Shocking News From Home

So, I miss home like whoa, pretty much all the time. I miss the neighbourhood I grew up in - I miss the streets I used to walk. Like Dunbar. But this is not how I like to be reminded of it. 

I'm really shocked that the cockroach simile is getting used in Dunbar to refer to human beings. All I can think of is Rwanda...I know this is hardly RTLM level, but any time that kind of dehumanising language is used in public discourse it's intensely frightening. 

The assumption that there are no homeless in Dunbar also seems to go unchallenged, even in the article - which is bizarre, since it's just clearly not true.

And worst of all, these people play some sort of representative role for people who, like me, grew up in this neighbourhood. And it makes me sick. 

So I wrote a little note: 

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am a long-time resident of the Dunbar area - although I am currently away at university, I grew up and spent twenty years of my life in and around Dunbar street. I love the neighbourhood.

Sadly, though, I was shocked and appalled to read this story: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/04/23/bc-dunbar-panhandlers-email.html 

I could not believe that the residents association for the area that I was privilege enough to grow up in would display such atrocious attitudes! The entire thrust of the statement was bad enough, but comparing the homeless to cockroaches really made my stomach churn. That's precisely the kind of dehumanising language used to justify and facilitate crimes against humanity. 

I'm sure that the resident's association didn't mean to use the same terms as the genocidaires in Rwanda, but you did support the criminalisation of poverty and homelessness. I am ashamed to see such lack of compassion, and such a NIMBY attitude in my neighbourhood. 

Rather than tying up police time and contributing to the problem, perhaps the resident's association could do something constructive for the problem? A public apology for the attitude, and especially the chosen language, would certainly be a good start. But beyond that, the resident's association should look into taking a collection for one of the many charities working to address homelessness. 

Last, I'd just like to say that contrary to public perception, there ARE homeless people who live in the community. While a number of organisations already do good work helping where they can, it would benefit us all if the residents association recognised that the homeless are our neighbours too - and not somebody else's problem to be moved along by the police.

I look forward to your response,

Teddy Harrison

They have a feedback form here if anyone else wants to add their voice. 

Torture Revelations

I don't know why this hadn't occurred to me as a possibility, but it never crossed my mind. I suppose I was so caught up in the even-if arguments: even if you're trying to get information to stop further attacks, even if you're sure they know something, even if you're sure they're bad guys, you still shouldn't torture. 

So wrapped up in that, that I didn't think this might have been your straight-up inquisition-style torture people to make them tell you what you want, even when it's clearly not true. But apparently some of the latest revelations are that the abusive interrogations techniques (i.e. torture) were used to try to prove the false Saddam Hussein - 9/11 attacks link. No wonder they had to waterboard Kalid Sheik Muhammed 183 times in a month. The month? March 2003. 

Puts a whole new, disgusting, evil light on things. 

Good Friday Reading

To make sure I'm not spouting nonesense in my thesis, I'm doing a little reading. Right now it is Desmond Tutu's No Future Without Forgiveness, and its a real treat.

This is just here as a note to myself, but written here the better to ensure I am held to it: if I am not in school next year, I am going to take the opportunity to read books that are well-written and interest me, and simply take from them what I will. 

Shining Through

Sometimes, it seems, the human spirit is indomitable. 

This weekend was not a good one for news. While North Korea gave us what John Stewart has helpfully named "The Last Thing We F@#king Need" in the form of a fresh missile test, Italy was hit with a powerful and horrific earthquake. 

So when that's on the mind, it's nice to hear a glimmer of hope shining through. From the heart of the destruction, "A 98-year-old woman was pulled out alive in L'Aquila after being trapped for 30 hours, local media report. She spent the time crocheting." [BBC]

Where would we be without indomitable grandmothers? 

Happy thoughts for a Sunday morning

• I can hear a clock tower (St. Barnabas, I believe) from where I live now. Faintly, so as not to wake me up, but just so as to chime in a comforting way. It definitely feels like returning from exile. 
• In a clear sign that this is where I should be living, my first effort with pancakes on the new stove turned out beautifully, first try. That never happens!

This importance of a desk

All this moving (4 homes in a month!) has made me think a lot about hearth and home, and what is important in a place to live. The phrase "hearth and home" gives some clue as to what used to be important - the fireplace used to be central to dwelling. As much as I am a fan of sitting around the fire, and perhaps nothing is more fully homely, it's just not that central in modern life. Perhaps the kitchen takes this role for me; I've found the ability to cook - and cook properly, not to microwave things - is something that makes me feel pretty grounded. 

As someone pretty used to sleeping on floors and couches and bus or plane seats, this one might seem a little odd - but a decent bed is also pretty important. I think it may be that, while its actually pretty easy to get minimal rest anywhere, over the long term you need somewhere to fully retreat from the world. That probably means a bed at least as long as you are, that doesn't mess with your back, and at least 8 hours a night quiet enough to get proper shut-eye.

But the last one - and the one most surprising to me - is a desk. I figure this is probably a personality/occupational specific one. I'm sure for a lot of people a desk isn't so central. But lets face it - I may not necessarily end up "an academic", but I'm academic in the sense that whatever I do, its going to revolve around a desk of some sort. And although I thought that meant any flat service, the quality of the desk probably has a lot to do with how grounded I am. My desk at home, for instance - aside from just being beautiful - has a family heritage that is particularly grounding. It's also stocked with all the bits of stationery I've hoarded over the years, meaning that I'm fairly well equipped for most situations. In fact, when I had to set up tabs rooms for tournaments, I usually brought a box full of everything, so that I could set up a mobile deskspace that was at the very least functional - and it helped a lot. The other desk there was the first grown-up thing I bought with my own money, and signalled my transition to university. 

I suppose in many ways I can work on any flat surface - but if its not a good desk, or more if its not become my desk, then it really does have an impact. Jobs I've done, for instance, where the desk is super anonymous and you don't customise it much, feel inevitably temporary. The desk in dorm last year in Oxford was a little like that - it was a big table, really, and while it was fairly functional it contributed to the sincerely temporary feeling of the place. This year has been bizarre; the desk in my first place was just not functional at all, and meant it was nearly impossible to work there. In between places have varied. But this new place - well, the desk "described as Sherlock Holmes-esque" is a beauty. It's old, dark wood...it hasn't been treated well, and so is falling apart, but that somehow adds to it all. And its got plenty of drawyers and pockets for things. So it feels mine already, and functional, and a place to get work done. And I've only been here two days and already it feels very homely sitting here. Oh, the big window with sunshine helps too ;) 

Solidarity

Solidarity seems to mean a lot of things to a lot of people. While it took on pretty specific meaning in the union movement (one I sometimes seem to worry it is losing), there is at base some notion of a unity of feeling. In that way, if in no other, it seems to have a lot in common with compassion. 

Anyway, its a feeling and an idea I like. So I just wanted to record one way that I feel solidarity. Somehow, when I'm working alone on schoolwork (particularly at night), knowing that all over the place my friends are doing the same thing at the same time gives me a feeling - perhaps of unity of purpose, perhaps of suffering together - but its a feeling I like and hold onto. And somehow, being connected by the internet, with even the potential of instant communication - even if I don't actually talk to anybody - makes the solidarity somehow more real. 

A little more constructive...

So, I've been thinking. As per usual. But a lot of people are pointing out that we're in a bit of global crisis right now. Not only are we witnessing a direct meltdown of capitalism, in the form of a global financial crisis & recession/depression (depending on how gloomy you are), but its looking increasingly like we are pretty much doomed on the environmental front. 

I prefer not to be gloomy, as it is spring. I feel like the basic point is that we need radical change - but radical change doesn't have to be huge or even difficult, it just has to be fundamental. And there are lots of ways of accomplishing that. So I thought I would think about things we can do with our time that are fun and fulfilling, but require fewer resources and do less damage. 

So here we go:

1. libraries - using the library is free to you, but also the unit cost of another person using the library is negligible to the system. basically, its a matter of sharing resources that already exist. which is pretty awesome. also, there are some very cool libraries out there. and it's really fun, I discovered, to just go look for "a book", in general, rather than a specific book. you avoid disappointment when things aren't in - and I've found some of the best books I've ever read this way. (e.g.)
2. used books - if you can't find what you're looking for at the library, and really want to read that particular book, used book stores are a good bet. or if you want to build your own library, I suppose. but you can often get a good used book for less than it would cost to rent a movie! and you usually get more entertainment (time-wise) out of the book - plus you get to keep it! which means afterwards you can share it with friends (and get more books in exchange) - or even share with people you don't know
3. biking - uses way less resources than most transit to get you around, plus it gives you exercise (saving health care resources down the road?), is fun, and gets you outside. it's also a pretty quick way of getting around and hugely extends the range of what things are close and accessible. apparently it adds years to your life...if you don't believe me, believe them. also, apparently driving and getting stuck in traffic not only makes you angry, it gives you heart attacks. 
4. skill-sharing - teaching is fun. learning is fun. teach somebody you know something you know and they don't. then vice versa. it'll be great. 
5. old magazines - may be fun to read, at least selectively. but also great for cutting up and using to make collages and cards and things. I'm pretty sure you can get ahold of these for free...I would try local libraries (see what they do with old issues), coffee shops that have magazines, and anywhere that has them in a waiting room - dentist's offices, barber shops, etc. if all else fails you can usually get a box of them at the end of a church rummage sale for $1.

So there's five ideas...I'm sure there are tons more out there. This is a great list of other ideas.

Return of the Blog

Once again, I have utterly failed to write on here for a long time. Once again, I remedy this with a pointless post. 

Rhythm is really hard to spell. I realise that in writing, this makes little sense, since you can see how to spell it. But I can never remember. I try to put in a second y, which is clear wrong. But then  try to look it up, and forget the first h, and then can't find it. It's very vexing. 

Anyway, I'm hoping that by making a big deal of it, I will remember in future. Fingers crossed...

Birthdays

Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were both born on this day, 200 years ago. 

You two were pretty sweet for a Tab and a Yank - happy 200th!

Oh, and steam trains...

So this one I don't think heralds a return to anything, but is just sort of cool. A group of volunteers have been working since 1990 to create a new steam engine that can run on the main lines in Britain - contributors donated the price of a pint of beer a week, and experts donated their time, and just recently they've finished! The train has made its first runs, including a long-distance run from Yorkshire to London. It's worth scrolling down on that one to see the photo of the steam train pulling into the station alongside a modern engine. 

A New Age of Sail?

I've been musing for a while to anyone who will listen that maybe, in the future, there will be a return to sail as a way to transport commercial goods. After all, as fuel gets increasingly expensive, why not transfer goods that aren't particularly time-sensitive by a completely non-polluting and awesome form of transport? Of course, there are probably lots of issues involving unreliable weather and more expensive crew, but still, a boy can dream, no?

Well, I'm apparently way behind the time. The return of sail has already started - there's a French company shipping wine by sail to other parts of  Europe, starting last year with a run to Dublin but with big plans for expansion. They've had at least one more ship running, but have chartered five. So far its mostly just carrying fair-trade, luxury goods, but even at that the French Association of Shipowners predicts that sailing ships could get up to 1/2 a percent of the shipping market worldwide (which is probably more than it sounds). Details here. 

I had know that they were  using fancy computer-controlled "Sky Sails" (giant kites, basically) to reduce fuel consumption on ships, but a return to actual sail for shipping is just so incredibly cool. 

Old and New

There's an old riddle about a town with two barbershops - one barber has a great haircut, the other's is terrible. Who do you go to? The guy with the terrible haircut, of course, as the barbers must cut one another's hair. 

This isn't quite the same, but I think it might be a generally useful rule of thumb that if there are pretty old buildings and ugly new buildings, you probably don't actually want to be in the pretty old ones. You want to be in the ugly but functional new one next to the ugly old one, so that you can sit in comfort looking at the prettiness of the new one, rather than freezing in the gloom staring at a concrete monstrosity. 

On a related note, props to Lord Rothemere and Vere Harmsworth, whoever you are, for creating the only place I know in Oxford that is reliably quiet, warm, and sufficiently well lit to actually get work done. I guess they save enough energy on the compact flourescent bulbs and motion-censor stack lights that they can put little space heaters next to each study carrel (oh, and the having individual study carrels? also good work...) Oh, and building yourself next to Mansfield gardens, which are pretty.

Sometimes we win a little

So I'm just finishing up an edited volume on Virtue Ethics, which is on the whole interesting but a lot of it is not actually as relevant to my research as I think my supervisor thought it would be when she assigned it to me. Also, some of the articles are boring, others are stupid, and a couple were both, which is mega-frustrating. 

But...

The good part is that the very last article is pretty amazing, and insightful, and I think super-helpful to my research. AND I reached the very insightful conclusion just as the Great Gate of Kiev started to play, so it felt very much like a climactic eureka movement. Which was about as exciting as it gets for spending the whole day in the library, really...

some more words

aretaic - (adj) - of or pertaining to virtue or excellence
from Ancient Greek ἀρετή (aretē, “virtue or excellence”)

rebarbative - (adj) - unattractive and objectionable
from Old French se rebarber (to face each other "beard to beard", i.e. aggressively)

ephemera - (n pl.) - (1) things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time (2) collected items, typically written ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term popularity

Could this work?

Er, so nobody is likely to care about this, but anyways, I thought about it walking home from the grocery store (mostly because being entirely unable to solve my current space/storage issues makes me turn to speculating about future ones):

On workbenches, it's common to nail the lids of a number jars to the underside of a board - then you have handy containers for nails and screws etc. 

Would it be possible to do similar in a kitchen - attach a number of jars to the underside of a (sturdily-built) cupboard? Then you could fill the jars with lentils, beans, rice, etc. Not only would it avoid spillage, I think it would end up quite pretty (with all the different colours)...kinda like the displays with jars of beads at bead stores. 

Is there some reason I'm missing that this couldn't work and thus isn't as standard in kitchens as it is on workbenches? 

le retour, 2009

Returning to Oxford (which I've now down quite a few times) has brought a variety of feelings - bewilderment about where really home is, nervousness about new places to live, excitement for new terms, and so on. This time, I was mostly feeling anxious in the lead-up; this was probably the least I've ever wanted to come back.

But the return itself was much better than expected. I had a relatively smooth journey, with only small delays and the compensation of an empty seat beside me and no screaming children nearby. Arriving back at my lodgings was much more pleasant than I thought - it doesn't feel like home (even as much as my room last year did) but it does feel like a place that I live. There was at least a sufficient degree of comfortableness and familiarity for me to be pleasantly surprised. Plus, the welcome I received from my landlords was incredibly warm...apparently they like having me as a tenant and I compare favourably to previous lodgers. The books were also well-received, by parents and children alike. Oh, plus the older child has started pre-school, and I'm hoping that will help. 

And then it was just groceries, cooking, unpacking (don't think I forgot anything absolutely crucial, just a few bits and bobs) and hopefully a good nights sleep!