About This Blog
This is a personal weblog largely meant to keep friends & relatives updated about my life (e.g. my mom reads it). I often write on political issues for purely personal reasons. I'm a liberal hawk who believes liberal democracy & rational humanism are worth defending. I don't expect everyone to agree w/ me; I do expect people to use rational arguments.
Thanks to the wonders of MySQL databases, this site is index-searchable. If you think I wrote on some topic, try searching the site. Any post w/ the word or phrase will appear in reverse chronological order (most recent first). Unfortunately, this doesn't work for pre-2003 posts (you'll have to browse the archives).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are you?
I was born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in 1975 and moved to the US w/ my family in 1985. I'm currently finishing my doctoral dissertation in political science at Western Michigan University. My academic interests include democratic theory & democratization, specifically democratic institutions (e.g. electoral systems & party systems), and nationalism. I'll be starting a two-year term appointment at Dickinson College in the Fall. Here's my curriculum vita.
What does "Ciao!" mean?
It's an Italian word that means both "hello" & "goodbye."
What's your nationality?
I'm a mutt. My dad's Bolivian; my mom's American. I hold a US passport. But I dislike most forms of nationalism. I feel more "American" than anything else — because American nationalism (if you can call it that) is primarily individually self-invented.
Why do you link to the blogs you link to?
I've two blogrolls. The first includes friends & family, people who regularly comment on my site. I keep it trimmed, so don't be offended if I used to link to you, but don't anymore. Most likely, you don't comment on my blog & haven't updated yours in a while. If you're on LiveJournal, I may add you to my LJ friends list long before I add you to the Ciao blogroll.
The second includes high-traffic blogs I think are pretty good, but don't necessarily read all the time (or even agree w/), yet think you might like (or not). This is my gateway to the blogosphere.
Can I cite you for a paper/website?
My blog is fair game. Please attribute the information to me (in the case of posts) or to the comment's author (in the case of comments). Here's my Creative Commons License.
Feel free to syndicate my site. You can do so w/ either an RDF or XML format. If you use LiveJournal, you can add the http://syndicated.livejournal.com/bolivia_blog/ feed to your friends list.
Can I buy you things?
Of course! Here's my Amazon wish list. Or you can buy stuff from me through my Cafepress shop. Just my little way to see if I can help pay for this site. And if you ever want one of my Flickr pictures, I'd be happy to send you a hard copy if you ask.
I'm getting married in a few months. If you wanna buy us wedding presents, we're registered at Macy's, Target, and Crate & Barrel.
Where are you?
Although I frequently write about Bolivian politics, I live in lovely Kalamazoo, Michigan.
How's this site maintained?
This site's built w/ Movable Type. It's updated using a 12" Apple PowerBook & a Nikon Coolpix 5200 digital camera. As well as BBEdit, GraphicConverter, and Transmit FTP. On rare occasions, sometimes from my Treo.
If you've any other questions, feel free to send me email.