March 31, 2009

Callá' but doing okay - alcohol, Johnny Depp, and homocide

As you've noticed and as I keep referencing, I've been real busy. I kind of went in over my head this semester and I guess it's showing. Anyways, I've missed a whole lot. Aníbal going free, for example. I haven't touched the Elvis Crespo masturbating scandal because... well... it squicks me out.

But I'm taking a moment to share a couple things. First off, Johnny Depp is in Puerto Rico, meeting fans while filming The Rum Diaries. I've read the book and I'm really interested in seeing how Puerto Rico is represented in the movie, especially considering the time that's passed. I'm not a big Johnny Depp fan (and occasionally feel like I'm the only person in the world who feels that way) but... I don't know. I'm an optimist but I don't trust celebrities, so...

Anyways, more seriously, Gil the Jenius has calculated that Puerto Rico's murder rate, if taken from the U.S. rate which encompasses the island, would be the 7th highest in the world. Yikes! It seems a little high still... I don't know. Definitely a must read.

March 10, 2009

30,000 to be unemployed

I know I have been quiet for a little while, but I've been getting a lot of comments, some of them quite heated. Keep it up guys--a lot of you have really interesting perspectives.

Anyways, as I'm sure everyone is aware (at least by now), Governor Fortuño has announced that 30,000 government jobs will be cut to deal with the financial crisis. I have mixed feelings. On one hand, the government really needed to be downsized anyways. On the other hand, it's incredibly irresponsible of the government to throw all these employees out in the cold, especially considering there's no way most of them will be able to find jobs on the island at the moment (the unemployment rate is ridiculous). Impending disaster anyone?