Ghosts of Rwanda: a documentary; an introspect

I have watched various documentaries in the past, since I was young I was already interested the socio-political dynamics around the globe..its a very complicated world out there, were religion, politics and personal interests intermixed with humanity. I did a lot of travelling in the past as well, many countries, people, places, events..these have worked their way into my very core..my soul. Human beings are such an interesting species..capable of so much love, creativity and intelligence than all the other species in this earth, but also so capable of so much hatred, to such extent that we would try to wipe out each other. I sometimes wonder if we really did come from apes, I guess if we did, the evolutionists might have a point, because our actions don't amount too much as human beings..I guess we really are more like apes, barbaric and inhuman..or is it because we are spiralling down to this because we have thrown God out of the window and out of our system..I do wonder sometimes..

Please watch if you have the time. 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ghosts/

or type in "ghosts of rwanda" in youtube.

The crisp sound of paper being browsed, the smell of both old and new. The eyes of my mind are opened, spiritually whisked away to the unknown, I grab on to her wings, she turns her head and winks as the goddess of fables and dreams rescues me from the mundane. I looked at her and I burst out laughing; "yes! yes! take me away from the ordinariness of everything, restore my vision and release me from the conventionality of my life. Pictures...paintings, limitless colors. I heard the sounds of another world, not of my own, unfamiliar yet I embraced them as if they were a long lost brother. Higher, higher...in ecstacy I relished everything, for I know that of which is now of the present will become lost in memory. Suddenly she releases me, she who has been given the power over present and future, I started to fall, "No not yet!" I shouted, but I continued my seemingly endless fall. I wasn't afraid of death.

...I opened my eyes and I was still in bed, I smiled...tomorrow night..I will fly again.

get me out of here!

i have lived in a world manufactured by the delusional, a masterpiece of their imaginations. Although they suffer everyday, they are irrational and unopened to rational thinking, they have closed their minds to new things. Every tick and tock of the clock, every coming and going of each day they seemingly convince themselves that everything is okay and their lives are normal.They are bent to achieve a goal that is to the sane mind a wonderful pie in the sky life, where money comes down from heaven and food is delivered to your doorstep by some unknown entity. They suffer silently, pious looking yet hypocrites to the core. They have left every bit of logic and trash rationality out the door. Please do not judge me if I seemed unfair in my accusations, forgive if I doubt, but I would rather be in this crossroads of faith and doubt than to dwell in a world customed fit only for those who no longer enjoy living in this life. I sometimes wonder, is this all there is to it? I beg you not to categorize me, or fit me in some psychological bubble. Take off those rose colored glasses and see the world as I see it, at least please do try..

on to some geeky stuff/ espresso passion

Let me start by saying that coffee drinking is supposed to be a sensory experience, it starts with the music that starts with the sound of the espresso machine, the hissing melody as the wand touches the milk, the tamping of the portafilter, highly trained baristas who are coffee lovers themselves, the aroma of the coffee and finally the first sip as liquid gold touches your tongue…it is passion, it is art. So many stores have this huge sign hanging from every corner of their store shouting, best tasting coffee in the world or best espresso in the universe! and then you order one, and you get this stale tasting black thing in a styrofoam cup with no crema! What is this thing? Did i just pay 150 pesos for this?? But of course there are those experience wherein you order from a unknown coffee shop like perhaps a Bo’s coffee or some startup coffee nook, then your eyes pop and you get what Mark Prince describes as "the epiphany moment" and when you have that, its like you have this singular moment in time wherein you say to yourself, this is it..this is what I have imagine how it would be…this is espresso, this is the pinnacle, the apogee of what coffee should be. Remember the four M’s of an Italian espresso?; the heart and soul of real espresso is broken down to 4 important parts; Machine ( espresso machine), Macinzaione (grinder), Miscela (coffee) and Mano (the person making the shot). Without these four important components, there is no espresso, there is no coffee, all you have in your hands is a cup of high-priced sludge with a brandname on it. That is why I have this utter disdain over push-button machines which requires no skill, no interaction between person and machine.

Anyways! on to the geek stuff:

I have been thinking about getting a new espresso machine since my old one for some reason or another stopped working, well I could still hear the pump working but well no water is coming out of my portafilter, I think its clogged or something but anyway I’ve kept dreaming about that new Rancilio Silvia, it cost around 500 bucks in the States and in some storeds I heard its getting a bit higher. Its the best amongst the consumer level machines our there and very much touted amongst baristas and at the coffeegeek website. Now that Starbucks is very much out of my rulebook, its hightime to start looking for another coffee shop that sells real coffee or if you have enought moolah to spare, just get yourself your own espresso machine, get some barista training whether from some training centre or online and with a lot of practice, believe me you’re gotte be better than some of of the baristas at starbucks. Start with some basic coffee training, which includes coffee tasting if you’re really into being a real coffee connoisseur. I guess this is really all about counter culture, for some of us its not just about hanging out and just being seen on some wickedly fashionable cafe but really we are about how the coffee taste, we use words like clarity, complexity, balance or sweetness, we care about the body and the acidity of the coffee, and yes we know whether the coffee taste too damned burned and too roasted. Now going back to the Rancilio, its just beyond my reach as of this time but well who knows I’m just too geeky to pass off a good deal if I find a nicely priced Silvia, the thought of a nice shiny chromed espresso machine at home and the taste of real espresso is just the stuff wetdreams are made of. By the way, if you’re looking for a place to get a nice cup’o joe, try Bo’s Coffee, they’re not too crowded if you’re looking for a place to converse or just plunge into a good book, their coffee is a mixture of locally grown robustas and imported arabicas, their frapps are also quite good if you’re into that stuff. And yeah, I believe they still use old fashion espresso machines, that means they still manually check temperatures and do the tamping by hand which requires the skill of a correctly trained barista. That’s it for our coffee/geek talk for today. By the way, congrats to the Philippine wooshoo team for baggin’ the gold, I know I know it’s supposed to be an exhibition sport only, but its far better than getting no medals at all, cuz that really sulks you know. Oh well, umaasa pa kasi tayo. haha

The Rancilio Silvia

(Whether you’re a barista, espresso/coffee connoisseur, this machine is definitely a must have.)

"Well, the current Rancilio Silvia models not only have that very same
minimalistic yet strong looking badge on the front panel above the
steam knob, but also on the back of the machine! Very cool stuff. If
you have an open kitchen concept, you get to proudly
show your brand
loyalty to the folks sitting in your dining room or living room. And
I’m not being facetious here - the Silvia has always been perceived as
a machine of substance, and subtle, no-nonsense yet professional
branding is always a good thing.

"The grouphead is the beefy, separated design (ie, the boiler and
grouphead are two parts, instead of a single unit, like on the Gaggia
machines) that is all marine grade brass. It should do a very good job
retaining temperature once the machine is fully heated up. It features
a removable dispersion screen and block (basically a heavy brass disk
designed in part to retain heat), and the standard ring type group
gasket, which the user can replace every few years.

The Rancilio
Silvia is a "3 way solenoid valve" machine, meaning that a valve
immediately opens up after you finish brewing, relieving pressure from
the portafilter".

article taken from www.coffeegeek.com (review of the Rancilio Silvia)