Well, less than two weeks to go before I head to Minnesota. I'm starting to get really impatient right now. Partly because moving is a lot like being in limbo, I'm neither here nor there. That's one of the reasons I haven't blogged much as of late. I just can't concentrate on anything long enough in order to write anything sensible. I'm also a bit nervous. As of the moment we don't have jobs, a car, or a place to live once we get to Minneapolis. Awesome... and it will be the beginning of the REAL part of winter, less than two weeks before Christmas. All this and a bank account that contains about as much as the space between my ears. If you seem me ringing a bell on the side of the street, have a heart, and toss us a few shillings...
In the meantime I'm going to be pooping myself with anxiety.
Happy Holidays!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
Dutch Customer Service: an Oxymoron
It seems next to impossible to find a resturant in this country where having a meal isn't a completely exhasperating event. I went out to eat the other night with some friends visiting from Scotland and for what seemed like the millionth time had to deal with crap service. I don't think it's too much to ask that the server comes back to your table within a half hour of taking your drink orders, but I'm a little strange like that. You see, here in the Netherlands it's vitally important that one clearly outline one's intentions when the waitstaff first arrives. That means placing your drink orders, informing them that they should stop back in a few minutes to get the food order, and that eventually you will want to pay the check and leave. Otherwise, you're likely to be sitting around for quite some time with an empty drink glass in front of you, wondering if your server is ever coming back, and/or whether you might have suddenly become invisible. I guess I'm just assuming too much when I think that the waitress will, on her own accord, stop back by my table to ask me if I'm ready to order. But now I almost expect that they drop the drinks off at the table, turn abruptly at the heel, and dissappear before you are able to ask anything more from them. If you do manage to flag the person down again at some point don't be surprised if they just wave back at you. When I think about it, I'm really not surprised that Rip Van Winkle was Dutch, in fact, he probably fell asleep waiting to order a drink.
Monday, November 13, 2006
On Agriculture
Due to its popularity on my other blog, I've decided to post this essay here.
I felt the need to comment on a recent post I found on the Twin Cities Metroblogging site entitled, "Why Super-sized Farms Don't Work." The post in itself was a response to an article from Grist magazine online.
I would like to begin by saying that I am (and have been) interested in agricultural issues of this type. A great non-profit resource on this topic is the Organic Consumers Association. I have even had the opportunity to meet and speak with the director, Ronnie Cummings, a number of times.
Anyway I think I first started thinking about agriculture when I was in high school. Not sure where the actual influence came from but it was something to do with my amateur interest in archeology and ancient civilization. What I came to in my own deductions was that roughly 12,000 years ago humans began cultivating food rather than obtaining it by hunting, gathering, and animal husbandry. The whole process was not overnight of course, but the effects of this agricultural revolution stimulated one of the most profound sociological shifts in human history.
Without getting into too much history let me just paint a picture for you. 12,000 or so years ago our ancestors got it into their heads that it is possible to make food by putting the seeds in the ground. Probably had something to do with food sprouting up in former refuse heaps. Anyhow, methods were crude at first, perhaps just sprinkling some seeds on the ground before they migrated on to another spot and then coming back the next year to find more food. Well, certainly this was seen by some as a better idea than searching for food or hunting it down. Eventually, for whatever reason, primitive agriculture WAS adopted. This led to a lot of developments and changes. A reorganization of the division of labor (notably a shift from matriarchal to patriarchal society). Rise of the warrior class (to protect the food), sedentary lifestyle, food surpluses, population growth, waste management issues, and of course the rise of civilization.
So what does this have to do with contemporary food production in the rural Midwest?
Well, one thing that I learned a while back is that economically, food has some interesting qualities. Most of us are familiar with the inverse relationship between supply and demand. Supply up (assuming demand constant)= price goes down, otherwise known as a surplus. Demand up (assuming supply constant)=price goes up, otherwise known as a shortage. This is how things work according to free-market ideology assuming once again that there are no other variables exerting an influence. Well, as we all know, life doesn't lend itself easily to math quite so readily. Which brings me to the point about food. In food production it's usually desirable to produce a surplus (which of course fuels population growth, thus requiring more food production) in case of plagues, famine, natural disasters, theft, etc. Interesting to note that keeping track of surplus, as well as it's exchange for other goods led to the development of writing, private property and ownership, and class inequality, among other things. However as we just learned, having a surplus (with a less elastic and hence more static demand) drives prices down. Lower prices means that producers (farmers) need to produce more to make up for the loss in price, and a vicious circle ensues. Add a few thousand years to the equation and we get to a very complex system of economies of scale, subsidies for farmers to NOT grow food (in order to avoid glutting the market), commodity crops, world trade agreements, diminishing returns, large-scale industrial farming, and maybe most importantly the infrastructure that supports it all. So we're starting to see how complex the problem is and how it requires complex solutions as well.
Of course, buying locally produced food is a good first step, but it's not one that alone will be able to halt the decline and disappearance of the midwestern family farm. Perhaps the title of the post I'm responding to should have been entitled, "Why Super-sized Farms Work, and Why We Need a Better Solution."
I felt the need to comment on a recent post I found on the Twin Cities Metroblogging site entitled, "Why Super-sized Farms Don't Work." The post in itself was a response to an article from Grist magazine online.
I would like to begin by saying that I am (and have been) interested in agricultural issues of this type. A great non-profit resource on this topic is the Organic Consumers Association. I have even had the opportunity to meet and speak with the director, Ronnie Cummings, a number of times.
Anyway I think I first started thinking about agriculture when I was in high school. Not sure where the actual influence came from but it was something to do with my amateur interest in archeology and ancient civilization. What I came to in my own deductions was that roughly 12,000 years ago humans began cultivating food rather than obtaining it by hunting, gathering, and animal husbandry. The whole process was not overnight of course, but the effects of this agricultural revolution stimulated one of the most profound sociological shifts in human history.
Without getting into too much history let me just paint a picture for you. 12,000 or so years ago our ancestors got it into their heads that it is possible to make food by putting the seeds in the ground. Probably had something to do with food sprouting up in former refuse heaps. Anyhow, methods were crude at first, perhaps just sprinkling some seeds on the ground before they migrated on to another spot and then coming back the next year to find more food. Well, certainly this was seen by some as a better idea than searching for food or hunting it down. Eventually, for whatever reason, primitive agriculture WAS adopted. This led to a lot of developments and changes. A reorganization of the division of labor (notably a shift from matriarchal to patriarchal society). Rise of the warrior class (to protect the food), sedentary lifestyle, food surpluses, population growth, waste management issues, and of course the rise of civilization.
So what does this have to do with contemporary food production in the rural Midwest?
Well, one thing that I learned a while back is that economically, food has some interesting qualities. Most of us are familiar with the inverse relationship between supply and demand. Supply up (assuming demand constant)= price goes down, otherwise known as a surplus. Demand up (assuming supply constant)=price goes up, otherwise known as a shortage. This is how things work according to free-market ideology assuming once again that there are no other variables exerting an influence. Well, as we all know, life doesn't lend itself easily to math quite so readily. Which brings me to the point about food. In food production it's usually desirable to produce a surplus (which of course fuels population growth, thus requiring more food production) in case of plagues, famine, natural disasters, theft, etc. Interesting to note that keeping track of surplus, as well as it's exchange for other goods led to the development of writing, private property and ownership, and class inequality, among other things. However as we just learned, having a surplus (with a less elastic and hence more static demand) drives prices down. Lower prices means that producers (farmers) need to produce more to make up for the loss in price, and a vicious circle ensues. Add a few thousand years to the equation and we get to a very complex system of economies of scale, subsidies for farmers to NOT grow food (in order to avoid glutting the market), commodity crops, world trade agreements, diminishing returns, large-scale industrial farming, and maybe most importantly the infrastructure that supports it all. So we're starting to see how complex the problem is and how it requires complex solutions as well.
Of course, buying locally produced food is a good first step, but it's not one that alone will be able to halt the decline and disappearance of the midwestern family farm. Perhaps the title of the post I'm responding to should have been entitled, "Why Super-sized Farms Work, and Why We Need a Better Solution."
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
If your butt tingles...scratch it
Or don't. Makes no difference to me, I'm not trying to judge here.
this blog is a complete mess
Unfortunately due to my poor spelling and typing, along with my usual lack of editing has resulted in some strange sentance structures which read rather awkwardly at times. Combine this with my lack of labels and difficulty with longer posts means that things are a bit in shambles as far as my anal-retentive mind sees it. I will at some point in the near future be going back to do some minor editing. And why am I even bothering to post this for the love of .... It's late, I should be going to bed. I just felt like there might be something interesting forthcoming. I'm really a cup-is-half-full type of guy.... really.
OK... to bed then.
Adieu
OK... to bed then.
Adieu
Monday, October 30, 2006
good times... good times...
Well, I was just sitting here in my apartment trying to think of something to poke fun at. Poking fun....hmmm..... like with a stick with something on the end of it. Fun... I suppose, or doo-doo. Either way I was looking at some Minneapolis websites not only because it gets me excited for the move, but also gives me a clue as to what is happening around town. Speaking of which I always thought a good gag gift would be a small box with "Clues" printed on it all professional like and perhaps a clever, yet obvious tag like "You know you need to get one." The box would be empty of course, but... ok whatever.
So I happened to click a post about loft apartments and ended up reading the vitriolic lambastings that constituted the replies to it. Apparently lofts are the subject of much contempt and ridicule in the Twin Cities as are, people that build lofts, people that live in lofts, people that would like to live in a loft someday, or people that just like interesting and creative interior design.
The original post was itself innocent enough, but what really seemed to spark some controversy was the use of the words "creative class." I believe the prase was coined by writer Richard Florida in his book, "The Rise of the Creative Class." I've never read the book myself, but judging by some of those response posts, the creative class is not necessarily something to aspire to. But the subject many Minneapolitans seem to take as their favorite verbal punching bag is the hipster. Again, I'm not really sure what qualifies a person as a hipster, but it seems it is a universally negative thing to be. I sure hope I'm not a hipster. But if I were to take a stab at what might consitute such a person I'd have this to say. The hipster is apparently some kind of person who pretends to be cool.... but isn't? Or dresses unconventionally but deep down.... is a conformist? Judging by some descriptions the hipster is very concerned by their own superficial "look" and goes to great lengths to cultivate it, including reading "deep" books or obscuritan poetry that isn't really obscure (to the truly educated). In fact the hipster, it seems, is so involved in crating a personal "image" that they don't make decisions based on self-motivation but on aesthetic veneers that they believe will indicate to others that they are cool. Oh, and they regard non-hipsters (and possibly each other) with distain, when they regard others at all.
I guess what I'm getting at with all this is that while much of the commentary surrounding the creative class, hipsters, and so many other labels is tongue-in-cheek I can't help but feel that deep down there is some sort of real chaffing going on. That our own insecurities are what usually give rise to such criticisms. I'm not saying all these people want to be hipsters in some way, they just feel some compulsion to view their own lives as more authentic than those whom they consider to only be posturing. But then again maybe it's just me who is the intellecually elitist prick. At least I'm not a hippy.
So I happened to click a post about loft apartments and ended up reading the vitriolic lambastings that constituted the replies to it. Apparently lofts are the subject of much contempt and ridicule in the Twin Cities as are, people that build lofts, people that live in lofts, people that would like to live in a loft someday, or people that just like interesting and creative interior design.
The original post was itself innocent enough, but what really seemed to spark some controversy was the use of the words "creative class." I believe the prase was coined by writer Richard Florida in his book, "The Rise of the Creative Class." I've never read the book myself, but judging by some of those response posts, the creative class is not necessarily something to aspire to. But the subject many Minneapolitans seem to take as their favorite verbal punching bag is the hipster. Again, I'm not really sure what qualifies a person as a hipster, but it seems it is a universally negative thing to be. I sure hope I'm not a hipster. But if I were to take a stab at what might consitute such a person I'd have this to say. The hipster is apparently some kind of person who pretends to be cool.... but isn't? Or dresses unconventionally but deep down.... is a conformist? Judging by some descriptions the hipster is very concerned by their own superficial "look" and goes to great lengths to cultivate it, including reading "deep" books or obscuritan poetry that isn't really obscure (to the truly educated). In fact the hipster, it seems, is so involved in crating a personal "image" that they don't make decisions based on self-motivation but on aesthetic veneers that they believe will indicate to others that they are cool. Oh, and they regard non-hipsters (and possibly each other) with distain, when they regard others at all.
I guess what I'm getting at with all this is that while much of the commentary surrounding the creative class, hipsters, and so many other labels is tongue-in-cheek I can't help but feel that deep down there is some sort of real chaffing going on. That our own insecurities are what usually give rise to such criticisms. I'm not saying all these people want to be hipsters in some way, they just feel some compulsion to view their own lives as more authentic than those whom they consider to only be posturing. But then again maybe it's just me who is the intellecually elitist prick. At least I'm not a hippy.
Friday, October 27, 2006
the way
a ninja understands that achieving an objective is a matter of patience and agility.
-???????
-???????
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Kids
When my sister was younger, about twelve (12) years old, her and some of her friends wanted to form a Riotgrrrl band called "Little Girls' Dirty Sunday Panties." I find that funny. Personally I have toyed with the name "Cocksleeve and the Boner Ponies" but now I kind of like "The Intrepid Pubes." I think the later makes sense too because "little black curlies" are probably more ubiquitous than cockroaches. Of course this 'pubic migration' if you will, is often helped along by real princes of the food service industry who see it as their mission to pass along their DNA by adding it to the orders of rude customers. But even without the hard work of these classy fellows it's quite evident that these little buggers would get in our food anyway. That's just how they operate. And while I'm certain that no one has actually documented the mating habits of pubic hairs one has only to use the toilet in some hippy's apartment to understand that these things reproduce. You've been warned people, I'm doing my best to look out for you. So while mankind may have been to the Moon, I bet if you looked hard enough you could probably find pubes there too. These magnificent hairy explorers put Vasco de Gama to shame. Shame on you Vasco de Gama.
Wow, the thought-poopies are providing some real brilliance, which goes to show that toilet humour is.... like pubes.... here to stay.
Wow, the thought-poopies are providing some real brilliance, which goes to show that toilet humour is.... like pubes.... here to stay.
Another Story
Just to clear things up, or perhaps for some, make them more complicated, I have a few things to say about this small and crowded bit of former swampland that I live on. I say swampland because the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium are collectively known as the low-countries, lands that have been reclaimed from the sea by draining off all the agua. That is of course the reason there are so many canals throughout this country. Aha, I can see the lightbulb is starting to glimmer, isn't it twinkeltits? Hamster gaining a little ground in his Sysiphean enterprise of moving that little wheel? Hmm.... here's where it gets complicated. So complicated in fact, that when I've tried to give small geography lessons to mistaken friends and relatives their eyes usually glaze over. Go figure. Incidentally I quit doing it when: a) I got tired of explaining that the country is not called Amsterdam, and I don't live in that city anyway, and: b) I felt like the glazed look may have been a reaction to my possibly pretentious and pedantic accounts.
Where was I? Oh yes, the Netherlands..... it's the name of the country. The people and the language are to English speakers: Dutch. In their own language it's Nederlanders and Nederlands respectively. Holland is actually a specific region. There is a north and south Holland, and Amsterdam is in the North, the Hague in the south. So, I am living in the Hague or "Den Haag" which is the simplified version of "s'Gravenhage" which is not to be confused with the suburban town near here called Scheveningen. For extra credit, this last town is so difficult for non-Dutch speakers to pronounce that it was actually a code-word during WWII. So to recap: Amsterdam does not equal Holland which does not equal The Netherlands. Capice?
Where was I? Oh yes, the Netherlands..... it's the name of the country. The people and the language are to English speakers: Dutch. In their own language it's Nederlanders and Nederlands respectively. Holland is actually a specific region. There is a north and south Holland, and Amsterdam is in the North, the Hague in the south. So, I am living in the Hague or "Den Haag" which is the simplified version of "s'Gravenhage" which is not to be confused with the suburban town near here called Scheveningen. For extra credit, this last town is so difficult for non-Dutch speakers to pronounce that it was actually a code-word during WWII. So to recap: Amsterdam does not equal Holland which does not equal The Netherlands. Capice?
Left foot... Right foot... Kick 'em in the Dink!
A friend told me once that work annoyed him so much that he was going to go home and masturbate into a pile of his own pubes and then sculpt it into an exact replica of Michaelangelo's "David" except with a bigger penis. I laughed so hard I cried, because I'm pretty sure he was just joking. Anyway, I actually get to see the real "David" when I go to Florence next month. Of course, anyone who's interested in art and architecture cannot miss seeing Florence so I'll have approximately 3 days of actual sightseeing. Then having been to Italy I will have seen a pretty good selection of European countries. There is so much more to see but for now I'm going to have to put on hold my dreams of a month long car trip around France and A good week or so in Turkey. I'm also a bit sad that I still haven't seen Greece, but them's the breaks.
Italy, I'm sure it's going to be good but I'm not the biggest fan. K has been to Milan and besides the center of the city (the old part, I'm told) the place is a real toilet. I'm not trying to judge here people, I'm keeping an open mind. That's just what I've heard.
Speaking of living in Europe, I think I'm really going to miss the trams here the most. Bicycles are probably the number one mode of transportation in Dutch cities, but I'm fond of the trams. I can't say enough about public transportation in Europe. Well, I guess three sentances is good. Seriously. The trains here.... awesome. I love jumping on the train and reading the newspaper while munching on a croissant and then washing the whole thing down with a nice cappucino. 45 minutes later I'm in Amsterdam. The city, not the country.... but that's another story.
Italy, I'm sure it's going to be good but I'm not the biggest fan. K has been to Milan and besides the center of the city (the old part, I'm told) the place is a real toilet. I'm not trying to judge here people, I'm keeping an open mind. That's just what I've heard.
Speaking of living in Europe, I think I'm really going to miss the trams here the most. Bicycles are probably the number one mode of transportation in Dutch cities, but I'm fond of the trams. I can't say enough about public transportation in Europe. Well, I guess three sentances is good. Seriously. The trains here.... awesome. I love jumping on the train and reading the newspaper while munching on a croissant and then washing the whole thing down with a nice cappucino. 45 minutes later I'm in Amsterdam. The city, not the country.... but that's another story.
Just puttin' it out there
Writing also gets my panties in a bunch. My original blog was supposed to be a place where I practiced my writing. I'm not really sure what I've been practicing this last year, but I have a hard time actually calling it writing. From what I've read it actually takes writers several pages sometimes of writing before they actually get something they can use. You just keep writing and writing, or typing and typing and apparently the mind turds majically transform into something that passes for good writing. Can't say it isn't so myself because after pages of writing my wrist usually starts cramping up and the whole affair goes up in smoke. But since I still have time to bash my brains out for something interesting to say I'm shooting for the moon. Yup, I'm just going to keep posting mindless blather until it crystalizes into interesting and topical writing. Ok, how long has it been?
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