Hey Folks—
I’m back on track here in Mexico, finally in the same place long enough to get working on the regular. To that point, if anybody hasn’t seen the piece I put up at the Awl last week, it’s worth checking out.
Next up is an article that explores how Tom Clancy made the whole US dumb about terrorism. No lie.
Iran is coming, guys, and soon. I’m settled, outline’s happening right now, which means writing and recording is going down within the week. I’m excited to be moving again.
The next Patreon-exclusive news show is likewise about to come out, so check out the page. We’re doing way better over there than I would have expected, and it’s pretty obvious that I’d love for that growth to continue.
In other, worse, news, the world’s a big goddamn mess and that’s not changing anytime soon. My disaster of the week, because that’s pretty much the timeframe we’re going to have to start using, is what went down in Mexico City and Puebla and the communities in their respective states (where I was two days before). We’re looking at hundreds of dead and people aren’t even done digging the schools out yet.
Mexicans, typically, despite the damage, have taken things in style. This last quake actually took place on the very same day as the much-more-devastating quake in 1985 that wrecked Mexico City and that resulted in a lot of the better building practices that made last week’s quake less terrible. And, in fact, there was a national earthquake drill just a couple of hours before the real temblor:
Mexicans all over the country are sending in canned food and bottled water and anything can, and they’ve been encouraged to write uplifting notes on the goods. Again, a typically Mexican response:
“Quesadillas do come with cheese. Cheer up!” See, everywhere in Mexico but Mexico City, if you order a quesadilla, you get a tortilla with cheese, along with anything else you want. In Mexico City, you order a quesadilla and you get, basically, a taco. If you want what a quesadilla is everywhere else, you’ve got to order “A quesadilla, with cheese.” This is a burning point of contention here.
“If this gets to a kid, tell him that BATMAN sent it”
And just as in 1985, it’s the people of Mexico coming to the rescue of the people of Mexico:
“The earthquake has left 628 missing since yesterday. They have not been seen again. They are the 500 deputies and 128 senators [of the national legislature]. If anybody should see them, remind them that country comes first!”
Than all these dogs put together”
I love this country, guys.
Efforts focused specifically in Mexico City, like the famous topos, or moles, the citizen brigades that hunt for people still alive in the rubble:
Are actually getting enough or even too much money and supplies, at least right now. In the meantime, the victims in Puebla and of the quake earlier this month further south in Oaxaca and Chiapas have gone pretty much by the wayside. Those people will get help from:
Red Cross Mexico:
https://www.cruzrojadonaciones.org/
From Doctors without Borders:
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/country-region/mexico
And from the International Community Foundation:
https://donate.icfdn.org/npo/international-disaster-relief-mexico-city-puebla-morelos