merci.
Europe trip 2009 – a belated accounting
This will be in a few parts, depending on how much typing I'm up for. The overview is that it's Sondra & my 25th anniversary, and we decided that since she would be in Europe teaching at UNO's International Summer School in Innsbruck, perhaps we should go early and do the tourist thing. So, I set up the trip, or at least the first half – figuring that we'd make it up as we went. This is what we did:
On June 13, Sondra left for Hong Kong, as she had a paper to present at a conference there. Outside of some adventures leaving Hong Kong, it went pretty well. She went from there to Moscow to visit with some folks there whom she had stayed with when doing her doctoral research, and went on to Munich on the 26th. In the meantime, I left NOLA on the 23rd of June, arriving in Munich a bit after noon on the 24th. I had arranged for a room in Erding (one of Munich's suburbs) on the grounds that it was the closest thing to the airport under 100 euros a night. I took the bus to Erding, picked up a couple of baked goodies from the local bakery and then took a cab out to the gasthouse (not cheap). The instructions for checking in said to get the key from the key safe, and warned that it might be a bit sticky. This was an understatement, but it worked eventually. I then checked in and promptly crashed until about 7:30. Then I got up and walked into Erding, a fairly rural brewing town with a thermal spring/spa. I wandered about a bit taking pictures, but was still pretty jet-lagged so I passed on getting a *real* dinner. So I went back (about 45 minute walk each way – which felt GREAT after being on a plane for 9 or so hours!) to the boarding house (picking up a couple of beers en route, and turned in for the night.
In the morning (the 25th – Sondra being due in at 5:50 at the airport), I walked back into town past the barley fields and the Knights of Malta chapterhouse (!), and picked up a pastry. I then took the S-bahn (surban rail) into Munich. I wandered around Marionplatz for a bit just gawking, then went over to the Hofbrau house for a light lunch. I saw quite a few Morris dancers in representation!
With my wurst-und-dunkleweissbier tucked in , I then took the S-bahn out to the town of Freising, to visit the Weihenstephaner brewery. They've been brewing under license since 1040, making them the oldest continuous brewery on the planet. They also make my favorite beer in the world, bar none.
The restaurant there also had one of the best soups I've ever had, a hot, creamy-foamy concoction with radishes which was perfect for the day. Their motto is Alteste brauerei der welt “Oldest brewery in the world”. True dat.
I wound up shopping a bit (duh) but didn't buy any beer as a) I was on foot, and b) we would be getting plenty to drink on this trip. Besides, I knew that the biergarten in Innsbruck serves Weihenstephaner, so it would be there for me in another week.
Interestingly enough, the University of Freising was the educational stomping ground of the current Pope. The University sits above the town proper, as does the Weihenstephan brewery – formerly monastery.
Lunch and shopping being over, I took the S-bahn to the airport to meet Sondra, via the Hauptbanhof in Munich by accident (because I can't read all the much German, and the first train was an express – which I did not twig on). I met her at customs, and we went and picked up the car. I had ararnged for a Volkswagon Golf, but they gave us an upgrade: a black Mercedes Benz A160 (one of their 8000-series). So we drove to Erding in style! We walked into thown (that walking after a long flight really is a wonderful thing!) and had a perfectly lovely dinner at the Erdinger Weissbierhof, and then walked back to the gasthouse, past the lindens and fields. And so to bed.
- Location:home
- Mood:
chipper - Music:not
Prytania Theatre
Thursday midnight
Watchmen
Word.
The first few days of the Obama administration have shown us what a huge difference a President can make—but the tough battles are still to come. On global warming, job creation, universal healthcare and other issues, our new president is going to need our help.
To support the social change we need, I've been taking actions online recently with a company called CREDO Mobile. CREDO is a mobile phone company just like AT&T or Verizon—except, unlike AT&T or Verizon, CREDO actually fights with us for progressive change. (Also unlike AT&T, CREDO didn't give money to McCain/Palin and Bush/Cheney, but that's another story.)
CREDO's a pretty great company - they give 1% of their revenues away to amazing non-profits like Doctors Without Borders, and they've given away over $60 million over the last twenty years. They also do progressive activism on issues like protecting the environment and working to end the war in Iraq.
I'm a CREDO customer myself, and I can tell you that not only do I agree with their values - I also love their service.
So why am I telling you about some phone company? Because they offered us a pretty sweet deal. Here's how it works:
If you sign up to be a CREDO customer, they'll cover the cancellation fee on your existing mobile contract and give you a free phone, plus they'll give me $100 for referring you. Pretty good, right? You can get all the details here: http://action.credomobile.com/tellyourfr
If you're ready to sign up, just do the following:
- First, call 1-877-76CREDO.
- Second, give them this special offer code: 800222
- Finally, let them know I sent you by giving them my personalized coupon code FVLPD
Thanks for reading, and I'll talk to you soon!
A Wolf-Knapp
What is Repeal Day?
The turn of the twentieth century was a dark time in America. The Women's Christian Temperance Union, which had been promoting Prohibition for many years, believed alcohol was the cause of many, if not all, social ills. Mistruths like this were spread. Lines were drawn. Bars and taverns were vandalized. People were killed. On January 16th, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act, outlawing alcohol and ostensibly putting an end to drunkenness, crime, mental illness, and poverty.
Ironically, America's thirst for alcohol increased during Prohibition, and organized crime rose up to replace formerly legal methods of production and distribution. While proponents of Prohibition argued that the amendment would be more effective if enforcement were increased, respect for the law diminished and drunkenness, crime and resentment towards the federal government ran rampant.
Over the course of the next thirteen years, support for Prohibition waned as the nation awoke to the widespread problems Prohibition had caused. The number of repeal organizations — many of which were comprised of former Prohibitionists — increased, and in 1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt ran for President on a platform that included the repeal of Prohibition.
On December 5th, 1933, Utah, the final state needed for a three quarters majority, ratified the 21st Amendment, repealing Prohibition and restoring the American right to a celebratory drink. While the amendment still allowed for state and local levels of Prohibition, by 1966 there were no state laws banning alcohol.
Why Do We Celebrate?
Repeal Day is not widely celebrated in this country, yet it commemorates the anniversary of the day the United States repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and gave Americans the constitutional ability to consume alcohol.
Here are a few reasons why we think Repeal Day should be a celebrated day in the United States:
It's the perfect time of year.
Conveniently located halfway between Thanksgiving and Christmas — at a time when most Americans are probably not spending time with family — Repeal Day presents a wonderful occasion to get together with friends and pay tribute to our constitutional rights.
We have the constitutional ability to do so.
Unlike St. Patrick's Day or Cinco de Mayo, Repeal Day is a day that all Americans have a part in observing, because it's written in our Constitution. No other holiday celebrates the laws that guarantee our rights, and Repeal Day has everything to do with our personal pleasures.
It's easy!
There are no outfits to buy, costumes to rent, rivers to dye green. Simply celebrate the day by stopping by your local bar, tavern, saloon, winery, distillery, or brewhouse and having a drink. Pick up a six-pack on your way home from work. Split a bottle of wine with a loved one. Buy a shot for a stranger. Just do it because you can.
Thanks for reading about what we hope will become a celebrated day in this country. Please help spread the word about Repeal Day, and tell a friend.
Cheers!
The 18th Amendment
Ratified January 16, 1919
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
The 21st Amendment
Ratified December 5, 1933
Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use there in of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Email us at info@repealday.org.
Site created by Jeffrey Morgenthaler. Click here for the ongoing story of Repeal Day.
Remember - the first drink of the day (or the party - whichever) should be non-alcoholic, in rememberance of the time when we could not commercially partake of alcohol. Even though nonne of us is old enough to remember this time from personal experience, the lesson of the period should not be lost.
To wit: Rights, like muscles, atrophy if unused. Exercise your rights - keep'em healthy!
- Location:hme
- Mood: chipper
- Music:none
| You Are 68% Evil |
 Those who love you probably also fear you. A lot. |
Commander's reopened on Saturday for dinner with a limited menu, as a) not all of our purveyors were up and running, and b) we didn't want to get too much food prepared as we didn't know what Ike was up to. Now it looks like Ike will be tearing the Texas coast apart rather than us, so we should be back to normal on that front shortly. Sondra's classes started back up on Monday, so *that's* back to normal. And my dentist wants me to come in today rather than Friday, so *that's* back to normal.
So, things are getting back to where they usually are, if not where we'd necessarily like them to be.
On the other hand, hurricane season goes to December 1.
Keep yer fingers crossed!
- Mood:
anxious
And then we may have to do it all over again in another couple of weeks.
Sondra, your flight on Monday (USAir 1453 from Charlotte to NOLA has been cancelled. USAir's number is 800-883-1027; you should give them a call...
So today I'll be packing up things, taking down the porch decorative lights, taking in the grill, the chairs and the trees (although I might leave them out for an other day or so - they do love it outdoors).
Don't know if I'll be evacuating or not yet. That's really up to Gustav.
- Location:home
- Mood: anxious
- Music:not at the moment
Oh.
My.
God.
If you caught it, you know why I'll be voting for the man in November. If you didn't catch it, catch it now.
When he called for an end to our dependence on foreign oil within 10 years, my first thought was "He's just called the moonshot". (JFK called for us to put a man on the moon in 10 years when he was running for the office, and was widely derided an delusional for it - but we made it happen.)
It's called leadership and vision - we need a bit of that these days.
- Location:home with coffee
- Mood:
bouncy - Music:nah - just NPR in the background
Wow!
We danced in the doorway for a bit and then went in for a couple of drinks and more dancing inside - eat your hearts out, those of y'all in NYC! Good Lord, they're good!
We've gone native - two (count 'em!) venues for dancing in the same evening!
SO: this Friday night starting at 6:30 p.m., St. Louis Slim is playing at d.b.a. and we will be there to dance the night away. We caught him last week at Rock 'n Bowl and you don't want to miss this - really! Trust me on this - I'll personally refund your admission money if you show up and don't feel similarly!
- Location:home
- Mood: rejuvenated
- Music:not at the moment
> Had more dental work this morning (prep work for a *pair* of molar crowns) and half of my mouth and tongue are numb
> Being a bit dehydrated - and thus a bit stupid
>Trying to figure out how to deal with the Woman Warrior's anxieties concerning long-term employment for her, since my role seems to be Listener And Sympathizer ONLY, dammit
>Spending too much time online while trying to ignore the needed house cleaning
>Being annoyed with myself for feeling bored/bitchy about it all,
Feh.
Marrus - you up for dancing at Rock 'n Bowl tomorrow?
- Location:home
- Mood:
annoyed - Music:not at the moment
We're having dinner at Peristyle tonight. Peristyle is a French NOLA restaurant, rather than a Creole one, but they're going out of business afterf tomorrow dinner. So, last chances and all of that. Dancing in the Marigny afterward is called for. Unfortunately, Washboard Chaz is touring Italy (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) at the moment, and so is *not* in town with the N.O. Jazz Vipers tonight. We'll just have to make do.
God help me, I'm getting into the Charleston.
- Location:home
- Mood:
mischievous - Music:not at the moment
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