What to Say

I've been emailing myself ideas to write about here whenever they occur to me, but for some reason I have had no desire to follow up on them. They sit in my email folder, remembered but ignored, because I just don't feel like writing. Or maybe they're too personal in nature and I don't necessarily feel like sharing them with others. Or perhaps I don't have the energy or attention span right now to delve deeply enough into the subjects to write something worthwhile.

I've been told that I write well, and I used to love to do it as a past time when I was younger. But over the last 10 years or so, I find writing to be a chore and not something that I really enjoy anymore. It's kind of frustrating to know that you have potential in something but to have no desire to practice it.

Right now, as I sit here, I have several things that I want to write that tie into this theme and would allow me to express more fully and coherently my thoughts about this, but I can't figure out how to say them! And that right there is probably one of the biggest reasons I don't write more here. I'm not a good blogger. Blogging is supposed to be off the cuff writing, just say what you're thinking, but I have a hard time doing that because I want cohesion. I want my words and ideas to make sense to anyone else reading them, and it takes me a long time to arrange and rearrange those words before I'm satisfied with them. OK, so I'm writing somewhat freely right now, and I'll just go with it and explain my other reasons for not wanting to write.

The first is something I touched on in the first paragraph, which is limited attention span. I recall reading an article (in the Atlantic Monthly I think) called "Is Google Making Us Stoopid?". The gist of the article is that the internet is structured in a way that makes us jump around, clicking here and there, reading bits and pieces of things but never delving too deeply into any one story or subject. Two examples that come to mind are Wikipedia and the Huffington Post. It is impossible for me to get through a Wikipedia article without clicking on one or more of the numerous links to other pages contained within the text. And once I've done so, there's about a 25% chance that I'll actually return back to the original article I was reading. When I visit the Huffington Post site, I'm continually distracted from the article that I'm reading by the pictures and headlines for other articles that are framed very visibly all around the current article. My point here is that I think the short attention span phenomenon translates into other areas as well (at least for me) and I often find it difficult to follow up on a project to it's completion. As I wrote this last sentence, the thought occured to me that a number of people reading this might comment that perhaps I have adult ADD, and I found myself suddenly wanting to explore the idea that all these adult ADD diagnoses might be tied into this "sound bite" society, but then I'd be going off topic, wouldn't I? Point made.

The other reason that I don't want to write is because I know that whatever I have to say, someone else has already said it and said it better than I. So what's the point? Well, I guess I have to first decide whether I'm writing for me or for others. If I'm writing for me, then does it really matter? You know, I think it does. It's similar to cooking a meal for myself. The final product doesn't have to be the best I've ever tasted, but it needs to be good enough, even if it's only me eating it. And I guess I feel the same about writing. If the final product sucks and isn't enjoyable to read, even just by me, why bother? And I think that's a big reason that I don't write more often. For me, it takes a lot of effort to produce something worthwhile, and frankly, it wears me out.

So screw this, I'm going to the gym. Out!

Act in Haste, Repent in Leisure

Or, in the words of my favorite philosopher Marcus Aurelius, "How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.''

Just been thinking of how pertinent this is lately, what with the violence in Gaza, the riots in Greece, and the ongoing "war on terror" resulting from the events of 9/11. I would also include the ill-conceived bailout and call for more regulation in response to the financial crisis (I don't think we need more regulation, I think we need smarter regulation, and hopefully the Dream Team of economic advisors that Obama has put together understands this but I'm not holding my breath).

It seems to me that the entire world has succumbed to the mentality that we need ACTION NOW! and have become willfully ignorant of the unintended consequences that accompany any action.

Along these lines I'll close with one platforms from the Libertarian Party website (www.lp.org) pertaining to foreign relations (it doesn't really have anything to do with the topic, but it's something that's also been on my mind lately):

The principle of non-intervention should guide relationships between governments. The United States government should return to the historic libertarian tradition of avoiding entangling alliances, abstaining totally from foreign quarrels and imperialist adventures, and recognizing the right to unrestricted trade, travel, and immigration.

On what I will do to help fill my time on Crete

I love wine. Next to travel, it's my greatest passion/past time. I've completed the intermediate and advanced certificate programs from the London based Wine & Spirit Education Trust, attend tastings as regularly as finances will allow, head up a monthly wine club group, and participate in wine forum discussions online. I'm what they call a wine geek, I guess.

So I was online checking out the various vineyards on Crete, noticing that the majority of their wine is grown/produced in the eastern part of the island, which is about three hours from where I'll be living. Then I happened upon a website for Manousakis Vineyards, which is in western Crete and much closer to where I'll be, and I was sufficiently impressed by what I read that I sent them an email asking if they might use me as an unpaid volunteer. I got a call from Alexandra Manousakis, who is the daughter of the owner, Ted Manousakis. She is actually in DC for the holidays (their family is originally from this area but moved back to Crete to start up the vineyard a few years ago) and we've got an appointment to meet next Friday evening to discuss how they might use me.

I've been reading about the Greek wine industry on this website, which I think is a great resource for producers and consumers alike who are interested in this region and the transitions in its wine industry:

http://www.greekwinemakers.com/

I'm really looking forward to getting some hands on experience working in this vineyard/winery.

This is Very Disturbing to Me

Among the plethora of disturbing things that seem to keep coming at us regularly these days. An excerpt from a Reuters article regarding the Madoff scandal:

Even investors who managed to pull their funds out of Madoff's firm two years ago, or more, may have to return money, said Jeff Marwil, a partner at law firm Winston & Strawn, which is representing a group of Madoff investors.

"It's about the equalization of harm," Marwil said.

CLAWING BACK LOSSES

Under U.S. bankruptcy code, investors that pulled money out of a fraudulent fund up to two years before it went under must give their money back, if they knew or should have known the fund was bogus, Winston & Strawn's Marwil said. And state law typically broadens that window to four to six years.

Marwil, who is representing the bankrupt Bayou Group of hedge funds, successfully took back funds from investors that had withdrawn money years before Bayou went under.

"Our view was there were sufficient red flags for any investor to know there was a problem at Bayou. I think a similar argument could be made here," Marwil said.

So my question is…how in god's name can you possibly argue that someone who was smart enough to pull money out of something (hence the "should have known" part of it) should in ANY WAY be responsible for helping out those who also "should have known".

Although I don't know why I'm at all surprised by this, when you consider that we've all been required to participate in the "equalization of harm" with the bailouts to the banks, homeowners and possibly the auto industry.

I may as well go live in Europe at this point. Oh wait, that's right…I am!! :-)

My thought for this morning

Try to always speak truth with respect and compassion.

KHAOS

A friend/coworker once gave me the nickname Khaos (a derivation of the word chaos obviously, and also transliterated greek for the goddess of air). He gave me this name because of my tendency to thrive on drama. I would get excited when there was upheaval in the office, liked to listen to the latest office rumors (and occasionally spread one or two myself, although never maliciously!), etc.

This nickname is appropriate in more ways than one, however. A trend seems to have developed back in 2002 when I was planning a trip to Madagascar and the country broke out in civil war. I had to cancel my trip and reschedule for the following summer, when the nation was once again fit for receiving visitors. Since then I've been in Burma when a small coup occurred, Turkey just before gunmen killed three cops at the US consulate in Istanbul, and now, as I prepare to move to Crete for six months, it looks as thought the citizenry of Greece has decided to revolt against the government. My dad jokes that if you want to topple a government, just invite me. Of course, I have nothing to do with any of these events (although the delusions of grandeur are somewhat fun to entertain); the world is just a chaotic place. But damn it...I really hope the Greeks get their shit together over the next few months. I'll still go if I can get a flight. But if I can't, then I'll go somewhere else. Turkey, maybe. Or Cyprus! Things have been pretty quiet there for a while...perhaps it's time for a little Khaos!!

Winner: Strangest Reproduction Ritual in the Animal Kingdom

A co-worker and I had a conversation today regarding which species has the strangest mating rituals. After considering the Black Widow spider, Praying Mantis, Binobo Monkey and whale, we decided that the garden slug takes top prize. This was copied and pasted from the following link: http://ifaq.wap.org/sex/sexandgardenslug.html

Sex and the Garden Slug

Now that it's garden season, here's an interesting tidbit from the Field Guide to the Slug.

Although slugs are hermaphroditic, each animal equipped with both male and female reproductive organs, they mate with themselves only if no other slugs are around. Given a choice, they seek partners with whom to trade genetic material, a move that, by favoring the passage of chromosomes from both parents to the offspring, nurtures a healthier pool of slug genes. The actual exchange of sperm is preceeded by an elaborate courtship ritual, which supposedly reduces the chance of two individuals of separate species mating and giving rise to hybrids.

During courtship, two slugs will circle each other ... with both partners engaged in ritualized bouts of lunging, nipping, and sideswiping with their tails. The two slugs may also display their disproportionately large sex organs. The great grey garden slug's penis is nearly half its total body length. In fact, penis size is reflected in the scientific name of one banana slug species: dolichophallus -- Latin for "long penis."

"The sight of a courting pair of slugs majestically circling one another ... while they solemnly wave their oversized penises overhead puts the most improbably athletic couples of Pompeii and Khajuraho into a more appropriate and severely diminished perspective," note researchers C. David Rollo and William G. Wellington. "Athletic" is an even more appropriate adjective for great grey garden slugs, which are able to copulate in midair, suspended by stretchy strands of mucus up to 17 3/4 inches long.

As courtship progresses, a banana slug pair intertwines ... stimulating each other for several more hours. Their genital areas swell as the pair move even closer together. Penetration takes place, then each slug alternately releases and receives sperm.

Now the slugs must disengage -- a challenge for two animals so amply endowed and thoroughly covered in sticky mucus. After long bouts of writhing and pulling, the pair may resort to ... apophallation. Translated, this means that one slug gnaws off the penis of the other.

Is there an advantage to such odd behavior? Yes, according to Adrian Forsyth, author of A Natural History of Sex. The apophallated slug, says Forsyth, "cannot regrow his penis and is now obligated to be a female and forced to offer eggs." ... In other animal species, gigantism has been a precursor to extinction. Only by submitting to the shears can banana slugs maintain their inordinate organs.