In the Winter of our Discontent

Somewhat unusually it's like a New England fall in Geneva. A great many colours (without it must be said some of the redder hues) are present and leaves are gently scattered on many a street. There's snow on the Jura mountain range and the public drinking foutains have been switched off. I have the delight in feeling distainful at the world for bringing winter which in all likelyhood will be comparatively mild, and given this is Switzerland, orderly. I don't feel guilty for waking up at 9:00am as that's about the time the sun rises. As the days grow colder I remember the lyrics of the venerable Robert Plant: "I felt the coldness of my winter/I never thought it would ever go/I cursed the gloom that set upon us/and I know that I love you so!" (Page/Plant, "Rain Song" c.1975) One day the great Zep will no-longer take to the stage but for now I take comfort in poetry.

Flying around Europe

I'm one of those people who occasionally watches Richard Quest's program on CNN with respect dispite myself. I am after all an experienced modern traveller and with Mr. Quest I am optomistic about the future.
In the broadest terms, travelling is not getting worse. Yes, these past few years have meant harsher security checks, luggage "restrictions" and "air rage", but the problem is not yet out of hand. Don't take my word for it, learn to test the wind. Who among the initiated does not see their airmiles increase at a great rate than prime interest? Clerks have been sometimes replaced by ticket machines, which shifts the blame from the airline personnel to "IT", but the transportation industry would be literally nowhere without the scope for profits.

I often travel in if not luxury than comfort across Europe, and you can usually find your favoutite national carrier (mine's Lufthansa) to fly you to many E.U. destinations. The renovations at Heathrow entail that a stopover there is quite bearable assuming no agoraphobia. Of course it's best to save £20 and 50 min for flights to the City by booking in advance to City or Stanstead Airport. Air France has begun CityJet for professionals linking major continental stops with London's City Airport. BA has introduced the past year World Traveller class in between Economy and Business, which from experience is a nice little perk for those less frequent fliers who appreciate a leg rest and of course a bit of class.

Another rule to follow, is always pick the smallest, most local airline for short hops whenever possible. On the western atlantic coast for example, smaller carriers get domestic hubs which means less security hurdles. Honestly these days the smaller the airport, the less people are worring about threats the smoother the trip. To get that big airplane rush, I suggest buying Airbus stock so they get moving on that A380 superjumbo for transoceanic flights.

"There always was an England"

Hello. I'm feeling great right now. I enjoyed the rest after my busy NYC trip in my proud and sympathetic home. The Geneva weather recently smoothed out, and before long I darted across the Channel to Summer school. In my humble opinion, the great strength of British education is not the actual results or research data it produces, which is often considerable, but rather the mindset it gives to those people priviledged to attend, a "Can-do" attitude so often prided by Americans, but reinforced by a communal sharing of information and cameraderie. Call it socialism or collusion, but the worlds issues are bigger than one person to figure out which was one reason why Oxbridge was founded in the first place, after the models of Sienna, Cairo, Alexandria and Athens and the inspiration for The Ivy League, Stanford, U. of Toronto, U. Sydney and many aspirants to the same.
I look forward to my month in the South, to study physics and also to see how much "Swinging London" is remembered in this storied country. All indications are that it will live up to the Capital City's lead.

Indulge me for a minute...

I want to post about a certain musical I've seen, Mamma Mia. As a student of song of my generation, ABBA's music seemed as uncool as it gets, their uncoolness transcending time and genre. The musical however, is a different experience. Two things had changed since previously I contemplated the group: I went on a trip to Mykonos, a Greek island, and secondly, I have changed, I dare not say matured. The first time I saw the show was in Madrid, in Spanish (at which I have the basics). I was thrilled yet embarassed. I was thrilled at the pagentry; embarrassed at the knowledge that I was now possibly as uncool as the disco affictionados of yesteryear.
The New York show was the better of the Spanish show visually, but I found the Spanish singing more suited to the lyrics and their meaning. I somehow picture the protagonist and her entourage speaking Greek (closer to Spanish than English) than the scripted English.

A quick global perspective

It does feel like Geneva is unaffected by climate change. This past week, temperatures were down around 9°C. Coming from Canada, global warming seems to have big effects, for example I have seen (images of) what happens to the arctic ice shelf, and I know about the albedo factor from a college course and we've heard of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, even if you haven't seen it. I can literally see Mont Blanc out of my window, and I feel strongly rooted on the Earth. I know however that the magazines like The Economist are showing a trend towards urbanisation, and (from my and my friends' experience) places like Beijing, Delhi, Sydney, Jerusalem, Rome, London and New York may only get hotter. On the other hand, humanity does not stay still either, and we are approaching a time when such important decisions can be made by informed people.

Back in Switzerland

Now I'm back, and fully rested. I've temorarily lost that zeal for things on the horizon; partly because no one location can compare to the vibrant colours of New York, and partly because of the peace and cool weather here. I can look forward to being restless yet strangely satisfied for a while. Orderly, predictable Geneva: a previledge few may experience, and often then not for decades. New York is a Holywood movie and Geneva a painting, if you must draw distinction.

cooling off

As the temperatures stay near 90 Fahrenheit (28 centigrade) I go away from the center to cool off a bit, in, well, Harlem. As you may have heard, Harlem is now a dynamic, charming part of the city, where former President Bill Clinton has made his home. Busy main streets give way to well-built, orderly side streets with proud Victorian-style townhouses. This is my last day in the Big Apple, after which I will return to my clean, outer-city central European home.

starting from the end: NYC

Hello. All the traditions of Europe (and indeed the world) are here NYC, but as seen from the "future", the Head, the meeting place. So far I've found the locals to be friendly, the air clean enough, and plenty of sights to see and walks to take. Oh, and the food is good too: if you can, go a step up for a $15-20 meal, they're the trendiest and most universally acceptable from a dietary point of view.

cheers