Hard to wake up this morning then I remembered the ethiopian food in the fridge...

"I'm not in the mood for smooth sounding generalities" wind up bird chronicles pg 179

Current articles in production the tao of service taxis and rio 2016 the pride of scotland

Can't sleep, Ethiopian food, gelato, people watching, Y-3 and apologies to Sandow Birk also Iron was closed...applied to two jobs

Acropolis Now: Two Days in Athens

Acropollis Now

I didn't plan to go to Athens. While I was certain there were no direct flights from

Estonia to Egypt at least not in the Summer, I figured I could fly into Athens and out the same day.

So I made the most of it Athens. My grandfather always liked Greece.

For him Greece was the land of Heredotous, Plato, and Socrates whose works sat

peering down from the plateaus of his bookshelves as a child.

Greece was also the land of the Greek Myths. He taught me in the classic stories

the same way they had been taught in university by word of mouth. As a former college professor taught countless ones giving me a proper classical education on visits to his house in Sun City.

For one of my birthdays I was gifted with a massive children’s edition of Greek myths from my Grandparents.

Later I read Edith Hamilton's Mythology and it was his well worn copy I used for my 9th grade

English class.

Eventually my Grandfather sought to see the land of hedonistic gods and deep-thinking mortals.

Plato had dreamed of world ruled by Philosopher Kings. Though this was hardly the moment that my

Grandfather and Grandmother found themselves in when they visited Athens in 1967.

My grandmother related that the same plaza in front of the Parliament where hundreds crowd

each hour to see the changing of the Guard at the tomb of the Unknown soldier. Was completely empty

as Martial Law into effect. The since of fear she felt as soldiers searched each bus.

My grandfather ofcourse didn't let a silly coup ruin his time in Greece and soon

it was off to a cruise of the islands. He returned I'm sure with a new found appreciation of

the classics . and A massive picture of an eyeless Zeus statue which sat in the garage in Sun City, CA staring at me when I would get my ubiquitous summer buzz cuts.

Other than perhaps the Acropolis the ruins of Athens, like my grandfather's tales of Hercules

require a good bit of imagination to visualize the city of the Ancient Greeks

*****

Furthermore I had no cruises or coups to contemplate. Just a quick lay-over trip.

Flying into Athens it looked just like California. I felt right at home. It wasn't until I reach the terminal

and I got that first whiff of the Grecian Air that I knew this was not Cali...you could smell the cigarette smoke everywhere. A larger percentage of Greeks smoke than the citizens of any other developed country.

I packed light and was on a bus in moments. The bus took us through the hills while I chatted with some Aussies.

There are tons of Aussies in Greece. Partly because there are tons of Greeks in the land of Oz.

Infact Zorba Hostel was so full of the 'roos I thought I was going to start hopping.

By 5 o'clock I had found my hostel in Victoria and thrown my bags down.

I jumped back on the metro and was determined to see the Acropolis the first day even though it closed at 7.

I ended up seeing half of Athens on the first day.

I stepped off the Metro anxious to see the Acropolis, to ponder the origins of Western Civilization, to ponder

mythology and philosophy of long dead white guys in togas.

I looked around the square for landmark…wait a minute was that a mosque? Actually it was. One of two in the area called Plakka. At one time there were hints of 400 years of Ottoman Athens all over Greece. The same Junta who nearly ruined my grandparents trip also went about chopping up most of the Turkish bits of Athens. Ottoman residences and so fourth were destroyed. The Acropolis at one time served as a mosque.

The Acropolis was hidden on a hill and I could not see it from my angle. I walked up the hill towards its

entrance. Just after I stepped into the Acropolis I ran into a Corean engineer (spelling intentional).

His Name was Sung-Woo Seo and more specifically he works for Samsung Heavy Industries on the 32nd Floor

of the Samsung Life Insurance Tower in Seoul. I only know this because he gave me his business card, twice.

He was 28 and had just started a career with Samsung in the heavy industry side of things.

Before that he went to an average school in Seoul and did a tour in the ROK Army.

He was by himself so I talked to him as we trudged on pausing to take photos or in his case video.

We came to a path should we go left or right? I asked more to myself than anyone else

We should go left said this acquaintance from the Land of the Morning calm"

I practiced the Corean that Brian Lee, my former Corean roommate, had taught me. Then we talked about the thing men all around the world have in common: sports. We talked soccer and baseball. \

"I just love Chan Ho Park" I blurted out citing my admiration for the former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher

"Chan Ho Park...yes he was my hero in middle school." We talked a bit about famous Korean baseball players. Most of whoms names I could only mispronounce.

The long route brought us amazing views of Athens, the Aegean Sea, of the Lykanious hill, the new Acropolis Museum which had just been completed in late June.

Finally we began climbing the steps that wind through the former temple of Athena Nike

"We are in the nursery of Western civilization, the cradle is on the other side" I comment

We climb the final steps carefully marble and slippery even in August.

Finally we pass under an arch and in front of us Behold, the Acropolis, like bandito gunslingers we reach for our cameras.

I don’t have a full DSLR unlike most serious photographers but I’m just shocked when my friend.

Produces a small pink camera that looks like it should be found in a woman's handbag

not in the grips of an Asian tourist. It looks more appropriate for some drunken photos

at a nightclub than a expedition to another continent.

Sung Woo-Seo is instantly defensive " This is my sister's....I'm not gay" He quips.

We do a 360 around the Acropolis and try to get some good pictures of the Acropolis.

By good pictures I mean ones with few tourist and without scaffolding. Like Michael Jackson

the Acropolis was getting another facelift.

We spot two girls

"there Corean" He notes

" Go talk to them homie" I try to encourage him. He glances there way and says

"I HAVE BEEN HERE 10 MINS i'M NOT THAT DESPERATE YET!" He says jokingly. Perhaps the best joke he tells me in the two days were together.

I chuckle and change the topic

“Ok, What do you think of the Acropolis?....Up close it doesn't look that impressive ”

“Agreed I think it is more attractive from a far. “

Yeah we climb to a nearby hill to look at the acropolis. It proves treacherous marble

As I climb I tell hill I was at the World Baseball Classic in March.

"Yeah it was a big deal in Corea, we were all at working watching the game"

Corea lost that game to Japan in a close one. If you think baseball is boring, if you think baseball has lost its way see Corea vs. Japan is one of the greatest rivalries in Sport.

We decide to climb and even taller hill to see the Acropolis.

I surprise an English bloke when I say "Excuse me sir, Can you take a picture of me and my friend"

We descend and decide to orientate for a moment and the engineer reaches and produces

a box of Marlboro 100s.

"You smoke?"

"Not in Corea"

Not in Corea but in the sanctuary of the Greek gods? Certainly this

was not the place to start !

A moment later one of Zeus thunderbolts came smashing down upon my friend for daring

to smoke in the sanctuary of the Acropolis...he disappeared into nothingness

and I sat petrified like I'd just seen Medusa.

Ok, not really. What did happen was that my friend dropped his sisters camera

in such a way that it landed that it landed awkwardly and broke which is pretty much the same as a thunderbolt from Zeus.

We both expressed our opinions in a short English language expletive as Virginia seed tobacco

wafted in the air. For this further sin the immortals decided not

To punish us.

"I'll send you my pictures"

"Well once you get Corea back we worry about it

He had planned to travel with a friend but suddenly his friend had got a big interview with a big company and

had cancelled on him. Conversely he told me His mother and sister would be doing the same route he was (Athens, the Greek Islands and Turkey ) threes later when his mother suspected there would be less tourists. He had to travel at peak season because Samsung takes a week long summer vacation together so this was the only week he had.

I could just imagine his mother and sister in white with gloves and hat trying, at the end of August trying to not get dark.

Aren't you worried about getting dark I ask him? I recall many students from Seoul in my college dorm loving the

good California sunshine but worried about tanning. Dark skin color is associated with so many Coreans with field workers.

"Well really I don't care, but I have a big head so I look silly in a hat" He confesses. Besides he comes from the countryside originally he told me that as a child in rural career him and his friends would "ski" on frozen rice paddies.

We trudge on and manage to squeeze in trips to three more places of interest: Hadrian’s Gate, the stadium of the first Olympics in 1896 and the new Acropolis Museum.

****

I had met a Greek woman in Estonia who gave me some advice on sightseeing in Athens

"you must go to Plakka one night"

Well luckily I only had one night to walk around. The Plakka is a series of sidewalk cafes

and tourist shops at the base of the Acropolis.

It is a perfect place for an evening stroll. We choose a cafe that looked

reasonable. I had a plate of Greek veal with Tzatazki. The Tzatki was really

good so I offered some to my friend.

"Greek Kimchi" I said jokingly

Men around the world have another thing in common besides sports: women. So this became are next topic of conversation

He had a girlfriend of three years who works for a auction house in art management. I think she designs the catalogs or something.

As we ate he lit up another cigarette. Maybe his girlfriend doesn’t let him smoke in Corea

We finished eating and took a stroll through the Plakka while the Parthenon looked down at us.

We decided to meet up again the following day at 11 am for the changing of the big changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

I told him I wasn’t at the meeting spot by 10:30 to just meet me after the whole shindig was over.

Good idea

We were perfect companions making occasional small talk but usually just trudging on in silence.

My hostel was partying when I got back. The 'roos were all down stairs looking there best.

There were so many Aussies I felt like a little Joey in the pouch. There were other characters too.

A Swedish-Russian girl from Malmo who told me she had been obssesed with moving to LA since she was

a little girl. Than while was she was in Greece? She told me her ex-boyfriend was a "French-Greek"

So I guess that makes him a "Freak" I joked

Then a couple of English Jews who asked me if I was Jewish, and then I ran into a Cape Verdian kid from Boston. Wearing a Red Sox cap. We talk about Tavares the famous 1970s group from Cape Verde and then Baseball and Steroids.

THe bartender was a bit younger than me and told me he was from Canada

"Vancouver well I'm from LA and Vancouver is just the West Coast of The Maple Leaf state! " I said jokingly

Mistake. He went livid.

"Oh come on I mean the best, I love Canada! I could live in Montreal!" Canada and America are two brother separated by taxes we need to realize this and work to creating more economic intergration like the EU.

"You guys are a bunch of conservative cowboys!" He told me

"Look we have Texas and you have Alberta and I can't tell which is in the gas tank" I retort

Despite the popular that we get oild from "Mid-East dictator Canada is where we get our largest share of oil imports

"Yeah well Canada is not an imperialist power invading the world " He accuses

"I'm pretty sure the Canadians are over there in Afghanistan homie and thousands of you jumped the border

went with us to Viet-Nam to fight communism"

He was flabergasted

"well at least we don't treat Marijuana like Cocaine"

"Well I can't speak for all 0f America on this one but I can assure you in California we are quite aware that

one has far more street value than the other...but whose your favorite hockey team? " I ask trying to

defuse the tension from my Canadian friend

"I am 'Habs fan.…” I begin to explain.

"Oh I don't watch Hockey" he tells me right before he tells me he doesn't speak French, doesn't like the cold and has spent the last 5 years of his life trying to avoid his national military service in Israel.

I’m not sure how Canadian this makes him but later he put him on some Johnny Cash and we sang away our tensions...though I was sure he would of choose Celine Deion.

Later I went and chatted with the Aussies before turning in for the night. Around 6 am three more ANZACs

came stumbling into the room.

I woke up late the next morning and by the time I made it to the Parliament building I was 10 minutes late

Filipino time. I knew he'd be on time, Coreans are always on time.

Sure enough he was there smoking a Malboro 100s.

“Sorry I’m late”

“No really I just got here maybe 5 mins”

We made it up the hill to the center divider in front of the Parliment and stood and waited for 11 am changing of the guard.

Around 10:50 we heard some noise coming from the direction of the Egyptian embassy.

We looked at the changing of the guard which on Sundays like in Spain is a big deal with a platoon

of men in blouses marching out to change guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

As the platoon came trotting out a group of stray dogs mixing in and out of the formation as they came to parade to dress

Stray dogs at the tomb of the unknown solider?

I turned to the former Korean soldier next to me.

"We wouldn't let these dogs in my ROTC formation"

"Yeah" he added after a pause

"Actually in Corea....some people would...catch these dogs and eat them"

I burst into laughter

"No, no I'm serious" He say without blinking….ok maybe that was the funniest joke he told me in the two days we were together.

Suddenly the two girls in front of us jumped off the center divider and raced toward the formation

the whole crowd surged forwad until the police stopped us.

We stood 20 feet away for 15 mins as they goose-stepped in and goosetepped out with dramatic arms. Then we walked back across the street as they played the Greek national athemn.

“Where now?” he asks

“the Betakai Islamic Art Museum.”

"Ok"

We walked several blocks off the tourst path through the flea market where dusty street corners could easily be Jordan or Syria. On blankets men sold everything old powertools to used trashy novels.

We reach the art museum, I didn't have a student ID card with a date on it. All I had was a willingness to swear by God that I was a student.

The guard waited to see if a Zeus lightining bolt would strike me down and then he let me in.

Perhaps he did so because we were the only ones in the whole museum. Another guard silently followed us from Room to room to make sure we didn't touch anything

I think now I have been to every sizeable collection of Islamic art the Pergermmon in Berlin, the LACMA, Malaysia, excepting anything in England I suppose.

The collections are always the same. Ceramics, Weaponry, Calligraphy, etc. To me the most interesting is always the textilles . For textitles to survive a thousand years is simply stunning. I have T-shirts which don’t last a thousand hours of use.

What is cool about this place is they let us take photos. We proceed on in silent I snap

The centerpiece of the collection is the rooms of a former Ottoman official in Cairo,

“This is what my room is going to look like in Cairo I tell, he smiles.

A room fit for a Pasha.

The roof has a view of the Acropolis and a Greek girl sipping a macchiato and talking on her cellphone.

We take some photos and go to Agora.

" Is this the Roman Agora or the Greek Agora?"

Last night we had also passed another Agora.

I'm not sure what an Agora is I finally tell him

The Agora I believe is the ancient marketplace and today it has been restored. It sits at the base of a temple admist other ruins.

The ruined streets aren’t worth a photo until I find the former speakers box. I'd like to imagine Homer here. Homer ofcourse wrote more epics(12) than we have today. My grandfather exposed me

to the Odyessy ofcourse. Many stories existed about Homer’s origins my grandfather told me. Perhaps he never existed or perhaps he was a wealthy priest.

"But, I'd like to believe " my grandfather would say with a twinkle in his eye "the story that Homer was a blind slave.”

I named a few possible destinations to my friend as we left

When I mention the war museum he tells me

" I like War"

So we go trudging off on the way I am mistaken for a Greek. This is the third time that has happened in Athens.

Every Korean man unless he wins an Olympic medal has to do national service in the military. Until recently

an exception Hienz Ward who is half-black half-Corean was super bowl MVP and this was embarrassing

so the law was changed.

My new friend was a combat engineer in the army.

"My job was to clear the mines for Abraham tanks" he explains proudly. Once apparently the Americans

were kind enough to let him fire an M2 Heavy machine gun.

I’m not sure how one clears mines in the middle of a war with North Korea but instantly

I imagined my new Corean friend (with an unusually large helmet thanks to his head) under fire from some malnourished Norks (North Koreans)

taking hellish fire as he runs to a fox hole flips a switch for Bangalore torpedoes and some explosions go off in front of him.

For a moment dirt flies in front of the camera and we can’t see anything.

My friend peers above his foxhole covered in mud, sweat and grime just to see some Americans blow by at 40 miles an hour in a big fucking shiny Abrahams tank. They flash my buddy a thumbs up and

tear off into combat with Norks.

"That's a pretty shit job I told him" The lunancy of this just seemed huge to me all this...Why would we need to blow

the mines any way couldn't we just

snipers, tanks, horse calvary, who needs this stuff lets just blow that up from the air? the future of warfare

is unmanned drones buzzing around the air blowing shit up right? I mean us Americans have been playing video

games for nothing right?

My grandfather Hammond though shared no such idealist hopes. "You'll always need the infantry." He assured me once. "You can bomb from the air but, you are always gonna have to have some grunts on the ground"

Greece has changed a lot since when my Grandparents were here and I don’t just mean you can now take a metro or the Olympics. Probably the biggest thing change is immigration.

Greece is the most multicultural today it has been since the Ottoman days…. at least in Athens.

Everywhere I look there are Filipino nurses and maids going to work on the metro, Arabs in the cafes,

Africans selling knockoff women’s hand bags, South Asian men selling toys and running kiosks.

***

The war museum was unfortunately bit of a hike on the other side of town practically near the first Olympic stadium

It closes on Sunday at 1400 hours ….errr.. I mean 2:00. We walked around a few tanks and cannons that were outside. Then we went back to Victoria Square via the metro for a final meal together.

I had a good time with him and we enjoyed a final Greek Gyro together.

*********

Greece reminded me more of Lebanon or Alexandria than Paris. I must admit

Still my trip brought up questions about the Cradle of Western civilization? Or do you need Athens and Jerusalem(Abrahamic monotheism) to get Western Civilization?

Or does Western Civilization and Eastern Civilization? Is Japan in Western Civilization? Is Russia?

Do we even need civilization? where does that leave us in a world like the one wee answers to these questions. ?

My grandfather taught me He loved Western Civilization and literature. Though I think he saw America as both different yet a part of that tradition he had a great experience with Japanese tradition and culture I can't imagine him falling for the whole "Clash of Civilzations" thesis.

These are the kind of deep questions I must save for another time.

All I know is that my grandfather, myself and Seo all have one thing in common: Baseball. If Baseball isn't civilization I don't know what is.

Why Learn Estonian

Why learn Estonian? It is the question I am asked the most here in Estonia.

The answer I think is pretty straight forward.

Estonia is going to face the predominate issues of the this century before the rest of the world.

Like much of the developed world Estonia’s population of 1.3 million is aging and aging fast.

They are also suffering with another issue brain drain as many of its best and brightest minds.

Are fleeing, marrying foreigners or spending countless hours glued to their computer screens

This is why Estonia has spent so much on Tartu University

Estonia also is in Europe but dangerously close to Russia which is unlikely to pull its act together.

Estonia has an immigrant question. The country has 25% Russian down a bit from the peak in the 1991

Though they are there a loud minority with a sense of entitlement and demanding linguistic and cultural rights?

What is to come of the Russian speaking Estonians? Will a solution be found ?

Estonians also seem to be reluctant capitalists. Twice while I was here shopkeepers and restaurant owners talked me out of a purchase. Telling me for example the same good could be purchased elsewhere cheaper. This is cute coming from a America the land of the hard-sell and from my experiences in the Arab world where the hustle never ends. Estonians need to grasp this entrepreneurial spirit.

Estonia has already made some of the hard choices that other Western democracies will have to face. It has privatized its pension system. It still has hard choices to make about immigration and perhaps trade. Estonia also has sought to digitize everything. It has e-government and e-lections. You can register a business here online in a couple of hours and you can even pay for parking downtown with a text-message. Wi-Fi is ubiquitous here and in downtown Tartu completely free. I hope this is the world’s future as well.

Estonia has other assets to. It’s environmental system is in great shape more a legacy of Soviet mismanagement more than anything else. Here in Europe you can still find moose, deers, bears and wolves, river otters and other animals that are scarce or rare elsewhere.

Estonians I do feel realize that a lot of these solutions will come from outside the government. The Estonians have a distaste for big government as a legacy of the Soviet system. The Finnish word for government is the way word in Estonian for mold. That is why Civil Society here is so strong. I think exemplified by the Songfest or perhaps the way Estonians wrote 20 comments on my friend Laura’s news stories merely hours after she posts them. Or the way the independence movement was dominated by three parties not one.

Currently Estonia is putting its faith in joining the Euro zone. I’m sure this wont magically solve all of Estonia problems though I do look forward to following Estonia and monitoring the choices it makes a task made all the easier by learning some Estee Kale.

Parimat!

Joseph Hammond 7-31-09

The American boy returns.

London,

The American boy returns. My trip into London Stansted after a brief layover in Dusseldorf from a flight in LAX. I’d love to tell you how long the flight took but, I’m really not sure as I slept through most of it.

Air Berlin(my carrier) was surprisingly comfortable, no TVs but comfy seats, a nice travel kit provided me with a satisfaction of service. The same cannot be said for Easy Jet.

I like London Stansted, other than the fact you have to take a tram to your terminal I quiet like the feel and efficiency of the place, not surprisingly it was built by the American air force in World War II.

After arriving in Stinted there really is only one choice into London: The Stansted Express. This line gets you into Liverpool station in 35-45 minutes. Once in Liverpool I met Enny almost immediately.

Me and Enny share many things probably most seriously a intellectual sense of adventure. It always takes a moment for us to adjust to each others accents. True Brit meets True Grit. Still in a moment we both understood the situation. We have no tickets, no reservation and were headed to Scotland for the weekend.

Oh did I mention are train left like 40 mins after I pulled into Liverpool Station.

So we rushed through the London Underground with all my luggage.

A moment later an incident occurred which also shows the contrast between the two of us. I found the platform we were looking for and jumped headlong onto the train there. “No Joe” she shouted and I leaped off holding my luggage. “ I don’t like the word Fast she says” I just charge forward all cylinders pumping, guns blazing….that’s how really great enterprises started well except for the War in Iraq.

Eventually we made it from Liverpool across town to Kings Cross and on a train to Scotland land of my ancestors and land of the future.

The train to Scotland was a whirlwind tour of the English countryside. To be honest I’m not entirely sure why so much of it is dived into small shares instead of massive plantation style farms like America. I assume if I had paid attention more during European History in High School I would have the answer or maybe the idioticy of the Corn Laws?

Scotland was gorgeous. The moment I stepped off the train I felt at home it was truly a homecoming.

Scotland is real I know real because I come from the fakest place on earth: California. California is so fake and for me fake is home. All I need to get Cali is throw on the stunner shades, walk the walk, blast the jams and play on the cellphone. Luckily these are things one can do almost anywhere. So if you ever see some guy walking. If New York is the city that never sleeps than Los Angeles is the city that never wakes up.

Thus I can appreciate something real like Scotland! Scotland filled me with emotion, The kind of excited feeling I feel when I first see my family after a long sojourn or the feeling I first felt when I first went to an FC Barcelona game. I was dancing in the moonlight and in the rain for a moment.

Even Edinburgh’s train station for me was the most beautiful than any in England because it was above ground and outside cars can drive practically up to the unloading cars. Because it is built at the bottom of a valley one must walk _up_ to get out of the station. Unfortunately it was raining so even though our hotel was a short walk away we took a cab to a parallel street so we could get there in a dry enough fashion.

We stayed at the Royal Overseas League which is a private club though for us they made a late night exception. The building was over a hundred years old and it possessed windows that by law could not be replaced in the UK. I’m sure this policy is very energy efficient.

Our room was very nice with three rooms and two beds a small plasma screen. Enny is a staunch anti-monarchists but the charm of the place even won her over. The next morinng two Mexicans were checking out from the same hotel. Could they Be Mexican monarchists? Maxamillians? I have often thought Mexico would have been better off with a royal family. Hey being a monarchy for a period turned out great for Brazil!!!

I came to Scotland equipped: cellphone, mp3 and camera. But, being a flashpacker had its draw backs as my camera and cell needed to be charged. Once it was charged we walked the (Scottish!) Royal Mile up to Edinburgh Castle

The Royal Mile is across the valley from our hotel in the New City in the Old City. The Old City boasted 11 story buildings when the rest of world was living in mere hovels.

Walking past these buildings you can’t help feel that this is the pride of Scotland, everyone knows (or at least anyone whose seen knows Scottie from Star Trek) that the Scots are the best Engineers in the world, we never hesitate to drop it like its (James) Watt….and other ridiculous nationalist ideas filled my mind.

Edinburgh Castle was only recently given back to Scotland from England barely 10 years ago, Just before they returned Hong Kong to China. The Castle is in another feat of Scottish engineering. Built on a rocky crag it has a commanding view and over looks valleys on either side. The castle is home to the Scottish Crown Jewels which were the highlight of the Castle’s attraction.

One of the more famous residents of the Castle is a famous cannon known as Mons Meg Cannon which is both a large medieval Cannon an overrated Scottish tourist attraction. It is not large at all and looks crude. Nor is the one-o-clock gun that is fired at one-o-clock anything special. A cannon that is special is the Portuguese cannon across Edinburgh which is far more interesting. This cannon is physical evidence of the worlds first wave of globalization which swept the world in the 1500s-1600s. At one time (before 1624) the cannon was mounted on a Portuguese trading vessel it subsequently fell into the hands of Burmese warlords who used it unsuccessfully in England’s brutal invasion. Captured the cannon is a true world traveler and was brought to Scotland. Before World War II it was one of several that were eventually melted down. Now it is a unique world traveler… I can sympathize.

From the top of the castle you can see all of Edinburgh stretched out before you and you can imagine for a moment what it must of felt like to be a Jacobite trying to storm the walls in 1715. The Jacobites wanted to restore the rule of the Stuarts to Scotland and were hostile to the Union acts of 1707 which made Scotland a part of the United Kingdom. Jacobites almost won that battle and a generation later in 1746 the Jacobites tried one more time to free Scotland. Resulting in the last battle fought in Britain. In the Battle of Culloden proud Highlanders with claymores and axes were cut down by redcoat musketry.

After which the Highlanders were forbidden to own weapons or wear the kilts. Without weapons it is likely that the Scots could of still beat the English. Without Kilts though the Scottish were seriously hampered.

All silliness aside I like to think had I been around then I would of sided with the Jacobites and is interesting to speculate what would of happened had the English been defeated then. Would England deprived of Scottish manpower, ingenuity, and resources been able to create the British Empire???

Who can say?

Leaving Edinburgh Castle we walked downhill stopping briefly for a concoction of chocolate, banana and mint and to pen few letters. More importantly I had my first Iron Bru!!! The official energy drink of Scotland made right on the Grill!!!

We eventually resumed our walk and came to the end of Royal Street which runs into the Scottish Parliament. We got the opportunity to walk into the chambers though the Scottish Parliament was not in session.

The current Scottish parliament building was designed by a Catalan designer and has a grace and design fitting of any nation in the world. The ruling party in Scotland today is the Scottish National Party which wants repeal the Union acts which made Scotland a part of England in 1707.

The people of Scotland ( and there numbers are growing) are tired of sending taxes to Westminster, tired of seeing Scotland’s youth sent off in foolish wars, tired of being the site for Scotland’s nuclear weapons program and tired of other policies deemed harmful to Scotland, the SNP also hopes to cash in on North Sea Oil to turn Scotland into a second Norway

Before leaving I offered a supplication for Scotland. After leaving we took an irregular route across the valley to Carlton Hill and enjoyed the views of the city, the harbor, and the castle. There is a few ruins on the hill of half completed structures and also a monument to Nelson. Of course there is also the Portuguese cannon.

It was time for a quick meal before our train ride back to London so it was a quick walk across Edinburgh back up Royal Street to a Iranian Kurdish place for some Kurdish Kebab and impressive balcony view of the ancient Scottish streets

Athens of the North and has a cerebral feel like San Francisco or Boston. One can easily imagine Adam Smith penning the Wealth of Nations or some other tract here,

Reluctantly I boarded a train. Enny gifted me an issue of the Economist and a Scottish one pound note. Both will help me with many an argument about economics. It is to complicated to get into here but Scotland retains the right to print its own currency and as a result a few Scottish banks produce there own Scottish notes. Which is approaching the value I bought it at it.

For many Kings Cross is the station associated with the film Harry Potter. For me “Kings X “ is associated with the film The Bank Job. Inside my Kings Cross is the tiny stowed luggage office on the left hand side where one can find a full-sized stuffed White Tiger. The Tiger was left there a year ago by someone in left luggage and never claimed. While seeing the tiger brings me with joy there can only be saddness behind its story. I can only imagine the saddness behind this sad coincidence. Who abandons a giant White Tiger? I know I never would.

I discovered the White Tiger in September and was elated to see he was still there ten months later. Apparently now the Tiger has taken on a life of its own and has gotten media coverage in at least one local paper.

After Kings Cross we tried to find a place to play table football. Enny and I have an uncompleted game going which started on Cocacabana Beach in Bolivia on lake Titicaca. There one can find free foosball tables but one must bring his own ball if he hopes to play. We didn’t have one but we found a stone which Enny scored on me and it was time to go.

The game remains in progress as we did not get a chance to finish that night either and turned in early after the greatest chicken sandwich I have ever had.

It all ended to soon and the next morning we made a mad dash to go all the way back to Kings Cross and then catch a train to Stansted Airport and onward to Estonia.

Yay for solo travelers! I get the whole row to myself! Since I'm flying to Germany(3rd time) I just gone done listening to 99 balloons. I think I'm the

only non German on this flight. I wonder if there are any Germans from Mochenglabach my old town

I am an Inland Empire Imperialist

With educational, familial ties, professional, and other ties to the Inland Empire I think I have to face the fact that I'm as much a Inland Empire-er or as I prefer and Inland "Imperialist" as much as I am anything else.

This summer at the CSU San Bernadino Arabic Program I was a T.A (or in Arabic Musahid) which allowed me to renew my connections to the Inland Empire. Not only did I learn a lot but, I meant a lot of great people who gave me new memmories.

My crazy roommates Ahmed, Mika, and Naji, deep discussions with Greg and Nathan, inciting

a lynch mob mentality with Vlad, playing touch Rugby, practicing my Jordanian colloquial with Nova, the high schoolers, cooking with Samia, taking the kids on the electrical cart around campus, which I was not legally allowed to drive and so on. The only thing I can't stand is dance class.

The Famous Grape Song

I'd love for this to be my ringtone. This is a famous Egyptian song which unlike most songs says nothing of love, dancing, etc. No this one is simply about good old fashion grapes....The song's chorous names them "Green....Red"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWJumMXwl_o

I'm in San Bernadino chest deep in a pool staring at the San Bernadino Mountain. Resting in the water looking up at the mountains rather I associate this with the Middle East. In Jordan I vividly recall sitting in a pool by the dead sea(which quiete frankly I was bored of in 5 mins) staring at the mountains of Jordan behind me and those of Israel across the Dead Sea. I also enjoyed looking up at massive mountains a mile or so away. Fills me with awe.d a similar view in Egypt both on the Sinai pennisula and in the Siwa oasis. For some reason sitting in a pool, oasis or sea with most of my torso submerged brings me to peace with the world.

part Bob Denard and part Yves Saint Laurent

. thought this site was funny if you enjoy political jokes:

http://www.frenchmercenaries.com/

Wait listed at the Sorbonne

Just heard back that I'm officially wait listed at the Sorbonne! For me its just an honor to get this far and my Tunisian roommate says I should have a big party if I do get it in. If I get accepted I will definetly be moving and this will lead me from my nomadic lifestyle into a more sedentary mode...hakuna mata! this ofcourse would eventually happen to me anyway

Current location: San Bernadino

Blog starts now

This is the Remix........

Visit to Grandmother invokes thoughts of my Grandfather

What does one bring to visit a 98 year old woman? Well if that woman is your grandmother

you bring some music because its going to be a long drive out into the desert to see her.

Despite being the matron of the family and I rarely see her because she lives so far
Now though since I was in San Bernadino for the time being I figured it would
be a perfect time to come and see her. She lives less than an hour away.

The drive down remined me how much this part of California, the Inland
Empire reminds me of Palestine. The hills and visibility are oddly comparable.
The fact that many hills are dotted with large crosses makes this seem even

more like the biblical land of Jesus.

I finally arrive at her retirement community and sign-in. Soon I open the door to her apartament. I try on Grandpa's cowboy hat. The day it finally fit me filled me with pride.

Then I call out to her and she is thrilled to see me and we discussed my summer plans as I gave her a copy of one of my recent articles and I got out a map to show her where I was going.

In true grandmother fashion not one mention of danger escaped her lips though she must be thinking it. She just tells me how great of an adventure I was going to have.

I will be staying two days in Athens and this reminded my Grandmother of when she had been to Athens in April 1967 when the Coup happended. My Grandmother and Grandfather both traveled extensively later in life. Even my mind wasn't sharp enough to remember the year that she plucked out of thin air. For a momment her perenial smile disappeared as she recalled being frightended as men with guns stoped and searched buses and the ghost-town

like feel the city of Plate and Scorates held that spring of 1967.

I'm jealous of her. I've never been in coup, the closest I got was visiting Thailand
a few months after they overthrew the cruel rule of Prime Minister Thaksin who

is now on the lamb causing mischief with a Nicarguan passport.

After lunch I took my Grandmother to the bank. This simple routine left her visibly retired
so we returned to her house. I help myself to a tiny can of apple juice and pick up a few Japanese antiques. This is a big mistake as she suddenly tries to get me to label the antiques I want after she passes. Like I always I brush this aside.

Luckily the talk of Japan stirs a memmory in my grandma and she pulls out (with some effort)
a postcard I sent her from Japan 5 years prior. In it I speak of my Grandfather who was
a translator of Japanese and at one point Senior Allied translator for Fukuoka, Japan and even

exchanged salutes with Gen. Dougals MacArthur, a childhood hero of mine for his role in the liberation of the Philippines.

On my way home I pass by the national cemetary where my Grandfather is buried. Instinctually I turn off the highway and pay a visit to his grave before turning home.

An American Hero passes:

Read this in the obit on the passing of Col. Kenneth Reusser , what struck me was how different his story totally seemed almost completely out of sync with the stories we had been reading over the past few days about Farach Fawcet, Micheal Jackson, and Alexis Arguello. One little bit really snagged me though something I didn't know pure physics would allow and it really drove home what makes an American Hero:

“In 1945, while based in Okinawa, he stripped down his F4U-4 Corsair fighter and intercepted a Japanese observation plane at a high altitude. When his guns froze, he flew his fighter into the observation plane, hacking off its tail with his propeller."

'nough said