The Archer Pelican

Honduran Brother

I can't recall his name, but we had a pleasant half-hour together last June -- hanging out in his open-air cabin alongside the Rio Cangrejal, just downhill from the Omega Jungle Lodge.  The little pipe at left is his water supply.  Don't ask me where it comes from. More about that afternoon, later.

These days I am of course thinking of my Honduran friends.  Here are quotes from a couple of my Honduran friends (both of whom were born elsewhere but moved to Honduras as adults) who sent news within the ~72 hours after the change-of-power:

1. Incredible false reporting by CNN (Esp)! CNN (ESP) is using a voice tape of an imposter saying it is Zelaya. IT IS NOT ZELAYA, doesn't even sound like him. How irresponsible. They were using Hugo Chavez's Telesur feed in this pretend telephone interview. J says the imposter has a Ven. accent. Even I could tell it was NOT Mel Zelaya. CNN should be sanctioned before they start a war in Honduras.

2. Yay! Micheletti! Whew. As far as anyone here is concerned, this IS A GOOD THING. The entire world is mis-informed. YES, it is true that it is called a 'coup', however, there are few civilians opposed to it.Okay, NO ONE seems to be reporting things as they are... Just a few things: 1) How many 'coups' are taken over by someone from the same party 2) How many 'coups' actually had SO FEW DEATHS (yes, there is ONE now... a 19'year old, but what the %&* to you expect when there are thousands and thousands of people with opposing views, gathered together in one place with police/army with guns. AND IF THEY WERE OPEN FIRING on the crowd, I'd imagine their shot can't be that bad!!!!! 3) It's been HOW MANY DAYS SINCE THIS STARTED, AND HOW MANY DEATHS...? LITERALLY NONE 4) Whose plane did Mel try to come back on???? Chavez'. People wake up!!!!!!!! 5) HE BROKE THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. From my extremely knowledgeable head on politics (NOT), they are waiting for things to calm down before letting him back, and they probably won't do it if he's bringing Venezuelan backing with him..

Las Vegas Airport Slots

Slot machines at the Las Vegas airport.

The payout system at Gate C11 was surprisingly low-security.  I watched one player cash out: she hit "print" on her machine then handed the slip to a "casino" staffer, who walked twenty feet to another staffer who paid out the winnings from the pile of cash in her fanny pack.  "Winning again?" asked the fanny staffer.  "Yes," said the other, "one more time."  I think the player took ~$200.

So different from the way Robert DeNiro described things in Martin Scorcese's Casino.  I'd send you to a video of my favorite scene but the legal folks at YouTube have disabled audio. Instead, the DeNiro narration in text:

In Vegas, everybody's gotta watch everybody else. Since the players are looking to beat the casino...  the dealers are watching the players... the boxmen are watching the dealers... the floormen are watching the boxmen... the pit bosses are watching the floormen... the shift bosses are watching the pit bosses... the casino manager is watching the shift bosses... I'm watching the casino manager... and the eye in the sky is watching us all.

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Screenplay courtesy of Script-o-Rama.com.

Pic courtesy of me, from an April layover.

Sunshine and the Trikeasaurus at Dolores Park, SFO.

Dolores Park on a hot April 19.  Upper 80s with thousands of unfleeced San Franciscans in the Mission District.

Pictured here, my NCSSM schoolmate Amandeep Jawa astride the Trikeasaurus: a 110dB party on three wheels.  Deep has video and thoughtful commentary in this blog: Prop 8, Heartbreak & Trikeasaurus = Don't Stop Believin'.

It's always good for me to visit San Francisco which is full of old friends, new perspectives and a special kind of energy.  And of course the fresh fruits and vegetables.