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The Spell of the Sensuous, by David Abrams May 30, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , 1 comment so far


A friend recommended this, partly because of the explanation of the ideas of Merleau-Ponty, and because we were having a debate about the primacy of the ‘rationalistic’ point of view.

Abrams ideas begin, at least to anyone who’s been looking at green philosophy in the last few decades, sounding fairly reasonable.  We have lost our connection to the ecology and landscape within which we live and, unlike pre-literate societies, we no longer see ourselves as part of a greater conversation with the world around us.  We separate the perceiver and the perceived, and do not recognise the influence they have on each other.  More controversially, this is due to the rise of ‘alphabetic civilisation’ where, with the advent of literacy, our perception has been increasingly abstracted from the things we perceive, and we have become introverted and focused on artifacts rather than the natural world.<–more–>

As I read the book, I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated.  The glorification of ‘indigenous society’ as somehow highly in tune with the natural world in a way that ‘Western’ society is not started to pall.  How in tune with the natural world is urban Indian civilisation?  Why has the rise of the Greek alphabet and Christian civilisation let to such great disarray and yet there is no mention of Sanskrit and its derivatives throughout South and East Asia?  What of the vast mass of Europeans who, until the last couple of hundred years, were illiterate anyway?  And the Moa, hunted to extinction by Maori before Europeans arrived, would be very interested to hear that oral societies are always careful to maintain ecologies. 

Just when I was near the end, and grateful to get there, Abrams pulls a stunt worthy of a shoddy novelist, and tells us that in fact he’s not presenting a thesis to be taken as fact, and is well aware that there are other influences on our estrangement from nature, including industrialisation and urbanisation.  He even acknowledges that oral cultures take a while to achieve a balance with their environments (or perhaps die out trying).  In fact, he’s just presenting a story, a different way of thinking about the world.  We can all wake up from the dream.

His final few pages are surprisingly inspiring, as he pleads that we return to awareness of our environment and not allow ourselves to be estranged from the world around.  Even if living in a city, we are still part of an ecology and a landscape.  London floods because it is on the flood plain of the Thames, and clay does not absorb water well.  There is soil beneath the concrete and tar, and sometimes living things peer through.

The book is worthwhile for the introduction to Merleau-Ponty alone, and that’s something I intend to pursue a little further.   The idea is that there is no disembodied self, that all experience is physical and that everything we know about the world is based on observation made physically, and that observation is of another physical entity which participates in the act of observation.  I need to think a little more on that one, and to try to understand why my friend thought that was somehow opposed to rational views of the world.

So, I find myself with a couple more books to read, and perhaps review later.

Why Truth Matters and
Merleau-Ponty (A Guide for the Perplexed)

I also spent a little time in Waterstones looking at Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Cheng Wei-shih Lun (RoutledgeCurzon Critical Studies in Buddhism)but not this time.

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If there were only three restaurants in London May 28, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants, London , 1 comment so far

If there were only three restaurants in London and one of them was Rasa, in the Vegetarian Republic of Stoke Newington, I think I’d be happy (especially if another one was Cafe Koha in Covent Garden, and I still had my two pubs).

Lindsey is newly arrived from Parts North, wild, possibly pictish lands beyond the Watford Gap, and certainly well outside the safety of the M25, so it was with some trepidation that we ventured down to Euston and caught the number 73 bus.  I think she’s catching on though, as she tells me she made it back from Oxford St to her home just north of here on a C2.  The 73 is not what it used to be, since the last of the friendly little routemasters was replaced by something long and bendy, but it is warmer, if not less crowded.  We wended our way through Islington and Hackney to Stoke Newington Church St, and the bright pink lights of Rasa, the best South Indian restaurant in London, if not outside India.

Rasa works best with a group of at least three, so you can share dishes and have a few to choose from, and Louise joined us.  We started with the poppadoms and pickles, which are very different from normal curry house ones.  I had a Rasam, the spicy pepper soup which is supposed to aid digestion, but is also very tasty and as hot as Thai Tom Yum.  We chose three curries.  Moru Kachiathu is made of green bananas and mangoes in a yoghurt sauce spiced with chilli.  This is probably my favourite, sweet but also spicy, not at all cloying and good with the lemon rice.  I had a variation of Baga Baingan, an aubergine curry in yoghurt and cashew sauce, at a Hyderabadi restaurant in a posh hotel in Pune once, and this is easily as good.  Finally, we had the Cheera Curry of paneer in a spinach and tomato sauce, less heavy than the other two, and still delicious. 

None of these were very hot, and we had a bottle of a South African Chenin Blanc with them, which was all right, though I’m never sure that wine is really the right thing with this type of food.  It is perhaps better to steer completely clear of overpowering alcohol and just drink lassis or fruit juice.

There is another Rasa restaurant across the road, the Rasa Travancore, which has meat and fish, but the one time I went there, it was disappointing.  Plain Rasa is well worth the trip.

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If there were only two pubs in London

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , 1 comment so far

If there were only two pubs in London, and one of them was the Norfolk Arms, I’d be happy.  Perhaps a little crowded, but happy.  Our wee Sunday lunch group doubled for yesterday’s event, and a dozen sat down at 2 (except the one who couldn’t find it and disappeared towards Tottenham Court Rd until about 3.30).  I had the fresh asparagus, just in season and full of flavour, followed by the roast pork.  A couple of industrial scale towers of oysters arrived for Aboodi and Dom, and many chose the roast beef, which looked a little well-done for my taste, but was much appreciated by those who had it. 

The wines star in this place.  When I arrived, Dom and Roger were already well into the Veuve Delaroy champagne, though we switched to a txacolina as the food arrived.  Apparently this should be poured from a great height, but that seems a terrible waste of wine when I try it, even if they put a pourer in the top.  The Gran Sasso Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, which I’ve had there before and always goes down well, was good with the meat.  Something went wrong with a bottle of rose, which was sent back from the other end of the table, but it wasn’t a day for roses anyway, with the rain lashing outside on this first weekend of the Great British Summer. 

A pleasant pudding wine from Casa de la Ermita Viognier in Jumilla, and then the dawning realisation that I really don’t like dry sherry very much.  It wasn’t the fault of the La Gitana Manzanilla, but I’m not convinced it should be in the same section of the wine list as the pudding wines and ports.  It might work before the meal, if you like that sort of thing, but not afterwards.  I think I was warned.

The Norfolk Arms never fails to live up to its reputation.   What more can I say?

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The ups and downs of wave power May 24, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Investing, Little Green Portfolio , add a comment

My holdings in Renewable Energy Holdings plc have been causing perplexity this week.  I topped up on this share early in February, and its been in the doldrums ever since.  However, a rather odd market announcement caused it to shoot up briefly, and I sold the shares I bought a couple of months ago for a nice wee 10% profit.  Now, its sunk back down again, and I notice that it oscillates in this way fairly regularly.

I normally operate a buy and hold strategy for the shares, but I think for this, I’ll try something new.  I’ve put in a buy order at 36p, and when I get it, I think I’ll  put in a sell order at 48p and see what happens.  It seems to fluctuate wildly on news which leads nowhere, although the underlying wave power technology for which I originally bought the stock still looks good.  I’m keeping a basic holding throughout, so if it does ever do what its supposed to do and the stock takes off, I’ll still have an intereste.

One of the nice people over at the Interactive Investors discussion board pointed out this site, which is the subsidiary of REH that owns the CETO technology, and explains it rather well, with a rather relaxing video of the power-generating buoys floating up and down in the water.  Go and have a look.

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Monteiths in the sun

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : London, New Zealand , add a comment

Now, as any kiwi knows, Monteiths is a wonderful brew.  I first tried it when I lived in Wellington in the eighties, an ale and a stout which, along with Macs Real Ale, were the only beers I was ever all that keen on.  Its a small brewery on the West Coast of the South Island and, along with pineapple lumps and proper Sanitarium marmite, I figured it was one of those nostalgic memories to enjoy on trips home or persuade friends to bring over occasionally.

When I was home a couple of years ago, I was delighted to discover their Summer Ales, clearly aimed at the female end of the market and right in their demographic with yours truly.

So imagine my pleasure when I arrived at the launch party for my latest project, at Corney and Barrow at the bottom of the Lloyd’s building, to discover a tin bath filled with the stuff.   Beats Pimms any day.

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Ecotricity May 21, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Green in the City , add a comment

For a few years now, I’ve had my electricity through Ecotricity.  They’re rather more green than normal green tariffs with maintream electricity companies, because they invest profits back into renewable energy and have been doing this for years - unlike the johnny-come-lately’s who are leaping on the green bandwagon now that its rolling fast.

But the best thing about them is that I am customer number 19496, rather than one of millions and when I call them up, they chat and are helpful.  The contrast between them and British Gas is so high, I’m tempted to get rid of the gas just to be able to deal with them all the time.

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Best Posts Updated May 1, 2007

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , 1 comment so far

I just updated the ‘best posts’ page to include a few more recent items, and remove some older ones that don’t really do it for me any more. I use Google Analytics on this site, to see the number of people visiting, and where they go. I don’t get a lot of hits - a steady 30-40 a day, plus 20 or so on the rss feed, so I won’t be rivalling the bbc any time soon - but its interesting to see what is interesting to others.

Some of the ones on the best posts page are popular, some are just ones I like. Go and have a look.