france – Page 12 – Citizen Reporter

Ending Moments

*post delayed because blogger is always skrewed up lately*

You know that feeling where you’re somewhere, with a certain group of people for one of the last times, and you think “this is one of the greatest times in my life.” My last 5 years have been a giant collection of those, from way back – walking home at dawn, on our last night in France, with my Polish and Jersean comrads after another night of horrifying the ladies and offending the guys, or sitting in the “womb” in Haledon, NJ, listening to Nick Drake, with one of the finest human beings on this earth and D-Rock, to a pair of years ago sitting on the roof of my Lisbon nest playing horn, to the present – talking gibberish and singing Sinatra with my roomates here at the bicyclemark ranch. At each of these moments, like last night, I realize something great is coming to an end, and I tend to take a mental picture, for that scrapbook in my mind entitled “The best of times.”

The roomates are moving out, first the king of jogging goes – this sunday. And next month my darling miss piggy is moving in with her man. Thus leaving myself, ironically the soul non-dutch person, effectively on my own. Sure I will still sing Dean Martin and G.Love as I cook my fabulous dinners for one, but it won’t be the same without the accompanying dance steps and random shouting.

Then again, this also means a new sort of beginning, in this case, my new roomate from Salamanca. We happily speak Portug?ol – a nice mix of Portug?es and Espa?ol – and I’m not quite sure how to explain it, but there’s a familiar feeling/comfort hanging around with someone from the western side of the Iberian penninsula. He’s a mild mannered, charming dude; reminds me of me in 10 years, and I think we shall get along swimmingly. Perhaps we’ll even sing while we cook, but I doubt it.

Is it obvious that I’m steering the blog on a more personal course these days? It’s all part of my master plan friends… all part of the master plan. (clasps hands in Montgomery Burns style) Eeeexcellent.

Let’s talk comments for a moment. First of all, comments make the blogosphere go round! And if you disagree with that, then I dare you not to leave a dissenting comment. I spend hours reading blogs, at last count, 150 feeds in my bloglines. Half of those might be newspapers, but still, I make it my priority to not only read but also comment. It enhances the discussion on other blogs, and it stimulates some visits and comments back here on the communique. What do I mention this? Because some within my blog generation wonder what they should do to get more visitors to their blogs. Now you know one more way.

The other thing that I often speak of, that also increases your readers (potentially) is being syndicated via an RSS feed. Which is free and, like a broken record I remind you, revolutionary in terms of how the internet is used. Pretty soon my dinners and all my girlfriends will just come to me via RSS. Oh yes! Oh no. Maybe some advances are not so great, but for readin shit on the net, RSS is the best thing since powdered toast. It has come to my attention that some of you might want my help in setting that up. I may indeed be of assistance, but in return I ask that you take a little glance at ye Wish List or ye Paypal (also in the sidebar) and consider giving bicyclemark a little token of thanks. I’m especially fond of the “I’m So Going to Blog This” stickers.

Today’s Sounds: Rickie Lee Jones – The Evening of My Day

Trains,World Order, and Moms

Part of the reason I am such an avid blog reader is simply the fantastic quality of writers presently populating the blogosphere. Some being extremely popular and others seemingly only read by a handful, either way – truly talented and all-around-fun people. In this case I wanted to refer to two such beings who’s recent posts were especially an adventure and a pleasure to read.

First comes Tony Pierce+Busblog’s tribute to his mother on her birthday. Like him, I will someday lay out a huge thank you and tribute to my mother, not mention my father as well, for being the incredible people that they are, and helping me get where I am. (where am I?) But nevermind me, his post is fantastic, not to mention the timeless photos, and I’m sure all of us Busblog readers will be referring to it throughout the blogosphere.

Now I also wanted to point out another insane-genius who does not get as much press: No Coins. This week’s recounting of his city-to-shore MS Bike ride from Jersey to Philly was funnier than funny. I’m not only entertained by his madness, it makes me wish I was there! Now that’s good writing, ain’t it? (by the way, I’m leading the campaign to bring ain’t officially into MY English language cause it adds style and flows well)

The AGV That being said, climb aboard won’t you, because it’s time once again to talk trains. Now I heart trains, they rank just below bicycles on the “transport that best represents me” list. I love looking at trains, riding in them, and picturing future trains. So needless to say I’ve been reading every little article in today’s FT special on the rail industry. Here are my favorite details so far:

– You thought TGV was hip? Or maybe I did. Well, Alstom has developed the AGV (Automatrice ? Grande Vitesse) which has distributed power and will pull into a station like a warm summer’s breeze baby. Maybe minus the baby.

– The ICE-3 (Aka: Velaro), which can be found in Germany and I swear I’ve seen it in the Netherlands, is a stylish but pricey little serpent. It’s about time I head to central station and hop on one of those. I should also by a ticket beforehand to ensure a comfy and legal ride.

– Automated, Driver-less metros are getting more popular. Paris’s line 14 is what the FT talks about. The first one of these I was ever on was in Lyon, France back in 2000. While I was disappointed that there was no driver (and a bit scared) but I must admit there’s nothing quite like that view sitting right up in the front.

We could, of course, talk a bit about rail travel in North America, but I was hoping to go out on a positive note. So instead I’ll refer to the guy who found a memory card in a taxi and is now creating a story for each picture. Amazingly odd. I just noticed the blog has suddenly been stopped, I wonder if the owner found the photos and got pissed. I would definitely feel a bit violated… but also highly entertained.

Today’s Music: Coheed & Cambria – Delirium Trigger (I’m addicted to Coheed)

Overdramatic

To some extent, it is great not to be in the US on Sept. 11th. I say this because sometimes the desire to remember and reflect is completely overdone and beaten to death via a tacky Newspaper Editorial or political speech. Here in the NL people seem to just go about their business. I suggested to a lovely Turkish student that today is a good day to be a little quieter and pensive, she gave me the interesting response “If we were going to be reflective and depressed on every day that corresponds with a past tragedy, we would have no normals days left.” Of course, for me this one is special due to its proximity to me, like so many people out there. So today I offer some memories of my Sept. 11, 2001. In doing so, I mean to organize my thoughts, get them out on paper, and remember the bad as well as some good moments on that day.

That Morning:

It was one month since getting my bachelors, things in my life were foggy, as happens to most recent grads. I had just returned from Portugal and was working in NYC for Glorious Foods, one of the hippest catering gigs in town. On Sept. 10th I had been working in Manhattan… a posh dinner in a bubble-tent at the Morgan Library. I remember great conversations with my co-workers from Germany and Russia about travel plans and live questions. I worked til late, and commuted via 33rd St. PATH train and then car back to my residence in my home town, Union, NJ. I was working that next night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or something like that, so I had big plans for sleeping in on that morning.

As I was trying to sleep in.. at around nine o’clock I remember my clock radio switched on, I had left it set accidentally. It was a traffic report:

“All bridges are closed. Tunnels are closed as well. The City is effectively closed, no one should try to get in and getting out is also not possible at this moment.”

Tired Reflex I hit the snooze. In my half-awake mind I thought “Must be some anti-terrorism exercise.”

Then I remember the phone ringing. Sometimes I don’t even pick up when I want to sleep, but on this day I did. The voice on the other side was loud, blunt, and hurried: (this is as best I can remember)

DROCK: “DUDE, What are you doing?”

BM: “Sleeping man… still sleeping why?”

DROCK (working in DC): “TURN ON THE TV… You haven’t heard?”

BM: “I heard they’re doing something in the city, but no.. I worked late and..”

DROCK: “Just turn on the Fuckin TV… the Towers have been hit… and something happened here too. I probably have to evacuate this place soon. SHIT. OK.. I gotta go.. call you when I can.”

BM: “What? Oh.. OK..”

I switched on the TV and watched. The second tower had just been hit. At that point I didn’t want to get all crazy and rush to judgement, I thought “maybe it’s just a fire… they’ll put it out.” Then I heard about the DC news… the Pentagon (a building I hate normally) and they reported that the “Mall is on fire”.. whatever that means. It all sounded like chaos and hysteria. I was stunned. I looked out my New Jersey window and could see the darkness in the sky… it was still recent.. hadn’t smothered the entire island yet, as it later would for days. Phone rings again:

Mom at work: “Mark… have you seen?”

BM: “Hi mom.. yes. DRock just called.. he says theres things happening in DC… he was in a hurry… I’m not sure…”

Mom: “OK. The kids are going crazy. You can see Manhattan from the Gym windows, and some are crying, others are just confused. Lots of parents work in that area. I can’t believe this.”

BM: “Yes.. wasn’t ____ on a plane to San Fran today?”

Mom: “I don’t know… I think it was much earlier. What else have they said about this, because we’re not getting much information here?”

I summarized what I had learned and seen in my half-hour of awakenness.

As a reflex.. despite a bad break..I called ex-girlfriend. She was there. We shared our shock.. comforted a bit.. and proceeded to start calling more loved ones.

I remembered A-L. A-L… my fussball partner…the gal that made my time at the Village Voice so fun and exciting. She lived uptown. I wanted to speak with her. When I finally did get her she was fairly paniced. I won’t replay that conversation. But I just remember her need to walk around talking to people.. and inability to stay indoors.

Then the phonecalls started coming in:

Dad calls from work: Just checking in. I can’t remember much from that call.

Portugal – Grandma: Av? and Av? were worried that I was in Manhattan looking for work. They were terrified.

Boston – HJM calls: She wanted to make sure I wasn’t there. I hadn’t spoke to her in quite some time. Besides the horror of the day, I was so happy to speak with her.

At some point I spoke to BigDaddyJ, this part of my memory is fuzzy. I think I was becoming numb to these calls. Still I remember we spoke that morning.

I know at some point I spoke to IK… I had been thinking about him alot. Worried, because he is Turkish and his father owned a gas station. I had this huge fear for the safety of him and his family. I worried about the backlash. I knew there would be ignorant people with weapons running around. In fact later there were plenty of cases of hate-crimes, but IK and his family were ok.. and we spoke a couple of times that day.

The rest is more of the same. Phonecalls from people I hadn’t spoken with in years as well as people I see everyday. Everyone sort of checking in.. some fearing that I might have been there, others just wanting to talk. Later that night I remember “the boys” asking me, as the resident international affairs buff, questions about terrorism, Aghanistan, and as I recall “What is going on.. what has the US been doing that someone would do something like this to us?” I remember being impressed.. my non-political friends wanted information. They were hungry for facts. Many were, and perhaps unfortunately, they turned to television to get their soundbite information.

When the day finally came to an end, I did lots of writing. Looking at it now.. I was worried. Worried about those who had died and the families. Worried about the backlash against immigrants. And the one theme I kept fearing, was the irrational response. I worried about all the people on the earth who would die from bombs dropped in response to this terrible crime. Of course we’ve now seen how that came true.

And of course as I was sleeping… 4am.. a phonecall comes in – from France. It was the French family I had lived with and become so close with, they were worried about me, they wanted to ask about what I thought would happen next. They forgot there was a time difference.

So despite my distaste for lame Sept. 11th tributes, there it is. Most of my memories from that one day. Working the phones at the bicyclemark family farm just across the river from this massive cloud of despair.

My one wish from all this is that the war on terrorism, would stop going the way its going. Instead of attempting to hunt down and destroy terrorism, which is of course impossible, I wish humans would use their power to investigate WHY terrorism is happening. Who is being wronged… miseducated.. oppressed.. abused. Like addressing crime, you cannot simply try to catch every criminal, you must find out WHY crimes are being committed and address that problem.

Today’s Music: Shades Apart (Just found the CD under some books)

Toast, Wi-Fi, and Beirut

It seems as though Blonde But Buttery and I have these semi-daily chats where we conduct the blogosphere round-up. This whole week we’ve been working as co-group leaders for new students via the International Student Network, and I’m pretty sure our whole group thinks we’re either insane or the biggest internet nerds EVER. Despite the fact that we have a lovely collection of Spanish, German, Israeli, Canadian, American, Japanese, British, French, and Polish students, this is our third intro gig and we’re considering retirement. The parties have lost some of their luster, the routine is too routine, and shit – we’re workin’ folk. Still there’s so much to learn from these dynamic people who find their way over to Amsterdam academia.

Speaking of academia, ESchool had a post about Philly wanting to become the wi-fi capital of the US – having the largest wireless internet hotspot citywide. Now it sounds lovely in theory, and I admit that if it comes true I might have to make a pilgrimage there like a hippy to Woodstock. HOWEVER, It is hard to believe.

Only two years ago my little Plymouth Sundance was set ablaze overnight in South Philly, and suddenly the city has prioritized putting wi-fi everywhere? All I ask of you Philly, is that you first tackle the problem of random arson and say – violent crime, before (or at the same time as) you make everyone into a Netizen. I’m sure the kids will love it though, after a hard day of setting things on fire, jump on the web and learn about nuclear fission.

My dear friend, co-worker, and occasional musical partner Amy (she’s a celeb so I can call her by her real name) recently returned from a personal pilgrimage to Lebanon. Her stories and her photos have completely fascinated me, add to that a pair of wonderful Lebanese ladies that I befriended in the last months… suddenly I’m learning tidbits of history and culture. So I started flipping through the Daily Star, which I haven’t done since June. I have noticed in the last few days the news about France and the US pushing for Syria to pull its 20,000 troops out of Lebanon. They’ve been there since the end of the civil war that I believe started in the late 70’s til the early 90’s. Obviously this blogger is in favor of such a move, at long last. But I digress, the point was Lebanon seems like a beautiful and mystical place, and when I look at these photos I see scenes that remind me of Portugal. Guess it’s a Mediterranean thing.

I might ask Amy to guestblog a bit on her experience… yeah.. that would be fun.

Also next week I’ve decided to have a theme…. “South America.” Pretty broad, I know, but my each of my posts will have some element related to that part of the world, besides my usual verbage.

Today’s Music: Rancid – indestructible

Air Might Be Conditioned

Dripping… dripping sweat.. what a brilliant idea to make Lisbon bus-stops out of 100% clear glass. You’re waiting for the bus because it provides cooler scenery than the metro, and just via the act of waiting, you sweat profusely. Its hot.. dam hot… Africa hot.. “Tarzan couldn’t take this heat.” Several buses pull up at once, unfortunately most are the 1970 MAN model and rattle and cough as they wait for people to hop on. Like a gift from the heavens, one of the more modern Mercedes manufactured buses pulls up with the beautiful “Ar Condicionado” sign in the window. Get on that bus and the jokes on you.. in this case.. me. Sweating even more than before and forced to inhale the stink of my fellow passengers and the hot air pumping through the alleged air conditioning system. This is when Lisbon is just plain funny. Though at the moment, I had trouble laughing.

Relying mainly on British and French international TV news, I’ve been studying the situation in Darfur, Sudan carefully. Even careful study doesn’t make it any easier to understand. I keep asking myself how I want it handled, nevermind what the international community wants.

Basically I am in favor of intervention by a UN peace keeping force, led by the African Union. If this is not possible, I would accept it being led by France, since they are already present next door, in Chad. This force would act as a shield… an armed human shield with a mandate to do what is necessary to stop mass murder and genocide by either rebels or government forces. By force, I mean actual troops, and not the bombing or cruise missiling of Khartoum, which I would label the “Iraq method.”

Now the trouble with this case, is that both the Sudanese government and people seem dangerously opposed to any outsiders intervening, especially what they call the “west” . It seems possible that they would declare an all out war on any UN force that went in there… which would be terrible for both sides. And so I’m left asking myself once again, how would I handle this situation better? One thing for sure, something must be well thought out and done.

Obviously I’m ready to stop this vacation mode and get back to worrying about the world and Amsterdam life.

Today’s Music: Nina Simone – The Best of (found it in the apartment)

The Lance Dance

Lance is cool. The way he climbs a hill, crosses a finish line, shakes the Champaign bottle, or does an interview in French. Oddly enough, one of the biggest reasons I like him is that he’s an American, from Texas (I think.. right?).. yet he’s the king of the Tour de France, a very European competition — OK global really. To me, it’s a little like having the US soccer team win the world cup.. I think it would be nice. At any rate, he’s well on his way to winning his sixth tour.. which I think makes him a minor god. He comes across as extremely polite, modest, and worldly. And I’m enjoying watching him do it. On the other hand, I could understand how annoying it must be to cycling fans who want someone else to win.. nevermind those “other” cyclists. (note.. if you’re reading this blog for the first time, it is NOT usually about cycling at all!)

The SF Bay Guardian, one of my most favorite weeklies in the world, features a MUST READ story about the FCC and media consolidation. Incidentally the weekly now has a great new web layout. By must read I mean, if you haven’t already given up on the idea of having choices, representation, and freedom in your information diet. Camille Taiara writes it, when I did my graduate research on Alt Press, I tried my damnedest to get her involved.. but alas all I got was a “I’m to busy Mark” response email. Fear not Camille… I forgive you and still adore your work.

F-911 arrives in Amsterdam this week. And I’m going to do something highly unlike me… I’m going to the premier. Normally I watch movies one year after they’re out.. if I ever do at all. I just saw Lord of the Rings III… the whole time I felt like I was the last guy watching this film. Which, by the way, should have ended sooner, too much bullshit at the end.

And just to carry on the discussion or thinking about blogging as a huge global conversation, check out how Mathemagenic breaks it down. One think I noted from this post is how many bloggers out there – DON’T USE TRACKBACK! I trackback all the time.. in my sleep even.

Today’s Music: Been singing that new Maroon 5 while riding my bike.