The first one is about the hidden rules of classes: Upper, Middle and Poor. This is a theory developed by Ruby Payne based on simple observations.
In poverty, the present is most important. In the middle class, it’s the future. In wealth, it’s the past. The key question about food in poverty: Did you have enough? In the middle class: Did you like it? In wealth: Was it presented well?
A lot about this theory seems true. For a more details, read one of the pdfs here.
The second one is a thesis about the unique achievement of the human condition in America, based on a book "The Age of Abundance: How Prosperity Transformed America’s Politics and Culture". Regarding the material abundance of America, the author says
... in the second half of the 20th century, America left the “realm of necessity” and entered the “realm of freedom.” Americans “live on the far side of a great fault line” separating them from all prior human experience.
We visited the San Diego County Fair at Del Mar Fairgrounds on Sunday. We got there around 230pm, and parking was a breeze. The ticket initially seemed a bit steep at $12, but given the amount of stuff inside, it was worth it.
As per one friend of Prachee, this fair is a redneck oriented event. Our initial impressions were quite consistent with this. As we entered, we saw a display of farm animals, including a very large pig, a barnful of goats and cows and this ostritch race. And there was also a camel race with some white guys calling themselves Mohommad and Ahab, trying some fake-Arab accents and with a shabby colored "Arab" dresses. Quite lacking in taste.
Anyway, after this we ran into the San Diego County's exhibits from local artists. The paintings, photographs and wood-craft were particularly impressive. And the gems display added a touch of science to the art, with some fossils and pretty mineral formations.
The fair also had (as every fair must) a lot of food stalls, including corn-on-the-cob, funnel cake, apple fries and all others one may expect at such a show. But the only healthy stuff to eat was the grass that the goats were eating. Everything else was a calorie bomb dipped in LDL syrup. Did I mention the redneck part?
There was also a section with small roller coasters, bungee jump from a crane, and other miscellaneous ways to get your internal organs thrown around. These rides were set up temporarily and move around every month to a new fair, and it seems shameful that the much hyped Appu Ghar can not do any better.
Talking of desh, there was a phenomenal lack of desis here. You can hardly go to any tourist spot in San Diego without seeing the customary aunty in saree. Be it Walmart or La Jolla or Wild Animal Park, desis are everywhere. It may take a separate post on the class-consciousness of desis to explain this.
Overall, the fair visit was very good, and it is certainly a good way to spend a day. And if you divulge your address and phone to local telemarketers, you get a coupon for one more entry. Maybe I will take that up to check out one of the music concerts or maybe embrace my inner redneck and see a bull-riding contest or giant truck race.
