Category Archives: Text

Breakdown, Northern France

Well. I could make this stuff up… but the fact is.. this shit just happens.

As previously mentioned, I met up with the hitchhike ride from Amsterdam to PAris. Cool people, old ride. Like old classic Mercedes minibus ride. I noticed everytime she shifted gears I could see the pavement beneath us. That and I couldnt hear much besides the engine the whole ride.

About 5 hours had passed, and we were enjoying the scenery; their dislike for highways meant that we took as many country roads as possible. Which was slightly odd since the bus was would crawl up those hills of northern france, but no matter… more time to enjoy the scenery.

That is, until, KERPLUNK.

SOMETHING FELL. NO SOMETHING HIT US. NO WE RAN OVER SOMETHING? Quick pull over.
She starts looking over the engine, and I notice she knows that engine like the back of her hand. In a matter of seconds her hands are completely black from the oily engine grime. Her husband scours the two-lane country road.. retracing our very slow steps. EUREKA. ITs a waterpump, and its laying on the side of road. Apparently minus waterpump, engine overheats.

Enter local parts and wood salesman. He lives across the street. Comes out and examines the engine, carrying with him a jar of a zillion spare screws. I stand around useless, trying not to look useless.. thinking of how likely the chance is that we’re stuck. They seem to notice my thoughts and start asking the guy how they can get me to paris. A station.. a train.. one town over… you can make it before the engine overheats… only problem is.. lots of hills. We didnt even make it passed the first hill.

Suddenly she runs to the side of the road and sticks out her thumb. Im dumbfounded.. figure shes hoping to get advice or a mechanic. Instead, when someone finally stops.. she starts yelling for me to get my stuff cause Ive got a ride. Boom.. I thank them quickly and step into the warm car. Kid and wife in the back, nice guy driving Callypso music blasting… I was completely dazed. Just said many thank you’s and mentioned that I had no idea where I was. They were also confused — “Will your friends be ok, stranded back there?” I hope so, I said.. at least.. they have a whole living space in that bus and tons of food.

Another hour goes by and Im wondering where theyre leaving me. Wonder no more, Im dropped off at the beggining of whatever metro… a thousand thank you’s and a big smile… poof.. Im half asleep on the metro and eventually.. at ze local café with Max and Stacy.

So it goes sometimes.. if you’re me. You hitchhike via internet.. it breaks down.. you hitchhike the old way. So it goes.

Faire du Stop

On my way to Paris… yeehaw. Hitching a ride, in fact, through the magic of hitchhikers.org which is always a garunteed interesting time.

While in Paris I shall finally meet Chris from Americablog, who’s cats I already met during my last Paris visit. And naturally I’ll be seeing some of my wonderful Paris friends, including Max and Stacy of Karmabanque.

Which brings me to my recommendations for the day:

Max Keiser debating the world economy on France24 the other day. Great debate and I love how Max doesn’t sugar coat things as the other financial “experts” seem to be doing.

Oh and DO watch this no comment video blog entry from the first of March. If you watch carefully, you’ll very quickly realize you’re watching the Brussels Fire Department fighting in the streets against the Police during what I can only assume was a labor protest. Amazing to see them watercannoning each other, and sad to see that they don’t realize they should be allies in that struggle.

A Road Trip to Watch

Dillip just called me. He noticed my comments regarding his fantastic journeys through the south of the United States. Virginia..TEnnessee Mississippi.. Louisiana.. I can’t remember all the names. But I’ll not forget the words I read as he puts them up on his blog.

He called and told me he had heard I was coming to New Orleans as well. Which indeed.. the plan is in the works and It will happen. He told me he had gone down to the Bayou to visit fishing towns.. to see how people there were coping. As you can imagine.. some are coping.. many are not.

I mentioned the FEMA trailers… he said “I wish I had spoken to you before about this, I had to use the bathroom on one of those trailers yesterday.” Fortunately I think his health is fine. Beyond that.. his trip is just more inspiration for my own journey to see and report to you what is going on and why. Imagine that… a guy visting from India and a guy visiting from the Netherlands, I can only imagine all the other crazies like us wandering around trying to understand it all.

Ooh.. and today I read another interesting tale from NOLA. This time it involves musicians and the building of a new community in the 9th ward.. built for and by the musicians. NICE.

Friendship Express Rolls On

Last week, as I was doing the usual middle-of-the-night TV news network watching, the story of the train bombing aboard the Pakistan-India Friendship Express came up. Initially they called it a fire, and the details were few. I sat here, uneasy, as Im sure many observers did… that this was more than a fire and worst of all.. this was an attempt to break the peace process between the two countries.

It almost seemed typical. In my minds eye I could see India blaming Pakistan, and vice-versa.. then the train would be cancelled forever as would other travel links… and then it would be back to testing missiles and living on the brink of human annihaliation. As the next few details appeared on the television, I was already low on hope.

In fact that is NOT what happened. At least it doesn’t seem so, one week later. The Pakistani dictator-turned-president condemned the thing and vowed to keep working for peace. The Indian Prime Minister said the same. People mourned the tragedy, but in the news articles and editorials that I read, they didn’t call for blood. Which is some small way, seems encouraging.

Normally in the world, history repeats iself. Over and over. No lessons are learned, or at least, not enough lessons are learned by the people making decisions that can end or enhance human lives. Yet every now and then, I think we’re seeing an adjustment, a change. And in this case, I wonder if it isn’t a true change for the better… for peace between two longtime enemies.

Don’t Praise the Kids

Arrived some hours ago from Brussels, after a very enjoyable weekend exploring neighborhoods I hadn’t gone to in years with my cousin and meeting up with my buddy Tim.

At some point the topic of child care came up, probably because of my imaginary children that you know, I’m always talking about and concerned about how I’m not raising them since they don’t exist.

But a great subject of discussion became praising, not praising, and over-praising one’s children. Though it was a theoretical discussion in our case, we each spoke a bit about how best to do it or not do it. Makes me remember alot of kids I knew that were praised for every little nothing that they did… and wonder where they are today.. did all that praise properly prepare them for life.. especially when things don’t go right even though others once told you about how great you are? I really wonder. Then again, if you were almost never praised, maybe you’re constantly unhappy with your actions; miserable in effect.

All this is the topic on a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED episode of On Point last week. Whether you have kids or not, I recommend listening. There are even some reasonable tips about what to do if AT THIS VERY MOMENT you realize you’ve been praising your kid too much… what to do now?

In closing I’d like to say to myself: “dam you did a good thing going to brussels this weekend, BUT, you should work on cleaning your room and fix your sleeping pattern.”

Unexpected Brussels Encounters

As you can read below, I chose to blog from my mobile that I was on my way to Brussels. I very self-absorbed thing to do, admittedly.. then again so is blogging so ha.

But talk about practical; just as I’m crossing the NL-BE invisible border, Tim calls and says — I just read that you’re on the train to Brussels.. well Im about to get on the train from Berlin.. TO BRUSSELS. Et voila.. here I sit at some kind of tech conference for open source people.. Tim sits to my right chatting away about the Chaos Communications Camp to inquiring minds this summer.

My point is. Voila the power of blogging and new tech/communication devices. It may be quite simple and very first-world centric, but it is a great thing when you can write something and minutes later on one side of the world your mom knows where you are and on the other, a friend realizes he’s going to be in the same city as you for the weekend.

Or maybe you find none of this special. FINE. I give you a photo instead.