There were two things that struck me from yesterday's march on DC.
The awards for fear were pretty well deserved. I've just seen The Social Network, and in one way or another, as a child of generation Facebook, I appreciate how Mark Zuckerberg has done his bit to preserve fear. We hear how much the guys in Palo Alto are trying to preserve our privacy and now for instance, as I noticed this week, one can now observe another pair of fbk friend's 'friendship'.
And then there's Anderson Cooper the purported face of reasonableness in the US news media. Of course he's the epitome of bland. Not only that, after all dumbing down is no crime, I once saw the man in the flesh when I was in DC. He seemed a little douchey, as Americans would say, turning away from some respectful, albeit somewhat hysterical fans who saw him in the crowd.
Second and more important though is the impression that Jon Stewart is just a nice guy. Despite the lampooning and mockery, you generally feel he is sincere and good in spirit. Very different to the British cynicism we have in the UK, evinced by the likes of Ian Hislop. And isn't the niceness the key to understanding Stewart's world view? The man's a liberal, and liberals are generally the nice people in the world; those people who have faith in people to live their lives for good or ill. Those liberals who are not gripped by existential fear- fear of the poor, or of investment bankers.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Falling Backwards
TS Elliot was forgetting something when he described April as the cruelest month. Over the last few weeks, daylight hours seem to have shrunk quickly in ten-minute chunks, day after day, since October began.
Oh well. I think we tend to underestimate the importance of sunshine in our lives. It's not only important for Vitamin D, and the superficial glow of a tan, but for a whole range of hormonal reactions. Sunshine in the eye is very important for energy, for morale and optimism. In its absence, so many of us Northern Europeans get Seasonal Affective Disorder, once the clocks go back and the sun clocks off at 4.30pm, over the winter months. It's a big part of the reason for the miserable attitude that we have in this country.
But there's no reason to be gloomy. I've just picked up an interesting book on coping with the phenomenon. There are lots of obvious tips, including sun beds, savouring August (will remember for next year), a daily hour outdoors (rain or shine), exercise, good food, and tropical January holidays. I'll see what other genius insights they might provide, but in the meantime i'll maintain my membership of the "Movement to move Britain to the Caribbean" facebook group.
Oh well. I think we tend to underestimate the importance of sunshine in our lives. It's not only important for Vitamin D, and the superficial glow of a tan, but for a whole range of hormonal reactions. Sunshine in the eye is very important for energy, for morale and optimism. In its absence, so many of us Northern Europeans get Seasonal Affective Disorder, once the clocks go back and the sun clocks off at 4.30pm, over the winter months. It's a big part of the reason for the miserable attitude that we have in this country.
But there's no reason to be gloomy. I've just picked up an interesting book on coping with the phenomenon. There are lots of obvious tips, including sun beds, savouring August (will remember for next year), a daily hour outdoors (rain or shine), exercise, good food, and tropical January holidays. I'll see what other genius insights they might provide, but in the meantime i'll maintain my membership of the "Movement to move Britain to the Caribbean" facebook group.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Canada
At the weekend, I took a 10-hour bus ride across the Canadian border to Toronto, my third trip to the USA's northern neighbour. The world's 216th most-densely populated country is sometimes overlooked as a possible source of excitement by the non-ski enthusiast tourist, but after my experiences, I beg now to differ.
It is not the scenery that I find particularly exciting (though I probably would): I've not battled bears in the Yukon, or Canoed up the St Lawrence River, or made a pilgrimage to the Field of Abraham. Though I love scenic Montreal and realise how difficult it is not to fall in love with the many beautiful Quebecan women, it is the character of the people that I find most interesting about Canada. Or to be more specific, quite how UNLIKE Americans, Canadians are.
Until relatively recently, I could not tell them apart. Of course, wishing to avoid offence, I would try and remember to ask people with North-American accents, if they were from the USA OR Canada (Americans being unoffended by this) But basically, to the European ear there's little difference between an Ohioan or Ontarian accent.
It is not the scenery that I find particularly exciting (though I probably would): I've not battled bears in the Yukon, or Canoed up the St Lawrence River, or made a pilgrimage to the Field of Abraham. Though I love scenic Montreal and realise how difficult it is not to fall in love with the many beautiful Quebecan women, it is the character of the people that I find most interesting about Canada. Or to be more specific, quite how UNLIKE Americans, Canadians are.
Until relatively recently, I could not tell them apart. Of course, wishing to avoid offence, I would try and remember to ask people with North-American accents, if they were from the USA OR Canada (Americans being unoffended by this) But basically, to the European ear there's little difference between an Ohioan or Ontarian accent.
There are two key tricks to picking up a Canadian accent, that I have now picked up upon. First, the way they say words like about, house and out with an uh sound, rather than auh, as Americans do. The second key difference is their tendency to liberally sprinkle their sentences with the exclamation "eh"'. This is important. To generalise, Canadians (like we Brits) are less keen on being seen to show off excessive personal confidence. This national expression, illustrating a sense of diffidence, is indicative of it. Americans (generally) are positive, expressive and confident. This isn't necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, but it is a big cultural difference from Britain and Canada. Like Brits, Canadians have a more sober attitude, they are a bit cynical, drier in wit and not constantly peppy with enthusiasm.
The funny thing with Canada is that it is just up the road from America and these differences are more stark.
Canada has the large advantage over the United States of having had a good century's worth of extra fostering by the British Empire, before it became independent. This means that British attitudes are shown more obviously in things like Government policy (a more European style role of the state( eg health care for poor people). Other characteristics it shares are Imperial sized pint glasses (25% bigger than those in the US), pronouncing the letter 'Z' like 'zed', rather than the US way, zee. It still has the Queen as a Head of State (I can't understand why Britain still seems to want a monarchy, let alone why another country 3-6,000 miles away would want to retain it, but anyway) and it still has Elizabeth on all its currency.
An important aspect of the Canadian psyche is quite how anti-American they are - and unlike most of the rest of the world which has a more existential phobia to the US - it probably has a more legitimate motivation. Americans basically don't really care that much about Canada and often look down on it as irrelevant. They tend not to regard it as having much of a reason for being, other than being an American backyard. People in the US are extremely ignorant of what's going on north of its border. It was interesting in October (just before the US Presidential election) that there was virtually no reference in the US News media - at all - that Canada was in the middle of a tightly fought national election.
Talk to Canadians about the US, and you often get a sense of animosity. "Americans basically treat us like ***t", a drunken homeless man at Toronto bus station tossed my spare change back across the street at me when I said that I had no more money as I was heading back to New York. When I first arrived in a Gas Station in Quebec a few weeks ago, my toilet cubicle had the words "F**k of USA" drawn across it.
In the lead up to the Iraq war, when anti-Americanism was far more de rigeur, there was an interesting analysis of the Candian attitude in the Guardian and examples of it. Also, for obvious reasons, Candians abroad often have the misfortune of being mistaken for Americans. They must have had a few problems travelling abroad in the last few years: I remember riding on the Picadilly Line a few years ago with a school group from Canada. All the kids seemed to have very large Maple leafs stitched on to their luggage, presumably by their anxious teachers and school teachers, apparently keen - like the Red Cross painting their building rooftops during a bombing raid - to be clearly seen as neutral parties.
Well, things aren't so bad between the two countries, they obviously have a lot in common and need to get along, considering all the trade they do but this little neurosis is interesting (and quite amusing).
In the lead up to the Iraq war, when anti-Americanism was far more de rigeur, there was an interesting analysis of the Candian attitude in the Guardian and examples of it. Also, for obvious reasons, Candians abroad often have the misfortune of being mistaken for Americans. They must have had a few problems travelling abroad in the last few years: I remember riding on the Picadilly Line a few years ago with a school group from Canada. All the kids seemed to have very large Maple leafs stitched on to their luggage, presumably by their anxious teachers and school teachers, apparently keen - like the Red Cross painting their building rooftops during a bombing raid - to be clearly seen as neutral parties.
Well, things aren't so bad between the two countries, they obviously have a lot in common and need to get along, considering all the trade they do but this little neurosis is interesting (and quite amusing).
Any way, I have now been to Canada's three biggest cities. Torontarians describe their city as being "New York on dial up" which is still a massive exagerration of how exciting the city is. It's built up in the middle, (to me) surprisingly cosmopolitan with a big Chinese population and the city has a decent music and artistic scene (lots of good grafitti around the city). It's a much cheaper and far cleaner version of New York. It lacks the buzz of New York, the sense of urgency and energy you get on every Manhattan street corner, but in Toronto's defence, nowhere does. All in all, it strikes me as a pretty decent place to live.
Though I like Toronto, I greatly prefer Montreal in Quebec for a weekend visit. Scenic and pretty, a lot more spread out and laid-back than NY, but with a good variety of cultural activities and business life to make life more than interesting. I knew that it was the world's biggest French speaking city after Paris and Kinshasa but I was still a little surprised by quite how Francophone it was. Though there are English speaking nightlife enclaves and though McGill University is in the city and Anglophone, most people seem to speak French. The Quebecois version of the language has apparently got a few vernacular differences from that of France, and though they lack the Gallic flair and effusive facial expressions of French-French speakers, it is a surprising contrast from the rest of the country. Quebec has a very different sense of identity to the rest of the country, and only voted against independence by a percentage point during the 1995 referendum, Cosmopolitan Montreal was in fact decisive in voting against independence.
You can tell a lot about country by its politics. Canadian politics is often characterised as being more European and socialised. That said, A lot of American fiscal conservatives talk about Canada as a good model, considering the relative state of its own deficit. Canada worked hard during the mid-90s to pay a large deficit off by cutting government spending in certain areas. I can't help thinking that it was something to do with a more level-headed approach to spending. In the US, people there is a more optimistic attitude that you can carry on spending and having everything and as such, less aversion to debt than in the rest of the world. In the Bush years, the government started an expensive war whilst cutting taxes; in a different manner, but with the same mindset the Obama administration has pretended it can spend lots of money and cut tax unsustainably.
So, Canadians realistic and grounded in reality? A crude stereotype like all stereotypes are. But they generally are much more European and a trip to Canada felt like a weekend at home, after all this time in the US. Good cultural acclimitisation, for returning to GB at the end of Sep!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Difference number x - Shoulders toes and knees, I'm 36 degrees
On first arriving in the United States, one thing I simply failed to understand about the US is its clinging to incomprehensible forms of imperial measurement. Fluid ounces, Pounds etc caused me befuddlement; but evoking the most confusion, was the exclusive use of Fahrenheit during The Weather forecast. 40 degrees a COLD day, talk about a culture shock!
Granted, we Britons stick to a complicated mix of feet and metres, litres and our school teaching moved in to the logical world of Metric about three decades ago. Surely the country of modernity the New World could have moved on from something so anachronistic, by now?
Well, my opinion has kind of evolved a little - if only in regards to American dedication to Farenheit. The big difference between oC and oF is that Farenheit is it is a whole lot more precise - there are more Farenheit degrees for every degree of celsius (twice as many degrees F between boiling and freezing). I have found this really helpful in a city like New York where the weather changes like crazy - rapidly alternating, not just been seasonal extremes, but also between days and indeed, after hours.
This might seem obvious of course - the idiot-proof beauty of Centigrade is knowing that a hundred is boiling and freezing is zero. However, with familiarity Farenheit is just as easy to understand. Once you have a few meteographical yardsticks that you can contemplate, it is easy to comprehend. Freezing is 32oF, in the Spring you need to know 50oF = 10oC , you know it's hot when it's in the 80s (87oF=30oC), 212oF degrees in water and it should be bubbling (that's boiling point) if you live in Canada in January, you know things are really bad when the two converge (at negative 40oC).
However, Farenheit is not so useful when your in the Kitchen: precision is not so necessary when you want to decide how much heat you need to bake a Potato, or more likely, work on your Pumpkin Pie. In that case, I recommend Celsius.
Granted, we Britons stick to a complicated mix of feet and metres, litres and our school teaching moved in to the logical world of Metric about three decades ago. Surely the country of modernity the New World could have moved on from something so anachronistic, by now?
Well, my opinion has kind of evolved a little - if only in regards to American dedication to Farenheit. The big difference between oC and oF is that Farenheit is it is a whole lot more precise - there are more Farenheit degrees for every degree of celsius (twice as many degrees F between boiling and freezing). I have found this really helpful in a city like New York where the weather changes like crazy - rapidly alternating, not just been seasonal extremes, but also between days and indeed, after hours.
This might seem obvious of course - the idiot-proof beauty of Centigrade is knowing that a hundred is boiling and freezing is zero. However, with familiarity Farenheit is just as easy to understand. Once you have a few meteographical yardsticks that you can contemplate, it is easy to comprehend. Freezing is 32oF, in the Spring you need to know 50oF = 10oC , you know it's hot when it's in the 80s (87oF=30oC), 212oF degrees in water and it should be bubbling (that's boiling point) if you live in Canada in January, you know things are really bad when the two converge (at negative 40oC).
However, Farenheit is not so useful when your in the Kitchen: precision is not so necessary when you want to decide how much heat you need to bake a Potato, or more likely, work on your Pumpkin Pie. In that case, I recommend Celsius.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
All about the money...
For a country so dedicated to the pursuit of dosh, it seems to me incomprehensible that Americans have such poor aesthetic taste when it comes to the design of their currency. The US "Greenback" seen in a thousand gangster movies, might well be iconic but it is also illogical and hard to understand - and not just for the jet-lagged foreign visitor.
Notes are all similarly sized and share ugly gray and olive green colours which makes them tricky to differentiate from one another. The unfamiliar foreigner often runs the risk of picking up the wrong note when searching through a fresh wad from the Bureau de Change and trying to pay for their service, a British friend once left $100 at a restaurant rather than the Ten Dollar tip he intended. Also, though I'm no expert on counterfeitting, but American notes don't seem to have much in the way of security features and could surely be copied more easily than Pounds or Euros. US Monopoply-board money also has an annoying tendency to stick together: I once gave away two twenty dollar notes for a hot dog in Little Italy, my protestations for the correct change were unproductive. It's not only the notes that don't make sense: the nickel coin (five cents) is actually - bizarrely - bigger than dime (ten cents).
Okay, after a while you do start adjusting to these things: you get to differentiate between the Founding Father designs of the notes and realise that the dime is differentiated from the nickel as it's a little bit shinier, but it does seem unecessary. For a country that built itself of on its rationality and logic it does seem, well, irrational and illogical. Maybe they could take a leaf out of the British book with our nice multi-sized and colourful currency.
The other interesting thing is the American reliance on the One Dollar Note. The BoE decided that it wasn't worth printing a Pound note back in 1988 but yet the US reliance on the single dollar note, currently worth about 60p, is retained. Why? Maybe it is because it is easier for bar staff who earn a dollar a drink served in their tip money (as is custom here)? Maybe the extra paper money gives a comforting illusion of wealth? Maybe no politician has the cojones to abolish a note with George Washington on it? I don't know.
The other thing worth mentioning here is the American Automatic Telling Machine (they don't talk about Cash Machines or The "Hole in the Wall". The experience of dispensing our cash costs Americans a lot more than us Brits. Almost all charge, unless you belong to a specific bank. The typical fee is about $1.50 to $3 in NYC whilst we only pay for the really rubbish ones in Cost Cutter when we are really desperate. On the flip side, there do seem to be more ATMs to find in NYC and the ones owned by the banks offer a few extra things, including info on your recent transactions. That said, I always shake the cover of any shifty-looking ATM I use, in case it has a card-cloning cover after my card got copied in London last Summer, and had £100 stolen by some guy in Kuala Lumpur.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Couch Surfing USA
“Oh my GOD!!! You’re staying with a total stranger, is that safe?!?”:
so was my Manhattan co-worker’s reaction when I explained that on a weekend trip away from the city, I would be couch surfing.
What is it?
Couchsurfing is a free web-based hospitality service that connects “surfers” with potential hosts who are willing to offer a place for strangers to sleep, for free. Following the recommendation of an enthusiastic friend, I am a recent convert to the World of Couch Surfing, and have now used it to stay overnight in Montreal and Virginia and plan to do it later in the Summer when I do more travelling. Couchsurfing is open to any one, anywhere and currently has a global membership of over a million and is probably the greatest thing on the internet (following the sinking of PirateBay.org!)
How does it work?
To join, members are required to set up a personal profile, including details of their hobbies and interests, information on their travel experience and a photo. Profiles are then authorised by other members to prove their legitimacy. The better the profile and the more complete it is, the more likely potential hosts are to accept requests of somewhere to stay. Members then use the service to send messages to other people in the CouchSurfing network and basically ask if they can stay with them. Members are typically most inclined to accept requests for a Couch to sleep on from people who tailor a personal message explaining why they would like to stay. Members can search hosts by city (eg “Boston”). No one is obliged to host, though they are encouraged to. The obvious advantage to MB interns is - of course - that it is free and therefore provides us a goods means for saving an extra part of our lavish salary, when we go around exploring the US. However, it is also a great cultural experience. In practical terms, it means that when arriving in a new place couchsurfers can immediately get to meet locals and quickly get useful local knowledge. The CS experience does not finish with a good night’s kip. Members also set up a range of services and events for other members. For example, they often offer rideshares to those travelling between cities and organise gatherings such as - for the NY Group, over recent weeks – movie-watching in Bryant Park, a Thursday-night bar outing and Sunday morning Dim Sum in China Town.
What’s the catch, why did no one think of this before?
Nowt. It took humanity a fair while to evolve far enough to invent the Internet – after all - and now it is merely a case of making the most of it. For Couchsurfing to happen, it requires a small leap of faith on the part of the host and potential guest. It rests on the optimistic and oft-doubted assumption of the innate altruism and generosity of people toward random strangers. Funnily enough, it works.
so was my Manhattan co-worker’s reaction when I explained that on a weekend trip away from the city, I would be couch surfing.
What is it?
Couchsurfing is a free web-based hospitality service that connects “surfers” with potential hosts who are willing to offer a place for strangers to sleep, for free. Following the recommendation of an enthusiastic friend, I am a recent convert to the World of Couch Surfing, and have now used it to stay overnight in Montreal and Virginia and plan to do it later in the Summer when I do more travelling. Couchsurfing is open to any one, anywhere and currently has a global membership of over a million and is probably the greatest thing on the internet (following the sinking of PirateBay.org!)
How does it work?
To join, members are required to set up a personal profile, including details of their hobbies and interests, information on their travel experience and a photo. Profiles are then authorised by other members to prove their legitimacy. The better the profile and the more complete it is, the more likely potential hosts are to accept requests of somewhere to stay. Members then use the service to send messages to other people in the CouchSurfing network and basically ask if they can stay with them. Members are typically most inclined to accept requests for a Couch to sleep on from people who tailor a personal message explaining why they would like to stay. Members can search hosts by city (eg “Boston”). No one is obliged to host, though they are encouraged to. The obvious advantage to MB interns is - of course - that it is free and therefore provides us a goods means for saving an extra part of our lavish salary, when we go around exploring the US. However, it is also a great cultural experience. In practical terms, it means that when arriving in a new place couchsurfers can immediately get to meet locals and quickly get useful local knowledge. The CS experience does not finish with a good night’s kip. Members also set up a range of services and events for other members. For example, they often offer rideshares to those travelling between cities and organise gatherings such as - for the NY Group, over recent weeks – movie-watching in Bryant Park, a Thursday-night bar outing and Sunday morning Dim Sum in China Town.
What’s the catch, why did no one think of this before?
Nowt. It took humanity a fair while to evolve far enough to invent the Internet – after all - and now it is merely a case of making the most of it. For Couchsurfing to happen, it requires a small leap of faith on the part of the host and potential guest. It rests on the optimistic and oft-doubted assumption of the innate altruism and generosity of people toward random strangers. Funnily enough, it works.
Inauguration Day 1/20/2009
Weeks later, I’m still finding it a little tricky re-adjusting to a world without George Bush. I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to Obama: not about his competence or (generally speaking) his political platform, but of the inflated hype surrounding him. The man is clearly no Messiah and - whilst a vast improvement - I am sceptical of the many Americans who seem to think he will quickly offer an elixir for the profound problems created by his predecessor.
Nonetheless, his inauguration was still a unique event and acting on a whim and the promise of a space on a DC-friend’s bedroom floor – at the sacrifice of one of my ten precious Mountbatten holiday days - I decided to follow the crowd of 3-4 million and head to Capitol City.
After taking a lift with MVP Chinatown Bus, I was in DC / Viriginia area for three nights, arriving on Saturday afternoon. The city was packed, the whole weekend. I saw a bit of the concert on Sunday at the Lincoln memorial (including Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Tiger Woods, Beyonce etc) from the distance, but most of the actual weekend was spent on non-Obama related activities (except trying to negotiate a route around police road blocks and through the huge crowds).
On Monday, I got on to the DC subway system at about 7.30, by which time it was packed. It turned out very well that I was only a few stops from the end of the Red Line commuter route, as it meant there was a little (emphasis on a little) space to squeeze in to the carriage. After avoiding suffocation and arriving at the Metro Center stop, I spent about an hour and a half working out a way to get on to The Mall itself, around the throng. People were making the choice of queuing for hours to go through the security check for the post-inaugural parade, or to watch the swearing in ceremony itself, but i worked out a way of getting to the latter after walking a long way around the White House (bumping in to CNN's Anderson Cooper en route).
I managed to find a place right by the Washington Monument and then braced myself for standing for three hours in a biting cold wind. I could have got a bit closer I think, but because the monument was on a high point, we had a good view of the capitol (albeit nearly a mile away). I would have actually needed the Hubble Telescope to see Obama himself. However, we had big TV screens so the action was relayed to us. The sound quality was fairly good, though the two speakers closest to us were about 3 seconds out of sync, so it was a bit hard to follow at times. Beyond that, I'm sure those of you watching on your computer screens at work, probably got just as good a view of proceedings as they happened.
The best moment (in my irreverent opinion - I've heard some Americans since saying this was distasteful, they're more deferential to their politicians) was Bush's arrival on stage, which was greeted by 4 million people booing - it felt like the ground was shaking. As we were leaving later on after the ceremony, there was a big cheer and wave as his helicopter flew over us toward Maryland and a Texas-bound jet.
There were the usual "Obaama-Obaama" chants, which along with the T-Shirts seem indicative a bit of a cult of personality and I find slightly OTT. However, I guess his personality is preferable to most political alternatives, so it's hard to complain exactly.
There was a great buzz at the point of the various Oaths. I think most people in the crowd weren't particularly interested in Biden, but - I couldn't help feeling that getting rid of Cheney was the most important thing – the personification of Republican malevolence finally gone!
Though the view was restricted even more than usual by a horizon of phone cameras in the air, I just about could see the stage as Obama was declared president, so in case I am ever asked, I can say that “I was there”.
I started working through the crowd as soon as Obama finished. It took an hour to get from grass to concrete but luckily managed to get to my bus stop in time to get a (earlier than booked) 2.30 bus back to NYC.
Crowds of that size are obviously a bit overwhelming in some ways. Completely different scale to any football match / post-concert crowd I have been to. The only thing that I have seen like it would be the 2003 protests against the War. Similar kind of sentiments on both occasions I suppose but a very different 'vibe'. Hard to believe how much has happened in a relatively short time period in between. I guess we will have to wait to find out what the next four to eight years will bring.
In many ways the day was only symbolic: The transition from the Bush to Obama era had taken place over many months as President # 43’s popularity gradually ebbed. DC and the world beyond it did not suddenly “change” around Noon of that day.
Nonetheless, vague historical periods demand tangible measuring points so that an era can be comprehended retrospectively. Correctly or not, 20th January will inevitably be one of those key measuring posts for our era. So, for vanity - at the very least - I feel lucky to say that “I was there”.
Nonetheless, his inauguration was still a unique event and acting on a whim and the promise of a space on a DC-friend’s bedroom floor – at the sacrifice of one of my ten precious Mountbatten holiday days - I decided to follow the crowd of 3-4 million and head to Capitol City.
After taking a lift with MVP Chinatown Bus, I was in DC / Viriginia area for three nights, arriving on Saturday afternoon. The city was packed, the whole weekend. I saw a bit of the concert on Sunday at the Lincoln memorial (including Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Tiger Woods, Beyonce etc) from the distance, but most of the actual weekend was spent on non-Obama related activities (except trying to negotiate a route around police road blocks and through the huge crowds).
On Monday, I got on to the DC subway system at about 7.30, by which time it was packed. It turned out very well that I was only a few stops from the end of the Red Line commuter route, as it meant there was a little (emphasis on a little) space to squeeze in to the carriage. After avoiding suffocation and arriving at the Metro Center stop, I spent about an hour and a half working out a way to get on to The Mall itself, around the throng. People were making the choice of queuing for hours to go through the security check for the post-inaugural parade, or to watch the swearing in ceremony itself, but i worked out a way of getting to the latter after walking a long way around the White House (bumping in to CNN's Anderson Cooper en route).
I managed to find a place right by the Washington Monument and then braced myself for standing for three hours in a biting cold wind. I could have got a bit closer I think, but because the monument was on a high point, we had a good view of the capitol (albeit nearly a mile away). I would have actually needed the Hubble Telescope to see Obama himself. However, we had big TV screens so the action was relayed to us. The sound quality was fairly good, though the two speakers closest to us were about 3 seconds out of sync, so it was a bit hard to follow at times. Beyond that, I'm sure those of you watching on your computer screens at work, probably got just as good a view of proceedings as they happened.
The best moment (in my irreverent opinion - I've heard some Americans since saying this was distasteful, they're more deferential to their politicians) was Bush's arrival on stage, which was greeted by 4 million people booing - it felt like the ground was shaking. As we were leaving later on after the ceremony, there was a big cheer and wave as his helicopter flew over us toward Maryland and a Texas-bound jet.
There were the usual "Obaama-Obaama" chants, which along with the T-Shirts seem indicative a bit of a cult of personality and I find slightly OTT. However, I guess his personality is preferable to most political alternatives, so it's hard to complain exactly.
There was a great buzz at the point of the various Oaths. I think most people in the crowd weren't particularly interested in Biden, but - I couldn't help feeling that getting rid of Cheney was the most important thing – the personification of Republican malevolence finally gone!
Though the view was restricted even more than usual by a horizon of phone cameras in the air, I just about could see the stage as Obama was declared president, so in case I am ever asked, I can say that “I was there”.
I started working through the crowd as soon as Obama finished. It took an hour to get from grass to concrete but luckily managed to get to my bus stop in time to get a (earlier than booked) 2.30 bus back to NYC.
Crowds of that size are obviously a bit overwhelming in some ways. Completely different scale to any football match / post-concert crowd I have been to. The only thing that I have seen like it would be the 2003 protests against the War. Similar kind of sentiments on both occasions I suppose but a very different 'vibe'. Hard to believe how much has happened in a relatively short time period in between. I guess we will have to wait to find out what the next four to eight years will bring.
In many ways the day was only symbolic: The transition from the Bush to Obama era had taken place over many months as President # 43’s popularity gradually ebbed. DC and the world beyond it did not suddenly “change” around Noon of that day.
Nonetheless, vague historical periods demand tangible measuring points so that an era can be comprehended retrospectively. Correctly or not, 20th January will inevitably be one of those key measuring posts for our era. So, for vanity - at the very least - I feel lucky to say that “I was there”.
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