From our Mailbag 08/17/01 - 08/31/01
What? You again...?
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" byİsegregating 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 andİwrite about the aparthied regime of South Africa and what the great "JEWS" of SOUTH AFRICA were up to during this period.
Surely, aİman 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,İwhy stop there?
You should perhaps consider the recent riots in England and what a mess perhaps all thoseİ"Asians" (most likely now born in the U.K.) are to theİpredominately "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 inİor are they toİbe viewed asİoutsiders?
One gets sick and tired of the way thatİwriters like youİweave in the description of the "Asians", in various bigotedİarticles.İit is asİif the "Asians" are someİethnic group of outsiders to the society that they are born in.
Almost, the shades of colonial garbage that writers lik you seem hung up on spreading. I'd say aİseething hatredİfor the "Asians" comes through in the way you seem to categorize them. It helpsİa great deal in promoting racism towards the "Asians" in Africa.
Could this perhaps be a hidden Agenda of yours? Are the Madhvani'sİin your article any lessİ"Africans" in say their country of birth then theİBlacks born in America any less Americans? (or the Irish immigrants born in America?). An Individual born in America with the last name of Odoul is not viewed first as aİEuropean but first as an American!. One hopes that in the global society you will learn to respect the fact that "Ugandans" like the Madhvani's are just asİmuch a part of their country asİother Ugandans of different ethnicity or tribe born in Uganda. This is something that the Ugandan President understands - but you seem completely devoid of.
I would be delighted to meet you one day and see what kind of a person you are in real life!
Sincerely,
Perry P.
From "Tac," (No City Provided,) USA:
Rod,
Thanks for your article. Clarification, though: RJR owns the Joe Camel trademark, not Philip Morris. They're all evil, but in this particular case
your article isn't accurate.
From http://www.g21.net/daily0712.htm: "Yes, THAT Philip Morris. The tobacco company responsible for the Joe Camel advertising campaign and trying to convince little kids that smoking cigarettes, a known carcinogen, is cool...
Tac
ROD RESPONDS: Tac, thanks! We ran an editorial correction on that page.
From Ed C., Bloomfield, MI, USA:
SUBJECT: Don't mess with a roofer
"I am losing Rod..."
Nah, merely a "transition", like every fucking beautiful AND screwed up day.
....Ch,Ch,Ch,Ch, Changes, to face the strain,
Ch-Changes.
Don't want to grow up and out of it.
From Richard L. K. (No City or Country Provided):
SUBJECT: your column
Once upon a time I was a 'celebate, sensitive male' who never got laid.
Then I reached my early thirties, started to make enough to support a wife, and met a decent woman who wanted to settle down because she was, well, in her
early thirties too. I went slow. We became friends. I apologized occasionally when she was wrong. I sent her flowers and bad poetry. I steadfastly wore nerd
glasses.
Guess what? I'm married seven years (would not trade it for ANYTHING) and have two rambunctious sons.
If all you want is a squirt, yeah, follow your rules.
If you want to raise a family, these 'sensitive celebate' rules work on the whole pretty damned well.
Just not right away.
From Ralph R., Phoenix, AZ, USA:
SUBJECT: The G21
Mr. A.,
Just wanted to let you know that I'm glad to see one Web site, of the many I used to visit, like FEED, Salon, et alia, still doing original work and keeping the faith. You've got a rarity in the flotsam and corporate-controlled jetsam of what is now the "new" Web. I hope you'll keep it up, no matter what.
There are more people out here who appreciate your efforts than you might know.
Best,
Ralph R.
STUFF OTHER PEOPLE THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW
From Zach Love, Los Angeles, CA, USA:
Subject: Deadpool Dispatch
Hiya, Poolsters-
It's time, once again, to put your money where your mouth is, and enter
The Game Of All Games. The September '01 - February '02 Lee Jr. is now
taking entries, and you don't want to get left out. Not when a mere five
bucks could get you the Grand Prize of $1000.00 cash! No, that's not a
misprint! Simply join in the fun of picking the soon-to-be-dead, and rake
in some serious green at the same time. All the info you need is at
http://stiffs.com/enter.html and time's a-wastin', so GO!
Yours,
Zachariah Love, Commissioner
Greg Hicks, Head Bartender and
Drew Scharlatt, Calendar Boy
The Lee Atwater Invitational Dead Pool
http://stiffs.com
"If you build it, they will die."
From Barbara Badeaux, Florence, AZ, USA:
Subject: JAG: The Show, The Cast and Crew, The Convention
Florence, AZ, August 19, 2001 - On October 12th through the 15th at the Four Points Sheraton LAX in Los Angeles join die-hard JAGnik fans from the United States, Australia, Denmark, England, Italy and elsewhere to meet the stars and celebrate their enthusiasm for the hit TV series, "JAG," the story of the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General's program, at the JAGnik Invasion 2001.
For six years and running, JAG, the overwhelmingly popular CBS television military drama has riveted millions of diehard viewers to their seats with outstanding programming. Terrorism, rape, murder, UFO's, women's rights, the Gulf War - JAG tackles them all like no other TV series has ever done. Now meet the stars, directors, writers, get autographs, and find out how they do it. If you are JAG fan, you can't miss this!
The JAGnik 2001 convention - the 2nd one of its kind -- will host panel discussions with the cast and crew of JAG, as well as autograph sessions, a charity auction, and a "Charity Brunch" with the stars of one of the most popular programs ever produced.
JAG's "Top Gun" stars are expected to be there. Heartthrobs David James Elliot as Lt. Cmdr Harmon Rabb, Jr. and Catherine Bell as Lt. Colonel Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie, who portray military legal eagles who investigate, prosecute, and defend Navy and Marine personnel around the world.
Together with Patrick Labyorteaux (Lt. Bud Roberts, Jr.), John M. Jackson (Admiral, former Navy SEAL, Chegwidden), Karri Turner (Lt. jg Harriet Sims), Randy Vasquez (Gunny Victor Valendiz), Chuck Carrington (PO3 Tiner), and Trevor Goddard (Mic Brumbly) the lawyers explore issues facing today's military personnel. Schedules permitting, many of them plan to be there for you to meet.
Meet people behind the cameras - writers, production staff - along with recurring stars and occasional guests too. Participate in panel discussions. Let them tell you how JAG develops from an idea into a one-hour action packed finished product. The autograph sessions, auction, and brunch will give the fans a chance to get to know and talk with the stars who portray their favorite characters. Go to on site locations where it really happens.
Jagnik Invasion 2001 will be held October 12 - 15 at the Four Points Sheraton LAX in Los Angeles, CA. Information about the convention can be found at our website, www.JAGnik.com or by calling Barbara Badeaux at (520) 868-1994, or writing JAGnik Association, PO Box 2000, Florence, Arizona 85232-2000.
From Tyrone T., Baltimore, MD, USA:
SUBJECT: America's Hi-Tech "Invisible Man"
You may not have heard of Dr. Mark Dean. And you aren't alone. But almost everything in your life has been affected by his work.
See, Dr. Mark Dean is a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is in the National Hall of Inventors. He has more than 30 patents pending. He is a vice president with IBM. Oh, yeah. And he is also the architect of the modern-day personal computer. Dr. Dean holds three of the original nine patents on the computer that all PCs are based upon. And, Dr. Mark Dean is an African American.
So how is it that we can celebrate the 20th anniversary of the IBM personal computer without reading or hearing a single word about him? Given all of the pressure mass media are under about negative portrayals of African Americans on television and in print, you would think it would be a slam dunk to highlight someone like Dr. Dean. Somehow, though, we have managed to miss the shot.
History is cruel when it comes to telling the stories of African Americans. Dr. Dean isn't the first Black inventor to be overlooked. Consider John Stanard, inventor of the refrigerator; George Sampson, creator of the clothes drier; Alexander Miles and his elevator; Lewis Latimer and the electric lamp. All of these inventors share two things: One, they changed the landscape of our society; and, two, society relegated them to the footnotes of history. Hopefully, Dr. Mark Dean won't go away as quietly as they did. He certainly shouldn't. Dr. Dean helped start a Digital Revolution that created people like Microsoft's Bill Gates and Dell Computer's Michael Dell. Millions of jobs in information technology can be traced back directly to Dr. Dean.
More important, stories like Dr. Mark Dean's should serve as inspiration for African-American children. Already victims of the "Digital Divide" and failing school systems, young, Black kids might embrace technology with more enthusiasm if they knew someone like Dr. Dean already was leading the way.
Although technically Dr. Dean can't be credited with creating the computer -- that is left to Alan Turing, a pioneering 20th-century English mathematician, widely considered to be the father of modern computer science -- Dr. Dean rightly deserves to take a bow for the machine we use today. The computer really wasn't practical for home or small business use until he came along, leading a team that developed the interior architecture (ISA systems bus) that enables multiple devices, such as modems and printers, to be connected to personal computers. In other words, because of Dr. Dean, the PC became a part of our daily lives.
For most of us, changing the face of society would have been enough. But not for Dr. Dean. Still in his early forties, he has a lot of inventing left in him. He recently made history again by leading the design team responsible for creating the first 1-gigahertz processor chip. It's just another huge step in making computers faster and smaller.
As the world congratulates itself for the new Digital Age brought on by the personal computer, we need to guarantee that the African-American story is part of the hoopla surrounding the most stunning technological advance the world has ever seen.
We cannot afford to let Dr. Mark Dean become a footnote in history. He is well worth his own history book.
Tyrone D. Taborn is publisher of Hispanic Engineer and US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazines. He can be reached at tyrone.taborn@ccgmag.com
From Jurate M., Vilinius, LITHUANIA:
SUBJECT: NO. 6
Thanks for your interest in the electronic art journal THE SECRETS OF
PERFECTION. This special offer is sent only to you, however, in case
you donÌt wish to receive the information in the future, be patient and
reply to this message putting "I do not like the PERFECTION" in the
subject line. Be sure you will not be contacted again. But, if you will
not receive our reply about deleting from the list or will get a new
information from me, possibility is that your request did not reach us.
In such case contact me again, please.
Today you can visit the 6th edition of THE SECRETS OF PERFECTION. Greatest contemporary artists, like Marc Dalessio (Italy), Joel Alden Kingston (USA) are participating in it.
Hoff Gilles (France) is showing his very interesting ethical image against
narcotic addiction.
Art theorist Walter Reinhold (USA) suggests the essay on the Fibonacci
series.
As always, my own article and art works you will find here too. Advice:
if you desire, but can not understand the article, read all my articles
from the beginning.
I apologize for my Lithuanian accent again and wish you to have a nice
time.
JM
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