Monday, June 30, 2008

Val Tries Again to Write a 5th Anniversary Post

I never set out to become Val's guru, just to correct his mistakes in logic and lapses in democratic discourse. That was a formidable enough task and more than any other man would willingly undertake for nothing. Yet I find that my influence over him has overstepped the bounds of my expectations and now makes me somewhat uneasy. Everything that I write here about Babalú is interpreted by him as a hint of sorts and elicits from him an instant reaction. If I suggest that Val is likely to do something, he is quick to do the exact opposite. Were I of a Machiavellian cast of mind, I could control his every move through the old chesnut of reverse psychology. This trick, which even children seem to know nowadays, is perenially new to Val. If, for example, I suggest that Val is likely to write a long and pompous panegyric for Babalú's 5th anniversary, he instead posts one word: "Wow." When I observe that his minimalism proves that he just doesn't a give a damn anymore, he produces the tendentious flummery that I first predicted.

In my own post on "Babalú's Fifth Anniversary," I noted Val's love for the word "humble" and how he has managed to invest that word with tints of insincerity which are not much seen outside of Dickens. Well, naturally, he made sure to use "humble" prominently in his second commemorative post. In fact, he used it twice in the same sentence, which created an effect of insincerity which is worthy of a better writer: "[I] dont know how it happened, but this humble blog of humble origins grew, it seems, almost exponentially form [from] one day to the next." He uses "humble blog" once more before he is done with it. Well, it was a humble blog once before Val started describing it as a "humble blog." Too much humility is only hubris in disguise. When that word is trotted out nowadays it is usually pulling a wagon load of manure.

I have often kidded Val about the dead chickens and coconuts which he claims are deposited on his lawn every week, urging him not to regard them as politically-motivated when they could just as well indicate that his neighbors don't like him. Still, in the annals of Babalú the dead chickens and coconuts hold a symbolic place and Val again alludes to them as an old veteran might point to his battle scars. Well, actually, an old veteran wouldn't.

Here's another priceless sentence: "Im incredibly proud of this endeavor. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the extents the words posted herein would go to." The majesty of that sentence, which defies all attempts at parsing, must shine by its own black light.

And yet another gem of sophistry, more inscrutable than the last: "We have helped get the word out on the struggle and strife of Cuba's political and ideological prisoners and we have maybe opened some eyes or four." At least four eyes, we should hope.

In the comments section of this blog some have suggested that Val may have been referring to us when he mentions at length Babalú's "detractors." Since I have never called Val "a fascist, an evil bastard, a homophobe, a heartless so and so, an intransigent, anitquated [?] extremist terrorist, etc..." I am sure that he must have other detractors in mind. The things I have called Val he prefers not to mention because they would not be as easily dismissed as the strawmen that he cites.

One final observation: Val is not usually so atrocious a writer. He can only be inspired to these depths by some impetus of "humility."

59 comments:

Anonymous said...

Para que lo sepas tú
te informo que Tellechea
cuando entra en Babalú
sale siempre con diarrea

Me da lástima Manolo
nunca llegará a la Habana
y aqui se ha quedado solo
on Calabaza y con Vana

No quiere que nadie suba
porque el tan solo baja,
y en vez de hablar sobre Cuba
todo lo que dice es paja

Se nombró "revisador"
de los blogueros cubanos
porque se creia mejor
que el resto de sus hermanos

Pero para que usted vea
que tal ha sido el rechazo
resulta que Tellechea
terminó siendo un payaso

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Poetisa de Hialeah,
La de poca inspiración
Y de menos instrucción,
¿Qué quieres conmigo, tía?

La virtud es lección viva
Que a la humanidad debemos:
A un pueblo que bien queremos,
No se pone en la hoguera.

El guisandero de Bayamo
Y sus dieciséis secuaces
Sus hermanos creen cobardes
Por no sangrar en su pro.

Ellos quieren la cosecha
De la sangre que no brindan,
Más sufrir y menos pan,
Y más extensa la brecha

Entre hermanos que se aman
Y que odian al tirano
Como todo buen cubano,
Pero jamás se difaman.

Anonymous said...

Too much humility is only hubris in disguise. When that word is trotted out nowadays it is usually pulling a wagon load of manure.

I lovet it

Yeah

Anonymous said...

Wow ! I'm so good. I'm so great.
I'm the bestest !!!!!

Fantomas said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

fantomas:

dedicale un poema a el FINE blog...
por lo menos mandale una postalita a Val y - por supuesto- a tu amigo jorge..............

Fantomas said...

Para el poeta de hialeah
y para el poeta de New Jersey
ahora me toca a mi
dejarles mi inspiracion

Es mi grata satifaccion
ver como uds se destruyen
ya no se trata de Cuba
solo que sus egos se diluyen

Vamos todos a volver a comenzar
a trabajar genuinamente
En Cuba queda mucho que hacer
Trabajemos seriamente

Ya me voy ya me despido
sin hacer innecesario ruido
que el proximo poeta que venga
nos mantenga en pie de alerta

Anonymous said...

mis peos no apestan !!
my breath solo huele a rosas !!

soy el todo VALeroso !!!

I'm sooooo good... I'm soooo great

Fantomas said...

The concept of a fine blog in English for our cause is a good one

No tengo problemas con eso

Pero veamos este ejemplo

Para llegar a Grandes Ligas y ser regular de la plantilla de 25 usted tuvo que haber pasado generalmente por la Liga Pee Wee, despues haber jugado en high school , siguiendo a la Universidad, haber jugado ahi y firmado despues pasando usualmente a jugar en liga A, AA , AAA antes de llegar al big circus

El talento es algo necesario algunos son tan buenos que pueden pasar por alto algunas fases

Si usted va a hablar de Cuba como es posible que usted prentenda llegar a ser un experto en la materia sin haber pisado Cuba en su vida

Solo piensen en eso

Anonymous said...

Si usted va a hablar de Cuba como es posible que usted prentenda llegar a ser un experto en la materia sin haber pisado Cuba en su vida

Solo piensen en eso


entonces George y Henry se tienen que callar? eh, fanto?

Fantomas said...

entonces George y Henry se tienen que callar? eh, fanto?

they should speak with less authority , that's all

but they can talk all they want

Iam not listening

Anonymous said...

pero si puedo hablar de global warming. I'm been to the Everglades.

Anonymous said...

Pero si soy una autoridad en el asunto de las pistolas. I play cowboys and indians almost every weekend.

Anonymous said...

you are funny dude

Anonymous said...

Ese bayames gotoso
pide con su descaro
que nos lanzemos a un pozo
mientras nos tilda de raros

La vision desde su patio
es la de negra tragedia
para todos los cubanos
el quiere mayor agravio

Nunca atina a componer
la mas minima cuarteta
por no saber de la lengua
de aquellos que no respeta

Se ha subido a un pedestal
pretendiendose rebelde
sin que de cagar el mal
le curen guayabas verdes

Mientras se sacrifica dice
come como un cerdo y crece
se le recoge el tolete
y el coco se reblandece

Anonymous said...

yo no compro perfume para me esposa... solo me tiro un peito mojadito ... y se lo restriego en la cara ....

mis peos no apestan .....

I'm soooo great .....
I'm soooo good .....

Anonymous said...

I sense a Kinder and gentler fantomas for quite some time now

I see a Fantomas who is not using bad words, and is more articulate

You are maturing well Fanto

Keep it clean, keep it real

Anonymous said...

hablar con less autoridad. No entiendo Fanto. Mejor que no hablen de lo que no saben, chico!

Anonymous said...

esto es una invitacion a todos los "writers" de babalu...

pueden venir a comer pollo al bbq este 4th of July...

todos quedan invitado a comer pollor "yardero"

Anonymous said...

Como cocinar "pollo yardero".

not much to it.... just pick up dead chicken along with coconuts from front yard .... than make sure is poop-less -- yes remove all dog poop from chicken ---- stuff shreded coconuts inside --- and bbq a su gusto.....

Anonymous said...

en la escuela primaria
el querido Valentin
a pesar de grande y gordo
tenia fama de trajin

Le daban una galleta
y sin parar lloraba
con mierda de perro
la camisa le estregaban

Pero se las da hoy
de valiente y de muy macho
cuando no quedan retazos
de tan grande mamaracho

Se hace llamar babalu
y se asusta con pollo y coco
con los viejos babalaos
no se atreve al tu a tu

Si no le gusta tu estilo
viene Jorge su pupilo
en un tijetazo bruto
te cortan con chivatazo!

Anonymous said...

The Review the best Damn blog on the net on Cuban issues

Where you enter at your own risk

Danger..You could suffer a heart attack on site

ask the owner

Anonymous said...

La policía cerró la ruta al tránsito y el departamento de explosivos detonó el pollo. No hubo heridos ni se informó de detenidos.

June, 6/30/2008 - 7:21 pm
Kendall, Fl.-Las autoridades de Florida intentaban averiguar quién introdujo un artefacto explosivo en un pollo crudo y lo dejó en la puerta de un reconocido blogger cubano .

El capitán de policía de Kendall, Matthew Catania, dijo que un automovilista advirtió el pollo el lunes por la tarde, y que el artefacto era suficientemente fuerte para herir de gravedad a una persona.

La policía cerró la ruta al tránsito y el departamento de explosivos detonó el pollo con la ayuda del poodle buscador de bombas propiedad del condado. No hubo heridos ni se informó de detenidos.

Cari said...

Manuel:

You are one of my favorite writers...please never stop.

Regards.

Anonymous said...

MAT has a man-sized man-crush on Val. Why else all the attention?

"Please, look at me, Val, look at me, I'm here! Your Manolito querido! I... I... I love you! I love you! And I won't be ignored!"

Vana said...

He had to do it, write a big long humble post, the not so humble Babalunia is only humble in Val's mind.

BTW Manuel good poem.

Anonymous said...

Another renegade cadre was sent here to attack you Manolillo
no le hagas caso chico

Anonymous said...

Vana dear could you write a nice poem for Fantomas

Anonymous said...

Where is Alex H

Fantosmas que le hicistes a Alex H?

Anonymous said...

Well, Val is pulling a wagon of manure, but he does get help from a couple of guys pushing from behind. O faithful Henry, o faithful Georgie.

Anonymous said...

Georgie Boy From Miami Beach

Angel Garzón said...

Wow Manuel, you fellows really do not like each other do you? The way I see it Babalu could be much better if some of its contributors realized that in the Cuba that our parents lived and of which some of us only experienced its remnants, no one who considers himself worthy of respect would conduct themselves in such a profanity laden manner, something that is quite common at Babalu, in the Cuba that I mentioned earlier, anyone who dared utter such filth and vile out of their mouths would have been immediately scolded by everyone around them and made to pay for their unconscionable offense. Do they not realize that anyone could visit the blog at any given time? Women and children were always shielded and protected from this low-class behaviour in the Cuba that I knew, even in the poor neighborhoods this behaviour was not condoned, to the contrary, it was always condemned, the negative influence of this profane behaviour is tantamount to opening Pandora's Box, any and every possibly imaginable evil will emanate from it and sneak into the virtual world (the blog and all its readers and commentators,) as well as, the daily lives of all of them, only the strong of spirit can fight against it and defeat it, the rest succumb to it, words have power not only in the physical world, but more importantly, also in the spiritual one, besides, it is only the intellectually feeble that resort to such profane behaviour, for they do not posses the ability to debate and disagree with their peers in a civil fashion. What a shameful waste for such a great cause.

nonee moose said...

MAT, it seems you either catch them coming or going.

So, when will you counsel deep breaths? That may solve everyone's problems, I suspect.

But then, whatever will you do?

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

nonee:

Have you not realized that Babalú is simply my palette? No shortage of palettes in the world.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

ángel:

The problem is that Val, Henry & George have substituted reasoned argument for obscenity. I have no problem with obscenity being used for emphasis, but it is no substitute for reasoned argument.

Equally annoying is the presumption that all it takes to win an argument is to call someone an "asshole." If that is the limit of their polemical resources, they should, at least, not preen themselves on it. But every "asshole" is followed by a series high-fives from the other Babalunians.

In fact, the only thing that saves critical comments from being deleted at Babalú is the joy that they all take in using that word whenever possible.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

vana:

I am glad that you like the poem.

I may write another one in honor of my faithful commenters, devoting to each his own quatrain. Your tribute, of course, would be the first.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

cari:

Your kind words are always appreciated and I look forward to them.

Sharpshooter said...

Angel
what you say is very true, but sadly that Cuba does not exist anymore. Today, foul language seems to be the common denominator for discourse that is shown by those educated under Castro's revolution.
To pick an example just look with Google for some of Fantomas rantings and you will find a confirmation of what I am saying. Is the same with many other Cuban blogs such as the defunct Miquis of Miami. During its existence, it was constantly deluged with foul language and obscenities galore from its commenters who seemed to be very proud of the language they used.
In fact just look through some of RCAB recent posts and commentaries to see further proof of this tendency among Cubans. They cannot discuss any issue like normal corteous human beings without resulting to foul language, insults and a torrent of obscenities and they seem to relish with gusto using such language. It seems to be the language of the times we live in.

Sharpshooter said...

Angel,
"In fact just look through some of RCAB recent posts and commentaries to see further proof of this tendency among Cubans."
What I meant to say was "recent posts and its commentaries".
I have never seen Mr. Tellechea used any foul language when posting any items of interest to all of us.
MAT can be very incisive without having to resort to the filthy gutter language some of its commenters seem to enjoy so much.

Anonymous said...

Agustin I know Fantomas since Cuba personally
He is a very well educated person . Never uses foul language among his peers and family members
You need to get to know fantomas before talking nonsense
Even in Cuba Fantomas's family always taugh him well with respect and beautiful manners

Anonymous said...

but sadly that Cuba does not exist anymore. Today, foul language seems to be the common denominator for discourse that is shown by those educated under Castro's revolution

Aquellos que sueñan con la Cuba pre castro se llevaran tremenda sorpresa si alguna vez pueden pisar Cuba otra vez. Porque de aquella era no queda absolutamente nada. La nueva Cuba de Castro es una Cuba donde los valores eticos y morales han sido sustituidos por la chusmeria, la falta de etica, de valores. Fariñas creo que usted comete un error cuando usted menciona a los comentaristas de otros blogs como los miquis. No debe usted culpar a nadie en particular. Es la revolucion la culpable de nuestos sufrimientos.
Le recomiendo que Jamas se atreva a pisar a Cuba si algun dia llegara a ser democratica. Porque se llevara una tremenda sorpresa. Quedese en Argentina montando en motocicletas como el Che y comiendo bife pero hagase un favor a usted mismo no regrese a Cuba.

Anonymous said...

Fariñas is a racist . He thinks he is a better Cuban than those educated under the revolution

Fariñas the new Cuba does not need people like you . You are the ENEMY

Sharpshooter said...

Friend of Fantomas,

"Agustin I know Fantomas since Cuba personally
He is a very well educated person . Never uses foul language among his peers and family members
You need to get to know fantomas before talking nonsense
Even in Cuba Fantomas's family always taugh him well with respect and beautiful manners"

Obviously we are talking abut two very different people, you and I.
The Fantomas I know is a foulmouthed, coarse, despicable individual pleasure in insulting people at will with vile and gutter language.
And he has beautiful manners? Who can teach a pig manners? Maybe you can teach him how to wallow in filth in a pigsty, but manners? You can dress up a pig, put some shoes on their paws, drag him to the table by a leash, but you can expect manners from a pig. A pig will always be a pig, even if it is dressed up in a smoking jacket or a tuxedo.

Anonymous said...

Fariñas what did Fantomas do to you at some point. You seem to display an enormous amout of hate against the guy

Was it the hurricane comment, was it his fame, what was it Agustin

You need to chill

Please explain

Anonymous said...

Babalu es una sociedad cerrada. Es como un club privado. Te das cuenta enseguida cuando los tienes cerca. No permiten outsiders y los que logran penetrar son mirados con recelo desde un principio. Es como un cult. Asi empezo el hombre del Kool Aid. Existe un leader y existe un ganado. En el camino alguna de las reses logran escapar. Logran ver la luz. Y ya muchos lo han hecho.
A Babalu no le gusta compartir su exito. Todo es para ellos . Quieren ser los primeros en todo. Quieren anunciar la muerte de Fidel, quieren opinar en todas las areas y que la gente los siga.
Viven de la Nostalgia esa es su razon de ser. Piensan en la Cuba antes de Castro. La Cuba que murio y que jamas regresara. Estan desorientados. Necesitan un reality check. Lo conseguiran. Protagonistas no seran.

Anonymous said...

POLL OF THE DAY

Is Fantomas a friend or foe in the Cuban cause?

Please comment below

Vana said...

Manuel:

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Ya casi termino mi poema para Vana

Anonymous said...

Agustin the Fantomas I know care a lot about our elders. He is a very humble person with lots of friends and family members who love him

You certainly don't know Fantomas and the man behind his mask. You may know the monster he portrays but in real life he is a sweetheart

I'm sure if your mother is still alive she would not mind to know the real him

I respectfully ask you to stop roasting fantomas inmediately. You WILL NOT hurt his feelings , however it makes you look inmature and childish with those hateful remarks of yours

Anonymous said...

Agustin , would you chill

Anonymous said...

Agustin answer the poll question please

POLL OF THE DAY

Is Fantomas a friend or foe in the Cuban cause?

Please comment below

Sharpshooter said...

Friend of Fantomas (who is really Fantomas)
Fantomas has the morals of a bitch in heat. He is totally amoral, because one cannot even say he is inmoral, because he has none. He has insulted even the mother of the owner of this blog who so graciously allows him to spew his venom and bile here.
If I had been the administrator of this blog, I would have banned him from here for life and never allow him to comment here again. Mr. Tellechea has a much higher degree of tolerance than I do.
And if you want to know, my mother have said if she ever runs into him, she will put her foot up his rectum so far, they will have operate his throat to remove it. Fantomas is the greatest son of a bitch on the blogsphere.
And futhermore, I could not give a rat's ass what you think of me.

Anonymous said...

Fantomas is the greatest son of a bitch on the blogsphere.

No Fariñas creo que Fantomas is not the greatest, por aqui cerquita hay otros que son mas hijos de putas que el. Son chivatos que es peor . Y estan bien cerquita. Tan cerquita que no lo puedes ver. Los tienes en tus narices

Anonymous said...

If I had been the administrator of this blog, I would have banned him from here for life and never allow him to comment here again.

Entiendelo de una vez, Fantomas WILL NEVER BE BANNED ON THIS BLOG, repeat, Fantomas will not be censored on this blog, EVER

ask the blog owner, he will tell you why

Anonymous said...

"Fantomas will not be censored on this blog, EVER. ask the blog owner, he will tell you why"

That's easy, because Fantomas make MAT look better than he actually is. Laurel needs a Hardy.

Anonymous said...

Fantomas is a sweetheart

Punto y aparte

Vana said...

Agustin:

I second that emotion, every thing you've said about fantomas is the truth, most of those anon's is fantomas.

Anonymous said...

Vana = Cali bitch

Anonymous said...

Manuel, you are SO right!