Another short blog

But only because my heart can't bear to leave you without relief until after my upcoming Crete trip.

I've FINALLY put pictures up on the "Neolithic History... " Caveat lector

In spite of the fact that Thanksgiving was last Thursday, all our culinary feats were performed post-Turkey Day, by a stellar cast led by the aspiring future host of the hit Food Network show, Don't Stress It!, and included: Turkey & Bacon sandwiches, Turkey Soup, Guacamole, homemade Bagels with Veggie AND Smoked Salmon Shmears, Egg Strata, Home Fries, and Cookies. Believe dat!

After 10 weeks, I was able to steal Katie's music from her computer, despite it's PC inferiority.

According to a 13 year old girl and a 61 year old man, my appropriate age is mid 30s.

The new Scissor Sisters album costs 149.99...........Danish Crowns. Because some countries actually have their own currency.

But what about the badonka-donk??

The craving to watch Anchorman, Wedding Crashers, 40-year old Virgin, Zoolander, etc. has reached all new levels.

We must do everything to preserve the last Fantasaurus.

I still have several pieces of baklava to enjoy this evening. What do you have to go home to?

I must now make a video store run/hunt.

Bavarian Rhapsody

Is this the real life
Is this just fantasy?
Aegean Airlines
No escape from fake egg patties.
Open your eyes
The stewardess is a shorty!

I'm now in München
My German needs sympathy
Because I'm thinking "yes," saying no
Not sure where I'm supposed to go
Anywhere the train goes
Doesn't really matter to me
To meeeeee

Manu! (That's my friend's name)
My phone is acting dead
Shall I hunt you down instead?
Found you, my tour's now begun
Great food, cool sights, and Läderhosen, yay!

München! (oooooh!)
Didn't think you'd be this nice
We did so much today, what's for tomorrow?
Carry on, Carry on!
But first relieve your blatters...

Too late! The fall has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Colors just like home (no rhyme)
Goodbye, for the moment.
To Manu's house!
Gotta get cleaned up to hit the club in truth.

Atomic! (That's the club's name)
The music never dies!
Who would have thought 60s music was danceable!

[Instrumental]

I see a little silhouette-o of a town
Wasserburg! Wasserburg! Can you see the fog dropping?
Wicked awesome market, different colored houses, whee!
Thrice-baked almonds! (Half-meter wursts!)
Schokolade! (Over-priced toys!)
Butter brushes, one euro!
Sehr Wunderbar-ar-ar
"I'm just a pizza, no Germans make me"
He's just a pizza, veggies but there's no meat!
Crust is delish, it was no monstrosity
Easy bake, simple dough, will the toppings glow?
Ich will nicht, NO! Why would the toppings glow?
-They will glow!
Ich will nicht, NO! Why would the toppings glow?
-They will glow!
-No they will never glow -They will glow?
[More of that, back and forth]
Oh Mama mia, we made pizza
and the bubbly cheese did glow
Hot spicy punch has a devil put aside for me
For me! FOR ME!!!!!

[Instrumental]

So you think I don't know how to spend my time?
Walking around the city is better than chai!
Ooooh, baby! Nice cafe with a paper
But when I tried to get out, they made me pay for it, roar!

[Instrumental]

Nothing really matters, having fun is key
Just cuz I broke my camera
Doesn't mean I can't be quite happy!

If I lived in Greece, here's how it happened

On this cool November evening, as I sit with baited breath, only hours from being granted the privilege to see Borat (provided I can emerge unscathed from the riotous streets of anti-America Athens*), I find myself strangely calm. Is it because I am among the less than half of our group that didn't get the stomach virus during our last trip? Is it because my head weighs about 13 pounds less (yes, I finally got a haircut)? Or is it because our justice system is about get the atomic wedgie it so fully deserves?

I can't really decide, but for the first time in my life, I'm finally seeing things clearly. Allow me to share some of the conclusions that most justify my 25 year pilgrimage through the fog of uncertainty.

First, gelaterias are awesome. If you have one, go at least every day, and you will find yourself both happier and healthier. If you don't, please move to Philadelphia, Nafplio, Italy, or some other paradise of frozen joy.

Second, Corinth is the worst city in Greece. Worse than Thebes, which I actually liked (I mean, it has a place called Club Sin, for Pete's sake!). To elaborate, there's nowhere to eat except fast food, this place called "Licks" had mosquitos in the wine, said that they were from the wineskins and there was nothing they could do about it, claimed that the tap water would give you cancer, and didn't have an sandwich on the menu called "My Ballz." Other drawbacks: only one pedestrian street, liars working at the periptero's, and...

[My thought process just got interrupted by the meeting that I'm ignoring]

Moving on. Third, one's destination should always be something worth looking forward to. Seriously. So often, such pithy sayings are passed over because of their triteness, but sometimes I wonder why they aren't more central motivations in people's lives. [I know, my bourgeois American background is betrayed. How dare I?]

Fourth, just because you're 70 years old and have lived in England for 30 years, doesn't mean you can't freestyle and criticize other people's lines. As I learned from the brilliant Margo Camp several evenings ago, when I was unable to satisfactorily rhyme with "Panayia Field."

I think four is enough. In other news, I'm going to Munich tomorrow, which should provide fodder for another blog (and hopefully one in song). I have pictures from my last trip, but I will probably not post them for a while. I also realize that this page is sadly decrepit in the category of visual images, and I vow to remedy this soon. Patience, fair reader! Finally, the Steelers won last week, which was just great.

*today is the anniversary of when the Greeks overthrew the military junta installed by the American government to make sure that Communism didn't happen here. In commemoration of this, there are usually protests that tend to get out of hand, especially downtown and at the embassy, and apparently at least one person dies each year. Good stuff.

Pragmatic Interlude

Due to genre constraints, the following has been deemed necessary by the the FBBI (Federal Bureau of Blog Intelligibility):

My previous post was the promised blog dedicated to the man we affectionally call Boutros and who was christened John Pollini. Unfortunately, I have not been able to collect the accompanying pictures yet, so I would recommend either waiting til those are posted (which will take over ten days) or read it while promising to reread it when said pictures are posted. Trust me. I should also mention that while the piece is obviously littered with what is called in common parlance "inside jokes," everything described about or spoken by the character Pollini ACTUALLY was said or happened. I promise. He's really made a difference in all of our lives that I dare not hope to convey in words, photos, or even charades/impersonations.

I should also take this opportunity to mention that as of tomorrow morning I will be out of Athens for another ten days, during which I may not have internet. That being said, I will leave you with this hope, however insufficient you deem it to be: not only will a report of my trip be forthcoming, but tales from the legendary Halloween party that occurred last night. I went to bed after 5, so there's lots of material there. Of course, I could forget it all...