Ramble On

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Just some randoms...

The only purpose of this photo is to highlight the awesome shirt that I got Eppo for Christmas. It's called "Nice Boobies." You gotta love it.

Momma and me on the steps of the old apartment in Brooklyn that I shared with Carla and Molly.

Carla and I in front of a large Mamma Mia sign, a bit after exiting the show. Who knew that Abba could be so fun?

One more with momma while we were up in Pittsfield this spring. A nice one I think.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

So, in Istanbul you have all these guys that line the bridges and fish for these little tiny fishies, no bigger than your middle finger. I still haven't figured out what they do with them, but my money's on a little deep frying...

I know this ain't the prettiest picture, especially when you realize that you're looking at five smokestacks from Dubai's power plants, but for some reason I really like it. You have all this construction in the foreground, powered by the plants you see in the back, with the blazin' red sun in back looking down on everything. I like it because everything is powered by oil and gas here, while all you need to do is invest in a little solar power and you could take care of everything. But nooo... gas is so cheap that everything is ridiculously inefficient here. That's a discourse for another time.

And last, but certainly not least, here's a shot of my new, used 2005 Jeep Wrangler Sport. I went out to the mountains yesterday to break her in and damned am I happy customer. What a great ride! She took everything like a champ and begged for more. Maybe next weekend then...

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Yia yia's weekend

The 'boys': Pano, TJ, and I, with George, my Yia yia's recent companion.

Pano with Patty and Paul, both splitting time between Greece and Pittsfield...

My momma with Eppo, cousin Matt, Pano, and Paul.

The pops, TJ, Pano, and I in front of Carla's place in Brooklyn, just after landing from Tokyo, Dubai, Portland, and Seattle.... and getting ready to drive up to Pittsfield for Yia yia's funeral weekend.

Beirut II

Little hole-in-the-wall bookstore in downtown Beirut.

The view of northern Beirut from a Christian cathedral and monastery up the mountain.

Mark, Maria, and little Fay under a six thousand year old arch in Byblos, a Byzantince city half an hour north of Beirut. Mark, Maria and I came back later that night for a fantastic French dinner al fresco in the courtyard we just came from in the photo above.

The Byblos castle that is the one of the main attractions in this little city - simply stunning.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Beirut

Man, I'm really annoyed. I just spent the better part of an hour trying to post on a trip that I recently went on to Bahrain, and the damned thing just disappeared on me! So, instead, you get to see my weird left elbow that for some reason or another decided to blow up on me. Seriously, I have no idea what happened: I got off the airplane in Beirut, my elbow hurt, and it blew up to the size of a freaking ping pong! It's two days later than the pic above, and just getting better now. Thanks for appreciating my pain everyone.

Here are some pics of Israeli target practice, a.k.a. Lebanese bridges just outside Beirut. We went on a little trip to Liban Lait, a Lebanese dairy brand, and were forced onto some circuitous routes by these impassable bridges. I've also got some cool photos of downtown Beirut with it's gorgeous buildings, though there are some issues there as well. You'll see them soon enough (I have to go to the beach first for some historical research).

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Kitesurfing

So, I've finally found some time to add text to these posts, now that I am in Beirut (I know, of all places...). The first pic os very obviously one of a camel. Mark and I got our act together enough to start taking some kitedurfing lessons down at Jebel Ali Beach, and one afternoon after our lessons we were graced by the presence of a dozen our so of our single-hump friends. They are all handcuffed so-to-speak, with their front legs tied together by a short rope, long enough to walk but too short to run away. This combined with the fact that they are curious to begin with provides one with plenty of photo ops, hence the one below.

The picture below is one of my first experiences in the water behind the wheel of a kite, and boy was it fun! Using a technique called 'body draggin,' you steer the kite into the wind to get power, and then manipulate it in such a way that you can feel the power of the kite dragging you, in this case upwind, in a similar practice as tacking into for sailing. After practicing this for about 15 minutes, my instructor Jakob gave me a wakeboard and let me loose to try and starting planing, which lasted for all of 5 minutes before the wind completely died - seriously. It was fun - I suggest that everyone try kitesurfing at some point in their lives.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Scenic Route back from Muscat to Dubai...

This is a UNESCO World Heritage site - the Al Ayn Beehive Tombs, dating to the 3rd century BC or so. Absolutely gorgeous, especially with the ridgeline behind it. Supposed to be some great climbing from what I've heard as well.

Cliche sunset at Muscat beach along the Corniche (I think).

My colleague Mark getting a classic shave. I went a few minutes later and am still feeling the pain - talk about a close shave! He gave one shave the proper way - with the grain, and then gave you another, but this time against the grain. My whole face was as smooth as a baby's bottom...

Contemplating our jump into the Wadi Damm ('Hidden Creek') (the water is about 5 ft.below the frame. Our new Omani friends hadn't studied Ansel Adams yet...) somewhere in the backcountry of Oman, about 4 hours outside of Dubai. Probably one of the prettiest places I've seen so far and someplace I am planning on returning a lot in the future. Guys, you'd love it here - Havasu with a nice dash of Zion, all in the Middle East...