Protesting vs Rioting

Here is another subject to be answered - since it's running late, I'm running sick, and I'm supposed to go put up a tent in one of the camps surrounding the Roskilde Festival in the morning. I just thought I'd remind myself of this video, since there are a couple of points I'd like to respond to!

Looking positively on the recession/financial crisis.

You want to know my theory?

Less money means more good/memorable memories.

Why?

Well, when we have enough money to do so, we just go buy whatever - be it the movie ticket with all the trimmings (in the movie theater's own shop, that is!), the airplane ticket to our favorite destinations (and we want the hotel breakfast included while we're there, right?), all the ingredients to make all the "right" dishes in that new fancy cookbooks (and remember they "should" all be bought in organic delis and ditto specialty stores, too), and now that we already have the Louis Vuitton travel bag, we'll just HAVE to have the clutch AND the airplane bag to go with it, right?

But when we suddenly don't have the money for the movie theater's trimmings, barely have for the airplane ticket alone, only have money for the supermarket (which, btw, also sells organic produce cheaper than delis and specialty stores), let alone thousands of kroner - or hundreds of dollars/pounds/euro - to buy one single bag, we suddenly appreciate things more. The shopping for a new bag is suddenly unmanagable, and the longer we live without a simple luxury like a trip to the movies with all the trimmings or a latté at a cafe with our best girl, the more we crave it.

In such situations, a simple luxury could in theory be fading away quickly, and we're left sitting with a disappointing feeling - "Was that it?!". But my experience is that this is more likely the case when we do it all the time. We get used to it. So when we have less money, we're not able to do it that often, and each time we let ourselves go to a café, go to the movie theater, etc., it lands somewhere dry, and stands out longer in our memory.
As for the bag, I usually turn it around and see it more like a safari through the jungle of alternative shops to find a proper bag for cheap (since I'm guessing you already have a steady LV-pusher) - and that being a positive thing, another simple luxury. Shopping is probably something else we miss when having less money, but as long as we can look at a shop without buying the entire thing, a "bag safari" can be a treat. Or there may just be a bag that can be used at home - so an old impulse doesn't have to be in vain.

Some of my best lattés have been downed when I was in school - and although we do have educational grants paid through taxes here in Denmark, they're usually not leaving money for these kinds of simple luxuries - actually barely enough for rent, bills, and food. Luckily most of us are either able to work a little on the side (which can be difficult when going to school full time and having to do homework outside school hours) or having people who can help us out.
Anyway - point being that it could sometimes be difficult to find the money for the visits at our favorite cafés. But we - schoolmates and I - still did, and we had fantastic afternoons over coffee and pie.

Another memory I have from a situation with little money was back in 2005 - this was the situation I used as an example when commenting on the video (I added the comment in the end of this entry).

So, what other good things can come out of this?

If you ask my inner theologian (or just me for a Christian point of view), I'd have to go for the hope that people withdraw just the least from their materialistic way of thinking, and become more considerate to the people around them. Yes, I'm talking about neighborly love here. Be it financial help or just keeping eachother up - sticking together more. If one has some to give, the other may have the need to receive - and vice versa.

If you ask my inner actress/dramaturg, I think this could be the great chance of smaller theaters/productions, professional as amateurs. Not having a lot of money or ways to get a free ticket, people won't go to the big, fancy theaters for their next cultural experience. Small theaters are most likely to ask less for a ticket, and especially amateurs might just do this - exactly because they aren't pros. And buying a ticket for a smaller production is most likely also giving a chance to non-established names and giving others the chance of living out their dream and passion for theater - and giving everybody a chance to have a great time in sharing that cultural experience.
This also roughly goes if you ask my inner musician.

And if you ask my inner Dutch/English student, you can train your foreign languages and learn about new cultures. You don't have to pay to talk to each other or go to the library. If you have already paid you TV/Internet bills and are free of fines at the library, you're free to watch PLENTY of foreign TV (don't tell me your local networks don't air shitloads of American series - and as for the Danes: squeeze and drain DR2 for what they have!), chat, mail, search the Internet for info, and borrow fact and fiction from the library.

I've started to think about what you can do for less or no money - but I think that would be another post.

Of course I also responded to the video on YouTube. I did so in the comments area, where comments are limited to 500 characters. I think mine is on 499.

This is my response from YouTube:
Some of the most beautiful moments I have had was when I had very little means to work with - somehow I appreciate them more.
Example: It can be so easy to go to a movie theater, buy the ticket, and use a shitload of money on soda, candy, and popcorn. But one of my most memorable visits to a movie theater was when I had very little - but a free ticket and just enough money to buy soda and candy from a supermarket (MUCH cheaper than in the theater's shop!) and smuggle them in there in my bag.

Subject: Girlfriends

I was just looking through a magazine a little earlier, and on their debate/feedback page, they were requesting the opinion of the readers on a few facets of girlfriends:

• Is it okay to be with a friend's ex-boyfriend?
• Have you tried, and how did it happen?
• What characterizes a good friend?
• Have you ever been dumped by a really good friend - how did it feel?
• Why is your friend the best friend in the world?

This could be interesting to answer - not only to the magazine, but also here on the blog.

Subject: Love

So I asked a friend from high school, Simone, what would be interesting to blog about. She answered, "Love and its many facets." Immediately, I went for the Bible (as it's a biblical subject I've been concentrating a lot about lately after my trip to Israel/Palestine) - to which she answered: "I just meant generally that love has many sides." Then she also suggested: "Or [you could write about] violence in relationships." And that had me thinking...

As you can see, I already started brainstorming as I spoke with her. I thought out loud, sent her a link to the Bible online and gave her the quotes I found. Even as I write this, I have started to part and dissecate the subject as it is such a big subject.

So, instead of doing one blog entry, I'm taking it in smaller bites. This is both inspired by the two different approaches Simone and I have to the subject, and by the list of studies I applied to when I applied for the university - especially theatre studies and theology.

What I'm planning to write about is:

• Love in the Bible
  - which could include something about the situation in Israel/Palestine
  - and could be a good one for theology.
• Love between human beings (regardless of ... well, anything).
• Love on stage
  - including Shakespeare (remind me to quote Jonatan Spang on this!)
  - could also include love in the media
  - and you might have quessed it, this one is attached to theatre studies.
• Love for your roots - your identity
  - could be an entry in true Paul Auster-style!
  - and is attached to Dutch
  - or now that I mentioned Paul Auster, it can be hooked on English.
• Violence in relationships.

So, now I have yet another list for times with a writer's block - and I didn't even need LiveJournal for this one. Hooray!

Ideas for new blogs #2

Again, I've been on LJ.

"Whether you call it Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day, today is going to be a long day for those who work in retail. The customer might always be right in the store, but here on LJ let's hear some stories about times when the customer was wrongedy wrong wrong."

"Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S., one of the few American holidays where the only things you're expected to buy are groceries. Some cooks like to go all out (see: turducken), others prefer to just go out. What kind of cook are you?"

"Thanksgiving is almost here in the U.S., heralding the start of the holiday season and the first of many meals where you might be confronted with a traditional dish that you happen to find disgusting. What holiday food do you hate to see on the table?"

"Beer and cigarettes once went together like bread and butter, but now smoking in bars is banned in many cities. When you see smokers standing outside bars in the cold and rain, what is your first reaction? Walk on by, join them, or scorn them?"

"Goooooooooaaaaaaaaalllllll! Today marks the anniversary of football (soccer) star Pele's 1000th goal. Why has professional footie never caught on in the United States?"

"Hospital dramas are a time-honored staple of television, from General Hospital to County General to Seattle Grace. Which TV hospital would you most want to check in to? And who would be your doctor?"

Ideas for new blogs

I got the idea of writing them down as they come - for example: I just ran into LJ's front page, where they have a bubble, suggesting ideas for people with a writer's block. the most recent was:

"Today is the anniversary of Tricky Dick Nixon's famous "I am not a crook" statement. Let's take a moment to ponder the many politicians caught being naughty. What's your favorite political scandal?"

Although - I'll have to wait to answer that, since I'm in the middle of something else right now.

//EDIT// They keep on coming as I flip through their ideas!
"A lot of characters in kids' books have it pretty good, from calling the start of the wild rumpus to ordering room service from their hotel suite. If you could be any character from children's literature, who would you be?"

"Field mice always sleep facing northwest. Kangaroos can't walk backwards. Female hyenas have penises. Let's face it, nature is weird. What's the strangest thing you know about the animal kingdom?"

"Some people spend their whole lives preparing the answer to this question: What albums are on your personal all-time Top 10 list?" -- I have always dreamt of doing like the characters Rob, Barry, and Dick in the movie "High Fidelity"; doing top 5s.

Speaking of "High Fidelity", I came up with a new one: Naming the Danish actors/actresses you might know through Hollywood (in this case: Iben Hjejle, who portrays Laura), naming movie, actor/actress, and character.

"Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, and Vlad the Impaler, the original Dracula, have the same birthday. Coincidence?"

"It's the anniversary of the Russian Revolution, marking the Marxist overthrow of the Russian government. Karl Marx once wrote that "religion is the opium of the people." What is the new opium of the people?" (Oooh, this is a good one!)

"One of the highlights of going to a literary festival is hearing authors read from their own works. What author, living or dead, would you most like to hear read?"

"Now that the election is over, we can get to the important stuff. Why is there a light in the refrigerator but not in the freezer?"

"As the Northern hemisphere spins toward the shortest day of the year, it's getting dark earlier and earlier. What comforts do you fall back on when the days are short and the nights are long?"

"NaNoWriMo starts today. Give us a one-sentence description of the novel you plan to write."

Anyway. Not supposed to be doing this right now. See ya!