Blog entries

The Day I met an Assyrian Doctor

Café Geeké — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:46:00 +0100

On my travels these last couple of weeks I shared a bus ride from the airport. It was a hot traffic day on some New York slow-way. The air condition in the van was barely working and I was quite tired from all the travel. Well after a nice nap I woke to find we had barely traveled a few miles. I decided it was time to strike up a conversation. The driver wasn't in the mood with all the traffic so I turned my attention to the fellow sitting behind me.

"So why are you going to New JeRead More...

Sinverguenza of the Week: Pastor Terry Jones and The Dove Outreach Center

El Guapo — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Thank you for the feedback. Report another imagePlease report the offensive image. CancRead More...

That Makes Me Worry

Christina Rodriguez — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:08:17 +0100

Sometimes I worry about this country that I live in.

Yesterday I was asked what I identify with, you know, those phrases that make you, you. Well, I said, I’m Latina, first and foremost. Why? Because I’ve been judged as such and I’m a girl that can’t escape from the fact that I come from some exotic type of background, whether people think I’m South American or Asian. I embrace the fact that I speak another language and when people think I was born iRead More...

America Baez’s Experience at the NSHMBA Conference

NSHMBA 2010 Conference Blog — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:14:23 +0100

By America Baez, Talent Acquisition and Diversity Consultant.

Imagine over 8,000 Hispanic business professionals in one place… it is amazing to see so many Hispanic professionals at the NSHMBA National Conference and Career Expo every year. They have different cultural, field and industry backgrounds which make the interactions all the more interesting.

In addition, the variety of topics and caliber of speakers of the professional and leadership development sessions is Read More...

Who knew there was a North Coast?

Christina Rodriguez — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:04:32 +0100

Claiming to be summer's last hoorah, the first annual North Coast Music Festival this past weekend with some pretty stellar guests including the Chemical Brothers, Moby, Lupe Fiasco, Holy Ghost!, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Loyal Divide, Hey Champ and a few others I didn't name, like Damien Marley and Nas.

Apparently Nas treated Damien, from what I read on a tweet while I was sitting at home twiddling my thumbs. Why didn't I stick around to see those two? Seen 'em! Check!

BesiRead More...

Who knew there was a North Coast?

Cafe Con Musica — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:46:02 +0100

By Christina E. Rodriguez

Apparently Nas treated Damien, from what I read on a tweet while I was sitting at home twiddling my thumbs. Why didn't I stick around to see thRead More...

Schools and Money

Silvia Martinez — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:27:03 +0100

My son returned to school a couple of weeks ago and one thing’s for sure; the size of his class has grown. His teacher appears to take it in stride. She’s one of those boundless energetic, irrepressible teachers one always feels fortunate to get. Like so many these days, too, she probably just feels fortunate to have a job and a classroom at all. Many of her colleagues are looking for work as substitutes this semester.

In the midst of all this, the question keeps coming to my mind, “Read More...

The Power of One – How a Revolution is Made

Fernando Espuelas — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:48:08 +0100

Nicolae Ceausescu was one of the most brutal dictators of the Communist-era. Ruling with his wife Elena, the Ceausescus spread terror and poverty across Romania. They jailed, tortured and killed their opponents.

They lived like a king and queen, while enforcing a brutal austerity program meant, in part, to pay for Elena's insane dream of building Europe's biggest palace – a Communist Versailles that would stand as a symbol to the Ceausescus.

But in 1989, as the Soviet empire Read More...

The Magic of 99

Café Geeké — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:17:25 +0100

Well it seems as though everyone is trying to imitate Apple again. Not that this is unusual. Without the precision, vertical integration and perfection demanded of Apple by the Jobs man, we would all be using cheap, virus infested, confusing, boring tech.

You have no idea how happy I am to say, "I don't do windows," whenever a friend of the family learns that I am the geek. It has saved my countless hours of trying to tell them that in order to fix their problem they should just geRead More...

Speak English. This is America.

Christina Rodriguez — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:56:57 +0100

Speak English. This is America.

I have so much beef with this statement, it’s not even funny. First of all, I can speak any language I want BECAUSE I am in this country. Secondly, within the Americas there are thousands of different languages. THOUSANDS. And English does not dominate, although people think it does. Isn’t that something?

Anyway, teaching me Spanish was probably the best thing my father could have done. I say my father for a specific reasonRead More...

Expectations (a.k.a Don't Hate Your Doctor)

Marina Claudio — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:19:28 +0100

Shared expectations are important in a doctor/patient relationship. Unfortunately, during many patient encounters in an office setting, we seem to have mismatched ideas of what we are trying to achieve in a 15-20 minute span of time. One thing that many patients are not aware of is even though they are scheduled to be seen at a certain time, that time is limited. If you show up late, you limit the time that we can spend together. If I am runningRead More...

Locuras y Aventuras: Penises, New Heights, and Rafting

La Gemita — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:05:18 +0100

This past weekend was definitely one of the best I've experienced in Korea thus far. My sister and I traveled up to Seoul to meet with one of the Discover Korea meetup groups. The event was rafting and bungee jumping. We were a group of 18 that took a small bus to Inje, which is about three hours northeast of Seoul. We met some great people on this trip whom we plan to meet up with in the near future. On this trip, I met a Dominicana from NYC. Her experiences in Korea have been very simiRead More...

A Gift For Your Local Sinverguenza

El Guapo — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:40:02 +0100

Yes, to top it all off, El Guapo is also an immensely talented artist.... I know it's unfair that one man be this blessed.

Send the following to anyone who you feel deserves it.

Considering that the weekend is here, El Guapo suspects you'll find ample opportunity to find someone who qualifies.

Your humble and handsome servant,

El Guapo

Are men staring at extinction?

Café Geeké — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:26:21 +0100

The other day I was reading about one of the reasons so many men in high places are against stem-cell research. One would sure have thought that these highway men had great moral consciousness and really did think about the children.

In fact, what is with all these governments and agencies decrying the children? As far as I can tell from history, humans have had no problem creating and raising children against real foes. Foes like lions, tigers and bears oh my. Now every darn politRead More...

The North Coast Music Festival

Christina Rodriguez — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:52:26 +0100

I'm excited for this music festival. I really am.

This is the first time that North Coast Music Festival takes place in Chicago and they're bringing in some pretty awesome acts like Moby, the Chemical Brothers, De La Soul , Hey Champ and Lupe Fiasco.

This is really totally geared toward the electronic music fan. It's going to be held in Union Park over the Labor Day weekend and I'm totally stoked to be going.

I'm not going to lie, when I heard of this feRead More...

Overview of the Visionary Sounds Music Festival

Cafe Con Musica — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:34:55 +0100

Words and Photo by Linda Tovar

It was a bright and sunny Saturday, August 14th, 2010 afternoon, in the heart of historic downtown Los Angeles, marking the 1st Annual Visionary Sounds Music Benefit Festival presented by Mucho Wednesday's and Jarritos. This 21 and over Music Benefit Festival began at 2 p.m. for both those "early birds" and "mid-day wake-ups." The festival was held between two venues: La Cita Bar and Bang Gallery.

La Cita Bar is home to the Mucho Wednesday family wRead More...

Validation

Christina Rodriguez — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:34:50 +0100

If you have a few minutes, either on your lunch break or at home, take a look at this video which is about 15 minutes long and tell me what you think.

Does it make you feel better? Did this talk to you at all? Leave a comment. :)

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

Marina Claudio — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:24:09 +0100

A vaguely familiar name is on my schedule of patients today. After arriving 20 minutes late because she claims she got lost on the way to the office (she’s been coming here for years), I enter the room.

“Sra. Epifania, ¿por qué no me ha visitado en 2 años?”

“Ay, mi doctorita, es que me he sentido bien hasta reciente.”

Here my good readers is the followup I promised. Yes I know I am a week late, but so is the pay around here. However, I have a special treat from a special man of the street - Mr. O.

Without further ado I present a review direct from the pen/computer of Mr. O:

Since I am not using my i-Phone at the moment - I just returned from a longer stay in Europe and am still in nRead More...