Monday, December 25, 2006

Home

Got a photo of me on a donkey. Finished San Diego (I mean, like, really finished it, yah know?), glimpsed at L.A. and tried to do what I do best in NYC. Man, what a place!

35 hours of travelling later, and I'm back home.

Have almost finished reading The Iraq Study Group Report. I wish these guys would write something about "how we got here" as well as their "where we go from here."

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Lost a sock, heading to TJ

I lost a sock. Now I am faced with a great dilemma; chuck the remaining sock? Hmmm.....

On a high note, Tijuana tomorrow. Gotta go find me a donkey. And some cubans to smoke. Oh man, I am gagging for a decent cigar.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Stu's Travel Tip 2

Travel Tip 2. Catching a cab in the USA: When jockeying for the front seat in a taxi in America, don't call out "shotgun!" Over here it also means something quite different...

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

A list of things I experienced in San Diego

* Listening to Lazy Line Painter Jane by Belle and Sebastian.

* Smelling like apricots. Need to wash sometime.

* Watching cars race around the Gas-Light district in down-town San Diego.

* Tasting luke-warm coffee that is surprisingly decent.

* Sensing the cool air tickling my lower back. Need to pull my pants up sometime.

* Feeling... well... dunno. Contemplating negative probabilities.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Stu's Travel Tip 1

Airport lounges. The place where you should most feel like you are travelling, but most where you feel like you're getting no-where, and that time is being usurped from your life.
Travel tip 1. Getting through security;Either make sure your belt has no metal in it, or that your pants fit well.
I just don't get drunk with my father enough. I resolve in the New Year to do it more often. I might even take him out to a lovely little speak-easy and smoke a cuban cigar with him. Good times.

Miss my flatmates. Especially annoying them early in the morning.

Saturday, December 9, 2006

I'm an anti-Jew!

I've been having way too much fun posting. Sure sure, I caused a bit (a lot?) of trouble, but I guess that's the freedom of the "intra-nerd" for you. Give any idiot a PC and suddenly he/she has got opinions. Case in point, me.

So obviously I copped a bit of flak, firstly for being an arsehole. Sure, I guess I wasn't going to let some idea stand for "the truth" without evidence. Or without intelligent, accurate dialogue, at least (don't come looking to me for that though!) .

But I'm just stubborn with my opinions, and I'm rather pedantic when it comes to supporting an argument with "facts." Heck, I'm a relativist; there ain't no objective truth, there is only beliefs, and strengths of argument.

But more interesting, there was a flippant remark I made. And it seems to have drawn quite a response. People have trundled out their old knee-jerk response, and let fly. I guess when one walks into a close-knit community and start to challenge the status quo, then ranks close.

Reminds me of a book by Philip Roth called The Human Stain. And that it holds an interesting and relative parable pertinent to my current situation.

You see, there is this English literature professor, who also happens to specialise in Ancient languages, such a Greek. And every day during class he does roll call. One day near the middle of the semester, he calls two names that he has been calling since the start of the year, and who have never been present. And he turns to the class and say "Who are these spooks ?"

And all hell brakes loose. Because not only is it a term describing "ghosts" or "spirits", it is also a racial slur against a black person. And, as the professor latter finds out, these two students not present were black.

So he has a law suit pressed against him, and he loses his job, his wife later dies and he is all alone. All because of a single word.

Spooks.
There are further twists to that story that I won't even mention; suffice to say, it allows the ideas of "racism" and of "anti-semitism" new interpretations.

Antisemitism.

Which American can read this article and not, at the least, have some wavering in their support for Israel?

I like Seinfield. Mad About You wasn't bad. Hell, I love Woody Allen. But if I don't agree with the the Israel lobby , or AIPAC , does that make me anti-semitic?

What happens when one day someone realises the religious and/or political and/or cultural background of another human being; should they recognise that?

To even say someone is Jewish; does that make me antisemitic?

Some will even say they know what I was thinking when I made that post.