Non-visual posts
I hoped by now to do some posts with pictures, but something has crapped out on the high tech highway between my camera, computer and the internets. But when I get it back, lots of pics, including great pictures of ads on the subway system here.
In the meantime:
1) Thanks to a friendly friend, I get to watch my Packers every Monay morning via webcasts. And not only do I get my football fix, every week I get to catch up on what the latest menu is at Taco Bell back in the states, due to their incessant commercials. And somehow, I think the new Cheesy Beefy melt is exactly the same thing as their soft shell taco as their burrito as their grilled burrito. Dear America: replacing "cheddar" (and those of you who've ever eaten at the Hell know why I put it in parentheses) with a "three-cheese blend" does not constitutea new food item. (Strangely though, a number of Americans over here say the only fast food they miss is Taco Bell.)
2) It's Golden Week here, when 8 million or so mainland townies descend on Honky. Boy, do I look forward to people pushing to get in the subway, blocking the aisle in the exotic western grocery stores and coughing up a loogie. Not.
3) On Saturay, I went on a junk as part of a going-away shindig for a coworker who is going on a fellowship at Oxford for six months. Essentially, you rent a boat for 8 hours, cruise to a remote bay and float in the water for a few hours, all while enjoying food and drink. At the end, we ended up at my love/hate bar in this city, Red. Love the view, hate the lack of service. It's the place where you have to order your drinks and pick them up yourself because of a lack of license issue.
Later on in the night, a few Aussies, Brits and a Norwegian at the table did what happens every so often here, which is Pounce on the American to Bitch About Bush. As friends and family can attest, I take a more liberal view, usually, to politics and foreign policy. But after a while, you just have to stand up for your country and take on the people who have nothing but spite to say about America right now. Yes, our foreign policy pretty much everywhere is shite right now. Our standing in the world is down pretty much everywhere for a number of reasons: Iraq, the Axis of Evil statement, pooh-poohing global warming and having leaders who let their evangelicalism guide their worldview while criticizing other world leaders who let their religion guide their worldview.
But the US isn't all crap. We still promote freedom of speech and opportunity as much as everyone. We always have and always will allow newcomers in and let them build themselves up with all sorts of opportunities, and let them become something based on their skills, not because of what social strata they were born in. Think about this: We still have way more people doing everything in their means to get to the US. Very few people, except for small-minded liberals who don't realize that US politics always are cyclical in 10-year or so cycles, want to leave the country.
And put a few drinks in me, and I will defend the US as well as everyone. People from Britain and Australia, while often open minded, sometimes get in the mood that they need to tell Yanks how much they suck. These are the same Brits who don't want to acknowledge what abuses they did as a colonial power for 500 years; they only want to bitch about America doing the same ones now (not that it justifies it.) They are the ones who refuse to see how class still rules Britain and a lot of opportunities. They're the Aussies who come in loud, drunk and brash and refuse to acknowledge how they're not very welcoming of outsiders, esp. those who are brown, or how Australia is pretty much hand-in-hand on aggressive foreign policy, too.
As I remind these people, everything is cyclical. Don't confuse the acts of leadership with the acts of the people. And don't bitch to me that there's nothing good about my country. I'm not blind to my homeland's negatives, but as a moderate-liberal, I'm not blind to the positives that too often are co-opted by conservative jingoists.
4) I've got a strange feeling about the Cubs this year. It's not so much as they're a strong team going into the playoffs, it's that their opponents in the postseason look mediocre, too.
5) Hmm.....a story on Japanese beer. Looks like something I should read, or go experience.
In the meantime:
1) Thanks to a friendly friend, I get to watch my Packers every Monay morning via webcasts. And not only do I get my football fix, every week I get to catch up on what the latest menu is at Taco Bell back in the states, due to their incessant commercials. And somehow, I think the new Cheesy Beefy melt is exactly the same thing as their soft shell taco as their burrito as their grilled burrito. Dear America: replacing "cheddar" (and those of you who've ever eaten at the Hell know why I put it in parentheses) with a "three-cheese blend" does not constitutea new food item. (Strangely though, a number of Americans over here say the only fast food they miss is Taco Bell.)
2) It's Golden Week here, when 8 million or so mainland townies descend on Honky. Boy, do I look forward to people pushing to get in the subway, blocking the aisle in the exotic western grocery stores and coughing up a loogie. Not.
3) On Saturay, I went on a junk as part of a going-away shindig for a coworker who is going on a fellowship at Oxford for six months. Essentially, you rent a boat for 8 hours, cruise to a remote bay and float in the water for a few hours, all while enjoying food and drink. At the end, we ended up at my love/hate bar in this city, Red. Love the view, hate the lack of service. It's the place where you have to order your drinks and pick them up yourself because of a lack of license issue.
Later on in the night, a few Aussies, Brits and a Norwegian at the table did what happens every so often here, which is Pounce on the American to Bitch About Bush. As friends and family can attest, I take a more liberal view, usually, to politics and foreign policy. But after a while, you just have to stand up for your country and take on the people who have nothing but spite to say about America right now. Yes, our foreign policy pretty much everywhere is shite right now. Our standing in the world is down pretty much everywhere for a number of reasons: Iraq, the Axis of Evil statement, pooh-poohing global warming and having leaders who let their evangelicalism guide their worldview while criticizing other world leaders who let their religion guide their worldview.
But the US isn't all crap. We still promote freedom of speech and opportunity as much as everyone. We always have and always will allow newcomers in and let them build themselves up with all sorts of opportunities, and let them become something based on their skills, not because of what social strata they were born in. Think about this: We still have way more people doing everything in their means to get to the US. Very few people, except for small-minded liberals who don't realize that US politics always are cyclical in 10-year or so cycles, want to leave the country.
And put a few drinks in me, and I will defend the US as well as everyone. People from Britain and Australia, while often open minded, sometimes get in the mood that they need to tell Yanks how much they suck. These are the same Brits who don't want to acknowledge what abuses they did as a colonial power for 500 years; they only want to bitch about America doing the same ones now (not that it justifies it.) They are the ones who refuse to see how class still rules Britain and a lot of opportunities. They're the Aussies who come in loud, drunk and brash and refuse to acknowledge how they're not very welcoming of outsiders, esp. those who are brown, or how Australia is pretty much hand-in-hand on aggressive foreign policy, too.
As I remind these people, everything is cyclical. Don't confuse the acts of leadership with the acts of the people. And don't bitch to me that there's nothing good about my country. I'm not blind to my homeland's negatives, but as a moderate-liberal, I'm not blind to the positives that too often are co-opted by conservative jingoists.
4) I've got a strange feeling about the Cubs this year. It's not so much as they're a strong team going into the playoffs, it's that their opponents in the postseason look mediocre, too.
5) Hmm.....a story on Japanese beer. Looks like something I should read, or go experience.
posted by throm at 11:18 AM
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