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Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

matduggan.com

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Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#141

Post by sema4hacker »

ryangibb wrote: post #12

> The second I stepped outside I was set upon by a flood of mosquitos like I have never experienced before. I have been to the jungles of Vietnam, the swamps of Florida and the Canadian countryside. This was beyond anything I've ever experienced. > There are bugs in my mouth, ears, eyes and nose almost immediately. The photo below is not me being dramatic, it is actually what is required to keep them off of me. > In…

In the 70's we visited relatives in northern Minnesota and took a .22 rifle to a dump, I think to shoot rats. So many mosquitos would immediately land on us and the rifle that you couldn't see the sight on the end of the barrel. We got out of there quick.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#142

Post by mothballed »

1123581321 wrote: post #132
Arainach wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then again, that stretch also has Gary. Having grown up in that area of the Midwest, I largely agree with the author's categorization, except that "people on their way to somewhere better who got tired and decided this was good enough" describes a LOT of the midwest, not just Indiana. Significant chunks of Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri, most of Iowa/Kansas/Nebraska, etc. If you read the history of westward expansion,…

Gary is also interesting, though. It used to be interesting for good economic and cultural reasons, then bad reasons. Now it's experiencing some revitalization in the manner of Detroit or Rockford, which might actually make it more boring, though better to live in. I thought the Indiana aside was odd as an objective assessment, but it worked well as a flavorful bit of travel writing to help me understand the perspect…

Gary is fine during the day compared to a lot of the surrounding areas because the population is actually fairly diverse. White, black, latino, there are enough of you that it's possible to blend in as long as you dress poor enough. If you aren't into drugs or banging and out during daylight hours and don't flash valuable you'll probably be fine.

Vs. say some parts Cleveland, where I've been robbed at gunpoint the second my vehicle broke down and people noticed I'm not from around there.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#143

Post by Arainach »

kyledrake wrote: post #105
Arainach wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then again, that stretch also has Gary. Having grown up in that area of the Midwest, I largely agree with the author's categorization, except that "people on their way to somewhere better who got tired and decided this was good enough" describes a LOT of the midwest, not just Indiana. Significant chunks of Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri, most of Iowa/Kansas/Nebraska, etc. If you read the history of westward expansion,…

It's really easy to write off a giant part of the country that millions of people live in as tired (and the implication underneath is usually "backward"), it's also dehumanizing them and makes assumptions about their quality of life when it might actually be a lot better than the people making these assumptions. Spend some time not just driving through them, and one may be surprised to find plenty of diverse and inte…

I lived in the area for more than 20 years, have annually visited family living there for my entire life even after I left, and consider myself quite qualified to comment on the area, the people who live there, and their culture, thanks.

I've traveled a lot through the area. I was throughout Ohio earlier this year, spent two weeks in Illinois last year, etc.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#144

Post by QuantumNomad_ »

iagooar wrote: post #83

I have been to northern Norway and Iceland a few times. It all started when I was running my previous SaaS at the peak of its growth. I needed a break, and wanted to go far away, while still being close enough if sh*t hit the fan. My co-founder had recently talked to some friends who had been to Tromsø, Norway. The place looked perfect, so I booked a 5-day solo trip there. Places that are so distant, with such harsh…

> Feeling small made me feel calm

Completely agree. I’ve been on many hikes and in particular there was one time where I was walking up a mountain, at winter, with skis on, that I felt like wow if everyone got to experience this particular feeling of just you and the mountains and not a single soul around, there would be less conflict in the world. If we all got to go on these long solitary trips in the mountains alone. All kinds of grievances and conflicts and whatever you might feel about people that you dislike, it all suddenly feels so insignificant and pointless to even expend any energy on.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#145

Post by dr_dshiv »

mothballed wrote: post #142
1123581321 wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gary is also interesting, though. It used to be interesting for good economic and cultural reasons, then bad reasons. Now it's experiencing some revitalization in the manner of Detroit or Rockford, which might actually make it more boring, though better to live in. I thought the Indiana aside was odd as an objective assessment, but it worked well as a flavorful bit of travel writing to help me understand the perspect…

Gary is fine during the day compared to a lot of the surrounding areas because the population is actually fairly diverse. White, black, latino, there are enough of you that it's possible to blend in as long as you dress poor enough. If you aren't into drugs or banging and out during daylight hours and don't flash valuable you'll probably be fine. Vs. say some parts Cleveland, where I've been robbed at gunpoint the se…

Cleveland rocks!

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#146

Post by spacechild1 »

WalterBright wrote: post #57
Simon_O_Rourke wrote: post #27

Beautiful, but definitely not worth invading or sending our troops to take over, if you don't awfully mind Mr. President.

Somebody is likely to take it at some point, for strategic military and resource purposes.

What kind of argument is that!?

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#147

Post by sema4hacker »

ck2 wrote: post #3

fun-fact: CIA is currently mucking around in Greenland trying to get rid of people against annexation this is not going to end well https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j9l08902eo https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-polit...

In spite of wanna-be-kings like Putin and Trump, the obvious historical trend is for larger empires and countries to break up into smaller independent ones.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#148

Post by [deleted] »

threemux wrote: post #119
pcrh wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Greenland needs protection from whom? The only country threatening it is the US.

The Arctic will be the battleground and trade route of the future as it warms. Being associated with the US is preferable to the other options (Russia, China most likely). There won't be an option of the status quo.

[deleted]

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#149

Post by Metacelsus »

tokai wrote: post #29

«This would end up being a theme, where buildings representing Denmark were made out of lots of wood, almost to ensure that you understood they weren't from here.» Wooden buildings is much more of a Swedish or Norwegian thing than Danish. Wood is just a good material for building in the arctic.

hence, "Norwegian wood"?

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#150

Post by sandworm101 »

Arainach wrote: post #26
tptacek wrote: post #5

It's funny to me that in portraying Indiana as a "blank state" he's highlighting one of the most beautiful parts of the state (the route through the Dunes along the Michigan lakefront; if you've seen "Road To Perdition", you know what that area looks like). It's not important to the article, a complete tangent, but I can't not call that out.

Then again, that stretch also has Gary. Having grown up in that area of the Midwest, I largely agree with the author's categorization, except that "people on their way to somewhere better who got tired and decided this was good enough" describes a LOT of the midwest, not just Indiana. Significant chunks of Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri, most of Iowa/Kansas/Nebraska, etc. If you read the history of westward expansion,…

Good enough, but also the abject fear of seeing the rocky mountains rear up from the plains. For someone walking beside a wagon in late summer, a horizon of tree and snow-covered mountains topped with jagged peaks would seem like the end of the earth.
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