Author: Newley

For Rent: My Writing Skills
A quick note to let everyone know that my writing skills are for rent (or for sale, depending on what’s being offered).

I’m looking for freelance writing gigs; following are my areas of expertise: travel, sports (specifically soccer), Internet strategies and Web marketing, TEFL/ESL (teaching English to non-native speakers), book publishing, and Latin America (especially Ecuador and other Andean nations). I’ve also done some book reviews on a wide variety of topics in the past; I’d be happy to do more. And I’m also open, naturally, to subjects I’m less familiar with.

If you know of anyone who needs writing services that might be a good match for me, please let me know.

Byron Moreno: Suspended Again
Following his dismal performance last weekend (which I witnessed and described here), Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno has been handed a one game suspension. (Thanks to Nick M. for the heads-up on this one.)

Real Men…
…raise and eat their own steers.

“Pygmies Want U.N. Cannibal Court”
CNN reports: “Pygmy activists from Congo are demanding that the United Nations set up a tribunal to try government and rebel fighters accused of slaughtering and eating Pygmies during fighting in the northeastern corner of the country.”

Bad Ex-Pat Writing, Cont’d
Follow-up on the godawful editor’s letter I linked to yesterday: Part of what I hate about it is that it reflects the worst in ex-pat attitudes–a vacuous approach to living, a lack of interest in local culture, and the romantization of drug use simply for the sake of drug use.

And so I like this related humorous piece: “Titles of Unwritten Essays Jotted Down While Living in Prague in the 90’s.” My favorite: “My Visiting Friend Is Not Impressed by My Broken Czech: You Have, He Says, Been Living Here for Three Years.” (All links via the excellent Gawker.)

So Bad it’s Almost Good. Almost
Purple prose + stomach-turning self-absorption + too much Hunter Thompson = this.

Byron Moreno, Quite Possibly the Most Hated Ecuadorian in the World
Last summer, during the World Cup in Korea and Japan, Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno became famous for all the wrong reasons: his questionable decisions may well have decided the outcome of a crucial game. In this case, it was the round of 16 match between South Korea and Italy; his calls during the contest, in which Korea upset a tournament favorite, made him a reviled figure in Italy.

And then last September, he was suspended by the Ecuadorian domestic league for signaling 6 minues of injury time but then allowing the players to continue for 14 more, during which time one of the squads rallied from two goals down to win the match.

Well, I saw Moreno perform yesterday. And let me tell you this: he’s a poor referee.

The local pro team, Deportivo Cuenca, took on Deportivo Quito in an important league game. During the course of the 1-1 tie, Moreno handed out seven yellow cards and three reds; his calls were erratic, and he never assumed control of the game. (Of course, it didn’t help that he was mercilessly jeered all the while by the Cuenca fans–the result of the notorious 20-minutes-of-injury-time game last year was that Deportivo Cuenca didn’t qualify the championship; they needed the other team to win.)

Rolf Potts and Vagabonding
I recently read Rolf Potts’s excellent new book, “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel.” I recommend it highly.

And I just came across an interview he gave to World Hum (which is itself an exceptional site devoted to high-quality travel writing) a few months ago. Quoth Potts: “…the only thing you really own in life is time. That is, if you can learn to find your wealth in time and experience instead of ‘things,’ you stand a much better chance of living life to the fullest.”

Vigilante Justice, Ecuadorian Style
The AP says: “Doling out vigilante justice, highland villagers partially stripped and whipped two women in a public square after accusing them of being swindlers.”

Ecuador’s Railroad System–or Lack Thereof
A Canadian (?) development agency will study the feasibility of two new potential Ecuadorian rail lines: one from Guayaquil to Quito to Esmereldas, and one from Guayaquil to Cuenca. Sounds cool to me.