Wednesday, January 28, 2009
So this is America...?
Reading the Australian papers I noted that last month that the battle for an Australian Bill of Rights has been renewed. It is interesting because, as I tell my students in the Civil Rights class here at UCSD, the US system with its guaranteed constitutional rights and freedoms is a world apart from the Australian experience. Even while the content of some of the Amendment rights is problematic (I have a sneaking suspicion they could do without the Second Amendment right to bear arms, for example, a view that I know is shared by Michael Moore) the right to freedom of speech would be considered fundamental and basic. The events on campus in recent weeks have made me realize just how violent the exchanges over “freedom of speech” can be. At the height of the bombing and attack upon Gaza by Israeli forces the Ethnic Studies Department released a statement on its webpage (see http://ethnicstudiesucsd.wordpress.com/ ). It was not partisan or biased in my opinion, but was raising the valid issue of force being used against innocent women and children in the attacks upon Hamas forces and personnel. I was unprepared for the hysterical response that followed with pro-Israeli students demanding to see the Department chair and declaring that the Department was adopting a pro-Palestinian position. One posting demanded that the statement be taken down “or reversed”. It is quite a revelation to experience such entrenched, didactic and violent views in, of all places, a University. What made me think twice was the cautionary note from some faculty, who are young activists involved in the hard-edge of community activism in places like Oakland, that we needed to be careful not to expose the faculty members to danger. The realization that the posting of an anti-war position could lead to conflict, harassment or even violence made me realize, all of a sudden, how far the USA is from downtown Yandoit. Or perhaps the world is changing and I just haven’t caught on. Either way it has taken the edge off the Obama dream, just a little.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Talking bout an inauguration * (to the tune of Tracy Chapman’s Talkin bout the revolution)
Talking bout an inauguration * (to the tune of Tracy Chapman’s Talkin bout the revolution)
Part Two: Even the trees are talking about Obama
Along with most people in the US I switched on to watch the coverage of the inauguration…and was amazed at the more than million people there in temperatures around or below freezing. We didn’t venture out but all over the town (and country) there were inauguration parties being held. In the end it didn’t disappoint because it had it all, including:
• Controversy- the choice of the evangelical preacher Rick Warren to give the invocation at the start of proceedings had people scratching their heads. Prior to the day his website had actually posted statements to the effect that gays could not join his congregation. It was thought Obama would revoke the invitation as it offended so many of those who supported him, but he didn’t. The prayer in itself was innocuous although it still insisted on the Christian Jesus, which they don’t usually do in the US (or so I am told).
• Conspiracy – the stumble of the Chief Justice in the swearing in where he asked Obama to repeat that he took on the office of “President to the United States”, not of. Obama waited and the Chief Justice corrected it and it went on, but of course the right wing nutters were querying whether it meant that Obama’s inauguration had therefore been rendered invalid. In fact (from the saturation coverage on public radio) I learned that Obama became President at midday and the oath had nothing to do with it. Then again the nutters are still clinging to a theory that Obama was not really born in the US, and that his birth certificate was actually faked. Gotta love those looneys.
• Humour – the sight of Cheney being wheeled out for the last time and people making the observation that he looked like Dr Strangelove. A very evil man who will hopefully be indicted for his shameless (continuing) support of torture.
• Obama’s speech – not up there with his best like the speech on race or his acceptance speech on the night of the election. He was almost playing down the crowd, bringing down the lofty expectations lest people start expecting too much. Nonetheless it was amusing to observe some of the very pointed digs he made at the outgoing President.
• The closing prayer – now that was what I expected of Obama. Old time charisma, almost a prayer meeting of the gospel type and even some humour. Have to say that the humour was not appreciated by all and sundry, so when Rev Joseph Lowery made reference to a change in the conditions for racial minorities there was the predictable outrage from the right wing moral majority types. What the Reverend, an old time civil rights activist actually said was:
Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest,
and in the joy of a new beginning,
we ask you to help us work for that day
when black will not be asked to get in back,
when brown can stick around,
when yellow will be mellow,
when the red man can get ahead, man;
and when white will embrace what is right.
That all those who do justice and love mercy
say Amen
Of course some on the right had a fit of apoplexy, calling it racism, with the reference that “white will embrace what is right.”. I laughed, saw other people in the crowd laugh, I think even Obama laughed. If you listened to the whole prayer it was not offensive, just humour interjected and of a topic that most of the time (much less at a major public event) Americans just don’t touch.
• The goodbye – As Bush climbed into the helicopter to be flown to the nearby air base for the final flight from DC the crowd started spontaneously singing to the departing helicopter “Na Na Na, Hey Hey, goodbye” (an old song from 1969 by a band called “Steam” – which I only know because of the joys of being able to google things). Priceless!!!
• An only in California moment – Finally, there was the moment when I received an email at work saying that the inauguration would be broadcast on campus. There is an installation on campus of some old eucalyptus trees that were burned and they have been placed in a stand of living trees and the fake trees have been turned into a multi media installation. During the year music or voices are piped and you can’t tell the fake trees from the surrounding gum trees (which are all over the campus) but on inauguration day they were piping Obama’s big day. So on the day the Obama became the 44th US President even the trees were singing his praise…which struck me as appropriate and so very, very Californian.
Part Two: Even the trees are talking about Obama
Along with most people in the US I switched on to watch the coverage of the inauguration…and was amazed at the more than million people there in temperatures around or below freezing. We didn’t venture out but all over the town (and country) there were inauguration parties being held. In the end it didn’t disappoint because it had it all, including:
• Controversy- the choice of the evangelical preacher Rick Warren to give the invocation at the start of proceedings had people scratching their heads. Prior to the day his website had actually posted statements to the effect that gays could not join his congregation. It was thought Obama would revoke the invitation as it offended so many of those who supported him, but he didn’t. The prayer in itself was innocuous although it still insisted on the Christian Jesus, which they don’t usually do in the US (or so I am told).
• Conspiracy – the stumble of the Chief Justice in the swearing in where he asked Obama to repeat that he took on the office of “President to the United States”, not of. Obama waited and the Chief Justice corrected it and it went on, but of course the right wing nutters were querying whether it meant that Obama’s inauguration had therefore been rendered invalid. In fact (from the saturation coverage on public radio) I learned that Obama became President at midday and the oath had nothing to do with it. Then again the nutters are still clinging to a theory that Obama was not really born in the US, and that his birth certificate was actually faked. Gotta love those looneys.
• Humour – the sight of Cheney being wheeled out for the last time and people making the observation that he looked like Dr Strangelove. A very evil man who will hopefully be indicted for his shameless (continuing) support of torture.
• Obama’s speech – not up there with his best like the speech on race or his acceptance speech on the night of the election. He was almost playing down the crowd, bringing down the lofty expectations lest people start expecting too much. Nonetheless it was amusing to observe some of the very pointed digs he made at the outgoing President.
• The closing prayer – now that was what I expected of Obama. Old time charisma, almost a prayer meeting of the gospel type and even some humour. Have to say that the humour was not appreciated by all and sundry, so when Rev Joseph Lowery made reference to a change in the conditions for racial minorities there was the predictable outrage from the right wing moral majority types. What the Reverend, an old time civil rights activist actually said was:
Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest,
and in the joy of a new beginning,
we ask you to help us work for that day
when black will not be asked to get in back,
when brown can stick around,
when yellow will be mellow,
when the red man can get ahead, man;
and when white will embrace what is right.
That all those who do justice and love mercy
say Amen
Of course some on the right had a fit of apoplexy, calling it racism, with the reference that “white will embrace what is right.”. I laughed, saw other people in the crowd laugh, I think even Obama laughed. If you listened to the whole prayer it was not offensive, just humour interjected and of a topic that most of the time (much less at a major public event) Americans just don’t touch.
• The goodbye – As Bush climbed into the helicopter to be flown to the nearby air base for the final flight from DC the crowd started spontaneously singing to the departing helicopter “Na Na Na, Hey Hey, goodbye” (an old song from 1969 by a band called “Steam” – which I only know because of the joys of being able to google things). Priceless!!!
• An only in California moment – Finally, there was the moment when I received an email at work saying that the inauguration would be broadcast on campus. There is an installation on campus of some old eucalyptus trees that were burned and they have been placed in a stand of living trees and the fake trees have been turned into a multi media installation. During the year music or voices are piped and you can’t tell the fake trees from the surrounding gum trees (which are all over the campus) but on inauguration day they were piping Obama’s big day. So on the day the Obama became the 44th US President even the trees were singing his praise…which struck me as appropriate and so very, very Californian.
Talkin bout the Inauguration (part one)
Talking bout an inauguration * (to the tune of Tracy Chapman’s Talkin bout the revolution)
Part One: Obama – the “real deal”
Well the Obama coronation…oops I mean inauguration…has come and gone. Unlike many blockbuster events it lived up to the hype. In fact it was so true to the plot that I often thought I had blundered onto an episode of the “West Wing”. There is no doubting the expectations, call it the vaunting hope of much (even most) of the population that is projected upon Obama. On that spookily apt website “Stuff that White Folks like” it lists Obama as one thing because white folks are scared of being called racist if they don’t like him. It is funny, yes, but very wide of the mark. Looking around the crowd on election night, at the inauguration and even at the faces on the campus there is a genuine fervour. It is more than just the relief of release after eight years of Bush. There is something about Obama that inspires and captivates in a way that I imagine that JFK in the heyday of his Camelot mesmerised the US people. And it is beyond the US too. Just as JFK offered up “Ich bin ein Berliner” the rapturous greeting of Obama in that same city prior to the election was a clear indication that the world was ready for someone like him. Undoubtedly he ticks all the boxes. I was prompted to think (again) of the West Wing when Josh Lynam tries to recruit the character Sam (Rob Lowe) to join the Matt Santos (read: Obama) campaign for President. Previously they had worked for President Jeb Bartlett (Martin Sheen) – who was everyone’s dream of what a President should be (perhaps until now?). Josh tries to recruit Sam back to the world of political electioneering and ells him Santos is the “real deal”. Well Matt Santos is/was Obama and, in a long winded roundabout way, I have to say Obama is the “real deal.”
So what then are the things that go to making the “real deal”? Well, for a start, he works out everyday and even went shirtless while holidaying in Hawaii over Christmas, sending the wire services into melt-down. Big plus having a jock President who loves to play pick-up basketball but doesn’t look like he has stumbled off the set of a Rambo shoot when he goes shirtless (which is the effect that Putin had when he was snapped in the outdoors, in his battle fatigues and sans shirt) Secondly, Obama is a geek, embraced by the geeks as one of their own for his love of comic books and all things technical, and in particular his Blackberry. The distinction between McCain and him in the election campaign was made so clear when McCain confided that his wife did his “internet stuff”. Importantly, however, as one techno-geek on radio commented, there is a profound difference between a “nerd” and a “geek”, and Obama certainly does not fit the former category.
Next up, Obama is indisputably a smooth dresser, with those suits and ties he brings into sharp focus the bad dress sense of many US politicians and particularly, by all accounts, the entire populace of Washington DC. From an Australian perspective he is akin to Paul Keating and his beautiful suits after so many years of politicians in polyester safari suits. So he is a handsome, snappy dressing geeky guy but it is also important to note that he is also an uncompromising “alpha male”. It was hilarious to watch his body language with Dubya at the first meeting at the White House after the election where they jockeyed for position to be the one to put the hand on the other’s back and to guide their direction with the other hand. I had visions of Graeco-roman wrestling where the two wrestlers slap away each other’s hand as they try to gain a hold that they can turn to advantage. If any more evidence was needed on Obama’s alpha status it was leaked yesterday that in his first day in office he had the public greeting with the Republicans where consensus and compromise was the buzz-word. Then, when the room was cleared he said simply to the Republicans (and perhaps to his own Democrat colleagues) two words, “I won”. What was clever is that Obama said it in private but made sure it was leaked, so you know that he listens, he thinks about what is said but he is the boss. It is so different from the time under the (mis)rule of Dubya, where Cheney was sure for most of the time that, in fact, the Vice President was the most powerful position in the country. Obama has lifted the moniker of “the Boss” from Bruce Springsteen, and I have to say he wears it well.
If Obama’s credentials weren’t enough on their own, you also have in Michelle Obama someone who seems a very savvy First Lady. It seems that she is someone who is obviously not the politician trophy-wife (think John McCain) or a Lady MacBeth type character (sorry Hilary) who believes her moment must come. She is not the retiring librarian type like Laura Bush (who was a librarian before taking leave of her senses and joining the Bush dynasty at Southfork…no hold on, that was Dallas, but you get the picture). Just as Obama is so much of this generation and the here and now, so too is Michelle Obama a style icon (already), is savvy and, as one person put it, the first First Lady of whom it can be said that she works out, is cut and has a butt. There is also Michelle’s mother, Mary Robinson, who lives with them in the White House and minds the kids. In this the Obama’s strike a chord with working families around the US where a parent lives in to help with the raising of the children. And finally the kids, who are so scarily perfect that you have to wonder if the whole family have strayed off the lot of a Disney picture. They, Obama, his family are simultaneously real and grounded, yet representative of the hopes for a whole country. They are the real deal and lord knows the US needs something real to believe in now.
Part One: Obama – the “real deal”
Well the Obama coronation…oops I mean inauguration…has come and gone. Unlike many blockbuster events it lived up to the hype. In fact it was so true to the plot that I often thought I had blundered onto an episode of the “West Wing”. There is no doubting the expectations, call it the vaunting hope of much (even most) of the population that is projected upon Obama. On that spookily apt website “Stuff that White Folks like” it lists Obama as one thing because white folks are scared of being called racist if they don’t like him. It is funny, yes, but very wide of the mark. Looking around the crowd on election night, at the inauguration and even at the faces on the campus there is a genuine fervour. It is more than just the relief of release after eight years of Bush. There is something about Obama that inspires and captivates in a way that I imagine that JFK in the heyday of his Camelot mesmerised the US people. And it is beyond the US too. Just as JFK offered up “Ich bin ein Berliner” the rapturous greeting of Obama in that same city prior to the election was a clear indication that the world was ready for someone like him. Undoubtedly he ticks all the boxes. I was prompted to think (again) of the West Wing when Josh Lynam tries to recruit the character Sam (Rob Lowe) to join the Matt Santos (read: Obama) campaign for President. Previously they had worked for President Jeb Bartlett (Martin Sheen) – who was everyone’s dream of what a President should be (perhaps until now?). Josh tries to recruit Sam back to the world of political electioneering and ells him Santos is the “real deal”. Well Matt Santos is/was Obama and, in a long winded roundabout way, I have to say Obama is the “real deal.”
So what then are the things that go to making the “real deal”? Well, for a start, he works out everyday and even went shirtless while holidaying in Hawaii over Christmas, sending the wire services into melt-down. Big plus having a jock President who loves to play pick-up basketball but doesn’t look like he has stumbled off the set of a Rambo shoot when he goes shirtless (which is the effect that Putin had when he was snapped in the outdoors, in his battle fatigues and sans shirt) Secondly, Obama is a geek, embraced by the geeks as one of their own for his love of comic books and all things technical, and in particular his Blackberry. The distinction between McCain and him in the election campaign was made so clear when McCain confided that his wife did his “internet stuff”. Importantly, however, as one techno-geek on radio commented, there is a profound difference between a “nerd” and a “geek”, and Obama certainly does not fit the former category.
Next up, Obama is indisputably a smooth dresser, with those suits and ties he brings into sharp focus the bad dress sense of many US politicians and particularly, by all accounts, the entire populace of Washington DC. From an Australian perspective he is akin to Paul Keating and his beautiful suits after so many years of politicians in polyester safari suits. So he is a handsome, snappy dressing geeky guy but it is also important to note that he is also an uncompromising “alpha male”. It was hilarious to watch his body language with Dubya at the first meeting at the White House after the election where they jockeyed for position to be the one to put the hand on the other’s back and to guide their direction with the other hand. I had visions of Graeco-roman wrestling where the two wrestlers slap away each other’s hand as they try to gain a hold that they can turn to advantage. If any more evidence was needed on Obama’s alpha status it was leaked yesterday that in his first day in office he had the public greeting with the Republicans where consensus and compromise was the buzz-word. Then, when the room was cleared he said simply to the Republicans (and perhaps to his own Democrat colleagues) two words, “I won”. What was clever is that Obama said it in private but made sure it was leaked, so you know that he listens, he thinks about what is said but he is the boss. It is so different from the time under the (mis)rule of Dubya, where Cheney was sure for most of the time that, in fact, the Vice President was the most powerful position in the country. Obama has lifted the moniker of “the Boss” from Bruce Springsteen, and I have to say he wears it well.
If Obama’s credentials weren’t enough on their own, you also have in Michelle Obama someone who seems a very savvy First Lady. It seems that she is someone who is obviously not the politician trophy-wife (think John McCain) or a Lady MacBeth type character (sorry Hilary) who believes her moment must come. She is not the retiring librarian type like Laura Bush (who was a librarian before taking leave of her senses and joining the Bush dynasty at Southfork…no hold on, that was Dallas, but you get the picture). Just as Obama is so much of this generation and the here and now, so too is Michelle Obama a style icon (already), is savvy and, as one person put it, the first First Lady of whom it can be said that she works out, is cut and has a butt. There is also Michelle’s mother, Mary Robinson, who lives with them in the White House and minds the kids. In this the Obama’s strike a chord with working families around the US where a parent lives in to help with the raising of the children. And finally the kids, who are so scarily perfect that you have to wonder if the whole family have strayed off the lot of a Disney picture. They, Obama, his family are simultaneously real and grounded, yet representative of the hopes for a whole country. They are the real deal and lord knows the US needs something real to believe in now.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Time to make a list
It is sort of late but I am going to climb onto the band-wagon of the media that is so obsessed at the beginning of the new year with making lists of all types of things. It works better than the lame New Year’s resolutions that are boringly repetitive – both in their stated goals and inevitable demise. How many years have I promised faithfully to: (a) go to the gym/run/exercise every day (b) read more books (c) not drink as much (d) lose xxx kilograms (e) do something creative in my spare-time. By the end of January I am sure to have failed at (c) and (d) and (a) and cling at the forlorn hope that I might yet do something, anything to make this year different. Of course making a list may seem excessive from the offerings you see in the newspapers, on-line and on the television – giving all manner of best (and worst) films of the year, best songs of the year, best destinations to travel, best news stories. It is a bizarre cornucopia of lists. But then I am perversely drawn to them. The Nick Hornby book “High Fidelity” is a classic for all manner of lists of a bizarre nature (top ten break up songs, top five songs about death…that sort of thing).There is even a web-site devoted to internet culture called “fimoculous” that has the wildest listings, as well as the usual offerings on best film etc. So here is my list of six of the things that I like…yes…like, about the USA (or San Diego). Six because I can’t (at the moment) think of more, but I suppose it is a start.
(1) The supermarkets
Call it bizarre but the supermarkets are a great way to while away the hours. I have said it before but there is also a weird hierarchy at work. The basic, bread and butter blue collar supermarket is Albertsons. Then there is Vons – which has a wide range of “specials” and coupon savings. Then you have your niche market “Trader Joes” with its own labels (think of the hippy Californian crowd). Not too expensive and the home of the $1.99 a bottle wine (dubbed $2 buck Chuck, but not for the reason that Australians would dub it “chuck” – goes okay too, after the first five glasses). Then there is Ralphs which has a wide range of items and still has the mainstream brands. It has solid middle-class fare but also has aisles devoted to “Asian cuisine” or “kosher food”. Then there is “Wholefoods”, which is the temple of the organic cuisine. Everything is so good for you that it must be bad for you. It stocks an array of good for you and the environment items, from the jars of organic egg whites to the part-skim organic cheese and the non-toxic cleaning substances to the organic and hormone free meat that costs the equivalent of a week’s wages. Finally there is the chic “Bristol Farms” which is the chic, sort of Toorak-type supermarket. Very pricey but we do like it because it has an Australian foods promotion and they stock Coopers Sparkling…you have to like that. There is another which I just discovered “Henry’s Farm” which has huge bins of every type of nut, legume, seed known to humanity and also a fair range of international foods. Not sure where that one fits on the supermarket ladder. The cheaper supermarkets, it should be added, each have their own little cards that you swipe to get discounts. Not in evidence at Whole Foods or Bristol Farms, so your wallet is overflowing with these little customer loyalty tags.
(2) Mexican food
Having spent the student years devouring the chilli stodge of Cha Chis in Nicholson Street or at the Taco Bill’s franchises the food here (particularly in Old Town or on the beach north) is a revelation. It is made all the better when it is washed down with some Mexican beer (like Pacifica) or a nice, big Margarita. I confess my research on the tequila has been lacking…but there is a very nice one called Silver Patron. Certainly not the same stuff we used to drink as uni-students.
(3) The MSNBC current affair shows
I have loved Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show” and Stephen Colbert’s “Colbert Report” for ages. I can safely report that Americans DO have a wicked sense of humour and they had such a good target with Bush and Cheney and his ship of fools. Add to the roster Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC and it made the lead-up to the election a joy. It balanced the pro-Bush bias of the Fox conservative media with its own version of left (well sort of) leaning bias. The two shows are hugely funny, very cruel (but that’s okay because the targets was Bush and his apologists) and a great way to get a handle on the machinations of US politics. Check out Olberman’s countdown site at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/
In particular his take on daily “Worst Person in the World” can be a crack-up, Keith takes a while to get used to. He is sometimes akin to an attack dog, but he is very, very funny.
(4) The coast from San Diego heading north to LA
Everyone from the US has always maintained Highway 1 down the coast from San Francisco to LA is amazing – and they are right. But the little villages/towns along the coast to the north of San Diego are really beautiful too. The beaches here are as good as the ones in Australia. La Jolla (just down from the Uni campus) is like Toorak meets Bondi. The place is ritzy with super-expensive restaurants but there are also some amazing beaches. The sun setting over the ocean is worth driving to see – while sipping on the obligatory beverage.
(5) NPR Radio
Sort of like SBS on the radio and without the nudity, but it has some great shows. Yes it is very progressive and liberal and bleeding heart, but then you need something to balance the tripe that is served up on mainstream radio and television. Some of the shows remind me of 3RRR – there is one that is called “Car Talk” where two brothers who are mechanics (but probably not brothers) take calls from listeners who have car problems. Very funny and it may even help me next time my car breaks down. On second thoughts, scratch that ridiculous statement. That is never going to happen. I was just indulging in total fantasy. I will never, ever be able to fix a car beyond changing a wiper blade.
(6) Being here in the grip of Obama-fever
The biggest and the best for last, the Obama election seems to have inspired the nation. The mood is amazing, particularly given that the US is in a tail-spin towards depression. I am looking forward to seeing what the inauguration brings. It is certainly the closest I have seen to the royalists when Di married Charles or perhaps (before my time) Elizabeth 11’s coronation. More on the inauguration after this Tuesday.
(1) The supermarkets
Call it bizarre but the supermarkets are a great way to while away the hours. I have said it before but there is also a weird hierarchy at work. The basic, bread and butter blue collar supermarket is Albertsons. Then there is Vons – which has a wide range of “specials” and coupon savings. Then you have your niche market “Trader Joes” with its own labels (think of the hippy Californian crowd). Not too expensive and the home of the $1.99 a bottle wine (dubbed $2 buck Chuck, but not for the reason that Australians would dub it “chuck” – goes okay too, after the first five glasses). Then there is Ralphs which has a wide range of items and still has the mainstream brands. It has solid middle-class fare but also has aisles devoted to “Asian cuisine” or “kosher food”. Then there is “Wholefoods”, which is the temple of the organic cuisine. Everything is so good for you that it must be bad for you. It stocks an array of good for you and the environment items, from the jars of organic egg whites to the part-skim organic cheese and the non-toxic cleaning substances to the organic and hormone free meat that costs the equivalent of a week’s wages. Finally there is the chic “Bristol Farms” which is the chic, sort of Toorak-type supermarket. Very pricey but we do like it because it has an Australian foods promotion and they stock Coopers Sparkling…you have to like that. There is another which I just discovered “Henry’s Farm” which has huge bins of every type of nut, legume, seed known to humanity and also a fair range of international foods. Not sure where that one fits on the supermarket ladder. The cheaper supermarkets, it should be added, each have their own little cards that you swipe to get discounts. Not in evidence at Whole Foods or Bristol Farms, so your wallet is overflowing with these little customer loyalty tags.
(2) Mexican food
Having spent the student years devouring the chilli stodge of Cha Chis in Nicholson Street or at the Taco Bill’s franchises the food here (particularly in Old Town or on the beach north) is a revelation. It is made all the better when it is washed down with some Mexican beer (like Pacifica) or a nice, big Margarita. I confess my research on the tequila has been lacking…but there is a very nice one called Silver Patron. Certainly not the same stuff we used to drink as uni-students.
(3) The MSNBC current affair shows
I have loved Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show” and Stephen Colbert’s “Colbert Report” for ages. I can safely report that Americans DO have a wicked sense of humour and they had such a good target with Bush and Cheney and his ship of fools. Add to the roster Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC and it made the lead-up to the election a joy. It balanced the pro-Bush bias of the Fox conservative media with its own version of left (well sort of) leaning bias. The two shows are hugely funny, very cruel (but that’s okay because the targets was Bush and his apologists) and a great way to get a handle on the machinations of US politics. Check out Olberman’s countdown site at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/
In particular his take on daily “Worst Person in the World” can be a crack-up, Keith takes a while to get used to. He is sometimes akin to an attack dog, but he is very, very funny.
(4) The coast from San Diego heading north to LA
Everyone from the US has always maintained Highway 1 down the coast from San Francisco to LA is amazing – and they are right. But the little villages/towns along the coast to the north of San Diego are really beautiful too. The beaches here are as good as the ones in Australia. La Jolla (just down from the Uni campus) is like Toorak meets Bondi. The place is ritzy with super-expensive restaurants but there are also some amazing beaches. The sun setting over the ocean is worth driving to see – while sipping on the obligatory beverage.
(5) NPR Radio
Sort of like SBS on the radio and without the nudity, but it has some great shows. Yes it is very progressive and liberal and bleeding heart, but then you need something to balance the tripe that is served up on mainstream radio and television. Some of the shows remind me of 3RRR – there is one that is called “Car Talk” where two brothers who are mechanics (but probably not brothers) take calls from listeners who have car problems. Very funny and it may even help me next time my car breaks down. On second thoughts, scratch that ridiculous statement. That is never going to happen. I was just indulging in total fantasy. I will never, ever be able to fix a car beyond changing a wiper blade.
(6) Being here in the grip of Obama-fever
The biggest and the best for last, the Obama election seems to have inspired the nation. The mood is amazing, particularly given that the US is in a tail-spin towards depression. I am looking forward to seeing what the inauguration brings. It is certainly the closest I have seen to the royalists when Di married Charles or perhaps (before my time) Elizabeth 11’s coronation. More on the inauguration after this Tuesday.
Why "Deconstructing Harry"?
Writing a blog seemed a good way of making sense of what it is like being here in the US…but of course it fell at the first hurdle and I was struck down by writer’s block The question of where to begin didn’t even enter into it. First there was the endless rumination of what to call the blog. It obviously couldn’t be too obvious…shameless lifting of Alistair Cooke’s “Letter from America” was not only plagiarism, but also would draw unflattering comparisons. Having disavowed plagiarism of Alistair Cooke’s title, I was still drawn to appropriating Hunter S. Thompson’s riff on Las Vegas and offer up “Fear and Loathing in San Diego”, but that doesn’t really convey the (growing) sense of ambivalence I have about being here in the US. It is not unrelievedly bleak and dismal – the main problem is what it isn’t – it isn’t Melbourne in summer. So I thought I would turn to a personal title…and was instantly drawn to the possible uses of film titles…so it could be the Hitchcock title “The Trouble with Harry” or even the one from Dominick Moll “Harry He’s Here to Help” or even “Dirty Harry”. All were discounted for the somewhat bleak connotations of the title or the content of the movie. So in the end I went with “Deconstructing Harry” – though I have never been that big a fan of Woody Allen (with apologies to De and Neil). But it seemed an appropriate way to define my feelings about being some 8000 miles from the cricket, Cooper’s beer, the Magpies, Melbourne coffee shops, the smell of jasmine in city streets in summer, family and friends. The lesson to be drawn from this random choice of title was to do some research, let the buyer beware or some such thing. After googling the movie I have decided to issue a strong disclaimer to the effect that there is no resemblance between the Woody Allen character and me (notably I have not had six psychiatrists and don’t have any intention of writing a book dissing my friends). However there are, judging from the google entry, some funny lines in the film…perhaps I will do a revision on Woody Allen. Dubious titles for the blog aside…here it is, my excuse to vent and rant at the inanities of US life from the safety of the internet
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