Haunted Ink Live in El Centro

Monday, October 31

Halloween

A TV crew was on campus (Imperial Valley College, where I work) today interviewing students about the California propositions. They interviewed me, thinking (I guess) that I was a student. Why did they think I was a student? I was dressed for Halloween wearing my Angels jersey and cap. So does baseball gear make you look younger, or does it make you act younger? Hard to say--probably the latter.

And, yes, a TV crew was on campus. That's the thing about a small area like this--it's really easy to get on TV or in the paper, since local news here is really local news, unlike the news in big cities like Los Angeles. I know most areas in the US have local news that is very local, but it's a new experience for me. Too bad I have DirecTV and get the local LA stations, not the local Yuma/El Centro stations--so I won't even see myself on TV tonight! Oh well.

Update: I was on TV and I did get to see it, thanks to my portable TV. I looked and sounded like a goober, but at least my quotes made sense.

# posted by Michael Heumann: 10/31/2005 01:45:00 PM

Sunday, October 30

Where is El Centro?

El Centro means "The Center." El Centro, California, however, is not the center of anything. It's about as peripheral as you can get and still be in California. It's about 100 miles east of San Diego, 100 miles south of Palm Springs, 60 miles west of Yuma, Arizona, and 10 miles north of Calexico/Mexicali and the US-Mexican border. In other words, it's about 2 hours away from lots of interesting things, but it's really nowhere at all.

But it's a fascinating place all the same. It's in the middle of one of the hottest deserts in the world (average temperature in the summer is well over 110 degrees), yet it's one of the most fertile agriculture areas in the United States (its output reaching into the billions annually). It's a town virtually without anything memorable to its name, yet it is directly along Interstate 8, meaning that it's central to truckers and travellers alike. It is an area where there are more Chinese restaurants than Mexican ones, despite its proximity to Mexico. It's an area where every single employee at stores is required to know English and Spanish. It's an area where local shops cater more to tourists coming over the border from Mexicali than to locals. It's a region devoid of the smog often associated with Southern California, yet it is nevertheless as polluted as any other part of California (for reasons I will explain in future posts). It is the home of the New River, a canal so polluted by human and industrial waste that it actually produces billowing foam from time to time and to swim in it is to invite parasites and even death. It is the home of a brand new mall in the middle of fields of hay and alfalfa. It is the home of thousands of new houses, built because land here is much cheaper and much more plentiful than other parts of California. It is also the home of violent winds, freezing cold winter nights, blisteringly hot summers, and the occasional summer monsoon.

And it is my home--at least for now.

In the coming weeks and months, I'm going to be offering my impressions of this area, from its people to its odd weather patterns to its Simpson-like corruption, scandals, and tragedies to its few notable (though weird) landmarks.

To get started, here are a few hints of topics I'll cover in the future:

Two things make this area well known. First, there's the Salton Sea, which is unbelievably polluted for lots of reasons I'll get to in future posts. It was created by accident, when the canals carrying water from the Colorado River into the Imperial Valley (where El Centro is located) broke and spilled millions of gallons of water into a below-sea-level reservoir. The Salton Sea is on the brink of extinction now, however, due to environmental and natural causes; there are plans to save it, but it'll take billions of dollars and might do more harm than good.

The second thing that makes the Imperial Valley famous is Glamis and the sand dunes, the destination for thousands of off-road enthusiasts each winter. My theory about Southern California and tourism goes like this: hairdressers spend their holidays in Las Vegas; construction workers spend their holidays in Glamis. That's a generalization, but you'd be surprised how often it is true. Those ATV folk just love to pack up their dune buggies and other crap and drive all over those dunes (thus ruining them, of course).

I'll say more about these and other matters in the future. Trust me, this is an area almost unknown in California and around the world--and there's a lot to know (most of it rather odd and frightening). I hope you find it entertaining.

# posted by Michael Heumann: 10/30/2005 04:48:00 PM

Wednesday, October 26

Stalker/Pripyat

The picture on the left is from Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker. The picture on the right was taken in Pripyat, Ukraine, an abandoned town adjacent to Chernobyl. Tarkovsky's film came out in 1979; the Chernobyl disaster took place in 1986. Many see Tarkovsky's film as prophetic, a forecast into the future from one of Russia's great mystical filmmakers. Not only is the area where much of the action in Stalker takes place referred to as "the zone" (just like the zone surrounding Chernobyl), but both zones are littered with the decaying remnants of abandoned cities. It's an eerie similarity, and that similarities is one of the chief reasons for Tarkovsky's continued importance in Russian cinema.

One example of this importance is a soon-to-be released video game called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. It combines elements of Tarkovsky's movie (and the science fiction book Roadside Picnic, from which it is based) and the events and realities of Chernobyl. It's a convergence of chaos, human tragedy, and art, all rolled into a first-person shooter game. The game's not even out and there are already fan sites sprouting up all over the web and all over the world (especially eastern Europe). People have been writing stories based on the characters and the scenarios.

There's something potent and powerful about the mythology of traumatic events, as if they open up a bubble in our imaginations that can be filled with all our hopes and fears. To create virtual universes where magical and endless adventures exist within a space usually reserved for terror and sadness is a liberating concept.

Hell, it's a better way to deal with death and destruction than to take it out on poor people in third world countries (which is what happend to people in Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11). We need a "Ground Zero" video game, where the events of 9/11 created a race of superheroes or evil villains or something. That's the way to deal with grief--tell stories about it that are far more distracting than the grief itself.

# posted by Michael Heumann: 10/26/2005 11:30:00 PM

Tuesday, October 11

Great Opportunity for Anyone Interested in Central Asia

I'd love to participate in this program! FYI

Second International Summer School in Central Asia

Program dates: July 13-31, 2006

Venue: Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Application deadline: May 1, 2006

Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University International Summer School was established to encourage interest and to promote and coordinate information about the Turkic Nations of Central Asia in general and about Kyrgyzstan in particular.

The International Summer School remains the only facility of its kind in Central Asia for those who are interested in Central Asian Studies and the Turkic World in a historical transition period. Its primary role is to promote the exchange of information and to communicate the knowledge and experiences of the Kyrgyz nation in various fields through seminars, conferences and workshops during nineteen days of sessions. Lectures and seminars will be complemented by visits, field tours, and musical events.

The Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University cordially invites participants to take part in an unforgettable Central Asian cultural and educational Second International Summer School during the summer of 2006. The purpose of bringing people together for the 19 day event is to offer participants an insightful and educational perspective of Kyrgyzstan's peoples, culture, history, and political and economic institutions.

The initiative of creating the intensive summer school program and why it will differ from any other "vacation" you have experienced in your lifetime is simple: the program is designed to enrich the lives of participants by offering an intimate peek at one of Central Asia's most diverse nations. The summer school program will include lectures and seminars facilitated by internationally acclaimed scholars representing various social institutions of the Kyrgyz Republic. In studying the Kyrgyz nation, participants will be invited to learn and experience rich and informative presentations devoted towards history, culture, music, politics, anthropology, film and theater, language and literature, and social life.

Eligibility: The International Summer School welcomes applicants from a wide range of educational backgrounds. Participants for the International Summer School are encouraged to be students, scholars, academics, professionals, and retirees from 18 to 75 years of age from all parts of the world.

Estimated program cost: The cost of the International Summer School Program will be between $1,100 to $1,500 per participant according to the preference of the accommodation. The ISS fee will cover all tuition, accommodation, meals, excursions and transportation within Kyrgyzstan.

An official letter of invitation to attend the Summer School Program will be forwarded to any individual upon request to assist in obtaining a visa to enter Kyrgyzstan or for any other reason.

For more information, please visit the International Summer School web site at:

www.summerschool.manas.kg

Email: summerschool@manas.kg

Telephone: +996 (312) 55 27 52

Fax: +996 (312) 54 39 65

Should you have any questions concerning the program details, please feel free to contact with us.

Samara Turdalieva

Executive Secretary

International Summer School

Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University

Tel: +996 (312) 55 27 52 ext. 1109

Mobile: +996 (502) 38 91 62

Fax: +996 (312) 54 39 65

E-mail: summerschool@manas.kg

Website: www.summerschool.manas.kg

# posted by Michael Heumann: 10/11/2005 10:37:00 PM

Haunted Ink: Live in El Centro