NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Dear Michael Lujan, Thank you! Because of your activism and persistence, President Obama has appointed retired Major General J. Scott Gration as special envoy to Sudan. General Gration traveled to Africa with President Obama in 2006, visiting refugee camps in Chad. His experience, gravitas and close relationship with President Obama will contribute greatly to his effectiveness. It remains to be seen if he will have the mandate and authority to drive U.S. policy on Sudan. The appointment of a special envoy is an urgently needed step forward—and it wouldn't have happened if we hadn't raised our voices together. But our work isn't over. The Sudanese government's recent decision to expel 13 international aid agencies has left about 1.1 million civilians without food aid, 1.5 million without health care and over a million without potable water—threatening starvation and disease on a massive scale. General Gration has his work cut out for him. He will need to hit the ground ...

Kada na gof tinemba yu’ (triste i siniente-ku) put i direchas kuetdås gi lina’la’-hu, ya-hu muna’sumåi maisa yu’ gi halom dandan (musika). Fihu bei ayek singko pat sais na kanta, ya bei na’dandan ayu na singko pat sais, ta’lo, ta’lo, ta’lo’lo’lo’lo. I dinisehå-hu para este, na siempre u malaknos i chinathinasso-ku ginnen i tintanos-hu nu i dandan. Ya mientras matata’chong yu’ gi halom ayu na chubaskon palabras yan notas, maninasa este siha na achaki-ku ni’ ayu na manglo. I mas maolek na kanta para este na cho’cho’, i musikan Oasis. Siha i Beatles para på’go na tiempo. Gof “poppy” gof “rocky.” I palabras i kantan-ñiha, guaha nai masångan na puru ha’ lassas (ti tahdong), lao guaha lokkue’ masångan na gai simiyas (tahdong). I mas ya-hu na kantan-ñiha på’go i kanta “Live Forever.” Ti hu tungo’ taimånu madulok gui’. Ya-hu Oasis, ya ya-hu este na kanta. Lao desde i tinituhun este na mes, kalang kinenne’ yu’ ni’ este na kanta. Ya-hu bei hungok este yan kanta este todu tiempo. Ya-hu kumantåyi ...

When I get a break from writing my dissertation, but still want to use my brain somehow, I usually end up translating songs from Chamorro to English or from English to Chamorro, or as I started doing last fall, from Japanese to English to Chamorro. I started the regular thread called Sakigake Chamorro, last year which is my quick, fun and sometimes ridiculous translations of songs from Japanese anime into Chamorro. I don't speak Japanese so I have to use other people's English translations. But these aren't meant to be perfect or well thought out, they are more for me to flex my brain and have a little bit of fun. So far I've made two Sakigake Chamorro, the first was from Sakigake! Cromartie High School and the second from FLCL . The one I'd like to share with you today, is a beautiful, J-poppy song from Naruto Shippuuden. Its song by the Japanese rock band Ikimono Gakari and is titled Bluebird. Here's the lyrics in Japanese: Artist: Ikimono Gakari Song: Bluebi...

For those who have been asking, there will be a walkout later this month, most likely led by the Guam Legislature, carried out in the hopes of getting the Federal Judge and the Federal Receiver to work with the Government of Guam in hopes of finding a way to close Ordot and open a new landfill, but without bankrupting the Government of Guam. I will have more updates as plans get settled, but for those who aren't sure what I'm talking about, here's a quick update. The Federal Judge, Frances Tydingco-Gatewood ordered a Federal Receiver be hired last year in order to facilitate the swift closure of the Ordot Dump and the swift construction and opening of a new dump in Dandan. Different governors and legislatures on Guam had for various reasons over the past decade had stalled and deadlocked on this issue, and so Gatewood's order was considered by many to be a forceful but positive step. Since being established however the Federal Receiver GBB, has shown an unwillingness to...

Regardless of who you are, whether you are a close friend, a fellow activist or even just a perfect stranger, or perhaps someone who mistook me for Rasheed Wallace, if I have ever spoken to you for any decent amount of time, then I am sure I have complained in someway about my brother Kuri (Jeremy) and his banding . Of course when I say banding I'm not referring to (prepare yourself geek joke on the horizon) to "banding" from the game Magic: The Gathering. But rather to the activity that Kuri regularly does, playing in bands, which keeps him from doing his chores around the house, or makes him impossible to get up in the morning. Kuri is currently in at least three bands that I know of, Freedom Fries (ska), Last Standing All-Stars (reggae) and Table for Five (reggae) and also allegedly participates in several other musical groups, such as UOG Jazz Band, George Washington Alumni Band, and he's probably also the trombone player for Rush's latest tour. (gi minagahet...

For the past two years now I've been speaking to i hagga-hu Sumåhi , almost entirely in Chamorro. For a long time I wasn't sure if this was paying off, and if she was retaining anything, as more and more of the words she started using or started understanding were either English or Cantonese. Fihu estaba annai hu kuentusi gui' gi fino' Chamoru, ha atan yu' kulang langga' yan taikinemprende. In order to make sure she understood me sometimes, I would even resort to using certain Cantonese words. In the past few weeks however all of this has changed, and at last she is starting to both use and understand some basic Chamorro words. At this age, learning words for Sumåhi is actually an exciting activity, because while all around her live to see her face light up and smile, she is actually always on the search as well for ways that she can make our faces light up. Using certain words is one of the ways that Sumåhi can get everyone around her laughing or happy. Which i...

Leo Babauta and his blog Zen Habits have made a big splash this year. Babauta published his first book this year The Power of Less , and it is already a best seller. His blog is a huge success, and he is actually living a blogger's dream by being able to live off the revenue that Zen Habits makes. It was even named last year as one of Time Magazine's 25 best blogs of the year. Bai hu admite yan kalang hosguan yu' nu i gof matungo'-na! Zen Habits is a nice website, with alot of harmless, self-helpful, inspirational/motivational life reorganizing content. Reading through some of Babauta's posts on that site however creates a strange contrast for me. I know that Babauta's been a writer for many years, and it was actually through some of his writing from almost a decade ago that I know him best. But compared to the Babauta of today, these pieces seem as if they are from another universe. The show/group Malafunkshun had a website made in 2000, and at that time Ba...

I'm pasting below my article " A Guam Legislature Walkout?" which I wrote for the website Guamology. I wrote it to commemorate the 60 year anniversary of the Guam Congress Walkout of March 5, 1949 , and discuss the current conflicts going on between the Government of Guam and the Federal Government, and lastly call for another protest, or walkout to take place today. Much to my surprise, when watching KUAM News earlier tonight, I saw that mumagahet i guinife-hu, as the Speaker of the Guam Legislature Judi Won Pat, daughter of one of the members of the original Guam Congress Walkout, Antonio Won Pat, was calling for a symbolic walkout to take place soon! Stay tuned to this blog for more details! ******************************** A Guam Legislature Walkout? by Michael Lujan Bevacqua March 4, 2009 http://www.guamology.com/2009/03/a-guam-legislature-walkout/ On my blog last week I wrote that, until Guam’s political status changes, the national anthem of the island should b...