Book Review: The Post-American World

I picked up this book ("The Post-American World") on a whim. I was traveling home from Dallas and wanted a book on tape. I went to Half Price in hopes of finding one of Obama's two books in audio format so I could learn a little bit about our new president. But they were out of stock. So, I grabbed this after I recognized the author, Fareed Zakaria.

Zakaria hosts a weekly show on CNN that I Tivo called "GPS: Global Public Square". It is always such a fascinating insight into what's happening in the rest of the world and how it all interplays and affects the world as a whole, not just America. He covers news stories and global trends like no one else on American news stations. He is an Indian immigrant in the US and is flat out brilliant. I ended up even giving this book to my dad and my friend Joey for Christmas before I even finished it.

It was a great read... not a light or easy read, but TRULY FASCINATING to dig a little deeper into the post-american world. And it wasn't wholly negative about the U.S., it just focused on the development of the rest of the world. Really cool slant. If you have the same fascination as I do about global events and the multi-cultural world in which we now live, I highly recommend it!

From the Barnes & Noble website, here is the blurb about the book... the publishers describe it far better than I could:

A Prophetic Assessment of America's Changing Place
in an Increasingly Global Age

For Fareed Zakaria, the great story of our times is not the decline of America but rather the rise of everyone else—the growth of countries such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Kenya, and many, many more. This economic growth is generating a new global landscape where power is shifting and wealth and innovation are bubbling up in unexpected places. It's also producing political confidence and national pride. As these trends continue, the push of globalization will increasingly be joined by the pull of nationalism—a tension that is likely to define the next decades.

With his customary lucidity, insight, and imagination, Zakaria draws on lessons from the two great power shifts of the past five hundred years—the rise of the Western world and the rise of the United States—to tell us what we can expect from the third shift, the "rise of the rest." Washington must begin a serious transformation of global strategy and seek to share power, create coalitions, build legitimacy, and define the global agenda. None of this will be easy for the greatest power the world has ever known—the only power that for so long has really mattered. But all that is changing now. The future we face is the post-American world.

Oh, the Drama!

Well, blarg! Tonight I am bored and watching old 30 Rock re-runs tonight while Andy's in rehearsal. So I decided to look up online when my all-time FAVS are coming back... thinking SURELY it would be late Aug, maybe Sept at the latest. But blast!!-- Lost and 24 are not returning to the small screen until JANUARY 2009. This is going to be a long fall. Even 30 Rock won't return until Oct 30th. I am thoroughly bummed.

Questions I have...

Andy and I are traveling in Turkey right now... and I have stumbled across a few questions. They are random, but funny in my own head (not necessarily funny as in laugh out loud, but scratch your head kind of funny/interesting).

1) What do you do if you are old and "squatty pottys" are the toilet option? After using a sqatty potty here, and my own 31 yrs old legs getting tired and my knees aching, how does some 80 year old person pull THAT off? seriously! How would some old geezer be able to stand back up-- they'd get stuck?!

2) When is it ever good to NOT have trash cans readily available? Apparently when you are in the area we're visiting in Istanbul... we've been walking this one drag at night and always end up with a bag full of empty water bottles and coke cans cuz we can't find trash cans. Finally we asked our translator what the deal was. His response, simple. "Well, this street has been bombed many times by trash cans so, now, you cannot find." Ahhh. Lovely. So trash cans are the official drop spot for bombs in Istanbul. Awesome! And the good street to do so is our area.

3) Does "Event Time" apply to Muslim prayer too? So, you know how Muslims pray 5 times a day and there is a "call to prayer" over loud speakers throughout the cities so everyone knows when its time to stop and pray? Well, they are usually at 5am, 1pm, 5pm, 8pm, and 10pm (or something like that here in Turkey). Well, in Istanbul, the call to prayer is consistently late. 1:21pm. 5:17pm. 8:42pm. 10:23pm. Strange! I would have guessed it was strict time, but apparently, it's time when it's time. Huh! Maybe someone out there knows this is actually normal because I am not entirely sure of when the "directed times" are to pray.

4) How can 4 AA batteries cost less than $2?! Ahhh... when they only last 2 days!

5) How can it take 8 hours to drive to Istanbul from Izmir when it only takes 1 hour to fly? When there are mountains to pass and a sea to ferry over (Sea of Marmara). Flying ROCKS!

6) Does rice pudding actually have rice in it? I never thought so before, but after dessert tonight, apparently so. I felt several large, carby-flavored white rice nuggets neatly tucked in my soft pudding. Kinda gross actually.

7) Why can't we get BBC News in Austin? I think if Andy and I had some fancy-schmanzy cable/dish thing we could, but I just wish it came just in the standard package. As a news junkie, I Tivo 2 hours of news a day-- 1 hr on Fox News and 1 hr on CNN (so I can get a diverse view). CUE THE LAUGHING at what a complete dork I am. But even with those 2 hrs, I want more world news and I don't ever feel like I am getting the full story from those two stations. BBC gives a view into World News that the others cover in a 10 second sound bite. I used to Tivo a third hour of news each day, with CNN's "Your World Today" show that covered international news. But since the election season has commenced, they cancelled it and replaced it with "Issue #1" (which is about "the most important issue" for the election, currently deemed the economy)-- AS IF the regular news isn't covering the election or the economy enough already!!! Apparently, we really ARE so American-consumed that we don't need to talk about the rest of the world during this season. And yes, I can read online at BBC's site, but I would prefer a one hour news show. So, this is actually one of my very favorite things about traveling abroad... getting to watch BBC world news each night as I get ready for bed. mmmm.

A Snapshot from Our Time Away (written from the dead HEAT of summer)

Andy and I returned home from his sabbatical on Monday, arriving to a house with no A/C (and apparently A/C repairmen are in high demand right now leaving us boiling for a few more days). I am really glad to be back in Austin. I sure missed being around my friends and church family. But to celebrate what my time off held, I thought I’d list out a few of my favorite moments while away:

1.) ANDY GRILLING! We got a simple grill as a wedding gift (back in 2004) which has stayed neatly packaged in the box until this past month. Andy decided it was time to crack open the gift and get grilling already. He really enjoys it—and is a natural. Usually, I cook while he is working and then he comes up (when he’s done) and we eat together. But with him grilling, he’s cooking while I’m cooking. We get to share that time together. Plus, he says he finally understands why I get frustrated when he doesn’t come up from the studio when dinner’s ready—because the food gets cold and isn’t as good. There was a meaning to my madness after all, he says. : )

2.) SHARING THE HOPE SEMINARS! Andy and I listened to a set of seminars on CD that I had purchased from The Crescent Project (http://www.crescentproject.org/). Fouad Masri, the founder of the organization had come to speak at one of the “Encountering the World of Islam” classes I took in 2006 and I bought the CDs then. He is sooo inspiring in his evangelism to the Muslim world and so helpful in educating Christians in the cultural and religious beliefs of his (former) people. The 4 part seminar teaches you how to share the hope we have in Christ with the Muslims in your life. Andy and I listened while driving our many road-trips and our love for this population grew more deep the more we learned. If you want to know more about this particular seminar series, click this link: http://crescentproject.org/sharingthehope.cfm

3.) LOST! We are 24 fans. Not Lost fans. Until now. In our time off, we managed to start (and finish) all 4 seasons of Lost. First I loved Jack, now he’s on my hit list. First I hated Sawyer, now I am rooting for him. First I thought the “Others” thing was stupid, now I am totally hooked. I love how Charlie miraculously straightened his tiny, British teeth between Season 1 and 2. I love Desmond and Sayid. I can’t stand Ben. Even Juliette bugs. I really want to know what the deal is with the "others" guy that never ages. And Locke’s worship of the island is a bit tiresome. Now, we are simply frustrated that we have to wait till fall for the saga to continue (and even then we can’t watch 6 straight episodes because they’ll only come once a week).

4.) SURPRISES! My oldest sister lives in Virginia and we rarely get to see each other. But when I heard that she was flying to Texas for just one night to drop off her kids for a grandparent vacation, Andy and I decided to drive up to Fort Worth to surprise her. We arrived at my dad’s house while he was still at the airport picking her up. Andy laughed at me as I paced back and forth in front of the window, on the look-out for their car, so we could make sure and run hide before she walked in the door. Our plan was to hide in my dad’s room and let our dogs greet them at the door to confuse her, then we jumped out and yelled “Surprise!” It was sooo fun! We cooked a big family dinner and stayed up talking for a while. And before we even got up the next day, she was back on a plane to VA. Short, but definitely sweet!

5.) FISHING! I haven’t fished, really, since I was a kid. Back then my mom used to bait my hook, fish sitting next to me, and take any catch off my line for me. (I realize that makes me spoiled.) Fast forward to 2008, my sweet husband took on the role… all I had to do was cast the line and reel it in. He would put on the worms and pull the hook out of the fish’s mouth. It was so fun! (And “ewww”-free for me.) Below are two pictures of me “fishing”—one of my tiniest catch and one of my biggest catch (my flip flop was my measuring stick).