The McGuirk World Tour 3.0

briSite

2005-05-17T16:38:00.000-04:00

Though it's in its rough stages (I set it up during breaks from writing final papers), I've finally managed to kick the blogger habit and set up my own site, brisite. It has all the former MWT entries, all my kind of miscellaneous stuff, and the stuff I'm writing about now. Notably not travel related, though I'm working on fixing that. There's always another adventure...

To Hell With Tom Wolfe

2004-12-24T08:24:00.000-05:00

You can go home again. And it can be beautiful. Merry Christmas, everybody. It feels great to be home.

Done

2004-12-15T04:46:00.000-05:00

Oh, and it feels so good. Off to party my last real night here.

A Walking Duality

2004-12-14T18:03:00.000-05:00

Such a weird place to be in right now. I am a walking duality. One part of me is just done, has had enough of India and its madness and its aggravation. This part of me is oh-so-ready for Paris and home, beyond that. Yet, at the same time, there is another part of me that is breaking up inside at the thought of leaving these people I've become so close to in the past 6+ months. Luckily I've

Taj Tomorrow and Beyond

2004-12-11T02:43:00.000-05:00

I'm off to Agra all day tomorrow to see the most beautiful building in the world. Check back soon to hear about it. In other news, I love you all and miss you desperately. Some more than others. ;) I'm counting down the days. For those not in the know, I'm going to Paris for a week on the 17th to see this hot art history student I met on the internet. She sure looked pretty in her

Tik ta?

2004-12-11T02:09:00.000-05:00

I think I just passed my Hindi exam. I'll know by Monday, but I felt pretty good. The last page was just incomprehensible. It was a dialogue between two girls speaking lots and lots of slang and I probably got 2 out of the 4 questions right. It was only maybe 5 percent of the grade, so I'm not that worried about it. I got the big stuff ok. I'm reticent to even post this, because any

Pushkar - Thoughts from the Mela

2004-12-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

"I don't remember anything. I only remember ideas and emotions," said Buck Mulligan. That's a bit like what my experience in Pushkar was like, though not exclusively. I can't help but wonder, though, when I look back at all this travel if that won't become my summary statement on it all. On verra. Nocturnal I hadn't been sleeping. For two weeks it was the cough. I'd sleep for 40 minutes

Happy Birthday, Grandpa

2004-11-20T23:28:00.000-05:00

I felt surprisingly close to my Grandpa yesterday, his 90th birthday, despite being well more than 7000 miles away. We left Delhi at 6am for Pushkar, in Rajasthan, to go to the Camel Fair. There were the preliminary signs, like the Indian man with the striking light blue eyes holding a baby. (My first memory of Grandpa is sitting in his lap on his chair next to the radio, just staring up into

Goodbye Kiddies

2004-11-09T02:26:00.000-05:00

Well, then. Just when I thought adults were reading this blog, a little microcosm of our political system erupted in the comments section of that last post. That's just great. So, as much as it pains me, I'm going to refrain from posting any of my political views atleast until I'm back home, because apparently you kids just can't keep it civil. I'm also disabling the comments for a few

A Patriotic Admission

2004-11-03T04:22:00.000-05:00

Until today, I had never once been embarrassed to be an American. Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Scene From Delhi - 7

2004-10-29T08:50:00.000-04:00

I sometimes take a cycle-rickshaw from St. Stephen's to Kumla Nagar to get on extremely high-speed internet at a cafe there, or go to McDonalds, or to buy books. It's 7 rupees door to door, maybe $.14. The cycle-rickshaws, like anyone, will haggle with you over 1 rupee and some occasionally refuse to go for less than 8. I refuse to go for more than 7. Today I took a cycle-rickshaw to KN

Scene From Delhi - 6

2004-10-29T08:41:00.000-04:00

At a small, 4-way intersection at the tip of Old Delhi, two cows block a small intersection. During a lull in traffic, they strategically wander into a staggered position that effectively cuts off traffic from all but one direction. Soon traffic piles up on all sides. The cows, one stark white and one jet black, both with long horns, don't budge. They don't seem to have any purpose doing what

Today is the Best Day of My Life

2004-10-28T01:04:00.000-04:00

My kids and grandkids will be out of the family unless they memorize the entire roster of the 2004 Red Sox. Victory. History. Sweet.

Scene From Delhi - 5

2004-10-27T07:02:00.000-04:00

At five, the bats still feast freely in the black blue night. They hunt in impossibly complex aerial maneuvers, swooping in at high speed just above the dreaded light of orange yellow streetlights to eradicate flies and mosquitoes who slam repeatedly into the faux suns like junkies needing their electromagnetic hit. At five fifteen, there is a precise and orderly changing of the aerial

Donaldson and the Red Sox

2004-10-27T05:48:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it. Even the biggest goddam defeatist in all New England is now jumping on the bandwagon. I thought he would write lots of contrite, don't-count-your-chickens pieces as he eased his way back into our collective good graces. But no. All he gives is one line two columns after his pithy little screed: I don't hesitate to say that I thought they were all done after that 19-8

Scene From Delhi - 4

2004-10-25T08:06:00.001-04:00

An old Tibetan man, in part of a monk's costume and blue jeans, wears, of all things, a Boston Red Sox hat as he walks down the street. I just have to ask him: "Are you a Red Sox fan?" "Sorry, sir, I am a Buddhist," he says in a heavy accent, not understanding my question. "Oh," I laugh. "So you know the suffering of the world." "Oh yes." "Yea, you're a Red Sox fan."

Scene From Delhi - 3

2004-10-25T07:43:00.000-04:00

A small child, maybe three years old, chases after me as I come out of a restaurant at Connaught Place. He tugs at my jeans as I reach for my cell phone. I stop and look down at him. He puts his open hand out, touches his mouth, touches his stomach: the holy trinity of Indian beggardom. His feet are bare and filthy, and one toenail looks mightily infected. His shorts are shoddily cut off at

Scene From Delhi - 2

2004-10-25T07:39:00.000-04:00

An old man with one leg hobbles up to an auto at rest on his one crutch while I stand on a streetcorner. He begs in a low rasp for money and is denied. As traffic starts to move, he hobbles back to the sidewalk. His black t-shirt says, in a loopy white script, "Definitely sexy." The next traffic set stops, and he hobbles back out. Some cruel high school girls make fun of him, and he

Scene From Delhi - 1

2004-10-25T07:37:00.000-04:00

As I pull up to a light in the back of an auto, I hear the familiar St. Loo-loop of Nelly's "Hot in Here." I look out the opening in the auto and turn around to see where it's coming from. The auto just behind us is bumping. The women passengers are clad in black, pre-2001, Kabul-chic burkkas, totally unmoving while the auto-wallah bounces his head to the beat. "So take off all your

President Bush has a Point

2004-10-21T22:44:00.000-04:00

Decisive can be a good thing. Real update soon, I promise.

Into the Desert

2004-09-23T11:40:00.000-04:00

My friends dragged me, kicking and screaming, out of Delhi this weekend. Mike: "Brian, you need to <>-ing leave this city. You're coming with us." So I went to Jaipur. We took the bus at 2:30 on Saturday from Rajasthan House in New Delhi, right near India gate. We could have taken the 1:45, but Nisha admitted to me that she just wanted the nice AC Volvo bus. By the time Mike and Chrissy

Victory

2004-09-22T10:48:00.001-04:00

I should preface all this by saying that I have a massive update/story to tell you all about my trip last weekend to Jaipur, a place about 5 hours southwest of Delhi. It's in Rajasthan, the desert state of India. It was quite cool, and I wrote a lot, which I'm transcribing from my journal right after I post this. So what's this? Well, I debated today in my first big debate tournament with my

Delhi at Noon and Midnight

2004-09-09T15:36:00.000-04:00

At noon, Delhi is scorching. The BBC, a growing addiction of mine, reports that it's hit 42 degrees Celcius (107.6F) the last few days. Even seasoned Dilliwallas complain about it. The heat is always something you can commiserate over with the most hijacking of Autowallas: B: "Aj garum hai, nahi?" Hot today, no? A: "Haji, bahut garum." Yes sir, very hot. B: "Engine tik, garum-mai hai?"

Reasons India is Driving Me Crazy

2004-09-04T05:48:00.000-04:00

NOTE: There are tons of exceptions to all these generalizations, but all of these hold in the general. Sorry this is such a generally negative entry, but I've just been fed up with this stuff lately. You want to know how I'm feeling in India? This is a pretty accurate assessment. St. Stephen's I go to St. Stephen's College, arguably the most elite liberal arts institution in this India.

Conjured images

2004-08-29T04:19:00.000-04:00

It feels like: :: The sounding of "drums in the deep" from the Mines of Moria, in Lord of the Rings. :: The high-pitched whistle of a bomb dropped from a cargo bay. :: The screech of brakes and friction-melted rubber on pavement, just before the crunch. :: The metallic cocking of a gun, in the hands of someone viciously motivated. :: The tightness you feel when you've