Reunion!

My two chubby and loveable friends from Cali came to reunite with me last weekend. I just received the pictures hot off the press so I thought I'd share.
I have a feeling the only reason they came was to be featured in my blog.
*Sigh*, it's not easy being in the limelight.

Here they are, round and jolly, trying to find their way to my apartment:

So we went around the city: Did tons of cool stuff. I taught them about New York. They learned.

Hoda insisted to try EVERY flavor. (and she did)


"King of New York!"


Bean Buddies since 7th grade. (notice how much taller I am)


Just cause I look cool.


Just cause the picture is cool


You'll notice Payam is not in many pictures, mainly because he ditched us to watch a basketball game.
You'll also notice that the weather was amazing, they brought the sunshine with them and then took it back. Its raining now.
m'kay bye.

Hunting the Hunter

Today Nicey saved me from an uninvited visitor. When I came home from school I heard a creepy buzzing. Immediately he spotted the culprit and came up with an attack plan:





After the use of guerilla tactics and walkie talkies, Nice and I caught the enemy bee.



Relax animal lovers, the bee was shoo'd out of the window and not smashed. Please don't send me forwards about how wrong it is to wear fur.

The Nina, The Pinta and the SabaNas

On a lighter note from yesterday. They say April showers bring May Flowers and Sunday was the first day of a few days of April Showers. NYC Mayor Bloomberg fears floods but since we're on top of a hill, we're fine. Instead Smo and I walked down to the park below our building to the flooded Baseball Diamond to test run our paper boat.

I introduce, the SabaNas




Go little boat, go.



Check out the footage of some flips: Extreme!

Smooth Sailing

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Unfortunately, it was a short lived glory.
R.I.P. SabaNas, R.I.P.

Yellow Journalism: Follow up on Cube

Yellow Journalism refers to the idea of sensationalizing or basically lying in the newspaper in order to sell more papers. The term was coined during the late 1800's when Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolf Hertz accused each other of exaggerating their headlines specifically in relation to the start of the Spanish-American War. (Maybe Jack Kelly was wrong when he said "Headlines don't sell the papes, Newsies sell the papes")

On February 15th 1898, the U.S.S. Maine mysteriously blew up in the Havana Harbor. Although Spanish scientist claim that the explosion was caused by "an internal and accidental explosion" the competing newspapers, eager to have a better headline, began to fabricate the events fueling American anger by publishing astonishing "atrocities" committed by Spain in Cuba and accusing them of blowing up the ship. So much so that on April 11, President William McKinley asked Congress for authority to send American troops to Cuba for the purpose of ending the civil war there.
(Cubans didn't want either of them there, and they still don't)

So why am I telling you this? Because today in the New York Post (a newspaper known for its bull-shit), yellow journalism, a practice continuously executed since the Spanish-American War, found it's face on the front page yet again.
The article reeks of McCarthyism and is filled with lies and propaganda.
The Beacon school, where I student teach, and Mr. Turners house were swarmed with paparazzi all weekend and all day today. As students walked out of class, they would scream: "Hey, how was Q-ba?" (To which one student responded "Eff you!" )

Please read for yourself: NY Post

The students and several community members have extended their support and if it can bring attention to ending the blockade then hopefully the situation can turn out for the best. I would appreciate everyone's support in basically just having our back. This will probably get worse before it gets better.

Reggae Sun Delight

Welcome to the "Reggae Sun Delight Juice Bar"
Located at the corner of 135th and Lenox in Harlem
(Notice the sugar cane leaning on door)



How are you feeling today? Do you have Menopause? Jet lag? Allergies perhaps? Well, don't worry we have the best con-cock-tion for you.
Start with some greenery: celery, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes and even cilantro. Add some fruit, cantaloupe, green apples or purple grapes.
Blend together with a dash of hot sauce and ginger. Peep the menu and ingredients.
(click to enlarge)







Saba and I ordered a drink to heal bruises. We had just gotten into a fist-fight and needed to heal. (I won) Ingredients include: Pineapple, Orange, Lemon and Ginger. We stayed away from the greens. But they should have written ginger in bold because it was liquid fire.
Here's me playing off the intenseness:

When we showed up the owner had stepped out to buy some honey. In the meantime Caviar and I chopped it up with other customers about gout, sea-moss and chomped on a soy chicken empenada. Homey didn't show up till half-hour later, casually strolling in (honey in hand) and finally made our drinks.

Spring Break Trip.

For those of you who don't know, I went as on a really cool spring break vacation. Want more details? Call me.

I have hundreds of pictures, here are a few:

The Classic

Fellow Comrades

a school in Pinar del Rio

I'm so popular with my students.

Pablo Neruda: "Naked you are slender as a naked grain of wheat. Naked you are blue as a night in Q-ba"

Two Shining Stars