What's going on, Albuquerque?

May 2009 Stories (123)

Tagging walls and "El Pintor"

We've had to call 311 to get the graffiti removal team to our neighborhood quite a bit lately. The punks are really going to town on the walls around here. I'm not sure what's going on, but it's starting to really get on my nerves. It reminded me of this piece I wrote a few years back on the subject. (This was actually an excerpt from a novel I've been working on that was a sort of spoof on New Mexico detective novels. In the original story, a giant animate tumbleweed -- a Weedwalker -- is… Continue

Added by Dick Chingadero on May 31, 2009 at 8:00pm — 4 Comments

The Sunday Poem: Mitch Rayes... Postcard from Chiapas

For eight seasons Albuquerque poet Mitch Rayes outfitted jungle trips to remote rivers and ruins in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. He first arrived there in 1979 and for almost two decades spent a large portion of his time in an area of Chiapas inhabited by a small group of indigenous Maya known as the Lacandones. His most recent poems are based on reminiscences of those years.

Born in Detroit, he made his first visit to New Mexico… Continue

Added by The DitchRider on May 31, 2009 at 9:00am — 4 Comments

Judging from your response, you’re (still) the racist…

I assume everyone else around here gets as annoyed as I do when issues of culture and race, particularly of the hispanic brown persuasion, get intense and edgy on the national stage. I know I twitch, just a little bit, when my left-wing media friends play the clips of Rush most recently accusing Judge Sonia Sotomayor as a reverse racist. It's infuriating to listen to the national debate rage on about issues that regions like the Southwest have come to terms to over the course of centuries. I… Continue

Added by Señorita Ruth on May 30, 2009 at 11:30am — 2 Comments

STUCK (outside city limits)

Out here, past the “official” commuter belt, the hazards are a little different than you find in Albuquerque. I live on a few acres in a little valley backed up to the Ballinger ranch with its eleven thousand non-subdivided acres of piñon/juniper/grasslands that are range to a few cattle. It’s peaceful, practically idyllic. When I hiked through snow (or mud) in the winter, mine were the only deep (or sloppy) footprints in the area; the ranch usually… Continue

Added by lisa gill on May 30, 2009 at 11:30am — 8 Comments

It's Friday!

Looks like rain, feels like rain, but where is the rain? Need to get out there and water my beautiful flowers!

Remembering when my grandmother who lived in the home I live in today always had a little lawn and nice flowers and actually some bushes she brought home from Bakersfield, CA! Her oldest son, my late uncle lived there with his family for years! She brought home the pomegranate bush that continues to grow beautifully in the front yard it must be over 50 years old! Just a bit… Continue

Added by Dolly on May 29, 2009 at 5:48pm — 1 Comment

The Cream of the Crop on Display

The Cream of the Crop on Display!

CROSSING: Graduate Students from 14 Western States

Opens Friday June 5th, 6-8 pm

We couldn't help but notice that the June issue of American Style Magazine ranked Albuquerque among the… Continue

Added by The Harwood Art Center on May 29, 2009 at 12:38pm — 1 Comment

Perplexity, Persistence, and the MRGCD Elections

This is a tale of perplexity and persistence. More than a decade ago, when I purchased my first home and moved to Barelas, I registered to vote, wanting to do my civic duty and wanting to have my say about matters close to home. I read all of the election literature I received, including the newsletters sent out by the Middle Rio Grande… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on May 29, 2009 at 11:30am — 30 Comments

Just Say No.

A friend from work, Dvora, brought me a loaf of what I call hippie bread. It's an obscure-label bread made from spouted hemp instead and it's full of seeds. At first I was like, oh, great, what is this?

Now I'm hooked. On hippie bread.

The only store in town that carries it is La Montanita, and so now I have to go completely out of my way to get some, so that every day I can have my one slice of hippie bread with almond butter, which another friend has… Continue

Added by mistypilgrim on May 29, 2009 at 11:29am — 4 Comments

ABQ Shows off? GO! Arts Festival, what happened?

I attended the first 3 GO! Festivals as a volunteer for artist friends' via booth support. Long hot days.

The first 2 were a little rough, granted the idea was art- and not perfomance based.

It showed, and was heard. (wince) It was loud and jagged and literally irratating.

But an effort was being made and we support that, then and now.

The 3rd Festival- well, it just exploded with a fusion of art and sound and movement. It was incredible and

I know we all… Continue

Added by juniper berri on May 29, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

Is it really conservation

I have been walking the west side of the bosque north of central for 10 years now. They recently started doing some conservation work. I agree that some of these things needed to be done but some of them I question. They are removing the trees that are not native which I love as most of the non native trees really drink a lot of water. My question on this is they are leaving the stumps and as it has warmed up the stumps are showing new growth if you are going to get rid of a tree shouldn't the… Continue

Added by aaron lewis on May 29, 2009 at 9:45am — 11 Comments

test

testing this thing out

Added by Chad Smith on May 29, 2009 at 8:55am — No Comments

May Flowers!

Yes, all flowers are from my yard! It's taken me a long time to figure out what grows here in "The Land of Enchantment" and what just does not!

Added by Dolly on May 28, 2009 at 12:50pm — No Comments

Thursday and barely making it!

On my way to do my Yoga Class at the Senior Center; need to stretch, do poses and get back into the swing of things! WHEW; it's a beautiful day and seems like we might get a little more rain?…

Continue

Added by Dolly on May 28, 2009 at 8:30am — 2 Comments

A Postcard from BunnytownUSA

Finally...The Postcard from BunnytownUSA featured on KRQE tv by Bill Wood has made it to You Tube...Whoo Hoo.

Visit… Continue

Added by Jeff Hartzer on May 27, 2009 at 6:13pm — No Comments

Our Fundraising Thus Far....

Together we've raised $2,142.00 and there are still 87 days to go!

In an effort to keep adding to our existing teams and to create new teams, we are doing a Team Blitz week.

National Survivor Awareness Day is June 7. We will do a blitz offering $10 off registration in honor of survivors for the week of June 7 – 14.

Tell everybody you know to sign up a team or if you know somebody who already has a team, join them! www.nmclimb.org.

Thanks for all your… Continue

Added by NM Climb to Conquer on May 27, 2009 at 4:52pm — No Comments

Albuquerque (almost) Tops Best City List

Albuquerque has been recognized by Kiplinger in its Best Cities 2009 edition.

We're No. 2, right after Huntsville,… Continue

Added by Alexis on May 26, 2009 at 12:00pm — 8 Comments

Six Reasons My Dog is Old School; Six Reasons She's Not

Six Reasons She Is:

Hates cats.

Eats dog food and likes it.

Spends all day waiting to bark at the mailman.

Can point, flush and chase birds for hours.

Has pretty eyes.

Loves me no matter what.

Six Reasons She Isn't:

Refuses to lay on anything unless it's upholstered.

Won't fetch.

Prefers ice cubes in her water.

Has no interest in hanging her head out the car window.

Lays right down without circling three… Continue

Added by Tracy Dingmann on May 25, 2009 at 9:16pm — 2 Comments

Write on!

Write on! That's what people like Bill do as they progress in their skills ( See the Sunday Journal on May 24, E1, in an article by Carolyn Flynn titled "Zen of the Pen").

Right on! That's what other people say when the writing example makes their eyeballs drool in appreciation. You can be a calligrapher or an admirer. You will be welcome on June 3, 2009… Continue

Added by Escribiente on May 25, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Memorial Day Musings

Yesterday we marked Memorial Day weekend with a family backyard barbeque; it's an annual tradition. This year we had four different generations at our gathering, representing every generation from the Silent Generation to the Millennials.

Since every guy at our gathering had… Continue

Added by Barelas Babe on May 25, 2009 at 11:00am — 10 Comments

Dogs, and the people they own.

It was such a great run - I rounded a corner in the foothills on trail 365, and immediately came up on 2 white dogs, large, with sort-of inbred faces and triangular heads. One was on a leash, and one not. Oh, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, I said, as the one that was not on a leash, missing one eye, leapt on me repeatedly. He was large, and kept jumping up and putting his front paws on my chest. I kept backing away from it, trying to avoid being jumped… Continue

Added by mistypilgrim on May 24, 2009 at 11:00pm — No Comments