Just a Moment

Hardly a year passes that I don't go back and reread one of John Steinbeck's classics. This time, it was Tortilla Flat...with Danny as the simplest of heroes.

I've read every single book written by Steinbeck and some have been read at least four times. I got hooked on Steinbeck in the eleventh grade and was able to get most of his books at the local library and read them over a one-year period. The movies as I discovered, gave no justice to the writing. His books were not really of material for a movie, and needed to be read

I came to appreciate his wit and wisdom, and his exploration of the human mind. Stories and people just aren't that simple. When you start trying to explain why some event happened...it starts to get deeper than you anticipated. The thing with Steinbeck....is that he came to simplify a story and a situation. He forced it upon you that there truly was a common denominator which ought to be used and get things down to the level where real people could grasp the situation.

I came to some point there at seventeen....of using this "compass" of sorts....in life. The books were an introduction to this thinking. I've looked back over this "compass" and wondered what would have been if I'd never read any of his books. Its a curious Y in the road....if I had never picked up a single Steinbeck book.

This Kwame Don't Sink

As Kwame Kilpatrick works to counter the city council's agenda to dump him as mayor....apparently there on Thursday....very quietly and appearing in few news organizations....someone turned in a recall petition against the entire city council.

The petition suggested abuse of power and negligence of the council members....then offered no evidence of such. The petition will have to be accepted. It'll be curious if Detroit's mayor may have taken this entire game to a new level.

Just Another Day at the Office

It had been a long day at the office and Ammi Dang Ding Dong was bushed. Running Iran takes alot more sweat and effort than most folks think. It means you have to constantly address Imam's as "sir" and always act friendly and cordial in front of them but really think they are silly old geezers in private. Added to this is the fact that you simply can't get a decent donut or serious T-bone steak. Then you have issues with those dang students who keep complaining that things just aren't right....when you already know that but have simply accepted the lesser version of right.

So you settle back into the living room and gaze at the funny picture some British guy sent you and yearn to escape....maybe to Ripley....maybe to Oxford....maybe even to Bangkok. You'd like to just pack up and escape to someplace where you can buy decent clothings and look "GQ". You'd like to be around big bulky blond babes who wear tube tops and flip flops. You'd like to smell bacon and eggs cooking in the kitchen. You'd like to drive a F-150 pick-up with a dog in the back and a set of long-horns mounted on the hood of the truck.

EUstan: Just another Arab Republic in Europe

This week, the Dutch police arrested a serious criminal...a cartoonist. Gregoris Nekschot. Yep....no joke.

Actually Nekschot is simply is pen-name, but the Dutch police didn't care. They showed up and began this search episode....USB-sticks, memory, CD's, hard drives, computers, etc. It actually took ten big burly girly boys....from the Dutch police....to capture this serious criminal of sorts....a cartoonist.

To be truthful.....Nekschot got into this position by making a number of cartoons which disturb the Arabs of the Netherlands. To say anything negative about Arabs or Middle-Eastern dudes....gets you into a heap of trouble in Europe these days. There are EUarabian laws which seek and protect those with fragile minds and souls. Apparently, the more you worship per day....the less functional your brain becomes after a couple of years. Sadly, if you have a European political figure in front of you....he'll kiss the EUarabain on the lips and tell him how lovely he appears.

The cops say....and the prosecutor involved....that Nekschot may be spending a couple of years in prison. So far, they've avoided discussing this in public or on TV....which you can apparently get away with in EUstan. I'm guessing that public sentiment might be going going against the prosecutor in this episode and a number of protesters....from Porky Pig to Charlie Brown....just might be coming to the rescue of Nekschot....defending cartoon liberty. And if all else fails....we've got Johnny Bravo and Dexter waiting in the wings.

Ten Things I Dislike (Hate) About Germans

After almost nineteen total years (2/2/15) associated with Germany, where I live today....there are a number of things that I dislike about Germans...far more than ten....but I like the round number.

1. Asocial. A major personality item that you tend to notice greatly is the problem of being asocial. Germans like to display this attitude...everything is about them personally. They are selfish in nature....not giving. They had to pass a law requiring you to stop and render first aid at a accident because no one wanted to save someones life. They have to give you a church tax because no one really wants to donate to the local church where they attend. The TV tax is for you to support a national tv network that barely a quarter of the nation between 30 and 50 watch, and maybe 90 percent between 60 and on watch. The selfish routine pops up when out at a restaurant, pub, or even a movie theater. There are promi's (the stars of Germany) whose whole life and profit are based on being asocial and admired for being asocial.

2. Road construction projects take years. The government runs road construction and repairs like a mafia payoff. They hand a town or region the money and its split out into years. So a normal project that would take eight months in the US....will take three to four years in Germany to complete. You never see more than 30 guys on a site when in the US there might be 120 guys working daily. Some days, you see no one. As soon as a project is done....you can mark it on the calendar....and expect a repair team out within five years to fix whatever was not done right on the first shot.

3. The language was devised by Einstein. Basically, there are three versions of "you", and there are at least 40 different rules in using the two "you's"....so you ask a German about the forty rules and they admit they know six of them at best....maybe fifteen on a good day. Then they want to pull out the "Duden-book" which is the rule book of the language. Try "the", and it just gets worse. On wheel of fortune, these idiots have all kinds of trouble in assembling the letters and figuring out the possible word....only because the language doesn't work. They have a group of professors that meet every couple of years....to rewrite the rule book and set new standards in the language. Even Germans admit that things are getting a bit difficult. Change? Nope....can't do that.

4. A natural dislike for strangers. Try buying a house and moving into a new neighborhood. It may be an entire year before you meet the four nearest neighbors. If you immediately add anything to your house....a neighbor may come over and immediately criticize you over the display or how if affects their property. They may even take you to court. You are no one until you've been on the property for at least twenty years. Trouble on the autobahn....forget about getting help from strangers....call the road assistance insurance instead.

5. Whatever they see on TV.....is absolutely TRUE. A German believes every single story that they read in the paper or see on the nightly news. There are no questions about empty spots or slanted news. A journalist will routinely tell one side of the story, and thats the absolute fact as far as your German friend is concerned. How learned are your friendly Germans? Their daily news is generally left to a fifteen minute bit of news on state-run channel one and reading the daily Bild (the national paper amounting to eight pages of news....to include 33 pictures on the eight pages....and luckily for you....no boob shots). They bring on some top-rated analyst for a special coverage episode on TV....and he leads you off with one slanted view of the situation. They are shocked when you offer the rest of the story and ask how you can possibly know such....and when you explain an alternate news source....then they scoff....its not factual because channel one is the source of all news on the face of the earth.

6. You don't go to university here, unless you have an interest in music or art, period. Yes, this is the amazing thing about Germany and their education system. No art interest? No music ability? Ok, we'll find you a job field and push you toward a non-university eduction. They actually kind of see this by the 3rd and 4th grade....so they split you off in the class for career paths. Are they getting the smartest guys possible in university? Nope.....but thats not the goal. The goal is to bring the creme to the top....and art/music is the tool to help make that happen.

7. Worldly-travel status? They all want to explain how they are worldly travelers and Americans are not. They travel to Spain or Turkey....and then bring back 300 pictures to explain the cultural awareness that they have developed. Travel to Manila or Thailand....same story. Those two weeks in Brazil? Truly broadening their vast horizon. They may have spent half of the trip in the bathroom puking....but it really doesn't matter. They may have no idea of who served them while on the Nile River trip or who fixed their breakfast in Tunisia. Taking a vacation only to Bavaria this summer.....oh my.....your status is degraded seriously. You aren't in the same worldly travel position as your neighbors. It may take you three years to save up the funds to go to Kenya....but thats part of the status-thing.

8. Challenged by non-Germans. Its amusing....twenty years after the wall came down, and still today....East Germans are not real Germans in the eyes of most folks. White Russians (former Germans from the 1700s) who have returned to Germany now? Nope, they aren't Germans. Italians who moved here in the 1950s....accepted and absolutely citizens now, but they aren't real Germans. The Turks who moved here in the 1970s and 1980s? Well...they don't assimilate very well....and they really aren't real Germans either. They find some reason to slant non-Germans whenever possible. Its in the business world, the entertainment world, and in everyday life of Germany.

9. Need another law? I used to think the US was the king of laws....with thousands upon thousands of laws that are on the books but obsolete. But Germany is the absolute king of laws. Just getting a car inspected....you run across forty potential law violations....lights that are acceptable and lights which aren't. You have items which you can add to the car which are legal and items which are illegal. Thinking about altering your car drastically? Well...the local inspector will likely be involved at some point. Cops pull you over? There are potentially a hundred things that this guy might seize on to give you a ticket. Taking a trip and you have luggage on the roof? Better check how you tied it.

10. Germans are right....always right...absolutely right. They want to tell you how you screwed up and then explain in great detail how you could improve yourself. They enjoy laying out something in vast detail with a four-page explanation. If they discuss your clothing choice....its because they don't like it. If they brand the shop where you bought your shorts as a "chicky-micky" place, then your status in life is lessened. If they say the food is too salty, it can only be too salty. If the wine choice wasn't right, they will tell you. If the car was supposed to get 35 miles per gallon and only gets 33 miles per gallon, they will attempt to take you the seller into court (trust me, there are Germans who've done this). If they say they can drink six beers over four hours and not be drunk (double the alcohol and double the size of an American beer)....then they "must be" absolutely right.

Those were ten....of probably 300 items that I know of. I hate Germans....purely and simply. There are a few things I like....and as a guest....I try to be nice and friendly. I am a guest in a foreign land and simply accept that status....its not like I intend to permanently stay here (after so many years).