Price Gouging

Price Gouging can refer either to prices obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, or to windfall profits. We heard threats of this but not necessarily much action in this regard (despite record profits in the oil and gas biz, despite the rising cost of oil). I have, however, found a postcard example of price gouging: the rental car industry.

If for some reason you opt not to purchase the tank-fill option, and return your rental car with less than a full tank of gas, you can be charged from $7 to $8 a gallon for the rental car agency to fill it for you (despite the price at the pump being $3 at the time of my experience). That is more than 250% above market price. Granted, I filled my tank before returning my rental, but have some difficulty in perceiving this pricing strategy as anywhere near fitting within the parameters of "legal". Just curious if any one else has observed such obscene pricing strategies.

Oh, Those Poor Northwest Pilots....

In July, as in June, at the end of the month, hundreds of flights were canceled because, according to Northwest's pilots, there were not enough pilots to fly the planned routes for the airlines. This, apparently, resulting from recent layoffs and furloughs of said pilots. So, nearing the end of the two recent months, in a non-strike strike move, the remaining pilots called in "sick" and were unable to fly the remaining flights (for which thousands of tickets had been sold, undoubtedly).

Yes, there's a labor contract at play here. Of course, nothing says 'market manipulation' like a union deal. The irony is, the Pilots ratified the contract last year that they're - ahem - calling in sick about, conveniently, at the end of the month for, this year.

Northwest ended a 20-month bankruptcy in May, and used its Chapter 11 reorganization to cut labor costs by $1.4 billion annually. In May 2006, the nearly 5,000 pilots ratified a contract that saved the airline $358 million a year and averted a possible strike. That contract cut the pilots' pay by 23.9 percent, but raised from 80 to 90 the maximum number of hours per month that pilots could be required to fly. (The FAA allows them to fly up to 100 hours a month, any flying that exceeds the maximum is "voluntary", yet is paid at a 150% rate).

So, when pilots are hitting their 90-hour mark, they're calling in sick.

Boo - Friggin - Hoo. 90 Hours? In 3 weeks??? Some people work that in a week and are glad that they've been able to get work done in a week under the triple-digit mark. In a Week! These pilots are relatedly working part-time - the equivalent of 30 hours a week. How can they afford to do that?

Looks like I need to take flying lessons. No wonder they're called NorthWORST. They've earned it!

WTF, NSA???

So, the news reported recently about cigarette lighters being allowed through security scans now by the NSA. It appears that no one bothered to tell the NSA this. On a recent flight, I felt sorry for the folks forced to fish out their lighters from their carry-ons that had gone through the security screening machines at the security checkpoints in the various airports I traveled through.

Speaking of broken communications, it seems that the NSA can’t effectively work within its network from one airport to another. We’ve heard the gripes about liquids and gels, and are pretty much aware that “Travelers may now carry through security checkpoints travel-size toiletries (3 ounces or less) that fit comfortably in ONE, QUART-SIZE, clear plastic, zip-top bag.” (http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/threat-change.shtm)

But some airports are more militaristic than others in what they define as “toiletries”.

One definition outlines toiletries as “Any article or preparation used in cleaning or grooming oneself, as soap or deodorant”;

…another as ” An article, such as toothpaste or a hairbrush, used in personal grooming or dressing.”

But in airports, the TSA apparently overrides Random House or the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, and each location seems to determine for itself what a toiletry is. Thank god neither of them opt to classify a hairbrush as one, as the American Heritage Dictionary does.

The objective in starting up this panic movement was concern that explosive gels or liquids could be carried upon a plane, and then ignited. Despite the news programs announcing lighters being re-approved, the TSA does not allow them on planes. Despite the safety precaution of tiny packaging and clear-bagging and scanning of any carry-on gels or liquids, as intended initially, here are some examples of what the TSA are requiring in some airports to be bagged in those zip-locks (and god help you if the bottle itself is bigger than 3 ounces, even if the remaining amount of liquid – like, say, a perfume – is only perhaps 20 drops):

• Lipstick (I think of this as more of a creme than a gel or a liquid, but what do I know. I’m a girl.
• Deodorant. Unless it says “gel” or “liquid”, I’m guessing it’s not a gel or a liquid (eww, anyway) and do not bag it as such.
• Gum. yes, chewing gum.
• Hairspray.
• Medication. Again, unless it says ‘gelcaps’ or comes as a syrup, I’m not going to think of medication as a gel or liquid.

Here’s another fun fact: a one-quart-size bag. I saw people’s belongings thrown away because they were in a non-clear, store type plastic bag, not of the clear, zip-lock top kind. Now really. How much safer are you going to feel knowing that the evil Kroger plastic bag is not in your neighbor’s carry-on baggage?

One tip: If you happen to have small sized toiletries from any other country, they are likely in metric, so go ahead and make a TSA agent's day by bringing in a 50ml tube of sun screen!!

Ode to the Asterisk……..We Hardly Knew Ye

What ever happened to our old friend, the asterisk? This used to be a favorite symbol of mine. We’ve all grown up – for the most part – using this wonderful little symbol as a rover, of sorts, to indicate or fill in or signify all manner of items: a break in the flow of thought, a rating system, a bullet-listing mechanism, a vulgarity-filler (s**t!!), a footnote, a grammatical or spelling correction indicator, emphasis, multiplication, and even for sports scoring.

Anymore, though, in our mass-media, litigation-infused society, the asterisk has become a double-agent. Any marketing material, publication, billboard, banner, pamphlet, coupon, advertisement, website, or other form of visible print media has usurped and corrupted our friendly asterisk into a sign of dubious connotation.

Take, for example, a seemingly innocent Burger King drive-through. I went through one today, even though I’m not a big fan of fast food, because I was raging for something salty and a giant bucket of Dr. Pepper, but didn’t want to actually park my vehicle to go get it. I noticed a placard advertising a Creamy Iced Coffee type of drink – that looked pretty good on a hot day – but only after I’d made my purchase. As I was driving by the placard, I noticed a super-tiny asterisk next to the word “Creamy”. Of course, this drink is not on the Burger King website, so I’m guessing it’s being test marketed. At any rate, making an exception marking next to the word “creamy” just seemed so……cheesy. Let’s look at this logistically. From Dictionary.com, the definition(s) for the word “creamy” include the following:

cream·y /Pronunciation Ke[kree-mee]
–adjective, cream·i·er, cream·i·est.
1. containing cream.
2. resembling cream in consistency or taste; soft and smooth.
3. cream-colored.
4. Informal.
a) beneficial or profitable: a creamy arrangement for profit sharing.
b) slick, facile, or superficial: His later movies are too creamy.

[Origin: 1425–75; late ME. See cream, ¹ —Related forms
cream·i·ly, adverb
cream·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1),
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

So, by asterisking the term “creamy”, what exactly is Burger King trying to protect or exempt itself from? Liability from a lactose-demanding customer potentially irate at the use of a non-dairy cream-type material, instead of real milk? Protection from the irritable bowel of a lactose-intolerant consumer frustrated at the use of “actual cream” in his or her iced coffee-drink?

How far beyond the reasonable will we continue to endure punctuation abuse, as a society? I’m curious to know. I rarely trust my old friend the asterisk nowadays. It seems that any time I see him, it’s as though he’s providing me with a friendly wink of caution -

“Beware! This commercial is about a beautiful auto lease, but I’ll be followed by 3 rolling paragraphs of 1.5 font fine print scrolling by in 2.3 seconds flat and you, as the idiot consumer, will be expected now to have been fully informed of your rights and obligations as a lessor!”

or…

“Free”! (but only if you use our store card 34 times and send in 17 receipts dated within a 6 month period hand-signed by our store manager that works on the odd-hour day shift, mailed in an 8 x 10 envelope filled with the front page of your local newspaper’s Front Page). You get my drift.

So, farewell, fond asterisk….for I can no longer appreciate you as a friendly “come-hither, I have bonus material for you!” flag. Instead, you have been manipulated into a trickster that I have come to regard with a small amount of dread. You are the crossed-fingers behind the back of a shady salesman, the wink of a shyster, a flower....... hiding a lie. May you rest in peace, next to your brother, Truth in Advertising (which, unfortunately, you’ve been subjugated to nullify - sorry to break the news to you).

* * *

Only 12 Hours Left to Vote for the New 7 Wonders of the World!!!

Voting ends tonight in the global campaign to identify the "New 7 Wonders of the World." Of course, I've got to throw in my own bragging rights here, so places that I've been fortunate to visit are coded in blue...

Right now, with 90 million votes cast, organizers say the Great Wall of China, the Colosseum in Rome and Machu Picchu in Peru are leading the pack. The final results will be announced tomorrow in Lisbon, Portugal. So, get to crackin' and VOTE!!!

Here's the list of Seven Ancient Wonders that was created 2,300 years ago:

• Lighthouse of Alexandria
• Temple of Artemis
• Statue of Zeus
• Colossus of Rhodes
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
• Pyramids of Egypt

What would be on your list of wonders at the dawn of the 21st century? Vote here.

AP's list of the 20 finalists:

ACROPOLIS, GREECE: The Acropolis, a flat-topped hill standing above Athens, draws around a million visitors each year to walk among its 5th-century-B.C. marble temples and admire the statues of Greek gods and goddesses. The largest temple is the columned Parthenon, which was used as a church and then a mosque until it was heavily damaged in a 17th century war.

HAGIA SOPHIA, TURKEY: The soaring cathedral, also called the Church of Holy Wisdom, was built in 537 A.D. at Constantinople, today's Istanbul, under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. In 1453, when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, it became a mosque with minarets, but Turkish President Kemal Ataturk ordered it turned into a museum in 1935, allowing the Christian mosaics that had been covered by the Muslims to be revealed again.

KREMLIN AND ST. BASIL'S CATHEDRAL, RUSSIA: Onion domes with golden cupolas surrounded by red brick walls are at the heart of Moscow's Kremlin, a Medieval fortress converted into the center of Russian government, and the symbol of communist dictatorship at Soviet times. The red brick Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed on adjacent Red Square featuring nine towers of different color, was built by Czar Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th century to celebrate the capture of the Mongol stronghold of Kazan.

COLOSSEUM, ITALY: The giant amphitheater in Rome was inaugurated in A.D. 80 by the Emperor Titus in a ceremony of games lasting 100 days. The 50,000-seat Colosseum, which has influenced the design of modern sports stadiums, was an arena where thousands of gladiators dueled to the death, and, as tradition would have it, Christians were fed to the lions.

NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE, GERMANY: The inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, Neuschwanstein is a creation of "Mad King" Ludwig II of Bavaria, who had it built in the 19th century to indulge his romantic fancies, long after the age of castles. Perched on a peak in the Bavarian Alps, the gray granite castle rises to towers, turrets and pinnacles and contains many paintings showing scenes from the operas of Richard Wagner, whose work Ludwig admired.

EIFFEL TOWER, FRANCE: The 985-foot tower, built by the engineer Gustave Eiffel for Paris' International Exposition of 1889, has become the city's symbol. Made almost entirely of open-lattice wrought iron and erected in only two years with a small labor force, the tower -- Paris' highest construction -- demonstrated an important advance in building techniques and at first was considered by many to be an eyesore.

STONEHENGE, BRITAIN: How and why this circular monument of massive rocks was created between 3,000 B.C. and 1,600 B.C. is unknown, but some experts say its builders aligned the stones as part of their sun-worshipping culture, while others believe it was part of an astronomical calendar. Today it is a major tourist attraction and has spiritual significance for thousands of druids and New Age followers, some of whom gather on June 21 each year to celebrate summer solstice.

ALHAMBRA, SPAIN: The palace and citadel, perched above the city of Granada, was the residence of the Moorish caliphs who governed southern Spain in splendor until King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled them in 1492, ending 800 years of Muslim rule. Mosaics, arabesques and mocarabe, or honeycomb work, are stunning features of the decoration.

GREAT WALL OF CHINA: The 4,160-mile barricade running from east to west is the longest man-made structure in the world. The fortification, which largely dates from the 7th through the 4th century B.C., was built to protect the various dynasties from invasion by the Huns, Mongols, Turks and other nomadic tribes.

KIYOMIZU TEMPLE, JAPAN: Kyoto's Kiyomizu-dera, which means Clear Water Temple, was founded by the Hosso sect of Buddhism in 798 and rebuilt in 1633 after a fire. It features a three-stream waterfall which is believed to confer health, longevity and success to the drinker.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, AUSTRALIA: Situated on Bennelong Point reaching into Sydney's harbor, the opera house with a roof looking like a ship in full sail was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon and opened in 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II. The building, whose roof is covered by over 1 million white tiles, features 1,000 rooms and hosts 3,000 events every year.

ANGKOR, CAMBODIA: The archaeological site in Siem Reap, 143 miles northwest of the capital Phnom Penh, was the capital of the Khmer (Cambodian) empire from the 9th to the 15th century, and served as administrative center and place of worship for a dynasty that ruled over a vast domain reaching from Vietnam to China and the Bay of Bengal, the most prosperous kingdom in South Asia's history. Featured are Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, two impressive temple ruins dating from the 12th century.

TAJ MAHAL, INDIA: The white marble-domed mausoleum in Agra, Uttar Pradesh state, was built by Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. The complex -- an outstanding example of Mughal architecture combining Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles -- houses the graves of the emperor and his wife, as well as those of lesser Mogul royalty.

TIMBUKTU, MALI: Two of West Africa's oldest mosques, the Djingareyber, or Great Mosque, and the Sankore mosque built during the 14th and early 15th century can still be seen at the ancient city of Timbuktu in the northern Sahara Desert. Founded about A.D. 1100, it was a flourishing caravan center in the Arabic world and a leading spiritual and intellectual center in the 15th and 16th centuries, with one of the first universities in the world established there.

PETRA, JORDAN: The ancient city of Petra in southwestern Jordan, built on a terrace around the Wadi Musa or Valley of Moses, was the capital of the Arab kingdom of the Nabateans, a center of their caravan trade, and also continued to flourish under Roman rule after the Nabateans were defeated in A.D. 106. The city is famous for its water tunnels and numerous stone structures carved in the rock, the most impressive of which is probably Ad-Dayr, 'the Monastery,' an uncompleted tomb facade that served as a church during Byzantine times.

STATUE OF CHRIST REDEEMER, BRAZIL: The 125-foot statue of Christ the Redeemer with outstretched arms overlooks Rio de Janeiro on Brazil's Atlantic coast from atop Mt. Corcovado (the "Hunchback"). Created by Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski, the statue weighing more than 1,000 tons was built in pieces in France starting in 1926 and shipped to Brazil. The pieces were carried by cogwheel railway up the 2,343-foot mountain for assembly. The statue was inaugurated on Oct. 12, 1931.

EASTER ISLAND, CHILE: Hundreds of massive stone busts, or Moais, are all that remains from the prehistoric Rapanui culture that crafted them between 400 and 1,000 years ago to represent deceased ancestors. With some standing more than 70 feet tall and weighing 60 tons, the statues gaze blankly out on the south Pacific Ocean more than 1,000 miles off the Chilean mainland.

MACHU PICCHU, PERU: Built by the Incan Empire in the 15th century, the giant walls, palaces, temples and dwellings of the Machu Picchu sanctuary are perched in the clouds at 8,000 feet above sea level on an Andean mountaintop overlooking a lush valley 310 miles southeast of Lima. It remains a mystery how the huge stones were moved into place for the construction of the remote city.

PYRAMID AT CHICHEN ITZA, MEXICO: This step pyramid surmounted by a temple survives from a sacred site that was part of one of the greatest Mayan centers of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Built according to the solar calendar, it is placed so that shadows cast at the fall and spring equinoxes are said to look like a snake crawling down the steps, similar to the carved serpent at the top. An older pyramid inside features a jade-studded, red jaguar throne.

STATUE OF LIBERTY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The 305-foot statue holding a torch has towered over New York Harbor since 1886 when it was dedicated as a gift of the French government, welcoming immigrants and Americans returning from abroad. An elevator inside takes visitors to the 10-story pedestal observatory, but access to the inside of the crown and torch is no longer permitted.

Ancient world wonder in addition to the new 7 wonders:

PYRAMIDS OF GIZA, EGYPT: The only surviving structures of the original seven wonders, the three pyramids were built as tombs for 4th dynasty pharaohs about 4,500 years ago. The largest of the three pyramids, the 452-foot-high Great Pyramid, was built for King Cheops. Nearby is the Great Sphinx, a limestone statue with the face of a man and the body of a lion.

It will retain its status as a wonder of the world in addition to the seven new wonders.

Posted by Mike Carney, USA Today, July 06, 2007

Need a Vacation? Me, Too. And Apparently Everyone Else in the U.S.A.

Recently (well, in May), the Center for Economic Policy and Research published a report exposing what we all fairly well feel, even if we weren't particularly sure of the details previously: we live in a "No Vacation Nation".

For those who have worked in or with professionals from other countries, that awareness is often driven home by our contemporaries who ask about the vacation situation in the U.S.A as though it were some sort of urban legend. "Is it true that you only have two or three weeks of holiday, for an entire YEAR?" they ask, in quiet fear - as though a confirmation of this feared assumption might ultimately ripple into their country's work-life balance and cause irreparable damage. Mon Dieu!

But, alas, I don't think that will be the case. It seems much of the world has its priorities straight when it comes to the importance of establishing and maintaining a valuable time separation from work that is adequate to provide a willingness to return, and long enough to allow a full disconnect from the day-to-day requirements and responsibilities that each of us shoulders in order to make our companies more profitable, more efficient, more productive, more......more. And, most countries allow this to occur multiple times in one calendar year. In fact, most of them even legislate it.

Just to illustrate the point, here's a wonderfully sad graphic from the "No Vacation Nation" report by the good folks over at the Center for Economic Policy Research (click image to enlarge):

Yet here, a flurry of recent blog and news articles over the last few summers have been reporting increasing connectedness, even during our all-to-short vacations. According to a recent AP poll, about 20% of respondents indicate taking work with them on vacation, often in the form of their laptop. 20% also called or checked into work regularly, 40% check their email, and 50% check personal messages. I imagine the numbers may be higher than that based on the quantity of my co-workers who are attached at the hip to their blackberries. Keep in mind, their survey sample population was only 1000 people.

The point? Lobby your _______ (workplace, legislators, leaders, co-workers, etc) for vacation time commensurate with the other strong economies around the world, to maintain global competitiveness. And to give yourself a break! You deserve it. I know I do.

Patience vs. Action

....When to draw the line?

I think this line becomes blurrier with each new generation - whether that generation be human or technological. I've encountered this issue repeatedly in the last year or so, in varying ways, and find that I'm running out of.....patience......in determining the appropriate go / no-go moment of action.

Personally, I am a creature of action. The best way that I can sum this up is to Tim Leary's comment, along the lines of an album playing: "If you don't like what you're doing, you can always pick up your needle and move to another groove." I've been fairly able to do this most of my life, until recently, in which my needle seems to have become mired in a groove seemingly filled with peanut butter, and my view of other grooves obstructed by my own mental clutter.

I've been working on cleaning out the mental clutter - I think some of that accumulates naturally with age - but am struggling with the peanut butter in my current groove. This is because of a number of factors that are somewhat beyond my control to scrape away. Some of these factors are aspects of the society in which I find myself currently living: a quiet, serene, somewhat rural town, with a work-ethic that is similarly paced. For most of my working life, I've lived in populations of a couple of million people plus, and the pace of life, and adaptability to change, have been relatively quick. It has been something of an adjustment for me in a quiet town to realize that people in this environment simply choose not to function at the same speed of business. They prefer not to be as embracing of change, innovation, or - perhaps - there is a lacking comfort level, bordering on fear. As a result, the additional effort required to escort people through a business change - even if the end result is significantly beneficial to the individual or a business unit - can become exhausting and repetitive to someone used to championing change in a change-oriented society.

Most often, what I hear is along the lines of, "great idea, let's sit on that for a bit." Other things notwithstanding – like organizational developmental saturation for other change initiatives already in progress, and such – this idea, of “ let’s sit on that” – really stops me in my tracks.

I don’t know what to make of it. It does not logically flow, in my mental processing capacity (pending, again, no other barring activities). I cannot understand why anyone would desire waiting to do something later when it could be done now. Is this a generational issue? Not in my family. Not in the strong work-ethic parental generations of families I know. Not among my parents’ friends.

Where does this desire to “wait to act” come from? Now, I can see the value in this for something that is political or has other consequential risk or consideration – such as rushing into an unsubstantiated war – but in waiting to enact an efficiency, an improvement, or a betterment – that ultimately saves time and money, or creates a safer work environment, or streamlines the effectiveness of information or communication – I fail to see the value of waiting to enact an improvement. This is what has me currently mired. I cannot determine the obstruction, so I cannot, as a result, develop a solution. Which means, for the time being, beyond all that is natural and instinctual to me, I am forced to wait, to swim through mud, to skip through peanut butter, and hope that some aspect beyond my control can open up a channel of clarity for me through which I can forge a continued path of efficiency.

So, for now, I must practice patience. This is the hard part. I can do this, but the difficulty is determining the appropriate time to allocate to Patience, before once again taking the path of Action. Whether that be forging ahead with my "great idea", or engaging in a workaround and developing my own new path remains to be seen. For now, I suppose, my actions during my time of Patience must be comprised of developing my plans to forge my own, new path.

So much for the success in clearing out the mental clutter - I'm about to start creating a bit more!

Spring Wish List

Spring is almost - kind of - here. And I'm starting to think about Shopping. Not your typical girly-girl type of shopping. Not even grocery shopping (last time I remember doing that more that a quick stop is January). Not updating my work wear. Not picking out a few flowers for the outside planter. Not another dime toward home improvement.

I'm in the mood for a little updating to the music library. And, since I'm often like a kid in a candy store when I go into a music shop, which is why I often don't go into a music shop (horrified at the amount I end up spending, which is what keeps me away for a year), this time, I've started a little list. And, I'm proud to say, it's not super long. But I've only been working on it for a day - so that could change.

For now, it is - in no particular order:

Prarie Wind - Neil Young

Jet - Shine On

Rogers Sisters - Never Learn to Cry (maybe)

Johnny Cash - A Hundred Highways

Alejandro Escovedo (an actual person I've met) - formerly of the Nuns, Rank & File, and the True Believers with his new solo out - The Boxing Mirror. In one of those "small world" moments, I was reading his website this weekend to check on any new releases. I didn't know he was a huge fan of John Cale's, and that as their friendship grew, so did one with Sterling Morrison of the Velvet Underground (before his passing), who's the cornerstone of one of my pivotal Houston stories. That was a good head-shaking realization. So of course that cd's a must-have. **Playing at the Black Arts Swamp Festival in BG, Sept. 8, in BG - and maybe, just maybe, John Cale will be playing alongside....**

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

Scritti Politti - White Bread and Black Beer

Miles Davis - The Cellar Door Sessions 1970

Ray Davies - Other People's Lives

Son Volt - The Search

Daniel Lanois - Belladonna

Los Lobos - The Town & The City

Drive By Truckers - Blessing & A Curse

Anyone wishing to contribute to my musical treasure hunt is more than welcome to leave a comment for contact. Oh, and Happy Almost Spring.

South Park'sTop 25?? Hilarity Ensues!

Well, I'm a latecomer to South Park, but recently found this link to the 25 funniest moments - some of which I've yet to see, but a good list to start from none the less!

And yes, I realize how shallow it is going to seem posting this adjacent to the post below. Such is life.

Holi of Holies! March 3, Nepal - Holi Festival, Full Moon, & Lunar Eclipse. Can you say Trifecta Festival Event?

In early March, the globe enjoyed a full moon, and some parts more than others were able to enjoy viewing a full lunar eclipse. In addition to this, in Nepal, it was also the Holi festival. This is often a time of mayhem. Young people wear old clothes and finish the evening in a decidedly multi-coloured look. Holi, also known as the festival of colors, has roots in various Hindu myths and is celebrated in Nepal in a myriad of methods.

(this photo is a bit blurry: no tripod, pre eclipse)



I understand in prior days, people used to hurl buckets of paint at each other, or water balloons of dyed water. Nowadays, it seems, the paint seems to be more of the Halloween make-up version, and it seems to be relatively self-applied - at least from the start. The festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil and heralds the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

I like to think of it better thusly:
As nature blooms into the colors of spring, so do the people of Nepal!

Of course, many of the people - particularly the malefolk - seem dourly serious in the photos attached, this is fairly common. Most of my friends in Nepal are male, and most of my photos of them are similar in nature to those of men in the old west U.S. at the turn of the century - By God Serious. But this belies the nature of some of the warmest people on earth.

Even so, with the myriad of traditional theatrics that go on - you can see the tension in these young boys. They live with daily "disappearances", political ambiguity, an uncertain future, and being citizens of one of the 3 poorest countries on earth while their King is one of the richest rulers on the planet. They will either go into the army to fight the maoists, join the maoists to fight the corrupt government, become monks, become petty criminals to support their families, or become one of an ever-growing population of locals who feed off of the tourist industry. Tourism, incidentally, is suffering intermediary to long-term damage due to the violence that the maoists have embraced initially to get their message heard, but have been reluctant of late to release now that they have driven change in the country.






The future is less bright for the young women and girls of Nepal. Many are being forced into prostitution or kidnapped across the border into India, never to see their families again, doomed to an early diseased death. Gloomy, huh! And Nepalis, despite this, are still the most genuinely warm people you could hope to meet.

I hope that the leaders in Nepal working on an Interim Government truly bridge their differences and work toward a Republic, as they've stated, rather than let things disintegrate further into tribal friction and further fractionation of such proud, hard working, talented, culturally and geographically wealthy people.

Emerson Bell - Rest in Peace

How appropriate that I happened to be listening to T-monk when I learned the news. Hope you've picked your new incarnation. Unfortunately I'm behind in hearing about this. Like most, I mourn the passing of a wonderful person and masterful artist, but in addition, a talented jazz impressario and creative muse. Must be why I've been seeing so much of you in my dreams. Bon voyage, man - you've played it well.

Taken a few months before his passing. Thanks for teaching me to smelt my own metals, the fun between acetylene and butane burning, and the key to the perfect patina.

Mommy, Where do Stereotypes Come From?

Reading a letter to the editor in a small town paper (I was reeeeeaaaalllly bored while eating lunch one day) I was gobsmacked by what struck me as incredulous. Several stereotypes sprung to mind. First, the scenario.

I’ve always tried to pride myself on being one of those people who is hesitant – resistant, even – to falling back on unimaginative, degrading, insulting stereotypes. But today, that’s all that flooded my mind when I read the article.

There is obviously a bigger story and situation than is portrayed by the brief clipping, but in it, a woman writes about her distress in dealing with the child welfare system after her young child has been removed from her care.

Probably very correctly she espouses that protective service organizations do this as a result of physical, mental, or emotional abuse, as well as neglect such as improper nutrition, care, or clothing.

The core of her letter, however, indicates that once a child – particularly a baby – has been removed, the hurdles for the parent to regain custody seem to be tremendous, and according to the complainant, surmountable only with considerable financial assets to ease the way. She uses several examples to try to persuade the reader to the woes of parents in such a predicament.

What caused my jaw to drop, however, was her last argument.

“And what about the parents who didn’t even get a chance to abuse or neglect their children?”

The stereotypes?

Awww, that poor hillbilly, redneck, nascar-watching, budwiser-drinking, white-trash, meth-belt mom didn’t even git a chance to beat her babies yet before them social workers done took ‘em away from ‘er……….

Insanity? You Decide!

Just remembered this old favorite quote from Einstein (or as I like to call him, ol' One Cup):

Insanity:
doing something over and over expecting different results - Albert Einstein

I guess the perfect current example would be sending 20+,000 more troops to Iraq without a change in strategy. Some would question what, exactly, our strategy might be. The best part: - wait for it - is doing so:

• without utilizing REQUESTED feedback from the other assembled strategists that have contributed to provide alternative solutions such as
• the Iraq report
• feeds from members of Congress over the last 4 years
• while denying that there have been any other suggestions
• and while also stating, "there is no plan b"
• ...and that "failure is not an option".
  

So, apparently, we're going to keep on doing what we're doing, with no change in strategy, but this time - somehow - it'll work, by god. In other words, doing something over and over and expecting different results. Or, insanity without strategy.

As 2006 ends, Hussein is dead. Where is the US on its Hunt for Osama, Anyway?

Right now would probably be a good time (about 6 years overdue, actually) for the White House to develop a Global Political strategy that considers the other countries in the world as neighbors, rather than audience members. After 9/11/01, when we vowed to “hunt down bin Laden”, seemingly in an effort more to puff out our chests and show action that to do what we actually said, we opted to declare war on…..Iraq and topple Hussein. This is specious logic, picture-perfect hypocrisy at its best. “Look, ma, he did it! Now I’m going to go beat up this other guy, because, well, I don’t know where they guy who hit me is, I’m pissed off, and I don’t like this other one!”

Many Americans in their post 9/11 shock bought the buzzword media spin that was hard crafted to drive this. We had to chase terror, in any form. There could be weapons of mass destruction (as long as we didn’t look at any of our friendly countries or in our own back yard). Oh, and Saddam had committed genocide 25 years ago. We created all kinds of bridges and tunnels to subvert the constitution to meet those ends, in the name of ‘preventing another terror attack’. Any dissenting commentary was termed ‘unpatriotic’. Turns out only the genocide piece of Saddam’s blame points was true, and hey – what about the hunt for Osama, anyway? We’ve not heard a peep about that objective in 3 years. Now we’ve installed a puppet government in Iraq (that’s never worked for us when we’ve done it before), watched the country slip into civil war, and handed Saddam over to be hung on the eve of a Muslim holiday which will provide future insurgents with a handy holiday reminder in future years. And will no doubt drive the schism between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq even further, to be echoed elsewhere throughout the Mid-east.

So, if our real objective, instead of finding Osama bin Laden, was instead to spend 5 years toppling a dictatorship that posed no threat to us for the reason that, in the end, the dictator committed genocide, then what does that say to the people of these other countries who have been living with the horror of genocide during that time in which the US has either aided and abetted the genocide or ignored it altogether? (See list below).

What this seems to say to the countries who have either tested their weapons of mass destruction, aimed at their enemies (N. Korea), or who already have them (much of the western world, India, Pakistan, China) is apparently: free pass – welcome to the mutually assured destruction club.

America’s global strategy, be it on perceived terror or otherwise national collaboration needs to be pulled from the state of tangled debris and deceit that it is in currently, or scrapped altogether, for one that is supported by logic and legality. How bout that for a 2007 New Year’s Resolution?

Currently at Genocide (Mass Killing) Stage:

Sudan – south, Nuba region
Sudan - Darfur
Uganda
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ethiopia
Colombia
North Korea
Nepal
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Baluchistan, Sind
Burma (Myanmar)
Sri Lanka
Uzbekistan Fergana Valley
Peoples Republic of China
Russia –Chechnya
Iraq
Israel – Palestine
Lebanon
This list ©2006 Gregory H. Stanton, Genocide Watch
http://www.genocidewatch.org/genocidetable2006.htm

Santa's Very Personal "Screw You"

I suppose I wasn't a very good girl this year, but I'm hard pressed to think of any bad things I've done. We were supposed to get some snow on Christmas Night, except I misunderstood that to be Christmas Eve. So on Christmas Morning, I looked out of one of my front / side windows to check what the snowfall was. I saw no snow - instead, I saw raw sewage - my own (yep, turds'n'all, which is all you can really see in the grass) surrounding my sewer drain access cover. I've had slow drainage issues, which my plumber has previously declared the Fault of the Neighbor's Giant Maple Roots getting into my drain, which would have to be snaked out annually. That's on the calendar for March. Might have to be more than annually. But this being Christmas day, I wasn't going to be calling the plumber out. And I didn't want my little bodily presents out decorating the yard. So I grabbed a dozen or so Kroger bags and went out to do what any good pet owner should do when walking the dog - prepped with bags turned inside out, I went to go pick up my own crap. A humbling start to Christmas day.

You Think You Know Your Geography?

I've been around the world a time or three, and only scored a 62 on THIS test. Oy......By the way, it's World Geography Awareness week. Test your knowledge - and good luck!

Anal? Or Detail-Oriented? You Decide....

--excerpt from an email--

I'm writing to comment on the Chicken Wonton Salad with the Honey Mustard dressing. It's one of my faves here at the cafeteria, but I'd like to offer two improvements:

First, wontons are really pasta-like dumplings for soup - actually the precursors to ravioli - and what is included in the salad seems to be thinly cut strips of flour tortillas then fried. That's fine, but if the salad continues using tortillas instead of wontons then perhaps it should be renamed. Call it the chicken tortilla salad or the chicken fiesta salad, but don't deceive consumers by calling it a chicken wonton salad. Even the deep-fried American variety of wontons still reflect their Chinese heritage and are typically wrapped around a bite of meat or other filler prior to frying. Thin fried strips of crunchy stuff does not a wonton make.

Another suggestion would be to use dark greens in the salad portion of the meal - baby spinach, red leaf lettuce, etc. This is marketed as a healthy meal, but by insisting on using iceberg lettuce, you're including value-less, taste-less filler with the nutritional equivalent of cardboard. The mandarin orange slices are a nice touch!

Lastly, I'd like to comment on the breakfast burritos. You should see what people do to these when they leave the serving line. They unroll the meat, egg, and chese from the tortilla and throw the flour tortilla shell away. I can tell you why - it's too big and too thick. One suggestion is to have someone coordinate with the food services group in our offices in Texas to learn how to make breakfast tacos. For the stuffing in today's current burritos, you could use 1/2 of the wrap material, call it a breakfast taco, and increase revenue to sell 2 for $2. People buy the burritos, as I do, because they want a quick "all in one" breakfast thing that is quick and portable - like the croissant and bagel breakfast sandwiches. I'd venture most people don't like being so wasteful with their burritos. And if time and budget allow, even better to ditch the canned salsa and chop up some freshly - eliminating the tinny taste.

Thanks!!

I suppose you could make the argument either way....but I'd be interested in your opinions!

2007 Calendars - Get Yours Here!

I've decided to self-publish a 2007 Calendar with photos from some of my favorite places: Singapore, Norway, Cambodia, New Zealand, Nepal, Thailand, Morocco, and the US. If you'd like to buy one, you'd have my eternal thanks! Click here to purchase or here to see the photos used for the production.

It's Getting Hard Out Here to be a Camper

Lifehacker recently posted this article about making summer camping reservations now to get spots in more popular destinations. This is becoming a growing pain in my ass....because there is just something inherently wrong with having to reserve a spot on the ground for you and your tent. With a credit card. Six months or more in advance!

If I've never been to Yosemite before (which I haven't), how would I know which back-country site I would want to try and reserve? It's ridiculous. One of the purest pleasures of strapping on a backpack and heading into the backcountry is discovery - not only of place and wildlife and flora and fauna and landscape, but also of the sometimes Perfect Camping Spot. In my humble opinion, this is what backcountry hikers love most. The feeling of discovery. The last thing I want to do when on a backcountry trip is block myself into a desintation itinerary with a timetable. What about the path less traveled? What if I want to strike a different route then the one I was aiming for? What about flexibility and discovery?

The need for guerilla reservation tactics is because more and more people are heeding the call of Nature. They have a real need to escape from the wholly plugged-in, hyperfast reality in which they live the bulk of their lives. It's also a simple supply and demand dilemma. More people with a desire to use public lands, with a public land balance that is not able to meet the need.

Really makes you want to go build a cabin in the woods. Good luck finding a spot to yourself, though. You can petition here to protect the Public Lands that we do have from being parceled and sold; or here to support the creation of public landss (has a search-by-state feature for existing or proposed areas).

It's On, Baby.......

It's official: NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is on. The objective is to write 50,000 words during the month of November, and people from all over the world are taking up the effort. A friend suggested trying it out as a means to unrust some writing chops, and I've taken him up on the challenge. And tonight was the first effort.

I have to say, so far, I'm enthusiastic. I'm not an avid writer; it comes in fits and starts. But I'm using this as a process exercise - essentially, re-energizing a stream-of-consciousness writing state. I'm approaching it differently than most in that I'm not trying to write a novel. In fact, I can't remember the last time I read a novel. I find the world too fascinating a place to bother with fiction. What I do have, however, are shelves of travel journals in various stages of wear and tear, and a long-harbored goal to one day write my own travel experiences. There are now a few women writers on the subject, but when I initially had this dream, for the most part, the women writers were from the Victorian age or wrote about how many guys they could bag on summer break on Ibiza or Cancun. That's changed, but only somewhat, and I've often entertained the idea of adding my travel experiences to those shelves of writing mostly occupied by the men whose books I've devoured over the years.

I'm not setting out to write a travel book - but to exercise my writing abilities. And, if at the end of this exercise, something interesting emerges, I may just pursue that output a bit further to find out if it could yield any fruit. For the time being, though, I'm excited about my first night's work. I've already veered seriously away from my outline of travel stories and written predominantly about my back-story; how it was that I found myself overseas in the first place. The rest of the month will be focused on writing about some of my favorite and most interesting travel experiences. They're not all shiny, happy stories - sometimes the best story to read after the fact is about the experience that, at the time, seemed unlivable.

At any rate, I feel I'm off to a good start, with just under 3500 words which were, essentially, the result of a stream-of-consciousness mind-dump. Which, after all, is the point. For me.

Kitty Porn

My cat has recently taken to stretching out on my lap when I watch the news. He lays out on his back, paws in the air, ready and waiting for his tummy rub. Because of his hair, I have taken to laying out a quilt on my legs when he does this. I decided to take a snapshot that in itself is not spectacular, but when I thought of the caption, found it pretty hilarious. I hope you do too.

Halloween Quip

Overheard Trick-or-Treat quip:

Departing boy: "She was soooooo pretty!"
Departing sister: "I liked her pants!"
...wait for it...
Departing boy: "I meant the kitty!"

In the quaint midwestern town where I live, for some reason, the Town Wise Men and Women have decided that children go trick-or-treating on the Thursday before Halloween. I've got a couple of problems with this, which I'll enumerate here.

First, the Thursday before Halloween was October 26th, 5 days before Halloween itself. Secondly, if it *had* to be on a Thursday, why not November 2, which is only 2 days removed? And finally, the trick-or-treaters were done by 8:30. Thursday, just like Tuesday, October 31st, is a school night. Why move it if it's finished early enough not to interfere with school night activities? Why have it on a Thursday at all? I just don't understand that, and no one I've asked locally has any answers. So, I'm going to have to draw out the big guns, and Write the City Council.

I'm a big fan of Halloween fun. No weird contextual underlying thing to infer here, I just love it as a way to celebrate the changing of seasons and a really good excuse for a costume (as opposed to work, which is my typical Monday - Friday costume habit). And, I'm glad I was able to experience it here. This town of about 40,000 is incredibly safe and peaceful, so children here, unlike in Houston or other metropolitan areas, can still go door-to-door trick-or-treating in relative safety. No fears of being snatched up by predators or poisoned by sickos.

So, as soon as it got dark, the traffic along my street was incredible, with cars parked all along the south side (no parking on my side!!). A steady stream of kids poured through, and there was some definite creativity put into a number of the costumes. Many of the kids stepped all the way inside the house and would comment about the fireplace, the carpet, the tv, etc. - very nice and polite munchkins. Most even said "thank you", and one chatty Cathy, after thanking me, wished me a Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas!!

The best costume was worn by a young boy. He definitely had help from a parent or two, but his costume was ingenious. It was a cardboard construction of a refrigerator. There was an opening in the top freezer compartment for his face. Upon reaching the door, he'd say trick-r-treat, and open his own door - the fridge door. Inside the door were some empty bottled drinks, a carton of eggs, and other condiments. The body of the fridge had a cutout with a bag attached marked "Candy". Ingenious!
The other notables of the night were a young girl dressed as Velma, the brainiac from Scooby Doo. Kudos to young girls dressing as smart girls. Then there were a group of four teens. They wore probably The Most Shocking costumes in town - and probably the Rebel Teenagers. One girl was dressed as a pregnant nun, accompanied by her muslim husband. They in turn were accompanied by another couple - a gay priest holding hands with a hassidic jew. All very Benneton.

So, here in NW Ohio, Halloween is apparently over. We'll have to see if my yard pumpkins go missing on the Real Hallowed Eve......

Winter Already?

Pac-Man Pumpkin Pie......

Another winter is upon us. I know, it’s only recently officially become ‘autumn”, but here in NW Ohio, the leaves have for the most part changed color and many are already on the ground. This week is cold, grey, and rainy, and last week we even had a short snow flurry. So, because I’ve had to run the heater, it feels like winter. And I think this has triggered some latent domesticity in me. I still find this an interesting process and reflect upon it as an observer, even as I find myself experiencing it.

You’d think, after finding a 125 year-old house that needed some work, the domesticity bug had already bitten. It had not – that was purely a financial decision made easier by the rentals available in my new town. The needed work posed for me a new challenge. Could I re-do two bathrooms? Would I want to? Could I get someone to help me? Can I learn enough about grout repair online to effectively employ it without hosing up my home’s value? These seemed like fun little distractions.

But now, the majority of my Home Projects are complete. I went project-happy earlier this year and probably, in hind sight, should have spread them out a bit. But, at the time, part of me just wanted Everything Perfect so the only thing I would HAVE to do at home was enjoy it instead of continuously working on little projects, which would inevitably, and quickly, remove the attraction I have for This Old House.

But, I think, with the onset of the Cold and the Grey, I’ve taken a subconsciously different turn on the home life. Take this weekend. I had some plans for around the house, so opted not to go out of town. My plans took a tangent on Saturday – which started by not being able to operate my new chainsaw. Fortunately, a friend called with Something Else to Do, so I eagerly left the work behind. Enjoyed cooking a meal for a friend later that night, and somehow, I think that triggered a massive cooking itch.

I decided, for some reason, to cook a jambalaya on Sunday. I’ve not cooked one in years, and don’t really know how to prepare a good jambalaya in volumes small enough for one person. I think my version could literally feed 12. Fortunately, I had some help in putting a dent in the volume of food, but there’s still a lot left over. (And, yes, it’s even better now!). Also, for reasons unknown to me (but still entertaining), I wanted to make a low-fat pumpkin/spice pie. So I did. And an Indian twist on a salad. Did that too. I even finished up all sorts of lingering laundry and other chores of the domestic ilk. Except dusting. I had to leave something to do for Some Other Time.

So, for now, I’m hoping I got all that out of my system. This weekend promises to be sunny. I promise to explore it, beyond the bounds of my home and yard. A girl’s got to keep things things at bay, after all……

Telepathic Radio

I've recently had a discussion with a friend about this phenomenon I call many things - soul radio, telepathic radio, internal radio - I've not yet landed on a term that fits it best. At any rate, we've all experienced that tune that, unwarranted and unprompted in any way, just seems to enter your head. It seems practially everyone experiences this. In Australia, I met a crystal-loving hippie that described this phenom as a kind of radio signal reverb from the universe, and that it was a signal that one needed to heed as a cosmic communication. I don't know about all that.

I tend to experience it a lot. And, I've toyed with creating a list of those that seem to "pop in". There are a couple of ways I'd categorize the songs that enter my thought process: oddball, coincidental, nature/acoustic, and reminiscent.

Those in the oddball category are just that because they are not a genre I'm otherwise interested in, or I have very little generational relevance to them. These include songs by the Andrews Sisters, Newcleus (Jam on It), Kraftwerk (ewww!), and a few operatic stretches. When they start up in my head, I often think, "what? not again.......". So, right here I'm ruling out some sort of personal affinity for the songs that come to me. Or the theory of some cosmic communication. What is the value of the cosmos sending me Tannheuser when I don’t speak German?

The coincidental ones are my favorites. For example, when traveling through Bosnia-Herzegovina during the war, I had a close encounter with the butt of a soldier's rifle. And just before that event, Rockwell's "(I Always Feel Like) Somebody's Watching Me" was running through my mind. Other interesting flukes seem to happen prolifically when I’m overseas. I’ve never really been a big fan of Tom Petty before the Wildflowers cd, but in the early 90’s, his “American Girl” and Bowie’s (who I’ve always been a fan of) “Young American” often entered the thought process. At one point, 4 Non Blondes “What’s Going On” was popular all over Europe (after having exhausted itself in the US), and this would frequently play in the background on events when I encountered translation difficulties. Ironically, I met the drummer for the band at a bar in Istanbul, who said, literally, “What’s going on?”….but that’s another story.

Nature / acoustic type music -- and no, I’m not referring to a recording of crickets in the forest-- seem to come to me when on a really good hike or a camping event. These are heavily populated by John Denver tunes, with CSN&Y, Nick Drake, and Neil Young’s later solo work (mostly from Harvest Moon) thrown in for good measure.

Finally, the reminiscent songs. Because I’ve become aware of the effect that music seems to have on me in a recalcitrant manner, sometimes I plant musical seeds for later harvest. For a few years, my friend Matt and often drove to western Wyoming, throughout Utah, and Colorado for some camping and hiking adventure. We always brought along some music for the occasion. One thing these areas have provide to the outdoors fan is a looohhotttttt of drive time. So, anymore, I can’t hear Rufus Wainright, Coldplay, Jack Johnson or G. Love, Beck’s Sea Change, or Mightymouse without also feeling a momentary elation about having been able to hike, climb, and camp in some of what I consider the best outdoor country in the world. Or driving in that region, singing at the top of my lungs. Sorry, Matt – the Meters just didn’t leave the same impression. So, now, if I’ve got a bit of a drive and I want a happy memory boost, I’ll bring along a cd from one of these previous adventures, and relive it, just a little. Even better is when they just come to me in my thought process. It’s at that moment that I reap what I’ve sown years before.

Likewise with my mp3 player. The music on that hasn't changed much since I was working overseass. It's as though I've been able to freeze some of the best memories and events of that time through the music on my gadget, and adding more music to it now would skew its reminiscence factor.

On my last weekend adventure attempt, I brought along the Coldplay cd, along with a few Jack Johnsons, and the new Beck. Unfortunately, the Coldplay and JJ's In Between Dreams cd cases were empty......

Con - sarn it!!!

I tried to go for another weekend camping adventure. As you can probably guess, it was not quite a success. I've encountered the third location that was "full" and unavailable for backpacking!!

I still have a difficult time accepting this. In my outdoors experiences in states West of the Mississippi, in National Forest country, there are lots of little gravel roads that lead like little capillaries into the heart of the forest. Sometimes, there are campsites scattered within; other times, trailheads. In any case, if you find yourself exploring one of these little roads, you - as a single owner representative of Public Lands - can strike off on the trail or pitch a tent. Even in Texas, in the State Forests, the same holds true.

Not so in Ohio! I visited Mohican Memorial State Forest. I'm not sure what the 'memorial' is for - perhaps obliteration of the Mohicans? Their western-most lands were in present-day Vermont. There is a memorial shrine in the forest dedicated to Ohioans who lost their lives in wars from WWII onward.

Here are some differences in the way Ohio manages its State Forest: it closes at 11 pm. Yes, that's right - with actual gates that are closed on the roads. There are trailheads that close at dusk (whatever you may interpret that to mean), with their own sets of crossroad gates. It has trails that you can walk, bike, or weather permitting, snowmobile - but they are marked with signs indicating that you must stay on the trails. So, I suppose, if you're snowshoeing on the trails and a flock of snowmobiles roars forth, you're SOL.

On the plus side, it is located in beautiful rolling hills and heavily treed. The trees were putting on their fall colors in beautiful arrays - the forest had the most reds I've seen (but probably only about 10% of the color observed was reds). It has a lodge and a resort with associated campgrounds, which were all literally overflowing with people and tents. Who wants to camp like that? Maybe that's all these eastern midwesterners know, but I find it almost repulsive to pitch a tent 5 foot away from someone else's tent unless we're at something like Burning Man. There are also natural gas transmission lines throughout the forest, which to forest management's credit, are well tucked away from the trail structure.

So, it was with a bit of a sigh that, after driving and hiking and exploring this region, I decided to come home. It's only about a 2 hour drive, and wasn't worth hoteling to explore the next day, because I'd been able to walk the trails in one shot. Besides, it was going to get down to the upper 30s, so I could take a soak in the giant tub and light a fire. Which is just about as fun as camping anyway. And, I've not been home for a weekend since August, so there is a whole lot that I needed to catch up on. At least, this way, I was able to make a dent in my ever-growing list of Things to Do and still enjoy some time outside.

Some of My Favorite Photos

My Favorites
Originally uploaded by partially landed vagabond.

From Top, Left to Right:
Morocco, Morocco, Wyoming, Ohio, Cambodia
Morocco, Morocco, Canary Islands, Thailand, Singapore
Norway, Nepal, New Zealand, Cambodia, Morocco
Morocco, Morocco, Morocco, Singapore, New Zealand.

Looks like I've got - by count anyway - a new fave setting for travel shots!

Meet Arya Gaduh

I've been enjoying a bit of blog-versation on one of my favorite blogs, "On Indonesia and the Economy". It's a ripe, heady blog that feeds my interest in economics as a behavioral indicator on a more global scale than what I could find on, say, cnn. At any rate, Indonesia being a Muslim country, the topic recently has turned to Ramandan, and one of the features of the season being helping the poor. A few postings have been made about begging. In it, Arya...pardon the pun....begs the question of who really benefits by giving to the poor: the poor, or the giver. During Ramandan, it is said that the generous are richly rewarded in heaven. But, the recipient is also a benefactor. Is there a way to quantifiably measure who benefits more? In this series of posts, I commented about an experience in New Delhi when the beggars - during the Hindu Diwali festival - went on strike, thereby preventing any potential donor from accumulating good karma. At any rate, if you are interested in some really good reading, soul-food style, and an appreciation of the economics of Indonesia in particular, by an incredibly well-read and well-writing blogger, check it out. Often.

Awww, c'mon, now....

I'm experiencing a new situation in my new hometown. Neighbor issues. I've not really had to deal with these before for the most part, because, with my past neighbors - of all ages - I'm typically friends with them. In this case, it's a little different. I've posted before about an odd situation with this neighbor, in which complaints about my large maple tree were relayed (albeit by a 9-year old). I've since had that tree considerably trimmed - for my own reasonst, not the neighbor's.

Now, it seems, we have a new problem. Last weekend, I noticed that the mom was spraying something along my fence. I usually weed-wack the fence, but had been gone for a few weeks, so I didn't mind that so much. I noticed she was spraying Round-Up. I thought, "great, one thing I don't have to do."

But this week, I noticed what the Round-Up has killed. And, all of the kill path seems to be in my yard. Along the edge of my landscaping and new mulch:
...and along the inside of my fenceline, reaching, I think, exceedingly far at the top of the photo. For this, I noticed that she was leaning over my fence to extend her spray reach.
Why would someone do that? Too add insult to injury, I noticed 6 not-so-little piles of presents from the neighbor's 100+ pound chocolate lab in my yard (and noticably, none in the neighbor's front yard).

I made an effort to publicly pick up the dog shit. Then I went next door to very politely ask that the neighbors refrain from allowing their dog to shit in my yard and from spraying my perfectly weed-free lawn with Round-Up. But there was no answer. (They really might be out of town.)

But I still can't get over the audacity of a neighbor to do this. I have a theory, though. Maybe, my recent tree work, landscaping, and vacation departure have served as a reminder to the parents next door of all of the free time and disposable income they no longer have with three children. It's the only thing I can think of. I've got to be sure to remain on the high road, in any case, as the neighbors both work in law enforcement. So, as soon as we're both home, I'm going to pay them a kind, neighborly visit. Until then, I'm photodocumenting any activity along that side of my house.

Now What???

I’m almost out of vacation days as September nears an end and time slips quietly into Autumn, and I find myself wondering what I can do next. Normally this doesn’t happen until the new year when I tend to reflect back; project forward. Now, though, it seems to be naturally occurring for me much earlier in the year. And, this reflection seems to be intricately tied to my vacation time. It’s nearly done for the year, and somehow, I think that has become the triggering event for my current train of thought.

Granted, life in Ohio isn’t bad, it’s just…..not very exciting. I tend to get that from going Elsewhere. But now that I’m almost out of vacation time, it feels as though my Personal Excitement Potential has dwindled to near-zero.

So, I’ve started thinking of other ways I can get my groove on, while being in a comfortable, genteel village in Ohio. One thing I was initially jazzed about was taking flying lessons. I’ve made a few inquiries to places that purport to be ‘flying schools’, but they’re either not really in that business or not interested in increasing their business from interested parties. Another option is skydiving but unfortunately that’s a few and far-between event here, and even worse, advertised at the same flight training places that don’t bother to return genuine interest phone calls.

There’s an equestrian center for the university nearby, but on last inquiry it required student status to use. Or a horse. I was planning to resume my MBA this September, but my vacation plans spanned over the period of course startup, so that will have to wait. And, no – I will not tolerate any comments about my priorities being mixed up; I will always place an Adventure in Another Country over starting something routine and otherwise mundane, any day.

So I find myself on a drizzly Saturday, confounded by my own “What Next?” dilemma, and fighting the onset of a cold. The only cure is to pour myself into efforts of interest, and see what shakes out. Vacation come-down sucks.

My Moroccan Chicken Tajine

Well, it's finally happened. I've found myself back in a kitchen. But I'm not complaining.....
Thought I'd list out my favorite Moroccan meal in recipe form for any you you out there willing to try it.

Note: I tend to be an anarchist in the kitchen – and don’t measure anything. Quantities listed here are general assumptions and may need to be tailored to suit your tastes.

This is a traditional Moroccan dish, but cooked without the traditional Moroccan ceramic cookware and without being done over a slow blazing charcoal roast. Instead, I find it easy to recreate using a crock pot. This recipe fills a medium-sized crock pot.

Feeds 2, maybe with some leftovers
Prep time: 10 – 15 minutes
Cooking time: 4-5 hours (on high), 7-8 (on low)

Ingredients:

Meat:
Chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces (customary to use lamb but I don’t like it so much).

Veggies:
Some tomatoes, diced (Romas are preferred)
1 large (or two small) whole white or purple onion, chopped
~ 2 cloves of minced garlic
1 bunch cilantro (chopped)
1 or 2 sliced zucchini or squash (for texture and color variety)
1 cup of olives with juice (I like the kind pictured below: various olives in a merlot)
Handful of chopped mushrooms
~2T. of lime or lemon juice

Spices:
1t. Cumin (though Curry can be substituted)
1t. Tumeric
1t. Corriander
1t. Ground Ginger
1T. Black Pepper
pinch of Saffron
1t. Course / Sea salt

Other stuff:
~ 2 c. chicken stock or broth

Preparation:
Add the broth to the crock pot.
Chop all the stuff up and dump it into the crock pot.
Stir it up a bit, gently folding ladlefuls of the meal over and over, to ensure equal coverage.
Cover and let it go.

Check occasionally to ensure it is not getting too dry; if so, add more broth, some merlot or a chardonnay, or as a last resort, water.

Serve with fresh, flat bread (pita works well) and Moroccan Mint Tea; finishing with Moroccan Orange Dessert.

Moroccan Mint Tea

Ingredients:

Teapot

Tea (doesn’t matter what kind – most ‘recipes’ call for green tea, and other than a few high-end restaurants, I’ve seen regular teabags used in Morocco)
Bunch of mint
Lots of Sugar

Preparation:
Heat tea in a kettle.
To the serving teapot, add the boiling water and teabags. Let steep for about a minute.

Add the equivalent of 1-2 tsp. of sugar per anticipated serving to the teapot; stir, let continue to steep for a minute.

Crush several mint sprigs (to release the oils) and add them to the teapot, allow to continue to steep for a minute longer.

Add a sprig of mint to each serving glass (or crush the mint sprig into a small ball and place in the bottom of the glass).

Pour one glass of tea, with a high arc, into a glass. (This is the aerating tradition). Pour the glass of tea back into the teapot. Pour (again with a high arc) into each serving glass, and serve.

Moroccan Orange Dessert

Feeds: 2.
Prep time: 5 minutes.

Ingredients:
One navel orange, peeled and sliced
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Powdered sugar
Nuts – walnuts, almonds, your preference
Honey

Preparation:

Slice the orange either in wedges or flat slices. (This works better with flat slices, because then the nuts can rest on the flat surface of the orange. In the photo, I’ve sliced my oranges into wedges which nearly eliminated the ability to pick up any walnut pieces on the same fork as an orange slice.)

Prepare the serving dish:
A scribble of honey, sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Lay out the orange slices, sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts, and powdered sugar.
Serve and enjoy.