Trip Update

I just wanted to put some pictures up from the paris-ww2history-rhineriver-italian trip i've been on. Also, I have been told to "get people pics" from a buddy of mine as well, and while I have been working on it, it is surprisingly hard. #1 because most the places we travel are touristy in nature and create a "fake" atmosphere (for instance, those bavarian bartenders who wear the beer skirts and clogs, when in their real life, I'm sure they prefer a tank top and heels), and #2 because taking pictures of people require the camera to be aimed at people (this can be interpreted as rude and I don't want to be rude), however I think I have figured out a way to take pictures of real people in a real enviornment. I will find an outdoor cafe sit down aim my camera down the street and put it on a 5 second time delay. This will allow me to be engaged in a conversation or looking elsewhere while the camera "secretly" takes a picture of whoever happens to be walking down the street. I plan on doing this in Italy. So 'til then Aufwiedersehen.


Tree Line made famous by "The Sound of Music" (I wanted to climb up one like in the movie, but the tour guide was too much in a hurry)


My view as I am typing this (Alps).


Rhine River Cruise


D-Day memorial. I must say this is the finest memorial I have ever been too, well kept, well presented, and very meaningful.


Those are bomb holes on Point du Hoc, where the German long range guns were located close to Normandy.


Mont St. Michel (taken from bus as we were leaving).


Parisian window foods.


I hope that wasn't a proposal, because they were both looking very sad. I couldn't figure it out.


"You said a mailman I know...and YOU'RE A MAILMAN I KNOW!"
(emmy lookalike)

Curiosity and Pellets

I opened it. Destroying my hope. It turned out to be rusty pellets, used in air rifles. That's that. Thanks for the comments.

On curiosity. I meant to pose this as a question of hope vs discovery. I think curiosity is more of an instinct that develops before hope and discovery. Hope and discovery are units of learned behavior that follow.

I haven't given that much thought til now...so you could probably prove me wrong.

Hope

I found this really old tin today against a fence post. It was obviously weathering outside for at least a few years. There is something inside of it. It sounds like a lot of something. It rattles, and weighs quite a bit. ...Getting to the point...should I open it or not open it?

Most likely it is just a bunch of screws, nails or some rusty junk. But what if it is full of diamonds, or invaluable information or treasure from a sunken ship...I know very unlikely since it was found in the Midwest. But I can hope.
And hope is good thing, anyone who has seen Shawshank Redemption knows that. However, that is not the question here. The question is should I hold on to this hope (keep it closed) or give up my hope (open it). Realistically, there is over a 99% chance it's junk, so if I believe this, then why would I open it? I would open it for that .000000000000000001% chance the contents are valuable.

Which brings me to the underlying question of morality. Is hope a greater good than discovery. Undeniably, they are both great things. Hope might be the greatest motivator in the entire world, and generally leads us to discovery. But without discovery, perhaps our hopes are misplaced or even completely wrong, and misplaced hopes can lead to anguish.

So let me know what I should do...Leave a Comment.

Imus, Rutgers Situation

Dedicated to the TWN known as Matt.

I'm a little behind the current date of this whole ordeal, but that's good, because this isn't a news blog it's an "attempted reason" blog, which means we are trying to find out the reason behind the mistakes and assign the blame to each party. (I call this the Mione Degrees of Responsibility scale...more on that later)

Parties involved:
Don Imus
Rutgers (team and admin)
All the Media conglomerates involved (MSNBC, Radio, Imus's Supervisor)
and I'm going to add special guest Barack Obama

Mistakes:
Don Imus - Not knowing the consequences of name calling college athletes. (yes, that's his only mistake)

Rutgers - 1. Giving a shit about what Don Imus says. 2. Making soooooo many public statements that they actually care (because this just creates publicity for Imus). 3. Having a team vote on whether or not to accept an apology? What the fuck is that....you can't vote on something like that. Each person needs to make their own decision and move on. (go figure...more people not thinking for yourself) And what if they voted not to accept the apology...what bit of difference is that going to make honestly...he already lost his job, and you already gave him publicity.

Media - 1. To all the "advertisers" that pulled out from the show I say....YOU ARE COWARDS. I don't believe for one second you pulled your money because you honestly cared he said "nappy-headed ho's." You pulled your money because you were afraid of public outlash at your company, and if you stayed in, and another company pulled out, you would get criticized.....and that's cowardness. 2. To the supervisor of Don Imus I say....this is primarily your fault....you hired him, you were aware of his capability to say these kinds of things (and I would guess at one time, that's why you gave him the job in the first place to some degree) and you could have pulled the plug (there is a 7 second delay many times on live feeds where you can pull the plug if something like that is said....it's usually used for accidental swear words, but it can be used for anything you don't want said). 3. To the general media I say....nothing new, you try to make stories out of everything....nobody should be surprised, but stop it...stop making stories out of crap like this...it just makes someone else do something just as stupid.

Barack - I still like you....but you dropped a notch on my belt...there is no reason to get involved in this...you are one senator...not a president yet. Keep your mouth shut unless it directly involves you. You're not on the board of directors at Rutgers, and you're not Imus's or the radio's spokesman. I'm afraid you are pushing for press to fast at this point...we'll see.

Finally, my disclaimer...I don't condone calling anyone names, but also, I don't think that comment should have been taken as racist. He called the "team" nappy headed ho's...there are blacks and whites on that team, and the words "nappy", "headed", or "ho's" do not single out any race. Look up the definitions if you don't beleive me.

An Honest Death - Kurt Vonnegut 4.11.07

I just heard myslef, Kurt Vonnegut died Wednesday, April 11th, 2007. What can I do? What can I say?

I'm on my 2nd glass of wine tonight already...#1 was for Kurt, #2 is for all those who passed away before that shared Kurt's views, #3 will be for my very few friends that know of Kurt. If I make it to #4, it will be for all those living who share Kurt's views I'll never get to know.

I can already tell you, his passing will mean more to me than any fucking anna nicole story, it will mean more to me than any joe out there. And how ironic is it that the bottle i've been drinking was given to me as an easter present. HA! I think Kurt would appreciate that. (my family doesn't know of my distaste for religion at present) hence why they still feel the need to commercialize yet another pointless holiday.

KuVo my friend....I don't need to read your every word, I've read enough to know that you are one of the lucky ones who understood. I feel your depression now...and it feel's true.

Thank You.

The List 11 - 20

Continuing my list of 100 things to do before I die. Which reminds me of this guy I know. I'll never forget how he said he wanted to go. And personally, I can't think of a much better way. Backstory: This guy is from a small town in England, travels with a catering company as of now, and has probably been to at least 70 countries. But, he's never been to Rome. Since Rome is a pretty pop destination, and he seems to have been everywhere (Italian cities included) I asked him why he hasn't been to Rome. He looks at me with an intense stare like he is about to tell me the password to a nuclear missile silo, and says "Because all roads lead to Rome. And I'm going to die there." This was said without a hint of sarcasm or joke, but he actually wants Rome to be the last city he travels to. From there, it lightened up and he mentioned how he wants to be riding into Rome with a bottle of wine on the back of a vespa, and if he kiels over right there, that'd be great.

Anyways, here is my continued list for "before" death.

11. Play at least one more game of competitive soccer.
12. Take a Yacht cruise in the Mediterranean.
13. Own an Art Gallery.
14. Get a photograph published.
15. Read Sun Tzu's "The Art of War."
16. Smoke a 97+ Rated Cigar.
17. Go 1 Year without Fast Food.
18. Compete in a Full Triathlon. (Yes, this kind of conflicts with 16)
19. Attend LaTomatina Festival.
20. Develop killer woodworking skills.