Benzos

Buy this album



Great new band hailing from NYC with a surprisingly unNYC kind of sound. Actually, at first listen they give you more of a British vibe but that might be due to a certain resemblance to Radiohead. Still, despite the resemblance the album is moody and full of delicious ambiance.

Fabiola Arrives

Our daughter Fabiola arrived at 2:02 on Friday, June 16. I have posted just a few photos from that day and from the next day at the following location:

http://www.keeseys.com/pics/fabioladay1_2/index.html

Last night was the first night since then that we were not awake for multiple hours of the night entertaining. ;-)

More to come...

My Second Life

If you have a relatively fast computer with an up-to-date video card and some time to kill, Second Life is worth checking out, if for nothing else for a somewhat surreal experience. From there you can choose how far you wish to develop your own Second Life.

I am personally looking into methods for utilizing this 3 dimensional virtual world for delivering synchronous, asynchronous and blended learning experiences. I have access to a small parcel of property purchased by the Ohio Learning Network and just today built a little forest and small house where I can relax and collaborate with others on developing innovative learning experiences within the Second Life world. My SL name is Tanbou Ogg if you are looking for me when you get in. Look me up and offer me a teleport if you are in and see me online. Of course warn me first offline or else your offer to teleport will go ignored.;-)

Life in Black and White

Ingrid and I have had some interesting discussions recently over the implications and considerations that inter-racial couples need to be aware of to maintain their sanity in a world that is so polarized by "race" (along with other divisive social mechanisms.) It is perhaps a common fallacy that because a marriage or relationship contains a member of 2 "races", the couple will feel comfortable in either environment. This is not the case. We are sometimes perceived as "party-poopers" to some friends and family when we shoot down invitations to certain restaurants or locals that most people don't give a second thought to frequenting. We have agonized over how to define to friends and family where we will and won't feel comfortable and I think the closest to an all encompassing definitions is this:

A mixed-racial couple cannot feel comfortable in any environment that is frequented by lower income people of either race.

I'm sure this seems harsh so I will elaborate:

1. A lower income individual is far more likely to not have left their local environment during their life to be exposed to diverse people or situations that might open their mind to accepting a mixed couple's existence. Xenophobia is a far safer bet in lower income neighborhoods.

2. Lower income people are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed. Racism and xenophobia run rampant where a homogenized group of people are without work. i.e. Appalachia. It's easy for people to blame others for their woes.

3. Lower income people come from other lower income people. Racism and xenophobia are learned. We see it already in Somnia's daycare class. We can tell the kids who have racist parents from the questions that their kids ask us.

We would be foolish to assume that ALL lower income people are of a xenophobic or racist mind but it only takes a few bad experiences and the human defense mechanism takes over to protect. I must stress that we have felt the anger towards our interracial relationship in both black and white environments. Some of the worst racist vibes to date were from lower income folks from the African American community in Columbus Ohio. Close second are some encounters with the white poor in Appalacia. It's just best for us to do anything we can to avoid both. What does this mean? Where can we and can't we go? Here is a short list:

--Food buffets must be scouted extremely carefully and must be somewhat pricey. Pick the wrong one and you are in lower-income heaven.

--Public gatherings such as fairs and amusement parks are debatable. If the cost of entry is steep enough it might be enough to avoid the xenophobic LCD.

--Shopping malls must be far enough from the inner city and have no discount outlets that attract the ignorant masses looking to save a buck. Malls can still be a sticky proposition as the whole "bling" thing has created a generation of lower-income folk who don't care about spending their money on stupid expensive shit.

--Ruby Tuesday style restaurants are debatable and must be scouted first to ensure safe distance from hillbilly discount stores and inner city clientele.

--WalMart shopping must be kept at an absolute minimum. Always frequent the Kroger if given a choice between the two. You pay more but it's worth it to avoid any ignorant "races should not mix" vibe.

--Any racing event is out of the question as are any street basketball tournaments.

I could go on and on, and just might in subsequent posts but I'm sure you get the idea. The irony of it all is that, on our own, Ingrid and I are both quite comfortable amongst poor common folks of either race. I myself have lived quite comfortably in inner-city neighborhoods and Ingrid travels to white, hilljack country schools helping kids see a future in medical careers. Even more ironic is that our financial and social status is by no means that far above that of the people we must avoid. Still, when traveling as a couple we find it best to avoid what can best be described as a bad "vibe." The bad vibe of ignorance.