We constantly tell ourselves that we learn from our mistakes, that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, but how much truth is there in those sayings? We also tell ourselves that history repeats itself anyway, and if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Naturally, we mean that one tries a new strategy to solve the problem, but for most people the variation is so slight as to be almost undetectable. We use history to justify the present as well as to predict the future, but it is not "real" history; rather, the history we tell is merely our favored interpretation, all the better for justifications. We can chalk that up as usefulness, but how desirable or respectable is it? Another problem is that many people refuse to learn from history, either because they are suspicious of the agendas of those who interpret it, or because they are convinced that the repetitions of time are not similar enough to be useful. While we can see cycles in broad strokes, the details that affect individual lives do not come together in ways that can be predicted or connected so as to effectively use the past to prevent future disaster. There are always mitigating circumstances, some argument for "special" treatment that does not follow the historical prescription. So, whether history can be of use is debatable, although I personally lean towards it being somewhat useful, but the real question should be do we choose to use history? The answer, I think, is usually no.
Our Doctor began by saying it was a pity we did not spend more time analyzing the essays that were written; on this occasion in particular, they were excellent in his opinion. The word "useful", on the other hand, did not seem appropriate. History is mysterious and attractive, but also destructive. Every person and every nation experiences history in a different way, and the history learned in one school will not the the history learned in another. Nobody can correlate history, and all the sources we have available can be manipulated. We cannot compare information to find the truth, if no source is more trustworthy than the others. He turned to the importance of history for human beings, saying we are history as the compilation of our experiences, in contrast to medical history, which is composed of facts and numbers, making it knowledge. We need to examine the past for errors and correct them for the future to ensure our survival. In the past, our information came from fewer sources, in some cases only one like the radio or local paper. Now, we spend hours with televisions and webpages, making ourselves in information's own image. For all our Western emphasis on individuality and freedoms, the Doctor warned us, we are members of society because we are slaves, slaves to information. Professional liars (such as himself, as he often tells us) work hard to convince us of their vision of the world. We can be easily exploited. Groups work behind the scenes and every action, every war, is an invention of some group. He ended with an admonition against listening to people who give bad descriptions of reality.
The Leader wrote of the difficulty in defining the terms of this topic, resorting to making a couple of assumptions. In the meeting he mentioned the phrases "History repeats itself" and "Don't repeat the mistakes of the past", labeling them contradictory. Although history is the past, we have to pay attention to time passing, since this is how we justify where we end up. What we call history is the accumulation of actions taken by individuals, as well as the natural results of those actions. So, he asked, is history a Humean causal or the fruit of individual decisions? It must be both. Everyone has a set of limitations, with leaders generally having the most options when the time comes for decision making, but we all work with what we have. As for usefulness, in the case of history it depends on the reliability of the information we have. We have history in living memory, which gives us witnesses, but as we know witnesses are actually not very reliable at all. We also have written history, which is at the mercy of the goals of the writer. He mentioned the diminishing of relevance for great figures of the past, whose words and thoughts were not transmitted with the speed and frequency that we have today with so much social media and global connectivity. One thing we might learn from history is how technology ends up being a game changer - it makes old ideas and values obsolete. He admitted that he had not thought about who in particular history should be useful for, but left the question without a firm answer. He pointed out how our broad access to information makes it easy for us to find evidence of trickery or support for doubt about official explanations, but the problem of reliability continues to loom. In order for history to be useful, we must learn the right lessons from it.
The True Philosopher also pondered the meaning of "history" and the necessity of each witness to contribute to real history. Still, history is a social activity in that the memory of each member combines with the rest to create the historical tapestry. Sometimes, however, we do not consider these contributions as authentic as they lack some sort of academic or official backing, especially when history is part of an oral tradition instead of a written story. He was more positive about the utility, saying if something is history, it is useful by definition. Humans do not remember useless information for the lifespan of their society. We tend to trust historians, but they are often under the control or influence of some greater interest. There are reams of history left in unofficial deposits, waiting to be recognized when those interests change. The events of reality of important to particular individuals, and "history" is the convergence of the usefulness of each event.
An Impermanent Participant also connected history to writing, saying before written language there was no history. She also delved into the fields and varieties of history, such as anthropology. She admitted that written chronologies have been dependent on authority for their existence, so despite their acceptance, they are subject to distortion. The usefulness of these histories, she thought, was mainly nationalistic: people want to believe in their heroes and legends, all the things that made them what they are, and probably what made their nation great. The great figures of Spanish history - Columbus, the Catholic Rulers, etc. - are never talked about entirely truthfully, but their legends are useful for national cohesion.
The Deep Thinker had been concerned mostly with personal history when considering the topic. For him, history has the utmost importance, due to the simple fact that the present is a direct consequence of the past. However, history is also almost purely subjective. He finished with the question of whether it was possible to separate the past and the present.
The Seeker of Happiness brought another, firmer perspective, stating that history is completely useless. It is nothing more than the propaganda of politicians. Science has no need of history, since scientific facts are true always, and the small facts of history almost never. He was frustrated by the lack of stories about real people considered history, saying that we should promote happy people, not better kings.
One Popping In was also of the opinion that most history is propagandistic, and to the benefit of thosr in power. Where there is voting, people are tricked into voting the "wrong" way by some misstated precedent. Yet, he also felt that history is not useless at all. Somehow, science can support it.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Saturday, June 27, 2015
wishful thinking
While browsing Prost Chamberí's shelves, Naparbier's Blackrock jumped out at me. I guess it could have been that skull, so reminiscent of Halloween. Or just the nostalgia of more comfortable days, when dark beers of all stripes are promoted.
It's dark brown/black like a good stout, or a good, comfortable evening. The coffee is evident in the smell, although not especially strong. The cocoa is predominant in the taste at first, though, with just a little coffee, mocha more like, coming through in the aftertaste. It's exactly my taste in stouts, and generally what my safety beer is, having both the typical beer bitter and a little smoothness with something chocolatey. No matter how hot it is, it's the best for me.
Supplier: Prost Chamberí
Price: €2.80
It's dark brown/black like a good stout, or a good, comfortable evening. The coffee is evident in the smell, although not especially strong. The cocoa is predominant in the taste at first, though, with just a little coffee, mocha more like, coming through in the aftertaste. It's exactly my taste in stouts, and generally what my safety beer is, having both the typical beer bitter and a little smoothness with something chocolatey. No matter how hot it is, it's the best for me.
Supplier: Prost Chamberí
Price: €2.80
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Things I Don't Know About Myself
I was unable to attend this meeting, as I was exploring things I knew very well about myself and others, just in case there was some new development. Also, I was looking at some things I did not know about the country. More or less what I expected.
The Leader wrote a short essay, focusing quite a bit on self-awareness and the problem of objective knowledge versus subjective experience. Among other examples, those of fashion choices and ideas about learning were, or at least should be, easily identifiable experiences. The True Philosopher wrote of the unconscious and the challenge of knowing oneself per Socrates. Although I would not be there to participate, I did ponder the topic a bit, coming up with a few late-night thoughts:
There are a lot of things we don't know about ourselves. On one hand, we have the understanding of the physical body, which is not complete despite many advances over human history. On another, we have our limits and possibilities, in many realms. On yet another, we have what we are perceived as by others. Because of the limitations in human consciousness, the majority of this information is probably closed off from us forever and for sure.
While we know a great deal about the human body in general, there is still much to discover. On top of that, each individual human has quirks and details that are not part of the norm or even known exceptions. Beyond even that, we don't know the working life of our individual bodies. How many more beats are left in my heart? How much more alcohol can my liver process? How many more miles can I walk on my knees before they rebound no more? Will I develop an allergy to something? What the hell, body, why do you have to be full of surprises?
We think we know what we want, and sometimes we're right, but other times our reactions are completely unexpected. We may be following dreams that were imposed upon us, or simply expecting conditions that weren't reasonable to expect. We think of ourselves as determined or fearful, but each particular situation can transform us into the opposite of our own image of ourselves. We think of ourselves as having talents and abilities that will take us to the top of whatever field we decide to pursue, but our perception is often severely skewed. We think we are believable actors, when our performances are wooden or overdone. We think we can lead nations, when we don't even know what those closest to us need. When dreams and aspirations come together, nobody can predict what will happen, and probably nobody will be satisfied with it.
We look in the mirror and we assume what we see is what everybody sees, both the good and the bad. But, our self-image is warped and divergent from the image projected to others. Some of this could be because of the human talent for just ignoring what we don't like. We overcome cognitive dissonance by simply redefining our own actions so they seem to be reasonable and logical. We explain away our hypocrisies by appealing to the exceptionality of this particular situation that affects us right now and in no way can be applied to anyone else's life!!!eleventy!! We might ask others what they think about a particular aspect of our personalities or behavior, but even receiving honest answers isn't very helpful. The filters from both sides prevent objective information from getting through. We don't know, and will never know, why that person doesn't want to be friends, why that other person thinks we're gods incarnate. They don't even know why they think what they think, at least not in a way that can be articulated so as to be useful. We have chemical reactions to other people the same way we process food and develop into adult beings, in a way that is beyond our control and that we don't really understand. We are hidden from ourselves, maybe even more than we can hide ourselves from others.
The Leader wrote a short essay, focusing quite a bit on self-awareness and the problem of objective knowledge versus subjective experience. Among other examples, those of fashion choices and ideas about learning were, or at least should be, easily identifiable experiences. The True Philosopher wrote of the unconscious and the challenge of knowing oneself per Socrates. Although I would not be there to participate, I did ponder the topic a bit, coming up with a few late-night thoughts:
There are a lot of things we don't know about ourselves. On one hand, we have the understanding of the physical body, which is not complete despite many advances over human history. On another, we have our limits and possibilities, in many realms. On yet another, we have what we are perceived as by others. Because of the limitations in human consciousness, the majority of this information is probably closed off from us forever and for sure.
While we know a great deal about the human body in general, there is still much to discover. On top of that, each individual human has quirks and details that are not part of the norm or even known exceptions. Beyond even that, we don't know the working life of our individual bodies. How many more beats are left in my heart? How much more alcohol can my liver process? How many more miles can I walk on my knees before they rebound no more? Will I develop an allergy to something? What the hell, body, why do you have to be full of surprises?
We think we know what we want, and sometimes we're right, but other times our reactions are completely unexpected. We may be following dreams that were imposed upon us, or simply expecting conditions that weren't reasonable to expect. We think of ourselves as determined or fearful, but each particular situation can transform us into the opposite of our own image of ourselves. We think of ourselves as having talents and abilities that will take us to the top of whatever field we decide to pursue, but our perception is often severely skewed. We think we are believable actors, when our performances are wooden or overdone. We think we can lead nations, when we don't even know what those closest to us need. When dreams and aspirations come together, nobody can predict what will happen, and probably nobody will be satisfied with it.
We look in the mirror and we assume what we see is what everybody sees, both the good and the bad. But, our self-image is warped and divergent from the image projected to others. Some of this could be because of the human talent for just ignoring what we don't like. We overcome cognitive dissonance by simply redefining our own actions so they seem to be reasonable and logical. We explain away our hypocrisies by appealing to the exceptionality of this particular situation that affects us right now and in no way can be applied to anyone else's life!!!eleventy!! We might ask others what they think about a particular aspect of our personalities or behavior, but even receiving honest answers isn't very helpful. The filters from both sides prevent objective information from getting through. We don't know, and will never know, why that person doesn't want to be friends, why that other person thinks we're gods incarnate. They don't even know why they think what they think, at least not in a way that can be articulated so as to be useful. We have chemical reactions to other people the same way we process food and develop into adult beings, in a way that is beyond our control and that we don't really understand. We are hidden from ourselves, maybe even more than we can hide ourselves from others.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
til next time
Beer Week is over...for the time being. The last one was in November, so there might be another yet this year. To send off the celebration, I have one more Spanish beer, Vikingathor, produced by Arriaca from a recipe written by master brewer Boris de Mesones, hence the Boris Brew on the bottle.
It's a root beer brown, more soda-like in appearance than beery, but the head is extra thick. Still, a good root beer has head too. It smells a bit malty, like a German dark beer often does, but there's a citrus snap in it. The taste is a rolling combination of bitter, sweet, and woodiness. The bitter and sweet learn to play nicely together, but there's a kind of smoky burn at the back of the throat after some time with the beer. It doesn't grow into a bothersome or distasteful flavor, but it's an interesting thing to notice, giving the beer another touch of complexity. I was warned that it was stronger than it might seem at first, and it doesn't go down like a strong beer at all. The taste(s) can only be described as smooth and easily taken in.
Supplier: La Birratorium
Price: €2.50
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| Not a face you say no to |
Supplier: La Birratorium
Price: €2.50
Saturday, June 20, 2015
raqin' out
Oh, it's just too hot for anything pleasant, except a nice cold beer. Maybe one with a little bite. Pilsner sounds like the thing. Dougall's, despite its name, is "the Beer from Cantabria", so it allows me to stay within my Beer Week limits of national beers for the second half. I've had a couple of their offerings before, and they've been pleasing. Why not Raquera?
It definitely has the look of a classic pilsner, golden colored and white headed. It also smells right, like a Central European beer. Flavorwise, it does perk you up a little, being bitter, but not too sharp, with a touch of sweetness hiding in the background. A little puddle of bitter sits at the back of the tongue, keeping you alert, but not being distracting. A pleasant summer beer, good for a relaxing evening drink. For some reason Jeff Buckley feels like just the right accompaniment.
Supplier: Prost Chamberí
Price: €2.60
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| Dive right in |
It definitely has the look of a classic pilsner, golden colored and white headed. It also smells right, like a Central European beer. Flavorwise, it does perk you up a little, being bitter, but not too sharp, with a touch of sweetness hiding in the background. A little puddle of bitter sits at the back of the tongue, keeping you alert, but not being distracting. A pleasant summer beer, good for a relaxing evening drink. For some reason Jeff Buckley feels like just the right accompaniment.
Supplier: Prost Chamberí
Price: €2.60
Friday, June 19, 2015
world of wonders
We're coming to the end of Beer Week, and I have to take the opportunity to slide a local favorite in there. Fábrica Maravillas does not sell off their product anymore, having established their brewpub as a mecca for craft beer in central Madrid. Mostly, they sell from the tap, but they occasionally bottle and growlers are also seen floating around. Not all the beers get to the bottle; it's mostly the ale Malasaña and the saison Valverde. Only Valverde was in the fridge when I went to look this time.
Sharp, but flowery, the scent has been described as "perfumed"...as has the taste. I find the bottled version less striking than the draft; it's very mellow, even a little yeasty at first, but the tickle of spice comes out soon enough. The head is snowy white, but doesn't hang around for long, leaving the beer looking a tad soda-like. Bottled Valverde really doesn't have the squirt of perfume that the bar-pulled one has, leaving it much more low-key and easy to drink. It's a nice combination of bitter and sweet, leaning more on the bitter naturally. Chilled and taken in the shade, it's a perfect summer beer for relaxing and letting things go by.
Supplier: Fábrica Maravillas
Price: €4.75
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| Fresh from the brewery |
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| That's sunshine in a glass, that is |
Supplier: Fábrica Maravillas
Price: €4.75
Thursday, June 18, 2015
seasonal
Sagra has plenty of good things going for it: innovative flavors; good distribution in town; being national, when you're looking to support local industries. It's time for those brews that cater to higher temperatures and drier tongues. The Summer Ale with lemon and cardamon promises to be a wake-up for the taste buds, probably after a long day of effort. You can tell it's special because it has a pull-tab cover over the cap, and the bottle is filled almost to the top. Careful when opening!
It has a standard appearance, as laid-back and normal as you can imagine. The smell is delicate, just barely spicy, nothing too strenuous. Taking a drink brings on a wave of bitterness at first, but then a little sweetness wells up, finishing with the citrus around the edges. It's a happy beer, with a sunny color and lightness of flavor that works well with evenings that haven't quite cooled off from daytime highs.
Supplier: The Beer Garden
Price: €2.50
Supplier: The Beer Garden
Price: €2.50
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
calling the green man
After the weight of those German beers, I was looking for some flash and lightness in the Spanish ones. Yria's Beerbol, an Imperial IPA, was there to answer the call. Yria has given light and dark in the past, but the label was the clincher this time.
The dark green, the wild wilderness, it's a label that promises an adventure in a bottle and I'm not passing up the chance as summer approaches.
While Imperias IPAs do tend to have a little more color, this one has a very rich red-orange tone. Could be the cedar, I suppose. The smell is delicate, just a little bit of orange. It's bitter, but not overwhelming, with some prickles of sweetness. The color is clear, not at all cloudy, so the flavor is even throughout the glass. It's a bit of an appetite stimulant, giving me a hankering for something salty, pretzels maybe. Now that the temperatures are rising, possibly for good, it's a pleasing beer to have in the evening. Refreshing, stimulating, relaxing, what more could you want?
Supplier: Cervecissimus
Price: €4.54
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| I swear those eyes follow you |
Supplier: Cervecissimus
Price: €4.54
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
pirisic victory
It's still Beer Week in Madrid! Now to the Spanish beers, officially, even though some venues are focusing on bringing foreign brews to the public (Looking at you, L'Europe). First I picked up an IPA, being one of the classic styles of Madrid craft brewing. It's actually from Barcelona, but that's still domestic. For now, anyway. This beer, more completely, is an American Red IPA, so while I expect flavor, I'm supposing it will be a soft, relaxed taste.
It's a rusty color with a refreshing citrusy smell. The head is off-white, a touch overbubbly. True to its kind, it's strongly bitter, with some undernotes of mild sweetness. The head is resistant, leaving a foam that covers the top of the beer completely even after several minutes in the glass. After the heavier German beers, this is a nice, easy-going one that feels like a conversation supporter.
Supplier: The Beer Garden
Price: €3.50
It's a rusty color with a refreshing citrusy smell. The head is off-white, a touch overbubbly. True to its kind, it's strongly bitter, with some undernotes of mild sweetness. The head is resistant, leaving a foam that covers the top of the beer completely even after several minutes in the glass. After the heavier German beers, this is a nice, easy-going one that feels like a conversation supporter.
Supplier: The Beer Garden
Price: €3.50
Monday, June 15, 2015
and off
I had to find something special for the last film, and the ship on a bottle caught my eye. While there were several possibilities, I decided on Atlantik-Ale, just because I thought it went well with the end of the festival, like a ship sailing off.
Not especially aromatic or brightly colored, but it is a happy yellow, like a fizzy lemonade. It's very heady, with the foam white and fluffy. The is some herbal essence in the flavor, something tingly and bitter like thyme maybe. The combination of hops is said to produce grapefruit, citrus and melon flavors. It's very subtle, but tasty, a calm and understated sensation. The citrus and grapefruit I can see, but the melon isn't quite manifesting for my tastebuds. It's just as well, since I'm not a fan of melon anyway. It's something one might associate with ocean breezes, something fresh and clean, not cloying or heavy. At the same time, the interesting combination of flavors that just peek up when drunk invoke some kind of exciting voyage, a round-the-world odyssey.
Supplier: La Birratorium
Price:€2.75
The last film I saw, and one of the last shown at the festival, was Who Am I - Kein System ist sicher/ Who Am I - No System is Safe. I thought it was going to be a serious critique of internet security and privacy, but it was a regular old action/suspense movie. Not that I didn't enjoy it, it just wasn't what I expected. The main character is a computer geek who becomes a hacker and makes friends with three other hackers. They mostly play pranks, some dangerous like leaving a video to be shown at a neo-Nazi meeting that shows Hitler being, er, overly loved by several dogs. But, they long for recognition and respect from other hackers, which leads the main character to steal top secret information when they infiltrate the German intelligence agency's headquarters, instead of just sticking to the prank of having all the printers in the building print out a clown face as the original plan was. He passes the information off to a hacker the group admires, which leads to a murder. The group then realizes they will probably be targeted next and they try to unmask the "master" hacker before they get killed or arrested, although the main character does get caught. In fact, most of the movie is his version of the events as told to an investigator who has just been removed from the case. Now, some SPOILERS.
At first, it looks like a Fight Club or Identity kind of ending with multiple personalities being revealed. The other three hackers are just facets of the main character's personality that he can't quite bring himself to recognize. The investigator tells him his illness makes him ineligible for witness protection, but he has other options. One of them, apparently, is the pity of a police investigator who lets him take off by himself with a new birth certificate. Then she drops him off by a highway to disappear into the real world.
But then, we see him on a ship to Denmark - with the rest of the group! The whole multiple personalities thing had been a fake from the beginning, calculated to let the others get away. The investigator may have in fact discovered the trickery, albeit after the fact, but won't say anything because she cracked the case and is now getting the glory. Even the love interest is going away with them to Copenhagen.
All in all, it was an entertaining movie. Although the twists were a bit contrived and the last one felt a little forced, there's still and element of "it's just a movie, relax" and the enjoyment of a happy ending with the "good" guys getting away with putting thieves and murderers behind bars, even if they use illegal means to do it. One thing that stood out for me in this movie was the use of English. All the internet interactions are carried out in English, which is understandable, but even in real life the characters toss out words and phrases completely naturally. It's just the words that they use. Even to swear: everything gets a strenuous, "Fuck!" from a programming misstep to a nail through the hand. It's not something just in the movie either, I remember hearing young Germans use that particular expletive in real life when accidents happened. Expressions and concrete words are not uncommon loans, but swears? Strong Language has a couple of posts on the phenomenon of multilingual swearing and the sort of bleed from a more powerful language into another, but the incorporation of a foreign word for such a basic thing as an expression of deep, visceral anger and pain is something to take notice of, in my opinion.
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| Plz ignore my laundry |
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| Look at the lovely ship instead. It has a ship on it. Shipception! |
Supplier: La Birratorium
Price:€2.75
The last film I saw, and one of the last shown at the festival, was Who Am I - Kein System ist sicher/ Who Am I - No System is Safe. I thought it was going to be a serious critique of internet security and privacy, but it was a regular old action/suspense movie. Not that I didn't enjoy it, it just wasn't what I expected. The main character is a computer geek who becomes a hacker and makes friends with three other hackers. They mostly play pranks, some dangerous like leaving a video to be shown at a neo-Nazi meeting that shows Hitler being, er, overly loved by several dogs. But, they long for recognition and respect from other hackers, which leads the main character to steal top secret information when they infiltrate the German intelligence agency's headquarters, instead of just sticking to the prank of having all the printers in the building print out a clown face as the original plan was. He passes the information off to a hacker the group admires, which leads to a murder. The group then realizes they will probably be targeted next and they try to unmask the "master" hacker before they get killed or arrested, although the main character does get caught. In fact, most of the movie is his version of the events as told to an investigator who has just been removed from the case. Now, some SPOILERS.
At first, it looks like a Fight Club or Identity kind of ending with multiple personalities being revealed. The other three hackers are just facets of the main character's personality that he can't quite bring himself to recognize. The investigator tells him his illness makes him ineligible for witness protection, but he has other options. One of them, apparently, is the pity of a police investigator who lets him take off by himself with a new birth certificate. Then she drops him off by a highway to disappear into the real world.
But then, we see him on a ship to Denmark - with the rest of the group! The whole multiple personalities thing had been a fake from the beginning, calculated to let the others get away. The investigator may have in fact discovered the trickery, albeit after the fact, but won't say anything because she cracked the case and is now getting the glory. Even the love interest is going away with them to Copenhagen.
All in all, it was an entertaining movie. Although the twists were a bit contrived and the last one felt a little forced, there's still and element of "it's just a movie, relax" and the enjoyment of a happy ending with the "good" guys getting away with putting thieves and murderers behind bars, even if they use illegal means to do it. One thing that stood out for me in this movie was the use of English. All the internet interactions are carried out in English, which is understandable, but even in real life the characters toss out words and phrases completely naturally. It's just the words that they use. Even to swear: everything gets a strenuous, "Fuck!" from a programming misstep to a nail through the hand. It's not something just in the movie either, I remember hearing young Germans use that particular expletive in real life when accidents happened. Expressions and concrete words are not uncommon loans, but swears? Strong Language has a couple of posts on the phenomenon of multilingual swearing and the sort of bleed from a more powerful language into another, but the incorporation of a foreign word for such a basic thing as an expression of deep, visceral anger and pain is something to take notice of, in my opinion.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
the end is near
I was looking for another nice, dark German beer to go with the classic movie, but the darkest I could find, besides the Korbinian, was Aventinus Eisbock. It was a new product for me, and I might as well try as much new stuff as I can find. That's the fun of festivals and designated celebratory weeks.
Pretty chestnut color, cloudier than what's been seen here in recent days. Creamy, fluffy head, and a good strong smell. Maybe my cold's about over. It's a tangy bock, though, not as smooth as the doppel. Flavorful, with a touch of candied fruit in it. It's a strong beer, definitely not for empty stomachs, but with a little food in your stomach, eisbock is very satisfying.
Supplier: Cervecissimus
Price: €2.30
On Saturday they showed Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari/The cabinet of Dr. Caligari. A DJ who has provided soundtracks to other classic films as on hand to give us mood music, which turned out to be OK, as it was generally non-intrusive and blended well with the scene we were watching. There were only a couple of times when characters were talking in a manner that suggested furtiveness and quiet when the music, I felt, was just too loud. The film was introduced as the "first horror movie", having a mad scientist, a sort of monster under his control, and a doomed love. The backgrounds showed me a definite connection with Tim Burton, surely having influenced him in his designs, and Cesare himself shows some similarity to Burton's Edward Scissorhands in design. The facial expressions and some of the physical movements were typical of the time, being a little exaggerated and not especially graceful, but definitely evocative. Caligari radiated sinister intent all over. The film we saw was a restored version using several prints as sources, and one scene in particular must have come from a British or American print: we watch Caligari run through the gates of the mental hospital and on the wall we see the sign "Insane Asylum". In English! In the next scene the hero also runs through the gate, stopping to notice that it now says "Irrenanstalt". The twist at the end (SPOILER BUT IT'S A 95 YEAR OLD MOVIE FOR CHRISSAKE) shows that the hero, his love interest, and the monster are all patients in a mental hospital, and the nemesis Caligari is actually his doctor. The "real" doctor seems to be very interested in curing delusions, rather than showing off sleepwalkers, and is pleased to discover the character his patient associates him with, saying he can now find the road to recovery. I don't know if it's the first plot twist in movie history, but it's surely a much emulated device.
Pretty chestnut color, cloudier than what's been seen here in recent days. Creamy, fluffy head, and a good strong smell. Maybe my cold's about over. It's a tangy bock, though, not as smooth as the doppel. Flavorful, with a touch of candied fruit in it. It's a strong beer, definitely not for empty stomachs, but with a little food in your stomach, eisbock is very satisfying.
Supplier: Cervecissimus
Price: €2.30
On Saturday they showed Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari/The cabinet of Dr. Caligari. A DJ who has provided soundtracks to other classic films as on hand to give us mood music, which turned out to be OK, as it was generally non-intrusive and blended well with the scene we were watching. There were only a couple of times when characters were talking in a manner that suggested furtiveness and quiet when the music, I felt, was just too loud. The film was introduced as the "first horror movie", having a mad scientist, a sort of monster under his control, and a doomed love. The backgrounds showed me a definite connection with Tim Burton, surely having influenced him in his designs, and Cesare himself shows some similarity to Burton's Edward Scissorhands in design. The facial expressions and some of the physical movements were typical of the time, being a little exaggerated and not especially graceful, but definitely evocative. Caligari radiated sinister intent all over. The film we saw was a restored version using several prints as sources, and one scene in particular must have come from a British or American print: we watch Caligari run through the gates of the mental hospital and on the wall we see the sign "Insane Asylum". In English! In the next scene the hero also runs through the gate, stopping to notice that it now says "Irrenanstalt". The twist at the end (SPOILER BUT IT'S A 95 YEAR OLD MOVIE FOR CHRISSAKE) shows that the hero, his love interest, and the monster are all patients in a mental hospital, and the nemesis Caligari is actually his doctor. The "real" doctor seems to be very interested in curing delusions, rather than showing off sleepwalkers, and is pleased to discover the character his patient associates him with, saying he can now find the road to recovery. I don't know if it's the first plot twist in movie history, but it's surely a much emulated device.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
on the dark side
I'm continuing my German week with a good dark beer from Weihenstephaner, Korbinian. I always favored the dark beers in Germany and Austria, and the taste is still with me after all this time.
The smell is definitely alcoholic, not with the whiffs of plant matter noticeable in other beers. It's a doppelbock, so definitely dark, but not black. The beer in the glass has red-brown highlights, almost rubyish. The taste is sweeter than I expected, but thinking back to previous bocks, it's just what it should be. There's a little bit of chocolate at first, but it quickly disappears, replaced in the aftertaste with a grassier flavor. There's that plant material. It's a strong beer, at 7.4%, but the taste is deceptively smooth. It's a good beer to go with my next German film...
Supplier: La Tienda de la Cerveza
Price: €2.95
I didn't see anything at the festival on Friday, so reviews will wait until tomorrow. My friend the beer-seller has had a haircut, though, if I'm going to give an opinion on something besides beer. While I like my guys to have some hair up top, some of them plenty hot with a shorter do.
 |
| Wait, did St. Stephan have a pack bear?! |
 |
| Here's to horror! |
Supplier: La Tienda de la Cerveza
Price: €2.95
I didn't see anything at the festival on Friday, so reviews will wait until tomorrow. My friend the beer-seller has had a haircut, though, if I'm going to give an opinion on something besides beer. While I like my guys to have some hair up top, some of them plenty hot with a shorter do.
Friday, June 12, 2015
withdraw from the world
I continue with my German beer to go with German movies. I picked this one up in a shop I don't often visit, since it's a little out of my way. Augustiner is about as identifiably German beery as you can get, being from Munich and all.
It has a bitter-sour sort of smell, at least that's what I get through my fog of virus, but it's typical of standard beer. The color is extremely light compared to what I've been used to recently, and clear. It's a little like a fizzy lemonade. It's more strongly bitter than I expected, although it was hinted at in the smell. It's a good, clean flavor. While noticeable before being swallowed, it doesn't hang around. It's about as German a beer as you can think of, being a teaser for food. I've even just had lunch and now I just want something to munch on to go with my Augustiner.
Supplier: La Tienda de la Cerveza
Price: €2.40
Now for the second movie. The relationship to the beer is not very direct. One might argue that it's a traditional German beer and traditional German values are talked about in the movie, but I can't be sure that those really are traditional values. Many people have serious difficulty defining "traditional" anyway. The movie was actually produced for television, but it was fine on the big screen. It's titled Das Ende der Geduld/The End of Patience. Like many movies shown in the festival, it concerns the problems with assimilation of immigrants, in this case being based on the true story of a judge in juvenile court system who wanted to streamline hearings by applying existing laws more rigidly. She is primarily concerned with encouraging young Muslims in the Berlin district of Neukölln to get educated and avoid becoming street thugs, earning a lot of resentment as well as admiration from authorities and citizens alike. She comes off as having some fairly right-wing ideas, such as placing more requirements on the awarding of subsidies to immigrants, like making sure their children are regularly in school and learning German. This judge appears to be a major proponent of assimilation by immersion, at one point remarking with approval on a program that forcibly removed people from ethnic ghettos to remove influence from their home cultures. She also sometimes shows the typical right-wing/conservative lack of understanding of the struggle of the disadvantaged (although this problem is certainly not limited to those on the right), telling a Muslim mother who has just told her about her family's economic problems that she doesn't need money, she needs German classes. By the end of the movie, there seems to be general support among the German public and authorities for her program of change, called the "Neuköllner Modell", and she is given a book deal. As soon as she finishers her manuscript and sends it off to the publisher, she decides to kill herself, which she does after seeing Germany win the World Cup by hanging herself in a large, wooded park. The movie highlights the struggle that both immigrants and host countries face: the immigrants want to succeed, but not lose their identities, and they can easily feel that the only way to survive is to band together and game the system they find not only strange but unwelcoming; the hosts wanted labor, and wanted it cheap, and now have to deal with the consequences of a population left behind, not to mention the desire to appear evolved and tolerant to other societies.
It has a bitter-sour sort of smell, at least that's what I get through my fog of virus, but it's typical of standard beer. The color is extremely light compared to what I've been used to recently, and clear. It's a little like a fizzy lemonade. It's more strongly bitter than I expected, although it was hinted at in the smell. It's a good, clean flavor. While noticeable before being swallowed, it doesn't hang around. It's about as German a beer as you can think of, being a teaser for food. I've even just had lunch and now I just want something to munch on to go with my Augustiner.
 |
| I think this lemonade needs more powder... |
Supplier: La Tienda de la Cerveza
Price: €2.40
Now for the second movie. The relationship to the beer is not very direct. One might argue that it's a traditional German beer and traditional German values are talked about in the movie, but I can't be sure that those really are traditional values. Many people have serious difficulty defining "traditional" anyway. The movie was actually produced for television, but it was fine on the big screen. It's titled Das Ende der Geduld/The End of Patience. Like many movies shown in the festival, it concerns the problems with assimilation of immigrants, in this case being based on the true story of a judge in juvenile court system who wanted to streamline hearings by applying existing laws more rigidly. She is primarily concerned with encouraging young Muslims in the Berlin district of Neukölln to get educated and avoid becoming street thugs, earning a lot of resentment as well as admiration from authorities and citizens alike. She comes off as having some fairly right-wing ideas, such as placing more requirements on the awarding of subsidies to immigrants, like making sure their children are regularly in school and learning German. This judge appears to be a major proponent of assimilation by immersion, at one point remarking with approval on a program that forcibly removed people from ethnic ghettos to remove influence from their home cultures. She also sometimes shows the typical right-wing/conservative lack of understanding of the struggle of the disadvantaged (although this problem is certainly not limited to those on the right), telling a Muslim mother who has just told her about her family's economic problems that she doesn't need money, she needs German classes. By the end of the movie, there seems to be general support among the German public and authorities for her program of change, called the "Neuköllner Modell", and she is given a book deal. As soon as she finishers her manuscript and sends it off to the publisher, she decides to kill herself, which she does after seeing Germany win the World Cup by hanging herself in a large, wooded park. The movie highlights the struggle that both immigrants and host countries face: the immigrants want to succeed, but not lose their identities, and they can easily feel that the only way to survive is to band together and game the system they find not only strange but unwelcoming; the hosts wanted labor, and wanted it cheap, and now have to deal with the consequences of a population left behind, not to mention the desire to appear evolved and tolerant to other societies.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
dunkles bier & dunklerer film
I'm not in the best shape to sniff out all the details of beer right now, what with a drippy nose. I blame early classes and late movies. I only had time to run to the supermarket for a suitable beer to go with the movie, although not in the cinema. Franziskaner isn't a small or unknown beer, although I don't often see the dark version, but it fits the bill this once.
A little sweetness pierces the snot curtain, so I assume the smell must be good and strong. The beer comes out surprisingly cloudy and light brown, although since it is Franziskaner I shouldn't be surprised at the cloudiness. The head disappears pretty rapidly, leaving only a thin layer on top. It does have a sweet taste, but with that unmistakable wheaty tang. At first that sharpness influences me to think of this as a summer beer, but really, with a little more sipping it lines up well with darker and even sweeter, heavier beers that are pleasing in the colder months.
I could have used a black beer to go with this movie, or one of those more complex ales, because boy oh boy is this a frustrating story. Not because Die Lüger der Sieger/The Lies of the Victors is a poorly done movie, but because of the questions that get left unanswered and the answers that we do get. A rock star kind of journalist is looking for his next big story when his boss asks him to work with the new intern. Grumpy, he tells her to look through a tabloid looking paper, and get more information on a man who killed himself by throwing himself into a lions' enclosure at a nearby zoo. The intern uncovers some odd things, which in turn interest the star journalist, and they keep digging. Leads take them, and the viewer, to suspect the German army, the German government, and business of callous treatment of soldiers/constituents/employees. The liars are clearly identified in the film, but who they actually are and who they really work for is not. They lay a trail of false proof to pull the journalists off the truth, and the sensational story is published. Almost immediately afterwards, the number one journalists discovers the lies, although not the truth, and is forced to quit his job rather than admit he made a mistake and his employer bought into it. The liars hack into his computers to check what information he has and even his blood sugar monitor to trick him into injecting more insulin than he needs, almost killing him. Another unanswered question is who finds him passed out in the street and gets help, since all we see are a cigarette being dropped and some droopy women's boots stomping it out. The intern smokes, but a phone call later places her in another city. An actress hired by the liars to play the part of an informant wore similar boots while playing another, more "legitimate", role. Maybe it was just a good Samaritan. The most aggravating thing about the film is that, while it is fiction, the situation it describes of little people with problems being ignored by those with power and groups working for the power structure actively preventing good information from being known is not only believable, but what we're probably experiencing every day without even knowing it.
 |
| Even labeled "Imported" |
I could have used a black beer to go with this movie, or one of those more complex ales, because boy oh boy is this a frustrating story. Not because Die Lüger der Sieger/The Lies of the Victors is a poorly done movie, but because of the questions that get left unanswered and the answers that we do get. A rock star kind of journalist is looking for his next big story when his boss asks him to work with the new intern. Grumpy, he tells her to look through a tabloid looking paper, and get more information on a man who killed himself by throwing himself into a lions' enclosure at a nearby zoo. The intern uncovers some odd things, which in turn interest the star journalist, and they keep digging. Leads take them, and the viewer, to suspect the German army, the German government, and business of callous treatment of soldiers/constituents/employees. The liars are clearly identified in the film, but who they actually are and who they really work for is not. They lay a trail of false proof to pull the journalists off the truth, and the sensational story is published. Almost immediately afterwards, the number one journalists discovers the lies, although not the truth, and is forced to quit his job rather than admit he made a mistake and his employer bought into it. The liars hack into his computers to check what information he has and even his blood sugar monitor to trick him into injecting more insulin than he needs, almost killing him. Another unanswered question is who finds him passed out in the street and gets help, since all we see are a cigarette being dropped and some droopy women's boots stomping it out. The intern smokes, but a phone call later places her in another city. An actress hired by the liars to play the part of an informant wore similar boots while playing another, more "legitimate", role. Maybe it was just a good Samaritan. The most aggravating thing about the film is that, while it is fiction, the situation it describes of little people with problems being ignored by those with power and groups working for the power structure actively preventing good information from being known is not only believable, but what we're probably experiencing every day without even knowing it.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
a slight miscalculation
I'm cheating a little, since I didn't have another German beer lying around. The label reflects my anticipation and excitement about the film fest, though, so good enough. It's actually a beer from Alicante, in spite of the pseudo-Germanicness of the name. A red ale that swears on bitterness, a pick-me-up and eye-opener on a gray and dreary day...we'll see.
The color is impressive, being a nice, dark red, with just a little touch of brown. The head is light colored and unaggressive. There's a sweetness to the smell, but I'm still surprised by how sweet the taste is, after all the posturing about the hops. It really is a mellower, more rounded flavor, almost peach-like I think, than I was expecting. As I drink, I keep analyzing the taste, looking for that little hint of sharpness, but it stays sweet and kind of giggly feeling. Not quite what I associate with metal, but the over-the-topness leaves you with the feeling that anything can happen.
Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €3.15
 |
| Don't let the light fool you, it's gray |
 |
| Those categories..."Highmalts Unhøly; Brønhërhøød of 7 MALTS; Clan HOPS Brønhërs of MëtalBrëw; YEAST, Saccharømycës cërëvisia øpën bar!!; Spëcial guëst føm the Nëw Brëwørld" |
The color is impressive, being a nice, dark red, with just a little touch of brown. The head is light colored and unaggressive. There's a sweetness to the smell, but I'm still surprised by how sweet the taste is, after all the posturing about the hops. It really is a mellower, more rounded flavor, almost peach-like I think, than I was expecting. As I drink, I keep analyzing the taste, looking for that little hint of sharpness, but it stays sweet and kind of giggly feeling. Not quite what I associate with metal, but the over-the-topness leaves you with the feeling that anything can happen.
 |
| Here's to anything |
 |
| And I do believe that cow is mooning me |
Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €3.15
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
black night
Gearing up for a run of German films requires some German beer to go with them. The set this year looks pretty dark - dramas, social critique, and of course the return of the silent film. I remember having Köstritzer in bars in the past, so at least I'm on firm ground when it comes to tastiness. It's a black lager, so the taste is more sweet than a stout would be, but not as tangy as some porters. Seems like just the thing to get the wheels turning for some movie watchin'.
At first it looks like a stout or porter as it comes out, but the glassful has a clarity and reddish highlights that those brews don't normally have. As I remembered, it is on the sweet side, with a smooth and easily swallowed taste. It goes down cleanly, without any sticky aftertaste, although there is just a hint of creamy smoke. It feels like a dressed-up kind of lager, being black and all elegant like, but with the subtlety and calmness of blond lager. Just what might be called for in a dark theater with a good drama or horror playing.
Supplier: The Beer Garden
Price: €2.30
Supplier: The Beer Garden
Price: €2.30
Monday, June 8, 2015
deal with the devil
It's Beer Week(s) again in Madrid, so it's time for some studied drinking and not just knocking back one before bed. This week is also the German Film Fest, so I'll start with some German beers. The first one should come as no surprise, since I have a certain fascination with Faust. Somehow the existence of a brewery by the name escaped my attention until now. But, there it was on the shelf, looking like it was waiting just for me. It's not the differentness of the beer, like many craft beers lay claim to, but the glorious standard it wraps itself in.
Kräusen is a "cloudy" beer, but in the glass it's not really that opaque. It looks tempting for a warm night, clear gold colored and white topped. Not especially aromatic, but a little sweet and grainy. The taste is sweet too, although still subtle. It feels like a happy beer, one you have at the bar with friends, in a relaxed frame of mind. It goes down easy enough, perhaps one of those dangerous ones where you don't think about how much you're drinking until you've drunk, well, all of them.
Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €2.25
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| Psst! Looking for something? |
Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €2.25
Saturday, June 6, 2015
the label says it all
It wasn't so long ago that good beer was hard to come by in Spain, with just the Irish pubs or some specialized bars offering some variety and quality. The selection has grown immensely in the last few years, to the delight of many. Not only are foreign beers becoming more popular, but domestically interest is such that new craft brews are popping up all the time. Sometimes, the brewers aren't locals, but have identified a new environment to prosper in. Edge Brewing explains on the label that the founders are Americans who were enticed into the Spanish beer revolution in Barcelona, but use American equipment and ingredients. Still, this particular stout, called Pure Decadence, was developed with the collaboration of a Norwegian brewery: Lervig Brewing. I'm labeling it as a Spanish beer because the label says "Product of Barcelona", but other touches will probably be there for those who care to look.
There's something apply in the smell, not what I expect from the stout, but not off-putting. It certainly looks filling, heavy and opaque, with a thick tan head that coats the top of the beer in the glass. The taste is subtle and understated, probably leaning more towards bitter, although there's some alternation with a more chocolatey flavor. Sharper notes are left on the tip of the tongue than in the middle, and the bitterness comes up slowly in the back. Without a quick downing, it does get a little syrupy towards the end. The flavor remains balanced, however, with a great blend of bitter and sweet that lives up to its name.
Supplier: Cervezorama
Price: €4.05
As a valued customer, I was given a gift beer when I was paying for my most recent tests. Slightly disappointingly, it was not a beer I had not tried before, and I even wrote it up some time ago. Still, free beer!
There's something apply in the smell, not what I expect from the stout, but not off-putting. It certainly looks filling, heavy and opaque, with a thick tan head that coats the top of the beer in the glass. The taste is subtle and understated, probably leaning more towards bitter, although there's some alternation with a more chocolatey flavor. Sharper notes are left on the tip of the tongue than in the middle, and the bitterness comes up slowly in the back. Without a quick downing, it does get a little syrupy towards the end. The flavor remains balanced, however, with a great blend of bitter and sweet that lives up to its name.
Supplier: Cervezorama
Price: €4.05
As a valued customer, I was given a gift beer when I was paying for my most recent tests. Slightly disappointingly, it was not a beer I had not tried before, and I even wrote it up some time ago. Still, free beer!
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Is Sex More than a Massage?
After a couple weeks of ruffled feathers from a perceived slight, this topic was chosen. While love and romance have come up numerous times, sex has not made much of an appearance as a discussion topic, possibly due to prudery or, perhaps more likely, due to fear of too much information from certain participants. Some people really have no discretion.
The way the question is asked implies that the bare minimum for sex is a massage, which many would disagree with given the realities of phone sex and virtual sex. We are also aware that fantasy is an enormous part of the sexual experience, which can enhance or even be the deal breaker. If good fantasies are not forthcoming, the experience is not even a massage, but an uncomfortable waste of time. The question also implies that maybe sex should be more than a massage; the way it is given makes it sound like a lament more than a neutral question. We have somehow lost the way with all the free love and sexual revolution and separation of sex from procreation so that the emotional or spiritual component has been lost. However, it is not hard to argue that the so-called spiritual component of sex has always been more myth than reality. Even Pilgrims got down in the barnyard. The problem in our society is the extreme and two-faced view we have of sex: one one hand, we insist that it is a dirty and dangerous activity, one that can destroy reputations and even take lives (especially for the participants with vaginas); on the other hand it is promoted as the best thing EVAR!!1!! Sex is the best way to get back at your stodgy parents and repressive authorities, a way to rebel for rebellion's sake, man! Not only that, but it is natural! What we all are born to do!! Moreover, we are all born to do it in exactly the same way!!! By allowing this sort of doublethink to fester and become a basic idea in our society, we set everyone up for major disappointments and problems in the future. In fact, sex is less than a massage in most cases, being simply contact with the genitals until somebody decides they should have had enough. It may be to the benefit of our sex lives to encourage more massage, that is more physical contact with the body and skin as a whole, instead of the more or less clinical activity that seems to happen more and more these days, when there is no active attempt to make the experience unpleasant.
The Source spoke grimly of the opinions promoted about sex in modern societies, saying that too many prejudices have been attached to it. Christianity in particular has tried to limit sex to a means of reproduction without any expectation of pleasure. He acknowledged the existence of non-tactile sex, saying sex does in fact exist without the massage aspect, but in the main physical contact is there. The discussion was an opportunity to liberate the participants from their old ideas and prejudices, and find a healthier, happier perspective. He also wondered if the purest sex, perhaps the only pure sex, was that which was undertaken without any conditioning on what to do and expect others to do. He did not give many speeches, or very long ones, but seemed to plead with us to open our minds a bit to a physical experience to be enjoyed and not analysed.
Our Doctor was less complimentary to the writers than he normally is, although always with that dash of humor: the True Philosopher must have been drunk, or high; the Leader cannot believe what he has written. He mentioned that every sexual act, even with the same partner, is different. Is it limited to the area between the legs? Adults, he said, know that the whole body is involved in sex. Not only the outside, but hormones, neurons, our entire biology participates. After listening to other speeches, he said the topic was interesting, but with bad presentation. There is profoundness; some philosophies have included sex as a contemplative tool. Still, we are not ready to accept it, just as we are not ready to live totally, in complete knowledge of reality. We know many things, but we know a lot about nothing. We have been invaded by philosophy. What we know is merely details.
The True Philosopher admitted to some difficulty in pondering the topic as a philosophical question, but in his writing did wonder about the necessary connections between the two activities. He came to the conclusion that there is no actual connection, but that the two activities are often used to stimulate and provoke each other. He also said that some massages include contact with the genitals, but are not sexual in intent. Perhaps the definition of sex could be broadened.
The Seeker of Happiness found himself struggling to define exactly what sex and massage mean, although he insisted he knew what the concepts were. It is a common problem, where we can recognize concepts but cannot precisely and accurately define them. Some detail always escapes. He brought in other pleasurable activities, such as eating, drinking, and experiencing the love of our families, saying they were other examples of components we deem necessary in our lives normally, and we all have many reasons for seeking them out and enjoying them. Eating, drinking, and sex are instincts we have as animals with biological imperatives to continue the species, and for the most part they are pleasurable, as means of encouraging us to partake. In the end, he came up with the idea that sex is really more than a massage because of its clear link to power. Power and the desire to gain and preserve it are markers of human nature, strategies to reproduce as well as possible. He felt that other hominids were not the victims of forced extinction or genocide on the part of our ancestors, but were simply unable to adapt and reproduce as successfully.
The Leader focused quite a bit on the reproductive aspect of sex, basically leaving aside the question of massages and how closely they were connected. He emphasized the industrial development of sex in modern society, as it is one of the biggest money makers and persuasive arguments we have. The sex act is used as a tool to create and deepen relationships, fostering trust. Massage also demands a bit of trust as we lay under the hands of another human being. As for pleasure, we do not know if any other sexual species experience sexual pleasure, although we can see plants using manipulation and attraction, albeit to insects more than other plants. Modern science has separated sex from reproduction, allowing us to use it as pair bonding or recreation, much like massage. He also pointed out that while most sex in the animal world could be thought of as rape, in human societies it is used as a weapon rather than a past-time. Some rape apologetics did sneak into the discussion as people attempted to link all sex, even rape, only to attraction, which is simply stupid. Although sex itself is used for pleasure, procreative sex is certainly not out of the picture. Moreover, as the Source said previously, there are many negative attitudes about sex, such that it can be used as an act of domination and humiliation, which is the normal course of events in rape.
An Occasional Participant was bothered a bit by the topic, or perhaps the way the discussion went on, saying that there was clear provocation there. She scoffed a bit at the eating-sex connection by way of pleasure, as well as the massage-sex connection; we are socialized to assume certain things about sexual activity and the people who have it and the predominating feeling is that of power, not pleasure. Still, social concepts can change over time, and maybe we can produce a change in our attitudes for the more pleasurable.
The way the question is asked implies that the bare minimum for sex is a massage, which many would disagree with given the realities of phone sex and virtual sex. We are also aware that fantasy is an enormous part of the sexual experience, which can enhance or even be the deal breaker. If good fantasies are not forthcoming, the experience is not even a massage, but an uncomfortable waste of time. The question also implies that maybe sex should be more than a massage; the way it is given makes it sound like a lament more than a neutral question. We have somehow lost the way with all the free love and sexual revolution and separation of sex from procreation so that the emotional or spiritual component has been lost. However, it is not hard to argue that the so-called spiritual component of sex has always been more myth than reality. Even Pilgrims got down in the barnyard. The problem in our society is the extreme and two-faced view we have of sex: one one hand, we insist that it is a dirty and dangerous activity, one that can destroy reputations and even take lives (especially for the participants with vaginas); on the other hand it is promoted as the best thing EVAR!!1!! Sex is the best way to get back at your stodgy parents and repressive authorities, a way to rebel for rebellion's sake, man! Not only that, but it is natural! What we all are born to do!! Moreover, we are all born to do it in exactly the same way!!! By allowing this sort of doublethink to fester and become a basic idea in our society, we set everyone up for major disappointments and problems in the future. In fact, sex is less than a massage in most cases, being simply contact with the genitals until somebody decides they should have had enough. It may be to the benefit of our sex lives to encourage more massage, that is more physical contact with the body and skin as a whole, instead of the more or less clinical activity that seems to happen more and more these days, when there is no active attempt to make the experience unpleasant.
The Source spoke grimly of the opinions promoted about sex in modern societies, saying that too many prejudices have been attached to it. Christianity in particular has tried to limit sex to a means of reproduction without any expectation of pleasure. He acknowledged the existence of non-tactile sex, saying sex does in fact exist without the massage aspect, but in the main physical contact is there. The discussion was an opportunity to liberate the participants from their old ideas and prejudices, and find a healthier, happier perspective. He also wondered if the purest sex, perhaps the only pure sex, was that which was undertaken without any conditioning on what to do and expect others to do. He did not give many speeches, or very long ones, but seemed to plead with us to open our minds a bit to a physical experience to be enjoyed and not analysed.
Our Doctor was less complimentary to the writers than he normally is, although always with that dash of humor: the True Philosopher must have been drunk, or high; the Leader cannot believe what he has written. He mentioned that every sexual act, even with the same partner, is different. Is it limited to the area between the legs? Adults, he said, know that the whole body is involved in sex. Not only the outside, but hormones, neurons, our entire biology participates. After listening to other speeches, he said the topic was interesting, but with bad presentation. There is profoundness; some philosophies have included sex as a contemplative tool. Still, we are not ready to accept it, just as we are not ready to live totally, in complete knowledge of reality. We know many things, but we know a lot about nothing. We have been invaded by philosophy. What we know is merely details.
The True Philosopher admitted to some difficulty in pondering the topic as a philosophical question, but in his writing did wonder about the necessary connections between the two activities. He came to the conclusion that there is no actual connection, but that the two activities are often used to stimulate and provoke each other. He also said that some massages include contact with the genitals, but are not sexual in intent. Perhaps the definition of sex could be broadened.
The Seeker of Happiness found himself struggling to define exactly what sex and massage mean, although he insisted he knew what the concepts were. It is a common problem, where we can recognize concepts but cannot precisely and accurately define them. Some detail always escapes. He brought in other pleasurable activities, such as eating, drinking, and experiencing the love of our families, saying they were other examples of components we deem necessary in our lives normally, and we all have many reasons for seeking them out and enjoying them. Eating, drinking, and sex are instincts we have as animals with biological imperatives to continue the species, and for the most part they are pleasurable, as means of encouraging us to partake. In the end, he came up with the idea that sex is really more than a massage because of its clear link to power. Power and the desire to gain and preserve it are markers of human nature, strategies to reproduce as well as possible. He felt that other hominids were not the victims of forced extinction or genocide on the part of our ancestors, but were simply unable to adapt and reproduce as successfully.
The Leader focused quite a bit on the reproductive aspect of sex, basically leaving aside the question of massages and how closely they were connected. He emphasized the industrial development of sex in modern society, as it is one of the biggest money makers and persuasive arguments we have. The sex act is used as a tool to create and deepen relationships, fostering trust. Massage also demands a bit of trust as we lay under the hands of another human being. As for pleasure, we do not know if any other sexual species experience sexual pleasure, although we can see plants using manipulation and attraction, albeit to insects more than other plants. Modern science has separated sex from reproduction, allowing us to use it as pair bonding or recreation, much like massage. He also pointed out that while most sex in the animal world could be thought of as rape, in human societies it is used as a weapon rather than a past-time. Some rape apologetics did sneak into the discussion as people attempted to link all sex, even rape, only to attraction, which is simply stupid. Although sex itself is used for pleasure, procreative sex is certainly not out of the picture. Moreover, as the Source said previously, there are many negative attitudes about sex, such that it can be used as an act of domination and humiliation, which is the normal course of events in rape.
An Occasional Participant was bothered a bit by the topic, or perhaps the way the discussion went on, saying that there was clear provocation there. She scoffed a bit at the eating-sex connection by way of pleasure, as well as the massage-sex connection; we are socialized to assume certain things about sexual activity and the people who have it and the predominating feeling is that of power, not pleasure. Still, social concepts can change over time, and maybe we can produce a change in our attitudes for the more pleasurable.
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