiose scheme to turn Iraq into a model democracy.

Cholo Word Of The Day - Mañaco

In staying with the pervert them - I bring you the following:

Word:
Mañaco

Meaning According To DT:
pervert, horny bastard, calenton

Used in a sentence:
"El mañaco de luis fue a Club Babalu a ver a las 18 year olds."

"Yo se. Yo queria ir pero tenia los chavalios esa weekend."

Translation according to DT:
"That philanderer Luis went to a Dallas night spot to find some young 18 year olds who might be interested in attending college."

"I know, I was going to go help him recruit, but I had my beloved children that weekend."

Cholo Word Of The Day - Calenton

I was walking over to put a letter in the mail and I saw a group of employees shooting the shit outside of their office. There were several men and one woman. The mailbox was on the other side of the street so I started to cross over when I noticed one of the guys do something I've seen a ridiculous number of times. It's sort of the "hey I'm going to scare you, but I really hope to feel you up" move. The guy jumped into the group from behind, grabbing the woman, and they both broke out in laughter. I'm sure she knows what was going on. I know he does. I laughed because I remembered that cameramen always used that move with pretty female reporters when they were out in the field. The girls would always come and tell me, "hey, fulano just felt me up" and then they'd laugh. I imagine they laughed because they weren't really offended. I'm sure some people would consider it harrassment, but I've never heard of such thing. Anyway, I wanted to yell to the guy "pinche calenton!"

Word:
Calenton

Meaning According To DT:
pervert, horny bastard

Used in a sentence:
"Ese Polo es bien calenton - siempre anda manosiando a todas las girls."

"Si hombre - nunca le dicen nada, pero uno de estos dias le van a partir la madre."

Translation according to DT:
"That Hipolito is quite a gentleman caller - he knows how to court all of the girls."

"Yea man, they never tell him anything when he makes advances, but one day they will put him in his place."

Viva Bush

An anonymous reader just sent me an email telling me about the Viva Bush site. It's pretty freakin' hillarious. You should check it out.

November 2nd

Excerpt from NYT(need free subscription):

From Oct. 11 to Oct. 17, an estimated 208 Iraqis were killed in war-related incidents, significantly higher than the average week; 23 members of the United States military died over the same period.

Cholo Word Of The Day - Puñeta

I'm not sure of the exact defition of this word, but it's one that I used quite often. For some reason I used this a lot when I lived in Laredo. We used it to mean a couple of different things, none of which were pleasant. I called one of my old photographers - Chapa, from my reporting days, to confirm the meaning, and he just said, "ha, ha, no, eso esta medio gacho."

Word:
Puñeta

Meaning According To DT:
dick (but worse), asshole (but worse)

Used in a sentence:
"Oye Chinche, eres una pinche puñeta, por decirle lo que te dije."

"Nombre Pollo, no te enojes. Tiralo al leon, alcabo que no dice nada."

Translation according to DT:
"Hey Stink Bug, you're a loud mouth for repeating what I told you."

"No Long Neck young man (henche - pollo), don't worry about it, nothing will get out."

Cholo Word Of The Day - Brincar

Brincar has an "official" meaning then a cholo meaning. I'm going to use the cholo definition, but I'll let you know that the word brincar simply means to jump.

Word:
Brincar

Meaning According To DT:
to jump someone, to get jumped, beat up, thrash

Used in a sentence:
"Ponte al alba Star, porque aquellas morras no brincaron yesterday."

"No worries Candy, you traigo mis brass knuckles, si quiren pedo."

Translation according to DT:
"Be alert Estrella, because those young ladies quarreled with us yesterday."

"No worries Dulcelina, I have my brass knuckles, if they'd like to debate."

Cholo Word Of The Day - Al Alba

This word is similar to the cholo word trucha.

Word:
Al Alba

Meaning According To DT:
trucha, ready, look out

Used in a sentence:
"Estafania, ponte al alba en el test, porque si no, lo haces fail."

"Chingado Leslie, ya se. No estoy tan tapada como me piensas."

Translation according to DT:
"Stephanie, be ready at the test, because if you are not you will fail."

"Why, no doubt Leslie, I know. I'm not as uneducated as you may think."

I'm in Texas, Right? Pistoleros.

A couple of minutes ago I was staring at my computer screen doing some work when I realized I wasn't going to make it to lunch if I didn't eat something quick. I walked to the kitchen in our office and the good Lord had left a pizza box with a couple of slices of pizza in it. I grabbed a slice, put it in the microwave, then started asking my co-workers who was the rightful owner of that little slice of heaven and if I could have some. Our office manager, a young gal who lives in Red Oak, TX said it was hers and shook her head in the affirmative when I asked if I could have some.

The smell of pizza filled our loft and I hurried over to the microwave to feast on my day old pizza. I placed the greasy napkin that was holding the pizza slice on the kitchen counter, next to the coffee maker, and here's where the fun begins.

The only two women who work in our office were getting their 8th cup of morning coffee, pre-cigarette break, and were chatting about the news. Office Mgr. says, "Did you hear about the armed robbery at the Tom Thumb in Rowlett (small town East of Dallas)?" Marketing asst. replies "I sure did, but I didn't get to see it on t.v." I continue listening and within 2 minutes the conversation turns into "why you should own a gun 101."

Marketing asst: "The other day some guys in ski masks robbed this lady on her yard, in broad daylight."

Office Mngr (lives in even Red Oak, smaller town south of Dallas): "That's why I keep my guns close to me."

Daily Texican: "(big grin) Yea, but can that lady really carry her gun with her while gardening."

Marketing asst. and Office Mngr. kindly ignore DT's comment and continue conversation.

Office Mngr: "When xxx traveled a lot, he would go fishing, hunting, I would stay home by myself. Well, one time I heard some jiggling at the back door. We have tons of guns at the home. My .45, shotguns, rifles, and I was looking for a shotgun, because I was sleepy and I don't want to have to aim perfectly."

Daily Texican: "What? You don't have to aim well with a shotgun? How many guns do you have?"

Office Mngr: "Mostly hunting rifles. So, I peek outside without turning on the lights, and I see the handle on my back door jiggling. and I yell, you better get the hell out of here or I'll shoot you."

Daily Texican: (burst out laughing - while they stare at me, then laugh) Oh man, keep telling this story. (take another bite out of pizza slice).

Office Mngr: "He ran away and they finally caught him about 8 houses down trying to break into another house."

Marketing Asst: "When I lived in Dallas, we lived in a slum, and we always had our gun out, because of the baby. She was tiny and my husband had to come out w/ the gun a couple of times."

Daily Texican walks away and announces to rest of office that he's just listened to a conversation about guns while eating a slice of pizza and smelling the good coffee (not a coffee drinker).

Marketing Asst. overhears and probably thinks DT is making fun of her. Walks over to DT and tells him if anything ever happened to her kids, she'd kill the bastard. Even if he was in court, he'd be dead. DT nodded and thought he might do the same, or not. DT doesn't know, DT doesn't have kids (does talking in the 3rd person remind anyone else of a Seinfeld episode?).

DT then says he has a rifle in McAllen, which he won at a police raffle, but has never used it. That's it.

Cholo Word Of The Day - Chota

La Chota is very similar to La Jura a previous word of the day. It seems we have a good number of word to describe the fuzz.

Word:
Chota

Meaning According To DT:
police, jura, fuzz, 5-O

Used in a sentence:
"Meli, si vez a la chota, run porque sino te meten a el bote."

"Porque chingados me van a encerrar, si I haven't did nothing."

Translation according to DT:
"Melinda, if you see the nation's finest, run because they will incarcerate you!"

"Why would those civil servants put me in jail, I haven't done anything?"

My Comeback - Cortando La Tempestad

Last night as I was getting ready to head out for a quick run (which I haven't done in a very long time), it started to rain. Someone obviously doesn't want me to exercise. It made me think of a story my mom tells of when she was a young child. I'll post this today, in lieu of a Cholo Word Of The Day.

My mom grew up in the town of El Refugio, Queretaro, about 30 miles South of Rio Verde San Luis Potosi. This is a small old-school Mexican town, even today. Many people still don't have running water and the one's that do, jimmy rig some pipes, because they get water only 3 times a week from the mountains, and store it in a well. The roads and the fences are made of stone and people wake up to the burros hee-hawing and the gallo's Quiquirriqui. Oh yea, and the church bells tolling louder than a mofo at about 5:30am.

You can imagine what El Refugio was like when my mom was growing up 50 years ago. The town was named El Refugio, because during the Mexican Revolution of 1910 it served as a refuge for priests and families alike, fleeing from bandidos, soldados, and other cabrones out to do some damange.

People in this pueblo lived off of the crops, their animals, and whatever they could get their hands on, so when it would storm very bad (la tempestad), it was bad. It was also bad because most of the houses weren't very sturdy and even if you were inside you'd get wet. Many people believed that the heavy rains were punishment. Others simply believe it was raining really hard.

Regardless, my mom's parents believed that one way to stop the tempestad was to have a young inoccent child, go outside in the storm, lightning, and thunder, and cut the storm in half with a kitchen knife. "Me salia a cortar la tempestad," my mom says.

She would stand on a chair or a stool, lift her arm carrying a steel knife and begin praying in an attempt to defeat the storm. Needles to say, she was scared shitless. It was raining, it was cold, and she must have sensed that being the highest point carrying something made of steel, isn't necessarily the place you want to be during a lighting storm.

Apparently, not only my grandparents, but many people thought this worked. Maybe it did - I dunno. All I know is that I never had to "cortar la tempested," and I'm glad. Plus, it's probably considered child abuse here. Oh yea, now, my mom is afraid of thunderstorms - I wonder why.

Why Work?

Man, this work thing has been getting in the way of blogging. It's ridiculous. I'll come back and try to post something half-way decent al rato.