Saturday, October 29, 2011

My point of view.

What is my point of keeping this blog going? I realize that it's a way to measure my knowledge on something that I consider a hobby. I think as I constantly criticize the people that compose half my genetic makeup for having inane hobbies, those same genetics led me to a similar path. However, I could always just keep it to myself. My Myers-Briggs personality assessment tells me that I'm a very strong introvert, and I'm working on that, and I do see the point. I hope to gain insight from others, and share as others do what they like in the world.

I also want better food in Kuwait. Dammit. We have some great food, and as a standard, I think Kuwait's up there generally. However, I notice that our food habits have been exploited by globalism in the form of franchises. Our problem in Kuwait is that we never look at the development of ideas and standards of our own, we like to import everything, both materially and consciously. But as in the case of a rebellious teenager, there is a point in which the rest of the world has to be blocked out. If you keep on learning externally, you may end up being a sponge. If you internalize too much, you may end up being completely alienated in your thoughts. And since the world is never black or white, a compromise is always reached.

Institutions are important, whether individually or socially. Context must be understood effectively and the ideas should attempt to pick the strings of the existing mess and find elements that could be lifted, looked at and improved before being relaxed into reality. Critical assessment, thought, opinion are very important. They not only define the individual point of view, but they relate to the larger mess of things in which everything is interconnected. I firmly believe in the relativity of systems and how one small improvement can mean so much. However, if, like in contemporary pop music, we just fill in formulas based on market assessment, brand strength, then what more than profit are we achieving? of course, any business must be profitable, but if it a direct target, you end up getting plastic, food included. Profit should emerge from how good you are. Educate the market by setting examples of what is possible with what we have, and the demand for excellence will be there.

With that in mind, my next couple of entries will be discussing some dishes I had on my recent trip. Good food is good food, no matter where it is.