Until recently, Austronesian wasn't a self-designation. The name comes from Latin auster (south wind) plus Greek nêsos (island). Of course, historically, Inuits and Aztecs never referred to themselves, in collective solidarity, as "Indians" or "Native Americans," but that doesn't mean we can't see similarities now. Having just just returned from Taiwan, I've observed a growing pride by some Taiwanese Austronesians … Continue reading Austronesia – Don’t Tease Ya
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Lizards of Ahs — Happy Lizard Day!
Lizards are a large, diverse group of reptiles. Around 3800 species live on land and in sea, on every continent except Antarctica. They range in size from geckos and chameleons (as small as a few centimeters) to komodo dragons (nearly three meters). Their used to be mosasaurs, which reached 17 meters! They proved to be too … Continue reading Lizards of Ahs — Happy Lizard Day!
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Mars – The Red Planet in Games, Movies and Television
A lot of people come up to me and say, "Love the blog, especially the ones about moons, planets and dwarf planets in film, music, video games, &c... so why haven't you done one on Mars?" Actually, no one said that and I just never did one until now because I figured it would be … Continue reading Mars – The Red Planet in Games, Movies and Television
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Xu DaRocha – Painter, Photographer, Chinese TV & Cinema Veteran… and Dumpling Lover
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage, an occasion I marked by seeking interviews with several Asian-American artists (like Roommate's Ken Lambert) and blogging about Asian neighborhoods and such… One interview I attempted to land was Chinese-American artist Xu Darocha, now giving a whole new meaning to the concept of “Asian time” by getting her responses to … Continue reading Xu DaRocha – Painter, Photographer, Chinese TV & Cinema Veteran… and Dumpling Lover
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The Radio Geek’s Guide to American Public Radio
I recently saw a petition to get the US government to fully fund PBS and NPR. Now, I'm sure the writers of this petition have nothing against other public radio producers, NPR's competitors Pacifica, PRI and APM. All compete for airtime against each other and locally produced material, as well as foreign public radio producers BBC and CBC. … Continue reading The Radio Geek’s Guide to American Public Radio
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Show me the Mo Movies!!! – Missouri in Film and Television
Some folk that know me know I have to see dang near err movie that's filmed in, set in or tied to Missouri (whurr I grew up). With the Bourne Trilogy, those ties were somewhat tenuous... Badass Jason Bourne is merely informed that his real name is David Webb and he's from Nixa. No wonder … Continue reading Show me the Mo Movies!!! – Missouri in Film and Television
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Celebrating Kyrgyz Culture Amidst Violence
Although I’ve never been to Kyrgyzstan I’ve long wanted to go there. I initially became interested in the Central Asian region due primarily to its sheer obscurity relative to the rest of the continent. When you take an Asian Civ class, you're unlikely to find Tajikistan on the course syllabus. Ten years ago, when Napster … Continue reading Celebrating Kyrgyz Culture Amidst Violence
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Roommate wanted – an interview with Roommate’s Kento-chan Lambert
For this Asian Pacific American Heritage Month I asked Asian-Americans involved in the arts to get at me. The first to do so was Kent Lambert, an experimental pop guy who lives in Chicago and is the front man for Roommate. Eric: How is your Asian Pacific American Heritage Month going? Kent Lambert: It's going swimmingly, … Continue reading Roommate wanted – an interview with Roommate’s Kento-chan Lambert
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Celluloid Heroines – Fearless Filmmaking Females
Every female director who's been nominated for an Oscar for direction: Katherine Bigelow, Lina Wertmüller, Jane Campion, and Sofia Coppola On 31 January, The Guardian published an article titled “Why are there so few female filmmakers?” Less than a month later, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the director’s prize at the 62nd Directors' Guild … Continue reading Celluloid Heroines – Fearless Filmmaking Females
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Flossin’ Season – Leprechaun Movies, Music, &c
Everyone knows a couple of things about leprechauns (aka lurachmain, lurican, leprechawn, lepracaun, leprechaun, lubberkin and lurgadhan). They’re small, tricky gingers that, if caught, will show you the money. One theory about the word’s origin is that it comes from luacharma'n (or luchorpán), the Irish word for “pygmy.” Another theory is that the word is … Continue reading Flossin’ Season – Leprechaun Movies, Music, &c
Eric Brightwell 