During the time I was trying to decide what to do for this week's post, Julie sent me links to a couple of videos. I'm always scared when I get a link from Julie. They are often hilarious but hilarious in ways that are completely wrong---for instance a link to sexy baby high heel shoes for actual babies.

But having friends and family who make me laugh is one of the many ways I am blessed. Her two links that arrived shortly after I had decided to write about inspirations for a cyberpunk story showed so many quirky places and slangs in New Mexico, that I changed my mind right away and decided I had to post them for the blog as an introduction into what inspires me from the Land of Enchantment...being able to laugh at ourselves is at the top of the list.

I'll post the video for Shit Burqueños (New Mexicans) say here and then point out a few things:





So it had me hooked with the first word, “Ummmmber.” Man, I used to say that all the time in middle school and didn't know it was still around. My kids haven't brought it home so maybe it has left their generation. “Are you going to get down from the car?” I'm sure I've said that at some point as well as the “or what” and “or no?”. I was in college when Martin Chavez was the underdog and then elected mayor in 1993....he went on to have three non-consecutive terms and now is running for senate. Sadly, the “I'm too drunk to walk. Let's drive.” is a little too close to the reality of my state, but I was amazed to find that we are not in the top ten of the states with the most drunk driving fatalities. The reference to the rain is a classic. Living in the desert, rain has a mystical quality even when it only lasts five seconds. The closing credits song is De Colores which I think every school age child in New Mexico is required to learn.

Part 2:






Putting “all” in front of everything is definitely something I was guilty of growing up. The glimpse of the Sandia mountains at thirty seconds is a view I love. The Sandia's have had an influence in many of my stories, and I am sure I will post several pictures of them. The giant arrow at fifty-five seconds is a landmark I have always wondered about. There is also a giant candy cane outside of a candy shop that I'm sure will appear in a story at some point. And the shot at the end credits is our very famous gazebo in Old Town. At Christmas time, all of Old Town, including the gazebo is lit up at night with luminarias. I will have to find a picture of that for the site.


As a bonus, I am also posting the video about going to a Lobo basketball game. We have no professional team of any sport in Albuquerque, so college sports are big. I'll just let the video speak for itself.




Thanks to Black Out Theatre for sparking my blog this week!