Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then

I can't believe I got one right--Portugal 2-1 over the Netherlands!

Shake, rattle, and roll

An article in English about the recent earthquakes.

It's been awhile since I've scanned the English section of the Basler Zeitung, so I'm shocked to see there was a shooting in the Marktplatz, which is right in the heart of downtown, when I was in North America a couple of weeks ago. Not long before that, a policeman was killed. Geez, I thought we left all that when we left DC...

Qu'est-ce que c'est tupperware?

With Gretchen being gone for so long I've tried really hard to keep our place spotless (this is the part where Gretchen says "washing the sheets every six weeks is not spotless"...you say tomato, I say tomahto). But--cue the violins--with having to work long hours and travel, and with Grady shedding enough in one day to make wigs for an '80s hair band and its audience, it just got to be too much. So, I decided to hire someone (I guess I can say I have a French maid now, although whatever image you have in your head of a French maid, it's the 180-degree opposite) to clean the flat once a week and this was her first week. I felt decadent and maybe even a little guilty having someone clean up after me, but after coming home the first time and seeing how clean everything was, I'm sold. And she irons my shirts, too! Decadent doesn't feel so bad after all!

So anyway, she came over in the morning and that day I was sitting at lunch and my cellphone rang, which pretty much never happens. I answered and it turned out it was Henriette, the cleaning lady. Now, it's hard enough not being fluent in a language (in this case French, which at least is better for me than German) in normal circumstances, but there's something especially stressful about having to talk on the phone. In person you can use hand gestures, facial gestures, etc., but on the phone it's completely different. So naturally I immediately panicked and handed the phone to a Canadian colleague who speaks French. Turns out French Canadian and French French aren't identical (especially since the Alsace has its own dialect), but all he could figure out is that she took some plastic boxes and did I need them back or did I want them recycled? I had no idea what he was talking about, so I went home after lunch and couldn't figure out if there were any plastic boxes missing. I called Gretchen and she mentioned something about there being a bag filled with tupperware--right next to the recycling. That's it! So it turns out she took all of our tupperware. (Evidently they don't use tupperware in France--they probably use "ceramic" or "glass" or eat "fresh food" instead of saving and reheating it...I pity them.) I had my colleague call the number that had appeared on my cellphone (naturally I didn't have her number and the colleague who referred her to me was on vacation) and he left a message asking her to please not throw away our tupperware, but the fact is I won't know until I get back from Wisconsin whether all of our tupperware ended up in a recycling bin somewhere near Mulhouse.

Semifinals

Since I didn't make enough of an idiot of myself with the last round of picks, I'm a glutton for punishment so let me try again for the semifinals of Euro 2004 (heck, if I get even one right that bumps my percentage up from 25% to 50%).

Tonight: Portugal vs. Netherlands. This is the tougher of the two matches to pick, and will probably be the better match (just like I thought Czech Republic-Denmark would be a good match...oops). Portugal's got the home-team thing going on and everyone says it's a great place to visit, but when do you ever hear about anything in Portugal? It's not quite as obscure as, say, Luxembourg or Malta, but it's pretty much overshadowed by Spain. The Netherlands, on the other hand, are the closest thing to a big country left in the tournament, and unlike Portugal, everyone knows about the Dutch because of their liberal attitudes toward drugs, sex, assisted suicide, etc. (I'm thinking this is not the favored team of the Republican Party). I work with a fair number of people from the Netherlands and they're eminently sensible and practical (they're like the Canadians of Europe) and all seem to speak at least four languages fluently (including English, which they speak better than me and most other Americans). So, good reasons to pull for both of them. All the pressure is on Portugal as the home team, but the Netherlands have a long history of underachieving in tournaments like this. It's a toss of the coin, but I'll go with Portugal riding local support to the finals in a close match.

Tomorrow: Czech Republic vs. Greece. This is easy, since the Czech Republic was the only team I picked correctly in the last round. Greece has been a nice story, but it would probably be for the best if they and their fans were to get back to Athens as soon as possible to help out with the Olympic preparations. Time's a-wastin'! Also, I've been to Prague but never to Greece (does having been in a fraternity in college count?), so I have a personal tie to the Czech Republic. Greece probably has better food, but the Czech Republic has better beer. Put it all together and Czech Republic it is.

(All of which means that chances are it'll be a Netherlands-Greece final...)

I'm smiling already

From this week's Onion:

U.S. Changes Motto To 'America... We're Gonna Make Ya Smile'

WASHINGTON, DC—After a focus group determined "In God We Trust" to be "boring," the U.S. introduced a new motto Monday: "America... We're Gonna Make Ya Smile." "We feel the new motto projects a more playful image for the nation," State Department spokesman Marlon Harris said. "This new slogan tells the world that America Is Fun Country." Harris added that "E Pluribus Unum" will be replaced on all currency with "U.S. Fever—Catch It!"

Certainly not the language of love

This is an example of why I'm not sure I'll ever be capable of learning German--one of the organisations we work with is the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht. Try saying that ten times fast...

Earthquake here, too?

Just when I'm about to give Gretchen a hard time about an earthquake in Wisconsin, it turns out we had another earthquake the other night here also (which I didn't feel). These are all still puny by California standards--I laugh at these silly little tremors you call earthquakes!--but it's just a little bit unnerving that they're happening at all.

An earthquake? In Wisconsin?

Well, it wasn't centered in Wisconsin, but supposedly you could feel it here. It's true. At 1:10 AM on Monday, an earthquake centered 70 miles southwest of Chicago (measuring 4.1) was felt as far north as central Wisconsin. I slept through it, but I've heard from others in Madison who said that it was actually strong enough to wake them up. As one UW-Madison professor was quoted as saying in the local paper: "First a tornado and now an earthquake? What is going on?" I agree-- I thought I was safe from these things by not living in California!!

You can't make stuff like this up

I'm not sure what I enjoy more about this--the thought of seeing both Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Scorpions (among others) in concert, or that there is a link for something called "booby".

Top 10

It's been awhile, but here's the latest from Radio Basel 1 on what the kids are listening to these days:

(1) Haiducii - Dragostea din tei
(2) Britney Spears - Everytime
(3) Zucchero feat. Mousse T. - Il grande baboomba
(4) Blue - Breath Easy
(5) Eamon - F**k It (I Don't Want You Back)
(6) Keane - Somewhere only we know
(7) Alanis Morissette - Everything
(8) Mario Winans feat. Enya & P. Diddy - I Don't Wanna Know
(9) Baby Bash - Suga Suga
(10) Kelis - Trick me

Like you care, but...

...not only was the ref who made the controversial call in the Portugal-England match last week Swiss, but I just looked at the stack of mail on the dining room table and it turns out he was on the cover of last week's newsletter from one of the local grocery stores. (I'm not sure, but this may be the most irrelevant post ever...)

Reminds me of Gretchen's favorite Warrant song...

If May/June was asparagus (spargel) season, we have evidently now moved on to cherry season. If you drive around the countryside, it seems like all the small towns will have at least one place with a big "KIRSCH" sign selling fresh cherries. Plus, it turns out our neighborhood is jam-packed with cherry trees, and unlike the ones in DC, these actually produce cherries (see picture below). Today there were people on my block with big ladders picking cherries from their trees. The only downside (other than not really caring that much for cherries) is that they fall over the ground, and Grady of course wants to eat them, pit and all. Walking down our street is a bit like negotiating a minefield in that regard.

Gut Hund

Grady actually did me proud today. I took him to Mariastein, which is known for its monastery (and which is near the town of Flüh, which I just like saying). Since I had Grady with me I couldn't actually go in the monastery, but we did walk around quite a bit. I was really hungry and decided to risk sitting with him on the patio of a restaurant. The only other time I did that he barked at me, sniffed the waitress's butt, begged for food, etc. This time I guess I wore him out well enough, because he layed down almost the entire time, only barked once or twice, and thankfully ignored the waitress (a hearty older frau who would not have been amused). He slowly makes strides, which I guess you would hope for an 8-year old dog.

Finally got one right!

The Czech Republic moves on with a 3-0 win over Denmark in what was actually a fairly uninspiring match, and I somehow manage to avoid being 0 for 4 on my picks.

Make that 0 for 3

Don't say I can't pick 'em! Tonight the Netherlands beat Sweden on penalty kicks. The Czech Republic tomorrow is my only hope of salvaging a scrap of dignity from this tournament...

0 for 2

Since I picked France, I suppose it was to be expected that Greece upset them last night 1-0. That doesn't bode well for Sweden tonight...

Yeah, I know...

...probably 99% of the people reading this could care less about soccer (possibly 100% if Ryan isn't around), but humor me--other than soccer, my televised sports options here seem to be team handball, Formula One racing, billiards, cycling, and in the winter, biathlon. I'll take soccer, thank you very much.

Wow!

Well, my first pick is already history as Portugal beat England in a wild match. England scored in the first few minutes of the game to go up 1-0 and dominated most of the first half. Then in the second half they seemed to just sit back on defense to hold their lead (it was like watching some of Duke's NCAA tournament games when they've tried to nurse a lead). Sure enough, with only 5-10 minutes left in the match, Portugal tied it up 1-1. England appeared to score the go-ahead goal with almost no time remaining, but they were called for interfering with the goalkeeper.

So, with the game tied 1-1 after 90 minutes, it went to extra time. No scoring during the first 15 minutes, and onto the second period of extra time. 5 minutes later, Portugal scores on a brilliant shot to go up 2-1. Game to Portugal, right? Wrong! There's no sudden death--England have about 10 minutes to try to tie it up again. Sure enough, about 5 minutes later they score off a corner kick to tie it up 2-2. The crowd has been wild the entire game, and at this point they are going absolutely insane--Portugal is playing at home, and England has a huge crowd of supporters who were louder than the locals for much of the game.

So, after 120 minutes it goes to penalty kicks. England up first with David Beckham...who lofts it way over the net! If Portugal makes all their shots, they win. Portugal's first shooter scores. Then England. Then Portugal. Then England. The third Portugese shooter blows it and, like Beckham, boots it high! So it's even at 2-2 after 3 shots each. England scores. Portugal scores. England scores, so all the pressure is on Portugal--if they miss this, England wins. But they make it, so it's 4-4 and now it's basically sudden death. England scores, pressure on Portugal who match. England's seventh man shoots but Portugal's keeper guesses correctly and saves it! All Portugal has to do is score and they win. They send their goalkeeper to take the shot--he makes it and Portugal win in dramatic fashion.

I'm just glad I have no ties to either team--if I did, my adrenaline would be pumping so hard I wouldn't sleep tonight...

Terrible

Don't read any further if you're squeamish about animal cruelty (who isn't?). Both free papers had stories today that, near as I can tell with my limited German, are about how someone found a dog that had been abused and weighed down with heavy stones before being dropped in the Rhine. That's awful, but it's also awful that both papers felt an obligation to print a picture of the dead dog. Hopefully the point was to make people so angry that they turn in whoever was responsible. If Gretchen were here she'd be very upset, and I wouldn't blame her.

Whole lotta shakin' goin' on

Go figure--according to Christian's blog there was an earthquake here the other night. A friend at work asked if I felt it as well. I didn't feel it--3.8 isn't very strong by California standards, and evidently I don't have one of those dogs that alerts their owners before an earthquake. The strange thing is that it was the second earthquake since I've been here. The first one, back in February, hit while I was at work and it felt much more like home (which is a strange thing to say, now that I think about it). After living in the Bay Area in 1989 and L.A. in 1994 I thought I was through with earthquakes (at least until we move back to California), but I guess not. Maybe I shouldn't say anything or Gretchen isn't going to want to come back to Basel--well, at least we haven't had any tornadoes (yet)...

Quarterfinals

It's down to the final eight teams in Euro 2004, and while I don't know much about the remaining teams, why should I let that stop me from trying to make foolish predictions? I can't do much worse at picking these games than I usually do at picking the NCAA basketball tournament (actually, I probably can do much worse):

Tonight: Portugal vs. England. Lots of drama in this one. I'd kind of like to see Portugal win since they're a small country and are the hosts, but my gut tells me England pulls it out. (Side bet: a minimum of 100 drunken Brits will be arrested after the game--more if they lose. I highly recommend Among the Thugs by Bill Buford for a fascinating look at British hooligan culture.)

Friday: France vs. Greece. The "who cares?" game. Greece is a nice story for making it this far. France is hard to support for a variety of reasons completely unrelated to the war in Iraq--I mean, France is one of my favorite places and I visit as often as I can but, c'mon, they're French for chrissakes. The whole Jerry Lewis thing alone is reason not to pull for them. But Zinedine Zidane is so freakin' good it's scary. Plus, I can't stand ouzo. So I guess I'll take France in this one.

Saturday: Sweden vs. Netherlands. While Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities (don't get any funny ideas about that...), I think I have to celebrate my Nordic roots here. The Netherlands are probably the better team but they're perpetually on the brink of self-destruction, plus their orange uniforms remind me of Syracuse University, which I've never liked. So, what the heck--I'll go with Sweden.

Sunday: Czech Republic vs. Denmark. This will probably be the most fun game of the four to watch since both teams have a balls-out playing style. Forget what I said in the earlier game about my Nordic roots; the Czech Republic has to get props for beating Germany last night with their second team. Plus, before the tournament a well-informed Dutch colleague told me the Czech Republic were his sleeper team, and that has to count for something.

So, England, France, Sweden, Czech Republic are my picks, which is probably the kiss of death for at least three of them...

Hornswaggled

From Wonkette, a link to How the Me of Now was Tricked by the Me of Yesterday Into Going to War by President George W. Bush.

Excitement in Madison

Word from Gretchen is that there was a tornado in Madison last night--sirens were going off and they had to take cover, but it wasn't close to their house so they're fine. We had our share of natural disasters growing up in California, but thankfully that wasn't one of them...

If you can read this you're too close

I have to preface this with two observations. First, bumper stickers (other than the ubiquitous "CH" stickers, which don't count) are fairly rare here. You may see the occasional FC Basel sticker, but by and large you don't know whose kid was an honor student, which political party people support, how people feel about abortion, who attended what college, whose karma ran over whose dogma, etc. Second, while I can't claim much first-hand knowledge in this regard, my perception is that the Swiss don't really strike me as an in-your-face, rock-the-boat people. Privacy, discretion, and modesty (perhaps even conformity?) seem to be valued.

With that in mind, imagine my surprise when I pulled behind a car today with a bumper sticker that said "Don't like how I'm driving? Dial 1-800-EAT-SHIT". It may have been the most out-of-context, un-Swiss thing I've seen since I've been here. But then it occurred to me that with something that tasteless, they almost had to be American expats, right? And you can bet that just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...

Things I learned today

(1) If you announce to the world (or at least to people who read your blog) that you've had a good night, you significantly increase the odds that you'll spill coffee down the front of your shirt and suit first thing the next morning.

(2) If you remind yourself all afternoon that you have to stop at the store on the way home from work, chances are you'll immediately forget as soon as you get in your car.

(3) If you put on a rain coat and rain pants to walk the dog because it was pouring when you got home, it's a good bet that the sun will suddenly come out when you're a couple of blocks from home and the combination of nylon, sun, and moisture will make you feel like you're making weight for a wrestling competition.

Amazing

Gretchen helpfully pointed out that when I'm in Wisconsin in a few weeks, I'll get to indulge one of my guilty pleasures: the latest season of The Amazing Race will be premiering. I'm not big on the whole reality TV thing (despite my former bad habit of watching The Real World and Road Rules), but I've really gotten sucked into the Amazing Race in the past. The premise is this: pairs of people (mostly stereotypical: the older couple, the college buddies, the gay couple, the father and son, the couple at a crossroads in their relationship, etc., but with the occasional wild card thrown in, like "Best Friends/Clowns" and "Dating 12 Years/Virgins") race around the world based on sets of clues while performing tasks along the way. Granted, the downside is that ugly Americanism sometimes runs rampant--cutting in line, being loud, yelling at the locals (because if you don't speak the language, of course it helps to just speak louder), whining and complaining, etc. Still, the fun is in getting to see fun and exotic (and sometimes not-so-exotic) destinations, and the interpersonal dynamics are less important than on some other reality shows--the slowest team is dropped, but the other teams don't vote. And sometimes the ugliest Americans end up being humiliated, which is always fun to see (schadenfreude at its finest). Since we like to travel, it's sometimes fun to think about how we would handle certain situations, and it's also fun to speculate which of our friends and family members would be good teammates and which would end up killing each other. (Sometimes I think Gretchen and I could do it, but she always reminds me that I would have stomach issues and she would have to take too many breaks for snacks along the way.)

No comment...

No cows for them

Not surprisingly, the plucky Swiss team was knocked out of the tournament last night. I don't really care that much--it's not like I went out and bought a Swiss jersey or red and white face paint or anything--but it still would have been nice to see them do better, if for no other reason than to see the streets of Basel fill with wild revelers until all hours of the night (i.e., 11:00pm).

A good night

Tonight I booked a flight home to visit Gretchen and her mom, the first four seasons of The Sopranos on DVD arrived, I saw the end of two matches with exciting finishes (Italy barely edging Bulgaria in injury time only to be knocked out of the tournament because Sweden tied Denmark in the final minute of the other game), and it stopped raining (at least for the moment). For a week that began with Grady puking, me stapling my thumb, and having wicked jet lag, I'll take it.

That's okay

I'm feeling another Lyle Lovett moment coming on...

I said I don't like hippies
And I don't like cornbread
And I don't like much
I said I don't hippies
And I don't like cornbread
And I don't like much
But that's okay

'Cause fat babies have no pride
Fat babies have no pride
Fat babies have no pride
And that's okay
Who needs pride

(Supposedly he and a friend had a bet to see who could get the audience to sing along to the most ridiculous lyrics, and it doesn't get much dumber than "fat babies have no pride".)

Forget the Dairy State, this is the Dairy Nation

From last Friday's Globe and Mail (Canadian paper):

"It would be great if there were 23 cows waiting for us when we get off the plane at Zurich. I'd have mine with gravy." -- Swiss defender Bernt Haas, commenting on tennis player Roger Federer, who was given a cow on his return to Switzerland after winning Wimbledon last year.

Hopp Schwiiz!

Tonight's the big Switzerland-France match, which I'm sure everyone in the States will be taping. I doubt Switzerland has a prayer, but stranger things have happened. The funny thing is I may not even be able to watch it--our landlords have a German satellite system that doesn't have any of the Swiss stations (and we didn't get an antenna with our new TV), so if the German station is showing England-Croatia, I'm out of luck.

Blame it on the jet lag

As if I needed further proof that I am an idiot, this morning I was putting new staples in my stapler at work and was having trouble closing the cover, so I got a firm grip on the stapler and...proceeded to drive a staple deep into my thumb. It's such a little thing, but it hurt like a mutha****a.

The Wannabe Dairy State

Gretchen forgot to add that despite her good weekend, she was sadly unable to attend Cows on the Concourse downtown. Only in Wisconsin (where even the zoos have cows)...

Some good days in Wisconsin

Having a loved one with terminal cancer often helps me to remember to enjoy the most simple pleasures in life. We had a good weekend with some noteworthy adventures. On Friday, for the first time in 2 months, my Mom felt good enough to go out for lunch at the Original House of Pancakes (OHOP as Kirk likes to say). This was after she shook her finger at her tummy (the alleged home of her tumors) and said "Shape up, guys, I want to go out for lunch so you better behave". Any of you who know my Mom will not be surprised to hear that she's kept a sense of humor through it all. On Saturday, my sister and I took our Mom to her favorite local farmer's market where we bought some squeaky, fresh cheese curds along with some produce. Later in the day, my sister and I even managed to find time to get a pedicure (I recommend Aphrodite's Pink Nightie from OPI for a new summer color) and stop at Dairy Queen (I love red dilly bars). I know, it's a far cry from exploring the Alps with my beloved husband, but right now I am thankful for every day that I have with my Mom. By the way, does anyone know how OHOP manages to make the 49er flapjacks so gooey?

Lemuel

I finally got to meet my new nephew when I was in NYC, which was quite fun even though he pretty much slept the entire time.

Life's mysteries

Not to be too gross, but I can't help but wonder what it is about dogs that makes them puke and then immediately think "hey, that looks tasty--I think I'll eat up!" I guess the plus side is that it makes cleaning easier. (You can probably guess it was a fun first morning back from the kennel here...)

Football Fever...Catch It!

One of the odd things is that I was better informed about the the Euro 2004 football (soccer) tournament when I was in Ottawa than I am here. For some reason the Canadian papers and sports channels had thorough coverage of the tournament--I've never really thought of Canada as a soccer hotbed--whereas my lack of German knowledge makes it harder to follow here other than via the Internet. Since Norway isn't in the tournament I feel like I should pull for local underdog Switzerland (as the advertisement for the local supermarket says, "Hopp Schwiiz!"--my predecessor here said that when he ran in races in Switzerland, the locals would chant "hopp hopp hopp hopp!", as opposed to home, where you might hear "go go go" or "c'mon" or "alright" or "way to go" or "you can do it" or "pick up the pace, fat ass".) Anyway, barring a miracle--namely, beating France--Swiss hopes will be dashed tomorrow evening. After my jet lag knocked me out at 9:00 last night and made me miss the Czech Republic beating the Netherlands in what sounded like a great game, I'm hoping I can stay awake long enough to watch Spain vs. Portugal tonight.

Das Hundeleben

While this article is about dogs in Germany, a lot of it seems to be true of Switzerland as well. (Side note--this morning a dog came right up in Grady's face despite her owner's repeated screaming and scolding, so not all Swiss dogs are perfectly behaved. Just most of them.)

Not to mention two techno channels

I have to give a thumbs-up to Lufthansa--despite my luggage not making it to Basel, which I pretty much expected given a really tight connection in Frankfurt--for having not one, but three classical music channels (plus another for opera) on their in-flight audio program. To tune out the noise and help me sleep, I like to listen to classical music when I fly, but most airlines have just one channel and if it's not working or it they're on an opera kick, you're outta luck. That also made up for them showing the same movies both coming and going--I've now seen Master and Commander three times on recent flights (although I have to say it was a pleasant surprise).

?!?!?

When I left for North America last week, the San Diego Padres were in first place. I just got back and checked the standings and they're now in third place, four games back. What's up with that?! They seem to have been on a losing streak ever since I went to see them play the Yankees when I was in NYC--I must have jinxed them.

I thought the Washington Post was bad...

...about campaign coverage overkill, but that was before I read the Globe and Mail for a week. Canada is having an election in the next week or two, and I would say at least 80% of the front page is devoted to campaign coverage. I've even seen a few campaign ads, which by U.S. standards aren't so bad (this being mild-mannered Canada, after all).

The Basel 15

One of the things people warned me about before moving was the "Basel 15", which is the equivalent of the "freshman 15" in college--basically, a surplus 15 pounds. The strange thing, though, is that after my first few months in Basel, I had actually gone in the opposite direction; despite eating lots of pastries, chocolate, and hearty German and French fare, I actually lost weight, probably because I do so much more walking than before. (It doesn't help that I put on so many inches before leaving Washington that I had to donate half of my pants to charity and buy new, roomier pants.) Anyway, I think I have a point here...oh, yeah--now that I've spent 10 days on work travel, I understand where the Basel 15 comes from. The past week or so has consisted primarily of eating a big breakfast, sitting in a meeting all morning (with a break for coffee and pastries), eating a big lunch, sitting in a meeting all afternoon (with a break for coffee and cookies), eating a big dinner and dessert, then starting over again the next morning. The longest walk is from my room to the elevator. I guess the silver lining is that those new, roomier pants I bought seem to be fitting better again. Ugh.

O Canada

I'm still busy and exhausted in Ottawa, but hope to get back to posting soon...

What, no schnitzel or bratwurst?

One of the great joys of traveling is eating foods I don't get to eat very often at home, and there are few better cities for sheer culinary indulgence than New York. I had a mental list of things I wanted to eat, and I have to say mission accomplished (largely thanks to the sound advice of friends Sonali and Stacy). Indian? Check. Cheeseburger? Check. Thai or pan-Asian? Check. (And then tonight in Ottawa, seafood? Check.)

The downside is that the Padres lost 2 out of 3 to the Yankees (one of which I saw in person), but when you're eating well you can overlook something like that, at least temporarily...

One of these things is not like the other

There was something a little disconcerting today about coming into Newark Airport and seeing the signs indicating which airline was in which terminal, because one of the terminals had a bunch of international airlines...and Hooters Air (yes, in case you hadn't heard, the classy restaurant chain with an owl theme has its own airline, because evidently there was a niche market that wasn't being served). It was just a little strange to see El Al...Ethiopian Airlines...Hooters Air...KLM...

Stop the Insanity!

OK, I think that's just about enough Reagan funeral coverage--back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Avoid blue-green algae, people told

You may not believe me, but this is the top headline in the local Madison newspaper today. I realize that posting this topic could greatly jeopardize any credibility I have with Kirk over the beauty and quality of Wisconsin lakes, but I guess I'll just have to take the risk. The headline was too funny to pass up. The article goes on to say that one of the Madison beaches had to be closed yesterday after local officials announced that the lake (Lake Kegonsa) contains high levels of blue-green algae that can produce fatal toxins. I know, some of you Californians are now laughing about the fact that I would suggest that we have "beaches" in Wisconsin, but I'll take swimming with muskies and walleyes any day over jellyfish and sharks.

Evidently today is Curmudgeon Day

I really don't mean to be that cranky today, but just one more thing--I don't get this whole Reagan thing. I mean, he was a popular president and all that, but the outpouring of media coverage and mourners just seems a bit over-the-top (and I'm trying to avoid most of it--Gretchen said the news stations have been all-Reagan, all-the-time, all week). I'll admit my view could be shaded by my own political inclinations, but I think I'd feel the same way no matter who it was. (Incidentally I do hope that this results in greater attention to research on Alzheimer's--e.g., stem cell research--since Alzheimer's took my grandmother and I know how awful it is to see someone you love get to a point where they don't know you anymore and basically waste away mentally and physically.)

Why not leave a dirty diaper while you're at it?

Yesterday on the bus from the plane to the terminal at Frankfurt Airport, I was standing near a woman who was carrying a baby in one of those Baby Bjorn contraptions that is like a reverse backpack where the baby is carried in front facing forward. Well, as we neared the terminal, all of a sudden the baby basically projectile vomited all over the floor (thankfully, she was facing the opposite direction from me). Now maybe I'm being insensitive because I don't have kids, and it was only baby puke, but in that situation, shouldn't the mother try to do something to see that it's cleaned up? I can understand she couldn't clean it because she had the baby, but she had family with her--would it be too much to ask for them to try to clean it up? (People were handing them kleenex.) Or at least to let the driver know on the way out that someone should probably come and clean it up? Nope--we got to the terminal where we all had to dodge it on our way out and they all just walked right into the terminal without telling a soul. I feel bad for whoever got on after that--it could be like the first weekend Gretchen and I spent together in New York and a packed subway pulled up with one car much more empty than others, so we got on and realised it was empty because someone had hurled right there in the middle of the car and everyone was squeezed into both ends of the car to get as far away from it as possible, and at every stop you could see people get on the car and watch their faces shift from happiness to horror as they realised what they were encountering. Yeah, kinda like that...

Cough! Hack!

Have you ever stayed at a hotel and when you check in they tell you they're sorry but they only have smoking rooms available? But then you go to the room and realise you can't even tell it's a smoking room? Well, that wasn't the case here. My room smells like they clean all the hotel ashtrays by bringing them to my room and using the curtains, carpet, and bedspread to wipe them out. There's nothing like staying somewhere less than 24 hours and everything you brought smells like it's been in a Parisian cafe for a week. They've promised I can be moved today, which is good because otherwise I was going to have to arrange for a chest x-ray and fumigation of my suitcase upon return to Switzerland.

The Big Apple (and I don't mean Indianapolis)

Ah, New York! It was always jarring coming here from DC, but coming from Basel is something different altogether. I saw more ethnic diversity, psychotic drivers, and certified mental cases wandering the streets, and heard more car horns and cursing, in a 20-minute walk last night than in three months in Basel. Throw in some stifling heat and humidity (heat index still over 90 at bedtime last night) and a mediocre hotel room that costs an arm and a leg...I love this place!

Let your body move to the music

You know how some people just seem to have a knack for having crazy, outlandish experiences? Well, our friend Lee is one of those people. Some details had to be left out, but here is his report from a trip to LA to see Madonna in concert:

Wanted to update you guys on my trip to LA and Madonna. I honestly must say that had I known what I was in for I may have been too nervous to go through with it.

My friend Jay won tickets from [popular LA radio station] to the show. He was then entered in a grand prize drawing and won that too. That included, "the chance to meet Madonna for you and a guest and an autographed guitar." He had to drive out to the office in Burbank and sign over his life, bring his SocSec card, very complex and legal.

Michael and I flew out Thursday morning since the show was that night. We arrived at the venue 2 hours early as indicated by [popular LA radio station]. Madonna's tour manager came out and met us and started to give us this run down of the event. Several other people were with us wearing tags that said friends and family.

We all are taken into the empty venue, seated and we meet security agents who tell us how much trouble we'll be in if we do anything wrong. They then ask who the strongest dancers are and proceed to explain they have to be picked out because "we have to set the right mood for M." Needless to say, we were identified.

Along with the others we are taken down and under the stage into a recessed area on stage that is lowered from the rest of the stage by about 3 feet. The show is actually going to take place around us and it appears to the audience that we are part of the show.

When the lights went down and the video screens went on we couldn't see anything because the stage was so dark. Two flashlights go on near me and I still can't see anything until a what appears to be a dim lamp is switched on and there, about 4 feet away, is Madonna getting into a complex yoga pose. Madonna looks at me, smirks, and then starts laughing. Not at all in a mean way but sort of like, "can you believe this shit?" Throughout the show she high fived all of us, sweated on us and sang an acapella version of "Deeper and Deeper" while pointing at me and staring into my eyes for about 20 seconds. At that moment all the questions of the universe were answered for me.

The show is beyond fantastic. Madonna is the most positive and light (as in "The Light") force I believe I have ever been around. She is all show business making the dance routine look effortless. She seems to be a very happy person who is living her life her way and laughing at her detractors.

This is the kind of thing that would never happen to Gretchen and I (actually, I'm not sure we would want to be onstage at a Madonna concert)--it could only happen to Lee, which is good because he's one of those people who would make the most of the experience.

Driven to distraction

I've finally gotten a handle on driving here, but I still find it stressful. That may sound strange since the combination of bad roads, bad drivers, and traffic makes DC a miserable place to drive and things here are generally much more civilised. But I've driven for so long at home that I don't have to think very much, whereas here things are just different enough that I'm always having to concentrate. Here are some of the differences:

• Pedestrians. As in California, they have the right of way. Unlike in California, they actually have pedestrians here. The moment someone starts to put their foot in the crosswalk, you have to stop. And they seem to come out of nowhere--I don't know how many times the intersection has finally seemed clear and I've started a cross only to find myself bearing down on a horrified-looking old lady in the crosswalk directly in front of me.


• Cyclists. More of them, and unlike at home, drivers actually respect cyclists here. It's not quite Amsterdam (where bikes seem to outnumber cars by a longshot), but especially around the train station there are always lots of cyclists turning, changing lanes, etc. And if you get stuck behind someone riding their bike uphill, you don't even think about running them off the road. (Anyone who has tried to ride their bike on the streets of the DC area knows how insane the drivers can be in this regard.)


• Intersections. Often nightmarish. Some of the largest intersections in Basel don't have traffic lights, and in addition to cars, you have to deal with trams, pedestrians, and cyclists. Everyone says "just yield to the car on the right", but that's easier said than done when you have a tram bearing down on you, pedestrians crossing in front of you, and cars coming from all directions. We were once driving when Gretchen looked at a map and yelled "WE'RE ALMOST AT AESCHENPLATZ!", which is the worst such intersection, and we immediately pulled over and took back streets home.


• Traffic circles. Lots of them, but a lot easier than I expected.


• Stoplights. Before turning green, lights change to yellow. In theory I think this is supposed to give you time to put your car in gear (or start it up--some people turn their cars off at intersections). In practice it lets you gun it as the light is changing.


• Street width. It's not like an ancient Mediterranean village where the only thing that can get through the street is a scooter, but in general the streets are much narrower. Every time I drive home I feel like I'm going to take off all the mirrors on the parked cars. A couple of streets in our neighborhood only have room for one car to pass at a time. Interestingly, none of this seems to make people drive any slower.


• Speed limits. Not quite the Autobahn, but still much better than at home. I think the speed limit on motorways (freeways) is 120 kilometers per hour, or about 75 mph. Plus, I have yet to see police on the motorways. On the other hand, I've met a lot of people who have been caught by speed cameras on the motorway. Since speed limits aren't very well marked, I fear the Polizei are going to come knocking at my door one of these days with a stack of pictures of me driving 30 kph over the speed limit (and I don't think my lack of language skills would be an admissible excuse).


• Car horns. Never hear them. In DC using the horn was an art form; here I think it's punishable by death (or at least 10 years hard labor).


• Road signs. Often confusing. It's not that they're that hard to figure out, they're just often different from home and a lot smaller. For example, the first time I turned down a street and saw this sign, I thought it meant not to enter (it turns out it means no parking):

Who needs Brat Fest?

While I may have missed Brat Fest in Madison, I did get to Gundeli-Fescht today. What excitement! Actually, it was pretty comical--maybe 10 tents with fairly lame vendors, a couple of rides for the kids, and Willy on the organ playing some genuinely bad music (imagine Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue" performed by an oompah-band, but with the music provided by a keyboard instead of real horns). But it was all worthwhile because they had brats and beer, so I had myself a nice little lunch in the sun on a (finally!) beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Speaking of Popemobiles...

Evidently the Big Kahuna himself was in Switzerland today. I really can't think of anything of interest to add here.

Party on

I can hardly contain my excitement--this weekend is the Gundeli-Fescht in a nearby park! I have no idea what it means, although I think I saw a beer tent going up, and that's always a good thing.

Design influence: The Popemobile

Seen on the streets of Basel, the ugliest car to come around in a while: the Fiat Multipla.

That's why it's the World Wide Web

When we started this blog, we didn't even know if friends and family would read it, let alone anyone else--we weren't sure anyone would find it, let alone read it. In the end we decided it didn't matter because it would be our own electronic scrapbook of our experience, not to mention having fun writing, and if anyone else, friends or otherwise, happened to check it out, that would just be icing on the cake (we still don't have any clue how many people actually read it). Well, as it turns out, we've been discovered (in Switzerland, no less)! Christian's Captain's Log posted a link to our blog, so it only seemed fair to return the favor.

There's a reason they call him Coach K

I'm enough of a geek to admit that I fleetingly participated in spelling bees as a child (although let me be clear that I didn't stay up late at night memorising words or being drilled by my parents or anything like that). The farthest I ever got was the San Diego County spelling bee in eighth grade, where my dreams of going to the competition in Washington were dashed by the word "benday"--I misspelled it as "b-e-n-d-e-t". Shortly thereafter I discovered girls and generally moved on to more interesting things (while admittedly still a geek). When you combine that background with my being a Duke basketball fan, I enjoyed this ESPN article in which kids tried in vain to spell "Krzyzewski" (roughly pronounced "Shu-SHEF-ski").

New York, New York

I've got a couple of long weeks of travel coming up--I have to go to New York late next week for a couple of meetings, followed by a week of meetings in exciting Ottawa, Canada. I'm really looking forward to getting back to NYC not only to hopefully get caught up with a few friends and fill up on Indian and Thai food, but also to finally meet my new nephew Lemuel and, as an added bonus, see the tied-for-first-place San Diego Padres play against the evil New York Yankees. The only bummer--other than a week in Ottawa (which is actually a beautiful and liveable and pleasant city but not exactly the most thrilling place to spend a week)--is that I probably won't be able to see Gretchen, although it will be a treat to have a one-hour time difference instead of seven hours so we can talk more regularly.

Not quite the Land of the Midnight Sun, but still...

...it's 10:00pm, time for bed, and there's still a little light in the Western sky. Now we just need a San Diego day to go with it.

Feels just like the West Coast

Granted, three months probably isn't enough time to make generalisations, and I wasn't here for last summer's heat wave, so this should be taken with a huge grain of salt, but if I had to describe the weather here, half the time it's San Diego (warm, clear, comfortable, dry, nice breeze) and half the time it's Seattle (gray, dreary, cool, rain and drizzle). All minus the ocean, of course. Actually, make that 25% San Diego and 75% Seattle. When it's nice, it's really nice (none of that stifling DC humidity), but when it's lousy it seems like it will never go away. Like this week, for instance...

Copyright infringement?

After noting the other day that two versions of the same song are in the top 10, I picked up one of the local papers yesterday and, sure enough, there was an article about that very same thing. Below is the translation of an interview with the lead singer of Haiducii, who is evidently former Miss Bucharest, and whose name translates from German as "with revenge". Near as I can tell, the song is actually Romanian--no wonder I don't understand it--and O-Zone are actually Moldovan. See the sort of intellectually stimulating things you learn when you live overseas (or read the blogs of those who do)?

Haiducii & O-zone in the Top 4

With its summer hit 2004, «Dragostea din Tei», belays Miss Bucharest Paula with revenge (27) and its music project Haiducii rank of 3 the Swiss Singlecharts. A place behind it storms now also the original version of the moldovanischen Popgruppe O-zone the hit parade.

Paula, that singed storms your chirped-project Haiducii throughout Europe the Charts and pulls now suddenly also the original from O-zone to.

Paula with revenge: yes, I knows. That does not disturb me however generally, in the opposite. I find the one very pretty story.

What does the name Haiducii and the Songtitel mean actually «Dragostea din Tei»?

With revenge: a traditional Romanian figure, a type Robin Hood is Haiducii. And the title of the song means: dear make under a linden trees tree.

Were you astonished singe over the success the? Nevertheless understands outside of Rumania hardly a the text.

With revenge: yes, and like! It is the first time generally that a Romanian Popsong was confessed over the boundary of the country out.

What do you make now with this success? Will there be soon new of Haiducii?

With revenge: in Italy where I live, appeared just my second Single. Moreover I work just at an album. On that I become Romanian, Italian and English sing. It becomes first in Italy and then in other European countries appear.

Can one also live see you?

With revenge: I go this summer on tour through the large cities of Europe.

On a more serious note

For those who have wondered about Gretchen's mom, I won't go into detail, but the doctors have indicated her cancer is untreatable and she has begun hospice care at home. (If it wasn't clear, Gretchen has been with her mom in Wisconsin for the past month and will stay indefinitely.) Anyway, despite the seriousness of the situation, her mom's faith is very strong and she is in really good spirits. People have gone out of their way to visit, bring food, call, send flowers, pray, etc. She and Gretchen were just reading this month's issue of The Lutheran and came across this short article that describes very well what her experience has been like.

A new brat record!

In case you were wondering, the World's Largest Brat Fest (held this past weekend in Madison) set a new record by selling 189,432 brats! You can be sure that I did my part to contribute to the sales. I ate a record 2 brats (with kraut) for lunch on Monday, and they were delicious. In talking about bratfest with our friends and neighbors I often hear this comment: "A brat and a pop for $1? You can't beat it!" Pop means soda, for you non-midwesterners. My niece and nephews opted for hot dogs, which cost only 50 cents (pop included). As an added bonus, my niece, Natalie, got her picture taken with the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile which just happened to be on site for the event. Now that's what I call an exciting Memorial Day celebration.

Good thing we don't have Lifetime...

I can tell I'm getting tired of only having CNN and MTV because I've been watching...well...umm...uh...Sex and the City. There, I admit it. See, Gretchen borrowed the first season on DVD from a friend, and I hate to say this, but having never really watched it before, it's actually kinda funny and brings back fond memories of New York. Does that make me less of a man? (And does it help that I'm developing a crush on Charlotte? [Just kidding, Sweet!])What I really want is to get The Sopranos, but I can't seem to find it anywhere here.