Delphie mopping the floor of the World Financial Center

Merry Christmas!

The ... monologues at MoMA

E checks out a video installation whose topic was... thought raising.
We also saw the Van Gogh exhibition which included Starry Night. Liz
met us and we all ate a great lunch there.

Emi checks in with Kris

As THE holiday buldozes toward us, Emi does a last check in with THE
man.

Del was to suspicious to sit down and she looked on with a critical eye.

Same night we got the season's first snow - just a dusting.

Some more video links

Here is a screen shot of my bud in NYC (who unfortunately was born with a pillow head and an uncontrollable ability for witty responses)....

And here is an embedded video intro to....video chat...

Radio killed the video star

It's been a busy week so I missed this public announcement.

No more apps to make video chat happen. There it is embeded in your gmail!

Enjoy.

Announcement November 11, 2008 Gmail launches voice and video chat  Makes it easy to chat with video and voice right alongside your email Google today launched Gmail voice and video chat, making it simple for people around the world to chat in high-quality video for free right within Gmail. All you need is a webcam and a small web browser plugin, and you can start video chatting with your friends, family, and coworkers on Gmail and Google Apps. Gmail voice and video chat lets you start a video chat without switching to another application or signing up for another account. And if you don't have a webcam, you can simply chat by voice. We've made it easy enough that your mom -- or your employees -- will actually use it. .....(click title for full press release)

Halloween Dragon Girl

Del gets crazy on hallows eve.

Snip snip

I've been phlobotomized!

After almost 20 years of a bulging vein in my arm I finally had the
problem removed much like surgery on varicos veins.

Pictured here is the offending vein. Here's to no more probs!

VT: Baker Berry Blast

We may not have our own ice cream but we got good taste. A short side
trip to the original Ben & Jerry's factory with a tour and free samples.

VT: Del goes agro!

The Pawpaws would be proud.

VT: Shelburn Farms

It'll be a nice long weekend in Vermont.

I need my Google to find my Google so we can go to the Google...

The only reall question here is why did take me almost 12 hours to do a post on this?

So for my tech challenged family just watch the video...

If you are hungry for more details, check out these feature videos...

Sara's long lost brother found!

Tiberius (Tibs to his friends) was hanging out on 9th Ave. His
markings and red color were a dead match for Sara. He had a thicker
build but the same friendly disposition.

K kid runs a k (or less)

I think he might be hooked. C said he ran the whole race and I think
he was intent on winning.

de&gr: Zorba The Greek - Follow Up Post after watching the movie

This is a follow up to a review of the book I did a few days back (here is the wiki entry for the book).

Chris and I watched the movie Zorba The Greek this weekend and I have a handful of observations and interesting findings worth mentioning.

First off, to our suprise we observed one of our favorite beaches near the begining of the film. When the narrator and Zorba travel from the small village to the mine they  walk along a picturesque natural harbor containing an island. 

Chris and I immediately recognized the island and proceeded to watch the whole scene to soak in the details. Of course in the movie there are no buildings, but the said island with its two square concrete slabs (guessing they were left over from WWII) were unmistakable.

You can get a view of the harbour on "My Map" below. You'll likely have to zoom in and then click on the renamed "Zorba Beach" link. A cool discovery none the less..

View Larger Map

A little research using the wiki page for the movie I also realized the final scene of the movie takes place just north of that at a beach called Stravros.

So now on to a continuation of my review and criticism.

Given all the love for the movie about Zorba I was convinced that the film would be substantially more upbeat then the novel. Folks have so much admiration for his character that I was certainly it would diverge from the novel (which as said I read as pretty depressing).

To my suprise the movie was as depressing (and in some cases more depressing) as the book. Anthony Quinn is definitely amazing but amazing for the complexity he brings to Zorba - the manic-depressive of his character. Zorba is the only character to do anything of honor, but even these couple scenes seem overwhelmed by the society around him. The movie wallows in the bleakness of society (especially its treatment of widows).

The narrator's switch to a British character from a Cretan doesn't do anything on improving this character as he seems even more spineless in this incarnation then what was in the book. His writings which give him some drive in the book barely arise to a noticeable level in the movie. "Dandy" came to mind a number of times.

Though I enjoyed the use of locals as extras in the movie their portrait seems harsher then the movie as I couldn't find any humanity in the mob what so ever. The roll of the monks was noticeably less in the movie which was disappointing as the religious commentary was some of the most interesting in the book.

This is certainly a contrary view but I'm quite convinced that peoples reading of both the book and the movie  is very selective. Only seeing the highs of Zorba misses a lot of what is dark in the movie and the book.

The close with only Zorba and the Brit dancing together as if narrator has finally welcomed in the absurd seems just that "absurd."

Hardley a Hundred Harleys

This group was riding in memory of 9/11 (prob firefighters and
police). My best guess places there numbers well over 100, 10ish
blocks long, and taking about 10 min to pass. E and I both thought it
very cool.

Going for the jugular!

Yes this a sonogram. No it is NOT of a baby, but rather arteries and veins in my left arm. I'll explain for those lucky enough to not yet be subjected to the mini freak show on my left arm.

Turns out you can get varicose veins in you arms. For nearly 20 years now I've had this annoying (but seemingly harmless) vain bulging on my inner arm.

For those armchair vascular specialists, we are talking about the left arm's basilic vein (not balsamic).

More recently my arm increasing has blood vessels doing tiny breaks which look even worse the "the bulge" and they often hurt like a bruise.

Hopefully this is the last step before a solution (which should be pretty routine) that can get rid of the freak show and curtailing of the bruising.

Oh you know you want more disgusting details.

PS

The sonogram did actually check my jugular as they needed to insure all them's things were working ok. Cool....

What's cook'n hot stuff?

In the kitchen (and I mean this in a good way) seems appropriate for

this post on Mammie's Birthday today!

Signs of the digital age. I've plenty pictures of Mammie, but only a few of them digitally uploaded.

Less you think my memory is that good, I've Google calendar to help out there.

UPDATE: Apparently Google calendar is guilty of lying to me! Turns out Mamie's b-day is on August 25th (no wonder she never liked any of my gifts since they showed up so late). Who cares though, any excuse to remember her is a good excuse :-)

de&gr: Zorba the Greek (short review)

Though I love a good travel book to flip through, during and after a trip, there is something about the call of regional literature which makes my travel bug hum. On this particular trip I picked up a book I'd long desired to read but never given myself the chance - Zorba The Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis.

This novel is by a Cretan takes place almost completely in Crete, and is considered a great literary work to boot so the formula seemed right.

Starting a few weeks prior to the trip I dove in and quickly worked my way through half the book only to slow down (out of boredom for reasons mentioned and for a desire to finish the book while in Crete). 

I'll avoid comparisons to the movie since I've not seen the well known film (though it is now atop our Netflix queue) which may very well have a different mood then the book.

The most striking aspect of this novel is how dark it is. So many people have referred to the buoyancy of Zorba and how he represents so much life and joy in living. I can't deny that he is a fascinating character but any attempt to place him on a pedestal seems unfounded to me. His personality is more akin to a firefly repeatedly ramming a light-bulb in the summer night. His efforts largely amount to naught and often become so perverse it is hard to grasp the humanity of Zorba. At best he is a manic depressive who is enlightening on the highs and quite during the lows.

It is tough to say how direct of a critique of Greek culture is in the book because there isn't much of that culture in there to delve into. This in fact was one of my bigger disappointments in the book as the story gave me more of a feel of these characters and less of a feel of Crete which is almost incidental to the narrators tale.  

Did I enjoy the book? Yes.

Did it add to my trip to Crete? Yes, but not as much as I would have liked.

Would I recommend it? Probably not.

de&gr: Map of happenings in Crete

There are likely some destinations I've missed here (we can always add more), but this gives you an idea of some of the spots we frequented while in Crete. I can't control where the map starts out at so you may need to zoom into Crete to see more details (probably the bottom right corner).


View Larger Map

I'll add more to this "my map" later for the Germany leg of our trip.

Back home and in our element

Google Chrome - the browser wars anew!

First off. Family, friends, and whoever I encourage you to go and downloadthe Google Browser (Chrome). This comes with caveats as my Apple only friends will bedisappointed that there is only a Windows version available.

Now a promise to help folks with getting to understand the browser as well as help you file any bugs or problems you might come across (hopefully few).

I have to admit being quite giddy for some time now with the pending release of this product from Google. Having been able to beta test it internally is one of those privileged kicks that has no monitory value to me directly but is quite the exciting thing.

Why in the world would Google want to get into the browser market? I only have my humble opinion on this one. There are many valid reasons for sure, but standing up to the IE juggernaut seems a big one.

What do I like about it? It's fast, clean and has an easier use in browsers that I've never experienced. I'll try and detail some of my more favoritefeatures in the future (if folks are interested. 

Check out the official blog or read some or all of the comic for a pretty fascinating and full explanation of the browser at. 

Oh K...

And so it begins. All E's excitment has finally been fulfilled as he
starts kindergarten today. He couldn't wait to dump the parents and
was already asking when he could get a real day at school (today is a
half day).

Parents, kids and teachers seemed nice. Looks like a great start.

de&gr: All photos on Picasa now...

All the photos are posted onto Picasa Web Albums now - in total we broke things up into four separate albums.

There are a lot of pictures here, no editing, no comments as of yet, and very little if any geo data. The bottom line is that we have a lot of work before we can consider this vacation "done" since our media can and will get richer (links, comments, etc...).

Enjoy for now....

iPhone (includes side trip to Zurich)
Germany Part 1 Of 2
Greece
Germany Part 2 Of 2

(note: 'iPhone' covers the entire trip and is gonna be of lesser image quality. The other three are listed in chronologically order)

de&gr: Photo's from iPhone

No comments yet, but check out the first batch of photos posted from the trip...

http://picasaweb.google.com/brybgr/DEGR2008IPhone

Gegino's for dinner

Jet lagged from a long day, we take pleasure in our haunts while our
energy lasts.

Pizza and some good sorbet ease us out of the days travels. I for one
stabbed to death with a stirring spoon my 3 week dirth of good coffee
with three ice-teas (a beverage lost on the ice-less folk in Europe).

All in all, the troups are safe and happy to be home. More trip post
and pictures to come shortly.

de&gr: an afternoon of eating

Included in our meal were multiple toasts to the birthday 'kids', a
gymnastics performance, a 12 piece band, and a bonus desert of
Schwartz Wald torte.

The Hoheneck resturant takes there time serving but the food is very
good. Years ago now we celebrated our wedding here. The remodeled the
space since then and the more traditional look is much improved over
the pink from before.

de&gr: Birthday Wishes

From today's Pforzheim Zeitung

de@gr: Look, I'm a Picaso!

Emi enjoys that Toy Story quote which came to mind over this iPhone
photo scew up.

Aparently this and other rides near the schloss date from and were
used by a previous king.

de&gr: My other hotel isn't so Baroqu.

A side trip to Luidwigsburg (near Stuttgart) for the Fairytale Park
and a preview of the Korbus (pumpkin) fest.

We are her for the move from summer to early Fall.

Ruth and Hurst do well.

de&gr: Ride that horse!

D & E take a ride on a simple merry go round at the Hermensee on our
way for cake and coffe at Taunt Edle.

de&gr: Emi handed (his) ass

We did a quick trip to the town graveyard where Emi got a free donkey
at the super nice lady at the florest we frequent in Pforzheim.

FYI, trips to the graveyard are common family walks like going to the
park (but with dead people all around).

de&gr: Random Travel Tips

Just some random travel tips that have come up for us on this trip. Most of these are personal to us, but maybe others might agree or get some value in them...

• Kitchenette: being able to cook your own food at a moments notice comes in handy with two monster/children
• Tough Stuff First: Vacation is about relaxing, but if you love sightseeing, do the tough stuff first. Anything that requires more effort then lounging on the sand should come at the start of the trip or you'll have trouble fitting it in (or getting motivated for it) near trips end.
• Vomit Comet(s): Avoid buses, vans, or any other transportation that has too much giggle and wiggle. Even if you can stomach it don't count on the kids doing so.
• You be ill'n: Plan for there to be at least one illness on any trip over a few days. This will help you set expectations, plan for common self medications, and generally set expectations to avoid getting to presumptuous  about "success" of a vacation.
• Snack early and often:  The best defense against cranky children that are way to hungry is to try and keep their stomachs constantly in a state of activity. Bottom line, snacks.

I'll probably post some more of these tips/ideas as the inspiration strikes.

de&gr: Back in Pfrozheim

We arrived back in Pforzheim yesterday all safe and sound. Turns out that the solution to our car sick children was to forgo the van service and rent our own smaller car like in Crete (A Class again).

No pictures for now but with us back in Germany and more easy internet access I'll probably try to go back and fill in some more anecdotes from our trip in Crete to supplement then photos.

True to form, the in-laws have a full schedule already laid out for us with some garden grilling today (Tuesday), visiting one aunt in the Schwarz Wald tomorrow, visiting another aunt in Ludwigsburg the day after that, and than rounding out the trip with a two day birthday party for my father in-law.

PS
For those to timid to ask, the "de&gr" is a reference to the country codes used on license plates for Germany DE as in Deutchland and GR as in Greece.

Too Smokey Mountains

From an email dad sent me...

"Cocke County is on fire. The smoke is not coming our way yet."

Mom & Dad

de&gr: Another 5am departure.

The Greece leg of our journey comes to a close. We had an extra
traveler as Liz was on our same Crete to Athens flight.

The A class Mercedes was stuffed to the gills and I had directions at
hand for our pre-dawn drive, but despite being badly signed I was
familiar with the rout from our beach trips to get us there no problem.

Liz heads home today which gives us a new NYC friend to see on our
return!

de&gr: The ACROPOLIS!!!

As in "we didn't see the Acropolis but we did spend money and time on
a variety of kids games" including this train to nowhere.

Emi also enjoyed air hocky, put-put, and mini-gocarts that he'll be
talking about for months.

de&gr: You live where?

The old city defensive wall serves as a foundation for dozens of
building that sit atop the structure as blip on its history which
began with the Venetians.

de&gr: Just in case it isn't obvious...

...the whole crew is watching the sun set. Were looking out over the
picturesque Xania harbor.

With evening we did some window shopping at some beautiful jewelry
stores, an exhibition of vintage motorcycles (4 of which are owned by
the guy who runs our hotel), and likely the best Italian gilato I've
had in years (which warrents its own post - to come).

de&gr: A great view...

...from near the ol' olive tree.

de&gr: 3,000 years of olives

Chris set the group on a short adventure in search of this olive tree
of an estimated age of 3k years old.

After 45 min and back tracking a couple times we found it which after
stupping to dog kennel use for many years in a hollow center it now
gives up a few branches every four years for the first and last gold
medals given at the Olympics.

de&gr: Cretan Dancing

Chris and Delphie (the latter still recovering from a stomach virus)
get to watch some Cretan dancing while the other half are sitting down
to a feast with our friends' family (on the menu: goat).

de&gr: Del update

She was pretty miserable with her Cretan bug after much ichyness, but
18 hours into it she seems to have turned a corner.

She's keeping fluids and solids (boiled rice) down, and her spirits
and energy seem much improved. Finders crossed for tomorrow and the
rest of the trip.

de&gr: dad 67, Emi 64!

The boys go alone while mom helps del get better: multiple erands, jet
ski, beach, pool, dinner for the girls, put-put, and dinner for us
(pizza & lamb).

de&gr: Hump day

Del got sick half way through the trip making hump day earn its name.
I'll leave the details up to the readers imagination. Update on her
tomorrow.

de&gr: day at (the other beach)

"I saw islands and I loved the food and drink."

Island : dad and others swam to

Food : missed photo op with an octopus hanging out of my mouth.

Drink : dad and nick got silly on a clear drink that smelled funny.

- Emi

DE&GR: my other rental

...is a much newer Mercedes (A class).

DE&GR: Cretan sand

E & D get gritty on the beach just 2 minutes walk from our hotel room.

DE&GR: late snack...

...of traditional Cretan (Xania) fruits and cheeses.

DE&GR: Icecream post swim

We grab some desert after a thermal water swim in Bad Wildbad and
while waiting for the S-bahn home.

DE&GR: Animal Experiments

A lone Guinie Pig is only the start of the Kuhn 'farm'. Also present:
6 rabits, 4 chickens, 2 cats, 1 dog, 2 sheep, and 4 kids (6 including
our two).
Now the trip will be both literally and figratively an animal house.

Little Indie

Sam who?

This is his most recent work and a must see for Chris and I.
Supposedly this theater and group are where he got his start in New
York and in general.

For as much as I enjoy Shepard, this is only the second production
I've ever seen and the other was in an attic in Old Town Knoxville.

I'd blog a review but I'm planning to become a hermit and move into
the desert (if you don't get that joke you should read son Shephard).