Right now. 8:00. December 30, 2015.
Muslim prayer calls.
Tibetan bowls.
Baby kittens crying.
Gamelan music playing.
Frogs.
Geckos.
Airplane overhead.
Kids playing.
Quiet talking in Japanese.
Crickets.
Fan whirling.
Moto in the distance.
And the over all effect is kind of a low key peaceful night.
Monday, November 30, 2015
There can be nothing weird in religious traditions. It is all pretty strange. 190,000,000 Indonesian Muslims live in respect.
tttttttttttt
Sisters of Charity, India.
Coptic Christians, Syria.
So, I asked the taxi driver (moto) whether he was Hindu. He said he is Muslim. Then he asked where I am from and I said USA and he said. "We are not ISIS." I said that I knew that and in fact I had never seen such a religiously tolerant place. He mused that God loves us all and if God isn't worried about what religion someone is, then why should he be. I was happy to agree.
I wanted to follow yesterday's blog with pictures of extremely weird traditional outfits from many faith traditions. Alas, my computer skills and my ability to tolerate frustration were not up to the task. I got two rather moderate and modest examples and then lost my other pictures.
I would love it if my readers would post some pictures from all over the planet of religious people duded up for the big service, or ceremony, or mass. People get freaked out in USA and France about the headscarf but look at Pope Francis on a big holiday mass. Look at a native American doing the Sun Ceremony. Look at the Amish. Look at a Mayan Shaman. It is all so marvelously strange and mysterious and exotic. Help me out here. Let's see what different looks like even in our own back yard.
These symbols of Christian perfection were cutting edge in creating the new Puritan role. If you gave Jim and Tammy your money then Jesus would love you and bring you prosperity. Worked pretty well for this couple. Not so much trickle down. They brought the church into your living room through TV and made their altar look like a living room. Not much fun there.
Mayan prayer.
Dalai Ceremony.
Would love to see your images of what is normal for your experience of God or Nature. It seems like every religious practice I have seen has some ancient roots in animism. Don't be offended if that is not true for your faith, I am just thinking about these things that seem to be very strongly influencing our politics...now and maybe since the beginning of time. I think the world would be a sad place if nobody believed in anything and likewise if we eliminate lovely traditions because they are different.
Sisters of Charity, India.
Coptic Christians, Syria.
So, I asked the taxi driver (moto) whether he was Hindu. He said he is Muslim. Then he asked where I am from and I said USA and he said. "We are not ISIS." I said that I knew that and in fact I had never seen such a religiously tolerant place. He mused that God loves us all and if God isn't worried about what religion someone is, then why should he be. I was happy to agree.
I wanted to follow yesterday's blog with pictures of extremely weird traditional outfits from many faith traditions. Alas, my computer skills and my ability to tolerate frustration were not up to the task. I got two rather moderate and modest examples and then lost my other pictures.
I would love it if my readers would post some pictures from all over the planet of religious people duded up for the big service, or ceremony, or mass. People get freaked out in USA and France about the headscarf but look at Pope Francis on a big holiday mass. Look at a native American doing the Sun Ceremony. Look at the Amish. Look at a Mayan Shaman. It is all so marvelously strange and mysterious and exotic. Help me out here. Let's see what different looks like even in our own back yard.
Mayan prayer.
Dalai Ceremony.
Would love to see your images of what is normal for your experience of God or Nature. It seems like every religious practice I have seen has some ancient roots in animism. Don't be offended if that is not true for your faith, I am just thinking about these things that seem to be very strongly influencing our politics...now and maybe since the beginning of time. I think the world would be a sad place if nobody believed in anything and likewise if we eliminate lovely traditions because they are different.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
"I am not interested in religion or politics."
To this person, I say, you might as well sit in a tree. Oops, some political deal could get that tree cut down. You are fundamentally nowhere as far as travel goes.
Just think about the politics of how people dress to worship. (and I don't know the half of it)
In the Catholic world, women used to have to cover their heads and no naked shoulders. Men had to take their hats off. Respect. Still necessary in many Catholic countries.
In the Buddhist temples, Everyone takes off shoes and you can not have the bottom of your feet facing a statue of Buddha. Women have to cover their knees and shoulders. Hats are not permitted. Shorts on men are frowned upon. (not a bad idea)
In Hindu temples and sacred places, men cover their head and wear a sarong over their pants. Women have to have a sarong and tie a sash around their waist, knotting it twice. No hats for women. Most wear a long sleeve shirt.
In Jewish Temples, men wear their little yarmulke. I don't know of dress regulations for women. Clothing regulations get quite severe for Orthodox Jews. You have seen them in black, side locks, hats on men.
In Mosques, shoes off, men and women separate. More fundamental requirements are that no hair shows on the women and they are completely covered from head to toe. Less strict practices are common in many countries.
How about those Mormons? The strict women wear this temple undergarment that buttons everything up. They don't even take it off during childbirth if an outsider is present. They wear Little House on the Prairie outfits. Never thought about it but maybe Laura and her family were Mormons.
It gets weirder and weirder. Some Mayans put wood blocks on their babies heads to make them more square. They wear a lot of ribbons and certain colors (White shirt, red pants) for ceremonies and feathers.
Native Americans put hooks through their skin for the sun dance.
Africans have a million varieties of worship appropriate clothing. Tats and body piercings and dead animals on their heads. It gets exciting!
The point is that even taking one tiny tiny corner of religion such as appropriate clothing, it would be very hard to go just about anywhere and not find it interesting. The art, the music, the dance, the poetry, the wisdom traditions that have come from the stunning variety of religious experiences is, for moi, one of the first most interesting aspects of travel.
Just think about the politics of how people dress to worship. (and I don't know the half of it)
In the Catholic world, women used to have to cover their heads and no naked shoulders. Men had to take their hats off. Respect. Still necessary in many Catholic countries.
In the Buddhist temples, Everyone takes off shoes and you can not have the bottom of your feet facing a statue of Buddha. Women have to cover their knees and shoulders. Hats are not permitted. Shorts on men are frowned upon. (not a bad idea)
In Hindu temples and sacred places, men cover their head and wear a sarong over their pants. Women have to have a sarong and tie a sash around their waist, knotting it twice. No hats for women. Most wear a long sleeve shirt.
In Jewish Temples, men wear their little yarmulke. I don't know of dress regulations for women. Clothing regulations get quite severe for Orthodox Jews. You have seen them in black, side locks, hats on men.
In Mosques, shoes off, men and women separate. More fundamental requirements are that no hair shows on the women and they are completely covered from head to toe. Less strict practices are common in many countries.
How about those Mormons? The strict women wear this temple undergarment that buttons everything up. They don't even take it off during childbirth if an outsider is present. They wear Little House on the Prairie outfits. Never thought about it but maybe Laura and her family were Mormons.
It gets weirder and weirder. Some Mayans put wood blocks on their babies heads to make them more square. They wear a lot of ribbons and certain colors (White shirt, red pants) for ceremonies and feathers.
Native Americans put hooks through their skin for the sun dance.
Africans have a million varieties of worship appropriate clothing. Tats and body piercings and dead animals on their heads. It gets exciting!
The point is that even taking one tiny tiny corner of religion such as appropriate clothing, it would be very hard to go just about anywhere and not find it interesting. The art, the music, the dance, the poetry, the wisdom traditions that have come from the stunning variety of religious experiences is, for moi, one of the first most interesting aspects of travel.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
A Challenge to You Thirty-Somethings, and a Few of You Young Forties.
Part of your particular brilliance is making systems that work and making systems that disrupt systems that don't work. That being said and agreed upon by myself, I wonder whether you haven't been thinking much too small and maybe been a little stuck in your own safety zone. This is meant as a challenge.
I understand that you have changed the world. I see smart phones and Internet connections everywhere. ATMs are everywhere. Instant translations and maps are at every one's fingertips. But, in the USA, cities and communities are failing everyone. Bad transportation, inadequate housing, widespread hunger, shocking ignorance...that kind of shit is everywhere.
I understand that it is hard to take care of people when we spend most of our budget on war. I know that there is a lot of Ayn Rand thinking behind many of our selfish attitudes, but I think it is time to make something to be proud of. And, I was thinking , "Where better than Seattle?"
Seattle has money. Think Microsoft. Think Amazon. Think Boeing. And think of so many millionaires. Seattle has big problems; lousy roads, horribly inadequate public transport, inadequate housing for those with and without money, old, stupid infrastructure, overburdened schools, run away growth, hunger, homelessness, too many geese, all the usual stuff.
What would happen if you decided to be the city of the future? Now? Fast? Could you combine your collective genius and creativity and money and make the best, fastest, coolest transportation on the planet? If you can make bombers and drones, you can do this. What if you decided that every citizen deserves healthy whole fresh food daily? You could do that. What if you offered an education that would prepare every single kid to work in the highest level of her field? You could do that. If your fear is that by doing this you would lose your edge financially, I think that is crazy thinking. As each other city gets more behind and dirtier and more crowded, wouldn't people pay to play in your town? The answer is 'yes'.
And I mean fast. There is no time for a twenty year plan or a ten year one. Get going. Cut through the crap. Don't listen to stupid shit designed to maintain the status quo. You could do all this in a year or at most two if you want. Many solutions are already out there in other countries. Go to it. No more excuses. You know how to connect, you know how to raise $, you know how to design systems, you know how to change things.
I understand that you have changed the world. I see smart phones and Internet connections everywhere. ATMs are everywhere. Instant translations and maps are at every one's fingertips. But, in the USA, cities and communities are failing everyone. Bad transportation, inadequate housing, widespread hunger, shocking ignorance...that kind of shit is everywhere.
I understand that it is hard to take care of people when we spend most of our budget on war. I know that there is a lot of Ayn Rand thinking behind many of our selfish attitudes, but I think it is time to make something to be proud of. And, I was thinking , "Where better than Seattle?"
Seattle has money. Think Microsoft. Think Amazon. Think Boeing. And think of so many millionaires. Seattle has big problems; lousy roads, horribly inadequate public transport, inadequate housing for those with and without money, old, stupid infrastructure, overburdened schools, run away growth, hunger, homelessness, too many geese, all the usual stuff.
What would happen if you decided to be the city of the future? Now? Fast? Could you combine your collective genius and creativity and money and make the best, fastest, coolest transportation on the planet? If you can make bombers and drones, you can do this. What if you decided that every citizen deserves healthy whole fresh food daily? You could do that. What if you offered an education that would prepare every single kid to work in the highest level of her field? You could do that. If your fear is that by doing this you would lose your edge financially, I think that is crazy thinking. As each other city gets more behind and dirtier and more crowded, wouldn't people pay to play in your town? The answer is 'yes'.
And I mean fast. There is no time for a twenty year plan or a ten year one. Get going. Cut through the crap. Don't listen to stupid shit designed to maintain the status quo. You could do all this in a year or at most two if you want. Many solutions are already out there in other countries. Go to it. No more excuses. You know how to connect, you know how to raise $, you know how to design systems, you know how to change things.
Great Article About How the World is Leaving USA in the Dust.
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/21/1353411/-Infrastructure-advances-in-the-rest-of-the-world-will-blow-your-mind?detail=emailclassic
If this is obvious to me, and it is. It is certainly obvious to the rest of the world.
If this is obvious to me, and it is. It is certainly obvious to the rest of the world.
Massive Changes in the Travel Scene. Ya, Massive.
Much of the world is very different these days for a lot of reasons. On the travel front, here is the big news: The Chinese, the Indians, the Russians, and the South Koreans have a shit ton of money and they have hit the road. Remember that there are 3 billion Chinese and lots of Indians. Yes, many do not share in the extreme wealth, but it takes only a small percentage of 3 billion to drastically change the picture. And changed it is. And it is only the tip of the iceberg.
Let that sink in. It is a massive, huge movement of people who until very recently stayed buckled up at home struggling to make ends meet. People from the USA have never been big travelers. People from Europe and Australia certainly have a deep travel tradition. But their numbers are so small comparatively, you hardly notice them. This is my news of the day.
So, if I take a tour in Northern Thailand, everyone I meet is Chinese or Korean. This is not a bad thing, it is just new. And like a lot of newly rich people, they are spendy. Don't offer to split the bill with these groups. By the same token, there is a lot of generosity especially because of the respect my grey hair brings to me.
Another thing I have noticed is that there is little or no curiosity about the USA and our provincial little agonies. We just are an old fashioned curiosity. These countries are developing at warp speed and we are debating things that were solved ages ago. Mostly, we are not interesting except for our few famously famous points. We like guns. We hate blacks, Mexicans, Arabs. We make movies. Steve Jobs and the iphone is known, as is our disrespect for different religious beliefs. And we keep trying to occupy countries and are not good at it. They all reference "The American War.' We seem to call it "The Vietnam War." These are the things most people from other countries who travel know about the USA.
Let that sink in. It is a massive, huge movement of people who until very recently stayed buckled up at home struggling to make ends meet. People from the USA have never been big travelers. People from Europe and Australia certainly have a deep travel tradition. But their numbers are so small comparatively, you hardly notice them. This is my news of the day.
So, if I take a tour in Northern Thailand, everyone I meet is Chinese or Korean. This is not a bad thing, it is just new. And like a lot of newly rich people, they are spendy. Don't offer to split the bill with these groups. By the same token, there is a lot of generosity especially because of the respect my grey hair brings to me.
Another thing I have noticed is that there is little or no curiosity about the USA and our provincial little agonies. We just are an old fashioned curiosity. These countries are developing at warp speed and we are debating things that were solved ages ago. Mostly, we are not interesting except for our few famously famous points. We like guns. We hate blacks, Mexicans, Arabs. We make movies. Steve Jobs and the iphone is known, as is our disrespect for different religious beliefs. And we keep trying to occupy countries and are not good at it. They all reference "The American War.' We seem to call it "The Vietnam War." These are the things most people from other countries who travel know about the USA.
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