Friday, June 30, 2006

No Excuses

Well, it's been almost a week and a half since I've last made an entry, so much for my attempts to blog every day. The day after my last blog entry I was in Amsterdam to see Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals. A fabulous show at the Heineken Music Hall. Since we went with a friend of ours and he was at the venue an hour before the doors opened we already had good seats when we arrived. I must say that the only negative aspect of the whole experience is buying beer. As a word of warning to anyone attending a show at this venue (who may also want to buy beer) it's important to remember that you cannot purchase drinks directly from the bar. One must first buy tokens from various vending machines (which there are not enough of) and then use tokens to obtain drinks. Of course I've experienced similar set-ups in the states. I sometimes think it's a scam because there always seems to be an odd number of tokens/tickets left over at the end of the event. For example, if a beer is four tickets you can be assured that there are only three left in your pocket. And of course, one can only purchase a set number of tickets at a time (often more than one needs). The result is of course that not only have you consumed overpriced drinks but you also now have a handful of worthless tickets/tokens. But hey, that's the price you pay I suppose. I was more frustrated by the fact that the limited amount of token dispensing machines meant that I had to wait in line for 45 minutes just to get the tokens. After that I had my beers within 5 minutes. Serves me right for being such an alcoholic. I say just scrap the whole token thing anyway. There were many more bartenders than there were token machines so it seems like a completely superfluous and unnecessarily complicated process for obtaining a refreshing beverage. But everyone has an opinion. Ben and the Criminals were great! I must also mention that since the Heineken Music Hall is located on the outskirts of Amsterdam it's a bit of clusterf**k getting out of there by public transport. It didn't help that Robbie Williams was playing at the stadium next door. Lots of people, not enough trains. Still, sometimes it's nice to feel the crush of humanity when packed like sardines on an unventilated train, it reminds you what it's like to be truely alive. The next day I helped a friend move some things to his new house in Rijswijk. He's got a small army of Poles replacing all the windows at his place. Saturday would have been restful but I was in a sour mood. Sometimes you just feel like you're in a funk! Sunday it was back to Amsterdam to see another show near the Leidseplein. Dead Cab for Cutie in case you are interested. Kick ass venue in a renovated church. We stayed overnight nearby which would make that only the third time I've actually stayed in Amsterdam. This past week I felt busy even though I can't recall what I got up to. Yesterday I was again helping my friend move. Today I'm cleaning the entire flat from top to bottom in anticipation of the arrival of guests. Kimberlee's aunt, uncle, and cousin are arriving from the states Saturday morning. Her aunt and uncle will only be staying for a couple of days but her cousin will be with us for a month since he is doing an internship with Kimberlee's company. Things are looking better on the job front and I may even end up doing some volunteer work for a human rights organization. My CV is going out to them tommorrow. I just finished cleaning about half of the apartment and now I'm taking a break, scrubbing the toilet really wears me out!

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Technical Difficulties

Yesterday's post was supposed to go on Monday, but I've been having some trouble posting again. Two of my browsers have error messages when I try to publish. It's frustrating to be sure. I spent most of my day studying French. I also finished Dostoyevski's "Notes From Underground." It's probably my favorite piece that I have read by him. If you're into dark, brooding narrative, the kind only Russian authors seem to be truely great at, I recommend you give it a shot. It's not exactly light reading, but it is short.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

The Gaia Theory

This post relates to a topic a close friend of mine picked for me to write about. He writes, "How do you feel about the Earth as Gaia? Do you feel it's indeed a sort of self-regulating biological entity, or is there nothing more here than simple mineral, animal, plant, and whatever comes out on top wins?"

Well D, here's how I feel.

I can't recall the first time I heard about "Gaia Theory" but most likely it was during my undergraduate years at Minnesota State, perhaps in a humanities class. In any case, I went to Wikipedia to refresh my memory on the topic. It seems as though the there are many varied versions of this theory, from obvious to "radical." However, all seem to share a basic core idea that the Earth (or perhaps more precisely, the biosphere), in some form or fashion, is a self-correcting system. The most obvious and least radical formulation would be to say that organisms alter the system (environment) in which they live. A stronger formulation suggests that the Earth actively affects change in the system to maintain equilibrium, which is conducive to life on the planet. A more radical proposition would be to suggest that the Earth is actually a conscious entity that willfully acts to keep the system in balance. So how do I feel about it?

First, it's pretty obvious that the weakest formulation is true. That is, organisms on the planet shape and is shaped by the environment. Beyond that I tend to be a bit skeptical to say the least. For instance, I have doubts that the Earth actually corrects imbalances though whatever mechanisms it uses, primarily because I don't like the idea that the Earth has some sort of agency. I could be convinced (with good evidence) that perhaps that the environment has certain "emergent" properties that seem to suggest that the system seems to seek some kind of equilibrium, but even that to me appear no more than the undirected result of various competing organisms within the system. I certainly disagree with any notion that claims that the Earth itself is an entity or organism, let alone a conscious one. So let me tell you why.

I think it's a big step to take from making the observation that human influence on the environment causes a host of environmental problems and even natural disasters that result from climate change, etc. to suggesting that this is due to some self-correcting mechanism "built-in" to the Earth. So why I can say that certain epidemics (Aids, swine-flu, and others) may be the result of unsound environmental practices by humans (namely, resource use, population density) I see no reason to the Earth correcting an imbalance.

Perhaps, this is just a semantic issue, but I will explain further. Let's just assume for a moment that the Earth does, in some way, act (if that is an appropriate word) in a way that seems to restore ecological balance. This type of idea often leads to the idea that humans are a parasite on the Earth. While I'll admit that this is often a useful metaphor, it is one that is not without a political agenda. It is usually employed by environmentalists to justify their positions, namely, that we (humans) are destroying the planet. I don't think it's necessary to resort to such extremism to point out that there are negative side effects of human population expansion and environmental domination. We are a species that has the capability to exploit our environment in profound ways to be sure, and I agree that we need to change our habits to create a better world. But we are no more of a plague on the Earth than worms, or birds, or rabbits. We simply have means (through) culture of passing on knowledge that collectively over the course of at least tens of thousands of years has allowed us to manipulate our environment in order to be more efficient at exploiting it. It should be pointed out that in some sense all species "exploit" the environment and evolution is one way that organisms develop new means for accomplishing this task.

But how, you may ask, does one explain what seems to be "the earth correcting imbalances" that, even apart from humans, appears to take place all the time? Take for instance the deer population in North America. After European colonization of that continent we gradually exterminated predators that would have naturally kept deer populations in check. As a result deer populations exploded and eventually succumbed to disease because of the same population problem. Doesn't this indeed suggest that there is a certain balance in ecological systems? Well... yes and no.
Yes, when one species has no competitors its populations expand until they reach the limitations of their environment, when they reach a certain threshold, other organisms have the opportunity to thrive. Say bacteria and viruses. They exist in certain relevant animal populations and only develop into disease as the result of say, lots of deer pooping in the woods and contaminating other resources that the deer depend on. So on and so forth. That these things are causally related and appear (and may to a certain extent be) cyclical, it's not necessary to postulate something more than competition among various organisms for limited resources. Yes, in a sense all living things are related through the environment but beyond a rhetorical use of metaphor, don't go ascribing "corrective" mechanisms for what simply millions of years of evolutionary strategy and competition. Having said all that, I believe humans DO need to clean up their act, and soon.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Ode to the Workman's Lunch

I realize that many of my posts center around my past life so to speak, well...unless you want me to relate the story of my excursion to the plant store the other day, here's another one. For four years, my entire sentance served in the city of Cincinnati, OH was as a painter (of houses). A good, meaningful job to be sure, yet my daily gastronomical advertures were something out of a horror flick. One could point out my lack of a proactive strategy in this matter, and I will apologize in advance for mentioning the names of eating establishments that most readers outside the 'Nati area will not be familiar with, but for the sake of posterity, or perhaps my posterior (butt gags always pull a laugh), I must tell this tale of incorrigible consumption. First of all what served as lunch on many workdays at D.R. painting only resembles food in the loosest sense of the word. Fat, and or grease, while not readily digistible by the human body consists of the main ingredient of the things I ate. And there was no shortage of variety when it came to fast food in the suburban jungle of the East Side either, NO!!! On the contrary, there were at least as many options, on a daily... no weekly... no monthly... yearly(?) basis as there are fingers on my left hand.
Of course, when one "eat's out" for lunch every day there are certain budgetary restrictions that come into play, along with the restrictions of time (one hour precisely) that include travel to and from the worksite, eating, and paying, etc. But let us not digress and get down to the "meat" of the issue as it were, now that some of the existential parameters are more clearly defined.
To say that we had cerain "stand-bys" is a bit of a misnomer as it implies that these are places to go when there are NO other "acceptable" choices. It would perhaps be better to point out that we came to rely on certain chains so much that other options were rarely, if ever, even considered. We had our addictions to salty, fatty, overprocessed, low nutrition foodstuffs, and we indulged them.
I'll start with "Subway" sandwhiches because in the beginning, Subway was a mean contender for our greenbacks. When one considers that you may actually eat reconizable vegetables with your sandwhich it's easy to see why. That, and the fact that in all parts of America, from the inner city to the remotest of rural frontier towns, it's difficult to swing a dead clown without hitting a Subway shop. Also consider that a foot long sub, with a bag of chips/crisps, and a bottomless drink is only going to set you back a Lincoln and two Washingtons. it's hard to say exactly just how many Subway sandwhiches I've consumed in my life, but surely enough to put the offspring of a handful of franchise owners through college. At least State school, anyhow. But as a well-traveled path eventually becomes a rut due to overuse, so did we grow tired of, or indifferent to the wares of Subway.
Honorable mention goes to Boston Market. There may have been less than a half dozen locations of this fine establishment in the greater Cincinnati metropolitan area, but when we were lucky enough to be in proximity of one, chances were we would eat there. Rotisserie chicken and sides like REAL mashed potatos and gravy, whole kernel corn in herbed garlic butter, creamed spinach, and maccaroni and cheese made it a welcome change of pace, filling, tasty, and moderately nutritious. Still, it was more of a treat than a regular choice.
Then there is Steak 'n Shake. Something of a dying breed, once ubiquitous (from what I'm told), and now a bit of a rarity. The big attraction at these joints was not the cookie-cutter, diner-esque layout and decor, surprisingly. It was the shake, milkshake that is. All flavors (that matter) arranged half and half or standing alone, with requisite ready-whip and a cherry made the slimy, mass produced "steak" burgers and toothpick thin fries tolerable.
As alluring as that sounds, the difinitive tri-state "family resturant" was and is Friche's Big Boy. "Nuff said" may be appropriate here but I can't resist. Big Boy, that's right. You probably haven't rubbed elbows with the backbone of the American midwest unless you've eaten at a Big Boy. Now, many American's may be appalled by my lack of respect for Giants such as Waffle House, Denny's, and Perkin's. I'm not trying to be sacreligious here, in my defense I will calmly point out that there were only 2 Perkin's restaurants in the Cincy area, NO Denny's (difficult to fathom), and well, what self-respecting person regularly eats at the Waffle House? Big Boy is a Cincinnati legend, some of the locations even qualifying as historic landmarks. And of course, who can resist the lovable mascot, sometimes reproduced in all his glory as a 15 foot statue outside a front entrance, the plump little boy with a cherub-like grin who, frozen in the act of running, holds a Big Boy buger high aloft his head, forever enthusiastic but doomed to never deliver the buger to what could only be an eager customer. While I have said nothing of the food, staff, service, or decor, I believe the Big Boy himself says it all! I'll only add that eating at one was usually a last resort.
Moving on. No week would be complete without at least one forray to the Buffalo Wild Wings. Long wait, shamefully small wings, and often $15 a visit is all unballanced by fat and grease content. Sometimes I think that BBQ flavored lard would have been more efficient.
A set up from there, if we can, without laughing, speak in increments was Wings and Rings. Same fat, slightly more palatable.
I would also be shamed if I didn't mention Penn Station, another local favorite which offered warm subs manufatured at a pace that would make Herny Ford proud. Jacket fries cooked in vegetable oil and real lemonade rounds out the dining experieince. Another weekly stopover.
Saving the best for last, I have to mention the place where I ate at with the most frequency, and anlarming frequency... Cincinnati's second largest religion after Catholicism.... Skyline Chili. "Chili" by Cincinnati's defination can only be experienced to be appreciated. Think of a plate of Spagetti noodles, covered in a "secret recipe" meat grule, and topped by a mound... a wad... two fistfulls...an amount that defies human reason... of shredded cheese. Of course beans, and diced onions are options as well. Three-way, four-way, five-way, inverted, dry, juicy, mixed in a bucket, however you took your poison it was really a plate full of diarrhea waiting to happen. Oh, if your still hungry throw in a cheese coney or two, and don't forget the hot sauce!
Yes, this is the food I ate ate luchtime for nearly four years straight. But I have to end this little essay, I have a colonoscopy appointment.

The Weekend

Most people, or most WORKING people, use their weekends to relax and enjoy their time away from the "office." It's a time for family and friends, a time for slowing one's pace for a few days. I for one am a big fan of the two days off at the end of the week. If you've ever worked a full time job where you work five or more days per week and the days you have off are not back to back you know what I mean. I've had a couple of jobs like that in my lifetime and I honestly have to say that it sucks. One day off sandwiched between workdays, especially in the middle of the week barely even qualifies as "time off" and it certainly pales in comparison to that glorious respite, the weekend. In the last mad year of my undergraduate days I worked a full time job and was taking up to 15 semester credits at the same time. The result was that I never had more than one full day per week where I wasn't required to be at either work or school, some weeks allowed me no such days, while the majority of days I had both to attend to. That's not even considering the two piecemeal jobs I had with the school, nor time for homework. Needless to say, it was a year that at times drove me nuts. At other times in my life I had either the full-time/school or part-time/school routine which also meant that days off, when I did have them, were in the middle of the week. Most of these days off were on week days which meant that I had the day off when all of my friends had to work. Not a lot of fun.
Since then I have done everything in my power to have my time off on the weekend, even though at least one of those days is usually spent attending to errands which I otherwise could not accomplish during the week. Still that leaves at least one whole unadulterated day which I could devote to whatever struck my fancy. A luxury perhaps, but a luxury which was vital to my mental sanity. My point is, that even though I currently do not work, the weekend is still something of a special time. A time to relax, or to attend to all of those loose ends that pile up during the week, or to spend with people I chose to be with. Hail, hail to the weekend!

Friday, June 16, 2006

Ah...Summer!

Well, summer is finally here in the Netherlands and it's a busy one for me and my girlfriend. We've had visitors from the States staying with us for the past month and a half. We are currently enjoying our two week break before another month of guests. I have a wedding to attend in the UK coming up at the end of July and my sister is tying the knot back in good ol' Minnesota come September. I recieved word from the local authorities here that I have to take a test to determine my knowledge of the Dutch language when I go in to get my residence permit. If I'm found lacking in that department I have to take lessons on Dutch culture as well as language lessons. Since I really only know a few words of Dutch I'm guessing it's off to the language gulags for me. I'm also still trying to get into a French language course right now. I know, I know, why French when I'm living in the Netherlands? Well, it's just something I've promised myself I'm going to do. So now I'll be learning two languages at the same time. My brain hurts just thinking about it!

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Kudos to Kapuscinski


I've just finished reading Rzyard Kapuscinski's "Shah of Shahs" and without a question his style is some of the most compelling and enlightening prose I have ever come upon. This is the third book I've read by the Polish-born journalist and it does not fail to engross the reader from cover to cover. Spliced with relevant exerpts from history, Kapuscinski captures the contrasts and contradictions of newly oil-rich Iran during the brief but despotic rule of Shah Mohammed Reza. While very informative Kapusckinski's ballace of style avoids suffocating the reader with facts and thus makes his works both approachable as well as educational. For anyone looking for an introductory text about the events that helped shape present-day Iran the book is invaluable, for those simply seeking an enlightening read, it is a captivating piece of non-fiction.

I also recommend two of his other books: "Imperium" (Russia and the Soviet territories) and "In the Shadow of the Sun" (Africa)

Laziness is a Disease

When I stop to think about it, I have to admit that I am pretty lazy. At the ripe old age of 32(?) (the memory is the first to go) I look back on my twenties as a time of reckless youth. You see, the plan for my life changes daily. One moment I want to study architecture, the next, I'm daydreaming about becoming a freelance writer. Now, all of this is pretty common. Many, if not most people daydream from time to time during their idle moments, and often this daydreaming is about living a life different from the one you currently find yourself in. But then again, perhaps I'm just speaking for me.
But I digress. My laziness is a combination of several factors really. The first being that I often choose the path of least resistance. Some people may call this procrastination. I'm the type that, more often than not, will put off today what I can do tomorrow even when I am bored or have "nothing" to do today. I can be quite creative in my procrastination as well, inventing mundane tasks and chores to perform while putting off something that is more urgent or a more productive use of my time. Writing is a good example of this. It's a bit of a cliche to say that a writer writes, but that is the truth of it. Still, instead of journaling on a daily basis, or making a blog entry, it's much easier to switch on the tube, or clean my apartment, or make something to eat than it is to sit down with the sole purpose of putting words on paper. The second thing I understand about writing is that writers love to write, they need to write. For a lazy person like me, there is no such imperative.
At this point I'd like to point out that I've read plenty of books on the subject of becoming a freelance writer. I understand the importance of making time to write on a regular basis. I'll admit that I've tried this on several occasions, each time with a firm commitment to my goals. Usually however, I stay on task for about a week before a relapse into... you guessed it, sheer laziness.
Similarly, the though of just sitting down and writing creatively is somewhat repulsive. Or to rephrase that, I'm not accustomed to sitting down to write without a specific purpose in mind. It's not, at this point, a habit. I like to think that in some inspired moments my writing is quite good, but obtaining quality results is often due to happenstance. Once again, it brings us back to the mantra; writers write! The more often one sits down to write, the more often inspiration has the chance to take hold. I'll assure you, I don't expect that every time I write something it will turn out pure gold, I just haven't convinced myself that it is acceptable to blather on about complete nonsense because at the very least it's an exercise. You know that other old addage, "the brain is a muscle..."
With all that being said I am hereby committing myself to writing SOMETHING on my blog every day, no excuses. I cannot vouch for the content of such posts but perhaps if I follow the mantra it's concievable that once in a while something good will come of it. I've got my fingers crossed.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Almost Legal

First off, thanks for your comments gold tooth, I like to hear what people think. Things are proceeding pretty well here, I have recently been approved for a residence permit. What is even better is the fact that we are reapplying for Kimberlee's residence permit under a different status which will automatically qualify me for a work permit. So, not only am I able to stay, but soon I will be able to work as well. That's good news for me since I really need a break from my booger collection.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Dear Readers


Since I do not have a counter on my blog it is impossible to know if anyone is visiting. Therefore, I ask, if it is not too much trouble, that you leave a comment or two. I would like to know if you find the posts interesting, boring, funny, innane, etc. That may help me to drum up some creative ideas for future posts.

(Former) Eastern Bloc Hi-jinks


I have just returned from my first trip to Prague. What can I say about it? It was visually stunning, a veritable feast for the eyes, especially with regard to architecture. It reminded me a lot of Budapest. Kind of a Budapest on acid maybe. I was travelling with my sister and my girlfriend. For the most part we were well-behaved tourists. Gawping at all the statuary and beautiful gothic buildings occupied a good portion of our time. On our last evening there we ate food a a pleasant sudent pub where the fair was excellent and the half litres of beer were cheap. Since we liked it so much we were there for several hours, until at last we were so drunk that continued drinking would have resulted in the "I love you man" stage of enibriation. As we stumbled back to our hotel bouncing off the buildings on either side of the narrow lanes we did our best to make complete asses of ourselves. Upon arriving at our hotel my sister suggested that we visit the cabaret across the street. I had to decline, something about patronizing a strip-joint with my sister and my girlfriend just didn't seem appropriate. They however were not finished with their evening. Posing as lesbians, or perhaps just mistaken for lesbians, they boldly entered the establishment. I will spare you the details the later recounted to me, but suffice to say that they were there for only twenty minutes. Longe enough, I suppose to feel all sorts of uncomfortable feelings. I'm just happy that I'm able to truthfully say, "my sister and my girlfriend went to a Czech strip club and all I got was this lousy T-shirt!"