Notes on Bryson

I’m reading Bill Bryson’s latest travel book about his adopted home, the U.K. 

Mostly he travels to small towns in England and Wales to inform the reader on the history and current state of affairs. We get a little bit of the writer’s personal life as he relates his past travels through the country. The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain takes a fresh look at English pubs, tea, country towns and cell phone etiquette in this hilarious travel diary.

It is one part journalism and two parts satire. Satire and observation make up the humorous (sellable) part of the book. Most towns have backstories explaining the name or historical figure associated with it. Too often the story or legend is dull and anything beyond a paragraph is too much for me. Much of the small town hopping is excessive; he seems determined to check as many towns off the list as possible. It doesn't ruin the story but does seem to pad it. The insight and wit Bryson displays make the slower parts less so.

Raised in Iowa, he gets the differences between America and Britain on food culture and customer service intuitively. Here, he sprinkles the chapters with personal stories from hotels in New York to B&Bs in West Wales. His take on pop culture and what has been lost in modern Britain is hilarious. He can’t help the ‘back-in-my-day’ approach to travel and what has changed since his famous Notes on a Small Island days, the book established him as a travel humorist (travelumorist?). I confess I haven’t read it but Bill references it so often this feels a bit like a sequel. Like most sequels it probably lacks the creativity of the first however. 

He spends a little time on the green zone debate in London. If you aren’t familiar it is similar to other urban planning concerns in major cities. Historical society types and do-gooders who think it is their business to take valuable land out of production have a massive green belt around London. Bryson loves the green space and although I don’t understand his enthusiasm for the green belt, his support of it really strengthens the conservationist tone of the book. He takes a few shots at the green belt Economist for wanting to sell off the unused space.

 The author does his history research throughout the book but doesn’t pummel the reader with useless hagiographies of every earl of this and count of that. He keeps it light and funny with delicious bits of anecdotes in every helping. He might of trimmed the fat on this project some. It isn’t a long book but feels slow in the middle and drags--a little like walking through the countryside.

The humor of the writer shines through brilliantly and the country that inspired him to enjoy nature walks gets another close up from the master cynic.

"Not My Precedent"

The Obamacare precedent is that the government SHOULD be responsible for the medical coverage of all Americans.

Not knowing a ton of information about health care industry I’m reluctant to wade into this topic. But here it goes…

 I don’t like the idea of government sponsored health care or health insurance because it uses public money for private business. This distorts the market because public money is an endless buffet of ‘promises’ never completely delivered. As a society we can carry some debt on interstates and bridges or disaster relief and war but not private health insurance. Hospital visits will get more frequent and medical plans will cover more ailments as long as taxpayers are funding the bill. Medicare runs out of funding consistently.

I can’t imagine the Republican plan to overhaul the ACA (Affordalbe Care Act) will be much cleaner than the original Democrat plan. They don’t do minutia and shouldn’t be asked to. We wouldn’t ask long haul truckers to race their rigs in the Indy 500. They weren’t designed for it. This is a job for markets. Congress can help by removing restrictions on levels of coverage or by allowing some interstate commerce to increase competition among insurers.

Officials don’t help us buy food or gas, why do we need them for health care?

 Obamacare puts taxpayers on the hook for individuals’ health care, or at least the price of it.

It might sound mild but it is a significant change of course for Americans who think and act in market based terms for most goods and services. I get that the market is decidedly less free than it used to be. New homes, cars, food and energy are all frequently subsidized through direct payments and rebates. Both the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program and the new home tax credits were forms of subsidies. A subsidy is just money from the government to help with the cost of a good or service. Often we come out ahead, like I did on the housing credit, occasionally we lose out.

 How well did used car dealers do under Cash for Clunkers?

 Economists (good ones) hate market intervention because it distorts the real value or price of an item. If your corner Quicki Mart owner gets a 50 cent rebate from Pepsi for every bottle, he can sell pop cheaper than everyone else. Pepsi made the pop at Quicki Mart cheaper than at both EZ buy and Save More. The real market value of Pepsi is something closer to what EZ buy and Save More sell it at. Pepsi distorted the real value of the pop sold at convenience stores by subsidizing Quicki Mart.

No serious person thinks we need a government subsidy so EZ buy and Save More can sell Pepsi at the same rate as Quicki Mart. Or that either shop couldn’t try to sell it cheaper to compete with Quicki Mart. We do treat health care this way though.

Large insurers with thousands of members offer plans at lower rates than small insurers. The reason is simple; the coverage they offer is broader and comes with rebates on hospital and clinic visits. Big health insurers can afford to sell cheaper than their competitors because of the rebate they get from providers. Governments have no more business regulating this than the price of Pepsi at corner stores.

Yes I understand that health care is much more serious than carbonated drinks, but not recognizing this as something for private industry to handle is what leads to high prices. Laws insisting everyone have coverage puts pressures on employers and insurance companies to cover everyone. The only way it works is because of the rebate the insurer gets from the government for offering a plan they couldn’t afford without it.

This is like insisting everyone buy Pepsi. If you can’t afford it the government will help you pay for it by giving you special coupons for EZ Buy and Save More.

The president wanted to get a massive health care law done before he left office, so bad in fact that the framework was built to fall apart. A federal pyramid with mostly older and sicker Americans at the top collapses of its own weight eventually.

 Obamacare was exactly that kind of precedent, one that made official the belief that governments should be the ultimate judge of life and liberty.  

I don’t think the Republicans will improve things much because we’ve crossed the Rubicon between roles of government and roles of citizens. We now think health care just needs to run better, a massive shop with an efficient manager. Republicans will save money and cut costs, probably. It misses the real point. They have no business selling it or regulating it, beyond some very minor things. Let the hospitals, doctors, drug companies, hospice centers, insurance providers and specialists figure it out. They know how.

This isn’t my precedent.

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Commitment breeds Consistency

  

 I tried to learn Chinese a few years ago. 

I breezed through my CD-ROM of Mandarin 1. No doubt most of what I learned in 2005 (in China) I forgot over the last couple of years but I was consistent in studying when I came back. The belief that kept me going was this idea of traveling back to China someday, work or travel. The language study fulfilled some emotional attachment I had, and have, to the middle kingdom. I liked the ‘idea’ of learning Mandarin, more than actually learning Mandarin. 

The long term commitment to learn it just wasn't there. 

Like gym-goers full of energy and dedicated to losing weight we forget our exuberance after a rainy day or a cold morning. By April the passion in the eyes is all but dim, like the last few coal embers on a camp fire. This is human nature though. We ebb and flow on commitments because our feelings get in the way. If we understood how emotional our commitment to exercise and healthy eating was we wouldn’t be surprised when it finally waned.

Emotion clouds commitment as surely as Kool-Aid colors water.

Long term commitment requires a larger reserve of guts to accommodate the crashing waves of emotion along the way. If not guts than something more eternal, a higher purpose. Spouses of loved ones with debilitating diseases spring to mind. I noticed a special recently about a movie director with ALS whose wife takes care of him regularly, he managed to direct a film in his condition. The fact that he directed a film through words typed on to a screen using his eyes to located keys on a keyboard (Stephen Hawking style) is amazing and inspirational. His wife and her upbeat look at life and kids really impressed me though. She takes care of him all the time while raising a handful of kids too.

I imagine she approaches every discipline in life with the same dedication it takes to care for her husband and kids.

 Long term commitment has transferable skills that jump from one successful corner of life to another. For instance, if working out is your thing and you’ve been faithful to it, you understand the discipline it has built in you. The foods you’ve avoided, the parties you left early, the alarms you’ve woken up to have all contributed to a better you. When you take on new tasks you are more likely than others to finish them or continue working on projects that aren’t interesting anymore. Because you understand how to ride waves of commitment when others bail out, sick of trying to stay on the surfboard.

Commitment has to be enough by itself, all by itself. Saying “I’d love to go but I can’t…I made plans to help Todd move” has to be enough. Sticking with something doesn’t have to feel a certain way it just needs to be something consistent you do, something you practice. Emotion can’t have any part of it. Stick with that difficult thing and watch improvement roll in.

 Whether learning a language or giving up Saturdays to help a neighbor move, steadfastness pays off. You will approach other situations in life with the same dedication.

You know what it takes now. You are committed.  

The downside of "Done!"

You know that question that pops up in job interviews…the one everyone hates to answer truthfully because if we did we might not get the job? If you haven’t been interviewed in a while here it is: “Name something you would like to fix about yourself?” Occasionally it gets worded this way “What would you say is a weakness you have?” Most of us say things like “I just wish I had more hours in the day, to do more work” or “I have to do everything perfect, all the time…” We answer that way because it makes us look good even in our pseudo-weakness. We don't really mean it though.

The interviewer isn’t buying it either.

An honest answer for many might be “Well, I don’t like alarm clocks first thing in the morning! If the sun isn’t up…forget about it. Whiskey does that to me you know?” Some of us are miserable at work and our co-workers avoid us like jury duty. An honest answer from them would be “I constantly blow up over the slightest problems and stew over perceived abuses. People don’t involve me in projects because I can’t handle even marginal changes in course.”

I get that one by the way. People who like routine hate surprises. I hate surprises.

For me though the primary stumbling block however is my need to finish things at the expense of quality. Not that the quality is awful or that I smack a timer, lightning chess style, every time I finish a minor task. I do scream “done!” into the PA system and dance around fists in air though (Not Really).

In my world “done” means “complete” and “complete” means “success”.

I’ve tried to figure out why I am so obsessed with finishing the thing instead of perfecting the thing. I really do hate the details of the thing and roll my eyes anytime a coworker points to the imperfections of the thing. “Hey!” I shout “Did you do the thing…the thing that needed to be done? Huh, did you? No you didn’t. I did, only me. Ok so the stuff is the wrong color and parts are crooked, and yes I did notice the size is off, but it’s finished dammit!”

An invisible clock ticks away inside my head keeping an update of the progress and mapping it out in real time. Most video games have levels to conquer or villains to kill. Progress is mapped out electronically, coins are added up. The avatar moves heroically along the graph, winning and succeeding through the fantasy world. Were any of these games designed by bored employees who ran out of projects? Probably.

My honest answer to a questioner would have to be “Being task oriented means I ignore details that slow me down, critical details that are the difference between right and wrong, making money and losing money.” The good news is everyone has something to work on, some have more than one. Knowing your soft spot is half the solution; working on it is the other half.

The best way to help yourself is by finding someone who is opposite in technique and copying them for a while. Notice their habits. What differences exist that could explain their success? Ask them to describe their process.

Here is what I’ve found. People who have success do so by checking things off the list only when all details are met. Sometimes there is a literal checklist and other times just a mental one. By using lists and double checking things I’ve sharpened up some of my sloppier habits. It does kill me (just a little) to slow down and comb over things I would have called finished before. By doing this I catch mistakes quicker and avoid embarrassing discussions with the boss about why the thing fell apart after I finished it, and shouted “done!”

Also, some are just freakishly smart and remember everything. They never write things down and never have to. They just win. Don’t be like them. If you struggle to remember what you had for breakfast don’t try to remember details of a complicated project. Get a checklist. Fill it out. Go through the motions of double checking no matter how much it pains your sensibilities. The fact is we can all improve our habits, fix our shortcomings and decide which color looks best on the thing.

And the next time we get the dreaded “What would you say is a weakness you have?” we can answer honestly and add “I’ve got some ideas for how to improve it now.” 

"Personal Best!"

Running/Jogging is a thinking man’s sport. You can exercise while thinking of something else. No pesky scores to remember or teammates with attitudes “We get it Carl you PLAYED QUARTERBACK IN HIGH SCHOOL!” Forest Gump got it right when he said “I just felt like running”… of course he did. Is there any better feeling for the body than sweating it out after a hard run? Maybe running isn’t a traditional sport with competition and defense but for me it does the same thing.

Life is like running (and a box of chocolates). We start out with help and instruction but eventually are expected to figure it out alone. Some of us can’t get past the breathing exercise and the weight loss. Others can’t go more than a hundred yards without support or help from friends, family. Many never get training at all and have to rely on what they observe or feel. A rare few figure out their pace and stride hard all the way through. Most of us have some “am I doing it right?” type questions along the way.

 I had to think about what I really like about running though. It isn’t like I run every day or have a long tradition of signing up for races. I didn’t run track or cross country in high school. I developed a keen interest in jogging while in the Army. By ‘keen interest’ I mean forced to points of exhaustion against my will on a regular basis.  That is probably where it started, the pressing importance of getting exercise through running.

Running has taught me lessons since I started doing it regularly. Serious athletes run marathons and half marathons and keep schedules for total miles and have nutrition charts. All that is great but I just like the feeling of completing a goal. The goal isn’t usually too tough, 2 or 3 miles at most. The biggest lesson from running? Finish what you started even if you have to limb along the last few yards.

Running is unlike other sports or exercise because it is grueling where tennis and basketball are sporadic and intense. Jogging doesn’t require quick bursts or aggressive moves; it is steady and consistent. It forces us to feel every muscle getting weaker and straining with a goal that seems unreachable.

Life is this way. It requires constant attention and focus and occasionally we think we might die with another step. Learning to push through and endure when the muscles start to give out is what growth is all about. Knowing when to slow the pace or open the stride requires experience in running. Experienced runners know their body and the limits to which they can push. They understand what pain to ignore and which demands attention.

Amazingly the military figured out elements long ago about the human body and the human mind that are universal for fitness. Start each day running. Run a little; run a lot. Run with goals that progress to higher standards to show measured improvement.

Few people are cut out to run grueling marathons and competitive distance races. There is a pace for everyone that suites their talents, needs, desires and circumstances. Too many of us are comfortable with our current routine, fixated only on the moment and not wanting to improve. Worse still are the ones who sat down and decided running wasn’t for them years ago. Amazingly they don’t believe in running or think it’s for others, more fit people perhaps.

 They would be surprised how easy it is to start though. And how much their efforts, not even success but effort, could inspire those around them. The simple act of beginning, taking small steps and slowly walking a little every day then running a little every day can be the difference. Running doesn’t have to be exhausting but it does require some discipline to start. Discover a new personal best.

Life is like running, we all start but not all keep going.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” Hebrews 12:1

Tribal effects

What is tribalism? According to Webster it means “Loyalty to a tribe or social group especially when combined with strong negative feelings for people outside the group. “

There has been much talk since the election about Americans descending into tribalism. In other words defending your candidate and their issues and eschewing anything opposite those issues. It is almost always used as a pejorative to describe vitriol and closed mindedness, it doesn’t have to be. Tribalism can be ugly and irrational but the instinctive nature to defend the group/family/team is necessary for unity and support.

It is like a two stage (in my mind) descriptor. A little is understandable; a lot is nasty.

Tribalism is a social ill when the moral good of your side overrules any condemnation and laws get broken and truths ignored.We overlook the steroid abuse from our best hitter because he makes our team better. Also we ignore the abuse because there is a larger issue at stake…winning dammit! It is easy to see in sports across the entire country; most of us have a favorite team to root for. Tribalism isn’t a life or death matter (usually) in fandom but its effects can be observed in a hostile stadium or when scrolling Facebook after a huge loss. Try wearing a 49’ers jersey into CenturyLink Field (home of the Seahawks) and not expect some harassment.

Politics is a more serious battleground even though we Americans tend to exaggerate the extent. Does anyone really think the opposition party in the US is the same as opposition in Turkey? Or that being a Muslim in Omaha is the same as being a Christian in Aleppo? Comparisons aside we should put our ‘tribal’ differences in context and work up from there, admitting that our milder version is still intense. Tribalism is an instinct more than a learned behavior; an attack on a family member is an attack on the family despite their differences. Your brother may be guilty of running the red light and crashing into the bus hauling senior citizens to church, but he is still family.  

Tribalism is the natural reaction of defense and counter attack against an assault. So when the angry bus driver limps from the dented wreck and curses your brother while threatening mayhem, tribalism kicks in. Rational thinking allows the passenger, you, to watch stoically from the passenger seat as the furious driver approaches your vehicle swinging a tire iron. You aren’t rational though. You defend instinctively but defense is not approval. He wouldn't get within 10 feet of  your sibling without some effort to stop him. Besides the limp is slowing him down and you’re pretty sure he walked that way before the crash.

When tribalism pushes beyond reasonable limits it gets dangerous and starts taking truth hostage. This is where sports fans and political novices experience denial and conspiracy. Fake moon landings, airport terminals to hell and Mayan doomsday predictions all live here.   

Tom Brady just won a record fifth super bowl at the age of 39. This year was particularly impressive because he was suspended at the beginning for deflating footballs the previous season below the required level of air. It is unlikely that a few games with some under inflated footballs made much difference to such a great quarterback. He did it though. He cheated. The infraction was probably like most infractions at such a high level of competition, looking for an advantage no matter how slight. I know New Englanders don’t think much of the charge. How about the rest of us?

Probably the best answer is that he cheated with the footballs last year but it had a marginal impact on the game. Patriots are a well-coached juggernaut of Super Bowl excellence and Brady is as efficient a superstar as exists. He wins with different receivers practically every year. He was punished by sitting out a few games this year and paying his due. Tribalism that goes too far insists the footballs were under inflated by the NFL to make the Pats look bad. And that neither the Patriots nor Tom Brady had anything to do with it. It was all an NFL conspiracy because the league hates New England. The last part may be true but the cheating IS consistent with this team. Sorry.

Similarly, when president Trump gets attacked by a writer or talking head from cable news I go into defense mode. Why is this? Is it because I truly believe Trump to be correct in every case? Not at all. Is the reporter being unfair or dishonest? Not always. I suppose I defend because leaders need support from a constant attacking horde. Also I voted for Trump. He is my guy. When the Democrats are in the White House the situation reverses and I can think of almost nothing admirable from that opposition party. They are simply advancing the football in the other direction. There are always a few times when I’ll agree with the Left or even grudgingly admit to a persuasive argument.

In sports and politics we support those on our side like family. As long as we stay honest about our biases and never excuse illegality tribalism will be an understandable instinct. When tribalism forces us to burn the store down so the cops won’t find the bodies,  we’ve crossed a line.

"Hallelujah" course

I first heard the song “Hallelujah” at a party. I don’t remember the occasion but seeing as it was college, alcohol was involved surely. It was a small gathering, friends of friends much more keen to music and artistic pursuits, I felt a little awkward. The cd (compact disc for you millennials) on repeat was Jeff Buckley’s Grace. His piercing vocals on “Hallelujah” were impossible to ignore and I relished hearing it over and over.

I found out later that the song was written by someone else. Covered by another someone else, who made it cool for other someones' to cover. This I had to research a bit. If not to find the true author of the song, at least to pull back the layers of this popular work and maybe discover some meaning. Not for the sake of the lyrics but to figure out how this became the “it” song.

 It was re-imagined in the early nineties by John Cale whose version is usually the one that everyone covers. It’s the most modern version, sad and bittersweet. Leonard Cohen wrote the song and put it on his album Various Positions in 1984. It must not have made much of a splash because no one seemed to notice it until Cale put a different spin on in the early nineties. He added a silky smooth piano sound and  upped the sentimentality.  Buckley’s version is closest to Cale in attitude and texture and a more obvious reference to a broken relationship.

Love is not a victory march, it’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah

Buckley has the superior voice and his chords extend the song beyond the Cohen’s deep bass limits.

Somewhere along the way the song started popping up in television shows and movies. Mostly during sad moments deaths and funerals. I won’t spoil the episode but West Wing used it perfectly in a last-show-of-the-season gut punch. Shrek used the John Cale version and suddenly everyone wanted to use some version of “Hallelujah” or write their own.Talent contests like American Idol and Voice continue to see young vocalists performing some version.

 Leonard Cohen is used to praise about his poetic gifts but even he must be pinching himself over the extra life of this song. It was a forgotten B side on an unremarkable record before the explosion of remakes and covers.

 I watched a video recently of a live performance of the song that won’t quit. Cohen had a backup vocals singing along the gospel style to the chorus, the way Baptists do in church with ‘aleluuuuujahs’ heavy on the ‘uuu’. If this version with the choir is the way he recorded it I can see why it wasn’t a hit. It just doesn’t work as a church song despite the references to David playing for the Lord. Cohen’s scratchy voice is not melodic enough for the bouncy gospel track.

 It sounds like a worship leader in practice before his morning coffee.

I know I know, he wrote the song and he intended it to be a somber look at…something. I’ve never been good with meaning in poems or music lyrics. Every version of the song begins with King David, his gift for song and his affair.

You saw her bathing on the roof. Her beauty in the Moonlight overthrew ya

 Or maybe Samson with Delilah.

She tied you to your kitchen chair, she broke your crown she cut your hair

Some critics think some of the versions (especially Buckley’s) have a sexual quality, an exciting high followed by a deep low. Poisonous affairs might have been on Cohen’s mind when he wrote his version but likely he had a chord progression in mind and set it to themes borrowed heavily from the Old Testament.

…it goes like this, the fourth the fifth, the minor fall the major lift

The Cale version switches out some of Cohen’s lyrics and puts in references to a relationship gone south.

There was a time you let me know

 what’s really going on below.

But now you never show it to me do you?

I looked for an interview with Mr. Cohen just to get a sense of the writing and word choice. I found a few quotes about the differences between the religious Hallelujah and the secular one but no real descriptions. Nothing jumps out except that it took him a long time to write it, 5 years according to one source.

Poetic verse continues to escape me.

So the short version goes like this: Leonard Cohen writes and records the infamous composition in 1984 but with little fanfare. John Cale re-imagines it by changing the lyrics slightly but keeping the ever important climbing, climbing, and falling chord pattern. Every two bit singer songwriter up and coming vocalist covers some form because it is quite a beautiful song, in sound and emotion more than in meaning.

If I could go back to that party where I first heard the recording from Buckley I would beg them to stop playing it. All great works of art get copied, music is no different. I love the song but I’ve heard my share. When the covers stop and recordings of that infamous song stop getting made, I’ll simply say “Hallelujah”!

Buckley Version