fzrdan has left 276 comments

fzrdan comments on Confused???

rjstuff is correct It is not necessary to use a lawyer unless you have some special circumstances.

Visajourney.com is a great site with tons of information. I used that site and the guides they provide. I received my NOA2 today! I did all the work myself and didn't have one problem.

Don't pay a lawyer!

fzrdan comments on The art of Abu Ghraib by Fernando Botero

mr hollywood. I am not old and I am not grumpy. I call them like I see them. Peacenik pussies are peacenik pussies. I am not a meak little mouse. It is also very easy for you to act like a tough guy and talk shit as well. You are exactly the kind of person I am talking about.

And babygirl, 'the horrors of the US invasion.' Another person for 'human rights' saying the war is wrong. Where were was your big mouth when Sadaam was killing, raping, maiming his own people? Probably in the back room of some brothel getting your face pounded into a headboard. Whatever. You people are all the same.

fzrdan comments on The art of Abu Ghraib by Fernando Botero

wow, my account still works.

Sr Tertius, NARCO, that is some funny stuff.

Mr. Hollywood. *That's your free bit of art criticism for the day, and worth every cent you didn't pay for it.*

I didn't pay for it? I paid for it with my 7 years in the military, making sure the liberal peacenik pussies could complain about a few guys having to wear womens underwear, and I could complain about the liberal peacenik pussies.

By the way, you want to know what torture is? Ask a POW from WWII in the hands of the Japanese. Ask a POW from Vietnam. That is torture! Wearing a dog collar and womens underwear is not torture. Even if they got a few punches to the face or the gut, that is not torture. You people that think these guys were 'tortured' don't have a clue.

fzrdan comments on The art of Abu Ghraib by Fernando Botero

One more thing. I couldn't care less about Botero and his paintings. I never knew the first thing about this guy until CX posted this. I care more about all the people that will see these paintings and agree that Abu Graib was horrible, but forgetting about beheadings and suicide bombings. Where are the paintings portraying these horrific acts? Where is the world outcry over these acts?

fzrdan comments on The art of Abu Ghraib by Fernando Botero

Gomezman, I don't know why. But, maybe I do...

They had to wear womens underwear? Who gives a shit? My point stands. Why the hell isn't he doing paintings about beheadings and suicide bombings? There is more uproar through out the world about the prison than all of the beheadings. Fucking beheadings!!! Do you know what that is? The damn terrorists cut the head off with a big fucking knife people! The US always gets the shit from the leftist pussies. That is right. You are all a bunch of pussies that need others to fight your battles and keep you safe. So a few guys had their balls licked by a dog and had to wear womens underwear. Big deal.

You people that think everyone should just get along and not fight are stupid. It will NEVER happen. Do you understand NEVER? It has never happened in history and it NEVER will.

If you knew half of the shit that went on to keep you safe in your bed every night, you would never leave your house because your knees would be knocking in fear. Live in your little Disneyland idea of how the world is. Keep believing that people willing to blow themselves up to kill just one American (yes, I said American, not United Staten) don't deserve to wear womens underwear. Pathetic people.


"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling, which thinks that nothing is worth war, is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
- John Stuart Mill ~ (1868)


"It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly...who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." (translation of cold and timid souls: peacenik pussies)
Teddy Roosevelt


"Honor to the Soldier, and Sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor to also the citizen who cares for his brother in the field, and serves, as best he can, the same cause-honor to him, only less than to him, who braves, for the common good, the storms of heaven and storms of battle."
-President Abraham Lincoln


And don't tell me I should go do my duty because I did for 7 years. Yeah yeah..I am a warmonger. Whatever. I am done here. Too many whiny, peacenik, leftist pussies. Tinto and Lionheart, is that enough for you to delete my account? Damn.

fzrdan comments on The art of Abu Ghraib by Fernando Botero

Maybe he should do some paintings of the beheading of Nick Berg, Shosei Koda, Kenneth Bigley, Jack Hensley, Eugene Armstrong. Or how about some suicide bombings?

People like this guy are pathetic. The treatment of these prisoners is horrific but he says nothing about the terrorists? Pathetic.

Same thing about the entire war. Many people say the USA is wrong, a bunch of war mongers, only looking for oil.... Where were these same people when Sadaam was killing his own people? Thousands of his own people? Pathetic. Truly pathetic people.

fzrdan comments on 5 U.S. GIs Accused of Colombia Smuggling

I have seen documentaries (one just a week ago) about life in prison in the US. I have seen pasty white pretty boys in there talking about how life sucks in prison but they have been there for years and they are still alive. They get phone calls, they get conjugal visits, they get to study, they get free food and free clothes, they get free medical care. They show these old men that have been there for 30 or 40 years. Who pays for those scumbags? Me and every other tax paying schmuck! Screw the scumbags. They should have to pay for their food and clothes. If they can't, or a family member can't, let them starve and die. Man, life is tough in prison.

Sending them to a Colombian prison would be great. Make it the next Survivor reality TV show. The gringos in a Colombian prison trying to make it to the next day alive. Have commericials with GW saying "you traffic drugs in my country, this is what will happen to you!" Hah, what a great freakin TV show that would be.

fzrdan comments on Cedula & passport: Necessary? Desirable?

I have heard many people talk about departure fees but I have never paid any(unless it was added to the ticket price which I doubt).

I go to some office upstairs at the airport in Cali and they give me an exemption. The lady takes my passport, scribbles a few things on a form and gives me back my passport with the form. I give the form to the ticket agent and I pay nothing. My last trip I forgot to do this and the ticket agent said 'You need to go get your exemption'. Great. No fees for me.

fzrdan comments on Specific questions on the K-1 process

***The official instructions at http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/fianceapp.htm say only one copy is required***

Look, the instructions say one G-325A for you, and one G-325A for your fiance. There is a reason the G-325A PDF file contains FOUR (4) identical copies of the same page. Do you think the government did that for fun, or it was a mistake? Why the hell would it contain FOUR identical pages if you only needed one or two of them? Use some common sense. Also, if you call the USCIS forms request phone number and request a G-325A, you will get a form that has FOUR (4) carboned copies. If you use the fillable PDF or the paper form directly from the government, you only fill it in once, but you send in all FOUR (4) copies of it.

Take a look at visajourney.com. This is probably the best website you will find regarding a K1 visa. Their instructions say over and over again, FOUR (4) copies of the G-325A for you, and FOUR(4) for your fiance. It is right there in english.

fzrdan comments on Specific questions on the K-1 process

Please jojo, do not give incorrect information. It is necessary to file a G-325A, which will print in quadruplicate (4).

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/fianceapp.htm

Make sure you send all 4 copies and they are all signed. Remember that you need 4 identical copies of the G-325A for you, and 4 for your fiance.

Note:The G-325 and G-325A look very similar. I am not sure if they are the same form or not. However, the USCIS website says to use the G-325A, so that is what you should use.

fzrdan comments on Juan Pablo Montoya no correrá en Bahrein, anuncia la escudería McLaren

I heard a rumor today that he actually crashed on his Harley. Honestly, it sounds more believable than hurting his shoulder playing tennis.

fzrdan comments on NO SHAME

In my limited experience in Colombia, I have learned that Colombianas are very capable of handling themselves when needed. They can get their point across themselves if they WANT TO. The guy even talks to the grandmother and the grandmother doesn't get the point across? Maybe there isn't a point to get across????

I, like others, believe that she can probably handle this herself. If it takes a swift kick in the nuts to the bastard, then so be it. Of course, that would probably create other problems that would end up in somebody (or more than one person) getting whacked. Man, people are throwing that word around too easily on this thread.

But what the hell do I know? I never met your novia or the the guy.

fzrdan comments on Don't Visit Colombia if...

UC I think you are right. I didn't mean to shut the doors hard but the taxis are a bit different than the cars I usually ride in. If I don't give the door a good tug it doesn't shut. When I give my normal tug on the taxi in Colombia, it sounds like the car is about to fall apart. After a few grimaces from the taxi drivers, I learned to be more gentle.

Gomezman, I look like a gringo? Man, you hit the nail on the head. White skin (hell, even pink sometimes although I can get a nice dark tan with some effort), blonde hair, blue eyes. Is that the defenition of a gringo? Uh oh, now everyone knows what I look like. I better watch what I say here now.

fzrdan comments on Don't Visit Colombia if...

****Considering the comments in response to my original post it appears that a lot of the posters to this board should follow my advice -- just don't come. Colombia doesn't need you, in fact it's why they hate gringos to begin with! *****

Hate gringos? What? The only person I came across (in my limited travels to Colombia) that had anything bad to say about gringos was a taxi driver that didn't like gringos 'slamming' his door shut. I guess those gringos are used to a well built car, not the piece of crap he was driving.

Why would the average colombian hate a gringo? They think gringo men are just there to take the Colombianas?

If the gringo is an ass, people will not like him. If the Colombian is an ass, people will not like him either. Simple.


Oh wait, there was one more person I noticed that gave me a nasty look and said some nasty thing to me in Spanish. I was at the intercontinental with my novia and another gringo. This old lady maybe thought my novia was a prostitute or something. I don't know. She just stared at us for about 1/2 hour. When my novia left to use the facilities, the old lady walks by me, stares me down and said something in spanish that I didn't understand but I figured wasn't very nice! I just said back to her "Buenas tardes, como esta usted" She did not reply. I just chuckled. Bitchy old lady.

fzrdan comments on Don't Visit Colombia if...

miamimike That is a great story! Give people like that what they have coming to them. Make people responsible for their actions. Letting this guy lounge around and be rude for three months only taught him that people will put up with his crap. Hopefully one day someone will force him to face reality.

fzrdan comments on Don't Visit Colombia if...

I understand it may be difficult to kick someone out, but if you are going to accept strangers into your house, you should be prepared for the bad apples. Also, if you don't have what it takes to kick someone out of your own house, then you probably shouldn't be accepting them in the first place.

Scalestick
"fzrdan, with all due repect would you want someone loungind around your place doing nothing for three months, like an unwanted house guest or relatine?"

Nope, that is why I wouldn't allow some stranger to stay in my house. Was it made clear to this person that lounging around all day everyday was not desirable? No? Ok, then it is your own fault.

A complete stranger and a relative are not even comparable. They can both be bad apples but of course you are going to be less likely to kick a relative out than some stranger.

And as far as the 'prepaid' thing goes, was there a contract signed? Unlikely. Refund what you need to and make sure the door hits him in the ass on the way out.

Moral of the story??? Don't allow strangers to stay in your house if:
You don't have rules that everyone understands.
You don't have the gonads to boot their rude, lazy ass out.

fzrdan comments on Don't Visit Colombia if...

desi Well, I will go back to the last comment in my first post. Why let the person stay so long if all these problems exist?

Anyway, like jamesvh said, if all these rules were followed the number of tourists would drop by a large number. Maybe a good thing...

fzrdan comments on Don't Visit Colombia if...

I don't understand the lazy issue. A person is only in Colombia for a few days, weeks, months...whatever. He/she has no intention of living there, just taking time to relax and recharge the batteries. What the heck is wrong with that person sitting around and doing nothing? I don't get it. The guy is supposed to go out and get a job or help poor folks build a school?

I think my next trip to Colombia will include a few days in Cartagena or Santa Marta and it is a safe bet that I will sit around on the beach and do nothing. I guess I shouldn't be visiting Colombia. I am so lazy I don't know how I keep my job. Sitting around doing nothing on vacation.

fzrdan comments on K-1, enrolling children in U.S. school

All you people thinking that it is the RIGHT of ANYONE to attend a public school are full of crap. If you are here legally, fine, but why shouldn't you have to prove it? You should HAVE to prove you are here legally to attend a school funded by tax dollars. Very simple.

fzrdan comments on Don't Visit Colombia if...

- If you just want a warm and cheap place to spend winter
- If you just want to lay around in a hammock and do nothing

What is wrong with these two? So someone living in someplace like Canada can't go somewhere warm for the winter, lounge around and do nothing? A person has to get up and do things just because they are in Colombia? Maybe you are justified in your anger on the other points, but those two are just plain stupid.

If he was so bad why did you let him stay in your house for three months???????????

fzrdan comments on Inbound call charges on Col cell phones?

gib The battery she has to keep all her parts warm..i don't like my women to be cold!

fzrdan comments on K-1 Timeline, Part 1

In the past I have seen the California center was fairly slow, but the last time I checked (a few days ago) they were reviewing apps dated in January. Not exactly speedy but not too bad.

USCIS Reported Processing Times

California
https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/Processtimes.jsp?SeviceCenter=California

Texas
https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/Processtimes.jsp?SeviceCenter=Texas

Vermont
https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/Processtimes.jsp?SeviceCenter=Vermont

Nebraska
https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/Processtimes.jsp?SeviceCenter=Nebraska


According to this website, Vermont is servicing apps dated January 29 and California January 1. California is even better than Nebraska!

fzrdan comments on Inbound call charges on Col cell phones?

Miguel, strangely enough, her battery has never died.

$10 US might not be much but it adds up since we talk everyday. I try to limit it to an hour, which is around $6 for the card I use. I am not going to continue with that route much longer. She will have internet in her house soon and we will use VOIP and talk for free all day.

fzrdan comments on Inbound call charges on Col cell phones?

My novia has a Comcel phone in Cali. I call her everyday on that phone and she never gets charged. Like cypher said though, I have to pay more. Normally at least a few cents higher per minute. It is all good for her though. We can talk until her battery dies and as far as she is concerned, it is free.

fzrdan comments on Please send a protest note to National Geographic

paisa29 I am not against you sending notes of protest to National Geographic but I have a feeling it will not change anything.

I think a better option would be for you, or someone else, to write a good story about Medellin. Or about any part of Colombia. Send it to as many magazines and newspapers as possible. Many do not accept unsolicited stories, but one time you may get lucky.

I am a firm believer in people making change for themselves instead of just hoping someone else will make things change. Sending letters of protest to the magazine may help, but pointing out the many good things about Medellin and Colombia in a well written fashion is better.

fzrdan comments on Sense of humor

dwmte I don't believe Colombia has a corner on that market. I know that right here in the USA, even with all the laws, it happens all the time. I was just responding to CX.

I believe it is probably worse in Colombia, not only because of the lack of laws, but because the job market is tight and it is much more difficult to get a decent job. The woman would be more likely to deal with it.

fzrdan comments on Sense of humor

cx "Excellent response! There aren't many sexual harassment laws either because colombian women actually don't get offended when you tell them how pretty they look at work. God Bless Colombia!"

Yeah, I am sure they love being forced into sexual situtations also because it makes them feel 'pretty'. Colombians have told me stories about the sexual harrasment in Colombia. Telling a woman she is pretty is one thing,forcing her into sexual situations or face losing her job, that is an entirely different story.

I have heard too many of these stories (Friday night as a matter of fact) so please don't tell me it doesn't exist.

fzrdan comments on Great pictures of Medellin !!!

CX, those are some great photos!

It is no wonder Elmo never talks about going there. I didn't see one burro! (for the thin skinned, joke alert).

fzrdan comments on Colombia VS USA

santiBOG, I live in California so I hear Mexicans speaking almost daily but my Spanish is not very good so it is not easy to pick up different accents (well, it is easy for me to spot a gringo accent like mine!). Are the actors on the telenovelas mostly Mexican or from other countries? I have no idea.

fzrdan comments on Colombia: Poor But Happy

poco I agree with this statement that you made "many folks are mortgaged credit card consumers". I know too many people where I live that think they have to have the new car, the new house and whatever else. They don't have one million in the bank so they have bills out their ass every month. They are not happy. They work all the time and worry what would happen if they lost their job. They can't take nice vacations to places like Colombia because they don't have the extra cash (of course they could use the credit cards).

Your last statement though, it puzzles me.

"except the entire western half of the United States is controlled by terrorists and a million or more families decided New York City was the place to go but they were NOT as happy about it."

I don't understand what you are talking about. The entire western half of the USA? What terrorists in the western half? The guys that did the Oklahoma city bombing? Who else? Last time I checked, NYC was the target of terrorists on two seperate occasions. If a person was trying to escape from terrorists, they sure as hell wouldn't move to NYC. That is ridiculous.

fzrdan comments on Colombia VS USA

santiBOG, I am one of the few gringos that watch Telemundo..on occasion. I watch it sometimes to help me with my spanish. Those telenovelas have some of the hottest women on TV.

fzrdan comments on Time to join a Monastery and become a monk

thanks greenday. It looks like she took your advice. No picture of kat. NOOOOOOOOOOOO

fzrdan comments on Colombia VS USA

I am not a big futbol fan but it would be interesting to watch. I agree that while technically the USA should be the 'home' team for Telemundo if it is actually based in the USA, the fact is that such a huge percentage of the viewers are Mexican that Mexico probably is the 'home' team. Do you think a Mexican would rather watch the Mexican national team or the US?

fzrdan comments on what would u like to see in a colombian website

gomezman, the lawyer may have a monetary advantage. But..if the fan guy knows how to service the lady and the lawyer doesn't...well...she may still go with the lawyer but he will need his own expertise of the law because she will be with other guys that can service her right. If you don't keep your woman happy, she will find happiness somewhere else. Doesn't matter how much money you have.

fzrdan comments on lina05...lover of colombia, despot, or problem child

She sent me another nice little PM. I think I have a new friend. You know how kids sometimes do stupid things like pick on another person when they actually like that person? I think that is what lina is doing to me. She actually likes me but doesn't know how to say it. ;)

fzrdan comments on lina05...lover of colombia, despot, or problem child

I received my first nasty PM from lina (actually three of them from her). She doesn't like people that disagree with her. That is all I can think of. I know a lot of people like that. They act all nice and charitable, but turn into real a$$es when someone disagrees with them.

To be honest, I thought her sending me the nasty PM was quite funny. I can't imagine me turning off the PM feature. It can give me a good laugh and if I do not like what is written, I can just ignore it. Same as any of the public posts here.

fzrdan comments on In your travels to Colombia, don't forget to...

lina you have some personal problems that you should probably figure out before posting again. Sending the same crap as in the post above (poor despots but happy despots....) to me via PM three different times just proves my point.

Stop with the attitude and you might get some good responses. Follow your own advice by the way. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all....

fzrdan comments on fidelity of Colombian men who live abroad

Desi said: " Married women do cheat occasionally, but mostly on the rebound."

OK, most women will only cheat if they were cheated on? What? Only men are dogs? Please.

These single women that are screwing married guys are only going to get the same in return when they do get married. I also believe that if a single person will screw a married person, that single person will cheat on his/her spouse when married. You can justify what you are doing is OK because you are not the married one? That is hogwash.

If you cheat, that means you are a liar and can't be trusted. That is just my two cents though.

fzrdan comments on In your travels to Colombia, don't forget to...

dwmte Yes

fzrdan comments on fidelity of Colombian men who live abroad

If I knew this guy and he told me his entire family were cheaters and his other friends were cheaters? Well, I would assume he was a cheater as well. But, since I don't know him it is impossible to say. Then again, even if you know someone, does that mean you can speak intelligently on wether or not they will cheat? No. You hear people on the news all the time say "I never thought he would do such a thing" about some person who did something supposedly way outside their character.

I think the best course of action would be to have this discussion with him. Tell him you are very concerned about his fidelity because of all this talk of infedility. Of course he is going to say "don't worry, i would never cheat." So hell, I guess I don't have anything useful to say about this.

fzrdan comments on In your travels to Colombia, don't forget to...

lina started this post and where has she been? She posted a question about an orphanage but no more? Nothing more to comment about your original post?

In a different thread (Desi's Payback) she accused me of being the type of person that would never contribute anything to humanity because I didn't think it was anybody's OBLIGATION to be charitable and help poor people. I called her on those accusations and of course never got any response.

She spews the rhetoric but probably doesn't do much to back it up herself. And, if I understand correctly, she does not live in Colombia now. It is quite funny listening to Colombians saying all these harsh words to foreigners about helping, yet they do not live in their own country. If you are so concerned, why aren't you living in Colombia and working at an orphanage or something similar?

lina sounds like the typical ultra liberal I listen to all the time here in the bay area. A lot of talk about doing this and that. A lot of talk about wanting the government to do this and that. But not much action from themselves to help anybody. I hope I am wrong about lina and she does do a lot to help.

fzrdan comments on Sending money cheaply/through bank

Ikobo I just signed up for an Ikobo account on Monday. My novia received the card on Wednesday, in Yumbo! 2 days to Yumbo and they only charged $9.95 to deliver the card. Impressive. So far so good. I just hope I don't start having the problems poco had. I suppose there will always be unlucky folks, even with the most reliable services.

I will take my chances to save the ridiculous WU transaction fees and piss poor exchange rate. I normally experience at least a 100 peso per dollar difference in the going exchange rate versus what Western Union pays.

These are the current fees to add money to the account (from ikobo.com):
To send up to $60.00 the fee is $3.00.
To send $61.00 or more the fee is $5.00 + 3% of the amount you send.
The fee is based on the amount in USD.

To get money with the card:
ATM Withdrawal Fee $1.99
ATM Balance Inquiry Free
Declined ATM Withdrawal $.99
Point of Sale Purchase Free

Those fees work out to around $13 to send $200 (if all money was withdrawn from the ATM at same time).

Currently, Western Union's website charges $22 to send $200, and the exchange rate is only 2265 pesos/dollar. Today, the official exchange rate is 2325.

You will probably get a better exchange rate from the ATM using the Ikobo card and the fees will be less (assuming you don't take out $10 at a time). Also, even Bank of America gave me 2304 pesos/dollar when I used the ATM two weeks ago in Cali.

Western Union charges out the wazoo. I will not use them anymore unless it is an emergency. I will keep this thread alive if I have any problems with iKobo.

fzrdan comments on Maria Full of Grace Oscar nomination? It came at a cost that is too high for me!

OK Gomezman, one more comment then I will leave this thread. If the movie is not about Colombia, what is the point? The Aviator or Million Dollar Baby type of movie must have characters based on Colombia or why have this discussion? I will not come back to this thread to see your answer.

fzrdan comments on Maria Full of Grace Oscar nomination? It came at a cost that is too high for me!

So why do you feel you need to tell me it is unresponsive?

You want me to solve Colombias problmes in this one thread? OK. Stop all the corruption and violence. Find a way for all the folks involved in the drug business to make a decent living in a decent job. Now peoples perception will change.

And I agree with sr tertius. Maybe the important issue isn't the perception but the real problems that exist. You seem to be more concerned (at least at this time) about peoples perception of Colombia than the real problems that face Colombians LIVING in Colombia everyday. Changing the perception of a few movie goers in suburbia USA isn't going to change the reality of the poor kids in Colombia.

fzrdan comments on Maria Full of Grace Oscar nomination? It came at a cost that is too high for me!

CX and Gomezman, I didn't miss any point and I am not utterly clueless. My question is a legitimate one. What kind of movie do you want to see about Colombia? A fluff piece about a vacation in Cartagena? How about following some people during carnaval in Barranquilla? Maybe a movie about JPM or Shakira? What kind of movie do you want to see that is about Colombia, and it is clear in the movie that is about Colombia? Sure, have a movie that shows the life of a few privileged folks and that is going to help Colombia? I don't think so.

Gomezman, develop some sensitivity for how you Colombians feel? Since when was this a touchy, feely stroke your ego site? Everyone here tends to say exactly how they feel. As for my novia, I can tell you we have discussed some issues just like this. She is intelligent and understands there is good reason for peoples perception of Colombia. I will not sanitize my feelings for her and she does not want me too. She lives the reality of Colombia everyday. That tends to happen when you SEE people killed in your own neighborhood. When your brother is in the Colombian army fighting his own countrymen. The list could go on for awhile.

And gomezman and cx, you sit here in the US wishing the image of your beloved country was better. Why are you both in the US? Why don't you live in Colombia? Why is the US Embassy full of people everyday trying to get a visa? Why do the parents of my novia dream of going to the US? Because the reality is that Colombia is full of problems and poverty. Sure, try and distort that reality with a touchy feely stroke your ego movie.

CX, how many people do you think JPM and Shakira (and others) have converted to thinking Colombia is not all bad? Sure, maybe a few but not enough. If that were the case, I wouldn't get the same reaction from everyone I tell that I have been visiting Colombia. I was at the dentist the other day and I told him I went to Colombia. He said 'What, why Colombia? Is it very dangerous there?' This is an educated man but he still has the same perception as everyone else. I have many friends that are big F1 fans and they know Montoya is Colombian. Guess what, they all ask me why the hell I would go to Colombia. You live in fantasy land if you think these Colombian celebrities have done enough to help the image of Colombia. They could do so much more.

fzrdan comments on Maria Full of Grace Oscar nomination? It came at a cost that is too high for me!

I hear Colombians complaining about the same types of movies about Colombia over and over. What kind of movie do you want?

As for the nomination, I will restate some of the things I said to you on Oscar night Gomezman. The nomination will not mean anything for Catalina unless she was to win (she didn't) or somehow can get a bigger movie out of it (likely). I bet you most people do not know she is from Colombia and if they did, so what? Why would they care? Just because there was one good actress from Colombia doesn't mean peoples perception of Colombia will change. Do you think JPM and Shakira have changed the general publics perception of Colombia? I don't think so. All those folks have done is made it to the big time and made other Colombians proud. Maybe people like that should do more to help portray Colombia in a more positive light. Then again, maybe they do and I just don't know about it.

I am afraid that Catalina will do whatever she can to make her way to stardom and not use that stardom to help the reputation of Colombia. Many people idolize celebrities and these celebrities could do a lot to help Colombias reputation around the world.

fzrdan comments on There goes the neighborhood

These places wouldn't be in other countries if there wasn't a demand for them. If Tony Roma's opened up but nobody ever went there, the place would close. Before you complain to the people who own these chains, maybe you should complain to the people that patronize them.

It is not McDonalds fault people in the US are fat. If the fat idiots could control what they ate and only had this junk in moderation, they wouldn't be fat. Same goes for these places in other countries.

You have a choice. Eat there or not. Watch the movie or not. Listen to the music or not. Instead you bitch and moan that the US is taking over the world with its culture. Whatever.

As far as movies go. Guess what. Catalina makes one movie and now she lives in New York. Why do you think that is? Because she wants tons of money and to be famous. She will not get that making movies in Colombia. The whaa meter is pegged for you.

fzrdan comments on nightlife

zart Is this a reposting of your request for information about the nightlife in Bogota?

fzrdan comments on I arrived in Bogota a week ago

Jon Have you looked at Instituto Meyer? http://www.institutomeyer.com/directorio_sedes_meyer.htm

My novia is learning English at the location in Cali. I went there with her one day and I spoke with the director and one of the teachers. The director grew up in San Andreas so he has been speaking English (and Spanish) his entire life but none of the instructors are native speakers. I spoke with the director about getting a job and he thought it would not be difficult at all for me to get a job.

They have locations all over Colombia but maybe this type of place is not what you are looking for.

fzrdan comments on Effective Police

carter, I too agree with you in that context and juanalejo, I agree with you also.