Observations of a Global Nomad

vermivorous: Mines, potatoes, same thing. I opened up Fallout...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:34:20 -0400

Mines, potatoes, same thing.

I opened up Fallout 3 again for the first time in ages, and was reintroduced to just how wonderful the character of Moira Brown is.

cracked: With all those songs, not one person had to take a...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:24:06 -0400

cracked:

With all those songs, not one person had to take a break to spit up flecks of plague?

If Disney Cartoons Were Historically Accurate

I caught up a little with an old work colleague the other day. I hadn’t talked to him in a...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:19:42 -0400

I caught up a little with an old work colleague the other day. I hadn’t talked to him in a while. He was a nice enough person but tended to exaggerate his life to comical proportions, so it was hard to know what to believe whenever he updated me about his life. It wasn’t all that long ago that he told me keenly about Navy Officer School, and I’d known him as a Concierge, so… With that pinch of salt, we progress.

He says that now he’s working as a linesman (is that the term?). He climbs telephone poles and does repairwork and such. I’m pretty sure he’s not that physically fit, he never was when I knew him better, but it’s been 2 years. I allow for the possibility.

In any case, he says it’s a much better job. Higher wages, greater job security because of unionization, and he has more days off. Considering that we both came from the hotel industry… I kind of do believe that assessment.

In developed economies we have more and more people trying to get into office jobs, because there’s the old adage that the more paperwork you do, the more important and better your job is. Less manual labour is better, right?

But I was thinking about that internship video. Lots of paperwork jobs require internships now, and internships are increasingly done for little to no pay. This is due to the philosophy that the better your future prospects, the more early sacrifices you have to make. And then you have to work your way through corporate hierarchy.

Manual labour jobs are a bit different. Those in the service industry don’t count, since those are the most easily abused. Restaurant workers and so on usually work hourly wages without formal contracts, in America the hourly wage being below the minimum because the rest is supposedly made up by tips.

But say, something like a specialist job, like a mechanic, plumber or electrician? Here in Switzerland those kinds of jobs are paid ridiculously well, and have the support of labour unions. There are fewer of these jobs around for everyone, but if you land one you’re reasonably secure in terms of employment.

So it’s a little ironic that the traditionally desired jobs, those involving a desk and paperwork, tend to demand more and a longer period of sacrifice with less pay, than some traditional labour jobs.

This isn’t the case in developing countries, because labour tends to be cheaper and the economy still in a state of building its infrastructure, but it might move towards it.

I liked Fallout 3 overall, but it’s just possible that Liam Neeson’s voice is the best...

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:11:00 -0400

I liked Fallout 3 overall, but it’s just possible that Liam Neeson’s voice is the best part.

Held to different standards

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:07:42 -0400

Generally speaking I consider myself an open-minded person. But I was Skyping with a couple of American friends yesterday, and despite that they’re lovely people and I value their long friendship… sometimes you get reminded of the different worlds you come from.

They both don’t like mushrooms, for example. Generally speaking, like I said, I tell people “Try it, if you don’t like it, fine, at least you tried it.” But MUSHROOMS? You’re not allowed to not like mushrooms.

Or at least, that’s how I felt when they said so. I suspect that if I were talking to someone in Asia and offered them something European, I’d be more understanding if it wasn’t to their taste, and vice versa. As long as you try it, it’s fine.”

The same goes for travel. I don’t expect most of my friends to travel often. Even I don’t travel all that often. It’s expensive and time consuming. But for some reason it hurts me more when Americans are ignorant about things of the world. If I met someone in Singapore who confused the Red Cross flag with the Swiss flag I wouldn’t mind as much as I would if an American did it. Which happened.

You can’t expect people to know everything or even to want to know everything. You can’t expect them to be like you, and I generally respect that with people… but less so with Americans.

So why do I hold my American peers to a different standard from others? Possibly I’m just biased. All in all, it just bothers me a lot more and I don’t have a good reason why.

trollception hat auf dein Video geantwortet: So this is a fun video about internships. ...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:56:04 -0400

trollception hat auf dein Video geantwortet: So this is a fun video about internships. …

Hahaaa now you’re posting it :P

It’s a fun video. Also I really miss Malaysia right now. Thanks.

So this is a fun video about internships. Generally speaking...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:52:00 -0400

So this is a fun video about internships.

Generally speaking the entire process of internships is an abusive one. Probably it started as a good idea: I can’t pay you, but you will make contacts and learn the tools of the trade. But now it’s largely become a vehicle through which companies can get highly trained but low cost labour for whatever jobs it happens to only need temporary help with.

It of course varies between industries and companies and so on, but the vast majority are this.

FYI Roti Canai is a flat Indian bread common in Malaysia from street food stalls, though in Singapore and India it’s known as Roti Paratha. Teh Tarik is a kind of sweet tea. Ringgit is the currency in Malaysia, usually roughly around 3 Ringgit to 1 USD.

Possible Game of Thrones spoilers below

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:36:00 -0400

There’s a common saying that Tyrion does not get get bonus points for not raping Sansa. And generally I agree. Not raping an underage girl should be the standard, not something to celebrate.

But unfortunately this is Westeros, where raping underage girls is probably pretty common. Tyrion is surrounded by people, even close friends, who tell him it’s not a big deal and just to do it. He’s obliged by his ever-still terrifying father to do it for Duty to his House. He’s teased as well with the prospect of power: wedding and consummating that wedding with Sansa gives him power through her family line.

And he acts against all that because he doesn’t want to rape an underage girl, despite that everyone else tells him it’s okay, that it’s his duty, and that it’s a great step up for him.

I think that wins him bonus points in the context of Westeros. For us, as modern viewers, it behooves us to understand his context. The same circumstances can’t and aren’t repeated in our real lives, and as such not raping a girl should be the normal circumstances and not the opposite. But in Westeros it isn’t.

It’s a credit to his character that despite society and family and the call to power, he acts upon his moral compass. The books as a whole don’t always reward moral behaviour, as it’s shown that just because someone acts in ethically correct ways doesn’t mean that they will succeed in their endeavours. But we value our characters who make moral choices even more, because of that, because despite all the rewards of complying and all the punishments of not, they still do it.

In this, Tyrion is a bit like Ned. Ned followed his moral compass to the end, and despite all his honourable (if not smart) decisions it still ended badly. Tyrion’s choice here is the right one but it may not bode well for him, or at the very least, doing one morally wrong act might have rewarded him greatly. But he didn’t.

jesters-armed hat auf deinen Eintrag geantwortet: So I have a small gripe with the Sam the...

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:00:56 -0400

jesters-armed hat auf deinen Eintrag geantwortet: So I have a small gripe with the Sam the Slayer…

I’d be interested whether your opinion of “close enough” to the books still is up … I read on twitter a week ago that Melisandre tried to kidnap Gendry and I was only shaking my head at that.

So I’m okay with changes from the books. Some things are hard to write into a TV show. Some things can be simplified. Some things can even be improved.

There is no Edric Storm in the show. And so, there is no new siege of Storm’s End. Melisandre didn’t work her shadow baby magic into that, only with Renly. All of this simplifies things.

But still, the role that Edric Storm plays needs to be filled, so why not with Gendry, who’s also one of Robert’s bastards and is a known character in another plotline? I don’t know what’s going to happen to Gendry because at a certain point he drops off from the book plot, so why not allow him to follow, to some extent, Edric Storm’s?

I’m okay with that. It also added a bit to the mystery to see Thoros of Myr and Melisandre interact.

At first I was really weirded out by Shae becoming Sansa’s handmaiden, but it’s, I have to say, an improvement. it adds to the tension between Shae and Tyrion with the wedding to Sansa, and gives her deeper motivations beyond what the character had in the books for her future choices.

So far I mostly trust the show writers with what they’re doing and am open minded to their changes.

Except Robb Stark’s storyline. Changing Jeyne for Talisa still feels uncomfortable to me, but I’ll see how that develops further with the Frey wedding.

So I have a small gripe with the Sam the Slayer scene. In the book, this happens to Sam much...

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:16:25 -0400

So I have a small gripe with the Sam the Slayer scene.

In the book, this happens to Sam much earlier, while he’s still near his Night’s Watch brothers. They spread the tale around the others, which is a source of some amusement “Sam the fat coward killed the scariest thing ever? But he did, we saw it.”

The problem being that, in the episode, only Gilly sees it happen. No one’s going to believe a Wildling girl. So who could back him up?

Maybe it’s not a very important point but I think it’s of some minor importance.

Awww no “I could be good to you” speech from Tyrion.

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:56:59 -0400

Awww no “I could be good to you” speech from Tyrion.

Ohhh, no… it’s Daario… This is where things get complicated for Danaerys. I hope...

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:15:54 -0400

Ohhh, no… it’s Daario…

This is where things get complicated for Danaerys. I hope her choices are portrayed in a more sympathetic and understanding light than as I read them in the books.

"Collecting was enormously popular among the English of this century. Bones, shells, butterflies,..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:08:49 -0400

“Collecting was enormously popular among the English of this century. Bones, shells, butterflies, birds, other people’s countries…”

- Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, The Science of Discworld III: Darwin’s Watch (via iampurplemontart)

My parents are somewhat obsessive planners. My dad in particular, when traveling, likes to look up...

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:15:00 -0400

My parents are somewhat obsessive planners. My dad in particular, when traveling, likes to look up all the train connections and all the details and print out multiple possible itineraries.

My mom is just a bit of a control freak, and maybe slightly OCD.

A few years ago they lived closer to Zürich, and there was one almost direct train to the airport, with one changeover. The time between when your train arrived and the next one left was something like 3-5 minutes. This is a long time, considering that the trains actually shared the same platform, and so it’s literally crossing from one side of the platform to the other.

Despite taking this train multiple times, in the months and months after having moved to this area, they would tense up one stop before the change, remind each other and anyone else they’re with that they have to change soon, rush like hell to the other side, and sit and wait for 5 minutes.

The wonderful thing about the Swiss public transport network is that most of it works together really well. Buses and trains arrive with generally enough time to make your connections. You might occasionally have to run a little, but most of the time you don’t have to do more than walk. 7 minutes is a lot of time to go from one platform to another.

trollception hat auf deinen Eintrag geantwortet: So my cousin is coming here on Saturday,...

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:59:00 -0400

trollception hat auf deinen Eintrag geantwortet: So my cousin is coming here on Saturday, actually….

Luzern… Lucerne?

Luzern in German, Lucerne in French.

Genf in German, Geneva in English, Genève in French.

Bern in German, Berne in French

Freiburg in German, Fribourg in French

Yverdon-les-Bains in French, Yverdon-les-Bains in English, Yverdon-les-Bains in German.

It’s really amusing on the train when they announce the upcoming stop three times in three languages when the name stays the same.

So my cousin is coming here on Saturday, actually. She’s going to stay for about 10 days,...

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:55:39 -0400

So my cousin is coming here on Saturday, actually. She’s going to stay for about 10 days, before going to Paris with my sister.

So roughly on the plan are Luzern, Zug and Zürich. if I feel like trying something new, I’ve always meant to go to Schaffhausen.

if I feel like I have the time to go further, then I also can do Bern and Interlaken.

I hope my friends aren’t too busy though. I’d like at least one or two chances for her to meet them. Maybe go to the ETH student bar.

That means I have to finish this essay before Saturday though. And I’ll have to be working on the other essay before that at least a little, and then finish it after she goes to Paris. And then once she goes, I can concentrate on revision for my exams as well.

Hmmm.

A friend sent me a photo on Whatsapp of some Vietnamese Communist propaganda. I hadn’t heard...

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:28:00 -0400

A friend sent me a photo on Whatsapp of some Vietnamese Communist propaganda.

I hadn’t heard from him in a while, so I asked him if he’s in Vietnam. And he said “Sure am!”

Usually he’s based in Paris, but I believe his parents still live and work in Jakarta.

Anyway, I told him I could put him in touch with friends in the area.

This is the advantage of living internationally. You make friends around the world, and then you have friends who travel, and you can put them in touch with the friends based in various parts.

Also, when you travel, and if you live internationally you will travel, it’s a lot nicer and easier to be visiting friends in places than to be entirely alone.

journalwoman hat auf deinen Eintrag geantwortet: One of the ironies of being multilingual is...

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:12:00 -0400

journalwoman hat auf deinen Eintrag geantwortet: One of the ironies of being multilingual is that,…

Hah. “Cool party trick” is an excellent description.

Doesn’t it feel like such a waste of your linguistic skills if all you use it for is occasionally showing off for houseguests and the like?

If you speak French, there are all the people in France, Quebec, Wallonia, Suisse Romande and Francophone Africa who are now open to communicate with you. But in a place like America, you use it for a story or anecdote once in a while. Or, like me, to show off so that you don’t feel depressingly American, where the attitude is that you never really need anything more than English.

Star Trek Movie: SPOILERZZZZ

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:17:04 -0400

thisfeliciaday:

You are officially spoiled if you read below, NO COMPLAINTS!

Up front I will say I enjoyed this latest Star Trek movie a lot. It was super noisy, but enjoyable, beautifully executed, and I particularly like some of the secondary characters, Spock was excellent, etc etc. I just want to share an observation that stuck with me:

Where are the women? The strong women? The women we’d like to see in 200 years? Where are they in this world? They certainly aren’t around the roundtable when the Starfleet are learning about Khan (there might have been one in that scene, if so that extra was not cut to in any significant manner to be notable.) In the scene where Kirk gets his ship back and the admiral is having a meeting with “important” people around a table later, I failed to see ONE WOMAN AROUND THAT TABLE, ALL MOSTLY WHITE MEN IMPLIED TO BE MAKING IMPORTANT DECISIONS TOGETHER. Yes, these are just scenes with extras, but seriously, in the future not one woman over 40 is in charge in this world?! How can that happen?

For main characters, Uhura had a FEW nice scenes (as a vehicle to humanize Spock mostly), but that other woman character was the WORST damsel in distress ever. I kept waiting for her turn, waiting for her to not be the victim, to be a bit cleverer, to add to the equation in a “yeah you go girl” way but no, she was there to be sufficiently sexy that Kirk would acknowledge her existence, to be pretty, to serve the plot. I loved her bob. That’s it. What if she had been a less attractive woman, older, overweight? A tomboy? Wouldn’t have that been a tad more interesting choice? Or at least give her a moment where she’s not a princess waiting to be saved. From a director who is so amazing, who created wonderful female characters in Alias and Felicity, I was super bummed by this. A woman character CAN exist without having to be sexually desired by the guy. Oh, and she doesn’t have to be a lesbian either, OMG WHAT A SURPRISING IDEA!

I don’t know if I’m extra sensitive about this issue or what, but I don’t think so, it’s a trend in media today. When I walk into the theater, I see men on posters. Mostly white men, the same men we see over and over in movies. Seth Rogen, Owen Wilson, Brad Pitt etc. Where did the women go? We are telling people that only men are worth centering storytelling around, and that’s just bullshit. And the problem is we unconsciously define the world and our culture through media. These things are subliminal, we absorb them, they formulate the “given” that influences people’s life choices. It might be a little thing on the surface, but this stuff is what prevents women from being as interested in math, or business people or tech etc. Where are the examples of women in media to strive for, to make that stuff seem possible? I don’t see many. And that makes me sad.

People ask me why I don’t like Disney, I say, “Think of a princess. Tell me three adjectives that come to mind. Now do that with a prince. Now do that with the phrase, “leading character”. We will all probably align around a lot of common ideas, Princess: taken care of, rescued, pretty dresses. Prince: adventurer, proving himself, manhood, Leading Character: chiseled white guy in his thirties, rockin’ body, girlfriend in peril.

Ugh.

I dunno about you, but it’s kind of boring to see the same thing over and over again. So I guess, rambling away from the Star Trek thing, if you’re creating something, think of the first three adjectives that come to mind, then: Do something different. It’s time to invent new cliches. For all of us, please.

So I commented on this but want to reblog, not just for followers but for commentary.

The other female character is a Doctor Marcus, whose existence is entirely there simply to make more nods to the original series, particularly Wrath of Khan. She was Kirk’s love interest in an original series episode, and in the Wrath of Khan movie it’s revealed that she had a son from him. All in all, the original “Wrath of Khan” version of her is more interesting (“Can I cook, or can’t I?”) and you can imagine why younger Kirk would have been interested in her for her intelligence and vision, but in the end she’s still a minor character.

I agree though. If you’re going to reboot Star Trek, the least you can do is upgrade the roles of the female characters. I get that this film was basically about the relationship between Kirk and Spock, but I think there was a little more wiggle room for development of female characters.

"Today ‘human rights’ is much in fashion, which makes it the subject of a certain amount of humbug...."

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:20:07 -0400

“Today ‘human rights’ is much in fashion, which makes it the subject of a certain amount of humbug. In a world where virtue is no longer its own reward, there are plenty of human rights prizes, many funded by corporation exposed for exploiting the poor, awarded to well-paid lawyers, well-meaning journalists, well-photographed actresses and politicians who have never had to risk their careers in a cause perceived by national authorities as subversive. Ironies abound: the Simon Wiesenthal Center, celebrated for tracking down Nazi war criminals, today gives its peace prizes to supporters of the government of Israel. Self-promoting pop stars are prepared to promote politicians if they support the right to debt relief, but not the anti-war and anti-corruption measures without which there can be no relief for the poor in countries bankrupted by armed conflicts and the extravagance of their rulers. In 2005, the ‘Live 8’ campaign to ‘make poverty history’ made no mention of ending the impunity which in Africa makes poverty inevitable. It would be churlish to decry the fashionability of human rights, but premature to think that this means the struggle to have them enforced - the crucial ‘third phase’ of the human rights revolution - has yet been won.”

- Geoffrey Robertson QC, in Crimes Against Humanity: The struggle for Global Justice (via lametisse)