iPod part 2: overrated gadgets

In my former assault on the sacred iPod I decried the gap inserted between tracks in playback when listening to an iPod and iTunes. The new version of iTunes now features 'gapless playback', heralding it as a major advance, of course, though the gap should never have been there in the first place. The only problem is – and this is typical Apple – the gapless feature is only supported on the latest iPods, i.e. generation 5. So get your wallets out if, like me, you regard the gap as irritating and unmusical.

the Pope and Muslims

In his speech at the University of Regensburg on Tuesday, Benedict quoted criticism of Islam and the Prophet Mohammad by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who wrote that everything Mohammad brought was evil and inhuman, 'such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.' CNN

It would be gratifying to find the Pope's words actively contradicted, but given a Muslim propensity to violence when they're offended, it is hard to associate Muslims with peace. No doubt the majority do indeed prefer peace, so it would be reassuring to find greater volumes of protest every time Muslims demand the death of somebody they perceive to be against them. Perhaps too we might hear greater condemnation of suicide bombers, the brutal treatment of Muslim women in some Muslim countries, hideous forms of punishment and deplorable legal systems, and just perhaps someday we might see hard evidence of a love for peace when Iran abandons its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Frankly I think actions speak louder than words, and I've yet to see a mass progression towards peaceful co-existence from some (obviously not all) Muslim countries and populations. And do Muslims show respect for other religions of the sort they react so violently to not getting themselves? How easy is it to practice Christianity or convert to Christianity in many Muslim countries?

Dublin, Ireland, if you please

UK subjects, American citizens, and many others speak of Dublin as part of the UK -- some vague place that's in the vicinity of England and therefore under the dominion of the UK parliament. Well it isn’t. After centuries of struggle against Britain, Ireland finally broke free in 1920 under the Government of Ireland Act. This made Dublin the capital of a more-or-less independent country, which became a republic in the full sense in 1948. As part of the settlement by which Ireland came into being, the island was partitioned with a significant portion in the north remaining under British rule; this is known as Northern Island (see map). So ‘Ireland’ as a political term refers to the Republic of Ireland, the capital of which is Dublin. Geographically Ireland is part of the British Isles. The first evidence that the UK and Ireland are not the ‘same’ dawns on the alert tourist when he or she makes his or her first cash transaction: Ireland has joined the Euro, so it has the same coins and notes as France, Germany, Italy, and others. The UK, concerned that the loss of currency might entail loss of national identity (!), has hung onto its own currency, which is now vastly overpriced on international exchanges and a source of great inconvenience to the many thousands of Irish who do business with, or have family in, the UK. Dublin is NOT in the UK; its ties to London are similar to other European nations such as France and Germany. On the other hand, unlike them it is supposedly a neutral country, like Switzerland, though Ireland’s participation in the war against Iraq has brought this into question. map from http://mike.eire.ca/graphics/ireland.gif

fatuous sentences

The media, radio, TV, magazines, etc. give us abundant examples of fatuous sentences. I'm sure I've done my bit as well. By any standards, this sentence, which accompanies a CD issue of Elgar conducted by Eduard van Beinum on Beulah 2PD15, must rank highly among fatuous and just plain stupid sentences. Writing about the conductor, author Malcolm Walker makes this insightful comment:

'His health, never particularly robust in his last years, must have contributed to his early death.'

Well I never!

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

Pretty much my last view outside the car (or airport) was the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge of 1964. One of the most spectacular bridges in the world, it joins Brooklyn and Staten Island; the towers are 4260 feet apart. The many bridges of America I crossed are among my fondest memories of the time there. 

last visit to Longwood, PA (for a while)

Our last days in the US were pretty hectic, but we managed to squeeze in a brief final visit to Longwood Gardens, PA, where the glorious fountains were brought to life at midday (almost in our honour, I felt). I'm going to miss the place. Now I'm now trying to adjust to being back in Ireland after three very happy months (and several extended visits in 2005 and 2006) in a country I've come to admire a great deal. 

the American dream?

The American Dream goes like this. Any man or woman, no matter how common, can make pots of money and have a mansion. He or she can rise to the top from the most humble origins and make a mark. So you may be black, you may be raised in N. Philadelphia, you may go to public school, but if you work hard you will rise like a cork in the Dead Sea to the top of the pile.

This is the theory. The practice is different. In America you are more likely to remain within the income group in which you are raised than in almost any other developed country. Only the UK is worse. America is not a meritocracy. Not at all. In fact, it is a land in which the divide between rich and poor is vast and only rarely can one cross. Colleges and universities recruit largely from the affluent middle classes. Government tax breaks for tuition fees benefit the wealthy more than the poor. Incredible but true.

Research confirms this gloomy outlook, but one doesn’t in fact have to look any further than the White House for evidence. Does anyone seriously believe that a man as mediocre, stupid, narrow, and inadequate as Bush could become the most powerful man in the world without vast wealth and influence pushing him up?

If the American Dream ever meant anything, it is a hollow sham now. America is anything but a meritocracy, and America and the world will pay a severe price for this failure of idealism.

richest countries

Somebody recently told me that Ireland was the richest country in the world. Somewhat confounded I took this on trust, only having lived there for over 20 years and not seen any indication of it (poor infrastructure, 3rd world funding of education, awful quality of new housing, one of the highest levels of adult illiteracy in the developed world, vast tracts of poverty, no opera most of the year, lousy arts funding, etc.). Eventually I decided to check the statistics and it appears that Ireland is nowhere near the top, not even in Europe, if GDP per capita is the measure, which I assume it ought to be. By this measurement Ireland comes 8^th in Europe and is nowhere in sight in the world’s top 20, which has Luxemburg on top, followed by Norway, USA, San Marino, and Switzerland. That’s more like it.

It had occurred to me that Ireland might at least have one claim to fame, that of being numbered among the most expensive countries to live in, which is the impression you get when you live there, but again I was wrong. Ireland doesn’t figure in the top 20. Japan tops the list with the USA 13^th and UK 16^th. So there. What is Ireland good at? Stupid pubs in foreign lands? The most clever marketing of a nationality in the history of marketing?