NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

For decades Guam has been used to being a joke. Generations of comedians have used it, such as Johnny Carson, David Lettermen and even Conan O'Brien. Robert Underwood has invoked the comedy specter of Rodney Dangerfield in order to explain Guam's situation, saying it is an island that gets no respect! The mere mention of Guam in this way stems from the fact that it is a signifier that floats around, it is always out there, especially for those in the US, but there often isn't any actual knowledge attached to it. That means that you can deploy it in ridiculous ways, a familiar, but empty signifier that can create laughter as the listener confronts that awkward gap between their knowledge and whatever might lie beyond the horizon of their understanding. That's why when you would say something random like "I'm headed to Guam!" it would elicit laughter, because of the way the audience would slip on the banana peel shaped gap between their knowledge and rea

This past week I got some of the best news I've gotten in a long time. I defended my dissertation last June, but had some revisions to take care of before I could submit it to my graduate school. Last week after almost two months of waiting, I finally received word from my dissertation committee that the last draft I sent them was acceptable and that I can finally submit it and officially become a Ph.D. Right now I'm working on the finishing touches or small little "details" of the dissertation that need to be taken care of. I'm completing my works cited page, looking for any typos or grammatical mistakes, writing up my acknowledgements and preparing my table of contents. One of the most fun and interesting details that I have left to take care of is choosing my epitaphs for each chapter. These are quotes or passages which are meant to be "teasers" or "sneak peeks" of my chapters. One thing that I've learned is that these sorts of detail

Ilek-ña Si David Letterman: “President Obama is in Russia, and we know this because Sarah Palin can see him from her house.” Ma anounsia gi i ma’pos na simåna, na para u tunok Si Palin ginnen i Ofisinan Gubetnon Alaska, achokka’ guaha noskuantos na sakkan tetehnan esta ki makpo’ iyo-ña term. Meggai mandiskukuti gi este na simåna “sa’ hafa?” Kao esta para u ma pongle gi kalabosu? Kao ha cho’cho’gue este para u riku? Kao esta ha na’lilisto maisa gui’ para u falågu para i Ofisinan Presidente gi 2012? Kao ha cho’cho’gue este para i familia-ña? Hekkua’, lao siguru yu’ na ti para u mafñas Si Palin. Teneki esta i tiguang-ta siha, ma planeneha na para u paseha gi todu i states gi lagu, kosåki siña matungo’ gui’ mas ya siña ha tungo’ mas put todu i rinkon Amerika. Gof na’chalek na taotao Si Palin, ya gof impottante i pachot-ña para diferentes na klasin taotao Amerika siha. Para i mangconservatives, ya-ñiha gui’ sa’ i kuentos-ña kalang le’yok pat fino’ tåtte (hekkua’ hafa otro na palabra gi

I'm writing my dissertation right now, but my lack of blogging lately has been bothering me, so I might just post other peoples' stuff for a while, so I can finish my third dissertation chapter, without too much guilt for not posting anything the past week. I came across this on the Daily Kos: LATE NIGHT POLITICAL SNARK : "Attention passengers: The Straight Talk Express is no longer in service. ... Barack Obama is our new president. I think I speak for everybody when I say, 'Anybody mind if he starts a little early?' ... At the end of the night, the electoral vote count was 349 for Obama, 148 for McCain. Or as Fox News says: 'too close to call.'" ---David Letterman - "People were worried about the Bradley effect. Apparently, it was not nearly as strong as the Bush effect." ---Jay Leno - "You know who I blame? The Large Hadron Collider. It is the world's largest and highest particle accelerator. You may remember we were warned tha