1/5/08

Iowa Caucus Party in Downtown Manhattan



I had to leave at 9 but I captured some inspiring moments, like  Councilman Al Vann's speech and some amusing ones like the early results that put Barack in third place. (By the time I got home later that night, he had of course, won.)

Obama caucus viewing pty 020

View the slideshow.


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1/4/08

Pundit Shmundit pt 1: Obama's Victory Speech

What can I say? In Barack's own words: "You have done what the cynics said we could not do!" View the Iowa victory speech video (if you haven't already):





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1/3/08

From New Year's Eve to Iowa's Eve


obama@hammerstein 032

On the Huffington Post today, Joe Vogel, author of The Obama Movement, Why Barack Obama speaks to America's youth explains why he believes pollsters are undercounting the Barack promise (even as Barack beats Hillary in Iowa by 7 points in some polls!):

  

I have been arguing for over a year that most polls and pundits are either missing or dismissing what will be the deciding factor in this election: the youth vote.

Most young voters are never called by pollsters. We have cell phones, not land lines; we are first-time voters; we are independents turned democrats. Therefore, we are mostly unrepresented by the polls and invisible to the news media. We are the voting bloc that is consistently written off. We won't show up. We are apathetic. We'll be watching football. This is the way it has been in recent history, and this is the way it will always be. So the argument goes.

Yet if this is the conventional wisdom, the American establishment is in for a rude awakening on January 3 when the headlines go worldwide that a former community organizer, an African American with an unusual name and the most improbable of stories, is on his way to becoming the next president of the United States.

This is just an excerpt but it's well worth reading the whole thing as Joe Vogel explains the reasons for his conviction. But then again the moment of truth --on Iowa, that is--is less than 24 hours away.



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12/27/07

Christmas, Mexican Punch, Jambalaya!


I skipped the traditional Haitian meal this year and instead got treated to some Mexican and Louisianian traditions at my neighbor Michelle's.

Her friend Carmen made my day with the traditional Mexican punch of her childhood which in her words, "smells like Christmas". A feast of cinnamon, green apple and tropical apple, guava, orange, sugar cane, sorrel and tamarind. Carmen skipped the ginger for fear it might overshadow the other flavors.

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After a simmering boil, the vivid tea-like infusion invited splashes of rum or could be savored sweet and warm.

Michelle's jambalaya, equal parts hot and tomatoey, was a nice complement:

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Thanks to Carmen, I also got to taste home made tamales for the first time. Carmen (who had rolled 150 of those the night before with her nieces and nephews!) had them nicely color-coded: green for cheese and mole, red for cumin and pork, pineapple beek for the sweet ones.

View the slideshow.

Xmas goodies 07 014

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Ndesanjo Macha on Citizen Journalism


Ndesanjo Macha is Global Voices'Africa Regional Editor. Hopefully what he describes as the beneficial effects of citizen journalism for Africa can serve as an inspiration for would-be Haitian and Haitian-American bloggers. Apparently, he gave the interview while at a citizen media meet in Dakar, namely the 3ème atelier régional sur les médias et les enjeux des TIC en Afrique de l'Ouest : Nouvelles technologies, nouveau journalisme, renforcement de la gouvernance.



For those who are reading via feed or aggregator, here is the video's link.

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12/18/07

Haiti Now! Film Festival at U.W.I.

An interesting review of the Haiti Now! Seminar which happened earlier this year at the University of the West Indies' St-Augustine campus in Trinidad. This is not the freshest news but there have been some misunderstandings between anglophone West Indians and Haitians over Caricom and its role in Haiti so this kind of cultural effort for mutual understanding is worth noting. The seminar, which appears to be recurring, credits itself partially for the post-2004 surge in films on Haiti. Note the bredth of haitian filmmakers presented: the roster actually includes filmmakers who reside in the country.

12/17/07

Redefining Christmas ... three weeks from Iowa

Sting's voice came on during a radio commercial today personally inviting me to visit the site http://www.redefinechristmas.org/. I loved the idea--to ask loved ones to donate to a charity of your choice instead of shopping for a present for you-- and thought I'd share it with you. If you, like me, dread having to shop during the holidays, but mostly dread all the contrived hype that surrounds them, you'll probably be redefining christmas this year.

This solves one problem for me (having to hint at what I do or don't want or having to act happy when I don't like a present) but opens another can of worms. Three weeks from the Iowa primary, the "charity" I would most like to "sacrifice" presents for is actually a presidential campaign. Can I, in good faith, ask friends, loved ones and relatives to donate to the campaign of a candidate that they may or may not themselves be supporting? ... I'll have to try it and let you know what happens. My gut instinct is that if the holiday's spirit is one of generosity and hence self-effacement, then the least those closest to you can do is honor your deepest wishes, especially when they are free to choose the price tag.


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12/12/07

Lights, Camera, OTT'07 video documentary!

This video explains what it is I was doing in Zagreb, Croatia at Open Translation Tools 2007.





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