[Culturechat] Jim Kunstler's Thoughts, upon returning from Europe
Kk5qq@aol.com
Kk5qq@aol.com
Fri, 17 Dec 2004 11:00:43 EST
--part1_e0.9067964.2ef45cab_boundary
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
In a message dated 12/16/2004 7:16:57 PM Central Standard Time,
WesTexas@aol.com quotes Jim Kunstler:
> In Paris there was hardly a Santa to be seen, or a carol to be heard
I wonder if this was partially the result of the official French government
suppression of ALL forms of religious trappings in public life? Many familiar
Christmas carols do have "sacred concepts" in the words.
otoh, Santa Claus should be strictly secular, although Jay Leno recently
showed a small plastic Nativity Scene bought at a dollar store that -- in addition
to the Baby Jesus, Wise Men, etc. -- had a Santa figure.
PS for the Culturechat group: I, like "WesTexas," am familiar with the
so-called "Upstream" end of oil the business -- having worked in drilling and
production in West Texas among other places. I share his concerns, as asserted by
Kunstler and others, that the "End of Suburbia" and "Peak Oil" scenarios likely
will come in our lifetimes. We won'timmediately run out of fossil fuels once
the global demand exceeds the easily-deliverable supply, but the cost of
energy will go way up, as is taught about supply-and-demand curves in Econ 101.
Then we in the USA will wish we were like the Europeans with good rapid transit
and a walking culture.
Having said all that, and mindful of the contrasts drawn by Kunstler, I'm
about to drive in my SUV wearing some old Levi's to a pizza parlor for a lunch
that won't do my waistline or cholesterol count any good! But Hey! Isn't pizza
European food? There are no restaurants with handy walking distance because
my suburban town's zoning laws discourage businesses in the middle of
neighborhoods, and it's not very safe to get there by bicycle because there aren't any
dedicated bike lanes or paths.
Irv Smith
Missouri City TX
--part1_e0.9067964.2ef45cab_boundary
Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<HTML><FONT FACE=3Darial,helvetica><HTML><FONT SIZE=3D3 PTSIZE=3D12 FAMILY=
=3D"SCRIPT" FACE=3D"Comic Sans MS" LANG=3D"0">In a message dated 12/16/2004=20=
7:16:57 PM Central Standard Time, WesTexas@aol.com quotes Jim Kunstler:<BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=3DCITE style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT=
: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"></FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000"=
BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3D2 PTSIZE=3D10 F=
AMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0">In Paris there was hardly a Sa=
nta to be seen, or a carol to be heard</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR:=20=
#ffffff" SIZE=3D3 PTSIZE=3D12 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0"=
><BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR=3D"#000000" BACK=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR:=20=
#ffffff" SIZE=3D3 PTSIZE=3D12 FAMILY=3D"SCRIPT" FACE=3D"Comic Sans MS" LANG=
=3D"0"><BR>
I wonder if this was partially the result of the official French government=20=
suppression of ALL forms of religious trappings in public life? Many f=
amiliar Christmas carols do have "sacred concepts" in the words.<BR>
<BR>
otoh, Santa Claus should be strictly secular, although Jay Leno recently sho=
wed a small plastic Nativity Scene bought at a dollar store that -- in addit=
ion to the Baby Jesus, Wise Men, etc. -- had a Santa figure.<BR>
<BR>
PS for the Culturechat group: I, like "WesTexas," am familiar with the=
so-called "Upstream" end of oil the business -- having worked in drilling a=
nd production in West Texas among other places. I share his concerns, as ass=
erted by Kunstler and others, that the "End of Suburbia" and "Peak Oil" scen=
arios likely will come in our lifetimes. We won'timmediately run out o=
f fossil fuels once the global demand exceeds the easily-deliverable supply,=
but the cost of energy will go way up, as is taught about supply-and-demand=
curves in Econ 101. Then we in the USA will wish we were like the Eur=
opeans with good rapid transit and a walking culture.<BR>
<BR>
Having said all that, and mindful of the contrasts drawn by Kunstler, I'm ab=
out to drive in my SUV wearing some old Levi's to a pizza parlor for a lunch=
that won't do my waistline or cholesterol count any good! But Hey!&nb=
sp; Isn't pizza European food? There are no restaurants with handy wal=
king distance because my suburban town's zoning laws discourage businesses i=
n the middle of neighborhoods, and it's not very safe to get there by bicycl=
e because there aren't any dedicated bike lanes or paths.<BR>
<BR>
Irv Smith<BR>
Missouri City TX</FONT></HTML>
--part1_e0.9067964.2ef45cab_boundary--