I’m still sifting through emails that piled up last week; while I find my footing, here’re a few items of interest:
–Be sure to check out Dana’s re-vamped Number One Hit Song.
–CJR: “A Technical Guide for Editing Gonzo: Hunter S. Thompson from the other end of the Mojo Wire”
–ClickZ: “Study Bolsters Blog-Related PR Practices”
The trend toward PR agencies setting up blog-specific practices got a boost this week, as a new study found that more than half of journalists use blogs in the course of their work.
–Taiwan Tiger:
In the neverending attempt to conserve and save money here in Taiwan (not like anyplace is exempt from that, of course….), comes this gem. My school, instead of placing separate toilet paper dispensers in each stall of the faculty bathrooms, has a central dispenser…
–The writing process simplified: “Sniff. Explore. Collect. Focus. Select. Order. Draft. Revise.”
I’ll write more soon, but wanted to say, briefly, that:
1. I’m back in DC. Had a great time in St. John.
2. More important, Ranz, the Napoleon-Dynamite-quoting National Spelling Bee badass, left a comment here regarding the post I wrote about his performance. He says:
Thanks very much for the kind words; actually, I go by Ranz, although ‘Dom’ is an interesting moniker. And on Lego robotics… it was a Lego Robolab thing with wires and electronic bricks and whatnot. I was mainly on research for that… well, whatever. Thanks again.
No, Ranz, thank you.
The NY Times reports that, just as analysts had begun discussing the possibility of civil war, the situaion in Bolivia seems to have been resolved—for now:
Bolivia’s Congress accepted the resignation of President Carlos Mesa late on Thursday night and swore in the head of the Supreme Court as the new president, an appointment expected to defuse more than three weeks of protests that have paralyzed the nation.
The “solution”: a new head of state and new presidential elections to follow. We’ll see how that goes. Will the indigenous narco-politician Evo Morales take office, which would delight the protesters? (If you think Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez is scary, check out Morales’s resume.)
Here’s the problem with the current prez, Eduardo Rodríguez. Look at the color of his skin. The guy’s white, he wears Armani specs, and he sports a power tie straight outta the Brooks Brothers Summer catalog:
Now take a gander at your average protesters. Notice the color of their skin. Notice the way they dress:
That, kind readers, is what this conflagration is all about: Race. And Money. The white, European-descended, wealthy Bolivian oligarchs who run the country vs. the impoverished Indian majority. No way around that fact.
Next Andean country to dissolve into chaos: Peru. Seriously.
Tons of people are coming to newley.com looking for the “Do the Chickens Have Large Talons?” audio clip (mp3 file) from the recent National Spelling Bee.
Here’s some more info: the guy who uttered the phrase, which is one of the many great quotes from the exceptionally funny high-school-loser flick “Napoleon Dynamite,” is the unbelievably-named Dominic Ranz Ebarle Errazo. The kid, I’m proud to say, hails from my home state of South Carolina. (Check out his bio: “He has competed in Lego robotics events and in the South Carolina Geographic Bee.” Lego robotics events?!??!) Not only was Dom’s rendition of the phrase spot-on, but he did it on live national television, a propos of nothing, just before spelling “chinook.”
Here’s a video of the incident (in .mpg format). Watch it. It’s great. And if you haven’t seen “Napoleon Dynamite,” do yourself a favor and check it out.
Things’re spiraling out of control in Bolivia.
IHT: “Protesters in Bolivia take over 7 oil fields”
NY Times: “No. 1 Quits in Bolivia, and Protesters Scorn Nos. 2 and 3″
CSM: “Bolivia: Tiny Nation, Big Troubles”
And the Best Headline Award goes to The Motley Fool: “Bolivia’s Gas Pains” (which is actually a decent overview of the natural gas issue)
Reason Online: “Legalize Now! War-weary Colombia—and its Conservative Party—consider ending the drug war.”
Many Colombians and foreign observers feel fumigations treat the symptom rather than the underlying illness. While the poverty that propels farmers to plant coca remains, any attempt to stop them from doing so will in all likelihood be futile. “At the moment, we’re spending around $5,000 per hectare fumigated,” says the U.N.’s Sergio Calvani. “If that money could be distributed among the peasants, then Colombia would be like Switzerland.”
(Via Rock Creek Rambler.)
Reuters: “MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian woman was found to be carrying 51 live tropical fish after custom officials were alerted by “flipping” noises coming from beneath her skirt as she arrived at Melbourne airport.”
I'm Newley Purnell, an American journalist in Bangkok. I report for Bloomberg BNA, ABC News Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more.