Tuesday 6 September 2011

9/11^10

This is morning in America. Ten years on as the anniversary of the attacks approaches, and I have to wonder if all the devotion to security theatre, terrorism has become a rather specious subject, methods and efforts vilified by a marked absence.
Marshalling armies for such a pageant has not left an abundance of resources for calling together militias for other causes that have been eroding during the past decade. What happens in the within the American sphere of influence is far from all gloom and grime and there are still much charity and vision coming from there, but from the periscope of living abroad and what pushes the news, it seems like a national will has been lost and edited away like it was never there to begin with. Potential for earning a livelihood is anemic, the disparity of wealth has spread, citizens in terms of values and priorities have never been more polarized and desperate for demagoguery, communities are at odds with one another, infrastructure is crumbling and little has been invested for the future. Maybe the legacy of 11. September is not in heightened security, mistrust, loss of privacy but rather in the demotivation of reactionaries, always struggling to respond--irrespective of scope or scale, instead of building that is enduring and comprehensive. Very serious people in very serious forums, not lampoons or satires, are spouting off all sorts of causes to rally around that really defy belief: security theatre has expanded to all sorts of absurdities that Americans can be bothered to heed. That's another morning in America.

Monday 5 September 2011

silent haitch

Most sites and historic buildings are exceedingly well-documented, but good, living stewardship and repair does not always guarantee that the curious can find out more. A few weeks ago, H and I happened on this impressive old church with a colourful wooden interior and crypt in Thรผringer Rohr in County Schmalkalden-Meiningen.
The style reminded me of churches we have seen along the Baltic coast, with its craftsmanship and artwork. A small sign proclaimed that the community was proud of this place, one of the oldest churches in Thรผringen but there was little else in the way of a guide or reference. I was perfectly happy, though, in the end, for having seen it and getting to climb into the rafters and appreciating the details without explaination, letting it remain a mystery to outsiders.
It was really neat and the locals ought to be proud. This wizened sentenial was also a puzzle, and apparently a more recent addition that greets visitors. Considering that the work of conservationists is also prone to the tastes and tools of the time, such a monument itself has more enduring presense than any gloss or promotion about it.

Sunday 4 September 2011

cloverfield 8

FACT: The nebulous and unseen primordial force of nature that destroys New York City (Cloverfield) in the film is actually a rampaging giant Liz Taylor.

Slate magazine has an absolutely brilliant and thorough literary analysis of John O’Hara’s classic novel, BUtterfield 8 (like the old telephone exchanges--PEnnsylvania 6-5000) which is set during the torrents of the Great Depression and Prohibition instead of the post World War II period of the screen-adaptation with a timeless Elizabeth Taylor, that uses the novel as a lens to gain an understanding of the current economic mood and reality. This state of unbalance, this limbo that policy-makers have suspended all hopes and fears over is an uneasy one. Ron Rosenbaum superbly explains how this novel explains the turning point and associated queasiness and questioning. A lot of academic energy has gone into trying to explain the causes of the last Great Depression and reasons why we are in the present Great Recession, rife with technicalities, parallels and the shifting of blame. History usually cannot be relied upon to repeat itself in a manner that presents simple and human solutions, but being able to access the environment and the struggles of select players, as well as the economic maneuvers, can be insightful.

Saturday 3 September 2011

at the mountain of madness

Der Spiegel reports on the jest and dreams of a reporter that may well be championed as a national cause, a shared-ambition in flat Netherlands. I guess the Dutch have a yearning for a bit of variety in landscape or maybe mountain-envy, as evinced by how they invade Germany and points beyond during every holiday season. This image is a just a mock-up but planning is underway to construct an artificial peak, some 2000 meters high in the Dutch countryside. The article has a terrifically day-dreamy tone and apparently such aspirations have really captured the imaginations of the Netherlands. It certainly seems that they could assay such a feat of engineering, since much of the territory of the country was reclaimed from the sea. A man-made mountain would certainly be a wonder, but maybe not so amenable to travel abroad and the Netherlands' own points of relative high stature.

sancta sedes

 Later in the month, H and I will have an audience with the Pope when Benedikt pays a visit to his native Germany--this time holding Mass in parts of the former East Germany, which he has not done before. I had RSVP’d quite some time ago when I first heard the news and was very excited to get the tickets in the mail. It was not, however, just a confirmation of our invitation but rather like a whole press package for the Pope Benedikt XVI Experience. 
I will have to do some studying on the saints and practice genuflexing so I'm not all off rhythm and get yelled at or remediated by the bishops.  We are not VIPs with a back-stage pass (at least I don't think so), but the lanyards, badges and electronic tickets are pretty neat and I am sure it will be quite a special and singular experience.

Friday 2 September 2011

gold doubloons and pieces-of-eight

The other day the bank gave me a large denomination, virtually unspendable euro bill. I couldn't do much with this banknote, except carry it around like a mortgaged Monopoly property or a certificate of stock, since stores shun accepting it. It's strange that one of the most valuable pieces of currency is a bit reviled--gas stations and small shops with signs in their windows announcing their refusal before one even asks, and has garnered a bad reputation, along with the €500, as a facilitator of underworld, under-the-table and off-the-books transactions. Apparently, the largest concentration of these bills is in areas where the financial crisis has been perpetuated because, in part, inability to collect on tariffs and taxes and blackmarket trades.  I wonder what the career is like for money out of circulation: is it like that of the monolithic stone wheels of the Island of Yap?  I felt a little like a gangster myself, when in the end I had to take the Euro-Schein back to the bank in exchange for less ostentatious amounts.

Thursday 1 September 2011

statecraft or goodwill ambassador

A faction of the US congress is revisiting the idea of ransoming the UN and guide its outreach and peace-keeping initiatives through leveraging, withholding its contribution to the UN operating budget. Although not a very original idea and all parties have not gone without disputes and disagreements, the language of the threat is desperate and uncouth--and highly selective. The UN is not a world-government but rather a mechanism to ensure that no one's sovereignty infringes on the sovereignty of another, and by begrudging its dues and citing certain activities, paints the organization with some monstrous authority it is not laying claim to. Such a proposal, if it goes any further, could only court retribution and could not end well. It is humiliating enough when there is no spirit of cooperation and compromise and budgets are slashed for the arts, science, social services and stabilization in one's own backyard, and the US embassy should not be exporting that sort of ill-will and discouragement. America's balance of influence is waning, especially when exhausted over something as petty as a pre-election competency-hearing and slander, and may very well need some day the support of such institutions to protect it from itself and narrow-interests.