Hey there. Been a while. What's been up? Oh ya know, same ol'. Tough week last week, then Basel, Switzerland Thursday night for a play, and then I missed my flight to London Friday >:\ Of course, on the plus side, I woke up to realize I had missed my trains, but then later (after having run/powerwalked like half an hour to the train station to find out I couldn't make it to the airport in time anyway), I realized that I was still in Germany, so I could deal with it. I was sad not to get to visit Meredith though. She's coming in a couple of weekends, so all is not lost. Anyway, I had a fairly relaxing weekend here in Freiburg. Alex and I took it easy Friday and then painted the town sort of a light red Saturday night.
The Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) opened up today, which is awesome. Yeah, it's really early for that, but oh well. Got a couple glasses of Glühwein (mulled wine); also saved some on my sweatshirt. It was tasty, and also stains easily. Hopefully going to a place called Oma's Kuche (Grandma's Kitchen!) tonight for live jazz, which should be far out, man.
I dunno what else to say right now--I'm kind of passing out at the computer, but I've got class in less than 2 hours, so I can't really go home. I guess I'll fool myself into thinking I might do some work. Maybe new pics sometime this week. Au revoir.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Once Again, Pics
And by Once Again, Pics, I of course mean Once Again, I have forgotten to mention that I posted new Pics. You've already seen the coolest one, but go peep the rest as well. Goodbye, cool world.
Davy, Davy Crocket
...King of the wild frontiiiiiier. That song got stuck in my head randomly, so I hope now it transfers to your head instead. That way you can have a cool song playing in your head while you check out my cool pics from this weekend. You should also check out this hilarious Bill that Idaho wants to pass, commending the creators of Napoleon Dynamite for making it in Idaho and increasing tourism and so forth (Thanks to Maddox's Best Page in the Universe for bringing it to the attention of the world at large). I don't have much else to say at the moment, which is why I'm gonna stop now and simply allow you to contemplate the incredible picture above, the greatest Coffeshop in Amsterdam.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Amsterdamncool
As usual, I'm alive. Don't underestimate my ability to live. Brian and I had a pretty sweet road trip this weekend. I won't go into how many times we were lost, whether it was on the highway, in a foreign city, or just right outside of Freiburg. We made it to the Netherlands Thursday night, but it was very late and we crashed at a rest stop just after crossing the border. Yes, we slept in the car--the seats actually leaned back to basically horizontal, so it was alright. I mean, I wouldn't choose a car over a bed, but sometimes beds can't get you everywhere you need to go.
Friday we got to Amsterdam. How come nobody ever talks about the awesomeness of Amsterdam, outside of the puff-puff stuff? We spent 8 hours wandering around this very confusing and absolutely wonderful city, and it has other charms too. I think the coolest part has to be all the canals--every street is separated from the next by a canal, basically, and it makes for great atmostphere. The Red Light District was crazy--I guess I'm not a huge fan of girls behind glass. Anyway, even if you're planning to stay off the grass and not stop for red lights, I recommend going to Amsterdam sometime in your life.
We drove a bit out of the city and slept in the car again that night. Saturday we decided to go to Brussels--we wanted to get Belgian waffles in Belgium, and Belgium's not huge, so we figured we might as well go straight to the source. We saw some cool stuff, although we were in a lame part of town for a while, but once we found the city center, Brussels bloomed. It's a gorgeous city, and I must say, Belgian waffles in Belgium are some of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. If we had stayed any longer, I would have been broke and fat. They also have a lot of great beer.
After we left Brussels, we were just sort of driving in the direction of Luxembourg and Germany. We were passing a town called Namur, so we figured we'd stop and check out a city no one would ever plan to visit, since we had the car anyway. It turned out to be really cool too--there was a huuge citadel overlooking the city, and because it was nighttime we got to look out over all the city lights. Also, one part of town is basically like stepping into the 18th century.
We left Namur, and were driving through Luxembourg--we didn't stop, since it was night and we probably wouldn't have had much to do, but at least I've been to Luxembourg now, sort of. They actually speak Luxembourgish there, in case you were wondering. So we're driving, and we're trying to figure out what to do, and we're really wishing we could sleep in a bed at this point. Well, 2 beds preferably, but when you've slept in a car for 2 nights, you don't get picky about bed mates. So we were east of Darmstadt and Seeheim, and I called up Thorlef and Brigitte to see if we could intrude upon them. Naturally, they said yes, and we got there at about 1:30 AM--they were sleeping by then, but had made beds for us. Oh, glorious bed! We spent the next day eating and relaxing mostly, and we also checked out Castle Frankenstein, although we couldn't go all the way inside, unfortunately. All in all, it was a magnificent end to a crazy weekend.
Gotta go see a play tonight--Die Marquise von O... (The Marquise from O...). Erin and I had to do a presentation on it yesterday, we're seeing it in town tonight, and then Thursday we have to talk about it a bit more. It was pretty funny cuz my professor, who's the man anyway, was so pumped after our presentation. He told me it makes him so happy when I talk, and that I'm so important to the class. There are only 8 of us, and often I'm pretty tired by 6:00 PM, after 2 or 3 other classes, and he said he thinks when I'm slouching off, it brings the whole class down. It's nice to feel appreciated. Oh and it's been a while now, but I never mentioned what I was for Halloween I don't think--I was Tom Cruise from Risky Business. If you've seen the movie, you know the scene, and if you haven't, you might still know the scene, where he's home alone, so he puts on some music and comes out dancing in just some tall socks, underwear, a tie, an unbuttoned button-up shirt, and sunglasses. Not the most original costume, but it was nice and simple. What were you guys? Tell me, and show me pictures if you have them, I wanna see that stuff. Bye bye.
Friday we got to Amsterdam. How come nobody ever talks about the awesomeness of Amsterdam, outside of the puff-puff stuff? We spent 8 hours wandering around this very confusing and absolutely wonderful city, and it has other charms too. I think the coolest part has to be all the canals--every street is separated from the next by a canal, basically, and it makes for great atmostphere. The Red Light District was crazy--I guess I'm not a huge fan of girls behind glass. Anyway, even if you're planning to stay off the grass and not stop for red lights, I recommend going to Amsterdam sometime in your life.
We drove a bit out of the city and slept in the car again that night. Saturday we decided to go to Brussels--we wanted to get Belgian waffles in Belgium, and Belgium's not huge, so we figured we might as well go straight to the source. We saw some cool stuff, although we were in a lame part of town for a while, but once we found the city center, Brussels bloomed. It's a gorgeous city, and I must say, Belgian waffles in Belgium are some of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. If we had stayed any longer, I would have been broke and fat. They also have a lot of great beer.
After we left Brussels, we were just sort of driving in the direction of Luxembourg and Germany. We were passing a town called Namur, so we figured we'd stop and check out a city no one would ever plan to visit, since we had the car anyway. It turned out to be really cool too--there was a huuge citadel overlooking the city, and because it was nighttime we got to look out over all the city lights. Also, one part of town is basically like stepping into the 18th century.
We left Namur, and were driving through Luxembourg--we didn't stop, since it was night and we probably wouldn't have had much to do, but at least I've been to Luxembourg now, sort of. They actually speak Luxembourgish there, in case you were wondering. So we're driving, and we're trying to figure out what to do, and we're really wishing we could sleep in a bed at this point. Well, 2 beds preferably, but when you've slept in a car for 2 nights, you don't get picky about bed mates. So we were east of Darmstadt and Seeheim, and I called up Thorlef and Brigitte to see if we could intrude upon them. Naturally, they said yes, and we got there at about 1:30 AM--they were sleeping by then, but had made beds for us. Oh, glorious bed! We spent the next day eating and relaxing mostly, and we also checked out Castle Frankenstein, although we couldn't go all the way inside, unfortunately. All in all, it was a magnificent end to a crazy weekend.
Gotta go see a play tonight--Die Marquise von O... (The Marquise from O...). Erin and I had to do a presentation on it yesterday, we're seeing it in town tonight, and then Thursday we have to talk about it a bit more. It was pretty funny cuz my professor, who's the man anyway, was so pumped after our presentation. He told me it makes him so happy when I talk, and that I'm so important to the class. There are only 8 of us, and often I'm pretty tired by 6:00 PM, after 2 or 3 other classes, and he said he thinks when I'm slouching off, it brings the whole class down. It's nice to feel appreciated. Oh and it's been a while now, but I never mentioned what I was for Halloween I don't think--I was Tom Cruise from Risky Business. If you've seen the movie, you know the scene, and if you haven't, you might still know the scene, where he's home alone, so he puts on some music and comes out dancing in just some tall socks, underwear, a tie, an unbuttoned button-up shirt, and sunglasses. Not the most original costume, but it was nice and simple. What were you guys? Tell me, and show me pictures if you have them, I wanna see that stuff. Bye bye.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Say Cheese And Die
Yeah, that's an R. L. Stein, Goosebumps reference. And here are the new cats my parents ordered through a Russian Mail-Order Feline Friend Service. This gray guy is Higgins, and the orangey one is Roebuck, or Bucky. I didn't get to help pick the names, so direct your complaints to them! Or compliments, if you can think of any. Now go and check out my new pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/bleibcool. But don't forget to check out the previous post if you haven't, that's important stuff too.
So it's official: Brian and I rented a car. We're picking it up tomorrow, going to Amsterdam tomorrow night, and coming back Sunday. Yeeeehawww!
Important Outrage
I'll be posting some pics later I think, but for now just some important news. The following was written by Dan Savage, a gay man who routinely encourages both gays and straights to fight for their rights, in his Savage Love column (well, he also routinely answers totally bizzaro questions). I thought I'd copy and paste it here too (in its entirety, with only a couple of words bleeped out for the younger crowd), especially considering I know how some of you (read: Mom and Alena) love Target. Turns out you shouldn't.
"There were two disturbing developments in the battle over straight rights last week. First, we know that Target fills its ads with dancing, multi-culti hipsters giving off a tolerant, urbanist vibe, and runs hipster-heavy ad campaigns positioning Target as a slightly more expensive, more progressive alternative to Wal-Mart. Well, as John Aravosis revealed on americablog.org last week, Target's politics are as red as their bulls-eye logo. The chain allows its pharmacists to refuse to dispense birth control and emergency contraception to female customers if the pharmacist objects on religious grounds. What's worse, the company claims that any of its employees have a right to discriminate against any of its customers provided the discrimination is motivated by an employee's religious beliefs. Read all about it at americablog.org and plannedparenthood.org.
Second, more troubling news from Tucson, Arizona, where a 20-year-old rape victim called dozens of pharmacies in town before she found one that stocked emergency contraception (EC). "When she finally did find a pharmacy with it, she said she was told the pharmacist on duty would not dispense it because of religious and moral objections," reported the Arizona Daily Star. Emergency contraception, the story continued, "prevents pregnancy by stopping ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of a fertilized egg. The sooner the emergency contraception is taken after intercourse, the more effective it is."
Don't just sit there, heteros. Defend your rights! Don't shop at Target, and write 'em and tell them why you're going elsewhere. (Go to target.com and click on "contact us," then "Target Corporation.") As for Fry's Pharmacy in Tucson, the shop that wouldn't dispense EC to a freakin' rape victim, the fundamentalist pharmacist claims it's her "right" to not do her f$$$$$$ job. Well, you have a right to free speech. Call Fry's at 520-323-2695 and ask them why the f$$$ a pharmacy that won't dispense EC keeps the drug in stock. Do they do it just to torment rape victims? ("Oh yeah, we've got EC—but you can't have any. Don't you know that Jesus wants you to bear your rapist's child?") Rise up, straight people, and demand your rights!"
"There were two disturbing developments in the battle over straight rights last week. First, we know that Target fills its ads with dancing, multi-culti hipsters giving off a tolerant, urbanist vibe, and runs hipster-heavy ad campaigns positioning Target as a slightly more expensive, more progressive alternative to Wal-Mart. Well, as John Aravosis revealed on americablog.org last week, Target's politics are as red as their bulls-eye logo. The chain allows its pharmacists to refuse to dispense birth control and emergency contraception to female customers if the pharmacist objects on religious grounds. What's worse, the company claims that any of its employees have a right to discriminate against any of its customers provided the discrimination is motivated by an employee's religious beliefs. Read all about it at americablog.org and plannedparenthood.org.
Second, more troubling news from Tucson, Arizona, where a 20-year-old rape victim called dozens of pharmacies in town before she found one that stocked emergency contraception (EC). "When she finally did find a pharmacy with it, she said she was told the pharmacist on duty would not dispense it because of religious and moral objections," reported the Arizona Daily Star. Emergency contraception, the story continued, "prevents pregnancy by stopping ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of a fertilized egg. The sooner the emergency contraception is taken after intercourse, the more effective it is."
Don't just sit there, heteros. Defend your rights! Don't shop at Target, and write 'em and tell them why you're going elsewhere. (Go to target.com and click on "contact us," then "Target Corporation.") As for Fry's Pharmacy in Tucson, the shop that wouldn't dispense EC to a freakin' rape victim, the fundamentalist pharmacist claims it's her "right" to not do her f$$$$$$ job. Well, you have a right to free speech. Call Fry's at 520-323-2695 and ask them why the f$$$ a pharmacy that won't dispense EC keeps the drug in stock. Do they do it just to torment rape victims? ("Oh yeah, we've got EC—but you can't have any. Don't you know that Jesus wants you to bear your rapist's child?") Rise up, straight people, and demand your rights!"
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