Sawing Dogs

President Obama and Afghanistan

2009-12-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

Recently I've read a number of critical essays on the president's Afghanistan policy as he outlined it during his West Point speech a couple of weeks ago.

Besides Mr. Obama's obvious disingenuousness with regard to his reasons for increasing the number of troops, there seems to be a gross lack of perspective in the punditry about how and to what degree the United States should be engaged in Afghanistan. Many pundits speak of Afghan "economic development" in the abstract, but never bother to define it or establish parameters for progress. They talk a lot about dollars and very little about substantive, practical policy.

I'd like to make a few observations on what is coming from political commentators versus what is actually in process in Afghanistan.

Let's first consider what President Obama said in his speech. The cornerstone of his new policy is an increase of 34,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, augmenting the 17,000 troops he ordered to the theater in early 2009, and the 38,000 that were already there (total: 89,000). He suggested that this latest increase is necessary to pursue al-Qaida, the Taliban, and in order to help protect American security and interests at home and abroad from the scourge of terrorism. Mr. Obama failed to mention that there is a very small number of al-Qaida operatives remaining in Afghanistan; most have escaped to the nebulous "border" region with Pakistan - Waziristan, Peshawar, and Quetta in particular. Because of this disconnect, there must necessarily be other reasons for pursuing the Afghan venture. While the president was unambiguous in his language, the meaning of his words must be dervived by breaking down exactly what he said in addition distilling meaning from what he didn't say.

Based on the speech, here's how I see things:

1) The president is continuing the Bush-Cheney/Neocon policy of nation-building in Afghanistan. Nation-building is basically defined as a coercive, broad, and aggressive intervention in the affairs of another state, designed to replace a regime and reorientate the population. This includes political, economic, and social dimensions. Historically any attempt by foreign powers to intervene in Afghanistan has been folly because the indigenous population are averse to foreign influence, because of a more or less perpetual state of war in the area, and because Afghanistan is not a real, modern, Western-model state with territorial integrity and a functional government. Today, Afghanistan is a collection of disparate tribal areas controlled largely by Taliban, tribal, and/or Islamist groups. As such Afghanistan is probably the least suitable candidate for a fast, forced evolution into a modern pre-democratic, stable nation-state. With poor infrastructure (roads, bridges, electricity and water service, and communications), low literacy, social segregation, and non-functional socio-political and governmental institutions, Afghanistan is largely a pre-industrial, comparatively primitive aggregation of tribal towns and provinces.

2) Also perpetuating the established ethnocentric, American-exceptionalist Neocon agenda, the president is trying to subvert the ultra-conservative Islamic movement and approach to politics; that is, creation of an Islamist state (i.e., Afghanistan under the Taliban before late 2001 and most of rural Pakistan today) with shari'a law and all of the nominal Islamist features. The most modern definition of Islamism is unambiguous in its inclusion of a violent and ugly militancy under the guise of jihad - an term which formerly meant "struggle" but now has been taken to mean "holy war" vis-à-vis violent acts offically sanctioned by an Islamic religious scholar through fatwa.

Curiously, there has been a revolution of sorts in the American political paradigm; that is, before President Bush 43 took office, this type of "radical interventionism" was espoused only by those who believed in neoliberalism - spreading the instutions of capitalist pseudo-democracy by whatever means necessary because of its "rightness." That attitude was co-opted by Neoconservatism in the late 1990s - Cheney, Negroponte, Kristol, Bolton, and Rumsfeld to name a few. See the Project for a New American Century if you're not sure what this is about. In addition to its patent ignorance (or stupidity?) with regard to practical implications, there is a decidedly "racial" component, certainly to this ideology and ultimately to the policy, which undermines and threatens our security.

This is where questions of morality, national values, and international law should be posed and and answers analyzed critically. Those questions should be asked: who are we to impose political, social, or any other kind of order on other people, etc. Ask those questions, please.

3) Besides 30 years of perpetual war, the opium trade is the single largest driver of Afghan instability, and is a fundamental reason for their inability to grow into our conception of a modern state. The Taliban control land, capital, credit, and to some degree use violence (either coercively or to provide security) to ensure their interests take precedence. That means that of the 80% of Afghans who rely on agriculture for their livelihood, a significant measure also rely on the opium trade. These opium farmers sell to the Taliban who traffic in opium and heroin transnationally, where it eventually gets traded to Europe and the United States. With the cash they make from opium, they buy weapons and provide some kind of economic engine for Afghan farmers, and the cycle is vicious and self-repeating. Back to the original point of escalation, this is why the president is looking first to security in Afghanistan.

Now that we have established the broadest possible outline of the U.S. policy toward Afghan, here's what the pundits are ignoring:

By far the most popular position in the blogosphere and the world of sound-bite commentary is that this is solely a self-serving military adventure and that as such we are destined to fail. While the military component is absolutely essential to executing the practical parts of the president's plan, it is only one part of a bold overall strategy. Because it isn't self-evident from the president's message (perhaps intentionally vague or disingenuous), we must ask why we are really there. Success means the U.S. will have a military foothold in West Asia. Considered in the context of access to finite natural resources, the implications are broad and alarming.

There are four major interconnected parts to the Afghan plan:

A) We have to provide security. Most of the drug trade, and where Taliban activity is by far the most intense, are in the two large southern provinces of Kandahar and Hilmand. Most of the foreign fighters (I do not use the term "insurgents") enter the country from Pakistan and end up in those two areas. That's why with 34,000 additional U.S. troops and up to 10,000 more NATO troops, the president thinks he can actually make a significant dent in the security problem and possibly drive out the Taliban from those areas. That means about 120,000 troops plus as many contractors and other actors will be there when all is said and done. There is a real possibility that the security mission, as outlined, can succeed with these numbers in force.

In a nutshell, the the security component of the four-point mission is this: individual attention to individual villages and tribal areas, and full-time troop presence to keep the Taliban out. It means training the Afghan security forces with the assistance of U.S. intelligence operations, special forces, and contractors.

Before this plan came to the fore, there was a stalemate in the security situation. U.S. Army or representatives will attend to villages during the day, meeting with tribal and village leaders and offer to help (quid pro quo), and then leave for the next locality. Because of the insufficient troop levels, Taliban then come into those same areas during the night and undo any progress that's been made during the day. This is the essentially intractable situation everyone is concerned about, especially the Afghans. They're deeply worried that the U.S. will abandon them. Without going into the nitty-gritty of social and historical U.S. involvement in the region, take my word for it - this is a major point of contention.

More troops will go a long way toward improving basic security. It's a must-do for the other parts of the four-part plan to succeed. Keep in mind, this is not about blanket Afghan "national" security, i.e. protecting all borders at all times. It is about establishing regional security. Therefore no decisionmakers are expecting the Taliban to disappear into the ether, either now or in the future. Our military commanders are likewise acutely aware of the natural limits to the use of military resources. There is an elusive fine balance to troop levels in terms of effects on local populations in Afghanistan, many of whom have experienced foreign occupation for most or all of their lives. Too many military troops, and the population feels occupied and stifled, thus undermining the security objectives by increasing resistance. Too few troops and the efforts are ineffective and can undermine the security mission.

With regard to those critics who suggest the president "split the difference" with regard to troop increases in service of the escalation, those are specious, uninformed opinions. General McChrystal is getting no fewer than the 40,000 troops he asked for, so I'm not sure where the discussion is. Again, there will be 34,000 from the United States and on the order of 10,000 from NATO allies, supplementing and complementing the troops that are already in force.

Additionally, according to United Nations estimates, 94% of the world's opium comes from Afghanistan. The security mission accounts for a policy of interdiction, rather than eradication. That means rather than blowing up poppy fields, anti-Taliban forces intercede only after poppy leaves Afghan farms. It also means the fight is taken to the drug traffickers, rather than the farmers. This shores up the security situation from a number of angles. Interdiction has been shown to be far more effective than eradication (which doesn't work anyway). Why is opium relevant in a geographical sense? A lot of the drug trade is centered around Kandahar and Hilmand provinces where most of the Taliban are. It's not a coincidence.

B) If the security mission is effective, other humanitarian, agricultural, health, and developmental organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, will start to have a little breathing room to operate. The punditry have mostly overlooked or misunderstood this part of the four-part plan. Breathing room means these organizations can start to make systematic changes and to truly help the Afghan people. Food insecurity is an enormous problem in Afghanistan. Organizations such as USAID and OxFam are already there working with farmers and villages. The USDA are already there. Even the DEA and CIA are working hard on this front, believe it or not. Lots of folks are there who are desperately trying to work with Afghans on a micro level to get them off poppy and onto crops that a) make the farmers some money and b) provide for food security for Afghan families and c) ideally to lay the groundwork for self-sufficiency in a real Afghan nation-state.

In his speech, President Obama didn't discuss this in detail is partly because of American aversion to nation-building, and to avoid backlash for trying to stabilize a country under daunting circumstances when so much is going wrong domestically. Did you know that Afghanistan used to grow grapes and citrus and pistachios and all kinds of good stuff? Now they're growing pomegranates (which are expensive, if you hadn't noticed) and wheat. According to some estimates, there is a glut of opium on the market, up to 10,000 stockpiled tons, so prices are falling. The drought in Afghanistan in 2008 lowered poppy production so it's an opportune time to go full-bore into this type of reform. Nationally, wheat production doubled in the last few years while between 2008 and 2009 poppy production fell over 20%.

Secretary of State Clinton has publicly stated that she's focusing heavily on agricultural reform in Afghanistan, acknowledging that it is in fact central to success.

Incidentally, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has reported that most of the northern provinces in Afghanistan are now more or less poppy free. The UN definition of poppy-free is an area of less than 100 hectares. When you consider that there are 70,000 hectares of opium growing in Hilmand alone, you have a better frame of reference with respect to definitions and scale. This also bolsters the case for focusing on Hilmand and Kandahar.

C) Corruption in the Karzai government is a significant stumbling block and as it stands is an insurmountable problem. Officials take bribes and payoffs from drug interests, perpetuating a dysfunctional system. The Afghan government is so abysmally inept that it can't even keep Kabul secure to say nothing of any other urban centers. You may have heard that the U.S. plan in some ways circumvents the Afghan government, and this policy is appropriate considering the nature of the problem. The Karzai government knows it is inept and illegitimate. We know it. Everyone knows it. So in order to improve the situation, we are getting right to the heart of what's causing the "corruption." Opium figures heavily into this part of the equation, so if NATO forces can make enough progress helping the Afghans with A) and B) above, functional institution-building in the Afghan government may come to pass. And I believe it's possible. Besides, who better to bolster bureaucracy than the U.S. government?

Corruption exists to one degree or another in all governments. If we cure the disease, we arrest the symptom. Fix Afghanistan's opium dependency and the people will find themselves across the table from reasonably responsive government representatives who must do their jobs responsibly and with accountability, or face losing them.

It should be noted that no one will ever wholly destroy the opium trade, and it's not part of the plan to do so. Smart, practical leaders seek the best-possible outcomes, not idealistic, unattainable ones.

D) All things being equal, Pakistan is far more important to U.S. national security than Afghanistan. The Pakistani military have control of the country's nuclear weapons. The government can't control their borders. A significant part of the country is under shadow-government Islamist rule. The national government is basically controlled by a military junta, a condition which is nothing new and which has been supported by the United States since Pakistan's inception. Fortunately, some elements in Pakistan want to make their country into a real nation-state and part of a community of nations which respects international law.

Islamism is cruelly closed-minded and devastating to basic human dignity. In addition, Islamism shuns and seeks to destroy all non-Muslim influence, and is especially hateful of the United States. A large part of the genesis of that hatred is a result of our own repugnant behavior in the region and our disregard for the self-determination of Muslims and Arabs (although Pakistan and Afghanistan are not Arab countries) in general. We have a trust and integrity problem. Even when the United States intends to hold up our ends of any bargains we're lucky enough to make, we are rightly viewed with suspicion and mistrust. It is therefore good news for the plan, if you will, when the Pakistanis take steps to root out militants and establish their own form of national security. Without getting into the convoluted dynamics of Pakistani politics, it is remarkable that through the last several years, as Pakistan has teetered on the edge of failure, that they have found cohesion enough in government to hold things together, however tenuously. Because of the severity and delicacy of the situation in Pakistan, the United States under President Obama has greatly increased the presence of armed UCAVs to assist them. They Pakistani military are engaged in Swat and Peshawar and other places, mostly in the border areas. We push east, Pakistan pushes west. It's a good strategy, all things considered. A concerted security effort from both sides means there's a real hope for keeping Islamist forces and at bay. Again, no one can resonably expect to erase these people from existence. The goal of changing the status quo and taking a series of deliberate steps to positively affect these two nation-states is to allow for reintegration of former militants into their respective societies and to help build a more peaceful future for them.

The president is making the best attempt to resolve a bad situation, given the available options and the forces at work. I am therefore, to the best of my knowledge, not asserting my personal biases in the above commentary. I am neither defending this course of action nor condemning it. As a matter of course I have tried to provide a condensed version of what is known, either publicly or by my own research.

For the record I am not a proponent of war. In general I believe war is one of humanity's ugliest capabilities. It should only be exercised in self-defense, in the most dire circumstances, and with great deliberation and a careful, proportional, judicious use of force, which respects non-combatants and combatants alike. It's unfortunate that the last President and his cronies got us hamstrung in the Afghan situation, and let it fester and rot until we were basically left with a gangrenous limb that we may have to amputate. It's very bad business and was executed without so much as a modicum of historical perspective, cultural understanding, or sensitivity to a nation of people who have been abused and oppressed since time immemorial. But, we're there, and we're going to be there for a number of years, at least until we can get an Afghan security force in on its feet.

I'm perplexed by people who have expressed disappointment or anger with Mr. Obama's choice to carry on our efforts there. He said a number of times during his campaign that he would focus on Afghanistan, and he promised a sensible withdrawal from Iraq. I wonder if people weren't listening to his words, didn't believe him, or simply chose to ignore this very important issue. After all, if they didn't like it, why would they have voted for him? Considering his opposition to the Iraq war was a major factor in many peoples' decision to vote for him, logic dictates that those who are arguing that Mr. Obama has somehow misled them surely would have voted for someone else. Would I like us to get out? Sure, but that's not realistic. Besides, it's silly season if folks think that the overwhelming and massive powers and interests in play would allow us to get out without having a go at achieving some kind of constructive result. Regardless, it is our responsibility to the Afghan people to try and fix the mess we've made. The arguments for focusing our attention on domestic problems are valid, sound, and sensible, but do not supplant our responsibility for Afghanistan. Financial resources are finite, but we are obligated to finish in Afghanistan. That is the morally correct tack to take.

The bottom line is this: for the first time - ever - in Afghanistan, there is at least a chance of making something "good" happen. The president's plan is cohesive, thoughtful, and robust. There's a lot of risk and a lot of uncertainty, but I believe the president grasps the entire range of issues and has made prudent decisions based mostly on reason and pragmatism. The challenges are great, but they are not insurmountable.

Notwithstanding the meaning of our ongoing presence in Afghanistan are the hypocritical and downright frightening parts of the president's West Point speech. I would encourage you all to go back and read it. It seems that President Obama has turned from a fair-play moderate into an arrogant, American exceptionalist, and moralistic executive - very like the man he succeeded. This mentality is by no means better than jihadism or Islamism, and is worse in some ways because it seeks to deliberately deceive Americans on a level akin to what Orwell vehemently warned against in 1984. Here's a link from the horse's mouth:

Pay particular attention to the bit where Mr. Obama says:

But as we end the war in Iraq and transition to Afghan responsibility, we must rebuild our strength here at home. Our prosperity provides a foundation for our power. It pays for our military. It underwrites our diplomacy. It taps the potential of our people, and allows investment in new industry. And it will allow us to compete in this century as successfully as we did in the last. That's why our troop commitment in Afghanistan cannot be open-ended -- because the nation that I'm most interested in building is our own.

Our prosperity provides a foundation for our power, pays for our military, and underwrites our diplomacy, allows for the investment in new industry. The president has laid out our interests in that order. This is as deeply troubling as it is misguided. Maybe Mr. Obama isn't familiar with President Eisenhower's farewell address to the nation in January, 1961, in which he warned us:

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Make the connections. Ask questions.

This short article is not intended to answer every question, account for every nuance, or make an authoritative judgment on any one or any policy. I'm just trying to add a little breadth to understanding of a web of issues that are immeasurably complicated. I'm interested in the political side of the Afghanistan issue and the larger political problems facing Americans and our republic, so maybe I'll comment on those soon. Good luck, happy holidays, and happy new year.

This is Why We're Here

2009-10-12T15:22:00.001-07:00

The Los Angeles Kings have a dyed-in-the-wool team mentality and are setting themselves up for long-term success.

With a fourth consecutive regulation win, the Kings are at the top of the Western Conference standings. Yes, it's very early in the season. Yes, there will be moments where we falter and fail between now and the end of the season. It's not likely that we'll win the Stanley Cup this year. The Western Conference is tightly packed with playoff-seasoned and battle-hardened teams, so it's not even probable that we'll go deep into the playoffs. But all of these conditions are ok: all the members of this team are hungry. They're focused. They're driven. They're passionate. They're out there to win, and winning they are.

Do you remember the last time the Kings started 4 and 1? Without looking in the books, I couldn't even tell you the last time they strung together four wins, much less four hard-fought wins for which they sacrificed and bled. They're playing for each other and for the whole group.

There are a few issues with the Kings' overall performance so far. Specifically, they are still searching for consistency on the faceoff and on ensuring solid penality killing. This group have shown professionalism and dedication the likes of which the club hasn't seen in memory; they're diligently addressing their issues and working out the kinks. As the season wears on, I predict we'll see a lot of efficient, smart, and inspired play. Other teams are taking us seriously and we're earning respect in the league.

I'm as proud and excited as ever to be a hardcore fan of my Los Angeles Kings, and it's very nice to feel consistently positive about what they're doing on the ice.

Just for fun, here's a look at the Western Conference standings as posted today on espn.com (click on the graphic to blow it up):

...and from nhl.com:

Congratulations on a really solid start, Kings!! And happy 71st birthday to our man Bob Miller.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more...

2009-10-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure Shakespeare had the LOS ANGELES KINGS in mind when he was writing Henry V, but that just shows he didn't know anything about hockey.

Hockey season in L.A. is about to begin anew! It's been a tough 6 months since the Kings' last season sputtered to another disappointing end. There has been a lot of talk and plenty of posturing since April, and it's clearer than ever that management and coaching have a lot on the line.

Since last season the team has changed in critical areas. There have been additions (Stanley Cup winner Scuderi and finalist Smyth, 2-time 30-goal scorer Justin Williams, plus a good contract for up-and-coming defenseman Jack Johnson), sacrifices (notable youngsters Boyle and O'Sullivan), and attrition in favor of a deepening roster at every position (Armstrong, Gauthier, and Calder are all gone). We have a hungry young goaltender in Jonathan Quick, and a totally respectable backup in athletic young Swede Erik Ersberg. In addition to a sound roster, there is plenty of talent in the Kings pipeline. This team's fortunes are looking up, to be sure, but is the nebulous "culture of winning" cemented into the collective psyche of our on-ice warriors? We'll soon find out. I can say for sure that everyone - fans, players, coaches, management, ownership - is expecting a playoff berth at the end of the 2009-10 season.

Now it comes down to action: will they be able to prove their mettle? Will they show up every night and compete fiercely for every point? Will they prove that hockey means something in L.A., that we have a band of professionals with a shared objective? Let's hope so for their sake and for the sanity of the fans.

Over the transom, men! Push out of the trenches and onto the battlefield!!

Let's Go Kings!

Rest in Peace

2009-08-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

My grandfather Otto Günstling died 67 years ago today at the Majdanek hard labor and death camp in Lublin, Poland. He was a victim of Nazi persecution.

Cocktails that Men Can Drink

2009-07-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows I like my alcohol simple and unfettered, i.e. no fruit cocktail, umbrellas, mixers, or anything of that ilk. I like strong liquor: Bourbon upwards of 100 proof usually tops my list, but gin and single malt scotch are favorites as well.

Considering these preferences, I figured I'd present the few cocktails I like. As far as I'm aware these are original concoctions, but because mixology is a pretty mature art it's possible that some folks have already come up with similar drinks. I apologize if I'm ripping you off - it's totally inadvertent. There's no doubt the names are mine, though. I've also posted some notes on scotch and bourbon.

I've got some product recommendations at the bottom of this post - see the (1) (2) (3) notes. I haven't been sponsored or compensated for mentioning these products.

GIN

I have developed an affinity for the old school martini - that's gin in an ice cold martini glass which has barely been acquainted with dry vermouth. Cold, cold, COLD is paramount! Freeze the glass and freeze the shaker (and the ice), but don't freeze the gin. Use proper ice CUBES, not shaved ice or some other weirdo stuff. Always shake aggressively, then lovingly deposit into the vessel. Voila - martini. The martini is a man's drink.

(Note: My martini of choice is not technically old school, because I don't use olives or brine).

Martini #1 - The Kachumbar
2-3 parts Hendrick's small-batch gin
splash of vermouth
1 or 2 cucumber skin "strings" (or 2 or 3 pieces of julienne meat of cucumber)
frozen martini glass & martini shaker

This is a straight-up martini, but uses cucumbers rather than olives, or onions as in a Gibson. I'll explain why in a moment.

For me, the right amount of vermouth is almost none at all. I think a lot of mixologists do it this way: pour some into the ice-cold martini class, swish it around, and then dump the lot. Basically the idea is to just coat the inside surface of the glass.

Hendrick's gin is a sophisticated gin for the discerning palate. It has typical gin botanicals, but it also has infusions of cucumber and rose. While this may sound fairly fruity, it's not. The gin is delicious and understated and has a naturally mild aromatic character, without being perfumey. The tiny amount of cucumber you add to the drink complements the gin and makes this martini very refreshing. It's sort of the mint julep of martinis. Mental aside: you probably could put a sprig of muddled mint in this drink in place of the cucumber, but I don't like mint so I'd never make it that way. Mint probably goes better with spicy Bombay Sapphire anyway. Try it and let me know how it works out!

The skin strings are better than cucumber meat for two reasons. Like oranges, cucumber skin exudes oil when muddled or crushed. That oil intermixes with the natural oils in the gin's botanicals, resulting in a distinctive and slightly more concentrated flavor. The second reason is that cucumber meat adds water to the drink. The effect of adding water is arguable: some folks like it because it lowers the proof of the alcohol. Some folks think a dash of water brings out the flavor of the booze. I prefer to keep as much water out of my martinis as possible. By the way, a full slice (or "wheel") of cucumber is too much for this martini.

Martini #2 - The Aurantine
2-3 parts Hendrick's small-batch gin
1/2 part Lillet (1)
1-2 dashes orange bitters (amount is at drinker's discretion) (2)
fresh, smashed orange peel
frozen martini glass & martini shaker

Prepare as above (cold cold cold, shake vigorously, etc.), but use these ingredients.

Take a small slice of orange peel - no pith - and tear and crush it between your fingers to coax the essential oils from the skin. Drop this into the gullet of your icy martini glass. Add the gin, Lillet, and bitters to your martini shaker over ice, close tightly, and shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds and/or until frostbite gets your fingers. Strain into your martini glass in a circular motion, making sure to thoroughly empty the mixer. If you do this right, you'll get little ice floes on the surface of the drink which will help keep it cold. Consume ad nauseam.

Note: Oranges are everywhere in the ingredients. Lillet is supposedly an orange-flavored aperitif. Orange bitters are made from concentrated orange oils and other aromatics. Don't think I've gone loco with all the orange ingredients; done right this martini has only a very mild taste of orange in the drink & that's the result we want.

BOURBON

As a matter of course, I don't make bourbon cocktails. Bourbon should be appreciated as-is, without affectation or artifice. I have very strong feelings on the matter, but I make one notable exception in this cocktail. It is sort of a combination of the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan "without the fruit salad," as the good folks at the Alembic bar in San Francisco put it. The bartenders up there are mad scientist geniuses, and the Alembic stands out as one of my all-time favorite bars in the U.S. Go there if you get the chance.

This was inspired by The Alembic's Old Fashioned. I dig their Old Fashioned the most - great cocktail.

The Makeshift Manhattan
3 parts Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (3)
1 part SWEET vermouth (actual amount is at your discretion)
ice-cold tumbler/rocks glass
fresh, smashed orange peel
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
ice cubes (cold)
proper cocktail stirrer

This is a super simple cocktail to make. Fortunately it's also a true man's drink.

Toss your hand-muddled orange peel into your tumbler, or gently muddle in the glass. Fill 2/3 of the way up with proper ice cubes. Add your bourbon, sweet vermouth, and dashes of bitters. Splash the bitters decisively over the glass, as close to perpendicular as possible. STIR vigorously for 20-30 seconds, without spilling. Consume, but make sure you're seated. That's it. No sugar, no god-forsaken maraschino cherries, and no lemons!

I heard a great saying which I'll paraphrase: "There's no such thing as a bad bourbon, only better bourbon." I quite agree. Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey says exactly that on the label. Don't use any mock bourbons, average whiskies, or any other oddball liquor for this drink. That just wouldn't be right, and it would diminish the splendor of the experience.

SINGLE MALT SCOTCH

Scotch is still pretty new to me. I'm learning about it little by little, but it's a complex and greatly varied liquor. From the several scotches I've tasted, I think I've figured out what flavors and aromas I like. In general I prefer fairly sherried and very, very lightly peated single malts.

In my opinion single malts should generally be enjoyed neat. Don't sully with water or ice, and definitely not both ice and water. Leave the ice & water for your blended scotches.

I keep the following in my bar. In no particular order:

The Macallan 12
This is a lovely, regular-drinking scotch. If I had scotch every day, this would probably be one of two candidates for a daily pour. It's from a Speyside distillery, and like (all?) other Macallans is matured in sherry oak casks. It has a tempered, sherry-oak nose. The palate has sherry up front, a little smoke - simple but sophisticated. Sounds like a dichotomy, but that complexity is what makes scotch & bourbon so much fun to drink. In that sense they're sorta like wine.

The Macallan 18
The 18 has a beautiful bourbon-toffee color, with a sherried, leathery, very slightly phenolic nose. A winey, sherried oak palate with notes of ripe pears. Striking and elegant. Reminiscent of the 12 but clearly a much, much more mature pour. Lingering finish - extremely pleasing. At about $135 a bottle, this isn't something you'll drink every day. I pour some out for my friends from time to time but don't indulge too often. I don't covet it, but I ain't rich neither.

The Glenrothes - House Select
Also Speyside. Lacks the sophistication of the Macallan 12, but it's on par as far as the quality goes. It has fairly compartmentalized flavors - sweet sherry, ripe stone fruit, and a little spice or smoke. Personally, I love this scotch. It's a totally accessible and very decent house scotch that is easy to enjoy neat every day.

Now for those of you who are not aficionados, a house scotch is a very respectable drink. Don't think of the common "well" drinks that you find at your local dive when you see the word house. Nope, the house scotch is a true single malt. It is different from your vintage scotch in that instead of bottling from one batch, the house malt consists of a blend of various bottlings, presumably from different years. Each component scotch exhibits characteristics that the distiller (the house) wants to show off in a consistent bottling. So because it's a "created" malt, it's a house malt. I'd say The Glenrothes nailed it in this bottle. It's not expensive, but it's really pleasing and tasty. I think this would be a great one for those who are just starting out with Speyside malts. I haven't tried any other Glenrothes malts yet, but they have an 18 that's readily available.

The Macallan - Cask Strength
For me this is an entirely new experience in single malts. Cask strength is unfiltered, uncut scotch, made in the same spirit as some small-batch bourbons - bottled directly from the cask. At about 117 proof, it's pretty strong stuff. Macallan recommends taking this with water. I've tried it both neat and with a very small amout of water.

The first thing I noticed is its rich, reddish mahogany color. The box actually says something to this end, and I agree with the assessment. Very inviting.
Like other Macallans, it's aged exclusively in Spanish sherry casks and the sherry character is omnipresent.

The nose is full of seductively rich sherry, ripe black cherries, and a bit of fine tobacco. The aroma is so engaging that I've spent more time sniffing this scotch than any other I've tried.

On the palate, with a wee bit of water, you get almost overripe stone fruit, sherry, chewy, chewy raisins, some oil, some bittersweet chocolate, and a bit of potent alcoholic smoke. Wonderful and delightful.

The finish is robust yet manages to be as typically refined as other Macallans. The fruit fades and develops into a long, warm, slightly sweet, oakey, smokey texture. It's vaguely bourbon-like, but more complex. One sip and you'll want to kick back in your old chair with your woman by your side, your dog at your feet, and your crown on - for when you drink this you are definitely the emperor of your particular domain. This is an assertive, deliciously alcoholic pour. A man's drink to be sure.

* * *

Some other scotches I've tried, just so I have a little credibility and don't look like I'm shilling for Macallan: Balvenie Doublewood 12, Dalwhinnie 15, Glenfiddich 12, Glenmorangie 10, Laphroaig 10, and Yamazaki 12 (also in my bar), to name a few. Islay single malts are generally not for me.

Here are the notes I promised:

(1) Lillet: You can buy this in Blanc (white) or Rouge (red) varieties. The white variety is the one I use in my cocktails. Lillet would theoretically replace vermouth in a martini recipe. I've found it at Whole Foods and Bristol Farms in my area, but it should be readily availble at any liquor retailer. It shouldn't be too expensive. Keep it in your fridge.

(2) Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters: Tough to find, but I recommend it. Very nice stuff, also not expensive. I bought mine at Bristol Farms. It lasts forever for the home bartender because you're only using dashes at a time.

(3) Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey: The idea is that if it doesn't have that on the label, it is not the real deal. This is not my opinion - it's by statute! There are tons of whiskies out there, but bourbon is very specific in its ingredients and distillation process. To be Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the liquor has to come from Kentucky, it must be aged a minimum of 3 years in charred white oak casks, and it must consist of 51% or more corn. Them's the rules.

For this cocktail, I'd say 95-100 proof bourbon is the right choice. Try Knob Creek (100 proof), Black Maple Hill (95 proof), or Eagle Rare 10 year (also 95 proof). Almost any good-sized bourbon will work, but I like those for this cocktail. Usually I make this with the Black Maple Hill.

If you like Maker's Mark, stick to drinking it straight or in other cocktails; at 90.4 proof and a gentle character it gets a little lost here. Bulleit and Wild Turkey 101 are about in the same class - not terribly good, but drinkable in a pinch. Four Roses small batch (100 proof), Woodford Reserve (90 proof), Blanton's (92 proof I think, single barrel!) are all enjoyable pours in my opinion. In general I like 2 of the 4 bourbons from the Jim Beam "Small Batch Collection." Of Basil Hayden's, Knob Creek, Baker's, and Booker's I stick to Knob Creek and Baker's (107 proof). Basil's (80 proof) is too treacly and mild for my taste. Booker's has a lot of alcohol (about 127 proof) and is somewhat disappointing character-wise.

Ahh... the Aurantine works! Nighty night.

The President of the United States of America

2009-04-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

I've found each and every one of these pictures pretty moving. Check out the interview too if you like.

It's really quite an astounding - and very grave - time. We're at a point in our evolution as a nation where we are required to answer some very tough questions about who we are and what we want. It's an unprecedented existential dilemma, the kind which we haven't faced in maybe ten generations. I for one am glad to have a deeply thoughtful and unquestionably philosophical and balanced person making decisions at the highest level. It offers a little reassurance; when every decision is pivotal, every decision becomes an integral part of an effort to save ourselves and make up ground after generations of apathetic, cowardly leadership and a lazy, bloated, and indifferent populace.

What do you think of the man and these pictures? Obviously I'm a fan of his, and it's not just because he's a charming person. He's a transformational figure in American and indeed in world politics. We as Americans could not have made a better choice at a more critical time, in my opinion.

Other'n this brief thought, I've had a really full last few months. I got laid off from my job at the beginning of April and haven't found a lick of work since. Clearly bad news, but even worse when you consider that a very seasoned IT guy such as myself can't get work in an economy in 2009. Very tough out there. I couldn't even get ahold of the EDD on the phone after dozens of calls. It took them more than 3 weeks to even call me after I filed the day I lost my job.

I got accepted to Cal State Long Beach's Aerospace Engineering program. This is really cool but I might be changing majors to something else. I have a knack for language so I'm thinking I might go Political Science + Russian or Japanese for a double major.

My personal life has changed a lot too. Aside from a lot of conflict in my family regarding what I've found pertinent to the family tree, I've started a new relationship with an incredibly special woman. We've been together for round about 3 months and things are good. We're real and we're getting closer every day.

The family thing is odd; two of my family members indicated interest in what I found, but once I shared some of the hardcore details with them (such as being half-Jewish and that maybe 98% of our ancestors were wiped out in the Holocaust) they basically freaked out and decided they didn't accept it or want to know any more. Funny how people are. I've gotten attacked from all angles - two of my siblings, my father, and I've had some interesting discussions with some relatives I've found around the world that have made things difficult for me. Incidentally, I've found relatives in Israel, Canada, the UK, Australia, Chile, and I'm certain we have blood relatives in Czech Republic though I haven't located any yet.

Until a few weeks ago I was working on plans to return to Eastern Europe for the summer. I was going to fly into Munich, visit Dachau, take a train to Plzeň, then on to Prague, Budapest, and Vienna, then home. Pretty sweet trip, right? Well, wrong; since I lost my job I can't afford to go. What a huge drag.

Anyway, enough for now. Thanks for stopping by.

They Slipped the Surly Bonds of Earth, to Touch the Face of God...

2009-01-28T08:21:00.000-08:00

Rest in peace, brave astronauts. The crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttle missions STS-51L (STS-25) and STS-107 were all lost around this time of year. Astronauts are modern day frontiersmen & women and we should all be thankful for their extraordinary character, unparalleled dedication to science and to country, and for their willing and fearless sacrifice to further the knowledge and evolution of humankind.

The Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were lost in a capsule fire which occurred on the launch pad during testing on 27 January 1967.

The crew of space shuttle Challenger mission STS-51L were lost 73 seconds after launch on 28 January 1986. A faulty seal between segments on one of the solid rocket boosters was determined to be the physical cause of the loss of ship and crew, but the real cause was a simple failure to listen and the misguided priorities of NASA and Morton Thiokol (the manufacturer of the boosters) management.
Front row: Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, Ron McNair. Back Row: Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, and Judy Resnik.

The crew of STS-107 and space shuttle Columbia were lost during re-entry on 1 February 2003. They were a truly gifted bunch: scholars all, and a real family who cared deeply for each other. Again, NASA failed to exercise sound judgment; they could have prevented this loss by listening to engineers who stated that foam loss from the external tank was a safety-of-flight issue, and not a maintenance issue as management maintained.
Front row: Rick Husband, Kalpana Chawla, Willie McCool. Back Row: Dave Brown, Laurel Clark, Mike Anderson, and Ilan Ramon.

All of these men and women are very much living heroes to me, and they will not be forgotten.

We Must Never Forget

2009-01-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה, וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
יָאֵר יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וִיחֻנֶּךָּ
יִשָּׂא יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ
שָׁלוֹם

Today is the 64th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. On this day in 1945 the Red Army spared the remaining few from certain execution by suffocation in gas chambers and from SS officers who would indiscriminately shoot and murder the prisoners.

The Soviets found a mass of suffering, emaciated skeletons: Jews who at one time were people. They found mountains of decomposing bodies outside - semi-preserved by the biting Polish winter - which the Nazis couldn't incinerate fast enough. They uncovered mass graves which contained many thousands of Jewish victims. They found piles of human skulls and bones. They found rooms filled personal belongings which were awaiting transport out of the camp on the very same trains that brought in the condemned. They found the remnants of a people who were being systematically exterminated.

Almost all of my Czech family members were deported to Auschwitz. Those that weren't sent straight to the gas chambers upon arrival found ways to survive the squalor, privation, and forced hard-labor until they themselves were herded into gas chambers, and then burned like so much refuse. Those that weren't sent to Auschwitz were sent to Majdanek and other Nazi death camps. A tiny fraction of the many dozens of my family who flourished before the war survived or escaped. God bless and save my father and grandmother, survivors, and my grandfather who fought the fascists and was shot by the SS at Majdanek, all of my other family who were lost, as well as all of the other survivors, victims, and oppressors. We must never forget.

Veggie Eatin'

2009-01-11T08:39:00.001-08:00

One of the best things about being in L.A. is the wealth of vegetarian and vegan eateries. A vegetarian lifestyle is more widespread than ever and is still gaining in popularity, so now you can get pretty much anything you like in vegetarian form. Anything from Mexican-style cuisine, to fast food, to hearty, straight-up veggie fare is available; even a more gourmet, refined dining experience is accessible to the discerning palette. I love to cook, and I really appreciate food and the dining-out experience in general, so I figured I would drop a few names here. I've eaten vegetarian food in Europe and the U.S., and there are a few places that I think are particularly noteworthy. My choices reflect restaurants that show excellence in quality of food, customer service, and vibe of the place.

The Candle Cafe In New York City, the Candle Café is one of the preeminent vegan restaurants. Actually, there are two Candle Cafés - one is on East 75th and 3rd, and the other is called Candle 79 (a much more posh place) which is as you might guess on East 79th at Lex. I didn't care for Candle 79, too pretentious. But the regular Candle Cafe is some of the most thoughtful, delicious, and satisfying food I've ever had and is one of my all-time favorites. They have a number of staple items, and their menu changes daily with updates posted on their web site. You can't go wrong with the Seitan Chimichurri ($8) appetizer. The entrées are not inexpensive, but the portions are appropriate to the price.

The Green Temple "G.T." is one of my regular haunts in Redondo Beach, California. It is always good, always hot, always fresh, and the restaurant itself has a cozy and inviting ambiance; it's decorated in a sort of Indian style with mellow lighting and has a very pleasant wait staff. The cuisine is a mixture of straight-up veggie food with legumes, rice, vegetables, and tofu combined in tasty ways, Mexican-style food, and some originals. Their creamed tofu sauce is delicious and it goes into a lot of their dishes. They also have a selection of wraps, salads, soups and desserts and I think they're even serving breakfast now. All of the food is vegetarian (some dishes are ovo-lacto), many items are vegan, and what's not listed as vegan can often be prepared vegan. Overall, G.T. is one of the best for the simpler kind of food they offer.

The Veggie Grill Well, what can I say about the Veggie Grill? It's awesome vegan fast food. There are a lot of sandwiches & burgers on the menu, many of which are prepared with vegan faux-meat - either wheat- or soy-based (or both). They also have salads, soups, and basic desserts. I'm willing to bet this is not low-cal stuff, but it doesn't really matter. It's a good indulgence once in a while; just treat it like you would any other fast-food place. Delicious, filling, totally satisfying, and easy. The staff are great and the restaurant has a wide-open floor plan. I've only been to the one in El Segundo.

Stuff I Eat Stuff I Eat is my latest veggie discovery. They're in Inglewood so it's a bit of a trek for me, but I absolutely love going there. The owners and staff are the warmest, most inviting people and every time I go I feel like I'm visiting and eating with family members on one of those big holidays. The staff are socially conscious as well, and I think they have performances & readings in the restaurant from time to time. They always have groovy music on the PA, and the decor is cool, modern, and comfortable. Now, the food: let me just say that it is superb. It's got all kinds of wonderful, intense seasonings (but is NEVER overseasoned), it's plated beautifully, and even some of the names are a kick. The Kilimanjaro Quesadilla. The Lava Burrito, one of my personal faves. I don't think Stuff I Eat has an equal in terms of its culinary originality, out-of-the-box flavors, and overall personality. What's more, I think the owners are always experimenting and developing their own dishes. They're making their own Stuff I Eat culture! I hope more people discover this place. Cash only.

Real Food Daily The RFD in West Hollywood on La Cienega north of Wilshire is great. It's good for people-watching, and the food is just what you'd expect - whole, natural vegan cuisine. I'd suggest you check out the menu - they have too much stuff for me to go over. It's on the pricey side, but I guess that's what you should expect from a "real" L.A. restaurant in West Hollywood. Their web site also says that they have a Kosher certification. Neat! Anyway, the food is consistently good, and they have a coffee bar as well. Check it out. By the way, I've been to their place on Santa Monica Blvd. a couple of times and didn't really care for it; it's not very comfortable and I thought the service was substandard. The Hollywood restaurant is far superior.

The Spot They like to call themselves "World Famous" which I think is a bit on the egotistical side, but they do have a claim to fame. Paul McCartney used their catering services on his 1993 solo tour if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, I sort of have reservations about including the Spot on this list because while the food is good, I'm compelled to mention that the wait staff are almost always grumpy and cantankerous. They're not particularly outgoing or helpful, so I nearly always get my food to go. Awesome burritos, great "Tofu Steamers," lots of good, fresh food. Also ovo-lacto vegetarian with some vegan dishes. Check their web site for details. Cash & checks only.

The Vegan Joint That's pretty much it. It's a decent, inexpensive vegan food joint in the Palms area of West L.A. The staff are nice and the food is satisfactory. Huge menu, a lot of which is Indo-Asian/Thai influenced. I think a good deal of the food is processed, but at least it's vegan. It's the kind of place you don't mind going for a quick, inexpensive lunch. Overall, I've had good experiences with them, but I rarely make the trip up to Palms just to eat there.

Lekha Hlava (Clear Head) This restaurant is in Prague, Czech Republic. I ate there almost every day during my visit in 2008. Spectacular vegetarian and vegan food, but BEWARE! Czech/European vegetarianism is slightly different than ours. They consider cheese which contains rennet acceptable. To me and most vegetarians it is totally unacceptable, so watch out for the many dishes on their menu which include cheese. This is good advice for vegetarians who travel to Europe anyway - the cheese is tasty, but you're also eating part of Flossy when you order it. Caveat Emptor. The restaurant is beautifully appointed and very popular. It's hidden away on a little street called Borsov just off of the Vltava river in Old Town Prague. Service is not bad and it isn't overly expensive, although it may be a little expensive relative to the typical Prague restaurant.

Momo This restaurant is in Krakow, Poland. Great food, almost all vegan and definitely vegetarian. Luscious, huge meals, neat facility, and not expensive. They have lots of Indian-inspired dishes (try the Indian pancake) and it's all freshly prepared. I'm trying to find a web site or some information on them, but I'm pretty sure they're listed on HappyCow.net. There is one other restaurant up the street from here which has mostly prepared foods (i.e. prepared in advance of opening), but which is really delicious. Of course I've forgotten the name but I think it's on Westerplatte ulica. I just happened by and popped in and had this great vegetarian goulash draped over some potato latkes/pancakes. Yum.

These are just a few of places I've been and I will add more to the list when I have more time.

Cheers!

The Good Ol' Hockey Game...

2009-01-09T21:33:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I'm going to see Kings v. Devils with MY DAD. I can't wait. I've been trying to get him to go to a hockey game with me for ages, but he doesn't like the traffic, expense, etc. So I bought a bunch of tickets to several games and told him he had to go & that I'd take care of everything. Luckily he capitulated and tomorrow we'll be off. Most of the time when I see him I just go over to his house and we hang out for a few hours, so actually going out to do something fun, that we both like, is noteworthy. He'll have a great time, he always does!

Last weekend I went with my mom and her husband, and that was a great night. First we sipped $150-a-bottle single malt - a Macallan 18 - which I proudly covet in the bar in my living room. Then we went for cocktails at LA Balene on the Redondo Beach Marina where I had more single malt, but this time a Macallan 12. Then I took them for Thai food which they really loved, and then we made it to the game. The Kings were pretty flat but somehow they beat the Flyers 2-1 in the shootout. There was also a penalty shot called against the Kings, only the 46th in the 41-year history of the team. Overall, a really fun night with my parents. Maybe I'm getting old. Maybe it's just that I value family more consciously than I used to.

GO Kings GO!

ps: I've posted a couple of links to some blogs/sites that I like. Check 'em out. Tonight I've added a link to the "Inside the Kings" blog, maintained primarily by Rich Hammond. I'm an ItK addict and probably check the blog 10 times a day (or more!).

PPS: For you sensitive fiends out there, Orion went to the game with me and me mum. I also ran into him, fully decked-out in fashionisto vestments no less, at the Devils game with me pappy. Everyone's gotta have their 15 minutes - erm, their 15 milliseconds - if I mention you on my blog.

New Year Update

2009-01-06T22:16:00.001-08:00

I've been pretty busy over the last few weeks for not having school, and that's why I haven't posted anything on the blog.

I have loads of stuff going on - many irons in the fire, so to speak.

In addition to working out the practical items, I'm trying to make plans for another overseas trip. It looks like it could be Prague & Vienna (and Salzburg!) over the summer and/or India next December. At least one of those trips -WILL- happen. I really want to go back to Czech Republic but the allure of India is so hard to resist. India's been on my list forever & is a great alternative to super-expensive Japan.

Anyway, one of my latest projects besides revamping my dad's web site (www.peterbryan.com - looks like crap right now) is a new idea for a Czech & Czech-Jewish genealogy site. I spend a lot of time researching my family so I figured I should have a place to store it out there in the ether & maybe to give other folks the chance to gain valuable insight into how to research their Czech/Jewish roots. That way they'll have a lot of my resources at their disposal and they'll waste as little time as possible chasing wild geese. So, I am the new, proud owner of a slick domain name: CzechRoots.net. Czech it out! Something will be posted there soon.

Speaking of family, my family tree has grown a lot!! In fact I've added something like 25 people in just the past week, and I've found another living, blood relative, but this time in Canada. I now have confirmed, real blood relatives in Israel, Australia, and Canada in addition to the U.S. obviously. So far, I've found relatives as far back as about the 1790's, and I've got about 25-30 subfamilies in total on the tree. There some really neat surnames such as Kummermann, Kropáček, Lustig, Günstling, Bauch, Kassowitz, Klinger, and Fuchs among others.

I had my first "real" Chanukah with my sister's family last week. I only got to celebrate on the last night, but it was so nice and was really moving. During the festivities, I thought a lot about my ancestors who were probably saying the same prayers and singing the same songs for perhaps the last time 60+ years ago.

I was pretty surprised and very disturbed at Israel's incursion into Gaza, which they started in the middle of Chanukah! It's wrong, it's hypocritical, and at the piss-poor very least they could have waited until after the Feast of Lights to make war. Chanukah is all about personal reflection and thanksgiving. It's about honoring our families and declaring peace in the face of daunting odds. It's NOT about dropping tons of bombs, killing civilians by the score, and making the cowardly choice: an exercise that is tantamount to genocide. I can't get over how hypocritical the Israeli government is. So what if they're not putting the Palenstinians into concentration camps? When they're bombing them off the fucking face of the earth, what's the difference between that and what the Nazis did? You tell me.

Na zdraví a hodne štěstí.

R.A.S. is a Serious Condition

2008-11-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

Rickenbacker Acquisition Syndrome, better known as R.A.S. or "RAS," is a serious condition that affects millions of people of all ages, and there is no known cure. Temporary relief can be had with the purchase of a new or used Rickenbacker guitar or bass; long-term management of the disease is possible if one has at least reasonably good access to Rickenbackers, and deep pockets.

Yesterday I received my first Rickenbacker 620, in the venerable fireglo! I've wanted a Rick 620 for ages and now I've finally found THE ONE. I'm a very lucky man indeed.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Maybe later I'll add some commentary. Here's a shout out to Aitch and one or two others over at the Rickenbacker Resource Forum. Woot!

I didn't expect to get another guitar this year, but I couldn't pass this one up.

It's a good day for me to work on music and to stay in my cave. Today is the 45th anniversary of JFK's death. There might be some other anniversary today, too.

Tomorrow is THE day.

2008-11-03T21:55:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? What a crazy election season this has been.

I'm a politics junkie. I'm a poll-a-holic. I love to debate and discuss. But I'll tell you, this is the most hardcore general election I've ever witnessed and really I'm at a loss for words (shocking, I know).

The Rove-Bush election strategies were pretty ruthless in the last two cycles, but their opponents were largely incompetent and deserved to lose. I've never, ever seen such an obsessive, insane, and hypocritical barrage of attacks on the part of one candidate's faction as I have from the McCain camp. Hillary's campaign was pretty schizophrenic and ugly too.

That's one of many reasons why Barack and Joe are ahead - they've committed to not smearing the other guy or his family. And by and large they haven't. Yeah, negative campaigning is pretty much essential, but character assassination and fearmongering are tactics simply not used by their campaign. Negative campaigning does not equate to telling malicious lies or to diminishing the other guy as a person. It's good, effective politics - "Oh, my opponent voted for this ridiculous legislation," or "my opponent's tax plan benefits the wealthiest Americans." This stuff is ok, but socialism? Give me a break. Elitism? Whatever. Terrorism? In the immortal words of John McEnroe, you cannot be serious! What you have is the world-wise intellectual - the thinking man's candidate - versus the cowboy-capricious, baser instincts candidate (candidates if you include Palin).

Anyway, maybe we'll see a - cliché forthcoming - paradigm shift in the way national campaigns are executed in the future. Dissent is an essentially American ideal. Criticism is necessary and appropriate if you disagree with someone in elected office. I say, pull out the stops, in an honorable and respectful way, if one disagrees with their elected representative. Maybe we can all learn something from Barack's above-board, more refined, and more tasteful approach.

Man I cannot WAIT to get into that polling booth and mark off my choices. This is such an exciting time. I will be up as late as necessary tomorrow watch the exit polls and returns & I think we'll do pretty well.

Go Barack and Joe!

Nice Job, Sen. McNumbnuts

2008-10-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

Erm, yeah. No commentary required.

This was just 3 days ago.

Fleet Foxes

2008-10-19T01:29:00.000-07:00

I heard this band some time ago on KCRW, but I just recently picked up their (eponymous) LP.

I pretty much haven't been listening to much else since I got it. It's the most promising work I've heard in a long, long time so I figured I should share the record with you in case you haven't discovered these guys yet.

Rather than a play-by-play of each song, I suggest you check them out on YouTube or just go buy the record.

Some commentator somewhere called their style "Baroque rock," which I think is totally fitting. The music is a bit folksy, but not in a Peter, Paul, & Mary kind of way. The vocal harmonies are thoughtful, complex, and generally outstanding. I often find lyrics that might be labeled "poetic" to be pretentious and boring, but Fleet Foxes' lyrics are more akin to Bob Dylan-style poetry; category notwithstanding, the lyrics are unique and quite gripping.

The recordings are dripping with reverb, but they manage to avoid sounding brittle or cold. It's organic, whole, and colorful. They're big sounds, produced something like how Brian Wilson did "Pet Sounds," but it's not Spectorized or derivative. I think their electric guitars are single-coil pickup-equipped, maybe Epiphone Casinos or so it appears from what I see on YouTube. I also hear mandolin and maybe banjo(?), but used in new, non-traditional roles.

Oh and I knew that the record and me were destined for one another because the cover picture is a reproduction of a Pieter Bruegel the Elder painting. Most people don't know Bruegel's work, but I grew up loving Bruegel. His pictures always evoke a visceral response. There's always a lot of little things going on, and he really speaks to me. Really good picture, really good record.

I don't know much about the band yet, but I'll find out more. I think that learning about the artist, whoever it is in whatever medium, makes their work a lot more personally meaningful. I dunno, maybe that's obvious to you, but it wasn't to me until I started getting heavily interested in art.

Good on ya Fleet Foxes for making such fine music. I'm really enjoying this record and I can't wait for your next one. When you come to town I'll definitely be in the audience.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, YOUR Los Angeles Kings!"

2008-10-12T16:10:00.001-07:00

I love these words.

These are the words that herald a righteous battle. These are the words that call forth the band of purple-clad gladiators from the depths of Staples Center. The ice trembles and buckles as wave after wave of powerful blades gouge and shred the slick surface. The blood of our hockey enemies will be spilt tonight and every night in an epic struggle for glory and honor. We shall all feast on victory.

Every year, between the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs and the drop of the puck on opening night, I simmer in hockey purgatory, just waiting to hear these words...

Well tonight is the night. THE night! My L.A. Kings are opening their season at home against those venerable warriors, the Sharks of San Jose.

On the whole we have a highly skilled set of guys. Dustin Brown is the new captain and he'll ring your bell if you get in his way; Anze Kopitar is a real NHL superstar & we've got him locked up for 8 seasons; we've got Patrick O'Sullivan - a finesse forward. We have Alex "Good Luck Trying to Knock Me Off the Puck" Frolov. We've got hard-hitting Jack "MF'ing" Johnson anchoring our blue line. That's right!

Yeah, I know; we have a core of very young, very green players. So what? This will be a solid season whose purpose is to build skill, experience, and confidence into our core of future franchise players. We're also building an L.A. Kings culture. It will be a culture that espouses hard work, motivation, and an even-keeled approach to winning (and losing).

So watch out Stanley Cup contenders of 1, 2, 3, or 4 years from now. You've got an up-and-coming juggernaut in the form of my Los Angeles Kings.

A Little Campaign Psychology...

2008-10-03T17:27:00.001-07:00

I just got home from work, and during the drive home I saw someone who had one of those [name your candidate] bumper stickers on the car. It was a RAV4 or something and the cat had this on his spare tire on the back.

What I thought was funny was that he had a Hillary sticker on there, neatly pressed into place across the back of the tire. Now over this he has an Obama sticker sort of slapped across the Hillary sticker, placed diagonally so you can still see Hillary peeking out.

Denial can be a powerful thing, and this guy's heart is clearly still with Hillary. Leaving her sticker sort of poking out like that he's basically saying, "There's still a chance, dammit! I guess I like Barack but I still want Hillary, and I want everyone to know that I feel this way."

Just found it kind of funny I guess. Hey if people get fired up over politics I'm totally for it.

No Words

2008-09-27T13:17:00.001-07:00

I just played this song from Paul McCartney & Wings' "Band on the Run" LP. It's got some insanely good guitar on the runout. It's SUCH A GOOD SONG & kicks my butt without fail every time.

I think that's Paul on drums, bass, AND shredding it up too, whacking on that whammy bar a little. There's only one problem with this song - it's not long enough. ;-)

Composed by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine

You want to give your love away
and end up giving nothing.
I'm not surprised that your black eyes
are gazing.

You say that love is everything
and what we need the most of...
I wish you knew, that's just how true
my love was.

No words for my love

Your burning love, sweet burning love
it's deep inside.
You mustn't hide your burning love
Sweet burning love, your burning love.

You want to turn your head away
and someone's thinking of you.
I wish you'd see- it's only me,
I love you.

No words for my love

Welcome to Earth, Noa Belle Walters!

2008-09-19T10:42:00.001-07:00

My beautiful niece Noa was born on Monday, September 15, 2008 at 7:52 PM Pacific Time in Santa Monica, California. She weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 20.5 inches long.

I'll maintain a web site (with pictures and updates) for her here.

Here is a picture taken about an hour after her birth:

From left: Grand Pappy, Grammie, me and baby Noa, and Mom

Needless to say, I'm beyond thrilled. Meeting Noa has been the pristine cherry on top of the overflowing, delicious sundae of experiences I've had over the past few months.

I'd never held a baby before I held her, and until now I've never appreciated how phenomenal and uplifting babies are.

In keeping with Bryan-family tradition as conceived by my brother Tim, I dubbed Noa "Biscuit McGee." A perfect name for a perfect biscuit.

In other news, I've barely had a free moment since the end of August (not news, I know). All is reasonably well and my life is very fine, with the notable exception of no longer having any beach time, or beach weather for that matter.

Permutations and Ruminations: An Epilogue

2008-08-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month since I returned from Czech Republic and Poland. During this time I've taken one or two significant personal strides. I attribute the changes partly to the residual effects of my experiences overseas, and partly to the need to rally my head and heart after the tumultuous 18 months that preceeded the trip.

Now that I've had some time to reflect and ruminate, I'll offer up a few thoughts and comments. People overuse terms such as "amazing" and "awesome" to such a degree that they've turned into an arbitrary and toothless part of the vernacular. In the case of my sabbatical, both words really do convey the wonder and splendor of the trip. I don't want it to seem like it was a super-happy, slapstick time, because it definitely wasn't. On the contrary, it was solemn and carefully focused, but without any loss of a sense of adventure. Don't get me wrong- I had plenty of fun too.

While I was in Czech Republic, I felt very much at home. Even just after arriving I started to feel a spiritual familiarity with the country. Imagine- I got to walk along the Vltava and trapse through Prague while listening to Smetana's Ma Vlast- the ultimate in Czech nationalist classical music. The suite is part of Prague, and when it comes down to it so am I. It was a synergistic, organic, and humanizing experience. It's sort of like when you go back to a place you knew and loved as a child after many years or decades, and about which you have colorful (if vague) memories. Does it make sense? I realize it may be a bit nutty to feel this way because I'd never been there before, but my dormant Czech blood sprung from the marrow of my bones when I stepped onto the cobble streets of Prague; it was like a hearty welcome from an old friend or kindred spirit. From the moment I arrived a giant (yet heretofore unknown) missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle of my identity was thrust into place. I have since grown used to this initially strange combination of relief, wholeness, and satisfaction.

For who I met and what I saw during my stay, I'm so much fuller as a person and I'm more grateful for each moment of my unlikely existence. By unlikely I mean that the events in my father's very young life in Czechoslovakia were so grave that his very survival was far from assured. One wrong move at the wrong time by my grandmother and they'd have been arrested and sent to Auschwitz, where the bulk of the rest of my family died. She made the most difficult sacrifices anyone could possibly make, just to escape: she gave up, sold, or bribed officials with her considerable personal wealth and possessions, she abandoned her parents, brothers, and extended family, and she left her home- all to make it possible for my dad to have even a tiny chance to survive the Holocaust.

I always have a bit of an internal chuckle when people ask if I went there on vacation, because I never considered it that way; I was on a mission.

While literally everything was a big deal during my visit, there were a few experiences that have settled in my mind as some of the most meaningful of my entire life. Meeting Karel and his family, especially Eva, is at the top of my list. It was quite something to connect with real family members, however distantly related. Karel has done so much to further understanding of my lineage, and he spent tons of time showing me around and educating me. He took me to one of the Klinger family villas, to the Sterboholy memorial, and to many other places of interest related to Klinger relatives' lives . He even showed me the synagogue where my grandmother received her Hebrew name. Unreal. Getting in touch with my ancient Czech and Jewish roots has left an indelible impression on my self-image, my values, and my perception of my own place in the world.

Practically every moment was a revelation during my afternoon with Eva. We talked a lot about her youth and the folks in my direct family whom she remembers. It was sad for her to make these recollections at times. She told many stories and gave me a lot to think about. I am so thankful to her and Karel et al. for their generosity, sharing, and selflessness with my questions. I can't wait to go visit them again!

Many other sights in Prague are etched into my memory as well. My Golden Tiger pub visit and beerfest was spectacular. Even Bill Clinton had a beer there with Vaclav Havel sometime in the last decade. There were also a few people in Prague that I met and liked, especially Alexandra, Jirka, and Bob and Wyn.

The visits to the concentration camps at Terezin and Majdanek were obviously integral to the trip, and transformative for me personally. From my earlier comments you already know what I think and how l feel about being at both places. I've come to realize that knowing what my family went through, and walking right where they walked, being in the rooms in which they slept, suffered, and died changed my entire outlook in general, and especially with how I relate to others. These experiences are sewn into my consciousness and I think I've been a lot more tolerant of other peoples' shortcomings as a result. In fact, my awareness of the evil that was done to my family and others is always close to the surface for me. This serves as buoy and a reference for my own attitudes and actions.

Visiting the New Jewish Cemetery to pay homage at the graves of my Great-Great Grandparents and Great-Auntie was also a remarkable experience. It's hard to communicate exactly what that visit means to me, but suffice it to say that being physically near to my ancestors was a solemn, but very satisfying occasion. I'm really glad I was there by myself and I'm so pleased that they were just waiting for me to show up. I regret that I didn't have more time with them, but I did get contact information for the cemetery attendants and administrator so I can cover the grave maintenance. Also, I think there are other relatives there who I didn't have time to visit. Next time.

The result of all of this is a fundamental change in me. I've noticed that I've more or less stopped sweating the small stuff. What used to really irk me now meets with, at worst, a mild annoyance that is momentary and quiet. I'd even go so far as to say that 95%+ of the time I don't get irritated at all. I've greatly reduced my use of expletives (except in dirty jokes). I am calmer, more centered, and more purposeful. Those of you who know me probably know that I am a pretty intense and passionate guy, so these are areas of growth for me. Of course, certain other improvements in my life separate from the trip have also caused me to feel a lot better in general. It's good news that my intensity and passion, character traits which I definitely like, seem to be in otherwise good form. Out with the bad, but enhance the good.

----------------

In addition to that kind of stuff, I've also made some more tangible changes. I finally quit my job at Electron. My boss was constantly abusing, badgering, and deriding everyone, but especially me. So one Tuesday afternoon in early August I give him a piece of my mind and quit on the spot. That's right. Life's too short and I had already evaluated the implications of that choice.

How's this for serendipity? When I got home I had an official offer letter in my email inbox from a company with which I'd been corresponding for a few weeks. I took the job and the rest is history. What is especially groovy for me is that I had almost three weeks between jobs, with nothing to do!! So let's recap how much off-work time I had this summer. I had my 9 days overseas, came back to work for a week and a half, then had another 2+ weeks off. It was great. I spent loads of time at the beach, riding my bike, hanging with friends, and working on a piano composition.

As far as the composition goes I reworked something I'd written a while back for a certain someone. I came up with a new middle eight and added a whole new instrumental section, not to mention chucking the old lyrics and working out new ones. I got as far as a series of test recordings and arrangements, which is where the project will stay indefinitely now that I'm back in school. It's pretty good though, especially because I don't usually write on piano. I'm taking 7 units this semester, which includes a physics course on magnetism, optics, and electricity. Needless to say, it's a 7-day per week occupation & will leave me with very little personal or decompression time. That's ok- I don't need the kinds of distractions I had last semester so doing nothing but work and school will be highly affirmative for me. I also am taking physics with Mr. K. rather than with Mr. L. for the first time. Mr. K. has been pretty cool so far.

I'll end with the famous words (er...word?) of my junior high science teacher, Dee Strange. As she was wont to say with profound emphasis and grace: "Onward!"

Until next time, my little chickadees...here's looking at you.

Poland: Part III - Krakow and...home.

2008-08-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 25, 2008

My final day abroad began with a train trip to Krakow by way of Warszawa - about a 7-hour run.

I changed trains at Warszawa Centralna, and for the way to Krakow I was finally blessed with a quiet, comfortable, and empty late-model train. In fact, the ride was so comfortable and quiet that I dozed off in my cabin, undisturbed for the bulk of the trip. When I awoke, the train was parked in the Krakow station and about to be boarded by the next set of travelers- to Budapest! Good thing I lugged myself up and out of there in time.

Arriving in Krakow was like taking a dip in the Pacific ocean- absolution! Krakow exudes a free, energetic, and very fun vibe which I felt from the moment I stepped off the train. The train station is above ground, and it empties into the downtown square where there's no motor traffic. Plus, it was splendidly hot and sunny, at least for a short while.

For this part of the trip, I thought staying in a hostel would be pretty cool and worth a shot. And so it was; there were lots of young people who were either stopping off in Krakow or winding their way through Europe on months-long adventures. I don't mean Paris and Rome, either. I heard great stories around the communal breakfast table of Budapest and Sofia and Tuscany and the Greek islands, all while I sipped my drip coffee.

The visit to Krakow of course meant a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camps. I decided to take an organized tour, but it was a mistake to do so (details to follow).

While I waited at the tour bus stop, the previous group pulled up in their coach. The grim, pallid faces of the tour attendees followed one after another, each person hurriedly disembarking from the tour bus. Anyone could tell they didn't just take one of those "homes of the Hollywood stars" tours. Their heavy expressions said a lot.

Visiting the camp was not a happy time, but frankly I was terribly disappointed with the tour. While our guide was eminently well-informed, she rushed us through each waypoint and failed to show us many parts of the camp. She didn't allow time to reflect and absorb the gravity of the experience, and moved way too fast for me to be able to keep up with her diatribe and view and read the postings at each point of interest. The visit then, at least for me, yielded no significant emotional impact and was basically a waste of time and effort. That's just wrong. It seemed like the tour company was trying to earn a zloty or two rather than appealing to those folks who really needed or wanted the experience. It took 90 minutes to get to Auschwitz from Krakow. We had a paltry 90 minutes to go through the whole camp before we moved to Birkenau - only enough time for the guided tour. There wasn't one second of free time to think or feel anything.

The Birkenau part of the camp is enormous - many square kilometers in area - and it necessarily takes at least several hours to explore. At any time there were maybe 100,000 prisoners crammed into wooden barracks which protected them only to be fit enough for the slave labor for which they were kept. Around the Auschwitz town area there are the decaying remnants of some of the Reich's factories where these poor people were forced to work until they expired.

We were given only 25 minutes to look around then tick-tock right back on the bus. That's it. What a waste!

Eva had asked me to leave a pebble at the memorial, which is at the terminal end of the train tracks that run through Birkenau (you've seen this in Schindler's List). Of course I promised to do so, but the tour did NOT allow me time to visit the memorial! Can you believe that? I had to leave one stone for my relatives and one for Eva's mother on an original cement fundament in the middle of the camp. [Aside: I tend to avoid any on-the-clock endeavour because for me it invariably takes some thoughtful time to process and react to what I'm seeing, reading, smelling, and hearing.] I'll come back on my own time. It poured relentlessly throughout the visit. The bottom line is this: if you're serious about understanding and assimilating the Auschwitz-Birkenau experience, avoid the organized tour at all costs. Spend a few bucks, rent a car, and drive out there yourself. You can spend all bloody day there and you'll come away enlightened and informed.

As seems to have been the case while in Poland, I didn't do very much eating. Once we were released from the tour around 7:30pm, I figured I'd better dig up some food and fast. I had my little manifest of veggie places in Krakow to refer to, so finding some good food wasn't an issue.

Once off the bus I began my walking tour of Krakow. It's super easy to get around there, with the Old Town almost in the center of the city. The roads radiate outward, and it's easy to get oriented and on the right track. So I headed to this place Momo, a vegan joint, and ended up arriving at something like 8:15. I went in, sat down, grabbed a menu, and then just as I was about to order, the attendant said they were closed. Grumble. I took off for the next place, which just happened to be back in the direction of my hostel.

Well I was pleased to find the other place because I had this gorgeous vegetarian goulash served over what resembled potato pancakes. That warm, delicious stew-like concoction filled the vacant reservoir in my gut and gave me some marching power for the rest of my evening.

I headed back to the hostel to hang out with the folks there for a while. But then I decided, as it was my last night over there, that I should be out getting some beer. So I dug up a little bar and bellied up for the staple half-liter of Zywiec (pronounced jhee-vee-ets) which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was impressed by the Polish beer, but not as much as I was by the Pilsner Urquell from the tap at The Golden Tiger in Prague. Nothing but nothing could top that. The bartender and some of the regulars- old, corpulent, smokey Polish guys- had ordered a pizza which was delivered by bike messenger. They consumed it ravenously during my tenure at the bar.

That pretty much did me in for the night. After that I stayed in and read for a while, and put my iPod to some heavy use.

----------

A coffee and bread breakfast, brilliant as always, punctuated my morning. I stayed at the communal table for a long while and got a huge kick out of all the people that came and went through the hostel. Fortunately there was no end to the coffee.

My last moments in Krakow were spent in the old Jewish quarter, Kazimierz. On the edge of the Old Town, it's a good distance from my hostel. I hadn't planned to or wanted to visit, but I did so at the behest and prodding of my hostel hosts. It's much simpler and far less touristy than Josefov in Prague, but maybe a little more pleasant. My requisite walkabout was very satisfying and I really sucked up the atmosphere, especially knowing I had to leave for home in a few hours. It was still mid-morning so many of the merchants and local farmers were setting up their stands and getting rolling for the day.

After trekking through Kazimierz for a while, I figured I'd take a load off somewhere. Here's an idea - how about a Zywiec at the Alchemia pub? My good fortune continued as the beer was poured by the suave and sultry blonde barkeep who was grooving to Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" on the PA. A half-liter of Polish beer definitely gives you some courage, especially at 1045 in the morning! After that I took a lovely vegan-Indian lunch at Momo, which is just up the road from Alchemia. Finally, I had a leisurely walk up the Vistla river and last-minute sightseeing tour before heading back to downtown Krakow to pick up my luggage. One last train ride to the airport ended the expedition.

Nature abhors a vacuum. Leaving Czech Republic and Poland was like watching your just-poured soda water settle down, or what happens to your eyes when the lights go out. I will return to Czech Republic and probably to Krakow. There's so much more to experience, and I can see how a second trip could be even more enjoyable than the first.

-------

The plane ride was interesting. We took off from Krakow but had to land urgently in Warsaw after 25 minutes of flight. The pilots parked us on an outlying tarmac and the plane was surrounded by maintenance personnel. An ambulance pulled up and someone got off the plane. Very strange. The flight to Chicago was well over 9 hours, and was very turbulent the whole time. We flew a sort of polar route over the North Sea, Sweden, and Finland, and other places in the north Atlantic.

I got stranded in Chicago for a day; because of the late arrival of my flight from Poland and the silly customs procedures, I missed my connecting flight to LA. Incidentally, it took forever to get out of Chicago too because the inbound plane was late, and then there was some maintenance problem with the plane. But all was well, and I finally arrived at LAX sometime on Sunday.

Writer's Note: I guess that covers it for the trip commentary. I'm sure I'll go back and edit all of these posts, correct for mistakes, etc. Once I have a little more time I'll post an epilogue with my reflections (I think I said that already).

One of you is in my thoughts.

J

Poland: Part II - Lublin and Majdanek

2008-07-31T07:52:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Thursday morning, out of the hotel at 6am to catch the train to Lublin. It's about a 3-hour ride. I took pause when I saw the actual train- a 30- or 40-year old, rusting, delapidated collection of tin cans on rails, all strung together to give the vague impression of a familiar mode of transportation. As usual, I suspended my fleeting apprehension in favor of achieving my goal and maybe learning something. It was an uneventful ride & I was glad to get out of Warsaw anyway, so it didn't matter. The Polish countryside is pleasant, but it doesn't touch the idyllic Czech countryside.

I was in a [first class] cabin with 5 other folks. One guy I talked to speaks perfect English, having lived and worked in England, and was returning to his home in Lublin by way of Warsaw by way of Copenhagen. He was happy to make beer and wodka recommendations. There were also a pulchritudinous young couple and an tired old couple along for the trip. See, a multi-generational affair. Traveling by train is the business if you have time. I recommend making the time, the trains themselves notwithstanding. Very worthwhile indeed.

Lublin is the diametric opposite of the rough and tumble and grit and grime of Warszawa. There are maybe 400,000 people there, but you'd never know it. The town has a smaller, more cohesive, unassuming feel and the people are definitely warmer. Per my typical M.O., I spent a good deal of time walking around, just exploring. As with the Warszawa jaunt, I didn't have much time, but I did gain an appreciation for the city. Plus it was easier to socialize in Lublin, if you know what I mean.

I couldn't find any of the veggie restuarants I had made notes about in advance of the trip so I didn't actually eat anything all day. At night I ended up just having a gorgeous salad at the hotel restaurant and a major event: French fries and ketchup. I don't even remember the last time I had proper French fries- definitely years ago.

Lublin is home to a Catholic University, and if I'm not mistaken a number of its component buildings are named after Pope Jana Pawla II, who was Polish. There are a lot of nuns and students in those areas as you might expect, and I believe the Lubliners are quite religious on the whole. I saw an older woman making the sign of the cross while riding on the bus in the morning, and many women wearing cross-pendant necklaces.

Incidentally, there are a LOT of women here. It seems like they far outnumber the men and that's a good situation for us guys. Lots and lots of pretty girls. Not L.A. pretty mind you, which is often sort of an affected, artificial beauty, but understated, more feminine pretty if you'll permit me. Obviously Slavic features are more prominent, and like in Czech Republic, they have a lot of very nice software which they're not afraid to accentuate with the way they dress. Great looking girls in Poland, but maybe a little shy.

--------

There was only one reason for the visit to Lublin: Majdanek. It's Europe's second-largest concentration camp in terms of geographical area. This is where my grandfather was killed. He was deported from Prague in June, 1942 and was killed in August of the same year. He survived (if you can call it that) at Majdanek for only two months.

During my visit, it was rainy, stormy, and muggy - strangely ominous and appropriate weather for visiting a death camp. Curiously, the Nazis didn't bother to try and hide the camp- they built it right on the edge of town for all to see.

I just keep coming back to how the existence of these camps is utter madness, and they defy reason and humanity. It's just completely insane.

I took the 158 bus from downtown to the camp. When my bus pulled up next to the camp I was shocked to the core, and nearly to sickness. In disbelief I pointed to the camp and muttered the lady next to me, "Majdanek??" She responded in the affirmative, and my head swam. It was chilling.

Majdanek was not like Terezin. It was a hard-labor camp with gas chambers, a crematorium, and a gallows, whose express purpose was to exterminate the prisoners ad nauseam. It was also common practice to shoot prisoners, which is what the SS did to my grandfather. It was very tough for me to be there, but it was also good in a way because that's the closest I've ever been to my grandfather Ota.

I took some wild flowers and stones from the grounds, with a huge lump in my throat. I left two stones for my grandfather at the mausoleum- a huge mound of ashes of the cremated, under a dome (pictures) - one for me, and one on my father's behalf. I wish I could talk to him about this and share the experiences I've had on this trip.

There was a contingent of Jewish children visiting Majdanek from Israel. Watching the troupe approach the mausoleum was extremely moving. One young man had wrapped himself in an Israeli flag. I snapped a picture of the group and their leader from some distance off, and he watched me suspiciously as I took the photo. I made eye contact with him and gave a respectful wave; in return he gave an a knowing nod. Words need not have been used because the shared experience of being on the grounds was powerful.

I spent my time at the camp in silence out of respect for the perished, but I was profoundly moved, almost to tears, the entire time I was there.

You really have no idea how bad that war was until you see these kinds of places. There are huge rooms filled from top to bottom with shoes and personal effects- hairbrushes, combs, clothes, luggage, all stolen from the condemned. Gold teeth removed. Human hair cut off, sold en masse, then processed into textiles. Murdered bodies autopsied in search of hidden valuables, then burned. All of this was done to benefit the Reich. You can't imagine what was done to the people who were forced into these camps. Yes, the gas chambers - death by suffocation from exposure to poison gas - but also privation, torture, and grotesque medical experimentation are among the most gruesome, inhuman evils that can be conceived.

The worst kinds of human decimation happened on a massive scale with the programmatic, surgical efficiency of the Nazi war machine. Humans were put into slavery, disregarded like so much refuse, then finally destroyed. The cycle was repeated many times, with the ultimate goal of destroying 11 million Jews and millions of Communists, sympathizers, and anyone who resisted the Wehrmacht.

Huge bombing raids with hundreds of tons of munitions dropped on civilians. Tens of millions of people erased from existence.

It puts things into a certain perspective.

That evening a very rowdy rainstorm with plenty of thunder and lightning rolled in. We don't see many of those in L.A.

Part III next...

Poland: Part I - Arrival and Impressions of Warszawa

2008-07-30T06:18:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

I was most unhappy to leave Czech Republic. Quite melancholy, actually. I had just hit my stride so to speak- no need for maps, a very basic understanding of what words I needed to get by, and a knowledge of the "right" places to eat and more importantly drink. Plus, I developed a real fondness for the country and for Prague in particular. On the other hand, I was looking forward to Poland, for which I had absolutely no concept of what to expect or see.

I had an auspicious trip into Poland- the flight was lovely, and both flight attendants on my ATR-72 turboprop are total stunners. Just off the plane I must have seen 20 women who are oh so beautiful and very hot. Nice going, Polsko. Can't wait to see what's next.

Almost nobody here speaks English, so the fundamentals such as getting bus tickets or a bottle of water can be challenging for a totally unprepared visitor such as myself. This is not a bad thing in any way. Since Czech and Polish are similar languages, it didn't take long to acclimate anyway. I deliberately avoided planning for Poland for a couple of reasons: one, because I wanted to wing it just to see how it works out and how I'd respond and two, because when my family were forced to come here they had no choice but to forego any familiarity or comfort.

For me, Warsaw was a bit of a miss. It's not an attractive or inviting city. At all. It is very dirty, chaotic in a less than enjoyable way, and the air is thick with diesel fumes and a thoroughly unpleasant combination of sticky cigarette residue and body odor which seems to condense onto every surface. The people are generally not warm either; if they were, at least that would redeem the city in some way. Warsaw is a bleak place with a lot of careworn older people. I've found this to be true throughout Poland in general, but less so in Lublin and Krakow. There are also a lot of young people in Warsaw and it apparently has a fairly hip club and bar scene.

For dinner I did find an Italian place that was totally mediocre. At least the waitresses were good to look at and Czech beer was readily available.

Warsaw has this split identity, maybe along some generational line: on one side you have a very young and optimistic demographic who just want to live their lives and have a good time. On the other side, you have the spectre of Communism which is ubiquitous- from the streets to the buildings, and in the troubled, oppressed faces of the locals. There's little work for anyone who's educated and the older folks still remember how bad it actually was under Soviet rule. It's still bad, but I think Poland is finding its footing & has a bright future according to modern, global capitalism. At least this seems to be the case in Warszawa.

Regardless of the stuff I don't immediately like, in general I try to find ways to enjoy exploring a new place. It stands to reason then that these sort of "negatives" cease to be real negatives. While they're maybe not appealing to me or other Americans, they are part of this city's character and as such are actually things to accept and overlook. Whatever, Warsaw stinks. But it was cool being there for a few hours. :-) I won't go back unless I have to, although I can't forsee such an occasion.

As with the each part of the Poland leg of the trip, Warsaw was a sprint. So too are my travel arrangements. My trains leave at 7am and that means getting up at 5, making sure I have myself together, then scurrying off to the train station, by way of bus or tram. I never said this was going to be a relaxing or restful vacation.

So that was it- one night in Warszawa, then off to Lublin.

Part II next...

Home, at last

2008-07-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

Home in one piece after a weird travel day out of Poland yesterday, and after being stranded in Chicago overnight.

I have a whole series on Poland that I composed in one go, but which I'll post in bits. Stay tuned.

Na Zdravi!

Czech Adventure, Final Day

2008-07-24T14:25:00.001-07:00

Journal started around 11am, Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

My last day in Czech Republic began the same way my first day started- cool, breezy,
and rainy. Also like my first day I got under way and out of the hotel late, at about 0930.

First order of business was the last place on the list of family properties to visit. I went to one of my dad's apartments, but this time on Pstrossova ulice (literally Ostrich street). It's now a school for boys. The building is undergoing renovation. I talked to the construction foreman for a few moments in my best Czech, which is not even marginally adequate, but he was pretty patient with me.

I made a last visit to the Slavia cafe, which you may recall from an earlier post is where my granny used to go when she was a lass. It's a posh place and a bit snobby, but so too were the Klingers quite posh and certainly in the upper crust of contemporary Czech society. It is fitting then that I should become a regular fixture at the Slavia during my stay here.

Firsts and lasts abound.

I visited the Nove Zidovsky Hrbitovy, where some of my family members are at rest. There was nobody visiting any graves except an Italian tourist who was checking out Kafka's place. It was a cool, lightly rainy day. If such a thing can be said of a cemetery, it's a pleasant place to be. Most relevant to me is the shared grave that contains my great-great grandfather Josef Klinger, my great-great grandmother Marie (nee Fischl), and my dad's auntie Zdenka who died at age 8. Her grave says Zdenicka, which is a cute but typical Czech moniker - "Little Zdenka." That she was. Very unfortunately I ran short of time and had to leave. I know there are other Klinger and Gunstling graves, and probably the ashes of at least one of my dad's uncles. I'm certain I shall return to this place.

The prominent Klinger grave was covered with dirt and a bit of overgrowth, but curiously there was a flower on the slab which covers the grave, as well as a glass jar. I think the jar is a Jewish thing designed to contain offerings, but that's just a guess. There's no way someone accidentally left or littered a mason jar on the grave, so perhaps someone else in Czech Republic is thinking of my ancestors and stopped by for a minute.

I cleaned off the grave and placed three small stones and the flower on top of Zdenicka's gravestone.

I saw and photographed Franz Kafka's grave as well.

I had to leave the cemetery to rush back to Mala Strana to meet Karel for possibly the most significant visit of my entire journey...

It's serendipitous that the Czech visit culminated with meeting Eva Vitovcova. Eva is Klara's grandmother's sister- whew!. She is quite an old 88 years of age. She is very important resource for my genealogical scholarship because she actually knew and remembers my great-grandfather and many Klinger family members. Her auntie was married to my dad's great-uncle, so she had many occasions to visit and stay with some of the Klinger children. The thing is, these (great-uncles, grandmother's aunts, etc.) sound like distant connections, but they're not at all. These folks were neither generations apart nor loosely related; on the contary, Klingers were a big family and some of them had a lot of cause to interact socially with one other.

I spent several hours talking with Eva over coffee and sweetcake. Karel served as the predictably ultra-capable translator and we had a lovely and poignant afternoon. I'll reserve any further comment on the personal aspects of my visit with Eva.

Eva lives out in the country, in Pikovice. Pikovice is roughly 30 km outside of Prague. Getting there entails a leisurely drive along the Vltava and into the countryside, which is stunningly beautiful. Think Oregon + Mendocino + Alaska. Except for the satellite dishes, the area appears to be wholly unaffected by the modern, intensive Western push. It might as well be 1953 out there.

At long lastI had to say goodbye to little Kaja, who is just a super kid. He's clever, well-behaved, good-looking, and a lot of fun- everything a parent could want. We had a great time together. Na shledanou little buddy- that's right!!

On the way back, Karel took me through Chodov, Kunratice, and Seberov- all relatively small towns that are adjacent to one another. This area is where the Klinger family originated. The towns were not particularly inspiring, but what I did find intriguing were the plentiful array of communist-Czech era Soviet-designed panel apartment complexes. You know the ones- they make the scene so generic that if you saw a picture of the buildings during the Communist occupation of Eastern Europe, you'd have no clue what city they're in. The complexes are each built in the middle of what amounts to a circular road. This is very odd because there are no through roads in the complex; the entrance and exit are in the same space. Ahh, Communist engineering. Those were the days.

Second, those buildings are atrocious. I mean it- they are hideous. Insulting the already injured, they provide a constant reminder of the oppresion that was intrinsic to the Soviet Bloc. In those days nobody could choose where to live, or even how to live. Lives clearly haven't improved to the degree that you might believe, or at least to the point where those structures could be knocked down and a proper replacement complexes constructed. The buildings are heavily occupied & that means that many people still don't have a choice about where or how to live. You draw your own conclusions, but to me (here we go) this indicates that the "new" parliamentary government isn't any better at helping people succeed than the "old" Communist government was at keeping people down. Quite a sociological conundrum. Conclusion? All government is bad at governing.

There really isn't much left. I'm typing this up while at my, yawn, normal place: the Lehka Hlava. Sorry for that but a vegetarian man must eat! Note to self: don't forget to comment at some point on the European definition of "vegetarian."

I'm off to Warsaw early tomorrow morning. I guess I'll start a new series for the Polski trip. I know almost nothing about Poland. I really haven't planned anything except for one or two critically important stops, but this should be really good anyway. The mysteries and uncertainties associated with new frontiers appeal to me as they always have. Poland will be another notch in my "experiences" belt.

I think I'll write an epilogue or something after this is all over and I'll have had time to digest and reflect.

Czech Adventure, Day 4

2008-07-24T14:15:00.000-07:00

Journal started around 8am, Monday, July 21, 2008

Today I visited Josefov, the old Jewish quarter of Prague. It is nestled right into the "bend" in the Vltava, above but considered separate from Stare Mesto.

I was the first person at the Old Jewish Cemetery. The streets were very quiet, and I felt a certain personal quietude and strength. Perhaps my visit to Terezin was strangely invigorating. I sat on the curb in the only sliver of sunlight on the street on this brisk, breezy morning. I had about 30 minutes before the museum and cemetery opened so I prepared a post card.

I recommend visiting the Jewish quarter for historical perspective. There are some solemn places and Holocaust memorials, but the each site is historically significant. It's a good idea to see the sights in Josefov early because there are always loads of people and tour groups clammoring into the synagogues and cemetery. This morning there happened to be a 25-person Russian troupe who arrived about 15 minutes after me. Interesting bunch. Less than an hour after opening, I would estimate maybe 1500+ people were already moving through the area.

There are 6 sites and admission to the cemetery included in the 480-crown ticket price. That's about $35 or so. I was interested in only three sites: Pinkasova Synagoga, Stare Zidovske Hrbitovy, and the Staronova Synagoga.

First I visited the Pinkus Synagogue. It's essentially a Holocaust memorial, with most or all of the names of the Czech victims hand-scripted on the walls from floor to ceiling. It's sobering to see the names of 80000+ murder victims in front of your face. You are forced to acknowledge and reckon with not only their deaths, but their existence. This wasn't an accident or a natural disaster.

I found many blood relatives who are memorialized on these sacred walls:

Ota Gunstling, Milada Klinger, Frantisek Klinger, Karel Klinger, Zdenek Klinger, Leopold Klinger, Marie Klinger, Zdenka Klinger, among others.

Marie and Zdenka were only 20 and 22 years old, and they were sent to the gas chamber at Auschwitz on the same day in 1943. There were other brothers, cousins, and all manner of other Klinger relatives that died in the Holocaust.

The Old Jewish Cemetery is a trip. It's something like 500 years old. I haven't read much about it but my understanding is that because Jews were isolated and contained in Josefov, that they literally ran out of space and ended up buring their dead one on top of another over time. While the cemetery is somewhat macabre, it has a certain abstract beauty. The ground is swollen and bloated like an overinflated tire, and myriad gravestones are jutting out of it every which way like jagged teeth. Fascinating from an anthropological point of view, I'm sure.

I also visited the Staronova Synagoga, quite literally the Old New Synagogue. It's the oldest operating synagogue in Europe and was built in something like 1370.

After the Josefov tour I met up with Karel and his son Kaja. We spent the entire day exploring Nove Mesto and outlying areas for places where my family lived. I found my grandfather's apartment, and a building that my great-grandfather owned and where my dad and many other family members lived. I found another apartment where my great-grandfather and other family members lived (not concurrently). I actually went to Sterboholy where a Klinger family villa still stands. Unfortunately it's been converted into a municipal office building. In the same area, one of the several Klinger family farms is now just an empty park. Part of the property was converted into residential accomodations in the last 10-15 years or so.

There is a very handsome memorial stone placed near the entryway to the park for Klinger and Vesely families, along with several notable individuals who died in the First World War. I will post pictures when I get back.

I visited the Prague 10 city archives, which are housed in a gigantic Soviet-era building - stereotypical communist construction. It was nearly impossible to get any information on the family lands as my name is not Klinger. As such the proprietors were not forthcoming, but I was able to see a few original, ancient records of ownership. The point was to make sure that all of my information about who lived where is accurate. Lots of family members lived in lots of different places.

After all of this I spent part of the evening with Karel and Klara at their home. We had a few beers, had wonderful chats about our families, and worked on the Klinger family tree.

When I left I stopped up the road at a pub. I ended up sitting at the same table as two young brothers from England who were on a whirlwind tour of Europe. We had some beer and slivovice and exchanged amusing anectodes. Then we parted and that was it. It was a fun time with a couple of upstanding young chaps.

I poked around Nove Mesto for some time but was so tired from lack of sleep that I decided to trek back to the hotel and crash. I had a long but good walk. I passed out just after midnight.

There it is.

Czech Adventure, Day 3

2008-07-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

**Two for the price of one. No chance to get to a PC for the last couple of days so here's a second installment**

Journal started at 6:50am local time, Sunday, July 20, 2008.

This day was destined to be a lot more serious than the first two days in Prague.

I barely slept last night, probably due to latent jet lag and the mainline infusion of pivo.

I feel compelled to mention this: so far my breakfasts have been simple and functional, in a way, like the Czech people of old - no pretense, no duff. I enoyed a roll with some butter and jam, then a slice of bread with cheese, all with a few small cups of coffee. This is a truly gratifying, simple pleasure for me. When I was in France it was the same deal - cafe et un croissant, et du fromage frais avec fruits.

Anyway, there was really only one plan for the day: to visit the concentration camp and museum at Terezin.

Terezin is on the way to Teplice and Litomerice and lies 50-odd kilometers north and slightly west of Prague.

It was a spectacular day. The blissful beauty of Eden could never touch the magnificence of the Czech countryside and weather on this day. Wait until you see the pictures.

Terezin, what the Germans called Theresienstadt, consists of a "small" fortress and the adjacent town. By small I mean that there are 27km of tunnels and shafts underneath the fortress, which itself was built from over 30 million bricks. One cannot possibly appreciate the size and scope of such a facility without seeing it first-hand. Everyone should go. Everyone should remember.

Terezin was originally built by the Czechs to defend against Prussian invaders, but it wasn't ever seriously used as a military base. Hitler ultimately found it to be ideal as a staging area for deporting (mostly) Czechs to other concentration camps. He turned the town of Terezin into a ghetto and the fortress itself into a concentration camp. It was first used to "contain" Czech political prisoners and influential businessmen, as well families of prominence in the Czech lands.

After the German annexation of Czechoslovakia, these families were the first to be identified and collected - after seizing all property and assets - then deported.
It was the start of "The Final Solution" for how to deal with Jews in the Czechoslovak "Protectorate."

Almost all of my family were deprorted to Terezin. They were some of the first Czechs to leave. They were forced from their homes. They were separated - men were separated from their wives, parents from children, brothers from brothers. This is what happened to my family and thousands of others. Czechs, Jews, non-Jews - it didn't matter who or what you were if the Nazis wanted you out.

Some 150000 Jews were sent to Terezin. For those who didn't perish in these indescribably deplorable, squalid conditions, a worse fate awaited them at other camps such as Auschwitz, Majdanek, Dachau, and Treblinka.

There were about 80000 Czech Jews at the start of the war, and barely 3000 after. The Final Solution.

Terezin was not a typical Nazi death camp, as such. There were no gas chambers, nor regular firing squads or hangings. Rampant disease and infection were resonsible for the many thousands of deaths. Prisoners were issued only one uniform. In some parts of the camp 600 men would be forced to stay in one room with only wooden bunks and only one or two toilets. You do the math; this was an impossible situation. These were small rooms, where each man had maybe 45cm of room. They were literally packed in like so many sardines. Typhus, dysentery, lice, all manner of skin disease, and tuberculosis were pervasive. There was no hot water. The luckier prisoners were showered collectively at most once per week. Ice cold water. Imagine this in winter. There was no laundry service, only one steam tank to clean the uniform- no soap, no agitation, no hot water. Not enough to kill the lice or do much of anything.

I encourage you to read about Terezin. There is so much more to know and to tell. Just remember, that however unbearable the conditions were here, it got worse. Most of the inhabitants were packed into cattle cars and sent to the gas chambers and firing squads at other camps. Some were forced to do hard labor, then disposed of like any worn out garden tool.

My grandfather was deported from Prague to Majdanek. He was young and healthy. From the day he was deported, he lasted less than two months at Majdanek. We can assume he was put to hard labor and then shot in the head.

My great-grandmother and all of her children went to Terezin, and then to Auschwitz where they were murdered by Nazis in the gas chambers. Those were my dad's uncles.

We believe that all of my great-grandfather's brothers and sisters, with only one or two exceptions, were deported and killed by the Nazis. Similarly my by-marriage relatives were killed in huge numbers. By one accurate estimate, the Vesely family had 76 living members in 1939. By 1945, 43 were dead at the hands of Hitler's henchmen. The ratio is even higher in my direct family.

Go to Terezin or one of these other camps.

Never forget, or we risk becoming unwitting victims or participants in another similar abomination.

I'm different now.

If this upsets you, then your reaction is the right one. If it doesn't then you should consider reading more about these events.

-----------

Once back in Prague I went for a small lunch at Levka Hlava ("Clear Head") - a very good veggie place in Stare Mesto. I had this lovely red lentil, coconut milk, and veggie soup/stew with a bit of bread. I'm telling you, this is what it's all about for me.

In the evening I had the most special treat of my visit to Prague to date.

I met up with Karel Fous (a Vesely family member, a child of a Survivor, and relative by marriage) for dinner. We met at a small brewry & restaurant not far from his home in Nove Mesto. I took the tram, my first, across town to meet him.

After our first beer and the start of a personally meaningful conversation about Terezin, we discussed family matters and our common relatives, as well as my experiences from earlier in the day.

Then suddenly his mother Hana walked through the door and joined us at our table for a pivo. Attempting to express with feeble words how completely thrilled I was to meet her is an exercise in futility. It was just such a treat. Hana is one of only three people by whose very existence I have a connection to my own Czech family. She actually knew some of my dad's relatives. Also, Hana went to Yad Vashem in the 80's to offer testimony- that's how I found Karel. I'll leave the details of our conversations out of my journal.

Suffice it to say that this day, this evening, are the reasons I came to Czech Republic; I wanted to establish an incontrivertible connection to my past and to awaken the strong Czech blood that runs through me. This was my alarm clock.

We were later joined by Karel's wife Klara and their 11-year old son Kaja.

What an evening, what a day.

**Note: composed spontaneously on Blackberry as always. Mistakes and revisions to be addressed later.

Czech Adventure, Day 2

2008-07-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Journal started at about 8am local time, Saturday, July 19th, 2008

It's hardly imaginable that anything could match the craziness of last night, and thank goodness for that. Fortunately the day was still brilliant and was much fuller.

My second Czech day was a day of exploration, to put it succinctly.

I spent a great deal of time in Prazsky Hrad (Prague Castle). I didn't do the tour. I was mainly interested in seeing Hradcany-at-large. The architecture is grand, to say the least. As you would expect, the main and surrounding palaces are magnificent. It makes one wonder how the engineers and architects were able to complete such impressive structures with such limited means.

I (purposefully) got lost in Stare Mesto and just poked around for a few hours to familiarize myself with the lay of the town. I highly recommend getting lost to all Prague visitors. Note #1: Prague is a walking town with mostly cobblestone streets; ergo, it's murder on your feet and joints unless you have good shoes. Bring good shoes. I probably put on 20 miles in the first two days here, including Hradcany which is a steep uphill trek.

Anyway, there was some multinational festival on Staromestske Namesti taking place the whole day. There were Spaniards, Greeks, and who knows what other nationalities - all represented by big groups of folks in their traditional garb. There was much singing and dancing and celebrating. I can't tell you how much of a kick this was to watch. There were probably a few thousand people in the square with more just outside.

I took my first subway and bus rides to the outskirts of Prague. I visited the residential part of Sterboholy, where my family lived ages ago. I was expecting to see the villa that where many members of my family lived, but there's nothing left but a huge, empty plot. That was disappointing but visiting Sterboholy was very, very special.

House numbers are not sequential in Prague. To put it more clearly, each house has two numbers: a red and a blue. It's truly an oddball system. My point in mentioning this is that I couldn't find the family's property in Sterboholy. House 371 on one side of the street, house 153 on the other side, and then the ones on the same side don't go 1,2,3,4. For example, the address I was looking for was 126, and it was a full .5km from house 125. After wandering along one street for a good while trying to sort this out, I finally gave in and rang someone's bell. A very old lady came out and lucky for me an English-speaking passerby translated for me. By way of the good samaritan translator, I asked her if she remembered my family, but apparently she did not.

Once I got back into Prague Centrum I made my way over to Josefov, in the old town- it's the Jewish quarter. But duh, everything was closed for Saturday. I saw the Stare Zidovske Hrbitovy through a fence and the Staronova Synagoga, but as I say everything was closed for shabat. I'll have to go back on Monday.

Incidentally, I'm foregoing the Plzen trip (and yes, the magic spigot) to spend more time in Praha for family research and to see Josefov properly. I'll do other parts of Bohemia on the next trip. I don't feel that this is any particular sacrifice for this trip.

Then I went to the Kavarna Slavia, which is right next to the Vltava, for a cup of coffee. My grandmother used to frequent this place when she was a youngster, and I daresay her first choice would always be a cup of black coffee. I can picture her removing one of her her Pall Mall nonfilters from her silver cigarette case. I can see her with a cigarette perched elegantly between her lovely fingers. She had beautiful hands and was vigilant about keeping them in spectaular order. The bottom line is that this was by far the most special cup of coffee I've ever had. Oh and for those of you who are interested, the coffee was delicious, nay, perfect!

Note #2: afternoon (or whenever) naps are indispensible for the very active traveler. After getting lost, visiting Hradcany, and skating through Josefov I was pretty busted. Mind you those activities sucked up most of the day- and I started before 7am.

After a refreshing 90-minute nap (I was tired!) I took off to find U Zloteho Tygra before heading to a vegetarian dinner at Lehka Hlava. This time I got lost (not on purpose) and it took me ages to find the place. Anyway, no harm done because getting lost in Prage can only be good.

Well let me just say that by all accounts The Golden Tiger is the, "THE," spot in Prague for a beer. It's a pivnice. Beer is pivo, therefore beer place is pivnice. Go to this place. They only serve Pilsner Urquell, from the tap. The waiters drink and smoke constantly, too. If you can't handle the smoke you won't like it. I say, forget about the smoke and go enjoy a proper pivo at a proper pivnice. (Addendum: I was coughing up second-hand smoke for the rest of the night and through the next morning, yuck!!).

I sat down at a table where two Czech guys were just putting the beers away. It was astounding to watch. "Real" Czech Pilsner Urquell is 12%, and they serve it to you in roughly half-liter increments. And, you don't order. You sit down and they bring you a beer. When you're done, they bring you another. There is no communication: this is just the understood practice when you go to this place. The waiter puts a blank card under your coaster and literally keeps a tally- that's it! That's how they calculate the bill. The Czech guys I think had 18 beers between them by the time I left.

There was also a Swedish guy there, Daniel, who was very talkative and a real hoot. We were finally joined by a brilliant couple from the UK (hi Bob and Wyn!). The whole experience with these folks was truly memorable and I won't diminish the quality of that memory by giving you a play-by-play. Great experience. :-)

I went through four of those huge mugs and then I figured I'd better get some food. Well of course I was drunk and I ended up getting lost again. Funny, I know. I was too late to the restaurant to get any food so I just wandered back to my hotel and called it a night. It was probably around midnight when I finally got back.

Overall an A++ day. Wouldn't you agree?

So ends day two!

**Note: as with previous post, this was composed on-the-fly on my Blackberry. I'll certainly revise as time permits.

Czech Adventure, Day 1

2008-07-19T08:14:00.000-07:00

Journal started at 4:38am July 18, 2008.

With a scant 3 hours of sleep, I scrambled out of my apartment, wide-eyed and wound up for the real adventure that lay just ahead.

My Mumbai-born cabbie spent the whole ride telling me which countries have the best and cheapest prostitutes. After all, a man has to have his priorities in order, and there's nothing wrong with getting some value for your dollar.

That old, stoic full moon stood sentry as I pulled up to Terminal 7 at LAX. A good omen, to be sure.

After I waded through the soup of unwashed masses, checked in, passed through security, and made it to my gate, I rested meditatively for the remainder of my time in these United States-- a perfect time to consider what I'm about to undertake.

I flew out on the venerable Boeing 777; with that a longstanding wish was finally answered. It is a behemoth of a plane, and being in business class added splendor to the experience. It was a spectacular flight to boot. I had a great tete-a-tete with my seat-mate, a very bright woman indeed. We waxed sociopolitical & philosophical in a refreshingly frank way. We mostly discussed the struggles of Black Americans in the modern idiomatic context & what we as individuals can do to affect the high rates of drug abuse, incarceration, recitivism, and the low high school graduation and college education rates of young Black males. It was a hard-core conversation. In case you're wondering, she is a Black American so she has sort of automatic credibility. I was deeply gratified and inspired by our chat. We also talked about politics, especially the crimes of the Bush Administration, the upcoming general election, and the just-passed FISA bill.
Well worth the price of admission as far as I'm concerned.

The service on the flight from Chicago to Frankfurt left something to be desired, but I was again very fortunate to have a fascinating neighbor. While crossing the Atlantic I was glued to my window, watching the endless, peacefully scrolling seam between ocean and sky, where in the North the sun seemed to neither rise nor set completely. There was a sort of timeless, ethereal quality to the view. The ocean was a weaved quilt that I could have pulled up over my head, even though it was six-and-a-half miles below me. The sky was like Monet's early impressionist takes on La Havre, France, in whose pictures the viewer isn't quite certain whether it's dusk or dawn. The gentle mantra of the engines was pacifying and soothing. I read some Huxley, watched some Aeon Flux, and listened to The Beatles and Mozart's entire Prague Symphony. Plus, as I mentioned, I got to speak with a captivating lady who was on her way to Stockholm for a new-media journalism conference. God bless the iPod.

The traveling bit was fun but the arriving bit was brilliant.

My friend and distant relative Karel picked me up for Ruzyne airport and shuttled me to my hotel in Mala Strana. It was a real treat to meet him after corresponding by email for so many months.

In my total stupor from lack of sleep I began to explore my local surroundings. The Karluv Most is under renovation so I couldn't appreciate it as much. I went through Stare Mesto just poking around and found a fabulous little veggie restaurant where I met Jirka - and now the adventure really begins.
Basically this cat was just sitting there minding his lunch and I struck up a conversation with him. He looks about my age and is normal except for the mohawk with a tail that ran down to the middle of his back. Yes, past tense- more on that later. So the bottom line is that he agreed to show me around the Old Town and sorta just hang out, a definite bonus for me - my own local guide.

So we split up- he went back to work and I went back to my hotel to crash for a few hours. We planned to meet up around 7pm.

It rained lightly on and off throughout the day. I took off when the rain stopped but in the middle of crossing over Karluv Most a zephyr suddenly whipped up and made the light drizzle bite.

Jirka works at a gallerie in the Old Town so I stopped there to collect him at the end of his workday. I had unfettered access to the art as the gallery had just closed.

First stop: a cafe to grab a pivo, served in liters of course. A half liter of Pilsner Urquell from the tap is a little over $2. In the U.S. it would be $8 or $10.

Basically Jirka and me walked around for hours, checking out some of the local wildlife and pivonice (like beer halls). We ended up having beer and salad at a place called Charleston in Nove Mesto, specifically Zizkov, around 2200. As I was soon to learn, Zizkov is a pretty dodgy place, especially late at night.

So we finished our midnight repast and took off. Needless so say I was totally knackered. My buddy had to take off to get ready for his holiday. We decided he would walk with me for a few blocks so I could get a sense of the right way back to the hotel.

Suddenly, as we pass some pub, we heard some rowdy guys yelling. As soon as we were maybe 25 meters from the door these guys pour out and run up, surrounding us. One guy hollers, "Passkontrol!!" I noticed they're all in black with shaved heads, sorta like Nazi thugs. Great. "Passkontrol" is German for border/passport police. Basically I had no choice but to take off, lest I lose the $500 in my wallet or the teeth in my head. Unforunately Jirka didn't get away. As it turns out, the Nazi guys harassed us because of Jirka's mohawk/tail - they didn't like it because they thought it was too Gypsy-like. He called me later to say that lopped off all of his hair and finally let him go. I made it back to the hotel after a 3 or 4 mile trek through Prague. That was surreal.

So ends day 1.

**Note: haven't had time to edit or review this so I will probably revise the post as time permits.
**Another note: I don't think I'll be able to post pictures from Czech Republic because I failed to bring my SDHC card reader.

A Midsummer Night's Musings

2008-07-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

I do not relate to cowardice.

What I've learned from thoughtful observation through the years is that most people are motivated primarily by fear. They'll act against their self-interest or contrary to their own better judgment in the face of fear. They'll sell out and give in because of fear. They'll choose metaphorical if not actual death instead of compromise - all because of fear.

I don't retire when I'm staring down the barrel of tough odds or adversity. My life is replete with struggle and challenge, the likes of which are almost surely foreign to my peers. I don't expect, want, or need any sympathy or platitudes, but I am resonably wise and I believe I have earned acknowledgment and respect. Through all of the toil and turmoil, I still don't succumb to fear.

There's been a long and vacuous silence. All I have are the well-tempered notes of my piano and a few lonely memories. Should I burn those papers until they crinkle like my crippled brow? I don't try to hide my pain. In some ways I need it. There is a remarkable dichotomy.

I don't want to offer up any thinly-veiled, sideways smoke signals. A bee-line right to the heart of the matter is almost invariably the tack I take. Do you know why? It has to do with the most basic kind of respect. It isn't lip service either; it shows a real, fundamental appreciation for other peoples' humanity. The problem is that most people don't work this way. They hem and haw and trampoline and simple harmonic motion and eat their own vomit and flagellate themselves until they turn into a tepid, turgid, impotent blob - all of this rather than sucking it up, crystallizing some self-respect, or undertaking a 12-step program to release their attachment to fear.

I believe this to be empirical fact, but I am in no way passing judgment. I'm not saying that people who are afraid are bad, because that would be a judgment. I'm not saying I'm any better or smarter, either. I am only speaking to my observations about how other people behave and how I do not relate to this sort of fear-driven decisionmaking.

Suffering from guilt, disappointment, and regret are unfortunate but necessary parts of the human experience. They're leprosy or cancer or whatever debilitating affliction you can come up with. Right now my core is diseased with these blights. I'm critically disappointed in myself for how I've behaved in certain recent circumstances; I regret my poor choices for myself and for other people whom I have adversely affeced by those choices. I'm guilty of some serious transgressions. I'm totally disgusted with myself. She flits through my mind every moment of every day, every night, and in my reverie.

These are problems and I'm working them out. Until this is resolved I will be forced to deal with the gut-kicking ache from this fever. I may even have to accept the possibility that there is no cure.

But I'm not afraid.

Can you guess what I am afraid of? This might be a trick question. It could be and it couldn't.

A dubious move toward the hypocritical center...

2008-07-06T08:35:00.001-07:00

I don't know about other Barack Obama supporters, but Barack originally earned my support - before Iowa, mind you - for being an unusually principled, out-of-the-box kind of candidate. I have supported Barack so far largely due to his rejection of the status quo, and his belief in the Constitution as a living entity which needs to be protected and whose preeminence and faith desperately need restoration.

Obama has begun to sell out his principles in favor of a perceived need to show up his liberal voting record in order to gain conservative electoral support. This is an erroneous assumption. He has benefited from the broad support of party-line liberals, has already earned a sizeable measure of independent voters and "Obamacans," and is personally responsible for a terrific expansion of the electorate. Anecdotally, I've heard a number of my Republican friends say they "would have no problem if Barack were to be elected." So why by all things sacred is he making these major changes? In my opinion, Barack is getting some bad advice; his advisors are pushing him to overcompensate for his voting record, and unfortunately he's following their recommendations.

There are issues that heretofore set Obama fundamentally apart from Bush, McCain, and the Neo-Cons. What's embodied in these questions is the basic idealogical contest between the neo-fascist, imperialist, Orwellian practices instituted by the Bush-Cheney cadre, and Obama's promise to chart a new course which restores the dignity, authority, and legitimacy of the U.S. as the leading and more-often-than-not benevolent power. Don't believe me? Check out something called the Project for a New American Century - it's a manifesto which has been closely followed by the Bush administration, and which has been endorsed by many administration officials. Please allow me to outline the stakes and the issues as I see them, and to offer some explanation.

From my point of view, it appears that Barack is betting, by changing his positions on this set of core issues sooner rather than later, that he'll be absolved by the electorate's notoriously short memory, and that he will retain the support of the vast majority of Democratic voters over the long haul. This isn't saying much, as anyone knows that the Democrats will fall predictably into line behind him, almost without exception. The theoretical benefit is that in the process he will wrest some conservative support from McCain by appealing to their basic beliefs through these same issues. It's a clever, if uncharacteristically unprincipled strategy. It's Clinton-like in calculation and contrivance - and that is not a compliment. This is political opportunism at its finest, and is just about the worst way to distinguish oneself.

1) The new FISA bill (H.R. 6304, text here)
Barack supports this bill, which was opposed by Senate heavy-hitters Chris Dodd (Obama endorser and former presidential candidate) and Russ Feingold who tried and failed to filibuster. Basically the bill expands the power of the president to bypass the FISA court in order to allow warrantless wiretapping and surveillance of U.S. citizens. It doesn't end there: the bill guarantees immunity from prosecution- think about this for a second - for U.S. telecom companies such as Verizon and AT&T who are complicit in these gross crimes against the people of the United States. Incidentally, there is an evidently little-known part of the Constitution which promises American citizens protection from the government against warrantless, baseless searches and seizures. This is the essence of the 4th Amendment. Please see the ACLU site for a more comprehensive view of this bill (http://www.aclu.org/).

2) Consider Barack's statements regarding the future of U.S. involvement in the Iraq quagmire. First he said he would institute a careful, measured withdrawal according to a 16-month timetable. Then he said he opposed our presence there in perpetuity, against the Bush-McCain position, but would consider leaving troops "in the region" to act as a deterrent which would be ready to respond in the event of some major event in-country. Now he says he may be willing to reconsider his withdrawal options, depending on conditions on the ground. This in itself seems "innocuous," as he put it, but if you consider it in the context of what's about to pass through Congress with respect to Iran, the implications of this change of position are significant in the extreme (see #3). This also indicates that Obama is bending to the influence of what Eisenhower called the Military-Industrial Complex, whose organizing principle is to produce the implements of war and to promote U.S. interests through war. It's a Military-Industrial hegemony.

3) S.R. 580 - on July 8th the Senate will consider its official attitude on the future of Iranian nuclear proliferation. This sounds suspiciously like the what happened leading up to the Iraq war resolution in 2002, where the Senate voted to trust President Bush unequivocally. Here is the text of S.R. 580. It's short, so go read it.

Since it is logical to assume that President Bush, consistent with his previous unilateral actions with respect to other states (i.e. Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq), will behave in the same vein, the prospect for another protracted war - one much more dangerous and with even more profoundly far-reaching implications - is materializing. Barack is expected to vote in favor of this resolution. It's a trap laid by Bush, but met with the typical overzealous Harry Reid-led Senate response; though sponsored by Evan Bayh (a potential Democratic V.P. candidate) and 19 other members of the Senate, Bush is setting the next president up to be forced to contend with Iran on his terms. The bill does not authorize the president to use force, but it sets the public up for a future vote which may do just that. This is the way the Bush doublethink machine works: speak vociferously for peace, but organize for war. It's subversive and insidious and deigns to divide rather than to find a sensible approach. See the manifesto published by the Project for a New American Century.

4) Consider Barack's new position in favor of expanding taxpayer funding for religious organizations, and his published opposition to legalized late-term abortion. These are bastians of the Religious Right's political idealogy. Clearly, these are not popular positions for Democratic politicans and party-liners. Again the ugly spectre of political opportunism materializes in the form of Barack Obama. Is it really necessary for him to bolster Bush's interests to usurp votes from McCain? This doesn't make political sense to me; Obama risks his long-term credibility for the simple possibility of garnering Republican support. This is a decision that, in my analysis, makes no difference to the ultimate viability of Obama as an electable (yes, I said the e word) candidate for the presidency. Please, think about this.

I think I'll leave it at that for now. Draw your own conclusions. Read between my lines and everyone else's. My point here is not to influence so much as to provoke thought. Do some reading on your own. Make up your own mind, but try to consider the available facts without being influenced by anyone's emotional reaction - especially your own! This is the United States of America and it is up to you, me, and our fellow citizens to preserve, protect, and defend the integrity of our Constitution. This does not preclude the possibility of throwing out the government when it doesn't work for us anymore. Dissent is an inherently pure American ideal.

After all, what government is worth preserving when it lies to the people, or when it exercises a "by any means necessary" approach, especially when those means destroy and mock our founding principles and dishonor the blood that has been spilt by countless millions in defense of those principles?

I want to make it clear that I am not a liberal (not that it's a bad thing). My political idealogy embraces ideals from many parts of the political spectrum. I am neither a registered Democrat or Republican. In fact, I have never voted for a Democratic or Republican candidate for any office in any election, ever. Barack is the first major-party candidate that I have ever supported, but these changes in position may be too much for me to swallow. You decide for yourself what's right, but be true to yourself and vote your conscience.

SYTÝ HLADOVÉMU NEVĚŘÍ

2008-07-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

This is a Czech proverb for which there is no direct translation; essentially it means "he who has not experienced hunger does not believe the hungry man." My dad really comes up with the goods, doesn't he?

I thought it a meaningful way to start my new blog. The blog title itself is a play on the phrase from the American beer commercial: "It's Miller Time!" Instead I've made it "It's Pilsner Urquell time," which it very nearly is. After all, I'll be in Plzeň where I'll get to drink from the magic spigot at the origin of this most special lager - the true original!

I think what you'll find here are my reflections, thoughts, and probably catharses. I guess that's the basic premise of having one's own blog, right? I'm the kind of guy who, at least in my opinion, takes the initiative and addresses things head-on without sacrificing careful deliberation and thoughtful analysis. Sometimes I'm wrong, sometimes I'm right, but whether right or wrong is entirely beside the point. This is pretty typical of my M.O. so you'll probably see this attitude in my posts.

Anyway, it's nigh impossible to express how profoundly I have been affected by my experiences this year. We're talking life-changing, grave stuff. Odds are that I'll go into the gritty details before too long.

There are less than two weeks before I leave for my first visit to Prague.

Happy Independence Day.