Emotions as Part of Decision Making

We have a tendency to look down on an emotional decision.  We pride ourselves as humans on being rational, thoughtful creatures, which make decisions based on the most logical or most beneficial outcome.  Emotions are considered to be irrational, short-term, selfish support for our decisions, not high-minded like reason or critical thinking.  However, emotion must have a purpose, otherwise it would not have evolved and survived.  The True Philosopher gave several examples of people who had suffered brain injuries that did not appear to have damaged the intellect, but left these people without emotional control.  One in particular seemed to be completely without emotion.  He was able to reason perfectly, but could not make real world decisions.  We might need the input of emotion to make value judgements on the array of possibilities so as to know what will be the least painful or the most pleasurable, for us or for people around us.  In fact, most decisions are based on more emotional aspects, although we use reason to justify them afterwards, trying to put what we want in the most reasonable light for others.

The True Philosopher insisted on the combination of reason and emotion as characteristic of the human being.  Intuition was mentioned by several people over the course of the meeting, but in his opinion intuition is not just a matter of emotion.  There is integral and spontaneous awareness in intuition, besides the epistemical knowledge that some people assign to it.  He reminded us that life is not only facts, but a state of affairs that is subject to interpretation.

Our Doctor is normally the one who takes the stance of interpretation, but today he had a great deal of other things to share, the brain being one of his specialties.  He began by stating that in order to survive we need to know things, to develop strategies; decisions are a vital part of our survival.  Psychology is a very new thing, and the result of a few people causing problems in their society and driving others to look for solutions.  The first mental hospitals were less hospitals and more enclosures to separate the problematic from "good citizens".  The science of knowing the brain began in the 19th century, in continental Europe, through autopsies performed on people who were obviously suffering some kind of internal problem.  Our knowledge today, however, is based on words.  We decide on another's sanity by the way the world is described.  The Doctor saw the choice as being between emotion and cognition, rather than reason.  He also insisted that biological logic is completely different from the logic we see in mathematics or physics.  We should measure our steps and not rush to conclusions, lest we commit errors, and the simplification of biology is a true error in his view.  He got a laugh from the group by revealing that he was inhibiting himself from killing - or kissing - his neighbor, himself a source of some rather bumbling thoughts on biology in many meetings.  Focusing on the physical apparatus for decision making, he reminded us that we are at the very beginning of understanding the brain and the mind.  We are only discovering the possibilities of neuroplasticity and the creation of "natural" or "automatic" behavior, unconscious decisions, through discipline and habit.  In the end, he warned us that brain injuries change personalities, but not being yourself might be the best thing that can happen to you.  Life is constant change, in any case.  Finally, he told us that we cannot make decisions alone anymore, but everything must be decided in community.

The Actress was the first to mention intuition, although her opinion was that it was pure reason, based on hidden or unconscious analysis of the situation.  In short, nothing magical or illogical about it.  She also complained that people tend to rely on those close to them to help make decisions, but those people are not objective and give advice based on what is good for themselves, not the person asking.  We need coaches to help us because nobody is an expert on everything, but we do not seek them out.

The Leader, ever practical, said that the end result of a decision should be action.  Even doing nothing is a decision, and in fact it sometimes takes more will-power to contain oneself than to act out.  We cannot escape the role of emotion, since triggers are all around us.  Advertising depends on the emotions behind decision making.  The question is not whether emotions affect our decisions, but how much, and can we control the amount?

The Writer spoke of emotions as being hidden even from ourselves, while the Educator was slightly pessimistic, saying that ultimately decisions are based on self-interest.  With regard to intuition, she said that the reliability of one's intuitions depend on past knowledge, since she was also in the internal/unconscious knowledge camp.  Another Participant said emotion could only be a reaction while rationality was necessary to act and make choices, but both are part of life.  Another sometime visitor reminded us of the need to think critically, even about things we think we know; we tend to take our beliefs as facts and assume what worked once will work again, even when the situation has changed. 

the beast within

Not one of Santa's

It's always on the lookout for those stouts.  The Wildebeest bottle looks distinguished enough, with its classic shape and not-too-busy design.  And it's one of those fancy stouts, with coffee and vanilla, for when your inner child won't be contained either.  It's a good, rich black, with a nice tan head that settles into a fairly thin topping.  The taste is kind of a wild blend of flavors coming out in jumps.  I think the coffee was what I noticed first, kind of the bitter portion of the beverage, but the chocolate-vanilla sweetness bounded out immediately after.  The sweet tends to spread out and cover the whole tongue as you sip, while I find the bitterness rises up at the back.  It's a pretty heavy drink; the label suggests settling into a comfortable armchair for proper drinking comfort.  I can't argue with the appeal, but the bar booth doesn't sound too bad either, provided the proper company is present.

Keeping Death in Mind

The topic came up a little late in the year, being more appropriate for late October/early November - at least at first glance.  However, the winter solstice is not exactly a time to ignore death; pagan religions of old used the time to celebrate the death of the old year (and the old god) and the birth of the new.  The Source was out of town for the meeting, and could not even provide us with some written thoughts, so we were left to our own devices, really.  One way to look at the topic, which was called one of the saddest ever by the Actress before we officially began, is that it is not clinical death or danger that we should have in our thoughts, but mortality.  Our time is limited, as is everyone else's.  Without the idea that we will run out of time for our plans, we have less motivation to complete, or even start them.  Not only that, but because nobody escapes the failure of the body, we will all have to deal with loved ones disappearing from our lives, and pretending that our current, happy, circumstances will last forever does us no favors when that time comes.  Although preparing mentally and emotionally will not prevent sadness or sorrow over the loss, hopefully it will prevent despair or rage.  Another thought occurred to me while others were speaking, which is that we might not even be talking about death, necessarily.  That is, not a "natural" death that appears like magic and whisks people away.  Rather, we should keep the vulnerability of all of us in mind.  Besides observing people die, we can actually make them die, even without meaning to.  It might not even be a direct consequence of our actions, but a result of the things we do and demand; in order to survive, every living thing has needs that must be filled, and resources are simply finite.  To eat, we have to kill animals and plants, not only to consume them, but also to use the land they live on for farming.  We need electricity to maintain our way of life, but power plants pollute and kill all sorts of living things.  If we keep in mind that others are easily damaged, even at risk of death by our actions, hopefully we will be more tolerant, more generous with them.  The idea of death should help us be kinder in life.

Our Doctor, as to be expected, focused first on death as the cessation of life, the physical stopping of bodily function.  Of course, he started by saying that death is just a word, one which has no real significance out of context, making it difficult to approach.  We do not in fact know what death is; we only know the end of life.  He spoke of the difficulties doctors and medical personnel have had in determining the state of life vs. death in patients, saying that even the machines that measure brain activity do not actually show death since breathing or heartbeat might continue.  Drugs can induce a death-like state, but the patient is still not dead.  Although not a psychiatrist, he has had contact with depressed people, who he believes have death in their lives as something almost with a physical presence, either a threat or a solution to their suffering.  Human suffering, however, has nothing to do with death itself.  He later added that everything in the brain might be controlled, and negative thoughts need to be controlled.  Good, positive thoughts and positive actions should be used to balance out the negatives that occur unexpectedly.  He mentioned Seneca's idea that everybody dies when it's time, so we should not care too much about it.  The Actress asked why the big 3 (Abramic) religions were so interested in death and not in life, and our Doctor's opinion is that this idea and the popularity of those religions come from a desire for order and discipline in society.  At the end, he said that we need to have a critical spirit when it comes to things that can be published; the written word is not true just because it is written.  He mused over the use of images of death in religious culture, noting that different sects use it to different effects.  Catholic countries in particular have a certain reverence for death, and Spain has an almost frenzied fascination with it.  He also pointed out that our ideas come from old ideas, things that are not true anymore but have not been discarded yet, hence the need for skepticism and rethinking.  He ended with the advice to learn philosophy, learn not just read, and then destroy it.

The True Philosopher focused on the experience of death, spending his short essay showing how we will not experience our own, but only that of others.  Our own death is so abstract as to be meaningless to us, even if we fear the afterlife, some divinity's judgement, or simply ceasing to exist; it is only the death of a loved one that really has effects for us.  He expressed the typical dichotomy that exists in our minds, in that we cannot only consider death, we also think about life.  Sometimes we want to live only because we do not want to die.  He also emphasized that it is not necessary to be a "philosophical" person to keep death in mind, because it is all around us, and in some areas harder to ignore than others.  He told us that he had been an embedded reporter in the Gaza strip and had seen death up close.  Terrible to see, and stark proof of his own desire to continue living.

The Leader looked at social ideas both in his written thoughts and his first contribution and settled on the idea that we have advanced so far in promoting our own survival that we do not think we have to keep death in mind anymore.  In the past, death was all around and an everyday fact, but today we shove it off to the side and try to ignore it when it happens.  Still, lack of personal experience does not limit our imaginations, and we can imagine what it is like to be dead, especially if we have suffered some kind of lack of consciousness in our lives.  For him, the problem with forgetting about death or actively putting it out of our minds is that this allows us to focus only on the present and forget about the future, when we all know that the future should be planned for.  The question is, how much of our minds should we devote to death?  After listening to the True Philosopher, he admitted he was not convinced about dialectical ideas of life/death, explaining that while our experience of death is that of those close to us dying, our experience of life is only our own.  Also, our actions have more impact on others' lives and deaths than our thoughts ever do, so he echoed my idea that maybe the death we should be considering is the hypothetical result of our hypothetical actions.  The Leader ended by reminding us that we continue to take risks, sometimes stupid ones, even being completely aware that they are risky behaviors, so we must not keep our own death much in mind after all.

An Occasional Participant mused over a number of ideas in his contributions.  He also mentioned the life/death dichotomy in normal thoughts, but also the idea of hiding death away in modern society.  His answer to the Actress' question about religions was that they simply use death as a threat, and events like war or plague are used to their advantage.  He wondered what the role of death will be in the future, as people live longer, but not always better lives.  Will significant numbers of people choose death, rather than being "chosen" by it?  Will euthanasia become something hardly worth mentioning, like minor surgeries?  He also brought up the more metaphorical use of the word death as the idea of being forgotten in the world, but this idea was not much developed in the meeting.  Towards the end, he also reminded us that some funerals, or rituals for accepting a death, become celebrations of life, both the one that has ended and the ones that are possessed still by the mourners.

The Educator said that even if we are not aware of it, we do keep death in mind, at least the possibility of our own death.  We live in a society that prioritizes youth, so even aging can be akin to death in terms of public exposure, especially for women.  We need a balance, however, since constant thinking about the end of our lives should be considered pathological.  She actually mentioned the celebration of life first, although not in the context of the funeral, just as the idea that knowing we are mortal should make us more willing to experience and enjoy all we can of our fleeting existence.

christmas is coming

...and it will be here before the next beer tasting.  So, here we are with Santa's Little Helper.  A nice dark stout, something for the winter nights, and with a festive label bearing a reindeer and an elf.  Although I have a slight fantasy that peppermint will be involved in the flavoring, I am pretty sure that's just a fantasy.

Black as Christmas Eve, as promised, I can't help but think there's a little bit of coal dust in it.  Did I say coal?  I mean cocoa.  It has that typical hint of bitter chocolate of the best stouts, in my opinion.  There's a good balance of bitter and sweet, again like the best stouts and the best dark chocolates, with a simple and clean taste going in.  A little bitter does stay on the tongue, probably for the best, as it keeps the drinker from guzzling.  This is a beer to savor a bit rather than chug down. 

Santa's been getting that coal himself, I see

And now we know where that red nose comes from

Social Justice Warriors

This one was mine, and I managed to write a little something for the Leader to post before the meeting.  It's with his own pondering on the webpage.

Our Doctor began the discussion by trying to break down the phrase into its components: we warrior, a fighter, somebody considered strong; justice is normally respected as a concept; social groups are one of the human being's basic needs.  We need to be aware of what's going on around us for our own protection and preservation, since we might be attacked at any time.  However, we really do not know what is happening in the world, even with the wealth of information available to us through sources like the internet.  We are bombarded with information.  Furthermore, in spite of the possibilities we now have to explore and find new ideas, we are creatures of habit, visiting the same places day after day.  Regarding the warrior bit, he said that reacting to offense, either personal or social, is a natural thing, like going to the toilet.  Still, we do not fight against the powers that enslave us intellectually and even dismiss those who try to do so as "weirdos".  Intellectual slavery is a fact, and the manipulation necessary to achieve it is obvious, but we are comfortable enough that we do not want to risk any changes now.  Later on, he spoke of the keeping of records on computers, which on one hand makes access easier for the people who need or have a right to the information, but also makes things much easier for those who would use it for their own ends, or to hurt the people whose information they can find.  Many people and business, not to mention governments, have an enormous amount of details about any individual they choose to pay attention to, but at the same time they know nothing real about that person.  Finally, he reminded us that to right wrongs or preserve justice, people will be or at least feel attacked.  They can easily give in to their natural reaction of protecting themselves, which may be violent.  Justice may be a worthy thing to reach for, but we must pay attention to the means as well as the ends.

The True Philosopher revealed a little of his own past, saying he had been a social justice activist in his youth, confronting police on the university campus and the like.  He had the idea of "armchair revolutionaries" but the particular combination of social justice + warrior was new to him.  Still, the intent was clear.  As he says in his short article, activists are welcome but "warriors" can get out.  While theory is not a bad thing, and sometimes quite necessary, those people who do nothing but spout theory not only look like cowards or even hypocrites, their once useful theory becomes disconnected from the reality they are trying to change.

The Leader focused on the emotive part of fighting for social causes, saying that these "warriors" have the tendency to be extremely loud and aggressive.  They are also likely to focus exclusively on the goal, without considering the possible consequences of achieving it.  As an example, he pointed to the banning of fox hunting in England.  While it seemed to be a brutal and cruel sport, mainly for the fox, although the other animals involved were also at some risk because of their participation, the banning of it came with the perfectly foreseeable result that the fox population exploded.  People are now allowed to poison or kill foxes without the ritual of the hunt because of the problems their overpopulation causes.  Another aspect of the fox hunt was its classism, as only the well-off or highly placed socially were allowed to take part in such things, and now anybody anywhere might have the opportunity to kill a fox, but saying that this is a victory for social justice would be unlikely to attract much support.  Furthermore, many people made their living from the ritual of the fox hunt, including kennel masters, game keepers, and artisans who made and repaired the equipment used.  Without the fox hunt, their jobs disappear for the most part.  Returning to the general topic, he repeated his earlier point that the basis of the argument for "warriors" is emotional rather than rational, and the fruit of a reaction to an injustice already produced.  While they demand reparations for a crime committed, they often ignore the possibilities of preventing it, or something similar, from happening in the future.  In his final contribution, he spoke of responsibility in society, especially on the part of governments.  In his view, if governments functioned as they should, there would be no need for charitable organizations, since most of the needs they fill have been caused or exacerbated by governments.

The Educator also mentioned clashes between police and university students in her country, the result of the dictatorship in power at the time.  Dictators inevitably promote injustice, and somebody will always fight against it, although the success of the efforts it not always guaranteed.  Social justice, in her opinion, is protection of the weak and the prevention of exploitation.  It is necessary to ensure the education of children includes these principles, to provide equal opportunities, and avoid situations where it could be necessary to use more force.  We should be social justice "guides", rather than "warriors" in a fairer society.  Responding to the apparent dismissal of emotion by the Leader, she insisted that human beings have feelings for a reason and she personally cannot help but react emotionally; she refuses to be a robot.

The meeting ended with an exchange focused on economic justice rather than strictly social, although as the Leader pointed out, much social injustice is perpetrated and continued by means of wealth.  Although discrimination takes many forms and uses many outlets, to be really effective there has to be power behind it, and power in our society is inextricably linked to money.  A social justice "warrior", if we accept the picture drawn in this meeting, might fight to have a discriminatory law abolished or something like Affirmative Action created to promote equality.  On the other hand, a real social justice advocate will try to find the root cause of the discrimination and rectify all errors that lead us down a dark path.  Unfortunately, that is really a long-term sort of plan, one which those who suffer the injustice are often unwilling to wait for, understandably, and like the Educator have strong feelings about their situation.  While some might shake their heads at the lack of foresight, we cannot deny the attraction of the immediate solution, the one represented by the warrior, just or unjust.

the same line

I'm still on my red kick, so this looked like a likely contender despite being Belgian.  It does have that sweet apply scent to it, and a pleasant reddish color.  So far so good.  It's a nice flavor too, a bit heavy on the sweet for me at first, but a mellow bitter comes up as the beer goes down.  The apple taste wasn't apparent at first, but a few sips into it the flavor started to make itself known.  I had some worry about the stickiness in the beginning, since it started out a bit heavy, but the beer maintained a good consistency from start to finish, without becoming syrupy or excessively sweet.  I'm a little up in the air about whether this is a companion beer, one that would really be enhanced by some little nibbling on the side; the contrast with a salty snack is appealing, but probably unnecessary.  I'm going to settle for an all-around beer, satisfying by itself or with food, as well as being either a complement to conversation or a solitary pleasure.

Life Doesn't Follow the Agenda

There are a great many quotes about our being surprised by events in life, even after we carefully plan what we mean to do or for to happen.  One question we might ask is why we even try to have that sort of long-reaching, global control, and the answer is probably that we just like to have the security that we can plan for everything and are capable of preventing disaster for ourselves and those we care about.  Unfortunately, the truth is that we cannot.  Our control over our surroundings goes only so far.  Some people relinquish all control, so they say, trusting in a higher power to do what is "best" for them, although often enough they rage against this power's decisions anyway, or try to reinterpret them to find some personal benefit.  Beyond the facts of our situation in life, there is also the emotional component.  The Leader mentioned being able to plan for the things that satisfy us with our lot, not just having a goal in the fuzzy future, and not being able to make and carry out plans does pose a problem for being happy with life's agenda.  Moreover, not knowing what will actually make us happy can cause kinks in the plan, because we all have different desires, likes and needs.  We see some people who at least appear to be happy with what they do and have done, and we try to emulate them.  It does not always work.  Then, we might give in to frustration, since we have followed the plan as best we could, but Life has not followed "The Agenda" of making us happy.

The Source was pleased with the Leader's comments and began by emphasizing the connections between people, saying that we do not create agendas in isolation.  Our plans are always affected by others.  She was also very pleased with The True Philosopher's admonition/suggestion to fit our lives to the reality we discover rather than vice versa, calling it the best idea to come out of this meeting.  Another Participant mentioned fortune telling and the lack of credibility they enjoy in wider society.  The Source retorted that in the specific case of lottery numbers, nobody can predict them because they do not exist until the moment they are drawn from the bowl, come up on the wheel, or appear using whatever method that lottery uses.

Our Doctor was rather in his element what with the mental workings that are evident in the topic.  First, he said that "life" is just a word, and like all words, in the end it means nothing.  As for agendas, many people do not bother creating one, just a number of hopes and dreams without any specific plan to reach them.  Besides that, our context and reality is always changing and there is some amount of folly in sticking firmly to a plan one made in the past.  Later he told us that everything is dangerous, and therefore we should be educated to change things.  We are the best animals in the universe, the most capable of doing what we want, at least as far as we know.  Happiness in humans can be taught and learned, but it, like our plans and our visions of the future, is in the frontal lobe - biology.  Life is not just philosophy, biology is in everything.  While we should work out the best ways to get what we want, we must also be flexible, and see reality as something we can develop rather than something that naturally occurs to serve us.  He also remarked on the importance of others to our plans and agendas, saying that it is necessary to be "infected" by others' ideas, so that we can develop antibodies and survive.

The Leader did not develop the topic much in writing this time, but did elaborate in the meeting itself.  Again, the idea that outside forces are always affecting our plans came up, victimizing our plans, he said.  As for reality, he wondered what the point of having a brain to wonder about it was, if we accept that we cannot actually access reality.  He then moved on to pleasure and happiness, saying the agenda is based on knowing what gives us pleasure and projecting our ideas of pleasurable situations onto the future, then working out the path to those situations.  The goals exist, but not detailed plans.  This is why it seems life does not follow our agenda, but the truth is we did not have steps for it to follow in the first place. 

The True Philosopher wrote a bit on accepting the disappointments of our lives in order to achieve happiness, or at least be less unhappy.  We need to scale down our hopes and become accustomed to being unfulfilled.  Also, it is best to take things less personally and externalize the disappointments rather than see them as internal failings. 

The Instructor emphasized the importance of having plans, otherwise we do nothing.  In her own experience, however, too many plans cause stress without contributing anything to our satisfaction in life.  We may have the illusion that nothing changes, relying on systems of prediction like the I-Ching, but we have to be prepared for the unexpected.  She reminded us of the definition of intelligence that was flexibility in changing circumstances.

As a group, we have faced changes that seemed to come out of nowhere, but we have been able to use them to certain advantage.  Hopefully, that means we are intelligent people, and always on the road to better things.

'tis the season

It is, in fact, St. Nicholas' Day in some parts of the world, so some Christmas-y drink seems fitting.  The last Japanese beer I tried was actually made by a Brit founded brewery, but Kiuchi seems to be more "authentic".  Also, ginger.  Not unheard of in Japanese cooking.

Don't lie, you thought that was a reindeer man at first glance, too

It's not too strong smelling, which is almost disappointing.  It's a nice apple-cider brown, also in tune with the season in my estimation.  It has a very gingery flavor, but not with an excessive amount of spice or heat.  It's really like a liquid gingerbread cookie.  The label says to be on the lookout (scentout?) for ginger, citrus and malt in the aroma, but I can't catch any of that.  There is an undertone of citrus in the taste, like a gingerbread cookie with some orange peel decoration or spritz.  It's recommended as an accompaniment to spicy "exotic" foods, which I can see as appetizing, although I'm happy with it by itself right now.  It's a happy drink, quite nice on even a chilly December night.

Relationships Between Generations

For whatever reason, the Source did not choose to say anything on the topic.  She didn't even enlighten us as to why she had been interested in suggesting it.  Not only that, but she made no contributions during the meeting or at the end to sum up the ideas that she agreed with.

First one Intent Learner read off what seemed to be a Wikipedia definition of the "generations" of the past few decades of the US, with the idea of making the point that we as a society like to believe that members of the same group that has seen the same events and experienced the same up-bringing must be the same.  The problem, of course, is that the terms like "Greatest Generation" or "Gen X" are promoted by the media to give us an easy stereotype to use, not a real analysis of the full population that makes up each social generation, which is a fairly artificial division anyway.  The people within each generation have little that unites them besides somebody's division of time; the ones born at the end will have more in common with the next generation than their own and the ones born at the beginning with the preceding generation.  This is simply because time is a gradually rolling out phenomenon rather than something that can be neatly divided into portions with practically no overlap.  When we talk about relationships between generations, it makes little sense to talk about these media produced ideas unless we are considering the memes that we accept to represent the real personalities of real people.  The ideals and goals of real people are forged by their life experiences, and while there may be some shared inspiration from common socio-cultural experiences, these events do not limit themselves to affecting only one "generation", but are felt by all.  Every group of people will have members who are "altruistic", "cynical" or "humanitarian" but it is unlikely that that particular characteristic will be significantly more observable in a group whose births cover an arbitrarily chosen span of time.  The only way to discuss relationships between generations, in my opinion, is in the family context.  This is the only area where the lines are clear.  And what about those relationships?  As in all human interactions, respect should be the foundation of our relationships with each other, respect for fellow, individual human beings.  However, it seems many people of older generations are not quite able to see those of a younger generation as complete people, especially their own children, who are merely an extension of themselves.  The adolescent rebellion that often takes place as children become adults and create their adult selves can be seen as a personal attack, since the easiest way to show one's independence from another is to stand in contrast rather than in symphony.  Depersonalization from both sides prevents honest and useful communication, and impedes the development of an open and desirable relationship.  In short, aside from the responsibilities of making sure immature individuals reach maturity, the relationships between generations have no significant difference from those we have with any other person.

The Actress was fixated on the "generation gap" and the conflicts it brings with it.  In her own family, she found the older generations to be much too strict and inflexible, unable to adapt to changing social attitudes toward behavior, particularly in women.  A newcomer brought up the attitudes that children have towards their teachers, saying there was a definite lack of "respect" in the old style today.

The True Philosopher also mentioned the psycho-social influences on individuals as being important to their development as adults, as well as the tendency of youth to rebel.  In his writing, he analyzed the illusion of the forward march of time towards a goal, dragging humanity with it, when we should be thinking of reality as cyclical.  We think of ourselves as completely new and different from our forebears when what changes is really just the details. 

The Instructor was reminded of Shaw's idea of life being a torch to make burn, and then hand off to the next runner (generation).  She works with children and finds the contact with them helps her feel young.  At the same time, she believes that "modernity" is not limited to the young who have not become set in their ways, since she has met many open-minded older people, who have a younger aspect in that sense than those decades younger.  She also told us that this discussion was focused purely on the West, since our attitudes towards generations and individuality were not the same in other areas of the world, such as Asia.  The True Philosopher, being Asian, acknowledged that it was American influence that opened schools and universities to women in his country, although that was after being a colony of another Western state for some time.

The Seeker of Happiness repeated the ideas of cyclicalness and social influences on forging a "generational" perspective, and said that he as an individual was lost in modern society; it is completely different from the one he saw when he was growing up, although he did not refer to his favorite topic of happiness by saying whether people seem happier or not.

The Leader took a more forward-looking stance, asking in his writing whether future generations exist, and if so, should we keep them in mind when we make decisions today?  In discussion, he stated that the generation gap and its importance were overrated.  Although children have "fresh" minds, adults have practical experience, and besides that our access to information has increased gradually over time.  There is no clear division between social generations.  There are relationships between age groups, such as parents and children or teachers and students, that have value for examination, but these groups are particular and specific to time and place, not universal.

The discussion then wandered into the field of women's rights, perhaps because it's one of the areas that has seen the greatest change over the last century or so, and the one that affects most of the members of the group.  Some people warned us that the changes were recent and so could be lost, others reminded us of the penalties women paid in the past for acting as individuals rather than members of a family as daughters or wives, for example, attempting to purchase their own birth control.  Although it could be interpreted as a digression, it is a concrete example of creating relationships between generations; the way we treat others, other genders, other beliefs, other groups, has much to do with what our parents taught us.  Our parents' support for the rights and personhood of others is the foundation of our social behavior, although we can change and improve it based on our own experiences.

seeing red

This was a recommendation.  I had a slight hankering for a red, and the beer store clerk was all ready to give me suggestions.  It's a (French) Canadian version of German altbier, and the aroma is a strong, fruity sour that comes out almost as soon as the cap comes off.  It's also about as red as any red beer, although it is a bit cloudy, and the foam is sort of yellow-y.  There's a kind of similarity to cider between appearance and smell.  The flavor is undeniably beer, though.  Quite satisfactory, given what I was looking for.  In spite of the hint of Belgian beers at first whiff, the flavor is lacking any of that sharp sour so typical of the Belgians.  It's a hearty, round bitter with just the mildest bit of sweetness rising up from the back of the tongue.  A good pondering beer, to sit back and relax with.

blessed beverage

Casasola of Valladolid came on strong a couple of fairs ago, with an excellent summertime beer in particular.  This one in the bottle was new for me.  It's a shame Halloween has come and gone actually, since there's something about robed and hooded figures that always seems sinister.

Spooky!

There's a strong sweet-sour smell, slightly reminiscent of liquors made by religious orders.  Although it's called a blond beer on the bottle it has a dirty honey color, and also a bit of honey-like taste, sweet without any bitter at all.  I notice some floral notes too.  I worried a little at first that it would end up being too strong, but the beer stays pleasant and easy.  The sweetness makes it nice for a colder, wintery night, although serving the beer a little colder, just a little, would make it a nice summer drink too.

serve the seve

Sevebrau was introduced to me at the last beer fair, but we did not have the pleasure of the brown ale at that time.  The brewer was proud to tell me about the German style brews he makes, and indeed, the labels also remind the attentive drinker of the origin of the beer's quality.

Serona Strong Ale pours out a nice ruddy chestnut, not terribly foamy.  I detect a faint hint of apples in the air.  The taste is on the sweet side, but not overly so, with only the mildest hint of bitter hiding in the top of the taste.  It's a smooth beer, very easy going down, really much more subtle than dark beers I recall from Germany.  And at the moment, I'd say it's much more my style.

go fish

I had a hankering for something heavy and filling, and the beer store clerk, rather proudly I think, pointed Dougall's out to me.  In spite of the name, it's a Spanish company, one that's been around in fairs and specialty shops for a while.

Popping the cap releases a heavy, chocolatey smell, although it's a very light odor.  I can already tell this will be a good one.  Indeed, it's one of those flowing syrupy stouts, gently filling the glass, bubbling up some tannish foam frosting.  Smoky, bitter taste at first, but it quickly blends into a sweeter and noticeably chocolate flavor.  The sweet and bitter trade off in potency over the time it takes to drain the glass, which makes for an interesting experience.  There were no suggestions for accompaniment on the bottle, and I don't know that I'd want anything to interfere in the enjoyment.  It's really a very nice beer, one you'd want with some good music or good reading while you lounge around under a fluffy blanket on a poofy couch...someday that drinking couch will be mine.

Drinking On The Way To Happiness

It is a happy coincidence that we chose this topic while the Beer Fair was on, this time in its fifth incarnation.  We imagine that happiness is the default state and that anything less is a sign of something we are doing wrong.  However, it is not really happiness that is the default, but rather apathy or numbness.  Happiness is something we have to work for.  The question then is what we need to do, and how much.  This is jarring for many people, who seem to believe that they should naturally be happy without any effort on their part, and that if something interferes with that feeling they have no sort of personal responsibility for caring for their emotional state and it must be the fault of others if they are under any sort of negativity.  We are told that we deserve a certain amount of success and when we do not reach that level, we feel like we have been cheated.  Of course, the status quo in many forms depends on our expecting a certain amount of joy or ease in our lives, because the idea that we can be happy if only we follow the right steps is a powerful one, one that prevents revolutions and social upheaval.  As long as enough people are happy, or believe they are happy, the majority will keep quiet.

The Source reminisced a little about her teenage years, saying she and her friends were sure that being happy was for stupid people.  Only the most removed from reality could be happy.  As an adult, her opinion began to evolve and she was influenced by the saying "There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way" and helping others started to take on importance.  She also came to the realization that happiness is momentary, rather than a state that can be extended to the point of being permanent.  Hobbies and achievements can contribute to being happy, but she also asked what can impede reaching happiness.  She suspected it had to do with some amount of dissonance between thought and feeling.  Another participant proposed steps to happiness as suggested by L. Ron Hubbard, many of which have a similarity to the Ten Commandments embraced by Christians.  This does echo the appearance of rejection of responsibility or ignorance in the search for happiness that many people, most predictably the religious, ascribe to.

Our Doctor explored the etymology of the word, as he often does, mentioning that the Spanish translation has different origin, hence quite understandably a different feel to it.  The Latin root is connected to fertility and prosperity, giving an idea of what is required to reach that emotional state.  He also introduced the concept of satisfaction versus happiness, and stated that the idea of what happiness is changes over time anyway.  In a later contribution, he chided people for using Indian or Chinese philosophers to try to convince others, calling them cowards.  People hide behind exotic ideas that make them appear learned, worldly, or wise, whether they understand or fully agree with them or not.  We need to find solutions to our problems, but we are not prepared to look for or accept them because we feel protected by our ignorance.  He believes the cured patient might not be happy, but certainly satisfied.  Also, our level of happiness can be reflected in our biology, making it rather more tangible than many of us considered at first.

The Actress took a fairly combative view, stating flatly that happiness was not natural at all, it was a sort of mirage that we are told to chase.  In her opinion, only psychopaths are always happy.  Towards the end, she mentioned human enjoyment of problem solving, which would include overcoming negative emotions to "win" at the game of life.

The True Philosopher told us that the "Way to Happiness" is purely metaphysical, without any ethereal or celestial component.  Happiness is similar to pleasure, but not quite the same thing.  Interestingly, his recent religious experience was one that left a bad taste in his mouth.  In spite of the instigation to happiness that the pastor was trying to achieve, it felt more like rigid dictatorship to the Philosopher, who was not happy at all with the feeling.

The Organizer could not let go of the question of what prevents us from being happy.  More than a path or process, it is avoiding or overcoming obstacles that we need to pay attention to.  We do not even know what makes us happy personally, if we are saturated in ideas that society bestows upon us which are not necessarily for our benefit.  We should think about how much we need to know to make a plan for happiness, to reach it and to maintain it as best as possible.  We need to have an awareness of our own reality and possibilities to efficiently find happiness.  At the same time, he gave us this thought to ponder: just because you are sad, that does not mean you are not happy.

The Deep Thinker was reminded again of chemical stimulants.  It is true that chemicals can produce an effect of happiness, but there is a certain disdain for it.  It is not real happiness if you need outside sources to produce it.  He also mulled over the temporariness of happiness, noting that even objects that please us are not eternal.  He asked if there was a feeling of pleasure that was not dependent on an external and possibly fleeting object, one that could be coaxed into being everlasting.

An Educator gave a bundle of seemingly trite phrases, but under the focus if this topic they could well be truths: happiness and unhappiness are part of the same package; happiness requires a fight because it is easier to accept the bad than make an effort for the good; the best way to happiness is to be at one with oneself.  She also made another point that I think is key, which is that we always need to weigh whether it makes more sense to enhance our reality or lower our expectations.  In the simple explanation of Buddhism, it is not lack that makes us unhappy, but desire for the things we lack.  If we can rid ourselves of the desire for things that are impossible to obtain, we would all be happier.  It sounds like a very rational piece of advice, but the Writer, while not disagreeing, was sure that happiness could not be reached when one is guided only by rationality.

The Seeker of Happiness did not have many new things to reveal at first.  He agreed that happiness is a very individual feeling, and that we have the responsibility to find it for ourselves, which means we need to be aware of what makes us happy.  He also said the feeling was the great stimulus for people to do things, I suppose the desire to reach the feeling really.  He then brought up the contrast of attitudes among the citizens of "free" countries and those in totalitarian states, calling it interesting that freedom provides people with more happiness, while a state that might "work" for the good of the people tends not to be popular.  He also finally gave some explanation of his use of the term "love" in this and other meetings: loosely basing his idea on the Maslowe pyramid of needs, he said food was the most important, but being able to achieve everything else depends on interactions with other people.  Positive connections, of course, are the ones he considers to be love.  I find it a much broader definition than might be useful, but it is more understandable than thinking of romantic love as the only possible way to have a relationship with others.

Whether produced by means of physical activity, chemical intake, or sensory provocation, we do have an internal urge to seek out happiness.  Sometimes happiness wanders into our path for the taking.  Beer fairs have a habit of doing just that.

There were a number of new names for me, which was exciting, although the variety of styles was on the normal side.  Since Sunday is a busy day, naturally, I started near the door with Arriaca.  They had a nice light blond ale, simply called Arriaca Rubia.  The rep called it "golden" and was clearly happy to practice a little English.  The beer is indeed golden, a very happy color, and with a most classic head.  The taste is sharply bitter at first, a refreshing flavor, although towards the end of the glass it gets a little bit heavy.  Perhaps something to clean the palate would be recommended.

Farther up the aisle I found Yakka, which had appeared at fairs before.  On tap they had an IPA and a brown ale, which was named German Bio.  Since I'd started with the Rubia, I felt like something a little different, so toasty beer it was.  It has a nice, caramel color and a sweet smell and a surprisingly bitter taste, which is not at all unpleasant.  There is also a hint of some fruity sweetness in it, not quite honey-like.

La Vella Caravana was lurking around the corner with a name that draws attention: Mataelefantes.  It might seem like a warning about the strength of the brew, but it is a normal IPA at the normal alcohol level.  The name is actually a jab at the former king of Spain, known for his hobby of shooting large animals.  The beer has a good IPA taste with strong bitterness and slight citrus notes.  It has a nice color, opaque orange-y, and just a little head.  There's also a welcome consistency in the flavor, which remains the same in terms of bitter-sweet from top to bottom.  The taste is refreshing and clean all the way down.

Lights!

Look out, Dumbo, or Babar, or...whoever the elephant was in the Jungle Book

Sagra reappeared for this fair, but I didn't pay too much attention at first.  They have excellent beers, it's just that I'm very familiar with them...except for the Framboise they tapped as Sunday was wearing on.  I was leery, Belgian fruit beers do not always agree with me, but I was assured that it was not a lambic, just a red ale infused with raspberry.  So I went ahead and tried it, to my delight.  It really is a lovely beer if you want something just a little sweet, without the tang of the Belgians.  The color holds just a shade of red in the brownness, and the first whiff clearly tells you about the raspberries, but they come out in the flavor only slightly.  It has a very rounded, mellow ale flavor, with the fruit being just a light note on the top.  I found it to be a very relaxed drink, and even with the fruit it doesn't necessarily feel like a dessert beer.  As the glass gets emptied, a sort of spiciness developed, with a kind of cinnamony feel to the hit on the tongue and even in the scent.  It is a moderate and tasty beverage to the end though, and Sagra continues to be a highly respectable brewery.

My final take on Day 1 was a stout.  Not many were on tap this time, which was a little disappointing for me, but the bar itself had Juliett L'Anjub, the L'Anjub brewery's imperial stout.  It's a very representative stout, fantastic black color and light tan fuzz on top.  The stoutiest of scents comes off it, that wonderful mix of earthiness and sourness, which is reflected in the taste along with a nice dark chocolate blended in.  A lovely end to the first day's tasting.

The next day I only had the first hour of business free, so it was a bit quiet when I arrived.  Easy to see the offering.  I started with Santo Cristo, which had an IPA an acquaintance recommended the day before, but I was still looking for something unusual.  They also had a brown ale with chestnuts, Castaña Asada.  Very seasonal.  The brewery is based in Galicia, only founded a few months ago and just now sending out feelers for national markets, and they have a festival in November that traditionally involves roasted chestnuts, so it's not for Christmas, just a coincidence.  Only the chestnuts are used to give the beer's flavor a bit of body, it's hopless.  Very nice color, just a whiff of sweet smell, and an excellent flavor.  The chestnut is prominent, but the taste is very smooth and balanced, without the excesses of sweet some browns have had.  It is a little strong on the alcohol - 7.1% - but it is a very easy drink, clean and tasty to the end.

You see it's been drunk from some on the way to the counter

Finally, there was Maier Imperial IPA, a craft beer from Cádiz.  The south of Spain is not a region especially known for good beers, although Mammut hails from Granada.  Being an IPA, it's a risk with regards to strength, especially after the Santo Cristo, but what the hell, I'm at the fair!  It has a very bright and happy color, another orangey one, like Andalusian oranges maybe?  I was warned it would be bitter at first, but it really was hardly bitter at all.  The foam has just a touch of bitter, but the beer itself is smooth and sweet, a definite caramel touch.  The alcohol content is great at hide and seek, and the beer really tastes nothing like a strong IPA normally does.  It is dangerously delicious.  After about half a glass a big gulp seems to give off some fumes.

I'm allowed behind the bar!  Because it's early, I guess

There seemed to be fewer children this time around, and more glasses broken.  On day 2 there was a smash before the first hour was even up, and it looked like it was soda.  Must have had a few Maier's before that.

landmark

The label is one of the more decorated from Domus, and a quick look at the ingredients shows they were planning on something representative: orange and saffron flower, sounds like Al-Andalus, at least to those of us with the barest knowledge of the topic.

The smell is on the sweet side, just a touch from the bottle, but once poured some citrus notes come out.  The beer itself has an orangey glow, and a pithy white head.  I got a good mouthful of the foam in the first sip, and it's quite tasty itself with a mild citrus flavor and a hint of something spicier underneath.  I wonder if it's the saffron flower; I actually have no idea what that would taste like by itself, and I'm only really familiar with saffron as a coloring agent.  Still, there's definitely something in this beer besides the orange and regular grain and hops.  It recalls Christmas cookies for me, ginger, cloves, that sort of taste.  It could actually come from the wheat portion of the recipe, I guess.  Many wheat beers do have that little sharpness to them.  It seems to me to be a good holiday beer, for Halloween or Christmas.  I have my doubts about Thanksgiving, just because orange and cranberry doesn't sound quite right to me.

It is orange, I swear

recurring divinity

Skadi seems to be a recent addition to the Lest family.  My impression is that she's a little lesser known than previously honored deities, but maybe I don't run in the right circles.  The stout does go with the idea of warming up after snow and cold, although skiing might not be the best choice of activity.

The color is promising and the beer is a bit frothy.  It doesn't have a strong smell, but a good whiff reveals the sweetness.  It's sweet at first, followed by a bit of sour/bitter, but then a lower sweetness brings up the rear.  It's kind of a high sweetness that leads off, and the finish is more honeyed.  After a while I notice a sort of mild cheesy feel to the beer, probably from the lactose portion of the recipe.  It has a comforting feel, like many stouts, something you curl up with at the end of the day.

gentleman porter

Naparbier has had its ups and downs in my sampling.  They do try to be creative, though, and that's always something to support.  I couldn't help grabbing this bottle with that eye catching label:

That beard, that bowler, that monocle...!

It comes out beautiful black and smooth, with a spongy head of nice tan color.  Twangy porter smell.  Mild and round taste, almost milky, sweet but not tart or overpowering.  It's more delicate than many porters I've tasted.  Fine base of earthiness.  Hint of dark chocolate, very dark.  It stays smooth and highly drinkable all the way through the glass, a very pleasant beer to sip after a long day, or even a short one.

Oh, it's one of those deep beers

it's madness

Today happens to be the first day of Madrid Beer Week, so I'd better put a Spanish beer up here.  Other locals will appear later, besides a certain celebration that comes about with reasonable regularity.

There's always something new in the beer stores.  This label harkens to national history, poking at the interest in a former queen, famous for her less than balanced personality.  The tragedy surrounding her and her immediate family also helps to make her one of the beloved historical figures of the country.  She might even have been a redhead.

Just popping off the cap releases a sharp, tangy scent, leaning toward the Belgian style.  The beer is ruddy, a bit cloudy - unfiltered after all - and only lightly headed.  The glassful smells more of sweet apples than the bottle let on.  The first taste is surprisingly sweet, but a very mellow and mild bitterness comes up too, gently laying itself over the tongue.  The flavor is delicate but not weak, leaving the mouth quickly, without any stickiness or strange sourness hanging around.  Pleasant, more of a mild evening drink, seems to be hinting that some chips or pretzels would be good about now.

The Skeleton Within Us

Skeletons are an interesting image.  The skull especially is used to symbolize death and danger.  Bones are often the last thing remaining of a body after death, sometimes even after we want to hurry them on their way to leave the physical world.  Even if they represent the loss or absence of life, their endurance can also represent the continuation of existence, the idea that remains in the minds of the living.  There is also the idea that we all have a skeleton; what is inside us is less distinguishable from others than what is outside.  While there are certainly differences, one skeleton is much harder to tell from another than a body with flesh is.  It takes experts, people who can observe the smallest details, to separate them.  We also have the idea of the skeleton in the closet, or something that is hidden.  It can be our most private thoughts or awful secrets, but our metaphorical skeleton is something that is known only to us, and sometimes we are not even aware of it ourselves.

The Source of the topic is one of those people who like to analyze everything, but frame it in poetry at the same time.  He was inspired by the BBC series "Inside the Human Body", which made him consider the marvel that is the body, the engineering wonder that is the human hand, for example.  He pondered the difficulty of knowing the objects we have around us, saying faraway objects are hard to examine in detail, while those close by are taken for granted.  He mentioned his feeling that he personally might rely too much on analysis to understand his world.  He believes that there should be a balance between the mental processes and the emotional when it comes to taking in information about our surroundings.  Later on, he mulled over the emotions tied to the body itself.  Most people have feelings they might call "intuition", ideas that have appeared without any apparent logical process.  There is also the shame we are trained to feel over our bodies, due mainly to religion in the Source's opinion, and the demonizing of our natural sensations and desires.  Life should be celebrated and enjoyed, not rejected and bound in mistrust.  He finds a risk in ignoring the body and the pleasures of life.  The Skeleton represents the most physical part of ourselves, and also the part that we are told to pay little mind to, although I think we are told to pay even less mind to intuition in most cases.

Our Doctor began by saying he lived as a contrarian, always against whatever he finds.  So, he does not believe in analysis.  His specialization is the brain rather than the skeleton, but he noted that information can certainly be extracted from bones if one knows how to look for it.  He also warned, however, that observation changes behavior, something known from psychology as well as quantum science.  The information we get from analysis should be tempered with intuition.  Putting himself in the position of the observer of the group, he reminded us of his opinion that philosophy is biography, and while we speak from our own experiences, the way we speak may not be our own.  He thought he saw influences of both Paul Éluard and Paul Watson in the proposition of the Source.  We should not put too much faith in our own perspective.  As a doctor, he is well aware of the effects disease has on development, of our physical bones and mental state as well.  He extended this idea to humanity as a body, mentioning tragedies and atrocities as "germs" that affect us.  In his point of view, they make us better, they help us learn to be better people.  Then again, he also repeats that philosophers, and actors, are professional liars, so perhaps his opinions should be taken with a grain of salt always.  Finally, he proposed that ideas not be written or told, as much as played or performed, or painted.  Ideas always have more to them than simple words, and by incorporating other senses into their presentation we understand them more fully.

The True Philosopher reminded us that philosophy does not deal with objects, but with the ideas of objects.  In his preparatory writing, he focused on the meaning of the skeleton, or support, to our health and well being, it mainly being something ever present, but largely ignored.  Aristotle, he said, marked the difference between philosophy and science, where ideas and practice separate.  He also introduced a word worthy of the Source: anthropoetics; he used the term to emphasize how important symbolism is to humans, certainly something the Source would seem to agree with, as well as many other participants.

The Seeker of Happiness pointed out that being aware that we have a skeleton is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the human being as compared to other animals.  We have the basic need to be healthy, but once that is established, we want more.  Then, in order to reach loftier goals, we have to study the things that are not immediately visible to us, both physically and psychologically.  At the end, he fell into his pet topic, repeating that "love is all we need" and empathy is what makes the human being successful, which seems to be a deviation from the focus of the meeting to me, but maybe that is the internal support of the human being for him.

The Organizer had just a small bit of an idea for us beforehand, but did elaborate in the meeting itself.  The skeleton is not, of course, the physical bone structure, but the metaphor for a framework or outline.  When it comes to self-examination, we cannot trust that we will find an accurate image of ourselves, and in fact, others do have access to our internal information, which can give outsiders a better, more accurate view than we ourselves have.  Knowledge resides in the brain, and has an actual physical format, even when we discuss abstract ideas.  The physical skeleton may be the hardest, most durable part of the body, but as an idea it is highly changeable.  Fortunately for us, that means that ideas that turn out to be wrong should not be too difficult to change.  For the Organizer, rather than meditation or attention to gut feelings, the way to know ourselves is to learn more about statistics.

The Prodigal Participant contrasted the importance of external appearance with the interest in the internal self.  We put a lot of weight on the superficial, on the outside, and feel an uneasiness or even fear of examining the inside.  For this Participant, the reason is probably that we are afraid to find out how different we are from the others.  While there might be more similarities than differences, it is the differences that stand out and we do our best to hide and ignore them to fit more seamlessly into our groups or society.

The Writer also mentioned the religious notion that the body is not to be given importance, saying it was only in the 18th century that those ideas started to change, and they have not completely changed yet.  Life is full of suffering and the way to avoid it is to focus on the brain rather than the body.  She also acknowledged the possibility of distorted ideas about ourselves, saying that the physical skeleton is a very different thing from our body image, not to mention our ideas about our person and self.  She recommended yoga as a way to reconcile the awareness of body and mind and reach some balance.

A Newcomer focused on the literary images of skeletons as death over history, mentioning Hamlet holding Yorick's skull as an example.  She also thought the source of many of our problems and stress is the attempt to separate the body from the mind, attaching negative feelings to the body by using the skeleton, when the two should always be considered two parts of a whole.  She wondered whether the body or the mind has more control, but then seemed to answer herself saying that everything is in fact a state of mind, even when the body shows more effects.  The Organizer took exception to the idea of "mind", one of his pet topics, and after her turn stated that only the brain, and therefore only the physical, exists, which means that although the Newcomer is right to say it is a mistake to separate physical and mental processes, it is also a mistake to consider ourselves a combination of two things rather than one thing with interdependent components.

It is fitting, I suppose, that little light was shed in the end, with more questions and doubts being left around than answers.

currant events

The Belgians are known for using fruit to flavor their beers, but one day I came upon a Norwegian variety.  Norwegian beer isn't around every corner here, and red currants?  All the more interesting to me.  It seems to be unfiltered, as there are chunks of ... stuff floating around in there.  Not alarming chunks, just what one tends to see in unfiltered ales.  The beer has a pretty rosy tint and is a little cloudy in general.  The smell isn't strong at all.  The taste is interesting; it's a bitter ale but with a sharp bite from the currants.  Many fruit beers get away with a lot of sweet, but not Rips.  A nice glass of this beer, chilly, would be a fine thirst quencher for me on a Madrid summer evening, though.  The astringency is quite a pick-me-up.

parks of Madrid - Parque de Berlín

This is a small park, near the German School, but twisting paths and tall trees make it seem bigger than it is.  Willy Brandt attended the opening of the park,  in 1967, and the monument to the fall of the Wall was added in 1990.

There are a number of plants and trees marked along the paths.

Several Berlin Wall slabs stand in a fountain.

The bear is around, although he's a little camouflaged in the trees.

Looks like they can have small concerts or performances, near the basketball courts.

Here's a thing I don't recognize.

It's fenced in, so it looks like you can toss balls down the alleyway.

There are actually two facing each other.

After whatever sport or performance or leisurely walk, you can have some refreshment.

 

Madrid parks are full of parrots these days.

Looking down from the back end.

The street is actually right behind the trees, but you can hardly tell.