Making Coffee

I got this new Starbucks coffee-making appliance for Xmas, from me to myself (with a loving endorsement from family), which I've just stoked with Celebes, a favorite bean.

Earlier I met Mark, Don's friend and former student based in Guatemala. We three plus Micheal Sunanda watched An American Haunting this afternoon, which I'll likely review one day soon. I'm biased though, having always been a big Sissy Spacek fan (good seeing Sutherland again too, liked him in JFK among others).

Yes, I saw that front page article about the beautiful mind guy in Rm. 114, busting his brain to become famous. Checked into his stuff. Didn't see many hexagons (Glenn Stockton, on the other hand...). Maybe he'd like to present to Wanderers some time. Information gets lost going through newpapers and web sites, useful though these often are at providing valuable perspectives.

[ pause to pour coffee, chat with Dawn ]

I was telling Mark I think a problem with USA culture is we don't accept aid workers from overseas, think our job is to only export basic expertise.

Think of this SNL skit: zoom in on some cute uniformed Chinese girl, propping up an SWI (slumped while intoxicated) in some Gotham, USA. "What are you doing?" the curious camera man asks. "I'm assisting a victim of western capitalism" she replies calmly, and flashes her badge: Communist Chinese Peace Corps. Scream!

Anyway, you get my point. People are way paranoid here, don't want to get any help, just give it, even where it ain't really needed (at least, not in the form offered).

Related reading:
A Discussion of Human Capital Flows Through Semi-Permeable Membranes (paraphrase) by some Yes Men at The Onion (May 3, 2006 | Issue 42•18)