Category: culture

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It is all relative

I get emails from Gilt. It’s fun to see what luxury deals are out there. Most of the time, the bargains are so far out of my world that I don’t even think about them. But it’s occasionally fun to imagine a vacation in Aruba, particularly when it’s -17 degrees (-27 C) outside my window.

This ad was so far out of my realm that I just laughed… two hours on a private jet for $7,700 (regular $10,000).

The funny thing is that I was once (and still am) like those who can afford those two hours. We lived in Nairobi, Kenya, (Africa) for five years. We knew people whose income represented about the same difference between ours and that of Bill Gates. Going out to a Valentine’s Day dinner at a fancy restaurant was about as inconceivable as our hiring a jet for two hours.

It’s good for me to remember that.

How do I deal with that knowledge? My wife and I try to be generous, when possible. We fail, but sometimes we succeed.

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Copyright laws

Copyright laws are a bit looser in other parts of the world than America.

Lexus Crackers? I didn’t try them, but I’m guessing they had a smooth, relaxed flavor.

If the “munchy’s” company tried selling them in the States, the product would be quickly taken off the market.

(I saw them on the shelf of a supermarket in Malaysia.)

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What makes a king?

It was the King’s birthday – the last morning we were in Malaysia. More than half the ads in the newspaper were honoring his rule and the occasion.

Why is it that in the “west” we don’t honor our head leader like that? In the USA, I can hear shouts back about how he didn’t deliver what we asked. Or how he may not represent what some believe.

I lived in England for three years. They have a queen. The real head of the country is the Prime Minister. He gets scathing reviews in newspapers. The figurehead Queen? Not a bad word is heard (in comparison, anyhow.)

African countries? Sometimes a really terrible person can be the president, but somehow the people let him remain in power. Why?

I don’t really know the answers to these questions. I just thought it was interesting how different parts of the world treat their leaders. If you have any ideas on why these things happen, I’d love to hear your comments.

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Let her sleep

I have a story for you.

When Heather and I first went to Africa (1991), we were part of a 3-month-long training program that was designed to help us love Africa. And adjust to living there. Part of our training involved living with a family in rural Kenya for two weeks.

It was a stretching time, to say the least. We still keep in touch with one of the family members – which shows you it was a good experience, overall.

Anyhow, they ate dinner starting at about 9 pm. We were pretty tired by that time of the day, and listening to lively conversation in Kikamba (their language) for several hours was not always our choice of a relaxing way to end the day.

So one night – about halfway into our two weeks with them – just before dinner, Heather and I were chilling in our small room. Our guest knocked on the door to say it was dinnertime. I went to dinner alone. I said, “In our culture, it is wrong to wake someone when they are sleeping.” They bought it – after a little discussion on my part.

I knew she needed a break.

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Look carefully before you sign on the dotted line

In Sunday’s Denver paper, there was an interesting article about Christian Kirschner. He did a time-share-like scheme for wealthy clientele. He ended up getting over his head and then branched into fraud, to keep things going.

Today? After swindling his clients out of more than $7 million, he is running a new venture: Executive Triathalon Coaching.

Tip: be careful. Sub-point: it’s strange that someone like that can stay in business and not be in prison. I was astonished at how quickly after his timeshare biz went under that he opened his new biz.

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Graffiti is universal

I love graffiti.

The spontaneity and daring that goes into this artform always fascinates me. I found this mural on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The artist even has his own website. And the video is worth checking out. Apparently he has traveled all over the world doing his art.

It’s interesting to me that the basic style of graffiti is quite similar all over the world.

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Black Friday reflections

Black Friday fuels the American system. That’s not a bad thing, necessarily – but it can be bad. When the price drops so low on an item that we must get it – even though we have one already that maybe isn’t quite as good – that’s not good.

Lest you think I am preaching from a lofty tower, my family and I visited at least two large stores to take advantage of some of the sales. So I’m preaching to myself on this, too.

So, you ask, what does this have to do with aluminum lobster pinchers? On Thanksgiving, when we were attempting to find an obscure serving utensil in one of our drawers, we uncovered this. It was a free promotion from Lexus, back when the economy was humming enough that manufacturers gave away such things. They were selling a lifestyle. One that is not who I am. So last Thursday, it was entered into our to-the-Goodwill (charity shop) bin.

Be true to who you want to be.

For those not in America, “Black Friday” is the day after Thanksgiving – when retail outlets have crazy sales with amazing prices – often starting at midnight on Thursday night – which isn’t the nicest thing for those working at the stores. It’s called “Black” Friday because it’s the day stores hope to sell so much that it moves their financial bottom line out of the red (unprofitable) and into the black (profitable).

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Unending growth

If you think back to the economic bubble, it was largely based on this idea that economic growth should continue at a double-digit pace forever.

Harry Eyres wrote a column in The Financial Times (England’s uniquely orange newspaper) that had this callout.

I completely agree. Let’s get real.

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Loss of innocence

This beautiful tree is in a park not far from the oldest part of my town. It’s probably as old as the oldest buildings.

What a great tree to climb!

Alas, such is not to be. Notice the fence surrounding the base? My guess as to why – liability issues. The city can’t be bothered with the cost of a lawsuit from some parent whose kid climbs the tree, falls down, breaks his leg and sues.

I miss the old days, when you could turn around without having to consider legal implications.

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Not the best export

Sometimes it’s embarrassing to be an American.

If the only music that came overseas from America was Air Supply, I might try for different citizenship.

Update from my brother (who knows far more about these things than I do)… Air Supply are from Australia – not America. However, it was certainly their popularity in America (a million years ago) that drove them to the level of fame they achieved.

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