Meanderings Archived
01/03/07 - 02/03/07
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Meanderings Archived
01/03/07 - 02/03/07 |
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Idiocracy (2006)
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Ect. We had a wider variety of experiences than I did in 2001, just by virtue of our travelling so much and visiting larger cities. I got to hear a few more regional accents, all interesting, thankfully none so confusing as the Moseldeutsch I sometimes dealt with on my first trip. I still haven't seen Bavaria or other more Austrian-tinged parts of Germany, nor that much of older East Germany other than Berlin. I regret not knowing more Dutch for the Netherlands portion of the trip, because it seems interesting and probably wouldn't be too difficult for someone fluent in English and very familiar with German. If I can find the time at some point it's something I'd like to do. In Bernkastel we saw this guy from New Zealand, Jeremy Dundas, play in a little hotel basement bar - you can see pictures from the show on his myspace. It was cool to see that kind of situation transposed to Germany, and he had a decent voice and playing ability, but I didn't care much for his song selection. His few originals sounded like most of his covers, mostly Matchbox 20 and such, the same kind of KGSR adult contemporary garbage that precludes my ACLFest attendance every year. Most of the Germans seemed to love it, but I only really enjoyed his cover of "Sweet Home Alabama" with backup guitar provided by a German friend of his (as seen in the pictures). For some reason everyone looked at me funny when I yelled "turn it up" after the first few bars. Buncha Yanks I guess. I read 3 books over the trip, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, 1984 by George Orwell, and Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. The first two were re-reads. Chronicles is not all that mindblowing, just a collection of Ray's visions of Mars exploration and settlement. It was written in 1950 and set in 1999, and though I mildly enjoyed going through the stories again, they all feel pretty dated and childish. I can feel his inspiration by Grapes of Wrath in the structure of the novel - a series of short stories, originally published separately in science fiction magazines, woven together by a loosely contiguous plot. 1984 is much more impressive and true. A ridiculously prescient, immortal novel. I'm still thinking about real modern-day Inner and Outer Party equivalents. Long Way Down was my first actual Hornby reading experience, though I've seen the movie versions of High Fidelity and Fever Pitch. It was decent, pretty funny in some parts, but overall I don't see what the big deal is with this guy. I enjoyed reading the different speech patterns of the saucey young Brit girl and the older TV host, but I thought Hornby did a shitty and unconvincing job at writing from the American character's point of view. Plus, once you get past the main gimmick the plot just seems like a lot of fluff, really. It was a good train/plane ride book but otherwise I can't recommend it. Comment on this entry... |
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Essen Every hotel we stayed at included a euro breakfast buffet, with a big selection of cold cuts and cheese, fruit and preserves, cereals, various species of bread rolls, and most of the time a steam tray with scrambled eggs and bacon. Fresh and flavorful. Probably Hotel Leine in Göttingen was my favorite, with the freshest fruit, excellent bacon, and there was always a big cheese roll in the breadbasket. It was also the first place where we noticed the little trash can in the middle of the table for crumbs, peelings and other junk so you can police up your area and fit even more food on your plate. The best schnitzel I had was at Zum Patzenhofer, a little German bar/restaurant not too far off Kurfürstendamm in Berlin. They called it "farmer style," and it came topped with onions, bacon bits, sour cream, and finally a slice of flavorful cheese... very rich but just the trick for my very empty stomach. Christina had a pepper steak and it was just as tasty. I washed the meal down with a long arm of Berliner Kindl, a local pilsner that tasted pretty much like all the other standard German pils (in other words delicious). We had ordered some sandwiches from our train seats around lunch that day and when they arrived (prepackaged) I noticed they were made from Vollkorn bread, a kind of rich, chewy whole grain nastiness I remembered well from my first trip, with a heavy sour taste that overcomes any filling or spread. After trying it again and confirming its inedibility, we were left to just pick at the accompanying salami and gouda. I don't see how anyone eats it. I will say that later at Christian's house, he had bread called Vollkorn and it was just like the whole grain wheat bread we're used to from home. Maybe there was another clue word that distinguishes the nasty kind, but I couldn't find one. The best restaurant of the trip was easily Los Pilones in Amsterdam. By the time we arrived in the Netherlands, we had already availed ourselves to some great German food as well as some decent (germanized) Italian food. It can be a little daunting to pick out a good restaurant, as travel guides seem to only recommend 5-star French places and eating out in a normal restaurant is already so expensive in Europe (unless all you want is Imbiss or Doner for every meal). You also have to think about proximity to home base if you're hoofing it, but you don't want to blow a big wad on some shitty chain or cookie cutter-type experience. We read about Los Pilones in one of the tourist flyers we picked up at Centraal and it sounded pretty good: authentic Mexican cooked up by authentic Mexicans. I don't know how authentic it actually was, but it all tasted great. Inside it had a very comfortable atmosphere with murals familiar to any Curras fan. The frozen margaritas were limey and delicious, the guacamole was fresh and light, and the entrees were top notch. We rolled our own tacos using small tasty handmade tortillas and a generous supply of meat filling spiced up with onions and cilantro, topped off with some zingy red sauce. An awesome place that will be a pilgramage on return visits. We managed to get our required serving of Döner in Freiburg at a little place called Sultan. We ordered a couple of Kebaps and a plate of Pommes, but for some reason the sandwiches came wrapped in a tortilla rather than the usual pita. It tasted about like I remembered though, great at first but a little too much already by the last few bites. Subway was our salvation in Berlin while we toured around sightseeing. When you order a Coca Cola in Germany, you usually get a flat, lukewarm glass of some house brand of cola with a single dinky little ice cube floating in it, which melts after a few seconds, leaving you with a syrupy mess and a terrible aftertaste. Even at most McDonalds you have to actually ask for ice in the first place and there's just no such thing as a free refill. Subway, on the other hand, knows what the fuck is up. You want fountain soda with as much ice as you can fit in a cup? No problem. Or maybe you're just sick of water that "still" contains carbonation and tastes like Canadian Dry? Have a cup of real ice water, as much as you can drink. Godforbid you want to drink a little water now and then. We had to stock up on spring water every once in a while at a grocery store - look for both "Stillwasser" and "ohne Köhlensaure" to get the closest American drinking water experience. I was amused by the sheer number of Argentine steak places in Amsterdam, all with similar names and literally the exact same neon charging bull sign, even some next door from each other. It seemed like all they served was big fajita plates for an ungodly sum of money. Comment on this entry... |
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Flüge I wasn't really impressed with United's overseas service when I flew back in 2001, so for our 2007 trip I booked Lufthansa for both the to- and from- trips. I don’t completely understand the two airlines' flexible relationship, but somehow our flight to Frankfurt turned out to be with United. Whatever. It was as shitty an experience as I remembered. For 9 hours I had only the tiniest amount of legroom. A Pygmy Bushman, on the other hand, might have found them quite comfortable. The attendants were almost never around and booze was too expensive anyway. On the plus side, each seat had its own tv monitor, on which you could watch a variety of offered films (see below for my reviews of The Science of Sleep and The Last King of Scotland). I was amazed at the amount of people that were able to instantly pass out and sleep through the whole flight, many of them curled up in the most preposterous positions. I slept probably 15 minutes on the plane, maybe a little more on the train to Goettingen, and even then when we finally crashed out in the hotel after dinner with Payneman, I couldn't sleep until about 1 or 2 in the morning. The lines under our eyes were running pretty deep for a couple of days and we probably weren't completely caught up until after the first night in Berlin. The return flight wasn't looking that good either, as Expedia's booking arrangements were all jacked up and it turned out to be with Lufthansa after all. The main bag zipper on my backpack, which I originally purchased in Germany in 2001, finally broke for good. Then we were waiting in the boarding lounge and a snippy employee harrassed us all out of the area, just so that we could show our boarding passes to come right back in. Whatever. Then on the plane I managed to be sitting behind this natty german bitch that completely reclined her seat immediately after takeoff, reducing the 5 inches of space between my knees and her seatback to zero (even when she was sitting up reading she neglected to readjust the seat back). I was preparing myself for a wonderful 8 hour cramp when I ordered a couple of whiskey and cokes for us and discovered that all refreshments were complimentary. Wha-wha-whaaaaa? So I drank free bottles of Warsteiners for pretty much the whole flight and it alleviated my sufferings considerably (it definitely helped The Illusionist seem more tolerable). I would say that I'm going to try to land Lufthansa flights for all future trips, but I tried to do that for this trip and it only came out 1 for 2. Whathaveyou. Comment on this entry... |
Ignignokt: "The innocent shall suffer... big time."
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Boston Please Turner's apology is not enough? Mayor Thomas Menino, you are stupid. Your whole city is stupid. There might have been a time when I wanted to visit your nice little town, but now that I know how fucking monumentally stupid and stubborn your local government is, forget it. Nine other cities were attacked with these "sinister devices" and none of them flipped out like you did! You're just upset and pissy that you got all worked up and gave Adult Swim even more publicity than they would have received if you hadn't totally dropped the ball and acted like complete morons. And who would want to bomb Boston Massa-who-sets anyway? I hope arresting a couple of hippy art students makes you feel better, you crybaby bitch of a town. Have no doubt, the whole country, and probably people all over the world, are laughing at you! Comment on this entry... |
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Makes Me Hear That One Reading Rainbow Sound Effect
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Bog of Sorrow It was with heavy heart this weekend that I said adieu to an old friend, someone I've known intimately for more than 10 years: my Sony Trinitron TV/VCR Combo. From the moment when I saw her offered in a drawing at Project: Graduation, I swooned at the sight of her. Oh, I knew she was worth spending that many raffle tickets, even then. Our earliest and best years are now just a blur. How many times over summer 1996 did I fall asleep under the pulsating grey glow cast by her small, smudged screen, as she whispered sweetly unto me the music and dialogue of Friday or, even more likely, Desperado, burning all those lines and song cues so deeply into my brain? She flourished at the University, a captivating hostess in both my freshman and sophomore dorm rooms, showcasing countless episodes of The Simpsons and Law and Order. And vividly I recall the loving summer of 1998, when she traveled with me to Port Aransas and we stayed up late drinking beer and playing Final Fantasy Tactics and Samurai Showdown 4 on our first modded Playstation. Then there were the twilight days when she was relegated to the office, and finally the guest bedroom, gradually losing bits of functionality along the way. First a broken peg disabled her front cover, leaving the tape deck exposed and vulnerable. Some corruption lay upon her remote many years back, robbing her of many of her more sophisticated aspects, most importantly the channel autoprogram function. Eventually the number of stations available to her diminished to a palsied few, the majority of them static or even worse, public access. Things stopped working below the waist. At the time of her graceful passing, even I could not help but notice how her smooth vanilla coat had become besmirched with all manner of soot and filth over the years, becoming warped in some areas. Swollen areas like ringed bedsores marked the lingered touch of innumerable damp drink bottoms. Alas, it was her time. In lieu of flowers, her family requests simple donations of ca$h money, i.e. dollar bills, i.e. cheddar, i.e. greenbacks. Comment on this entry... |
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Slammin Europe We got back this week from the Germany megatrip that we'd been planning for a while. First stop was in Goettingen for the Pain wedding, a nice town and nice occasion to kick off the trip. Then on to Berlin for tons of sightseeing, saw a nice Dali exhibition, but in the end the old city was too big to see in just three days and it chewed us up and spit us out. We landed in Amsterdam, a great place to recoup but a little rainy and windy. We saw the Red Light district, and it was about what people had described. Just a sleazy part of town with ladies of the evening in the windows and a bunch of horny dudes walking around. Moved back into Germany after that and stayed with a friend of mine from my first visit in lil' Wittlich. First night got drunk and went to the neighborhood bar for a bit more carousing. The next day got stuffed on Greek food and drove through nearby Bernkastel to see the old town again, plus the Mosel River all swoll up with rain. Then finally to Freiburg for some old town sightseeing and Schlossberg climbing. Good times. Here's the pictures. Unfortunately though we were out of town for this kickin' Tarleton State party. Comment on this entry... |
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The Illusionist (2006)
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The Last King of Scotland (2006)
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The Science of Sleep (2006)
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POTC2: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
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Quite A Couple Myself and the missus traveled to yon Houston this weekend to join two old friends in celebration as they finally tied the knot. I've known them both for a little while now, but from the first time I saw them together I knew they were just made for each other. It was truly two halves become whole (and they're both crazy about Longhorns football). The ceremony was in a Lutheran church, with a massive organ and many leather-bound books and it smelled of rich mahogany. Afterwards we traveled to the reception hall, also quite fancy, where we did dine and make merry. A nice spread and plenty of schmoozing with the gang. Even got to meet A-rod's old man. After seeing the couple off with some bubble-blowing, most of us headed back to the hotel where we had a little afterparty, replete with various Mario competitions. Good times all around. Cheers to this great couple! Here's some reception and afterparty pictures. Comment on this entry... |
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Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
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Jackass Number Two (2006)
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