Archive for
January 13th, 2006
Stories
11 key moments in [Anglo-]Caribbean blog history
THE INTERNET ARCHIVE IS preserving copies of many early blog pages, but most bloggers are too busy posting to think about otherwise documenting what they're doing. The history of the blogosphere goes back barely a decade, but evolution has been rapid, and bloggers who were around just three or four years ago may already seem like patriarchs and matriarchs. Here's a stab at an outline of Caribbean blog history — with a strong bias towards the region's Anglophone territories, and many pivotal moments no doubt missing. (Also, frankly, heavily biased towards the small circle of regular bloggers from the south Caribbean who I'm acquainted with in person or online.) Please use the comments to fill in the “historical record” — and maybe this will be just the start of a more comprehensive blog history project.
25 August, 2001: Jamaican Mad Bull's blog goes online — maybe not the first Caribbean blog, but certainly one of the very earliest in the region's Anglophone territories. (Anyone know of Caribbean bloggers who've been around longer? Please leave details in the comments.) His first post reports on a night out with his wife. Mad Bull becomes known for his irreverent musings on life in contemporary Jamaica — and his connoisseurship of the Caribbean's female beauties….
30 September, 2002: the West Indies Cricket Blog is launched by Ryan Naraine of caribbeancricket.com. It goes on to become the Anglophone Caribbean's most popular blog — yes, West Indians love their cricket. A link from Ryan usually means a major spike in hits.
Echoes from the Tunisian blogosphere
Karim and Marwen write about their wishes for the Tunisian blogosphere in the year 2006, after a big and healthy year 2005 for blogs in Tunisia.
Adib gives his thoughts on the Tunisian blogosphere in the past year 2005.
Hannibal publishes some pictures he took at an art exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, NY : Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire, which displays a number of mosaics from Tunisia.
Tunizika have released episode 8 of their Tunisian musical podcast featuring music from Sofyann Ben youssef, Ghalia Ben Ali & Temnaa, Kerkenah and Amel Mathlouthi.
Marwen thinks that biodiesel could be a very good alternative fuel option in Tunisia, as the prices for petroleum based fuel continue to rise.
Tunisian Globetrotter reports that a new TV channel called “Sport 7″, that will broadcast all the soccer matches from the Tunisian championship, could see the light of day soon. Talks are still going on between Tunisian officials and ART about the details (in French).
Zizou writes about the relations between Tunisia and Italy, and how a bond was created between the two countries when the Italian RAI1 channel became available to all Tunisians back in 1967. He sees the countries moving away from each other over the past few years, and he thinks that the opposite should be the case, especially with Italy being in need of foreign labor and Tunisians being in a good position to fill those gaps. (in French)
OthRez writes an interesting piece about relocation / offshoring in general and also takes Tunisia's example where many textile and ITC businesses from Europe are setting up production centers, discussing the pros and cons of it all (in French).
Ex-Blonde writes about her experience with Tunisian cinemas; the small and old selection of movies, the badly reputated cinemas, the empty theatres, the low quality picture and sound, …etc. She finds watching pirated DivX movies at home in front of her PC a much better experience (in French).
Peru Recently
After a while of blogging inactivity, I'm back. And nothing better to start with than summaries of what happenned in 2005. Franc of Apuntes Peruanos at Perú en los blogs 2005 does it, even though its not a completely in-depth look, its worth the effort (By the time this post is online in Global Voices, Franc's post was already published thanks to the effort of Patrick Hall). Also the ghost of Tinta Fantasma has its own post La blogósfera en el Perú (The Blogosphere in Peru) offering his view of precisely that. Just like Sandro Medina of Letra Suelta who in 2005: weblogs en el Perú gives us his own particular balance of the facts. Though its not estrictly about the subject, Morsa in el blog: la coordinadora estudiantil - la blogósfera y sus sorpresas reflects on how as the blogosphere grows, common spaces of interaction do too.
On the technological aspect, Eduardo Solis's post of e-nredados: 2006: ¿cuántos y quienes somos? Parte III (How Many and Who are We?) is related to the blogosphere, because the data about penetration of PCs and TICs in our country is quite relevant for those of us who are into the environment. Continuing with technology, APM writes on La vida de un informático: PerAntivirus 9.6 crackeado, in which he speaks limitedly of the popular antivirus software from Peru.
Now onto politics: La Morena speaks in 93 Days Left about the political conjuncture not just of Peru but also of Bolivia and Chile. To select an excerpt:
The last polls have reflected that around 50% of the constituents still dont know who vote for.Evo already won and the idea of the native leader could stimulate the andean majority and the south of the country which identifies itself in support of Ollanta Humala and his own discontent and rejection of the system which has brought them few benefits. Likewise, the virtual victory of the candidate Bachelet in Chile, could favor Lourdes Flores who will try to be the first female President of Peru.
So the principal topic of peruvian politics these days revolves around Ollanta Humala and blogs make no exception. Carla, representing the typical Peruvian blogger tells it explicitly: Estamos jodidos. El Acertijo Cretino posts Llegaron los Reyes! Nos traen humalitas, evones y chavecitos, which is along the same lines. Marco Sifuentes from his blog El Útero de Marita has two post about it: Ollanta Humala: culpable soy yo and Humala vs Bolívar vs Chomsky vs Allende vs Chávez vs Marx vs Evo, both very interesting, because he tells us first hand and does it with unique humor.
The different note its put by the well known journalist Manuel Jesús Orbegozo who in his blog El Mundo, Un Dia tells us in Perú: Humala Versus Humala that among other things:
This is the political overview that lives in Peru because of Humala, If they wouldnt had intervened, the political reality would be the same as it was 170 years ago; pure Peruvian briskness. One or two lords would run for president one of them would win not knowing how or when. Of course you cant just depend on speeches, as Ollanta is not the guardian angel of Peru, but he could make much more than others that form part of a class, a really disgusting one. Ollanta has said “these politicians make me sick”. Watching over again the same faces as candidates, lets say, Mr Xavier Barrón himself, is sickening. But its as sickening to think there is a singer whos nickname is “Tongo” who aspires to be legislator.
Continuing with politics, Jomra tells us the lastest on Fujimori, Fujimori y más sobre Fujimori…. Luis León of Ingenuo País also speaks on Fujimori in Fujimori… ¿puede postular? and in a very long post on the people on the Ministry of Economics and Finance: Los MEF-Boys… o en busca del continuismo económico tells us the recent moves on the economic ministry and the famous “economic model”. So now that we are on the topic of economics, Gonzalito reproduces, without commentary, an article from an economic newspaper from our neighbor to the south: Operadores chilenos se lanzan a la caza de Perú.
Changing topics, Luis of Autobús has two excellent posts in which he offers his impressions on the visit of almost mythological Argentinean rocker, Luis Alberto Spinetta to Lima and his concert: Spinetta (1) y Spinetta (2). Ivan Thays, of Moleskine, informs us in Vargas Llosa y Vanessa Saba en teatro about the premiere in Lima of one of Vargas Llosas' play: The truth of the lies (La verdad de las mentiras), turns out to be very interesting because this particular play was not really conceived to be staged. Just one complaint: Iván put a picture of the gorgeus Vanessa instead of Mario.
Now onto personal blogs, I have found some posts that caught my attention: Ella se sabe gorda of Orlando Mazeyra is about the situations that our excessive dependence on attractiveness may lead us to. Hay cosas que no se pueden comprar by Diego Avendaño (desde la clandestinidad) is a post about things that were born to not be, with a reference to a well known advertisement of credit cards as a reflection that if we can onlyl really buy everything. El precio de la sabiduría, posted in Origami con los boletos del micro, is about those experiences that, withoug knowing why, marked us yet never became memories but there are always present in our life. And Carlos, of the popular Invazor C: writes a sad Balance del 2006, that looks like a poem or is it?
To finish, a couple of posts with pictures, from blogs that aren't officially photoblogs, but… who cares?. First one Miscelánea Fotográfica: Trujillo, 31 de diciembre covers a trip to the beautiful city of Trujillo and appeared in Crepúsculos y Cuadernos. With authors' permission and in a nostalgic outburst, I dedicate this to a big bunch of my trujillian friends spread around the world. The second one is not one but four; a series of posts about a New Year's camping trip published by Silvia Sugasti in her blog Adeene: Camping's Day (Días atrás) - Parte I, Camping's Day (Sábado, Lima) - Parte II, Camping's Day (Sábado, Sarapampa) - Parte III y Camping's Day (Sábado y Domingo, Sarapampa) - Parte IV. It's good to see how the Linux users have a good time … Thats it for today. Bye.
Translation by Andres Riveros
Links for Fri, 2006-01
Jim Shultz covers Garcia Linera's visit to the Democracy Center where he met with social movement leaders. According to Shultiz, the vice president-elect sees the Morales presidency as a new shift, but that “political power in Bolivia remains seriously fragmented, despite the election results.” As per usual, the post has generated a lively debate in the comments.
Andrés Duque highlights the career of soap opera diva, Endry Cardeño, noting that she is probably only the second transgender woman to play the role on TV and that “in the United States you still have producers who won`t hire a transgender actor to play the role of a transgender woman in a movie such as Transamerica or HBO's Normal.”
In her new English-language weblog, Morena Writes, Diana Zorrilla Ríos posts a translation of her pre-election update entitled “93 Days Left.”
“In this CSME time. In this time of dancehall self-righteousness versus soca wutlessness. In this time when Trinis don't want to hear about “small islanders” reaching to the Billboard charts with soca music. In this time when Haitians still call out for our help and we still studiously ignore them. . . . It is now more than ever that we need to consider what it means to this generation,” writes Attillah Springer in the latest entry in the “Caribbeanness” debate which was set in motion by a post at Global Voices Americas' editor David Sasaki's blog.
After writing in a comment that he is considering starting a blog about Cuba by someone based in Cuba, Ernesto - a programmer in Havana - has written two excellent summaries of the Cuban blogosphere. Ernesto concludes that most of the blogs were from a February 2005 seminar on blogging and that, “although [the blogosphere is] more active than I thought, especially [since] a year ago, in the end it's disappointing. The Cuban blogosphere has a long way to go.”
What does it mean to be a young Indian immigrant in the US? What does it mean in terms of identity formation? Yesha has some questions and answers.
Stereotypes in travel books do not work well. Mridula picks up a travel book on India that whines at every stage and the author seems to have seen more snake charmers in that short while than Mridula has seen in her whole lifetime in the country.
Where do saints come from? On reading Dalrymple's work, One One Things has a post on St Expedit who got his name because “Unfortunately the label with the name of the Saint in question had been discarded somewhere along the way and all that remained was a stamp with the Italian word “Spedito”, meaning expedited.”
International Nepal Solidarity Networks links to an article on “Nepal’s homosexual community and gay rights activists Friday joined international protests against the arrest of four Indians on the charge of running a “gay racket” on the Internet.”
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