I went through a similar experience in Beijing in 2021. During COVID, every province had its own app (called your "health code") for tracking your movements and declaring your COVID status. They all did exactly the same thing, but you needed a different one if you went to a new province. When I created my account in the Beijing app after arriving, it somehow bound my account to a phone number of a random person in another province, and I was therefore unable to recieve the authentication text message to confirm my account on the new app. So, no health code. And I quickly discovered that there was no possible remedy. A Chinese friend even called the mayor's office for me, but everyone seemed to think there was nothing that could be done. The app for my passport number was bound to that random guy in Xi'an's telephone number, so that was that. None of the many cogs in the bureaucratic machinery I encountered even pretended to help. I was a walking irregularlity, and (in China, at least), irregularities are not allowed to exist.
During COVID, you were denied basic neccesities like food and shelter if you didn't have a health code, so I was kicked out of my hotel, and I couldn't even take refuge in a restaurant without people asking to see the app. I was stranded in an unfamiliar city and actually had to contemplate walking to the nearest train station and sleeping outdoors. A Chinese friend finally took me to his house (illegally, since I was a foreigner without a health code) and let me stay the night before getting me out a train out a Beijing the next day. It was the most frustrating and surreal experience in my life. I realized what was going on, of course: bureaucrats within a rigid system have nothing to gain (and a lot to lose) by actually trying to solve problems that don't follow the script, so... they don't.
I'd be pleased to extend my family's hospitality to you and your son if you happen to venture north - or at least point you in the direction of the koalas, good Japanese food and other such necessities.
Motivated in part by this newsletter, I decided this year to follow baseball again. Watching Ohtani has been tremendous fun, but I'm now all too reacquainted with the anguish of team sports fandom, with last night's game being an especially harsh reminder. That 40th homer, accomplished after he left the mound due to cramping, was astonishing. And then, in the top of the 9th, a complete disaster for the team. One of those awful unravelings you can feel in the pit of your stomach, a feeling I'm certain I shared with everyone in the stadium, helplessly watching while the bases loaded up and Estevez struggled to throw effective strikes. I tried to comfort myself by adopting a philosophical detachment - "that's baseball"- but it clouded my entire evening. And I'm not even that much of a fan! I just chose the Angels because I currently live in California, and because Shohei is on the team!
So it was pleasant to read this, and be reminded that things can sometimes be worse. I hope the journey is successful.
I had the chance to see Ohtani in person when the Angels played Atlanta on Monday. It was not a particularly good game, at least not as far as interesting offense was concerned--the Braves' bats were anemic, and most of the Angels' runs came from straight solo shots. But Shohei was electric, even though he was walked intentionally twice by a craven (or prudent) Charlie Morton. In his other at-bats, he went 2-3, and was robbed of a three-run homer when Michael Harris II reached over the outfield wall. I suppose there's theoretically enough money in the world, foreign currency included, to pay Ohtani when he hits free agency, but it won't be what he's worth.
I feel your pain. I got such excruciating identification from reading and chuckling (what a great word) through your description of the whole VEVO or no VEVO experience. I wish you and your son the best and may God speed you into Australia without problems. Thank you for sharing your world.
Well I do hope you have a great time, God willing!
I recommend a stroll in the Botanic Gardens next to the Opera House. It's a beaut spot - I worked there as a labourer many decades ago, clearing the ground for the pyramid greenhouse. And the Blue mtns are spectacular...
David sorry to hear of your tedious adventure with the Australian bureaucracy as they can be surprisingly helpful.
Nevertheless we very much look forward to hosting you and Patrick “Downunder” and hope you both have a rewarding, stimulating and relaxing experience and of course, the sun shines.
In expectation I’m reading The Experience of God again and after They All Shall be Saved look forward to a reprise of You are Gods.
Since you mentioned your engagement with certain aspects of indigenous affairs, I hope you will also have the opportunity to explore contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander art — including the prismatic exuberance of Emily Kame Kngwarreye's prolific oeuvre, produced largely during the final decade of her life! (Redolent of lush, flower-stippled verdure blooming in profusion during the northern Australian monsoon season, her masterpiece "Earth's Creation" deploys a nuanced yet deeply idiosyncratic iconography that distills insights from the ceremonial lore entrusted to her as an Anmatyerre elder in her clan country of Alhalkere.) That said, I'm also a fan of the numinous geometric formations that endow such mesmeric intensity to Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri's reticular configurations of Tingari "tjukurrpa" (Dreamtime songline) motifs. (Of course, Tjapaltjarri is perhaps best known as a member of the nomadic Pintupi "nine", who maintained a traditional lifestyle in the Gibson & Great Sandy Deserts of western Australia and sedulously eschewed any contact with non-Aboriginal Australians until 1984, although it is his meticulous artistic practice — initially forged in the crucible of Papunya Tula, where so many Western Desert painters found their métier, and subsequently exported to the rest of the country (and beyond) — that surely justifies his claim to fame today.) In any case, I look forward to your antipodean dispatches!
Enjoy your Australia jaunt! The satellite photo of Australia you included elicited a memory of something I once read, which is that if you look at the silhouette of Australia the western half of the continent looks like a Scottish Terrier dog and the east half looks like a cat coughing up a hairball (the hairball being Tasmania). This is one of those memes that, once you've read it, you can't un-see it. Sorry.
I once saw a video (made by my favourite Australian band, King Gizzard) of a magnificent butterfly mini-zoo in the Melbourne zoo. It looked absolutely exquisite. If you are in Melbourne, check it out.
40 homers, now!
I went through a similar experience in Beijing in 2021. During COVID, every province had its own app (called your "health code") for tracking your movements and declaring your COVID status. They all did exactly the same thing, but you needed a different one if you went to a new province. When I created my account in the Beijing app after arriving, it somehow bound my account to a phone number of a random person in another province, and I was therefore unable to recieve the authentication text message to confirm my account on the new app. So, no health code. And I quickly discovered that there was no possible remedy. A Chinese friend even called the mayor's office for me, but everyone seemed to think there was nothing that could be done. The app for my passport number was bound to that random guy in Xi'an's telephone number, so that was that. None of the many cogs in the bureaucratic machinery I encountered even pretended to help. I was a walking irregularlity, and (in China, at least), irregularities are not allowed to exist.
During COVID, you were denied basic neccesities like food and shelter if you didn't have a health code, so I was kicked out of my hotel, and I couldn't even take refuge in a restaurant without people asking to see the app. I was stranded in an unfamiliar city and actually had to contemplate walking to the nearest train station and sleeping outdoors. A Chinese friend finally took me to his house (illegally, since I was a foreigner without a health code) and let me stay the night before getting me out a train out a Beijing the next day. It was the most frustrating and surreal experience in my life. I realized what was going on, of course: bureaucrats within a rigid system have nothing to gain (and a lot to lose) by actually trying to solve problems that don't follow the script, so... they don't.
That’s a more harrowing tale. If I’m not allowed to travel on the day, my son and I will spend the night in Chicago, in a nice hotel.
I must register extreme jealousy, as someone who daydreams about moving there at least once a week.
I don’t know if it’s our origin as a penal colony but Australia’s bureaucracy can be alarmingly obstructive and even oppressive https://theconversation.com/au/topics/robodebt-68534
The cheerful informality of our international image conceals a great deal of pettiness
Ah, yes, the sordid affairs of the Nauruan resettlement crisis come to mind...
Any plans to visit Brisbane (we also have Koalas and inept government officials)?
No such plans as such, but who doesn’t want to go to Brisbane?
I'd be pleased to extend my family's hospitality to you and your son if you happen to venture north - or at least point you in the direction of the koalas, good Japanese food and other such necessities.
Motivated in part by this newsletter, I decided this year to follow baseball again. Watching Ohtani has been tremendous fun, but I'm now all too reacquainted with the anguish of team sports fandom, with last night's game being an especially harsh reminder. That 40th homer, accomplished after he left the mound due to cramping, was astonishing. And then, in the top of the 9th, a complete disaster for the team. One of those awful unravelings you can feel in the pit of your stomach, a feeling I'm certain I shared with everyone in the stadium, helplessly watching while the bases loaded up and Estevez struggled to throw effective strikes. I tried to comfort myself by adopting a philosophical detachment - "that's baseball"- but it clouded my entire evening. And I'm not even that much of a fan! I just chose the Angels because I currently live in California, and because Shohei is on the team!
So it was pleasant to read this, and be reminded that things can sometimes be worse. I hope the journey is successful.
I had the chance to see Ohtani in person when the Angels played Atlanta on Monday. It was not a particularly good game, at least not as far as interesting offense was concerned--the Braves' bats were anemic, and most of the Angels' runs came from straight solo shots. But Shohei was electric, even though he was walked intentionally twice by a craven (or prudent) Charlie Morton. In his other at-bats, he went 2-3, and was robbed of a three-run homer when Michael Harris II reached over the outfield wall. I suppose there's theoretically enough money in the world, foreign currency included, to pay Ohtani when he hits free agency, but it won't be what he's worth.
I feel your pain. I got such excruciating identification from reading and chuckling (what a great word) through your description of the whole VEVO or no VEVO experience. I wish you and your son the best and may God speed you into Australia without problems. Thank you for sharing your world.
Enjoy your trip! Be cautious of drop-bears!
There’s nothing so terrifying as those predatory koalas.
being indian, i’m more of a cricket fanatic myself, but ohtani shohei has surely made me take a second look at baseball.
praying all goes well with your arrival and sojourn in australia.
Thanks so much.
Items 1-5 seem to be a Monty Python skit that I am sure is buried somewhere in the archives.
There were times, while I was on hold, when I couldn’t help but break out in the Philosophers’ Song.
Will you be giving any talks at the philosophy department of the University of Woolamaloo?
No. What a wonderful name, though.
Well I do hope you have a great time, God willing!
I recommend a stroll in the Botanic Gardens next to the Opera House. It's a beaut spot - I worked there as a labourer many decades ago, clearing the ground for the pyramid greenhouse. And the Blue mtns are spectacular...
David sorry to hear of your tedious adventure with the Australian bureaucracy as they can be surprisingly helpful.
Nevertheless we very much look forward to hosting you and Patrick “Downunder” and hope you both have a rewarding, stimulating and relaxing experience and of course, the sun shines.
In expectation I’m reading The Experience of God again and after They All Shall be Saved look forward to a reprise of You are Gods.
Since you mentioned your engagement with certain aspects of indigenous affairs, I hope you will also have the opportunity to explore contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander art — including the prismatic exuberance of Emily Kame Kngwarreye's prolific oeuvre, produced largely during the final decade of her life! (Redolent of lush, flower-stippled verdure blooming in profusion during the northern Australian monsoon season, her masterpiece "Earth's Creation" deploys a nuanced yet deeply idiosyncratic iconography that distills insights from the ceremonial lore entrusted to her as an Anmatyerre elder in her clan country of Alhalkere.) That said, I'm also a fan of the numinous geometric formations that endow such mesmeric intensity to Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri's reticular configurations of Tingari "tjukurrpa" (Dreamtime songline) motifs. (Of course, Tjapaltjarri is perhaps best known as a member of the nomadic Pintupi "nine", who maintained a traditional lifestyle in the Gibson & Great Sandy Deserts of western Australia and sedulously eschewed any contact with non-Aboriginal Australians until 1984, although it is his meticulous artistic practice — initially forged in the crucible of Papunya Tula, where so many Western Desert painters found their métier, and subsequently exported to the rest of the country (and beyond) — that surely justifies his claim to fame today.) In any case, I look forward to your antipodean dispatches!
Any plans to visit the mens’ shed in Goroke and receive a beer from MURNANE??
'Twere paradise enow.
Enjoy your Australia jaunt! The satellite photo of Australia you included elicited a memory of something I once read, which is that if you look at the silhouette of Australia the western half of the continent looks like a Scottish Terrier dog and the east half looks like a cat coughing up a hairball (the hairball being Tasmania). This is one of those memes that, once you've read it, you can't un-see it. Sorry.
I once saw a video (made by my favourite Australian band, King Gizzard) of a magnificent butterfly mini-zoo in the Melbourne zoo. It looked absolutely exquisite. If you are in Melbourne, check it out.