Our Daily Souffle

Postcards from Portugal

2008-04-29T11:36:00.009+02:00

my uncle's dog wakes from a nap to find some asshole (me) trying to get a shot of him. by the way, he's a special breed that exits only in the Alentejo: Rafeiro Alentejo. They are really big dogs, very loyal, but reserved toward strangers.

Augusta has worked for my family for as long as I can remember. She's a great cook. She's one of the most warm-hearted and decent people I know -- it's written all over her face.

the rural hotel, surrounded by 10o year old olive trees, and the swimming pool visible at the end

the view looking down from close to the swimming pool

the hotel building

walking in the estate

pure-bred Lusitanos (Portuguese horse breed) galloping

I arrived safe and sound, though 1 hour late (thank you Lufthansa). We left for the countryside the next day -- for the interior central region of Portugal known as Alentejo. My father's family comes from there and we have had land there for generations, so I feel a connection to the place. It is undoubtedly beautiful as you can see from these photos.

The family estate is large enough that you can walk for miles without any other human presence. I rarely feel so relaxed as when I am there. I like people -- but I have to admit being able to walk among nature, close to meadows and fields and among cork and olive trees, without being able to see anyone else, brings about a deep ease and calm.

The people from Alentejo are known for their slow calm lifestyle, in fact they are often made fun of by other Portuguese people because of it -- it's pure envy, I think. They are also known to be reserved and silent, which are qualities I also share.

The regional cuisine is great if a little heavy -- lots of bread and local herbs in cooking result in substantial and aromatic dishes. The architecture is also distinctive: since it can get very hot, the houses are low, with small windows, and thick stone walls that are always painted in cool white with a colored stripe around the windows or doors.

I took the opportunity to go horseback riding in the country, which was something that years ago I used to do several times a week. We also breed horses at the estate.

Tourism in the south of Portugal, the Algarve, where there are good beaches, has been strong for a long time. But the Alentejo is still off the radar of tourists, which in a sense is good because it is unspoiled. If you would like to sample the delights of this region we have a small rural tourism hotel, which you can see in the pictures. When you stay there you are out in nature without anyone to bother you, except for the ladies who clean and serve breakfast -- and at the same time you have the extensive grounds and facilities of the estate, such as a swimming pool, tennis court, hunting reserve, horses, and so on. There are beautiful towns close by if you want to see sights, like Evora (45km away) which is so remarkable it has been designed a World Heritage place by UNESCO. There are also numerous prehistoric monuments in the area, Stonehenge-style. And all this about 1 hour by car from the nation's capital Lisbon. It's good for people who just want to get away from it all. A lot of our guests are people who come every year, some have been coming for 15 years.

Sorry about the shameless plug -- but it is a place I love, and can't help telling people about it. If you want to know more about it, or about visiting Portugal in general feel free to e-mail me: ourdailysouffle@gmail.com

2008-04-24T12:41:00.005+02:00

I am leaving on a 10-day vacation tomorrow. I am going to Portugal, the country where I was born and lived in until my mid-teens. All my family is there -- even my parents returned from the US a couple of years ago.

I am including this map for your convenience and enlightenment, because my experience has been that not everyone knows where the hell Portugal is. So look in the lower left corner and you will find it right next to Spain.

When I first started living abroad it used to bother me that people didn't have any idea where my home country is. In the US I got a lot of sweetly blank smiles when I answered the question of where I am from. Some people, though, didn't try to mask their ignorance with beaming expressions, and were quite shameless about it: "Ohhh, next to Ecuador, right?"

Now I am quite used to it -- not only because I don't really have such a strong connection to Portugal anymore, but also because I have realized people are bad at geography all over the world. Yes, that's right: I know Europeans love to cite this and that study that says 74% of Americans think Iraq somewhere in the vicinity of Malaysia. But having lived in 2 more European countries besides Portugal, I now know we aren't such geographical hot shots either. Just a couple of weeks ago during dinner in Japanese restaurant with friends, one Austrian friend wondered whether Japan was a part of China.

Anyway, if Europeans are going to hold Americans accountable for not knowing where Hungary or Estonia are, then Europeans need to be held accountable for not knowing where Idaho or Wyoming are (which I guarantee you 98% of them would not be able to pin on a map of the US).

I am happy to say once upon a time I knew exactly where every country in the world is, and I even knew the name of each capital city. I had to learn this for a test in a World Politics class in college. Unfortunately, within a few months a great deal of the information had evaporated from my mind.

A lot of educated people will lie, run away, or bluff rather than reveal any flaws in their geographical knowledge. It has become an area of hypocrisy and almost a litmus test for political correctness. So, here's a full and unashamed disclosure of my current geographical deficiencies:

-- I don't know the north to south order of central American countries: is it Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador or Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua? I don't have a clue.

-- Except for Afghanistan, I am not really sure how the other stans (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazhakistan, etc.) next to it are arranged. And by the way, the people in this region seem to be incredibly unimaginative with the endings of their countries' names.

-- Except for the countries of North Africa, a few major countries around the coasts, and South Africa, I don't really know where to place a lot of the inland African countries.

And frankly I have more important things to worry about.

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-04-24T12:37:00.001+02:00

"They say travel broadens the mind; but you must have the mind."

-- G.K. Chesterton

What's up, doc doc doc?

2008-04-22T23:38:00.004+02:00

This is a "Wellness Hotel" not far from where I live. It belongs to Dr. Dr. Wagner. This alerted me to a hilarious quirk of Austrian society -- if a person has more than one doctorate (Phd.) it is customary to use all of them.

This seems a bit pompous, not to mention slightly inconvenient. A student of mine told me he knows someone who has 3 doctorates and is addressed with all 3.

Imagine the phone calls to the office:

"Dr. Dr. Dr. Muller's office, good morning"

"Good morning. Is Dr. Dr. Dr. Muller in?"

"I am afraid Dr. Dr. Dr. Muller is not in yet."

"What time will the Dr. Dr. Dr. arrive?"

"Not until 10. Would you like to leave a message for the Dr. Dr. Dr.?"

I wonder if he gets mad when people leave one of the Dr.'s out? "I didn't get 3 doctorates to just be called Dr. Dr., you undereducated bastard!"

(Feeling) Small is Good

2008-04-21T21:51:00.009+02:00

As I left the Science Museum in Munich I popped over to their shop. I had been meaning to get something to put on the walls of our studio, which had been unbearably bare for months. So, when I saw these beautiful postcards of telescope photos of deep-space phenomena -- nebulas, dwarf stars, galaxies -- I decided to buy them and glue them on a poster. Et, voila.

It looks great. The fact is that I don't just like the aesthetic side of these images, though they are very beautiful -- they awe me and give me comfort. Why is that? Well, the awe part is pretty self-explanatory: to think that these huge exuberantly colored masses of matter exist thousands of light years away is a fact that explodes like firework in my mind.

To think that throughout the vast universe stars are collapsing, galaxies arising, and black holes sucking in unimaginable amounts of energy really puts your existence in perspective. Me and you, we are very very very small. I'm an atheist, but not one of those that laments not being able to believe. The accidental and chaotic nature of existence quickens life for me: it makes it more flavorful. Also, I definitely would not like to live for all eternity; one time around is enough, and besides mortality is truly the spice of life.

There is a certain anarchic liberation in these thoughts for me. It makes any problems seem trifling, it makes for an equanimity in accepting life as it is. This isn't fatalism, because to me the sense of randomness of collapsing stars frees me from over-thinking and over-judging and allows me to be.

So, sit back and enjoy the show, mighty stars are folding in on themselves, exploding into nothingness, and we will too -- but just thinking how unlikely our existence is makes it all strangely worthwhile.

It's surely related to a power that comes out of acknowledging our vulnerability. I am not sure I can make myself at all clear; but if you can't say something it's best to sing it. Which is precisely what the Monty Python did on exactly this subject -- they capture some of my feelings pretty well.

The last lines of the song always shake a laugh out of me:

"And pray there's intelligent life somewhere out there in space/

'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth."

Dead Flowers

2008-04-20T23:55:00.007+02:00

Remember the beautiful flowers that my boyfriend brought from his grandmother's garden some 10 days ago? They looked so fresh, painfully crisp and colorful, bursting with supple beauty and life -- this is what they look like now.

Looking at their dry cadavers, they seemed like a great warning in a tiny form: live now, for all comes to an end.

I heeded the warning and we eagerly went out into the sunny day to have some fun.

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-04-20T23:48:00.003+02:00

"On the contrary."

-- Henrik Ibsen, last words, after a nurse had said he 'seemed a little better'

Monty Python go Gay

2008-04-19T18:14:00.003+02:00

I have already posted a video of a Monty Python sketch before -- it's no secret I love their stuff. On this cloudy Saturday afternoon I spent a few leisurely moments looking at some more of their videos on Youtube, a few of which I had never seen before.

I have chosen a couple that are gay-themed. The Monty Python did several sketches that were quite revolutionary in treating homosexuality in a more sympathetic, even if comic, light. One the Monty Python was gay: Graham Chapman. Unfortunately he died of a rare spine cancer in 1989 at the age of 48. He was also a doctor by training and was the most eccentric of the group. He was one of the first celebrities to come out in the UK in the 1970s, and he gave moral and financial support to emerging gay rights organizations at the time. He specialized in playing outwardly calm authority figures who can barely conceal an underside of manic unpredictability: such as the Major or the Silly Reverend (the latter of which you can see in the last video on this post). He also played the lead roles in both the feature films the Monty Python did: The Holy Grail and The Life of Brian.

The first video interestingly deals with gay marriage -- but this was done in the 1970s, before it was even in the mind of anyone as a possibility (unfortunately this one isn't possible to embed, so just use this link). The second is a brilliantly unpredictable short sketch, and the third is a funny (non-gay) sketch that shows Graham Chapman's knack for playing crazy authority figures.

Enjoy!

Munich Day Trip -- Final Part

2008-04-19T10:52:00.004+02:00

Even after the French eye-candy had already moved on to another exhibition I still stayed to look over the aeronautics section a bit more. The first item that really drew my attention was this small airplane you see in the photo above. Its tiny scale is apparent when compared with the motorcycle next to it.

It turns out this aircraft has a very interesting history: it was built out of various impromptu scrap materials by an East German family who wanted to use it to make their escape into Western Germany, back in 1981. Unfortunately they were caught by the secret police of the repressive communist East German state before they could try to do it. During their trial the secret police tested the plane and stated that it could indeed fly.

It is awe-inspiring that someone could be living in such repressive conditions in a European country as recently as 27 years ago -- enough to make a family with no aeronautical or mechanical training try to build a plane to escape that country. The family was sent to jail, but fortunately West Germany put a lot of diplomatic pressure and within a year they were expelled as undesirables into West Germany: what the family had wanted all along.

And now there's no more East Germany and no more secret police, and the family can live where the hell they want. And a very good thing it is too -- I hope they are well and enjoying their freedom. Sometimes we take a lot for granted, but we should appreciate it a bit more, instead of complaining all the time.

Next I went to the upper floors and looked down the length of this V-2 rocket, which was the type used by the Nazis in WWII to bomb England. Looking at it I became conscious that the citizens of London and other major British cities had it pretty rough during the war. Having one of these fall from the sky into your vicinity was liable to cause some mild discomfort.

Finally, I chuckled to myself when I saw this internal cooling space suit. It was designed for Soviet astronauts in the 1970s to use underneath the heavy white space suits we have all seen before. Apparently the outer space suit can make the person inside very hot and so this undersuit has tubes where cold water runs to cool the internal temperature and make it bearable for the astronaut.

However noble and practical the purpose of the suit it still looks terribly camp -- must have been the Soviet equivalent of Liberace who designed it. Not quite the look for a brave and rugged Soviet astronaut.

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-04-19T10:47:00.003+02:00

Lady Astor: "Winston, if you were my husband I would put poison in your cup."

Winston Churchill: "And if you were my wife I would drink it."

Munich Day Trip -- Part 2

2008-04-17T00:01:00.008+02:00

Anyway, after dwelling on the horrors of the past I wandered back to the center. On the way I passed a very swanky zone with expensive shops selling Ancient Greek vases, handmade stationery, utterly impractical clothes and... chocolate. In this last case I felt compelled to enter and appreciate the merchandise at closer range.

They sold only luxury high-cacoa-content chocolate, many brands that I hadn't seen before. Good chocolate is something I enjoy... it can have a palette of flavors more complex than really good wine... and it's cheaper -- you can buy an excellent bar of chocolate for the same you would pay for a mediocre wine. In this case I shelled out 6 euros to buy a Domori Sambirano chocolate bar made from Madagascar cacao beans.

In my enthusiasm I failed to notice I had picked up the 100% cocoa mass version, rather than the 70% one. When put a piece in my mouth 15 minutes later -- wham! it was really head-ringingly intense! No sugar or anything else, just pure cocoa. Pretty good chocolate though, give them a try.

Next to counteract this indulgence of the senses I went into the Frauenkirche and tried to face the less hedonistic aspects of existence.

My ascetic thoughts were short-lived. I soon found myself in the delightful Viktualienmarkt, the enticing wares set off in the brilliant sunlight. I looked at an impressive array of mushrooms, and congratulated this monkfish on its good looks .

I then headed east and explored the pleasant area around the river. Even though it wasn't exactly warm there were a few people lounging on the pebbly beach. What is it about running water that brings your mind into such restful harmony?

Strolling on the banks of the river I noticed I was right next to the Deutsches Museum, which I had heard is one of the best Science and Technology museums in the world. The severe building seemed to chastise me for my frivolity, so in I went to soak up some knowledge. The museum was indeed very interesting. There was even a group excursion of some French college boys for me to rest my eyes on while pondering the wonders of Science.

Here are a couple of them among military hardware -- I have decided to entitle this picture "Boys and their Toys"

A Day Trip -- Part 1

2008-04-16T09:44:00.005+02:00

As I already said I went on a day trip to Munich last week. Here's a report of this intrepid exploratory journey.

Now, as you know I live in Salzburg, Austria. It's funny that, though they share the same language and a common culture, some Austrians are not exactly crazy about Germany. Must come from the whole WWII trauma (some Germans say 'Hey, Hitler was Austrian', then Austrians say 'Hey, you put him in power, we just tagged along for the ride'); as well as from a complex of inferiority, since Austria is 10 times smaller than Germany. I have a student who's going to live abroad for 2 years, the 1st in London, the 2nd one he hasn't decided yet where -- I innocently suggested Berlin. He gave me a look as if I had just suggested Harare. I told him it is a very interesting city, something always happening, why wouldn't he enjoy living there? 'It's full of Germans' he said, and I though he was smiling I think he was only half-kidding.

Nonetheless, I was amazed to discover that Germans are the 2nd largest group of foreigners living in Austria -- there are more Germans in Austria than Turkish people. The thing is you don't realize it because they don't stand out at all. I guess Germany and Austria are kind of like a couple that is now separated: they may still be close friends, but there's always a grumpy hangover from the period of unsuccessful intimacy.

Getting back to the trip: I took off early, and after 2 hours by train I got there still mid-morning. I had been a couple of times before in Munich and seen the main sights, so I just wandered aimless north from the station to get to some of the less central areas I hadn't seen before. And I bumped into this:

According to a detailed sign from City Hall this was the nerve center of the Nazi Party in Munich. Munich was a very important city for the Nazis, because it was where the party was born. Hitler lived there for a long time, from the time he moved to Germany from Austria to 1933, when he became chancellor of Germany and had to move to the capital Berlin. It was in Munich that he launched the failed coup in 1923 to gain power, the so-called 'putsch'.

Even after Hitler moved to Berlin, the Nazi party had impressive headquarters in the area pictured above -- they had over 50 buildings concentrated in a 6 block radius around Konigsplatz. A lot of the buildings were destroyed by US forces once they occupied Germany to de-nazify the city. Some are still left though: the building in the background of the picture on top, which is the same as the building on the far right of the picture on the bottom, was Hitler's office building, where he would work everyday. He also made speeches from the central balcony.

Even the Americans dynamite sometimes didn't do the whole job: in the top picture you see the strong stone base for what used to be a Nazi memorial temple for the Nazi 'martyrs' that were killed in the failed putsch. The explosives apparently didn't blow up the base as well. The Americans didn't know what to do what with it, so they just let plants grow on top. And 60 years later because it's such a symbolicly sensitive site, and people argue endlessly about what to do with it, or what to build there, it is still exactly the same. Amazing. (for more on Munich's Nazi past have a look here.)

Now on that square pictured on the bottom, where they used to have Nazi parades and rallies, there are now some neo-classical buildings that house anthropological museums.

As I strolled through the square on a warm sunny day and looked around I thought: the people here on this square are already saying a big fuck you to the Nazi ideology just by being themselves -- in front of me a busload of German highschool students were entering the museum; among the blond hair and blue eyes were a few black and asian students, seeming totally integrated with their schoolmates. So much for the pure Aryan Germany Hitler dreamed of. And they were going into a museum on anthropology, with exhibits on cultures from around the world -- not just an exhibition on Bavarian folk dancing and lederhosen as Hitler would have liked (not that I have anything against lederhosen, they can look quite fetching on the right chap). On the other side of the square, on the marble steps of the other museum, there was a young gay couple talking and getting lovey-dovy.

And I thought to myself -- it's a wonderful world -- at least in this particular time and place. A goose-stepping moron's worst nightmare come true.

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-04-16T09:30:00.002+02:00

"I had an interest in death from an early age. It fascinated me.

When I heard 'Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall' I thought,

'Did he fall or was he pushed?'"

-- P.D. James

Monty Python Abroad

2008-04-15T16:26:00.005+02:00

I have always been a great fan of Monty Python. I have some friends who simply don't "get" their humor, though they are otherwise sane people -- I guess it's quite British and isn't for everyone.

A couple of years ago I found out that during the height of their popularity Monty Python were asked do some shows for German TV (a lot of people, even fans, seem not to know about these). They even did the sketches directly in German. They were a very smart bunch, several of them had degrees from universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, and one of them was a doctor before turning to comedy.

I went on a day trip to Munich, which is just 2 hours by train from Salzburg, last Tuesday to see my brother who was there on a business trip. In the evening we went to one of those typical traditional Bavarian restaurants -- you know, photos of chaps in lederhosen, lots of pork, beer, and sauerkraut.

Anyway, I was reminded of this sketch from the shows they did for German TV:

Crispy Quote of the Day -- Carpe Diem

2008-04-14T23:36:00.003+02:00

This is something I heard on a BBC comedy show a few months ago -- I cannot remember who the hell said it. I guess this is the early and quaintly charming phase of Alzheimer's.

Whoever said it was pretty funny:

"I try to live every day as if it were my last: lying in bed slipping in and out of consciousness."

Another Fucking Update

2008-04-14T14:54:00.003+02:00

A couple of weeks ago I had a little post on the venerable town of Fucking (pop. 93) in Upper Austria, 40 km from where I live.

I have unearthed more information on this family travel destination. First of all, there was a referendum in the town in 2004 on whether to change the name. The proud and brave citizens of Fucking voted against any change by a large margin.

I have also discovered that Fucking has already been mocked in the mass media, by none other than Graham Norton, the arch-gay British TV show host. I used to watch his show once in a while when I lived in London and he can be funny, though it's not exactly high-brow humor. Here is the link to watch him poke fun at this proud town on his show.

I was also pleased to find that an enterprising young couple in Fucking have shrugged off any irritation over how people seem to find their town laughable -- and instead they have wisely decided to capitalize on it. They now have a website where they sell t-shirts with the name of the town and pictures of its signs. Well, if you can't beat them, join them... this is smart move since there probably aren't too many jobs in such a small town as Fucking outside of agriculture. Ah, the joys of global capitalism!

But the possibilities don't end here -- think about it, proud people of Fucking. You hold intangible asset value in your town's trademark name: you could branch out and capitalize on this further by building a large convention center and hosting conferences for the porn industry or swinger's clubs. The sexual revolution marches on to the tune of cash nowadays -- but then again, sex has always sold well.

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-04-12T23:16:00.003+02:00

"God made everything out of nothing, but the nothingness shows through."

-- Paul Valery

Friends in High Places

2008-04-12T14:56:00.004+02:00

from top to bottom (no pun intended): Klaus Wowereit and boyfriend; Ole von Beust; Bertrand Delanoe; and Brian Paddick

The acceptance of homosexuals into mainstream European life has accelerated in the last decade. The new area in which we are making big inroads is politics; the place is major cities. Since 2001 no less than 3 of the biggest cities in Europe have elected a gay mayor.

Berlin, the 3rd largest city in Europe elected Klaus Wowereit in 2001. He came out before the election at his party's convention with the sentence that was to become famous in Germany "I am gay, and that is a good thing." He is quite popular, and he has been widely talked about as potentially his party's (SPD) candidate for chancellor in the next election. Wowereit has been very visible in the gay community and often been photographed with his partner.

Another case entirely is Ole von Beust, the mayor of Hamburg, another German city and the 7th largest in Europe. He comes from a distinguished lineage of aristocrats that dabbled in politics. He is also a member of CDU, the Conservative Party in Germany. He never answered rumors about his homosexuality and it was his father who confirmed them and outed him in an interview. Von Beust believes his sexual orientation is his own private matter and ironically refers any interviewers with questions on the subject to his father.

Bertrand Delanoe was also elected in 2001 as Mayor of Paris, the 2nd largest city in Europe. He has been openly gay since 1998. As a member of the Socialist Party he has concentrated on new programs and events to improve quality of life for the inhabitants of Paris -- such as free bicycles for use in the congested center, and "Paris Beach": an initiative that transforms the banks of the river Seine into beaches for the Summer. This has proved very popular with people who can't afford to get away on vacation and been copied in other cities. It was during one of his cultural events in 2002, a festival that lasted all night called "Nuit Blanche", that a Muslim immigrant who had psychological problems stabbed Delanoe. Delanoe insisted on the festivities continuing as he was being rushed to hospital. He was out of the hospital in 2 weeks. His assailant stated that he hated politicians and that his religion said homosexuality was wrong. He stood trial and was sent to a mental hospital.

Finally, as I write, the campaign for London mayor is in full swing -- the candidate for the Liberal Democrats is Brian Paddick, an openly gay former high ranking Police official. He doesn't have much of a chance since he is standing for a 3rd party without as much pull as Labour or the Conservatives. On a shallow note, this is quite a pity, since he's actually quite cute. There's always something about a man in uniform.

But altogether this is a huge change and a sign of golden times for gay people. Especially when you consider that prior to 2001 the only openly gay mayor of a major city in the world was Glen Murray in Winnipeg, Canada. May it only get better.

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-04-09T12:06:00.002+02:00

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

-- Winston Churchill

The simple pleasures of life

2008-04-07T22:28:00.006+02:00

On Sunday my boyfriend went to visit his grandparents in the country. He brought these beautiful flowers from his grandmother's garden.

As if that wasn't enough beauty to cheer me up, then there was a spectacular light in the late afternoon.

Joe Orton

2008-04-07T12:00:00.003+02:00

Joe strikes a provocative pose, as always.

There's a warm pleasure in re-discovering an author you haven't read in a long while. That's what happened when I came upon a slender volume of Joe's Orton's play "What the Butler Saw" on a recent library visit. I had quite an interest in Joe Orton about 5-6 years ago and read most of his stuff. It started when I found an anthology of his plays in the discount bin of an independent bookstore in Washington, DC. I then read not only his plays but also some of his early novels, his diaries, and the excellent biography written by John Lahr.

The fact is that his personality and life are at least as interesting as his work: born to a working class in Leiscester, UK in 1933. While attending secretarial school he got into amateur theatricals and secured a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. It was there that he met Kenneth Halliwell, who was to be his lover, mentor, and murderer. Halliwell was already in his mid-20s, came from a middle class background, was intelligent and cultivated, and since his parents had both died he had inherited enough money to be financially independent.

They moved in together in the homophobic environment of early 1950s England. They worked in regional theatrical productions for a few years, but then they gave up on the theater career. Using some of Halliwell's inheritance they bought a tiny bedsit in Islington, London. They gave up on regular work, living on Halliwell's money, unemployment benefits, and occasionally doing a few month's work at a Cadbury's factory. Under Halliwell's guidance Orton started reading voraciously. Then they started writing novels together, which because they were way ahead of their time were all rejected by publishers.

They lived a monastic life, writing and reading all day, spending as little money as possible: they would go to bed when the sun went down to save on electricity. In a sense, they were part of the beat movement that was taking off in the US at the time -- they rejected conventional goals for their life, lived independently and on the margin, and their works openly mocked all the ideals and little hipocrisies of society. During this time they also got into trouble and spent a few months in jail: they amused themselves by sneaking books out of their local library, putting new subversive and very funny dust jackets and flap cover descriptions on them and returning them. They liked to think of the staid Islington burgers when they checked out. However, after some time they were caught and prosecuted for vandalism. That didn't faze Orton much, because as his agent later said: "Jail gives a writer credentials. Everyone else it takes them away."

Example of Orton's and Halliwell's jokes, which cost them jail-time. Ironically, these "vandalized" books are now the most valuable in the Islington public library collection.

Then, Orton started writing on his own. In the early 60s he got a radio play accepted by the BBC, and from then on he steadily climbed towards success and fame. His plays both delighted and shocked the British public and he was hailed as the "Oscar Wilde of the welfare society." His success left Halliwell envious, left out, and depressed, taking more and more pills. Orton started making a lot of money and consorting with celebrities like the Beatles, while Halliwell still hadn't been able to publish a thing.

Halliwell spiraled into severe depression, in the summer of 1967 Orton insisted he see a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist was thinking of recommending that Halliwell go into a psychiatric hospital. Orton had become increasingly promiscuous since his success began and was considering ending the relationship. One night in August after an argument, Halliwell beat Orton's brains out as he slept and then committed suicide with pills. Joe Orton was 34 -- his productive period as a playwright lasted less than 4 years.

Why do I like Joe Orton's plays? Well, first of all he's funny, and has great one-liners Oscar Wilde style. Also, he was probably the best writer of farces of the 20th century -- his plays thrive on anarchy, confusion, and subversion. The farce genre, dating back to the Ancient Greek tradition (for example Sophocles) with which Orton was well familiar, is based on showing the chaos and ridicule of human society. There's something in that that appeals to me, because it reveals a basic fact about the human condition as I see it: we are hypocrites, chaotic, confused, and very ridiculous. We are evolved apes who think because we can handle tools we are made in God's image. Our attempts at dignity are usually self-serving and pompous. As Napoleon said: "there's only a small step from the sublime to the ridiculous".

To those interested in Joe Orton I recommend you start with the great 1987 movie based on his life, with none other than Gary Oldman playing Orton -- the title is "Prick up Your Ears".

I wonder how Orton's life would have turned out if he hadn't died so young. Would he still be making fun of us? Would his craft have gone to still greater heights? Or would he have become comfortable and an establishment figure?

I leave with some quotes I like from "What the Butler Saw", so you'll know what I'm talking about:

"MRS PRENTICE: Have you ever given thought to a male secretary?

DR PRENTICE: A man could never get used to the work.

MRSP: My father had a male secretary. My mother said he was much better than a woman.

DRP: I couldn't ask a young fellow to do overtime and then palm him off with a lipstick or a bottle of Yardley's. It'd be silk suits and Alfa Romeos if I so much as breathed on him.

MRSP: Try a boy for a change. You're a rich man. You can afford the luxuries of life."

"MRSP: (in a surprised tone) What are you doing with that dress?

DRP: (pause) It's an old one of yours.

MRSP: Have you taken up transvestism? I had no idea our marriage teetered on the edge of fashion."

"DRP: It's a fascinating theory, sir, and cleverly put together. Does it tie in with known facts?

DR RANCE: That need not cause us undue anxiety. Civilizations have been founded and maintained on theories which refused to obey facts."

"SERGEANT MATCH: You must realize this boy is bringing a serious charge against you?

DRP: Yes. It's ridiculous. I'm a married man.

SM: Marriage excuses no one from the freaks' roll call."

"DRP: I couldn't commit the act. I'm a heterosexual

DRR: I wish you wouldn't use these Chaucerian words. It's most confusing."

"DRP: I'm not mad. It only looks that way.

DRR: Your actions today would get the Archbishop of Canterbury declared non-compos.

DRP: I'm not the Archbishop of Canterbury.

DRR: That will come at a later stage of your illness."

"DRP: I'm a rationalist.

DRR: You can't be a rationalist in an irrational world. It isn't rational."

"MRSP: (rising, stumbling to the desk) Oh, doctor, during your absence my husband became violent and struck me. (She pours a whisky)

DRR: Did you enjoy it?

MRSP: At first. But the pleasures of the senses quickly pall."

"DRR: I've published a monograph on the subject. I wrote it at University. On the advice of my tutor. A remarkable man. Having failed to achieve madness himself he took to teaching it to others.

DRP: And you were his prize pupil?

DRR: There were some more able than I.

DRP: Where are they now?

DRR: In mental institutions.

DRP: Running them?

DRR: For the most part."

"GERALDINE: I must be a boy. I like girls.

(DR RANCE stops and wrinkles his brow, puzzled)

DRR: I can't quite follow the reasoning there.

DRP: Many men imagine that a preference for women is ipso facto a proof of virility.

DRR: Someone should really write a book on these folk-myths."

"DRP: I want you to co-operate with me in getting things back to normal in this house.

NICK: (soothingly) You can rely on me, sir.

DRP: It would help me considerably if you'd take your clothes off."

Douchebag of the Month

2008-04-06T16:47:00.004+02:00

This is a little monthly feature dedicated to highlighting some of the people I despise. I have opted for "Douchebag" as the insult because it seems to be quite trendy at the moment; and according to what I read it is associated to a variety of negative personality characteristics ranging from arrogance to malice and to stupidity. I have also chosen to make this a monthly feature because there are just too many douchebags. If I allowed myself it might well be a thrice-daily feature.

I am happy to say our first winner scores high on all of the 3 douchebag traits listed above: Wolfgang Schussel, chancellor of Austria from 2000 to 2007.

Can you spot the difference?

Now he is the parliamentary leader of the OVP, the Conservative Party in Austria. What has earned him this coveted award of "Douchebag of the Month"?

Well, right now the 2 parties in the currently governing coalition, the Conservative OVP and the social-democratic SPO, are discussing the introduction of gay civil unions. About time too, since Austria is now one of the few countries in Western Europe without that basic right for gay citizens. They have discarded the option of gay marriage, and now having discussions on what form the union would take. A significant portion of the Conservative party seemed ready to give way to the more liberal SPO and have a full-fledged civil union like there is in Germany or Switzerland.

Never fear -- enter DB Schussel at the head of the traditionalist wing of the OVP: they say they will support the civil unions, but that gay couples shouldn't be able to tie the knot at city hall like straight couples marrying civilly. Instead, they say, gay couples should pay a private lawyer to formalize their union, making it more akin to a commercial transaction than to a union between 2 human beings.

Now, I am not of those fanatic activists that shouts "Marriage or Nothing!" In fact, I am rather happy to have gay unions not called marriage, given the fact that as an institution marriage has had some unsavory aspects in the past. It used to serve to transmit women as property from father to husband, and so on. So, I am quite content with something that gives me all the rights of marriage without all the historical baggage and implications of the name.

However, I don't like being treated like a second-rate citizen and human being, and that is exactly what this measure by Schussel seeks to achieve. Besides the symbolism of having to slink off to a lawyer's office instead of being able tie the knot publicly in a government building as a citizen -- there is also the question of money: Thanks, but I don't really want to pay 5 times more to a lawyer to formalize my union than a hetero couple pays at city hall.

There is something so petty and mendacious about this measure that I can't even put it into words. Why do the fuck do you care? What does it achieve, besides being one last bull-shit scented taunt at 4% of the population? I know Austria is a pretty well run country and has a good economy, but surely there must have been something else -- education, health care, immigrant integration, crime, environment, energy policy, picking out the toilet paper brand for use in the Parliament's bathrooms -- that would have been more vital to discuss for days in Parliament.

There is something nauseating about such pointless malevolence, especially when it disguises itself as a preoccupation with values.

Karajan's 100

2008-04-06T11:51:00.004+02:00

It was exactly 100 years since Herbert von Karajan's birth yesterday (he died in 1989). His legacy is still quite controversial in some quarters. Norman Lebrecht, whose opinions on classical music I don't always agree with, offers a good overview of why Karajan's centenary shouldn't be heartily celebrated.

To that I would add my 2 cents: I agree with Lebrecht that Karajan was a huge egomaniac. I would also agree that his pervasive power over the classical music industry helped promote excessive conservatism and commercialism. I think he recorded way too much repertoire, a lot of which he wasn't suited to. But like a lot of egomaniacs, in their unflagging devotion to making themselves the ones at the top of the pile, he could be very good at what he did. His preoccupation with a very beautiful and smooth sound from his orchestra became at times a bit grotesque in later years. There are still some recordings of his that I own and enjoy, though: his Mahler 5th, his 1963 Beethoven cycle, and his Mozart Requiem from the 1980s.

And here I am at Karajan ground zero: I live in Salzburg, Austria, where he was born, where he reigned for decades as the main conductor and promoter of the famous Salzburg festival, and where he often lived. His widow still lives here and is an essential part of the jet-set circle. I frequently pass by the mansion where he was born and which has a pretentious statue of him out front.

The question a lot of people think is most important is "Was he a Nazi?" As I said I think he was mainly an egomaniac. I find it hard to believe he was a devoted Nazi since he married his first wife, who was half Jewish, in 1942, and had to endure falling from grace with the regime at the time. He probably became a party member in 1933 for the one reason that propelled him: his career and his advancement. Maybe he wasn't a Nazi, but he sure wasn't a man of conscience or much concern for others.

In the end, I would like to think he paid a price for his self-centeredness and his errors -- in some of the interviews I saw with him, he always seemed oddly unsatisfied, always pushed for better, for more power. That is the price a lot of egomaniacs pay -- you can never have too much money, or influence, or power, or fame. That unquenchable thirst must not be easy to bear and at the end... is always a feeling of failure.

So, don't count on me showing up at any of the fancy Karajan celebrations (I didn't get an invite anyway) or buying any of the super-slick anniversary celebration disk sets that the disk companies are going to churn out compulsively. But I might still play one of his recordings once in a while.

Karajan in his element: absolute power over orchestra and moneyed audience

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-04-03T18:40:00.004+02:00

"I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That's deep enough. What do you want -- an adorable pancreas?"

-- Jean Kerr

I say, that one is awfully cute...

Variations on a View

2008-04-03T16:57:00.004+02:00

Before I moved to Salzburg 6 months ago, I had never had a really good view. As you can see the view from my studio's window here is nothing to be sniffed at. In the distance there's the Geisberg, a mountain that's about 1800m high.

As I lived day-to-day with this magnificent panorama I began to be captivated by its various appearances. It's incredible how the play of light, fog, rain, clouds, time of day, season, and snow can give it so many faces. And these atmospheric conditions are never exactly the same -- I am always seeing another facet of the view when a novel light strikes and reveals new colors.

I started photographing it at all times and in all weathers. I was then reminded of Cezanne's continuous re-painting of the same view of Mt. St. Victoire. No intent to even associate my name to his, but my fascination is of the same kind as his was. My results are nowhere as good, but I hope you still enjoy these photos as much as I do.

Fucking Unbelievable!

2008-04-02T22:24:00.003+02:00

I was alerted to this by my friend Colin... who has never been to Austria. Upon interrogation my boyfriend confessed he knew about this too -- I should have been informed, this is too funny not to be shared. Here I am living only about 40 km from the great town of Fucking (pop. 93) and I was never told:

This must not be very fun for the poor inhabitants. The authors of the above article did not even get the country right in the title -- they were not content to affront the name of these people's village, they had to step on their national pride as well. Outrageous. By the way, what would an inhabitant of Fucking be called? A fucker?

At the top is photo of a sign in the town. Under the town's name there's a sign urging drivers to slow down in the school area. It thus reads "Fucking. Please not so fast."

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-04-02T16:14:00.000+02:00

"If you think you have it tough, read history books."

-- Bill Maher

The Hills are Alive

2008-04-02T12:17:00.004+02:00

Pic 1: According to the sign this doorway has existed since 800 AD; people were really a lot shorter back then, since the door only comes up to slightly above my belly-button and I am only average height. This is on the outskirts of Salzburg in a place called Gnigl. Amazing to think this doorway is still being used today.
I am always amazed at how clouds can look like abstract paintings. Kandinsky couldn't do any better.
A traditional Austrian house in the country a few kilometers from Salzburg, with the worked wood and the oh-so-catholic Christ up top. I forgot to straighten this picture, and now I'm too lazy to go back and do it.
Snow peaked mountains -- there are lots of them around Salzburg.
Last pic: This was a house I spotted right at the edge of town, before you get into the country. I thought it was interesting and a bit funny how the owners had added an ultra-modern wing to the super-traditional main body of their house on the left (notice the woodwork and the deer antlers up on top). The contrast looks kind of cool though.

The last few days have been sunny and mild here in Salzburg. The winter was pretty nasty, so I was out taking some walks in nature in the blink of an eye. I am not crazy about Salzburg after 6 months here -- it is very beautiful and it has a good quality of life, but I am used to larger cities. This just feels a bit tiny to me.

But one thing has to be said for living here: the natural beauty of the region is splendid, and it's easy to get out of the city on foot and go on some wonderful walks.

The above photos were taken on those treks.

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-04-01T17:19:00.002+02:00

"Why is it that when it's us it's an abortion, but when it's a chicken it's an omelet?"

-- George Carlin

Das kann nicht toleriert werden!

2008-03-31T11:14:00.004+02:00

This weekend I watched "Mein Führer", the new German comedy about Hitler. As you might expect, the fact that a director decided to make a comedy on this subject has gotten a lot of knickers in a twist.

The movie has been hammered by critics in Germany, and a bit ignored abroad. Since the director is Jewish and his mother a Holocaust survivor the critics weren't able to attack his integrity, so they went after the movie itself. The main charges were: it's not funny; the director could not decide on one tone, and the movie hovers between farce, slapstick, and drama.

The scenario of the movie is pregnant with possibilities: It's December 1944, the war is starting to go seriously wrong for Germany; Berlin is heavily bombed. Hitler is depressed. Goebbels decides to orchestrate a great New Year's rally and speech by Hitler to motivate the people into what he terms "total war". To prepare the desmotivated Hitler for the speech, he sends for Adolf Grünbaum, a Jewish actor who used to be famous and is now in a concentration camp.

The fact is the movie is not a work of genius and there are jokes that simply never take off. For example, the portrayal of Hitler's impotence when trying to boink Eva Braun isn't very effective. But there are plenty of funny moments: Himmler has had his shoulder broken during a visit to the front and so his arm is on a propped cast, which makes it seem that he is permanently Heil Hitlering; Goebbels giving oral sex to his secretary under the desk, and as he receives a visitor unexpectedly, picking out a pubic hair from his tongue, after packing off the secretary. There is just something inherently funny and subversive about Goebbels and pubic hair.

The accusation that the movie seems not to settle on one tone is true. There are in fact two parts to the film: the parts relating to the Nazis are usually purely humorous, while the parts relating to the plight of Adolf Grünbaum, the main character, are more dramatic in nature. The movie doesn't soft-pedal the plight of being a Jew in 1944 Germany: at the beginning of the movie there's a scene where Grunbaum is taken to the showers prior to being taken to Berlin. The look of fear as Grunbaum awaits what he believes is the gas that will kill him, and the expression of relief when the shower head emits not gas but water are very real. Also affecting is the later scene when Grunbaum, who has demanded that everyone in his concentration camp is released in return for his coaching Hitler, speaks to a fellow inmate to confirm that the Nazis have indeed let the inmates go. We get to see his friend, who looks like he was roughed up and is being threatened with a gun by a SS officer, lie to him under duress and reassure him everyone is mad with joy at having been let go.

Nonetheless, the movie is particularly successful when the humorous tone adopted with the Nazi bigwigs is mingled with the drama of the horror of the situation of Grunbaum and his loved ones. For example, when Hitler during a coaching session with Grunbaum starts taunting him with boxing jabs and with musings of why Jews don't do sport and are weak -- Grunbaum, in a blink of an eye, lets out an uncontrollable right jab that KOs Hitler. In the situation that ensues Grunbaum realizes what he did and panics about the room, dragging Hitler and placing his feet on a chair, answering the door when the guards knock asking if everything's OK and replying with a nervous smile that the Fuhrer is doing some relaxation exercises -- that situation is successful in melding the ridiculous and the dramatic. On one level it's a funny idea that a small Jewish man has just knocked Hitler to the ground, but on the other level we are aware behind the farce that ensues, that at the same time Grunbaum is probably doomed for what he has done.

Ultimately, the main objection to the movie is that it excuses Hitler too much: he comes out as a rather pathetic figure, a bed-wetter, insecure, scarred by his father's constant disdain and abuse towards him, and as not really in charge. He even develops a liking for and dependence on Grunbaum. I do think Levy, the director, does soft-pedal Hitler a bit too much, especially in comparison to the other Nazi bigwigs.

Finally, if nothing else the film is successful in one thing: all these critics have said that we must remember what Hitler did and the horrors of the Holocaust; the purpose of this is to prevent this from ever happening again. Well, this portrait of Hitler as impotent, indecisive, and a bed-wetter is guaranteed not to excite any misguided youths into neo-nazism. What feeds neo-nazism are exactly the portrayals of Hitler as a personification of implacable power and extremism.

I think this is just another step in dealing with Hitler's legacy. Another movie that recently also caused a similar controversy was Downfall, an excellent (dramatic) movie about the last days of Hitler's life. In the movie Hitler was accurately portrayed as he was: a ranting megalomaniac, with no concern for the deaths of millions in his ego-building wars, but also someone who was exceptionally considerate and humane with his young secretary and other people close to him. That Hitler wasn't a total rabid monster every moment of his life, that he could be humane, only makes it more urgent that we consider how a human being seemingly so normal in some circumstances could be so hate-filled and monstrous in others -- it makes it more thought-provoking and challenging, and is not simply a diabolical caricature of Hitler that excuses any serious thought.

In closing, to the holier-than-thou critics -- hey, your attitude in telling people what they can and can't laugh about is faintly... uhhh, what's the word... oh, Hitleresque.

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-03-31T10:19:00.002+02:00

"Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the President's spouse. I wish him well!"
-- Barbara Bush

Sanity Maintenance Mechanisms

2008-03-29T18:22:00.000+01:00

Many of us need something that enables us to keep ourselves out of Bellevue. These are things that not only make life seem worth living, but things that sooth us, and put life's little hand-wringing frustrations in perspective. Sviatoslav Richter, one of the greatest musicians of the last century, put it well when he said: "One should listen to Bach regularly, if only for mental hygiene."
Bach is for me one these sure fire mechanisms to keep it together. At his best his music is both
calming and invigorating. There is in it something both very like a life-force and impersonal --
like a running brook.
Listen to Glenn Gould (who although he played and listened to Bach every day, was still slightly insane) play the aria from the Goldberg variations, and see if you understand what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv94m_S3QDo

Another Confession

2008-03-28T12:13:00.004+01:00

I confessed that I like men and classical music, two unusual tastes so far.

I must confess that I am also a chocoholic. Well, not really a chocolic because I keep my cravings under control and I am thin. But anyway, as Ron White once said: "I am not an alcoholic. Alcoholics go to meetings, I'm just a drunk."

As this is a predilection a lot of people share, and that within limits doesn't make you beat your wife, there are no Twelve-steppers on this one yet -- and I hope there will never be. It's already annoying enough hearing about these ex-gays. I don't want to start hearing whiny men and women with a glazed look in their eyes doing commercials on how they renounced chocolate through the power of Jesus.

A new chocolate maker that has come to my attention is Zotter, an Austrian brand.

Joseph Zotter is an ex-patisserie chef who started a hand-made chocolate company after going bankrupt in his last venture.

Less than 9 years after starting this venture, though, he's pulling in big bucks.

What's he got new? He has reportedly developed a method called hand-scooping, that allows several layers of flavors to be superimposed, and later tasted effectively.

The other novelty is that he likes to create chocolate bars with some crazy flavors, such as:

- Banana Curry - Almonds and Roses - Bacon bits - Beetroot with galangal

- Cashew and Pineapple - Dates and Shiitake - Lemon and Polenta - Gruner Veltliner wine and Pepper - Tofu and Sake

I have tried about 10 of the dozens of flavors. Obviously with such experimenting, not all of them are complete successes, but many are winning combinations and a treat.

Also, Zotter's is one of the few chocolate companies that is not only organic but fair trade.

Add to that the funky illustrations done for each flavor by an Austrian artist and you've got a really interesting product.

They sell only at selected retailers and the prices that I have seen tend to be around 3 euros a bar.

Give it a try -- and no I am not getting any money from them. Though, if anyone from Zotter does read this, please note that I can bribed with some of your chocolate.

Photo to the left: Mr. Zotter applies Woody Allen's advice about sex to chocolate -- "If it isn't dirty, you are not doing it right"

A very thoughtful article on gay identity -- and where it's headed -- by Andrew Sullivan

2008-03-27T16:37:00.003+01:00

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=cac6ca08-7df8-4cdd-93cc-1d20cd8b7a70

Cripy Quote of the Day

2008-03-27T09:17:00.005+01:00

I just realized a lot of the posts have the same dates, apparently because I have been forgetting to sign out. To compensate you for these technical problems would you accept an extra crispy quote as a complementary offer from our company?

"If you haven't got anything good to say about anyone come and sit by me."
-- Alice Roosevelt Longworth (maxim embroidered on a cushion in her home)

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-03-27T09:17:00.004+01:00

"I think I'll retire. Lick my wounds. Or have them licked for me."
-- Joe Orton

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-03-27T09:17:00.003+01:00

"In 1969 I published a small book on Humility. It was a pioneering work which has not, to my knowledge, been superseded."
Lord Longford

Poulenc -- graceful and deep

2008-03-24T09:41:00.022+01:00

One of the supposedly second-tier composers that I like is Francis Poulenc.
His music was always pleasant and witty, but in his later years it also acquired a melancholy depth.
He was one of the first openly gay composers, despite being strongly catholic as well.
He lived and composed into the 1960s and his beautiful yet meaningful music is a real reproach to the avant-garde generation of European composers of that time -- who have churned out unlistenable and posing music that has accounted for a lot of the image problems that classical music has today.
Anyway, to me he shines brighter in his chamber music compositions. Take a listen to the second movement of his clarinet sonata. Autumnal would be the word to describe it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRk0OhP_AAs&feature=related

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-03-24T09:41:00.021+01:00

"We have all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true."
-- Robert Wilensky

Great Gay Short Film

2008-03-24T09:41:00.020+01:00

A lot of gay films tend not to be of the highest quality. One gets tired of another coming out or AIDS story or just soft porn maskerading as a movie, especially as characters are usually so stereotyped and underdeveloped. So it's nice to see a surprising and fun short film.
Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlbk7h7D7BY

John's Parting Shot at Democracy

2008-03-24T09:41:00.019+01:00

Miguel, Martin
Democracy......this is not essential in my mind ( Maybe cultural, i dont believe in it) Take this as an example.12,000,000,000 vote , there are 2 candidates One candidate ( party A) got 6,000,000,900The other candidate ( party B) got 5,900,000,100 votes. 5,900,000,100 are unhappy, near half of the population unhappy.They have to live with the party A that they dont like, is that democracy?Should they have the right not to be ruled by the party A they support? 'I dont like this party governing the country. I prefer party B. Why dont we splt the country and have another country run by party B. The country split into half....and this activity perpetuate.... --------------------------------------------------

Have one semi democratic government where officals are the representatives from each countyNo parties A , B, and C, but a team of representatives from all parts of the country to decide the policy. Then 12,000,000,000 feel this party is a representation of the country, No bad feelings from any people.All representatives fighting for their areas. This is what I will support, and is the system in china. Do I want a government with party A, B, C.....no....And getting 12,000,000,000 to vote is a waste of national resources when some people dont even have enoguh food to eat.Money could be spent somewhere else. And perahps I could asnwer your question China had a huge popluation below WHO poverty standard, but a much smaller proportion now. The people moved from extreme poverty to an accpetable life is huge number. Can India achieve that? If the election money in India could be spent on the poor people and THAT IS REAL HELP to the people. The democratic election doesnt give them more curry and rice. Sorry this is my chinese mentality / my mentality. Maybe hard for you to understand. It is equally hard for me to understand why people vote, so I dont vote, I always put those voting paper to the bin. What is the human right if the chinese people dont want to vote, dont want the western style government, why we have to adopt the western style, just because the western people want us to follow them? Energy conservation..... if you print out 12,000,000,000 ballot paper, 90% put them into the bin, how much paper, trees are wasted? Or if I get a ballot paper, I am forced to vote, I just put a ticket on 'a' person...what does it mean? Should we congratulate china saving paper, going green? ----------------------------

What I am trying to say the mentality is very different in the East or in China. Western ideas will not work. ANd equally chinese ideas on western country will not work. The people decide what is best for them. Unfortunately, in the media, those you see, hear are those exile from the country, who lived abroad. Remember 1% of the people who dont love their mother country will criticise them, 1% who are shamed of being chinese will criticse the government. What is 1%, that is 120,000,000 people already. Is it fair to say 1% of Austrain dont like Austria? 1% of portuguese dont like Portugal. And wht you hear from the news is 120,000,000 chinese people dont like the policy, criticise the policy..... John

John's Response # 2

2008-03-24T09:41:00.018+01:00

"John,

Who told you told that China will necessarily splinter if free speech and democracy are introduced?"

This is my feelings, and also what the Chinese citizens who lived in China felt.
There is free speech on anything, everything but ONLY NOT ON ANYTHING THAT HARM THE UNITY OF THE COUNTRY.

"The Party in government of course. Dictatorial governments that are in power not
by popular will but that maintain their rule by force always use fear to keep in power. It's a classic trick -- you should read some history, history teaches us a lot because human beings are always essentially the same. You mentioned Nazi Germany in your response as an example of how all countries make mistakes sometimes -- not only sometimes, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust happened because the German people accepted a dictatorship that decided everything without democracy."

I am not against dictator type of government. It can be efficient and good. Singapore , a very small country, did very well. The president Mr Lee, governed the country for 30 years, was called the father of Singapore . There is continuity, and the development becomes efficient. Imagine if different rulers, things change every few years.
I am not criticising the democratic type of system. But that is something westerners think the right way because they practice it. In China , this is not necessarily the way people see it. Indeed I do not want this type of democracy government in China . The current government is democratic enough in my view, there is continuity. I am a fan to the democracy system especially if the country is poor, and personally I don¡¦t like it to the extent as a westerner. I never vote in the last 18 years in the UK , even I am eligible to. I don¡¦t feel comfortable with this system. When I get any voting paper, I put them into the bin for the last 18 years. (Sorry I hope I will not offend you, this is not what I am comfortable with, so are the rest of many 120,000,000,0 people in china. It¡¦s like you are comfortable with the european democratic system, not the Chinese system¡K.and I am not comfortable with the European system, so I put all the voting paper in the bin in the last 18 years, whatever any elections¡Keven housing association, hospital chairman¡K.etc!)

"Same as in the China of Mao and the Communist Party. And just like the Chinese Communist Party the Nazi Party also used fear to make people believe they needed a strong dictatorial government:
-- they said the country will break down because all of Europe wants to split Germany in many countries, because it's too powerful and big
-- they said intellectuals, people who want to speak their opinions will destroy the country
-- they said what we need is total unity and progress, to have a strong Germany
Funny isn't it, how it sounds just like what the CCP says?
These are classic fear techniques that any dictatorship uses to justify its being in power.
The Party told you -- China you fall apart if we have free speech and democracy -- you tell me China is too big and poor, it wouldn't work here. That just works in smaller and rich countries. How about India ? India is only slightly smaller than China, it has 1.12 billion people, it is as poor or in many places poorer than China, it has more ethnic and language groups than in China so is supposedly less homogenous, has lots of foreign investment there to protect and development to promote -- and yet, lo and behold it has a fully functioning democracy and has had for decades. Now why is China any different?"

Because the so called democratic system is flawed. People will pick the person who will give them money. It looks democratic superficially.

In Thailand , the ousted PM, Thakin Shinawatra, he got all the votes from the poor people from the countryside. You know what¡K because he creates a policy that these poor people get more¡Kyes maybe good to the coutry, but he gets all the votes from the coutryside, little votes from citypeople¡K. But overall he won¡Kso many people are unhappy, kick him out of the country¡K.

Also remember there are many systems¡K. Ways ¡K

China will develop its own ¡¥democractic¡¦ system that is agreeable to the country and people there. Westerners, using their experience will never be able to appreciate it because of difference in culture. It¡¦s like I can never understand why people circumcise if they are jewish or Moslem. But a Moslem who is not circumcised may feel very uncomfortable, may feel unclean¡K.etc but that is their culture. If I do not have the culture, Iwill never understand BUT WILL NEVER impose my feelings on them.

John

My second response

2008-03-24T09:41:00.017+01:00

John,

Who told you told that China will necessarily splinter if free speech and democracy are introduced?
The Party in government of course. Dictatorial governments that are in power not by popular will but that maintain their rule by force always use fear to keep in power. It's a classic trick -- you should read some history, history teaches us a lot because human beings are always essentially the same. You mentioned Nazi Germany in your response as an example of how all countries make mistakes sometimes -- not only sometimes, Nazi Germany and the Holocaust happened because the German people accepted a dictatorship that decided everything without democracy. Same as in the China of Mao and the Communist Party. And just like the Chinese Communist Party the Nazi Party also used fear to make people believe they needed a strong dictatorial government:
-- they said the country will break down because all of Europe wants to split Germany in many countries, because it's too powerful and big
-- they said intellectuals, people who want to speak their opinions will destroy the country
-- they said what we need is total unity and progress, to have a strong Germany
Funny isn't it, how it sounds just like what the CCP says?
These are classic fear techniques that any dictatorship uses to justify its being in power.
The Party told you -- China you fall apart if we have free speech and democracy -- you tell me China is too big and poor, it wouldn't work here. That just works in smaller and rich countries. How about India? India is only slightly smaller than China, it has 1.12 billion people, it is as poor or in many places poorer than China, it has more ethnic and language groups than in China so is supposedly less homogenous, has lots of foreign investment there to protect and development to promote -- and yet, lo and behold it has a fully functioning democracy and has had for decades. Now why is China any different?
Don't repeat what you heard from propaganda but think for yourself and carefully.

Miguel

John's Response # 1

2008-03-24T09:41:00.016+01:00

Hi Muguel I really appreciate your time and effort in returning the mail. I will try to answer some.Many of your words I agree are correct, and totally supported.The issue is1. China is a big country. To control a huge crowd that is illiterate is VERY difficult. There are many poor people earling less than 100 US$ per month. When someone demonstrate on the street, some others may join in, but not aware of what is going on. It will soon become a chain reaction until the situation cannot be controlled. When that happens, the army will come, resulted in many innocent death. Peaceful demonstration rarely exist, and it will initiate a chain reaction, causing more harm. That is one main reason. Also there is a lot of investment in the country, whether local or foreign investment. Because it is a big place, a small percentage means a lot. Once the chain reaction started, the stability of the country could be affected. It wont be good to all the investments and the government has to protect. These human rights, when promoted in a well developed less populated western country that will work well. In china, pooor, not weel developed, when people dont even have food to eat, that is not the first priority. Such a big country, the biggest difficult to keep it united. American policy is trying all the ways to support activity to split the country, to disintegrate itself. US , and same as many other European counterparts felt 'threated' by the huge number of population of china. Some countries like the US wants to maintain the control of power and energy. what the chinese people know when the country disintegrate intp 10/20 smaller countries, people will suffer more. So the prime priority to unity, any splitting activity is seriously opposed.

My response # 1

2008-03-24T09:41:00.015+01:00

This is my first response.

Hi John,

This is Miguel, Martin's boyfriend. I know we haven't met but Martin is really busy with a paper right now, and since I have some interest in China, he asked me to respond to the issues you brought up in relation to human rights.
So let me try to respond to some of the things you have raised:

You say that the rights of individuals should take second place to the integrity of the country. That can be true to a certain degree, and I appreciate the fact that China is a very particular country with a lot of people and with quite a few problems that many Western nations do not have. Also although the Chinese government is in some respects an authoritarian government, it is also a secular and pragmatic government that allows liberty to its citizens within the range of private and economic life that a lot of other authoritarian regimes do not.

However, in my opinion many of these individual rights should be promoted not just because they sound nice or pretty -- they should be supported because they bring benefits to the whole of society.
Let's talk in particular about China's case: the Chinese government still arrests people who consistently call into question and contest its policies on various issues. Most of these so called dissidents don't want to overthrow the government or provoke anarchy in the streets of Chinese cities.
They just want for there to be free discussion of those issues, and for the whole chinese people to be able to voice their opinion on these. What they are against is a bunch of unelected Party officials who don't have to justify their decisions to anyone to be able to do whatever they want -- and keep on doing it even if the people are against it. That's because no matter what they do they cannot be voted out.
A government that doesn't have to take the views outside its own insider group becomes out of touch, arrogant, and therefore makes foolish decisions. That's what has happened in China already many times, for example during Mao's time. Whatever Mao and the other party officials decided could not be examined or contested, it was like the word of God. In the 1960s lots of Chinese intellectuals and scientists tried to speak out against the crazy agricultural and population growth policies of Mao. They had education and great intelligence, so they could see that trying to convert desert and mountains into farmland was a terrible idea environmentally and would not result in a lot more food output. They could also see that the Mao's and the Party's policy of encouraging the Chinese people to have many children was going to increase the population beyond control and cause environmental and economic problems.
They were sent to re-education camps and silenced. The small group of party officials went on with their crazy policies because there was no one to say that they were wrong and lay facts and knowledge out. 40 years later China is still paying the price for ignoring freedom of expression back then -- the population skyrocketed and 20 years later the country had to adopt the emergency 1-child policy to bring thigs under control; the revolutionary agricultural projects and experiments of the government didn't yield much good and resulted in lots of environmental degradation. One of the intellectuals that spoke out at the time against the foolish population and agricultural policies was sent to a camp, I think his name is Wang Li, and he has now been rehabilitated. If the government had not been able to just send him to a camp and shut him up, perhaps people would have thought harder about the issues involved and made better decisions.
So, the point is human rights aren't just nice, they are vital to have a healthy society.
As regards Tibet and the Dalai Lama -- look ,China annexed Tibet against the will of the Tibetan people, that is a reality. I don't particularly like the Dalai Lama, and perhaps Tibet would even be worse off if it was ruled by a theocratic government of monks as it was before China took over. But that is not the point -- the point is they don't consider themselves Chinese and don't want to be ruled by China. And as a people they have the right to determine what they want.
It's like in Iraq -- perhaps Iraqis are actually better off being ruled by America than by Saddam Hussein or crazy shiite Ayatollahs but they don't want to be ruled by a foreign power. It is natural, people want to be in charge of their own destiny. It's the same with individuals: if I see someone who doesn't administer his money well and spends all of it on stupid things or gambles it away, I can't just say "I know how to take care of your finances better than you do, so I will make those decisions for you from now on" Even if that person would perhaps be better off, he will resist because we don't like to be dominated or dictated to by outsiders.

Hope you find this interesting, and I look forward to your response,

Miguel

John's Views # 1

2008-03-24T09:41:00.014+01:00

This was the e-mail my boyfriend forwarded to me from John.

Hi Martin As I wrote before discussion about human rights should be used to learn and improve the quality of life. Exactly....In a very populated area, when people are poor in the remote area, less educated1. they do not know what is peaceful protest, and they have nothing to lose, ( poor , uneducated...)Very often, these so called demonstration becomes a street party where the crowd cannot be controlled.In China, when the place is so populated, these kind of street demonstration will move very quickly to other parts of china, and resulted in an uncontrolled 'riot', destroying the peace and propsperity created in those area.In the long shot, these activities will DESTROY and definitely NOT improve quality of life.Country unity is superior than any other issues.That is not an area of negotiation, discussion in Chinese rules, we all know that, we all support that. Tibet gets so much support from China, and china build one of the most expensive, difficult railway in the world to Tibet.Watch the documentary of this railway, you will be impressed. I think this is the highest railway in the world ( in the mountains) with huge big bridge between mountains.Tibet is in a poor geographic area and relies a lot on China.Those who lived there should realise that.Those who dont realise that are the lamas in the temple where they dont know what is about the real world.They hide in the temple, rely on people giving them food. What economy do you see in Bhutan, Nepal? Only poverty!!!!The issue is foregin TV station interview a few foreigners or lama who wer exiled abroad, and their views were accpeted by westerners becasue they have a western theme and culture. But all people in china dont see that. John

John's Views # 2

2008-03-24T09:41:00.013+01:00

This arrived before I had time to reply.

Martin This is a difference in values btw us. Protest against governmnet is fine but when the portest causes instability in country, then that kind of protest, in my mind should not be allowed. This is no longer human rights at that stage, is the country stability and invovles the lives of others. Others also have right to enjoy a stablelise envirnoment. Human right- kids...it depends on what angle you look at it. I can equally say kids should have the right to have basic love from mom and dad. Of course if the situation is unfortunate, the government should offer a lot of help. But clearly in many cases, it is the lack of responsibility of parent(s). The essence in governing a large country, 20% of world's population when the majority are poor, is different from a smaller wealthier country. Unity is the highest goal, and it is superior than any rules, laws, and right. Every single chinese who were brought up in the China knew that, and that is what the people want and follows. Anything that causes splitting of the country, individual independence is not allowed and this is superior than any forms of laws, rules, regulations, rights. It is hard for foreigners to understand that. What you may find is those who were educated abroad, or lived aborad for a while may have forgotten the basic mentality of the 20% of the worlds population. Those who criticise human rights issues, maybe you are as well, are using the western concept of human right, even some chinese people who are abroad. That does not represent the meaning of human right of the 20% of the worlds population that lived in the country. Human right is valid, but there is something on top of human right, far more superior, that is unity of the country and activities that may split the country is not allowed. Dala Lama is a bad person in the chinese people mind. He supports activity that is superior than human right. All chinese knew that is not allowed. I also hope you wont get offended. I am speaking with my chinese mind, and it applies to China only. The same policy will not apply to other countries. John

Debate on China -- Human Rights and Democracy

2008-03-24T09:41:00.011+01:00

In the next few posts I am going to post a discussion that has been going on by e-mail between myself and my boyfriend AND a Chinese friend of my boyfriend's.

John comes from Hong Kong originally, is a doctor, gay, and has lived for many years in London.

Therefore, given his profile, most people in the West would expect him to have fairly pro-democracy and westernized ideas. However, despite being in general a very modern and open person in many areas, he does hold rather anti-democratic ideas and views western ideals of governance and societal organization as unsuitable for China.

I think it is interesting and important to get his perspective because we tend to hear a lot from Westernized pro-democracy elements from Chinese intellectual life, but not so much from this section of the educated population that feels more comfortable with aspects of the present authoritarianism. It is also striking how after living so many years under British rule in Hong Kong and later in London he has such a strong conviction in the need for China to find its own models, giving up on emulating the West as the solution.

Crispy Quote of the Day

2008-03-24T09:41:00.010+01:00

"Is it progress if a cannibal uses knife and fork?"

Stanislaw Lec 1909-1966

Winter is Back in Strength, alas -- view from my window

2008-03-24T09:41:00.009+01:00

What I am reading right now

2008-03-24T09:41:00.007+01:00

-- China's New Order, by Wang Hui

-- The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman

2008-03-24T09:41:00.002+01:00

Another crispy quote of the day:

"We are here and it is now. Further than that all human knowledge is moonshine."
H.L. Mencken

Proud Confession

2008-03-22T13:51:00.004+01:00

Why is classical music often so scoffed at, even by fairly educated people.
I have loved classical music since I was in my mid-teens. It is now my preferred genre of music, the one I listen about 80% of the time.
I am a bit tired of the amused or blank looks I get when I reveal it is my prefered genre.

Don't get me wrong... in some ways classical music is flourishing, with many top orchestras and musicians, as well as great independent cd labels. But it still does seem to have an image problem.
I am convinced that many people are kept away from it simply by this interdicting prejudice.
The problem is perhaps mainly the perception that it is elitistic. That is in part true -- much of it was created for the upper classes before the mass society of affluence of last century created a really big middle class.
But it is such a huge world, classical music, and it is the heritage of Western music of almost 1000 years. What is regularly played and recorded out of that 1000 year legacy is what has made -- the cream of the cream. So instead of wadding through another crappy fad band, why don't you give a try once in a while to music that has survived centuries, the distilation of excellence.
Since it is such a big world classical music is also very diverse. There is lots of stuff there to appeal to those who like loud sounds, excitement, or a catchy tune. Unlike just songs, the standard fare of modern pop music, you have sonatas, symphonies, concertos, trios, quintets, songs, masses, operas, using dozens of instruments instead of just a couple.
Here are a few samples for the novice to give a try:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOEx2Ent7wQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSaYnQD7EpY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huJ8s3rZCqk&feature=related

People who don't like or think you don't like classical music: I would be interested in knowing what keeps you away from such great music, or what puts you off.
Classical music fans -- wouldn't mind hearing from you either.

Enjoy!

Welcome all

2008-03-22T13:51:00.001+01:00

You might be wondering what will be going on in this dark corner of the parellel internet universe (or you might not really give a damn, anyway I am going to go ahead and tell you).
Anything that catches my fancy, interest, and attention -- a lot of stuff, usually including things related to books, politics, art, humor, and classical music.
A few tidbits about me: I have lived in 4 countries so far, still in my mid-20s, liberal arts degree, still trying to figure out the career thing, and I live in Austria at the moment with my Austrian boyfriend (yes, that means I am uncommonly cheerful as the modern jargon for sexuality goes).

I leave with a quote. I like crispy crackling quotes and they will be a regular feature here:
"The truth is rarely pure, and never simple" -- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

Our Daily Souffle

More postcards from Portugal

Postcards from Portugal

Crispy Quote of the Day

What's up, doc doc doc?

(Feeling) Small is Good

Dead Flowers

Crispy Quote of the Day

Monty Python go Gay

Munich Day Trip -- Final Part

Crispy Quote of the Day

Munich Day Trip -- Part 2

A Day Trip -- Part 1

Crispy Quote of the Day

Monty Python Abroad

Crispy Quote of the Day -- Carpe Diem

Another Fucking Update

Crispy Quote of the Day

Friends in High Places

Crispy Quote of the Day

The simple pleasures of life

Joe Orton

Douchebag of the Month

Karajan's 100

Crispy Quote of the Day

Variations on a View

Fucking Unbelievable!

Crispy Quote of the Day

The Hills are Alive

Crispy Quote of the Day

Das kann nicht toleriert werden!

Crispy Quote of the Day

Sanity Maintenance Mechanisms

Another Confession

A very thoughtful article on gay identity -- and where it's headed -- by Andrew Sullivan

Cripy Quote of the Day

Crispy Quote of the Day

Crispy Quote of the Day

Poulenc -- graceful and deep

Crispy Quote of the Day

Great Gay Short Film

John's Parting Shot at Democracy

John's Response # 2

My second response

John's Response # 1

My response # 1

John's Views # 1

John's Views # 2

Debate on China -- Human Rights and Democracy

Crispy Quote of the Day

Winter is Back in Strength, alas -- view from my window

What I am reading right now

Proud Confession

Welcome all