JAK

Announcing a new addition to the family (this time it's for real).  Perhaps more later, when I collect my thoughts...

Imitating Taio Cruz at less than one week old...that's my boy.

Perspective...

I know I haven’t blogged forever. It’s kind of fallen off my radar, I guess. But after this last week or so…I feel like I need to write to get some things off my chest.

This disgusting situation at Penn State has really touched a nerve with me. I’m sure most of you have read at least some of the sordid details. If not, just have a look at any major web site to get caught up…if you can stomach it.

As you all know, I love sports. It’s one of my biggest passions. But after all this, both the “scandal” and the reaction, I really don’t know what to think about sports anymore…and our society’s obsession with them.

Are our priorities so far out of whack that people can seriously debate whether a “legendary sports hero” is being treated fairly or unfairly in the wake of the serial abuse of 10s (if not 100s, I fear) of children…of which he was no doubt a central facilitator (by omission)? Are we really talking about playing a football game on Saturday…when almost all of the coaches on the sideline had substantial relationships and histories with a child rapist and one of them caught him in the act and did nothing to stop it?

How messed up are we? PSU students rally and riot in support of a facilitator of child abuse and mourn an old man’s sports legacy. Seriously…who cares? It’s all a game and none of it makes the slightest bit of difference. As a committed sports fan…that’s hard for me to say, but it really doesn’t matter. Legacies? Wins and losses? None of it matters.

The only thing that matters is the children who have been irreparably harmed by this. My heart aches for them.

As for sports…they must remain what they have always been, merely a distraction from our real lives and a good source of exercise when we actually participate, rather than watch. It’s high time for a little perspective.

Who is this guy?

I was browsing through the books section of Amazon today and came across a book that was number one on the "Hot New Releases" list in the "Social Sciences" section. The title suggested that it was something about the end of American dominance. I was interested, because that is no doubt an interesting topic, but I didn't recognize the author...some guy named Mark Steyn.

Anyway, I looked him up on Google and it turns out he's a Canadian-born radio talking head that blames most all of the world's ills on Obama and the "Pelosi Congress."  He's also known for guest hosting the Rush Limbaugh show.  Quite a sterling resume.  Interestingly, he dropped out of school at age 18 and was a DJ for 6 or 8 years before going into "journalism." 

This made me wonder, why is it that so many of the right-wing blow-hards (and politicians...like Rick Perry with his sterling 2.2 GPA and no post-graduate degrees) are so undistinguished in their educational careers?  And more importantly, how is it that when they write books...they get classified as "social science" or "economics" rather than "drivel" or something else more appropriate?  It's sad that so many people eat this misinformation up and craft their entire worldviews around it.

One thing that is both good and bad, I think, is that people who are educated and knowledgeable enough to write valuable and informed commentary don't because they realize just how much they don't know.  So, there's a void in which the vitriolic hacks prosper.  Like I said, it's sad...

I hate getting old...

So I turn 30 a few months ago and since then everything's really been falling apart. Messed up knee, sore sternum, earthquake, riots, revolutions, Rick Perry...what else can go wrong?

On the plus side, Steve Jobs quit...so I feel like I should be next in line for the Apple CEO job.  Seems only natural really...

So, yeah...

...as you might have noticed (or more likely...you haven't) the ole' blog has been a little slow lately.  When I last checked in, we were still in England. We're now back in Titusville.  That's the main development.  Our trip home was ok, if long (about 26 hours door to door).  Our 2-hour layover in Iceland was pretty great...kind of foggy, and we caught a glimpse of Greenland from the plane (snow capped mountains and melting glaciers...freakin' climate change). And of course it's been great to see all our families.  They were very happy to see us, as were our dogs.  With the dogs it's a little more obvious, with the face licking and all...with the people it's a bit more subtle.

Anyway, I really haven't decided what direction to take with the blog now that the traveling and adventures are in the books. I mean, don't get me wrong, now that I'm home...it's pretty much back to the rat race. And while I'm not insanely busy, Regis and Kelly isn't going to watch itself. 

My first instinct is to go all-in on progressive issues and development.  Being back in the cauldron of American politics (with the debt ceiling debacle and all) has got me stirred up.  And I would love to vent about the right wing idiocy that has taken our country's political (and hence economic) system hostage.  But, all that seems kind of weighty and mostly makes my head hurt, stomach churn, and heart beat fast, so it's more likely I'll stick with more important stuff like Qdoba...and pop music conversational nuggets.  I guess you'll have to wait and see...

EuroTrip 2011: Part IV – France (Nice and Marseille)

The Beaches of Nice

Final stop: France. Or should I say, Freedom…are we still doing that?  You know, like Freedom Fries.  Ah, for the days when conservative silliness was restricted to the naming of junk foods and such trivialities rather than threatening to bring down the entire world economy (e.g., the “highly serious and substantive” debt ceiling debate…what a farce).

Anyway, as for the travel, France was once again a great vacation spot.  You might remember that we loved Paris…it remains the top European city I’ve been to. Nice and Marseille were also quite nice (no pun intended).

EuroTrip 2011: Part III – Switzerland (Fribourg, Bulle, and Gruyeres)

From the Train

Next stop: Switzerland. The land of chocolate, the Alps, Roger Federer, and cheese with holes. We made our way from Salzburg to Fribourg (via Zurich). This was certainly one of the most scenic train rides we had. Spectacular views of mountains and lakes throughout. Also, as we crossed the border from Austria into Switzerland I instantly felt an aura of peacefulness and neutrality sweep over me…so Swiss...

Because this blog can try to be somewhat relevant too...

(As only a momentary break from the EuroTrip series)

It came across my Twitter feed that someone tried to "pie" the Murdochs during James Murdoch's Parliament testimony on the NewsCorp hacking-gate. Now, I haven't been following this story to closely because I was already pretty sure that NewsCorp was a bunch of hacks.  But seeing good ole' James, who some of you might remember I saw live in action late last year (see my full post on his event here), in the news was kind of fun.  Here's an excerpt of my impressions of Mr. Murdoch...

“May I ask you a question…what’s wrong with market incentives?” – John Murdoch, CEO of News Corp (aka Rupert Murdoch’s son)

Now to the juicy stuff.  As I mentioned, the final panel discussion consisted of the wunderkind Murdoch, John Witherow (Editor, Sunday Times), and Mathias Dopfner (visiting professor, German media mogul, and very tall Arnold Schwarzenegger sound alike).  Turned out to be an interesting panel in its lack of ideological diversity. 

Here’s how it went down…Murdoch played the role of slick, personable politician expounding on the beauty of journalism, how it betters society, and how the intrusion of government on media space is dangerous.  All fair and important points on their face…but you can certainly see room for misapplication (not to mention nausea from the pure schmaltziness of it).  Mr. Witherow fired the first real salvo (aka the shot heard round the world) with his attack on the BBC’s ‘intrusion’ into the Times’ domain of print media with their establishment of a robust, freely accessible website that was ‘unfairly competing’ because it was funded by government money.  This fired up the Cambridge crowd to no end (they apparently love them some government subsidized media).  The situation deteriorated quickly from there.

Mr. Witherow gave no pretense of being evenhanded, which I half admired.  He came right out and said that if the government keeps propping up BBC, all private media will disappear and all we’ll have left is government subsidized news.  That this argument is completely ludicrous for its sheer simplicity is pretty much irrelevant…at least we know where he stands.  Like I said…ideologues typically dislike nuance or matters of degree.  They prefer black and white.  This way of thinking creates problems because it makes it difficult to explain apparent anomalies like…how is the private media said to be ‘free’ and ‘untainted’ (as compared to say the BBC) when the majority of the mainstream media outlets are controlled by huge, highly centralized media conglomerates (e.g., News Corp) with their own political and corporate agendas and ideologies?  If media is such an important public good, why is publically sponsored media an attack against personal freedom?  Once again it’s all about the nuance and ambiguity.

Meanwhile, Dr. Dopfner maybe said something like, “the BBC is a tumah.”  That’s how I imagined it at least.

Here’s the kicker though, Mr. Slick and Cool himself, finally cracked in an exchange with a particularly vehement defender of the BBC and unleashed my most favorite quote above.  Nothing better encapsulates the simplicity of strident and unrelenting ideology.  “What’s wrong with market incentives?”  In other words, if you don’t hate the BBC, then it directly follows that you have a particular disdain for ‘the market’…capitalism…private enterprise…whatever.  If you support public media, you want to live in China.  Such extreme dichotomies are patently absurd…yet they persist in so many areas of our world.  It’s a sad and troubling phenomenon.

EuroTrip 2011: Part II – Salzburg, Austria

On the Salzburg Waterfront

From Venice, we continued our EuroTrip extravaganza with a train ride to Salzburg, Austria (via Innsbruck). This was our first real Euro rail experience of the trip, as the journey from Milan to Venice was a very short one. After arriving several hours early to the Venice station (as is my preferred style…being perpetually early is a highly underrated quality in my opinion), we had to wait quite a while for our departure. I assured Michelle that one is supposed to spend many hours waiting in train stations while Euro-tripping…I stand by this belief…

EuroTrip 2011: Part I – Milano and Venezia, Italia

Venezia

With coursework squarely in the books and my degree firmly guaranteed, it was just about time for one last road trip…EuroTrip style. We set out on July 5 for a 10-day train/plane trek through Northern Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and the south of France (and we even apparently passed through Lichtenstein, whatever that is…and possibly a thin sliver of Germany, it’s hard to say for sure, but that little bit of the trip did seem pretty boring and humorless…so it probably was). 

As always, you can find all the photographic evidence in the photo albums linked from the homepage (as I post them).

Wimbledon 2011: Men’s Semifinals - As it Happened

The second Friday at Wimbledon is without a doubt one of the best days on the tennis calendar every year.  This year was no different, although unfortunately the great Federer wasn’t around to participate in the festivities.  Roger’s absence was perhaps the only dark spot on what otherwise was an amazing day of tennis.  Oh yeah, and we were lucky enough to have Centre Court tickets.

Wimbledon: Men's Semifinals - In Photos

Edinburgh and Durham

Ah…Edinburgh, the city of…something, I guess.  And of course the capital of…well, something I guess (the confusing entity that is Scotland).  But what Edinburgh may lack in snappy city monikers and political influence, it more than makes up for in style and history.  And metal giraffes…

Definitely the best metal giraffes I've ever seen

Heat Wave!

A virtual heat wave has swept through the south of England today. Temperatures have reached a sultry 90 degrees Fahrenheit in Cambridge.  Without air conditioning, this is a bit uncomfortable, but I guess it will prepare us for our return to Florida next month.  And on the plus side, the hot weather provides a cornucopia of topics for conversation.  You know the type, "It's blazing out there today...a real scorcher...it's so hot!"  There won't be a moment of awkward silence as long as the heat sticks around.  Of course, it's supposed to be back in the 60's by Wednesday...

Wimbledon: Wednesday

On Wednesday we were back for more…this time queue style.  One of the big traditions at Wimbledon is the queue, which is pretty unique for major sporting events because you can line up the morning of (or night before for the more hardcore fans) and gain entry for reasonable prices. Plus, a substantial number of tickets for Centre Court, Court 1, and Court 2 are made available.  Unfortunately for us, the British favorite Andy Murray was on Court 1 on Wednesday, so the queue was longer than Tuesday.  We got in line at 7:30 and just missed the last of the Court 2 tickets.  I wanted those because my old nemesis Mardy Fish was first on Court 2.  Anecdotally, the Murray effect is quite large as the person sitting behind us on Centre Court on Tuesday said they got tickets from the queue and they said they entered also around 7:30.

The Queue

Working it out in the queue, guns like those don't make themselves

 Anyway, we landed grounds passes and got to see a lot of this to start with.

 

I have to say though that the Wimbledon weather forecasters are pretty solid.  They said at 11 a.m. that it would dry up by 3 p.m. and play ended up starting at 3:30.  The weather delay gave me that chance to try clock my serve in the Let’s Play tent (a somewhat respectable 85 mph…I could definitely compete with second serves of the women).  And we also had more time to eat 6 to 8 more containers of these…

Apparently the strawberries are special ordered and delivered from Kent.  It shows.  The consistency and quality is incredible.  I really can’t say enough about this.

And most importantly during the rain delay, I learned once again how great my wife is.  The couple behind us on Court 12 during the delay featured the whiniest girl friend/wife ever.  At about 11:30, she was complaining that they had now "wasted the entire day" and that sitting there waiting for it to stop raining was "ridiculous."  I did like the guy's reply though..."It's not even noon yet...how have we wasted the whole day?"  And also while we were waiting for the weather to clear, Venus was playing on Centre Court.  She dropped the first set in a tiebreaker prompting the guy beside us to say, "Venus isn't out of it."  My wife responded eagerly, "No way...Venus is a fighter, she's never out of it."  (I was like, "Huh, where did that come from?  I like it.")  The guy then said, "I wouldn't be surprised if she comes back and wins."  My wife asserted with great conviction, "Oh, she'll definitely win."  (I'm so not worthy...and by the way, Venus won 8-6 in the third). 

We finally got to see some live action on Court 12.  Richard Gasquet versus Igor Kusnitsyn.  Gasquet has an awesome backhand and pretty much dominated.  But the highlight of the match was definitely the chair umpire (see below…it’s pretty obvious why).

Kusnitsyn, Gasquet, and the dreamy chair umpire

Richard

So, I guess that's about it.  We have to run off to Edinburgh now, so that's all I've got time for.

Wimbledon: Tuesday (More PIctures)

Wimbledon: Tuesday

Inside Centre Court

 Wimbledon certainly is another of my British sports promised lands (along with St. Andrew’s).  And while seeing and walking on the Old Course at St. Andrew’s is certainly one of my top sports experiences…I’m not sure if even that can compete with experiencing Wimbledon in full force. 

We made a two day trip down to London and were able to see almost everything Wimbledon has to offer…except Rafael Nadal…

Wimbledon Coverage

Our pilgrimage to the promised land...aka The 125th Wimbledon Championships aka The All England Lawn Tennis Club aka The Championships aka "A waste of an entire day" (seriously...I heard this last one...much more on that later). 

Be on the lookout for wall-to-wall coverage with lots of pictures and commentary tomorrow.  In our two days, we saw a lot of the big names and some of the other fodder.  We had some great weather and some terrible weather...typical Wimbledon.  We had the best strawberries in the world...in copious amounts.  It was a great experience.

For now, here's a bit of video footage I captured from the John Isner v. Nicholas Mahut first-round match.  Luckily for us, the match clocked in at about 9 hours shorter than their match-up last year.  And Michelle's favorite player (Mr. Isner) prevailed.  He is quite dreamy after all...and so tall.

One thing I noted watching Isner is that I really feel like I could make it as a tennis coach for professional players.  First off, Isner is 6'9", so telling him to bend his knees more would almost definitely be appropriate. Second, telling him to hit more aces would be a solid strategy. And finally, all I would really do is nail his size 16 shoes to the baseline during practice until he becomes comfortable taking the ball early. There's really no reason for a man his size to be endangering the lives of the lines men and women by rallying from 6 yards behind the baseline...ever.  Heck, he should never stray more than a couple of feet beyond the baseline. If you lose some points quickly by playing more aggressively, so be it...it will pay off in the end.  In all the points in the video he maintained very positive court positioning...it's no surprise he won them all. Simple as that. The ball is in your court John. $250,000 per year plus travel expenses and I'll put you in the top 10....

Big plans...

Because who doesn't enjoy a miniature pine cone?

Plan for the next 2+ days...

1.  Attend lecture by Nobel Laureate economist and NY Times columnist Paul Krugman tonight. Travel down to London afterwards. Might not have time to blog about this talk, but I'm assuming it will be good.  Krugman is pretty awesome and always seems to be a much needed voice of reason in the economics debates. Also, you might remember him from his incredibly random cameo appearance in Get Him to the Greek.

2.  Tomorrow morning, suit up in our best all-whites, take the underground to Wimbledon, devour some strawberries and cream, and take in some Centre Court action from our front (and by front I mean back) row seats. How cool is it that those of us who are sufficiently tech savvy and quick on the trigger (like me, obviously) can buy tickets for Centre Court at the greatest tennis tournament in the world the day before you want to go for less than 50 pounds? I read somewhere that the Wimbledon ticketing process should be the model for all major sporting events...so far, I would agree.

3.  Repeat #2, but this time joining the morning queue for grounds passes...to get the full experience.  Practice court and outside court action is usually the best watching at the big tournaments.

Feel like I should be blogging…

…since I really have no excuse not to.  Other than basking in the sunny (or as has recently been the case, not so sunny) bliss of post-exam glory, I really don’t have much going on.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, having to wake up by 11:30 (or so) is pretty rough, but we’ve been managing to pull it off with flying colors.  And watching six full seasons of How I Met Your Mother in less than two weeks was no easy task, but we managed (I know, please save your congratulations and direct any congratulatory gifts to your favorite charity).  I really don’t know how we’re going to adjust to a return to the working world, if…and I shudder at the mere thought…that day should ultimately come.  Big props to all you long-time 9-to-5-ers out there.  I don’t know how you do it.  I personally think that such jobs, with rigidly fixed hours as opposed to those mythical creatures that require 80 hour work weeks (not saying I believe the latter actually exist, they are most likely fantastical creations that give people something to talk and complain about at dinner parties) are absolutely the most taxing. At least jobs that require extra effort and longer hours must have some level of challenge and interest (I would think)…while the typical 9-to-5 is simply soul sucking. Trust me, I know.  I held such a position for a solid 11 months.  One of the worst experiences of my life. 

Hmmm…how did I wander into this topic?  Oh yeah, boredom.

-  I did forget to mention a couple of fun points from our recent Yorkshire trip. One night in the hotel, I was quite ambitious while sleeping (this brain never shuts off) and decided to head butt the corner of the bedside table not once, but twice.  The first one was rather tame, but the second head butt clearly showed the table who was boss.  It did leave me with a nice knot (or knott?) on my forehead, but it was worth it.  I hated that table.  Michelle commented that I was flopping around all night like a fish out of water.  Solid simile.  Another good one would have been, “you were flopping around all night like a Duke basketball player trying to defend someone athletic.”

Also, the great thing about having a car for a few days was it gave us the chance to catch up on our radio music.  Hipness like this doesn’t maintain itself.  A couple of comments. If the incredible Jessie J hasn’t taken over the American music market yet, just wait…she’s coming. Great voice…plus, I’ve been asking for a long time, “When is someone finally going to write a song that pays homage to price tags?”  Finally! Thank you Jessie J…you earned a follower on Twitter with that one.  Also, great to see Chris Brown making a comeback. However, it’s really confusing when he, JLS, and LMFAO have the exact (and I mean exact) same intro to their hit songs.  What…you haven’t heard of JLS? Get with it.  And speaking of Chris Brown, Rihanna’s new song is beautiful.  No, not that one…the other one.

-  Let’s see…what else have I been doing to kill time?  Well, I have started reading books by Eric Hobsbawm.  I had never heard of him before hearing him mentioned by several of the students in my program.  Turns out he’s one of the top historians of the 20^th century…apparently somewhere along the line my education failed me. Anyway, his books are quite interesting and informative.  I read a good chunk of his autobiography, which was fun because he studied and worked at Cambridge for many years during the 1930’s and 1940’s (and he’s still alive today…which is pretty incredible).  Also, he’s a committed communist/Marxist, which provides a really unique perspective. I know, I know…communist?  “Communists are evil…blah, blah, blah,” says every closed-minded person. However, history…and especially 20^th century history, looks a lot different (and is probably more accurate) when the goal of the historian is not to espouse and defend the unquestioned virtues of capitalism.  Open mindedness is a good thing…yet it is sadly lacking from American life outside of a few intellectual centers.  Case in point, publishing this paragraph likely forecloses any possibility of me ever running for elected office. Oh well…

-  Wimbledon next week!  We’re so ready to get our queue on.  Hopefully it won’t rain the whole time.  Quick comments on the men’s draw.  Mahut-Isner first round rematch of their 70-68 fifth set classic last year…how crazy is that coincidence?  Also, Nadal’s draw seems pretty smooth through to the semis I would think.  Murray’s is trickier with Roddick floating in his quarter.  Federer and Djokovic should get through, I think. Would not be surprised to see a repeat of the French Open semifinals with the top four seeds all getting through.

Yorkshire, Thirsk, Nottingham…and parts in between

With exams safely in the books and nothing left to do on the academic front but anxiously await notice of whether I’m worthy of being a human being or not, Michelle and I sallied forth on a little jaunt into the northern hill country.  We rented a car for the trip because we’re American and therefore hate public transportation.  Really, it was just more convenient and cost-effective this time because we were going to places off the main rail lines…and the rail system is pretty much rubbish and over-priced now since privatization (darn you Thatcher!).  Anyway, the good news is we managed to score a…wait for it…Mercedes Benz as our rental car.  Yeah, how do you like us now?  Apart from the Benz, I had been eagerly awaiting this trip ever since we came to England for several reasons…which shall be elaborated on in due time…

What I'd been waiting for...

Perhaps I never consciously realized what it was, but there was something that has drawn me through much of this past year to the 3rd floor cafe overlooking the River Cam.  I've mentioned the cafe before, it's my favorite chill out spot in Cambridge.  But several weeks ago, I finally experienced what I'd probably been waiting for all along...

It was an ordinary afternoon.  I was on my laptop, sipping a cappuccino, and distractedly watching the punts and row boats passing by in the river below.  When suddenly it happened.  A young couple hired a row boat for an afternoon outing.  There boat was the type where the guy sits, facing his lovely lady and controls both oars with what can only be described as impeccable virility.  You know the type of rowboat...they are often featured in old romantic movies and Andy Griffith episodes when escaped prisoners try to escape but are foiled by a leaky boat.  Anyway, this particular guy was having some trouble steering his boat (no, that's not code).  The poor guy was bouncing off the side walls of the river and ended up pretty much spinning the boat hopelessly in a circle.  Eventually, the woman that runs the boat hire had to come rescue the couple and pull them back to shore.  How emasculating.  I, however, was thoroughly entertained and was a bit sad that the ordeal was over.

Much to my surprise (and delight), minutes later another different type of boat, one where each person controls one free paddle, came bouncing from side to side down the river.  It was the same couple.  Brilliant!  While still trapped in the harbor area, the boat started spinning around again...like a toy boat in a draining bath tub.  By this point, the girl had pulled her oar from the water, placed it across her lap, and folded her arms across her chest in the classic, "I'm done with this" pose.  As a guy, I had serious pity for the poor chap hopelessly trying to salvage his boat trip and maintain his dignity.  We've all been there.  Anyway, I have to give him big props for persevering and directing the boat out of the harbor and down the river...ricocheting from side to side the entire way.

By this point I was thoroughly delighted and all the hours I'd spent in the cafe seemed well worth it.  I do wonder though...did that couple ever make it back?

Complexity Part II: Learn from one of my professors...

...Dr. Ha-Joon Chang.  Here's a link to an interview with the author of Bad Samaritans and 23 Thinks They Don't Tell You About Capitalism. He also happens to be my development economics professor. 

Ha-Joon Chang on TheRealNews.com

I've certainly learned a lot from Dr. Chang. Most importantly, the value of questioning those things that are passed off as 'fundamental historical truths.'  For example, it is often peddled, by those of a certain ideology, that the industrial powers (the U.S., Britain, Japan, Germany, etc.) achieved their current levels of prosperity through purely 'free-market' policies. In fact, this couldn't be further from the truth as all of them utilized highly interventionist policies during their prime growth years, including healthy doses of tariffs, subsidies, state-owned enterprises, and quantitative restrictions. In essence, the on-going attempt of the 'free-market' establishment to re-write history and force developing countries to adopt policies that they themselves did not use amounts to, in the words of Fredrich List, "kicking away the ladder."

While I don't have time to go into Dr. Chang's arguments in-depth (I do have exams this week after all), I highly recommend his books. It's a sad commentary on the current state of economic debate that his reasoned and factual analysis is considered heterodox, or outside the mainstream. It would seem that most of us are not ready to embrace complexity and question some of our most basic assumptions.

I'm all about development right now...

...doing stuff like this.

Can't believe it took me so long to figure out...

...Taste of Cambridge equals my Cambridge Qdoba.  Classic Falafel = Vegetarian Burrito.  All is right with the world again...

Time to drive up traffic...

...and nothing drives traffic to blogs like pictures of dogs in funny hats.  And when it's chihuahuas...it's like a triple bonus.

 

So yeah, that was the Stateside celebration over the weekend, but the dogs had nothing on the UK celebration.  I've got one word for you...Kambar.  What's the Kambar?  Just the koolest place in Cambridge...and possibly the world...duh.  In a nutshell, it's a ratty and grungy bar/club in the city centre that attracts the cream of the Cambridge crop for late-night shenanigans.  It features a stoplight, a cheap chandelier (think of your grandmother's dining room for a visual), alternative-ish music, a cramped dance floor, drinks in plastic cups, strobe lights, and of course, the persistent thunk-thunk-thunk of the dj dropping his beats.  Heaven.  Can't believe it took me so long to find it...I'll probably be spending pretty much every night there from now on...because that's how I roll.

Amsterdam...you know what that means

Keukenhof Gardens...aka the promised land

So yes, we went to Amsterdam last weekend.  Yes, it has taken me a long time to blog it out.  Yes, it was pretty much ridiculous...as expected.  No, the delay in blogging does not suggest that the weekend turned into a recreation of The Hangover (as far as you know).  In actuality, it's just been an insane week...you know how my life is...crazy busy.  Anyway, here's what I thought about A-Dam...full picture tour available in the album.

Complexity – Part I

Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned this year is to better recognize and appreciate complexity. We, as humans, love nothing more than to simplify things, to create simple black and white dichotomies, to attempt to find simple answers for complex problems. It’s only natural, but it is terribly dangerous. My aim is to create a series on complexity to examine this phenomenon a bit more closely. In Part I, I will look at the recent death of Osama bin Laden, and specifically, the reaction to the news in America. I believe the popular reaction is incredibly revealing in ways that most of us fail to recognize.

Royal Wedding

In case you didn't hear, there was a wedding in London yesterday.  Michelle went...I didn't.  I invited Michelle to serve as a guest blogger and give a first hand account, but she declined.  I think she said something like, "Why would I do that?  It's not like anyone reads that thing anyway."  Fair point.

However, I did manage to steal her photos and video.

All I have to say is...all hail the new Duke and Duchess of CAMBRIDGE!  (How do you like us now Oxford...that's what I thought! Don't worry though...maybe you'll get Harry or something as a consolation. Bwahahaha!)

One of several relatively obscure pre-wedding processional shots...see the album for the complete set.

Where all the magic happened at 1:26 BDT.

Remember when the Mayberry Band brought in the ringers form Freddy Fleet and his Band with a Beat to fool the mayor?  The way they wear their hats kind of reminds me of that...like they're trying to hide something.