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Agriculture Brotherhood/Sisterhood Chihuahua Will there be a buffet?

Chihuahua 1913 (part 3): A Mesoamerican Buffet

“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” – Anthelme Brillat-Savarin WLBOTT, razor-focused on shareholder value, has decided to pursue a fashion line based on the headwear of our Olmec ancestors. Again, our unpaid marketing interns were eager and started the advertising campaign before getting approval or even a budget, […]

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Agriculture Chihuahua Mexico

Chihuahua 1913 (part 2): The Olmec

While looking into the history of Mexico, leading up to the birth of Elder MJ’s mother, we found a delightful rabbit hold: The Olmec. This civilization flourished around 1500-400 BCE in what is now southeastern Mexico. Although the Olmec thrived near what is now Veracruz, 1,750km from Chihuahua, they played an important role in the […]

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Adventures of the Elders Brotherhood/Sisterhood Chihuahua Mexico

Chihuahua 1913 (part 1): The Big Drill Down

One of our Elders, Elder MJ, has a fascinating family tree. We’re going to focus on Elder MJ‘s mother, Lupita, born in the Mexican state of Chihuahua in 1913. Today we’ll start with the big picture and drill down a bit. 1913 – The Drill-Down The Universe On January 1, 1913, the universe was approximately […]

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Existential Angst Mexico Pantheon

Gloom Isn’t Despair: Sweet Melinda

The business of the day: WLBOTT is considering expanding our pantheon. We’re thinking of adding “Sweet Melinda, the Goddess of Gloom.” She is based loosely on the Bob Dylan song “Tom Thumb’s Blues.” A Goddess of Gloom. Very much in the grand WLBOTT tradition of mixing melancholy, absurdity, and sly beauty. Sweet Melinda, Goddess of […]

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Mexico Music Radio Free WLBOTT

Radio Free WLBOTT (part II)

Free? What Exactly is Radio Free WLBOTT Free Of? Not Without Precedent: Pirate Radio There’s an interesting first-person account by Larry Melton of the infamous Dr. John Romulus Brinkley and the 100,000 watt Mexican radio station XERF. As the title suggests, there are a lot of semi-sequiturs to this story. XERF: Gun Fights, Wolfman Jack, […]

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America Collapse of Democracy/Civilization/etc. Late Stage Capitalism Mexico

Google Caves

The Relationship Between Fascist Regimes and Industry The relationship between fascist regimes and industry is a Faustian bargain: industries gain influence and protection, but at the cost of autonomy, ethics, and long-term stability. It serves as a reminder of how economic systems can be manipulated in the service of oppressive political ideologies. [compiled with the […]

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Hopeful Songs on Dismal Days Mexico

Perhaps, in the Abstract

Another WLBOTT nod to Mexican singer/songwriter Lila Downs! If you can’t make your mind upWe’ll never get started.And I don’t want to wind up,Being parted, broken hearted.

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Book Club Food Guerrero Mexico Movies

Prayers for the Stolen (part IV of IV)

Moral Musings and Iguanas The Moral Dilemma It’s so easy to look down from our throne of bounty, our luxury WLBOTT world, and ask these questions. The WLBOTT world, where we have unlimited ramen noodles and health care in the form of Vick’s Vap-o-rub and generic Tylenol. It’s hard to imagine anyone in America as […]

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Book Club Guerrero Mexico Movies

Prayers for the Stolen (part III of IV)

References Jennifer Clement (author of Prayers for the Stolen) Guerrero, Mexico Chilpancingo The movie and part I of the book are set on the outskirts of Chilpancingo, a city about an hour northeast of Acapulco. Chilpancingo de los Bravo (commonly shortened to Chilpancingo) is the capital and second-largest city of the Mexican state of Guerrero. […]

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Book Club Guerrero Mexico Movies

Prayers for the Stolen (part II of IV)

Book .vs. Movie Similar vignettes propel the story in both the movie and the book – hiding in makeshift foxholes, the classroom antics, the operation to transform Maria’s cleft pallet…. The book is divided into three parts. The movie roughly corresponds to the first part. In the second part of the book, a teen-aged Ladydi […]