Social Media and the Expat Life

I had a visitor over the summer, right before I left for America, with whom I had a lovely walk in the sunshine and a nice dinner before he succumbed to jetlag and went to bed early, leaving me to pack for my trip. We had an interesting discussion about expat life and the role of social media. I should preface this by saying that he’s an expat several times over, living now in a third country (and continent) from the one in which he was born and another in which he has lived. When it comes to social media and friends “in the computer” I’m a fan, he was not. I rely on my facebook and twitter peeps and bloggy friends to provide me with some structure. Although, as he noted, if the people are all in the computer, are they real people? Do you end up feeling MORE lonely instead of LESS since you don’t have the human connection that comes with “real” people in your life?

It was an interesting question, and one that I have pondered on more than one occasion since that discussion. Do I think of myself as lonely? I obviously have plenty of time to myself, and spend a great deal of that time sitting in front of the computer communicating with strangers. But I’m ready with my rebuttal now, a few months after the fact. Because the people stuck in my computer have, on more than one occasion, transmogrified into real people. In the last six months or so, I have met up with Kat from 3bedroombungalow, Mike from Postcards from Across the Pond (and Pond Parleys) and, most recently, Michelloui from Mid-Atlantic English. All American expats, all living here in the UK, all blogging about our collective experiences. And people who I can now consider friends “in real life” because they have crawled out of the computer and into the restaurants in my neighborhood. Pretty cool, that. So I will keep justifying my hours spent on social media, and thank my lucky stars for the fantastic friends I’ve met through this computer screen.

Sights of Singapore

When I was in Singapore previously, I was far west of the main part of town. This trip I am in the centre, if centre-east, and exploring a completely new set of neighborhoods. I love the fact that signs in Singapore are written in 4 languages. I love the fact that the MRT makes getting around town so simple. And I love the fact that this is, aside from the heat and humidity, a really walkable town, with many sights to just stumble upon. This set of photos still mostly relates to things I saw on Sunday, when I had free time, as opposed to yesterday or today, when I had work time occupying most daylight hours.

I spent quite a bit of time Sunday wandering through Chinatown

At this point I realized that, although only purchased for my last trip here two years ago, my guidebook is sorely out of date. Such is the speed of “progress” and construction in Singapore. I stumbled on a Buddhist temple that simply did not exist in my guidebook:

The temple was devoted to a relic of Buddha’s tooth. I stayed long enough to find the zodiac statue for my birth year (for sale for S$88!)

I then spent a happy couple of hours in the Asian Civilisations Museum (their spelling, not mine!) where it was (lucky for me!) the last day of a special exhibition on the Kangxi Emperor.

We have a family friend who has written a book on Chinese rank badges, and it felt really funny to be looking at such things without his guidance. I’m pretty sure the specimens there in the museum were outstanding, but I really needed some expert commentary. And dang it, they did not have his book in the museum shop, even though they clearly should have. Oh well. Singapore is proving to be great fun, and now I can start to plan my next return trip (this time next year) with a lot more information and local knowledge than I had when I arrived here on Saturday. Two more full days here and then off to the airport for the next leg of my adventure. But hey, really, how can it compare to this: what beats the sight of a gigantic spitting Merlion?

British is classy?

Lazy blogging (but fun)

Yes, it’s lazy blogging to just post the top ten search engine terms that people have used to find you in the existence of the blog, but I have to admit, I find it quite funny. The last update on this was nearly a year ago, and although the “superstars” have not changed, the overall picture is not quite the same. Provided here with explanations for the more obscure search terms.

1. cockney girl A song by Lee Hom Wang, an American turned Taiwanese/Chinese popstar who I love thanks to my sister, and I discussed the lyrics in a strange mash-up post after my sister and I saw Vince Gill in concert.
2. cleavage women I blogged about cleavage and women in politics when my hero, Secretary of State H. Clinton, was still in the strong running for president of the USA.
3. not from around here wordpress Hoorah! Someone is trying to find me!
4. good things about england For anyone who wants to complain about my negativity, I note that “bad things about England” appears much lower in the search list, and not even close to the top 10!
5. not from around here A general expression, surely, not related to this blog.
6. English reserve My blogging about the apparent contradiction between this stereotype and the half-naked girls roaming the streets of my town.
7. cell phone ads Another Lee Hom link, he is the spokesperson for my American cell phone/mobile. I swear I did not realize it when I bought it. But as this is the phone that has recently survived an accidental bath in a glass of water, I’m a fan.
8. not from around here blog See above
9. gusset plates These are related to the post that was top for many months, my engineering geek girl take about the collapse of a major highway bridge in Minneapolis, less than a mile from where I used to live; later I posted my photos of the gusset plates of the bridge that I finally located in my digital archives.
10. women cleavage See above–interesting theme.

So the lessons? Porn always wins–use the word “cleavage” near “women” and good things will result. Compared with a year ago, the picture has changed in that the very “local” things have disappeared, such as the “Italian word of the day” which referred to a trip there in 2007. Fans of obscure Chinese-speaking pop-stars still do well even after a year of my posting little on the subject. Thank goodness my engineering prowess still shows in the “gusset plates” post although I try to not post much boring science-girl geek talk on this site. And at the end of the day, stats show that I’m still winning on “good things” rather than “bad things” about England. Score!

Some days, better than others

Managed to bend the frames of my favorite glasses last night. Can only sort of get them to sit right on my face again, might need to seek professional advice. Wearing one of my other pairs of glasses now; fortunately over the years I’ve learned that being a klutz (and one who occasionally does really, really stupid things like fall asleep while reading or watching tv) means that it’s not a good idea to have fewer than 2 pairs of glasses for when catastrophe strikes. Actually at the moment I have three pairs, which is great, although only one of those three has never been bent out of shape! Fortunately with time, patience and a bit of hot water, they can normally be fixed. Still working on it with this pair, and it’s a real shame because they really are my “Tina Fey glasses” — she has the same pair. Sigh.

And now I’m “taking the piss”

Serious point what has been bothering me for days has been vented, and I’m sure will land some flaming horrid comments that my thin skin will find disturbing. But I persist with blogging and now attempt humour. Headline on today’s Guardian website:

New British Search Engine ‘Could Rival Google’

The best part about this is how the “could rival Google” bit is in quotes–and they’re careful to cite the source as not being them–as though they realize how silly this must sound. I also love how important it is that it’s a British search engine. This I find strangely endearing, in part because it is exactly like the “Minnesota connection” phenomenon. Local newscasters in the Twin Cities can find–and do–find a local connection for any important story, and no matter how tenuous, they hype it on the local evening news as though it was the most critical aspect of the study. Imagine my shock on moving to Britain and discovering that they do the same thing! Oscars? Sod the full list of winners, how did the British actors and movies fare? In both cases it’s driven by the same general phenomenon–reporting stories to the local group (Brits or Minnesotans) and trying to increase the relevance of the story to those local people. And I think it also sort of implies a slight inferiority complex in the case of MN, I’ll not try to judge if that’s true about Britain Regardless, I read the story and the site from which the quote came, at least for the forseeable future my money’s on Google.

Artwork on American consumerism

Regardless of how you feel about the politics of what’s being said about the US’s consumerist culture, the artwork shown here from Chris Jordan is really cool. I admit, I have always been Seurat-obsessed and this use of every day items to create the same effect is amazing. My favorites are the barbie dolls and the soda can Seurat, of course! Have a look.

Random links of randomness

I find myself on occasion with a whole lotta tabs open in Camino with no real string to tie them all together; today I’m so tired I don’t even try.

1. The Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper apparently has seen the errors of its ways and reverted back on several of its major shake-ups over the last few years. As per Lileks himself, “Source” has gone back to being “Variety” and Lileks himself has a regular print column again. How they made either of those misguided changes in the first place, I will never know.
2. I had a similar reaction to Jen on reading this blurb on Minnesota place names. Especially, as we were, out in frontier land, the names themselves are interesting and quite different from what you find in New England. You know you’re from Minnesota when you do not hesitate at the pronunciations of “Mahtomedi” or you know the difference between Monticello MN and Jefferson’s estate is not just location.
3. Depressing story from the Guardian on how sexist Britain is. The idea of not hiring capable women because they might (or might not!) get pregnant someday is right there in print; I argued with some caveman bloggers with this same idea a few months back. Basically they believed in the precise opposite of the affirmative action policy being discussed here in the UK; they thought it was acceptable to hire a less qualified man and not risk that the more qualified woman might have babies on the brain.
4. This video on women and yogurt is absolutely hilarious and subversive, a bit of entertainment for those of us otherwise getting tired and upset with the whole thing. Wait, is that lesbian icon Leisha Hailey in the ridiculous yogurt ads? Apparently.
5. Come one, come all, to the MSP airport and charge your electronic devices. Just stay out of the mens restrooms, they’ve got a pretty bad reputation.
6. The four members of ABBA appeared in the same place at the same time for the first time in ages. Yes I’m going to see Mama Mia, Dancing Queen AND Pierce Brosnan in the same film? I’m so there.
7. On travelling, weight gain, and English food as “fatty and stodgy”–oh yeah. The second I get back from Bavaria I’m joining the health club. In this place it is impossible for me to find good stuff that I like to eat and that has fewer calories than is needed to keep a rugby player going.

And there we have it. There were indeed burgers at the BBQ yesterday, but no condiments: you got a burger, a bun and either ketchup or mustard. No cheese. No lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, and certainly no special sauce. Of course, I’m a pescetarian so I did not have a burger, but other people called them dry and untasty. People, if you wanna do the BBQ, you have to do it right! At the very least you NEED cheese. That nice yellow American stuff that melts on the burger. They were also serving Coronas with no lime wedges. I just gave up and went to a restaurant with a few colleagues, and then to a grotty pub afterwards where actual American style pool tables were to be found. Not a horrid way to spend the fourth. My friends were even downing Jack and Coke in the US’s honor. Now off to work, miles to go before I sleep and Bavarian adventures from tomorrow.

The State Dept. and Boy George

Further to my comment about Boy George being denied a visa to tour the US, we find this hilarious exchange on the State Dept.’s website:

QUESTION: And what does the U.S. Government have against Boy George – (laughter) – You denied him a visa.

MR. CASEY: Sorry, I should have swallowed before you said that. (Laughter.) Let’s see if I spit the water over any place else. (Laughter.)

I’ve seen the report that’s out there. Obviously, visa records are confidential. But I’d simply note that there often are difficulties for individuals who either are currently subject to criminal charges or otherwise may have criminal records. So I think you might want to look toward some of those reasons as why he might be having some difficulties here.

QUESTION: It’s tragic really.

MR. CASEY: Do you really want to hurt him? (Laughter.)

Yeah, Libby.

QUESTION: Switch topics from Boy George?

MR. CASEY: Yes, please.

There’s even video here, which makes more sense of the laughing and water spitting lines. It’s the second item in the video so be patient through about a minute’s worth of Iran–the serious question that was asked by the same reporter.

Bogie and Bacall and Bette, oh my!

Today the Minneapolis-based blogger James Lileks has a few clips from “The Big Sleep” and I highly recommend them, if you’re into that sort of thing (like I am). (The clips are about half-way down the page.) The Bogie-Bacall obsession is a relatively recent one for me. My primary 1940s film star romance loyalties go to Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy movies, and I stand behind them no matter what the modern biographers are saying. It was the Kate connection that turned me on to the Bogie-Bacall romance, I picked up a copy of Bacall’s autobiography “By Myself” (now updated to “By myself and then some“) right after Kate died and I was immersing myself in 1940s cinema history. Reading “By myself” then caused me to binge on the full set of Bogie-Bacall movies (although I only got them from Netflix, do not have the box set) and to land on one of my favorite all time movie clips:

I never get tired of these two together, and it’s hard not to worry that we all only get one great romance after you read about Bacall in the post-Bogie years.

This year’s 1940s movie addiction is Bette Davis, whose new biography I am reading right now. And I did manage to score the box-set. Although much to my disappointment, it’s missing my very favorite (okay, the only one I’ve ever seen, and many times at that) “Now, Voyager”:

That is my favorite line of the week, “Don’t let’s ask for the moon, we have the stars.”