This is what the past week or so has been like in Paris: The days have been cloudy, foggy, damp, and sometimes rainy, bordering on cold. The kind of weather that some people would call “miserable.” But I love it. There is something about the clouds and the drizzle that is embracing, enfolding, comforting; something about the cold that is cleansing and clarifying. To me it says: Be calm. Be […]
Funny-and-sad-at-the-same-time article in the Times Online today about a discussion in August between French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin: With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang [Georgian Prime Minister] Saakashvili […]
I realize I haven’t posted any pictures since we returned to France, and since a picture is worth a thousand words (or perhaps worth even more than a thousand of my words), here are a few new ones. As always, more are on my Flickr site. I carried my large telephoto lens all the way to Paris, but didn’t take it out of its case until just this week. Don’t […]
Perhaps a good sign that the Democrats won’t make the same mistakes they made during the first two years of Clinton’s term: This article in the Wall Street Journal, reporting on an interview with Rahm Emanuel, the new White House Chief of Staff. [Obama wants] real solutions to real problems. And if we do an ideological test, we will fail. Our challenge is to work to solve the actual problems […]
On Election Night, Suzie and I attended the official U.S. Election Night party, which was held at a place called the Cineaqua near the Trocadero. Because of the time difference, the party didn’t start until 10:30 p.m., and was scheduled to go through the night, which meant that we were going to have do so something we hadn’t done in a long, long time, namely, staying up past midnight. We […]
Our internet connection was down today, and I was operating on 3 hours sleep, so the complete post of our amazing, wonderful election night in Paris (including goofy and wonderful video) will have to wait until tomorrow. But I will tell you that I was very, very proud to be an American today. I can tell you that the French view of America and Americans has changed. I can tell […]
The travel gods took a swipe at us this evening. After an uneventful flight into Paris, and after our bags coming off of the carousel in first position, and after getting on a train into Paris that was an express to the Gare du Nord, which meant that there were only 5 stops until ours at Denfert Rochereau … well, after that, everything went haywire. Our “express” train made an […]
Nice ending anyway to our trip to Portugal; the airport and appurtenant services (like the rental car) are all terrific, and there is free internet access, which is why I’m posting this now from our gate, waiting to board our flight back to Paris. I hate to say bad things about a country after just a week, but all things considered, I don’t think I’ll be returning to Portugal any […]
Suzie and I decided to splurge and attend the official American Election Night soiree in Paris on Tuesday night. With the time difference, it will require us to stay up all night. Those who know me know that I’m really, really bad at that, so we’ll see how it goes. Also, if the election is close (arrrggghhhh), we may not know the winner until after the party is over.
Those to the right of the political spectrum should read this post in the Christian Science Monitor to understand why Obama appeals to voters (including me) who don’t necessarily fall within his ideological range. After 8 years of Bush-Rove, we seem to have forgotten that politics can be more than pandering to the fears of one’s “base.” It can be — at its best it should be — about leadership, […]