Recommendation

Should you have the time I recommend you vist the Marginal Utility link on my blogroll. Rob Horning provides some interesting and thought provoking analyses on consumption and capitalism. While sometimes a bit erudite, I believe Horning's deconstructions are generally accessable, even if you don't understand the theory behind cultural analysis.

War on Drugs?

We have in my country what is called a “war on drugs.”
It's a war against people.
It's a war against society.
It's an international war.
It's a war taking place in our own backyards.
We spend a lot of money fighting this war.
A great deal of prisons are needed in this war.
In this war we make deals,
We also make sacrifices.
It's a war of ideas and perceptions.
We make people feel guilty about using drugs.
A lot of drugs are sold on television ads.
We use drugs every day.
We show people the danger of using certain drugs.
People still buy drugs.
Drugs cause problems.
So we fight them.
What are the problems?
Who is the problem?
Supply and demand?
Who wants the Drugs?
Why do they want them?
Who supplies the drugs?
Do they have a choice?
Let's point some fingers.
Do you use drugs?
You are to blame.
If you didn't use drugs,
No one would make money selling them.
I do drugs because I want to escape.
Society makes me want to escape.
Society is the problem.
How do you change society?
By education?
By building more jails?
By punishment?
By guilt?
By pointing fingers?
Through therapy?
Some people who sell drugs are rich.
Most of them are very poor.
Jails hold the poor ones.
The rich ones live in mansions.
It's not right to wage war on the rich

Future Past

It was in Denver that I first saw it. That monument to progress. That call sign of a brave new world. The coughed up phlegm of a million belching furnaces. Insane combusting machines fed by ancient decay. Fitting isn’t it? That the legacy of the extinct should propel the entire world toward oblivion. The sky wasn’t always poisonous, except when countless volcanoes brought forth the atomic compounds that made life possible. We’ve created our own mechanical volcanoes. We’ve forced nature to do our bidding. Factories spewing garbage so the fortunate may have more objects to covet, to hoard, and yes, to prove that it was all worth it.
Of course it’s horrible to see children with asthma but we need jobs to put food on the table right?
“Lift up your gas mask so you can eat your peas Darling, and remember, try not to breathe.”

Modern Man

Back in my long-haired, (believe it!) hippy days in Fargo, ND I had an opportunity to meet a guy who called himself Modern Man. Modern, as he was affectionately known, was a semi-famous local artist and something of an eccentric. From appearance alone, anyone passing him on the street might have taken him for a bum. For Modern, appearances mattered little though, and he seemed to take more interest in what was on the inside.
The first time I met him was in his studio. My friend Darcy introduced us. It was located in downtown Fargo in an old warehouse. I had been to the building before, having visited the Italian restaurant located in the basement. The ground floor, as I recall, was a meeting hall for some fraternal organization like the Lion's club and was owned by them as well. Modern's studio occupied the warehouse proper, and this meant he also had access to the rooftop, which offered a superb view of the city.
The studio amazed me since I had never before seen where a real artist lives and breathes. It may have been the young romantic in me, but the shabby interior was like a wonderland. Paintings, in various stages of completion, lay all about the place. In one corner, a raised platform, accessible by some old stairs, contained some furniture and served as Modern's living room. While there was a very nice apartment on the floor above, it was obvious that he spent nearly all of his time in his studio. Empty bottles and clutter a testament to the disorganization of a creative and active mind.
Several large painting in one corner told us of Warhol's influence. In another, a giant wall sized canvass portraying Hitler and his ministers observing something wasn't fully revealed until the lights were turned out. The glow in the dark paint then illuminated a mass of corpses. The macabre painting was eerie and moving at the same time.
The paintings, the old and worn interior, the somehow sad, yet ample light streaming in through the large multi-paned windows, it all contributed to a feeling that creativity saturated every conceivable space in the room. It placed in me a desire to someday have a space like that of my own, a creative space, a refuge. I only visited Modern's studio one more time after that, but the memories of the place, and the [Modern] man who lived there are still with me.

excerpt from an essay I wrote for a class

First of all I think that you are correct in reference to media saturation. Every day we are bombarded with instances of human misery, suffering, and tragedy. Perhaps one reaches a point when it becomes emotionally unbearable to react to each instance and instead a “numbness” sets in as a psychic defense mechanism.

My experience of 9/11 comes to mind here. The experience of watching the event on television made it seem somewhat unreal, or as Baudrillard might call it “hyperreal.” At the time I tuned in the media was reporting that an explosion had taken place in one of the towers of the WTC. So, here I am sitting uncomprehendingly on my couch in my living room watching these events unfold LIVE, in REAL time. I watched in mute silence as the second plane hit, the towers collapsed, and thousands of people died right before my eyes. To top it off, the President comes on and urges us to do our patriotic duty and go shopping. I feel like it’s all some kind of obscene joke….

On Politics

I have for the last year resisted making political post on my blog for various reasons I'm not going to get into, but with the elections coming up in the near future I thought I'd give it a go.

I recently sent in my overseas absentee ballot to make sure that no matter how fed up I am with politicians and the political process, I'm at least doing the minimals for civic participation. I got online to watch campaign ads and political debates to get a little background information on the politics of a state I haven't living in for nearly eight years now. I also found on the Minneapolis Metroblogging site an interesting tool from NPR for helping voters determine what issues are in contention this election as well as how one's political views on these issues coincides with the leading candidates. You can check the test out here.
While the results didn't surprise me I was able to more clearly understand where candidates stood in relation to my own concerns and opinions.

Having said all that I want to turn to the issues themselves.

First of all, is the smoking thing. Having been a smoker now for almost fifteen (15!) years now, I'd have to say that I wouldn't exactly be overjoyed if Minnesotans passed a statewide smoking ban, especially since standing outside for even a handful of minutes in the dead of a Minnesota winter is not a prospect I find exhilarating. But having said that, it seems to be the way things are leading and as smokers become pariahs in more and more states it seems more of a question of when rather than if. And I can't say I have too much of a problem with that. Less smokers means cheaper health care in the long run and that's certainly a good thing, not to mention the health benefits for ex-smokers and non-smokers.

That was a nice warm up but now comes a meatier one… Constitutional amendments that define marriage as between a man and a woman. This one really bugs me. Two years ago the state of Ohio passed something like this, banning gay marriage entirely. I would hate to see Minnesota go the same way. In fact, I'm pretty sure I don't understand any of the reasons people have offered to support such nonsense. In the Netherlands it's perfectly legal for same-sex couples to be legally married and while I'm sure there are some who object for whatever reason, it's possible. I had a discussion with a friend of mine lately who said that he's all for gay rights but is put off by the thought of gay men having sex. While I don't share this view I don't think about it either. When I meet or hang out with people I don't visualize them having sex no matter who they are, and even if I did there is no grounds for infringing rights just because a thought I may find repulsive passes through my mind. What are we…five years old?
I liken that attitude to people who won't sit on public toilets because other people have sat there. News flash, I don't eat off my but, so if the seat looks clean chances are it is. In addition studies have shown that toilets are among the cleanest items in a public place, it's the door handle that you actually should worry about. But all this aside my point is that I don't actually imagine other people squatting over the bowl when I need to do my business.
I'm sure it's in poor form to use the analogy of taking a shit to gay sex but it's just an analogy. If you don't like the thought of gay people having sex then don't think about it!
Crimony.
In addition to all this I don't see the economic and social benefit of alienating and oppressing an entire tenth of the population. Many gay people are among the most successful, creative, and hard-working percentage of society. Giving them the same rights as heterosexual couples makes good fucking business sense for strong future communities.

Next issue: Health care. Here's one that we need to seriously rethink. I don't know what percentage of US citizens don't have health insurance, but it's a sizable one. In fact, I'm one of them. Ensuring that everyone has affordable health care should rightly be the goal, and perhaps no one is actually disputing that. The trouble is how to accomplish it.
For one, I do understand the trouble with having socialized healthcare like that in Europe. For one, the quality tends to go down due to lack of competition and increase in the amount of people seeking care. The result is often that people have to wait too long to actually receive the kind of care that they need or the care they receive is not adequate. Here in the Netherlands where health care is socialized you are given a list of doctors based on your post code. The problem here is that these doctors a pretty much assured a steady stream of patients no matter how good their services. I imagine there is some sort of government oversight but I've heard that a typical doctor visit here results in a, “take two aspirin and call me in the morning' type of approach. On the one hand it's good to know that someone who claims to be sick (and may well be) is not immediately subjected to a battery of expensive and often superfluous tests which is one major reason why health care in the US is artificially high. On the other, one does have some doubts that patients are receiving adequate care. I make no claim to know the answers here but it is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with especially since the aging baby boomer demographic will soon be retiring and eventually placing an extremely large burden upon succeeding generations who are declining in number. Trust me, this will be a big issue in the years to come. Also, more focus on preventative medicine (like for instance, tai chi in the workplace) will reduce injury and health problems further down the line. Hey, it works for China.

Which brings me to education. We should certainly focus more on not only the skyrocketing costs of secondary education (which of course is almost a requirement for employment these days) to remain competitive, but we need to get a handle on the quality as well. More monitoring of students progress needs to be done as well in order to ensure that quality is meeting the standards we expect. It seems to me that while more and more education is being required of individuals to succeed in the working world, the quality of that education has actually gone down. I can remember taking freshman English classes where MANY of my classmates actually had difficulty constructing intelligible and grammatically correct sentences. I'm a fan of the idea that all students who have the aptitude and the desire should be able to have access to good quality, affordable education, emphasis on aptitude. For anyone who disputes the idea that students are becoming less intelligent even as the amount of time and money required for their education is increasing should have a look at John Taylor-Gatto's well researched, “The Underground History of American Education”> if you really want to understand what is going on. Nuff said.

Transportation is also a big one. I am very much in favor of increased funding for public transportation. Any city that's worth it's salt has a rail network, whether that be an underground metro system or lightrail (trams). In a country as big as the US, a better national rail system may be out of reach for some time given the overwhelming cost it would require combined with the reality that rail is still not competitive with airlines for long distance travel. However, in cities it's absolutely essential, especially with rising energy costs and concerns of the environment. Viable alternatives to the luxurious “right” to own a car are necessary.

Which leads nicely to perhaps the most talked about foreign issue: the war in Iraq. It's here that I have some difficulties. To begin my discussion of this issue I would like to point out that after 9/11, when it was fashionable to fly a US flag on your vehicle, I was against military intervention, especially in Iraq. Of course, it was always a bit risky admitting that in public at the time since jingoism was running rampant, and criticism of the plans to invade were akin to tacitly supporting terrorism, if not literally funding it. Now, a little short of five years later, there is the real possibility of withdrawing entirely.
Should the Democrats win the Presidency in 2008, that outcome seems virtually assured.
I think it's an understatement to say that the decision to invade Iraq was a mistake….it was a blunder of mind-boggling proportions. Having said that, I'm not sure that I support troop withdrawal. What? Did I really just type that? Yes, yes I did….and here's why.
We have turned a functioning, if despotic, country into a lawless, partisan, pile of desert slag. We destroyed nearly all the infrastructure and allowed for the rise of sectarian violence. I think if anything we need to send more troops over there, to make sure the job gets done right, if indeed the whole reason for us being there is to convert Iraq to a functioning democracy.
But JC, the Iraqi people don't want us there, our troops a being killed on a daily basis, and the situation seems to be getting worse, not better.
As for the people not wanting us there, I'm not sure that they ever really did, and if they didn't would that have stopped us? Maybe we should stop pretending that we ever gave two shits about the Iraqis and face up to the fact that we made a really big mess and not fixing it will most likely have worse repercussions than the ire of the international community. Walking away from the mess we made like the bunch of spoiled rich children that we are basically reduces our international credibility to none, assuming there is any left anyhow. And about the fact that our President and all his cronies lied to us? Deal with it you wimps because that's what happened and if you were too stupid initially to realize that then let this be your official welcome to the real world. Here is a fact: when you go to war, people die, including your own, that will always be true. But go ahead bring 'em all back if you want and then the memories of all those who died (and continue to die) will be tainted with the bitter regret that it was for absolutely fucking nothing at all. Then again, perhaps that's dying for nothing is better than dying to establish a modest amount of regional stability in a land that holds one of the worlds last, significant untapped oil cache. Perhaps we should look at little bit closer to home at our own lifestyles which celebrate the ownership of a car and the access to cheep petrol as a natural right. But then again, why start thinking now? What's the point of coming to terms with a legacy of exploitation and reckless consumption at this juncture? I've met more than one person who is perfectly fine with the idea that we are only in Iraq for the oil. I've had more than my share of conversations with people who are at least bold enough to own up to the fact that when it comes to the lives of foreign people vs. cheap gas that it's 'better them than us.' So have the intentions of the US always been control of the mind fields? Quite frankly yes. Is it possible that we might still be able to make a democracy out of Iraq? Yes, if we have the manpower to do it. If we pull out and a civil war breaks out, will there be anything we can do about it? No. And that is almost guaranteed to happen if we do. Good thing Iran is right next door to stir the pot. If we withdraw our troops it will be that much easier for other countries to ferment unrest, promote jihaadism, and fund proxy armies than ever before. Way to go America! way to really avoid thinking about anything in other than black and white!
As for the situation getting worse, I agree. You'd have to be blind not to understand that. The real question is this. Will things continue to get worse even if we increase our military presence to level that would realistically be capable of accomplishing the goal of a democratic Iraq, or would things be worse if we left Iraq to it's own devices? It's a choice between two evils, but it's a decision we need to make.

I think that is more than enough to chew on. Should you want to know more about how I feel about other political matters, please feel free to email me. Also, don't be shy. Leave a comment about how full of shit I am if you like. You can always do it anonymously.

Autumn

Here is another photo recently sent to me by G-reg.

From Patriotism to Abortion in One Move

Once again Mr. Sean Bedlam (a.k.a Sean Burke). He's a bit offensive to some people, certainly dark, but remember he's taking the piss.

The Voyage Home

Well, I think it's now safe to make an official announcement on my blog that Kimberlee and I are moving back to the United States. Minneapolis to be precise. Of course, we will both be somewhat sad to be leaving Europe since we both love it here, but right now it's a decision that makes sense for the both of us in terms of opportunity. The move isn't immediate, but we plan to be back in the States by mid-December right in the dead of Minnesota winter. Yipee!

Drink the Kool-Aid

Please excuse me for all of the video imbeds I've been posting lately in the place of documenting my often boring existence... I mean writing. But some things I find to be rather funny. Like this guy, a Mr. Sean Bedlam (at least that's his nom de video) from Australia. I will probably post a few more of his vlogs but this is a good introduction. I hope you get as much enjoyment from his demented sort of wit as I do.

The Egg Mobile

I don't know where stuff like this comes from, or how I find it, but it's a wonderful thing. This guy reminds me of my friend Mike who lives in New York state on an organic farm. So great...

Good Read

Just finished "One Hundred Years of Solitude," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Absolutely brilliant! So good in fact that I'm following it up with his "Love in the Time of Cholera." A bit existential thematically, it remided me of Tolstoy's "War and Peace" with it's chronical of the rise and fall of a notable family. If you love great prose and richly detailed imagery than I suggest you check it out.

Spelling: My Worst Subject

I was just reading through some of my more recent posts and I can't believe how many spelling and typing errors there are. I guess I could proofread them before posting but I usually don't think about it. There's even a spellcheck function on Blogger but I rarely remember to use it. Funny since spelling was always my worst subject in school. I remember in first grade that whenever a student scored 100% on a spelling test they were given a star to put by their name. As the school year progressed I had the least number of stars with one. It became a source of shame and anguish for me, so I decided to be proactive about the whole affair and cheat. However, I wasn't a very good cheater. I had the spelling list on the ground under my desk. After the test was over, I snatched up the list and quickly put it in my desk. Of course, a kid the next row over tattled on me, the stoolie. The teacher came over to the desk and searched through it while I gave my best look of indignant disbelief. Thankfully she never found the list which allowed me to shoot some hostile glares at the kid who told on me. Of course, karma intervened and I ended up misspelling "door" of all things. (Like I said, I wasn't a very good cheater). I think the whole affair so scarred me that I didn't cheat again until 11th grade English vocab with my friend Dave, but even then I think we did it more for laughs than for grades since most of our time we spent passing notes about Mrs. Blier's wicked coffee breath and substantial (and often sweaty) girth which she enjoyed draping...shudder... over her students when they had the courage to ask a question. I'm not really an expert on the secret pleasures of high school English teachers and after that experience I hope I never am. I also seem to recall that Dave and I derived a considerable amount of pleasure in demonstrating our illustrating skills by drawing various macabre pictures alluding to Hemmingway's suicide. Kids. Goofing off was a sport in that class, but I don't think I ever laughed so much on a daily basis. It's not hard to imagine why to this day I have no recollection of "Ethan Frome" except that apparently it's rife with irony. Go figure.

FYI

Hello all, just a word about my photos on the internet. Most of the people I know view my pics on my website (there is a link to the right). However, I now have a flickr account which can be reached by clicking the small "JC Media" button on the right towards the bottom. The reason I'm mentioning this is that my website is part of my .Mac account and I really don't like the interface or the layout dispite Apple's claims to user friendliness. Editing current photos or adding new ones to existing photo galleries is often a pain and as a result I don't think I've added anything new photos there for six months now. The flickr account on the other hand is very easy to use, plus it's interactive. Anyone with a yahoo account can easily set up a flickr account which is free. Then you may add comments, browse thousands of fantastic photos by clicking the "Explore" link, network with other users, and of course, post your own photos. The only downside is that with the free account you only get a certain amount of downloadable bandwidth per month, so if you have a ton of photos to post you have to be somewhat selective or post in batches every month. Oh... I suppose some people may not like the fact that it's not possible to customize the look of their pages but I think that really doesn't matter since it's the content (your photos) that really matters. I've only been using the service for a short time but the interface is so simple to use I think it's the host I'll be using the most from now on. So if you've never seen ANY of my photos (and you would like to) I would start by clicking the link to "My Website." However, if you're interested in my favorite and future pictures, I'd click on the "JC Media" button. In addition I'd love for others to post their pics as well. I've already checked out some of Kevski's pics of the graffiti project he's working on with disadvantaged kids. Hope to see you all at flickr!

Can't Decide

I can't decide which picture I like better. The first one, which is the original photo, or the second, where I added a filter to give it the appearance of a painting, and to add some lighting contrast. The original I really like because as an untouched photo it captures the natural quality of the light on an autumn evening in Paris just before dusk. However, the modified pic seems richer because of the shadows. The photo is of the Pantheon in Paris, not too far from the Sorbonne. What I really like about this picture is that I would never have taken it had we not gotten somewhat lost looking for a resturant. While walking aimlessly for quite a long while didn't make my feet very happy, taking this picture made up for it and has served to remind me to look on the bright side.

So, I'm asking you, yes YOU, to post a comment on which photo you prefer. I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks in advance!

Paris: Redoux

A picture of Notre Dame taken from a boat on the Seine


The Arc de Triomphe


Of course, the Tour Eiffel. I took these just last weekend. I accompanied Kimberlee on a business trip and we had superb weather the entire time.

Free Hugs Campaign

Cheezey, but it just may warm the cockels of your cold heart. MMmmm.... warm cockels!!!!

Why Living in the Netherlands Tries My Patience

Overall, I do like living in the Netherlands. However, I've learned that some room must be made for cultural differences. Like sacrificing value, convenience, and customer service. If you can do that, living in the Netherlands becomes a much more tolerable affair. Just today I needed to exchange a torn 50 euro bill and here is my story. I went to ABN-AMRO (a bank) to exchange the bill, and I guess that was my first mistake. The second was assuming that it would be a simple matter. ABN cannot accept damaged currency apparently. Only the Bank of the Netherlands can do that. It's conveniently located in Wassenar (20 minutes away by car). So one can either go to the bank in person between the hours of 9am and noon or you can fill out a two-page form and mail it to the bank. Of course, there is no telling how long the process could take. Perhaps years as they may have to wait until the next time they print currency to give you a new bill. It shouldn't amaze me any more that an assumably simple task would have a very complicated process in order to persuade the consumer that their demands are hopelessly beyond any measure of fulfillment and therefore pointless to entertain. So there you have it. I brought home the form which we can either decipher (from Dutch) or Kim can bring in to her office to be translated, but I'm not really that interested in tracking down this bank in Wassenar and then waiting around for hours in order to be told that "it's not possible," a distinctly Dutch phrase that seems to inevitably follow any request, and is heard nearly as often as "hello." Perhaps if we mail the form in this week we can get our new bill early sometime next year. However, it's likely that a reply will come in the mail sometime next spring saying that in order to process our request we need 4 forms of ID, a complete medical history, a two paragraph summary of how the bill came into our possession and how it was damaged, and the signature of the queen. I am, of course, exaggerating a bit but it's hard not to churn out cynical and vitriolic hyperbole when seemingly innocuous tasks are overly complicated by bureaucratic red tape and esoteric processes.

Modern Day Ninja?

I find this to be very cool.


The Urban Ninja - video powered by Metacafe