Interview With The AmeЯican

Interview With The AmeRican

Written and edited by Swerver, adapted for SLG by Nopigeonhole

A little background.  Last September, Pigeon and myself hosted the third edition of Multiply Blog Awards.  The primary goal was to crown 2009’s Multiply Blogger of the Year, while encouraging camaraderie and the chance to meet-and-greet among this network’s finest active bloggers.  This is not the definitive Multiply award.  But it was an honor for us that Multiply management shared time and effort to be part of the panel of judges in the final round.

We are doubly honored of the opportunity to know more about the great bloggery in here.  In the end, it was the dude from New York/Puerto Rico, Eddie Blue-Eyes aka Translucence, who bagged the Blogger of the Year plum.  The whole affair also brought forth lots of revelations like knowing the funniest writer, most creative, most politically-charged, etc.  As cliché would have it, any of the 22 nominees could have won it and nobody would complain.  However, there must only be one to win it all.         

The little interview below was done, intermittently, way back October.  But due to real-life glitches (the two hosts’ respective relationship miseries =)… Anyway, this is not about us.  So ladies and gentlemen, here’s another chance to hear few things from a blogger packed with awesomeness, Mr. Translucence.




Swerver (Philippines) –  text in blue
Translucence (USA/Puerto Rico)  –  Blog Champion 2009 - text in red
Nopigeonhole (UK)  -  text in white

...and Rippa, a non-speaking part, in the back doing something with two VCR's and a scart-lead





NPH: Eddie, hi. Thanks for joining us. Multiply Blogger of the Year 2009... I know you use other networks as well; what's been your favourite thing about Multiply?

LOL! Actually, I came to Multiply during the Great Yahoo 360 migration.  So, what I liked most about Multiply at the beginning was that many of those I had shared my first blogging experience had a presence here. There was this community-type feeling here.

NPH: That’s a shit question. Start over: Eddie, hi. Thanks for joining us. Multiply Blogger of the Year 2009... Why does it say 'Player' on your avatar?

It was a joke. Some of my female online friends would make believe they were throwing panties at my especially good blogs (well, really, because I would beg them) and they used to tease me about being a "player." It's all a self-deprecating stab at humor.

Swerver: OK, here's a little something from me... I guess it's safe to say I am the most amateur here.. I started blogging at Multiply only in late 2007 after the prodding of my co-workers.. I've been hearing about "Yahoo 360 Migration" from many of you here.. but what was it really about? Is it the same phenomenon we are witnessing currently, that is, migration to Facebook because it is deemed 'more cool' there? Do you think Multiply would be able to keep its audience and, to use your words, community-type feeling?

Simply put, Yahoo made a decision to abandon the yahoo 360 platform. It was a hugely popular forum with many bloggers and also many people who were there to network. It was my first try at blogging.

I think what's happening here re: people leaving Multiply for Facebook is a little different. Facebook has virtually no blogging in it. It is a purely social networking site. I think what's happening is that Facebook has grown tremendously and people are attracted to that.  The interface is also quite different from Multiply. For example, people leave me messages on my Multiply "welcome" page, but I hardly ever go there. LOL! There's a seamless interface on Facebook that attracts people that just want to post trivial blasts on their front page. I think Multiply's design makes this form of online interaction harder to do...


NPH: I've read you. I'm English and white Caucasian. I was a little intimidated.  Could see an obvious interest in race-relations. Are you American, Puerto-Rican, or Other?

Ooooh! Good question! It's a hard one because of Puerto Rico's rather complicated history with the USA. Let me point out that physically, I look "white": I have blue-eyes and I am light-skinned. Very few people (even other PRs) get my ethnicity right.

I identify as an American of Puerto Rican descent. Factually, Puerto Rico is part of the USA. Technically, it's called a "freely associated state," but it's really the world's oldest colony. So there is THAT geopolitical dynamic at play. I often call myself a Nuyorican and there is a reason for that and it's mostly because I grew up seeing a lot of racism aimed at family members who were darker-skinned than myself. I saw early on, that I was treated differently because I was deemed white.

With PRs, ethnic and racial identity is very complicated.  For example, being a Puerto Rican could mean having a white sister and a black brother (or they would be defined in that way in the USA). At home, there is no difference. We aren't white Puerto Ricans or Black Puerto Ricans, we're just Puerto Ricans. However, once we left the safe confines of our homes and went to school, we quickly realized that we were being treated differently because of our features.  This caused in me a need to identify as a Puerto Rican, rather than just a plain "American." I often joke and use a Puerto Rican poet's phrase, "Ame-Rican." LOL

That's a long fuckin answer!

Swerver: I believe you are aware that Puerto Rico and the Philippines (where I'm from) share common history. We were both colonized by the Spaniards (in our case, more than 300 fucking years) before the Americans did. After getting its arse kicked bigtime, Spain ceded us to Mighty America for $20 million, through Treaty of Paris, together with Cuba and Guam.  Now my question... It's a lingering issue in my place, do you think the Puerto Ricans were able to keep as much of their "identity" or "ethnicity" during the colonial years? But hey, you just said that Puerto Rico is STILL part of America! I'd be damned.

One of the biggest issues for PRs, both on the island and in the States is this preservation of the Puerto Rican identity. I think PRs have struggled tremendously to keep and define PR identity on their own terms and as a result, have paid some heavy consequences as a result. I wrote a little bit about that today. Identity, culture and race are difficult constructs for the Puerto Rican because we tend to define such things very differently than in mainstream American culture.

As an example, when I lived throughout the US South, white people were often confused about me. They saw a white person, but I don't identify as a white person. I'm also fluent in Spanish. So, they would ask me, "What are you?" LOL While I am influenced by American values, I also maintain many traditions and cultural idiosyncrasies that are not "American" in the sense of the pilgrims or other American myths.

Swerver: Sure the colonizers (Spanish and Americans) made a lot of bad things, but what were their greatest contributions to your country? Religion? Economic prosperity? Bureaucratic methods?

This is a very difficult question to answer.  For one, when the US took over Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican intellectuals and leaders wanted Puerto Rico to be free. We were "free" for exactly three days, I believe and we had no say so in that decision. And while we were a "backward" nation in industrialized terms, one of the negative consequences of the US takeover was the taking away of the interior land from the farmers. The relationship between the US and Puerto Rico is a complicated one. While we benefited in some ways (infrastructure, etc.), Puerto Rico also suffered much at the hands of American business interests.

Swerver: What is the prevailing sentiment of common people towards Spaniards and Americans?

I think most Puerto Ricans possess an ambiguous relationships with "Americanos." I mean, we're part of the US, but we tend to go on living as Puerto Ricans as if the US didn't exist. LOL I mean, this isn't totally true, obviously, but PRs are very concerned about maintaining what we call our "cultural idiosyncrasies." LOL

Swerver: I'm also interested with 'alternate history’ thing, I hope you are too... What do you think would have happened if the Castillas won the Spanish-American War in the late 1800s?

I've never really thought about this, I'll have to get back to you on that. It's an interesting proposition.

NPH:  re: ‘we're part of the US, but we tend to go on living as Puerto Ricans as if the US didn't exist’
Sounds a lot like the Welsh... About your writing... in the final round, with eight remaining after pole-position very kindly bailed out and opened up the contest, there were as far as I could see some clearly defined styles among the contestants. Diio is mostly a creative writer, a published one in fact, yet I know him primarily from the news-groups here; Goodstuff has to be comedian of the year and his page is fun with lots of amusing images, not taking life too seriously; others were quite political, and others still more diverse. I think we ended up with each of the most commonplace types of blog represented... diary, pundit, historian and so on. Where do you fit into that spectrum, in your own view? Why do you choose to have a blog at all? What do you think it is you're you saying which makes you stand out?

I don't know if I stand out, but I like to think that my writing touches people in an intimate way. For a long time, for example, my psychology background featured more prominently in my writing and I wrote a lot about personal growth: the HOW of transformative change, overcoming adversity. I think I used to get a lot more people to my blog when I wrote in that way. But I'm also very much politically motivated. I work as a program director for a progressive organization (criminal justice reform), so a lot of my motivation comes from seeing the bigger picture. I THINK that my ability to connect the personal to the larger picture intrigues some people. But most of all, I think my ability to become vulnerable in a very open way attracts some people.

About a year ago, during the Obama campaign, my writing changed. While Obama's victory symbolized a triumph of sorts, it also caused some really ugly shit to pop up. A lot of racist ideology, perhaps bubbling to the top from the seedy underside of American society. That just made me turn away from "self-improvement" to more activist-type writing. I think people like that side of me least, but it's what I feel I need to do.

I think it's the range of my writing that perhaps sets me apart. I write creatively, on science, sometimes I try to be funny in a "fuck you" kinda/ sorta way. There's a lot of different things on my blog. But all this is a form of conceit, I think.

NPH:  I'm glad you brought that up (Obama). I've heard you refer to yourself as 'black on the inside', a N***er, things like this. Would it have made a difference to you if a Hispanic candidate had been in Hillary's place for the Democrat nomination, say... Bill Richardson?

What's funny is that I didn 't get on the Obama wagon until very late in the game. I felt he wasn't progressive enough (I still don't). I don't like Richardson for the same reason, plus, I don't actually see Richardson as "Latino" at lest not in the way I envision Latino. LOL My first choice was Kucinich because he was closer to me on the political spectrum. I detest people of color who are conservative! LOL After that, I was behind Edwards because he actually said the phrase "class war" out loud. I thought that was very brave.

When both Kucinich and Edwards were out, I started paying more attention to Obama, but it took me a while to get behind him.

Swerver: I voted for you as my numero uno in final round because I thought you were simply the best and most complete blogger from the list, but was it a surprise that you eventually got the crown?

Thanks! And yes, I was shocked someone actually picked me as a candidate. I tend to be very profane, I argue badly with some of my readers, and I break a lot rules. I tend to be kicked out of social networking sites, not be nominated for an award. LOL So yeah, I was shocked.

Swerver: Given today's circumstances and realities, what is your idea of a 'blogger'?

That has changed for me. I think the medium of blogging belongs in its own category. One of the things I strive for is the ability to explain complex issues in a way the non-professional reader can understand. This is extremely difficult to do -- a challenge. I try to limit my posts to no more than a one-page (single-spaced) MS Word document. Try explaining spiral dialectics with that kind of limitation. LOL I'm trying to be an "all-around" type blogger.  Someone who can offer anything from discussions on cutting edge research to poetry, essays, and short stories. But I don't think that's what defines a good blogger. A good blogger, for me anyway, is someone that can synthesize info in a very concise, but enjoyable manner.

Swerver: How passionate are you in blogging? Writing? Like I read some of yours and I thought they were lucid stuff (but maybe not)... so can you spill the secret... do you drink a bottle of vodka before writing a crucial piece? Who is your biggest influence, writing or blogging-wise?

I don't drink! (at all) LOL! I like to say that I've been blogging since before the technology was invented. I've been writing on the 'net, since the mid-90s. It's been a rewarding experience -- I have actually met (in RL) people from all over the world. People who were attracted to my writing. I had a friend who suggested I blog a couple of years ago, and I didn't think much of it, but I always liked the give-and-take of internet writing. It's very engaging and rewarding in that way. I am passionate about writing because I see writing as a ques5t for truth. And if I'm passionate about anything, I'm most passionate about exploring the truth, whatever the fuck that is.

Swerver: Who is your biggest influence, writing or blogging-wise?

I read A LOT, almost obsessively so. My writing is influenced by whatever I'm reading. Right now, I've been reading a lot of noir fiction. People like Ken Bruen (who's like the Blake of mystery fiction LOL!). Walter Moseley also influences how I write -- even in my political, non-fiction-type writing. I also read a lot of academic-type stuff: journals and serious research-oriented science stuff. I read a lot psychology and sociology stuff.

Swerver: Just something to prevent me from dozing off at this hour (it's dawn here), who's the hottest Latina we should know about?

Right now I am madly in love with Puerto Rican actress Roselyn Sanchez. But she doesn't respond to my facebook comments :(


**Weeks later - both hosts now single once more**

Swerver: Eddie.. you watch boxing? Our man (Manny Pacquiao) is going against your countryman Miguel Cotto tomorrow at Vegas.  Last time, Pigeon and I made £20 bet for Hatton-Pacquiao. And I won as… expected. *wink*

**Eddie didn’t respond to the last question.  He was smart enough not to take the bait**