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Libertad's Journal

libertad
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09/27/2006 20:06 #25834

A spirit in the street
I was going through pictures of Cuba so I could find two that I have been meaning to publish on (e:strip). Also I need to find 3 of my best to submit for a photo contest. It isn't easy when you have 3,000 pics! I'll save the most intriguing for last. These aren't exactly what I think is the best, just something I had something to say about.

Here is some pics of Amanda aka mi amor! She is in Cuba right now. I miss her and need to write to her. She is a beautiful person and has amazing hair and eyes.

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This one is the aftermath of one of the many hurricanes that passed by Cuba while I was there. I don't even remember which one. This entire area up to calle 23 was flooded when the sea penetrated the city.

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This boy I was intrigued by. You could see him and his family passing the time on their porch from the "girls" room window. It was hard not to be seen taking photos.
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I think this has to be the hottest pic I took. This was during a marathon my friend Megan and I went to see.

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This is some plant at the convent where I stayed. It just seems pretty to me.
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Another marathon shot.

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This is Reinier. He was supposed to come and study at UB, but he never got in...his father is the embassador to North Korea. Sorry you lose. Oh he is posing next to the nuns bones from back in who knows which century. This is in the convents cript.

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Finally! This is what I have been meaning to show you all. This shot was taken outside of the convent walls on calle luz.

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Can you see that whitish fog in perfect form? It appears in both pictures and the dog is absolutely facinated with it.
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The History of Havana is so rich, its beyond the capacity of my brain. The convent is said to still be occupied by the nuns who have long been dead. Many of the nuns were rejected family members hidden from society. Often times they brought with them a slave and depending upon the severity of their societal infraction were sometimes locked in their rooms. The slave trade actually occurred only a few blocks away in la Plaza Vieja. Infant bones have been found in most of the convents. Could these be illegitimate children?

One of the past UB students to live in the convent came face to face with one of these nuns. He was able to describe to profe to perfection a nun in the Habits that they wore at the time. He was so terrified that Profe had to secure his bed by blessing it with holy water.

Our compa�era Megan saw one praying over our other compa�era Melissa. Megan wouldn't lie, I know this. This was the only time our group saw a spirit.

I wanted to see one soo bad, but I never did. However, I have captured on camera what I believe is a spirit. In reality, I don't think I have the ability to see them. There has been only one time in my life where I sensed one, but this is the only time that I could see one with my own eyes. While our eyes can see, our brains at times don't.
lilho - 09/28/06 09:52
you are amazing. sorry, i ditched you that night. i got some primo stuff, some next week maybe?
mrmike - 09/27/06 21:18
Amazing stuff, thanks for sharing

09/23/2006 01:00 #25833

Los Orishas
Sorry (e:paul), I know you don't like youtube crap. I just can't help it because I want other people to see Cuba. These videos are much closer to reality than most of the videos filmed in this country.

Los Orishas come from a mix of African beliefs and Catholicism. It is interesting and entirely complex. This is called Santería. This mixture comes from when the slaves were forced under Spanish rule to accept Catholicism in their lives. I'm so far from being an expert on this topic. Animal sacrifices are common. Santeros are paid good money to preform ceremonies. They dress only in white for a determined length of time.

The videos of the Orishas do an excellent job of capturing both urban and country life in present day Cuba.

Cuban can be very hard to understand at times. S is almost completely dropped out of their speech pattern. In comparison Spain is much more restrictive in their Castellano.

This first video begins with some young Cubans walking through the street. These streets are the way they are in present day. Each one being an integral part of history. The party you see is in most likelihood not recreated. Sure, some parts are probably staged.
][/link]http://youtube.com/watch?v=M0foTPbJNAg

This second video is amazing. It starts with un camello or camel. Named so after its camel like shape. You wouldn't believe how many people can jam on this guagua or bus. Watch your pockets! Drums and los tambores or drums de La Habana.

I still don't know the secret to the whitest whites. They know.

Much rap about specific locations. Calle 23, el Malecón, el Prado, Miramar, etc.

Most of this I would say is not recreated.


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The third is much more el campo, the country. It isn't like the country side here where you would think they are much more conservative. Se baila en todos los lugares. They dance everywhere.


The clouds are so beautiful. Always.

Libertad


09/20/2006 21:17 #25831

Another invite...just in case
I'm going to my monthly district Buddhist meeting on Friday at 7pm. (Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism) There are some people here that may have some interest so I didn't want to leave them out. Let me know via something.

libertad

p.s. sorry the Dalai Lama (Not sure if I spelled that right) will not be able to attend.

Here is my sarcasm cause so many think that we all follow him. No disrespect to anyone, its just like saying all Christians follow the Pope.
pyrcedgrrl - 09/21/06 13:13
oooh, I love those religious tracts the crazies hand out!!! When I worked @ Teletech in the falls I'd go up and ask them for one of each kind they had. (mind you, I was very pierced and quite scary looking then.. lol) and I had a big collection of them pinned up all over my desk. :)
jenks - 09/21/06 12:52
yeah i must say i've never understood that- wtf does "christian" even mean? Like when someone says they are "a christian". What kind? are you catholic? protestant? episcopal? lutheran? methodist? unitarian? How can you be just plain "christian"? To me Christian pretty much just means 'judeo-christian but not jewish', but apparently I am wrong.

:shrug:
uncutsaniflush - 09/21/06 12:30
Chick tracts are amazing in an awful sort of way. I find them morbidly interesting. Some of the tracts are so over the top (yet internally consistent) for me that they read more like satires or parodies than actual tracts.

The scariest thing about them for is that people actually take them seriously and believe them and act upon them.

I was raised Roman Catholic and back before I became a non-believer, I had been told on more than one ocassion that the Roman Catholics weren't really Christian. I was even given the tract I linked to (or something very similar) to show me the error of my ways.

Since I was raised Catholic and I haven't accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Jesus (cue Depeche Mode), I think Jack Chick saved a spot in Hell right next to you just for me. Howdy, neighbor!!

More seriously, I hope I didn't offend you or bring up bad memories for you by mentioning them.

libertad - 09/21/06 09:26
(e:uncutsaniflush),

When I worked at "Coffee &" someone would leave those booklets scattered around the house. I particularly enjoyed the depictions of gay men burning in hell. (sarcasm)

Thanks for the memories! You also brought a smile to my lips.
uncutsaniflush - 09/20/06 21:42
Your comment abouts Christians and the Pope brought a smile to my lips.

Believe it or not, there some groups of Christians, mostly self-identified as fundamentalist, in the U.S. who do not consider Catholics to be Christians.

Jack Chick has a graphic tract that explains why Roman Catholics aren't Christian: :::link:::

09/18/2006 00:13 #25830

Changing of Billboard in Cuba
This is a pic I took of the billboard in front of the US Interest section in Cuba.

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This is what is there now.

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09/21/2006 18:47 #25832

Before hell freezes over
Back to the railing from hell.

I got a lot done this weekend. Saturday I finished removing the paint and Sunday I painted. It went sooo fast with the roller instead of trying to paint the whole thing with a stupid brush. The paint that I am using is sooo much better than XO Rust, now I'm using Rustoleum. Yesterday I went to the house to get my drill cause I needed to attach a door sweep to my front door (Time to weather proof our old Buffalo homes). I had the opportunity to see my work. Everything had dried perfectly. Even the few spots that had drips dried nicely. None of it wrinkled up and got icky.

Here is tomorrow's weather forecast from weather.com. Partly cloudy high of 69 with 20% chance of rain. Maybe just maybe I can finish the damn thing. I have one class tomorrow at 1pm. That is right smack in the middle of the day. I don't want to miss the class, especially since we are going to correct in class my essay and discuss Carlos Fuentes "La Familia". If I don't finish painting tomorrow (likely), I'm not sure when I can finish it. Weather.com forecasts shitty weather for the weekend. Maybe I should go before and after class to paint.

When I'm finished I get to go to a restaurant of my choosing. Any suggestions (keeping in mind I still am not eating any animals)?


leetee - 09/22/06 00:36
Amy's on Main near UB has decent veggie food. Not great, but decent. But it was packed, so maybe i am in the minority on that.. or my choice wasn't a good representation of the food there.

We've only been there once, but i had a really nice corn meal crsuted tofu thing at Off the Wall for dinner.

Falafel Bar and Sahara Grill both have good food with decent veg choices. Sahara Grill has shit service, though.

I tend to like asian food, and my first picks on places to eat tend to be thai or chinese. Taste of Thai on Hertel is pretty good, but i find their Pad Thai a bit too sweet for me. I love the yellow curry tofu at Saigon Bankok on Niagara Falls Blv.

Mexican can be veggie friendly, too. I really like Salsarita's on Chippewa.. more Cali style Mexican, but the choices are good -- everything comes with lots of choices of toppings and fillings.

I don't know much about Italian or "American" (whatever cuisine that actually is!) food places, though, since they are more rare for us to eat out in. Veggie choices at Italian places are easier to make at home. And generally, we tend to go ethnic when we eat out.

I will say, however, that i really liked the veggie burger at Fudruckers.

Hope some of that helps! Happy eating out! :O)