Marching Powder - a ripsnorting read

Finally i've read a book that has nothing to do with terrorism or international politics. My very good friend Shanny lent me an extraordinary tale called "Marching Powder", the true story of an Englishman inside a Bolivian prison.

Ooh yeah, a true story. We love it.

So Thomas McFadden became famous because he started giving tours, and became the unofficial tour guide of San Pedro prison, in La Paz; Lonely Planet had the prison listed as a must-see destination mainly because of this guy's charming demeanour (and cocaine parties).

But it's not only tourists who pay their way into the prison .. the prisoners themselves have to pay an entrance fee into San Pedro - after they are sentenced. They then have to buy their own cell through the internal real-estate system!

.. there are restaurants and shops set up so that people can survive;
.. prisoners' families stay inside the prison because they can't live in the ruined outside economy without their breadwinner.
.. And the best cocaine laboratories are hidden away inside the prison.

It's plainly written, and very enjoyable, although painful and frightening in places. There's a lot you find hard to believe, and corruption drips off the page. i'd give it a big 8 star rating.

Apparently Brad Pitt is producing the film, due this year.
(more info:

• interview with author and subject, at bNet;
• review in SMH, '03;
• talk of a documentary at foreign correspondent;
  
• the author in Wikipedia.)

Watch out - i'll Read at you !

The shiningly witty Ms Fits has had a book-related brush with some patrons at Meredith.
Story involves a Dog with a dog during Dr Dog (?! yes, read up.)

Apparently, it's Not Okay to read while Dr Dog is playing. Not even quietly in the distant background. Interferes with other people's enjoyment. Too freakish. Too girly-swot.

What is going on in this crazy old world. i know we've never really been a bookish nation but what happened to live and let effing live. Aren't Australians supposedly renowned for our laidback and tolerant approach to life?

Oh, i remember tolerance, that was before the time of darkness.
For about five minutes, after the previous time of darkness.

Not as if Ms Fits was crouched motionless in the mosh pit, reading aloud over the band. The book wasn't anything like 'How to Destroy Swamp Rock Fans in One Easy Sitting'.

i guess we just hate interLekchoools. SmartRRRses!
Watch out! They'll be burning witches next, on piles of books. You mark my words. Lucky she got out alive.

Too much ignorant hooligan-ism-ality going on for my liking !




(image: thanks florianB, and sidelong.)

Catch up: the story so far

If you've just tuned in, i've started writing because my story appeared in newspapers around Australia (and Europe): cairns, brisbane, adelaide, sydney, melbourne, perth, tassie, england, the.uk, ireland and yes - sweden. (plus: front cover of cairns post! pdf 900kb)

This was a bit of a buzz for me, especially as the story was faintly ridiculous. People get kicked out of pubs all the time for being not-what-the-locals-ordered. Or a bit weird. Maybe even "socially undesirable". In fact an Indigenous woman got kicked out the same pub five minutes before i did - and her face didn't get in the media, did it?

Yes i got kicked out of a pub for having a book with me. A book with the T-word in the title. Plus wires hanging out me pocket. And staring in shock when that dark-skinned lady got chucked out the door. She was a good dancer.

The locals thought i was going to blow the place up. Apparently.

My friend Avril was shocked and wrote a letter to the Editor of the Cairns Post who found it a worthy headline and chased me down. Thank heavens i had the wits in the interview to pose as a tosser, and claim that i was "Absolutely flabbergasted". Yeah, go michael !

Many people, gathered around water coolers, found this to be a sign that we've lost the plot, gone to hell in a hand-basket, and that hard-right governments are turning to tyranny. Also that the government and media hype is really about subduing Western populations and centralising control.

Following this, the people of Australia kicked out their conservative government. Yeah, go The People!

So, what do you think? Are we on track? Should we be going to war to stop all this anti-civilian violence. Rounding up folk who look different? Surrendering our civil rights in the interests of public safety? Sending suspects overseas where we can torture them 'legally'?


Time to get some ring-ins .. yep just ring this number and chat to us now .. oh how do i make the switchboard work?


(images: thanks for takin it to the banksy by guano at flickr)