Ciao!

Maybe finally?

Technorati tag: Bolivia

Bolivia's parliament, w/ the bulk of all nine departments' legislative caucuses in agreement, agree to hold a referendum on regional autonomies — most likely 12 August, the same date as the first-ever popular election of prefects (department governors). The constituent assembly to write a new constitution will come later — perhaps the "earliest possible" date in 2006.

Of course, protests continue in La Paz (which is virtually under siege). But one wonders what good it'll do to "nationalize" the hydrocarbons industry if the regions w/ hydrocarbons vote for (economic & political) autonomy.

Posted by Miguel at 03:39 PM | Permalink

Tiger Mk.II

Sometimes, university computing services pulls through. They had Tiger in stock; after $69 (plus tax) I was able to reset my user password (back to its original) and bring Kaneda back up.

Posted by Miguel at 02:01 PM | Permalink

It's an Émigré factory

Technorati tag: Bolivia

I'm too tired to get into it (I've had a long weekend). But how bad is Bolivia? Well, a recent survey showed that 6 of 10 Bolivians want to leave the country. Three million (of a population of 8 million) have left. So there.

Posted by Miguel at 12:15 AM | Permalink

BBQ11 wrap-up

So Moped Army BBQ11 is over, or at the last stages of winding down. Most of the out-of-towners are on their way home; I'm waiting for the Walkers to swing by for their stuff.

Posted by Miguel at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Oops?

Somehow, I can't log into Kaneda anymore. At least, not as myself (I'm currently logged in as Guest). Not sure what happened, but I'm looking for my Tiger disk for a password reset. Sigh.

Posted by Miguel at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

BBQ11

J. Edmund (and his vanfull), the first of about 80+ Moped Army members from arround the country arrived today. I'll be hosting three at my place, and enjoying distant ex-Kalamazoo friends' company for the next few days. But there's a group blog for BBQ11 (audio, photo, text). Check it out; I might post to it if/when I can. Highlights'll include me boxing J. Edmund (who weighs 100 lbs more than I, and was once a professional bodyguard)!

Posted by Miguel at 05:13 PM | Permalink

The view from inside protests

Technorati tag: Bolivia

Barrio Flores has an amazing report on first-hand accounts of Bolivian protests based on excerpts from reports by people inside, participating in them. If you think these protests are "pacific" or "romantic", think again.

Posted by Miguel at 01:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(Yesterday was) a good day

My first Moped Army BBQ in more than a year starts this weekend. And BBQ11 promises to be the biggest ever. So I'm pretty excited about all that.

Also, dissertation progress. After struggling to squeeze 1932-1978 history into only a few pages, while continuously wanting to add more & more information, I finally hit upon a solution. So obvious, not sure how I missed it. Take all the stuff for the first half of Chapter 4, turn it into the bulk of Chapter 3. That is, instead of writing an abstract chapter on twentieth century Bolivian nationalism, write a more chronological structure, using the 1932-1978 history to tie together w/ examples how & what kind of nationalism emerged. Then, start Chapter 4 directly w/ 1978-1982 (transition to democracy), and go from there. Why didn't I see it before?

More importantly, after a long losing streak against Bill Brieger, I demolished him two chess matches in a row. Hurray for the Sicilian defense & long diagonals!

Posted by Miguel at 03:02 PM | Permalink

Cracks in the military's ranks

Technorati tag: Bolivia

Reports that two Bolivian lieutenant colonels came out w/ public calls for toppling president Mesa (hat tip Barrio Flores). While this likely isn't the "official" military position (certainly not of the high command), it suggests an important crack in the military as an institution, as well as some success in protest groups (the colonels statements suggest they've aligned themselves w/ the Solares-COB position) to curry military support. There's also rumors of Santa Cruz civic leaders contacting military officers who may be loyal to their region's interests.

Posted by Miguel at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Checked out

Light posting, w/ K8 in from Chicago. But solid dissertation work both days, w/ each of us doing assorted research stuff on campus. Also, I made a (reportedly) very delicious meatloaf (from scratch, recipe below).

Posted by Miguel at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sith happens

Technorati tag: Star Wars

By now everyone who's going to see it, has seen it. So here's a (brief) list of my objections to the final Star Wars installment:

Posted by Miguel at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

"No podemos ser mojones con caras"

Technorati tag: Bolivia

Following is my translation of an interview, in today's El Nuevo Día, w/ the president of the Comité Cívico pro Santa Cruz, Germán Antelo:

Posted by Miguel at 11:00 AM | Permalink

If it's not marching, it's dancing

Technorati tag: Bolivia

Bolivia's a poor country, racked w/ near-constant protests over the past several months caused, in great measure, by a struggling economy. The most heavily mobilized epicenter of this confrontation between syndicalist groups & political institutions is El Alto, a slum city w/ poor economic conditions & massive unemployment built along the heights around La Paz.

Posted by Miguel at 11:52 PM | Permalink

It's getting closer

Technorati tag: Bolivia

La Paz has once more become the country's "march-o-drome", leading to temporary suspension of parliament. The legislature adjourned itself, unable to come to agreement, in the face of threats from Solares & other syndicalist leaders to take over parliament. The parliament's considering moving itself to Sucre, Bolivia's constitutional capital.

Posted by Miguel at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thank the force it's over

Just saw the final installment (we can only hope) of Star Wars. And, w/ that behind us, I swear on all that's holy that I've just spent the last dime George Lucas'll ever get from me. I've no interest to go into just how bad a movie it was (hands down the worst in the series), but there are scenes & dialogue that'll make you laugh (when you're not supposed to).

Posted by Miguel at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

DissertationNotes

Technorati tags: dissertation organization

I'm making (slow) progress on my dissertation, currently working on Chapter 4. As a way to organize my notes & drafts, I'm using AquaMind's NoteTaker (which I wholeheartedly recommend). One of it's nice features is the ability to publish notebooks to the web. I've put up this week's notes (mostly on the 1932-1950 period of Bolivian politics, the subject of three paragraphs I'm currently writing) online as DissertationNotes. I'll try to post an updated version of the notebook once a week. As always, I'm open to comments, questions, criticisms, witticisms, euphemisms.

Posted by Miguel at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Deciding not to decide

Technorati tag: Bolivia

This is a dangerous gambit. Not only for himself, but for the country as a whole. President Mesa decided that he will neither sign, nor veto the hydrocarbons law passed by Bolivia's parliament. Meaning, he wants to wash his hands of the whole thing, put the blame for the entire mess on parliament's shoulders (and the political parties there represented), but will not make a public pronouncement on the law one way or the other. In short, he's publicly stated that he wants no responsibility. Even though, as president, he is responsible for the execution of state authority.

Posted by Miguel at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Technorati tag: Bolivia

How bad is Bolivia getting again? Who knows. But (led by Solares & De la Cruz) protesters tried taking Plaza Murillo early today, leaving two wounded (from rubber bullets). At this point, president Mesa is, quite literally, under siege. More later. Because I'm sure Santa Cruz will have something to add, too.

Posted by Miguel at 04:18 PM | Permalink

On optimism

The sum of three separate conversations I've had today added up to a single discussion on why I'm an optimist: Because I believe that, when carefully considered, almost nothing in life is actually difficult. Most things can be broken down to a series of decisions, contingency plans, or training that leads to solutions. See, most things in life can be broken down into puzzles. And, if you solve puzzles, you're aware that the solution to most puzzles is built in to the puzzle itself.

Posted by Miguel at 11:06 PM | Permalink

TiddlyWiki

I think TiddlyWiki's gonna change my life. Now I can build a small stand-alone wiki for Bolivian politics data (people, party ID, positions held, etc) for my dissertation. The only downside: it doesn't currently work save on Safari, but it does on Firefox & IE (you can navigate it w/ Safari, and even edit, but you can't save, currently). I'll play w/ it a bit, see if it'll do what I want it to do.

Also, today, I got Lucia back. So that's two good things.

Posted by Miguel at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Upcoming schedule

I've spent much of the week just puttering about the apartment, getting things in order. I tend to work that way, so I don't feel too slackerish. I've also been thinking about how to schedule my time to make it both productive & interesting this coming year.

Posted by Miguel at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

2005 Political Typology

If you wonder where you fit, politically (at least according to the Pew Research Center), you can find out w/ this simple political typology test. For some reason, I'm labeled an "enterpriser" (though in the minority w/in that group on several social issues). The site has lots of interesting info, including a breakdown of how different typology "groups" see different issues.

Posted by Miguel at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's deja vu all over again

Technorati tag: Bolivia

Almost two years ago now, a legitimately elected Bolivian president was toppled over protests involving many things, but focusing on the issue of natural gas. Among the signal flashpoints? The taking of hostages by a group of protesters; attempts to rescue them resulted in bloodshed (after a military convoy was ambushed) that sparked a mass uprising around the capital city.

Posted by Miguel at 12:57 PM | Permalink

Bits o' news

Accomplishments today? Took the Schwinn in for repair & tune-up. Ran a mile w/ Ana. A load of laundry & ironing. A much-needed haircut (from Supercuts). Also, I rediscovered the useful comfort of cargo pants.

Posted by Miguel at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tigrrr!

It took most of the time I should've been sleeping these last 24 hrs. Thanks to PodWorks for saving my music. But Tiger is installed. And it's fantastico!

Posted by Miguel at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Weekend at The Parkmont

Housewarming last night went well, thanks to everyone who came. Great potluck food, wine & beer & soda, and just a chill evening w/ a few close friends. Always a good recipe. Surprisingly, both my cats seemed willing to mingle, too.

Posted by Miguel at 02:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Done moving. The hunt for the perfect sofa/loveseat begins. Meanwhile, I'm celebrating Spring's second coming w/ a trip out along Red Arrow Highway. Lake Michigan, here I come.

Posted by Miguel at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fandango

I'm almost done w/ organizing the new apartment. Pictures forthcoming. It's also a bit sad. See, this'll be my last apartment in Kalamazoo. Come Fall 2006, I'll be living God-knows-where teaching at God-knows-what-college. I plan to enjoy my last year here, my time w/ a gorgeous apartment, and one last round of Kalamazoo seasons.

Posted by Miguel at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tuesday (morning)

I've cable/broadband at The Parkmont. Kestrel's up & running. Regularly scheduled daily life resumes shortly.

Also, I forgot to give big thanks to Kim, Erin, and Justin for helping me move Sunday. Especially Erin, who provided the Ford F-150. Molto grazie.

Posted by Miguel at 10:11 AM | Permalink

Monday (night)

So I'm mostly moved into The Parkmont. Mostly. There's a few things still left at the old place, including a very large painting by Caleb Larsen that'll require a truck to move (I forgot it the day a truck was used). I should have cable installed tomorrow before noon. And then it's just the sporadic process of organizing things into little drawers, bookcases, and such.

Posted by Miguel at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)