Tourism and Reality in Southeast Asia by Vago Damitio While watching the food channel the other day, I came across a disturbing thing. Initially, what caught my attention was a bald man in a southern China marketplace looking at the various foods being offered on a street vendor’s barbecue cart. I wasn’t disturbed by this,…
Month: January 2013
Tourism, Women, and Power in Southeast Asia
Women and Power in Southeast Asia by Vago Damitio Society is a complex organism that reflects the diverse use of power by the individuals and groups within it. Sometimes obvious and sometimes subtle, power is coveted, used, exploited, and always present in all groups of human beings. This is a constant. What is not constant,…
Like Sands Through the Hourglass
Like Sands Through the Hourglass…. by Vago Damitio No matter who a person is or where they may be growing up, there is no doubt about the fact that they will, at some point in their lives, deal with some sort of rite of passage. If a person is Caucasian, middle income, and living in…
Living in a Not Material World
Living in a Not-Material World by VagoDamitio In looking at the material world around us, it is easy to suppose that everyone sees the same things, the same way, the whole world over. This is not the case. Most of us, living in what we call ‘western’ and ‘modern’ societies tend to look at the…
I am Disturbed
I am disturbed that whatever art I make will probably be used to sell something at some point in the future. This is only true if my art is deemed good or popular. I am disturbed that success is so narrowly defined in the society that I live in. Essentially economic success is the only…
The Time of Rice
Time for Rice. Rice Time. The Rice for Time. Timing Rice. by Vago Damitio It is easy to forget that time is a human construction. Not to say that things didn’t happen in a way that could be described as ‘time’ before humans were measuring it, but this is a very different thing than the…
Another Madman Writer: Anthony Mathenia
A couple years ago, my novel Douchebags, Fags, and Hags was in a competition with a bunch of other novelist’s novels. It looked like the winner was going to be me or this fruity guy who was writing a Jehovah’s Witness coming of age story called Happiness and How to Find It. (At the bottom…
Waist to Hip Ratio in Male to Female Attraction
Like Sands Through an Hourglass Figure by Vago Damitio In the battle for the hearts of minds of future anthropologists, behaviorists, and popular science buffs, two competing camps have risen to the forefront. Each of these camps has appeal to the masses, each of them can make points that astound and confuse the layperson, and…
If you want to fight the power, you have to know what power is
If You Want to Fight the Power, You Have to Know What Power Is by Vago Damitio Throughout the recorded history of humankind, and presumably even prior to that, human beings have ordered themselves in groups and often placed themselves into positions which necessitate relying upon other human beings. One can imagine the possibility of…
I love Fairhaven
I wrote this little blurb for the local Bellingham newspaper The Every Other Weekly back in 2003. I love Fairhaven by Vago Damitio I absolutely love where I live. Mountains, coastline, lakes, streams. The natural beauty is incredible, but everybody knows that. I love where I live. I live in Fairhaven About 100 years ago,…