NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Dandan i pandaretas! Na'fanpalangpang!

I liveblogged for most of the Great Debate held last week at the UOG Field House. I’ve been to most of the Great Debates over the past decade and a half and it is a highlight of the election year. This time there was no primary debates, just the general election debate. The drama was heightened because it was circling in the media and the tilifon alaihai that Calvo was dodging Gutierrez by cancelling his appearance for a debate. Gutierrez with far less money and far less infrastructure was pushing out several different lines of attack against Calvo and this would be the chance for Calvo to push back and defend himself, his administration and his family. Alas, the debate wasn’t that great. Gutierrez needed a crushing win and in truth, by my calculations Calvo came out ahead in the debate. There was definitely a contrast between the two candidates, but for most people they would have seen it as Calvo being prepared, composed and on message, while Gutierrez was off-beat, strugglin

The second installment of The Hobbit trilogy The Desolation of Smaug will be out soon. Manggof excited ham yan i famagu'on-hu. Hu konne' i dos-hu para in egga' i fine'nina na mubi gi i ma'pos na sakkan. Sen yan-mami!  Esta kana un sakkan in nanaggan i nuebu. Gof magof Si Sumahi put este na nuebu sa' siempre u annok Si Smaug. Gi i fine'nina na mubi kalang nina'desganao i dos-hu nu i ti mismo umannok-na Si Smaug. Ilek-na Si Sumahi, ti ayugue Si Smaug ayu i anineng-na ha'!" pat "Ti ayugue Si Smaug, ayu i atadok-na!" Para Si Akli'e' mas magof gui' sa' u taigue Si Gollum gi i nuebu na Hobbit na mobi. Sen ti ya-na Si Akli'e' Si Gollum. Kada ha hungok gui', kada ha li'e' gui', nina'fugu ya guaha nai malagu gui' lokkue'. Anai in egga' i fine'nina na mubi gi i fanegga'an, gigon ha ripara Si Gollum malagu para un otro luchan ta'chong yan umattok. Anai hu kombida gui' tat

Tomorrow I'll be reading my poem "Ancient Chamorro Sexy Time" as part of the launch for the Chamorro Studies major at UOG. I am not much of a poet, but I do every once in a while, about once a year, enjoy writing some poetry. I usually end up writing one long piece, that takes several weeks to eventually finish. In it, I try to tackle some big huge issue going on in Chamorro history, culture or in the Chamorro present. In my most recent poem I dealt with issues of "nakedness" and our relationship to our ancient, pre-clothing past. I've also dealt with revolution, cultural purity, language politics and others.  With the starting of the Chamorro Studies program at UOG, we are moving into a new phase in terms of our place in this island and in the world. Chamorros have been working for decades to seek legitimization for their knowledge, language and culture. To have a major at the University of Guam that can provide that is a truly remarkable thing. As t

I just finished watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I had worried that the film would drag on due to the fact that they were taking a relatively short book and transforming it into 3 films, totaling as much as 9 hours of screen time. The book Breaking Dawn was not worthy of two films, and this was blisteringly apparent when both Part 1 and Part 2 seemed to drag on forever during certain sections. I was worried about a similar fate for the first Hobbit film. While I did cringe during certain parts, I did have to admire the way they extended the film, but still kept it entertaining. I recently reread the Hobbit and found that so much of the richness of it was in my head. The writing is very sparse and not very detailed. Even fact it seems that Tolkien's true passion was writing songs, since the books are littered with ballads from every race in Middle Earth. But this is one of the hallmarks of fantasy writing. The writing itself may not be the most lyrical or

Soon I will be sitting in a movie theater singing along to this song. Far over the misty mountains cold In dungeons deep and caverns old We must away, ere break of day To seek the pale enchanted gold The dwarves of yore made mighty spells While hammers fell like ringing bells In places deep, where dark things sleep In hollow halls beneath the fells For ancient king and elvish lord There many a gleaming golden hoard They shaped and wrought, and light they caught To hide in gems on hilt of sword On silver necklaces they strung The flowering stars, on crowns they hung The dragon fire, in twisted wire They meshed the light of moon and sun Far over the misty mountains cold In dungeons deep and caverns old We must away, ere break of day To claim our long-forgotten gold Goblets they carved their for themselves And harps of gold; where no man delves There lay they long, and many a song Was sung unheard by men and elves The pines were roaring on the height The winds were moaning in the night