Cordoba was an ancient Roman city, but the height of its glory came under the Muslims. It became the seat of the Umayyid caliphate after they were kicked out of Damascus in the 800´s by the Abbasids. In the 900´s it was the biggest city in Europe other than Constantinople. It was a place of vibrant artistic, architectual and intellectual activity. One of the people who makes my top ten smartest people in history list was born there during this period. If you can guess who it was I´ll give you a dollar.
The crown jewel of this period is the mezquita (Spanish for mosque, not mosquito). It is a classic example of the simple elegance in architecture practiced by early Muslims. You walk into the patio del los naranjos, a courtyard dotted with the orange tree native to Southern Spain (yes its name is naranjo, not naranja) laid out in a grid like pattern, watered by an interconected series of small ditches in the pavement that are in turn fed by the fountain in the middle.
The interior of the mosque itself is supported by hundreds of pillars (at one point there were more than 1200) that support a series of arches. Each arch is made of alternating red and white stone. It gives the impression of walking into a forest. The lighting is ingeniously done so that it comes through windows and lights up certain areas
The mihrab is perhaps the most elaborate I have seen, with a horsesho arch and a dome going up above it. And the ceilings are made of carved wooden beams.
When the Christians conquered the city in the 13th century they used it as a church, but did little to change the interior. In the 16th century though, with gold from the new world flowing through Spain, they ripped out the center of the mosque and installed a cathedral replete with soaring gothic arches, gold altarpiece and elaborately carved walnut choir stalls.
Most of the old mosque remains, but the giant Spanish cathedral in the middle destroys much of the simple elegance of the original design.
Monday, June 25, 2007
The Trip: Day 18 Part 1
El Escorial is a palace/monastary built by Phillip II because he promised it to God in return for victory. It is just outside Madrid on our side of town, so we went to see it on Sunday morning. The funny thing about churches in Europe is they hardly ever have services, even on Sundays some of them are open for visits.
The palace part of the monastary was added to house Phillip´s rather extensive art collection. He had more than 1100 paintings there at one point. Some of the paintings were good, others rather second-rate. If you´re not into art it´s not really worth the walk through. I enjoyed it though.
My favorite part however was the basillica. It was by far my favorite Spanish church so far. Most Spanish churches are awash in gold. The place above the alter is almost always a mountain of gold. As I may have mentioned I´m not that into gold as a decorating motiff. This church was different. The main decoration, as befitted Phillips obsession, was painings. The ceilings are painted with religious scenes, and behind the alter are a series of wooden pillars, carved out of a beautiful dark wood, and in between the pillars are paintings. It was a beautiful piece of religious art.
Coming in Part 2....the bulls
The palace part of the monastary was added to house Phillip´s rather extensive art collection. He had more than 1100 paintings there at one point. Some of the paintings were good, others rather second-rate. If you´re not into art it´s not really worth the walk through. I enjoyed it though.
My favorite part however was the basillica. It was by far my favorite Spanish church so far. Most Spanish churches are awash in gold. The place above the alter is almost always a mountain of gold. As I may have mentioned I´m not that into gold as a decorating motiff. This church was different. The main decoration, as befitted Phillips obsession, was painings. The ceilings are painted with religious scenes, and behind the alter are a series of wooden pillars, carved out of a beautiful dark wood, and in between the pillars are paintings. It was a beautiful piece of religious art.
Coming in Part 2....the bulls
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Trip: Cordoba part 1
I haven´t really mastered the art of the blog. I recognize that a blog works best when it is updated regularly and the entries are kept short. So I am going to divide my writings about our journey south into relatively small segments.
My favorite part of this trip was our journey to Andalucia in the south of Spain.
We headed out early Monday morning for Córdoba on the train. I thought it moved fast when we went to Toledo, but this train was much faster. It was a longer trip so there was time to really pull out all the stops. It must have been going close to 200mph on the flat stretches.
Every old city in Spain has a Juderia, o Jewish quarter. Up until 1492 when they were expelled the Sephardic Jews formed an important part of Spain´s cultural and intelectual life. The Judería have small winding streets,
perhaps 10 feet across at the wider points, and buildings that are tall enough to provide shade. The streets are cobblestone, and every building has a central courtyard, which, if you can catch a glimpse of it,
is often the most beautiful part of the building. Because the streets are laid out haphazerdly, they meet at odd angles of fail to meet. The curve so that you lose sight of which way is which. Due to this there ar a lot of plazas and squares. You can be walking along this narrow street and all of the sudden it opens up into a small laza with four or five streets coming off it. Invariably in these plazas there are several cafés that have their chairs and tables spread out into the street. They make wonderful places to sit for a moment and have a cup of coffee or a quick snack.
All of this is true, to a lesser extent of, not just the Juderia, but all of the old city that was within the city walls.
When we arrived we walked from the train station and found a nice hostel in the Juderia. We left our bags and began our exploration of Cordoba....
My favorite part of this trip was our journey to Andalucia in the south of Spain.
We headed out early Monday morning for Córdoba on the train. I thought it moved fast when we went to Toledo, but this train was much faster. It was a longer trip so there was time to really pull out all the stops. It must have been going close to 200mph on the flat stretches.
Every old city in Spain has a Juderia, o Jewish quarter. Up until 1492 when they were expelled the Sephardic Jews formed an important part of Spain´s cultural and intelectual life. The Judería have small winding streets,
perhaps 10 feet across at the wider points, and buildings that are tall enough to provide shade. The streets are cobblestone, and every building has a central courtyard, which, if you can catch a glimpse of it,
is often the most beautiful part of the building. Because the streets are laid out haphazerdly, they meet at odd angles of fail to meet. The curve so that you lose sight of which way is which. Due to this there ar a lot of plazas and squares. You can be walking along this narrow street and all of the sudden it opens up into a small laza with four or five streets coming off it. Invariably in these plazas there are several cafés that have their chairs and tables spread out into the street. They make wonderful places to sit for a moment and have a cup of coffee or a quick snack.All of this is true, to a lesser extent of, not just the Juderia, but all of the old city that was within the city walls.
When we arrived we walked from the train station and found a nice hostel in the Juderia. We left our bags and began our exploration of Cordoba....
The Trip: Day 16--evening
Last night we went to dinner at a different neighbor´s house. It was a birthday party of some sort. Dinner is a relatively light affair in Spain and begins late--anywhere from 10-12 at night. Generally the main meal is lunch--around 3-4 in the afternoon.
Anyway, dinner last night was empanadas of various sorts cut into basically bite sized pieces and set out around the table so that the plate was pretty much optional. The most interesting and I think tastiest was the morcita. It contained pigs blood and onion, sauteed together then stuffed in the empanada. Also interesting was the dessert...leche frita. To the bast of my knowledge that translates as fried milk. And that´s exactly what it tasted like. It was pretty good, though not my favorite. I didn´t know you could fry milk.
The Spanish have mastered the art of the long meal. We got there around 9:30 and were there for at least 3 hours. And most of that time is spent sitting around talking.
Anyway, dinner last night was empanadas of various sorts cut into basically bite sized pieces and set out around the table so that the plate was pretty much optional. The most interesting and I think tastiest was the morcita. It contained pigs blood and onion, sauteed together then stuffed in the empanada. Also interesting was the dessert...leche frita. To the bast of my knowledge that translates as fried milk. And that´s exactly what it tasted like. It was pretty good, though not my favorite. I didn´t know you could fry milk.
The Spanish have mastered the art of the long meal. We got there around 9:30 and were there for at least 3 hours. And most of that time is spent sitting around talking.
Friday, June 22, 2007
The Trip: Day 16
A few notes:
-I aapreciate your comments, even if I don´t always respond to them
-I´m still not clear if Jane called my mother over-spiritualized or not
-I´ve been on the village website a number of times, but nobody´s ever on it
-I´ve never seen that episode of Seinfeld, or maybe I have
The last couple of days we have gone down into Madrid in the morning and relaxing here in the afternoon. Last night we hung out with an old friend of Adrienne´s and his girlfriend. He is a stuntman at Warner theme park and she is a magician. He also does commercials and appears in one running in the US for AXE that has the running of the bulls. Anyway.
We went to the Palacio Real today. One thing I never realized is that Real means Royal. Anyway, I´ve decided I´m not a big fan of Palaces in general. I think gold is ugly. It really doesn´t impress me. So we walked around through the rooms of the palace and it was interesting, but the decoration just doesn´t impress me like it is supposed to. I get the same feeling in Spanish cathedrals. They are all stuffed to the brim with little chapels, each of which has a huge gold altar piece.
Yesterday we went down ot Madrid and walked across town. Madrid is really a pretty small city. It´s difficult to imagine being able to walk across a city of 3 million people in the United States. We walked through Retiro the main city park. It´s kind of like Central Park...A huge oasis of Green in the middle of the city. It has its own little lake and a variety of monuments.
We also ended up by the Temple of Debod. Madrid seems an unlikely place to come across an ancient Egyptian Temple, but there it was on the top of a hill in the middle of a different park. It looked alot like other Egyptian Temples I´ve seen. It was saved from the rising waters of Lake Nassar upon completion of the Aswan Dam in the 1970´s and transported block by block to Spain...kind of like the london bridge in Arizona.
Other than that I don´t have a lot of news...I´m ready to be headed for the States...
-I aapreciate your comments, even if I don´t always respond to them
-I´m still not clear if Jane called my mother over-spiritualized or not
-I´ve been on the village website a number of times, but nobody´s ever on it
-I´ve never seen that episode of Seinfeld, or maybe I have
The last couple of days we have gone down into Madrid in the morning and relaxing here in the afternoon. Last night we hung out with an old friend of Adrienne´s and his girlfriend. He is a stuntman at Warner theme park and she is a magician. He also does commercials and appears in one running in the US for AXE that has the running of the bulls. Anyway.
We went to the Palacio Real today. One thing I never realized is that Real means Royal. Anyway, I´ve decided I´m not a big fan of Palaces in general. I think gold is ugly. It really doesn´t impress me. So we walked around through the rooms of the palace and it was interesting, but the decoration just doesn´t impress me like it is supposed to. I get the same feeling in Spanish cathedrals. They are all stuffed to the brim with little chapels, each of which has a huge gold altar piece.
Yesterday we went down ot Madrid and walked across town. Madrid is really a pretty small city. It´s difficult to imagine being able to walk across a city of 3 million people in the United States. We walked through Retiro the main city park. It´s kind of like Central Park...A huge oasis of Green in the middle of the city. It has its own little lake and a variety of monuments.
We also ended up by the Temple of Debod. Madrid seems an unlikely place to come across an ancient Egyptian Temple, but there it was on the top of a hill in the middle of a different park. It looked alot like other Egyptian Temples I´ve seen. It was saved from the rising waters of Lake Nassar upon completion of the Aswan Dam in the 1970´s and transported block by block to Spain...kind of like the london bridge in Arizona.
Other than that I don´t have a lot of news...I´m ready to be headed for the States...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The trip: Day 14--Segovia
I skipped a few days I know...we mainly hung out around the house and relaxed. It was good.
Today we went to Segovia. Segovia was an important part of the Roman imperial network and pretty much every major power to occupy this part of Spain since then. There are three main things to see in Segovia...the aquaduct, the cathdral, and the alcazar (alcazar is derived from the Arabic word for castle...it will emerge again if I ever get to describing our trip south.)
The old city of Segovia is a fortified area on the top of a hill. So to get a regular supply of water the Romans had to build a sixteen kilometer aquaduct from the surrounding hills. The most impressive part which is all that remains soars over the valley to the east of the city. It is over 100 feet tall, and is made entirely of granite blocks put together without any mortar in the truly impressive Roman style. Its double arches rise above the ground in a way that is difficult to describe. farther away from the city where the aquaduct is relatively close to the ground you can actually climb up onto it and see the channel where the water ran. IT is suprisingly small.
The cathedral is a fairly typical Spanish Gothic cathedral with imposing pillars and lots of gold. Because it was the last gothic monument built in Spain in the 16th century it was influenced by Renaissance styles. It is suprisingly well lit for a gothic cathedral with plenty of high windows. My favorite part of the cathedral was the view from the outside down the street where we ate lunch. It´s exterior is rlatively simple and presents a beautiful view when constricted by the smallish streets.
The Alcazar is amazing. Walt Disney must have come to Spain at some point or seen a picture of the castle, because it is the spitting image of the classic Disney castle in Disneyworld that was I think part of the Sleeping Beauty story. You know when in a disney movie at the beginning, the fairy does the little swirly thing over the castle and the Walt Disney logo appears...this is that castle.
It is built over a bluff and must have been virtually impregnable when used as a fortress. We walked down the hill and through the gardens to get a view of it from the front...and I can tell you I wouldn´t even think of attacking it without modern artillery.
It was a fun trip. Adrienne and I took Juan the son with us since he didn´t have school today. He hasn´t really seen any of Spain except for Madrid and the Coast...except for Toledo, to which he went with Adrienne and her Dad a few years ago...so it was fun to see him enjoying it. It´s always fun to see a castle with a kid who is really into it. He really knows alot about architecture. I think he studied it in school this year. He was telling me all about the cathedral and he was right about it.
It was a good day, and a ridiculously cheap trip from Madrid.
Today we went to Segovia. Segovia was an important part of the Roman imperial network and pretty much every major power to occupy this part of Spain since then. There are three main things to see in Segovia...the aquaduct, the cathdral, and the alcazar (alcazar is derived from the Arabic word for castle...it will emerge again if I ever get to describing our trip south.)
The old city of Segovia is a fortified area on the top of a hill. So to get a regular supply of water the Romans had to build a sixteen kilometer aquaduct from the surrounding hills. The most impressive part which is all that remains soars over the valley to the east of the city. It is over 100 feet tall, and is made entirely of granite blocks put together without any mortar in the truly impressive Roman style. Its double arches rise above the ground in a way that is difficult to describe. farther away from the city where the aquaduct is relatively close to the ground you can actually climb up onto it and see the channel where the water ran. IT is suprisingly small.
The cathedral is a fairly typical Spanish Gothic cathedral with imposing pillars and lots of gold. Because it was the last gothic monument built in Spain in the 16th century it was influenced by Renaissance styles. It is suprisingly well lit for a gothic cathedral with plenty of high windows. My favorite part of the cathedral was the view from the outside down the street where we ate lunch. It´s exterior is rlatively simple and presents a beautiful view when constricted by the smallish streets.
The Alcazar is amazing. Walt Disney must have come to Spain at some point or seen a picture of the castle, because it is the spitting image of the classic Disney castle in Disneyworld that was I think part of the Sleeping Beauty story. You know when in a disney movie at the beginning, the fairy does the little swirly thing over the castle and the Walt Disney logo appears...this is that castle.
It is built over a bluff and must have been virtually impregnable when used as a fortress. We walked down the hill and through the gardens to get a view of it from the front...and I can tell you I wouldn´t even think of attacking it without modern artillery.
It was a fun trip. Adrienne and I took Juan the son with us since he didn´t have school today. He hasn´t really seen any of Spain except for Madrid and the Coast...except for Toledo, to which he went with Adrienne and her Dad a few years ago...so it was fun to see him enjoying it. It´s always fun to see a castle with a kid who is really into it. He really knows alot about architecture. I think he studied it in school this year. He was telling me all about the cathedral and he was right about it.
It was a good day, and a ridiculously cheap trip from Madrid.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
The Trip: Day 11
Sunday...The day started slowly, like most days here. It was another cold rainy day. This was the source of much disappointment. We had tickets to see the bullfight in the evening. Even though it was not raining by the time the fight was scheduled, it had rained enough over the weekend to make the ground in the arena soggy. And, a bullfighter that can´t move his feet is a dead man.
So we got our money back and bought tickets to go the Sunday that is coming.
The big event on Sunday was la paella. A big party, the centerpiece of which is paella...a rice dish with various seafoods in it. The fun started around 2 in the afternoon. We began setting up tables in the neighbors´garage. Juan pulled out all the sawhorses and all the boards. People started showing up. It was a neighborhood party. There were 8-10 families there by 3:30. Everybody brought something. There were grilled red peppers, anchovies on toothpicks with olives, some other sort of fish, smoked meat (of which I have written already) of both the sausage and sliced varieties, and fried minnows (actually I don´t think they were minnows but they looked like them and I didn´t recognize the name) fried (and eaten) whole.
The paella was cooked in an enormous pan. It was two inches or so deep and a full yard in diameter if it was an inch. It was so big it had its own special gas burner. It came out and everyone st down and began to eat (well began to eat is a little misleading...most of what I mentioned before was gone by this point). When the paella was gone the desserts came out--at least five different types. And everyone sat around and talked. By the time we left it was pushing 10.
So we got our money back and bought tickets to go the Sunday that is coming.
The big event on Sunday was la paella. A big party, the centerpiece of which is paella...a rice dish with various seafoods in it. The fun started around 2 in the afternoon. We began setting up tables in the neighbors´garage. Juan pulled out all the sawhorses and all the boards. People started showing up. It was a neighborhood party. There were 8-10 families there by 3:30. Everybody brought something. There were grilled red peppers, anchovies on toothpicks with olives, some other sort of fish, smoked meat (of which I have written already) of both the sausage and sliced varieties, and fried minnows (actually I don´t think they were minnows but they looked like them and I didn´t recognize the name) fried (and eaten) whole.
The paella was cooked in an enormous pan. It was two inches or so deep and a full yard in diameter if it was an inch. It was so big it had its own special gas burner. It came out and everyone st down and began to eat (well began to eat is a little misleading...most of what I mentioned before was gone by this point). When the paella was gone the desserts came out--at least five different types. And everyone sat around and talked. By the time we left it was pushing 10.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
The Trip:Day 10
I realie that I´m about three days behind, but whatever, I´ll catch up.
Saturday was a cold rainy day. It was our first day back in Madrid, so we mainly spent it relaxing and staying inside.
Juan, the father of the family, has two big dogs. Urco and Tyson. Urco is a boxer, full of life. Tyson is a mix. He is a new breed that is still relatively young and so has lots of problems with inbreeding and such. I may have mentioned before that he is deaf. When he is asleep at night you can walk right up to him baging pots and pans and he won´t wake up.
Rain or shine, Juan takes the dogs on a walk in the morning and at night. They live in a small development about 45 minutes outside of Madrid, and there is plenty of open space in the area. Spanish development tends to take place in small densely packed developments even when there is plenty of space to build. Single family homes with a backyard have no market here. You will be driving through fields of open space and rolling hills and come upon a high rise apartment building.
The walks take anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Weekend walks take longer. I have taken to going with him when he walks the dogs. We walk out of the development and across an ancient Roman bridge that spans the river then along the river for a while then up the hill. From the top of the first hill you get a view that is exquisite. You can see to the East, between the hills, Madrid. And down in the valley, the river as it flows over rapids. This view is, I think the reason he takes thes walks. He seems to visibly relax as we climb the hill and when we reach the top of the rock that marks the summit he never fails to exhale in wonder. The tension of life flows off of him in a way that equires no words. It is palpable.
Then if there is time we descend the hill to an even older Roman bridge. It is a single arch that soars up and over the river. It is steep enough that he has to give the dogs a boost up the first part. Then we climb the next hill and walk along the ridge, sometimes as far as the newer, third bridge.
It is amazing to me that in half an hour we can walk out into wild untamed land. On one of the first walks I took with Juan, I collected a bouquet of wildflowers for Adrienne. By the time we returned to the house I had more than thirty distinct species of wildflowers in my hand.
Saturday it was cold and threatening rain. But it was still beautiful. We could see the clouds descending on nearby hills. As we turned towards home it began to rain. We were drenched by the time we returned.
As we climbed the first hill, Urco decided to go to the bathroom. As most dogs do he squats, pointing his rear to the ground. Unlike most dogs, he is so excited to be out that he can´t help walking forward while he goes. On this particular walk he was constipated. So there he was doing his squat-waddle up the hill for like five minutes. Finally he had had enough and he threw himself down on a sandy patch of ground, Exhausted by his effort, he just plopped down. It was quite funny.
Saturday was a cold rainy day. It was our first day back in Madrid, so we mainly spent it relaxing and staying inside.
Juan, the father of the family, has two big dogs. Urco and Tyson. Urco is a boxer, full of life. Tyson is a mix. He is a new breed that is still relatively young and so has lots of problems with inbreeding and such. I may have mentioned before that he is deaf. When he is asleep at night you can walk right up to him baging pots and pans and he won´t wake up.
Rain or shine, Juan takes the dogs on a walk in the morning and at night. They live in a small development about 45 minutes outside of Madrid, and there is plenty of open space in the area. Spanish development tends to take place in small densely packed developments even when there is plenty of space to build. Single family homes with a backyard have no market here. You will be driving through fields of open space and rolling hills and come upon a high rise apartment building.
The walks take anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Weekend walks take longer. I have taken to going with him when he walks the dogs. We walk out of the development and across an ancient Roman bridge that spans the river then along the river for a while then up the hill. From the top of the first hill you get a view that is exquisite. You can see to the East, between the hills, Madrid. And down in the valley, the river as it flows over rapids. This view is, I think the reason he takes thes walks. He seems to visibly relax as we climb the hill and when we reach the top of the rock that marks the summit he never fails to exhale in wonder. The tension of life flows off of him in a way that equires no words. It is palpable.
Then if there is time we descend the hill to an even older Roman bridge. It is a single arch that soars up and over the river. It is steep enough that he has to give the dogs a boost up the first part. Then we climb the next hill and walk along the ridge, sometimes as far as the newer, third bridge.
It is amazing to me that in half an hour we can walk out into wild untamed land. On one of the first walks I took with Juan, I collected a bouquet of wildflowers for Adrienne. By the time we returned to the house I had more than thirty distinct species of wildflowers in my hand.
Saturday it was cold and threatening rain. But it was still beautiful. We could see the clouds descending on nearby hills. As we turned towards home it began to rain. We were drenched by the time we returned.
As we climbed the first hill, Urco decided to go to the bathroom. As most dogs do he squats, pointing his rear to the ground. Unlike most dogs, he is so excited to be out that he can´t help walking forward while he goes. On this particular walk he was constipated. So there he was doing his squat-waddle up the hill for like five minutes. Finally he had had enough and he threw himself down on a sandy patch of ground, Exhausted by his effort, he just plopped down. It was quite funny.
On Withdrawal
All of my readers know that I have a relatively active mind. I´´m generally going on at least three tracks at once. Processing information and formulating thoughts. So for me not having anythingto occupy my mind is a form of torture. My mind goes around in circles over and over again. I can´t stop it.
I have a number of contol mechanisms that help me counteract this propensity when I am at home. I read a lot. I read the economist every week, National Review every two weeks, The Tucson Weekly every week, National Geographic and Christianity Today every month, most of what is posted on National Review Online and nytimes.com every day, as well as 3-4 books a week when I am not working. Besides that I do work around the house, build things, talk to friends etc. All of these things help me occupy a part of my mind so that I can remain focused. It narrows me down to one free train of thought so that I can focus on one thing at a time.
Here I don´t have any books or magazines and only sporadic access to the internet, I don´t have access to any tools and all my conversations have to be in Spanish except those with my wife (who is the only one keeping me sane).
Up until today we´ve been busy, moving from activity to activity so I didn´t notice...but today I´ve been going crazy. Today after lunch everybody went to sleep, but I couldn´t sleep. I slept a lot last night and my mind won´t stop. And my journal was in the room where Adrienne was sleeping...ditto the only book I brought. So I just sat there and drank like three cups of coffee (trust me it didn´t help) and I couldn´t focus on any line of thought and so I sat like a Zombie allowing my mind to run in circles around itself.
Welcome to the mind of David
I have a number of contol mechanisms that help me counteract this propensity when I am at home. I read a lot. I read the economist every week, National Review every two weeks, The Tucson Weekly every week, National Geographic and Christianity Today every month, most of what is posted on National Review Online and nytimes.com every day, as well as 3-4 books a week when I am not working. Besides that I do work around the house, build things, talk to friends etc. All of these things help me occupy a part of my mind so that I can remain focused. It narrows me down to one free train of thought so that I can focus on one thing at a time.
Here I don´t have any books or magazines and only sporadic access to the internet, I don´t have access to any tools and all my conversations have to be in Spanish except those with my wife (who is the only one keeping me sane).
Up until today we´ve been busy, moving from activity to activity so I didn´t notice...but today I´ve been going crazy. Today after lunch everybody went to sleep, but I couldn´t sleep. I slept a lot last night and my mind won´t stop. And my journal was in the room where Adrienne was sleeping...ditto the only book I brought. So I just sat there and drank like three cups of coffee (trust me it didn´t help) and I couldn´t focus on any line of thought and so I sat like a Zombie allowing my mind to run in circles around itself.
Welcome to the mind of David
Friday, June 15, 2007
The Trip: Day 9
We´re back
We went to Granada, Córdoba, Sevilla and to Solibreña. I will write about each city individually rather than all at once. It was a lot of fun.
The south of Spain is called Andelucía. It has a different character from the rest of Spain. The people are more laid back, and it has a more Muslim character despite five centuries of Christian rule. It was the last area to be conquered by the Christians. Granada fell last in 1492. It was there as she was surveying her new dominion that Isabel granted permission to Columbus to search for a new Western route to China.
It was in Andelucía that the Jews were the most influential, before they were expelled in (you guessed it) 1492. The Sephardic Jews (as they are known) spread out across Europe and the Middle East. They were very influential in sparking various aspects of the Renaissance.
It was sometimes difficult to travel with a new person. One thing that Adrienne and I do well together is travel. We tend to agree about where to stay, where to eat, what to do. So it was a little difficult for us to travel with someone else. We had to find hostels with private bathrooms, and before sitting down in a restaurant we had to look at the menu to make sure the food was acceptable.
But in the end of course it is worth the trouble. Angie, Adrienne´s friend from high school with whom we saw Andelucía a great. We had a lot of fun.
Angie carried a book by this guy Rick Steves everywhere. I think I may have mentioned it. Anyway, we had to deal with "well Rick says..." The thing is that he has a lot of interesting tidbits about the things we saw. It was frustrating to me only because I have a hard time being around someone who knows more than me even if he is in a book. It´s a window into my nature that I am even competitive with a book.
Overall the trip was great. We saw all sorts of cool stuff that I will write more about later...
We went to Granada, Córdoba, Sevilla and to Solibreña. I will write about each city individually rather than all at once. It was a lot of fun.
The south of Spain is called Andelucía. It has a different character from the rest of Spain. The people are more laid back, and it has a more Muslim character despite five centuries of Christian rule. It was the last area to be conquered by the Christians. Granada fell last in 1492. It was there as she was surveying her new dominion that Isabel granted permission to Columbus to search for a new Western route to China.
It was in Andelucía that the Jews were the most influential, before they were expelled in (you guessed it) 1492. The Sephardic Jews (as they are known) spread out across Europe and the Middle East. They were very influential in sparking various aspects of the Renaissance.
It was sometimes difficult to travel with a new person. One thing that Adrienne and I do well together is travel. We tend to agree about where to stay, where to eat, what to do. So it was a little difficult for us to travel with someone else. We had to find hostels with private bathrooms, and before sitting down in a restaurant we had to look at the menu to make sure the food was acceptable.
But in the end of course it is worth the trouble. Angie, Adrienne´s friend from high school with whom we saw Andelucía a great. We had a lot of fun.
Angie carried a book by this guy Rick Steves everywhere. I think I may have mentioned it. Anyway, we had to deal with "well Rick says..." The thing is that he has a lot of interesting tidbits about the things we saw. It was frustrating to me only because I have a hard time being around someone who knows more than me even if he is in a book. It´s a window into my nature that I am even competitive with a book.
Overall the trip was great. We saw all sorts of cool stuff that I will write more about later...
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The Trip: Day 4
We went to the Prado this morning. They rent out audio tours there so everywhere you go there are people standing around with these purple boxes held up to their ear. The other thing about the Prado is that it is so popular that tourists are dropped off by the busload. People who don´t even seem to care about art running around the museum as if they have a mental checklist of all the things they have to glance at before they go. As if once they´ve been in every room they can safely claim intimate knowledge of the Prado to friends back home. The worst are the Japanese. They walk around talking and shouting across the room, without actually looking at the paintings.
My favored method of seeing art museums is to give a fairly cursory look at most of the paintings and then return to the ones I like. I try not to look at the name of the painter until after I have made judgements about the painting.
Some highlights: My favorite section was the Northern Renaissance. This is a period I´ve never been much into, probably because it doesn´t translate well to book form. Anyway they had some spectacular tryptics and other wood panels that were beautiful in their intricacy and their detail. They also had a great self-portrait of Durer--the one from when he was younger with the beard. It´s definitely much better than in pictures.
They also have a great collection of Spainiards--in particular El Greco, Velasquez, and Goya. I gained a new appreciation for all three. I´ve never been a big fan of El Greco--and its hard to not prejudge the work because his style is so distinctive. Obviously you can´t walk up to an El Greco and think I wonder who painted this. Anyway, I really enjoyed a painting of St. Jerome that he did and that opened me up to enjoying some of his other work.
They also have a great deal of Titian--I think he moved to Spain at some point. I liked his work more than I ever have. It took me a while to figure ot who it was since his name in Spanish is Tiziano.
We had a barbecue today. It was a lot of fun. There were 10-12 people and at least 15 different kinds of meat. We set up the sawhorses and boards in the backyard and had a great time. There were four differen types of sausage, 5 different kinds of pork, chicken, chorizo, among others. We sat outside and talked then had coffee and sat outside some more. THe barbecue lasted a good 5 hours.
More later...
PS It may be a few days as we are going south for the week...I will try to at least post a short update.
PPS It appears we won´t be going to Paris...It´s just outside our budget. We were looking forward to it...oh well
More Later...
My favored method of seeing art museums is to give a fairly cursory look at most of the paintings and then return to the ones I like. I try not to look at the name of the painter until after I have made judgements about the painting.
Some highlights: My favorite section was the Northern Renaissance. This is a period I´ve never been much into, probably because it doesn´t translate well to book form. Anyway they had some spectacular tryptics and other wood panels that were beautiful in their intricacy and their detail. They also had a great self-portrait of Durer--the one from when he was younger with the beard. It´s definitely much better than in pictures.
They also have a great collection of Spainiards--in particular El Greco, Velasquez, and Goya. I gained a new appreciation for all three. I´ve never been a big fan of El Greco--and its hard to not prejudge the work because his style is so distinctive. Obviously you can´t walk up to an El Greco and think I wonder who painted this. Anyway, I really enjoyed a painting of St. Jerome that he did and that opened me up to enjoying some of his other work.
They also have a great deal of Titian--I think he moved to Spain at some point. I liked his work more than I ever have. It took me a while to figure ot who it was since his name in Spanish is Tiziano.
We had a barbecue today. It was a lot of fun. There were 10-12 people and at least 15 different kinds of meat. We set up the sawhorses and boards in the backyard and had a great time. There were four differen types of sausage, 5 different kinds of pork, chicken, chorizo, among others. We sat outside and talked then had coffee and sat outside some more. THe barbecue lasted a good 5 hours.
More later...
PS It may be a few days as we are going south for the week...I will try to at least post a short update.
PPS It appears we won´t be going to Paris...It´s just outside our budget. We were looking forward to it...oh well
More Later...
Saturday, June 09, 2007
The Trip: Day 3
We didn´t do a whole lot today. It was a good day to relax and hang out around the house and get rid of the jet lag.
So we are staying in the guest room off the garge in the basement. We have ben promised that the dogs that live in the garage will keep us safe. The funny thing is that one dog sleeps in the kitchen because he is afraid of the dark and the other dog is deaf.
One great thing about Spain is what hppened tonight. We were hanging out on the front porch and some friends dropped by with meat for the barbecue tomorrow, and Juan began setting up dinner out in the street. He set out some sawhorses, and a board across them, then brought out the food. And it was a spectacular dinner. We had fried pork skin, canned calamari, oysters and octupus, olives, bread and smoked pork. And we sat out in the street for four or five hours just talking and enjoying one anothers company.
An interesting note: one of my favorite foods when I travel in Europe is smoked meat. You can´t buy it in the United States. But it is delicious. I know you can buy smoked sausage, but it has been cooked. The traditional method of smoking meat involves no cooking. It is well cured in a smokehouse. So remember, if you ever travel to Europe, seek out the smoked meat.
More later...
So we are staying in the guest room off the garge in the basement. We have ben promised that the dogs that live in the garage will keep us safe. The funny thing is that one dog sleeps in the kitchen because he is afraid of the dark and the other dog is deaf.
One great thing about Spain is what hppened tonight. We were hanging out on the front porch and some friends dropped by with meat for the barbecue tomorrow, and Juan began setting up dinner out in the street. He set out some sawhorses, and a board across them, then brought out the food. And it was a spectacular dinner. We had fried pork skin, canned calamari, oysters and octupus, olives, bread and smoked pork. And we sat out in the street for four or five hours just talking and enjoying one anothers company.
An interesting note: one of my favorite foods when I travel in Europe is smoked meat. You can´t buy it in the United States. But it is delicious. I know you can buy smoked sausage, but it has been cooked. The traditional method of smoking meat involves no cooking. It is well cured in a smokehouse. So remember, if you ever travel to Europe, seek out the smoked meat.
More later...
Friday, June 08, 2007
The Trip: Day 2
I have fulfiled a childhood dream. When I was a kid I used to love reading atlases and almanacs--the kind they make for kids with lots of pictures of what life is like in whatever country you´re reading about. Anyway, in the mid eighties, the new thing in Europe was the bullet train. Propelled by electricity it could travel at speeds in excess of 120 mph. I always wanted to ride in one. Now I have. They move pretty quick. Though now I want to ride in the ones that use magnets to travel in excess of 200 mph.
We went to Toledo. For those of you versed in literature and history, Toledo was long renowned for its steel armor and blades. Consequently every tourist shop there has a wide selection of swords and daggers. The city is built on a hill, so anywhere you want to go is uphill. It´s fortress was one of the most impregnable in Spain.
It was the capital of Visgothic Spain and is currently celebrating 1400th anneversary of the conversion of the Visgoths to Christianity (imagining the 1400th annaversary of anything is staggering). As with most premodern mass conversions it was accomplished by the gift of a mantle to a humble peasant by the Blessed Virgin.
The cathedral is one of the more magnificent that I have witnessed in my travels. Completed in the late 1400´s after 250 years (again, a 250 year building project is staggering) it is an outstanding example of late Gothic architecture. Gold presumably from Mexico is everywhere. The sacristry has a great collection of art including El Greco, Rubens, Carrvaggio, van Dyke, Titian and others.
Enough history...we had a great time. I am reminded of Mark Twain in the Innocents Abroad, or the Americans in Henry James´work, travelling around with their Badekers (sp?) The modern American tourist can´t go anywhere without a guidebook to explain everything. We traveled to Toledo with Angie, Adrienne´s high school friend who is staying with us, and Michael and his sister Adrienne, a friend of ours from Tucson who met up with us for the day. They are all great utilizers of Rick Steves, apparently the authoritative source for touring today. I personally prefer the Lonely Planet, which is light on explanation and description, and restricts itself to suggestions of where to stay and what to see. I see it everywhere I go in Europe--American tourists, nose in a book walking around great cathedrals and monuments, afraid to miss something worth reading about.
As we aproached Toledo, a relatively small town I could count no fewer than 20-30 cranes--the big construction site type, like giant crosses, though slightly off-center. Obscuring even the cathedral they presented an interesting contrast betwen the religion of yesterday and that of today.
More later...
We went to Toledo. For those of you versed in literature and history, Toledo was long renowned for its steel armor and blades. Consequently every tourist shop there has a wide selection of swords and daggers. The city is built on a hill, so anywhere you want to go is uphill. It´s fortress was one of the most impregnable in Spain.
It was the capital of Visgothic Spain and is currently celebrating 1400th anneversary of the conversion of the Visgoths to Christianity (imagining the 1400th annaversary of anything is staggering). As with most premodern mass conversions it was accomplished by the gift of a mantle to a humble peasant by the Blessed Virgin.
The cathedral is one of the more magnificent that I have witnessed in my travels. Completed in the late 1400´s after 250 years (again, a 250 year building project is staggering) it is an outstanding example of late Gothic architecture. Gold presumably from Mexico is everywhere. The sacristry has a great collection of art including El Greco, Rubens, Carrvaggio, van Dyke, Titian and others.
Enough history...we had a great time. I am reminded of Mark Twain in the Innocents Abroad, or the Americans in Henry James´work, travelling around with their Badekers (sp?) The modern American tourist can´t go anywhere without a guidebook to explain everything. We traveled to Toledo with Angie, Adrienne´s high school friend who is staying with us, and Michael and his sister Adrienne, a friend of ours from Tucson who met up with us for the day. They are all great utilizers of Rick Steves, apparently the authoritative source for touring today. I personally prefer the Lonely Planet, which is light on explanation and description, and restricts itself to suggestions of where to stay and what to see. I see it everywhere I go in Europe--American tourists, nose in a book walking around great cathedrals and monuments, afraid to miss something worth reading about.
As we aproached Toledo, a relatively small town I could count no fewer than 20-30 cranes--the big construction site type, like giant crosses, though slightly off-center. Obscuring even the cathedral they presented an interesting contrast betwen the religion of yesterday and that of today.
More later...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
The Trip: Day One
We have arrived in Spain. I have to say that plane rides are not my favorite thing in he world...neither is jet lag.
I think you have to see a transatlantic trip as one 36 hour day rather than as two short days, because it really is impossible to get decent sleep on a plane.
Funny side note: On the plane they gave a variety of health tips like stand up and do these excersizes. One thing that they said was to wear (not that anyone had a choice of what to wear once they got on the plane) natural fibers because they breath well and help your body cope with the flight. The funny thing is that the seats are made out of the most uncomfortable, prickly, SYNTHETIC fiber imaginable.
Anyway, I was disappointed that the plane didn´t have the individual movie screens on the back of the seat--if you have the choice fly British Airways or Virgin Atlantic rather than Iberian or one of the American carriers. Also the plane like most Airbus aircraft I have flown on was strangely deficient in the way of bathrooms. It had less than half as many as a decent Boeing jumbo jet--and te lines to use them were correspondingly long. Why can´t Europeans ever build enough bathrooms. The same is true in European cities. I always seem to end up running into McDonalds or Starbucks to avoid long lines and surcharges at other places.
For youo loyal readers of the Economist--Spain really is going through a constuction boom. Cranes litter the horizon in every direction. I have counted as many as thirty in view at one time and they are never out of sight.
More later...
I think you have to see a transatlantic trip as one 36 hour day rather than as two short days, because it really is impossible to get decent sleep on a plane.
Funny side note: On the plane they gave a variety of health tips like stand up and do these excersizes. One thing that they said was to wear (not that anyone had a choice of what to wear once they got on the plane) natural fibers because they breath well and help your body cope with the flight. The funny thing is that the seats are made out of the most uncomfortable, prickly, SYNTHETIC fiber imaginable.
Anyway, I was disappointed that the plane didn´t have the individual movie screens on the back of the seat--if you have the choice fly British Airways or Virgin Atlantic rather than Iberian or one of the American carriers. Also the plane like most Airbus aircraft I have flown on was strangely deficient in the way of bathrooms. It had less than half as many as a decent Boeing jumbo jet--and te lines to use them were correspondingly long. Why can´t Europeans ever build enough bathrooms. The same is true in European cities. I always seem to end up running into McDonalds or Starbucks to avoid long lines and surcharges at other places.
For youo loyal readers of the Economist--Spain really is going through a constuction boom. Cranes litter the horizon in every direction. I have counted as many as thirty in view at one time and they are never out of sight.
More later...
Monday, June 04, 2007
A review: 13 Conversations about One Thing
There are movies which leave the feeling that something important has been expressed. Some deep concept has been given. 13 Conversations about One Thing is such a movie. I am very susceptible to such movies.
The danger of course is that I leave the movie feeling good. I feel in on the secret. I have been let in on the deepness of the movie. The draw and strength of such movies is that everyone leaves feeling that way. I have known a great mysterious truth, even though I only have a hazy conception of what that truth is.
My solution for this is to attempt to define the message of the movie, and to expose the deepness to scrutiny. Then I can begin to determine if the message is a true one.
The title elicits the inevitable question: what is the one thing? I think the answer lies in the first scene of the movie when the professors wife asks him what is it you want in life? What everyone wants, he answers, to be happy, to wake up enthused.
The plot, such as it is, explores the different approaches to happiness and fortune. Each character moves through the story, happy, unhappy, lucky, unlucky, opptimistic, pessimistic...
There are three basic states of happiness: Those who are, those who think they are, ant those who wish they were. There are three basic approaches to fortune: those who don't worry about what happens to them, those to whom events are all consuming, and those for whom perspective changes through the movie.
The character Bowman is the model of happiness--he is consistently happy and does not relate that happiness to what is going on around him. His opposite is the physics professor, who is consistently unhappy and seeks happiness in events. He tries to manipulate his world to make himself happy and is left unfulfilled at every turn.
Ok this is going nowhere, so I'm going to cut to the chase: the ultimate message of the movie is that happiness is directly related, not to those things going on around us, but to our response to them. If we respond to events with a positive attitude, we will be happy. If we respond negatively we find unhappiness. A corollary to this is that the more we seek happiness the less likely we are to find it.
These ideas have tremendous implications if they are true. If we can in fact choose to be happy, then what are we waiting for?
Interestingly, the two happy characters are those who seek the good, both in others, and in their own lives. They enliven those around then and bring happiness to those with whom they interact. They influence those around them to seek the good and choose happiness. The unhappy characters seek happiness in destruction, and they spread unhappiness and death.
So we have portrayed in this movie a world in which people are deeply and intimately connected, even in seemingly trivial situations. A world in which fortune is fickle and true happiness really does come through our response to the world rsather then from the world itself.
These are old ideas, but I think in general, good ones. Similar themes appear again and again in ancient philosophy, but the clearest match, I think, is found in the ideas of Boethius in The Consolation of Philosophy. In this work Boethius comes to the conclusion that true contentment is not to be found in the fruits of fortune, which are transient and evanescent. True contentment is to be found in our response to the world and in particular our relationship with God.
If we keep close the truth that we have not earned anything, we can respond to what we have received in a healthy manner. We can find contentment in God, and maintain an attitude of thankfulness for what has been given to us.
13 Conversations about One Thing is a good movie. It is full of pithy statements, and great quotable lines. It contains moving emotional scenes that alow us to connect to the characters and find truth in the movie's message.
The danger of course is that I leave the movie feeling good. I feel in on the secret. I have been let in on the deepness of the movie. The draw and strength of such movies is that everyone leaves feeling that way. I have known a great mysterious truth, even though I only have a hazy conception of what that truth is.
My solution for this is to attempt to define the message of the movie, and to expose the deepness to scrutiny. Then I can begin to determine if the message is a true one.
The title elicits the inevitable question: what is the one thing? I think the answer lies in the first scene of the movie when the professors wife asks him what is it you want in life? What everyone wants, he answers, to be happy, to wake up enthused.
The plot, such as it is, explores the different approaches to happiness and fortune. Each character moves through the story, happy, unhappy, lucky, unlucky, opptimistic, pessimistic...
There are three basic states of happiness: Those who are, those who think they are, ant those who wish they were. There are three basic approaches to fortune: those who don't worry about what happens to them, those to whom events are all consuming, and those for whom perspective changes through the movie.
The character Bowman is the model of happiness--he is consistently happy and does not relate that happiness to what is going on around him. His opposite is the physics professor, who is consistently unhappy and seeks happiness in events. He tries to manipulate his world to make himself happy and is left unfulfilled at every turn.
Ok this is going nowhere, so I'm going to cut to the chase: the ultimate message of the movie is that happiness is directly related, not to those things going on around us, but to our response to them. If we respond to events with a positive attitude, we will be happy. If we respond negatively we find unhappiness. A corollary to this is that the more we seek happiness the less likely we are to find it.
These ideas have tremendous implications if they are true. If we can in fact choose to be happy, then what are we waiting for?
Interestingly, the two happy characters are those who seek the good, both in others, and in their own lives. They enliven those around then and bring happiness to those with whom they interact. They influence those around them to seek the good and choose happiness. The unhappy characters seek happiness in destruction, and they spread unhappiness and death.
So we have portrayed in this movie a world in which people are deeply and intimately connected, even in seemingly trivial situations. A world in which fortune is fickle and true happiness really does come through our response to the world rsather then from the world itself.
These are old ideas, but I think in general, good ones. Similar themes appear again and again in ancient philosophy, but the clearest match, I think, is found in the ideas of Boethius in The Consolation of Philosophy. In this work Boethius comes to the conclusion that true contentment is not to be found in the fruits of fortune, which are transient and evanescent. True contentment is to be found in our response to the world and in particular our relationship with God.
If we keep close the truth that we have not earned anything, we can respond to what we have received in a healthy manner. We can find contentment in God, and maintain an attitude of thankfulness for what has been given to us.
13 Conversations about One Thing is a good movie. It is full of pithy statements, and great quotable lines. It contains moving emotional scenes that alow us to connect to the characters and find truth in the movie's message.
Monday, May 28, 2007
On not posting
I'm sorry Jane that I left your insanity exposed to the world for so long without covering it up with another post.
I really have no excuse for not posting, other than I don't have anything worth saying. But in this post I am overcoming that difficulty. I am rising above the lack of value in my thoughts and piosting anyway.
I really have no excuse for not posting, other than I don't have anything worth saying. But in this post I am overcoming that difficulty. I am rising above the lack of value in my thoughts and piosting anyway.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
On Jane's insanity
YOu're crazy. Jimmy Carter has to be in close running for worst president of the last 140 years. Name one thing he did right. And the Camp David Accords don't count. All he did for that was stand around and look pretty.
As to Clinton, I admit he deseres a bit higher esteem. He did preside over on of the most prolonged periods of economic growth and international peace in our history, and I almost included him in the list I would be willing to argue for that reason. This was mostly because he left things alone, but the fact that he did this out of laziness rather than the conviction that limited government is a good thing rules him out in my book. Either way though, how can you even consider him in the running for best in the last 140 years. You might as well argue for Nixon. He did a lot of good things too--before Watergate.
As to Clinton, I admit he deseres a bit higher esteem. He did preside over on of the most prolonged periods of economic growth and international peace in our history, and I almost included him in the list I would be willing to argue for that reason. This was mostly because he left things alone, but the fact that he did this out of laziness rather than the conviction that limited government is a good thing rules him out in my book. Either way though, how can you even consider him in the running for best in the last 140 years. You might as well argue for Nixon. He did a lot of good things too--before Watergate.
On a second hand existence
No one has responded yet to my post on politics, so I think it is time to reformulate my question.
I was reading in Christianity Today, an article about one Wendell Berry. His big thing is that in our modern existence much of what we do is done through what he Calls proxies, and that we often fail to recognize them for what they are. For example, we use a lot of energy to fuel our lives. But we don't have anything to do with the production of that energy. We pay someone else to go out an strip mine coal so that we can run our computers, and write about things like using other people to strip mine coal to power our computers.
Berry asks that we begin to think about what is being done in our name. It is to be sure a daunting moral excersize, but, he contends, is better than continuing to ignore what we implicitly sanction. His major themes are energy and agriculture. While I think it implausible that everyone live as he does on a 140 acre farm, growing his own food, and chopping wood to heat his home, I do think that it is a worthy undertaking to see if there are ways to reduce our reliance on proxies as much as possible.
I would also like to extend the discussion to the realm of politics. Our proxies in energy may harm the earth, but our proxies in politics do something far worse. They point a gun at other people and say give me your hard-earned money so I can give it to that guy.
There is a funny line in the movie Stranger than Fiction where the female lead is explaining to Will Ferrell why she didn't pay all of her taxes. She says, 70% of my taxes go to support these programs that I support, but the other 30% go to support the war in Iraq that I don't agree with so those are the ones I didn't pay.
So on that not I will propose a new tax system: First set the basic rate slightly lower, say 25% for anyone making more than 50000 and 10% for everyone that makes less than that, even minimum wage earners so that everyone has a stake in what the government does, unlike the current system, where a substantial portion of the population gets a completely free ride. While we're at it, since the rate is lower, we can elimitate all deductions and breaks, and computerize the whole system to save time and money. Second, set aside a percentage of taxes for a few basic programs: Defence State and Treasury. Then hae a new form to submit with tax returns that would allow the taxpayers to decide where their money would be spent. You ould reasonably condense everything the government does into 200 lines or so. You know, like, How much would you like to put towards paying farmers not to grow crops so that you can pay more for food? Third, many people I have talked to say something along the lines of, I'm happy to pay taxes, because I think the programs the fund are important. So let them. Have a voluntary contribution line at the end of the tax form. Then we can see if they put their money where their mouth is.
Wow, this is fun: While we're in fantasy land lets just ax every entitlement program. It's not like they work anyway.
I was reading in Christianity Today, an article about one Wendell Berry. His big thing is that in our modern existence much of what we do is done through what he Calls proxies, and that we often fail to recognize them for what they are. For example, we use a lot of energy to fuel our lives. But we don't have anything to do with the production of that energy. We pay someone else to go out an strip mine coal so that we can run our computers, and write about things like using other people to strip mine coal to power our computers.
Berry asks that we begin to think about what is being done in our name. It is to be sure a daunting moral excersize, but, he contends, is better than continuing to ignore what we implicitly sanction. His major themes are energy and agriculture. While I think it implausible that everyone live as he does on a 140 acre farm, growing his own food, and chopping wood to heat his home, I do think that it is a worthy undertaking to see if there are ways to reduce our reliance on proxies as much as possible.
I would also like to extend the discussion to the realm of politics. Our proxies in energy may harm the earth, but our proxies in politics do something far worse. They point a gun at other people and say give me your hard-earned money so I can give it to that guy.
There is a funny line in the movie Stranger than Fiction where the female lead is explaining to Will Ferrell why she didn't pay all of her taxes. She says, 70% of my taxes go to support these programs that I support, but the other 30% go to support the war in Iraq that I don't agree with so those are the ones I didn't pay.
So on that not I will propose a new tax system: First set the basic rate slightly lower, say 25% for anyone making more than 50000 and 10% for everyone that makes less than that, even minimum wage earners so that everyone has a stake in what the government does, unlike the current system, where a substantial portion of the population gets a completely free ride. While we're at it, since the rate is lower, we can elimitate all deductions and breaks, and computerize the whole system to save time and money. Second, set aside a percentage of taxes for a few basic programs: Defence State and Treasury. Then hae a new form to submit with tax returns that would allow the taxpayers to decide where their money would be spent. You ould reasonably condense everything the government does into 200 lines or so. You know, like, How much would you like to put towards paying farmers not to grow crops so that you can pay more for food? Third, many people I have talked to say something along the lines of, I'm happy to pay taxes, because I think the programs the fund are important. So let them. Have a voluntary contribution line at the end of the tax form. Then we can see if they put their money where their mouth is.
Wow, this is fun: While we're in fantasy land lets just ax every entitlement program. It's not like they work anyway.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
On Ronald the Great
Jane unwisely hallenged my assertion that Ronald Reagan is the greatest president of the last 140 years, so I put this hallenge to you: name a better one. I hae heard three others put forward in my years debating this subjet: both Rooseelts, and Kennedy. I would be open to hearing opinions arguing for Truman or Eisenhower or my personal faorite whose name I an't spell beause I lak the appropriate letters (1923-1929).
If you argue for anyone else I hae to admit I probably won't take you seriously. And if you argue for Jimmy arter, Herbert Hooer, or Lyndon Johnson I'll just hae to all you--well I hae faith in you--you wouldn't try that.
If you argue for anyone else I hae to admit I probably won't take you seriously. And if you argue for Jimmy arter, Herbert Hooer, or Lyndon Johnson I'll just hae to all you--well I hae faith in you--you wouldn't try that.
On psyhosis
Warning--four keys on my keyboard don't work
So I was listining to the radio the other day and they were talking about the whole irginia Teh thing that happened a ouple of weeks ago. And they were lamenting the fat that eeryone knew that this guy was suffering from mental illness and that they had reported him to the releant authorities, and that he hadn't found help. And the guy on the radio said something to the effet of people need to be held responsible for the fat that he still hadn't reeied help.
My question is who? The talking heads seem to think that it should be the uniersity authorities. The other popular idea is to blame the gun laws of irginia.
I hae a few thoughts about this (ery bad) idea. First, noone but the shooter an reasonably be held responsible for this. Or the ridiulous laws this ountry has onerning mental illness. There is no mentl illness in my book that absoles you when you deide to beome a mass murderer. all me stupid, but Hitler had some serious mental issues and we hae no problem blaming him for what he did.
Seond, if you begin holding people responsible, not just for reporting mental ilness, but also for making sure the psyho gets treatment, then we an all start to worry. I'd probably hae to report half the people I know. People are nuts--lots of people, and ery few of them turn into mass murderers.
Third, lets hae a story. Thirty years ago this ountry had a funtioning system for those who are mentally ill. People ould be ommited to mental hospitals and there were lots of suh hospitals out there. It is true that there were many abuses and the onditions were often poor, and some of the treatments were barbari. But at least there was a system for dealing with mental illness. Today almost all of those hospitals are losed. And no one an be ommitted, that is no one, unless they hae somehow broken the law already an be fored to reeie treatment, een with the support of lose family members.
This guy wasn't looking for help. He wasn't out there looking for help. He turned down help and there was nothing anyone ould do.
On the gun law thing, thats just absurd. irginia Teh had a no gun poliy. If they had allowed people to arry their weapons the way they an eerywhere else in irginia, the odds are the death ount would hae been a lot lower.
Side note: my faorite presidential andidate has yet to delare his andiday--Fred Thompson. I would hold the fat that he is an ator against him, but then I remember that our greatest president of the last 140 years was an ator, so I don't.
So I was listining to the radio the other day and they were talking about the whole irginia Teh thing that happened a ouple of weeks ago. And they were lamenting the fat that eeryone knew that this guy was suffering from mental illness and that they had reported him to the releant authorities, and that he hadn't found help. And the guy on the radio said something to the effet of people need to be held responsible for the fat that he still hadn't reeied help.
My question is who? The talking heads seem to think that it should be the uniersity authorities. The other popular idea is to blame the gun laws of irginia.
I hae a few thoughts about this (ery bad) idea. First, noone but the shooter an reasonably be held responsible for this. Or the ridiulous laws this ountry has onerning mental illness. There is no mentl illness in my book that absoles you when you deide to beome a mass murderer. all me stupid, but Hitler had some serious mental issues and we hae no problem blaming him for what he did.
Seond, if you begin holding people responsible, not just for reporting mental ilness, but also for making sure the psyho gets treatment, then we an all start to worry. I'd probably hae to report half the people I know. People are nuts--lots of people, and ery few of them turn into mass murderers.
Third, lets hae a story. Thirty years ago this ountry had a funtioning system for those who are mentally ill. People ould be ommited to mental hospitals and there were lots of suh hospitals out there. It is true that there were many abuses and the onditions were often poor, and some of the treatments were barbari. But at least there was a system for dealing with mental illness. Today almost all of those hospitals are losed. And no one an be ommitted, that is no one, unless they hae somehow broken the law already an be fored to reeie treatment, een with the support of lose family members.
This guy wasn't looking for help. He wasn't out there looking for help. He turned down help and there was nothing anyone ould do.
On the gun law thing, thats just absurd. irginia Teh had a no gun poliy. If they had allowed people to arry their weapons the way they an eerywhere else in irginia, the odds are the death ount would hae been a lot lower.
Side note: my faorite presidential andidate has yet to delare his andiday--Fred Thompson. I would hold the fat that he is an ator against him, but then I remember that our greatest president of the last 140 years was an ator, so I don't.
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