Monday, August 11, 2014

Patented!

According to Google, nobody or almost nobody else has used the following phrases in the same way that I'm proposing. So I'd better note them down now.

 "Never-industrial" as an adjective. I propose this an alternative to "postindustrial" in the case of an economy and society that is clearly in the post-modern phase (in terms of demography, consumption, employment, technology, media, politics, etc) but has never experienced an "industrial" phase of mass, stable, formal urban employment (whether or not related primarily to manufacturing).  Peru is an obvious example.

One other person seems to have used this in a similar way in 2007, but I thought of it independently. 

"Ethnically male"  - this occurred to me while talking about Martin Amis. What is distinctive about his novels (I'm thinking Money, London Fields and The Information) is that the male viewpoint is not just a default setting for how the world is seen; rather, male identity is acknowledged and explored: the novels are at least in part about maleness.


Sunday, August 10, 2014

Athletic and Practical Goals I Still Have Despite the Passage of Time



More or less in order of estimated plausibility:

  • Run some more half marathons and/or off-road runs 
  • Run at least one marathon
  • Be able to tie (and remember) a variety of appropriate knots for different situations
  • Successfully complete a basic rock and/or ice climbing course
  • Learn to plough accurately with a yunta
  • Be able to put up and take down a variety of different tents without guidance or supervision
  • Learn to saddle and load a donkey from scratch
  • Complete a multiple-day tramp requiring navigation with map and compass
  • Complete the Southern Crossing 1-day run from Otaki Forks to Kaitoke
  • Run a half marathon in 1:30 or less
  • Learn how to saddle and load a mule from scratch
  • Climb a mountain that has some technical aspects
  • Climb an 8,000-metre peak