Este Ser Humano

Polyglutonny

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:10:00 +0000

I have something better to do.

The youth of today. More style than a homo.

De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig - Hollereer

De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig | MySpace Video

Glamour à Mort.

Brooklyn in Belgium

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:35:00 +0000

It was funny seeing a band from my hometown out here in Belgium. Grizzly Bear (my fuzzy photo to the right) played at the Pukkelpop music festival last week and put on a fantastic performance. I was nervous for them, not thinking of them as a festival band (the last time I saw them was at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston). But they really pulled it off. Even playing "Lullaby"! Wow! And the very youthful and drunk yet attentive audience loved it. Ed Droste (who jokingly introduced himself as Dave Grohl) made the very nice gesture of thanking the audience in both Dutch and French. Nice! It's really fantastic to see a band make even that small effort when they're abroad. I actually ran into Ed Droste later on at the Faith No More performance and chatted with him very briefly. He was super nice. Here's a video that my friend Jay in Boston used to introduce me to this band years back.

Beirut also played the festival. The lead singer, Zach Condon, not only gave the audience a polite "dank u wel" after each set, but also spoke briefly in fluent French. These guys should write a song en français. Would be nice.

Faith No More did not miss a beat on the multilingual front either. At one point Mike Patton asks the audience the standard "how are you all doing?" and then says "Fine? Well if you're doing so f-ing fine, I'm going to sing you in Portuguese" and breaks into singing in Portuguese. He also played around alot with the song lyrics, and at one point, while singing the line "Nobody speaks english anymore" from the song "RV", changes "English" to "Flemish". I wonder if anyone got that. Faith No More were brilliant. Last time I saw them was in 1992. Really lucky to have seen them here. They are doing a world tour, but are skipping North America entirely.

Primer Grito de la Independencia

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Each year, Ecuadorians celebrate their independence day on August 10. Ecuador became independent from Spanish rule on May 24, 1822, but the national holiday marks the first cry for independence in Ecuador, which took place in Quito, the future capital, on August 10, 1809. This year marks the bicentennial of this cry, which was said to inspire similar cries across the entire continent of South America, and gained Quito the nickname "Luz de América", or "Light of America".

In Belgium, where there is a substantial number of Ecuadorian immigrants (and where the wife of the current president of Ecuador is from) the Embassy of Ecuador is marking the bicentennial with a cultural event. I'll be there to observe, participate, investigate, and report.

Sing in Belgian

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:35:00 +0000

The first three videos below are not Belgian, but represent the 3 national languages of Belgium: Dutch, French and German. The last video is in Spanish, but is in fact by a Belgian band.

De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig (the Netherlands)

Omnikrom (Canada)

Dendemann (Germany)

Paradisio (Belgium)

Nube de palabras

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:21:00 +0000

Representación gráfica de las palabras usadas en esta pagina.

Tektonik

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:30:00 +0000

I was introduced to the street dancing of certain French youth called tektonik via a video of my current favorite French pop singer, Yelle. Since I've arrived in Europe, I've seen for myself kids who follow the whole aesthetic of tektonik, including its music, dance and fashion. Mostly one will see them in urban France and French speaking parts of Belgium. What's amazing is some of these kids are real tough acting, something hard to appreciate in photos. The photo above is from the collection of Rotterdam-based artists Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek. They have amazing panels of photos highlighting a myriad of dresscodes on the streets, mostly in Europe, but also in the US, Brazil and China. You can see more of the photos at Exactitudes. By clicking on the word "exactitudes" on the top, you randomly jump from photo to photo. It's quiet addictive, so be warned.

When I have more money, I am definitely going to buy the book.

And now for some tektonik videos.

American Monolingualism

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Living here in Europe, there is ample and tangible evidence that President Obama has made gigantic strides forward in improving the image of the United States abroad. I recently had a taxi driver in Berlin tell me, it's so great you elected Obama, now it's OK for us to like America again! It goes to show that all the America bashing that has gone on in the last 8 years had much to do with who we Americans had put in the White House. Twice. Now that Obama is in control, they love us here! The Obamas are constantly on the cover of every newspaper and magazine in every language. They even use video clips and sound bites for commercials. It finally feels good to be an American abroad.

So President Obama has a huge job to tackle in this regard, because Bush did so much lasting damage to our image around the world. But our President should not be alone in this quest to restore the good will of the world towards us. Each of us can do our part. And being here in Europe, I see one obvious way each American can do his or her part in improving the image of our country. And it has to do with shedding our national stereotype of being loud, demanding and monolingual tourists.

Recently I was in Barcelona, where I saw not just American tourists, but English and Irish ones too, walking around the city without *any* regard whatsoever to language sensitivity. Barcelona, and the rest of Catalunya, fought hard and long for even the right to speak and teach and learn in their own language (which is Cátalan). We can show a little bit of respect for this struggle by using their language whenever we visit Barcelona. And at the *very* least, we should speak some Castillian Spanish when in any part of Spain, right? It's not so hard. Same goes for Belgium: The Flemish were long the oppressed group of the country, and finally now have the full rights to use of their language in government and education. The least I can do as someone who is working and living in Flanders is to learn some Dutch.

Anyways, for those of you Americans reading this who are thinking of traveling to Barcelona, just remember, their native tongue is not Spanish, but Catalan (it's NOT a dialect of Spanish, it's another language, like Italian or French or Portuguese), and they will LOVE you for just knowing that, and even more for using their beautiful words. I even saw a full page ad in "Time Out Barcelona" urging people to at least say "hello" in Catalan. I agree. Here are some phrases in Catalan that should come in handy for any tourist visiting Barcelona or any other part of Catalunya:

English
Catalan

hello
hola

good morning
bon dia

good afternoon
bona tarda

good night
bona nit

please
si us plau

you're welcome
de res

speak English?
parla anglés?

thank you!
moltes grácies!

goodbye!
adéu!

"Non-Darwinian" evolution

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:12:00 +0000

Mi jefe dio una charla sobre nuestras investigaciones del ADN repetitivo en un symposio aquí en la KU Leuven titulado "Evolución no-darwiniana". El título provocativo me llamó la atención, y me alegra que yo fuí, auque despues de todo, ningunas de las 4 charlas del simposio fueron contra las teorias de evolución darwiniana, sólo destacaron algunas propiedades inesperadas o complejas en los sistemas biológicos.

Una charla fue sobre un grupo de crustáceos que ni sabía existian, llamado ostrácodos. Estas pequeñas criaturas tienen dos conchas (bivalvos) y dejan estos en el registro fósil, por lo que se puede estudiar su evolución a través de millones de años. Un linaje de estos pequeños crustáceos, parece haber perdido los machos hace unos 200 millones de años atrás. No mas hay hembras. Por lo tanto, esto plantea muchas preguntas, como ¿por qué pierden la reproducción sexual, y cómo se enfrentan a las malas mutaciones y la pérdida de la variabilidad genética?

Otra charla fue sobre las cucarachas. He visto estos insectos toda mi vida, pero no tenía ni idea de que eran insectos sociales! La charla presentó unas investigaciones que muestran cómo se puede modelar el proceso que toman las cucarachas cuando hacen decisiones en donde se agregaran juntas. Los cientificos tomaron los principios de la física y las matemáticas, y los han aplicado a un sistema biológico, que puede describirse como de auto-organización.

La última charla fue sobre los virus de las bacterias, llamados los bacteriófagos. Ellos son muy abundantes en el planeta, y porque hay tanto intercambio de material genético entre tantos organismos, es difícil clasificarlos o decir mucho sobre su evolución. Su capacidad para transferir genes entre especies puede haber facilitado la evolución más rápida (como la ingeniería genética, excepto en la naturaleza).

Una muy agradable coloquio que coincidió con el 200 aniversario del nacimiento de Darwin.

Monster in the sea

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:09:00 +0000

There's been alot of recent press over the finding of the fossil snake the size of a bus. But there's been another recent fossil discovery which I just think is far out. The fossil, described in the journal Science, is of a sea-dwelling arthropod (related to spiders, insects and crustaceans), called Schinderhannes bartelsi. I just think it's so cool looking (see above illustration, top). It reminds me of a monster from an old Japanese movie, not because of it's size (it was only ~4 inches long), but because of that crazy radial mouth, those huge eyes, and the funny limbs. The ancient seas must have seem like another planet!

Dansez-Vous Français? Heck yeah!

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:24:00 +0000

Friday night I made my first solitary venture into the big city of Brussels. The night that drew me out of the protective custody of friends is called "Dansez-Vous Français?". It's a night of kitschy retro pop gems in French. Heaven! Like a heavily Francophone version of Boston's Mint Julep and New York City's Nacotheque. Check out photos and music here:

www.myspace.com/dansezvousfrancais

I arrived at 11pm, a decent hour in my opinion to arrive at a bar or club. But I am still in my Boston ways. I was the first one there. Not even the DJs were there. The owner of the bar, an older gentleman, asked me if I was there for la soirée, and I said yes, and he assured me that it will happen. I asked if I could sit down and have une bière and he said oui, bien sur, and so I did. He spoke in Spanish to the girls at the bar, and so for the rest of the night I spoke to them en español, which was a good thing as I found out later on that they were undercharging me for my cervecitas.

Anyways, I took on the uncustomary role of "the wallflower" and just sat to myself as I watched people slowly drift in. The DJs began setting up, a girl set up a coat check, two tough bouncers guarded the door, and someone started collecting cover (which I got away without). I observed the crowd gradually grow. People seemed to know each other. It reminded me very much of some monthly nights in Boston where you go and see your pals and it feels like you're at a friend's house party. So I felt a little out of place. After a while people gave me funny glances, as in "who the hell is that?". Not unfriendly, just curious I think. I would say there was mostly gay guys in their 30s, though definitely some older and younger and that, and also some incredibly stunning straight girls in pretty dresses and punk lesbians in creative outfits.

So it wasn't until 1:30am or so that the place started getting crowded and people were dancing in earnest. I stayed until, I don't know what, 4am? I was eventually approached by people, and I made some new friends whom I danced with and exchanged numbers. Next week I plan to attend Bitchy Butch, which is to Brussels what Gross Anatomy and Revival are to Boston. And I am most excited about a brand new monthly night here in Brussels that starts in 2 weeks called, Gelatina! DJ duo Ricky Corazon produce this night of indie, alternative, electro, new wave, retro madness all ¡EN ESPAÑOL! It's sort what I had in mind when Chris let me guest DJ at Pardon My French. Check out the website for some great music from Los Super Elegantes, Afrodita, Calle 13, Kumbia Queers and others:

www.musicagelatina.blogspot.com/

In België // En Belgique.

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 07:15:00 +0000

So I'm here. Still feels like I'm watching a movie and it's not really me here. The first days were tough. I miss Boston and everyone I love, horribly. But I take this as a challenge, to get out of my comfort zone, learn about a different country and culture, pick up a few languages. Still, it's ironic that I should be abroad after wanting to leave the US during the reign of Bush, only to miss the inauguration of Obama. Maybe I can find some American expats in Belgium to watch the events on TV.

Not sure how much I'll be writing in this blog anymore. Having lived in Boston for 10 years, I feel like I had lots to write about there. Here in Belgium, I'm new, I don't really know things, I'm just observing. I'll keep posting photos on Flickr though.

For those of you wondering about this country I'm in, Belgium: Three small countries in one. There is Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the South, and the city-state of Brussels, the capital.

In Flanders they speak Flemish, a dialect of Dutch. To me it looks somewhere between German and English. The Flemish word for "the" is "het". The "g" sound is super guttural. I live and work in Flanders (in the medieval university town of Leuven).

In Wallonia they speak French. My French is way better than my Flemish, and a few days in Brussels has improved my French tremendously.

Brussels is technically bilingual (all the signs are in 2 languages), but it is primarily Francophone.

The two language communities don't get along too well, I'm afraid. But unlike other parts of the world, they do keep it peaceful here. I hope to master both French and Flemish while I'm here. We'll see!

Ecuamerican Society

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:34:00 +0000

I barely have time to post on this page anymore, and yet, I am soon launching another website which I hope to devote more time to during rainy days in Belgium. The site is to be a forum for the Ecuadorian-American community. It's something I have written about before, lamenting the fact that there wasn't an active Ecuadorian-American group that I knew of in the Boston area. I asked people to e-mail me if there was interest, and I received some e-mails, but I didn't really follow up. Recently someone contacted me through Friendster, of all places. He is a young man named Charlie, who lives in NJ and who considers himself American, but is very proud of his Ecuadorian roots (hence, Ecuadorian-American). We started a dialog about how there is a need for a group that addresses the needs and interests of Ecuadorian-Americans. Not just for Ecuadorians living in the US, but also for Ecuadorian-Americans, whether 1st generation, 2nd, or beyond. During this e-mail exchange, news of a tragedy came from Long Island, New York: a mob of teenagers seeking to beat up and kill Hispanic immigrants, stabbed to death Marcelo Lucero, a hard-working Ecuadorian living in the US for 16 years. This last bit of news, which I found out from Charlie, really prompted me into action. I have long thought that Hispanics, but Ecuadorians acutely so, really lack the kind of organizing, networking and advocacy that I see among other immigrant communities in the US, particularly among European- and Asian-Americans groups. I recently visited Ecuador and found a fresh and previously unseen sense of national pride which I found contagious. And I hope to see this spread among Ecuadorian-Americans. The death of Marcelo Lucero shows how vulnerable we can be if we do not visibly look out for each other. I hope that the website, which I named Ecuamerican Society (again, Charlie's suggestion...thank you Charlie!) could lend itself to nucleating some sort of online community for Ecuadorian-Americans across the US. So far all I have is a domain name, host, and a barebones page. Not sure where it'll go form here, maybe post events, have discussion boards, raise funds for a scholarship. We'll see.

Historic: November 4, 2008

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:35:00 +0000

obama the cowboy
Originally uploaded by Mr. Wright

Today we Americans set out to vote for President. This Election Day will be like none other because of the weight of the decision being made. We are faced with a fork in the road: A vote for McCain sending us down the same disastrous Republican path of failed policies, abroad and at home, that has left us with a ruined economy, an unnecessary, costly and unending war, a corruption of our values of Justice and Freedom, and a disintegration of our image around the world, A vote for Obama, on the other hand, will take us up a path of renewal, to restore America as the leader in the world which people can trust, to bring back to America an observance of the Constitutional values we all hold dear, and to fulfill our ultimate national story that hard work, with a benign government on our side, can get any American anywhere. We will see. Go vote! Go Obama!

Yelle: Turning the tables on English language hegemony

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:19:00 +0000

A funny video that went viral this past year was that of a contestant on Bulgaria's version of "American Idol" singing a garbled version of Mariah Carey's "Without You", or as the contestant called the song, "Ken Lee". Not knowing English, the singer simply sounded out the lyrics as they sounded to her. Funny as it was, the video immediately reminded me of my last visit to Ecuador, when a bunch of cousins sang for me "Hotel California". Since they didn't know English, they had memorized the song phonetically just by listening to the music on the radio. And this is how much of the world sings to popular American and English songs.

Last night at the Roxy in Boston, the tables were turned. On stage was Yelle, a magnificent pop singer from France, singing in nothing but French, and the crowd loved it. There were certainly quite a few French-speakers among them who could follow and sing along to the lyrics, but a great many of the fans there simply loved the music, and danced ecstatically while singing along in a garbled, phonetic French. It was incroyable! Yelle has managed to do what few have before...export music in her own language to an American audience. Others who have managed to do this successfully have been Spanish-singing Latin Americans, like Shakira and Ricky Martin. But Yelle is now on the verge of becoming a success in the US without having to sing a word in English. It's particularly amazing considering the anti-French sentiments that ran high in this country just a few years ago.
Maybe this is a small chip at the hegemony of the English language on the world cultural scene. Maybe young Americans will learn some French in efforts to decipher Yelle's catchy lyrics. I for one have learned quite a bit of cheeky French from her songs.

Bravo Yelle! Plus s'il vous plaît!

A nice review of the concert by Christopher Muther for the Boston Globe HERE!

To Latitude 0°

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:33:00 +0000

In October, I travel to my birthplace, Ecuador, for the first time in 10 years. Besides reconnecting with family and pursuing some touristy activities, I hope to meet a relative of mine who wrote a book that takes place in my birthplace, Portoviejo. He is a distant relative whom I only found out about last year when an aunt, returning from a trip to Ecuador, brought back a book called Corazón de Colibrí. I found out that not only did I have a relative who was a writer, but also one that was half-Lebanese! The story is that my great-grandfather, Jose Velez, father of my dad's mom's, Sara Dorila Velez, fathered a daughter with Isabel Alarcón (not my great grandmother). Their daughter was named Alicia Haydée, who is the mother of the author of "Corazón de Colibrí", Wadía Launado Vélez. The father of the author was Kalil Lauando Sáber, who was had immigrated from Lebanon to Ecuador.

The following is a passage from that book, in which Portoviejo is described (first in the original Spanish, followed by my translation to English):

De "Corazón de Colibrí" por Wadía Launado Vélez

Portoviejo, capital de la provincia de Manabí, por la epoca de 1930 al 40 su valle, se empinaba como una ciudad, eminentemente agrícola, su gente laboriosa era hospitalaria. Se conocian a todas y cada una de las personas por sus nombres, apellidos y apodos. Carecia de calles pavimentadas, agua potable, y se alumbraban por las noches con candiles (mechones) a kerosén y una planta eléctrica que entregaba luz por pocas horas.

Las mujeres, mezcla de españoles y aborigenes, de belleza única, eran el soporte vital y fieles para sus esposos, ya con su trabajo denodado, tejiendo sombreros de paja toquilla, cultivando la tierra, ya en los quehaceres que demanda el hogar y en la crianza de animales domésticos, la educación de los hijos, con la aspiración de que sean utiles a la sociedad y a la Patria. Portoviejo conocido como la cuidad De Los Reales Tamarindos y como Villa Nueva de San Gregorio de Puerto Viejo que fue fundada el 12 de Marzo de 1535 por el español y aventurero Capitán Francisco Pacheco. Portoviejo rodeado de verdes colinas plantadas de ceibos, palo santo, cerezos y los fascinantes florones de flores lilas que formaban la policromía más hermosa y el olor embriagante de las flores de los ceibos y de las dulces y rojas cerezas.

El valle era cruzado por el caudaloso Rio Portoviejo, navegable en invierno y parte del verano por balsas de caña Guadua, palanqueadas por los campesinos que traian los productos agricolas de la campiña manabita. Rio como una hermosa serpentiente de plata, escurriendose por el agresde y verde valle hasta llegar al pacífico mar y diluir su agua dulce con la de sal en un beso infinito hasta volver a ser el mismo rio con su canto color de melcocha en el imponente y perenne invierno desde las indomitas montañas de Balsar y Puca hasta el sol derretido en el ocaso del mar del sur como lo llamara Vasco Nuñez de Balboa.

Portoviejo era sensillo y hermoso al mismo tiempo, con sus casas de cadi y caña y unas cuantas con techos de hojas de zinc, con paredes enquinchadas, pintadas con el blanco tradicional, de puertas y ventanas con arabescos intrincados de arcitectura barroco español. Su clima calido en verano y en invierno caluroso, hacía de las estaciones una convivinecia armonica. La niebla por las mañanas cubria a todo el valle con sus colinas y a veces era como una ciudad nordica en bruma. Las vegas que orillaban al rio en todas su extension estaban fincadas de arboles de mangos, platanos, bananos, chirimollas, anonas, marañon, guavas, nisperos, guayabas, y el zapote mamey cartagena, conocido como mamey mataserrano.

From "Heart of the Hummingbird" by Wadia Launado Vélez

Portoviejo (derived from Puerto Viejo, or Old Port, in Spanish), capital of the province of Manabí, at the time between 1930 and 1940, it's valley rose into a city, eminently agricultural, its hard-working people hospitable. Each and everyone knew each other by name, family names and nicknames. It lacked paved streets, potable water, and was lit by night with kerosese lamps and an electric plant that delivered light for a few hours.

The women, a mix of Spanish and aboriginal, unique in beauty, were the vital foundation and faithful to their husbands, as was their intrepid work, weaving hats from toquilla straw, cultivating the land, as well as in the chores that the home demands and the raising of domestic animals, the education of the children, with the aspiration that they be useful to society and nation. Portoviejo, known as the City of Royal Tamarinds and as the The New Villa of Saint Gregory of Old Port, which was founded on March 12 of 1535 by the Spaniard and adventurer Captain Franciso Pacheco. Portoviejo, surrounded by green hills covered by trees such as ceibo, palo santo, cherries and the fascinating bunches of lilac flowers that formed the most beautiful polychrome and the intoxicating smell of the flowers of ceibos and of the sweet and red cherries.

The valley was crisscrossed by the swelling Portoviejo River, navigable in the winter and part of the summer by rafts made of Guadua bamboo cane, by the farming people who, using long cane poles to steer, would bring their agricultural products from the Manabitan countryside. A river like a beautiful silver snake, slithering through the lush and green valley until arriving at the pacific sea and diluting its sweet waters with the salty in an infinite kiss until becoming once again the same river with its song the color of molasses in the imposing and perennial winter from the untamable mountains of Balsar and Puca until the sun melted in the dusk of the sea of the south, as it was called by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa.

Portoviejo was simple and beautiful at the same time, with its houses of cane and palm fronds and a few with roofs of zinc, with adobe walls, painted with the traditional white, of doors and windows with intricate arabesques of baroque Spanish architecture. Its climate mild in the summer and hot in the winter, a convivial harmony was made with the seasons. The fog would in the mornings cover the whole valley and its hills and at times it was like a nordic city in the mists, The banks that bordered the river throughout its length were planted with trees of mango, plantain, banana, chirimolla (green fruit with white inside), anonas, marañon (fruit with seed outside, tastes like almond), guavas (long green pod with sweet covered seeds), nisperos (similar to mamey), guayabas, and the zapote mamey cartagena, known as the mataserrano mamey (mataserrano=Serrano-killer. Serranos are the people from the highlands of Ecuador. The name comes from a story that a serranno died for not knowing how to eat the fruit, which has a toxic skin).

Se acerca el otoño

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:46:00 +0000

Todavia es agosto, pero en Boston ya se siente esa frescura típica de los otoños en Nueva Inglaterra. El verano ha sido uno maravilloso, pero ya viene el frio por allí. Y con el calor, se me van algunos de mis mejores amigos. Igor y Ernestina, los venezolanos mas chéveres del planeta, se fueron a Oregon hace pocos dias, con su niñita Lucia. La proxima semana se muda Marcos a Nueva York. Anthony se fue a Seattle, Eric se va a Istanbul, Sho al Japon, Rodrigo a Hawaii. Esta semana me mudo tambien, de una casa donde he vivido 8 años (El Clarendon Palace). Es como un capítulo grande de mi vida que se sierra. Pero abre otro. Y pronto yo tambien me voy de Boston, a Bélgica.

El verano se termina. En pocos meses, el invierno...a descansar, trabajar, contemplar, apreciar a los amigos, las memorias del los veranos pasados.

I play music for you

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:39:00 +0000

Chris Muther has been kind enough to allow me to do a guest DJ set at Pardon My French Sunday August 3, at the Phoenix Landing. This is a huge honor, Chris being one of my favorite DJs in town, and following last month's guest DJ set by my favorite author and good-music aficionado in town, Scott Heim. I'll probably get 15 minutes to play for you, but what Chris doesn't know is that I have an overactive imagination, and that I am fantasizing about turning that little Irish pub, for one night only, into Boston's only indie alternative latin queer dance night. Too small of a niche for Boston? I hope not. I'll play the regular stuff you'd hear at gay latin dance nights, like reggaeton, salsa, latin pop (like Shakira), but I'll mostly be playing what's missing from those nights, like indie rock from Latin America and Spain (like Amigos Invisibles and Café Tacuba), hip-hop and electro-pop in Spanish and Portuguese (like Mala Rodriguez and CSS), and those cheesy but lovable 80s pop hits (like Menudo, Timbiriche, and Flans). I'm even bringing in a record of kids songs set to cumbia which I listened to as a kid. And Chris will be playing his regular fare of very danceable electro and indie pop hits. If you read this, and you like the sound of an alterative latin music night, please come! Here are a few videos of the music I'll be playing:

Mala Rodriguez

Flans

Pitbull

¡Vengan a una noche de musica latina alternativa!

Pardon My French
Sunday August 3
10pm-1am
No cover. ¡Gratis!
At the Phoenix Landing
512 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge MA, USA

This used to be my playground

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:44:00 +0000

Pasé el fin de semana en Nueva York con Silvio y John A. para ver la obra de Macbeth por TR Warszawa, la compañia de teatro polaca. Sin embargo, por la lluvia, se canceló la obra (es al aire libre).

Pero el fin de semana resultó super chévere de todas maneras.

Paseamos con nuestro amigo Javier.

Vimos la cascada de agua bajo el Puente Brooklyn.

Fuimos a mi barrio donde me crié, en Sunset Park.

Pasamos por mi high school (Brooklyn Tech) en Fort Greene.

Disfrutamos de una increible (buenisisisisísima) noche de musica latina alternativa (que vengan a Boston, que vengan a Boston).

Donde conocí a mi tocayo, unos de los dos DJs de Nacotheque, Marcelo Cunning.

Y caminando hacia el bus que nos llevó de regreso a Boston, nos encontramos con un desfile.

Así que, no rain on this parade.

Homoeclectic: Queer indie nights in Boston

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:56:00 +0000

You are gay, living in Boston, but hate the gay nightlife and the typical scene. What to do? Do not despair. For reals. There's an increasing variety of fun all-out queer, or at the very least super gay-friendly nights popping up all around town for those of us not into cookie-cutter South End aesthetics and sounds.

I've written before on this blog on the recent (and much welcomed) revival of gay night life in Boston, but this renaissance has yet to reach its zenith. Several more novel nights have popped up in town, so here's a little summary update. This list should be especially useful for all those lost souls in Boston who are left in the cold by the more typical Boston gay-bar scene of over-priced drinks, unfriendly patrons, and tired, lousy dance music. I've been to every one of the following nights many times, and recommend each of them very highly.

Gay dance nights in Boston that don't suck, in the order of when they happen each month, along with a brief description:

PARDON MY FRENCH
@ The Phoenix Landing, Cambridge

When: 1st Sunday of each month

An offshoot of Chris Muther's original night (Mint Julep Mondays...see below), it's pretty darn hard to predict what DJ Muther will play. Part of the reason is frequent guest DJs, but Muther himself is full of surprises. Let's see, you might hear MIA, Saint Etienne, Belle and Sebastian, Ladytron, Yelle, Hot Chip, and some Dusty Springfield thrown in for old times' sake. Though not entirely meant to be a gay night, the event produces a little "guerrilla queer bar" magic once a month at the Phoenix Landing.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/christophermuther

GUERRILLA QUEER BAR
@ various location (changes each month)

When: 1st Friday of each month

The brainchild of local heroes Daniel Heller and Josh Gerber, Guerrilla Queer Bar is a phenomenon that has sprouted in cities across the country in which once a month, a straight bar or club somewhere in town is chosen for a gathering of gay men and women, thus transforming the space for one magical night into something pretty darn queer. It brings the gays out of the ghettoed enclaves, and even the straightest of bars fall under the queer spell and for one night turn into happening dance clubs.

Website: http://bostonguerrilla.googlepages.com/

MINT JULEP MONDAY
@ the Middlesex Lounge, Cambridge

When: 3rd Monday of each month

Mint Julep Mondays is the original monthly party at the Middlesex Lounge by Christopher Muther, and continues to feature a regular fare of French ye-ye, retro Brit pop, obscure girl groups, Québécois crooners, and Northern Soul. Tossed into the mix are Claude François, Petula Clark, Serge Gainsbourg, Dusty Springfield, Ronnie Bird, Frank Alamo, the Four Tops, Saint Etienne, Michel Richard and, well, you get the idea. It's a great night with a fun and mixed crowd. Fantastic videos on a big screen to match.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/christophermuther

REVIVAL
@ the Middlesex Lounge, Cambridge

When: 2nd Monday of each month

This night is made for you to dance to Aretha Franklin, The Knife, Buddy Holly, Sex Pistols, Felt, Fischerspooner, Tough Alliance, Editors, Nas, Soulwax, Ray Charles, Diplo, NIN, Eagles of Death Metal, Notorious B.I.G., Klaxons, Radio Dept., Rolling Stones, T-Rex, Aaliyah, Faint, Eartha Kitt, Etta James, Rob Base, The Smiths, Raincoats, Toni Braxton, Joy Division, Nancy Sinatra, CSS, Dead Kennedys, Death From Above 1979, Black Eyes, Mariah Carey, James Brown. Hot videos on the big screen. The last time I attended it ended with some old-timely music, prompting the crowd to break down into a spontaneous fury of Charleston-inspired dance moves. Amazing.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/revivalism

HELLEAUXX
@ the Enormous Room, Cambridge

When: The 2nd Wednesday of each month

The latest indie queer dance night to hot Boston, Helleauxx has all the elements to make it a lasting fixture: cool bar with nice ambience, hot music, crazy videos on a big screen, and a varied crowd eager to fill up the dance floor. You'll hear everything from Cut/Copy, Michael Jackson, Justice, the Knife and all the fluo you can dance to. Frequent and various guest DJs each month.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/helleauxx

MOVEMENT
@ the Alchemist Lounge, Jamaica Plain

When: One Saturday a month

Your host David Dancer spins a variety hard to beat, such as, The Adolescents, SebastiAn, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Crème de Menthe, Avenue D, The (old/spooky)Cure, 7 Seconds, Tiga, Gravy Train!!!!, Client, The Homosexuals, Southern Death Cult, BratMobile, subhumans, The Adverts, Positive Noise, Berlin, the Dandy Warhols, the Vapors, the Flirts, Bauhaus, The Sounds Of Liberty, Peaches, the Lemonheads, Grace Jones, the Flirts, Christian Death, a touch of class, Freezepop, The Trouble, the Mystery Men, Dirty Sanchez, Echo and the Bunnymen, T. Rex, KITBUILDERS, Panic, Gang of Four, Belly, Kraftwerk, Soft Cell, Glass Candy, Richard Hell, Beat Happening, Real Life, Kelly Clarkson, Miss Kittin, nine inch nails, Bangs, Squeeze, Motley Crue, Tones on Tail, Vitalic, Romeo Void, Elastica, older Blur, ? and the mysterians, Phoenecia, Sixteens, Bush Tetras, Pavement, Matthew Sweet, Royksopp, the Dominatrix, Duran Duran, the Human League, Relaxed Muscle, Out Hud, Miami Sound Machine, Klaus Nomi, Yaz, Katrina and the waves, the smiths, Rikk Agnew, Placebo, Thomas Dolby, Neu!, Pet Shop Boys, G.D. Luxxe, Belle &; Sebastian pre-2003, old Misfits, Drop Kick Murphys up to "Do or Die" + a lot more Mute, Turbo, kill rock stars, factory, Clone, K, Bomp, Ed Banger, Frontier, SST, Ersatz, DFA, Sire, and much more.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/daviddancer

THE NEIGHBORHOOD
@ The Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain

When: 2nd Saturday of each month

It being JP, the Neighborhood is where you can get a better dose of diversity than most gay nights in town. A sample of the music you might hear (and dance to): The Rapture///The Slits///New Edition///Curtis Mayfield///Lady Sovereign///Dizzee Rascal///112///Beyonce///Jay-Z///Lupe Fiasco///Talib Kweli///Mos Def///Fanny Pack///J.J. Fad///Justin Timberlake///Alexkid///Bonobo///M.I.A.///The Pack///Gwen Stephani///Pharrell///The Presets///E-40///Fergie///Pussycat Dolls///Nelly Furtado///Sunshine Anderson///Daddy Yankee///Ol'Dirty Bastard///Blackstreet///Madonna///Annie///Basement Jaxx///Peaches///Kelly Clarkson///Metric///Scream Club///Depeche Mode///The Gossip///Outkast///Mariah Carey///Gnarls Barkley///Felix da Housecat/// Heloise & The Savoire-Faire Dancers///Sean Paul///Rihanna///Chaka

Website: http://www.myspace.com/theneighborhoodjp

GROSS ANATOMY
@ Milky Way Lounge and Lanes, Jamaica Plain

When: Last Wednesday of each month

This is *the* GAY INDIE HIPSTER DANCE PARTY of Boston. Queers from all parts of town converge on this JP nightspot once a month for great music and an ample dance floor that fills up without failure. Awesome DJs, friendly bartenders, bowling lanes, lots of places to sit and hang out with friends, and a kitchen upstairs make this a highlight night of the month. A new feature at the end of the night has been the spontaneous gathering outside the Milky Way of Gross Anatomy patrons on bikes, heading back en-masse to over-the-bridge parts like Cambridge and Somerville. Fun!!!!

Music you'll hear: mary timony, hot chip, tracy + the plastics, metric, the ponys, anna oxygen, patrick wolf, adult, lo-fi FNK, depeche mode, tender forever, the futureheads, the organ, the long blondes, diplo, gucci mane, david bowie, the smiths, the blow, VHS or beta, babes in toyland, china crisis, kylie, destiny's child, new order, heart, i am the world trade center, cut copy, sean paul, efferklang, the gossip, annie, esther, chicks on speed, MIA, adam ant, peaches, blondie, deerhoof, b-52s, joan jett and the blackhearts, duran duran, letigre, arcade fire, berlin, talking heads, electrelane, erase errata, usher, the go! team, architecture in helsinki, romeo void, julie ruin, the slits, mount sims, the moves, pat benatar, pulp, soviet, the unicorns, SWV, hole, magnetic fields, abba, angela, the knife, lita ford, ying yang twins, tom vek.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/thegrossanatomy

BOSTON BOYLESQUE
@ various locations

When: whenever you want!

Not in the least your typical queer night, this mostly-male burlesque review brings some old-time gaiety to wherever they go, whether it be the Midway Cafe, The Milky Way, or a living room near you. Every show is different, but expect to see imaginative and scandalous cabaret-inspired acts, with special guests in a variety show format performing to naughty tunes of days gone by. Think Josephine Baker and Marylin Monroe running a carnival sideshow. After watching sexy dancers do their thing, it's not surprising that the night almost always ends with the audience turning into an all-out dance party. Oh, and they always looking for talent, so contact them if you got something something.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/bostonboylesque

OK. So go out and have fun! No more excuses. And if you want to start a night of your own, please do. DIY is the way to go in Boston.

An appeal for donations

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:53:00 +0000

Withing a matter of weeks, Burma and China have been hit by natural disasters of historic magnitude. Burma has been devastated by a cyclone that hit the country May 3, leaving an estimated 128,000 dead, and 2 million homeless. China was hit by a 7.9 earthquake May 12 which has left 15,000 dead, though that estimate may double in the days to come. We in the West may have our trouble with the totalitarian governments of these countries, especially on the grounds of civil rights and freedoms, but right now the people who are suffering are ordinary human beings who have nothing to do with their respective governments. I ask you, if you haven't already, to go right now and donate whatever little you can to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. There are other charity organizations of course, but I chose this one because of their well organized and large scale infrastructure, which would allow for aid to reach the Burmese and the Chinese in the fastest and most effective way.

Below is an image I got from the BBC of a survivor of the quake in Dujiangyan, China, clutching the hand of his schoolmate who was not so lucky.

Here is an amateur video of the earthquake as it happened, also from the BBC, taken near Chengdu, the largest city closest to the earthquake epicenter. You can see for yourselves the hell on earth the people of Sichuan province faced and are still facing.

It's Bike Week in Massachusetts!

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:00:00 +0000

May is National Bike Month and here in Massachusetts we’re doing our part to celebrate this great event with Bay State Bike Week, May 12th -18th, 2008. Go to the Bay State Bike Week website and sign on to the Commuter Challenge! The goal is to get Bay Staters to collectively bike 50,000 miles, and in the process, cut down on congestion, pollution, green-house gases, noise, demand on foreign fossil fuels, while getting into shape in the process.

And just in time for Bike Week, Beacon Street in Somerville finally has bike lanes! Hope this is a sign of the times, and that bike lanes become a permanent and standard part of the cityscape.

Flag analogy

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:20:00 +0000

China is to Tibet as...

Tales of Angst and Isolation

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Spending a blissfully lazy evening with my parents in Brooklyn, I sat down last night to watch some TV. I got lucky: as I flipped to Channel 13, the local PBS station, a movie was about to begin. All I knew was that it starred Sigourney Weaver, and that was all I needed to know. The movie was Imaginary Heroes, directed by Dan Harris. This was a fortuitous find. It reminded me of one of my favorite movies of all time, Donnie Darko. It was a different treatment on similar themes: suburban restlessness, familial dysfunction, dubious psychochemistry and teenage lives bursting with lonesome angst. Weaver stars with Jeff Daniels as the distant husband, and the marvelous Emile Hirsch as her alienated son. Weaver steals the show. She's done this before, as in The Ice Storm, another of my favorite movies of this quasi-genre (though that one with less emphasis on the teenage growing pains). Besides Weaver, I very much enjoyed the subdued and nuanced qualities of Hirsch's performance as the teenage son. The dialogue between him and Weaver are amazingly charming, funny, sometimes outright heartbreaking. And I also love the way the whole story unfolds, with sometimes subtle revelations, in between some sudden epiphanies, that question all the assumptions we make early on in the movie. For example, from the start, Weaver's character shows her great disdain for her son's best friend's mom, who lives next door. She doesn't explain why, but we assume, or at least I did, that we know the reason. Later conversations in the movie will surprise you and maybe prove all your assumptions wrong. Not a very predictable movie. It even has a cameo appearance by Kiki and Herb!

I should have gone right to bed after that. But what should come on right after: East of Eden starring James Dean! I am ashamed to admit that I had never seen a James Dean movie. The opening scene immediately caught my attention. OK, OK, I'll admit, JAMES DEAN immediately caught my attention. What a beauty. But, what an actor! This was no prettyboy Hollywood star. This was a true artist of the screen. Talk about angst and inner turmoil! Along with Dean's acting, East of Eden is just simply a superb movie, with a very modern and edgy feel to it. I will have to go and rent Giant and Rebel Without a Cause when I get a chance.

All these movies of tortured youthfulness set me to ponder on my own years of secret turmoil and seemingly unending ennui. Being told by the standard Hollywood script that high school years are "the best years", it really depressed me to think what lied ahead beyond high school. I spent many quiet years silently brooding over a horribly negative self-image, and a painful struggle reconciling deeply held religious beliefs with my sexuality. It wasn't until moving to Boston and starting grad school that I would really experience the best years of my life, and concurrently emerge from my introverted and depressed shell to become the happy guy I am today. Whew! I only wish I could send a message through time to my teenage self and tell him the quiet reassurance Donnie Darko tells sad, little Cherita Chen: "I promise, that one day, everything's going to be better for you".

As great as these fictional films are in portraying the intense isolation and loneliness that one can experience as a teenager, nothing can be more moving than a documentary that relates real life stories. Just last week, my roommate Jeff invited me and other friends to a screening in Concord, New Hampshire of the film, For the Bible Tells Me So.

This documentary follows the lives of several families and how they were each touched in their own ways by the tension between Christianity and homosexuality. For a first film, the director gathered a stellar set of subjects, including Dick Gephardt and Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. It was Bishop Robinson's story that really made it so special to have watched this film in New Hampshire, where much of his story transpires. Not surprisingly, when the Bishop and the director walk into the theater after the film for a Q&A, they get a standing ovation. The Q&A was long and thoroughly engaging. The director, Daniel G. Karslake, was incredibly engaging and enthusiastic, and quite inspiring. We were lucky enough to chat with him briefly after the Q&A. It is no exaggeration to state that a film like this is bound to save many young lives.

Flashback: 2003

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:40:00 +0000

Looking through some old photo albums of mine, I came across some pics of me and friends at antiwar rallies back in 2003, in New York a month before the invasion of Iraq, and in Boston shortly after the invasion in March.

One thing that amazes me about many supporters of Hillary Clinton is how easily forgiving they are for her role in creating the multi-trillion dollar catastrophe we were marching to prevent. Some will claim that it's easy to second guess her decision in hindsight. But I certainly wasn't the only one questioning her wisdom back in 2002 when she voted to authorize the use of force against Iraq. There was Hans Blix, chief UN weapons inspector who as of March 2003 found no evidence for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. And there were the record number (36 million or so) of regular folks who took to the streets in the winter and spring of 2003 around the world in opposition to the US doctrine of preemptive war in Iraq. The claim that everyone had been duped rings false. And for all the wisdom and experience she claims to have, it seemed to have done Clinton no good when it really counted. But, let her own words speak for themselves:

Beware the first week of March

morphogen@hotmail.com (morphogen) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 07:12:00 +0000

Forget about June and that tired ol' Pride Parade. The first week of March 2008 offers the gayest few days that Boston will see all year.

Revival
We started tonight, Monday March 3, with Revival, the latest indie queer dance night to grace our dancing Boston feet. Promises to materialize once a month at the Middlesex Lounge. Some photos here.

Pardon My French
Tuesday night, March 4, Chris Muther's expansionist tendencies bring him to the Phoenix Landing for sassy retro pop from the shores of France, England, and beyond.

Scott Heim
Tuesday March 4, the author of Mysterious Skin reads from his latest novel, We Disappear, in Brookline Booksmith, followed by a reading at Porter Square Books on Thursday March 6.

Boston Guerrilla Queer Bar
GQB continues to raise the bar on the standard of excellence for gay nightlife in Boston, but this Friday, March 7, holds promise for shattering the glass ceiling by invading that bastion of heterohedonism known as Fanueuil Hall. Should be fun. I might just wear my favorite hoodie to this one.