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kangnam mafioso
Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Location: Teheranno
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 Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2006 6:41 am Post subject: |
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| desultude wrote: |
There is a little town on the eastern slopes of the Sangre del Christos, on the edge of the great plains, about due east of Santa Fe, that I have been in love with for years. Its Las Vegas, New Mexico (vega actually means "plain", as in the great plains.) Its a sweet little town, where Spanish is spoken in the main- it seems like Santa Fe might have been before the real estate interests Disney-fied it. Damn, its nice, but poor as dirt.
Santa Fe and Taos are good, but too touristic. Taos isn't bad off season (as in not summer or winter). |
las vegas is a cool little town. ever been to madrid? a small former ghost town/mining town place? |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 6:44 am Post subject: |
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I had to look at a map. I've been through it (Madrid), but I don't really remember it.
I spent a year one week in Tucumcari (really, if there was a week in my life I could write a book about. . ..) Anyway, that is as God forsaken a place on God's green earth as any I have been in- counting a fair amount of Cambodia (at least in Cambodia there is the slightest glimmering of a future). |
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kangnam mafioso
Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Location: Teheranno
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| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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yeah ... i heard tucumcari sucks major arse and never went there. why is it so bad?
hmmm ... i would kill for some green chilie right about now and an ice cold negro modelo. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm.. tucumcari.
I've never been there.. but saw the BLUE SWALLOW HOTEL.. a famous US-66 motel that is up for sale.. its only for US$170,000.. cheaper than a house!
Then looked at other pictures of real estate in that town.. everything looked so dismal there. Wasn't sure it was just those selected pictures.. but must have been the entire town. |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Tiger Beer wrote: |
Hmm.. tucumcari.
I've never been there.. but saw the BLUE SWALLOW HOTEL.. a famous US-66 motel that is up for sale.. its only for US$170,000.. cheaper than a house!
Then looked at other pictures of real estate in that town.. everything looked so dismal there. Wasn't sure it was just those selected pictures.. but must have been the entire town. |
I knew a guy who owned a motel like the Blue Swallow- he was enticed by such a bargain. Now he lives there in lonely misery, because he can't sell it. I stayed there for a week. Nothing much went by except for drunks and tumbleweed.
It is on Route 66- which no one really takes anymore. Time has passed it by, and the only people left are serious loners and those too poor to move along. |
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nautilus
Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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| Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 12:40 am Post subject: |
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| Santa Fe is certainly a picturesque city. I reccomend the snowboarding or skiing there- |
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Mills
Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:18 am Post subject: |
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| nautilus wrote: |
| Santa Fe is certainly a picturesque city. |
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Entitled Not What I Meant, this past Saturday's installment of This American Life on NPR featured the story of Shaheen Rassoul, a young Afghani-born citizen of Santa Fe, who was arrested in 2003 for spray painting outside of Donald Rumsfeld's daughter's home in 2003, following her phone call to the Santa Fe police, reporting a trespasser on her property. The painted character, referred to as "The Frogman," contained no political messages according to Rassoul, who didn't even consider his work graffiti, but rather a "strange act of art." His arrest and the police's puzzlement over the painted image, coupled with pictures of Rassoul in Afghanistan found when searching his car, resulted in a six-hour FBI detention and interrogation, a search of his home, and seizure of his personal computer in the belief that he was, literally, marking Santa Fe for a terrorist attack of some sort. Rassoul pleaded "no contest" to destruction of public property, and completed an assigned forty-eight hours of public service by wrapping Christmas gifts at the Salvation Army. He continued to answer FBI questions for months following the incident, and even took a polygraph test to prove his innocence.
Shaheen Rassoul, an American citizen born in Afghanistan, began stenciling his ��Frogman�� character around Santa Fe shortly after returning from his completion of humanitarian aid efforts in Tajikistan following the fall of the Taliban in 2002. Around that time, Rassoul met his girlfriend, Molly, and the couple decided to host a dinner party together several weeks after they began dating. Within their group of friends, Rassoul was rumored to be a fine cook, and when Molly admitted to being without a sharp blade in the kitchen, he arrived with his stepfather��s German cooking knife in tow. The dinner was a smashing success, though she was a bit puzzled when he left soon after instead of staying over as he��d done before. Far from upset, Rassoul was lovestruck, and had decided to leave a surprise for Molly to find on her morning walk to work, revealing his ��secret identity�� by painting a trail of ��Frogmen�� along her daily route. Two squad cars glided up beside him, effortlessly, as he sprayed the fourth or fifth stencil; lights flashed, and Shaheen Rassoul��s life changed.
Rassoul had been taking several law classes at the local community college, and knowingly acted within his rights by refusing to allow a police search of his vehicle following a brief series of questions. Escalated by his non-compliance, the situation quickly turned into an arrest. When it was revealed that a trespassing complaint had been called into the local police station, Rassoul realized that full disclosure was in his best interest. He admitted to spray painting a trail along the sidewalk, led the police to the stencils, and surrendered his materials, but not before a black sedan arrived on the scene, inviting him inside for questioning by the FBI. The knife turned up during the subsequent search of his car, as did a passport with visas from Afghanistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Kajikistan, Pakistan and Korea. While doing aid work in Tajikistan, Rassoul had hired several Russian drivers to transport his office equipment to Kabul. Thrilled by the city��s exoticism, the drivers had purchased military garb in a market place and posed for photographs that now littered the trunk of his car—pictures that could appear very incriminating if viewed without that explanation. Rassoul was arrested and transferred to the police station for further FBI and Secret Service interrogation. When asked to qualify his whereabouts for that evening, he described the dinner party and the general location of Molly��s house, as he couldn��t recall her precise street address. Several minutes later, the FBI interrupted her sound sleep with a pound at the door and a series of questions about her new boyfriend. Did he use her computer? Were they ��intimate?�� Was he obsessed with airplanes or did he play flight simulation games? Though she did not lie outright, Molly now admits to skirting the truth at the time, giving minimal answers based mostly on her inherent trust in Rassoul��s character. She followed her intuition, and rightly so, she��d find.
During the ten-hour interrogation that followed, the FBI searched Rassoul��s home, confiscated his personal computer, and combed over his car once more. Rassoul gulped deeply as an anti-war, anti-Rumsfeld flier was unfolded before him. It had been unearthed during this second sweep, and the agents became quickly interested in his feelings toward Rumsfeld. Would he hurt him if in the position to do so? Did he know anything about the Rumsfeld family? Rassoul recalls noticing their heightened attention when he vaguely recalled that some member of Rumsfeld��s family resided in Santa Fe. Molly��s fourth-grade class was interrupted by an agent who led her to the parking lo in order to question the pro-democracy sentiments of the bumper sticker on her car. Though all fingers had once pointed to Rassoul as a suspect for terrorism, his story had checked out completely. For over three months following ��the incident,�� as they call it, Rassoul was frequently questioned by federal agents; at one point, still believing he secreted useful information, it was suggested that he operate as an advisor to the government. Slowly, the FBI realized that Rassoul was truly not connected to terrorism in any way. However, the case had reached Rumsfeld��s desk by that point, he was advised, and the agency suggested that Rassoul take a polygraph test to clear his name, as the FBI needed to ��close the book�� on his case. Local authorities still insist on prosecuting him on two counts—prowling, and destruction of public property, both charges stemming from the graffiti itself.
As he couldn��t afford a lawyer��s representation in court, Rassoul obtained a copy of his own arrest record, hoping to speak with the individual who��d called the cops in the first place. While standing in that person��s back yard, report in hand, Rassoul glanced down at the name entered under ��victim.�� ��Valerie Rumsfeld,�� it read. After ��shit[ing] [him]self,�� Rassoul realized why the federal authorities had been so unyielding in their mission to verify his involvement with terrorism or terrorist suspects.
Rassoul completed forty-eight hours of community service as his penalty for the petty charges stemming from the painting. His name been cleared by the FBI, but had already been entered on many other agencies�� international terrorist watch lists, and it��s unclear as to how, exactly, it might be removed. He is frequently detained at airports; a recent flight to Miami turned into an eight-hour ordeal, complete with police escorts. Rassoul feels much less comfortable than he used to, monitoring his own phone calls and email communication for anything that could be misconstrued. He no longer attends anti-war protests, afraid of potential arrest another cycle of interrogation. |
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nautilus
Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!
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| Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:33 am Post subject: |
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| Mills wrote: |
| He is frequently detained at airports; a recent flight to Miami turned into an eight-hour ordeal, complete with police escorts. Rassoul feels much less comfortable than he used to, monitoring his own phone calls and email communication for anything that could be misconstrued. He no longer attends anti-war protests, afraid of potential arrest another cycle of interrogation. |
That was before I decided to escape and start a new life as an ESL teacher in Korea. |
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Mills
Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
| Mills wrote: |
| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
| albuquerque is laid back. |
Oh yeah, when I lived there (1985-1995) Albuquerque had the highest gang member per capita population in the United States. Higher than LA!!! Laid back? Did you notice all the native artwork? They call that graffiti and it indicates where you're most likely to be the victim of a violent crime. |
I was in Albuquerque from 1999-2001 and things had cleaned up a bit. Yes, there are some edgy people there and some wackos and some desert rednecks, but the university area is chill. Most of the gangsters are in the south valley. like i said earlier, there is no reason to go there unless you live there or want to purchase crack or heroin. Seattle doesn't have crime? |
| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
i lived in albuquerque, new mexico for 2 years, and i had my car window smashed in twice for no reason |
Where did this happen? South Valley? |
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kangnam mafioso
Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Location: Teheranno
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| Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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| Mills wrote: |
| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
| Mills wrote: |
| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
| albuquerque is laid back. |
Oh yeah, when I lived there (1985-1995) Albuquerque had the highest gang member per capita population in the United States. Higher than LA!!! Laid back? Did you notice all the native artwork? They call that graffiti and it indicates where you're most likely to be the victim of a violent crime. |
I was in Albuquerque from 1999-2001 and things had cleaned up a bit. Yes, there are some edgy people there and some wackos and some desert rednecks, but the university area is chill. Most of the gangsters are in the south valley. like i said earlier, there is no reason to go there unless you live there or want to purchase crack or heroin. Seattle doesn't have crime? |
| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
i lived in albuquerque, new mexico for 2 years, and i had my car window smashed in twice for no reason |
Where did this happen? South Valley? |
no ... unm area. lol. very annoying, but that was the only thing that ever happened. no muggings or house break-ins ... although a dude was shot a few blocks over. like i said, there are some tweakers in that town, but it seemed laid back compared with washington, dc where i lived before that. |
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Mills
Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:35 am Post subject: |
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| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
| Mills wrote: |
| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
| Mills wrote: |
| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
| albuquerque is laid back. |
Oh yeah, when I lived there (1985-1995) Albuquerque had the highest gang member per capita population in the United States. Higher than LA!!! Laid back? Did you notice all the native artwork? They call that graffiti and it indicates where you're most likely to be the victim of a violent crime. |
I was in Albuquerque from 1999-2001 and things had cleaned up a bit. Yes, there are some edgy people there and some wackos and some desert rednecks, but the university area is chill. Most of the gangsters are in the south valley. like i said earlier, there is no reason to go there unless you live there or want to purchase crack or heroin. Seattle doesn't have crime? |
| kangnam mafioso wrote: |
i lived in albuquerque, new mexico for 2 years, and i had my car window smashed in twice for no reason |
Where did this happen? South Valley? |
no ... unm area. lol. very annoying, but that was the only thing that ever happened. no muggings or house break-ins ... although a dude was shot a few blocks over. like i said, there are some tweakers in that town, but it seemed laid back compared with washington, dc where i lived before that. |
Yeah, I guess UNM would seemed laid back after being in DC. I was at Walter Reed for awhile and outside seemed like Haiti. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 12:52 am Post subject: |
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In an effort to revive an interesting thread.
How about the entire LAS CRUCES/EL PASO/CUIDAD JUAREZ area?
El Paso has something like 500,000 or 700,000 people.. Cuidad Juarez has 2 million.. Las Cruces is gorgeous (but small).
Anyone been down in that area? How does it compare with ABQ?
Impressions.. thoughts.. etc. Similar culture.. or completely different? |
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Colorado
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Location: Public School with too much time on my hands.
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| Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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I spent a few months in Las Cruces, working as a short order cook in a diner outside of town, near the White Sands Test Range. That must have been 1981. I'm sure a lot has changed but I haven't been back. Pretty dang hot there in the summer, as I recall.
I prefer Northern New Mexico / Southern Colorado, taking a ride on the Cumbres-Toltec Railroad, white water rafting in the Taos Gorge, skiing at Wolf Creek, hanging out at hot springs in the San Luis Valley, my old stomping grounds.
I'd like to get back that way one of these days. |
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kangnam mafioso
Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Location: Teheranno
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| Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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el paso is ok as an entry point into juarez. i would much rather hang in juarez in terms of cheap drinks and hot latinas and lodging. be a little careful after dark -- occassional muggings and kidnappings. it's safer to park the car in el paso overnight and walk over the pedestrian bridge and you can find a decent double room for $20. not much going on in las cruces from what i can gather except for a small university there. much hotter than ABQ.
white sands national park and carlsbad caverns are both worth seeing in southern new mexico. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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Later this month, I'm going to take a trip into New Mexico and Arizona.
I'm interested in exploring Albuquerque as a potential place to live someday post-Korea.. any words of advice for exploring that city? |
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