While the rest of the world is gentrifying...

Venezuela is degentrifying! Awesome.

Caracas, Venezuela -- Mayor Juan Barreto announced late Tuesday that the municipal government planned to seize two elite country clubs and redevelop them as low-income housing projects.

The Hugo Chavez government has targeted 4 million acres of farmland for seizure and redistribution this year to poor farm cooperatives. In Caracas, the takeover is prompted by a housing shortage and is permitted under the Chavez land law passed in 2003, which gave the government sweeping new powers to seize property that it deemed idle, misused, illegally acquired or not contributing to "social goals."

Anniversary of Katrina

Little Jesus raising his fist for freedom.
I hope his vision of freedom (and ours) includes justice for the poor people of New Orleans.

(Photo of the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, courtesy of Mister Markus)

My dad is so cool

My dad is a retired chef, but he gets so bored being retired (it's the asian work ethic in him) that he'll pick up random gigs here and there. Here is a conversation we had this week which will illustrate how cool my dad is:

(Chinglish translated by DYY)

YY: You know I started a new job this week?

DYY: Yeah.

YY: I quit today.

DYY: Why?

YY: The boss is really mean. He's a big yeller.

DYY: WHAT? WAS HE MEAN TO YOU? DID HE YELL AT YOU?

YY: Of course not! He wouldn't dare yell at me. He yells at the other workers, the waiters.

DYY: So what does this have to do with you?

YY: It's not right. He just yells to yell. It's not like any of the employees have done anything wrong. It's degrading. He's originally from Shanghai.

DYY: Um... and what does this have to do with you?

YY: Hellllooo! He's Shanghainese, and he's yellling at Cantonese people. Our people. Toi Son people. A Shanghainese person can't go around thinking he can yell at our people... and it's not like our people will talk back either.

DYY: Okay.

YY: So I scolded him when I quit.

DYY: No way! What did you say?

YY: Well, after he paid me (of course... it's the asian work ethic in him!), I told him he shouldn't talk to employees that way. That it's not right. This is America and you can get sued. Then I told him I quit.

DYY: Did you tell him your daughter is a lawyer and sues employers like him all the time?

YY: No.

DYY: Oh. So, what did he say?

YY: Nothing. He just rolled his eyes.

DYY: Wow, Dad, I'm impressed. But in the future, don't make too much trouble, okay? You're old, you know.

Isn't my dad so fucken cool? And people wonder where I get my social justice values from...

A Fashion Must-Have

Photo by DYY