I'm making a list of things that seem like great ideas to begin with, but are awful once you get them.
1. Hammocks
2. Pancakes
3. Bean bag chairs
4. Water beds
5. Waking up early
6. This list.
Feel free to add to this.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
The Best Inconvenient Trip
The Canada trip was awesome! Toronto is one of my new favorite cities!
Winnipeg was...cool to visit for a while.
Edmonton seems like a mini, Canadian Portland.
Vancouver...I hear Vancouver is supposed to be great, and Stanley Park were cool, Vancouver was having a crazy day when I went. I walked out and didn't even visit any trashy areas. I walked out and there was a dude who was clearly drugged out just staring at people while waving his arms around. Then a few blocks later I saw a discarded needle in the street. Not ten minutes later a guy was screaming for some barely clothed, overweight lady, who ran across the street to chase after him. I was pretty sure she was a prostitute from the get-up, and she didn't just smell of pot but left a cloud of it behind. Then two separate duos nearly got into fights later. I hope this wasn't an every day thing for Toronto.
The train rides are pretty wearing. Apparently, Via Rail used to have priority over freight cars, but now passenger cars give way to freight so there are frequent delays lasting hours, so if you are going to take trains in Canada don't expect them to be on time. Longer trips were delayed by 3 hours. And it's almost impossible to sleep in the uncomfortable chairs. I really lucked out by meeting some awesome people in the first train ride, but otherwise I am done with trains for a while. I would take a SNCF train in France that lasts 45 minutes, but a 30 hour Canadian one? No thanks!
So yes, Canada is great. I will definitely have to come back for Quebec and Vancouver to see some of my newfound friends. Tomorrow, it's back to the States! AND IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! (July 13)
Winnipeg was...cool to visit for a while.
Edmonton seems like a mini, Canadian Portland.
Vancouver...I hear Vancouver is supposed to be great, and Stanley Park were cool, Vancouver was having a crazy day when I went. I walked out and didn't even visit any trashy areas. I walked out and there was a dude who was clearly drugged out just staring at people while waving his arms around. Then a few blocks later I saw a discarded needle in the street. Not ten minutes later a guy was screaming for some barely clothed, overweight lady, who ran across the street to chase after him. I was pretty sure she was a prostitute from the get-up, and she didn't just smell of pot but left a cloud of it behind. Then two separate duos nearly got into fights later. I hope this wasn't an every day thing for Toronto.
The train rides are pretty wearing. Apparently, Via Rail used to have priority over freight cars, but now passenger cars give way to freight so there are frequent delays lasting hours, so if you are going to take trains in Canada don't expect them to be on time. Longer trips were delayed by 3 hours. And it's almost impossible to sleep in the uncomfortable chairs. I really lucked out by meeting some awesome people in the first train ride, but otherwise I am done with trains for a while. I would take a SNCF train in France that lasts 45 minutes, but a 30 hour Canadian one? No thanks!
So yes, Canada is great. I will definitely have to come back for Quebec and Vancouver to see some of my newfound friends. Tomorrow, it's back to the States! AND IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! (July 13)
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Book Release! (not mine, mostly)
The book that I helped research for Joel Kotkin has a release date!
Joel Kotkin's new book details class in the post-Recession era. It has a unique perspective on America's new landscape. With income inequality at the same levels as during the Gilded Age, this book tracks the rise of the new over-class (techies and new financiers such as hedge fund managers and stock sharks) and the fall of the middle class into the lower class.
Joel provided the opinions, but I busted my hump doing a ton of research from government sources, to census data, and numerous economic reports to give a clear picture of America's post-Crisis future. There are two dozen articles I helped Joel research for on the right side of this blog, so if you're curious you can read some of the issues that made it into the book and decide for yourself if you want 'The New Class Conflict.'
Joel Kotkin's new book details class in the post-Recession era. It has a unique perspective on America's new landscape. With income inequality at the same levels as during the Gilded Age, this book tracks the rise of the new over-class (techies and new financiers such as hedge fund managers and stock sharks) and the fall of the middle class into the lower class.
Joel provided the opinions, but I busted my hump doing a ton of research from government sources, to census data, and numerous economic reports to give a clear picture of America's post-Crisis future. There are two dozen articles I helped Joel research for on the right side of this blog, so if you're curious you can read some of the issues that made it into the book and decide for yourself if you want 'The New Class Conflict.'
The Most Dangerous Ghettos I've Been To
Note! Most of these are gonna be stock photos because I wasn't going to stick around snapping photos, especially of people staring at me.
Skid Row:
Oh the infamous Skid Row. A square neighborhood in South L.A. that always has dozens of heroin addicts and homeless people just sitting around, staring at the sun. My friends and I were touring L.A. and accidentally walked into Skid Row, and instantly turned around. When we entered the ghetto there was one guy jeering at us, and thirty seconds later we left and he yelled, "Damn, deys da same people!" So apparently he had just enough drugs that morning.
Perpignan:
Perpignan is a beautiful city in the south of France...except Saint Jacques, which is where the historic Perpignan castle. Saint Jacques has also been taken over by Roma (known as Gypsies in America because that word doesn't have the same negative connotations). Believe whatever you want politically, but after I visited the castle I accidentally took a wrong turn (something that's easy to do because Perpignan is a very old city with many confusing alley-ways and turning roads) and ended up in the Roma ghetto. There is trash blanketing the ground, starving dogs wandering the alleys, and people just stand in their doors looking at you. I was definitely scared, too scared to pull out my map and show I was a tourist. But I escaped and got to the nice(r) part of the city.
Winnipeg/Edmonton
Technically I've been to some other cities which rank as the 'murder capital' of their country or area, such as Washington D.C., Glasgow, my family accidentally drove through the ghettos of Cincinnati, but in all those places I never had to walk through anything super dangerous.
And yes, I realize that these cities compared to cities in the Second or even Third world trump mine heavily. Have you guys ever visited anywhere incredibly dangerous? Any ghetto stories you'd like to share?
Skid Row:
Oh the infamous Skid Row. A square neighborhood in South L.A. that always has dozens of heroin addicts and homeless people just sitting around, staring at the sun. My friends and I were touring L.A. and accidentally walked into Skid Row, and instantly turned around. When we entered the ghetto there was one guy jeering at us, and thirty seconds later we left and he yelled, "Damn, deys da same people!" So apparently he had just enough drugs that morning.
Perpignan:
Perpignan is a beautiful city in the south of France...except Saint Jacques, which is where the historic Perpignan castle. Saint Jacques has also been taken over by Roma (known as Gypsies in America because that word doesn't have the same negative connotations). Believe whatever you want politically, but after I visited the castle I accidentally took a wrong turn (something that's easy to do because Perpignan is a very old city with many confusing alley-ways and turning roads) and ended up in the Roma ghetto. There is trash blanketing the ground, starving dogs wandering the alleys, and people just stand in their doors looking at you. I was definitely scared, too scared to pull out my map and show I was a tourist. But I escaped and got to the nice(r) part of the city.
Winnipeg/Edmonton
A picture outside my hotel in Edmonton's downtown.
Winnipeg and Edmonton have been frequently ranked, alongside Regina and Saskatoon, as the 'Murder Capitals' of Canada. The funny thing though is that compared to world cities, Winnipeg and Edmonton are very safe, and most of their crime is relegated to certain neighborhoods. In Edmonton's northeast downtown there is a lot of drug activity and even signs telling you to call the police if you see prostitutes, but everywhere outside that area seems incredibly safe. In Winnipeg, the north part of town is also pretty crime heavy and when I was there, there were sirens going off pretty constantly; so the main downtown area and some of the nice suburbs were safe, but you knew there was something dangerous happening elsewhere.
And yes, I realize that these cities compared to cities in the Second or even Third world trump mine heavily. Have you guys ever visited anywhere incredibly dangerous? Any ghetto stories you'd like to share?
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Canadian Graffiti
Some more graffiti and murals I found in Edmonton, Canada.
Shadow of the Colossus for the win!
Celebrating the hipster district on Whyte (82nd Avenue).
Office Fantasy
I work in an office setting, and it's been my dream to one day walk around the office with my horse mug all day and see if anyone notices. Obviously I wouldn't be running laps around the place, but I would go from one work station to the next, say, "Oh man, today is a doozy of a day. Back to the ol' grind," and then walk away to my next group of co-workers, and just do that all day.
It's a small dream, but one I intend to accomplish.
It's a small dream, but one I intend to accomplish.
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