Wednesday, July 31, 2002

Pictures: Xhosa Children Dance in South Africa I'm testing the "MyPictures" tool of Radio.  It's a little quirky, particularly with big images like this (which I am letting the HTML scale by 1/2). These are three pictures from our trip to South Africa in January.  We visited the farm where Nonswakazi grew up (until she ran away at 11).   These girls are currently still living on the farm in one-room hovels, almost as slaves.  The Birch Farm is a very famous thouroughbred race-horse farm in the Eastern Cape.  These pictures (and I have video too) always bring tears to my eyes because these girls demonstrate the dichotomous legacy of thier own Xhosa culture and the poverty and denigration of slavery.  If they don't get off this farm, they have no hope.  But there is beauty and dignity in them. Photos Copyright (c) 2002 by James Jarrett 8:45:44 AM

Do You Join Communities? I am part of a community, but I did not join it.  Nor did I explicitly create it.  A community is the set of relationships you have.  I don't join things.  Sometimes I get curious, and I "join" a group or club.  Soon, I feel restricted and constrained by the rules of the club.  Soon thereafter, I leave it. By definition, I can't leave my community.  The community can change, but it's still there. 8:29:27 AM

New CSS Theme Installed from Bryan Bell I just installed the Bryan Bell's Moveable Radio - Blue Theme.  It's the first step to moving to a more accessible blog.  It's CSS based, clean and neat.  It violates a rule of mine about making sure links are underlined, but I'll get to that soon.  Thanks, Bryan! 8:10:06 AM

The Best Rock Station, KSJO Cleveland radio is a wasteland of ClearChannel drivel.  All the good stations are gone, and the world-famous Buzzard is now a juvenile, testosterone-fest of programmed classic rock. I was in San Francisco on vacation a few weeks ago and discovered KSJO.  Awesome station!  They play rock from more than three decades.  And they stream on the web!  Yesterday, I heard Dio back to back with System of a Down.  This morning, Rob Zombie followed by Led Zeppelin.  Wow.  I remember when there were two stations in Cleveland this good.  And I grew up with two good ones in Buffalo. Now I have stream it at low fidelity, but at least I found it.  Rock on! 7:49:23 AM