I don't like the Magnetic Fields a lot. But I LOVE their first album - The Wayward Bus. There's a girl singer on it. I'm not a big fan of this kind of girl singer, but for some reason, I really like this album.
I contend that 100,000 Fireflies is probably one of the most beautiful songs ever written. (I swear, I say that a lot about songs, but really, it is)...
I went out to the forest and caught 100,000 fireflies
As they ricochet round my room
They remind me of your starry eyes
Someone else's might not have made me so sad
But this is the worst night I ever had
'Cause I'm afraid of the dark without you close to me
I'm afraid of the dark without you close to me
Always was...
You won't be happy with me
But give me one more chance
You won't be happy anyway
You have to admit that it's a beautiful song. I try not to listen to it that often, as it fell prey to my stupid obsessive listening, was in heavy rotation for about 2 months, and then dropped of. But every time I hear it, I'm blown away. It's one of the simplest songs I've ever heard. Electric piano, very simple electric drumbeat, and girl singing.
Can't you just see her? In my mind, she's beautiful, she has pale skin and red hair - and not prone to emotional outbursts. I can see her unhappiness - she wears it like a shroud, and she's just as confused as you or I. She wants a little bit of rest, and would like, for once, for her life to be simple.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Problem with Poverty
I came back from the Philippines recently and got totally depressed. I mean, really, unconsolably depressed. The first day back found me on my back, about 1/3 of a bottle of scotch, on my living room floor, sobbing. Why? The poverty.
Believe me, my friends, when I tell you that the poverty in India is just as bad. And I'm sure that the poverty in provincial areas *everywhere* in the world is just as bad. I'm sure some of the places deep in the Appalachian mountains are just as bad.
But there's this thing about the Philippines, in particular, that makes me so sad. America has exported some crazy, fucked up version of consumerist mania to the Republic of the Philippines.
The Philippines' largest export is labor.
People.
The Philippines exports people.
These people contribute remittances along the order of roughly $13bn per year. Granted, this is IMF data, and the actual source of the remittances is not crystal clear, but look - it's the third largest inbound recipient of remittances in the entire world, second only to India ($23.6bn) and China ($23bn).
Chances are, if you've been on vacation anywhere in the world, there's been a Filipina near by, cleaning your room, or pressing your clothes, somewhere in the depths of the plush or not-so-plush hotel you've been staying in. If you've been to the UAE (or any other country in the Gulf area), chances are more likely than not that the building you slept in was built on the labor of a Filipino laborer - and that the people who own that building have their children cared for by a Filipina nanny (who is often abused, in the Gulf).
These OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), as they are called, generally send the bulk of their paychecks home through various different channels. The Filipino banks are really good at following the pool of labor - and they do offer some pretty good ways to get money back to the home country. But I digress. The point is that the OFWs send their money home. They send it back to a husband or wife, or to their children, or their grandpas and grandmas back in the provinces.
Now, I'm about to make a very broad generalization, but ...
Where does this money get spent? To be sure, some of it gets spent for subsistence goods. Some for school supplies, school uniforms, etc. But believe me when I tell you that a LOT of this money gets spent at the mall.
THE MALL.
Most of you will never have seen the kind of malls that I have seen in the Philippines. Inside, they aren't a whole lot different than a suburban shopping mall somewhere in suburban America. But multiply the size by about 100x, and you get a general understanding of how big this mall is. I've been to the Mall of America. It's big. I admit. The Mall of Asia is about twice its size. Located in Manila, about a 5 minute jeepney ride from shantytowns made of recycled corrugated aluminum sheeting.
The Mall of Asia is huge. Mobbed with people. Mobbed with some people shopping. Some people looking. Lots of people eating. There is a verb for this action. "Malling." I've actually heard it being used in sentences. As in, "What are you doing this weekend?" "Malling..."
Why? That is the question that I find the hardest to answer. Branding is huge in the Philippines. Everything has about 18 brands plastered on it. The more "American" the brand, the higher the value. (Of course, you can go to the knockoff mall - but EVERYTHING is branded there.)
Is there a good model of micro-finance or micro-lending? Not really. You can go to a pawnshop, to get a short-term loan. 1-3 days loan, charged roughly 8-10%. More than that, and the rate goes higher, and higher, and higher. Not exactly conducive to "revitalizing" the economy. More like loan sharking, but without the "I'll break yo' two fingahs if you don' have mah money by nex' week".
Where does all this money go? Why is is spent like this? Why does a country with a huge poverty problem promote shopping?!?!
*sigh*
More on this topic later.
Believe me, my friends, when I tell you that the poverty in India is just as bad. And I'm sure that the poverty in provincial areas *everywhere* in the world is just as bad. I'm sure some of the places deep in the Appalachian mountains are just as bad.
But there's this thing about the Philippines, in particular, that makes me so sad. America has exported some crazy, fucked up version of consumerist mania to the Republic of the Philippines.
The Philippines' largest export is labor.
People.
The Philippines exports people.
These people contribute remittances along the order of roughly $13bn per year. Granted, this is IMF data, and the actual source of the remittances is not crystal clear, but look - it's the third largest inbound recipient of remittances in the entire world, second only to India ($23.6bn) and China ($23bn).
Chances are, if you've been on vacation anywhere in the world, there's been a Filipina near by, cleaning your room, or pressing your clothes, somewhere in the depths of the plush or not-so-plush hotel you've been staying in. If you've been to the UAE (or any other country in the Gulf area), chances are more likely than not that the building you slept in was built on the labor of a Filipino laborer - and that the people who own that building have their children cared for by a Filipina nanny (who is often abused, in the Gulf).
These OFWs (overseas Filipino workers), as they are called, generally send the bulk of their paychecks home through various different channels. The Filipino banks are really good at following the pool of labor - and they do offer some pretty good ways to get money back to the home country. But I digress. The point is that the OFWs send their money home. They send it back to a husband or wife, or to their children, or their grandpas and grandmas back in the provinces.
Now, I'm about to make a very broad generalization, but ...
Where does this money get spent? To be sure, some of it gets spent for subsistence goods. Some for school supplies, school uniforms, etc. But believe me when I tell you that a LOT of this money gets spent at the mall.
THE MALL.
Most of you will never have seen the kind of malls that I have seen in the Philippines. Inside, they aren't a whole lot different than a suburban shopping mall somewhere in suburban America. But multiply the size by about 100x, and you get a general understanding of how big this mall is. I've been to the Mall of America. It's big. I admit. The Mall of Asia is about twice its size. Located in Manila, about a 5 minute jeepney ride from shantytowns made of recycled corrugated aluminum sheeting.
The Mall of Asia is huge. Mobbed with people. Mobbed with some people shopping. Some people looking. Lots of people eating. There is a verb for this action. "Malling." I've actually heard it being used in sentences. As in, "What are you doing this weekend?" "Malling..."
Why? That is the question that I find the hardest to answer. Branding is huge in the Philippines. Everything has about 18 brands plastered on it. The more "American" the brand, the higher the value. (Of course, you can go to the knockoff mall - but EVERYTHING is branded there.)
Is there a good model of micro-finance or micro-lending? Not really. You can go to a pawnshop, to get a short-term loan. 1-3 days loan, charged roughly 8-10%. More than that, and the rate goes higher, and higher, and higher. Not exactly conducive to "revitalizing" the economy. More like loan sharking, but without the "I'll break yo' two fingahs if you don' have mah money by nex' week".
Where does all this money go? Why is is spent like this? Why does a country with a huge poverty problem promote shopping?!?!
*sigh*
More on this topic later.
Monday, August 13, 2007
A Flurry of Shows
More shows in the next 60 days than I've been to in the last two years...
8/24 - Wilco. Yes. I know I'm late to the bandwagon on this one, and I should have seen them play at the Barrymore, in Madison, more than 10 years ago. Frankly, the Being There album has yet to be dethroned as my favorite Wilco album, but to be fair, none of the others have had more than 2 listens through. I actually have two extra tickets to this sold-out show, and will have to get rid of them this week or next.
9/5 - Okkervil River. A friend of mine is in this band. I'm not particularly fond of the singer's voice, but I go to see a friend.
9/23 - The Lucksmiths. I am SO SO SO excited to see this show. They have not yet announced a venue, and the first round of tickets that I had were refunded due to cancellation. However, the Lucksmiths *say* that they're playing a show in SF on that day, I believe them. They just aren't playing at the Bottom of the Hill.
10/20 - Big Star. I am torn on this one. ClearChannel bought The Fillmore, and are charging, get this: $35.00/ticket, plus a $8.70 "convenience" fee for the convenience of them not having to staff a ticket booth that I could just as easily go and pick tickets up at. Is the convenience of me ordering tickets from my desk at work worth $17.00 (the cost of BOTH of my initial Lucksmiths tickets) worth seeing Alex Chilton? Probably, but let me get over the fucking gall of the "new" Fillmore (and btw, your new website sucks).
8/24 - Wilco. Yes. I know I'm late to the bandwagon on this one, and I should have seen them play at the Barrymore, in Madison, more than 10 years ago. Frankly, the Being There album has yet to be dethroned as my favorite Wilco album, but to be fair, none of the others have had more than 2 listens through. I actually have two extra tickets to this sold-out show, and will have to get rid of them this week or next.
9/5 - Okkervil River. A friend of mine is in this band. I'm not particularly fond of the singer's voice, but I go to see a friend.
9/23 - The Lucksmiths. I am SO SO SO excited to see this show. They have not yet announced a venue, and the first round of tickets that I had were refunded due to cancellation. However, the Lucksmiths *say* that they're playing a show in SF on that day, I believe them. They just aren't playing at the Bottom of the Hill.
10/20 - Big Star. I am torn on this one. ClearChannel bought The Fillmore, and are charging, get this: $35.00/ticket, plus a $8.70 "convenience" fee for the convenience of them not having to staff a ticket booth that I could just as easily go and pick tickets up at. Is the convenience of me ordering tickets from my desk at work worth $17.00 (the cost of BOTH of my initial Lucksmiths tickets) worth seeing Alex Chilton? Probably, but let me get over the fucking gall of the "new" Fillmore (and btw, your new website sucks).
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