Acadia National Park 2018
8 years ago
Thursday, June 08, 2006
The Countdown to...
Oh, Lordy.
My oh my, it's been a crazy (insert any time amount here)!
Jill and I are mostly moved.
We are wrapping up our classes.
We are buying gifts
We got our rings
I finally got some wedding clothes ;-)
We fly in one week
We marry in less than 2
We have several parties to attend
We also have an important event happening in Warsaw this weekend:
The Equality Parade
Warsaw, Poland's major political parties, Radio Marija and a unique version of the 'young Democrats society' are speaking quite loudly about their disapproval of gays, lesbians, bi and transexuals. High ranking politicians have said publicly that all gay men are pedophiles, are mentally deranged and should be gassed. Oh, but women aren't gay. Hmm. Poland is very homogenous in it's looks, style and political and ethical views. As a fairly new addition to the European Union, equality for all peoples within its borders is still a foreign concept.
The march is on at 1 P.M. this Saturday. The vehemently anti-gay All Polish Youth will also be marching, on a Warsaw city-approved route, which happens to be nearly the reverse of the Equality march, so a potentially violent rendezvous may occur in the middle.
For an English, soon to be firsthand account of how these events unfold, follow us along at our P3 site, which recently moved away from Google's Blogger to:
http://polishstyle.net/
Nearly every contributing member will be attending the parade.
Cross your fingers and hold your thumbs.
See you all soon.
Jeronimo
photo compliments of :http://gallery.hd.org/_exhibits/natural-science/_more1999/_more05/splash-of-stream-of-water-drops-multihue-rainbow-backdrop-and-ripples-1-AJHD.jpg
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
GRATULACJE, Erden!
Turkish Adventurer Rows Across Atlantic
By AA, Madrid
Published: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 zaman.com
Erden Eruc, a 45-year-old Turkish adventurer, started his around the world adventure by successfully rowing a 7.9- meter long boat across the Atlantic.
Setting off from Lisbon in Portugal on 19 October 2005, Eruc successfully crossed the Atlantic rowing to the Caribbean Barbados Island arriving on April 30.
He is the first Turkish man to cross the Atlantic Ocean powered only by his own muscle. Still rowing on the ocean, Eruc hopes to reach the Costa Rican city of Limon on June 5 or 10.
Dreaming of rowing around the world since 1997, Eruc first rowed from North America to Alaska in 2003.
Also planning to climb the world’s highest summits on six separate contents, not including the South Pole, the Turkish adventurer hopes to realize his dreams by 2011, if everything proceeds as planned.
Way to go, Erden!
Additionally, he already 'began' his round the world adventure by riding his bike from Seattle (his current home, where he lives with his wife, Nancy) to Alaska, then climbed Denali (Mt. McKinley), the highest peak in North America, and then rode back to Seattle...and has also completed the cross-North America-leg on bike, too. However, weather systems and water currents defeated the option of rowing from Flordia to Europe, hence his row east to west. Regardless, he's done a magnificent job and also did 98% of it solo, which was unplanned, too. Kudos to you, Erden, we're glad to hear you're safe and sound!
For more info, check out his website and boat/satellite tracker at:
www.around-n-over.org
Cheers!
By AA, Madrid
Published: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 zaman.com
Erden Eruc, a 45-year-old Turkish adventurer, started his around the world adventure by successfully rowing a 7.9- meter long boat across the Atlantic.
Setting off from Lisbon in Portugal on 19 October 2005, Eruc successfully crossed the Atlantic rowing to the Caribbean Barbados Island arriving on April 30.
He is the first Turkish man to cross the Atlantic Ocean powered only by his own muscle. Still rowing on the ocean, Eruc hopes to reach the Costa Rican city of Limon on June 5 or 10.
Dreaming of rowing around the world since 1997, Eruc first rowed from North America to Alaska in 2003.
Also planning to climb the world’s highest summits on six separate contents, not including the South Pole, the Turkish adventurer hopes to realize his dreams by 2011, if everything proceeds as planned.
Way to go, Erden!
Additionally, he already 'began' his round the world adventure by riding his bike from Seattle (his current home, where he lives with his wife, Nancy) to Alaska, then climbed Denali (Mt. McKinley), the highest peak in North America, and then rode back to Seattle...and has also completed the cross-North America-leg on bike, too. However, weather systems and water currents defeated the option of rowing from Flordia to Europe, hence his row east to west. Regardless, he's done a magnificent job and also did 98% of it solo, which was unplanned, too. Kudos to you, Erden, we're glad to hear you're safe and sound!
For more info, check out his website and boat/satellite tracker at:
www.around-n-over.org
Cheers!
Monday, April 17, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Bowling for Seattle
Last weekend, while perusing the DVDs at our local Beverly Hills Video store near the Best Mall Ever in Sadyba, I found a few nice scores to add to our puny collection: Raging Bull, Das Boot, Memento and the best deal was Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine (Zabawy z Bronią) for less than $3.
Little did I know that the timing of our purchase came just a few hours after one of Seattle's worst shooting rampages. Kyle Huff, a nice, quiet, large man from Montana, while visiting an after-rave party in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, shot and killed Jeremy Martin, Melissa Moore, Suzanne Thorne, Chris Williamson, Justin Schwartz, Jason Travers and then turned one of his guns on himself when confronted by a lone police officer. Two others were injured and fortunately several escaped. It was a story that made little news here in Poland, but it did make it to the top spot on Google's international news page by the end of Saturday and remained there for around 72 hours and is, obviously, still front page news for all of Seattle's papers.
We watched Moore's Bowling for Columbine documentary last night. It wasn't the first time we'd seen it, but the first in a very long time. We're very familiar with his work, as we spent our second-to-last birthday (yes, they're the same) watching Fahrenheit 9/11 in the theater before going for an overnight hike to Mt. Pilchuck in a numb state, hoping that this film would be enough of a catalyst to oust Bush from office.
Oh, well.
How Moore mixes comedy with 'the awful truth', and yes, some manipulative images and quotes from a wide variety of politicians, media moguls and everyday people, it is still a stirring film that is both entertaining and educational and still has a strong punch four years after its release. But most importantly, this week's event goes to show that America's form of gun control is still way out of line. Yes, many people in America own guns, but so do Canadians, and our death by shooting rate is more than 1,000:1, respectively.
Kyle Huff already had a record of gun abuse back in Whitefish, Montana. The authorities there reduced the felony offense of "shooting up an 'artsy' moose" in court and he was allowed to keep his firearms which he later brought with him to Seattle and used in this killing spree. By law, the city and state had the power to revoke his weaponry...but everyone plays with guns in the Wild West...it's our right to bear arms, dammit, so we can't deprive this youth of his guns.
Some people and the police do have guns here in Poland, but they don't tend to use them on eachother like Americans are willing to do. Most deaths here seem to either be alcohol or driving-related, and not always when the two are mixed. It's economy, health care and infrastructure-related problems here, as unemployment and alcoholism is high, and the old communist-era roads are in horrible shape, where even the fanciest SUVs can take a tumble when hitting the massive potholes at high speed.
Has America's news media reduced its infatuation with presenting violent crimes since Bowling for Columbine was released? Unfortunately, I don't think so. More unfortunately, it's a form of marketing that is spreading around the world, marketing fear across the globe, with potential terrorists in London, Madrid, Morocco, Indonesia and even here in Warsaw.
Do we really have that much to be afraid of?
Little did I know that the timing of our purchase came just a few hours after one of Seattle's worst shooting rampages. Kyle Huff, a nice, quiet, large man from Montana, while visiting an after-rave party in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, shot and killed Jeremy Martin, Melissa Moore, Suzanne Thorne, Chris Williamson, Justin Schwartz, Jason Travers and then turned one of his guns on himself when confronted by a lone police officer. Two others were injured and fortunately several escaped. It was a story that made little news here in Poland, but it did make it to the top spot on Google's international news page by the end of Saturday and remained there for around 72 hours and is, obviously, still front page news for all of Seattle's papers.
We watched Moore's Bowling for Columbine documentary last night. It wasn't the first time we'd seen it, but the first in a very long time. We're very familiar with his work, as we spent our second-to-last birthday (yes, they're the same) watching Fahrenheit 9/11 in the theater before going for an overnight hike to Mt. Pilchuck in a numb state, hoping that this film would be enough of a catalyst to oust Bush from office.
Oh, well.
How Moore mixes comedy with 'the awful truth', and yes, some manipulative images and quotes from a wide variety of politicians, media moguls and everyday people, it is still a stirring film that is both entertaining and educational and still has a strong punch four years after its release. But most importantly, this week's event goes to show that America's form of gun control is still way out of line. Yes, many people in America own guns, but so do Canadians, and our death by shooting rate is more than 1,000:1, respectively.
Kyle Huff already had a record of gun abuse back in Whitefish, Montana. The authorities there reduced the felony offense of "shooting up an 'artsy' moose" in court and he was allowed to keep his firearms which he later brought with him to Seattle and used in this killing spree. By law, the city and state had the power to revoke his weaponry...but everyone plays with guns in the Wild West...it's our right to bear arms, dammit, so we can't deprive this youth of his guns.
Some people and the police do have guns here in Poland, but they don't tend to use them on eachother like Americans are willing to do. Most deaths here seem to either be alcohol or driving-related, and not always when the two are mixed. It's economy, health care and infrastructure-related problems here, as unemployment and alcoholism is high, and the old communist-era roads are in horrible shape, where even the fanciest SUVs can take a tumble when hitting the massive potholes at high speed.
Has America's news media reduced its infatuation with presenting violent crimes since Bowling for Columbine was released? Unfortunately, I don't think so. More unfortunately, it's a form of marketing that is spreading around the world, marketing fear across the globe, with potential terrorists in London, Madrid, Morocco, Indonesia and even here in Warsaw.
Do we really have that much to be afraid of?
Sunday, March 26, 2006
PolPics.com and other news
Hi!
Long time no read, eh?
First off, check out this nice link, in English, called PolPics:
http://polpics.com/
It's a massive collection of intriguing photography from all around Poland, and since I've been so lame about putting up my own semi-decent shots, you might as well check out the pros' work.
We have our first American visitors in a long while coming soon, and they're both named Kris!?!
This Wednesday, our first contestant on the Polish Zloty Price is Right is Kris Cummings, from Seattle/Phoenix. We met through the Seattle Mountaineers on a lovely epic climb of Guye Peak's West Face several years ago. She has a great dog named Lucy (and another new one now), but the pets aren't coming to torture Dudek this time around. I think we'll do the Warsaw/Krakow thing, then she's off to Copenhagen to visit other US expats, then to Budapest...then back here again for more churches and WWII memoriabilia.
Next up is KJ, Krash, Kris-Cross, island boy, the man, the myth, the legend, my best friend from oh so many years, Kris Morrison. He somehow not only fenagled a 3 week trip to Europe this spring, but got almost another week off for mine and Jill's mid-week wedding in June. That's pretty sweet! I'd love to quit work for the full time he's here and join him. He's doing the War-Krak-Praha-Wien-Budapest loop. I haven't seen him in over 2 years...this will be fun!
We're super psyched both Krises are coming and they're also bringing some tasty treats from home! Yummy!
OK, what else is shakin'?
Spring came, happy equinox! The temps have been above freezing every day for over a week now! Rain came and the snow is starting to vanish! I've been running, cycling, swimming, climbing, lifting and doing some yoga...more sun means happier Jill and Jeremy :)
We like Poland, and we're here another year, but we've decided to try sunnier climes next time around...but where will that be?
Dudek is doing well, but he's feeling super cramped up in our flat. He got his rabies shot this week and he'll be venturing out soon. By the way, we're still looking for cat caretakers for the summer if you're interested!
Jill's spring break is coming, so as Kris #2 arrives, she'll already be in the middle of her Italian/Tuscan bike tour with Lisa. Yesterday we rode 50 km and her bum was hurtin'... and the two of them are riding today-nothing like crash course training for a week long bike tour. I wish the newbies the best of luck! But how bad could it be, bike touring through one of the most beautiful parts of Europe, where the temps are already nearing 70 F every day and the flowers starting to bloom.
Yes I'm jealous. We'll be fighting over the camera for that week, I'm sure.
So 2 and 3/4 months to go until our big day! :)
If anyone sees any cheap flights that'll get me back in time for my wedding, I'd greatly appreciate it!
;-)
cu!
jr
Long time no read, eh?
First off, check out this nice link, in English, called PolPics:
http://polpics.com/
It's a massive collection of intriguing photography from all around Poland, and since I've been so lame about putting up my own semi-decent shots, you might as well check out the pros' work.
We have our first American visitors in a long while coming soon, and they're both named Kris!?!
This Wednesday, our first contestant on the Polish Zloty Price is Right is Kris Cummings, from Seattle/Phoenix. We met through the Seattle Mountaineers on a lovely epic climb of Guye Peak's West Face several years ago. She has a great dog named Lucy (and another new one now), but the pets aren't coming to torture Dudek this time around. I think we'll do the Warsaw/Krakow thing, then she's off to Copenhagen to visit other US expats, then to Budapest...then back here again for more churches and WWII memoriabilia.
Next up is KJ, Krash, Kris-Cross, island boy, the man, the myth, the legend, my best friend from oh so many years, Kris Morrison. He somehow not only fenagled a 3 week trip to Europe this spring, but got almost another week off for mine and Jill's mid-week wedding in June. That's pretty sweet! I'd love to quit work for the full time he's here and join him. He's doing the War-Krak-Praha-Wien-Budapest loop. I haven't seen him in over 2 years...this will be fun!
We're super psyched both Krises are coming and they're also bringing some tasty treats from home! Yummy!
OK, what else is shakin'?
Spring came, happy equinox! The temps have been above freezing every day for over a week now! Rain came and the snow is starting to vanish! I've been running, cycling, swimming, climbing, lifting and doing some yoga...more sun means happier Jill and Jeremy :)
We like Poland, and we're here another year, but we've decided to try sunnier climes next time around...but where will that be?
Dudek is doing well, but he's feeling super cramped up in our flat. He got his rabies shot this week and he'll be venturing out soon. By the way, we're still looking for cat caretakers for the summer if you're interested!
Jill's spring break is coming, so as Kris #2 arrives, she'll already be in the middle of her Italian/Tuscan bike tour with Lisa. Yesterday we rode 50 km and her bum was hurtin'... and the two of them are riding today-nothing like crash course training for a week long bike tour. I wish the newbies the best of luck! But how bad could it be, bike touring through one of the most beautiful parts of Europe, where the temps are already nearing 70 F every day and the flowers starting to bloom.
Yes I'm jealous. We'll be fighting over the camera for that week, I'm sure.
So 2 and 3/4 months to go until our big day! :)
If anyone sees any cheap flights that'll get me back in time for my wedding, I'd greatly appreciate it!
;-)
cu!
jr
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Endless Winter
Yesterday we were tricked
All of us.
The temps rose to a record 39 F and the sun was shining and all were happy, smiling and yapping about.
But with the sun came an occasional stiff wind, which brought not only the cold back today, but even more snow.
5 days until the first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox, and still no real sign of it actually happening. Perhaps when the Poles get all dressed up in their wild costumes on this day they'll be able to frighten Old Man Winter away for good. Then Jill and I have exactly 3 months to scramble for our big day in June!
:)
All of us.
The temps rose to a record 39 F and the sun was shining and all were happy, smiling and yapping about.
But with the sun came an occasional stiff wind, which brought not only the cold back today, but even more snow.
5 days until the first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox, and still no real sign of it actually happening. Perhaps when the Poles get all dressed up in their wild costumes on this day they'll be able to frighten Old Man Winter away for good. Then Jill and I have exactly 3 months to scramble for our big day in June!
:)
Saturday, March 04, 2006
There's a cat out of the bag! Quick, get it!
Greetings one and all, for those online enough, regardless how far away, or those fortunate to be in the same city as us, I've let you in on a little secret about a nice little event that occurred in recent months, in fact 2 months and 14 days ago, high on a sun-soaked cliff, above the Mediterranean Sea.
I proposed...
and Jill said "YES!"
Proposal: December 21st, the Winter Solstice
Wedding: June 21st, the Summer Solstice
:)
Friday, February 10, 2006
raining and pouring
Wow, the deep freeze finally ended.
Temps rose above 0 C for the first time since before Xmas, I think, and it's made Warsaw a big, slippery, slushy mess. Riding was easier in pure snow than this stuff. Yuck.
On the positive side, an old student, Renata, returned for a reliable 2 classes per week at school, and I picked up another young, recently engaged couple who ventured to Venezuela this fall and had a heck of a trip. They're getting married in one of Warsaw's oldest churches in May, the one famous for the statue of Christ carrying the cross, along Nowy Swiat and featured in Roman Polanski's excellent film, The Pianist. The church is also famous for being home to Frederic Chopin's heart, literally, as it was his wish, and the rest of him is in France. I wonder who delivered it and how smoothly that trip went! They're nice people, Ula and Slawek, and perhaps we'll get invited to our second Polish wedding (first was Pawel and Magda's on New Year's Day, 2005, in the oldest, surviving church in Warsaw. That was nice!)
Starting the 18th, Jill and ASW have their winter break. We're likely off to Slovakia to Jasne, Mala Fatra and hopefully to do some ice climbing in Slovensky Raj (Slovakian Paradise)... but Jill's chompin' at the bit to board some huge, Alpy slopes in Austria, so who knows where we'll end up.
Hope everyone's well!
Ciao!
Temps rose above 0 C for the first time since before Xmas, I think, and it's made Warsaw a big, slippery, slushy mess. Riding was easier in pure snow than this stuff. Yuck.
On the positive side, an old student, Renata, returned for a reliable 2 classes per week at school, and I picked up another young, recently engaged couple who ventured to Venezuela this fall and had a heck of a trip. They're getting married in one of Warsaw's oldest churches in May, the one famous for the statue of Christ carrying the cross, along Nowy Swiat and featured in Roman Polanski's excellent film, The Pianist. The church is also famous for being home to Frederic Chopin's heart, literally, as it was his wish, and the rest of him is in France. I wonder who delivered it and how smoothly that trip went! They're nice people, Ula and Slawek, and perhaps we'll get invited to our second Polish wedding (first was Pawel and Magda's on New Year's Day, 2005, in the oldest, surviving church in Warsaw. That was nice!)
Starting the 18th, Jill and ASW have their winter break. We're likely off to Slovakia to Jasne, Mala Fatra and hopefully to do some ice climbing in Slovensky Raj (Slovakian Paradise)... but Jill's chompin' at the bit to board some huge, Alpy slopes in Austria, so who knows where we'll end up.
Hope everyone's well!
Ciao!
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