June in Mobile

It's been a quiet couple of weeks here in Mobile, getting back to day-to-day life after the glory of Chile. I'm doing more interesting things at work now, more lawyerly things, so that's good.

And I've been drinking the shit out of mate, that South American tea-like elixir. It's so good! It gives you a boost, but a smoother one than coffee, and it's a bit of an appetite suppressant, so I don't have the urge to constantly graze that reading or writing legal stuff usually gives me. It has indeed partially supplanted coffee in my daily routine, and one day last week I even did not have coffee for a whole day! I cannot remember the last time I went a day without any coffee, but it had been years.

The benefits of the mate, combined with the slight weight loss that I achieved while in Chile (it's so much easier to eat better and be more active when you leave AL), inspired me to focus in fitness again, so in addition to cutting way back on calories, I've been running more. Soon I'll be a steed again.

That is, if I don't get waylaid by the new Waffle House going in across the street from my office! It's just off the intersection of Hillcrest & Grelot. A month ago, it was an empty lot; now, this new beacon of hope and goodness has popped up less than 100 yards from my workplace. I do believe I am the only one of us who can boast of this. It is surely the closest any of us has ever lived or worked to a WH, and it is glorious!

And one last thing about food... I had dinner with Randy, Michael, and Caleb (8 mos) last weekend. They're good. They're moving to Monterey, CA in a couple of weeks! I'm damn jealous.

Finally, speaking of better places: As if health care and public transportation aren't enough, here's yet another example of the little things that give Europe a higher quality of life than here: Supermarkets Offering Personal Scanners. At least they're beginning to be rolled out here. We'll see if they ever make it beyond high-end East Coast & West Coast stores. Of course, that's where I aim to get back to (or abroad), so why am I carping?

Pollos!

Another great thing about my trip to Chile is that it has enabled me get back to the original theme of this blog: chickens! I saw many chickens out in the countryside when we were down in Araucanía. Here are a couple of pulse-quickening shots...

Post-Chile

So I've been back from Chile for almost a week now, back to the grind. The trip was amazing, nine days of one surprise after the next. The only disappointment was that it was cloudy most of the time, so I never really got to see the southern stars. But it was neat to see the sun and moon cross the sky along a northerly route rather than a southerly one. And it was by far the farthest south I've ever been, reaching far enough (in the Villarrica area) to be farther south than the Australian mainland, roughly even with Tasmania. Oh yeah, I tested the water drain thing...it drained counterclockwise in my sink in Santiago, just as it does in my sink here in Mobile...so no Coriolis effect. As for weather, it was really chilly, being in late fall/early winter. And the leaves had turned! Used to be, when I thought of Latin American flora, I thought dense and green. But central Chile is at such a latitude that there are seasons like in the US, so there was a lot of colorful fall foliage, reminding me of New England at times. Some leafy parts of Santiago even looked like Brooklyn or the Upper West Side or something.

All in all, it was an incredible trip, with so many great sights and activities and people, especially considering that two days before the trip I didn't even know I was going there. This week I've been trying to edit the roughly 950 photos down to a manageable number to post online. They should be on Flickr soon. In the meantime, here's a shot of Julie and I in Pucón, on the shores of Lake Villarrica.

D-Day on XM

For everybody out there with XM Radio, check out this awesome show that's airing in a couple of days.

Relive the D-Day Invasion
June 6 at 12:41 AM-June 7 at 5:45 PM ET

The '40s - XM 4 brings history alive when it presents a 40-hour real-time re-creation of NBC Radio's coverage of the the massive Allied landing on the Normandy coast of France on June 6th, 1944.

Beginning with the first bulletin on that morning, which aired at 12:41 AM Eastern War Time (same as Eastern Daylight Time), The '40s - XM 4 will provide minute-by-minute coverage of the invasion for 40 hours as heard on the National Broadcasting Company's radio network.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Happy Birthday to One James Lakey! 31 years of Unchecked Fury!

Also, happy birthday to my mom Betsy and uncle David.
And I'm back from Chile...photos soon.

Villarrica

Ahora Julie y yo estamos in Villarrica. We took the overnight bus from Santiago last night, and I awoke this morning to the sight of three massive volcanoes just visible at dawn. Today we explored this town and nearby Pucón. We planned to trek up to the crater of Volcán Villarrica tomorrow, but the weather up there is too bad, so we rented a car to explore more of this amazing area.

En Vivo de Santiago

¡Buenas noches!
So the trip has been great so far. On my nearly-free standby flight down here, I wound up in first class! First class for a 10 hour transcontinental flight is fantastic. Even the food was great. And I made a friend...the guy next to me was this nice young chileno named Francisco.
In fact I´ve made so many friends here! The first day, I met Julie from Quebec City and Tina from Germany, who are studying here. They´ve been great to hang out with. That first night they took me to a party and to a salsateca; my first day in Santiago and I was out until 4am. Increible. Friday night we went back to the salsa place and met Sebastian, a young lawyer here. Really nice guy, he invited is to a barbecue today, where I met even more cool locals. It´s great, because when traveling alone you usually meet nice other travelers, or encounter locals in the streets whom sometimes have to be wary of, so it´s great to meet nice, normal, fun locals. Y chicas bonitas y simpaticas. After the barbecue ended tonight, a bunch of us went back to the salsa place for the Sunday night class. Y mas cerveza.
As for sidetrips, on Friday I went to Valparaiso, a great old port city. Yesterday Julie, Tina and I did the wine tour at Concha y Tora. Good stuff. And I was thinking about going to Mendoza, Argentina for a night, which entails a great bus ride through the Andes, but that didn´t quite work out. And I was happy to hang here instead. Tomorrow night Julie and I will take an overnight bus to Pucón, a town well south of here near volcanoes and other natural beauty. Then I´ll be back Thursday for my flight home.
There haven´t been many bumps in the road, mainly just the stress of having to be careful with myself and my bag when walking through the more crowded, crazy areas. But I´m getting more comfortable, and my spanish is coming back nicely. I can converse pretty well now, and the socializing I mentioned is mostly in spanish. It´s challenging and exhilarating, y las chicas piensen que puedo hablar muy bien. Y lo que es la mas importante, no?

So, that´s the report from the southern latitudes. Until next time, soy,
John de Chile

One more thing...vocabulario: un submarino = a delicious hot chocolate consisting of thick bars of chocolate sunk into a cup of steamed milk, to melt at your pleasure. Wonderful.

This Week's Destination

Santiago, Chile!

Today on Fowl River

A rebel shrimpboat pulling a tube:

Local Cheese and Other Developments

Some recent news from the northern Gulf Coast:

Two weekends ago, I found out I passed the bar exam and and bunch of the old gang was in town for Merritt's wedding. That was a good weekend.

Last weekend I was in New Orleans for Jazzfest and other festivities. It was a big time, as usual. Saw many good acts and ate some serious boudin, meat pies, etc. Another highlight was going to Sucre, a great new chocolate shop.

This past weekend was big for Mobile. First, it was announced that we'll be getting a big steel plant, then, the Battle House Hotel and RSA Tower had their gala openings. They both look great. Here's a picture I took a couple nights ago.


Also, Mobile's Market on the Square has opened for the season, every Saturday morning in Cathedral Square. I found out from The Bread Lady (that's her name) there that there is a cheesemaking farm in the area! I had no idea! Sweet Home Farm, down in Baldwin County near Elberta, not far from the beach. Looks like a great place!

Otherwise, I've just been working and catching up on projects and organizing. Exciting times.

French Elections

I was just catching up on some news, reading about the French elections...did you know they had 84% turnout?! Amazing. That's my stat of the week; anytime I hear an American disparaging France, I'm going to mention that and say something about how they participate in their democracy. Of course, the riots at the end of voting day aren't exactly as respectable. Then again, you gotta love the interest & participation & sort of old-fashionedness of it ... when the French don't like something, they take to the streets!

That's even mentioned in this article, which also includes a nice few paragraphs comparing the French socioeconomic system with that of the US/UK; how it is cumbersome and all, but has helped maintain their great way of life.

Also, I enjoy the last sentence of this article, describing the transfer-of-power ceremony: "The Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor will make Mr. Sarkozy Grand Master of the Order."

GRAND MASTER OF THE ODRER!!!

Lastly, here's a photo from a victory celebration in Place de la Concorde. Ah, the Greatness of France...

Chicken Store in the News

Today the New York Times had a little article about spending a day in Key West, and it mentioned the beloved Chicken Store! Check out this passage and the subsequent photos:

3 p.m.
5) CHICKEN RUN
People in this town don't kid when it comes to chickens. They're on the loose everywhere, and it's a battle — half the island is trying to save the little cluckers, the other half is endlessly annoyed. And then there are the kids stealing them for cockfights. Learn all about the Key West chicken wars at the Chicken Store (1229 Duval Street, 305-294-0070; www.thechickenstore.com), where you can hold a fuzzy baby chick, feed a rooster or buy a clever T-shirt. If the heart is swayed, you can even file for adoption.

Holding a sweet hen at the Chicken Store


Chasing a big cock in Mallory Square (a time-honored Key West activity)

Recent Purchases

I recently made two great new purchases, one to create heat, and one to dissipate it.

Creating heat is the exciting new Pentax K10D. After years of waiting for the right camera at the right price, I'm finally making the switch to digital as my primary photography medium. The old ZX-5 served me well for over 10 years and it will soon begin a well-earned retirement. I've got a steep learning curve to maximize the potential of the K10, but it's gonna be fun.

And dissipating heat is my new beaded seat cushion. The cockpit of the Explorer gets hot in the summer, and I have long sought a solution to my heat-trapping seatback. For years I toyed with the idea of the cabbie-style wooden beads, but just didn't have the guts. No longer. I'm now sporting the beads, in all their taxicab glory. Stay tuned for a report on how well they actually work.

Around the Web

This was in the news a couple of months ago, but I'm just now getting around to mentioning it. Have you seen the new Wikipedia competitor Conservapedia? Amazing. Check out the entry on dinosaurs.

Good news for your stomach: Mandina's, another old favorite, is back open (website by Christy Soto!). Great turtle soup.

Are you familiar with Mims' hit song "This Is Why I'm Hot"? I wasn't, until I sampled it on iTunes after reading this excellent "graphical dissertation" on the song.

And here's a cool site...Worldometers. World statistics updated in real time.

I leave you with a line that still tickles me:
Jack Abramoff??? But I hardly even know Abram!

Camellia Grill Reopens!

Another Nola recovery milestone - the Camellia Grill reopened Saturday! And the AP photo even captures my favorite waiter, Melvin! This is huge. Word?! Go here for more on the new owner and his plans.

Apple Store Birmingham

Is there any doubt that an Apple Store in Alabama was long overdue? Check out the crowd on opening day last weekend.

And here's a post from a guy who was third in line. He got there at 6am for the 10am opening.

Modern times are a'comin', slowly but surely.

My New Home

I'm finally catching up on my photo processing. Here's a picture of me at my new home in Mobile, taken when I got here in late January. Cute place, huh?

Around the Web

I don't know why I haven't promoted Chris Hayes on here before. I do so now.

Great luck for Mr. Peepers! Duck emerges victorious from car incident
Notice the caption under the photo.

I like Ralph Lupin's style. A recent Times-Pic article on French Quarter trash collection included the following:

A frustrated Ralph Lupin, the Vieux Carre Commission's tough-talking chairman, told the commission Tuesday, "I don't understand Ms. White's obstinance other than that she's a bitch."

From The Politico: Ron Paul: More Guns Will Deter Shootings

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has a simple solution to future shooting massacres such as the one that ripped apart Virginia Tech university Monday: more guns. "People are a little more cautious if somebody might have a gun there," the GOP presidential candidate told Politico reporters Tuesday. "A concealed gun carried by a responsible person -- that might have ended the problem that they had at Virginia Tech with one person being killed or two people being killed."

Yes, and luckily we'd never have to worry about all the concealed guns carried by irresponsible people.

The Campaigns' Econ Advisers

From today's NYT:

Economix: The Advisers Are Writing Our Future
By DAVID LEONHARDT
The early economic advisers to presidential candidates can leave a big imprint if their candidate prevails.

Update

Greetings! Here some news from my new life on the Gulf Coast.

1. Starting with chickens, of course, I recently found out that another neighbor of mine has chickens! Bill Finch, the editor of the garden section of the newspaper, lives around the corner, and his yard is this amazing horticultural laboratory. Naturally, he has 8 or 10 beautiful hens to complement it. If you'd like to join me, he said I can visit them anytime!

2. Next, I'm working the nightshift now. The project I'm on at the law firm is so big they want people on it day and night, and I'm heading up the night bunch. Good times in West Mobile.

3. Alabama finally gets an Apple Store! The long-rumored store at The Summit in Birmingham opens tomorrow! I wanted to go the the sure-to-be-festive grand opening, but I can't make it.

4. Lastly, I ran the Crescent City Classic last weekend. Imagine a regular 10K race for some people combined with a 6.2 mile-long party for everyone else. In addition to the people passing out water every mile were others on the route passing out "Free Beer! Free Donuts!" and "Free Hot Dogs!" Not to mention the brass bands playing and runners in crazy costumes. When it was over, the first thing I consumed was not water but a jello shot, which were being handed out by this random group of guys just past the finish line. Then came the big post-race party at Tad Gormley Stadium where there was free Abita beer, jambalaya, and a band. Classic New Orleans.

I leave you with a post-race photo of me enjoying the festivities.