Libertad's Journal

08/20/2007 16:59 #40640

Niagara Falls

Mike and I went to Niagara Falls on the spur of the moment. We had such a great time. We don't often get to do things like this so I think we really deserved it. I'm excited to do more stuff like this together.

Mist People. They are so supernatural.

(e:mike)

Moose peeing in the urinal

Hotel People. This hotel is really neat. When you watch it you see people opening and closing their patio entrance ways. Mike loved it.

He is so beautiful.

We went to Rain Forest Cafe for dinner. It is so fun inside. This aquarium was inside. I loved this fish and have never seen it before. I wanted to kiss it. Every 25 minutes they have a thunderstorm inside and the lights flicker on and off. The animals go wild too. The food is really good but expensive. You are paying a lot for the atmosphere. A hamburger costs $18!

Mike and I at the falls

They have a ferris wheel, but at $10/person we skipped it. Someday I would like to do it though.

We also went to Coca Cola. They have a soda bar, but beware....$15 for two cokes and a freaking pretzel. Hershey's, on the other hand, has great chocolate covered strawberries for two for two dollars.

Oh, we also gambled away $20 together on the slot machines. FUN!

jenks - 08/21/07 10:48
whoa! this journal inspired a numbered list of comments, then I open the comments to find not only a numbered list- but that everyone already said what I wanted to! But I'll do it anyway- haha.
1: You are (both) too cute!
2: like the glasses, mikey
3: is the moose chained to the urinal?!

ladycroft - 08/21/07 08:15
1. Yay!
2. Mike looks mature with those glasses, I like :)
3. I miss you.
4. I miss the falls.
5. Holy crap tinypliny could you make more comments on a single journal entry?! haha.

fellyconnelly - 08/21/07 00:41
amazing and lovely pics. i'm glad you fellas had a great time!

zobar - 08/20/07 22:36
. . . is the moose chained to the urinal?

- Z

museumchick - 08/20/07 21:24
You and Mike are so cute together. I'm glad you had fun.

tinypliny - 08/20/07 21:20
So is this glory on the Canadian side?? Woe Woe. :(

metalpeter - 08/20/07 19:58
Great Pictures that moose is funny. I have to admit I haven't been to the Candian side recently, but the one summer when I went a few times Rainforest Cafe was one of the places I went and it is a pretty cool place. I don't think they had the Farris Wheel then. The last time I went to the falls I was on the American side and noticed it so I assume it is new. In terms of that hotel that looks like an amazing place to stay. I have never been in either of the Casino's on that side. I was close since as part of the HardRock Cafe you can see part of the Casino I think you might even be able to exit into it. I believe it is the Falls View Resort Casino that gets a lot of shows up there. I glad you two had a great time.

tinypliny - 08/20/07 18:59
That hotel facade is so surreal. Like a dollhouse or maybe a cuckoo clock.

james - 08/20/07 18:41
That Moose photo is great.

Glad you guys had a good time.

tinypliny - 08/20/07 18:31
You are a beautiful couple. :)

tinypliny - 08/20/07 18:30
BTW, why are all of the mist people in regulation yellow? Aren't personal raincoats allowed?

tinypliny - 08/20/07 18:29
Ooooh, so many new characters for my vacation tonight!

08/17/2007 22:09 #40603

It was a beautiful day

metalpeter - 08/19/07 12:29
Great Pictures.

museumchick - 08/18/07 21:02
awesome pics as always!

tinypliny - 08/18/07 20:40
Pile of dirt, overnight growth... all the signs!!! They are beanstalks! I knew it!!

libertad - 08/18/07 20:18
thanks guys. the purple finger installation is definitely new. there was still a pile of dirt next to it like a freshly dug grave.

lizabeth - 08/18/07 12:46
Ooh, yeah, the purple pointy thing picture is like, whoa. Very qoo!

fellyconnelly - 08/18/07 10:50
yeah ditto on the purple finger thingie... great photos!

jenks - 08/18/07 10:42
Boy, I'm so glad I didn't kill you yesterday! Nice pix!

tinypliny - 08/18/07 07:35
They look like a whole bunch of bean stalks in a sinuous dance, reaching high up and up and up... steadily reaching toward the blue vastness of the sky. Yearning to be part of it, yet rooted in the earth beneath; in the process, losing the very form they were born in. It reminds me of something else I saw a while back.

terry - 08/17/07 22:22
very nice pics

funny that we drove by that purple many-fingered thing near the art gallery today, and (e:matthew) was like, what is that thing? Is it new? But it looks really neat in that pic.

08/13/2007 16:38 #40517

The value of a woman

I watch television in Spanish whenever I can. They have this commercial on either Telemundo or Univisión for some type of cookware. Anyways, the jingle goes something like "Una mujer que sabe como cocinar vale más que oro." "A woman that knows how to cook has more value than gold." I really can't imagine a commercial such as this being played on the English speaking channels. Maybe in 1950 that message was tolerated but today not a chance. Anyways the commercial to me represents how quickly things can change and also shows the huge gap in the progression of feminism between cultures.

metalpeter - 08/14/07 17:52
"what is so dangerous about making observations on the difference of two cultures? I''m not proposing cultural superiority or suggesting ethnic cleansing here. I'm just noting the disadvantage that latina women face in comparison to other women in our country who are beginning to learn that there are other options for them rather than what is "traditional"." :First of all there is nothing wrong with comparing cultures on there own. However most people my self included mostly then look at ones that are different as being less then there own. I'm not saying that in this case you are doing that. However when saying latina women are at a disadvantage then that is making a Judgement on there culture. One from another culture could say that Americans (what ever that is) where women work and the men cook is awefull. They would have some valid points about the high divorce rate and broken families and how no one sits down to dinner togather and how it is bad for the kids. The point that I was making is that comparing culture is fine. But that it is important to remember to try not to judge one as superior to another or one as repressed to each other. I didn't say that it was possible I just said to try. As an example there are somethings in some cultures that I like and that I can't stand but i try to think that as long as that is someone culture than that is fine as long as it doesn't impede me.

tinypliny - 08/14/07 17:09
I agree with everything you say here and I *really* admire your views. I wish more men were as egalitarian, pro-active and environmentally conscious as you are. :)

I am not very familiar with the structure of hispanic households, and I am also not very familiar with the level of female emancipation in such societies, or the relevance/centrality of gold. If I were to assume that female emancipation is very low in hispanic societies, I could definitely view this tagline as being unfair to the women because it weighs the value of women in comparison to a mere precious metal - not societal/political leverage or economic/intellectual/emotional freedom.

But I think we were on slightly different frequencies before. I come from a matriachal/matrifocal family (and a civilization where gold holds an entirely different meaning!) and to me, calling the shots anywhere in
the household/beyond is a female role. Since my viewpoint is completely and culturally very different, the tagline didn't strike me as being sexist - just cleverly targeted. If a muscled guy sold the cookware and the tagline were - "The man who cooks has more value than gold", where I am from, people would be deeply suspicious - for the very same reason that you mention, its disrespectful to the women who run the households and attempts to devalue women via the suggestion that men who can cook have more political/economical/personal leverage. The ad would be viewed as sexist, lose popularity and might have serious impact on the brand!

So you see, beauty (or in this context, meaning) lies in the eyes (or the culture and background) of the beholder. :)

drew - 08/14/07 16:27
Tinypliny, I like your take.

libertad - 08/14/07 15:19
(e:tinypliny), you wouldn't even be here right now as an unaccompanied woman studying here to do a traditionally "man's job" if it weren't for a feminist victory in this country. Of course women still make less than men for the same work, but progress has been made nonetheless.

My parents are divorced and my father has been single for years. He cooks his own meals and likes to talk about his cookware and even bought me a great piece. I'm not against traditional male/female roles if that is what you want, but I am against suggesting that you are less of a woman if you don't know how to cook. It's sort of like saying that you are not a woman because you are studying to be a scientist which again is traditionally a "male" job.

(e:metalpeter) what is so dangerous about making observations on the difference of two cultures? I''m not proposing cultural superiority or suggesting ethnic cleansing here. I'm just noting the disadvantage that latina women face in comparison to other women in our country who are beginning to learn that there are other options for them rather than what is "traditional".

All of this being said, I do believe that a significant other being able to cook is a definite bonus. Who doesn't want that?

tinypliny - 08/13/07 22:04
And here's something interesting, if I were to translate that line into some other languages, it could mean, "The woman who can cook is more powerful than gold." Imagine the political implications of such a statement if you think about old civilizations whose entire economies ran on gold - there was no other currency, no credit, just gold. Puts a devious spin on the entire thing, doesn't it? :)

tinypliny - 08/13/07 21:45
I think this is overthinking the ad. When I read it first, I thought, "What a poetic line!". The whole idea of it being sexist didn't strike me till I actually read the comments. Food is such a key driving force in our lives that anyone who can cook appeals more to people. Traditionally, in many cultures (and I don't include those fancy French chefs in this generalization), daily cooking is done by moms and wives or the spouse who looks after the children (mostly moms, and maybe dads on holidays!). To me it seems like a beautiful (and very clever) tagline for selling cookware. Honestly now, can you recall your dad ever deciding (and winning the argument about) which particular cookware and kitchen coordinates went into your "mom's kitchen"??

lizabeth - 08/13/07 19:49
I think the whole notion of political correctness hasn't really penetrated Spanish-speaking culture yet, in many ways.

Here's an example for you: we got the circular for a Spanish grocery in the mail a while back, and one of the items advertised on special was a brand of rice. Its packaging featured a caricature of a knock-kneed, slant-eyed, bucktoothed, pigtailed Chinaman as its mascot. Like, whoa! I'm half Chinese, so I found that rather distasteful. But I'm sure most people who shop at that store and buy that rice don't think anything of it.

I think political correctness can be overdone, but a complete lack of it is not okay, either.

metalpeter - 08/13/07 19:35
First of all I think comparing cultures can be very dangerous. The reason being is that often when we do that we assume that people who don't have the same culture as ours are unhappy. I think that as long as a women wants to there is nothing wrong with her doing the cooking. There is this new movement in Feminism where women choose to stay home raise the kids and do all the housework and cooking. This being said that ad wouldn't fly with most Americans. But the thing is it would be true but no one would except it. I know that If was invited to a ladies house to hang or what ever and she took the time to cook me something that I liked just for me I would really be surprised and like it. Hey there is a reason why sometimes those dark skined Italian girls get men to marry them :} and give them huge rings. But seriously the saying of a way through a mans heart is through his stomach get him a nice drink and then watch the game or a movie you both like and you will lock him up for good.

museumchick - 08/13/07 18:22
I hate saying this... but I think that in any culture, there are some men who still think that way.

drew - 08/13/07 17:15
I agree with you. I just like it when women (and men) cook.

libertad - 08/13/07 17:05
exactly drew. I would agree with the statement if were to say "Someone who knows how to cook has more value than gold." That would be a more appropriate slogan if we didn't want to devalue women and say that they are worthless if they don't know how to cook. Obviously women have shown that they are quite capable of contributing to society in many different ways not all necessarily being a servant to her husband.

Some people might label me as too politically correct, but really I'm not. I just think that advertisers have a moral responsibility to not treat woman as if they were subservient.

jason - 08/13/07 16:59
A girl who can cook is aces in my book. One time, a girl cooked tuna casserole, my fave, for me, and I was over the moon. Felt like I was being taken care of. It was really nice.

And, with my ex, one time, she made good chicken parm for me. Again, I was over the moon. I don't think too many things please me more than that. Makes me really happy.

Then again, I understand the nuance here, and I agree it would probably never be acceptable on our English channels for a commercial of this type. Probably not in good taste.

drew - 08/13/07 16:54
but isn't it true? I mean, I guess it depends on other things, like the woman's personality and exactly how much gold we are talking about, but aren't all people worth more than gold? Especially people that cook?

08/06/2007 16:24 #40411

Land for sale--cheap

They are selling more of the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works (LOOW) Site in the towns of Lewiston and Porter. The LOOW, if you do not know, is the land that the government stole from local farmers during WWII. After this beautiful and fertile land was destroyed from the production of TNT, they secretly began storing and dumping radioactive effluent at the site and later began selling the land. Over the years the US government has continued to lie repeatedly about the land and its use. Lewiston/Porter School District is situated on a portion of the LOOW. Besides the polluted soil, imagine what kind of air those kids are breathing right next door to Chemical Waste Management which was also part of the LOOW site. Maybe now that they want to sell more of the land, we can get even more toxic waste trucked up into our area and they can discharge even more treated effluent into the Niagara and Great Lakes. As the article states the government says the land is fine besides some pesky asbestos. Does anyone really believe that? Sadly I think people do. People are so willing to put 100% trust into the government despite years of deception. There are people that live right next door to toxic and radioactive waste but refuse to think they are in harms way. I talked to one woman with kids who lived next door to the LOOW and refused to believe what I was telling her.

I'm glad the article was published, but how could they not even mention this site's dark past that continues to kill people with cancer? The only thing the article mentions about the LOOW is that it once was a military testing area. What about all the radioactive waste they dumped into marsh area?! If you want to see my original journal with pictures click here:

Nike missile launch site up for auction in Niagara County

Town of Porter parcel advertised on Internet
By Sharon Linstedt
Updated: 08/06/07 8:29 AM

Sam Kolich/Buffalo News
The mothballed site covers 98 acres off Balmer and Porter Center roads.

"For Sale: 98 acres of mostly undeveloped, treed property in rural Niagara County. Amenities include six underground missile silos."

That could be the federal government's ad for an unusual piece of property located in the Town of Porter, which it is auctioning off via the Internet. The U.S. General Services Administration opened online bidding July 12 for the long-idle Youngstown Test Annex, ocated at the corner of Balmer and Porter Center roads.

"It's certainly a different kind of property," said GSA spokeswoman Renee Miscione. "But the federal government sells and disposes of a very wide range of properties. It's everything from office buildings and military residences to post offices, lighthouses and missile sites."

The GSA, which disposes of properties for the federal government, offers the lands and buildings to various levels of government before putting them on the auction block.

The Youngstown Test Annex was originally part of the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works, which included about 7,500 acres across Niagara County used for military testing. The Army acquired the Youngstown Test Annex property in 1955, developing it as a Nike missile launch site.

The Cold War-era defense system was designed to protect major urban areas and strategic assets, such as power plants, from air assaults. The Nike missiles were secured in underground silos, at the ready in case of attack. At the height of the initiative, there were more than 200 installations around the country, including nearly a dozen in Western New York.

The Air Force took title to the Town of Porter location in the mid-1960s, converting it to a Tropospheric Scatter Radar communications network site.

The property, which has remained under military control, was mothballed in 1990.

In its description of the site, the GSA notes the property includes about 45 acres of wetlands. In addition to six missile silos (which are empty and have been welded shut), the parcel also comes with a handful of outbuildings in "various stages of deterioration." The GSA warns potential buyers they could face asbestos-removal issues. However, the government indicates that the site does not contain radioactive materials or hazardous chemicals.

To date, no one has stepped up with the required $100,000 minimum bid.

Miscione noted it took 21 days for the first bid to be registered in last summer's online sale of the Thaddeus J. Dulski federal office building in downtown Buffalo. That 15-story, 470,000-square-foot tower saw a brisk bidding war in the final days of its auction, attracting a winning bid of $6.1 million.

Of the eight former Nike sites sprinkled across Niagara and Erie counties, this is the last one to remain under federal government ownership. While a few are now privately owned, most have found new life as town or village-controlled parks, recreation areas, senior housing or local government offices.

slinstedt@buffnews.com

libertad - 08/07/07 18:40
That's it metalpeter, I'm calling homeland security.

metalpeter - 08/07/07 17:54
This is why I don't understand our government. How can you sell land that has missle silo in it. If I was a terrorist I would buy the land and I'm sure even though they are welded shut that could be reused or retro fitted to shot what I want. If I had the money I might buy it just so no one else would and maybe even do some stuff that wouldn't be considered ethical like have people in Protective suits raise animals on the land and see what happens. Or maybe see if there is any way to reuse the silos in some way.

libertad - 08/07/07 17:19
The link that I provided in the first post is now a dead link. The school district has removed the info from their website, however, they do have a link to the NYS sex offender registry. I suppose they think child molesters are a bigger threat to the children than the toxins? I think it is important not to have an over-reliance on science. Commonsense based on one's personal observations using their senses will tell you that it is unhealthy to be close to the LOOW. Science takes too long to produce results and scientific reports, like I have said before, can only be read by other scientists to be understood. I have seen volumes and volumes of scientific data regarding the LOOW but it is all meaningless, at least to me. I believe that the Lewiston-Porter school should be closed asap. This conclusion is based on how I felt while visiting the area, this includes nausea, numbing of the senses and burning eyes and throat. Tomatoes nor children should be cultivated so close to this contamination (or should I say on top of the contamination?).

There are some statistics collected by NYS's cancer registry that are interesting, but of course don't paint a complete picture especially when dealing with sparsely populated areas. :::link:::

There is nothing specific I am looking for, but any news articles or new information you find I would be interested in. I have copies of articles going back to the early 80's, thanks to the Niagara Public Library.

On another note, I have seen pages of research on how government and private industry use public meetings and public knowledge to actually keep citizens from mobilizing. They learned a lot from Love Canal about what motivates people to take action and have continued to study ways to prevent mobilization ever since. It has been very effective.

I agree with you about getting involved. If you would do it with me, I would picket in front of the school urging them to shut it down. We could dress up in those white radioactive contamination suits. Maybe they have them at a costume store? I think the first day of school would be great. That's when the most parents drive their kids in. I'm not as courageous as that guy in Buffalo that always pickets alone. I think I just read somewhere that they want to expand the school? Maybe it was in (e:zobar)'s Artvoice links, I can't remember. I don't think the reaction would be very positive though. People don't like to hear these things.

theecarey - 08/07/07 12:00
not everyone is trusting and sitting back.

:::link:::

Have to dig for certain ones, but here are numerous reports and articles out there-- but not exclusive to the internet. A lot of this ^^ (RRG) information gets circulated to homes throughout Youngstown and Lewiston (and parts of Ransomville, I think). By law we receive the analysis reports (for water anyways). There are the town meetings, district meetings, and somewhere, there are book publications. Its a messy situation with a long history. As with anything, people need to get involved, stay involved, get educated and question everything, even there own conclusions.

which reminds me, I'm about due to renew my RRG membership.

From the link to your older post, did you ever get a chance to read through the health analysis reports?

Is there anything specific you are looking for?

zobar - 08/06/07 17:49
2007-07-26 :::link:::

2007-08-02 :::link:::

- Z

08/05/2007 22:22 #40395

Self Portraits

Maybe it's weird to take lots of pictures of yourself, but sometimes thats all you have.

lizabeth - 08/13/07 19:55
Heheh - well, I'd say it's not weird, because I take pictures of myself all the time... But the fact that I do it all the time clearly means that it is weird.

But at least you're not the only one. :)

mike - 08/07/07 23:47
muy caliente

chico - 08/06/07 15:35
I like the second one and the fourth one (from the top).

ladycroft - 08/06/07 13:51
i miss you lib :) you're so handsome!