Street Philosophers

 I know I have lapsed in posting something for a touch, but familiarity does breed contempt, or so it's said.  One has to step away in order to be missed.  I have to say that I have enjoyed actually experiencing life again, away from social media and being completely invisible again.  My own observations, are my own and it's really not that important to be heard.  Often, the first jaded impressions are miles away from the truth and are contaminated by opinions that have influenced others.  So how does one have an uncontaminated view of the world?

Today I had a random conversation with an anonymous stranger who said, "I left Facebook for 6 months and I felt so much freedom.  It was like I got my life back."  I didn't ask why she went back on, but considered a key remark, "I was so happy."  We are in an age of self promotion, tweeting, texting, posting and to a lesser extent, even blogging all about the me, myself, and I...the importance of self and obsess over

what seems to be 'important'.  Eleanor Roosevelt is often cited for this quote,   "Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events and small minds discuss people."   Lately, I have been wondering about our world getting so focused on the 'self'.  This 'self-importance' that seems to be all about what we can get, what we can do and who we can have in our lives.   So lately, I have just tuned out the drama of social media of all types and put my ear to the ground.

Sitting out on the street, drinking a libation or two and minding my own business, sort of, with intrusions of conversations that would wander past.  Was Eleanor Roosevelt right or would I hear street philosophers cut through the white noise or garbled thought?

Uptown Minneapolis is a road show of avatars.  You see the flash of fashion plates, the indie goth, the 1980 Yuppies, Sid and Nancy punkers, Illustrated men and women, your transitional people, trangenders, fettish people, bikers, desperate housewives, afraid of dying mid-life crisis guy with daughter/girlfriend, visiting UK tourists and then there's me.  The native who returns home to see that Uptown Minneapolis is still the same, stuck in the 1980s and somehow is viewed as 'cutting edge'.   This is why we are the inspiration for "Portlandia'.

Uptown is uptight when it comes to being Politically Correct and incredibly sensitive about offending anyone.  You can find the uptight conservative Harley guy with leather and chains that hugs his M-16 at night sitting next to a guy named "Sue" who used to be a gal with black light tattoos and gages and piercings to ward off personal contact from anyone.  The strange and bizarre is glorified with a latte and a vegan lettuce wrap from a sustainable farm to table food truck that is powered by solar energy.

Politics are discussed in hush tones, though it's really no secret that the city is Democratic and the state is Republican.  It's kind of dysfunctional, because there is a kind of 'us vs. them' mentality though no one really knows who is 'us' and who is 'them'.  Like I said, I am invisible here.  I wasn't abroad, or at least when I was in Asia, I tried to be invisible, but was forced to accept the fact that I was going to stick out no matter where I went.  It was a good exercise in self acceptance.  Here, it's too easy to get comfortable with not being 'anything special'.

So as I sat back I listened to the ramblings of others.  A lot of people talked about people in a very, "I'm better than..." sort of way.  It's quite possible that's why reality television has dominated our lives.  We can't believe they are famous and we can't believe we are talking about them and aren't we so much better than them.  We turn our noses up at them and they cash their checks for being our freak show.

When I went abroad, one thing that amazed me was that due to our television industry, I became aware that I shattered the minds of many because of the image of America that is blasted all over the world.  "You're not fat, lazy, uneducated, chasing money or (insert favorite stereo-type here of a white middle-aged former military woman,  who is divorced with hispanic last name and graying hair)."  When we bust up an image that is assigned due to our lack of time (we aren't going to know everyone in the world).  We profile people each and every day and we often rely on the views of others to give us a snapshot of how it is.

We only get the backside of the world, the Cliff notes version of our existence is not about knowing the world at all, but trying to survive in this world by playing a game to collect as much monopoly money to pay for our place at the table.  Kind of crazy, isn't it?

So, in my small minded way, I have discussed people, events, ideas and myself, because the world is composed of all of it.  I am not justifying anything.   I am not defending our condition.  I am not even saying that Eleanor Roosevelt is wrong or right.  We are human and we discuss what we see, what we don't see and what we would like to see.  We are still little children that are learning the difference between our wants and needs.  We die and a new generation goes through it all again and so on it continues until one day we get it.  Hopefully the stuff we don't need doesn't get passed on to future generations and the ideas we do need makes it into the future.  Perhaps that is what Eleanor Roosevelt meant for us to glean from this remark, however, she never said this quote.  It's one of our great myths.  The earliest citation is quoted as an unknown sage.  Whenever there is an 'unknown sage' or street philosopher, it's a reminder that wisdom or common sense doesn't need an author, it just needs to be practiced.

So whatever is written about, places, ideas, people, good food or art...it's all related.

Reinvesting Myself Here, Facebook is Dead to Me

In my love/hate relationship with social media, I find that for me it's time to cut out Facebook.  I found that line in the sand, which very simply relates to privacy.  I know that when I was in the Air Force I had no privacy and I expected no privacy.  Everything within my life would be reviewed and I understood why.  However, as a private citizen, FB unleashed a new feature with the phone application called, "listen".  I don't want anyone to listen unless I am talking to them and not everything you or I say needs to be heard by everyone.  I don't want to hear a story of why this is useful and I am simply not going to be 'sold' on it.    This is MY decision.  Everyone may have their own views about whether or not they want to stay on FB.  I think a lot about what freedom means.  It's a privilege.  People die protecting what we have.  People fight to not live in an oppressive regime and so many good changes have been made with regard to civil liberties, equal rights, gender and race equality.  Why on earth do we need to live in a cold war era type of mentality?  Those are the kinds of questions I asked myself.  Life is about living with risk, to have a free and open society is WORTH it.  

So, I guess, that means I am going to delete my FB account and actually start to use my blog again.   This page is NOT monetized and I post links to other non-profits that I found around the world that are doing some pretty amazing things.  So, this actually might be a good thing, since I have been thinking about wanting to create again.  

What will I be writing about?  

Life, food, appetites and whatever happens along the way.  

I have been enjoying the stress of being a student again.  I have been a great student of not knowing it all and I have been learning from a lot of very gifted people that have kind of given me that za zen notion of what it really takes to become a great chef.  A chef offends everyone and pleases no one at the same time.  Think about what that really means.  Everyone is so different when it comes to taste and what they are able to digest.  There are people who can eat absolutely everything and others that have to restrict their diets for a whole host of reasons.  

So view this blog as a menu, with a lot of options.  It's just a journey, a story, a perspective and at times it might be an ego-driven nightmare where there are a few crash and burns along the way. Maybe I vent.  Maybe I don't.  Maybe I just spontaneously explore an idea and beat it to death.  We're all friends here and for whatever reason, people still do read my blog, finding me through a random act of a key word search.  It's all good.  On this web plain, we are all citizens of the world.

Hello world!

Knowing You Google Style

Those of you who blog on Blogger, quite possibly were surprised to see these new tools that track views and locales of your audience.  What I was surprised to find was that Google had been tracking them since its inception.  Often a writer fears there is no one looking at them, perhaps you are talking to a wall, let alone worry about any other insecurities that may come.  Even though I have been relatively inactive, people were still coming, still reading and finding me through search engines.  Instead of being jaded about technology, I just kind of realized that this is more lasting than I had even began to realize. 

My goal was simple, just share the journey, perspective, emotions, and finds along the way.  Ask absurd questions, learn, grow and love people.  More importantly, share everything in a transparent way.  Too many people give up on their blogs, perhaps because they are wanting to live off of kudos, comments, or are perhaps too market driven.  Whatever the reason, sometimes it's good to have the same goal that Henry Miller set out with when he left for Paris..."just touch one person".  In the not too distant past, we could only touch others through being published.  Today, we can touch anyone in the world, no matter what belief system, race, political affiliation, language, age, education level or eye color. 

So, whomever you are, wherever you are--thank you for your visit.  I hope you enjoy what you read, find what you are looking for and please come and visit again.

I will try to be in good voice.  The topic is life.

Making Wine out of Sour Grapes of Wrath

To start out this entry, I thought about today. It's December and we are experiencing a bit of rain today after no snow, and uncertainty about the seasons here in Daegu, South Korea. Technically, winter doesn't start until December 21st and I think Korea is one of the first places I have ever lived that sticks by that calendar, not a snow flake to be seen. I have always been amused (sometimes to the point of laughing) when I watch the fear of fear when a person is caught outside without an umbrella. The local populace here seems to believe that the rain will melt them. I have seen people go through great lengths to avoid getting wet, the shimmy walk, the courageous dash into a convenience store or coffee shop, or standing under an awning to avoid the water at all costs. Water is kryptonite.

Today, I forgot my umbrella. Today, I just walked with my hat and coat and smiled and the rain proceeded to fall in its steady stream. Everytime I spied a look of horror, my smile grew bigger. I just kept thinking about all of the things that could be worse and my damn smile was pasted on my face, maybe the rain affected my sensibilities and made me a bit snarky. It is OK and sometimes OK is a wonderful feeling. I people are going through a lot of things right now and I know it's not my job to fix others and try to tell them it will all go away. I have this problem, where I just want people to be happy. I really do. Sometimes get annoyed with my positive nature. Sometimes people get annoyed with my big picture focus. I can't help that about myself. Just as much as I can't control the reaction to rain that I see in South Korea.

Life is messy. You get wet sometimes, and if you appear like a drowned rat, it isn't the end of the world. I guess it doesn't bother me if my mascara runs down my face and I laugh a little too loud and I am soaked to the bone. What I have thought about were all of those little lists I would make.
This is not important to anyone, but it was for me. I was told about the scarcity factors in Korea and I was provided a list of what I would not find in South Korea. My goal was to find everything on the list, like a hunt to debunk the list. At the top of my list was French Wine....yes I adore it, in moderation of course. However, I rekindled this passion with a distinct snobbish attitude that I am almost not too proud of. Actually more in fun. I wanted to find as many French Wines as possible...and if I had a bathtub...I would have bathed in it, just to say I did it.
However, I did the intelligent thing, I drank Merlot, Cabernet, Bordeaux, and in a pinch just table red wine that was bottled in France. My chief complaint was about trying to have a campaign in Korea about red wine. I foot stomped my point in as many restaurants and bars as possible, even having to uncork some bottles myself for the wine stewards (yes, they asked for my help)...to please serve the wine at room temperature. I can get zealous about things...forgive me.

I did have the pleasure of going to a strange vineyard, in a tunnel...however, persimmons are not grapes...so does this count?

I have enjoyed the sounds and sights of music, the culture, and it reinforced for me...never, ever, let anyone tell you what is impossible. Impossible is a word for quitters...and maybe that is why I love to do things the hard way, the impossible way, because it never is impossible. I never said it had to be easy, just sweeter.