Things I have accomplished so far this week

I made a list of things to do this week on Sunday. Out of eight items I have finished seven of them. Granted five of the things consisted of composing and sending an e-mail message, but I did get them all sent. I also finished editing my cotton paper and got it sent. Finally, I went to the post office and mailed what I believe will be my last job application to be completed in the year 2005. It cost me $1.06 to mail which is 6% more than the much higher paying lottery tickets with better odds that they sell in most liquor and grocery stores. The final item on my list of things to do this week is to start sending out book proposals for my dissertation again. I will restart this ongoing project tomorrow.

A little bit of good news from New Orleans

Well despite the destruction of most of New Orleans it looks like my journal article will be appearing almost on schedule. The editor carried the journal's files out of New Orleans to Houston to avoid Katrina and then to Chicago two weeks later to avoid Rita. So my one publication dealing with the narrow Middle East, otherwise known as Palestine, will be seeing publication in June 2006. I am really amazed that the journal editor has been able to keep the publication schedule running on time given the circumstances he has had to work under.

Blue Chicken

When I last went to the library on Saturday I checked out Sun Records three CD "The Ultimate Blues Collection" with its 75 songs by people like Rufus Thomas, Joe Hill Lewis, Walter Horton, Willie Nix, Earl Hooker, James Cotton, Frank Frost and other greats. Most of the songs were recorded in the early 1950s. I have been listening to it alot in the last couple of days. It even has Rosco Gordon's "The Chicken (Dance with You)" on it. This song is now the official theme song of Otto's Chicken Shack. Do the Chicken at the Shack tonight.

Publication pipeline

Well I still have not gotten the book chapter back from the editor in Austin for the book project out of DC. There appears to be some serious technical glitch preventing it from showing up in my e-mail. I am not sure if the problem is on my end, her end or in between. But, somewhere technology is failing in its duty. It may be faster to just have it sent by post soon.

The book project out of Tartu, however, is right on schedule. I attribute this to the Teutonic efficiency of its German editor. No delays, no glitches, no extra revisions and no headaches mar this project. No sir, not even the cybermonsters that live in New Mexico would dare mess with somebody with the title Herr Doktor Doktor Professor.

I sent in an edited version of my cotton paper to London for publication. I got back an e-mail from SOAS that they had received it. So it looks like that project is progressing smoothly. I do not predict any problems with this project. They had the conference very well organized.

I have not checked up on the other projects in the publication pipeline. I have one journal article scheduled for publication in May 2006, but the staff was based in New Orleans. So I am going to check and see if it has been delayed. I have one encyclopaedia article due to be published in Germany in March 2006 and I think that is still on track. Then I have five encyclopedia articles scheduled for publication in 2007. I believe they are still on schedule.

We have water!

It appears we have fixed all the leaks. The tank is now filling up with water and I can finally take a shower. It has been over a week since my last one.

Another Reader Poll

On 11 October I took a poll of my small readership. I got 13 responses which was alot more than I expected. At anyrate I have decided that I should take another straw poll on the direction of this blog. After the first poll I resolved to maintain a balance of pieces on deported peoples in the USSR, life in Arivaca and my dismal job search. Since then I have also posted quite a bit on the history of cotton in Central Asia. In terms of comments my most popular piece was my rant on anonymous academic bloggers. Obviously I hit a nerve with some people. I have considered doing more blog posts on the history of southern Arizona, but my interest in the subject is still an amateur pursuit. At anyrate I am asking the dozen or so people who happen to read this blog post if you think the current mix of topics for blog posts should be changed. Let me know what you think. I am willing to consider all constructive criticism and suggestions.

Weekend

Yesterday my uncle and I went to the library. I had some books due the 29th that I had finished reading that I was returning. By luck the library was holding its monthly book sale. You can not beat 50 cent books and CDs. Well, I suppose you could, but when the same books cost $150 in Tubac it is a pretty good deal. I have finally extended my CD collection into double digits. It now includes "The Real Kansas City of the 20s, 30s & 40s" by various artists and "Searching for Roots: Music from Estonia" by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Both are pretty good, but the KC one is a bit scratchy. One song keeps skipping and I have to push next on the CD player to get the album playing again. So my 25 songs are really 24. That's still not bad for half a dollar.

The Great Arivaca Canals

For about a week now we have been losing more water than the well can pump. Since then we have been on strict water rations. We have been trying without results to fix this problem. Friday we dug up a section of pipe and fixed one leaky T-Joint. It appears, however, that there are other leaks. The tank is still not filling with water. In fact it is still just about empty. Tomorrow we will be adding to the ever more extensive series of trenches criss-crossing the hill between the well and the Chicken Shack. Someday, archeologists will be trying to discover the purpose of the Great Arivaca Canals.

New Additions to Blogroll

I have added a few new additions to the blogroll recently. Among the new links are Sara Matthewson's "Life is an Adventure." She is a fellow resident of Arivaca and Chris O'Byrne's far better half. She is also an accomplished artist. Also in the additions is "Dougout" from Grant Jones in Hawaii. He presents conservative commentary from that most liberal of states. I have been following his posts on the conflict between the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the US Navy with great interest. Finally, I have added yet another British blog. This time from Scotland. "Tub Thumper" provides coverage of issues both British and international in a thought provoking manner.

Thanksgiving

My uncle and I went with some friends of his from Green Valley to dinner in Nogales, Mexico for Thanksgiving. Located behind the massage parlour across the railroad tracks is a great little restaurant called "La Roca." I highly recommend it.

I am an Orientalist not a "Diversity Consultant"

One of the jobs I was going to apply to has the following statement in its job advertisement. The University is committed to building a culturally diverse education environment. Applicants are requested to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal. It is too bad too because it is one of the very few tenure track jobs that mentions Central Asia. But, it took me forever to rewrite my current cover letter and I have no idea what they mean by "culturally diverse" yet alone how I could further it as a history lecturer. This type of politically correct nonsense is why Johnny can't find Tashkent on a map.

Can the Meskhetian Turks Finally Go Home?

It appears that the Georgian government is finally allowing the return of at least some Meskhetian Turks to their homeland. According to an article by Fati Mamiashvili in Tbilisi for the London based Institute for War and Peace Reporting - Caucasus Reporting Service, No. 315 of 23 November 2005, repatriation will begin next year. In 1999 the Georgian government pledged itself to this task when it joined the Council of Europe. But, up until now little has been done. Currently only about 600 Meskhetian Turks out of a population of over 300,000 have been allowed to return to Georgia. More than 110,000 live in neighboring Azerbaijan and another 100,000 live in Kazakhstan. The remaining 100,000 are divided amongst Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and the US. Conditions for the estimated 18,000 Meskhetian Turks in Krasnodar Krai, Russia have been particularly difficult during the last fifteen years. Here most of them have been denied legal residency by the local authorities and many have been subjected to Cossack violence.

The Georgian government plans to open two reception centers to help acculturate repatriating Meskhetian Turks to life in modern Georgia. Most notably these centers will provide instruction in the Georgian language. Plans for providing the repatriates with farm land, housing, jobs, pensions and schools are still in a very embryonic stage. It appears, however, that the Georgian government will be spreading them across Georgia in order to ease their economic and social absorption. Hence only a minority of the repatriates will be able to return to their ancestral lands in Meskheti-Javakheti.

Countering popular Georgian prejudices against the Meskhetian Turks, however, may be the most difficult task the government faces in resettling the returnees. Most Georgians are strongly opposed to the repatriation and view the Meskhetian Turks as impossible to assimilate. Despite their very small population, the Meskhetian Turks already living in Georgia have been subjected to considerable ethnic harassment and even violence.

It is not known exactly how many Meskhetian Turks will now opt to resettle in Georgia. Many may choose to remain in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Those currently in Krasnodar Krai have the option of coming to the US and some 2000 have already arrived here. But, the right of return demanded by the Meskhetian Turks for decades now looks like it will be granted. A very large number of Meskhetian Turks will undoubtedly take advantage of this right to return to Georgia.

Thanks to Hovann Simonian for bringing the IWPR article to my attention.

What Race are Central Asians?

The affirmative action definitions of the US government used by universities to reduce all people to merely members of essentialized biological groups do not appear to have any place for the people of Central Asia. They have Asians in which they include Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis as well as people of East Asian descent. They also have "White" which includes Iranians, Turks and other peoples native to the Middle East. Not mentioned at all are Kazakhs, Tajiks, Kyrgyz or Turkmen. One serious problem with the groups given as examples is that the categories are all mixed up. Iranian and Pakistani are not ethnic groups. Both Iran and Pakistan are multi-ethnic states in which a large number of ethnic groups live. Many of these ethnic groups cross boundries. This leads to strange results under the US affirmative action classifications. An ethnic Baluchi born in Iran is considered "White" and hence subject to defacto discrimination. In contrast his cousin born across the border in Pakistan is considered Asian and gets special preferences. So people of the same ethnicity and family are catagorized as belonging to different races under the official racial classification system of the US. Does this make even the slightest amount of sense? Do the people who made this system have any idea what constitutes nationality versus race versus ethnicity? Or do the multiculturalists just get off on the power trip?

Given the obsession of the ruling powers in the US with physical phenotypes my guess is that they would split Central Asia. Tajiks, Turkmen and Uzbeks would fall under the disfavored "White" label and Kazakhs and Kyrgyz would be considered Asians. However, since I have never seen them mentioned in any of the many affirmative action forms universities keep sending me I would like to see an official clarification. If anybody knows anything about the official US affirmative action racial classifications for Central Asian nationalities, I would be very interested in hearing about it.

Writing and Formats

I have not written any history posts here in over a week. One main reason is that I have not had any random thoughts about topics that lend themselves to short popular pieces in the last eight days. Usually such pieces accompany longer and more formal writing projects. Right now I have pretty much milked the cotton paper and conference for all they are worth. I am still waiting to get my revisions for another writing project. I am not sure if it will produce any blog entries. I will have to see what the editor wants me to change. After I finish with that piece I will again resume work on Catherine's Grandchildren. I will definitely have more to say on that project. It is my first book aimed at a general rather than an academic audience. I am going to be putting up more posts on the process of writing and less on the depressing job search very soon.

More Technology Problems

Not only have the cybermonsters that live in the Badlands of New Mexico repeatedly eaten a crucial document I need from Austin Texas, but now we have water problems again. The well is pumping water, there are no obvious leaks anywhere and yet the tank is not filling up. I feel like I am in one of those science fiction stories where the machines revolt against their masters. If the coffee maker joins in and goes on strike we are doomed.

Writing Projects

I have a couple of writing projects that need one last final revision before they go off for publication. I need to make a few corrections to the cotton paper and I am awaiting to hear from an editor for comments regarding revision on a book chapter. I should have heard from her in September, but the monsters in cyberspace ate the document. On Friday I decided to check the status of the project since I had not heard anything since July. I was told that the editor had sent me the corrections on 28 September. I have of course recieved nothing. Technology really hates Arivaca Man. Since Friday, I have been trying hard to get a copy of my chapter with the editor's comments. I am not sure if there is some technical problem preventing my e-mail from receiving the work or not. I hope I can take care of this problem today. As soon as I get the editor's suggestions I will edit the manuscript to take them into account.

Job Search

Well it looks like I will be wrapping up the job search for this year soon. Probably this week in fact. The number of job openings remotely related to my field is far fewer this year than last. Remote being defined as Middle East or Islamic World. This year there were only two positions specifically mentioning Central Asia that I could find. One of which was a post-doc. I found nothing on Soviet history. I suspect this shrinkage will continue. History is being eliminated as a subject of study. I think the past is just too embarrassing for the leftists that control the universities so they find it necessary to obliterate it.

"Unhip Music" and Chinese food

Yesterday, my uncle and I went to the community center to see the Green Valley Bavarian Brass Band play. They served cake and ice cream. I had the chocolate cake with flan topping. It was really good. My uncle had the strawberry cake. I noticed on the program that they were on serious Arivaca time. It was dated 19 October 2005. I think from now on we should just refer to local seasons. Right now it is bee season. A while ago it was grasshopper season. Before that it was toad season. Each season lasts about two to three weeks. This is a much easier system for people in Arivaca to use to mark time. We tend to lose track of the days used by the rest of the world.

Later for dinner I put the wok my parents got me when they were here to good use. I chopped up two left over chicken breasts, one bell pepper, added a bag of broccoli slaw, some bean sprouts and stir fried. For flavoring I combined some La Choy sweet and sour sauce with hot sauce and mixed it in with the chicken and vegetables. It was really good. Now that it is colder at night I am going to be doing more Asian cooking inside with the wok.

Report from Utopia

Today is just about perfect here in Arivaca. So perfect I can not get up any ambition to care about the rest of the world. It seems so far away and alien to the serenity here. Until Monday I am on Arivaca time with Arivaca attitude.

Menu at the Chicken Shack

I promised I was going to do a post on cuisine this week. More specifically Arivaca Man cuisine. The standard meal for Arivaca Man is spicy grilled chicken with salad and rice. Of course it would be odd if the Chicken Shack specialized in something other than chicken. For a long time now chicken has been my favourite vegetable. There are several simple variations of Arivaca style spicy chicken. One can cook either wings or breasts. Then there is the choice of either prickly pear and hot sauce or Italian dressing and hot sauce marinade. Both are pretty simple. Just take a half bottle of each of the ingredients mix together and throw over 2 and half pounds of chicken. You should be using about three to four ounces of each of the component sauces for the marinade. Marinate the chicken for a couple of hours then grill. Wings done in the prickly pear and hot sauce flavor are the signature dish at the Shack.

Of course every once in a while Arivaca Man eats something other than chicken. To cook steak, just brush the meat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Then place on grill for no longer than five minutes each side. It should be a bright pink inside. The steak should be served with baked potatoes and salad. I like the NY strip the best.

The Chicken Shack as always is constantly undergoing improvement. Currently, I am looking for an Arizona state flag (they apparently do not sell them in Arizona), a disco ball and a lava lamp. Otto's Chicken Shack is the only South Western/Middle Eastern restaurant, hookah lounge and soon to be dance club in southern Arizona.