 G21 ARICA:
Memoir from Uganda
JULIAN WELCH
 Why had I chosen Uganda? Wasn't this the place that had murder and terrorism and more murder?
I pondered this as I sat alone waiting for my flight. I had done well to avoid fear of the unknown...until now. Struggling to repair my self-confidence, I promptly reviewed my purpose. I would only need to recall my first thought when I learned of this trip. This could be one of those life-affirming journeys that I had read about so often in my favorite travel magazines. I am all of those inspirations manifested in one slightly balding and barely overweight guy.
In the spirit of those who have gone before me, I did not want to return home until I had eaten and drunk and breathed what made Uganda so unique.
On visiting the country during England's colonial reign, Winston Churchill, with the help of a smart clerk and his pen, was heard to aptly christen the land "The Pearl of Africa." Despite the possible dangers, I was not turning back. Little did I know how close I would actually come to death... More
ESSAYS ON CULTURE:
SILENCE
KEVIN CAREY
Suddenly, out of nowhere, random, background sound has begun to bother me.
I used hardly to notice coughing and programme rustling at concerts but now it is a real struggle to ignore it and get back to the music. I used cheerfully to eavesdrop on mobile phone conversations and wish I had the courage to say such clever things as: "Sorry, could you repeat that, I didn't get all the figures" or "is that all?" but now it is only cowardice that prevents my asking people to shut up.
I have recently noticed the background traffic noise as I sit in the garden and I can get used to that because after a while it loses its random character but a fly on a window pane is assuming the aspect of Black Sabbath at a tea dance... More
THE SEX COLUMN:
The Lolita vs. Oedipal Debate
D.A. BLYLER
 Younger girls or older women? ? It's a troublesome question. Some might go so far as to call it a conundrum. For, by the time a man hits eighteen, it'll emerge as an ongoing, thorny debate through the next twenty years, unless marriage claims him first (and then the debate simply becomes less public).
Not being married, I remain free to discuss such dilemmas with my unwedded friends, though -- at thirty-four -- such comrades have begun to diminish at a startling rate. It's not as though my married friends wouldn't relish such discussions, only that bachelors in their thirties are considered misfits and social pariahs by most bejeweled wives, and thus they do their best to separate their dutiful husbands from these old chums... More
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MY GLASS HOUSE:
Just Another Guy
ROD AMIS
NEW ORLEANS - Labor Day, 2001 "Well, who is he?"
"He says he's just another guy."
"Yeah. Let me put it another way: What does he do?"
"He's a roofer. He's working with a crew on Zak's reno over in the Marigny."
"Where's he from?"
"That's kindah funny. I heard he laughs when people ask him that. Says it's his favorite question. Then he says he isn't 'from' anywhere really. One of the guys on his crew says he rolled into New Orleans from Serbia."
"Serbia? Was he over there in the military or something?"
"Naw, he's too old. Seems he just decided he wanted to see Serbia."
"Weird!"
"I don't know, Baby. I think he may be hiding somethin'. After all, that name, Amis, is definitely French. Like in 'mon amis?' And them green eyes! I think he might have some Creole blood in him"... More
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RECOMMENDED DAILY REQUIREMENT: : During my misspent youth, I made it a habit to read the works of Lord Bertrand Russell at least once every two years. I thought of it as my brain enema. There is so much fuzzy thinking in this world, I knew even in those formative years, that one needs a challenge like Bertrand Russell to make you validate your own perceptions, perception being as slippery as a snake's back. ("You just cain't quite put your finger on it!")
Russell, for those of you unfamiliar, was one of the premiere philosophers of the last century. He was unconventional and controversial, in no small part due to the fact that he was a life-long socialist. Being a socialist meant that he did not translate well across The Pond. Even today, you'd be hard-pressed to find an American diplomat who knows the difference between communism and socialism. So much's the pity.... "Lord Russell" ROD AMIS More
RDR 08.27.01: THOMAS HART has a bit to say about "The American President."
RDR 08.20.01: RADIO RAHEEM has advice for anyone planning on dropping by "The Crib."
RDR 08.13.01: RON DIENER learns of the loss of a friend and shares with us "A Bad, Sad Place"
 VOX POPULI: From Perry P., (No City or Country Provided:
SUBJECT: Your Portrayal of Asians
Dear Mr. Oduol,
After reading your article, I cannot help but feel the typical undertone of hate that you seem to have towards the "Asian" by segregating them as merely "Asians" vs, "African Asians" or "Kenyans of Asian origin" or "Ugandans of Asian origin" or simply Kenyans or Ugandans. Why not? When was the last time that you got out of your "ivory tower" thinking and saw the changes in our global world?
I am assuming that the last name of Odoul is Irish and/or of European extraction. If not please advise, as it sounds Irish in "ethnicity" based on my past dealing with O'Douls in America.
It certainly does not sound Asian.
Perhaps you can also spend a few moments in your intellectual ivory tower and write about the aparthied regime of South Africa and what the great "JEWS" of SOUTH AFRICA were up to during this period.
Surely, a man of your capability can find something to write about on the aparthied regime and the role of the "JEWS" during this period.
Let's see maybe there were some "Irish" Immigrants who contributed in supporting the aparthied regime also? Why not write about them and single out their ethnic background first. OK?
Also, why stop there?
You should perhaps consider the recent riots in England and what a mess perhaps all those "Asians" (most likely now born in the U.K.) are to the predominately "WASP" society (or perhaps you do not have the human ability to think beyond your own racial background and biases?)
Are these "non white" folks in England to be called "Asians" or " British Asians" or something else? Do you think they should be part of the society that they were born in or are they to be viewed as outsiders?
One gets sick and tired of the way that writers like you weave in the description of the "Asians", in various bigoted articles. it is as if the "Asians" are some ethnic group of outsiders to the society that they are born in... More
A Great G21 Easter Egg |
Long-time readers will appreciate the significance of our bringing "my white dove" to you on Labor Day. It seems that our publisher dwells on symbolism. (Thank the Lord he doesn't play cymbals, though!)
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