Colombia

I don't know how I got onto this train of thought, but I'd like to explore it for a while.
I just got back from the coffeeshop where I was reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. For some reason, I started thinking about Love in the Time of Cholera, which I had read earlier in the summer, and especially about how vividly Garcia Marquez represented Colombia. He wrote so realistically that you could put an image in your head from the text, and I thought that I'd love to go back one day.
People may or may not be surprised when I mention how big a role Colombia has in my family, considering that most people associate me with Switzerland, and to a somewhat smaller (but no less important!) degree, Austria. My grandfather ran hotels there; my parents met there; my brother and my three sisters all were born in Colombia. Apparently, we still even have some land there, along the beach, although it has long been overrun by squatters. Any value we'd get out of it most likely all goes to lawyers at this point.
Some of my earliest memories are when my mom and I visited my grandparents there when I was 5. It was the first time I had strawberry jello and shrimp! I even remember the little matchbox car I whined to get at the grocery store. And while this might be a strange thing to be nostalgic about, whenever I'm at a port or dock/marina, the smell of the oil and diesel brings me right back to when I was 5. I think my grandfather had some shrimpin' boats at the time, so we visited the dock. Weird how the memory works.
None of us have gone back in decades, which is kind of sad, I suppose. I know my dad would love to go back one day and visit. Who knows how much it has all changed by now.

Is Strawberry Fields real?

I've actually been able to get a pretty good jump on my New Year's resolutions this year, which is rather surprising, given my general tendency toward procrastination.
Some of the things I've done in the last few months have been designed to make it easier to do the next thing on my list, which I'm not really gonna get into here. It is something that needs to get done--and most likely should have been done at least a year ago--but the entire process around it is so demotivating, and frankly, intimidating, that I can't even start! So, after knocking off all those other things, I've built a pretty good ladder, yet I can't seem to climb that final rung. So, basically, I'm clutching tightly to the top rung of a ladder with my eyes shut, not daring to look up or down. In the meantime--"living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see."
Ug. Cranberry sauce, indeed.

The Kennedys and Obama

Why the Kennedys Went for Obama

I want to believe that hope can win out over cynicism for once, but I have a slight suspicion that Barack Obama sacrificed the rest of the country for a win in South Carolina. He seemed to step into a trap set by Bill Clinton, who served as a proxy attack dog for Hillary, which may have marginalized Barack. The folks in the Clinton camp say that this wasn't intentional, but that seems to me to be a load of shit. People as politically astute as the Clintons don't do "unintentional" on the campaign trail. What they did seems calculated and cynical.

Hillary might make a pretty good president, as she certainly has the experience. However, I hope that my suspicion is proven wrong and that Barack Obama does much better on Feb. 5 than I think he will. If so, I might just lose my cynicism for a while and give optimism a chance.

Skiing mind game

I'm already psyching myself out for my ski trip in Feb. I have somehow convinced myself that I no longer remember how to turn. Turning is a rather important step in the process of not hitting trees. Grrr. I'm gonna have fun on this trip regardless of whether my mind lets me.

Writing about architecture

When I drive home from work, I go past this new building that is close to completing construction on the Princeton University campus. The first time I really noticed it, I was stopped in traffic, and the curved steel and glass structure caught my eye.
My first impression is that the architect wanted to impress with his ability to create angles and curves in AutoCAD. However, I don't get the rationalization behind it at all. What's the point?
I took a closer look at it this weekend. The design brings a nice element of daring to the area, and there is certainly a talent and artistry behind getting that project from the paper to bricks, steel, and glass. I still don't quite understand the function behind it all, though. I guess I might be from a boring school of architecture.
I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during the creation phase of this design. There is a certain philosophy or theme that goes into every building, which creates a style and design library that is used throughout the entire project. I would love to know what the overarching design theory was here.
I wanted to be an architect since the fifth grade, and one of the primary reasons I actually went to the University of Florida was for the architecture program. What a difference one freshman year of college makes! If I had known that I would go another career route entirely, I might have just ended up going to Emory. Ah well, I love the Gators.
If I ever become successful or win the lottery, I'm going back to school to get my architecture degree.

North Carolina

I saw the movie the movie Junebug this weekend. I'm surprised I missed this movie when it came out. I enjoyed it, although I think at times it tried too hard to "say something." I can see why Amy Adams was nominated for a Best supporting actress Oscar, as her portrayal of Ashley showed amazing depth and nuance.
Anyway, it was filmed in North Carolina, and that of course lead me to feeling nostalgic for growing up in the good ol' Tar Heel state. Chapel Hill was the first place we lived when my family moved to the states, so I naturally have a strong tie to that area. I'll always consider the light blue color of the sky to be "Carolina Blue." I'll always be a Tar Heel basketball fan (except for the rare occasions they play the Gators), and I'll have an irrational desire to see Duke lose, no matter whom they play.
I could go off on a list of all the great things I remember, but I think for now I'll keep those to myself (translation: too lazy to write them all). My little nostalgia trip was backed by a great soundtrack...there was some great music in the early 80s.
Overall, I had it way easier as a kid than kids today. Sorry that it got all messed up for y'all. It wasn't our fault!

To the mountains!

My sister and I are planning a ski trip for late February! Yay! I haven't been skiing in close to 10 years, so this should be quite an adventure. In my mind, I'm quite excited, but I have a feeling several of my limbs will form a protest. My legs, especially, seem fairly apprehensive about gliding down a slippery surface while attached to two waxed sticks that are actually designed to make you go as fast as possible. My legs, I daresay, are not adventurous. They feel that the trees are out to get them and that moguls are unnecessarily mean.
I say, bring 'em on! (Granted, I don't say that too loudly.)
I can't believe that the last time I went skiing was almost a decade ago. Sheesh! I'd visit my parents when they lived in Nevada, and we had the benefit of being close to quite a few great ski resorts. The town they lived in had its own set of runs, called Diamond Peak or something. I took a few lessons there, so I was at least able to stop and turn without hitting anyone or anything. However, I never was that keen on taking the black diamond runs...my respect for gravity ran deep, as did my awareness of my level of skill.
I do remember one particular time I went skiing with my sister (same one I'm planning the trip with now). It was at a place called Northstar at Tahoe, and we went midweek, so it was fairly uncrowded. We went on the same run over and over again, and I don't think we had to wait in a line once. The nice thing about going when we did is that I didn't have to worry about getting in anyone's way. By the end of the day, I was pretty confident going down the run and was able to pick up some good speed. That was wicked cool.
It'll be a little bit of a drive to get down there, but I think it'll be quite worth it.

Have your flux capacitors fluxing

'm sure you're pretty well aware of Back to the Future and all the Time-Space continuum shenanigans Marty and Doc Brown get up to.
For the purpose of this question, Marty is alive and well in happy 1985 (where he has the spiffy truck and does not crash into the Rolls-Royce.) Everything is hunkydory for Marty. It's two years down the road, and somehow Marty has gotten hold of another time machine.
Here's the meat of it: he goes back to Nov. 13, 1985, so in theory, there are two Marty's hanging around. Happy 1985 Marty and two-years-older Marty. Crazy things start happening when you f**k with the Time-Space continuum, and through some sort of event caused by 87 Marty's return, 85 Marty breaks a leg...
The question: what, if any, effect does this have on the time-visiting 87 Marty?
Discuss amongst yourselves.

Photography

Check out my dad's photography. I might be slightly biased, but it's amazing stuff.

Resolutions

For 2008:
1) Develop a better fashion sense, or at the very least, develop a better sense of style. As I have learned this week, my best bet is to take a Costanzian approach to fashion: doing the exact opposite of what my instinct tells me. It worked for George...
2) Learn how to cook a greater variety of food. Thankfully, I'm not completely clueless in the kitchen, but let's just say my knowledge is relatively limited. I want to learn how to cook different things, and I'd like to experiment more.
3) Volunteer more. This year, I'd like to do a volunteer vacation through Habitat for Humanity, but I think it might also be worthwhile to volunteer more on my home turf. Spread the love...or hog the good karma.
4) Join a gym.
4) Start using the British spelling of humour, neighbour, and behaviour. The "u" is completely useless, but why should it be left out? It never did anything to me...one of the letters in my last name is a "u." Also, why leave the good fight to British ex-pats, Anglophiles, and about a billion people from India (The Queen's English is its second official language)?

So, there's that. Let's see if I accomplish any of these.

Step out into the spotlight, Iowa!

Huckabee, Obama sweep to Iowa victories
Hilary Clinton was supposed to be de facto Democratic candidate, but it goes to show that one can never tell with politics until it goes to the voters. What does this victory say about where we want to head? I'm not sure Iowa is completely representative of the rest of the country, and I'm not completely sure the caucus system as is really works. The early primary states basically weed out candidates. Why don't they do all states at once so that everyone in the country has a say in who runs for their party?
Also, is Obama this race's "hope" candidate? I'd be completely behind Obama if I didn't have the slight suspicion in the back of my mind that there's gonna be a meltdown. I bought in to the Howard Dean candidacy early on when he started running, and I guess I got burned.
One can question Obama's experience, but if he does win the nomination, and Huckabee wins the Republican nomination, it'll be Obama's race to lose. I just can't see Huckabee having a chance when the race goes national. He won't have a shot in hell in the traditionally blue states, and I think that those borderline states that swung red the last time (I'm talking to you, Florida) would go blue this time around.
Anyway, these are just ramblings...I could be wrong. I am writing this at 1 am (taking off of work this week has totally wrecked my sleep schedule)...it could all be gibberish.

This your monkey?

I may have posted about these ads a few years ago, but i dug it up again and watched some.
Trunk Monkey
The best is theft retrieval system.

Traffic lights: Christmas tree ornaments for the road

I did something stupid today.
OK, but first I did something smart. I went to the eye doc and got myself new glasses! So, that's part two of my NY resolution taken care of.
However, during the eye exam, they gave me eye drops that dilated my pupils. If you aren't familiar with this, it basically f@#$s with your ability to see anything clearly and in focus. I made it home ok...
but, here is where i did something stupid. I set out again this evening for the gym and to do some other errands. As I'm driving, I notice that all the lights have this strange effect: the light emanates from its source like stars. It was a rather beautiful effect; it seemed like i was driving through the stars, or a christmas tree. However, this created quite a bit of glare. Me being stubborn, I continued on to the gym, but I decided to wait on the other errands.
Driving with dilated pupils? Some tips:
The really bright, white stars are usually attached to rolling steel-encased vehicular missiles, going in the opposite directions. Like in usual driving, it is best to avoid the bright, white stars.
The red and green stars floating in the air indicated stop and go...just like in usual driving.
If there were three red stars in a rectangular cluster, that meant someone in front of me was stopping.
Thankfully, nothing bad happened. I just wasn't terribly brilliant of me to be out on the roads.
Overall, the whites, greens and reds glowed like lights on a christmas tree. I never thought of them that way before.