So I went to mt daughter's newly adopted football club's SAT a.m. training session this morning expecxint to play my usual, limited supporting role. I usually help shag balls (not sure what the proper English translation is for that?), play in some of the drills, etc. Initially, my participation was simply to support Meena and help her acclimate to new surroundings, faces and sport.
Laura, coach of the Flamingoes, is marvelous, and must be a good player given that she just moved to Arsenal women and was also called up to the England U-21's, The girls respond to her. Today, however, Laura had a match and was unable to make training.
After we had been at the field waiting for the director to arrive, she finally rolls up and asks me, "Rod, Laura has a match today. Can you warm the girls up?" What she really meant was, "Can you take the(entire) session?"I gladly agreed and thought it odd they'd bring an American over to coach a sport that the Enlish are most proud they invented.
Saturday 20 September 2008
Wednesday 20 August 2008
France is Fabulous, but . . .
Don't get me wrong, the more I visit France, the more I love France. I could easily live there . . . especially if I spoke French!
And while there are LOTS of things I love about Francia- my favorites being the incredible pastries and also traffic circles/roundabouts- there is one problem I notices. Insofar as good things, where else is there such a concentration of incredible baking- quiches, tarts, pain au chocolate, even just a "plain 'ole baguette", etc. Boulangeries are about as plentiful in Paris as churches and liquor stores in the hood.
And let's not forget my traffic circles-- they're just fun. If we were not always running just a few minutes behind, I would definitely drive completely around a circle every now and then because it is such a novelty to me. Yes, there are traffic circles here in the UK, but they are not nearly as . . . plentiful as they are in France. Of course, they slow you down a bit, but many times you do not have to actually stop. I can only imagine how much France saves on traffic lights!
There are many other good things about France, but there is also ONE major problem. It is such a problem that I must insert it here right in the middle of the feel-good section.
Everyone knows that there is lots of wine in France, and lots of wine consumed in France. It is not in a US (let's see how much I can drink in one sitting), or a UK (I am obliged to drink as much as I can in one sitting) type way. In France they drink a glass of wine kind of like Mexicans eat jalapenyos-- o.k., so maybe they don't usually have wine with breakfast.
My back-of-the-envelope calculations and Sherlock Holmes-like deductive skillz tell me that our beloved WINE is the root cause of what is perhaps France's greatest shortcoming- lack of sufficiently sized glasses for cocktails. The only one I really care about, thanks to my mom, is Gin & Tonic. None of the three places we stayed had even one glass that didn't amount to a shot glass after throwing in a few ice cubes and a slice of lime. As a matter of fact, at the gite we rented outside of Angers, we had to PURCHASE six glasses for the four of us! And even those were pushing it on size. Of course, there were approximately 20 wine classes and about as many champagne flutes (for a place that can sleep 8 adults), but not one adequately sized cocktail glass. There were coffee cups that would probably have been of proper volume, but I don't think I could drink a G&T from a cup that belongs on a saucer.
And while there are LOTS of things I love about Francia- my favorites being the incredible pastries and also traffic circles/roundabouts- there is one problem I notices. Insofar as good things, where else is there such a concentration of incredible baking- quiches, tarts, pain au chocolate, even just a "plain 'ole baguette", etc. Boulangeries are about as plentiful in Paris as churches and liquor stores in the hood.
And let's not forget my traffic circles-- they're just fun. If we were not always running just a few minutes behind, I would definitely drive completely around a circle every now and then because it is such a novelty to me. Yes, there are traffic circles here in the UK, but they are not nearly as . . . plentiful as they are in France. Of course, they slow you down a bit, but many times you do not have to actually stop. I can only imagine how much France saves on traffic lights!
There are many other good things about France, but there is also ONE major problem. It is such a problem that I must insert it here right in the middle of the feel-good section.
Everyone knows that there is lots of wine in France, and lots of wine consumed in France. It is not in a US (let's see how much I can drink in one sitting), or a UK (I am obliged to drink as much as I can in one sitting) type way. In France they drink a glass of wine kind of like Mexicans eat jalapenyos-- o.k., so maybe they don't usually have wine with breakfast.
My back-of-the-envelope calculations and Sherlock Holmes-like deductive skillz tell me that our beloved WINE is the root cause of what is perhaps France's greatest shortcoming- lack of sufficiently sized glasses for cocktails. The only one I really care about, thanks to my mom, is Gin & Tonic. None of the three places we stayed had even one glass that didn't amount to a shot glass after throwing in a few ice cubes and a slice of lime. As a matter of fact, at the gite we rented outside of Angers, we had to PURCHASE six glasses for the four of us! And even those were pushing it on size. Of course, there were approximately 20 wine classes and about as many champagne flutes (for a place that can sleep 8 adults), but not one adequately sized cocktail glass. There were coffee cups that would probably have been of proper volume, but I don't think I could drink a G&T from a cup that belongs on a saucer.
Monday 5 May 2008
Loving Day- R.I.P. Mildred
She says it was god's work, but I have a feeling that those who passed the law thought they were doing god's work too, as many of THOSE types did.
Either way, I'll have to see if there are any Loving Day events in the UK-- oh, wait, they don't really seem to need it here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24468808/
Either way, I'll have to see if there are any Loving Day events in the UK-- oh, wait, they don't really seem to need it here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24468808/
Thursday 17 April 2008
The Good 'Ole (not Ole') Immigration Debate- w/ a Twist
I'm not sure how many of you heard about the (black) kid getting gunned down by the (Mexican) pandillero in Central L.A. a month or so ago. The victim was a (american) football star at L.A. High School, and I believe a 17 yr old junior.
People were understandably up in arms due to the shooting, but even moreso because the alleged shooter was reportedly in the country illegally and had VERY recently been released from jail. This comes at a time of some states passing tough (anti) immigration measures, I assume largely out of feeling that the Federal government is not doing enough about it. The LAPD has had a policy, Special Order 40, related to it's authority and intent to question an individual's immigration status. S.O. 40 reads, "officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person."
The story has been reported in the L.A. Times a fair amount, most recently today: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-specialorder17apr17,0,6757309.story. One result of the crime is that the high schooler's parents are trying to get the L.A. City Council to act to alter or rescind S.O. 40. In another recent L.A. Times article, the website let readers post their opinions on the issue. As you can imagine, there were comments all over the spectrum, but if I recall, it was about 75/25 for posts favoring cracking down in illegal immigrants. If I can find a link to the posts, I will past it here.
Anyway, all of those posts made me feel like adding my 2 cents. The prpoblem was that my 2 cents was more like $20 in length, and it wouldn't fit into the alloted space. Thus, I post if here for all of you to read:
It seems to me that many who are posting here against illegal immigration are tending to generalize and target their comments toward hispanics. In the US southern border states, hispanos may comprise a large portion of the immigrants, both legal and illegal. However, that still does not justify sweeping generalizations. Think about how you like (and how accurate are) most of the generalizations about a group to which you belong, be it black, republican, texan, muslim, etc.
I do understand the frustration coupled with illegal immigrants committing crimes, especially violent crimes. However, that frustration should apply equally to anyone who commits a crime.
If we separate violent "illegals" from the non-violent, I have yet to see a post that hits at the crux of the problem, with a few execptions-- ECONOMICS. If you lived in Country X, making $500/year, and you heard that you could make $500/week doing the SAME thing in Country Y, what would you do?? Of course, we would not ALL immigrate, but many of us would jump at the chance to earn multiples of our normal wages for our same hard work. It's like going the the UK and earning the same amount you make in the US for doing the same work-- guess what, these days you would have 2x as many dollars, just like that! What would you do if your salary was suddenly doubled, let alone quintupled or 50X'ed?? Of course it is not so feasible for someone in the US to skip across the border to the UK.
This border osmosis, driven by labor supply-and-demand, exchange rates, and the relative economic health of neighboring countries is not unique to North America. Other countries have similar immigration dynamics/issues-- Chile with Peruanos, and the UK with some former Eastern Block countries. If they were able, most people in the world would choose to make lots more MONEY for doing the same thing-- for the most part, we all want the best for our families and ourselves.
This is not all to say that illegal immigration is o.k., but that if you truly want to solve wat you feel is a problem, you must first look at the root cause. And illegal immigration will not just stop because we crack down on it- it largely boils down to supply and demand- look at how well prohibition went and the current war on (all other) drugs is going. I mean I never hear of anyone using drugs these days. Take it from a former, temporaryily-illegal immigrant-- don't worry, it wasn't in the US!
So, enough venom aimed at illegal (read "hispanic") immigrants already.
I do find it ironic that the article quotes Chief Bratton as saying, "If you are an illegal immigrant out there and basically you are obeying the law and you are not preying on others, you don't have anything to fear from the Los Angeles police in terms of us approaching you solely on the belief you are here illegally." I think the Chief needs to look up the word illegal or we need to relabel the term. :)
People were understandably up in arms due to the shooting, but even moreso because the alleged shooter was reportedly in the country illegally and had VERY recently been released from jail. This comes at a time of some states passing tough (anti) immigration measures, I assume largely out of feeling that the Federal government is not doing enough about it. The LAPD has had a policy, Special Order 40, related to it's authority and intent to question an individual's immigration status. S.O. 40 reads, "officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person."
The story has been reported in the L.A. Times a fair amount, most recently today: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-specialorder17apr17,0,6757309.story. One result of the crime is that the high schooler's parents are trying to get the L.A. City Council to act to alter or rescind S.O. 40. In another recent L.A. Times article, the website let readers post their opinions on the issue. As you can imagine, there were comments all over the spectrum, but if I recall, it was about 75/25 for posts favoring cracking down in illegal immigrants. If I can find a link to the posts, I will past it here.
Anyway, all of those posts made me feel like adding my 2 cents. The prpoblem was that my 2 cents was more like $20 in length, and it wouldn't fit into the alloted space. Thus, I post if here for all of you to read:
It seems to me that many who are posting here against illegal immigration are tending to generalize and target their comments toward hispanics. In the US southern border states, hispanos may comprise a large portion of the immigrants, both legal and illegal. However, that still does not justify sweeping generalizations. Think about how you like (and how accurate are) most of the generalizations about a group to which you belong, be it black, republican, texan, muslim, etc.
I do understand the frustration coupled with illegal immigrants committing crimes, especially violent crimes. However, that frustration should apply equally to anyone who commits a crime.
If we separate violent "illegals" from the non-violent, I have yet to see a post that hits at the crux of the problem, with a few execptions-- ECONOMICS. If you lived in Country X, making $500/year, and you heard that you could make $500/week doing the SAME thing in Country Y, what would you do?? Of course, we would not ALL immigrate, but many of us would jump at the chance to earn multiples of our normal wages for our same hard work. It's like going the the UK and earning the same amount you make in the US for doing the same work-- guess what, these days you would have 2x as many dollars, just like that! What would you do if your salary was suddenly doubled, let alone quintupled or 50X'ed?? Of course it is not so feasible for someone in the US to skip across the border to the UK.
This border osmosis, driven by labor supply-and-demand, exchange rates, and the relative economic health of neighboring countries is not unique to North America. Other countries have similar immigration dynamics/issues-- Chile with Peruanos, and the UK with some former Eastern Block countries. If they were able, most people in the world would choose to make lots more MONEY for doing the same thing-- for the most part, we all want the best for our families and ourselves.
This is not all to say that illegal immigration is o.k., but that if you truly want to solve wat you feel is a problem, you must first look at the root cause. And illegal immigration will not just stop because we crack down on it- it largely boils down to supply and demand- look at how well prohibition went and the current war on (all other) drugs is going. I mean I never hear of anyone using drugs these days. Take it from a former, temporaryily-illegal immigrant-- don't worry, it wasn't in the US!
So, enough venom aimed at illegal (read "hispanic") immigrants already.
I do find it ironic that the article quotes Chief Bratton as saying, "If you are an illegal immigrant out there and basically you are obeying the law and you are not preying on others, you don't have anything to fear from the Los Angeles police in terms of us approaching you solely on the belief you are here illegally." I think the Chief needs to look up the word illegal or we need to relabel the term. :)
Sunday 6 April 2008
Global Warming?!?
Must be a crock of mierda cuz it is 06 APR 08 and it's snowing here today-- hella.
Sounds more like global cooling to me. And if I recall, the last little Ice Age we had (not the movie for my readers who are younger than 10) was a BITCH!
Sounds more like global cooling to me. And if I recall, the last little Ice Age we had (not the movie for my readers who are younger than 10) was a BITCH!
Thursday 3 April 2008
Recipes: Gravy Sandwich Addemdum
For those of you who marveled at my culinary genius, albeit via a very simple, and quick first recipe, I have a few other variations for you.
If you are not yet familiar with the Stuffing Sandwich- I already have it trademarked- you may have noticed an absence of that American (both N and S) favorite, meat. So, for thos of you who are NOT vegetarians (or maybe thought, "What's this crap, some squirrel or rabbit food that they eat in Berkeley or San Francisco?!") and were unable see the actual ingenuity behind my creation, fear not, I have a "normal" version for you.
As a courtesy, I have repeated the the instructions here:
Because I cannot figure out how to copy and paste from this suspect blog program, the nutshell is to put mayo on 2 pieces of bread; add stuffing on top ot one of those pieces; add gravy on top of the stuffing, and cap it off with the other piece of bread. And VIOLA, your Stuffing Sandwich!
For the original, detailed recipe, see http://tranquilito.blogspot.com/2008/03/recipies.html
For those who want a NON-veggie version, here are a few variations for you:
The Pilgrim- add turkey (cranberry sauce is optional, but good!)
Club- add turkey and bacon
Breakfast- add egg and bacon
el Cubano- add ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, pickles and mustard (add or substitute for mayo)
American- add a hamburger patty (and whatever else you want)
Southern Ultra- add fried chicken and smother top of sandwich with gravy (as mentioned with the original recipe, feel free to fry sandwich before smothering if you're not some sort of health nut)
So there you have it. Feel free to experiment with other variations. As you can imagine, if you neglected to see how in the world a plain 'ole veggie sandwich could possible fill you up, try these variations for some good and hearty, yet complex, eating. One recommended complementary dish would be a nice spinach salad; and if the sandwich makes you feel a little guilty, wash it all down with a diet coke to avoid those empty calories-- so healthy!
Check back occassionally for more brilliant recipe ideas, especially if you are that woman who is in every house cleaning/kids chauffering/cooking TV commercial (they even keep that reinforced here in the, typically, more liberal UK-- don't make me go off on my dos semanas con los tres mulatos!). These recipes could prove to be lifesavers!
If you are not yet familiar with the Stuffing Sandwich- I already have it trademarked- you may have noticed an absence of that American (both N and S) favorite, meat. So, for thos of you who are NOT vegetarians (or maybe thought, "What's this crap, some squirrel or rabbit food that they eat in Berkeley or San Francisco?!") and were unable see the actual ingenuity behind my creation, fear not, I have a "normal" version for you.
As a courtesy, I have repeated the the instructions here:
Because I cannot figure out how to copy and paste from this suspect blog program, the nutshell is to put mayo on 2 pieces of bread; add stuffing on top ot one of those pieces; add gravy on top of the stuffing, and cap it off with the other piece of bread. And VIOLA, your Stuffing Sandwich!
For the original, detailed recipe, see http://tranquilito.blogspot.com/2008/03/recipies.html
For those who want a NON-veggie version, here are a few variations for you:
The Pilgrim- add turkey (cranberry sauce is optional, but good!)
Club- add turkey and bacon
Breakfast- add egg and bacon
el Cubano- add ham, roast pork, swiss cheese, pickles and mustard (add or substitute for mayo)
American- add a hamburger patty (and whatever else you want)
Southern Ultra- add fried chicken and smother top of sandwich with gravy (as mentioned with the original recipe, feel free to fry sandwich before smothering if you're not some sort of health nut)
So there you have it. Feel free to experiment with other variations. As you can imagine, if you neglected to see how in the world a plain 'ole veggie sandwich could possible fill you up, try these variations for some good and hearty, yet complex, eating. One recommended complementary dish would be a nice spinach salad; and if the sandwich makes you feel a little guilty, wash it all down with a diet coke to avoid those empty calories-- so healthy!
Check back occassionally for more brilliant recipe ideas, especially if you are that woman who is in every house cleaning/kids chauffering/cooking TV commercial (they even keep that reinforced here in the, typically, more liberal UK-- don't make me go off on my dos semanas con los tres mulatos!). These recipes could prove to be lifesavers!
Saturday 29 March 2008
Recipes
This will be the first in a continuing series of haute culture, 5-star culinary tips and ideas for my dedicated reading audience. So, without further adieu . . .
Stuffing Sandwich
Ingredients:
- bread- 2 pieces
- stuffing- a lot
- gravy- to taste
- mayo- the usual amount
Warm up the gravy. (My apologies to those who may not know how to tackle the first, important step of MAKING gravy. As this is a recipe for quite an exquisite dish, I cannot stoop to such detail. However, if you need guidance, please see: http://www.recipe-ideas.co.uk/gravy-recipes.htm, or http://www.ciao.co.uk/Recipe_for_a_Good_Gravy__Review_5570071.)
Back to the recipe; Mayo up the two pieces of bread. Place 4-6 good sized spoonfuls of stuffing on one of the pieces of bread. Pour enough gravy over stuffing to cover stuffing generously. Place the other mayo-laden piece of bread on top.
Note: depending on the height of your sandwich, you may want to slice it in half to make it more manageable.
VARIATIONS:
Southern style- if health conscious, pour more gravy over layer of bread; otherwise, fry sandwich and then smother.
Mexican style- 3-4 tbsp salsa on top layer of bread; sour cream, avocado and cheese are optional. Serve with corn chips.
Thursday 20 March 2008
Nada Importante redux
So, I originally wrote this post from FRA Tuesday evening while waiting- a LONG time- for my flight.
The problem with my particular section of the large terminal was that my particular sector, gates 50-54, had NO electricity outlets. Thus, my 5pm arrival for my 8:30 flight was basically an empty time to get no work done. And I thoght the Germans were all efficient and well thought out on such things. Perhaps the inability to work is not necessarily a bad thing, right? That's tru until the next morning when you've suddenly got 2x as much to do- 1/2 of which could have been done the evening before when you had absolutely nothing to do, except watch the loop of Germany's version of CNN.
Luckly I had my Blackberry so I could at least do a little BBB (Blackberry Blogging).
Then I began to think that perhaps being stuck in an airport w/ no outlets was not so bad, at least not as bad as as living behind a wall for most of one's life. You see, the day before coming to Frankfurt, I was in Berlin. Yes, The Wall has been down for quite some time. However, I saw at least one, perhaps 100m, section that has been preserved.
I just have this feeling that living behind The Wall would have really sucked. The isolated structure that I saw, with a few holes and breaks in it here and there, was not so imposing. However, I'm preptty sure that is due to the fact that I could see the other end of it. When The Wall existed in it its entirety, it must not have just seemed like some barrier you normally associate with an airport or other sensitive installation.
I gathered that the "REAL" wall was about 9 or 10 feet high x 1/2 foot deep at the top and maybe 1 foot deep at its base. The Wall appeared to consist of of sections about 3 feet wide. The a foot base thickness/depth was in addition to an additional 3 foot long slanting foot that kept it standing.
This foot was on the side that was the started the whole "Axis of Evil" club, the USSR. So I guess the allies paid a little more for The Wall and got the nice-looking side. Or perhaps Daddy Evil did not want The Wall accidentally toppling over on the inevitable inhabitant who tried to scale it. They devised over solutions to this problem (a.k.a. moving-target practice) as there are at least two memorials to attest.
We all grew up with news of the wall and also that of it's toppling, but there are a couple of quesitons that I still wonder about:
A) what about the guy who just had one last errand to run from the "good" side to pick up something on the "evil" side?? So he comes out of the convenience store/pulperia/tienda/etc, just to find that the last section had been put in place right where he had transited The Wall just 5 minutes prior!!; and B) if you were born in E. Berlin after The Wall was already up, would it really be so bad as that was all you'd ever know?
And finally, the most burning question: which is worse, the wrong side of The Wall or the wrong side of the tracks??
The problem with my particular section of the large terminal was that my particular sector, gates 50-54, had NO electricity outlets. Thus, my 5pm arrival for my 8:30 flight was basically an empty time to get no work done. And I thoght the Germans were all efficient and well thought out on such things. Perhaps the inability to work is not necessarily a bad thing, right? That's tru until the next morning when you've suddenly got 2x as much to do- 1/2 of which could have been done the evening before when you had absolutely nothing to do, except watch the loop of Germany's version of CNN.
Luckly I had my Blackberry so I could at least do a little BBB (Blackberry Blogging).
Then I began to think that perhaps being stuck in an airport w/ no outlets was not so bad, at least not as bad as as living behind a wall for most of one's life. You see, the day before coming to Frankfurt, I was in Berlin. Yes, The Wall has been down for quite some time. However, I saw at least one, perhaps 100m, section that has been preserved.
I just have this feeling that living behind The Wall would have really sucked. The isolated structure that I saw, with a few holes and breaks in it here and there, was not so imposing. However, I'm preptty sure that is due to the fact that I could see the other end of it. When The Wall existed in it its entirety, it must not have just seemed like some barrier you normally associate with an airport or other sensitive installation.
I gathered that the "REAL" wall was about 9 or 10 feet high x 1/2 foot deep at the top and maybe 1 foot deep at its base. The Wall appeared to consist of of sections about 3 feet wide. The a foot base thickness/depth was in addition to an additional 3 foot long slanting foot that kept it standing.
This foot was on the side that was the started the whole "Axis of Evil" club, the USSR. So I guess the allies paid a little more for The Wall and got the nice-looking side. Or perhaps Daddy Evil did not want The Wall accidentally toppling over on the inevitable inhabitant who tried to scale it. They devised over solutions to this problem (a.k.a. moving-target practice) as there are at least two memorials to attest.
We all grew up with news of the wall and also that of it's toppling, but there are a couple of quesitons that I still wonder about:
A) what about the guy who just had one last errand to run from the "good" side to pick up something on the "evil" side?? So he comes out of the convenience store/pulperia/tienda/etc, just to find that the last section had been put in place right where he had transited The Wall just 5 minutes prior!!; and B) if you were born in E. Berlin after The Wall was already up, would it really be so bad as that was all you'd ever know?
And finally, the most burning question: which is worse, the wrong side of The Wall or the wrong side of the tracks??
Tuesday 4 March 2008
Homophones: Answered
So here I am on the train again, but this time w/ good news- I've got not one, but TWO answers to the modern version of The Riddle of the Sphinx (aka Homophones):
1) flew, flu, flue; and
2) do, dew, due
Unfortunately I have to split the prize w/ some Texan (one who thinks the word powerful is an adverb- e.g. "It sure is powerful warm in here")!!
1) flew, flu, flue; and
2) do, dew, due
Unfortunately I have to split the prize w/ some Texan (one who thinks the word powerful is an adverb- e.g. "It sure is powerful warm in here")!!
Monday 3 March 2008
Writing on the Train
Finally something to help pass the time on the train! It definitely beats reading the free, daily London rags- unless you need the latest (including pix) on Britney, Amy, and lots of other celebs I've never heard of.
Guess I better hit "post" before I miss my station.
(Downside is having to type on the BB.)
O.K., now I'm back at my desk-- I wanted to add that you don't have to worry about me trying to be all into train blogging, b/c I'm just on as into the whole blogging thing as some others-- e.g. Ms. Fam-of-5 (http://family-of-five.com/) and her blogger possee-- e.g. her novia (http://www.aarynbelfer.com/). Beware of these people :)
Guess I better hit "post" before I miss my station.
(Downside is having to type on the BB.)
O.K., now I'm back at my desk-- I wanted to add that you don't have to worry about me trying to be all into train blogging, b/c I'm just on as into the whole blogging thing as some others-- e.g. Ms. Fam-of-5 (http://family-of-five.com/) and her blogger possee-- e.g. her novia (http://www.aarynbelfer.com/). Beware of these people :)
Thursday 28 February 2008
A Vary Un-L.A. Experience in L.A.
While visiting S. CA last week, we went to the Los Angeles Zoo.
I'm sure we all have our thoughts and opinions, both positive and negative, on zoos. However, what struck me last week had nothing to do with the animals BEHIND the bars, but those on the outside and my hometown in particular.
When we first drove up, I thought, "Maybe the zoo is closed today." I mean, there were not many cars in the parking lot at all. We could have found a spot in the the front row, but, you know, it would have been a ways from the center aisle down which you approach the zoo entrance. (This center walkway bisects the parking lot into two halves; the other side was virtually empty-- maybe 10 cars in total on a (1/2) lot 10 aisles deep by 1/5 mile long.) So instead we parked about 4 rows out, but right ON the center aisle.
There were perhaps 10 big school buses also parked in the lot (up in the first row, but farthest from the center-approach aisle). This is significant because when we first entered, the youngest of the school kids were just beginning to leave. As we proceeded farther into the zoo, there were a few groupd of middle school students. However, after we got to the farthest point of the park, at the end of our inward tack, I began to realize that there were hardly ANY people there-- maybe 4 watching the lions, 2-4 watching the chimpanzees, 5 watching the orangutans, etc.
As we began the head in the direction of the exit, which was still on the other side of the grounds, I realized that by this point ALL of the school visitors had left- we did not arrive until 12 or 12:30- and that they must have constituted about 1/2 of that day's "crowd."
For 1/2 of our visit, we practically had the zoo to ourselves. Don't get me wrong, there were still usually at least a few people at every exhibit we visited on our way out. The numbers on this part of the walk, however, were in the 2-8 range. There were no large groups which typically require one to wade her way to the front to see the animals, or hold the kid on the shoulders so that he could see.
This zoo visit was so striking because not having to deal with hordes of other people anywhere you go in L.A. (definitely in GETTING where you're going) is rare. It's so rare that it was a little disconcerting at first . . . until you realize that it is actually quite pleasant. Of course, it helped that we went on a Wednesday.
For that afternoon, I once again loved L.A.
I'm sure we all have our thoughts and opinions, both positive and negative, on zoos. However, what struck me last week had nothing to do with the animals BEHIND the bars, but those on the outside and my hometown in particular.
When we first drove up, I thought, "Maybe the zoo is closed today." I mean, there were not many cars in the parking lot at all. We could have found a spot in the the front row, but, you know, it would have been a ways from the center aisle down which you approach the zoo entrance. (This center walkway bisects the parking lot into two halves; the other side was virtually empty-- maybe 10 cars in total on a (1/2) lot 10 aisles deep by 1/5 mile long.) So instead we parked about 4 rows out, but right ON the center aisle.
There were perhaps 10 big school buses also parked in the lot (up in the first row, but farthest from the center-approach aisle). This is significant because when we first entered, the youngest of the school kids were just beginning to leave. As we proceeded farther into the zoo, there were a few groupd of middle school students. However, after we got to the farthest point of the park, at the end of our inward tack, I began to realize that there were hardly ANY people there-- maybe 4 watching the lions, 2-4 watching the chimpanzees, 5 watching the orangutans, etc.
As we began the head in the direction of the exit, which was still on the other side of the grounds, I realized that by this point ALL of the school visitors had left- we did not arrive until 12 or 12:30- and that they must have constituted about 1/2 of that day's "crowd."
For 1/2 of our visit, we practically had the zoo to ourselves. Don't get me wrong, there were still usually at least a few people at every exhibit we visited on our way out. The numbers on this part of the walk, however, were in the 2-8 range. There were no large groups which typically require one to wade her way to the front to see the animals, or hold the kid on the shoulders so that he could see.
This zoo visit was so striking because not having to deal with hordes of other people anywhere you go in L.A. (definitely in GETTING where you're going) is rare. It's so rare that it was a little disconcerting at first . . . until you realize that it is actually quite pleasant. Of course, it helped that we went on a Wednesday.
For that afternoon, I once again loved L.A.
Homo . . . phones
So, this morning I was discussing this with my wi . . ., er, I mean, partner (I forget, we're in England). Her being more the gramattical expert and wordsmith, I asked, "other than 2 (two, too, to), how many triple homophones exist??"
Hint: I don't know the answer (although I THINK it is None).
Rules: No foreign words- e.g. see, sea, si
I await your insight
Hint: I don't know the answer (although I THINK it is None).
Rules: No foreign words- e.g. see, sea, si
I await your insight
I'm baaaa-aaack!
Apologies for my long absence-- I didn't want to slow down the web too much over the holiday season w/ all the traffic generated by those coming to see my site and whatnot . . .
Anyway, there've been more thoughts and theories swimming through my head, and I thought I needed to put them down and see what my "illions" (synonomous with "grip") of readers think. Here's a preview of some things to come: How People Categorize Themselves, cont'd; The Democratic Nomination (and Candidates); The Superbowl With NO Commercials!?; and lots of other stuff- no pun intended.
To kick things off, let's look at our phrases of the week:
"Abuse of Power" and "Above the Law"
If you would like to see an example, just follow this link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23367672/
More to follow
Anyway, there've been more thoughts and theories swimming through my head, and I thought I needed to put them down and see what my "illions" (synonomous with "grip") of readers think. Here's a preview of some things to come: How People Categorize Themselves, cont'd; The Democratic Nomination (and Candidates); The Superbowl With NO Commercials!?; and lots of other stuff- no pun intended.
To kick things off, let's look at our phrases of the week:
"Abuse of Power" and "Above the Law"
If you would like to see an example, just follow this link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23367672/
More to follow
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