21 Dezember 2005
objective taste
When I came to Munich, I expected to compare different beers, and figure out which one was the best. Little did I know, the quality of beers is not a matter of taste, there is an objective ranking. Most importantly, Löwenbräu is "piss beer" and Augustiner is the best. This is not a matter of opinion. All the other beers fill some sort of mushy middleground, although it seems like Spaten is considered pretty crummy, while people like Paulaner. Bottom line: if you want to seem like you know about beer in Munich, just say that you like Augustiner. It's the right answer anyway. That stuff is frickin' good.
20 Dezember 2005
nyc strike
It's amazing how being affected by a strike can change one's view on labor unions:
The Transit Workers Union went on strike, and with that a 20 minute commute became a four-hour march with millions of bridge and tunnel kids through ice and wind.Heh.
Like that the city halted before rush hour, for some-thousand ignorant overpaid lazy and expendible selfish workers.
The strike is illegal under New York's Taylor Law, a law in place for obvious reasons. The city seems determined to break the TWU, and hopefully it will end happily like the NWA strike. Outsourcing, scabs, and restructuring sans all former employees.
New York can litigate the union, and oh I hope they break and cripple them beyond all recompense.
18 Dezember 2005
disappointment
The Hong Kong WTO deal doesn't add up to much in the way of cutting farm subsidies (read about it here, here, and here). Jerome a Paris at DailyKos has it right: as with every trade deal, the devil's in the details. It's good to see they're at least talking about cutting farm subsidies, but too bad they can't get much substantive accomplished..
16 Dezember 2005
ag subsidies
The big sticking point of the upcoming Doha Round WTO talks is almost certainly going to be agriculture subsidies and quotas. Namely, the European Union won't want to get rid of the policies that protect their farmers. The EU's agriculture subsidies essentially amount to a Europeanization of what once was French policy.
And it's really pretty bad policy. According to The Economist, CAP (Ag subsidies) are 40% of the EU's budget. This, despite the fact that farmers make up only 2% of the workforce. Subsidies make up an average of 90% of a farmer's pre-tax income. Hmm, sounds like terrible policy, kind of like in the United States.
Unfortunately, like in the United States, Euro farm subsidies don't appear to be going anywhere. It's one of the principle demands of the French, which is the second most important member of the EU. The Germans bankroll the thing and get to determine all the monetary policy; the French pay a fair amount into the cash register, agree to get along with the Germans, and get their agriculture policy through.
It's not like the US will be in any position to get high and mighty at the WTO. Ethanol. Oh, sure we passed CAFTA, but why are there still terribly costly sugar quotas? Farm subsidies remain one of the worst worldwide policy disasters in the developing world. Maybe if the Netherlands, Malta or some other country with no farming to speak of ascends to hegemony, they can kick the crap out of us and set the world straight.
And it's really pretty bad policy. According to The Economist, CAP (Ag subsidies) are 40% of the EU's budget. This, despite the fact that farmers make up only 2% of the workforce. Subsidies make up an average of 90% of a farmer's pre-tax income. Hmm, sounds like terrible policy, kind of like in the United States.
Unfortunately, like in the United States, Euro farm subsidies don't appear to be going anywhere. It's one of the principle demands of the French, which is the second most important member of the EU. The Germans bankroll the thing and get to determine all the monetary policy; the French pay a fair amount into the cash register, agree to get along with the Germans, and get their agriculture policy through.
It's not like the US will be in any position to get high and mighty at the WTO. Ethanol. Oh, sure we passed CAFTA, but why are there still terribly costly sugar quotas? Farm subsidies remain one of the worst worldwide policy disasters in the developing world. Maybe if the Netherlands, Malta or some other country with no farming to speak of ascends to hegemony, they can kick the crap out of us and set the world straight.
15 Dezember 2005
scandal?
You'd be amazed at what passes for a scandal in Germany. And it has nothing to do with any current politicians.
Everybody knew that Schröder would pursue a lucrative private sector opportunity after losing the Chancellorship. That's where his connections and past lay. There was even a lot of speculation that he called the election when he did because he was sick of being Chancellor and would prefer to work for a big company. Now he has a job, with the Baltic Sea Pipeline Project, which just happened to be a project he advocated as the Chancellor. Hmm.
The other question being raised is that apparently Putin helped ol' boy Gerd get the gig. Schröder is very popular in Russia thanks to his strong anti-Iraq War stance and other things, and he's also popular with the Russian higher-ups thanks to the pipeline and such. People aren't happy that Schröder might have been cuddling up to authoritarians in order to further his post-government career options.
This seems like it might be unethical, but it's strange to me that it's such a big deal. To me, taking the job doesn't make the deal unethical. If the pipeline was a boondoggle (over which there has no debate) this would be real scandal and cause for concern. After all, that's exactly what Duke Cunningham did. But if the merits of the pipeline are sound, it seems like wasting a lot of hot air on a politician who's already out of office is a bit silly. There's no indication that malfeasance goes beyond Gerd, and the outrage seems to be directed at him personally. Find something real to bitch about. Like... oh... I don't know.... say the economy.
Everybody knew that Schröder would pursue a lucrative private sector opportunity after losing the Chancellorship. That's where his connections and past lay. There was even a lot of speculation that he called the election when he did because he was sick of being Chancellor and would prefer to work for a big company. Now he has a job, with the Baltic Sea Pipeline Project, which just happened to be a project he advocated as the Chancellor. Hmm.
The other question being raised is that apparently Putin helped ol' boy Gerd get the gig. Schröder is very popular in Russia thanks to his strong anti-Iraq War stance and other things, and he's also popular with the Russian higher-ups thanks to the pipeline and such. People aren't happy that Schröder might have been cuddling up to authoritarians in order to further his post-government career options.
This seems like it might be unethical, but it's strange to me that it's such a big deal. To me, taking the job doesn't make the deal unethical. If the pipeline was a boondoggle (over which there has no debate) this would be real scandal and cause for concern. After all, that's exactly what Duke Cunningham did. But if the merits of the pipeline are sound, it seems like wasting a lot of hot air on a politician who's already out of office is a bit silly. There's no indication that malfeasance goes beyond Gerd, and the outrage seems to be directed at him personally. Find something real to bitch about. Like... oh... I don't know.... say the economy.
14 Dezember 2005
World Cup draw
Soccer is a religion here. My favorite German politics blog chimes in on Germany's group for the World Cup:
Ecuador, Poland and Costa Rice: the knock out rounds should be a sure thing, otherwise we'll have the next national depression.No similar luck for the United States, who are in the most difficult group in the tournament. Looking forward to Germany-England at some point.
13 Dezember 2005
tookie!
Sometimes, people just pick the wrong example for their causes. I was pretty surprised to see that Tookie Williams made the front page of Der Spiegel, because apparently there's a big outcry in Europe against his execution. This likely stems from the fact that Mr. Williams has some celebrities on his side. Of course, Michael Douglas and Snoop Dogg probably know little about the facts of Tookie's case. And this seems a bit extreme:
I'm against the death penalty, but there are a lot of innocent people who have been executed and are on death row that make a much better case than a notorious and semi-repentant gangster.
Some of Williams supporters have gone so far as to put his name forward as a nominee for both the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature.The argument these guys are making is that Tookie's role as an influential gangsta (founder of the Crips?) back in the day has made him an important actor in preventing kids from joining gangs. Some idiots even say that he has saved 150,000 kids. How exactly we could measure and know this would be an interesting proposition, if it weren't patently false (on both counts):
But gang experts dispute Williams' claims to have founded the Crips and say he has little influence over teens. Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton has said that few gang members had likely heard of Williams before press coverage of his execution.Plus, Tookie refuses to tell the cops about the Crips, because that would make him a "snitch." So this dude who won't talk about a gang that he didn't start is getting celebrity support for clemency because of an overrated influence on poor kids? Color me unimpressed. Celebrities are stupid.
I'm against the death penalty, but there are a lot of innocent people who have been executed and are on death row that make a much better case than a notorious and semi-repentant gangster.
09 Dezember 2005
something
I can't really think of anything good to write, but I hate to let the blog lay fallow. So here's some garbage just to demonstrate that I'm not dead.
One thing I found interesting is that according to Wikipedia, the Brazilian National Soccer Team has 20 players with a total of 25 names and surnames (and this generously counts the "Junior" in "Roque Junior" as its own name). This means that 15 of the 20 players only have one name. I knew that Brazilians were all one name wonders, but this makes things really confusing. So I decided to make a primer, for myself as much as anything (you never know when this information might come in handy).
Ronaldo: The most famous active Brazilian. Striker for Real Madrid.
Robinho: The child of the crew at age 21. Also a striker for Real Madrid.
Adriano: Super striker for Inter Milan. Good at free kicks.
Ronaldinho: FC Barcelona midfielder. Arguably the world's greatest footballer.
Kaka: AC Milan midfielder. The reason we say Ronaldinho is only "arguably" the world's greatest. Certainly either the best or second best midfielder in the world.
Juninho: Lyon midfielder. The best free kick specialist in the world. Too bad "Bend it like Juninho" doesn't have a ring.
Ze Roberto: Bayern Munich midfielder, tricky little guy with the ball, hard to pin down.
Renato: Never heard of 'im.
Emerson: See Renato.
Cafu: AC Milan defender. Nobody cares about defenders though.
Lucio: Bayern Munich defender. See Cafu.
Great, well now I have no excuse for not knowing the difference between Juninho and Robinho in conversation (believe me, it comes up).
One thing I found interesting is that according to Wikipedia, the Brazilian National Soccer Team has 20 players with a total of 25 names and surnames (and this generously counts the "Junior" in "Roque Junior" as its own name). This means that 15 of the 20 players only have one name. I knew that Brazilians were all one name wonders, but this makes things really confusing. So I decided to make a primer, for myself as much as anything (you never know when this information might come in handy).
Ronaldo: The most famous active Brazilian. Striker for Real Madrid.
Robinho: The child of the crew at age 21. Also a striker for Real Madrid.
Adriano: Super striker for Inter Milan. Good at free kicks.
Ronaldinho: FC Barcelona midfielder. Arguably the world's greatest footballer.
Kaka: AC Milan midfielder. The reason we say Ronaldinho is only "arguably" the world's greatest. Certainly either the best or second best midfielder in the world.
Juninho: Lyon midfielder. The best free kick specialist in the world. Too bad "Bend it like Juninho" doesn't have a ring.
Ze Roberto: Bayern Munich midfielder, tricky little guy with the ball, hard to pin down.
Renato: Never heard of 'im.
Emerson: See Renato.
Cafu: AC Milan defender. Nobody cares about defenders though.
Lucio: Bayern Munich defender. See Cafu.
Great, well now I have no excuse for not knowing the difference between Juninho and Robinho in conversation (believe me, it comes up).
06 Dezember 2005
welcome to europe
I finally got a bike.
This is big shit. It may be a super heavy girly bike, but it's a bike nonetheless. Instead of riding the subway and paying money to be shut underground, and only come out of the hole at my destination, I can now ride through the streets, enjoy the scenery and the weather and all that.
Furthermore, my aquisition of a bike and the subsequent termination of my U-Bahn month membership now means I have no way to get to the giant grocery store (since it's against the law to ride a bike on the freeway). Some might see this as a limitation. I think it's great. No longer will I buy massive amounts of food twice a week. Instead, I can patronize Wimmer, mein Bäcker für immer (my bakery forever), and the local deli.
No more crowded Saturday afternoons at the grocery store. No more buying way to damn much of everything. Just getting a loaf of bread, some ham and a brick of cheese and putting them in the basket of your bike (yes, my bike has a basket!) is the way it was meant to be.
This is big shit. It may be a super heavy girly bike, but it's a bike nonetheless. Instead of riding the subway and paying money to be shut underground, and only come out of the hole at my destination, I can now ride through the streets, enjoy the scenery and the weather and all that.Furthermore, my aquisition of a bike and the subsequent termination of my U-Bahn month membership now means I have no way to get to the giant grocery store (since it's against the law to ride a bike on the freeway). Some might see this as a limitation. I think it's great. No longer will I buy massive amounts of food twice a week. Instead, I can patronize Wimmer, mein Bäcker für immer (my bakery forever), and the local deli.
No more crowded Saturday afternoons at the grocery store. No more buying way to damn much of everything. Just getting a loaf of bread, some ham and a brick of cheese and putting them in the basket of your bike (yes, my bike has a basket!) is the way it was meant to be.
01 Dezember 2005
referats
I just got back from giving my referat (presentation) for my Democracy in Latin America class. Basically, every class consists of a Referat and a Hausarbeit, which is a 15 page paper you write about the topic of your referat. You'd think that since German students give presentations four or five times a semester, they'd get good at it. You'd be completely wrong.
Essentially, they put together super thorough handouts for the class, then go through said handouts point for point. It is unbelievable tedious. The presentations are so unengaging, so scripted and so dull, that it's almost impossible to stay awake. It's a lot like a lesson from the worst professor ever, except that there is no incentive to pay attention because the entire lecture has already been transcribed and handed out. Why even care? Referats are really one of the worst ideas ever, especially if you aren't going to teach students how to present properly. It would appear to defeat the purpose.
Well, I'd love to say that my Referat was different, but it wasn't. It was a group project, which was nice because I only had to talk for a quarter of the time. Oh, and if my biggest issue is being unengaging during a fifteen minute presentation given in my second language about a topic I know little about, then I'd say I'm in pretty good shape.
Essentially, they put together super thorough handouts for the class, then go through said handouts point for point. It is unbelievable tedious. The presentations are so unengaging, so scripted and so dull, that it's almost impossible to stay awake. It's a lot like a lesson from the worst professor ever, except that there is no incentive to pay attention because the entire lecture has already been transcribed and handed out. Why even care? Referats are really one of the worst ideas ever, especially if you aren't going to teach students how to present properly. It would appear to defeat the purpose.
Well, I'd love to say that my Referat was different, but it wasn't. It was a group project, which was nice because I only had to talk for a quarter of the time. Oh, and if my biggest issue is being unengaging during a fifteen minute presentation given in my second language about a topic I know little about, then I'd say I'm in pretty good shape.
30 November 2005
29 November 2005
trains are better than buses
I've seen and heard the argument that Minneapolis and other US cities shouldn't expand light rail networks because building devoted bus lanes is just as good and would save a lot of money. Having lived in a city with effective rail transit and having ridden the bus a fair amount, I can now say this is false. There are differences between trains and buses that go beyond getting stuck in traffic.
Getting on and off
This is a two-fold benefit of trains. Since train tracks are recessed below the platforms, there are no steps to climb when boarding a light rail or subway train. Furthermore, a train has many doors that run the length of the platform. This eliminates the queuing problem busses face because they have just one or two entrances.
Riding itself
Trains are much smoother, much quieter and just generally a lot more pleasant to ride than busses. Try reading a book on a city bus. It's not easy.
Trains run established lines
The infrastructure of a train system is such that you can't just up and move a station or line. This makes the trains system much more intuitive and easy to use. It also explains why train lines are responsible for economic development around stations, since businesses can count on easy accessability and a stream of passersby through public transit.
Carrying capacity
A train line will always be able to transport more people than a bus line, because you can put more people in a 300 foot long train than a 50 foot long bus. It only makes sense.
Ridership
There are a lot of people who will ride the train but won't ride the bus at all. I have no idea what their reasons might be, but this is the case for 40% of Minneapolis LRT riders. Further expansion of bus lines totally ignores this demographic. There is no way a bus line can ever be as well used as a train line.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure for a bus system deteriorates a lot more quickly that train tracks and such. Dedicated bus lines quite expensive to maintain, which at least partially mitigates the seemingly stunning cost savings for dedicated bus lanes. The cost advantage is clearly eliminated and then some by the other factors I have listed. For a large city trying to build a high capacity line like Minneapolis on University Avenue, there is no way bus transit in any form is cost effective compared to some sort of light rail.
Getting on and off
This is a two-fold benefit of trains. Since train tracks are recessed below the platforms, there are no steps to climb when boarding a light rail or subway train. Furthermore, a train has many doors that run the length of the platform. This eliminates the queuing problem busses face because they have just one or two entrances.
Riding itself
Trains are much smoother, much quieter and just generally a lot more pleasant to ride than busses. Try reading a book on a city bus. It's not easy.
Trains run established lines
The infrastructure of a train system is such that you can't just up and move a station or line. This makes the trains system much more intuitive and easy to use. It also explains why train lines are responsible for economic development around stations, since businesses can count on easy accessability and a stream of passersby through public transit.
Carrying capacity
A train line will always be able to transport more people than a bus line, because you can put more people in a 300 foot long train than a 50 foot long bus. It only makes sense.
Ridership
There are a lot of people who will ride the train but won't ride the bus at all. I have no idea what their reasons might be, but this is the case for 40% of Minneapolis LRT riders. Further expansion of bus lines totally ignores this demographic. There is no way a bus line can ever be as well used as a train line.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure for a bus system deteriorates a lot more quickly that train tracks and such. Dedicated bus lines quite expensive to maintain, which at least partially mitigates the seemingly stunning cost savings for dedicated bus lanes. The cost advantage is clearly eliminated and then some by the other factors I have listed. For a large city trying to build a high capacity line like Minneapolis on University Avenue, there is no way bus transit in any form is cost effective compared to some sort of light rail.
19 November 2005
oppressing workers
It's not just for American companies. Apparently, German retailers are compiling a track record similar to Wal*Mart. Die Zeit has a scathing expose about the kind of shit Aldi and other discounters pull on their employees.
Basically, it's your standard Wal*Mart fare: shitty wages, unpaid overtime, nasty working conditions and anti-union activism. Just like Wal*Mart there were entire stores shut down because of union rumblings. What really struck me here though, was how up-front this executive was willing to be on the record:
Basically, it's your standard Wal*Mart fare: shitty wages, unpaid overtime, nasty working conditions and anti-union activism. Just like Wal*Mart there were entire stores shut down because of union rumblings. What really struck me here though, was how up-front this executive was willing to be on the record:
The discussion about dismissal protection is overdrawn. The only thing of importance is that everybody plays by the same rules. Only associations and certain middlemen gain when this debate is continually incited.Wow! The anti-union message made it across the Atlantic! Land of milk and honey for workers? Not so much.
18 November 2005
auf wiedersehen
Schröder is officially done, off to make millions in the private sector and canoodle with his fourth wife. Which reminds me of a joke: Why does Gerd drive an Audi? Their logo also has four rings.Gerd, you'll be missed. Angie just ain't the same.
14 November 2005
sugar quotas
I've now experienced the best argument for abolishing corn subsidies and sugar quotas in the United States. Coca-Cola in Europe, which is made with cane sugar, tastes markedly better than corn syrup based Coca-Cola in the United States. Plus, corn syrup is far worse for you.
13 November 2005
ok
Dear Legion of Commentators,
Comment spam is getting out of control, so I am enabling word verification. Don't let this discourage you, because it shouldn't be all that difficult.
Love and Peace,
Chris
Comment spam is getting out of control, so I am enabling word verification. Don't let this discourage you, because it shouldn't be all that difficult.
Love and Peace,
Chris
this is personal growth
Three years ago, Michael Ballack was the random guy who scored the goal against the US to knock us out of the World Cup. Ronaldinho was a guy whose name sounded like Ronaldo. And hell if I knew who Thierry Henry, Zidane, Pavel Nedved or Kaka were. Yesterday, I finally understood how good Ballack is. I was able to appreciate that he was dominating the midfield play, getting the ball to Schneider and Deisler in the right spots to attack up the field and always reversing field at the right time. No matter that he missed a header that would have won the game and it ended 0:0; the Germans were better than the French and it was just a friendly. But the difference was clearly that the Germans had their star Ballack and the French were missing Zidane. I feel like I am a better person for being able to appreciate the play of my team in the much-maligned 0:0 football draw.
By the way, Ballack is the world's most complete player. He distributes, defends, dribbles and can score with both feet and his head. Ronaldinho may be more spectacular, Kaka more fluid and artistic and Henry more of a goal machine, but Ballack is a complete footballer.
By the way, Ballack is the world's most complete player. He distributes, defends, dribbles and can score with both feet and his head. Ronaldinho may be more spectacular, Kaka more fluid and artistic and Henry more of a goal machine, but Ballack is a complete footballer.
12 November 2005
new coalition agreement
The Union and the SPD have finally nailed down the details of their policy arrangement and signed the contract which will put Merkel in as Chancellor when the Parliament votes on it. The document is titled "Mut und Menschlichkeit," or "Courage and Humanity." This outlines the basic tension in German policy. Essentially, the new government will need to have the courage to make some significant cuts in spending, but also will have to do so with a human touch.
Der Spiegel compares "Courage and Humanity" to "Pride and Prejudice," saying that this is the happy end compromise that everybody has known to be in the offing since the personell agreement for the cabinet was made a couple of weeks ago. Indeed, making the agreement was more or less a foregone conclusion. Of course, the title does demonstrate that some more tensions are inevitable. Mut or Menschlichkeit? Which will they choose? Well, Küchen Kabinett has a pretty good idea: look at the actual contents of the document.
The first was the agreement to raise pension retirement age from 65 to 67, which makes a lot of sense since people are working longer, living longer and the pension system is going bankrupt. I would say this is a total no brainer.
The policy that really doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense is raising the value-added tax (which basically amounts to raising a sales tax). There are a couple of problems with this. First, it's regressive (so much for "humanity"). Apparently the idea is that taxing rich people will drive down investment, so it's better to take it out on the poor people.
The other issue I see is that the biggest problem in the German economy is domestic consumption. People just don't have the confidence to buy things, because they are afraid of losing their jobs. How exactly you solve problems in consumer confidence by raising taxes is way beyond me. So basically the value added tax appears to be anti-poor and ineffective. But Franz and Angie didn't ask my opinion, and it's not even my country, so we'll just see how it plays out.
Der Spiegel compares "Courage and Humanity" to "Pride and Prejudice," saying that this is the happy end compromise that everybody has known to be in the offing since the personell agreement for the cabinet was made a couple of weeks ago. Indeed, making the agreement was more or less a foregone conclusion. Of course, the title does demonstrate that some more tensions are inevitable. Mut or Menschlichkeit? Which will they choose? Well, Küchen Kabinett has a pretty good idea: look at the actual contents of the document.
The contract is titled "Together for Germany with Courage and Humanity." Courage is mentioned in the document 17 more times, while humanity is only mentioned in the title.Quick! Who wants to claim to be a compassionate conservative? This is not some unfortunate freak occurance of wording, either. The policy agreement also appears to be "we'll cut your social benefits, but we'll give you a hug while doing it."
The first was the agreement to raise pension retirement age from 65 to 67, which makes a lot of sense since people are working longer, living longer and the pension system is going bankrupt. I would say this is a total no brainer.
The policy that really doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense is raising the value-added tax (which basically amounts to raising a sales tax). There are a couple of problems with this. First, it's regressive (so much for "humanity"). Apparently the idea is that taxing rich people will drive down investment, so it's better to take it out on the poor people.
The other issue I see is that the biggest problem in the German economy is domestic consumption. People just don't have the confidence to buy things, because they are afraid of losing their jobs. How exactly you solve problems in consumer confidence by raising taxes is way beyond me. So basically the value added tax appears to be anti-poor and ineffective. But Franz and Angie didn't ask my opinion, and it's not even my country, so we'll just see how it plays out.
11 November 2005
this hurts, but....
I'm swearing off all American politics news for as long as I can resist. It's been a nasty addiction for a while now, and no good really comes from reading all those blogs. Plus, they're in English. Damn. Anyway, my new reading list is in the new blogroll (German proficiency required).
10 November 2005
06 November 2005
the bundesliga's "yankees" problem
If you think money in baseball is a problem, then you certainly wouldn't be a big fan of European football. Yesterday, in a matchup between the two best teams in the Bundesliga, FC Bayern Munich beat SV Werder Bremen 3:1 to go five points up in the standings. I like Werder and was angry about the result, because I can't stand Bayern. Why? Because they are destroying German football.
FC Bayern is the only club in the Bundesliga that can afford to stock their roster with top flight European talent; everybody else has to bring people up through the youth system. This is fine, money is boss in every single European soccer league. However, unlike other club powers, Bayern poaches almost exclusively from other German teams. This has the two-fold effect of making Bayern essentially another version of the German National Team (check Deisler, Kahn, Ballack, Schweinsteiger) and pushing down other clubs so it's almost impossible to compete.
Compare this to Spanish teams like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Real has Ronaldo and Rivaldo from Brazil, Zidane from France, Beckham from England while FC Barcelona has Ronahldino. With this, Real can improve and dominate la Liga without crippling the rest of the Spanish teams' chances of doing well in the Champions League and UEFA Cup. It's a little different in England, where Manchester United certainly does try to buy everybody (see Rooney, Wayne). However, there are other English teams rich enough to buy top players from other countries. Arsenal with Henry comes to mind, but Liverpool and Chelsea are also very well off.
So while Bayern thinks they may be pulling off a coup, what they are doing is really terrible for German football. And it makes it a lot less fun to watch as well I hope to see Werder win the Bundesliga and Schalke win the Champions League. Screw Bayern.
FC Bayern is the only club in the Bundesliga that can afford to stock their roster with top flight European talent; everybody else has to bring people up through the youth system. This is fine, money is boss in every single European soccer league. However, unlike other club powers, Bayern poaches almost exclusively from other German teams. This has the two-fold effect of making Bayern essentially another version of the German National Team (check Deisler, Kahn, Ballack, Schweinsteiger) and pushing down other clubs so it's almost impossible to compete.
Compare this to Spanish teams like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Real has Ronaldo and Rivaldo from Brazil, Zidane from France, Beckham from England while FC Barcelona has Ronahldino. With this, Real can improve and dominate la Liga without crippling the rest of the Spanish teams' chances of doing well in the Champions League and UEFA Cup. It's a little different in England, where Manchester United certainly does try to buy everybody (see Rooney, Wayne). However, there are other English teams rich enough to buy top players from other countries. Arsenal with Henry comes to mind, but Liverpool and Chelsea are also very well off.
So while Bayern thinks they may be pulling off a coup, what they are doing is really terrible for German football. And it makes it a lot less fun to watch as well I hope to see Werder win the Bundesliga and Schalke win the Champions League. Screw Bayern.
05 November 2005
04 November 2005
sdp not sdo
I'm not a lawyer and I normally have better things to worry about than worry about constitutional law issues, but the inconsistency from both sides on substantive due process is really something to think about. The biggest concern is that application of substantive due process to economic rights could lead to very unfriendly results for liberals. BinkyPing:
Schizophrenia with regards to substantive due process is just as pervasive on the conservative side, who would love to see a return to Lochner era jurisprudence. Jack Balkin wrote an excellent piece comparing the dissenting opinion in Kelo to Dredd Scott. The kernel is that the most conservative justices on the court latched on to a substantive due process argument:
The fact is, if it can prop up rights as disparate as privacy and contracts, it can prop up pretty much any right a crafty judge chooses to put under its umbrella. Or, worse yet, it could bring back Lochner-era rulings that gutted economic regulation for several decades: the right to contract resulted in maximum hour and minimum wage laws being struck down, which means there's a lot of contemporary stuff us liberals like that would disappear pretty quickly (such as Social Security, the Environmental Protection Act, and the Civil Rights Act). The political process will never allow conservatives to take these things away, so the Court is their only recourse.Of course, as a liberal who likes the right to privacy but is a little bit squeamish about striking down laws that protect workers, I'm always looking for something to square what seems to be a hopelessly hypocritical position. Armando at DailyKos gives it his best shot:
Liberals of course have a different view. Economic rights are protected through the just compensation clause of the 5th Amendment and the political process. It is our view that the Bill of Rights concentrated on individual rights for a reason, the rights of individuals can be trampled by the majority. Those holding economic rights generally have the wherewithall to defend their interests from majorities in the political process or through other means. And it seems clear that the Framers were correct in their assessment.This is an extremely results oriented argument. He makes no real attempt to explain what text exactly would support his holding that economic and privacy rights are actually fundamentally different. It's pretty clear that Armando is just working backwards from his (and my) policy preferences and constructing legal reasoning from it. I just don't see how we can make coherent law when there are really no consistent guidelines on what rights should be protected under substantive due process.
Schizophrenia with regards to substantive due process is just as pervasive on the conservative side, who would love to see a return to Lochner era jurisprudence. Jack Balkin wrote an excellent piece comparing the dissenting opinion in Kelo to Dredd Scott. The kernel is that the most conservative justices on the court latched on to a substantive due process argument:
So where *do* we get the principle banning takings for purely private use that was at stake in Kelo? We get it from the basic idea of substantive due process, which prohibits A to B transfers and protects vested rights from being destroyed by government. Justice Thomas tries to avoid recognizing this in his dissenting opinion, arguing that despite its language the Public Use clause cannot apply merely to public uses; otherwise, it would allow takings for private use without compensation, which would "contradict a bedrock principle well established by the time of the founding: that all takings required the payment of compensation." He artfully elides the question of what textual provision in the Constitution prevents takings for private use with compensation. We know the answer-- it's the Due Process Clause. That's what most people at the Founding thought, and that's why the Fifth Amendment is written that way.Read the whole thing if you have time, it's really good. It seems to me that conservatives wouldn't mind bringing back substantive due process in order to strike down labor regulations and return us all to indentured servitude. However, since this position is so politically unteneble, they claim to be entirely against "pulling rights out of thin air" and "legislating from the bench." Fortunately for them, Lochner era thinking is more or less dead, so nobody really worries about it. However this doesn't at all take away from the deeply intellectually dishonest position of their darlings on the court, Thomas and Scalia.But, wait, that would mean that in Kelo Thomas is actually making an argument from (shudder) substantive due process.
Without stricter tests on how to apply it, substantive due process appears to be simply a vehicle for reading one's policy preferences into the Constitution. Unfortunately, this is really a pretty difficult problem to solve. Who doesn't want to legislate from the bench, after all?
03 November 2005
31 Oktober 2005
Lindau photo essay
This is how we roll.
Well, we act pretty irresponsibly when left to our own devices (even if for only forty minutes in some random town). Where the HELL is Kempten? Actually, it's in Allgäu, but who's keeping score?
We hiked up a cool mountain called the Pfänder. There's also a lift, but that's for sissies. Lindau proper is on the island you can barely make out through the haze.
Of course the delicious berry schnapps came with.
I get a close look at some of the local wildlife. It's important to note that there are fields and livestock everywhere. The only difference between this and the rural USA is that you won't get shot by vigilantes.
Got a few minutes before the train back to Lindau? Hit it, Alia!
The Lindau harbor and historic lighthouse are the big tourist attractions. It's also a family oriented harbor. You have to bring your own adult beverages.
Kein Alkohol ist auch keine Lösung. Time to go home.
Whuwhuwhuwait! Look what Alia found!
Now it's actually time to go home. Here's the trip scorecard:
People: 2
Days: 3
Fifths of liquor consumed: 2
Train stations where liquor was consumed: 3 (Immenstadt, Kempten, Bregenz)
Mountains climbed: 1
Fun had: A significant amount
Well, we act pretty irresponsibly when left to our own devices (even if for only forty minutes in some random town). Where the HELL is Kempten? Actually, it's in Allgäu, but who's keeping score?
We hiked up a cool mountain called the Pfänder. There's also a lift, but that's for sissies. Lindau proper is on the island you can barely make out through the haze.
Of course the delicious berry schnapps came with.
I get a close look at some of the local wildlife. It's important to note that there are fields and livestock everywhere. The only difference between this and the rural USA is that you won't get shot by vigilantes.
Got a few minutes before the train back to Lindau? Hit it, Alia!
The Lindau harbor and historic lighthouse are the big tourist attractions. It's also a family oriented harbor. You have to bring your own adult beverages.
Kein Alkohol ist auch keine Lösung. Time to go home.
Whuwhuwhuwait! Look what Alia found!
Now it's actually time to go home. Here's the trip scorecard:People: 2
Days: 3
Fifths of liquor consumed: 2
Train stations where liquor was consumed: 3 (Immenstadt, Kempten, Bregenz)
Mountains climbed: 1
Fun had: A significant amount
26 Oktober 2005
a few pictures
Well, I've got a few free minutes so here's some more pictures for your enjoyment.
An unintentional self portrait from the Augsburg Rathaus. As you can tell, they spare no expense in decorating government buildings in this neck of the woods.
The hills surrounding Salzburg. It's a pretty novel concept to see topo like this when the only contours in your own town are built from destroyed houses courtesy of allied bombers.
View over Salzburg and the Salzach flowing out of town.
Salzburg: Church City Austria.
An unintentional self portrait from the Augsburg Rathaus. As you can tell, they spare no expense in decorating government buildings in this neck of the woods.
The hills surrounding Salzburg. It's a pretty novel concept to see topo like this when the only contours in your own town are built from destroyed houses courtesy of allied bombers.
View over Salzburg and the Salzach flowing out of town.
Salzburg: Church City Austria.
23 Oktober 2005
planes and trains
I've been taking the train quite a bit lately, most recently to Salzburg to visit my friend Erik. I've decided now that I like taking the train a lot more than flying. Why? It really comes down to the difference between the train station and the airport. A city's Hauptbahnhof (central station) is located just outside the center of town. It's a hangout, a meeting place and the springboard for amazing journeys all over the continent.
The airport, on the other hand, is almost always located on the outskirts of town. You don't go there unless you've got a flight to catch or you're picking somebody up. It's out in the middle of nowhere, and it's been sterilized to the point of being soulless. Even the nicest airport, like Denver, can only hope to be clean and pleasant. And these are airports at their best; they can never reflect the personality of the city or capture the tremendous energy or emotion that a train station contains.
A train station is such a ridiculous mixture of different emotions and circumstances that one can't help but be wrapped up in it. There are long separated friends meeting each other, couples saying goodbye, families buzzing with the excitement of a long-planned vacation and people just relieved to get home. Then there is the potential for adventure that I see every time I got to the train station. It's almost miraculous that I could easily get on this train and go to Hamburg or another and go to Milan or Vienna. Sure, you see this at the airport, but it's just a totally different atmosphere to be right next to the trains as opposed to looking at planes out the window.
Airports have eliminated this character and energy because the drop off and meeting point isn't even at the airplane anymore. Call me old fashioned, but seeing somebody off at the check-in counter and picking him or her up at baggage claim just isn't the same. Plus, people have to be dropped off an hour and a half before actual departure, further removing travellers from their loved ones.
There's just something magical about watching people at a train station. Where did these people come from? Where is she going and why can't he come with? What's in Budapest that would cause two old people to go there on vacation? An airport's clean, white and hospital-like interior kills the atmosphere that makes a train station so unique. Add the distance between the city and the planes, and the powers that be have successfully created a truly generic and emotionless hub of transportation.
The airport, on the other hand, is almost always located on the outskirts of town. You don't go there unless you've got a flight to catch or you're picking somebody up. It's out in the middle of nowhere, and it's been sterilized to the point of being soulless. Even the nicest airport, like Denver, can only hope to be clean and pleasant. And these are airports at their best; they can never reflect the personality of the city or capture the tremendous energy or emotion that a train station contains.
A train station is such a ridiculous mixture of different emotions and circumstances that one can't help but be wrapped up in it. There are long separated friends meeting each other, couples saying goodbye, families buzzing with the excitement of a long-planned vacation and people just relieved to get home. Then there is the potential for adventure that I see every time I got to the train station. It's almost miraculous that I could easily get on this train and go to Hamburg or another and go to Milan or Vienna. Sure, you see this at the airport, but it's just a totally different atmosphere to be right next to the trains as opposed to looking at planes out the window.
Airports have eliminated this character and energy because the drop off and meeting point isn't even at the airplane anymore. Call me old fashioned, but seeing somebody off at the check-in counter and picking him or her up at baggage claim just isn't the same. Plus, people have to be dropped off an hour and a half before actual departure, further removing travellers from their loved ones.
There's just something magical about watching people at a train station. Where did these people come from? Where is she going and why can't he come with? What's in Budapest that would cause two old people to go there on vacation? An airport's clean, white and hospital-like interior kills the atmosphere that makes a train station so unique. Add the distance between the city and the planes, and the powers that be have successfully created a truly generic and emotionless hub of transportation.
19 Oktober 2005
murkins abroad
[Update: Josh's article is well worth a read.]
My buddy Josh recently penned a funny and provocative piece in the Lewis & Clark school paper about the idiocy of American girls who travel. His main contentions are: 1) they'll fuck anyone with an accent 2) they're loud, they don't listen and then ask stupid questions 3) they refuse to interact with the local populace 4) they are bad tippers.
While this persistent cultural insensitivity is certainly irritating, I've found the opposite phenomenon to be equally annoying. It's a little thing commonly called Eurotrashiness... Americans who hate America with irrational passion and express this hatred by constantly waxing poetic about all things Europe.
This first becomes evident when a Eurotrash student begins making statements that would appear to entirely contradict his or her previous ideology. For example, those kids who were always telling you about clothing being a "cultural construction" are all of the sudden talking about how much they love the "schicki-micki" fashionable European culture. First of all, I don't think Europeans are all that fashionable:
OK, point taken. When they're dressed in "unfashionable" clothing they have nice boobs.
Moving on, Eurotrash always make comments and comparisons that they are absolutely unqualified to substantiate. I was riding the bus with some other Amis from our group, and one commented that it was "a really nice bus." Bullshit. It was like every other bus I've ever ridden... in San Francisco, in Portland, in Minneapolis. So then the question becomes, has said Eurotrash ever ridden a bus in the United States? Or would he be too good to participate in such a low class activity? Evidently, he had just been exposed to the amazing effectiveness of bus transit. He had to come to Europe to overcome the stigma bus riding carries in the US. When he comes back to the US, will he ride similar busses and call them "really nice?" Just asking.
Another astonishing quality of Eurotrash-Americans is that they can turn many positive American characteristics into negatives. Let's look at typical American characteristics: fat, lazy, optimistic, friendly. Leave it to Eurotrash to take "friendly" and give it a stigma. According to the Eurotrash dictionary, we're not friendly, we're "superficial." What the fuck? Judging somebody's character as "superficial" is itself a superficial judgement, so back at ya, biatch. But beyond this, is it somehow a blight on our national character that it is acceptable to talk to a stranger on the bus? That it's normal to exchange pleasantries with somebody you don't know? Is there something wrong with this? These brief exchanges are by nature superficial. It'd be impossible to do real soul searching on the bus. But hey, it's enjoyable, right? Does somebody get hurt because I talk to somebody who isn't one of my 18 best friends? I didn't know we were supposed to be so protective.
Here's a start. As I think of more irritating things about Eurotrash, I'll throw them up.
My buddy Josh recently penned a funny and provocative piece in the Lewis & Clark school paper about the idiocy of American girls who travel. His main contentions are: 1) they'll fuck anyone with an accent 2) they're loud, they don't listen and then ask stupid questions 3) they refuse to interact with the local populace 4) they are bad tippers.
While this persistent cultural insensitivity is certainly irritating, I've found the opposite phenomenon to be equally annoying. It's a little thing commonly called Eurotrashiness... Americans who hate America with irrational passion and express this hatred by constantly waxing poetic about all things Europe.
This first becomes evident when a Eurotrash student begins making statements that would appear to entirely contradict his or her previous ideology. For example, those kids who were always telling you about clothing being a "cultural construction" are all of the sudden talking about how much they love the "schicki-micki" fashionable European culture. First of all, I don't think Europeans are all that fashionable:
OK, point taken. When they're dressed in "unfashionable" clothing they have nice boobs.Moving on, Eurotrash always make comments and comparisons that they are absolutely unqualified to substantiate. I was riding the bus with some other Amis from our group, and one commented that it was "a really nice bus." Bullshit. It was like every other bus I've ever ridden... in San Francisco, in Portland, in Minneapolis. So then the question becomes, has said Eurotrash ever ridden a bus in the United States? Or would he be too good to participate in such a low class activity? Evidently, he had just been exposed to the amazing effectiveness of bus transit. He had to come to Europe to overcome the stigma bus riding carries in the US. When he comes back to the US, will he ride similar busses and call them "really nice?" Just asking.
Another astonishing quality of Eurotrash-Americans is that they can turn many positive American characteristics into negatives. Let's look at typical American characteristics: fat, lazy, optimistic, friendly. Leave it to Eurotrash to take "friendly" and give it a stigma. According to the Eurotrash dictionary, we're not friendly, we're "superficial." What the fuck? Judging somebody's character as "superficial" is itself a superficial judgement, so back at ya, biatch. But beyond this, is it somehow a blight on our national character that it is acceptable to talk to a stranger on the bus? That it's normal to exchange pleasantries with somebody you don't know? Is there something wrong with this? These brief exchanges are by nature superficial. It'd be impossible to do real soul searching on the bus. But hey, it's enjoyable, right? Does somebody get hurt because I talk to somebody who isn't one of my 18 best friends? I didn't know we were supposed to be so protective.
Here's a start. As I think of more irritating things about Eurotrash, I'll throw them up.
pictures
For those of you interested, my program has set up a group photo account which can be found here. Also, I have my own Photobucket Account with more random pictures from Germany and elsewhere..
17 Oktober 2005
15 Oktober 2005
couldn't resist
A little US politics for humor: "[Harry Reid] is the first lesbian, mormon, white male to ever lead the minority party. they called my crazy...."
Well, the blog is back in black. What can I say? I'm a pushover.
Well, the blog is back in black. What can I say? I'm a pushover.
08 Oktober 2005
state of the blog
To my loyal reader(s):
I am going on an indefinite sabbatical from blogging. When I started this blog, I sincerely believed nothing passive agressive would be written here, simply because my life never involves any drama. I am now convinced that blogging and writing in a journal (which I started doing last week) actually attract drama (in the form of cute blonde girls). Ergo, I am going to stop both activities until this mess blows over.
Sincerely,
Your favourite former blogger
I am going on an indefinite sabbatical from blogging. When I started this blog, I sincerely believed nothing passive agressive would be written here, simply because my life never involves any drama. I am now convinced that blogging and writing in a journal (which I started doing last week) actually attract drama (in the form of cute blonde girls). Ergo, I am going to stop both activities until this mess blows over.
Sincerely,
Your favourite former blogger
28 September 2005
WOOHOO!
I said I'd cease commenting on US domestic politics, but TOM DELAY GOT INDICTED! As Kos said, "Holy fucking shit." Getting a beer to celebrate.
ranking the beers
So I went to the store and bought a bunch a different kinds of beer in hopes of trying them out. Here's what I came up with:
1) Augustiner Hell: My favorite light beer. Not too hoppy, not too malty. Just about right.
2) Paulaner Hell: See above. Just not quite as good.
3) Hofbräu Hell: Not close to Paulaner. Waaayyyy too wheaty.
4) Spaten Munchner Hell: Just not all that tasty.
5) Hacker Pschorr Hell: Far too hoppy. Not very good at all.
This is just the light beers. I actually like dark beers better, but I haven't given those as thorough a test. So if you're in Munich for a day or two, stick to Augustiner and Paulaner (at least that's my advice).
1) Augustiner Hell: My favorite light beer. Not too hoppy, not too malty. Just about right.
2) Paulaner Hell: See above. Just not quite as good.
3) Hofbräu Hell: Not close to Paulaner. Waaayyyy too wheaty.
4) Spaten Munchner Hell: Just not all that tasty.
5) Hacker Pschorr Hell: Far too hoppy. Not very good at all.
This is just the light beers. I actually like dark beers better, but I haven't given those as thorough a test. So if you're in Munich for a day or two, stick to Augustiner and Paulaner (at least that's my advice).
19 September 2005
Oktoberfest pictures
OK, well all two readers of this site get to enjoy some more pictures.
When you want to leave at 9:15, you have to pregame kinda early. Yes we, documented this momentous occasion (and you wish you looked this good at 8:30).
The Augustiner tent has plenty of space at 9:40 in the morning. So that's why we got up so damn early!
The first momentous Mass, and a big Wiesn Pretzel to boot!
Bavarian breakfast of champions.
When you want to leave at 9:15, you have to pregame kinda early. Yes we, documented this momentous occasion (and you wish you looked this good at 8:30).
The Augustiner tent has plenty of space at 9:40 in the morning. So that's why we got up so damn early!
The first momentous Mass, and a big Wiesn Pretzel to boot!
Bavarian breakfast of champions.
17 September 2005
No benders please, I want to live
I was supposed to get up early today to go to Oktoberfest, but I went to take a shower and realized that Friday night had largely carried into Saturday morning. Drinking while still drunk from the night before would have been unhealthy and unfun. I'm going tomorrow, and I'll update more extensively afterward (w/German election results and commentary!).
11 September 2005
i love coalition politics
I went downtown and saw Chancellor Schroeder speak. He's an outstanding speaker, and his defeat is looking much less like a foregone conclusion. This is owed primarily to his charisma personal popularity as compared to the milquetoast Merkel. If Merkel wins it will be based entirely on dissatisfaction with unemployment. I'm going to take this entry to spell out a few of the complexities and possible consequences of the upcoming election.
1) A Christian Dem (CDU)/Merkel victory would be best for Germany economically
Schroeder and Merkel agree that Germany's taxes need to be cut and some of the social welfare programs reduced. The problem has been that Schroeder has been unable to get his reform agenda through because the CDU controls the upper house. Schroeder basically called the election because he can't do much of anything. Merkel would have a much stronger position. I don't see any reason why reelecting Schroeder would make any real changes all that likely.
2) Here's the nightmare scenario
Coalition politics, however, are never simple. Normally the SPD (Schroeder's Party) allies with the Green Party while the CDU coalitions with the Free Democrats (FDP). A rising force, especially in the East, has been the Left. Their agenda is so extreme that neither of the major parties will coalition with them. So if they get enough votes to make the traditional coalitions impossible, the only possibility is a CDU/SPD grand coalition. This looks like a nasty possibility that results in little more than a bunch of blame and little effective governance.
3) Fo/Po Ramifications
Merkel is implying that a stronger relationship with the US will help the German economy. While she has been clear to state that she does not want Germany to support the Iraq Adventure, Schroeder has been able to play to anti-Americanism by implying that a vote for Merkel might be supporting US neoconservativism. This seems like a fat sack of crap. Why would Merkel compromise her chances of economic reforms to follow Bush into another adventure?
4) Most American commentators have no idea what they are talking about
Could Germany's economy be in better shape? Sure. Are India and China rapidly gaining and taking jobs away from Old Europe? This is true as well. But all these statistics absolutely miss the point. Quality of life over here is so much better than for people in India and China. There are about 1.8 billion people in those countries who would do just about anything to enjoy their Saturday nights in discotheques and Sundays in idyllic beer gardens. Sometimes, Mr. Friedman, international geopolitics is not the most important thing for everybody. It's quality of life, stupid.
1) A Christian Dem (CDU)/Merkel victory would be best for Germany economically
Schroeder and Merkel agree that Germany's taxes need to be cut and some of the social welfare programs reduced. The problem has been that Schroeder has been unable to get his reform agenda through because the CDU controls the upper house. Schroeder basically called the election because he can't do much of anything. Merkel would have a much stronger position. I don't see any reason why reelecting Schroeder would make any real changes all that likely.
2) Here's the nightmare scenario
Coalition politics, however, are never simple. Normally the SPD (Schroeder's Party) allies with the Green Party while the CDU coalitions with the Free Democrats (FDP). A rising force, especially in the East, has been the Left. Their agenda is so extreme that neither of the major parties will coalition with them. So if they get enough votes to make the traditional coalitions impossible, the only possibility is a CDU/SPD grand coalition. This looks like a nasty possibility that results in little more than a bunch of blame and little effective governance.
3) Fo/Po Ramifications
Merkel is implying that a stronger relationship with the US will help the German economy. While she has been clear to state that she does not want Germany to support the Iraq Adventure, Schroeder has been able to play to anti-Americanism by implying that a vote for Merkel might be supporting US neoconservativism. This seems like a fat sack of crap. Why would Merkel compromise her chances of economic reforms to follow Bush into another adventure?
4) Most American commentators have no idea what they are talking about
Could Germany's economy be in better shape? Sure. Are India and China rapidly gaining and taking jobs away from Old Europe? This is true as well. But all these statistics absolutely miss the point. Quality of life over here is so much better than for people in India and China. There are about 1.8 billion people in those countries who would do just about anything to enjoy their Saturday nights in discotheques and Sundays in idyllic beer gardens. Sometimes, Mr. Friedman, international geopolitics is not the most important thing for everybody. It's quality of life, stupid.
09 September 2005
settling in with pictures
I don't normally carry my camera around town for fear of looking too much like a gawking tourist, but I made an intrepid journey around town equipped with my photo-taking apparatus and returned with documentation for my loyal blog readers.
Here is the new Rathaus (city hall) downtown featuring the world famous glockenspiel. It's no shame to be a tourist in front of this thing, particularly when the little figures up there start dancing at 11, noon and 5 pm.
The view across Marienplatz, the center of downtown Munich. The Glockenspiel is off to the right. The shop in the corner is called Kaufhof, and is basically the most expensive department store on earth. We tried to get alarm clocks there, figuring nobody would ever charge more than $10-12 for alarm clocks. Wrong. The cheapest at Kaufhof were about $30. Found them for $8 at a cheaper store.
Another famous downtown Munich site: die Frauenkirche (women's church.)I admit that the camera angle is kinda shitty. You get the idea. I'm frickin' here. In Europe. If you want a good picture of die Frauenkirche, google image search is your friend.
One more from Marienplatz before moving on to more interesting things. That in the middle is a pretty sweet fountain with a cool golden statue on top. If I knew the name, it'd be even cooler.
Here's a campaign sign. It says: "Ban all Fascist Organization." The tagline is "The Socialist Alternative." These guys might get a sizeable percentage of the disgruntled eastern vote and make coalition politics a mess. More on this as the election roles around.
"Time for the change" proclaims a sign for the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Does Germany want to leave Schroeder and change to the friendly face of Merkel? A couple weeks will tell.
Here's a lake in the English Garden, my extended backyard. The English Garden is awesome, featuring miles of paths, a riverfront on the Isar and at least three beer gardens. The Park also contains the center of Munich's illegal drug dealing and some places where old men can tan naked (it's all about knowing where to go and where not to go).
I told you the Studentenstadt featured some commie-style architecture.
Hands down the most popular method of transit around here is the ill-maintained bike.
The Brotladen (Bread store) which has been upgraded from East Germany to Cuba through colorful paint.
Hey! That's the front door of my building.
Here's my room. It's bigger than it looks in the picture, and probably messier too.
This sink is a lifesaver, so I put a picture of it here.
Here is the new Rathaus (city hall) downtown featuring the world famous glockenspiel. It's no shame to be a tourist in front of this thing, particularly when the little figures up there start dancing at 11, noon and 5 pm.
The view across Marienplatz, the center of downtown Munich. The Glockenspiel is off to the right. The shop in the corner is called Kaufhof, and is basically the most expensive department store on earth. We tried to get alarm clocks there, figuring nobody would ever charge more than $10-12 for alarm clocks. Wrong. The cheapest at Kaufhof were about $30. Found them for $8 at a cheaper store.
Another famous downtown Munich site: die Frauenkirche (women's church.)I admit that the camera angle is kinda shitty. You get the idea. I'm frickin' here. In Europe. If you want a good picture of die Frauenkirche, google image search is your friend.
One more from Marienplatz before moving on to more interesting things. That in the middle is a pretty sweet fountain with a cool golden statue on top. If I knew the name, it'd be even cooler.
Here's a campaign sign. It says: "Ban all Fascist Organization." The tagline is "The Socialist Alternative." These guys might get a sizeable percentage of the disgruntled eastern vote and make coalition politics a mess. More on this as the election roles around.
"Time for the change" proclaims a sign for the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Does Germany want to leave Schroeder and change to the friendly face of Merkel? A couple weeks will tell.
Here's a lake in the English Garden, my extended backyard. The English Garden is awesome, featuring miles of paths, a riverfront on the Isar and at least three beer gardens. The Park also contains the center of Munich's illegal drug dealing and some places where old men can tan naked (it's all about knowing where to go and where not to go).
I told you the Studentenstadt featured some commie-style architecture.
Hands down the most popular method of transit around here is the ill-maintained bike.
The Brotladen (Bread store) which has been upgraded from East Germany to Cuba through colorful paint.
Hey! That's the front door of my building.
Here's my room. It's bigger than it looks in the picture, and probably messier too.
This sink is a lifesaver, so I put a picture of it here.
05 September 2005
Well
As indicated by the changed title, my life (and by extension this blog) will be substantially different from this point forward. So you can expect a lot less domestic policy analysis and more cultural observations. Also, there should be less updating, since I'll have less time than I did in the summer. Well, that's the hope anyhow. If I don't make any friends and sit online all day (like during the summer), then it will still be on US policy and frequently updated., but that's not going to happen.
So miss my prescient political analysis or welcome the loss of my dry ramblings. I report, you decide. By the way, I will make observations here, but right now it's getting to be past my bedtime. Gute Nacht, Alle.
So miss my prescient political analysis or welcome the loss of my dry ramblings. I report, you decide. By the way, I will make observations here, but right now it's getting to be past my bedtime. Gute Nacht, Alle.
30 August 2005
29 August 2005
another rock n roll rant
Sometimes I'll poke around message boards with lists of the 100 Greatest Rock n Roll songs, or something to that effect. Something about these boards had always bothered me. I finally figured out what it is: they demonstrate just how stuffy and orthodox classic rock fans have become. Basically, you are allowed to choose your top five bands (and songs) from a set of the following:
Led Zeppelin (must be number 1)
The Rolling Stones
Lynyrd Skynyrd
AC/DC
The Beatles
Aerosmith
Van Halen
Queen
The Who
The Doors
Eric Clapton
Never mind that this is just a bunch of shit culled from classic rock radio. The worst part is that you know exactly what the comments replying to anybody who posts a top ten songs post is going to be. If they put Freebird (a good but not great song) anywhere below #3, people will bitch and moan and stomp their feet about that. Most of the commentary will be fucking idiots who think that their garbage pet band (AC/DC, Van Halen, REO Speeedwagon) should have been included in the list.
Classic rock radio has exercised such mind control over people's memories that there is now a very narrow group of bands that it is acceptable to say are great. Never mind that the Allman Brothers and CCR were better in every concievable way than Lynyrd Skynyrd; Skynyrd wrote a cookie cutter ballad. All the Allman Brothers did was CREATE LYNYRD SKYNYRD'S GENRE. Not too much. And their best songs are live, so they're a little too long for radio play. Plus, Lynyrd Skynyrd told that fucking liberal Neil Young who's boss. Hey, NY even said that "Sweet Home Alabama" was better than "Southern Man." It doesn't matter that "Sweet Home Alabama" is Skynyrd's best song by two fold, while "Southern Man" is just one of perhaps sixty great songs penned by Neil Young.
Oh, I may hate those lists, but that didn't stop me from making my own.
1) Powderfinger
2) Cortez the Killer
3) Heart of Gold
4) Helpless
5) Ohio
6) My My Hey Hey
7) Cripple Creek Ferry
8) After the Gold Rush
9) Cinnamon Girl
10) Needle and the Damage Done
Led Zeppelin (must be number 1)
The Rolling Stones
Lynyrd Skynyrd
AC/DC
The Beatles
Aerosmith
Van Halen
Queen
The Who
The Doors
Eric Clapton
Never mind that this is just a bunch of shit culled from classic rock radio. The worst part is that you know exactly what the comments replying to anybody who posts a top ten songs post is going to be. If they put Freebird (a good but not great song) anywhere below #3, people will bitch and moan and stomp their feet about that. Most of the commentary will be fucking idiots who think that their garbage pet band (AC/DC, Van Halen, REO Speeedwagon) should have been included in the list.
Classic rock radio has exercised such mind control over people's memories that there is now a very narrow group of bands that it is acceptable to say are great. Never mind that the Allman Brothers and CCR were better in every concievable way than Lynyrd Skynyrd; Skynyrd wrote a cookie cutter ballad. All the Allman Brothers did was CREATE LYNYRD SKYNYRD'S GENRE. Not too much. And their best songs are live, so they're a little too long for radio play. Plus, Lynyrd Skynyrd told that fucking liberal Neil Young who's boss. Hey, NY even said that "Sweet Home Alabama" was better than "Southern Man." It doesn't matter that "Sweet Home Alabama" is Skynyrd's best song by two fold, while "Southern Man" is just one of perhaps sixty great songs penned by Neil Young.
Oh, I may hate those lists, but that didn't stop me from making my own.
1) Powderfinger
2) Cortez the Killer
3) Heart of Gold
4) Helpless
5) Ohio
6) My My Hey Hey
7) Cripple Creek Ferry
8) After the Gold Rush
9) Cinnamon Girl
10) Needle and the Damage Done
the eagles piss me off
NBC was showing a concert from the Eagles farewell tour tonight. It was like a train wreck: I was horrified but couldn't avert my eyes. This horrendous bit of programming, which was surely dredging the depths of the typically aweful summer season begged one simple question. Why?
Why do the Eagles need to embarass themselves by putting their sorry asses out on national television? It can't be for the music; the Eagles have done nothing for music in their careers. Even at their peak, they were little more than a goofy guilty pleasure. My brother claims the Eagles contributed more to the genre of punk than any actual punk band because their sheer lack of originality inspired such hatred in punks.
Is it for the money? I hope, and don't think so. These guys have plenty of cash. Sure, Joe Walsh spent all his money on parties in the 1980s, but the long ago troubles of a single occasional member hardly justify almost continuous "farewell" touring. They have plenty of money; they don't need to go on the road anymore. Furthermore, why do they keep writing new songs that set records for terribleness if all they need to do is go on tour? Why stick with custom? Just admit you are covering yourself from your not so great zenith instead of writing new material to promote on tour.
No, I think the reason the do it goes back to sheltered rock-star syndrome. It's so easy to surround yourself with adoring fans when you get to be an old, washed up rock band that they actually believe they are doing the world a service by recording new garbage and touring to trump it up. Where do I get this idea? I look at these fans and make a few observations.
The first observation is that the people in the audience are the most middle-aged, middle-class, white and middle-America group of people I have ever seen. These people like the Eagles because they are the antithesis of what music should be about: the Eagles will never challenge your way of thought. The Eagles will always write a song about nothing. Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen will hammer America with "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the USA." The Who gave us "My Generation," and at least Led Zeppelin had a weird satanic obsession. Te one constant is that and Eagles song will never mean anything real. It may or may not have a catchy tune, riff or line. But you can always count on the Eagles to eliminate the edge.
The second observation is that these people think that the Eagles rock. Never mind that the Eagles have exactly one song that comes even remotely close to anything that could be broadly defined as rocking. They're getting up and stamping to shit like "Heartache Tonight" or "Already Gone." These are the blandest songs from a band that has built itself on the concept of being mundane. It's pathetic. The Eagles are soft rock, they're against the whole concept of rocking. And yet here's a bunch of white morons who think the Eagles are hard core.
Never mind that every single fill and solo has been meticulously scripted to eliminate the improvisational joy that's supposed to differentiate live music from it's tamer studio cousin. Never mind that every move on stage, including the posturing to the crowd, is painfully obvious in how choreographed it is. These people think the 55 year old Eagles still rock. Do they still play Hotel California, arguably a rock and roll song? Yes. Does this mean they still rock hard? I don't think recovered alcoholics can rock, but even if they could Joe Walsh doesn't. And Don Henley never did. And none of the other Eagles either.
The worst part of this whole thing is that really bad bands like the Eagles end up soiling the reputation of an entire fertile period of music. The Who, Neil Young, The Doors, Cream and the Rolling Stones were innovative and technically proficient. Most importantly, they ROCKED. And they end up lumped with the Eagles, REO Speedwagon and Styx under the ridiculous label "classic rock" despite the fact that they share nothing more than space on one or two horrible radio stations in every market nationwide.
I'm not defending the touring habits of Eric Clapton, Neil Young and the Who, none of whom have done anything of note since 1991, but it's absolutely preposterous to lump them in in any way with abomination I saw this evening on NBC.
Why do the Eagles need to embarass themselves by putting their sorry asses out on national television? It can't be for the music; the Eagles have done nothing for music in their careers. Even at their peak, they were little more than a goofy guilty pleasure. My brother claims the Eagles contributed more to the genre of punk than any actual punk band because their sheer lack of originality inspired such hatred in punks.
Is it for the money? I hope, and don't think so. These guys have plenty of cash. Sure, Joe Walsh spent all his money on parties in the 1980s, but the long ago troubles of a single occasional member hardly justify almost continuous "farewell" touring. They have plenty of money; they don't need to go on the road anymore. Furthermore, why do they keep writing new songs that set records for terribleness if all they need to do is go on tour? Why stick with custom? Just admit you are covering yourself from your not so great zenith instead of writing new material to promote on tour.
No, I think the reason the do it goes back to sheltered rock-star syndrome. It's so easy to surround yourself with adoring fans when you get to be an old, washed up rock band that they actually believe they are doing the world a service by recording new garbage and touring to trump it up. Where do I get this idea? I look at these fans and make a few observations.
The first observation is that the people in the audience are the most middle-aged, middle-class, white and middle-America group of people I have ever seen. These people like the Eagles because they are the antithesis of what music should be about: the Eagles will never challenge your way of thought. The Eagles will always write a song about nothing. Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen will hammer America with "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the USA." The Who gave us "My Generation," and at least Led Zeppelin had a weird satanic obsession. Te one constant is that and Eagles song will never mean anything real. It may or may not have a catchy tune, riff or line. But you can always count on the Eagles to eliminate the edge.
The second observation is that these people think that the Eagles rock. Never mind that the Eagles have exactly one song that comes even remotely close to anything that could be broadly defined as rocking. They're getting up and stamping to shit like "Heartache Tonight" or "Already Gone." These are the blandest songs from a band that has built itself on the concept of being mundane. It's pathetic. The Eagles are soft rock, they're against the whole concept of rocking. And yet here's a bunch of white morons who think the Eagles are hard core.
Never mind that every single fill and solo has been meticulously scripted to eliminate the improvisational joy that's supposed to differentiate live music from it's tamer studio cousin. Never mind that every move on stage, including the posturing to the crowd, is painfully obvious in how choreographed it is. These people think the 55 year old Eagles still rock. Do they still play Hotel California, arguably a rock and roll song? Yes. Does this mean they still rock hard? I don't think recovered alcoholics can rock, but even if they could Joe Walsh doesn't. And Don Henley never did. And none of the other Eagles either.
The worst part of this whole thing is that really bad bands like the Eagles end up soiling the reputation of an entire fertile period of music. The Who, Neil Young, The Doors, Cream and the Rolling Stones were innovative and technically proficient. Most importantly, they ROCKED. And they end up lumped with the Eagles, REO Speedwagon and Styx under the ridiculous label "classic rock" despite the fact that they share nothing more than space on one or two horrible radio stations in every market nationwide.
I'm not defending the touring habits of Eric Clapton, Neil Young and the Who, none of whom have done anything of note since 1991, but it's absolutely preposterous to lump them in in any way with abomination I saw this evening on NBC.
23 August 2005
19 August 2005
Montana photo essay
Reporting on the first exciting thing I've done all summer: the backpacking trip out to the Beartooths in Montana. Some selected pictures and commentary.
Charlie:
Erik:
John:
and me:
Everything started off auspiciously enough; we drove out to Billings to buy maps. Evidently, the economy of Montana's largest city is supported primarily through casinos. Pretty much every other business is a house of Kino. Also, it's a really hard town to get around. And apparently out of towners are pretty noticeable. It's either because nobody walks anywhere, and we had to walk three blocks to find a place to eat and the grocery store. Or it's because all the boys in Billings are either at the casino or locked up for DUIs. Probably a little of each.
After escaping Montana's smelliest town this side of Butt(e), we spent the night outside Red Lodge. It was time to tackle our most beastly backpacking trip yet. In the parking lot at the trailhead, the consensus was that we would "destroy" everybody. Charlie: "I'll bet not too many people do eight nights out." Yeah, maybe they're just more sane than we are. Does being stupid mean you destroy? Well, we were about to find out.
First we were confronted with some nasty weather. We reached the consensus that the afternoons were basically unusable for hiking, due to rain. The worst of the weather was exemplified by my unfortunate early morning query: "Charlie, is it cloudy out there?"/"We're in a cloud."
Yes, there was accumulated sleet on the ground too. Ick. In the middle of August. Such is life above the treeline. Fortunately, the weather did clear long enough for us to scramble up the foreboding Lonesome Mountain.
Lonesome Mountain has shear cliffs on three sides. I am petrified of heights, ergo I am sitting and not standing in the following picture.
Charlie does stands in a place where I never would. Erik put it best: "Charlie, you're really small."
Weather wasn't the only issue. We demonstrated a collective ineptitude at staying on the trail or finding the correct trail. Here, John and Charlie consult the map to determine what went oh so horribly wrong:
This particular mistake led to about an hour and a half of bushwhacking replacing what should have been a simple half hour hiking on the trail. It was all worth it; it brought out the quote of the trip. Charlie: "This is bullshit. This whole place is fucking bullshit." Now there's a guy who takes his vacations seriously. It could have been a whole lot worse had we not found a miracle bridge across the creek after some dangerous scrambling. Here, the other guys get the packs over while I take a picture because my documentation duties are more important than actually doing work.
After a few days marred by bad weather and navigation mistakes, we hit a stride. If you've never been to the Rockies, that's a shame. The scenery is quite nice. There were beautiful lakes:
Here's a big spire called Sky Pilot (and no, we did not climb this):
And here's one of the more picturesque campsites:
Tents are selfish picture subjects. They're always being upstaged by the people they keep dry. My tent performed admirably despite this slight:
When we got back on the beaten path and started seeing people again, Charlie proclaimed triumphantly that we were "really destroying today." That was before we lost our way again:
Now we have no problems asking for directions in a city. But asking where to go on the trail is pretty shameful. It constitutes being "destroyed." Fortunately, our educated guess turned out OK.
A further challenge was that there were rivers without bridges or even rocks suitable for dry crossings. These wet crossings are known as "fords." No oxen were harmed during this fording of the river:
Fording the river was cold. But it wasn't as cold as swimming. Damn, that was cold. After seven days and no showers, you're willing to swim in pretty cold water to get even marginally cleaner. Swimming lasted about one minute, was done in sub-sixty degree water and went undocumented because the wise non-participant (Charlie) was busy reading Catch-22.
I've never consumed more calories than on the day we hiked out of the woods. For some reason, the best part of the trip is always getting out, and this was no exception. As usual, we dicked around at the trailhead for a while, listening to the Beatles and eating what was left of the food in the car. This included Chickin in a Biskit (my personal favorite), a few Clif Bars and some Twizzlers. Then we drove to Cody for the largest reuben sandwhich I have ever consumed. I washed this down with a shake. It was clearly our lucky day for dinner. Buffet nite at Godfather's Pizza in Gillette. Six pieces of pizza and three pieces of treatza pizza, plus a serving of nachos to cap off the 10000 calorie day.
The drive home was largely uneventful, highlighted by a stop in the Bighorns, where I got the picture of me at the top and the on below:
We also made the obligatory stop at Wall Drug, so Charlie could get a picture with the broad above. I also got this picture of me and General Custer:
After much debate, we decided to skip the Mitchell Corn Palace in favor of a quicker return to Minneapolis. I think we'll regret it. The design changes every year. I'll never get an opportunity to see the '05 edition (tear).
Charlie:
Erik:
John:
and me:
Everything started off auspiciously enough; we drove out to Billings to buy maps. Evidently, the economy of Montana's largest city is supported primarily through casinos. Pretty much every other business is a house of Kino. Also, it's a really hard town to get around. And apparently out of towners are pretty noticeable. It's either because nobody walks anywhere, and we had to walk three blocks to find a place to eat and the grocery store. Or it's because all the boys in Billings are either at the casino or locked up for DUIs. Probably a little of each.After escaping Montana's smelliest town this side of Butt(e), we spent the night outside Red Lodge. It was time to tackle our most beastly backpacking trip yet. In the parking lot at the trailhead, the consensus was that we would "destroy" everybody. Charlie: "I'll bet not too many people do eight nights out." Yeah, maybe they're just more sane than we are. Does being stupid mean you destroy? Well, we were about to find out.
First we were confronted with some nasty weather. We reached the consensus that the afternoons were basically unusable for hiking, due to rain. The worst of the weather was exemplified by my unfortunate early morning query: "Charlie, is it cloudy out there?"/"We're in a cloud."
Yes, there was accumulated sleet on the ground too. Ick. In the middle of August. Such is life above the treeline. Fortunately, the weather did clear long enough for us to scramble up the foreboding Lonesome Mountain.
Lonesome Mountain has shear cliffs on three sides. I am petrified of heights, ergo I am sitting and not standing in the following picture.
Charlie does stands in a place where I never would. Erik put it best: "Charlie, you're really small."
Weather wasn't the only issue. We demonstrated a collective ineptitude at staying on the trail or finding the correct trail. Here, John and Charlie consult the map to determine what went oh so horribly wrong:
This particular mistake led to about an hour and a half of bushwhacking replacing what should have been a simple half hour hiking on the trail. It was all worth it; it brought out the quote of the trip. Charlie: "This is bullshit. This whole place is fucking bullshit." Now there's a guy who takes his vacations seriously. It could have been a whole lot worse had we not found a miracle bridge across the creek after some dangerous scrambling. Here, the other guys get the packs over while I take a picture because my documentation duties are more important than actually doing work.
After a few days marred by bad weather and navigation mistakes, we hit a stride. If you've never been to the Rockies, that's a shame. The scenery is quite nice. There were beautiful lakes:
Here's a big spire called Sky Pilot (and no, we did not climb this):
And here's one of the more picturesque campsites:
Tents are selfish picture subjects. They're always being upstaged by the people they keep dry. My tent performed admirably despite this slight:
When we got back on the beaten path and started seeing people again, Charlie proclaimed triumphantly that we were "really destroying today." That was before we lost our way again:
Now we have no problems asking for directions in a city. But asking where to go on the trail is pretty shameful. It constitutes being "destroyed." Fortunately, our educated guess turned out OK.A further challenge was that there were rivers without bridges or even rocks suitable for dry crossings. These wet crossings are known as "fords." No oxen were harmed during this fording of the river:
Fording the river was cold. But it wasn't as cold as swimming. Damn, that was cold. After seven days and no showers, you're willing to swim in pretty cold water to get even marginally cleaner. Swimming lasted about one minute, was done in sub-sixty degree water and went undocumented because the wise non-participant (Charlie) was busy reading Catch-22.I've never consumed more calories than on the day we hiked out of the woods. For some reason, the best part of the trip is always getting out, and this was no exception. As usual, we dicked around at the trailhead for a while, listening to the Beatles and eating what was left of the food in the car. This included Chickin in a Biskit (my personal favorite), a few Clif Bars and some Twizzlers. Then we drove to Cody for the largest reuben sandwhich I have ever consumed. I washed this down with a shake. It was clearly our lucky day for dinner. Buffet nite at Godfather's Pizza in Gillette. Six pieces of pizza and three pieces of treatza pizza, plus a serving of nachos to cap off the 10000 calorie day.
The drive home was largely uneventful, highlighted by a stop in the Bighorns, where I got the picture of me at the top and the on below:
We also made the obligatory stop at Wall Drug, so Charlie could get a picture with the broad above. I also got this picture of me and General Custer:
After much debate, we decided to skip the Mitchell Corn Palace in favor of a quicker return to Minneapolis. I think we'll regret it. The design changes every year. I'll never get an opportunity to see the '05 edition (tear).
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