Ура! for Spilled Pants

Looks like you're talking to a college dropout. (Yeah -- another one.)

Last week, I dropped the Russian Culture class (en anglais) I was taking at CCSF; I had missed two weeks in a row due to some work commitments and just wasn't interested enough in the subject to bust my ass to catch up. I mean, the class -- while taught by an awesome teacher -- was always just a stand-in for my desire to take a Russian *language* class this semester (i.e. one that was, sadly, not offered on the night school schedule).

In any case, I made a deal with myself to spend this newly-freed time in the week studying Russian again. So, I've been going back to my old Russian textbooks (with online videos), my ripped Russian CDs on the ol' iPod, my memories of Чебурашка, and otherwise trying to surround myself with the language.

Beyond those more, um, scholarly methods, I lucked out this past week and happened across a music blog written in both English and Russian; so, I can study *while* still deep in the blogosphere, searching for new shizz:

Spilled Pants.
http://myspilledpants.blogspot.com/

Even if you have no interest in the русский язык, this site posts some great (dancey) stuff on a fairly regular basis; and his Blogroll is handy: see the latest updates from Discobelle, Trash Menagerie, and other like-minded blogs, all in one place.

Ура!

A gentle enticement back towards Moscow

While their new bag policy is getting all the press this week, American Airlines just sent out the word today that they are starting service from several US cities into Moscow on June 2, 2008. And as an introductory gesture, they are hooking up the adventurous traveler with 10,000 bonus miles and 25% percent off "normal" round-trip fares, which translates to something like $467 from NYC and $582 from SF ("Additional restrictions, taxes and fees apply", natch).

Check the website for the details, but "tickets must be purchased 7 days prior to departure or within 3 days of making reservations, whichever comes first, but no later than 11:59 p.m. (CT) June 20, 2008", "sale fares are valid for outbound travel June 2 through September 4, 2008.", and "all travel must be complete by March 4, 2009."

As I've mentioned before - probably en vivo - I wanted to head back to Russia and/or its neighbors early this coming Fall. But, now, with me doing a bunch of climbing lately (and getting a little taste of it outdoors), I've had my sights reset on more local destinations, including those in Utah, Colorado and California.

That said, it's hard to totally ignore this fare sale.. and it comes just when I received an offer yesterday to meet a friend in Japan - he's going to be there working at a museum for a few weeks in August. (In fact, one of my envisioned Russian adventures had me in Eastern Russia - maybe around Lake Baikal (Байкал) or Kamchatka (Камчатка) - then meeting our other friends *living* in Japan, on the way home).

We'll see; I need to think more about this; anyone interested?

What doesn't happen when you're drunk?

File this under "que será será":

Drunk Russian sleeps off knifing
by BBC News
Published: April 17th, 2008

So, some guy does some drinking with one of his coworkers "at the office"; that is, they are drinking *at* their workplace (but after work). They apparently have an argument over the course of the night and one of them stabs the other in the back with a 6" blade..

But the guy who was stabbed passes out drunk at some point - before or after the wound: who knows? - and wakes up in the morning, takes the bus home, eats some колбасы, and crashes for another few hours before his wife wakes him up.. because the knife is STILL IN HIS BACK (and he doesn't even know it)!

Wow.

The amazing part is not that he's still alive - no real damage was done - but that he basically blows the whole thing off. He quote at the end is awesome, not a care in the world:

"We were drinking and what doesn't happen when you're drunk?"

Man, where does this guy party? Although.. now that I think about it, I'm up for a lot of things, but I'm not really up for being stabbed - in general, but definitely not when I'm out and about, tossing back a few. But, to each their own, I guess. haha.

Keeping the tradition of mutual trust, and head-splitting

Unless you specifically pay attention to this sort of thing, I think the presidential election in Russia this past Monday (or Sunday, here in the US) flew under much of the international radar. As expected, Дмитри Медведев (Dmitry Medvedev) - hand-chosen by Владимир Путин (Vladimir Putin) - won easily, with 70% of the vote.

The news comes with mixed reviews at home (Russia) and abroad (mostly US and Western Europe). In fact, The Economist - in this past week's issue - questioned the real impact of Vladimir Putin's iron-fisted policies.. which are slated to continue under Menvedev. The short version is that Putin came to power at just the right time for an economic boom, given three factors: "a revival of private initiative, oil prices that have risen fourfold during his presidency and macroeconomic stability." And so, his crippling of the democratic process and human rights abuses - both in the name of "stability" and "nationalism" - have little to do the country's current success. Read on:

Smoke and mirrors
From The Economist print edition
February 28th, 2008

That said, I can only imagine that the average Russian will be happy with the consistency of power (and therefore still able to ignore the ugly underside of political business). The NYTimes puts it nicely:

"Most Russians do not love Mr. Putin per se, but they love Mr. Putin’s Russia. They love being middle class. They love planning for the future. It is no comfort to the politically persecuted, but average wages in Russia are leaping 10 percent a year, in real terms."

(full article here)

And you know what, that just makes sense. I think it's hard sometimes to understand that day-to-day issues - putting food on the table and making mortgage payments - are common concerns for everyone around the world; it's easy to be an outsider and criticize another society's whole system of governance (especially when you don't plan on improving the situation yourself, and there are no unpleasant consequences for offering your unsolicited opinion). It's the same story for other folks talking about the US and its problems, without acknowledging its successes. I'm just saying that we all got some things we do right and some things we do wrong in our respective societies; and there's always room for improvement.

That will be an especially important lesson for Russia's next president (and our own, for that matter) to keep in mind during the next couple of years. Those who question the government in public and practice civil dissent seem to be in the minority right now, given the aforementioned awesome increases in the average person's personal wealth (not to mention the chances for harsh penalties). But if oil prices flatten out and the economic engine at home loses a little steam, there will be more and more people who will join the internal/external cries for better individual rights, checks on government, and so forth.

Regardless, it seems to be exciting times for the country, and George Bush and I wish Medvedev the best.

Putin as objet d'affection

A few days ago a friend brought me the 2007 Person of the Year issue of Time magazine. Normally, I wouldn't be very interested in their choice (or reading Time magazine in general, for that matter), but it just so happened that this year's Person of the Year is Russia's current president, Владимир Путин (Vladimir Putin); my friend knew I'd be into *that* (due to the random interest in Russia and the Russian language that I've been cultivating this year).

In any case, they actually do have a few interesting articles on, or related to, Putin.. however, the one that I was looking the most forward to was the least satisfying: a (much) abridged interview with the man himself at his Moscow dacha. You see, they basically cut a 3.5 hour dinner down to a page and a quarter of snappy one-line answers to some potentially in-depth questions. Admittedly, it's hard to tell the extent of the wordtrim because Putin *is* known for being to-the-point (to put it, um, diplomatically), but, still, each answer really does *feel* so incomplete; and to me, it became a tease. For example:

Americans wonder why the recent Russian elections could not have been more open and why, for example, Garry Kasparov was put in jail.

Why did Mr. Kasparov, when arrested, speak out in English rather than Russian? When a politician works the crowd of other nations rather than the Russian nation, it tells you something.

And:

Do you think there was a missed opportunity after 9/11 for the U.S. and Russia to work more closely on the anti-terrorism front because of Iraq?

We could have acted in a more coordinated and therefore more efficient way. That is true. But cooperation between our secret services is happening and is achieving results.

I guess if I want some unadulterated Putin, I should join the local chapter of the VV Fan Club.. although I'm guessing that the closest chapter is in that funky "land-locked" island of Russianess among the Baltic countries: Kaliningrad. More seriously, I *am* trying to track down any of their paraphernalia; I've seen some pictures of some pretty cool tshirts, flags and posters. And any help is appreciated if you know where I can get them here in the US (throw any info into the comments).

In any case, beyond the interview, the other articles in the issue fared much better. Specifically, I enjoyed one journalist's chronicle of contemporary Russian life during a recent journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg; he took a route first described by Aleksandr Radishchev in "A Journey from Petersburg to Moscow", written in 1790. As you can imagine, many things have changed, but even more notable are the things that haven't (or, perhaps, changed at some point and then regressed); religion and militancy forever. The article is really an attempt to distill a set of disparate stories into a theory about the current "condition of the country". And, at a first pass, it's a good start; still, its essence is very tip-of-the-iceberg, given the size and complexity of our objet d'affection.

But see everything I've been talking about here; see it for yourself: Time's Person of the Year, 2007.

C'est la vie and all of that

I guess it's back to the swimming pool for me.

Man, I'll just say one more "what the fuck?" - I've been saying it a lot the past 24 hours - to the fact that I'm limping around the house today, icepack wrapped around my left foot. I even had to break a date at the climbing gym this morning. And, as, you can imagine, that's totally not cool, given my recent on-the-rock advances.. both physically and mentally; and I'm not interested in losing any hard-fought ground.

But, c'est la vie and all of that.

My consolation package comes in the form of the First Season DVDs of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (borrowed yesterday from the library), more time to self-study a half-semester of Russian before Russian 2B starts in January, and more time to finish a couple mix CDs that I started a while back.. oh, and, I guess, like work or something.

But, again, the one thing I'm trying to keep in mind is "c'est la vie and all of that". Still, it's a good thing I'm stocked up on quality beer.. and ingredients for making winter-inspired muffins; those will be delicious, and welcome, distractions of the highest order. And the framed Egon Schiele print, revived from storage and recently-hung in the living room - by the request of my roommate - will excite an altogether different set of senses.

Seize the immediate order

A few of you know that I've already got some big ideas for adventure holiday(s) in 2008; in fact, I have several trips in mind:

1. Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro / visiting my sister in Kenya
2. Climbing Mt. Elbrus / indulging in contemporary Tblisi (Грузия)
3. Climbing Mt. Shasta / rocking some Northern California breweries
4. Trainride across Russia to Lake Baikal / visiting friends in Japan

I think you can see a common theme; yeah, but I'll admit I'm not sure exactly where this mountaineering kick is coming from. Oh, and note that I'm down for fun beyond what I've listed here; keep them ideas coming. I've even got some other trips in mind (ex. hiking Denali and Mt. Aconcagua, getting buzzed at the Great American Beer Festival), presumably to be done *after* the ones above, but totally willing to reorder. More specifically, I can appreciate the notion of taking advantage of serendipitous opportunities as they present themselves (front and center!).. even moreso, now that I've started reading "Seven Summits." More on the book later..

In any case, I *do* want to, um, rock several of the bad boys on the list above, but realize the need to, first, prioritize and, then, start some concrete planning. There are a couple of complications, of course, but one of them is that my sister is actually climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in February, which is a little bit sooner than I had in mind (i.e. if I wanted to join her).. and, also, she's leaving Kenya altogether in August, giving me a deadline for having a place to stay in western Kenya (and to see the life that she's put together for herself this past year or so). Beyond that, I've got a friend in Kyiv (the guy I went to Russia/Kyrgyzstan with this past summer, actually), who - as we've already discussed - might be interested in all or part of the Elbrus/Tblisi trip; and I'm not sure how long he's staying in the area. Oh yeah, in the bigger picture, I find out today that some of these adventures actually fall under the umbrella of "Doom Tourism", where the destinations are "endangered" for one reason or another. Still.. I know, I know.. poor me; I'm choosing from a set of awesome alternatives. ;)

And, for sure, I know it's cliché, but I've sorta (mentally) resigned myself to not, actually, getting my ass in gear, so to speak, planning-wise, until after the New Year. So we'll see how everything actually shakes out - and who I can cajole into adventuring with me - over the next couple of weeks.

But back to my reading list.

After finishing "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" - a book about the (still ongoing?) Rwandan genocide - a few days ago, I started into "Seven Summits" - a most timely birthday gift from one of my aunts. It's about the the first two guys to climb the highest peak on each of the seven continents. The proposition sounds like something that would have been accomplished a century ago, but is was only the early-1980's that two amateur mountaineers - both in their 50's! - gave it go.

As I mentioned, I just started into the story.. and was thinking, at first, that it might not be for me at all, given that the book was written from a beginner's - wow, we're climbing mountains! - point of view. But, it's actually resonating with me quite a bit! In particular, I'm overlooking the minutia of the climbs (ex. the main "characters" not necessarily being in shape), and taking note of the bigger themes, those on the order of "seize the day!". Hmm.. I guess those are the types of messages I'm looking to hear right now..

That actually reminds me of a conversation that I had with a friend a few weeks ago at a wine bar, here in San Francisco. Among other things that we talked about, we agreed for the need to say "fuck it" every once in awhile - not in a nihilistic sense, but in a sense of escaping from the expectations of our particular "daily existences"; further, we talked about the need to say it more often. I'm feeling, lately, that I haven't been following this particular advice; it's amazing how that sort of thing works - or, I guess, doesn't work - even when you "know what to do".

So, it's all well and good - née, great! - that I'm planning all these far-flung adventures, but I also need to keep in mind that I should also, well, seize the day closer to home. But I think *that* discussion is another blog entry altogether.. wait, that "discussion" is, actually, something to *do* in real-life, something to make *happen*, preferably, with a partner-in-crime; writing about it later, after the smoke has cleared, would be bonus. ;)

Whew! With all that said, let me leave you with this, admittedly, tangential recommendation: if you ever come across the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc from Kawarau Estate (New Zealand), drink up! It is, for sure, one of the most delicious white wines I've had in recent memory. And who wants to say no to that?

A return of the infamous No. 9

If you caught me soon after I returned from my trip to Russia this past summer, there was a good chance that I told you about my desire to host a taste test featuring the full line-up of beers from Балтика (Baltika) brewing. It was a request slightly out of (my beer) character; you see, Baltika brews lagers - almost exclusively - and I'm not a fan of lagers in general. But! With my adventures in Russia still on the forefront of my mind, the novelty of tracking down the ten different Baltika beers, numbered from 0 to 9, seemed fun and worthwhile.

Baltika No. 0 is a non-alcoholic lager
Baltika No. 1 is a light lager, at 4.4% abv
Baltika No. 2 is a pale lager, at 4.7% abv
Baltika No. 3 is a pale lager, at 5.1% abv
Baltika No. 4 is a Vienna lager, at 5.6% abv
Baltika No. 5 is a golden lager, at 5.0% abv
Baltika No. 6 is a Baltic porter, at 7.0% abv
Baltika No. 7 is an export lager, 5.4% abv
Baltika No. 8 is an unfiltered wheat ale, at 5.0% abv
Baltika No. 9 is a strong export lager, at 8.0% abv

*There are a couple more "special" beers that really don't get much distribution, so the list above is really what I was looking for; Baltika also brews some other product lines (like Арсенальное), but, again, the list above suffices for my (ahem, imagined) purposes.*

Soon, though, my taste buds reigned in such fanciful (and alcoholic) fascinations - back to my usual kickass West Coast ales! - and the tasting never came to fruition. So it was only yesterday that I came across another Baltika beer. And, in fact, it was the infamous No. 9! haha.

No. 9 is, for sure, the go-to beer for bang-for-your-gettin'-drunk-buck (if you're not drinking cheap vodka, that is). At 8.0% abv, a few half-liters will put you on your ass.. and along the way, you know exactly what you're getting into, given it doesn't try to hide its alcohol at all. Yikes! Fortunately, I was sharing a couple of bottles with a few people over a homestyle Russian dinner at Sadko, a Russian restaurant in the Outer Richmond. It was, I can assure you, the first time that I poured Baltika No. 9 into a wine glass (once I emptied it of its original contents: квас); in fact, it was the first time I wouldn't have thought to drink it straight from the bottle.

In any case, if you want to know what Russian food "is", I'd recommend checking out Sadko; you'll even get that stereotypical Russian service (i.e. brusk) included in the price! haha. From a culinary perspective, it helped that I was there with my Ukrainian buddy and a crew from his work (but only my buddy speaks Russian; the rest were even more clueless than me at what they were getting into). As such, he ordered a huge amount of "classic" Russian food and drink for the lot of us; and so, we got to try a lot of different dishes at once. Good stuff!

And while I'll be no substitute translator, if you're interested in going, let me know; I certainly plan on a return trip. While I'm (still) not going to be craving Russian food on any sort of regular basis, the overall ambiance certainly has a place in my heart; at the least, Sadko's version of квас was the best I've had (and it comes in pitchers).

Of course, if you're just interested in a Baltika No. 9 experience, I think we can skip the restaurant altogether and track one down - one for each of us, that is - from a local grocery and just hang out in the park. Classic, for sure (even if we have to paper-bag it; the SF police look down upon the open container)!

Choosing the future at one hundred mph

I only have the barest knowledge of political systems in general, and even less for the particulars of any one country.. but, that said, I am (superficially) drawn to all news stories out of Russia, especially when they deal with the consolidation of power in the Kremlin (by the manliest world leader, Владимир Владимирович Путин).

Yeah, this week's parliamentary elections only solidified their position; Mr. Putin's party, United Russia, has enough seats now to amend the Constitution if they so desire. Interesting times, indeed.

But a report from the NYTimes over the weekend really caught my eye. Beyond tightening their grip on general media outlets, like newspapers and television stations (standard stuff, of course), it seems that they're now going as far as censoring contemporary art in various forms. For example, the Russian culture minister censored a state-sponsored show of Russian contemporary art in Paris a few weeks ago (as part of France's A Year of Russia); 17 of the works were deemed to be a "shame on Russia" and removed from the collection. Read the details, and find more examples, at the NYTimes:

Putin’s Last Realm to Conquer: Russian Culture
by Michael Kimmelman
Published: December 1, 2007

Still, there seems to be *some* backlash by the art community. In fact, the Tretyakov Gallery - the ones who put the show together, including the ultimately-censored works - filed a lawsuit against Culture and Press Minister Alexander Sokolov on November 20th, 2007. The court system in Russia - again, something I really don't know that much about - has a reputation for bending to the will of the executive administration, so we'll see where that goes.

If any of you come across any follow-up news for this story, let me know. And I'll do the same. By the way, I'd recommend checking out the "Multimedia" part of the article above; it's a little tangential to the main story, but it gives some context for the high life in Moscow. Russia is "choosing the future, it seems, at a hundred miles per hour." And we'd be best to pay attention. ;)

A return to posting breeds three

It seems that the Thanksgiving holiday last week (and it's attendant travel) took me out of the this blogging game for a bit longer than expected. While I've got a few little ditties in the works, let me drop some random notes right now:

1a. I registered for more CCSF classes earlier this week, so my (ahem) studies will continue into 2008 (2008, yo!). The only bummer is that they aren't offering the next Russian class in the series (i.e. Russian 2A) this semester, so I signed up for the one after that (i.e. Russian 2B); Mой преподавателъ said it was cool to do so (and that I'd have to study my ass off to catch up on what I would have learned in 2A). I'm ready to work; I can't NOT keep up this new linguistic pastime; Москва awaits another visit! Not to mention Эльбрус..

1b. I've also decided to put some structure around my, um, ramblings (the written kind, anyway; don't worry - I'll still let my drunk, verbal ramblings continue unfettered by any such structure). You see, I also registered for a creative writing class, focused on the short story.. which is a length of activity that fits well with my short attention, uh, something. What? In any case, I'm looking forward to it, but unsure how I'll stack up, academically, that is, given that I took one English(-for-engineers) class in college and that's about the extent of my native-language training. But it's cool; at the least, I hope everyone in the class - including the teacher - has a sense of humor (because I plan to use the word "balls" in every delightful permutation of its meaning) and capacity for suspension of disbelief (because I find it enjoyable to keep the logic of a story secondary to its overall lyrical flow and "texture"; they be meant for verbal delivery, for performance even). Maybe those ideas will get smacked down; who knows? (again, I have no reference); I'll let you know.

2. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Ghostland Observatory rocks live! I saw them for the second time last night at Mezzanine - a great place to see a show, by the way - with a friend and fully appreciate their "electro-dance soul rock". What really brings it all together is their frontman's full on swagger-fest and preacherman banter; the whole package (music and stage presence) makes for an eminently danceable and fistpump-able evening (sweaty too, if you let it). So, strike a pose, Mr. Behrens; strike a pose.. show us what you're workin' wit!

3. Finally, I *still* cannot get enough of Starship! It's a good thing I work from home, because I've been belting out "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (or, at least, a mangled version of it) all day long this past week..

In any case, it's Friday (after a long, but solid, week), the weather is beautiful here in SF (if a little chilly), and the weekend is upon us. I'm ready to enjoy it; please do so yourselves! Word.

колбасы = колбасу = sausage

I supplement my Russian studies (at CCSF) with an informal language exchange with a Ukrainian guy here in the city. It's been helpful for me to have at least one more day a week when I get to "think Russian". And while I won't bore you with some of the other exercises, this past week we came up with a Russian dialog as a framework for me to learn a couple common words/phrases (as opposed to rote memorization); it's pretty funny:

Я: Извени, что cлучилоcь? Почему такая большая толпа?
Он: Здеcь дают колбасы недорого!
Я: Сколько стоит?
Он: Десять рублей.
Я: О, классно! Кто последний?

(The other person points at someone.)

Я: Он последний? Кто он?
Он: Он в синей куртке.
Я: Где?
Он: Вон там.

(I get in line.)

Я: Я сейчас вернусь.
Он: Где ты стоишь?
Я: За девушкой в красной футболке.

(I go off to make a phone call to my friend John.)

Я: Слушай Джон, ты не поберишь. B магазине "Мясо" дают колбасу очень недорого.
Джон: Я сейчас приеду с моим другом. Мы пьём пиво вместе.
Я: Кто он?
Джон: Он бизнесмень, Я работаю c ним.
Я: Я буду ждать тебя у магазина.
Джон: Отлично.

(Now, I'm describing the day to someone else.)

Я: Мы зашли в магазинe. B магазине была большая толпа. Много народа. Было очень шарко. Джон спросил (меня) где Я стою. Я сказал - за дебушкой в красной футболке. Продавец сказал кто следующий? Мы купили пять килограм колбасы. Также (ещё) друг Джона купил ещё пиво. Мы вышли из магазина и пошли в парк. Там мы сели и выпили пиво. А потом мы лежали и говорили друг с другом (пазговаривали). А потом приехала милиция и сказала нам уходить. Мы пошли в квартиру Джона. Там мы сьели всю колбасу и выпили всё пиво. Оно было вкусное. Джон сказал что мы хорошо посидели.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And if you're wondering, колбасы = колбасу = sausage. The language is delicious!

Are you ready to shvitz?

It's one of those things I should have done while I was in Russia, but it was only this past Friday that, on a whim and with a friend, I went to a "Russian" bath house.. in Manhattan. The Russian and Turkish Baths in the East Village (about a block from Tompkins Square Park) are like a little time warp to the 70's, evoking both old school New York and Russia in one fell (and wet) swoop.

The place had a couple of saunas, a steam room, a cold! water bath, and showers, all with the stylings of a tight, Nixon-era, locker room. The only deviation from that motif was via the main Russian steam room, which drew upon its ancient, stone, lineage; references to a dungeon or tomb (and incredibly hots ones at that) would not be out of place. Hmm.. I'm not exactly selling these baths here, but I think the whole is more than the sum of it's parts. So, let me assure you that I'll be back; it was somehow charming, and the pleasurable physical effects (of hot and cold extremes, in succession) are real. In fact, I've been to similar (if newer) facilities in other countries, like Japan and Slovakia, and it's always worth it.

Beyond the general entry fee for all-day access to the baths, you can pay for additional "special treatments" like massages, salt scrubs and so forth. And so I did: I asked for a platza treatment - basically a mild beating - with a big ol' bunch of oak branches (with leaves intact) soaked in olive oil soap, because, well, why not? Really, you're there, so how could you *not* submit yourself for that sort of experience?

It's much different than I had imagined: you're not getting whipped with an individual switch, so you actually aren't getting lashed or anything like that. However, you do feel the mass of the branch bundle coming down on you, which is slightly uncomfortable for the times that it's happening on your chest. haha. But otherwise, it was definitely much milder than I thought; it was sorta like what I image being in a brushless car wash would be like (and I mean that in the best way possible). In short, it's not as much as a masochistic endeavor as you might think (so I'll need to find that fix another way).. but you still come out feeling so fresh and so clean clean.

A little bonus to the experience was that I got to use a few Russian words with the guy who gave me a platza treatment (to his amusement). Plus Colin Farrell was there; yeah, it was a real mix of clientele (and body types). Who would have thought; apparently, the baths transcend financial and cultural boundaries. So, basically, if you're thinking about going, all you have to ask yourself is:

Are you ready to shvitz?

The vodka was free; the crew was rockin'

It's funny where your picture ends up; it's the grand, global Internet:

http://www.drumandbass.ru/viewphoto20906
http://www.drumandbass.ru/viewphoto20835
http://www.drumandbass.ru/viewphoto20767

Man, but I need to get some news ones up now that I'm 10 pounds - of, um, muscle - heavier than after my 2 week Utah diet program in June (and subsequent Russia trip featured above). I mean, I don't want to give the wrong impression to those of you who haven't seen me lately. ;)

And if you want to know more about the Russian drum and bass scene, let me know, and I'll see what I can do to translate.. linguistically and/or anthropologically.

You weren't there and I'm not you

I ran into a friend-of-a-friend at the climbing gym last week; we discussed a possible climbing trip. And, at this point, our only path of communication (or so I thought) was through my flickr account. So, the other night I headed over to the site - it had been over a month since my last visit - and, while there, started looking through photos from my sabbatical time this past summer.

I click though 20 pictures, then 30 to 50 and more; I finally just look at the overview thumbnails of each of the main sets (BOSS Field Course J-65, Russian Massive, Traveling Kyrgyzstan) and choose several favorites (or forgotten memories) to meditate on. And while I always start the procedure with a smile - at least, one internal - it always ends with butterflies in my stomach and maybe some misty eyes. What's going on here?

And here you thought - if you've heard me tell some stories from those places en vivo - that maybe any glassy eyes (mine!) was just the beer leaking through, but I can assure you that that unflattering look comes from something much deeper (and natural), no chemicals needed. Still, the feelings - good and bad - are not always something I can tap into off-the-cuff; that is, I'm very likely to give you a one or two line summary if you ask me "how was the trip?". But if we get to talking, if we have the time to let me ramble a bit (and you have the patience), stories will flow.. and - what the hey - a good drink helps them to do so. I will admit, however, that they may not all be entertaining, per se, or at least in a given retelling, but I guess that's the case with anyone's travelogues; the proper words - or words at all - are hard for me to come by sometimes. I mean, the phrasing and framework of the scene I'd like to recreate doesn't always have to be perfect for you to get the gist, but sometimes it feels that way - or, rather, I'd like you to find yourself with more than a fuzzy understanding of what I'm talking about.. which leads me to the real question(s) of the day:

How can you know what I'm talking about at all; how can we share the experience (if you weren't there, and I'm not you)?

In any case, I keep *meaning* to post some random stories from Utah or Russia or Kyrgyzstan.. just some funny slice-of-life sorts of things (ex. rocking shitty camping gear in Kyrgyzstan), if not some more heavy-hitting material (ex. like my first time slaughtering an animal). But, again, tonight's not the night; the to-do list perseveres unscathed (and mocking its owner, over and over).

Nonstop to Chechnya; all aboard!

It seems that this past spring, civilian planes have returned to Grozny. The NYTimes has a brief article about it in today's paper (link at the end of this entry), and boy does it get the imagination going:

"Mr. Chaika described the old approach, before Chechnya’s airport was (destroyed during the latest war - then later rebuilt): the plane would circle high over Grozny, and then descend in a harrowing corkscrew, hoping to dodge groundfire. At takeoff, he said, the corkscrew was reversed, while military helicopters rose along the runway’s flanks, shooting flares to divert heat-seeking missiles from the ascending plane’s engines."

What an incredible scene, takeoff especially!

Luckily, as "normalcy" returns to Chechnya, the "new approach" for the six daily flights from Moscow is more conventional and without such dramatic, um, flair. It seems the security situation is more under control: it's not *guaranteed* that every plane will be shot at anymore. Still, I bet there's more than a few prayers said getting on and off the plane. And here we are, complaining about the proliferation of flight delays here in the US (not that we shouldn't, but it's a funny contrast in standards).

Hopefully plans to expand the Grozny flight schedule, to other parts of Russia and - even better - to other countries will go forth without too many problems. Either way, I certainly plan on visiting this part of the world at some point in the future, although I'll probably hold off if the corkscrew landing goes back into fashion.. unless I have a *really* good reason to go. ;) I can't let my Russian classes go to waste!

In any case, read the rest of the article at:

Nonstop to Chechnya: As War Ebbs, Flights Return
By C.J. CHIVERS, Published: September 11, 2007

A universal color scheme in Kyrgyzstan

Before I forget, let me post a slight update to the Russia + Kyrgyzstan trip I mentioned before - a direct result of the inverse relationship between days-to-trip and airline ticket prices. In short, we decided a last minute booking wasn't going to work in our favor, so we went and did something like this:

Leave Moscow July 4th, arrive in Bishkek July 4th
Dep: SVO 7/4 10:05am, Aeroflot #181
Arr: FRU 7/4 4:15pm

So that gives us a few more days in Russia, a few less in Kyrgyzstan:

Tue, 19/06/07 - Arrive Tallinn, Estonia
Thu, 21/06/07 - Bus/train from Tallinn to St. Petersburg
Tue, 27/06/07 - Bus/train from St. Petersburg to Moscow
Wed, 04/07/07 - Fly from Moscow to Bishkek (flight info above)
Fri, 06/07/07 - Bus/taxi from Bishkek to Kara-Too for Felt Festival on Sat
Sun, 08/07/07 - Bus/taxi from Kara-Too (or nearby Kochkor) to Osh
Tue, 10/07/07 - Start a couple day "trek" out of Arslanbob or Kyzyl Unkur
Sat, 14/07/07 - Bus/taxi back to Bishkek (from wherever "trek" ends)
Mon, 16/07/07 - Fly back to NYC from Bishkek

That's all. In any case, I'm looking forward to my red, white and blue peanuts on the flight to Kyrgyzstan - a universal color scheme for the 4th (right?), so patriotic and delicious..

Two Handsome Libertarians, Nice to Meet You

So you know where to find me over the next couple of weeks:

May 26th: SF to Utah for BOSS course J-65
June 10th: Utah to Alabama to visit parents
June 13th: Alabama to NYC to "hang" and BBQ
June 18th: NYC to Estonia to start Soviet adventure
June 22nd: Estonia to Russia (St. Petersburg + Moscow)
July 1st: Russia to Kyrgyzstan (will fly, but no ticket yet)
July 16th: Kyrgyzstan to NYC (through Georgia - the country!)
July 20th: NYC to SF!! (and finish apt hunt for August 1st!!)

Quite a lot of travel, I know; carbon footprint be damned, I guess..

As for the Russia/Kyrgyzstan time, here is a finer-grained itinerary:

Tue, 19/06/07 - Arrive Tallinn, Estonia
Fri, 22/06/07 - Bus/train from Tallinn to St. Petersburg
Tue, 27/06/07 - Bus/train from St. Petersburg to Moscow
Sun, 01/07/07 - Fly from Moscow to Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic)
Tue, 03/07/07 - Start a couple day "trek" around Lake Issyk-Kul via CBT
Fri, 06/07/07 - Bus/taxi from Bishkek (or whereever our "trek" is) to Kara-Too for Felt Festival on Sat (that's right: a felt FESTIVAL!)
Sun, 08/07/07 - Bus/taxi from Kara-Too (or nearby Kochkor) to Osh
Tue, 10/07/07 - Another "trek" out of nearby Arslanbob or Kyzyl Unkur
Sat, 14/07/07 - Bus/taxi back to Bishkek (or from wherever we are - near Arslanbob probably)
Mon, 16/07/07 - Fly back to NYC from Bishkek

Note that the dates above are definitely not set in stone, but we (ChrisL and I) will follow this itinerary as a rough guide. We did reserve a hostel in Tallinn and are planning to do so soon for St. Petersburg (due to the White Nights festivities), but most everything else will be decided on the ground, trading a bit of emotional security for freedom!

We do what we want - yo! - including crying when we're cold and alone in a Russian prison, or fresh from another mugging on the backstreets of Osh. haha. But, really, there will be some real opportunity for some beautiful (and beutifully-serendipitous) happenings and many, many opportunities to think on our feet and get shizz done extemporaneously (where shizz includes many things, including surveying the scene at a cafe bar while getting caffeinated and/or blitzed); we travel with massively good humors and fully-functional roll-with-the-punch-ness.

Sounds like you just met two handsome libertarians!

By the way, CBT = Community Based Tourism in Kyrgyzstan. Check their website (http://www.cbtkyrgyzstan.kg/) as well as this (non-related) travelogue of one Tim Barnes. He seems to have used CBT while cycling through Kyrgyzstan last year and has some great practical advice on the country; check it: Adventures in the back of beyond - Kyrgyzstan. Cool stuff!