Big bird spreads the word
Since
it was supposed to be warm outside today, I decided to make my first
long walk of this year, through some Toronto streets and neighbourhoods
that I have never been in, or at least haven't been in for a long
while. Unfortunately, it started to rain, but this didn't matter since
unlike many other people, I am not made of sugar. My hands still feel
somewhat stiff from the cold, though. But I am so happy about the fact
that it is practically summer that I don't mind this. And more daylight!
Yesterday I got an email from the publisher. It asked me to shorten the text intended for the back cover of my new book from 1400 characters to 1000, which I did. Since my book is supposed go to the printer today, I decided to grill myself two delicious steaks for lunch instead of just one. I have been feeling so full since noon that I don't think that I really need to have anything for dinner. And for only 300 kcal for a steak, they won't even lead to weight problems, unlike many other types of food that people tend to scarf. Salad, which I eat by bags these days, is practically free both in dollars and in calories.
But I know that not everybody agrees with eating meat. One of Tommi's most astute observations was that all ideological minorities tend to defend each other with enthusiasm, but whenever someone points this out, they vehemently deny forming any kind of united front. Memetic entanglement is the word of the day. In this light, Vegankid's "Carnival of Empty Cages #1" gives us an interesting glimple of the vegan and animal liberation movements that reveals where these people stand on other issues. Or we could simply compare "Veganism for Dummies" and "Why vegetarians should be force fed with lard" to see which side has better arguments overall. Myself, I can't even think of a better lunch these days than a place of salad, with a thick and juicy steak next to it.
Whatever goes in must also eventually come out. If it's yellow, let it mellow, says the well-known instruction, but I still have serious difficulties in understanding people who don't flush the toilet behind them. You can occasionally see them at the university, and I am sure that they have perfectly valid reasons why they leave their smelly shit and piss floating behind them. If any of my readers is one of these people, maybe you could illuminate me in comments. And the same goes for people who toss litter on the ground instead of throwing it in a garbage can, another filthy and stupid habit that I have never been able to understand. Why is it so freaking hard to keep the garbage in your pocket until you come to a garbage bin? Didn't you people learn anything from Sesame Street or whatever it was that you were supposed to watch when you were kids?
Yesterday I got an email from the publisher. It asked me to shorten the text intended for the back cover of my new book from 1400 characters to 1000, which I did. Since my book is supposed go to the printer today, I decided to grill myself two delicious steaks for lunch instead of just one. I have been feeling so full since noon that I don't think that I really need to have anything for dinner. And for only 300 kcal for a steak, they won't even lead to weight problems, unlike many other types of food that people tend to scarf. Salad, which I eat by bags these days, is practically free both in dollars and in calories.
But I know that not everybody agrees with eating meat. One of Tommi's most astute observations was that all ideological minorities tend to defend each other with enthusiasm, but whenever someone points this out, they vehemently deny forming any kind of united front. Memetic entanglement is the word of the day. In this light, Vegankid's "Carnival of Empty Cages #1" gives us an interesting glimple of the vegan and animal liberation movements that reveals where these people stand on other issues. Or we could simply compare "Veganism for Dummies" and "Why vegetarians should be force fed with lard" to see which side has better arguments overall. Myself, I can't even think of a better lunch these days than a place of salad, with a thick and juicy steak next to it.
Whatever goes in must also eventually come out. If it's yellow, let it mellow, says the well-known instruction, but I still have serious difficulties in understanding people who don't flush the toilet behind them. You can occasionally see them at the university, and I am sure that they have perfectly valid reasons why they leave their smelly shit and piss floating behind them. If any of my readers is one of these people, maybe you could illuminate me in comments. And the same goes for people who toss litter on the ground instead of throwing it in a garbage can, another filthy and stupid habit that I have never been able to understand. Why is it so freaking hard to keep the garbage in your pocket until you come to a garbage bin? Didn't you people learn anything from Sesame Street or whatever it was that you were supposed to watch when you were kids?
About the non-flushers : Some people come from places where water is rather more scarce, and thus are indoctrinated since childhood not to flush until after a certain minimum about of toilet uses. While sensible in a tiny northern village before the advent of running water, it's obviously disgusting once they move to Toronto.
Note that I'm not going for a diversity argument : I have heard this anectodal explanation mostly from white Canadians from small villages, always older people who would have been toilet trained before modernity hit those villages.
Posted by Nanani | 6:36 PM
Your today's reminded me of a particular sign somewhere in Canada... :)
Posted by Anonymous | 7:12 PM
I just found out that our town library had ordered your new book. I'm looking forward to it.
I also found the book on the publisher's web pages. It was nice from a potential buyer's point of view to see that this publisher had set the price lower than your previous publisher probably would have set it.
Posted by Rebyk | 2:58 PM
Rebyk: It was nice from a potential buyer's point of view to see that this publisher had set the price lower than your previous publisher probably would have set it.
Note, however, that this book is about 100 pages thinner than my previous books typically were.
Posted by Ilkka Kokkarinen | 3:45 PM
nanani: I have heard this anectodal explanation mostly from white Canadians from small villages, always older people who would have been toilet trained before modernity hit those villages.
I recall having faintly heard the same thing in Finland, but I always thought that such restrictions belonged to the era of my grandparents or even more likely of their parents, and certainly nobody ever did that during my lifetime or would do it in the present day.
But then again, Finland is not exactly known for its lack of water.
Posted by Ilkka Kokkarinen | 3:49 PM
I think a few generations ago it was still pretty common to have earth closets instead of water closets outside urban areas, at least in Finland.
Come to think about it, my experiences would also suggest that here it's indeed much more common for people to leave toilets unflushed. Whenever I go to my local university gym, the toilets are almost *invariably* left unflushed, and same seems to hold true with e.g. skiing resorts and other public access facilities, too. Perhaps we have here some strange culture related nuisance on our hands -- or perhaps it's just a part of a sporty lifestyle. Or something :-P
Posted by erityistutkija | 1:50 AM