Earth: Home or Fantasy? |
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Adventures in University and the great outdoors. "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself Any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who'll decide where to go ..." - Dr. Seuss 
Great Adventures Chic Chocs 2002 X-C Skiing Trip Report Chic Chocs 2003 Telemark Trip Report Patagonia Cycling Trip 2004 (Posted by Nick and Andrew) European Cycling Trip 2005 ---------- Bio Who: Benjamin Heumann Where: McGill University, Montreal, Quebec Why: Graduate School Major Malfunctions: Snow, Telemark Skiing, Snoeshowing, monkeys, Winter Camping, Back Country Skiing, Hiking, Cycling, monkeys, Sea Kayaking, and Rivers (river monkeys). e-mail:benjamin.heumann [at] mail.mcgill.ca Current Reading:The Star Diaries Lem Books of Note (Recently Read): The Futurological Congress, Lem Before Mao, Patrick Lescot Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro Plot Against America, Phillip Roth The Great Shark Hunt Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, R.I.P. Stranger in a Strange LandRobert A. Heilein Give War A Chance PJ O'Rourke Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Animal Farm Reefer Madness Cadillac Desert Ender's Game (again) Kingdom of Fear ------------ Links School Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre Homepage Other Internet Readings "When you think of how many kids died drinking alcohol, I feel I've saved millions of lives," -Tommy Chong
Archives
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Monday, November 12, 2007
END OF BLOG: I've blogged for a number of years now. At first it was mostly personal, then more on world topics and geography. I've had many trip blogs including my adventures this summer. With each year, I try to perfect things in my life. I feel that my blog is still very rough...without focus. So, I'm giving up for now. I may recreate this blog in a more geography/global environment topic focus, along the lines of my research. I was going to take the blog down, but people started complaining and its still the #1 google hit for my name. Tuesday, May 15, 2007
COLD WAR, PART DEUX?: The headline today on the BBC was that the US would go ahead with its missile defense of Europe despite tensions with Russia. At what point did our missile defense actually "work" such that we could deploy it over Europe. And why does Russia give a shit knowing that the missile defense doesn't actually "work", unless you count almost hitting a missile from which the destination was known ahead of time. Monday, May 14, 2007
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Thursday, March 08, 2007
ALASKA: My summer plans are to cycling and paddle up in the North. While I'd prefer to hang out on the Canadian side, sort of a farewell to this country I love so much, I have a free flight to Alaska thanks to NWA. This is the first time I've earned enough frequent flyer miles to get a free trip. Granted, this really should have happened three years ago when I flew on Delta to South America (NWA and Delta have an agreement on SA travel), but NWA gave me the run around on the miles until the time expired. I made up the points with round trip travel twice from Montreal to Detroit, Montreal to New Orleans (pre-Katrina) and Copenhagen to NYC. The flight that pushed me over was from Montreal to Madison, WI, my recruitment visit last month - thanks guys! Tuesday, February 20, 2007
AT LEAST ONE POST FOR FEBRUARY: Not much posting. I've been really busy with lecturing (see below), some research, visiting prospective universities (UWisc - had a great visit, in case anyone from SAGE happens to read this ;) and UNC - visiting March 1st - 4th), and becoming a normal social human being again, which means going out to dinner, seeing movies, going to the bar to hear music rather than drown my academic pains, and even *gasp* dating. Also, I've been approached by too many people to really post anything personal anymore (a professor in my department who just discovered Google has now read this blog, and all of the links including a trip report from last summer for paddling on the Petawawa River, in which I placed a video via YouTube of my friends Erica and Anthony navigating some rapids rather...umm...uniquely shall we say...Erica is in said professor's class and has had to face some embarrassment due to the publicity of her paddling skills) and I don't have the initiative to make this a more professional oriented type blog. On the subject that this blog claims to be, adventures in the great outdoors and university, I have had some great skiing and snowshoeing over the last week. Too bad I leave tomorrow for 6 days in the Arizona desert...it seemed like a good idea when there wasn't any snow here...then between 6 inches and 5 feet fell last week within a two hour drive of Montreal - damn.  from PhDcomics.com (how can Jorge read my mind? kidding, actually I kind of enjoy lecturing although it can be a bit intense...mostly just annoying though because I have to be on top of my game all the time even though only 1/4 of the students are on top of theirs).  thank goodness I had the sense not to date one of my students (in case you don't read this comic regularly, the guy is the boyfriend and prof of the girl on the left)... Monday, January 08, 2007
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
ANOTHER POINTLESS QUIZ:
Friday, December 22, 2006
WHERE'S THE F^%$ING SNOW!? Although I am susceptible to the December blues, I've felt pretty chipper this year. Part of it might have to do with the fact that I get a good 2 hours more sunlight than December last year (I was living in Sweden). Or it might have to do with the fact that I'm pissed off that there isn't any snow in Michigan or Montreal. God damn it, its December and I demand snow. Seeing all the beautiful white fluffy stuff on Mt. Hood and in Denver on the television is just pissng me off all the more. I bought a season ski pass and Jay Peak only has 10 runs open! Honestly, I feel like I should just give up skiing because by the time I have children, there won't be any snow in the East. LATE NIGHT NEWS: I'm not really one for television. I really only watch a few shows regularly, such as the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, or House and Battlestar Galactica which I download for commercial free-season long watching. In particular, I very rarely watch television news when in Canada, let alone the US. Although I do enjoy The National on CBC on occasion, I find I can read about the stories that really interest me in greater depth than any news program can provide. Furthermore, I never watch the late night news. However, I did catch the first 10 minutes of the 11 o'clock news from Detroit last night (I'm staying with my grandma for a few days...when in Rome...). In five minutes they covered two murders and a baby that died from strangulation in a car window. I had forgotten how dark the Detroit late night news was and yet the lily white news casters manage to still smile and continue on. Its depressing to watch a city/state die. Saturday, December 09, 2006
A TENT!? From the BBC, Kazakhstan, is building the latest monument to its energy wealth, a giant tent. Only a brutally cold, barren country famous for the destruction of an entire sea and being constantly invaded by roaming hordes like Genghis Khan would even conceive of such a structure and find it a luxury. The luxury here being summer year-round as the tent will have a dozen football fields, canal, cafes, and other summer-time pleasures. In other words, it is the Kazakh version of the Mall of America. Tuesday, December 05, 2006
JET SETTER OR EARTH DESTROYER 2007? In 2005, I flew a record 18 segments including two round-trip transatlantic flights. In 2006, I haven't flown yet. Where does 2007 stand? Well, I just booked two flights, one back to the GA3 (Greater Ann Arbor Area) for the winter break and to Phoenix to visit my mom in February. In the planed travel department, I hope to be flying to Germany and Sweden in April/May for work/conferences (there will be other European travel, but most likely by train). In addition, I'm planning on cycling from Seattle to Inuvik, NWT in May/June, with flights to and from Seattle and a flight back from Inuvik. I'm also applying to Ph.D programs and I will need to visit University of Wisconsin - Madison and University of North Carolina. All of this destructive travel from a guy that wants to study impacts of environmental degradation on human well-being. At least I'll sleep well at night knowing I'm doing my part as a white westerner to destroy the earth just like everybody else... Friday, December 01, 2006
OSAMA LIVES IN MY SOCK DRAWER: Your 'Do You Want the Terrorists to Win' Score: 100% You are a terrorist-loving, Bush-bashing, "blame America first"-crowd traitor. You are in league with evil-doers who hate our freedoms. By all counts you are a liberal, and as such cleary desire the terrorists to succeed and impose their harsh theocratic restrictions on us all. You are fit to be hung for treason! Luckily George Bush is tapping your internet connection and is now aware of your thought-crime. Have a nice day.... in Guantanamo! Thursday, November 30, 2006
ACCEPTED!(AND PEER-REVIEWED): I just got my first peer-reviewed scientific article accepted to Remote Sensing of Environment, the most prestigious journal in remote sensing! or I should say my first, first-authored article, since technically, I've been a co-author on a peer-reviewed publication, but I was fourth author of six or seven. Wednesday, November 29, 2006
PLOT AGAINST AMERICA: Despite being overwhelmed with work these days, I have made read for pleasure a priority. My mom gave me Plot Against America for Chanukah (a little early, but everyday is Chanukah, no?) by Phillip Roth. The book is an alternate history of the World War II era under the premise that Hilter sympathizer Charles Lindbergh is elected in the 1940 election rather than F.D.R. The story is told from the childhood viewpoint of the author growing up in a Jewish neighborhood of Newark. I've read a few books of this genre, the "what ifs" of World War II and overall this is by far the best written, both in terms of prose and plausibility. The author did substantial research on the main political actors involved and creates an image of an almost Nazi America. The book is filled with detailed images of life for a Jewish family in an atmosphere for 1930's Germany, but in 1940's America. There are moving scenes of a family battling to remain together as each individual attempts to deal with uncontrollable external forces from the leaders of a nation they love and have sworn they allegiance to. The story is a good reminder about how strong anti-Semitism was before WWII, even in the US. Moreover, the book is a good reminder why we need to be aware of rising anti-Semitism particularly during this period when anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment are all too often lumped together. FAST FOOD NATION: I saw Fast Food Nation on Monday night as part of the DLE movie night (although I was the only one from DLE to go). I read the book while cycling solo across France and Germany in the summer of 2004. It may have been the loneliness of solo travel, but I found the book incredibly engaging with vivid narratives of all aspects of the fast food industry from the meat processing to franchise agreements. Although the author of the book Eric Schlosser was co-writer of the screenplay, the movie version was disappointing. The movie followed the model of recent movies like Crash and Syriana, using several seemingly unrelated characters to illustrate a place/space from multiple perspectives. While this technique was touching in many ways (I found myself attached to the characters throughout the movie), I felt that the fictionalization of the book distracted from the message. While the the book was chocked full of facts and details of the industry described in such detail that I am still hesitant to eat meat every time I lift a fork of steak, the movie only implied how the industry worked and rather relied on empathy for the characters to stir emotion against fast food. In particular, I found the images of the meat packing plant to be rather unmoving. Certainly if one has never seen images of a slaughter house, then watching a steer get killed, strung up, bled out, and the hide removed would be disturbing. On the other hand, if one has seen these images before, especially from historical or developing contexts, than the meat packing plant doesn't seem all that bad relatively since either way, you still have to kill the steer bleed it to butcher it. The one area I felt that the movie really could have used more material from the book was how the system of franchises works. I found that part of the book most interesting because it shows how the large fast food chains are trying to push a product but rather are in the business of real estate and its up to the franchise owners to turn a profit while being confined to corporate policy. Overall, I did enjoy the movie and certainly would recommend it despite its faults. It may not hit the fast food industry like the book, or immigration issues like The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, but it does portray the injustice and soulless power of the fast food industry in a compelling and effectively manner. On a side note, I also recommend Eric Schlosser's other book Reefer Madness which examines the underground economy of marijuana, strawberries, and pornography. Tuesday, November 21, 2006
MONDAY MOVIE: So despite all my complaining yesterday about Cinema du Parc, my roommate and neighbors have agreed to make Monday nights our movie night out (since it only costs us $3.50 each). The new Cinema du Parc is a far cry from the old one. The cool old movie posters are gone, replaced by portraits of independent film actors (*yawn*). The concession stand is minimal, which is fine because I'm a cheap skate anyway. We saw For Your Consideration, a movie about a production crew that gets all excited about a rumour that someone might be nominated for an Oscar. It was amusing, but little more and not worth another word of text. Wait for video unless you can see it for $3.50. Sunday, November 19, 2006
LESSON LEARNED?: Montreal's only English repertory film house Cinema du Parc, recently re-opened its doors after going out of business in August. Management stated that attendance had dropped because of competition from internet downloading and the AMC-22 which shows first-run independent films. When I first arrived in Montreal in the fall of 2000, Cinema du Parc offered inexpensive tickets ($6 or 12 for $48) and a schedule that varied daily filled with first run independent films, foreign classics, and an assortment of favorites such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Princess Bride, and The Big Lebowski. In 2003, Cinema du Parc was bought out by Ex-Centris, Montreal's fancy French repertory cinema. The theatre was renovated, the prices increased by more than 50% and the programming steadily declined from a fun bag of films that made the Cinema du Parc schedule into an agenda for the month to a boring one film in each of the three theatres for an entire month at a time. While it is true that I have gone to Cinema du Parc less frequently since the arrival of bit torrent, most of the movies I now watch at home, I would gladly pay $6 to see on a big screen, if they were shown. The most recent incarnation of Cinema du Parc has some noticeable improvements such as 2 for 1 deals on Sundays and Mondays and a new movie pass - 8 movies for $40. When I checked out the latest schedule last night, I was disappointed. Three first run independent films, only one of which was not from the US (but a local film instead), no late night cult classics, no Tuesday retro movies, nothing that differentiates Cinema du Parc from the AMC-22 except its location and older theatres. The crux of the matter is that Cinema du Parc resides in the middle of the McGill Ghetto adjacent to the Plateau-Montreal. Funky films at funky prices is a business plan that made, and will make, Cinema du Parc popular and profitable. It will drag people away from their computer and the AMC-22. Too bad the new management hasn't figured that out... Tuesday, October 31, 2006
MORE ELECTION BLOGGING: This election, Michigan will be voting on Proposition 2, which seeks to end affirmative action for public and private institutions. In theory, race should not matter, we are all equal under the law (or God if thats your thing). But the state of Michigan is the most segregated state in the US. Detroit's population is 83% African-American. The Detroit schools are an embarrassment, and students in Detroit have little chance of receiving the preparation they need to attend first class schools like the University of Michigan. While it may seem unfair to accept an under-qualified black student over a qualified white student, where is the justice for those who don't receive the opportunity to learn. Let's face it, Detroit is a hell-hole because northern whites could not and obviously cannot get over their blatant racism. Why else would an entire community uproot itself from a vibrant city to the land of McMansions in the 810. I attending three school districts in Washtenaw county as a child - Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Chelsea. While I was a eager and able student in all three of these districts, there was a clear difference in racial composition, resources, and expectation of achievement in these schools. Why is it that in Ypsilanti the absolute best make it to Eastern Michigan or if they are lucky UM while their counterparts in Chelsea look out of state (like myself) or settle for UM. When California passed a ban on affirmative action, UC Berkeley saw a marked drop in the number of minority students that attend the school. Is this good for a state; a nation? Do we want to continue to increase the divide between races along class lines? Its is true that affirmative action does not provide equal opportunity. But does a student from Detroit really have equal educational and economic opportunities in a system built on longstanding racism. Give others a chance. Vote no on Prop 2. |
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