...not because of any physical ailment (I'm fine) but because it has taken me two weeks to put this post together. That is a lifetime in Blogland. I hope that all of my too few readers have not found greener pastures in the interim. Also, there was (were?) a lot of data to be sorted through and it was easy to get bogged down in the minutiae.
Nevertheless, I have forged bravely ahead and the post is now more or less complete. Be prepared to be deluged with a lot of absolutely trivial information, unless you are interested in that sort of thing. I guess I will find out in the comments.
I know there are a lot of big countries with a lot of people (Indonesia, Russia, and Brazil come to mind) but I have confined my ramblings in this post to four. Oh, by the way, the general subject of this post is people, populations, and big cities in particular. I hope you will read all the way through to the end.
If you just can't do it, come back again later and try again with my next post. I am nothing if not flexible.
In round figures (which I have chosen to use for the sake of keeping things simple even though the numbers are only approximate and not precise) the UK has around (translation: not quite) 70 million (70M) people, the US has around (translation: somewhat less than) 350 million (350M) people, and India and China each have around (translation for India: a little less than; translation for China: a little more than) 1.4 billion (1.4B a.k.a. 1,400M) people. Put another way, the US has about five times the population of the UK, and India and China each have about four times the population of the US. If you multiply the five and the four together, you duscover that India and China each have about 20 times the population of the UK. If you prefer mathematics over verbiage, the equations 70 x 5 =350, 350 x 4 = 1,400 and 70 x 20 = 1,400 provide proof.
That being the case, I wondered whether, when it comes to the category Cities With More Than A Million People, it might follow as the night the day that similar relationships also exist. That is, whatever number of such urban enclaves might exist in the UK, I wondered whether five times the UK number exist in the US and whether 20 times the UK number exist in India and in China.
In a word, no.
In the UK, if you consider what one site calls Urban Agglomerations (comparable to Metropolitan Areas in the US), there are five such places: Greater London (9.3M), Greater Manchester (2.7M), Greater Birmngham (2.6M), Greater Leeds (1.9M), and Greater Glasgow (1.7M). However, if you consider core cities only and ignore all the surrounding suburbs and urban agglomeration (removing the "Greater" aspect, so to speak), then the UK has only one such place, London. Seven other core cities exceed 500,000: Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield, Bristol, Glasgow, and Leicester.
In the US as of 2021 there are 11 core cities with over 1M population: New York City (NY), Los Angeles (CA), Chicago (IL), Houston (TX), Phoenix (AZ), Philadelphia (PA), San Antonio (TX), San Diego (CA), Dallas (TX), Austin (TX), and San Jose (CA). Notice the preponderance of cities in California and Texas. Fort Worth (TX) just missed being on the list. There are 56 Metropolitan Statistical Areas with more than a million people and 38 core cities that exceed 500,000 (I live near Atlanta, which is number 37).
India and China, needless to say, are in a class by themselves.
India has 48 core cities (not urban agglomerations) with more than a million people--including mega-cities like Mumbai (24M) and Delhi (20M) and Calcutta (15M) and Bangalore (14M)--and 98 cities that exceed 500,000.
By my count of a list I found online of the estimated population of cities in China, there are 66 with more than a million people (ten have more than 10M each) and 129 cities that exceed 500,000. At the top of the heap are Shanghai (27M) and Beijing (20M).
It is absolutely mind-boggling to me to realize (British, realise) that one-third of the population of the entire world live in two countries, India and China. It's true. One point four billion (1.4B) people plus one point four billion (1.4B) people is two point eight billion (2.8B) people--correct me if I'm wrong--and the current estimate of the world population is around (there's that word again) eight billion (8B) people. As I said, mind-boggling.
I consider myself to be fairly well-informed, but I have never heard of most of the very large cities in India and China (I won't bore you with their names). And every person in every place all over the world has a name and a face and is living an individual life, sometimes in the most unimaginable and appalling of circumstances. Adrian Ward, take note: we are all very small cogs in a very big machine. I will try to remember that in the future.
In my opinion, we should all be made aware of our inaccurate self-assessments more often. A little humility and a little gratitude go a long way.
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Thursday, October 21, 2021
One of the most important things you will ever read
...may be an article in the newest issue of The Atlantic, a link to which I have included below:
"Human History Gets A Rewrite"
If it is not one of the most important things you will ever read, it certainly qualifies as one of the most fascinating. It is an excellent review by William Deresiewicz of a new book, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by the team of anthropologist David Graeber and archaeologist David Wengrow. If it sounds dry as dust, it isn't; at least the review isn't. I can't speak for the book itself.
Kylie Tai in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, calls her blog "eclectica" but I think my blog is a fairly eclectic conglomeration of topics as well.
But even as I say it I recall that my mother often said, "Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back."
Happy reading. I think you'll be pleased that I brought the article to your attention.
At the very least, it provides food for thought.
"Human History Gets A Rewrite"
If it is not one of the most important things you will ever read, it certainly qualifies as one of the most fascinating. It is an excellent review by William Deresiewicz of a new book, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by the team of anthropologist David Graeber and archaeologist David Wengrow. If it sounds dry as dust, it isn't; at least the review isn't. I can't speak for the book itself.
Kylie Tai in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, calls her blog "eclectica" but I think my blog is a fairly eclectic conglomeration of topics as well.
But even as I say it I recall that my mother often said, "Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back."
Happy reading. I think you'll be pleased that I brought the article to your attention.
At the very least, it provides food for thought.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Speaking of rings
On Sunday afternoon our oldest grandson is getting married to a lovely young lady. They met about a year and a half ago and hit it off immediately. He proposed to her in late January and happily for us all she accepted.
All five of our grandsons are in their twenties and all five have serious love interests, so we may be attending a flurry of weddings in our family in the next couple of years. This weekend the family will have "passed the torch to a new generation" (President John F. Kennedy used that phrase in his inaugural address back in 1961 when none of our grandchildren or even our children were twinkles in anyone's eye).
Our one and only granddaughter, on the other hand, is not romantically involved with anyone at present. She is currently concentrating on graduating from university next spring and starting her career, so it's probably just as well.
For this Sunday afternoon's event, in the "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" department the something old will be us.
[Editor's Note. The Sunday afternoon referred to in this post was actually last Sunday afternoon. My blog decided to act up toward the end of last week and, though it is still readable, I have been informed via e-mail that it is "greyed out" to many of you and that you cannot leave comments. I hope that the blog is now back to its old self and that my posts are once again "commentable" but if this is not the case, I do apologize (British: apologise). I really don't know what to do next. Does anyone out there have any advice or suggestions to offer?
P.S. -- The wedding was beautiful. --RWP]
All five of our grandsons are in their twenties and all five have serious love interests, so we may be attending a flurry of weddings in our family in the next couple of years. This weekend the family will have "passed the torch to a new generation" (President John F. Kennedy used that phrase in his inaugural address back in 1961 when none of our grandchildren or even our children were twinkles in anyone's eye).
Our one and only granddaughter, on the other hand, is not romantically involved with anyone at present. She is currently concentrating on graduating from university next spring and starting her career, so it's probably just as well.
For this Sunday afternoon's event, in the "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" department the something old will be us.
[Editor's Note. The Sunday afternoon referred to in this post was actually last Sunday afternoon. My blog decided to act up toward the end of last week and, though it is still readable, I have been informed via e-mail that it is "greyed out" to many of you and that you cannot leave comments. I hope that the blog is now back to its old self and that my posts are once again "commentable" but if this is not the case, I do apologize (British: apologise). I really don't know what to do next. Does anyone out there have any advice or suggestions to offer?
P.S. -- The wedding was beautiful. --RWP]
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
The longest journey begins with a single step
Of all the characters created by Lily Tomlin during her career, I like Ernestine the Telephone Operator best. She kept us all laughing with her "One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingies" and "A gracious hello. Is this the party to whom I am speaking?" and "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the telephone company."
But I don't want to talk about ringy-dingies today, I want to tell you instead about an actual ring.
First, however, I want to say that a person can still learn new things at the advanced age of 80 simply by reading blogs. I am living proof. Just this week I ran across two words I had never encountered before, obsidian in Tasker's blog (his friend gathered some while hiking in Iceland) and profiterole in Rachel's blog (she had one for dessert).
You've heard of parenthetical expressions. The preceding was a parenthetical paragraph.
You may have heard also of British author J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy in which he describes "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them". That is not the ring I want to tell you about today. You can learn about Mr. Tolkien's ring for yourself by reading his three books or viewing Peter Jackson's three films based on them.
Here is a picture of the ring I want to tell you about (purists would say "about which I want to tell you"):
This particular ring's story and our family's history are intertwined. Let me explain.But I don't want to talk about ringy-dingies today, I want to tell you instead about an actual ring.
First, however, I want to say that a person can still learn new things at the advanced age of 80 simply by reading blogs. I am living proof. Just this week I ran across two words I had never encountered before, obsidian in Tasker's blog (his friend gathered some while hiking in Iceland) and profiterole in Rachel's blog (she had one for dessert).
You've heard of parenthetical expressions. The preceding was a parenthetical paragraph.
You may have heard also of British author J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy in which he describes "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them". That is not the ring I want to tell you about today. You can learn about Mr. Tolkien's ring for yourself by reading his three books or viewing Peter Jackson's three films based on them.
Here is a picture of the ring I want to tell you about (purists would say "about which I want to tell you"):
Around 1890 or a little earlier it is believed that someone in Denmark with a great deal of talent and skill carved a knight's head into a small piece of bloodstone and had it made into a man's ring. Bloodstone, a dark green mineral containing flecks of red, is not worth a lot as minerals go; it is considered one of the "semi-precious" gems. It also is one of two birthstones associated with the month of March -- the other is aquamarine -- and, like onyx, has often been used in men's jewelry.
By around 1910 the ring was owned by a Mr. Nelson who lived in the state of Wisconsin in the United States. He boarded for several years with my paternal grandparents, who had five sons -- Art, John, Leo, Dan, and Ray. Ray (or, as he was called later in life, Ted) the youngest of the five Brague boys, was born in 1906. He was my dad.
At some point Mr. Nelson gave the ring to my grandfather and grandmother with the hope that they would pass it along to their youngest son on his 21st birthday. They lost contact with Mr. Nelson when the family left Wisconsin and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I do not know whether my grandfather ever wore the ring himself but in 1927, when my dad turned 21, his parents gave him the ring. He wore it for 35 years.
I was born in 1941 and received the ring from my dad on my 21st birthday in 1962. As his only child I was the oldest, youngest, and everything in between, and I wore the ring for many years also. Not only was it a family heirloom, it was my birthstone as well.
Mrs. RWP gave birth to our first son in 1964, our second son in 1966, and our daughter in 1968. I gave the ring to our younger son on his 21st birthday in 1987. He wore it a few times, but not being a ring wearer by nature he mostly kept the ring in a box in a drawer.
Our son married in 1991. He and his wife have two children. Elijah was born in February 1996 and Noah was born in December 1997. During 2018 as Noah's 21st birthday approached I mentioned to our son that it would soon be time to pass the ring to his younger son. Our son sheepishly admitted that he knew the ring was somewhere in the house but he had no idea where. They had lived in several houses over the years, acquired more furniture, and moved out of state a couple of times. He said he would try to find it. I was disappointed and asked my son not to say anything about a ring to Noah until he was able to find it.
He couldn't. A couple of years came and went. Noah will turn 24 in December. About three months ago our son and daughter-in-law invited us over for a meal to celebrate Mrs. RWP's birthday, and both Elijah and Noah and their steady girlfriends were present. I happened to notice that Noah was wearing a ring. I told the young folks about the history of the ring that was supposed to have been passed to him on his 21st birthday but it had been misplaced. "Really!" he said, and said he would certainly have worn it. His dad again expressed puzzlement over where it could possibly be hiding.
A couple of weeks ago we were all together again at a book-signing event for my daughter-in-law's first book, which was recently published. As we entered and were exchanging greetings with friends and family members, Noah held up his hand, palm inward. My jaw dropped open. He was wearing the ring!
My son explained that a couple of days earlier he had opened a drawer in a little-used dresser in the spare bedroom and when he moved a shirt he found a small box. It obviously contained something because it rattled when he picked it up. When he removed the lid, he saw two pair of cufflinks and the ring! He gave it to Noah the same day. It fit perfectly, and Noah had been wearing it ever since.
So now the ring has been connected to five generations of Brague men -- my grandfather (who, incidentally, was the youngest child and only son in his family, born in 1866 and turned 21 in 1887, around the time Mr. Nelson thought the ring was made), my father, me, my son, and now my grandson. Elmer, Ray (Ted), Bob, Mark, and now Noah. Bragues all. Who knows how many more there might be?
If you zoom in on the photo of Noah's hand you should be able to see the intricate carving of the knight's head and even some of the red flecks in the stone.
The ring is not worth a great deal of money, but it means the world to me.
Sunday, October 10, 2021
RIP Putz
On Thursday I did an online search for an old cyberfriend who hasn't posted in several years and I found his obituary.
David Harold Barlow (1942 - 2020)
I was also saddened to learn that Tony, the second of his five children, had died suddenly just a few months before him.
We all called him Putz because that was how he referred to himself in his blog. He also said that he was an ignoble enigma. David Barlow may have been an enigma, but he was never an ignoble one.
His family may never see this, but my condolences go out to his wife Karma Lee, his son Daniel, and the rest of his family. I am so sorry for your loss.
The world has lost a unique character.
David Harold Barlow (1942 - 2020)
I was also saddened to learn that Tony, the second of his five children, had died suddenly just a few months before him.
We all called him Putz because that was how he referred to himself in his blog. He also said that he was an ignoble enigma. David Barlow may have been an enigma, but he was never an ignoble one.
His family may never see this, but my condolences go out to his wife Karma Lee, his son Daniel, and the rest of his family. I am so sorry for your loss.
The world has lost a unique character.
Monday, October 4, 2021
Out
Out of the night that covers me,
Out of the cradle endlessly rocking,
Out of me unworthy and unknown,
Out, damned spot! out, I say!
Out, out, brief candle,
Out of Africa,
Out west,
Out of the frying pan and into the fire,
Out of sight, out of mind,
Out of desperation,
Out of the question,
Out on a limb,
Out of bounds,
Out of luck,
Out of time,
Out of options,
Out with the old, in with the new,
Out for blood,
Out for a stroll,
Out of my mind with worry,
Out of my mind with grief,
From out our bourne of time and place,
Come out, come out, wherever you are,
Come out from among them and be ye separate.
Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my sickness into thy health,
Out of my want and into thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into thyself,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of thy cross,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of earth's sorrows into thy balm,
Out of life's storms and into thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my self to dwell in thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of thy home,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of thy sheltering fold,
Ever thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to thee.
(Note. Beginning at line 25 is the American hymn "Jesus, I Come" written in 1887 by William T. Sleeper. --RWP)
Out of the cradle endlessly rocking,
Out of me unworthy and unknown,
Out, damned spot! out, I say!
Out, out, brief candle,
Out of Africa,
Out west,
Out of the frying pan and into the fire,
Out of sight, out of mind,
Out of desperation,
Out of the question,
Out on a limb,
Out of bounds,
Out of luck,
Out of time,
Out of options,
Out with the old, in with the new,
Out for blood,
Out for a stroll,
Out of my mind with worry,
Out of my mind with grief,
From out our bourne of time and place,
Come out, come out, wherever you are,
Come out from among them and be ye separate.
Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my sickness into thy health,
Out of my want and into thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into thyself,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of thy cross,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of earth's sorrows into thy balm,
Out of life's storms and into thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my self to dwell in thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of thy home,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of thy sheltering fold,
Ever thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to thee.
(Note. Beginning at line 25 is the American hymn "Jesus, I Come" written in 1887 by William T. Sleeper. --RWP)
Friday, October 1, 2021
Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit?
Not this month. One must have been unavoidably detained. (Enlarge photo if necessary.)
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