Everyone thinks they know themselves. After all, we live in the back alleys of our minds smelling the same soup every day. But how self-aware are we really? Are we like my Uncle Clem who seems mindless that his house smells like dog urine? Do we get so used to ourselves that we can’t smell what is obvious to everyone else?
While Washington poured billions into propping up the banks and financial institutions that brought our economy to its knees, the Chinese spent their stimulus billions on an epic 19,000 miles of new railroad track. Nearly half of that total will go towards completing a web of more than 42 inter-province hyperspeed rail lines that will link almost every major city in the country. The fastest of the new trains travel at 229 miles per hour. So China comes out of the economic crisis with a rail system that will be the envy of the world.
Quotation from Graydon Carter, Wild on the Street, Vanity Fair
Really? Well good for China.
You gotta love those Chinese with thier stealthy plans for global domination. Al of our UK businesses have moved to China to cut costs, everything we can buy here is manufactured in China, and yet they will not accept our exports. Clever. We’ll wake up one day and it’ll be too late as China completely controils the worlds economy.
On the other hand, most photographic equipment is built in China, and I recently purchased two new pieces of kit which arrived in three days, perfectly made and packaged, great price, tracking and courtesy all the way…… Service with a smile better than most. My only griupe is China’s political stance and the shocking and woeful treatment of it’s citizens and thier lack of human rights.
Knowing oneself, Sera, is the most important thing in life, in my opinion. Liking oneself is incidental, but knowing oneself is crucial to understanding what makes us tick, what we crave and enjoy, our passions and pleasures. I’ve never cared what others think of me, because they are just (generally) faces and limbs that will enter and pass my life’s journey like planets passing by a solar system. They will have an impact of sorts, but will not halt my orbital pathway.
Just the other day I heard Obama say on our CNN European news that we need to do something like that in America. DUH! It should have been done eons ago. So you are more exactly right than you realize, Seraphine. Good for you. I’d vote for you!
hahahhaaha, i’ve said that before, when i got parking spot #1 lol…. as for your comment on my site, girl, it’s God’s own secret how your mind works
love ya!!!
Self knowledge requires a lot of hard work. Most people don’t even begin to put in the effort.
You get to know yourself only when you acknowledge that there are No other…I don’t want to know myself…
China is becoming prevalent in almost every earea, look at the labels or manuals for a good percentage of whats in your house and made in China will be there
as for knowing oneself, I think it something very few people really do, some as they get older are more able to see themselves fully but for the most part most block out imperfections or consider them as the norm, but I wonder is knowing oneself the the most important of being truthful to onseself, but then again if you dont really know yourself how can you be true,
its early morning and not sure I am making sense so stopping here
Never thought of it that way, interesting…
You continue to amaze me with your insights and view of the world. Your words carry such truth!!!
229 miles per hour, not 230 not 225 – funny how they come up with these numbers. It is actually depressing how little they do here in the US with the withered rail road system.
It would be nice to get up to gear again, doesn’t even need to be super high speed, maybe “in time” would do – Amtrack is a limping injured dinosaur, hardly alive for now.
Until the 50′s the rail road in the US was OK, then came Eisenhower, or some kind of other idiot president and basically said: Fuck the Train, we believe the future is the combustion engine, hence we will heavily invest to build Interstate highways. So they did it and thereby abandoned the railroad that once made the US tick. Big mistake!
Whenever I am in central Europe and use the trains, it feels like time travel into the future, punctual, fast, comfortable. I don’t understand why we can’t do the same?!
OK- and I hate my “AVATAR” picture, I have no time now – but I will change it!
In Canada, the Government seems to have done all it could to get rid of passenger rail service.
The weird thing about GDP is that it’s definition is very dependent on how a country decides to count its percentage. Usually any economic activity, good or bad, means a rise in that country’s GDP. For instance, the US GDP went up after 9/11 and Katrina. In China the government can hire half a million peasants to dig a big hole and another half to fill it up which will raise the GDP yet not produce anything useful. For instance, have a look at Ordos, a city built in the middle of nowhere where nobody lives. The essential thing to remember though, is that China is using US dollars to build something while the US is borrowing from China to do worse than nothing. Makes you wonder about the nature of waste on both sides when there’s so much waiting to be done.
haha no no don’t stop, i love it, it’s like a musical poetry of sorts, there’s a beauty to your insanity, well done!!!
Some good points. Here is one I’v mentioned before ; The professor asked freshmen to complete an IQ test to help gauge relative abilities. He handed back their test papers individually all marked with a score of 85 (below average) so that no one was aware of other’s scores. As he asked all those who achieved only 85 to stand at the back of the class only a few slunk back in shame whilst others headed for the bathroom to be sick. He then asked all those who scored over 110 to come to the front and a number proudly obliged. He then explained to them they were all starting from scratch and without integrity we are not very smart people – even if we blessed with a high IQ.
For a long time many of the brightest students enlisted with banks and were dfirected to invest their creative energy in ways to make more money especially in the light of an aging economy with faltering growth prospects- without to much attention to integrity. Creative accounting has always been a temptation in the world but has taken on larger proportions since the real power today resides much more with the large corporations and their CEO’s who play a key pivotal role in exercising that influence. You would not need a stimulus or rescue package if that power had been exercised with integrity.
Best wishes
Hum – this was a thought provoking post! I’m still waiting to know myself…
I don’t know myself that well and I don’t see anything wrong with that. I can surprise myself in good or bad. I changed and I will change.
Wanting to have too much control kills the fun.
Interesting stats and a very artistic self-portrait.
you bring up really interesting points.
Hahaha, very interesting point of viewing things! Great composition!
hehe, great comic hun. you look so pretty in the second panel. good to see you smiling
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if that was the bed yeah, then i don’t fit, but that’s just the futon in the living room
in the bed in the bedroom sparky and i fit just fine… he’s pretty good at sleeping between us…
You a number ONE!?? Not likely Sera….more like a number 9 I think!!! (9 on 10???:)))
My apologies for completely forgetting to mention just how beautiful is your photograph of the wall. The form and symbolism are exquisite partners.
Hah, I am sure you are a 10!! :p
That picture is quite interesting. Is it a double exposure or is that a painting on the wall?
… and the US comes out of it with richer bankers and homeless people? Something wrong with this picture? (Although I think America is putting some money into new energy and the green economy, which is as smart as a fast train.)
Its just too bad for the Chinese they are about as stupid as we are when it comes to debt. They have a massive debt problem they have been trying to shuffle off to the next generation for about 30 years now and it it just keeps growing. The estimate is that by 2030 they will be in such trouble they may go bankrupt and cause a massive market downshift. They could be using the money we stupidly give them to try to buy some of this debt off but they didn’t. I guess much like our own ridiculous excuse for national leaders they just don’t care what happens 20 years from now as long as they aren’t in power when it happens. Going to be interesting to see the results of this. Hope i am around to.
As to knowing myself, i am all too aware of my true self. Its a little unfortunate actually as ignorance does tend to be bliss.
Yes, and that other quote of “Physician, heal thyself” is one that so many tire of. I DO believe that we do not realize how much we mean to someone else. We all matter. But like Mr. Roarke used to say on TV’s “Fantasy Island”: “I;m afraid that I cannot allow you to judge yourself so harshly!” We may know ourselves, but not from an objective angle from someone who appreciates us! lol!
)
Beautiful
Beautiful,