Nature’s solutions

 23 July 2022

There is a vacant land next to the apartment we live in Ankara. 

In the past there was no livelihood on it. People dumped rubbish there. Once there were big piles of used planks. Packs of stray dogs claimed it their territory, endlessly barking at night to defend it. 

We haven’t visited the apartment for three years. This year a pleasant surprise was awaiting us. 

We were told there was extraordinary rainfall in Ankara during springtime and early summer. 

As a result the land was covered with shrubs and thorny bush that have beautiful blossoms. I saw butterflies and birds. 

Nature claimed the land in a profoundly meaningful way. 

This evening I was walking around the land, and noticed how big the thorns were. It must now be impossible for humans or dogs to enter the area. 

When left alone, Mother Nature looks after herself. 

First impressions

18 July 2022, Ankara

The flight QR 313 from Doha to Ankara landed on Esenboğa Airport  before noon on a mild summer day. 

I loved this airport. It has a non pretentious, specious and functionally oriented modern architecture. Yet this time, after 3 years of Covid break, something was amiss. 

Inside the terminal it wasn’t crowded. I noticed lights were dimmed and the air was thick. I assume this may be a cost cutting measure amid the most recent economic crisis. 

I had an arduous 20 hours trip from Australia. I had acute sciatic pain and stomach pain that deprived me from sleeping, nor I could occupy my mind with other forms of distractions. 

When the plane landed I was exhausted, and I felt an immediate need to visit toilets. 

Fortunately the passport queue ran off quickly, the new passport image recognition software worked and the hunt for toilets could begin. 

After dragging along suitcases and bags along endless corridors for what felt like eternity, from a distance I recognised the most welcoming icon after McDonald’s, the featureless man and woman, the universal symbol of toilets. 

Inside, there were two closed cubicles, both of which were occupied. I was lucky, there was one man in front of me, and a long queue was forming rapidly behind me. The waiting felt like ages, and in my mind I have began to go through dire what-if scenarios, none being remotely dignifying. 

Oh the sweet sound of the toilet cubicle lock. A man was out, there was barely any smell, a clean toilet at last. 

I emerged as a new man from the toilet. You know the feeling; you could do anything, discover an exoplanet, climb the Everest or swim the Atlantic. 

As I took the escalators to the baggage collection area, I noticed I had visited the only toilet between the airplane and the baggage carousel, a terrifying realisation in hindsight.  

Once I collected my luggage, I was surprised to find a check point on the way out. For decades you could leave the terminal without your luggage checked. 

There was no queue lanes, hence the passengers formed a funnel shaped hive, its outlet reaching a security checkpoint. 

What stroke me was the grim facial expressions of custom officers. The country’s official inflation rate is now 78%. You can read the economic hardship from groceries price tags and sad faces. 

The custom officers were acting strangely though. Despite their sad outlook, they weren’t hostile nor they were picking on luggage as they normally should. They were indifferent as if they took part in a passive strike, or participated a silent protest. 

I took my luggage, got out to fresh air and headed to a taxi. 

Perfect to ride around Balmain

Sitting outside a rustic Balmain cafe at kerb washed by setting winter sun, I noticed the key was left on a Vespa scooter.

My thoughts drifted to a past world of tranquility when things were different. People had time for each other, doors were left open, keys were left on ignition. 

The world has always been raged by misery induced by war, pestilence, greed or depravity. But we maintained “pockets of resistance” reminiscent of good old days that spirit of humans persisted. 

Sometimes it helps to leave current affairs afar. Self reflection may not always be easy during daily grind of news and chores, but when we seize the chance we should seek light and reflect. It doesn’t cost anything if we allow being generous to ourselves and leave sparkles here and there. 

The rider of the Vespa returned with take-away in one hand. He placed them in the boot. We exchanged glances, and I asked,

- Do you enjoy riding Vespa?

He smiled and said:

- Perfect to ride around Balmain.

Teddy's legend

 “When all else fails, hug your Teddy” the urban legend goes. 

Teddy represents many things all at once. Albeit being lifeless, they consoled us when we faced our first frustrations in life. They were our first friends to hold our first conversations with.

But in another sense Teddy represents our insecurities. It shows, we are vulnerable creatures in need for consolation and friendship.

I like looking at windows of charity establishments like Vinnies Shops. These are like museums, time capsules facing public kerbs. 

Every object behind the window represents something from the past and discarded. 

When I saw “Teddy in a sack” it resonated sadness in me. It recalled perhaps we are ungrateful as much as needy. In that sense the humble Teddy acts as a messenger to remind us our inner conflicts.

Metaverse

Metaverse is not a brand new idea. There was Second Life, an online multimedia platform that came about in 2000s, developed and owned by Linden Lab.

These are virtual reality products designed to capitalise on your time, in return of what they call an “immersive experience”. It is worth to note, unlike video games “there is no manufactured conflict, no set objective” in them.

I watched Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for socialising in the Metaverse video. Under his tight black sweatshirt and denim, a paunch appeared. He seemed to have lost his boyish college dropout edge. With a frozen smile he now looks more like a James Bond villain or a wax model in Madame Tussauds. Something is amiss, loss of spark maybe.

The possibility of meeting your grandchild’s 3d avatar rather than seeing them in a Zoom meeting, or sharing your 3D art in a virtual street corner, may sound attractive to some. But like Elon Musk, I doubt anyone would be willing to wear a TV set on their nose just to play poker with their friends’ avatars.

We have to acknowledge virtual reality hardware technology is still in its infancy. It is too bulky and invasive, setting significant barriers against immersive experience.

But even if we assume technological setbacks are temporary and one day we might wear contact lenses and just whisper to teleport ourselves into the VR world, would you want that?

Metaverse tells us, If you fail to realise your dreams, don’t worry, you can wear your headset and become “who you want to be” in a virtual world. You can create as many avatars you can, Zuckerberg said. It will be entirely in your control whom you want to interact with. 

The chances are, you will go back to your Facebook friends. 

Rest assured once you open your mouth you will be the same person to anybody who knows you or about to know you regardless you wear Genghis Khan, Einstein, Jane Mansfield, or T-Rex avatars.

Maybe you wouldn’t be sweating in a bunny suit but the glorification you will get will not be much different from being in a fancy dress party. The entertainment sensation will wear out in minutes. In the end you will look and feel pathetic, rather than authentic.

Then there is the experience bit. Supposedly you would be able to hang out with your friends in different environments, a street in Milan, a villa in Switzerland and so on.

But would you invite your high school friend whom you haven’t seen for 30 years to a backgammon tournament on the banks of River Seine?

Or would you do or talk about anything different even with your favourite buddy whether you are virtually hiking in Iceland or virtually flying across NYC? What are you going to talk about? Oh, look at this virtual pink volcano?

By the way your “immersive” hiking experience over Iceland may be interrupted with an advertisement tailored for you; environmentally friendly toilet paper packaged in a card box sliding on slopes of black ash. 

Perhaps you should be grateful and think about Mark Zuckerberg when you use that square.