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Hiking Europe in styleHiking Europe in styleHiking Europe in style 06/22/2005 03:01 AM I'm always in search of a good outdoor adventure, so when I saw this article in the New York Times, Hikes in Europe, With Your Boots on the Ground and Your Bed Above It, my feet felt ready to ramble. Alas, the article details guided trips that are rather expensive and not my cup of tea. But the article is still useful as a suggestion of where to hike in Europe. I hadn't realized that Corsica was good for hiking (as the author points out, most Americans haven't...)
Apparently Corsica is home to the GR20, "the spectacular and arduous 130-mile route that many claim is Europe's best backpacking trail." Oooh! Perhaps my next trip to France will involve a visit to the GR20. Spectacular and arduous are two of my favorite hiking-related adjectives! This is a GrokNews Entry: (what is grok?)Hiking Europe in styleGrok Headline matches for Hiking Europe in styleSocial Climbers put on your hiking
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 If
you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that I'm
opposed to unregulated 'free' trade, very worried about the
extraterritoriality of the WTO, NAFTA, Davos and other corporatist
captives, strongly opposed to domestic corporations 'offshoring' jobs,
using influence with the Bush regime and other right-wing governments
to circumvent social and environmental laws and responsibilities, and
a
great believer in taking the pledge to buy local, and in community
self-sufficiency.At the same time, I'm a strong supporter of the UN and other multi-lateral NGOs, and I believe that we each have a responsibility for the well-being of all the people and creatures of this world. Some readers have said this view is inconsistent, and I wasn't quite sure how to respond to such charges. Fortunately, Peter Singer, in his recent book on global ethics, I'll have more to say next week about Bush's fraudulent and despicable Earth Day media blitz, and the major media's shameless lack of critical evaluation of the utter nonsense that his propaganda machine has been churning out this week on the environment -- newspeak of Orwellian proportions. The first part of Singer's book deals with environmental responsibility, and his prescription for increasing it -- immediate ratification of Kyoto by the US and other holdout countries, and introduction of an emissions trading mechanism to make the realization of Kyoto feasible (subject to the need for some oversight on the disposition of the proceeds of such trading when it involves autocratic governments). The second part of the book deals with the global economy, and Singer adroitly tears apart the Economist's (and other neocons') naive assertion that economic globalization somehow benefits both rich and poor countries. He then goes on to prescribe a substantial reform of the WTO and the GATT, which could actually lead to more equitable distribution of wealth and more efficient production of economic goods, while safeguarding human rights, labour and the environment. Unfortunately, the multi-national corporations and corporatists who hold sway in the WTO would never tolerate Singer's prescription, since it would entirely divert the benefits of economic globalization from their pockets to those of the world's poor. The third part of the book deals with international law, and Singer lashes out at Bush for his unconscionable refusal to ratify the International Court of Justice, and for the UN's continued hesitancy to accept a duty (not a right) to intervene in situations of genocide and other humanitarian crises, even within a single nation. Singer is sanguine about the limitations and dangers of 'global government', but supports strengthening the UN to enable it to act as a 'protector of last resort', and including in its mandate the responsibility to supervise elections in all member nations. The fourth and final part goes back to ethical principles and proposes that countries must, in this world where national boundaries no longer have any logistic meaning, set aside national interest and embrace, once and for all, global interest, impartially. That does not mean cultural homogenization, but imposes a responsibility for the reduction of inequality, both of economic resources and personal rights and freedoms. Always the pragmatist, Singer concludes by worrying out loud about how the responsibility for a global ethic could be managed: It
is widely believed that a world government would be, at best, an
unchecked bureaucratic behemoth that would make the bureaucracy of the
EU look lean and efficient. At worst, it would become a global
tyranny,
unchecked and unchallengeable. These thoughts have to be taken
seriously. How to prevent global bodies becoming either dangerous
tyrannies or self-aggrandizing bureaucracies, and instead make them
effective and responsive to the people whose lives they affect? It is
a
challenge that should not be beyond the best minds in the fields of
political science and public administration.
I'd like to believe that this was possible, because if it isn't, we're in serious trouble. We cannot expect national governments to set aside parochial interests, especially when this entails accepting a responsibility that would, for the richer nations, inevitably lead to a drastic redistribution of wealth to poorer nations and hence a sudden and sharp reduction in, at least, economic living standards (if not necessarily well-being). But as John Ralston Saul has so eloquently argued, larger organizations and institutions, whether public or private, are almost always, and inherently, less efficient, less agile, more resistant to change, more hierarchic, and less transparent than smaller organizations. So the challenge is to achieve the best of both worlds, having organizations of global scope and authority and responsibility, but broken up into sufficiently small, autonomous and dynamic units that they are sensitive, resilient, responsible and responsive to the people and communities they serve. We can only hope that "the best minds in the fields of political science and public administration", wherever they are, are up to the task. |
Style One has a chief characteristic of trying to make everything better. When they are healthy, they are morally heroic, making sacrifices for the greater good, balanced in their judgments, uncompromising in their principles. They are concerned about what is right in morals, sometimes in esthetics, and sometimes in other things like literary or movie criticism or even manners. They are objective in their judgments and utterly clear about what is right and wrong. They are prophets and reformers.
If they become unhealthy, the vision narrows and their concerns diminish. They begin to moralize, they can get picky about little rules and they always go by the book regardless of consequence or circumstance. They develop either/or thinking and pay little attention to anyone's emotions.
Ones you may know: Judge Judy on TV, Laura Schlesinger (Dr. Laura on talk radio), Hilary Clinton, Ross Perot, Ralph Nadar, St Paul, Martin Luther, Harrison Ford, Tom Brokaw, Pope John Paul II, The Lone Ranger, Martha Stewart and Miss Manners.
What is your enneagram?
(Via Marju t.)
Direct and Related Links for 'A style revolution'
“Our retro computers will dramatically alter the way you see your computer. No more unsightly beige boxes; Facade Computer aims to provide you with antique, high-quality cases. Our creations are not only stylish, but affordable, packing solid performance that won’t break the bank. We are currently accepting orders. Click here. Please note that our products do not come with mice, keyboards, or monitors. We recommend Swedx for retro-themed peripherals….Western Civilisation's flagship product, Style Master, is a CSS editor. You don't use it to create Web pages; you use it to create the look of Web pages - the font, size, color, and layout of the various elements that constitute your Web pages, as dictated though a CSS "style sheet." Style Master is my ideal of a program that knows a big complicated language so that you don't have to; you do see the actual CSS, but you can interact with it through pop-up menus and checkboxes that list the appropriate options and generate the correct syntax.
For years Wired Style was the guide for anyone writing about “new media.” In the early days of the internet the venerable Chicago Manual of Style and Strunk & White’s Elements of Style had nothing to say about new words and phrases like internet, World Wide Web, and email so Wired Style became the standard. Like thousands of others, I capitalized Web and Internet because Wired said that’s how to do it. (The current edition of The Chicago Manual of Style covers internet publishing extensively).
Today Wired News has decided that this is no longer to be done. They say that “a change in our house style was necessary to put into perspective what the internet is: another medium for delivering and receiving information. That it transformed human communication is beyond dispute. But no more so than moveable type did in its day. Or the radio. Or television.”
Just as I followed Wired Style, I shall follow this new style. Should you see me improperly capitalizing these words, please rap my knuckles with a yardstick.
Web Style Guide, 2nd Edition: I'm not totally sure, but I think this Web site is a complete reprint of this book. I enjoyed the first edition; haven't read the second.
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This photo is amazing.
I wonder if that cord provides power for the "blades" to move in some
way? Link (to
higher res image) (Thanks, Carlo!)
Launch your own site and become master of your own domain for next to
nothing. Find out how in this week's episode of Freeloader Friday.
Like Pixels? Check out MacDesign
I was writing a column this month and mentioned the
upsweep of
solar-powered gear the last few months and my editor's editor (why do
I love blogging again?) was all huh?. And yes, okay, solar
power isn't anything new, but the new high-efficiency panels are
really starting to happen, like this entire new 'Solar Style' line of
gear called the 'PV Solar Chargers." You've got yer solar bag, yer
flip-out notebook charger, ya gotcher cell phone case with a
charger—this stuff is taking off.
The Solar style gear doesn't seem to be quite ready for retail yet, but you can order a 'sample kit' for 200 bucks, which I'm guessing includes a few different units to try out. The press release lists my arch-enemy AirWater Corporation, though, so these might be a force for evil. Be careful. (Thanks, Kelly!)
Press Release [Yahoo]
homestarrunner.com/tgs9.html
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Spam Sandals: tagging meets irony meets luncheonmeat meets interweb.
Link
(Thanks, Alice!)
sandalandsoxer.co.uk
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Steve Hong writes:
I thought you might be interested in hearing about a convertible shoe since you also covered the Strutz high heel shoe. I was at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City and found this company called Blue Away (their website is ) and they've created the world's first hiking shoe. The shoe converts into a hiking sandal and the upper portion can be scrunched up and thrown into a backpack so I guess it's good for those that don't want to carry a lot of weight and space. Check out the photos I took of it; please excuse the low res camera phone quality of them. Pretty cool, huh?
Company Page [BlueAway]
Shoes of The Fisherman sandals have treads in them that leave the
message JESUS LOVES YOU in the sand. Going to Naples today, the UK on the 6th, Helsinki on the 9th, Stockholm on the 11th, back to Helsinki on the 13th and back to Tokyo on the 17th. Speaking at Culture Digitali on the 4th and the EVA conference in Helsinki on the 10th. Meetups in Naples on the 5th and UK on the 6th. See you then!
Thanks to everyone who gave me ideas for stuff to do in Europe this trip!
To calibrate, when it's 3:20PM here, it's 9:20AM in Boston, and
6:20AM in California. As predicted, no sleep on the plane. Got into
Amsterdam via train from the airport at 8AM local time, waited in the
hotel lobby, met some people from the UK, went to breakfast, waited
some more in the hotel lobby, they took pity on me and gave me the
first available room at 10:30AM, I showered and slept and woke up at
3PM or so, and immediately (of course) had to figure out how to get
online.
Which proved to be a puzzle. They had no power on the airplane last night, but I read about it in the online magazine. They said sometimes you have to pull the battery on your laptop to get it work because the laptop-plus-battery consumes too much juice, but the laptop-itself is okay. When I plugged the laptop into the converter, the light on the power-brick would pulse and the machine would start up and then hibernate, over and over. I tried to charge my iPod and it wouldn't charge. So I tried pulling the battery on the laptop and voila, it runs. So I am able to get online (for 17.5 euro a day, what a ripoff) but my battery isn't charging, which is a problem I have to solve. Any suggestions, send them here.
So why do you tune into Radio Dave? I hope it's for insights
like this. When you arrive in Europe, as I did today, you realize how
strange the place you live is. We don't have wind mills. We don't have
great train stations under our airports. We don't have giant ferris
wheels in the central square of our nation's capital to celebrate our
queen, and we don't have a queen. But I'll tell you one thing we
share. TCP/IP and 802.11b. Amidst all the childish squabbling of tech
companies and their infantile engineers, and pundits who steer markets
toward higher consulting fees (for them), we managed to get some
really nice compatibility. My power adapter may not work here, but my
XML-RPC stack does.
view.airbeagle.com/europe
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The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry: sandals hiking europe
