European Vacation 2001: The morning of the 11th

broderic on July 11, 2004

Aug.11, 2001

10:00 Waiting on tour to begin. Lots of rushing. Maybe they should post boarding times.

10:20 Thomas is our guide and the swordsman is our bus driver. We will drive for hours.

12:05 Malbork Castle. Gothic != Medieval. Hey. You can buy weapons here. Hot dogs.

15:05 Cole slaw. Meat wrap for lunch. Where can I get Polish sausage?

This was one of the more surreal days of the vacation. We were in Poland visiting Gdansk. Our tour guide was a nice fellow. He took us to Malbork Castle home of some Teutonic Knights. It was interesting, but I not as cool as I would’ve thought. We had a lunch which it seemed that only I liked. It was a mash up of beef and pork flattened and rolled into a wrap with a side of some grain that I don’t know what it was. During lunch an elderly gentleman kept complaining about not getting a kielbasa. I wanted to tell him to just go to the snack shack in front of the castle and get yourself one. Walter could’ve continued his great Red Pulser Tour 2001 here by doing just that.

Anyway, we ended up shopping for amber in Gdansk wandering around looking for kielbasa. On the bus ride home, Thomas tells us the horrific story of his mother’s survival from the Nazi concentration camps. I think we gave him a big tip.

Latest CDs bought

broderic on July 11, 2004

I was in Barnes and Noble earlier this evevning and picked up The Cardigans, Gran Tourismo and Thievery Corporation, The Outernational Sounds. The former sounds great and I love Erase/Rewind. The latter seems to be another of there remix albums; not there original stuff. Both are going to get a lot of listening.

Missing posts

broderic on July 11, 2004

Posting has been slow of late. There are many reasons. First, I usually blog from my PC at home, but have been using the laptop more. Second, I suck at it. My writing style hasn’t emerged effectively and I can’t seem to carry a thought for more than a few sentences. Finally, I still don’t know what I want to blog about. Politics? Movies? My life? I hope to decide in the near future. So for all my readers, I apologise for the sporadic posts. Sorry.

European Vacation 2001: A day on the ship

broderic on July 7, 2004

Aug. 11, 2001

anna_yau@hotmail.com

03:00 Met Estella, Betsy, Kyle tonight @ the disco. Fun. Threw down w/Gerry.

Um. Why’d I write Anna’s email address on this thing? (Sorry for the spam, Anna.) I think I paid the exorbitant price to use their slow ass internet connection to email her telling her what a cool, fun time this has been. Estella? Betsy? Which one was the cute one? Damn, Gerry where’s my wing man!

The Amazing Race

broderic on July 7, 2004

Finally, season 5 of the best reality show is on. I don’t know who to root for. I think the twins! We’ll see how it shapes up. Right now I can’t stand the Texas queen. This is going to be so fun. My TiVo is ready.

Le Tour de France

broderic on July 6, 2004

It’s July therefore we must go to France to see one of the greatest spectacles in all of sports, the Tour de France. This year Lance Armstrong is gunning for a record setting sixth straight Tour win. Although a clear favorite to win it again, he must contend with former teammates Tyler Hamiliton and Roberta Heras, as well as the always runner-up Jens Ullrich.

I have always rooted for the Texan since his stunning and inspiring comeback and win in the 1999 Tour, but this year I have to root against him. Let no one rider be bigger than the Tour itself. If the great Eddie Merckx could not win six, then no man should. This is not to take away from the champion that Lance is. I will pull for him. I hope that a worthy challenger gives him a run for the yellow. I will cheer if he wins his sixth, but I am hoping for that not to happen. Allez, Lance! Allez, le tour!

Catch the action. It’s awesome!

Recent movies

broderic on July 4, 2004

I don’t have the time to review the latest movies that I have seen. Not that my reviews are all in depth and all. But I recently am going through a whirlwind of movie watching in recent days, 4 in the last week alone. Here then are the movies I have seen and a quick rating:

  • Saved. 3 of 5 stars.

  • Fahrenheit 9/11. 3 of 5 stars.

  • Spiderman 2. 5 of 5 stars.

  • The Terminal. 3 of 5 stars.

Relegation

broderic on July 2, 2004

Slate discusses the economics of soccer. The best part of the article is their discussion of relegation — awarding those teams that at least are trying to win (and winning). I don’t see what is wrong with that concept. Basketball and baseball seem to be best to use it. Baseball with their talk of small market teams not being able to compete with the big market teams, and basketball with their lazy teams. It would also make the games at the end more meaningful for the players. They would have to play out the season.

European Vacation 2001: On Screen

broderic on July 2, 2004

Aug. 10, 2001

22:00 Has been a while since I filled this out. Yesterday, the Hermitage. Why come all this way for a few Impressionist paintings? At least, we saw some Rembrandts. Last night, craps with beautiful girls. Trying desperately to meet them, but being Asian, they travel in packs. This morning went to Tallinn, Estonia. Girls just as beautiful in Russia, but seem more clean. Our guide was sexy Anna. A real woman. Lame American come-ons. Tonight more gambling. Losing in five minutes @ roulette.

Hmm. I didn’t journal too much about Tallinn, Estonia. Amazing place. Loved the fact that the Finns and Swedes go there for the cheap liquor. Anna. Sexy, Anna. How did we get this pretty girl to be our tour guide? Did I put a move on her? No. I just asked her a question. She had the funniest excuse to not vote for the inclusion into the European Union. They didn’t allow her to park in their parking lot. Amazing. Tallinn.