vagranting

i’ve just listened to the lastest episode of “this american life”. this episode won a peabody award. it’s about the people in guantanamo bay. i’ve never felt so sick to my stomache before in my life. download the mp3 here. it’ll be available free for a week, then available from their website for purchase.

it sickens me that this is even possible in this day, in our society. a few years ago i used to think that bush’s government was pretty bad, but not as bad as people said. not these days. i’m sure god would be ashamed.

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i’m currently in rio and surprise — thunderstorms have been predicted for the next 4 days. it’s strange like that, but i’ve had a particularly bad run with the weather thus far. as someone who’s been used to ignoring the weather i’ve been surprised by how much the weather can effect your plans. on this tangent here is a list of surprises both pleasant and not, in no particular order:

• the sheer obnoxious loudness of fire trucks in chicago. not normal fire engine loud, no, airhorn on steroid loud honking plus the usual sirens. i guess you do that when the city’s been burnt to the ground before.
• the number of cheap laundromats in new york
• the expense of laundromats in sao paulo
• the number of brilliant sandwich shops in chicago
• the inability to get a milkshake in the french quarter of new orleans
• the mountain of icing sugar served on the beignets at cafe du monde, new orleans
• the striking similarity between bad instant coffee and the cafe ole served at cafe du monde, new orleans
• the strength of the aussie dollar vs. the american dollar in recent weeks
• the number of pirate dvds in the streets of sao paulo
• that in sao paulo nobody speaks english at the airport, but the guy working in a fast food restaurant speaks fluently and worked in london for a year
• the horrific speed of gentrification of new york neighbourhoods
• as well as it’s normal restaurants, mcdonalds has dedicated ice-cream stalls in brazil. no burgers — just ice cream.
• how much cheaper asian food is in new york compared to rio
• iced tea is about half the price of bottled water in of america

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finally got to try some brazilian coffee — any how. 7 espressos in one sitting (didn’t drink all of them entirely). an unexpected variety of flavours from all local beans. sadly the shots seemed under-extracted (lacking body and slightly bitter). hopefully rio provides something even better.

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okay, so now the spleen has been vented, here are some things that — in all fairness — are good about america:

• the music
  i went to see mutemath in concert in milwaukee. it was fantastic, despite the fact i had to catch a lot of buses and they still allow smoking indoors there. also touring with them: the cinematics (bought their album — they’re even better live). the point is, there’s more opportunity to see a wide gamut of top-quality live music here. something which, sadly, can’t be boasted of australia.
• cheap food
  okay, so this is kind of good and bad, but still. unless you want healthy food or fancy food, everything is relatively cheaper here. oh, and you can get decent mexican (no nasty montezuma’s).
• most people are more decent than you’d think
  despite america’s international reputation as a bunch of bullies and neo imperialists, most people are surprisingly warm and unassuming. some of them even know where brisbane is! (although i get, “so, what part of the uk are you from?” a lot.) even in new york, people aren’t mean, just busy and goal-orientated. really, the actions of the us government on the global stage don’t reflect the sensibilities of most americans. but then, what do you expect from a head of state with a 30% approval rating?
  
• the entertainment
  it’s been quite easy to find cheap and enjoyable diversions here. especially in new york and chicago. god bless improv theatre. i found a place in chicago where you can go bowling for $2 a game. shoe hire: $1.25. in new york there’s always some promotion going on to get a bargain on a night out. like an off broadway show for $20. plus having there’s just more to choose from — having 15 times the population can have it’s advantages.
• chicago and st louis
  i really did enjoy the city of chicago. i could see myself living there if i ever had reason to live in the usa. and my short stay in st louis was really wonderful. i stayed in a little bed and breakfast on the corner of a small park, and the host couple was just wonderful. the neighbourhood was quiet and just a little trendy and the whole experience reminded me of the great time i had in melbourne. i don’t know much about the rest of st louis, but what i experience was just what i was looking for.
• people are proud of where they’ve come from. being from new york, or
  chicago or new orleans is a source of pride for people. perhaps not as
  much as they once were, but they are generally proud of their country
  and what it has traditionally stood for. and mostly not in an obnoxious
  way.

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