cdymek's Blog!

Just a quick entry to say that yes, I am in fact still alive. Happy days, happy days to all! Oh, and the Paris photos are online now!

Wow! Hard to believe a week has gone by since I last posted any entries. Last Thursday was incredibly busy, with preparations for Paris. And then I *gasp* didn’t have Internet access for the entire trip, and now I’m finally caught up enough to post entries on the trip. That’s my excuse, anyway, and I’m sticking to it!

In other, more amusing news, a columnist on Slate has announced the NRA Weasel Watch! Does the NRA support the weapons ban in Iraq? And the author brings up a very solid point–it appears so many citizens had weapons, yet Saddam still had power. I thought one of the arguments against such bans was, to quote Homer, to keep the king of England from being able to “just walk in here anytime he wants and start shoving you around?”

Note: This entry has been created from notes and memories while on the trip.

A late start to my last day in Paris began with a trip out to Versailles. If you ever want to find an example of unparalleled wealth, go here. The walk up the cobblestone plaza to the entrance will leave you feeling small and insgnificant. The tour through the apartments, with the artwork commissioned and displayed by the occupants, the murals across the ceilings and the remanents of the furniture all overwhelm with their oppulance. Though far from at its best, as it turns out much of the silver and gold funiture was used to fund several military campaigns in the 18th centry, it demonstrates the overbearing and almost oppressive wealth that the ruling class had. No wonder the French Revolution occurred.

The gardens were truly the highlight of the visit. The views of the former hunting grounds, the Grand Canals, and the myriads of fountains, statues, hedges trees and flower gardens all provide an idea of how magnificent the palace must have been during its heydays. Though tourists roamed nearly every inch of it, it still took on a peaceful quality, and for the most part seemed more than able to absorb them without noticing too much (except along the main “street”). The photos are worth more than any description I could provide.

A too-late return to Paris kept me from doing more than wandering the streets, taking in the sights and smells of the city. Some last-minute tourist shopping, eating, and people-watching filled the final moments of the day, with an eventual return to the hotel and a night of rest.

The next morning brough a measured rush of packing, trains to the airport, security screenings, airline food, more security screenings, and an eventual 9 PM arrival in to Newark. After a painful drive home, bed and a return to “normalcy” awaited.

All in all, a very promising first visit to Europe, and one that will no doubt be followed by more.

Note: This entry has been created from notes and memories while on the trip.

CNN Europe is hands-down a better production than the CNN packaged for US consumption. The anchors and commentary are more than willing to critize the US, write off ideas as half-baked, or otherwise couch their language in the same decorum and politesse. And, after watching the weather reports every half-hour or so, it is obvious how much more aware Europeans are of other parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East and Africa. Cities feature run from London and Paris to Moscow to Ankara and Cairo. And those commercials for Egyptian tourism have really touched me deeply. Show me the mummy!

Today was packed with the major tourist sites. I started with the Louvre, despite a late rising. The collections of the museum are, in a word, vast, and I took the guidebook advice of preselecting those wings I wanted to visit. The Egyptian wing, consisiting of portions of two floors of one wing, contained a phenomenal number of vases, pottery, scrolls, and assorted items, along with larger sculptures and an entire room filled with tombs. There was also a preserved body (still wrapped, so Quebec wins top gory honors here) on display in one of the columns. Not that I really needed to view another.

The French paintings of the 17th through mid-19th centuries were also on display, and were a wing I enjoyed. The audioguide provided fascinating background detail in to many of the paintings, with descriptions of the artists’ lives and potential motiviations behind the works. Of course, I did also see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo statues before heading off to l’Arc de Triomphe (after getting lost several times on my way out, of course).

The walk, it turned out, was further than anticipated, so by the time I had reached it I was both tired and hungry. The Arc itself is little more than a giant concrete structure, in the center of a busy intersection, along a highly commercialized stretch of road. For a fee, you can climb to the top, though both the tower tour at Notre Dame and the tour d’Eiffel offer better views. Or at least I imagine they would, since I declined to pay.

Using the metro, I caught a train over to the Eiffel tower, where I made it up to the second level (the lines for the third-level elevator were simply too long). The views here were sensational, with a view of l’Hopital des Invalides off to one side with the nearby gardens and an overall view of the city below. It is in fact noticeable how few tall buildings exist in Paris. Relatively few reach above five stories, speaking volumes about how old in fact many buildings must be. This has helped preserve the historical architecture of the city while ensuring that no overwhelming sense of claustrophobia sets in from the height of the buildings, like New York City often provides.

The evening commenced with dinner at a fairly nice (and slightly pricey) restuarant, and some additional meandering through gardens and streets on my way back to the hotel. All in all, a a solid day of sightseeing.

Note: This entry is being entered post-trip from notes taken.

Yesterday (I think) afternoon, I arrived in Paris for my first visit to France, and in fact to any European country. Jetlagged, weighted down by exhaustion, and looking forward to a short nap, I stumbled to the taxi stand, and $45 Euros later I was at the Hotel Minerve.

Despite having the smallest shower I have ever used (I could barely turn around without hitting either the glass or the plubming fixture), the hotel was both well-located (about three blocks from Notre Dame, in the Latin Quarter) and well-maintained. The staff was cordial and spoke English (a definite plus, as I have long forgotten most of the French language instruction I received).

The evening of my arrival, after waking from a much-needed nap, I headed out to explore the area. I found Notre Dame without too much difficulty, and found myself impressed by the height and age of the structure, as well as the beauty of the sculpture that adorned it.

Sunday morning, I did return here as part of the beginning of my explorations. I climbed the many steps to the top of the tower, where I saw the bells of the tower and had some wonderful views of the city. After completion of the tour, I also went inside to view the stained glass windows and the paintings and sculpture on display. Absolutely breathtaking, which was, in a way, a common refrain on the trip. I was also amused by being asked by two American women if I was British, which I always appreciate. After all, who hates the British (except as a roundabout way of hating Americans, that is)?

A visit to the nearby Centre Pompidou was in order, in part to view the odd archiecture of the building (the “insides” were placed on the “outsides” to provide additional exhibition space). The building itself was, if not grotesque, highly unusual, but the permanent galleries only served to reinforce my extreme distaste of modern art. If a patented shade of blue is considered high art, then I’ll do without, and if it’s a joke, I don’t find it particularly funny. All told, two things surrounding mainstream art have left me happy–photography and architecture. “Modern art”, though, I only find absurd.

The streets near the Centre Pomidou contain the Forum des Halles, which had some beautiful gardens as well as an undergound shopping area I didn’t visit. After purchasing a baguette for breakfast, it was off to dinner and then back to the hotel.

One last aspect that has made this trip even better. It turns out that the sun doesn’t set until after 10 PM. This has made it even easier to stay out late and enjoy the city and the fantastic weather.

Just a quick question, how can someone both graduate with their class and be expelled at the same time?

School board attorney Lawrence Weiner said they would be expelled but the school would freeze their grades at their previous levels instead of automatically flunking them.

“They’ll graduate with their class,” he said.

According to one definition, expelled is to deprive someone of membership. So, if you deprive the students of membership, they shouldn’t be able to graduate with their class. Therefore, they can’t truly be expelled in this case or they can’t graduate with their class. The deal, from a logical point of view, makes no sense.

Well, I’m relieved. Rather than the Pentagon having “Total Information Awareness” by collecting reams of data on everyone, everywhere, it’s now called “Terrorism Information Awareness”. Good thing they got the rebranding campaign out there.

Of course, if they would only change some of the guidelines, such as this fantastic oversight component.

The Secretary of Defense will, as an integral part of oversight of TIA research and development, continue to assess emerging potential privacy and civil liberties impacts through an oversight board composed of senior representatives from DoD and the Intelligence Community, and chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics). The Secretary of Defense will also receive advice on legal and policy issues, including privacy, posed by TIA research and development from a Federal Advisory Committee composed of outside experts. (p. ES-5)

So, good old Rummie is the guy in charge of determining whether American civil liberties are protected? Maybe that’s why I couldn’t sleep Sunday night…

This week’s BusinessWeek editorial is on the frightening topic of media consolidation and how a handful of large oligoplies control most of what people read, see, and hear. Though the web has provided an outlet for independent publishing (lots of frantic hand-waving here!), a handful of large corporations also control what people see on the web. And, in truth, many of these sites are owned by the same media conglomerates who dominate the movie, music, print and television industries. Merely adding a new distribution channel doesn’t guarantee diversity of opinion if it is dominated by the same players as all the other channels.

Broadcast networks and the conglomerates that own them say nothing less than free TV is at stake in the FCC’s decision. They argue that cable is drawing away their audiences and cutting into revenues. Buying more TV and radio stations and newspapers would pump up profits and save free TV.

It would certainly pump up their profits. And all that would be left of “free TV” would be NABCS and FOX. Oh, and who could forget UPN 9?

The FCC should listen to the voice of the people.

Now what station are they on…? I can’t seem to get any reception…

In what appears to be an amazing coincidence, Slate’s Well Traveled” column is currently visiting Paris. Talk about fantastic timing!

While the falling dollar may be welcome news, one aspect that is often overlooked is the relationship with China.

Even with the steep decline of the dollar, though, not all import prices are headed higher — and not all of the U.S.’s trade problems will be resolved. In part, that’s because the dollar’s fall has been uneven and mostly concentrated against the euro. Asian nations have acted to prevent their currencies from appreciating against the greenback. Japan sold $20.5 billion worth of yen in the first quarter in a move that limited the dollar’s slide. And China, whose first-quarter trade surplus in goods with the U.S. soared from $7 billion in 1996 to $25 billion today — giving it the world’s biggest surplus with the U.S. — has kept its carefully controlled currency steady against the dollar. That means there’s no pressure on China to raise the prices of its exports. And if those prices don’t rise, there’s no reason to believe U.S. buyers will cut back on their purchases of Chinese goods or that the trade surplus will diminish.

While there is a clear benefit to having increased overseas profits, especially in Europe, the benefits of a weaker dollar will be mitigated considerably by the yuan-dollar peg.

So, you don’t have to hurry out to pick up your new electronics gear, because prices aren’t getting any more expensive… Too bad for tech.