I’m an urbanist, and yet, after spending two weeks in the UK, I’m not sure I have any truly unique insights. Being in walkable cities that lack sprawling suburbs, so they’re close to the countryside is amazing. Pub culture, where you can just drop in, have a beer while you read a book is great. And in Scotland cities, bake shops are plentiful, so pastries are cheap and easy to get. Transport is so well integrated that even countryside stops see a bus every fifteen minutes while trains and ferries run regularly to small towns and islands with easy to use apps providing affordable tickets and schedule updates.
If you travel to Europe, and especially get out of the big capital cities, it can be shocking how equitable infrastructure distribution can be. Buses, phone booths, pubs, grocery stores (in France, even boulangeries), and medical facilities are everywhere. Set aside any political judgement you may have, the most shocking part is how easy it makes life in rural and small town Britain.
For instance, I stopped in Midhurst, a small town in Sussex (near the English Channel) of about 5,000 people. It was nearing the end of a weekday, so hundreds of children poured out of an elementary school. They flowed to a bus depot near the center of town, and jumped on “city” (not school) buses that then dropped them off at stops all over the nearby countryside. This kind of thing would be unheard of in a U.S. town this size. Perhaps they’d take school buses, but it certainly wouldn’t be walkable, and the school wouldn’t be near the center of town.
Ease of transport, its proximity to other amenities, like shops, parks, and regional train stations, is an incredible equalizer that we Americans have dismissed as unnecessary, as we’ve put increasing money down on roads and cars.
Is this a unique idea? I’m sure it is not. But it sure hurts to see how well it works for others as we keep ignoring its possibilities for America.
Later, I spent a week in Scotland, for my first visit. Scots, in case you didn’t know, have the attitude of West Virginians (who are after all, Scots-Irish) but the politics of San Franciscans. It’s a remarkable mix, as you hear angry liberal screeds like, “Why wuln’t ya wan’ to recycle? It’s the responsible thing t’ do, ya idjut!” And when you visit art museums, you sometimes encounter paintings accompanied by bright red plaques marked, “ENSLAVER ART”.
Although I work for the British Government, the British way and mindset remains a mystery to me – perhaps because the more I learn, the less I feel I understand. But then, I suppose, there’s more to discover, isn’t there?
Here’s what else I was thinking about this month…
Sperm Whale Eating A Giant Squid – Here is video of that actually happening. Did you know there’s no video proof of this anywhere else? I’ve been thinking about this way more than it’s healthy.
Garbage Day – Ryan Broderick is one of those “marginal” reporters who has their finger so tightly on the mark of what’s happening today, that I wonder if major networks and newspapers aren’t trying to get him to lead all their reporting. His reporting on gamer and internet culture has been so predictive (and explanatory) of so many current political and entertainment trends over the last year, it’s been eerie.
The Big Lebowski – I’ve resisted watching this movie for a long time. I can’t say exactly why. However, bored on a long flight, I watched it. And only got 75 minutes in before I stopped. It’s about silly, irresponsible men doing silly, selfish things in serious situations. I’ve had enough of that lately.
Why Fictional Religions Feel So Fake – I read a ton of sci-fi/fantasy, so this really hit home. One big reason: they lack syncretism, which is when a religion adopts the precepts or practices of another. Like Zeus/Jupiter, or Saturnalia/Christmas. Real religions are actually melanges of many others that came before them.
Heidi Klum’s Crazy Annual Halloween Costumes – This is from last year, but I restumbled on it and, wow, the pictures are amazing. I’m sure she and her husband spend enormous sums of money on this, but if you’re going to be weird, just go for it.
The Effort to Bring Back the North American Chestnut Tree – Especially in the Northeast, there were billions of these trees. Blight killed (almost) all of them by the 1970’s. Now, maybe they’re coming back?
Call Me A Hole – I love a good mash up. This one by Carly Rae Jepson and Nine Inch Nails is amazing.
Why is it called Piccadilly Circle? – A fantastic story and a great example of changing language over time.
Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think – My first thought was, “F-you.” But further reading really got to two ideas: If you rely on God-given talent and don’t develop yourself, you’ll one day find yourself obsolete. Second, as you progress, you need to find ways to reinvent yourself because for various reasons, the thing you started out as great at becomes less valuable over time.
Chicken Au Poivre – I made this and holy wow this really hit the mark for me this week. Creamy, herby, simple.
Proper Fish And Chips – I’ve been told many times that you can’t get proper fish and chips in London. So, when I got up to the fishing town of Oban in North-Central Scotland, I went for it. And yeah, this spot gave me haddock caught the day before with a curry dipping sauce in a box. I brought it back to my car and devoured it in minutes.
Book of The New Sun – A bizarre, sci-fi/fantasy series with a disjuncted, pre-modern mindset full of puzzles and unclear, ambiguous narration. Unlike anything I’ve ever read, it takes place in some kind of human future thousands (millions?) of years in the distance when civilization has grown and broken down too many times to tell the difference.
The Falkirk Wheel – Tom Scott’s video is way better than any pictures I took, but I visited this place in Scotland and yes, it is as cool as the video suggests. An amazing piece of engineering to see live.
See you next month!