December 3, 2015 · 9:18 pm

Guns Don’t Deserve a Sober Second Thought

Someone, at some point way back in my school days, introduced me to the concept of sober second thought. You could probably imagine a lot of different meanings for that term, with at least a few relating to alcohol-induced evenings, but it actually has a much bigger in meaning. It’s a great guiding principle.

That said, I do have to admit that its origin is tied to Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. McDonald, who was known to imbibe rather regularly in the drink. But instead of describing the morning after a bender, it was used as the reasoning behind creating a second body of government (the Canadian senate) that would examine legislation and make it a little less likely that the truly silly ideas would end up as law. Well, we all know that the process clearly isn’t perfect, as evidenced by the reality that politicians invested valuable time to create a law making it illegal to drag a dead horse down the streets of Toronto on Sunday. Why it was necessary to point out something so seemingly obvious is beyond me. That’s not one of the finest moments for the great minds in government.

These days, now that we are immersed in a digital world and staring at our phones pretty much 24/7, the idea of sober second thought has never been more relevant. To be blunt, your first reaction to most things is probably the last thing you should post online, but a lot of people neglect to remember that rule. I’m all for making this guideline a must-read in every parenting manual. Letting our kids run wild online is going to haunt a lot of young folks in the coming years.

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO PARK POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

So, in this spirit, I try to govern what I write in this forum. It is, after all, a public place and may be read by anyone who wanders in. It’s remarkably easy to misstep online, either by not considering the power of words or by forgetting that words are not three-dimensional, so the true feelings and spirit behind them are not always so clear. But today is one day where I’m going to park this political correctness on the shelf. There are rare times when it’s just not worth the caution.

The headlines are filled yet again with another mass shooting in America. Even sadder, is the reality that there were actually two mass shootings on the same day, with the second barely getting a mention in light of the first. There have now been more than 350 mass shootings (meaning four or more people) in the U.S. this year. That’s more than one a day. It’s so many that people truly are becoming numb to it and barely reacting anymore. And that may be the saddest sentence I’ve written in all my years of producing words.

So in the spirit of ignoring political correctness, let me state a few things that I believe a lot of reasonable people believe. Mainstream Americans are not okay with a proliferation of guns. In fact, the dialogue is being driven by a small group of money-driven lunatics who do not speak for the majority, or even close to it. Democracy is supposed to mean the majority get to rule. It’s not a perfect system. Hell, look at some of the people being elected. But it is the best system we’ve got for now. And if you put the issue to a democratic vote, I firmly believe the majority would stand up and support more gun control. The lunatics don’t have to run the asylum.

To all those spouting off about needing guns because the government is coming for you, no, they’re not. Unless you’ve already shot someone. In which case, you deserve it.

The mysterious bad guys that the fear-mongers keep talking about are not invading your home anytime soon. There’s not a single statistic that supports a rampant need for guns for protection. In fact, when you look at the reality of gun death, far more people die from suicide than homicide, and among the remaining people killed by guns there are far too many cases of family violence and innocent kids stumbling on guns that their moron parents neglected to secure. That’s the reality of guns in America.

You want to boil it down to its most black and white terms? How about the analogy passing around recently? If one kid throws a rock on the playground, the answer isn’t to give every kid a rock, because surely the good kids will win. That’s about as logical as fighting obesity by handing out Big Mac coupons.

The gun epidemic (and that is an accurate word) in America is not a lost cause. In recent decades, England and Australia have both faced severe cultural issues as guns began to proliferate. They legislated. They eliminated the majority of guns. And the result was dramatic drops in gun deaths and suicides. That’s the reality. Everything else is rhetoric.

I can appreciate that the cornerstone of a good debate is hearing the opposing side’s position and considering the facts to make the best decision, but at this point, I could care less what gun supporters have to offer. I’ve watched the reality of their argument play out in blood on the news. They have nothing left to offer to support their point. And they need to go away. That’s about as sober a second thought as I can muster.

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY: While I usually like to sprinkle in some random musings at the end, I’m going to shift gears instead and spread a little positive. This constant onslaught of violence deserves a counter-balance. There’s entirely too much hate being spread in a world that can offer so much more, so my little bit of inspiration for today comes from a teenager in Newfoundland. Read the details here, but she responded to online bullying by looking it right in the eye and calling it for what it is. This girl is an inspiration, and her attitude deserves praise for not falling victim to the cowards who use the internet to hide and spread this idiocy. Here’s to parents who raise a lot more great kids like Lynelle…

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November 23, 2015 · 7:09 pm

I Think Christmas Runs on Sugar in Spain

Much to my shock, the holiday season is suddenly upon us once again. And as every parent of a young child knows, Christmas is not just a day in December. It’s a marathon of sugar-fueled, sideswipes of the toy aisle and endless conversations about what might be under the tree. So much for holidaying!

Christmas is front and center in Spain for weeks. Even though the biggest gift-giving day actually arrives the first week of January, that doesn’t stop the retail crowd from marching out the mistletoe and jingle bells well in advance. With no Thanksgiving celebration to get in the way, store aisles are already clogged with all the trimmings.

Sweets are a key feature, although they are a real mixed bag in my opinion. Familiar chocolate names like Lindt and Nestle have lots of options at the ready, but the fixture of the displays are more traditional Spanish treats.

If the level of sugar on display in Spain is a good indicator, it seems fair to assume that Santa is an addict. With the mounds of sweets as far as the eye can see, the jolly, old fat guy has to be as hopped up as a pint-sized Spider-man working his 12th street on Halloween. There are literally piles of the local favorite turrones, which are brick-like bars of candy that must have the dentistry association dancing in the streets. Honestly, I have no idea how to bite into one of these things. I could construct a brick walkway from a spare box of them.

Then there are the endless bins of individually-wrapped sweets in countless flavors. Some are small chocolates that are tempting. Then there are the ones that are similar to a spongy cake with a buttery or fruity taste – a little rich, but okay. Finally,  there are the biscuits. These are the toughest to describe. The best analogy I have is picking up a cup of sand from the Sahara for a little nibble. They are a tad dry and dusty. But judging by how many are in view, the locals like ‘em.

Of course, the holidays also mean the return of some of Catalunya’s most interesting traditions. The famous pooping log full of toys and treats has made its first appearance of the season in the stores here, and Liam has made his annual request to obtain one, although I’m not sure I’m real keen on the tradition. Of course, filling the shelves near the pooping log is the famous squatting fellow also doing his business, known as a caganer.

To demonstrate just how much the caganer is ingrained in the local culture, stores even have picture and sticker books aimed at small kids with the caganer’s unique IMG_0198Christmas story. The tale is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I have to admit it’s pretty funny to think of a child peeling off the sticker of the squatting caganer and deciding where he should be placed in the nativity scene. Just try and blame that on the dog.

The school break for Christmas this year is more than three weeks long. Even though we’ll be getting outta dodge for a good chunk of it, that’s still quite the lengthy break. Keep in mind, the break also means that only two of the four weeks in December are full school weeks, coming on the heels of November where only one of the four weeks had five days of school. It truly is remarkable how many holidays fill the calendar. I guess the holiday season snuck up so fast because I was too busy trying to fill all the other holidays!

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Advent calendars all also a big thing for kids here. It’s a cheap investment to try and entice good behavior for 24 days straight. Liam has agreed to the deal that he gets the chocolate every night that he’s good, but I get the chocolate every night when he falls short. I’m taking bets on who puts on more weight by the time Christmas rolls around. Over/under starts at 12… I have to admit to enjoying a climate where it isn’t necessary to turn on the furnace until Nov. 22. Of course, the flipside is the cost of utilities almost makes it mandatory to wait as long as possible. Those lucky few with big country houses here (especially in the mountains) must have some whopping bills for gas and electric… But even though the weather is mild, it is still funny to see the locals drinking a cold beer on a chilly day while sitting on a metal chair outside – all at 10 in the morning. They are still hardy folks despite the warm climes…

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November 16, 2015 · 4:03 pm

Don’t Tempt the Hills of Barcelona Without a Plan

I think I know how the people of San Francisco feel. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but, trust me, Barcelona has one hell of a lot more hills than I imagined before moving here.

Think I’m exaggerating? Not hardly. Venturing out here is not only an exercise (forgive the pun) in figuring out the best route to get somewhere, but also in figuring out how many hills may stand in the way of the journey. Smart planning means finding a bus/metro up the hill and saving the walking for the return trip. After a year of facing a hill every morning on the walk to Liam’s school, I can firmly attest to the importance of good transportation planning. And decent shoes. And a treat to distract a six-year-old from the remaining 1000 steps upward.

I recently saw information on a cool new business venture, essentially a whole mini coffee stand on a bicycle. It’s brilliant and I have to admit being tempted, but clearly it’s designed for flatter lands than these. If I had to wheel that thing up some of these hills, the accident report wouldn’t be referring to tires when it listed a blow out.

So despite already having an almost daily hill challenge, Liam and I did volunteer for some extra climbing last weekend to check out a viewpoint that has become a favorite with some locals and the occasional tourist. Of course, the first step was cautious planning, because picking the wrong bus would leave us with a climb that inevitably would end up with someone crying. And Liam probably would be upset, too. Not to mention the fact that starting farther away from the target exponentially increases the likelihood that the GPS directions will aim us closer to Times Square than any Barcelona landmark. A baffled GPS app is par for the course here.

Known as the Bunker of Carmel, the site is a very reasonable climb as long as you pick the right bus stop. Interestingly, the walk up curves through a small residential neighborhood that is pretty much clinging to the side of a hill in precarious fashion. One wrong step off the deck of any of these houses and you wouldn’t stop rolling downhill for a week. The locals must be teetotalers or at least not prone to sleep-walking if they have a good sense of self-preservation. I’d probably tie myself to some furniture if I lived there.

Once we reached the top of the hill, we found a few dozen Spaniards sprawled across the concrete apron and hillside, checking out aDSC_0809 view that is clearly worth a million bucks. The bunker is actually the remnants of an observation point that dates back to the Spanish Civil War, designed to alert the city to air attacks. Fortunately, that’s no longer a worry, but the panorama of the entire city is every bit as noteworthy. The entire main part of Barcelona all the way to the harbor stretches in front of you, with the sprawl north and south going as far as the eye can see to the right and left.

As I sat a little mesmerized at all that lay out below, Liam immediately began concentrating on creating his own mini flip book with a story on spaceships. I stopped to ask him if he liked the view. “Yup,” he replied without even looking up from his work. Impressing a six-year-old is no small feat, but he was quite happy with his newly-created storybook, so that’s a pretty big victory in itself.

We lounged among young couples, families and phone-obsessed teenagers for about an hour and enjoyed a nice moment high above most of Barcelona. Sometimes a big view makes all the other challenges of life seem that much smaller. And in the Spanish way of thinking, nothing is ever so big that taking it easy for a while doesn’t make the day so much better. Maybe hills aren’t so bad, after all.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: As I have mentioned before, ham is a big deal in Spain. In fact, I’m not sure any other product inspires as much discussion, interaction and (literal) dissection. I stumbled on an interesting article the other day with considerable detail on how to store and care for your ham, including the entire legs that are commonly sold here. The key takeaway of the instructions is that ham needs a consistent temperature, limited light and no proximity to strong smells or odors, so the best place to keep your ham is the living room. I have to admit it sounded a tad novel to have an entire pig leg in the living room, but I guess that’s no stranger than an entire deer or moose head that some people choose to display. Definitely, an interesting conversation piece… I’ll also pass on a link to a funny list given to me the other day, detailing 58 things that drive a Canadian crazy. I can attest to many of these… And, lastly, I’ll give kudos to John Oliver for his rant on those behind the sad events in Paris. We need his humor, and his encouragement, and his honesty in the face of such ugliness. It’s easy to be angry and join the throng demanding that we blast them all off the face of the Earth, but isn’t invading and bombing them how this whole mess was inspired in the first place? Even though it is an unfortunate reality that there are times when war is inevitable, it’s tough to support making it the first recourse. That strategy hasn’t been paying off this whole century. Just my two cents…

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November 7, 2015 · 10:23 am

Barcelona is a Great City, and that’s not the Red Bull Talking

I never cease to be amazed at how livable Barcelona is for a major city. I give a lot of credit to city leaders for making Barcelona a great city, since it’s a real balancing act having a lot of people in a limited space and still maintaining working order and enjoyment of all the things that motivate people to come to a city in the first place.

Despite it’s population, Barcelona rarely feels overly crowded. Go down to the main tourist district on a nice day and there are crowds, but much of the rest of the city is fine to move around. The great transit system undoubtedly plays a big part in this. Simply put, most places are pretty simple to get to via metro or bus. And the fact that most buildings have underground garages means there’s not a logjam of cars everywhere. You’re a lot more likely to see a viral video of two people going postal over a parking place in London or Los Angeles than Barcelona.

Spain may have a laissez faire reputation, but clearly the city leaders here put a lot of time and effort into managing how the city operates. One of their big focuses is boosting sports and culture. It’s no exaggeration to say there is always something going on in Barcelona, from neighborhood festivals to music events to parties with virtually every theme imaginable. Nearly all these events are backed by the city and they all share one goal: get a bunch of people together in a friendly setting and let them enjoy life.

Last weekend, Liam and I ventured out to an oddball attraction known as Autos Locos, created by the colorful folks at Red Bull. In reality, it’s simply a modernized soap box derby with TV cameras, a honking big sound system and a lot of edgy people, thanks to the fact that Red Bull is the only fluid being sold on a warm day. There’s definitely some irony in the fact that people can no longer queue up for the iconic Spanish sport of bull-fighting (now banned in these parts), but instead line up for an adrenaline shot of Red Bull instead. Looking at the ingredient list on the side of the can, bull-fighting probably did less damage to fewer people.

The event was three hours of hijinks on an elevated stage near the top of Barcelona’s famous Montjuic as costumed teams pushed out their busoddball cars and then let ‘em roll down the hill. Many of the competitors work on these cars for months and the creativity came through in the form of a rolling hospital bed, a miniaturized tourist bus, giant ducks, a bumble bee, a shark and even a dude sitting on the crapper (otherwise known as a caganer in Catalan). I think the team who built this last one may have some issues, but that’s a much longer story.

Liam’s personal favorite was the team of four minions, who performed a rather unchoreographed dance at the start line before pushing their giant banana car off the line. I’ll chalk them up as memorable since 100 yards down the track the wheels literally fell off, leaving a disgraced minion sitting in a stationary banana. They get my vote for making the highlight reel.

As events go, it’s not exactly the excitement level of the Super Bowl, but it does say a lot about how the Spanish enjoy life. Thousands came out not for the silly cars, but simply to take a seat on a hillside, have something to eat or drink, mingle and enjoy a nice day. The event was a huge hit while the majority of attendees barely noticed the silly cars, and further proof that no one is as good at enjoying life as the Spanish. City leaders are clearly backing a winner, and adding more fuel to the claim that Barcelona is a great city.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: I hope I wasn’t the only one to get a good laugh at of the story explaining how Norwegians have adopted the word Texas into their language to mean crazy… According to reports, there was an earthquake about 100 miles north of Barcelona last week, measuring about 3.8. Can’t say I noticed, but some others claim to have felt it. I’ve been through one in Maryland and have little desire to experience another… I was chasing some extra freelance work lately on a website built for that purpose. It’s actually a rather grim glimpse into humanity. There’s an unending stream of people who want someone to write their “unbelievable” life story, but also lots of even odder requests. There’s the mother who wants someone to write her daughter’s college entrance essays, the secret lover who wants a eulogy for a coming out at a funeral that promises to be memorable and the soon-to-be felon who wants a letter for the judge expressing that he really is more responsible than the DUI charge suggests. You can’t make this stuff up. Truth is far stranger than fiction…

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October 26, 2015 · 10:40 am

Fall Starts with Sparkly Salt, Hockey and $7 Starbucks

With the time changing and the leaves starting to pile up on the sidewalks, fall is clearly here in Barcelona. I swear I barely had a chance to assault the world with views of my pasty legs before summer sprinted off into the sunset. A few eyeballs saved, at least.

The past couple of months seem like a whirlwind as we did a little more exploring and then settled back into the normal routine of the school year. There’s a few things I want to touch on that have been rattling around in my brain, covering a mix of sights we’ve seen and things we’ve experienced. It’s a hodgepodge, but hopefully still a little entertaining.

We spent a recent Sunday in the Spanish town of Cardona, which is famous for having a rock salt mine that was the largest in Europe for decades. The town’s history dates back centuries, largely driven by salt being such a valuable commodity for so long. It’s not gold, but it seems like nearly as many battles have been fought over it. A tour of the Muntanya de Sal (Mountain of Salt) IMG_0242_2includes a wander down into the former mine where salt drips to form remarkable stalactites and stalagmites. Seeing Liam in hard hat being the little miner for the day was clearly the highlight, but the salt formations were pretty spectacular at times also, depending on the lighting. It’s a good day out from Barcelona.

I have theorized in the past that Starbucks produces just a single board listing their prices and then uses it in stores everywhere. Only the currency changes. A large latte is four Canadian dollars in Toronto, four US dollars in Washington, four euros in Barcelona and four pounds in London. Well, a quick trip to Geneva has dispelled this belief. The Swiss city felt more like Tokyo as I realized the board listed the price as 7 Swiss francs (not 4), which is about $7 US. That’s one dear cup of joe.

Along with coffee, I got a quick fix of hockey in Geneva by seeing a Swiss league game. The team is actually part-owned and coached by Chris McSorley, a name that may be familiar from his brother Marty’s long stint as an NHL tough guy. The fans were quite into it and it was a decent level of hockey with a few borderline NHL guys on the ice. But I was horrified to see that they installed a small cheerleaders stage instead of seats in one corner of the arena. Everybody likes a cheerleader, but no Canadian worth their salt would give up prime seats against the glass for some pom-poms.

I have to wonder how people manage in Geneva considering the prices I spied. The city is famous for being home to the United Nations and the Red Cross, but bureaucrats and non-profit workers are not typically among the higher paid employees in most cities. Maybe that rule doesn’t hold true here and they can make a $20 hamburger meal work.

IMG_0162Seeing the cost of things in Geneva, it was even more surprising to stumble on a pub that specializes in large. Not satisfied with just a pint, they sell beers by liters – all the way up to one tub that would be about a gallon. Take my word for it, a liter glass of Guinness is a pretty impressive sight. What one would do with a gallon, I have no idea.

It’s still odd, but it’s become commonplace to spot little flocks of parrots loose in the city of Barcelona. I did a little homework and it turns out these birds, which are about the size of a pigeon, are actually a type of parakeet that is not native to the area. A small number were let loose by people years ago and have now turned into a thriving colony. They look just like a small parrot and have the same high-pitched screech that seems particularly appropriate so close to Halloween. There were around 40 of them perched in a tree I walked by the other day and their calls were nearly deafening.

As I delve deeper into driving in Spain, I’m becoming more of a fan of roundabouts. They are pretty efficient at keeping traffic flowing, although it does become wearisome when there’s one every half-mile on a long, straight road and the GPS drones on with the same keep turn right to go straight instruction. I did find some hysterical pictures of roundabout fails. In a couple of towns down south, the planners and constructors of roundabouts appear to have had a lack of communication during the construction process, leading to roundabouts being built tightly around a church in one place and the town pool in another. You definitely have to keep your head up after prayers or a dip if you want to make it home safely.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Very cute story in the news the other day from a reporter that was there for new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first ever comment to the press. The new leader had just turned two years old on December 25, being carried by his father into the hospital to meet his new brother, when he told reporters, “Merry Christmas. Happy birthday.” The Trudeau family charisma carries on…

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