h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey Hyp - I know you're widely-travelled in the UK and everything, but am I right in thinking you've never actually been to Aberdeen?

Having now been to both, I can say with some certainty :

1. Calgary is fairly dire, but Aberdeen is a whole lot direr
2. Both are in the near-vicinity of much better places
3. If your benefactor insists that you can only take your vacation within city limits, you should tell him that 'free' isn't good enough and demand payment by way of compensation

You're right, Pin. York was the farthest north I got. So I have no personal knowledge of Scotland in general or Aberdeen in particular. I have watched every episode of Monarch of the Glen, if that counts for anything.

I'm sticking to my guns here. I have not one, but two friends from Aberdeen who have warned me that certain unscrupulous persons and phoicoids might try to besmirch the reputation of their fair city. I feel it necessary to stand by them here and lend my moral support.

And you have apparently forgotten where I live. Absolutely anyplace is an improvement. Well, almost anyplace. There must be a worse spot somewhere.

You are so skating on thin ice...

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/610000/images/_610070_abdnuni150.jpg
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all in a two mile radius...

Hyp, there's only one way to sort this. You've got to get two free holidays and do both.

'You' being Pinniped, there.

That's a sensible solution, Waz. But I don't want to visit Calgary. I really, really don't. With my luck I'd be booked in there during the stupid rodeo. Did I ever mention that I hate rodeos?

Canadian Dallas. They wish. Even Dallas is preferable to Calgary.

Tell you what. I'll agree to fly over Calgary in a small plane with a very good pair of binoculars.

Hey, can you do librarianstares through binoculars?

Because, you ought to be able to take out whole streets, at least, at x 35 ...

It would solve the problem if you could just obliterate the place. It would get rid of the rodeos too.

I've not seen a real one. Caught a few bullfights on tv in Spain . I'm not a fan of those.

I've never tried a librarian stare through binoculars. It might require a bit of experimentation.

I went to a bullfight in Mexico City. It was more like a ballet than it was like a rodeo.

Your library customers (what's the collective for library visitors) may find it unnerving.

The bullfights I saw were... miserable. Small town, local tv, I guess. No ballet, finery, 'theatre' that I could see. Just a scrawny bull standing, dripping blood, and occasionally moving his head in the direction of a matador (I suppose?) making a small feint at him.

Except the last time. I wasn't paying attention, I was waiting for a weather forecast, when I realised I'd just seen the bull flick a man off the ringside. I carried on watching, assuming he'd get up, escape - forgetting I was in Spain. They'd not have shown it over here. I'm pretty sure I saw him killed.

It was horrible, frankly. It took a few days to lose the effect that had.

I was once willing to give some credence to the 'culture', theatre', 'man against beast', argument - because, well, it is an important part of culture and history there,we all take risks, and life would be unliveable wrapped in cottonwool. Plus nature itself is not all roses.

But... the beast never wins. Can't. It dies whatever it does. And in these fights (the big town/city ones may be different) there's nothing to engage except that possibility of seeing the bull get a man. Watching a man fleeing for his life and not making it wasn't entertainment.



Having said all that, what goes on in industrial poultry production is worse all round.

Sorry, that got a bit heavy. Truth is it's an image I haven't worked out of my mind yet.

Hyp, what's the problem with rodeos? The culture of it?

I'm only familiar with the cowboy film variety. It looks as though there's a fair bit of practical skill involved.

What's wrong with rodeos, you ask? The same thing that is wrong with stock car races, high school football and old fashioned tent revivals. The fact that because of where I had the misfortune to be born, I am expected to like them.

The last rodeo I was forced to attend was hot, dusty, extremely boring (the events just don't interest me), and many of my fellow spectators were loud and obnoxious. But the worst thing was the smell.

The bullfight I attended, on the other hand, was fascinating to watch. We went to a special luncheon beforehand where the ritual of the bullfight was explained so we'd know what to expect. The significance of the costumes, the different colored capes, the jobs of the supporting members of the matador's team, the grand entrance and parade, the release of the bull, what the different feints and passes with the cape signified, and how to tell if the kill was a good one or a bad one.

Granted, the bull always loses. But a skillful matador can dispatch the bull so cleanly that it is dead before it hits the ground. Quite a lot nicer death than in an abattoir. It isn't like the bulls would live happily ever after in a green pasture somewhere if not for the bullring. And the meat is given to orphanages. Plus while they are alive, they are treated extremely well. They have much better lives than animals in feed lots.

The animals in rodeos all live to be tramatized and tortured over and over until their usefulness is finished and then they are sent to slaughterhouses.


As to the matador being killed, that was of course unfortunate and I'm sorry that your experience of a bullfight included that. But, the number of rodeo cowboys who are killed and maimed for life is probably just as high or higher as the number of those in the bullrings.

Before I leave the subject I also want to mention that the crowd is entirely different at the two events. At a bullfight, the crowd understands what it is watching. They appreciate the drama, the skill of the matador, the bravery of the bulls. There were 3 fights the afternoon we went. One was extremely skilled and had the crowd on it's feet throwing flowers into the ring. One was average. And one was so bad he crowd was booing the matador and cheering for the bull.

A rodeo crowd is good old boys chewing tobacco and drinking beer and making lewd remarks to and about all the women present and not even paying attention. Oh, and taking a leak or throwing up under the bleachers.

It sounds as if your bull fight was as I imagined them to be but then found these Andalucian ones different. I could imagine the crowd watching them being more like your rodeo 'old boys'.

A thought occurred, driving to work, I've seen Scottishness from both inside Scotland and outside. Burns nights, Scottish dancing, kilts, clan consciousness... all more common outside. Do you think there could be more awareness of tradition in Mexico than inside Spain? Or perhaps just more overt awareness... or maybe it's just the difference between a small town production and, as yours sounds, something bigger.

An harrrumph

I just came that >----< close to being run down by a meals trolley. That would be such an infra dig way to go.

Requisition for speed bumps for the corridor coming up.

That would be a rather embarrassing way to go. Especially if the food is crummy.

Before I forget, library customers are referred to as patrons. At least in the US.

The bullring in Mexico City is the largest one in the world. It has about 40,000 seats, if I remember correctly. A friend came back from there recently and told me that the popularity of bullfighting has declined considerable the past few years. He said the stadium had more empty seats than filled ones. Perhaps it's popularity is declining in Spain as well.

I would think the difference in the quality of the performances would probably be due to the size of the cities. The smaller arenas would get the novices and has beens. Which of course is the same with rodeos. The large ones have better prizes so attract the better cowboys.

About the traditional Scottish events being more popular outside of Scotland, I imagine that part of it is people who have Scottish blood trying to recapture an identity and stay connected. There are quite a number of clan events in the US. I don't see many kilts around here, but I know people use the clan tartans for vests and throws and that sort of thing.

My personal bloodline is European, mostly English. I've always felt that English history belongs to me. I enjoy having the connection. Of my two grandfathers, one was a first generation American and the other was only second generation.

The US is relatively young and is of course a nation of immigrants. I've always found it amusing that when you ask an American (here at home) what nationality he/she is, the answer will be German or Scottish or Chinese or Mexican or whatever. No one ever says they're American. But if the same person is traveling outside the US and is asked their nationality, then they will say American.

We attended a Highland Games and Scottish Festival week end before last. Lord C. descends from the Clan McLean and we visited the booth set up by the local clansmen. He is a McCormick and we also explored our tartan--it is primarily green and red. The Pipe Band Parade at noon was interesting. There were at least a dozen pipe bands there. Each was introduced individually. Each band marched and played individually. Then the amassed band played "Amazing Grace".
The games were much like the field games in track and field. The competitors threw all sorts of heavy objects, including what looked to be a telephone pole! All were dressed in kilts.
The event was hosted by a community of under 14,000 and they did an amazing job. There was the usual "fair type food", including smoked turkey legs ( sold by an Amishman), sausages and kraut (sold by a German company), funnel cakes, meat pies, homemade root beer, and of course the good old American hamburger.
Music was provided by a Scotsman, two Celtic harpists from Ireland, Tullamore, a young trio from the Kansas City area who specializes in Irish and Scottish music, and a country western group from Wichita. Talk about diversity.
The Scotsman sang the "Star Spangled Banner" at the opening ceremony. It was quite exciting hearing it sung with a Scottish accent.
I don't share the European heritage with Hyp, but do share the English. My other bloodline is mostly Scots Irish.

We have harpists in Tullamore? Must look out for them!

TRiG.

The Tullamore of which I speak is here in the US of A.-- A lovely trio of songsters who "borrowed" the name Tullamore from the Irish. I don't know where in Ireland the harpists call home. They were wonderful though.
I wish I could play a Celtic harp......

The food was a fast moving blur, Hyp.

It's an identity issue, certainly. And a reaction, initially, to feeling alien and homesick I guess. I'd never thought of it existing with the early Spanish settlers but the more I do, the more likely it seems.

LadyC, those telephone poles, they're cabers. I've no idea why the Scots toss them. Other nationalities found much better ways to move logs about and it's very ineffective weaponwise - who's going to stand still long enough to be hit by one? You hardly do it from an ambush.

As an ex-pat Scot in England, I went Scots country dancing last night. First time since June. x 3 brilliant. Apart from having our turn as first couple in Father Connolly messed up by some gender and partner swapping in the rest of the set . It was the proper music, too. The music where you end up dancing in almost silence - just the spoons playing - and it's such a high when you're right on beat when the music comes back. Next time. Hopefully this weekend.

The dancing sounds like fun, Waz.

Are you going to stay in England when you retire or go back to Scotland?

Sometimes it is hard to find a strictly American cultural event. Thanksgiving and the World Series, I suppose. Also many Americans have mixed bloodlines. They really aren't any one nationality. A little of this and a little of that. I've always thought that the reason Americans as families and individuals embrace our European or African or Asian heritages so readily is because they seem more clearly defined. If someone says they're a Scott, for example, we immediately know what that is. If someone says they are an American, it can mean so many different things.

Truly don't know Hyp. Don't know that I can say it would be going back with honesty.

I lived in Glasgow for 6 months maybe, at 6, 18 months at 9/10 - not enough to belong to a place. The Scottish culture I know is the ex-pat version. Plus, I'm nesh. If you spend your first six years in Kenya then warm and sunny is 'normal'. Another factor is where family would be. And that I've good friends around here. And that I've got to know this place so well.

Talking of making the most of life, as in your latest journal, isn't it people that make the most difference? In the right company you can be happy anywhere. In the wrong company, it doesn't make much difference where you are.

I think.

There may be more liklihood of finding more of your own right company in some places rather than others, of course.




"If someone says they're a Scott, for example, we immediately know what that is." - this is related.

If I say I'm Scot here in England, I know what people will make of that, sure. Say it Scotland, though... different matter. It might mark you as a Nationalist, I suppose. But once in Scotland the identifiers are Glasgow v Edinburgh (my Gran would never admit being born in Glasgow), highlands v lowlands, islands v mainlanders, Orkneys v Scotland (Orcadians look north and east - my other Grandmother made sure my faher knew he had a Dane in the background) ... Celtic v Rangers...

I might have less identity if I went there. What I can identify with is mainly Glasgow. Love that place as I do, don't think I could live in a city like it is.

Well, not without the right company. This is going in circles. I don't know Hyp. I've considered it, haven't ruled it out but am not making it a goal. I am pretty settled here.


In that post above, seem might be the key word, H. I don't truly know what nationality means, nor the significance of bloodlines. Part of me says it's all no more than trying to reduce our own bit of world to a size we can handle, or to a tribe or clan to belong to to feel less vulnerable.

When I talk of being Scots that part says it's just a nice romantic idea, a badge to wear.

But then I can't not admit feeling something in connection to Scottish music, and to certain places there, that I don't understand but which is real.

There's something in it, but I don't know what it is and my instinct is that place is never going to be enough on it's own and moving solves no problems.

What a ramble!
Waz