Tuesday, March 04, 2014
San Fransiscan Nights
Terrible song. This is the type of faux love that taught hate. But gee, it was cool, because the Animals were known to be edgy, rough, rowdy boys from Newcastle, and the love in San Fransisco was so great that it softened even them. Truly, truly, it was the hope of mankind.
Okay, even at the time I recognised that there was something amazingly stupid about this.
To their credit, the Animals' bass player discovered Jimi Hendrix, suggested burning his guitar as a bit, introduced him to Eric Clapton, and paid for his first record. So there's that. We think "how fortunate we are that he got in there and saw the talent before Hendrix died."
Except, Jimi would still have had talent, he probably would have carved out some niche anyway, and might not have overdosed on barbiturates. There might be reunion tours even now. If we don't see close connections otherwise, we assume that the past would have occurred much as it did, rather like a solid object that can have pieces moved without affecting the whole.
Okay, even at the time I recognised that there was something amazingly stupid about this.
To their credit, the Animals' bass player discovered Jimi Hendrix, suggested burning his guitar as a bit, introduced him to Eric Clapton, and paid for his first record. So there's that. We think "how fortunate we are that he got in there and saw the talent before Hendrix died."
Except, Jimi would still have had talent, he probably would have carved out some niche anyway, and might not have overdosed on barbiturates. There might be reunion tours even now. If we don't see close connections otherwise, we assume that the past would have occurred much as it did, rather like a solid object that can have pieces moved without affecting the whole.
Monday, March 03, 2014
Ukraine
Population of Russia: 140 million
Population of EU: 500 million
GDP of Russia: 2.5 Tril
GDP of EU: 16 Tril. And you could get the Norwegians on board if you really wanted to as well.
Plus, if Ukraine is seriously interested in independence from Russia, their 44 million and 300 billion should be sold out for the cause, right?
Why is everyone looking to the US to put slightly-less-corrupt Ukrainians in charge?
We feel bad for some Ukrainians who would like to be our pals, and we are still haunted by the memory that the USSR was once a serious rival. But Russia is just a 3rd world country with nukes and a mean streak now. Not very different from Pakistan, really.
Population of EU: 500 million
GDP of Russia: 2.5 Tril
GDP of EU: 16 Tril. And you could get the Norwegians on board if you really wanted to as well.
Plus, if Ukraine is seriously interested in independence from Russia, their 44 million and 300 billion should be sold out for the cause, right?
Why is everyone looking to the US to put slightly-less-corrupt Ukrainians in charge?
We feel bad for some Ukrainians who would like to be our pals, and we are still haunted by the memory that the USSR was once a serious rival. But Russia is just a 3rd world country with nukes and a mean streak now. Not very different from Pakistan, really.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Fairy Tales
(There's going to be some HBD stuff below.)
My wife had this edition of the Junior Classics, and there was a slightly later one in my childhood home as well. Someone did some brilliant marketing on this, because from 1912 onward a lot of homes had these, enough so that even the original set isn't worth all that much. (Your old family Bible is unlikely to fetch much of a price outside the family, either. Too many of 'em.)
I glanced at them from time to time, but had never read them. I made an effort this month, mostly from guilt, and made it through the first two volumes. I doubt I will go further. We are sending them on to son #2 some day. In addition to the guilt, similar topics have emerged repeatedly over the last weeks, and my mind has been taken up with the whole rich stew of ancient tales and how they affect us. First, my granddaughters' obsession with "Frozen*," the new Disney animation roughly based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen;" a discussion of Bruno Bettelheim's pariah status in the autism community, which reminded me of The Uses of Enchantment, the one good thing he ever did; a post about Lightsabers and Cinder-maids by expecting mom Julia over at her blog The Whole Sky; a rereading of Lewis's and Tolkien's thoughts on the subject two months ago; pondering St Dymphna earlier this month; a Bible study on Daniel (and dreams); and, and, and...
Heck, I don't know where these running topics come from. I have mild OCD, stuff comes in and won't go away.
I doubt I have anything that is absolutely new. But I have some things that may be worth bringing up again.
The folktales of Northern Europe are different. They just are. Girls and women are more interesting and more prominent. Please note: all characters in myths and fairy tales are two-dimensional at most. Usually they are only one-dimensional: the handsome prince, the beautiful princess, the wicked enchantress, the sad king. Complaining that some female character of a northern tale is only two-dimensional is a modern fascination that shows a complete misunderstanding of the genre. Two is the maximum. Let this sink in. Yes, sometimes the unpromising third son, by cleverness, is rewarded with the beautiful princess and half the kingdom, and that is infuriating to modern sensibilities. Yet sometimes it is the young woman who is the central figure, who is rewarded in the end with a one-dimensional Handsome Prince. Don't complain. She gets two dimensions and he gets only one, and this doesn't occur very often outside the Hajnal Line. (See also, Barbie and Ken. Complain about her figure, and shallowness, her clothing, and bad influence all you want, but don't forget: Ken is an accessory. That doesn't happen in other parts of the world.)
Robert Bly, a Jungian poet wrote at length (though not depth) about men, but noted important details about the women-stories in what he regarded as universal myths. But being essentially a Norwegian DFL-party liberal from Minnesota (Cf: Garrison Keillor), his idea of "universal"meant "we can find occasional examples among Southern Europeans, fewer still in the Middle-East, and obscure references everywhere else, but mostly, Scandinavians, Teutons, and maybekindasorta Celts." He notes in passing the mother who passes on to her daughter a white linen cloth with three drops of blood pricked from her finger before she dies and the importance of this in her rising to womanhood. Whoa-ho! Observe the deep-rooted gender-role issues, there, eh? Menstruation! Sacrifice! Childbirth! My stars, what ignoramuses those largely-male storytellers must have been, eh?
Except that outside of northern Europe, girl and women issues don't even get that. They get one dimension. Related: one tribe stands out among the Semitic groups as even noticing that women are not, essentially, one rank above cattle. Guess. (Hint: they wrote they whole Bible.) The Christians grow out of this exceptional group, exceptional themselves for the heresy of more status for women even by that standard. When they finally penetrate to the lands which inexplicably already have some idea of female intelligence and worth, in contrast to oh, everyone else in the world, women are taught to read, allowed to own property, and rule in limited spheres. Centuries later, it is this group that supplies feminists with new troops every generation. Those who have followed all the discussions at hbd chick about forbidding cousin marriage will not be surprised to Jewish women, now at the forefront of Western feminism, could ironically only express it in the lands of the NW European gentiles.They were part of Step 1 of feminist development, millennia ago; they had some part in a few other steps. But they essentially came back into the picture mostly in America.
Yes, yes, I'm wandering all over the map here. There's no good structure to this. Take-away point: in this set of folk tales, the princesses are often clever; the protagonist might be a female who has to go out into the world to make her fortune; women own property and give orders. Not always, but sometimes.
Another difference, related and dear to the hearts of students of cultural (and genetic) history, is the recurring theme of being kind to strangers. Repeatedly, the hero or heroine succeeds in the northern tales because s/he shared a meal with a fox, or carried an old man across a stream, or did some other service to a woman who turned out to be some magical creature. This seldom happens in the stories outside those realms. One can see the cultural value growing, of loyalty not only to one's kin, but to nearby others. Not only that, but the evil blood-relative, whose claims must sometimes be denied, also turns up mostly in this region. hbd chick posted on it today, actually.
*My son and DIL are marveling how even Disney underestimated how popular this was going to be. I have seen only the musical numbers, and those with the the lyrics obscured by girls 6 and almost 3 leaping about and shouting them 2 beats behind the video. But it's good, and powerful, and it will rapidly obscure Brave, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, etc. For girls (esp. with sisters) of the rising generation, this will be among the top few influential and shared cultural experiences. You can watch 2040 - worldwide - being built right now.
I glanced at them from time to time, but had never read them. I made an effort this month, mostly from guilt, and made it through the first two volumes. I doubt I will go further. We are sending them on to son #2 some day. In addition to the guilt, similar topics have emerged repeatedly over the last weeks, and my mind has been taken up with the whole rich stew of ancient tales and how they affect us. First, my granddaughters' obsession with "Frozen*," the new Disney animation roughly based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen;" a discussion of Bruno Bettelheim's pariah status in the autism community, which reminded me of The Uses of Enchantment, the one good thing he ever did; a post about Lightsabers and Cinder-maids by expecting mom Julia over at her blog The Whole Sky; a rereading of Lewis's and Tolkien's thoughts on the subject two months ago; pondering St Dymphna earlier this month; a Bible study on Daniel (and dreams); and, and, and...
Heck, I don't know where these running topics come from. I have mild OCD, stuff comes in and won't go away.
I doubt I have anything that is absolutely new. But I have some things that may be worth bringing up again.
The folktales of Northern Europe are different. They just are. Girls and women are more interesting and more prominent. Please note: all characters in myths and fairy tales are two-dimensional at most. Usually they are only one-dimensional: the handsome prince, the beautiful princess, the wicked enchantress, the sad king. Complaining that some female character of a northern tale is only two-dimensional is a modern fascination that shows a complete misunderstanding of the genre. Two is the maximum. Let this sink in. Yes, sometimes the unpromising third son, by cleverness, is rewarded with the beautiful princess and half the kingdom, and that is infuriating to modern sensibilities. Yet sometimes it is the young woman who is the central figure, who is rewarded in the end with a one-dimensional Handsome Prince. Don't complain. She gets two dimensions and he gets only one, and this doesn't occur very often outside the Hajnal Line. (See also, Barbie and Ken. Complain about her figure, and shallowness, her clothing, and bad influence all you want, but don't forget: Ken is an accessory. That doesn't happen in other parts of the world.)
Robert Bly, a Jungian poet wrote at length (though not depth) about men, but noted important details about the women-stories in what he regarded as universal myths. But being essentially a Norwegian DFL-party liberal from Minnesota (Cf: Garrison Keillor), his idea of "universal"meant "we can find occasional examples among Southern Europeans, fewer still in the Middle-East, and obscure references everywhere else, but mostly, Scandinavians, Teutons, and maybekindasorta Celts." He notes in passing the mother who passes on to her daughter a white linen cloth with three drops of blood pricked from her finger before she dies and the importance of this in her rising to womanhood. Whoa-ho! Observe the deep-rooted gender-role issues, there, eh? Menstruation! Sacrifice! Childbirth! My stars, what ignoramuses those largely-male storytellers must have been, eh?
Except that outside of northern Europe, girl and women issues don't even get that. They get one dimension. Related: one tribe stands out among the Semitic groups as even noticing that women are not, essentially, one rank above cattle. Guess. (Hint: they wrote they whole Bible.) The Christians grow out of this exceptional group, exceptional themselves for the heresy of more status for women even by that standard. When they finally penetrate to the lands which inexplicably already have some idea of female intelligence and worth, in contrast to oh, everyone else in the world, women are taught to read, allowed to own property, and rule in limited spheres. Centuries later, it is this group that supplies feminists with new troops every generation. Those who have followed all the discussions at hbd chick about forbidding cousin marriage will not be surprised to Jewish women, now at the forefront of Western feminism, could ironically only express it in the lands of the NW European gentiles.They were part of Step 1 of feminist development, millennia ago; they had some part in a few other steps. But they essentially came back into the picture mostly in America.
Yes, yes, I'm wandering all over the map here. There's no good structure to this. Take-away point: in this set of folk tales, the princesses are often clever; the protagonist might be a female who has to go out into the world to make her fortune; women own property and give orders. Not always, but sometimes.
Another difference, related and dear to the hearts of students of cultural (and genetic) history, is the recurring theme of being kind to strangers. Repeatedly, the hero or heroine succeeds in the northern tales because s/he shared a meal with a fox, or carried an old man across a stream, or did some other service to a woman who turned out to be some magical creature. This seldom happens in the stories outside those realms. One can see the cultural value growing, of loyalty not only to one's kin, but to nearby others. Not only that, but the evil blood-relative, whose claims must sometimes be denied, also turns up mostly in this region. hbd chick posted on it today, actually.
*My son and DIL are marveling how even Disney underestimated how popular this was going to be. I have seen only the musical numbers, and those with the the lyrics obscured by girls 6 and almost 3 leaping about and shouting them 2 beats behind the video. But it's good, and powerful, and it will rapidly obscure Brave, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, etc. For girls (esp. with sisters) of the rising generation, this will be among the top few influential and shared cultural experiences. You can watch 2040 - worldwide - being built right now.
The Deep State
An interesting over at Chicago Boyz entitled The Deep State. The worries of Bill Moyers, though still frozen in liberal amber, are a significant part of the discussion.
The privacy and surveillance concerns have been topics for the conspiracy theorists. Yet that is hardly necessary. The number of people in federal government, plus the enormous number of hangers-on as lobbyists and contractors, now constitutes a group so large that they are a class interest unto themselves. They don't have to have any ill motives or secret agendas to be dangerous. They just have to be regular folks who have jobs and want to keep them, who have some understanding what is good for their "industry," and some power to protect themselves. That in itself makes them a threat to other Americans. That this much power attracts the super-ambitious and under-conscienced only makes it worse.
The right gets distracted by the similarity of such behavior to the State under dictatorships, which is true but unnecessary to notice. Yet the left is worse, continuing to believe that the Real Problem is super-ambitious and under-conscienced people in business, a place those can actually do little harm. It comes from deriving one's political beliefs from stories rather than knowledge. We can easily envision rich businessmen doing evil things and not caring much about others - heck, the scriptwriters for the Muppets have been doing it for years. It is harder to write a simple morality tale about government empire-builders in shadowy places. We make up hero-stories about fighting baddies, and it is easier to write one script than the other in our feeble imaginations, so dependent on inherited themes.
It is a continuing belief of mine that this reliance on narrative explains most of our politics. Once one is an ideologue, intelligence is only used to play chess against oneself.
The privacy and surveillance concerns have been topics for the conspiracy theorists. Yet that is hardly necessary. The number of people in federal government, plus the enormous number of hangers-on as lobbyists and contractors, now constitutes a group so large that they are a class interest unto themselves. They don't have to have any ill motives or secret agendas to be dangerous. They just have to be regular folks who have jobs and want to keep them, who have some understanding what is good for their "industry," and some power to protect themselves. That in itself makes them a threat to other Americans. That this much power attracts the super-ambitious and under-conscienced only makes it worse.
The right gets distracted by the similarity of such behavior to the State under dictatorships, which is true but unnecessary to notice. Yet the left is worse, continuing to believe that the Real Problem is super-ambitious and under-conscienced people in business, a place those can actually do little harm. It comes from deriving one's political beliefs from stories rather than knowledge. We can easily envision rich businessmen doing evil things and not caring much about others - heck, the scriptwriters for the Muppets have been doing it for years. It is harder to write a simple morality tale about government empire-builders in shadowy places. We make up hero-stories about fighting baddies, and it is easier to write one script than the other in our feeble imaginations, so dependent on inherited themes.
It is a continuing belief of mine that this reliance on narrative explains most of our politics. Once one is an ideologue, intelligence is only used to play chess against oneself.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Bacon Hat
The Lehigh Valley Ironpigs, a Pittsburgh Pirates AAA affiliate, has a new logo on some of its merchandise: bacon. I predict they will be selling a lot of hats this year. The T-shirt bacon strip is scratch-and-sniff. The piping down the side of the pants? Bacon.
This is also a team that has all-black uniforms and Urinal Game Controllers at the ballpark. (Hands free!) Someone in the marketing department needs to get scooped up and brought to bigger things.
This is also a team that has all-black uniforms and Urinal Game Controllers at the ballpark. (Hands free!) Someone in the marketing department needs to get scooped up and brought to bigger things.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Appalachian Trail In Winter
Well, that has a rugged, outdoorsy, courageous sound to it, doesn't it? Especially in NH, though I'm sure Clingman's Dome is pretty brisk in February as well.
The reality, not so much. This was a wuss version of AT-NH. I was curious what the AT looked like as it entered NH and went through Hanover, and what the first few miles out of town were like. The Dartmouth Outing Club maintains the trail there, and historically only the Harvard Mountaineering Club rivals it for young men named Cameron or Bradford or Sumner who take to the strenuous life at every opportunity. These days, young women named Alexis or Eun Hee may outnumber them, but still, I expected the AT to be treated with honor there. Yet there were no markers through town and across campus.
To confirm the fantasy, the map shows that the Appalachian Trail leaves town right next to the Food Co-Op and next meets a road 3+ miles later at the Montessori School. How Perfect. I wondered if it were more parkland through this section - a commonly used cross-country trail, used not only by students but families. Perhaps there would be a little shelter where people gathered in the cold with a bit of fire and hot cocoa on weekends. The surrounding towns refer to this as Hanover! after all, and it is the AT. What could be more natural than students in North Face or other polartec, or professors with young sprouts and a yellow lab dashing about. I wondered whether a snowmobile, that noisy middle-american machine that nonetheless grooms trails marvelously, would be allowed.
This is the actual entrance to the trail, in the parking lot of the Co-Op. It took me a while to find it.
The Food Co-Op itself was as expected. The local foods section is all healthy bakery stuff this time of year, including a deceitful and tasteless oatmeal-raisin scone. Expensive coffees from impoverished countries. A dad admonished his son not to whine in a very standard, non-elite way, but added "Devon, use your words." Ah, yes. After clambering over the plow-pile, there was a meager track with bootprints, paw-prints, and unaccountably, skate-tracks. (I recalled no ponds on the map. A swamp, maybe?) It quickly led to a more recognisable trailhead.
Still, I was disappointed. It was clear that very few people came out here. No crosscountry, no snowmachine - how hard would it be to show a little respect to this important bit of history right under your noses, people?
A quarter-mile later, I came to the first green glass waterfall. Ski-doos can do remarkable things, but this would be a feat. There was no getting up the trail directly, but hands-and-knees, a little to the side, banging away at the crust and grasping branches, I got up over. I did feel a bit queasy about coming back this way. In my expectation of parkland and winter vacation family merriment on the trail, I had had hopes of hiking through and cadging a ride back, but that was dashed in the parking lot. I thought going in a mile or so and retracing, then driving around and seeing a bit of the Montessori side might be a better plan.
The second green glass waterfall was enough discouragement.Back I went. The scone was already sitting pretty heavy.
I had trouble find the trail on the other side as well. The Montessori School may have closed. I reluctantly determined that this was the entrance to the second leg.
It seems rather unwelcoming, doesn't it? Though this also, once I climbed over, had recognisable trail marking. The trick seems to be We won't show you the trail. But we'll let you know if you've found it pretty quickly. I only count my steps while hiking about 30% of the time now. Yet I must do it without even knowing. I walked in a ways, up a little rise and down into a valley. At the bottom, I calculated how far I thought I had gone and considered whether I should go back. I pondered. 1100 steps, maybe 1300, I thought. Though a number kept occurring to me: 1657. I counted on the way back, and the number of steps was 1670. I count without knowing. I also figured out the ice-skates, which were on this side of the trail as well. They were crampon tracks, which makes much more sense.
Back at the car, I came upon a hiker coming the other way. A woman about 30; blonde, slender, healthy, polartec, ski poles - and a yellow lab frisking about. So the stereotype is not dead yet.
I have learned to my chagrin in the last two years that my navigation is not as good as I imagined. If they are going to make it hard on me to boot, I will have to limit myself to finding old highways. (Post on that coming.) Those who want to hear more AT adventures can go over to Dubbahdee's at Necat Draco, as he hiked the whole thing. But he's a pastor now, and can't lie - okay, not as much - so the stories may not be as interesting as they would have been a year ago.
The reality, not so much. This was a wuss version of AT-NH. I was curious what the AT looked like as it entered NH and went through Hanover, and what the first few miles out of town were like. The Dartmouth Outing Club maintains the trail there, and historically only the Harvard Mountaineering Club rivals it for young men named Cameron or Bradford or Sumner who take to the strenuous life at every opportunity. These days, young women named Alexis or Eun Hee may outnumber them, but still, I expected the AT to be treated with honor there. Yet there were no markers through town and across campus.
To confirm the fantasy, the map shows that the Appalachian Trail leaves town right next to the Food Co-Op and next meets a road 3+ miles later at the Montessori School. How Perfect. I wondered if it were more parkland through this section - a commonly used cross-country trail, used not only by students but families. Perhaps there would be a little shelter where people gathered in the cold with a bit of fire and hot cocoa on weekends. The surrounding towns refer to this as Hanover! after all, and it is the AT. What could be more natural than students in North Face or other polartec, or professors with young sprouts and a yellow lab dashing about. I wondered whether a snowmobile, that noisy middle-american machine that nonetheless grooms trails marvelously, would be allowed.
This is the actual entrance to the trail, in the parking lot of the Co-Op. It took me a while to find it.
The Food Co-Op itself was as expected. The local foods section is all healthy bakery stuff this time of year, including a deceitful and tasteless oatmeal-raisin scone. Expensive coffees from impoverished countries. A dad admonished his son not to whine in a very standard, non-elite way, but added "Devon, use your words." Ah, yes. After clambering over the plow-pile, there was a meager track with bootprints, paw-prints, and unaccountably, skate-tracks. (I recalled no ponds on the map. A swamp, maybe?) It quickly led to a more recognisable trailhead.
Still, I was disappointed. It was clear that very few people came out here. No crosscountry, no snowmachine - how hard would it be to show a little respect to this important bit of history right under your noses, people?
A quarter-mile later, I came to the first green glass waterfall. Ski-doos can do remarkable things, but this would be a feat. There was no getting up the trail directly, but hands-and-knees, a little to the side, banging away at the crust and grasping branches, I got up over. I did feel a bit queasy about coming back this way. In my expectation of parkland and winter vacation family merriment on the trail, I had had hopes of hiking through and cadging a ride back, but that was dashed in the parking lot. I thought going in a mile or so and retracing, then driving around and seeing a bit of the Montessori side might be a better plan.
The second green glass waterfall was enough discouragement.Back I went. The scone was already sitting pretty heavy.
I had trouble find the trail on the other side as well. The Montessori School may have closed. I reluctantly determined that this was the entrance to the second leg.
It seems rather unwelcoming, doesn't it? Though this also, once I climbed over, had recognisable trail marking. The trick seems to be We won't show you the trail. But we'll let you know if you've found it pretty quickly. I only count my steps while hiking about 30% of the time now. Yet I must do it without even knowing. I walked in a ways, up a little rise and down into a valley. At the bottom, I calculated how far I thought I had gone and considered whether I should go back. I pondered. 1100 steps, maybe 1300, I thought. Though a number kept occurring to me: 1657. I counted on the way back, and the number of steps was 1670. I count without knowing. I also figured out the ice-skates, which were on this side of the trail as well. They were crampon tracks, which makes much more sense.
Back at the car, I came upon a hiker coming the other way. A woman about 30; blonde, slender, healthy, polartec, ski poles - and a yellow lab frisking about. So the stereotype is not dead yet.
I have learned to my chagrin in the last two years that my navigation is not as good as I imagined. If they are going to make it hard on me to boot, I will have to limit myself to finding old highways. (Post on that coming.) Those who want to hear more AT adventures can go over to Dubbahdee's at Necat Draco, as he hiked the whole thing. But he's a pastor now, and can't lie - okay, not as much - so the stories may not be as interesting as they would have been a year ago.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Voted Best Ever
This was voted the best religious joke ever over at Ship of Fools, I site I used to comment on but got tired of.
Christian Contemporary Worship
The introduction to special music this morning reminded me of nothing so much as the Troggs.
An earlier selection had the two female vocalists clapping in just that sort of way that put me in mind of The Archies*
Bet you don't have the Troggs and the Archies at your worship. At first I thought that in 1968, no one would have called music from 1922 "contemporary," but the more I considered it, churches would indeed have called that contemporary. Many churches would have called music from 1868 contemporary.
* Yes, I know that there were no Archies. But they had a cartoon, and those girls clapped, though they preferred the tambourine.
An earlier selection had the two female vocalists clapping in just that sort of way that put me in mind of The Archies*
Bet you don't have the Troggs and the Archies at your worship. At first I thought that in 1968, no one would have called music from 1922 "contemporary," but the more I considered it, churches would indeed have called that contemporary. Many churches would have called music from 1868 contemporary.
* Yes, I know that there were no Archies. But they had a cartoon, and those girls clapped, though they preferred the tambourine.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Vitamins
From Maggie's an interesting article at Smithsonian about which vitamins actually have some positive effect. Vitamin D for most of us. Probiotics, but only when you are taking antibiotics. Zinc, but only for a cold. Niacin if you have heart disease, and maybe for some other things if you take it at prescription strength. Garlic for high blood pressure.
Lots of things are absent here.
Lots of things are absent here.
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