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POPSWalking Across Asia This is the blog of a guy walking from Beijing to Germany. He started out about a year ago, and so far he's walked most of the way across China. He is a trained Cinematographer and is intimately familiar with China. As such his daily blogs thus far have been a fascinating way to truly get to know the REAL China, as well as seeing some beautiful pictures. If you want to know China, read this blog. It's an amazing guy, on an amazing adventure, and moving slowly, by walking, he is able to see really deep into the local culture.
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POPSATTENTION ALL CLIPPERS IN BEIJING! As you many of you may know, and as the rest of you can now see, I live here in Beijing. I know the city like the back of my hand. (which is to say, better than I know my feet, but not quite as well as I know my chin.) So if any of you are in town for the Olympics, drop me a line at austininchina@hotmail.com and I can give you advice on anything from where to find the oldest temple or $1 Jager Shots, or the best Cassoulet in town. I can also help you get past those pesky Chinese internet censors. Also, although I'm being worked like a slave, if our schedules match up, I'm always up for a BEER.
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POPSDebating the Color of Europe: Point-Counterpoint between Marine Le Pen and Tariq Ramadan What people fail to appreciate is that Europe was never as pure as we imagine it. Western culture developed in tandem with Eastern culture, not separately. Most European ethnicities originally came from Central Asian populations. The process of redefinition and cultural influence has been going on in Europe for centuries. Short-sighted people like Le Pen are not just foolish for wanting to stop it, but for even thinking they can. A culture cannot isolate itself from the world. This was true during the Medieval Crusades, and it is even more true today. Immigration is the fundamental nature of man. Isolation is the basic reaction of the ignorant and fearful. Of course, Europe has never been bashful about imposing its culture over local cultures around the world. Could the immigration debate be a vestigial reflex of imperialism?
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POPSCult of the Wolf: An Ancient Roman Cave Shrine Archaeologists have finally discovered the lost Lupercal underneath the ruins of the Emperor Augustine's palace. It was the underground shrine to the she-wolf who raised the legendary fratricidal twins who founded Rome, Romulus and Remus. Somehow my job suddenly seems very boring. But I do like that Italy's Minister of Culture, Mr. Rutelli, appears to believe this is historical validation of the Myth of Romulus. After all, if there's an ancient temple there that must prove the myth to be true in its entirety. (Hey, it worked when they found "Troy," right?) Welcome to the Evans-Schliemann School of Hokey Historiography and Wistful Thinking.
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POPSMonkey Sacrifice at the Ancient Peruvian Fire Temple! I must admit, I clipped this partly just so I could be the first to tag a clip with "Monkey Sacrifice." (Look it up! I'm the first!) This is a fascinating temple to me for many reasons. It shows a diversity in Pre-Columbian cultures that is often overlooked in favor of stereotypes of a few high-profile cultures (The Inca, the Maya, the Aztecs, etc.) But it also seriously shows that it is time for us to start considering whether to retire the rusty old land bridge theory. Increasingly, it seems only logical that trans-oceanic travel was not the exclusive domain of "civilized" Europeans. Nor was being "civilized" for that matter. World history is a lot more complex than our myopic record of it. Fortunately, there are still exciting archaeological finds like this one to open our eyes.
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POPSEtherial Culture Trups Marxist Materialism More important than the political or economic failures of Marxism, I am struck by it's philosophical failures. Societies boldest and bloodiest push to eradicate superstition and a belief in the intangible nevertheless fails within the period of a single lifetime. Traditional cultures that Marx derided as primitive and oppressive inevitably re-assert themselves, but why? I think it is because Marx missed the extremely nuanced subtlety of their appeal, and that these "primitive" institutions are in fact far more complex than Marx could appreciate. It is the cynicism and condescension in Marxism that in the end turns out to be "primitive." It fails to appreciate that other ideologies have been changing, evolving and surviving for thousands of years, developing potent appeal and a certain degree of metaphysical truth.
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POPSArchitectual Interface between Modernity and Antiquity I think that the narative aspect of architecture is often overlooked. Here it is brought inescapably yet eloquently to life. There is a narrative in the reflection of the Parthenon in the glass of the new museum, the interplay between the ancient past and the approaching future. In both ancient cities and modern museums, we navigate history and culture, spatially arranged and physically enclosing us, and it is the architect who controls the course of this narrative.
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POPSThe Separation of Church and State and the Dinner Table
This is very interesting, since Israel falls somewhere in between secular democracy and theocracy. Since the notion of the state is intrinsically linked to the religious identity (even when not practiced) this creates a unique dilemma when the interests of the state come into conflict with the interests of the faith. Perhaps this is the true threat to the "Two State" solution. Israel is becoming embroiled in economic and political struggles that undermine the ideology that lies at the bedrock of its foundation. Perhaps it is time to realize that a modern secular state simply cannot coexist with the demands of an official religious ideology. Look at Bush for another example: although he talks about his faith, he has done comparatively little to advance the Christian agenda. This should be of note for Christian Conservatives who dream of making America a Christian nation: in the context of Euro-American culture and politics, a religious state has become impossible.
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POPSA Conservative Youth Culture Comming? Although my politics match my parents, left for left, sometimes I dress more conservatively than they do. They listen to Rancid and Radiohead, and worry about me when I get fed up and talk trash about raw-vegan hippies. Nothing stays the same for long. I have always wondered whether the pendulum will swing back towards the conservative, or whether we will simply become increasingly liberal, liberated and libertine? Looking back, history seems to suggest the later, and each subsequent age has been more liberated than the last... Or am I wrong? Is there in fact a cycle at work here? If so, what place and time has been as socially liberal as we are today?
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