The great Bob Collins of MPR recent wondered aloud on twitter, “How many World Cup stories are actually about soccer?” It turns out that football, or whatever you want to call it, really is a bit dull outside of the cultural stuff. The stories are all about people, not the game. Take that to an extreme and it’s hard to not notice a solid trend right now among the nations that are having a great time in South Africa and those that are not looking so wonderful. Does World Cup performance say something about the mood of a nation – and perhaps even its future?
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All about the standing-upright chimps that really love to talk about themselves.
The Gulf of Life
I’ve been slow to say anything about the Gulf of Mexico situation because, in all honesty, words simply fail to express my disgust. Dwelling on blame doesn’t seem reasonable because in an economy that pigs out on oil the way we do something like this seemed inevitable. The cleanup is going to be long and difficult no matter what. But one angle that seems to have been lost in furor is the critical role that the Gulf of Mexico has in bringing life to North America and Europe in the form of warmth and rain. A tremendous slick of oil has the potential to change the climate in ways that are, at the very least, worth keeping an eye on.
Futbol
“At least,” my daughter tells me, “We learn about countries we’d never hear about otherwise.” This on the second day of summer vacation and about 15 minutes after a tedious lecture on the short, sad history of Yugoslavia. We’re watching the USA get beat by Slovenia in World Cup action while the angry bees in the stands sound as if they approve. This is how we bond as a family, learn about the world, and generally pass the time these days – sports.
Public and Private
Like any good urban dispute, it seems simple enough on the surface. Along a stretch of golf course known as the Town and Country Club there is no sidewalk, but many people walk there. A well-worn dirt path to the bus stop seems out of place in the middle of the city, so paving it with concrete to look like the rest of Marshall Avenue is only logical. But is this something that the club should be charged $42,850 for – and be held responsible for keeping clean from now on? It won’t benefit them or their members, but this is how we build sidewalks in Saint Paul. A suit has been filed to stop it.
A court case over a sidewalk may seem trivial, but it’s a great illustration of how the public realm is a kind of neglected after-thought based on The Way Things Are™.
Swearing
The first thing anyone wants to know when they learn a language is usually the bad words. It is important if you want to understand people at their worst. For example, the refs for the World Cup match between England and the USofA did their part to brush up on how the players would be taunting each other. But as practical as learning the swear words has become, we still have our limits as to when we can use them. It’s just that those limits are fading fast.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 