frumiousb

One of the first books that I read this year was Tiger in the Smoke, by Margery Allingham. That book got me hankering to read more by her, and I decided to reread The Fashion in Shrouds, historically one of my favorite books by Allingham.

Why did I like this book so much-- both originally and still? Largely, it has to do with the tone around class and aristocracy. There is something genuinely dissolute about all the characters in this book-- even Albert Campion. It's difficult to read now if it was intended to be critical or simply descriptive, but there is something that stinks in way that the group lived their immunity to the police and prosecution-- the way that even Albert is willing to collude against the authorities. The dynamics between the men and women is also very suspect-- so over the top that it is impossible for me to read it as serious. It had always seemed to me the most layered of the Campion books-- the most Douglas Sirk-- criticism dressed up as mystery. I might have been over-reading, but there you go.

However, on this re-read (with a new copy of the book) it has become clear to me that I had always read an expurgated version of the text. This actually seems to be fairly common with golden age detective editions published in the US-- the racism of the period was often removed post-WWII for the US audiences. (Christie's Ten Little Niggers becomes Ten Little Indians becomes And Then There Were None. The anti-Semitic references removed from Sayers.) Anyhow, this was the first time that I have read the breathtakingly casual racism about the African colonies in this book. Racism that comes not only from Sir Raymond Ramillies (the tragically flawed man in the piece) but also from Albert Campion himself.

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Found in Amsterdam, written on the side of a school. I worry that as economic conditions worsen, this kind of anti-immigrant rhetoric will become more commonplace. Anger expressing itself at the Muslim community in the Netherlands.

Crisp clear blue sky. I wish that I could have walked further (I'm still struggling with a cold), but I was grateful for what I saw. I love the autumn.

It's a blessing that there are men of dignity and faith in the world. It's men like this who give me hope for the Catholic church, and who stand up against the darkness in the soul. I hope that the voters of California turn out to vindicate his belief and vote no on Proposition 8. (Thanks to friede for the link.)

Went out with B. and his parents for his birthday dinner. Through a trick of synchronicity, they bought him precisely the same gifts as I. From me he got his favorite Burlington socks, a bottle of whiskey and a fine bottle of Calvedos. From his parents: Burlington socks, whiskey, and a bottle of cognac. We all had a good laugh and we've promised to communicate better next year. But at least he has plenty of warm socks.

Nice to hear from bezigebij today, and sorry that I wasn't able to catch up with her in Amsterdam. Hope to see her soon.

Our desktop is slowly getting repaired. (It's been down for the better part of the week with a corrupted software hive.) Should be up and running again fully in a few days.

After the police shut down their PA system at a legal scheduled concert in Minneapolis. Courtesy of BoingBoing.

Also:

More fun with the police in the twin cities..

I am now reading my second speculative fiction book in a month which has as a minor character an aged military official who believes that he is pregnant with a baby elephant. One book is Singularity Sky and the other is Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Is there a historical common root that I have missed? Connection between Stross and Clark?

And on to the more open ended question...

I'm musing about the subject of European (and specifically Dutch) workmen. This muse is part of an extended cloud of rage spurred on by the fact that our leak has returned after all the money we spent yesterday "fixing" it.

Here's the question, or the thought that is kind of a question. Is consumer satisfaction a significant enough benefit to build job insecurity into society?

We had virtually no choice with how we got our plumbing problem addressed. We called 13 plumbers, but because the entire construction industry takes a vacation at the same time, we couldn't find anyone to come. We finally located someone, who demanded cash up front, no guarantees. He seemed competent enough, but now it is leaking again. We have to pay them again to get them to come back. We have no other choice, since everyone else is still on vacation.

The thing that struck me is how many people have had the same or similar horror stories. Even the competent plumbers and repair men seem dilatory, expensive, messy and unreliable. And this does not begin to cover the problems with hiring people to do renovations-- the horror stories are frequent, and shocking. My own experience was dreadful, but so was the experience of virtually everybody I know who has had work done.

Did I say virtually everybody? There is one large exception group. People I know who hired in "the Polish Guys", the semi mythical groups of skilled Eastern European workmen who apparently do this magical thing-- they show up when they are expected, they stay within their predicted budget, they clean up after themselves and they deliver high quality results. The government keeps warning about the dire consequences of hiring in these grey market workers. But people keep hiring them.

The fear of the Eastern European hordes is part of what fueled opposition to the Dutch plan to remove restrictions on Eastern European workers. The Dutch workmen were afraid of being put out of work by "unfair competition", and they should be.

And as a consumer I hate it. I don't mind paying higher fees, but I do mind coming home to find my apartment a sea of paint chips and cigarettes. I mind that I don't trust any of the people who work for me. I mind that people don't show up for appointments.

I realize that there are exceptions to what I'm discussing, by the way, but I think that there is enough built up anecdotal experience to at least semi-fairly generalize.

The behaviour of the Dutch labor force, I would argue, is symptomatic of job security. There are too few workmen available. They never have to worry, it seems, about having enough work.

As a consumer, I want that to change. I want there to be competition so that I can rely on a decent standard of workmanship. I guess I'll never be able to help that gut reaction.

But how fair is that? Is competition the only way to motivate professional standards? Is it better that I be happy with the level of work, but that others be afraid of not being able to find work if they don't comply with my wishes? Am I a vicious capitalist running dog for even considering these questions?

In any case, the next time I may well consider hiring the Polish Guys myself.