I am completely disgusted with the current national political spectrum. Time for new people/ideas..
My continuing fear is for the control of technology in our lives. The internet has brought a lot of good things to people's lives but is also a tool used every day to defraud people and institutions. When technology gets so complex that no one understands it or knows how to control it, then it becomes a viable threat to our very existence. Artificial Intelligence is spreading rapidly and nobody is sure what that means or how it will affect society. The head of the FBI opening admits that the Chinese/Russians are so embedded now it the national computer infrastructure that they could perform cyber-attacks to disrupt key supply chains need for food, money, security, etc.
Fickle humans! Gringos trying to get away from Gringos. I wonder if Mexicans prefer gringo tourists better than Mexican tourists from different states? And, Vietnamese like Gringo tourists over Vietnamese tourists? Bisbee-beings would much rather have exotic tourists from far away countries rather than those dreaded colorful Californians or Texans! Come to think of it when in Western MA, it is those damn New Yorkers! Or, to Mainers it is the Massholes! Heck! Don't dare mention you are a Yankee to a Southerner, I can assure you that a profane word will most certainly proceed the dreaded "Y" word! I say, "helmet up and run!" Run, run as fast as you can from all those darn versions we recognize in ourselves!
"I wonder if Mexicans prefer gringo tourists better than Mexican tourists from different states?"
Excellent question!!
Seems ironic, huh... This same phenom translates to art. I've written previously (in another venue) and you and I have discussed about how the exotic gets honored while the fantastic artist from the town we live in gets ignored. In many cases the meaningless drunken scribblings of the Aboriginal is more sought after than the hometown art hero.
In terms of traveling it might be a bit different though. As an example, when I travel, I mostly seek to fully experience (as best I can) the culture in which I'm visiting. I'll take the small family hotel populated by in-country folks over the all-inclusive resort every time. And I certainly don't mind meeting up with others that are traveling with the same mission or attitude, no matter from where they come. Unfortunately, many "gringos" (North Americans in this case) only want to check off the exotic locations they visit while traveling in a bubble of the culture from which they came, hence the term "Ugly American". I'll bet people from other countries have this type of traveller too, it's just harder for me to recognize since I'm not from those other cultures.
Hello from "the guy in Dalat". It's early morning here, to your early evening, and I've awakened to learn that it was Bidens own party that crashed his campaign. Whether for better or for worse I know not, but damn! The weather here is rainy and a tad dreary and a perfect match for my damp mood - really, out of 330 million people the three running are the best we can do?
As you note we often disagree on matters small and large, but we agree on the things that apparently matter most - friendship, a good coffee and a well-brewed IPA. Oh, and that many things are rarely as they seem.
Cheers mate! BZB isn't the same when you're gone. Looking forward to seeing you upon your return. And, "...out of 330 million people the three running are the best we can do?"
On this we also agree.
Our current times bring up distant memories...I was an avid Superman comic fan as a young kid. In that series there would occasionally pop up an episode featuring the Tales of Bizarro World, where, as DC.com describes it, lives an "imperfect duplicate of Superman, the chalk faced hero lives on the cube-shaped world of Bizarro where everything is the opposite of life on Earth. Beauty is hated, ugliness is revered, and it is a crime to make anything perfect."
I am completely disgusted with the current national political spectrum. Time for new people/ideas..
My continuing fear is for the control of technology in our lives. The internet has brought a lot of good things to people's lives but is also a tool used every day to defraud people and institutions. When technology gets so complex that no one understands it or knows how to control it, then it becomes a viable threat to our very existence. Artificial Intelligence is spreading rapidly and nobody is sure what that means or how it will affect society. The head of the FBI opening admits that the Chinese/Russians are so embedded now it the national computer infrastructure that they could perform cyber-attacks to disrupt key supply chains need for food, money, security, etc.
Fickle humans! Gringos trying to get away from Gringos. I wonder if Mexicans prefer gringo tourists better than Mexican tourists from different states? And, Vietnamese like Gringo tourists over Vietnamese tourists? Bisbee-beings would much rather have exotic tourists from far away countries rather than those dreaded colorful Californians or Texans! Come to think of it when in Western MA, it is those damn New Yorkers! Or, to Mainers it is the Massholes! Heck! Don't dare mention you are a Yankee to a Southerner, I can assure you that a profane word will most certainly proceed the dreaded "Y" word! I say, "helmet up and run!" Run, run as fast as you can from all those darn versions we recognize in ourselves!
"I wonder if Mexicans prefer gringo tourists better than Mexican tourists from different states?"
Excellent question!!
Seems ironic, huh... This same phenom translates to art. I've written previously (in another venue) and you and I have discussed about how the exotic gets honored while the fantastic artist from the town we live in gets ignored. In many cases the meaningless drunken scribblings of the Aboriginal is more sought after than the hometown art hero.
In terms of traveling it might be a bit different though. As an example, when I travel, I mostly seek to fully experience (as best I can) the culture in which I'm visiting. I'll take the small family hotel populated by in-country folks over the all-inclusive resort every time. And I certainly don't mind meeting up with others that are traveling with the same mission or attitude, no matter from where they come. Unfortunately, many "gringos" (North Americans in this case) only want to check off the exotic locations they visit while traveling in a bubble of the culture from which they came, hence the term "Ugly American". I'll bet people from other countries have this type of traveller too, it's just harder for me to recognize since I'm not from those other cultures.
But ya, helmets should be standard issue! :)
I'm missing Mass Ice Cream, BTW!!
Hello from "the guy in Dalat". It's early morning here, to your early evening, and I've awakened to learn that it was Bidens own party that crashed his campaign. Whether for better or for worse I know not, but damn! The weather here is rainy and a tad dreary and a perfect match for my damp mood - really, out of 330 million people the three running are the best we can do?
As you note we often disagree on matters small and large, but we agree on the things that apparently matter most - friendship, a good coffee and a well-brewed IPA. Oh, and that many things are rarely as they seem.
Cheers mate! BZB isn't the same when you're gone. Looking forward to seeing you upon your return. And, "...out of 330 million people the three running are the best we can do?"
On this we also agree.
Our current times bring up distant memories...I was an avid Superman comic fan as a young kid. In that series there would occasionally pop up an episode featuring the Tales of Bizarro World, where, as DC.com describes it, lives an "imperfect duplicate of Superman, the chalk faced hero lives on the cube-shaped world of Bizarro where everything is the opposite of life on Earth. Beauty is hated, ugliness is revered, and it is a crime to make anything perfect."
Seems we have somehow slipped into that reality.