Our Japanese Friends...

Those Japanese crazies strike agian! Watch the insanity here.

Google Mars

If you haven't seen it already, Google has a really cool map of Mars that shows 3 different views (Elevation, Visible, and Infared). Check it out here.

"¡Ask a Mexican!"

I usually don't read the local periodicals, but I happened upon an issue of OC Weekly on an ill fated trip to Starbucks. I happened to stop by a local Starbucks where a rack featuring the OC Weekly was being presented, obviously beckoning me to grab a copy. I did. I started to flip through it, seeing as I was a little bored, and stopped instantly on a column titled "¡Ask a Mexican!". I have to say, I was a little bewildered by the title, seeing as most publications tend to be politically correct, and this is most definatly not. Well, the "Mexican" being asked is a Mr. Gustavo Arellano, who is a 27 year old, forth generation Mexican. Before I go on about the content of the column, I would like to point out that this is the only colomn worth reading in the OC Weekly.

Anyways, the questions asked of Mr. Arellano range from rediculous to thought provoking...sorta. Oh, and because it is his own colomn, Gustavo answers the questions in his own little way. Here is a great example of a typical question:

Dear Mexican,What's with the Mexican need to display the Virgin of Guadalupe everywhere? I've seen her in the oddest places, from a sweatshirt to a windshield sticker. As a Mexican, I find it a little offensive and tacky to display this religious symbol everywhere.

Dear Pocha,…I've seen her painted on murals, woven into fabulous silk shirts worn by Stetson-sporting hombres and — one holy night — in my bowl of guacamole. But while I share your disdain for the hypocrites who cross themselves in Her presence before they sin…. I don't find public displays of the Empress of the Americas offensive at all.

Mexican Catholicism is sublime precisely because it doesn't draw a distinction between the sacred and the profane. We can display our saints as comfortably in a cathedral as we do on hubcaps.

In my opinion, this colomn is a breath of fresh air. I'm amazed it is such a controversy, but I'm glad the OC Weekly has the juevos to print this colomn. If you want to read more, go here. And if you ever see one of those little wire racks with the OC Weekly logo hanging from it, make sure to pick up a copy and read Gustavo's colomn; I know I will.