MetaFilter posts tagged with mexico

Mexico's Terrible Year

elmono — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:51:36 -0800

Mexico’s Año Horrible: Global Crisis Stings Economy. "Until last September, the global economic slump was expected to take a fairly limited toll on the Mexican economy." "There was even talk of decoupling—that, for once, a U.S. recession would leave Mexico relatively unscathed. Over the past few months, however, this optimism has been replaced by increasingly dire predictions for the country’s near-term economic outlook ... But even this darkest of clouds has a silver lining. Twenty years ago, circumstances such as these almost surely would have caused a financial collapse in Mexico."

Not a Halloween Post.

gman — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:46:13 -0800

The Maskatorium: hundreds of masks collected from around the world over the past 20 years.

Falta unas cuantas horas para el despegue! Que bonito se siente!!!

desjardins — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:11:44 -0800

José Hernández was a migrant worker when he first started to dream about becoming an astronaut. He is the first astronaut to Twitter in Spanish from space on shuttle mission STS-128. NASA wasn't happy about the controversy he caused when he advocated for the legalization of undocumented immigrants. He is not the first Hispanic-American to fly on the space shuttle. Hernández is a national hero in Mexico and has been invited to dine with President Calderon.

It's Getting Hot in Herre / So Put On Coolin' Clothes

WCityMike — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:37:55 -0800

225° F (105° C) heat index. Easily impaled on 55-ton jagged crystals that are 36 feet long ... made out of drywall (kinda). "Most cameras with moving parts and tape mechanisms simply will not work."

Mexico grows up

Cobalt — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:52:15 -0800

Just as quietly as when they first voted on this, the Mexican government has decriminalized the possession of drugs for personal use. Associated Press's take. The official decree. Despite the understated release of the information, this is a sea change in Mexican policy and could very well be the beginning of a change in U.S. policy as well.

Ex Voto

vronsky — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:42:29 -0800

Everyday Miracles: Medical Imagery in Ex-Votos "The expression of our relationship with illness is wonderfully illustrated in the ex-voto, a devotional painting giving thanks to a saint or deity for a miraculous healing or a blessing. The faithful have always used prayer to invoke the aid of saints as a means to heal the sick and end one's suffering. These devotional paintings are an individual's expression of thanks for the intercession of the divine in a crisis, a snapshot in time of illness and healing. They offer a rare opportunity to view health, healing, and illness through the hearts and minds of the ordinary person." Anatomy::Italian Tradition::Mexican Tradition::Early Medical Guides::Gallery (click for larger) More Mexican antique ex-votos H E R E [ some fav or ites]

Mexico votes to decriminalize drugs.

flyinghamster — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:10:53 -0800

The Mexican legislature has voted quietly to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and other drugs.

"This is an imaginary land"

Kattullus — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:27:04 -0800

Border Stories is a series of short documentaries about life on the US-Mexican border, none longer than 6 minutes. The subjects are: drug addicts on the border (warning: graphic images), electronic music group Nortec Collective, hospital costs of fence jumpers, lonesome Minuteman, Mexican emigrant safety patrolman, ranchowners whose land is an immigration throughway, US-raised 18 year-old sent back to Mexico, virtual vigilantes, two old men provide water in the desert, dangers of journalism in Ciudad Juarez, graveyard of US tires in Mexico, drug ballads, hardened border policy hurts cross-border community, another cross-border community fears closing of footbridge, working illegally in Laredo, mayors of the two Laredos, migrants' safe house, hand-pulled ferry, dentistry in Nuevo Progreso, Brownsville high school teacher protests border fence, golf course with the border on three sides & fishermen on the mouth of the Rio Bravo. Border Stories also has a blog about immigration issues.

A whole movie in one image

filthy light thief — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:31:38 -0800

Movie posters carry the movie in one still image. But they're also a great overview of trends, both artistic and popular. Modern major film posters are common enough, and if you're looking for some discussion of modern posters, Movie Poster Addict might be your scene. But dig deeper and you come across quality versions of foreign films, such as Mexican posters (deep link to a section of Pulp Morgue) or hand painted posters from Russia, India and Pakistan, even the US. MeFi's own flapjax at midnite shared a collection of recent finds from the 1960s and '70s on in this Flickr set. [flapjax at midnite's collection via mefi projects] Some-what pre-vious-ly on Me-ta-Filter. And not from MetaFilter, but from our favorite list site: 20 baffling foreign movie posters.

The Play at Home Game!

cjorgensen — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:30:21 -0800

Become a Virtual Texas Deputy! (via)

The Axis of Upheaval

homunculus — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:49:20 -0800

The Axis of Upheaval: A special report on the coming age of instability.

"You don't know what to expect, but you know what to expect."

cgc373 — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:48:16 -0800

"Ransom kidnapping is a rare crime in America. Most cops go their entire careers without handling one. These days, most kidnappings involve a husband taking a child from an estranged wife. That's how things were in Phoenix until a few years ago." via 2blowhards.com

JOE 2008 examines changes/trends in the geopolitical and military landscape

445supermag — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:39:39 -0800

"Authored by the U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), the Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008, pdf) outlines a strategic framework and forecasts possible threats and opportunities that will challenge the future joint force." One portion picked out by the media: Mexico and Pakistan are the two countries most likely to undergo "sudden collapse". "In the broadest sense, the Joint Operating Environment examines three questions: * What future trends and disruptions are likely to affect the Joint Force over the next quarter century? * How are these trends and disruptions likely to define the future contexts for joint operations? * What are the implications of these trends and contexts for the Joint Force? By exploring these trends, contexts, and implications, the Joint Operating Environment provides a basis for thinking about the world over the next quarter century. Its purpose is not to predict, but to suggest ways leaders might think about the future."

Alebrijes

dhruva — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:52:08 -0800

Alebrijes, first created by Pedro Linares, are brightly-colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical animal-like creatures. Related: Here's an article on The influence of popular journalism on the artistic styles in three Oaxacan wood-carving communities

Nov. 4th plane crash

omegar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:41:11 -0800

While most of the world was watching* Obama win, people in Mexico (specially in Mexico City) were busy watching news that a plane had just crashed near one of the busiest intersections of the City, killing all its passengers and wounding at least 40 others in the street and nearby office buildings. The plane, a Lear jet, had eight people on board, among them Juan Camilo Mouriño, Secretary of the Interior [link in Spanish] and at least two other high ranking officials in the mexican federal government. Mouriño had been involved in capturing drug lords, combating the rise of violence throughout the country and in an unconfirmed medium-sized corruption scandal [link in Spanish] involving PEMEX, so the crash is being investigated [link in Spanish] to rule out sabotage. * I hated that mexican TV cut into Obama's speech to give some further non-news about the crash, which had taken place three or four hours earlier.

Cavern of Crystal Giants

homunculus — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:21:29 -0800

Crystal Palace. "Cavers in Mexico confront extreme conditions and find extraordinary beauty." (Previously.)

Mayan Ruins Filter: Possible Portal to the Underworld Found in Mexico

grapefruitmoon — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:02:58 -0800

Mayan Ruins Filter: Possible Portal to the Underworld found in Mexico. Included in the underwater tunnels (video) are two underground temples and human bones - possibly the remains of human sacrifices. BBC Look at the underwater tunnels. Previously on MeFi: Mapping Mayan Ruins with Muons The Mayan World Maya Cities Exhibition Site

Life and death of a black and white

mrducts — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:47:48 -0800

Texas executes Mexican national who was denied consul visit. Jose Medellin, a Mexican national, was born in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, just across the Rio Grande river from Laredo,TX. Medellín moved to the US when he was 3 years of age, and was 18 years of age in June of 1993 when he participated in the gang rape and murder of Jennifer Ertman, 14 and Elizabeth Pena, 16 in Houston,Texas. He was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to death. In 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that the Bush Administration must reconsider the case because Medellin was not informed of his right to contact Mexican consulate officials under the Vienna Convention. After the ruling, President Bush asserted authority under the Constitution and the various laws of the United States to order states to review the convictions and sentences of foreign nationals who had not been advised of their Vienna Convention rights. On March 25, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the arguments of the Bush Administration, and ruled that President Bush can't force Texas to reconsider, even if in violation of the International Court of Justice.[Previously]

Mexican aerophones

dhruva — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:28:08 -0800

Mexican Aerophones are wind musical instruments or artifacts that can generate sounds or noise with air jets and one or several resonator chambers of globular, tubular and other shapes. Roberto Velasquez, a mechanical engineer, has recreated some of these aerophones. Example sounds: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (.wav files)

The neighbors are fighting again

msalt — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:42:01 -0800

After the president of Mexico introduced his bill, legislators stormed and barricaded the podium in the House; Senators began fasting in protest. The occupation continues after 2 weeks, with opponents camping out and padlocking the doors of Congress, aiming to run out the clock until adjournment on April 30th. Mexico's top electoral body ordered a TV ad (comparing opposition leader Lopez Obrador to Hitler) off the air. Here in the U.S., little notice: the WSJ calls this "heated debate." Background: Oil production at Mexico's huge Cantarell oil field is down 8.5% from last year. President Calderon, who narrowly beat Lopez Obrador in a disputed 2006 election, proposes to open Mexico's oil resources to foreign investment, to better drill under the Gulf of Mexico for one thing. Oil resources have been nationalized since March 18, 1935 and are a potent nationalist symbol. Lopez Obrador has been riding this issue back to prominence after a year of quiet following his election loss. He claims that the ruling PAN and the PRI cut a secret deal to limit debate on the bill to 3 weeks, and is demanding 4 months of debate.

I bring to your window beautiful songs.

amyms — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:49:26 -0800

The Serenader. Roberto’s long moon-shadow stretches absurdly across the walls of the house as he plucks prettily at his guitar while his drunk client swaggers like a cat... Like many men in San Cristóbal, Roberto holds two jobs. At night he plays and sings the love songs that men use to woo women; in the day he teaches guitar to young men who may someday be his competition. Of the two jobs, serenading is far more lucrative.

La Vida Perversa

jbickers — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:35:22 -0800

"Moralistic, prejudiced, racist, misogynist, manipulative, sexist, daring, exciting, critical, sarcastic and passionate - these are just a few adjectives that commonly describe Mexico's most widely-read publication: the historieta." Some more background on the topic. Sample book covers, definitely NSFW: 1, 2, 3. A history of Mexican comics (warning: annoying audio). A few more covers. "The Imp."

gastronomic convergence

dhruva — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:18:34 -0800

The Mexican kitchen's Islamic connection :"When Mexico’s leading writer, Nobel Prize laureate Octavio Paz, arrived in New Delhi in 1962 to take up his post as ambassador to India, he quickly ran across a culinary puzzle. Although Mexico and India were on opposite sides of the globe, the brown, spicy, aromatic curries that he was offered in India sparked memories of Mexico’s national dish, mole (pronounced MO-lay). Is mole, he wondered, “an ingenious Mexican version of curry, or is curry a Hindu adaptation of a Mexican sauce ?” How could this seeming coincidence of “gastronomic geography” be explained ?"

Maya Cities exhibition site

peacay — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:11:19 -0800

Architecture, Restoration, and Imaging of the Maya Cities of Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil, and Labná - a new extensive exhibition site from Reed College (with nice large images available). See: Contents. The site includes "19th and early 20th century drawings, prints, and photographs, showing the appearance of these four cities before the extensive restoration campaigns of the twentieth century [..and..] over 1000 recent photographs."

Emos Hunted

BigSky — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:17:53 -0800

Violence against emos sweeps across Mexico. Emo Resistance. Anti-emo sentiment w/ video of mob attack. Coverage from Mexico. Emo attacks spread to Chile.