bicyclemark

bicyclemark72: Manipulating the Public, Part 1 (fixed)

AudioCommunique #72(mp3)
29min+, 80kbps, 16Mb+

Too much to mention, but the discussion involves :

The documentary: Century of the Self, by Adam Curtis
The Father of Public Relations, nephew of Siggy Freud – Eddie Bernays
Freud’s theories on the nature of people and psychoanalysis
Corporations and the US government get into the business of understanding how to manipulate people
Making it acceptable for woman to smoke
WWI and WWII and the parallels with Nazi propaganda
Buying Stocks, Cars, Clothes… buying an image
Creating a link between Democracy and Business as well as The good of the country and business
United Fruit’s PR campaign and war in Guatamala
Bernays Fake News Agency and Propaganda machine
The neverending parellels with Iraq and virtually everything today

Frisbee Champions

Since Ms Thingk told me to talk more about Amsterdam life, especially the personal details, this is going to be an exciting update to my fledgling ultimate frisbee career here in the Netherlands.

As many of ye readers well know, I’m a very active new member of the Amsterdam City League, and I practice with the team known as Crunch, one of a few great teams from Amsterdam which play around the country and the continent (i think). Normally I avoid the weekend road trips to god knows where, simply because I treasure my weekend time, especially for podcasting. However this past weekend I joined the Crunch-3 squad in the final games of the outdoor season, in Arnhem. What followed was a whole series of firsts in my life:

The first time I played ultimate frisbee outside of amsterdam.
The first time I joined the team Ive been practicing with for months.
The first time I played on state of the art new fangled almost grass-turf.
The first time I scored a whole lot of points against a Wageningen team that just could not control me.
The first time I collapsed midway through the third match of the day with violent leg cramps and was carried off the field.
The first time I watched the amsterdam red lights play live.

And sure enough, for the first time ever, I was part of a team that won the Netherlands 2005 Division 5 outdoor league.

It’s pretty incredible to see how seriously the Dutch can take frisbee. So many players of so many different ages (the old guys intimidate me). So many teams with so many funky names like the B-Frisbee-2’s or IceyDykes. While there may have been lots of international people present, I really felt like I had entered into a secret dutch sect of frisbee worshippers… and I kind of liked it, despite the sharp pain in my legs.

And YES, Frisbee Girl fans, she WAS there… and she still gives me those looks and I still feel light headed when we talk.

Speaking of flying discs, look- a ninth planet!

Cronyism Stinks

You do me a favor, I do you a favor; thants something I often heard growing up in New Jersey. It’s often a cliché reserved for mobsters, owing someone a favor, but the truth is that type of thinking and manner of relating with humans dominates our western society. Anywhere you look, at all levels, it is all about who you know, what you can get from them, and how you’ll eventually repay that favor. Sometimes it’s an honorable trade off used to reasonable means. But overall, I truely believe it’s alot of bullshit.

Think about it, you look at the whitehouse, and you see a sub-par lawyer get nominated to the supreme court by a sub-par president who has surrounded himself with unqualified people because they have been loyal to him. And he returns and rewards those favors, in oh so many ways.

But this isn’t purely political. You probably know a guy (more often a guy than a girl!) who has a sweet ass job, who is totally not qualified or simply does nothing. The thing is – he knew someone and maybe they owed him one. Cronies. Cronyism. I won’t bother looking it up in the dictionary, it’s all about giving people privledges simply because they have ingraciated themselves to you.

I can’t help but think if there were less of this in western culture, or generally, throughout the earth, the world would be a more fair and functional place.

bicyclemark71: The Dutch War Problem and Relationships in the Netherlands

Join the Mindcaster and myself as we sit in my garden and tackle cultural issues, especially relationships and civil unions in the Netherlands. (experimenting with a microphone… hence the odd sound)

AudioCommunique #71(mp3)
28min+, 80kbps, 16Mb+

Topics Include:
The Misuse of Public Funds by the Bush Admin
The Dutch government won’t share their intel on the Iraq War
Relationships, Living Together, and Civil Unions in the NL
The progressive aspects of culture here we forget about
Privatization of Electricity
Ryanne’s Video Blog is mentioned

Music Includes:
João Donato – Bye Bye Brasil
Bill Frisell – Perritos (Intercontinentals)
Lali Puna – Alienation (from Remixes and B-Sides)
Jay Unger – Ashokan Farewell
Lenin and Zelia Duncan – Naturalemente (from the João Donato Song Book)

Throwing Disc in a Few Hours

Apparently the frisbee team is playing against Arnhem in a few hours, and I’ve agreed to fill in for some missing players. I’ve never been to Arnhem and I wonder if the idea that since Amsterdam is that capital they will fear us, holds any water.

I mention these mundane daily life details because my mind is sort of on that, and it’s late, and I hope I don’t drop too many discs tomorrow. Beyond that its Saturday night and Ive been to three different meet-ups and this is an exhausting way to live. But instead of blogging about these useless details any further, I recommend you:

1 – Check what Madame L is up to
2 – Read the overflow of info from Lindsey
3 – And finally, the greencatfish, ladies and gentlemen.

Blonde But Gone

This post is about ex-pat life and the people who make up your life. Actually it doesn’t matter if you’re an expat, I’m sure where ever you live, you’re in the business of surrounding yourself with people you admire, enjoy, learn from, and just plain feel like “your people”. For many, family is a good source of this as well… unconditional love, I think they call it.

So as expats or anyone living too far from their family, those people you allow into your life and who’s life you’re allowed into, they act as more than just those you like to hit the town and drink one down with… they are vital components of who you are and the manner with which you go through life. They are your second family. And anytime one of those family members leaves, even if it isn’t forever, a part of you leaves as well.

Too dramatic, you think? It’s normal in an international city, says you? Perhaps. But last night the Mindcaster, myself, and some other friends, celebrated in honor of the departure of the great BlondeButBright. The famed blogger, academic, feminist, social critic, and pigeon hater. We joked and danced and even drank a bit, I think to both soak in some last moments for many months and to mask some of the sadness to see our friend go.

Fear not Amsterdam, BBB will certainly be back in 2006, refreshed and ready to once again take this town by storm. Until then, we’ll always have incriminating photos to make us smile thinking of that last crazy autumn night.