January 2008
31,01,08an american said "peace out" to me today...wtf!!!!!!!
Same american also said Stalin loved Leipzig...that's why it wasn't firebombed...Up until that moment I had not considered actually going to Leipzig, but as it's also apparently the "jewel of the east" I am now considering it...
however...between the time that I wrote that and the time that I'm writing this I just booked a flight and hostel to dublin...'ello guv'ner....
Ok how is that Irish...
30,01,08
I was enjoying how springlike it's been (I saw new growth) and how my mood is good, but now it's about 2 degrees (c) and raining...nice!!! now I'm cold and pissed... ;)
I'm thinking of going to Dublin for the 8-10th...anyone going to be there and want to meet up?
when someone has an idea is that a lightbulb going on or a lightbulb going off?
I've seen both.
I was asked what american sports are played in 4 quarters...apparently Lacrosse is played in the states...
and this is possible the best description ever of my web page...cheers matt:
It's true, when i don't sleep it turns into Squires' blog. Random inside jokes. One-liners that probably require explanation even for the people involved. Huge chunks cut and pasted from another website. Unexplained and un-related lyrics to songs nobody else knows or even cares about... it's great, at least you know you can have a day off at some day mate and i can cover for you!
I'm drinking red wine that was opened 9 days ago because now that I was "educated" about red wine I'm under the mistaken belief that cheap red wine needs to breathe...
I was listening to the Ricky Gervais Show (XM radio 2003) on my train today (mit headphones) and started laughing uncontrollably...not the laughing out loud kind of laugh, but the oh my god I can't laugh out loud cuz I'm on the train so I better try to hold it in and instead will just cover my mouth and pretend I'm having an asthma attack as I shake uncontrollably kind of laughter...my knees were shaking and kept touching the poor man who was sitting next to me...
I shall spare details of what they were talking about, but in case anyone knows the show (I can share MP3's if anyone wants them) it was about the sex ed pamphlet...
'Nuff said...
29,01,08
Wow my deutsch has progressed to the point that I can actually translate rammstein lyrics on occasion...
Ich habe keine lust!
mir ist kalt!
I haven't walked home from Sachsenhausen in months...(ok 3 kings doesn't count), but I tonight I walked across the bridge with the swans and David Lynch art (which is it's own distinct memory) and couldn't help but remember when I was still travelling here on business...I would always get off at Südbahnhof and walk (often to the Zeil...or wherever I would end up). I think I got off there cuz I just didn't know where else to go and I figured I could always find my way back there...Got lost many times (the joy of travel), but only once was I so lost I was close to panicking....and that time I was really not that far from Hauptbahnhof and I ended up just walking along the train tracks and then found a sign for Hauptbahnhof though it was about dark by this point...
Why am I telling this engaging story....
well I was just asking myself that same question...
it's in my head so I type....
This is not for you...this is for my old age...
:)
Good night people...
28,01,08
I went to starbucks tonight and as I was waiting I looked out the window and I see the asian tourists taking pictures while they are waiting at the street car station...I laugh before realizing I did the same thing LAST NIGHT in London...
randoms
I had a 10 pound note on the table at a restaurant and notice that there is ONE UGLY DRAG QUEEN on the 10 note...then I realize that is not a drag queen....that is Queen Elizabeth the 2nd...wow I thought by allowing free entrance to museums in this country that might mean you were encouraging the arts...however if the "artist" that crated this illustration is somehow good enough to make england proud then I would question everything I've seen for the last 5 days....tried to think happy thoughts to get rid the images in my head....
Got a Squires Gin mirror and pitcher as gifts...might be the best gifts ever! Certainly the best gifts I've gotten in January and certainly the best gifts I've gotten in London...
and the cemetery pic about being cut like a flower and withering like the grass is apparently from the good 'ol bible...
28,01,08
OK a London pic page...enjoy...
At this moment I'm sitting in Heathrow (Heaf'RO) because there is a two hour delay on my flight to Frankfurt...I had 4 hours sleep and I need a bloody nap...Luckily I have found a hidden plug and am now hijacking power from Heathrow...unluckily I gave away all my change and now have no currency to buy any water which I am now in need of...however I shall try to use my time to review my trip since the last entry....
Flight is now delayed another 20 minutes...I abide...
So I had arrived on Tuesday evening and was staying in Earls court...I wrote about that already...sanne arrived on Wednesday evening, after the movie and park that I wrote about below...I'm writing this today, but I shall go back to my normal date method and attempt to type on in that fashion...
27,01,08
Didn't finish the walking tour as laid out by Vikki so get up early and attempt to venture out again...
Walk around along Lester(or is it leceistiesietesisiter?) square. still trying to figure out british english...apparently there is still no D in later..pffftt
saw Aliens v Predator 2....I think I may have just paid about 40€ for the privilege of seeing this movie on a sunday afternoon....I am pretty sure I will be complaining about the cinema prices in Leicester square for the next 23 years...
sanne on Heath Ledger: He was with an olson twin...he deserves to die!!!!
Went back to the River for a bit...walked by the Tower of London...got to Vikkis and someone besides me made flamkuchen....T'was great...we played some word game and I think the two native english speakers probably came in last place...the rules were a bit open to interpretation so the game is just more about arguing :)
Here's a picture of Vikki attempting to cheat during said game...
making
yummy flamkuchen!!!!! MMMMMMMMMM!!!! Lovely hair btw!
26,01,08
Ok today we turned into real tourists...walked the thames, saw the Tate Modern. Had another english breakfast because we can't find a place called Belushis that one of the local crap vendors recommended...I kept trying to figure out how I knew the name Belushis....hmmmm....I think someone recommended it....hmmmm...Must've been Matt....oh well we didn't find it....
plan was to go to rollins show which I thought started at 6:30...at least that's what the ticket said...We roll up about 6:20 to find that it's door opening at 6:30 YOU JERKS!!! You need to say that on the ticket don't you...pricks...so we walk a bit and find a Belushis...I immediately open the door and said something like I don't like this place... too loud and too many loud people...as we have time to kill we go in anyways...it's Australia day...
At some point I recall that Matt had written something like "Belushis (avoid)". If Matt indeed wrote that then I have a whole new respect for you mate.... ;)
Back to venue...Rollins comes on at 8 promptly...He was pretty good, but like many comedians/satirists who talk about politics his views on politics are often simplistic and half true...He was still funny and still worth seeing.
25,01,08
Do a bit of shopping around Camden...kill time until meeting Rob and Claire at the Holly Bush pub...great pub...great night....Thanks Claire and Rob for the invite!
i did the most incredible selling job ever to get them to the Dublin Castle, but we ended up there for only 5 minutes....place was crap...went back to Vikki's.
24,01,08
Had to check out of hotel at 11am (stayed at the Oxford in Earls court...Gotta say for the money it was pretty decent...Great location...i would stay there again).
Super nice hotel man answers silly tourist questions and recommends that we go to the science museum...One thing that is great about Europe is the free museums...I now fully regret that I did not go to more museums in the states...Most of the museums are free here (Not so much in the states, except maybe in bigger cities). I'm sure a lot of conservative politicians in the states probably would object to using tax payer dollars to pay for museums, but I think that's crap!
Speaking of Museums and crap...found the graffiti below in the toilet...thought it was amusing, but in retrospect it's probably not...still posting it...as if!!!
so went to two museums...great! the nice hotel man let us keep our bags there even though we had already checked out...Thank you nice hotel man!!!
I'm
still confused when I cross the streets...Not sure where to look.so we go claim the bags from the nice hotel man...and head to the city (ok I'm sure when I say the city it means something completely different than what a local means...I basically mean zone 1 -ish)...Vikki works close to the London bridge so we first go to some crap bar to wait but since it's crap and since Vikki recommended a much nicer place we scurried away quickly...
New place has bottles of wine for 6 pounds. Quite possibly the worst wine I have ever had (and I once bought a bottle of Ernest and Julio Gallo at circle K on S. Commercial near Kuebler...). This very bad wine was also from California and though it called itself a rose it was in fact some kind of watermelon strawberry piece of liquid crap...
went to Vikki's and Clinton and Claire arrive. I met Clinton at the same time I met Vikki...good to see you mate...enjoy Prague.
We watched a family guy and went to bed somewhere around 2.
23,01,08
Sanne arrives late and I had to go rescue her from the gritty streets of London (ok not so much)...
We went to dinner at Masala Zone...I think it's the first chain Indian restaurant I've been to (it is a chain right). The food was pretty good, but our waitress was horrible...ended up that we had to order from another waiter...tsss
OK I know that story just isn't interesting, but being as the state I'm in is not so awake and now probably dehydrated I'm just not thinking right...
OK...then what happened.....back to the hotel for bad british TV.
23,01,08
walked around another 10km...got muddy shoes from walking through some park...In the park there was a peacock, a bunch of parakeets and two old people...the old people were having a conversation about birds...It was sort of cute, but you can just imagine that all old people everywhere have this same conversation 99 times in their lives...or maybe even 99 times a day...at what point do people stop having things to talk about besides weather, birds etc?
saw latest Coen Brothers movie...No Country for old men...rather liked it...moreso than most Coen Brothers movies on first viewing...I guess I need to watch it again...I see it got a bunch of oscar nominations...I also noticed I was the only one chuckling at the dialogue...I think the dialogue was uniquely rural (texas), and maybe that's why I was the only one laughing...I just don't know how the brits would "get" quite a bit of it...Brits tell me your impression of the movie...
After I walked past the theatre and decided I would come back later and watch the movie, I had an hour to kill so I walked into the nearest pub...Turned out to be an old man pub...There were 5 guys (all Scots I think) in there and they were all the locals I'm guessing...they knew each other, and 4 of them left so number 5 turns to me and we chat...He bought me a beer and told me to stay out of Stratford...Don't go to the ATM at night...you'll see....you'll see...and it's funny I mentioned going on vacation and doing the same things you always do because this guy goes to Austria "11 or 12 times a year" and drinks...i said you can do that here...
I soon left to get to the movie and they didn't even start it on time...I think it was 15 minutes before the ads even started...jerks!!!!
23,01,08
OK this time it's really 23,01...
It's 9:26 local time, and due to jet lag (damn you jet lag...you win again) I've been up since 6:30. I've already walked about 5 miles (lets just round that up to 10 kilometers). visited Starbucks, taken pictures at the cemetery...
married
his first wifes first cousin...
cut
down like a flower and withered like the grass. Is that an insult?
and now I have to figure out what to do in London for the next 8 hours...if only there was stuff to do in London....oh well if I look hard enough I'll figure it out... ;)
I'm off again....
23,01,08
it's not really 23,01 since I'm in england as I'm writing this...and in england it's still 23 something (that's 11PM something for you people in the states)...
Thoughts so far....
Watched a bit of British Telly as I arrived at my hotel...there was some show on matching an obese person with a super skinny person...they were supposed to help each other or something...It was all I could do to not order Joey's and settle in...
geez..the TV is on as I'm typing and apparently the "Hollywood Actor Heath Ledger" is dead...after calling him Hollywood they did note that he was australian born...well...at least the british press knows where the colonies rate... ;) If someone had ever been in the states (oh really...you changed planes at O'Hare...that counts) that obviously rates much higher than them being born and/or living 99% of their lives somewhere in the southern hemisphere....
so instead of watching the Telly I decided to go walk about...I asked the hotel person where the pubs where and she said go left and left...You'll see them...
I went left and left and was annoyed by pubs and the people that go to those pubs...so I went around the block and ended up going right and right...Found a tottenham pub...At least during the FA cup when tottenham wins 5-1 it was a tottenham pub....rather amusing watching the "passion" of football...I was annoyed by drunk people which makes me think of Bulgy II...who worked in a pub but didn't drink...
anyways the chants were incredible...for Kat's sake I won't spell out the C word that was in just about every chant...except for WEM BE LEY!!!!!
and to that guy who was chanting...how many times was it really necessary to ask if there were any Arsenal in the pub...I could see from the first time you asked that there weren't any...
so anyways I guess this means the next question is "Does doing the same thing you always to (yet by doing it in a different place) count as being on vacation?
and the observation is that I'm annoyed by pubs and people in pubs yet I still go...the food was good though, and there was a very cool old cemetery I walked by...I will probably go back with my camera tomorrow...to see how artistic I could possibly be...
and last night I was told that there's a character in "P.S. I love you" that is me...My ego is not sufficient enough to make me actually see this movie...
Greek guy at mephisto brought kat 3 jager shots last night...Doesn't he know that kat doesn't do shots on a Monday...It's 2008....
it seems a bit of spring is in the air...this means peoples moods will improve....crap!!!!
Does anyone know the etymology of dipshit?
I like how the British press just noted that Amy Winehouse was allegedly smoking crack...when they've probably shown the video 12 times in the past hour...I love the Limeys!!!
...and if anyone reads this closely and cares...I will not be seeing my long lost aunts this trip...the one with a car says she is leaving town...hmmm...do I believe her...
20,01,08
I've actually read two books so far this year (Freakonomics and 1984). This is quite a step up for me...I finally started reading a bit more the last half of last year...Not sure if I read any books the year before that...
Freakonomics was interesting (pop-science book), but as usual I don't know enough about their science to know if they're telling me the truth (or if their conclusions are logical), but a good easy read nonetheless.
Is there a place where I can buy used english books in Frankfurt?
19,01,08
there is some sort of rally going on over at Römer right now...It seems there are more cops than people, but I guess it's the PDK or PRK or some such party (far right is what I was told by the starbucks person)...There have been a couple near fights already (I say near because it was just a bit of pushing followed by posturing...noone actually threw a punch), followed by chanting at the police...I've no idea who is pro and who is anti...everyone is wearing black...ah well Deutsch politics...
the cops here are way more relaxed than in the states...I think I would have seen tear gas and batons already in the states...
18,01,08
Last night...Went to Chicago Meat Packers for Mel's Birthday...did not RSVP and got scolded for it...;)
Happy Birthday Mel!
Ended up being like a weird social experiment created just for my observation. Watching people you know interact with each other in large groups is sometimes interesting (when you're used to seeing them in small groups or alone)...Always more so when you have one person who knows (and is conversing with) people that don't really seem to like each other...the person in the middle has to make a choice and watching the moral (for lack of a better word - the attempt to not pick a side) struggle is fun.
Other observations:
Some people are easily influenced.
Some people are weak.
Some people are drunks.
Some people smoke too much.
sidebar- I really hate when people stand in the doorway of the train smoking a cigarette - whilst holding the door open- throw the cigarette out then exhale onto the train. you're all jerks and I hope you die alone and painfully.
On a negative note...
I had a burger at chicago meat packers...This burger I had at chicago meat packers was a piece of crap. let me rephrase...When I say this burger I had at chicago meat packers was a piece of crap I mean IT WAS THE WORST BURGER I HAVE EVER HAD IN GERMANY...WHICH IS TO SAY ITS TIED FOR THE WORST BURGER I'VE EVER HAD...EVER! The other one was at a Z league Football game in England...Dullich Hamlet...However that burger I can accept because you don't go to minor league football games for quality food right? I think that cost me 2 pound (3e)(4$), whereas the crappy food at chicago meat Packers was overpriced...(please note my heavy use of Chicago Meat Packers and the word CRAP - this is for the benefit of search engines everywhere...I only hope that someone will type in Chicago Meat Packers and read my review....Let me summarize my review CHICAGO MEAT PACKERS IS CRAP!!!!!).
Out of context quotes from last night:
2.0: "This place makes me uncomfortable..."
Me: "Your dad goes to Chicago Meat Packers to pick up GI's?"
(ok...I misheard a conversation I wasn't even listening to...but I still said it).
On a not positive note...
Someone said I look like Mr Magoo...Great!!!!
oh I see it now...
All in all it wasn't as bad as I make it sound. Everyone was nice it was just the "beef" that put me off...
who is that girl who keeps calling me Bob from Bob N Judy...I tried searching on Bob and Judy but I find nothing...Is this an insult? Can someone tell me about Bob n Judy? I think it's a Brtitish TV show...
Matt, was that a comment saying you can write this crap in your sleep ;)
anyone have ideas to share on cheap/free entertainment in London?
Another b-day party tonight...what's this about...I thought most birthday were 9 months after valentines day...pfffftttt
17,01,08
I was trying to think up something stupid to make people stop thinking about the ambiguity of the donut comment...but I came up with nothing except:
what's more difficult...taking off the sleeves of a dress shirt when they're still buttoned, or putting on the sleeves of a dress shirt when they're still buttoned...
Discuss!!!
that's the intelligent thing I came up with..pffffffftttttt
16,01,08
I was asked by a colleague today if I was originally from Britain...
I said my grandparents were and she said
"it shows through...you have a very british humour."
that pretty much makes my week...It must've been all those Benny Hill episodes I watched with my nan on Saturday nights...oh wait...that wasn't Benny Hill on OPB that was Rowan Atkinson in all his forms (Black Adder, thin blue line etc)...Benny Hill was KPTV....
I guess OPB also had Keeping Up Appearance, Fawlty towers, etc...
Can someone please explain the black british weather girl on CNN??? She's hilarious...the only parallel I can draw is of course Quest...
When I first came to DE he (Quest) was actually sitting on the newsdesk. and in the states you obviously don't know him, but he's so bloody happy it's hilarious...I think he was reporting on some tragic event, and most news people will lower their voice and act somber (see Anchorman) when reading about something bad, but not Quest...happy as can be...Good man!
I can take no credit for this (sanne), but I think it's cool...
I kept smelling donuts at work today...I was never a big fan of donuts, but smelling this really made me want one...
Sanne did make me try a Berliner once...I think it's a jelly filled donut...that was quite good...
Sanne: I want to be your donut...
15,01,08
This just in...my mouth just had a nervous breakdown...
i shall recover...give me a week or so... :)
15,01,08
I think some people read this page a bit (WAY) too closely...How can I possibly negatively judge people who think this page is witty or whatever it is...I shan't...
Julia: what does a unicorn look like when it bowls
joe: me...
julia: you're skinny...like gay skinny...
ahhhh...liquid soap...Thanks for the liquid soap that will now rescue me from the germ factory that apparently is my soap dish...it's a miracle I survived this long with a bar of soap that was purchased in the states over a year and a half ago...
spent almost three and a half hours on the phone to France last night...This was not planned...how am I supposed to move files around when I'm on the phone like that ;)
joe: i'm a simpleton
sanne: yeah, you are - in a very complicated way
sex and chess really do belong together ;)
Guess what....
chicken butt!!!!
14,01,08
it'll be fine...
13,01,08
Saw I am Legend today...basically a 28 days later remake I thought... (ok a solitary man battling with/for/against a mix of science and something unnatural is not as recent an idea as 28 days later, but that was my first thought and I don't see a need to correct myself) ;)
Movie exec: ok...I liked 28 days later, but it just wasn't american enough...what if we remake it, but we set it in New York....
Movie Exec 2: Oooh I like that...that could work).
I was tearing up repeatedly through it so Wil Smith must've been good...or it's just not my day...
13,01,08
beautiful day in Ffm...the sun shines, but still cold enough to see your breath...Doesn't feel cold in the sun...I can love days like this...
from the Holy Grail...Burn the witch!
http://www.mwscomp.com/movies/grail/grail-05.htm
and if you can't be bothered to read the whole scene is just comes down to:
How do we know she's a witch? SHE LOOKS LIKE ONE!!
What do you burn as well as witches? (Not more witches)
Wood. Does wood float on water? Yes. So, what else floats on water? A duck! Exactly!
So if she weighs the same as a duck, she'll float on waters....so.. shes a witch!
or said yet another way:
All cats die...
Aristotle died.
conclusion: Aristotle was a cat.
12,01,08
OK...I know noone is amused by this but me...but read it anyways...
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-B.html
B, b [Called ‘bee’]. The 2nd LETTER of the modern Roman ALPHABET as used for English. It descends from the Phoenician symbol bēth (‘house’), which was adopted by the Greeks as beta, B, then by the Romans as B.Sound values In English, b normally represents the voiced bilabial stop, with p as its voiceless equivalent: bad/pad. Word-final b is rare, occurring mainly in monosyllables (hub, rib, scab), but occasionally in longer words (superb, disturb, cherub).Double B (1) The doubling of b occurs when monosyllables with a short vowel are followed by -er, -ed, and -ing: rob/robber/robbed/robbing (contrast the phonetically long vowel in daub/dauber/daubed/daubing). (2) Many disyllables contain double b after a stressed short vowel (abbey, rabbit, ribbon, rubber, rubble), but many others do not (cabin, debit, double, habit, robin).Silent B B is silent after syllable-final m (dumb, numb, tomb), including in some words of Germanic origin in which it was formerly pronounced (climb, comb, dumb, lamb, womb) and in French-derived words with final mb (aplomb, bomb, jamb, plumb, succumb, tomb). In a number of words, a silent b has been added by analogy: crumb, limb, numb, thumb. In some of these, it was created by backformation from words of the type crumble, thimble (formerly without b). Crum began to be written with b in the 16c, but occurs without it in Johnson's dictionary (1755) and in some 19c dictionaries. Derivatives from mb-words mostly keep the silent b, as in climber, lambing, thumbing, but b is pronounced in such non-derivative polysyllables as cucumber, encumber, Humber, slumber. There is no b in dummy, derived from dumb, or crummy, derived from crumb, and although b is not pronounced finally in bomb, medial b is pronounced in bombard.Epenthetic B B is epenthetic in debt, doubt, and subtle, which entered English from French as dette, doute, and soutil. As in French, these words were given a b in deference to their Latin etymons debitum, dubitum, and subtilis. However, while French shed b in dette and doute in the 18c and came to pronounce the b in subtil, English has kept a silent b in all three. EPENTHESIS also occurs after medial m in some words: for example, Latin camera and numerus became French chambre and nombre, English chamber and number. Compare German fummeln and rummeln with English fumble and rumble.
10,01,08
anyone ever shower than go out and during the first pee realize you put your underwear (man panties) on backwards???
Me either...
If I had done something that dumb believe me I would gladly admit it...really...I would... but why would I ever do something like that....me...???
09,01,08
Was asked by a colleague today why the US states are voting for candidates one state at a time...Wouldn't it be easier to just have the party pick a candidate...
my snap answer was that 200 years ago a bunch of old white men did exactly that...but the people wanted a voice in the process (ok I probably have never in my life uttered "the people", but it's much more dramatic if I just put it that way)...Then I started thinking/stuttering (only stuttering because the thought came to me as I was speaking so it wasn't full thought out yet) about it might not be necessary for the people to have a voice at this level (primary levels) if people actually had a party that represented them...Unfortunately in the states the bloody two party system has put such a stranglehold on (can't find the right word to go here...modernity, progress, civility, change, free lottery tickets and/or guns for all citizens when you turn 18) - (too many politicians/stupid people always automatically against anything new/exciting/unknown - try thinking big once a generation)...in Iraq (for instance) they have proportional representation...how's that for modern....
what was my still as yet unthought-out-thought....
oh yeah...if Americans had a party that they could trust (which means you need a true multi party system - complete with proportional representation or the requirement of parties agreeing to work with each other because they need each other) then they wouldn't need to vote themselves at the preliminary level...because the party knows they (the people) have other choices....
except when people complain about having too much choice....Wal-Mart is our friend because why would you want to punish a 10 year old who just wants a 5$ skateboard when the brat should learn to save up 70$ for a real skateboard at a real skate shop)...
know what I'm saying people....
I haven't really reread this to verify it's clarity :)))))) har, but don't worry it probably makes no sense whatsoever...Someday I'll write a book to clarify all the crap I've written here, but I won't remember what I meant at the time...and my mom would be the only buyer...because the people are stupid...drat!
ok...Will be in London two weeks from last night...am staying at a friends place...Here's her review of the area of town she lives in...(sorry I didn't ask your permission or anything as to if i could use this...)...I shall remember to bring extra batteries to view the festivities at Poundland...where things only cost 1pound....
Gee Wally....I've never visited the ghetto before...Do you think it's safe...do ya???
I may have just made a leave it to beaver reference...check back tomorrow...
Vikki: no the tubes do not run 24hours!
they run til about 12:30am, then we have night buses.
stratford will have many attractions in the year 2012 as its where the Olympics will be, but sadly its not built yet and is the talk of the town. stratford is a bit of a ghetto, it can be likened to the bronx, come prepared. its possible to buy chicken and chips from many different types of chicken houses and then of course there is the REAL KFC. its cheap at 1.99 a meal and they throw in a can of coca cola from turkey or poland too. stratford is close by to the indian capital of london (green st/brick lane), it has a big population of polish people with polish shops and polish food and actually, its the most multi-cultural borough of london. you can get big bowls of fruit for just £1. the best restaurant in stratford is a thai. it is a greasy spoon cafe during the day and at night becomes a magical candlelit greasy spoon which serves thai food. amazing really, they even let you take your own booze. stratford has a big station you can take a train called shittylink to camden, trains to the coast in essex (southend), trains to liverpool street (the city), central (red) line trains through to oxford circus (the centre of everything london), the spangly new jubilee line which passes through mini manhattan (canary wharf/docklands) and the DLR driverless trains which could be likened to a monorail (never say this to someone who works for the DLR, i did, and its offensive). stratford has a shopping centre which you need to pass through to get to the station, im trying to think of nice things to say about this shopping centre, it has a shop called poundland, this seems to be a very popular shop and it is full of wonderful things which would normally cost more elsewhere but here just cost £1. the shopping centre has a market inside it during the day, they sell fruit and veg and old ladies nightdresses, some of the stalls sell clothes costing just £3. stratford has a theatre and a performing arts centre, its where the lar de dah people of stratford go. stratford has a big supermarket called morrisons, a recent survey shows that morrisons is the 2nd cheapest place to go shopping above asda's supermarkets. stratford has a one way system, a big library, its own radio station, an IBIS hotel, a nice pub, a wetherspoons pub, a gay pub and a gay discotheque. stratford has many parks, one near my place is west ham park, some say its the famed park from the song 'itchycoo park' by the group small faces.
finally, stratford or da 'hood affectionately called by me and my mob.. ROCKS. (most of the time).
when you're tired of reading what i have to say about it, check it out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratford%2C_London
good news is, it takes 20 minutes on the red line to the centre of town.
i never realised how much trivia i knew about my hometown, gee am i proud!
do you need help finding a way to your aunties? trains here:
www.thetrainline.com london transport here: www.tfl.gov.ukim away until monday give me a shout when back and ill have the crackberry.
seeee youx
08,01,08Hang on this might be worth reading....
os·mo·sis (ŏz-mō'sĭs, ŏs-)
n. pl. os·mo·ses (-sēz)
-
- Diffusion of fluid through a semipermeable membrane from a solution with a low solute concentration to a solution with a higher solute concentration until there is an equal concentration of fluid on both sides of the membrane.
- The tendency of fluids to diffuse in such a manner.
- A gradual, often unconscious process of assimilation or absorption: learned French by osmosis while residing in Paris for 15 years.
07,01,08
So what's with people that smoke and chew gum at the same time...Is it nicotine gum? For those times when smoking 2 cigarettes at once is just too difficult (like if you need a free hand to hold on to your kid)...are they trying to avoid tasting the cigarette or the gum?
Maybe I just have it wrong...Gum is like egg nog...goes with everything...Milk, Water, Rum, etc...
my only egg nog quote...sorry americans...
Overheard at the Irish:
2,0: Can I get an egg nog?
Serving wench: You can get fucked!
Is it possible to overhear a conversation when you're at the same table?
I was told today that some genius is opening an Irish Pub in Neu-Isenburg...great!!! Great!!!!!!!
it's not out of the way of my walk....at all........
I forgot to mention my wierdest musical moment in France...not sure if anyone knows Hayseed Dixie...they're a bluegrass band that covers Rock/Metal songs...anyways sitting in the Internet cafe/wine bar Hayseed dixie came on covering AC/DC...it was a surreal moment in France...almost like seeing a raw egg yolk in the middle of pizza...also France...more on French eggs and everything my mom ever told me about cooking stuff next week.....
------------------------------
Show me some fear.
Talk about it when you're old
Age with dignity
and die with joy.
You're all wrong.
Look at the ball.
Look til it's gone down.
And then talk about it.
Tell me where it went.
And why you have no shoes
but an array of feelings.
Talk about justice
and warmth.
I don 't need to hear you again.
I never did.
-----------------------
and a day early...Go big E!!!
06,01,08
So the Dreikonigskeller newsletter tells me that it's Elvis' birthday on 08 Jan. Apparently there will be a party...There is no discussion...2,0 read this and come on down...Matt, Phil??? Anyone???
05,01,08
The Bordeaux xmas market closed on the 31st, but was still being torn down today...the frankfurt market was partially torn down the same night it was closed (at 21:00) and completely torn down the next day...the French are at least lazier than the Deutsch...
I met four Danes not four swedes ;)...what's the difference really...don't they speak pflegmish in both countries? I'd like to go to daneland.
04,01,08
OK...so I spent the week in Bordeaux...I thought my flight was last Sunday, but it turned out to be Saturday...
I thought my flight back was Sunday, but it turns out that it's Saturday...I found this out today on a fluke...Good thing I accidentally checked...
So the week in review...Saturday...leave cold Frankfurt and arrive in semi cold Bordeaux...
I know these pics aren't that interesting, but the snow falling in frankfurt with the view from my balcony I thought was quite nice...
ok...so back to Bordeaux...
Watched Barton Fink...discuss which characters actually existed in the movie...discuss whether writers are really interesting...they think they are, but they just aren't...some writer also thought this and wrote Barton Fink...there's got to be some analogy about circular logic at work, but I just can't come up with it...
The Coen brothers are genius, and I always find that I don't really like their movies on first viewing, but I always end up watching them a second time and only then do I appreciate them...am I alone with this response...anyone else feel the same?
New Years eve...
go to some Danish restaurant....invent whiskey wine...take advantage of the fact that it's some guys first night and just decide to serve myself....
good night with a yank, 4 swedes, a brit, a german and an irish...
actually wore a tie for the first time in a while...Had to wear brown shoes though...all I had with me...
Wed...experienced French Cinema for the first time...
I've secretly been compiling a pro and con list of "the French" and finally have an item in the pro column...the French love of cinema has caused them to release first run films in English with French subtitles...Thank you France! Unfortunately some of the movies they do this with are absolute crap...I don't even know the name of the movie I saw, but it had marky mark, Robert Duval and the guy whose last name if of a city in Arizona....yeah the one that didn't die....and that chick from that other movie that had Denzel washington in it....
if you actually know the name of that movie just pat yourself on the back...No need to actually send me the Title...
OK nevermind...the title is We Own the night...WTF!!!! anyways I had to find this quote from some reivewer via Rotten Tomatoes cuz it sums it up:
It couldn't have taken seven years to write a screenplay this leaden and uninspired. Surely something like this could be churned out in a weekend.
says it all...if Scorsese had done this it would have been twice as long and 143% as good...but alas it wasn't...they did have Opera playing in the cinema before the film started. At least that was a plus...
Unfortunately the best pics of the week come from a wicked night of bowling...
I've no idea about the Orange thing...we found it in the road...
Yesterday we went to Saint Emilion...Outside of Bordeaux...It's your basic wine tourist town...Good for a day though for sure...Played chess in a wine bar/Internet cafe...Kind of strange to find an internet cafe with with an 1800€ bottle of wine though...I should probably be impressed at your wine collection, but I just can't...
More pics of last week by clicking here...or there or there....
Sometime after this week I will have discovered that my camera has an auto focus...I'm apparently just refusing to use it...
Out of context quotes from the week:
Sanne: You bowl like a unicorn...
Sanne: You're a hot whitey...
Sanne: You make me wanna pee...
ok these pics aren't that interesting either, but they are from before wiennachts. They're a bit funny to me...matt and Phil giving spontaneous concert in my kitchen...
note the album cover shots...
in the ones where matts actually playing I can almost hear him saying... "ehhhhhhhhhhhh" the way he does...those of you who know him know what I'm talking about...
Phil can I have a pigsqueal shirt?
Sanne and I off to London in 3 weeks...seeing a Henry Rollins show as well as hopefully visiting my long lost aunts...
Mom I need phone numbers not addresses...Please!!!! thanks!!!!
also hope to see Rollins in Frankfurt the week before...Phil you goin?
and this is not mine, but it's funny and our readers don't overlap so cheers Matt!!!! I take no credit for this...
02,01,08
So I've moved all this years entries to the archive....At last my chance to master CSS and enlarge my font size due to numerous complaints...
So my mom sent a worried email about my lack of entries...I had two epic entries written and had two crashes (on two different machines) that caused me to lose them both...
Unfortunately I can't be bothered to try to remember them so they will come out from my subconscious later this year I'm sure...in the meantime happy new year. Try not to waste it people.
also don't listen to me cuz I have no insight into your lives... ;)
I have a couples weeks worth of pics on my camera, but since I forgot my camera cable in DE I can't upload any yet...so for your viewing pleasure I give you the drunk, gay Paul McCartney and myself in some sort of ad showing the pleasures of Ireland.
