Unintentional Plagiarism, Time Sanity, and Spectacle

Madame,

You bring up such a good point, one mean-spiritedly ignored in this accusing age.  That our senses take in, and our brains process and absorb much that we are consciously unaware of.  Almost every doctoral candidate lives in dread of this.  Even with all the new electronic tools, it is too easy to not detect that one has absorbed much and registered it as one’s original thought.  President LBJ was famous for this.  So, perhaps, was Stephen Ambrose, the accomplished historian whose prestige was tarnished late in his career (and life, given his condition) by what appeared to be plagiarism.

Well done, Madame, in your description of Normandy.  I have not yet been (I would say, sacre bleu!, but of course, actual French people don’t really say that).

On to hodgepodge:

Our work-life balance used to be much better, before plutocratic exploitation got out of hand.  Remember “9-5?”  That was with lunch time factored in too.  People could get their kids to school and run an errand or two before work.  And banking hours were 9-3.  We didn’t need 24/7 because people weren’t “ON” 24/7.   Quality of life was often better even without all the many wonderful things and options we have today.  Because we had more time for relationships, for the truly important things.  The bitter irony is that back then, the lament was that we were not making enough time for our families.  My, my.

Anthony Weiner is a weird guy, no doubt, but I’ll say this: He’s not a sexual hypocrite.  He didn’t try to advocate laws about that, didn’t try to dictate, legislate, or preach on it, unlike many largely “conservative” (now disgraced) legislators.  And professionally, his performance has been relatively solid, meaning that he was able to keep the two things separate. 

History is full of men who were weird in their private lives yet still performed ably in the public sphere.  We didn’t choose them for husband, but for leaders.  Why are we fixated on the lives of politicians and celebrities?  We don’t look into the plumber’s personal life who comes inside our house, we just want him to do his job well.  Why not, when we do so the “famous” who don’t come into our home in anything but through an entertainment medium?  The answer seems anything but unclear.  Because of spectacle.  Hedges is proven right again. 

Oh, the Places: Part II

Professor J,

Leaving Dublin, we sailed across to Liverpool,  the the next stop on our magical mystery tour. I'd booked a Beatles tour and we were met at the ship's terminal by our taxi driver, Rob. A knowledgeable and affable fellow.  Our 3 hour tour included stops at the childhood homes, Penny Lane, Strawberry Field (actually a girls' orphanage where John use to climb a tree to watch them undress), the church with Eleanor Rigby's grave out back, the church where John and Paul first met, and endless trivia and stories shared by our cabbie. Naturally between locations he played the song that best connected to our next stop.

 I was fascinated by the fact that Paul claims he made up the name Eleanor Rigby, that he'd never seen the gravestone or heard the name at all. That her name on that marker is a coincidence. Yet, given what we know about how much information the brain takes in that we are unaware of it seems very likely he saw it at some point and registered it in some unconscious way.

Then it was on to Glasgow, Belfast,  Edinburgh, and Invergordon:

  

There is one stop left on the places list, Normandy. As if to match your post about your visit to Arlington National Cemetary, I have the transatlantic companion. There aren't really any words to describe the feeling of the place. But my experience was profound in ways I didn't expect.  Beaches famous for fierce fighting and massive loss of life are now strewn with running children spending the day by the sea with sunbathing parents. Photos of beautiful landscapes marred by barbed wire. A carousel at the site of more heroic deeds and loss of life. 

 Arromanches-les-Bains (Gold Beach on D-Day) 

At Normandy American Cemetery

 Omaha Beach. The tour buses are lined up and tourists, mostly of a certain age visit the site and read the memorials. Pictures are taken, with no one exactly sure whether or not it is appropriate to smile in them. It seems like a sacred place.

Then just beyond where you see that stone monument there are steps going down to the beach. It took me by surprise to see these happy French families enjoying a holiday, children running and playing, parents laughing, sunning. I stood on the steps and looked up at older tourists, mostly American, pointing and discussing the historical significance of the place. I looked down and saw what could easily have been any beach in the world. I wondered what those men who died here would think of that. I could imagine that they might tell us that was exactly what they'd fought here for. After all what better memorial could there be than those free French children. I couldn't help but think that if they are aware of it, it would surely make them smile.

 The following pictures are taken in and around the machine gun nest at Pointe du Hoc:

Shakespeare, Where Art Thou Eternal Prose?

Madamest M:

Your European adventures are keeping me in fine envious green!

Something I left out of this summer’s travelogue.  The two statues outside the very Romanesque National Archives in DC.  These silent sages speak endless volumes, yet who is paying heed?

Does this news report sound familiar?

"The peoples to the east continue to thwart us and are ever a problem for us.  They foment dissent, undermine and threaten our allies, and disrupt our operations.  They refuse cooperation.  Military action may be necessary."

Report on present day Iran?  Nope.  Same area, but  the year was circa 250, and it was our predecessors, the Romans.

Well over three years into this joint blog, and do you not tire of my endless harping on this theme?  I am not primarily an ancient or classical historian per se, but the same regretful sighs hold forth!  But perhaps this public catharsis keeps the down-in-the-dumperies (how do you like this phraseology, lol) at bay! :)

And let us hope that Arnold Toynbee did not have it perfectly right when he said (I’m paraphrasing):  “When the last person who remembers the last terrible war is gone, the next terrible war becomes inevitable.” 

Because I’m just as hopeful as everybody that a new and better age can write better patterns in the human condition, and that the past does not dictate the future!s  That it can instruct so as to steer new paths away from colossal tragedies.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! Part I

Professor J,
Hope you are enjoying your current adventure. With all this chronicling of our recent travels a book came to mind. Oh, my. Our political brains really are having a holiday, aren't they?

This week we move on from people to places. A story best told with the use of pictures:

Our first stop was the Isle of Guernsey, where we visted The Little Chapel and the German Underground Hospital. Both were made famous in the book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Then it was on to Cork and Blarney castle. I didn't kiss the stone (who would really want me to have more of the gift of gab?) but was intrigued by the Poison Garden. They were growing marijuana and opium in it along with things like hemlock and wolfsbane. After a train ride back to Cobh (pronounced Cove) we happened upon a regatta and festival complete with an Irish rock band and crusty old fishermen bringing in their catches of the day. Ours was the last big ship of the season and so lots of townspeople and festival goers came down to the dock to wave as we sailed away. There were even ladies in turn of the century dresses and a band that played Anchors Away. Here's what I saw as we headed out to sea:

We awoke the next day to the industrial side of Dublin. I had 3 things on my list for this day. The Trinity College Library, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Old Jameson Distillery. But my main mission: that Library. After waiting an hour and a half we paid and the first part of the building is dedicated to the Book of Kells.  It was interesting but the library was tugging hard at my heart. When I finally got inside I was completely overjoyed. The space reminded me of a cathedral of wisdom. A church of the written word. I was reminded of the verse from Proverbs 4, Sell everything and buy wisdom! Part of me wanted to sit down in a corner someplace and cry for all the things I will never know.

What are you going to do after such an experience? Well, it's Ireland so head to a pub of course. And then to a church because...well, again, it's Ireland. :)

St. Patrick's was another overwhelming experience. Jonathon Swift and his wife are buried in the floor. One of the most interesting things to me was the Door of Reconciliation.   Next it was on to the Jameson Distillery, then a bit more walking before catching a cab back to the ship. 

Up next: Liverpool, Glasgow, Belfast, Edinburgh, and Invergordon.

The Professor Keeps His Brief On

Dearest Madame:

My phraseology needs improvement!

If the Brits and Australians think those things, and they are considered by political scientists to have a leg up on us across most measures of public trust, connectiveness, and social stability, what does say that say for our sorry arses?

The American fellow and his wife of 52 years. Now there’s some magic in that magical happenstance!  You are a good sociological chronicler.  Colleagues of mine, take note!

Yes, and typically, we only handle a circle of up to 16 close relationships inside that 150. The lengthy lecture was familiar somehow? Similar in method to who, prey tell? :)

While there are many drawbacks to living in large cities, there are some advantages, or at least avoidance of some of the problems found in too small and limited of social groups.  Not going to tangent off here into a windy treatise though, lol! (no doubt you and our readers are thinking—ha! That’ll be a first!)

Amazing isn’t it, how good people can be, in busting up stereotypes?  Kind of makes you wonder who (and why) is trying to make us afraid and untrusting of each other all the time.

The thrill to the old guy in Belfast: quite the card you are!  He might occasionally get it from a flirty Irish lass, but from an American!  Probably the talk of the month for him!

I see that my comments have been just lengthy enough that I should not insert anything else (and not heavy).  Continue, good Madame!

Oh the People You'll Meet

Professor J,

I was wondering how you had come to the conclusion some of our readers were "not so gentle."

Generally travelers set off with lists of important places they want to see while on their journey. The famous cathedral, monument, natural landscape or oddity, or well known restaurants or bars. We rarely intend to collect conversations as part of our travel memories, yet those always seem to be the things I remember most from my travels. I return home impressed with who I met and what I learned from them.  

In addition to the embassy worker and the Qatar flight crew we met a lot of smart, inquisitive people, and everyone seemed to have an opinion they wanted to share about one thing or another.

The Brits and Australians at dinner sounded a lot like many Americans you talk to. They are tired of their governments backing our government in military actions and paying the price. They are pretty sure only the craziest of their citizens are running for office. They are convinced whatever is being shown on the news isn't close to the real truth.

We found an amusing trend among pub patrons and cabbies. There was a lot of hostility toward people in other cities. In Dublin, we were told by the collection of men at the bar that if we were on our way to Glasgow, we'd better be damn careful, because it was a rough city and we'd be mugged. We were also informed that Margaret Thatcher "single handedly ruined that city. Glasgow use to be a beautiful city." A couple of days later in Glasgow residents were amused. "Of course people in Dublin would say that."  My husband shared the mugging prediction with a couple of policemen. "Aye. Have ya been mugged yet?" Of course every city has parts it would be safest to steer clear of. We chalked up this kind of talk to that.

At dinner one evening we sat with a couple who were celebrating their 52nd wedding anniversary. He was American and she was Mexican. They'd met when she was visiting a cousin in Southern California who lived next door to him.  The woman smiled as she told the story. "I didn't speak English and he didn't speak Spanish." Of course, my female curiosity had to know how they fell in love under those conditions. The man chimed in "When she went home I bought a Spanish dictionary and taught myself Spanish so I could write her letters." They had written each other letters for 3 years--"he wrote 3 for every 1 I wrote"--until he drove to Mexico city with several members of his family to marry her, arriving the week before the wedding to meet her family. They had 7 children all of whom were doctors, lawyers, or engineers and scads of grandchildren. They looked like they'd had the happiest life.

In the hot tub one afternoon I struck up a conversation with a man and his wife. He was a professor of business ethics at a university in Santiago, Chile and she was a "head hunter" for several major corporations. Our discussion quickly started with the lack of long term thinking among corporations and governments and covered several other topics until I finally asked what he thought the largest problem was. "Population. Specifically people living in cities." I was intrigued and remembered Dunbar's Law, which says that humans can only have approximately 150 real relationships. I asked if this was part of what he was speaking about. His eyes lit up. "Yes!" He gave a lengthy lecture on the effects of it. (It all seemed familiar somehow. :)) His basic theory was that once people moved into large groups and away from villages where everyone knew them from birth to death they gained a sort of anonymity that greatly affected their behavior. Decisions stopped being made for the good of the group and the self was exalted. Once that happened the short term thinking about what would be good for a single person became more important than long term thinking. He explained that he found the same thing happened in corporations the larger they became.

When he got all finished I asked what the solution was. As the words came out of my mouth his wife smiled a cryptic smile. He said, "Oh yes, my students ask that all the time. But there is no solution. This living in groups will kill us eventually most likely by a plague (he asked if I'd seen the movie, Contagion) and this he felt sure would happen in the next few decades.

Some other people entered the tub and broke our conversational spell but it was nearly time to get ready for dinner anyway, as stepped out of the tub he said "Enjoy the rest of your cruise, our species is going to end soon."

One of the things that impressed us most on our trip was just how genuinely kind people seemed to be, particularly in Scotland. My husband played a round of golf on the "wee course" (meaning 9 holes) and after we went to the clubhouse for a pint and a snack. The chef came out to chat with us and when we asked if we could use the phone to call a cab he insisted on driving us back to the ship himself. "It's 5 minutes out of my life, I'm not doing anything right now." We explained that after changing our clothes we wanted to catch the train and asked where it was. "I'll just drive you over to it so you  can see where your are going. It's 10 minutes out of my life."

A regular occurrence even in large cities was that if we were asking directions from someone 2 or 3 other people would stop to find out if we needed assistance and if they could help. Everyone was nice but the Scots seemed to be willing to go the extra mile.

We had lots of other random encounters. There was the Israeli dairy farmer, the woman who taught international folk dances as a profession, our bar tender who owned a rubber tree farm in Thailand, and an old guy who walked up to me at a bar in Belfast while my husband was in the bathroom and said "How long have you been sitting here waiting for me."

I told him it had been a really long time and I was beginning to wonder what had happened to him and that I thought maybe he'd changed his mind.

His two friends he'd come in with had the most priceless looks on their faces. :)

Welcoming Back The Traveler

Madame:

What happened whilst thou was away concerning readers?  What do you mean?

Your upset embassy worker echoes the book I’m reading about how the real struggle worldwide is between connection (literacy, technological linkage) and disconnection (deliberate ignorance, illiteracy, etc.).  I would robust the argument  by asserting that it is connection in all its forms that is the struggle, and those who seek to disrupt the globalization connection often do a very good job at the personal connection that is often missing in Western culture.

I do hope that once those Americans who travel only to Canada and/or Mexico are factored out of that 30+%, that the number is greater than the 8% figure your travel acquaintances mentioned.

I am not quite out of travels.  A buddy and I went on a biking adventure, doing 84 miles one of the days when we may not have been in that shape yet, lol.  It was a good trip, on a trail, away from vehicle traffic and along a river.  Very nice, even in the heat of the summer.  We saw a lot of wildlife.

About a month later, went to Las Vegas.  Lots of well-dressed, good looking people.  Good pool time, with expensive rental of a private area paid for by the husband of my buddy’s ex-wife.  Plus ate at Inn-N-Out Burger, which is pretty awesome for a fast food place, as all their stuff is both fresh and real. And incredibly reasonable, even if one wasn’t in Vegas!

Lots of hot clubs in Vegas, but most were so crowded even if you could get in. One of the best experiences, however, was eating  at Grand Wok and Sushi Bar at MGM Grand.  Had hot green tea, in a black iron pot. Poured into quality Japanese tea cup.  Had a yellowtail roll and sashimi, very good.  Had a Grand Wok Garden salad, great greens, with everything nicely chopped for maximum presentation and ease of eating.  Had wonderful Vietnamese Pho soup, with cinnamon broth and rice noodles.  Had brown rice Indonesian Nasi Goreng, a chicken, beef, egg, fried bananas, onions, fried rice, with wonderful plum sauce.  Awesomely good.

Ha! Our readers are going to wonder if we’ve sent our political brains on vacation too!

Socially Satisfying Sleep Deprivation

Well, Professor, you have certainly taken good care of our gentle (and "not so"--what on earth happened while I was away?) readers. I'm having a bit of trouble determining how best to sort out my travels. A day  by day account, once a week, could land us at some date near Christmas! I'm thinking people, places, food (and drink), observations, and the like instead.

But let's start with an overview: London, Southhampton (to set sail from same port as the Titanic), then Guernsey, Cork, Dublin, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Invergordon, and La Have before returning to Southampton and London again to fly home. An exhausting itinerary except that a cruise ship makes it possible to unpack once for such a journey and sleep in the same bed every night.

We arrived a day early with good intentions of checking into an airport hotel, having a nice dinner and a pint, then off to an early bedtime to start off our UK adventure fully rested and recovered from our long flight and loss of sleep.  But as we know, travel is full of surprises. The hotel receptionist directed to a neighborhood restaurant a few blocks away. It took us a moment to figure out there was one queue for ordering food and another one for ordering drink, but then each was brought to the table. While we stood in line a young woman behind me struck up a conversation with me about the news from Egypt being shown on the screen over our heads. She was from a middle eastern country working for the embassy of another one in London.

She found the news footage upsetting and proceeded to explain to me that the people rioting could neither read nor write and had no knowledge of world affairs or politics other than what their religious clerics share with them. She explained that a good man with modern ideas who could get himself elected could most likely not maintain control. "These people only respect strength. The need is for a very strong leader who also has a modern way of thinking, but I fear this cannot be found." We discussed her own country which has a reputation of stability which I was glad to hear, as it also has a site high on my travel list.

While I was engaged in this conversation my husband was chatting up a young man and woman in front of him in line. 

Which is how we ended up staying up all night drinking with a Sicilian, a Serb, and a Swede (guess which one was a girl? ;)) They were a crew of flight attendants on a layover for Qatar Airlines. They were quite curious about the number of Americans who are passport holders. They'd heard 8% someplace but I argued (only guessing) that the number must be closer to 30%. Luckily I wasn't far off with Forbes reporting last year that a record number of Americans, roughly 1/3, have their passports.

We eventually moved from the pub when it closed to our hotel lobby, where a bored night time manager was willing to open the bar back up for a little company. The evening was filled with discussions ranging from religion to politics, travel, family history, home, education, and love.

We began our UK adventure less rested than we'd hoped, but such encounters are always worth losing a little sleep over.

The DC Trip Concludes With National Stuff

Dear Readers:

Today concludes the DC travel chronicles.  Madame returns to these blog pages on Wednesday (Huzzah!).

First up was a trip to the National Cathedral.  Love the title below George Washington's statue.

Then it was on to the National Zoo, the finishing part of the trip before the evening flight.  This was a favorite of MFP’s, given her interest in animals, but we separated for a short time, and guess who ironically got to see the King Cobra vertical and hissing, the often shy Giant Pandas and Komodo Dragon, and guess who didn’t!

We both got to see the giant turtles though.