America’s return on the bazillions of dollars we have spent on armaments since the end of WWII must represent the worst investment in the history of mankind. Korea, Viet Nam, and now Iraq represent military failures to all but the most deluded of neo-cons. However, these three conflicts are all but microscopic compared to the countless other skirmishes we have won during this same timeframe without firing a shot. I am talking of our artistic, cultural, linguistic, and technological hegemony.
The problem is that our most recent failure, Bush’s debacle in Iraq, is working to undermine our leadership in fields other than warfare. People around the world still look to the United States, and the English speaking world, as a beacon for entertainment, invention, scientific achievement, and many other lifestyle issues, but it seems that our influence has been waning. Americaphilia, if there is such a word—and there should be, is losing a bit of its old vigor thanks to some poor foreign policy choices by the present administration in Washington.
In my travels I have never come across anything that in any way could be construed as Anti-American. Sure, I’ve heard a bit of criticism for something our country has done but I have never experienced anything unpleasant on a personal level simply because I am American. Most foreigners have an overly-romanticized vision of our country because of movies, pop music, and American products. I’m sure that the most extreme left-wing radicals and proto-fascist radicals watch The Simpsons, of whatever they call it in their countries.
A shining example of America’s military impotence is our stance towards Cuba. This tiny island nation has stood in defiance of the Goliath 90 miles to its north for 45 years. It has been able to do so not in spite of our military and economic blockade, but because of it. How long would Castro been able to holds the reins of power if we had simply opened our doors to Cuba and cooperated with the makers of their popular revolution. I say this with a certain amount of cynicism but slogans like Viva la Revolución are no match for Have a Coke and a Smile, the latest CD from Modest Mouse, or the third season of Entourage.
George Bush never traveled overseas before he was president. This would not be so remarkable for a working class American as travel takes time and money, but Bush came from one of the nation’s wealthiest families. His refusal to travel shows an astounding lack of curiosity on his part. What he would have learned had he used a passport in his earlier years is that America’s influence around the world is immeasurable. The voice of America—and by this I don’t mean the silly propaganda apparatus, Voice of America—is clear and constant throughout the world. Instead of smart bombs and Bradley fighting vehicles, we should realize that we have a much more effective technique for getting our message heard around the world. I’m not sure we know what our message is exactly. We should probably work on that first.
Movies, music, and books in English are louder than bombs. Any native English speaker quickly realizes this when traveling in countries where our language is not spoken. The other day I was waiting in the metro station when a Beatle’s song came on over the P.A. system. I looked around me and almost everyone was silently singing along to “If I Fell.” I can’t imagine that we could ever develop a weapon with the power of this three minute song.
The problem right now is that it is difficult for much of the world to see past the mistakes that we have made, or make that the mistakes Bush has made, to see the aspects of our culture that are highly admirable. We should learn that we have solved very few problems with the might of our military but we every day we are conquering the world with our popular culture.
No one has ever been able to tell me what victory will look like in Iraq. Not even the most ardent neo-conservatives can articulate their most hopeful vision for that country. If we were to pull out today I can’t see how things would be much worse than if we stay another year of two. I said this same thing three years ago. I don’t think anyone is willing or stupid enough to come in and try to restore order after we leave.
I have always felt that terrorism is a law and order problem and requires good police work. Applying a military solution to a police problem just seems to be asking for trouble, and trouble is what we got. Most people are now of the opinion that we have created more problems by invading Iraq than we ever hoped to solve. I am not one to say “I told you so” but in the case of the Iraq invasion I did say that it was a terrible idea. It is disturbing to go back and read what the neo-con pundits were saying in the days leading up to the invasion and the “triumphant” weeks thereafter. The worst part about this is how they ridiculed, demonized, and questioned the patriotism of anyone who didn’t agree with them.
I think it is essential that liberals see to it that people do not forget the outlandish claims the neo-cons were making about the Iraqi invasion. We need to throw their words back at them before they get a chance to rewrite their own history as so many of them are doing. Like rats from a sinking ship conservatives are trying to distance themselves from the Bush administration. It’s called “covering your ass” in the language of the military.
Andrew Sullivan, conservative jackass and wrong on just about everything having to do with this war, is a good example to cite when chronicling the arrogance of the right in the immediate aftermath of the invasion. In his blog post of April 1, 2003 he mocks the dire predictions of some journalists about the difficulty involved in invading and occupying Iraq. He closes the post with the admonition, “There's more accounting to do. “ Yes there is and we must do it.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Is the Vacation Over?
Is the Vacation Over?
At what point does the honeymoon of a vacation end and the day-to-day grind of life begin? I suppose that I will always be a tourist here in Spain. I can’t imagine ever ceasing to be completely captivated by a narrow street in the old section of town, or a cool wrought iron balcony. The great food and wine that I drink no longer seems exotic or foreign, although I enjoy it more with each meal that I prepare. I have adopted the Spanish custom of making even the lightest, smallest snack a sort of culinary occasion. I can’t tell if I am changing or if I’m just reverting to the way that I used to live when I lived on the other side of the Mediterranean.
I know now that the language will continue to vex me for years and years. I can’t even guess how long it would take someone to be completely comfortable with the context or life here, the background, the cultural literacy necessary to understand everything going on around you. I don’t kid myself that I will speak Spanish like a native or fully grasp Spanish politics, at least not any time soon.
I can try, however. I plod along in the language, word by word. It very often seems completely hopeless when I look at the pages and pages of vocabulary words that I have written down and looked up in the dictionary. How can I ever remember all of these words? I think that perhaps I am too old to be doing this. I seem to remember that I was a lot better at digesting hundreds of vocabulary words when I studied during my college years. Everyone knows that it is easier to learn a language when you are young, preferably very young, like before you are 16 or 17. I missed boat one by at least a generation.
I started a new book in Spanish last night before I went to bed. This book is a work of Spanish journalism. Before I passed out I had plowed through almost 40 pages with only a minimal consultation with the dictionary. It amazes me how often I will look up a word and then immediately come across it again in another context. It is as if the entire language is a secret that is being revealed to me one word at a time. The act of reading becomes an exercise in which my glasses continually bring the pages into better focus.
My aural comprehension is on the same arc. I watched a Spanish movie last night. La Escopeta Nacional directed by the Luis G. Berlanga from Valencia. I have found that when I watch movies on my computer I have a much easier time understanding because the sound quality through the headphones is much better than television speakers. This movie is in Spanish and Catalan with subtitles. I am still only beginning to understand the nature of Catalan and Valencià, languages which seem to bring an almost schizophrenic nature to this part of the country, at least it seems that way to me. I haven’t formally begun to study Valencià but I can at least recognize it when I hear it now. I was going to say, “One word at a time and one language at a time,” but I will probably start learning some Valencià very soon. I certainly have enough time.
One of my favorite tools for learning Spanish is wordreference .This is an online dictionary which is the easiest and quickest to use. They also have a language forum where you can post questions on vocabulary and grammar. I usually get a response a few seconds after I post. This resource really saves a lot of time when you are reading. Plowing through a dictionary takes more time and if you only have a verb that has been conjugated you sometimes don’t know where to look. Wordreference accepts conjugated verbs and verbal nouns. You also do not need to even use the cursor as the page automatically brings you back to the search mode after you enter. Call it a lazy man’s jackpot or a lifesaver.
At what point does the honeymoon of a vacation end and the day-to-day grind of life begin? I suppose that I will always be a tourist here in Spain. I can’t imagine ever ceasing to be completely captivated by a narrow street in the old section of town, or a cool wrought iron balcony. The great food and wine that I drink no longer seems exotic or foreign, although I enjoy it more with each meal that I prepare. I have adopted the Spanish custom of making even the lightest, smallest snack a sort of culinary occasion. I can’t tell if I am changing or if I’m just reverting to the way that I used to live when I lived on the other side of the Mediterranean.
I know now that the language will continue to vex me for years and years. I can’t even guess how long it would take someone to be completely comfortable with the context or life here, the background, the cultural literacy necessary to understand everything going on around you. I don’t kid myself that I will speak Spanish like a native or fully grasp Spanish politics, at least not any time soon.
I can try, however. I plod along in the language, word by word. It very often seems completely hopeless when I look at the pages and pages of vocabulary words that I have written down and looked up in the dictionary. How can I ever remember all of these words? I think that perhaps I am too old to be doing this. I seem to remember that I was a lot better at digesting hundreds of vocabulary words when I studied during my college years. Everyone knows that it is easier to learn a language when you are young, preferably very young, like before you are 16 or 17. I missed boat one by at least a generation.
I started a new book in Spanish last night before I went to bed. This book is a work of Spanish journalism. Before I passed out I had plowed through almost 40 pages with only a minimal consultation with the dictionary. It amazes me how often I will look up a word and then immediately come across it again in another context. It is as if the entire language is a secret that is being revealed to me one word at a time. The act of reading becomes an exercise in which my glasses continually bring the pages into better focus.
My aural comprehension is on the same arc. I watched a Spanish movie last night. La Escopeta Nacional directed by the Luis G. Berlanga from Valencia. I have found that when I watch movies on my computer I have a much easier time understanding because the sound quality through the headphones is much better than television speakers. This movie is in Spanish and Catalan with subtitles. I am still only beginning to understand the nature of Catalan and Valencià, languages which seem to bring an almost schizophrenic nature to this part of the country, at least it seems that way to me. I haven’t formally begun to study Valencià but I can at least recognize it when I hear it now. I was going to say, “One word at a time and one language at a time,” but I will probably start learning some Valencià very soon. I certainly have enough time.
One of my favorite tools for learning Spanish is wordreference .This is an online dictionary which is the easiest and quickest to use. They also have a language forum where you can post questions on vocabulary and grammar. I usually get a response a few seconds after I post. This resource really saves a lot of time when you are reading. Plowing through a dictionary takes more time and if you only have a verb that has been conjugated you sometimes don’t know where to look. Wordreference accepts conjugated verbs and verbal nouns. You also do not need to even use the cursor as the page automatically brings you back to the search mode after you enter. Call it a lazy man’s jackpot or a lifesaver.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Of Zeros and Ones and Marble
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He has his own statue so who the hell am I to rain on old Salvador Giner’s parade, besides, he has a fountain for that purpose. Just think of how few people in the history of human civilization have had a statue erected in their honor—and one that wasn’t later torn down by an angry mob. I would settle for my statue being razed by a mob; it’s the original thought that counts. I don’t think a statue counts if you have it built for yourself, that’s kind of what tombstones are for. I’m not a big fan of self-aggrandizement and I don’t know how one goes about self-promotion.
Then again, I guess building your own statue in your image is no worse than having some other organization do it for you, whether it be the Catholic Church, which is responsible for many of the statues in the European Christian era, or a political party which commissioned the rest. In the end, future generations will judge us more on our actions than marble statues carved in our likeness, if they judge us at all.
Take this Salvador Giner, dead now for almost 100 years. I’m sure that he accomplished a great deal in his lifetime, enough so that others thought him worthy of a fountain and a statue, yet I wouldn’t even know his name if I hadn’t taken this photo. When I looked at it on my computer I Googled his name and extracted my single sentence description from Wikipedia. Just about anyone nowadays has a Wikipedia entry and everyone can be found on Google.
The zeros and ones that honor individuals in the digital age are not as impressive as statues made of marble and bronze, but they may well turn out to be more durable. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, statues of the heroes of communism fell like trees in an Oregon forest. The U.S. invading forces orchestrated the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein. The anemic handful of Iraqi statue-topplers in the end required the assistance of an American tank to bring Hussein down and fulfill this clumsy propaganda stunt the Bush administration needed for this unpopular war. In the digital era all someone has to do is hit a delete key to erase all traces of your existence.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Wine and Democracy
Wine and Democracy
In one of local free newspapers that are always lying around the metro stations there was a column lamenting the fact that wine consumption has dropped in Spain. In many European countries that is considered a bad thing and I would agree. People should drink wine, and plenty of it. The author put most of the blame on the fact that restaurants charge too much for wine which has lead to a reduction in restaurant wine sales of 9%. Restaurants here generally charge double the retail price for a bottle of wine and sometimes as much as three times. The author seems to be saying that wine is in danger of losing its democratic and populist standing if it is priced out of reach of consumers, any consumers.
I think that American restaurants begin with three times the retail price and up to four times as much. It isn’t unusual to pay $9-11 for a GLASS of wine in some places. I was at a restaurant in the Chicago area before I came to Spain and I asked the bartender for a modestly-priced glass of wine. She charged me $14. I guess I looked like I had either fallen off the turnip truck that morning or that I was made of money. This was in a decent restaurant but nothing top tier.
In almost every James Bond movie there seems to be an obligatory scene showing Bond as being some sort of incredible wine snob. “Yes, I’ll have the 1962 Chateau Trou du Cul.” Fetishistic wine knowledge is generally portrayed as the height of sophistication and breeding, whatever the hell that is. I don’t think you would ever find Bond buying wine at the bargain rack at Trader Joe’s.
Somewhere between the Bond-esque wine douche bag and the slob who gargles with his vino there is room for the way wine is supposed to be consumed. Wine is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. We produce some of the best wine in the world but there doesn’t seem to be the same effort by producers to reach the entire American market. We still see wine as a luxury.
Wine in Mediterranean countries is seen as more of a basic right, like free speech, than a luxury enjoyed only by the elite. The prices that I would pay at the wine bargain bins back home seem almost extravagant to me here in Spain. The grocery store across the street from my apartment has a fairly large selection of Spanish wines and I don’t think that any are over $10, most are under $5, and there are many for as little as 1€. I wonder which wine Bond would choose.
People sometimes buy an expensive bottle of wine with the intention of keeping it for a special occasion. The wine is supposed to improve with age; at least that’s what the books say. I’ve never been able to keep a good bottle around for very long. The good ones get knocked off right along with the cheaper bottles when you have friends over. Binge drinking has no respect for the connoisseur in us.
The attitude here seems to be. “Today is a pretty good day to drink wine, so why wait?” As far as that fancy bottle you were planning to save, drink it today. You can always go out and buy the same thing when you have something big to celebrate. The point is that you should celebrate every day, or at least every good meal. Any meal that you have taken the trouble to prepare deserves to be served with wine.
In one of local free newspapers that are always lying around the metro stations there was a column lamenting the fact that wine consumption has dropped in Spain. In many European countries that is considered a bad thing and I would agree. People should drink wine, and plenty of it. The author put most of the blame on the fact that restaurants charge too much for wine which has lead to a reduction in restaurant wine sales of 9%. Restaurants here generally charge double the retail price for a bottle of wine and sometimes as much as three times. The author seems to be saying that wine is in danger of losing its democratic and populist standing if it is priced out of reach of consumers, any consumers.
I think that American restaurants begin with three times the retail price and up to four times as much. It isn’t unusual to pay $9-11 for a GLASS of wine in some places. I was at a restaurant in the Chicago area before I came to Spain and I asked the bartender for a modestly-priced glass of wine. She charged me $14. I guess I looked like I had either fallen off the turnip truck that morning or that I was made of money. This was in a decent restaurant but nothing top tier.
In almost every James Bond movie there seems to be an obligatory scene showing Bond as being some sort of incredible wine snob. “Yes, I’ll have the 1962 Chateau Trou du Cul.” Fetishistic wine knowledge is generally portrayed as the height of sophistication and breeding, whatever the hell that is. I don’t think you would ever find Bond buying wine at the bargain rack at Trader Joe’s.
Somewhere between the Bond-esque wine douche bag and the slob who gargles with his vino there is room for the way wine is supposed to be consumed. Wine is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. We produce some of the best wine in the world but there doesn’t seem to be the same effort by producers to reach the entire American market. We still see wine as a luxury.
Wine in Mediterranean countries is seen as more of a basic right, like free speech, than a luxury enjoyed only by the elite. The prices that I would pay at the wine bargain bins back home seem almost extravagant to me here in Spain. The grocery store across the street from my apartment has a fairly large selection of Spanish wines and I don’t think that any are over $10, most are under $5, and there are many for as little as 1€. I wonder which wine Bond would choose.
People sometimes buy an expensive bottle of wine with the intention of keeping it for a special occasion. The wine is supposed to improve with age; at least that’s what the books say. I’ve never been able to keep a good bottle around for very long. The good ones get knocked off right along with the cheaper bottles when you have friends over. Binge drinking has no respect for the connoisseur in us.
The attitude here seems to be. “Today is a pretty good day to drink wine, so why wait?” As far as that fancy bottle you were planning to save, drink it today. You can always go out and buy the same thing when you have something big to celebrate. The point is that you should celebrate every day, or at least every good meal. Any meal that you have taken the trouble to prepare deserves to be served with wine.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
It May Be Winter
It may be winter but not too cold to sit on my balcony
A few weeks ago I complained about the cold. I was just kidding back then. Now I am really bitching about the cold. Once again I am fantasizing about what it will be like here when it is really warm. That time will be here soon enough and will last for many months. I am waiting patiently. In fact, tonight I am waiting patiently out on my balcony as I smoke a Cuban cigar and write these words.
I have one of the better balconies that I have seen in Valencia and I’m sure that I will get a lot of good use out of it when the weather turns for the better. It adds a good 100 square feet or so on to an already big apartment and provides a good view of the neighborhood from the fifth floor perch.
I have been eating a little too well and with the rain I haven’t had a chance to ride my bike. I really noticed this today when I put on a pair of pants I haven’t worn since I got here that only fit if I am at my trimmest. I was planning on doing some shopping at the Algiros market today but all I got were a huge bag of olives. The two women at the olive stall got a big kick when I ordered in Valencià. On the way home I stopped at the green grocer and picked up some Canary Islands bananas and some Roma tomatoes. I feel like too much of a tub to eat anything tonight, but that doesn’t keep me from having a glass of brandy.
Today at 6:55 people in Europe were to observe a five minute lights out in honor of the global warming conference in Paris. It wasn’t about saving five minutes of electricity but simply a means to draw awareness to this issue. American right-wingers constantly pooh-pooh this topic and practically fall over laughing whenever the temperature is lower than average—as if this negates all of the scientific evidence that points to global warming. I just want all of the right-wingers to say for the record that they think global warming is a hoax. As I mentioned in an earlier essay, they have been wrong about so many other things. Go
ack and read what all of the neo-cons were saying about the war. Talk about being deluded.
Even if we are wrong on this point, all it means is that we spend some money to clean up the planet—not too much of a downside in my opinion. If global warming is happening, as most reputable scientists believe, and we do nothing about it, what will be the downside? Remember that old Bill Cosby gag with god talking to Noah? "How long can you tread water?" By the way, I was napping through the lights out, or apagón as they called it here in Spain. My short nap helped to save the world.
I have noticed that Al Gore is a rather revered figure here in Europe, as he should be. He has dedicated himself to public service along with presidents Carter and Clinton. It will be great when Gore wins the Academy Award for his film and gets to give a real speech at that fatuous celebrity fuck-fest. He makes me proud that I am American.
I have been so intent upon inculcating myself in Spanish life that my origins rarely come up in conversation here. Seattle is really hard to pronounce, or mispronounce, in Spanish so I usually just tell people I’m from the west coast. If they persist I tell them Sea-ah-tell and describe the immense natural beauty of the emerald city. The next place that I live I will be telling people about how great it is here in Valencia, even during the cold days of winter.
A few weeks ago I complained about the cold. I was just kidding back then. Now I am really bitching about the cold. Once again I am fantasizing about what it will be like here when it is really warm. That time will be here soon enough and will last for many months. I am waiting patiently. In fact, tonight I am waiting patiently out on my balcony as I smoke a Cuban cigar and write these words.
I have one of the better balconies that I have seen in Valencia and I’m sure that I will get a lot of good use out of it when the weather turns for the better. It adds a good 100 square feet or so on to an already big apartment and provides a good view of the neighborhood from the fifth floor perch.
I have been eating a little too well and with the rain I haven’t had a chance to ride my bike. I really noticed this today when I put on a pair of pants I haven’t worn since I got here that only fit if I am at my trimmest. I was planning on doing some shopping at the Algiros market today but all I got were a huge bag of olives. The two women at the olive stall got a big kick when I ordered in Valencià. On the way home I stopped at the green grocer and picked up some Canary Islands bananas and some Roma tomatoes. I feel like too much of a tub to eat anything tonight, but that doesn’t keep me from having a glass of brandy.
Today at 6:55 people in Europe were to observe a five minute lights out in honor of the global warming conference in Paris. It wasn’t about saving five minutes of electricity but simply a means to draw awareness to this issue. American right-wingers constantly pooh-pooh this topic and practically fall over laughing whenever the temperature is lower than average—as if this negates all of the scientific evidence that points to global warming. I just want all of the right-wingers to say for the record that they think global warming is a hoax. As I mentioned in an earlier essay, they have been wrong about so many other things. Go
ack and read what all of the neo-cons were saying about the war. Talk about being deluded.
Even if we are wrong on this point, all it means is that we spend some money to clean up the planet—not too much of a downside in my opinion. If global warming is happening, as most reputable scientists believe, and we do nothing about it, what will be the downside? Remember that old Bill Cosby gag with god talking to Noah? "How long can you tread water?" By the way, I was napping through the lights out, or apagón as they called it here in Spain. My short nap helped to save the world.
I have noticed that Al Gore is a rather revered figure here in Europe, as he should be. He has dedicated himself to public service along with presidents Carter and Clinton. It will be great when Gore wins the Academy Award for his film and gets to give a real speech at that fatuous celebrity fuck-fest. He makes me proud that I am American.
I have been so intent upon inculcating myself in Spanish life that my origins rarely come up in conversation here. Seattle is really hard to pronounce, or mispronounce, in Spanish so I usually just tell people I’m from the west coast. If they persist I tell them Sea-ah-tell and describe the immense natural beauty of the emerald city. The next place that I live I will be telling people about how great it is here in Valencia, even during the cold days of winter.
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