Мълчанието е Сребърно

LCD Soundsystem "I Can Change"

2011-01-11T21:12:00.001-05:00

New Sense of Purpose

2010-08-18T10:53:00.004-04:00

I've started paying more attention to my writing lately, and started thinking about blogging about the media I've been consuming - kind of a clearinghouse for stuff I've been reading, watching, listening to, etc. The way the internet is structured nowadays is that people tend to perfunctorily "like" or "dislike" something without any kind of explanation of how or why they arrived at this opinion. What I'm doing with Silence is Silver is get people connected to the media that means something to me. I'll try to avoid negative commentary, unless it is something that I have a visceral dislike for.

Let's start off some things I've seen in the last couple of days.

We saw Christopher Hitchens speak recently at the 6th and I Synagogue here in DC, and while he's seemed like a pretty unhealthy guy for a while now, he seemed almost incomprehensible (we also had bad seats). It's not very surprising that he was recently diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus - he has long prided himself on living a Bohemian lifestyle, including a lot of sex, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. All of this makes his diagnosis no less devastating. My own father's recent death from cancer gives me a clearer understanding of what what Hitchens describes as the journey from "the country of the well across the stark frontier that marks off the land of malady".

It is a touching interview. Rose obviously has an affection for his subject, and Hitchens loves the chance to pontificate. His apparent modesty shields what must be a massive ego. He prizes the alcohol and cigarette-fueled late-night conversations with his fellow literary friends. It is a bit nostalgic to think of a time when the reduction of inhibition and loosening of tongues brought on by controlled substances was seen as a good thing. The price must be paid for this kind of euphoria.

I disagree with Hitchens' outright dismissal of religion - it is full of lies, but so is literature. His views on war and foreign policy are also a little reductive - the U.S. should take out malevolent dictators whenever possible, and therefore the 2003 invasion of Iraq was justified. This begs the question - what about North Korea, or Iran, or Zimbabwe? What other factors must be in play - our economic interests? Or is our shifting sense of morality paramount?

Hitchens represents a role that is dying, literally and figuratively, in our culture - the public intellectual. One gets the feeling that impassioned conversations about the big questions are not being had as frequently as they were decades ago, and if they are, they rely more on entrenched positions - "I am a liberal and therefore anti-war" - then any understanding of culture history.

Shortbus is a film by David Cameron Mitchell, director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

The graphic nature of the sex in this movie is pretty shocking at first, but it's interesting how mundane it becomes by the end. Nevertheless, this movie great example of how the metatext is often much more important than the actual text or subtext. The storylines are banal and not really worth the amount of visual window dressing Mitchell adds to them - do we really care if the sex therapist can finally achieve an orgasm? Or if "The Jamies" can make their relationship work? Not really. But the film is more about how sexuality, while pervasive in our culture, is actually little more than a complication in our lives. We are not meant to care about people's hangups - instead we are meant to see how our focus on our own sexuality really distorts our worldview.

Hitchens says in "Topic of Cancer" that Eros is the first casualty in the fight with Thanatos. When our lives are ending, temporary pleasures like sex fall away - what matters more is watching our children grow up, or seeing villains (Henry Kissinger and Joseph Ratzinger) receive their just desserts. Freud would disagree with all of the above - his idea is that sexuality informs everything from our familial relations to the way society is structured. Even so, the way that we understand this influence is treacherous terrain. When we are aware of our subconscious, it becomes conscious thought. By dredging our sexuality into the light of day, we consciously prioritize it in a way that is unnatural and egotistical. Let it be.

4AM

2010-05-01T05:37:00.002-04:00

The birds are out but not the sun, not even a pink hint of the sun. He hears the birds but does not even know what they are, what they look like. He's up in the glow of his laptop in his barracks but can't imagine the birds cause he's never noticed them in this desert. They are quiet at night until the early morning. He had some local lamb stew with the CO last night and chased it with good vodka and then skyped with Jill and then passed out and should be sleeping - two days without patrol - but he is up and the birds are punctuating the stillness with little pleading chirps.

John Vanderslice / SM and the Jicks, 9:30 Club 3.28.08

2008-03-29T15:48:00.004-04:00

The Malkmus portion of the show can be found on the NPR website here.

John Vanderslice et al played their last song out among the masses.

Senor Esteban and company.

Pics From a Recent Trip to the National Portrait Gallery

2008-03-26T07:08:00.001-04:00

The infamous Steven Colbert portrait.

And finally, a view from our metro stop.

McAfee's Knob, New Year's Eve 2007

2008-03-23T09:51:00.001-04:00

Final sunset of 2007, in the woods

White Stripes, Patriot Center, 7.29.07

2007-11-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

November 7, 2007

2007-11-07T22:26:00.000-05:00

After his third glass of wine, he realized his hunger and attacked the cheese and veggie tray, ignoring the clamour of the attendees networking around him. Tracey stood at the center of a group of pudgy polo-shirted men with midwestern haircuts, gesturing animatedly with her wineglass. He thought about stopping to hear what nonsense she was spewing but continued back with his treasure through the lobby, up the elevator and to his television lit-room and expertly made bed.

November 1, 2007

2007-11-02T02:04:00.000-04:00

Jerry was on pins and needles all day, waiting to hear back from his doctor and was not in the mood for long heartfelt discussions when he returned home from work that evening. Did you hear, asked his missus, and he groaned no, had about a million phone calls today but not one of them was from Larson. Oh what should we do if it's the wrong answer? Jerry was silent as he took the last longneck from the fridge and thudded onto the couch. He looked at his wife blearily and took a drink of the beer which tasted metallic. This again. We'll do our best and I'll try not to be a burden on you or Lisa for as long as possible. His wife nodded back to him slowly in understanding but he could see that she was also calculating what to do for her own self.

Night at the Hirshhorn, July 2007

2007-11-02T01:56:00.000-04:00

Fiery Furnaces at the Black Cat, 7/6/2007

2007-07-21T00:37:00.000-04:00

Last Party at School 29/6/2007

2007-07-07T08:45:00.000-04:00

Caroline and Erin in the Mountains Above Bansko, 01.06.2007

2007-07-02T00:25:00.000-04:00

At the Competition for Best Student Company 2007, Sofia 5.31.07

2007-06-11T04:18:00.000-04:00

With Minister of Education Daniel Vulchev in a Meadow Above Rila Monastery, 5/11/2007

2007-05-20T09:40:00.000-04:00

The Road To Dorkovo May 5, 2007

2007-05-14T07:25:00.000-04:00

Jake Brammer, Rest In Peace

2007-05-10T04:00:00.000-04:00

You will be missed.

Plowing the Fields Outside of Rakitovo, April 30, 2007

2007-05-08T07:02:00.000-04:00

Peace Corps Volunteers Being Dorks, Bankya, 30.03.2007

2007-05-04T04:10:00.000-04:00

Lamps, Spice Bazaar, Istanbul Turkey August 2006

2007-04-20T03:08:00.000-04:00

Roma Boys Outside Plovdiv International Technology Fair, 9/30/05

2007-04-13T07:03:00.000-04:00

Me and the Cosmonaut

2007-04-05T05:08:00.000-04:00

Alexander Alexandrov during a visit to our school on March 27

Road to Rila Monastery, September 2006

2007-03-23T04:01:00.000-04:00

The Best of Bulgaria

2007-03-22T05:41:00.000-04:00

From now until COS I'm going to post the best photos I've taken here, or the ones I like the most. Keeping with the theme of this blog. The theme being silence is usually the best option.

Children rehearsing for the school concert, 5/4/2006

2006-12-23T09:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays Everybody!

And some more Bulgarian folk music, this time by Bulgarka, an acappella group.

2006-12-18T02:51:00.000-05:00

Народна Песен от Драгиново

Short clip from the opening of our school's JA company with music from students from Draginovo.

2006-11-27T05:22:00.000-05:00

Richard Dawkins vs. Liberty U

Q & A session featuring renowned atheist Dawkins and some students from Jerry Falwell's University.

екскурзии (school trips)

2006-11-21T03:40:00.000-05:00

10-А клас извън палеонтологически музея в Асеновград.

10 A class outside of the paleontological museum in Asenovgrad.

скелетa на гигантски мамут, в музея.

Skeleton of wooly mammoth, in museum.

С Мария Кутрианска, Руми Бояджиева, Даниела Груева, и Диана Кунчева в двора на Бачковски Манастир.

With Maria Kutrianska, Rumi Boydjieva and other teachers in the courtyard of Bachkovski Monastery.

още се захващам с снимките (still catching up on pictures)

2006-11-14T07:38:00.000-05:00

Моята ученичка Николина работи на станцията на нашото учелище в случката за 15 юбилей на Корпус на Мира, в София, през септември.

My student Nikolina working at our school's booth at the 15th Anniversary of Peace Corps Bulgaria event in Sofia, during September.

Нашя директор, Г-н Моллов, отвари ботилка шампанско в коктейла да празнуваме завършването на проект на ремонт за запазването на енергия в училището.

Our director, Mr. Mollov, opens a bottle of champagne to celebrate the completion of the project for energy conservation in the school.

Асенова крепост, извън Асеновград, обитaтелен отначало през времето на Тракската империя.

Asen's Fortress, outside of Asenovgrad, first occupied during the Thracian Empire.

Повече снимки (More Photos)

2006-11-08T01:31:00.000-05:00

Алесандър Невски Катедрал, София, през изгреб слънцето.

Alexander Nevski Cathedral, Sofia, at sunrise.

Видео клип на Мориси в стаята на хотела в София, на последня ден на Анна в България

Morrissey video on TV in hotel room in Sofia, Anna's last morning in Bulgaria

Колегите се събират около новата учебна програма, преди официялното откриване на училището

Colleagues gather around the class schedule before the offical opening of the school.

Учениците в откриването на новата учебна година.

Students at the opening ceremony of the new school year.

You Sing With a Certain Dramatic Flair

2006-09-11T04:15:00.000-04:00

There are nestled in this country on the tourist highway well-travelled bits, a museum town here, a ruined fortress teetering on a gorge there. They are primped and on display for us, menus in English, fluent hostel staff, spools of veins and wire laying across the town the mosques, a ball of electricity rises above her skull keeping her balanced.

We are all American, in the end.

I marvel at the clear air, even in the heat, the light show over the fortress, the merchants selling bottles of water and t-shirts, the surly waitresses, the rubble reconstructed to what everyone thinks is its original form, the archaeologists drunk and hitting on their graduate students, the tally of bones that have accumulated here over the years. We pay to take photographs inside the little chapel on the crest of the hill.

The christ-figure is always recognizable in this context, and he is the greatest subject of art, cathedrals and tourist-photographs ever invented. Remove the head from the beast and the beast will roll on its back to show you its ribs, its hunger. Slip a few leva to a tour guide and she will tell you about the history of man in the starlight.

But it would all be nothing without the influence of the greatest artist of the 20th century, Walt Disney dreamed of lasers and talking animals and now this is what we've become, feeling more human packed in the darkness, the ancient fortress is now a space opera and our hearts are in our throats in ecstacy.

Collapsing on the Edge of Summer

2006-09-08T02:16:00.000-04:00

Her prayers were answered by the sun god, breaking the colonists' backs on the shores of the James River, the goldhunters, the horror-writers. Her breath filled the world.

On the brightest, most crowded Bulgarian Black Sea beaches there are rusted post-communist playgrounds, rusted post-communist children hurling plastic bottles into the water, squatting on stretches of sand like Japanese secretaries staking out corporate plots of land for cherry-blossom viewing.

The weather descended on us as hot and lazy as a sweating ghost - an Englishman and two Americans, it surprised us and kept us up at night. I listened to the banal chatter in the cafe, the one not smoking taking the floor, the rest clutching their cigarettes.

A Summer Wasting

2006-07-18T04:36:00.000-04:00

As you might have noticed, I like titling my blog posts after

a. Belle and Sebastian songs

b. Pomak villages in the Rhodope mountains

c. Bitter "meta-blog" titles that indicate that I am, indeed, too cool for blogging

d. Pavement/Silver Jews lyrics (the more obscure the better, beeotches!)

So now that I'm spending my days happily editing my little SPA proposal and waiting for students to show up at school for English lessons and waiting for packages to arrive from Japan and feeling the gently wafting breeze and watching the cherries ripen, etc. I guess it's time for me to deal with my antipathy towards blogging once and for all.

Man there's a lot of bad writing on the internet. What would you say is the ratio of bad writing to good writing on the internet? Like, 99.99999999999% bad? And I don't feel great about contibuting to this surfeit of bad writing, trust me.

This is why my blog posts can seem somewhat, um, harshly perfunctory. The main purpose of this blog is to prove to my former coworkers at Browdy and Neimark (hi Maureen!) that I am indeed in Bulgaria and I didn't make up the Peace Corps thing as a way to honorably quit before "going postal".

Avramovo

2006-07-11T02:53:00.000-04:00

Spent Friday night on a na gosti in Avramovo with my friend Halil.

Here's a picture of the town and mosque.

The main crop up in the mountains is potatoes, and the farmers make makeshift scarecrows - things that reflect light and make noise - to scare of the wild boars that feed on the potatoes. In the subtropical forests of Okinawa, you could find old stone walls built up to keep wild pigs away from their sweet potato patches.

All of the hay for feed is threshed by hand.

Finally, Avramovo has the honor of having the train station with the highest elevation in the entire Balkan Peninsula.

School's Out

2006-06-30T05:49:00.000-04:00

School's out, school's out
Teacher let the monkeys out
One went east
One went west
One went up the teacher's dress

(Grad school version)*

School's out, school's out
Teacher let the monkeys out
One was jailed
One prevailed
Both asked God, "How have I failed?"

*From "Life in Hell" by Matt Groening

Blah Blah Blah Blah Junior Achievement Blah Blah Blah

2006-06-26T01:32:00.000-04:00

Some of the 10th grade students who participated in Junior Achievement and I went to Varna a few weeks ago to present our business at the All-Bulgarian JA Expo thingy.

Here we are the day before the expo setting up our booth. On the left, I was trying to explain to Stefka the finer points of Keynesian economics.

Here's Teodora, the president of our virtual company, receiving the award for Best Team.

Still suffering a little bit from jet lag, I got up early to see the sunrise over the Black Sea.

Another Pointless Post

2006-06-23T01:16:00.000-04:00

Instead of saving Bulgaria, I spend most of my time these days obsessing over my music collection. Let me tell you, my taste in music is legendary and does make me cooler than you.

I cruise a lot of the MP3 blogs on the net, which has allowed me to stay in touch with the American hipster underground, of which I am not the king, but possibly a duke or a baron.

So since no one else has a problem opinionating about everything and everyone online, I thought that occassioinally I'd list a few songs that came up on my Itunes party shuffle during my morning preparations (i.e. my vigorous toilette) for school, and briefly comment on them. This idea was ripped off from the random rules feature at the Onion A.V. Club site, I don't have a .mac account so I can't post the MP3s, and I'm doing this more or less so I don't have to discuss chronic health problems with the ladies hanging out in the учителска стая this morning. I refer you again to the title above.

1. "Crystal" Husker Du (from the "Candy Apple Grey" album).
This album sucks. I bought it back in the day because I was the owner of the Rolling Stone Album Guide, wherein it is written that Candy Apple Grey is Husker Du's best album. Whatever. Rolling Stone reviewers, from my experience, smoke crack. They gave "Wowee Zowee" 2 and a half stars, if memory serves. The production on "CAG" is tinny, the songs are weak, and the Grant Hart songs blow the Bob Mould songs out of the water. That being said, "Crystal" is one of the better songs because Bob does a lot of random, spontaneous screaming. Does anyone know how to type umlauts on a mac?

2. "Tabla in Suburbia" Sonic Youth (from the "suBurbia" soundtrack)
Steve Shelley is one of the best drummers in the world, and this little snippet of something is not really Sonic Youth per se: just Steve's drumming mixed to the front with some guitar stuff going on the background. This is the only SY I can think of that has bongos on it. As for the album itself, eh. Cultural detreius from the 90's, like the movie, and not aging very well in our new millenium.

3. "Eat Y'self Fitter" the Fall (from the "Totally Wired" compilation)
The Fall is one of those bands whose bad songs are still pretty good. You have to kind of buy into Mark E. Smith's aesthetic, which is so weird that you are either taken with it or at the very least find it amusing. The music on this song is dumb and plodding, like a lot of Fall songs, but its so tossed off as to have a charm to it. And MES knows how to pick his rhythm section so as to make the most elementary songs sound propulsive. Lovably eccentric, its too bad the Fall doesn't play their old stuff anymore live.

4. "A Pistol For Paddy Garcia" The Pogues (from "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash")
It seems that there are a few things that make good albums great:
1. The occasional instrumental to cleanse the pallette
2. Swapping of vocal duties between members of the band
3. Variety in song tempos
"Rum, Sodomy and the Lash" has all of these things. This song has a Mexico by way of Irish folk music thing going on that's pretty cool, and perhaps would be something that your parents might enjoy. Until, that is, they hear the way Shane McGowan punks up the other folk songs on the album.

5. "Like A Rolling Stone (Live)" Bob Dylan (from "Bob Dylan: MTV Unplugged")
I have two other versions of this song in my Itunes - the original studio version off of "Highway 61 Revisited" and from the infamous live performance at the Royal Albert Hall. The "Unplugged" version is my favorite. Bob's voice is pretty ragged on this album, but a couple of the choruses it rises up to keen "How does it feeeeeeelll??". Incredibly, it's one of the most emotional performances I've heard him give, but of course I might be fooled by the slick production and the great organ parts.

CUA Law School Graduation

2006-06-23T00:46:00.000-04:00

In which the long awaited photos from Anna's graduation are posted.

What began as an engaging discussion about our favorite types of cheese

turned into a strangling match when Daniel couldn't get behind my love of camembert.

If Blogs Were Horses, Self-Obsessed Idiots Would Ride

2006-06-21T07:13:00.000-04:00

Hello again from the land in which I live. Because I am not telling anyone anymore about this blog, and nobody links to it, and even I have only the slightest concern for it, I guess that means that I can write what I want here without worrying that someone's knickers are going to be twisted. And since I believe in freedom and democracy, the new purpose of this blog is going to be to fight for freedom and democracy.

By writing about freedom and democracy, and how cool they are, the only knickers that might get twisted belong to evil dictators, and maybe some Democrats. That's right, Democrats. You heard me.

In reference to my post of a couple of days ago (you know, the nonsensical one about DC and nature and stuff),one of the ways that we can all promote freedom and democracy is by giving money to homeless people for beer money only if they promise to vote Republican.

You Really Will Be Fascinated by the Minute Details of My Life

2006-06-19T04:47:00.000-04:00

The weekend went by slowly. I ate a lot of potatoes and drank a lot of cherry juice. I'm sensing hostility from the stray dogs in the neighborhood, a certain xenophobia, a certain anti-Americanism if you will. I want to show them that I can integrate into their dog community, but I don't know how. Maybe the Peace Corps can train me?

A common Saturday schedule for me:

7:00 AM Wake Up
7:05-7:10 Take a shower
7:10-7:11 Put water on for coffee
7:11-? Repent to God for my sins while I'm waiting for the water to boil
7:??- Drink coffee
Rest of the day - Watch Roma people going to and from the market from my balcony
After sunset: Pine for Anna

Sunday: Repeat

So I'm sure some of you want to know why there's a picture of a panda crying in this post. I just wanted to remind everyone that pandas too have feelings.

You Are Within Your Rights Not to Read This

2006-06-19T02:03:00.000-04:00

I suppose that even when summer comes and things get hot and there are insects again, and birds are everywhere, that you can be miserable. But it's hard to maintain misery under these circumstances, all you have to smell the greenery in various stages of growth and decay. Moons in the summer take on a glow not unlike the lightbulbs in my spare bedroom, too dim to read by but bright enough to listen to music, especially "Flamenco Sketches" by miles davis and the tenor solo, maybe four minutes into the song, by John Coltrane that makes the grass and the leaves and your blood cells gravitate iin the air.

If there's a city to simultaneously love and be afraid of, its Washington DC and its uneasy truce between the politicos and the murderers, the just under the surface chaos pushing up against the stately embassies that line Massachussetts Avenue. There is a thick stench of fat tourists around the Mall, hording into museums and filling their fannypacks with souvenirs. A boy joked with his mother about how he gave a homeless guy a dollar to "buy some beer". His father proceeded to lecture him about how homeless people don't want to work, they are able to work, they are lazy and sucking the lifeblood out of our great nation. Jeans shorts, Oakley sunglasses, beer bellies, american flag shirts, and a coke. From the womb to this to death.

Should've Been a West Coast Bride

2006-06-05T03:32:00.000-04:00

Next stop on my rediscovery of America tour was in New Castle, VA via Roanoke, VA, otherwise known as the "Star City". It was very nice to see my mom and dad and catch up with goings on in SW Virginia.

We paid a visit to the infamous star that looks down on Roanoke like a giant fluorescent eye (at night).

Anna and I took a walk around the Fenwick Mines area in the Jeffrerson National Forest in Craig County VA:

Here, Anna and I in our natural setting.

I Believe In Coyotes

2006-05-22T07:55:00.000-04:00

I'm back home in Washington, D.C. for a couple of weeks for Anna's graduation. Over the last week, we rented a cabin in Virginia through the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Before we headed for the mountains, we loaded ourselves down with groceries / gear:

The cabin itself was pretty posh:

The view from the top:

Here's the whole gang on the last day:

Quasars in the Mist

2006-05-08T01:58:00.000-04:00

The school's annual concert was on Friday - the theme being "Spring in Europe" - the kids did a great job, memorizing lines in French, German and English.

These are 5th graders who performed a couple of musical numbers. The girl in the front (pictured abote) is tiny but has a surprisingly huge voice.

I sat in the front row with my laptop, playing music and projecting pictures at appropriate moments

From Nakijin to Velingrad

2006-04-28T07:15:00.000-04:00

So the talk of the school today was the letters from Okinawa that arrived from our pen pals at Hokuzan High School in Nakijin. Needless to say, the Hokuzan students did a great job and my students were thrilled to look at all of the pictures, puri kura, origami, etc.

Big ups to Mike Altwerger, the current ALT at Hokuzan, who was the driving force behind getting these letters in the mail. I seem to remember some of these students as being ichi-nenseis when I was there? Hmm, that doesn't seem possible. One Hokuzan student included with her letter a photo of me playing eisa, much to the amusement of my kids.

At the Clip of an IV Drip

2006-04-18T00:31:00.000-04:00

With the return of spring, like-minded denizens of Velingrad head for the mountains for a little разходка (walking around). Here is some scenery from the горски път (mountain trail) in Kamenitza.

This is a mineral spring/monument although I forget what it commemorates.

As you might notice, a lot of the trees have been cleared out (for firewood?); this has the dubiously positive effect of allowing for more sweeping vistas.

Finally, here's a picture of the 10th graders who are participating in Junior Achievement. We will be travelling to Varna in May to present our business at the JA expo.

Hey Lady Put the Phone Down

2006-03-29T06:10:00.001-05:00

Hi. Sorry about being a crap blogger. Actually I'm not sorry. There are worse things to be in the world.

There was an almost total eclipse of the sun today!!! This is what passes for excitement in my one donkey town. I tried to photograph the eclipse in all of its eerie glory and this is what I got:

Опа, that's not such a great one. I was in class for most of the eclipse. That's how it always goes. In class during eclipses. Here's one through smoked glass:

And if you want to see some more AWESOME photos of my school and our concerted effort to educate (indoctrinate?) our students about the EU, check out this web site and click on the Bulgarian flag amongst all of the other flags (it's the third from the left on the top line for those of you who don't know what the Bulgarian flag looks like, gawd).

One of the teachers said that back in the day they used to have to participate in similar information campaigns about the Soviet Union.

Cancel All Operations

2006-03-14T00:18:00.000-05:00

Yesterday went to the history museum in Kamenitza, on the far end of town for the first Easter Egg painting seminar of the year. Here are some of the results from last year:

I was by far the oldest "kid" there actually participating in the painting, and of course there were TV cameras there. (seems like everywhere I go there are TV cameras these days).

Designed for Crashing Bores

2006-03-06T00:37:00.000-05:00

There's a film being made in Velingrad - it's entitled "Edin Jivot" or "One Life" and the directors are Hristina and Nikolina Veleva. Anyways they shot some scenes in and around my apartment - I have the role of the mafia boss Vince.

Broken Chimneys Leak Smoke

2006-03-02T02:30:00.000-05:00

There was a seminar at school which I ostensibly helped organize although the idea was someone else's and all i did was try to feed the kids information about the European Union and promise them vast rewards of wisdom and a chest of Spanish doubloons. I can't comment too honestly on the proceedings, because one doesn't know who reads these things. Let the photos do the talking:

Lets see, what else has been going on? Oh, do you want to see my breakfast almost every morning?

Banitsa and cafe. It's not that healthy, I know but boy is it tasty. At some point I will attempt to make a spinach banitsa - snacktastic!

And here's the lovely and talented 9-A class with whom I am doing an English newspaper (which needs to be finished this weekend, microsoft word don't fail me now!)

Sunlight Gilds the Houses

2006-02-21T01:02:00.000-05:00

I usually go to school pretty early in the morning - early enough to catch the sunrise and have a coffee and banitsa before classes start. Sometimes the scene along the road to school is crushingly beautiful :

What this photo doesn't show is the full moon setting over the mountains to the west and the morning star still bright over the pink horizon. This factory, ugly as it can be in the daylight, has its moments.

So last week was the grand opening of our Junior Achievement business - it's a cafe - store type of thing where we sell sandwiches, snacks and school supplies (nice unintentional alliteration).

Note the posters of really terrible musicians on the walls.

We had a little opening party which was televised, apparently -

How Much for a Bag of Rock Salt???

2006-02-18T08:01:00.000-05:00

There is a lag period between when I take these photos and when I get around to posting them. Right now the lag period is hovering around 2 weeks.

My director and I spent three days in Stara Zagora at the beginning of the month learning how to develop projects. This was our project design group:

Here is a typical Bulgarian / Greek Orthodox church, which we had a nice view of outside of our hotel window:

It's probably a lost cause trying to be coherent in English today - I was out till 4 in the morning celebrating Vasil Levski Day. So I'll leave it at that.

My Weariness Amazes Me

2006-02-13T00:47:00.000-05:00

Don't take the heading of this post seriously: I just felt like quoting Dylan.

Continuing with the tour of the school, the teacher's room (or учителска стая) is where I spend most of my time between classes:

This is the material book (or материална книга) where we are required to write our lesson plans down.

I took these pictures between class when no one was around - the other teachers already think that I'm a spy.

Края на Първя Учебен Срок

2006-02-06T03:57:00.000-05:00

Last week the first semester ended, and the teacher's room at my school was a frantic scene of teachers compiling grades and filling out forms for the next semester. The homeroom teachers, of course, bear the brunt of this paperwork.

One of my 11th grade students made a webpage about our school as an assignment for her IT class. Sorry, I don't have the link at the moment, but she used my camera to take some photos of the school, which I will now share with you.

Our school is named "Vasil Levski" after the 19th century bulgarian revolutionary. More about him in a later post. There are a lot of references to Levski around the school - this is a little shrine - statue thing in the foyer:

The multimedia room, paid for with Peace Corps money (check out the old school tape machine in the back):

One of the more bizarre painting/mural things (done by a student, of course):

Also coming soon - this blog, only in Bulgarian!!!

Jimmy Carter Redux

2006-02-03T01:32:00.000-05:00

Please read this review of Jimmy Carter's new book by Garry Wills.

They Ruined My Looks For the Old Main Drag

2006-01-29T08:57:00.000-05:00

This is my LAST post with pictures from England - if you thought they were boring, wait 'til I continue with photos depicting the minutiae of my life in Bulgaria. And I will try to be more consistent with my posting - how else can I expect to rocket to the top of the blogosphere?

OK these are some pretty pictures that I took my last few days in London.

Chinatown, Soho, at dusk:

The Union Jack as seen through the glass dome of the British Museum:

"Oxford Man" by a sculptor from Benin(?):

Caroline and Mike looking at an installation of contemporary African art:

Where Taxi Drivers Never Stop Talking

2006-01-23T05:54:00.000-05:00

It's been announced that they are closing schools in my area today because of the bitter cold that is descending on us from the north. We will be out of school until the thirtieth, so I thought I should try to get one more update in (we'll see if the school internet connection cooperates).

Back to the holiday pictures.

For New Year's Eve, Dave, Chris and I went to a little nightclub / cinema place with a hippie vibe in Bristol called The Cube.

The DJ was from Mexico (I forget his name) doing laptop ambient stuff - I thought for sure that he was playing solitaire the whole time:

Which one of these guys is the sober one? (Hint - the camera adds three beers)

People getting down:

Note to the children: don't mix champagne and absinthe

Later that evening, at the kebab stand, a fixture of British culture:

Good NYT editorial decrying the fascination with American Idol - that shining example of the vapidity of US pop culture. (I do kind of like that one Kelly Clarkson song, however).

In the Desert of the Heart

2006-01-16T04:40:00.000-05:00

After Christmas met Dave back in London and spent a night downing pints with him, after which we went to Bristol to celebrate the New Years and eat sausages and mash and drink cider.

Dave's flatmate's name is Chris who was also on JET in Nagasaki-ken.

Dave and Chris on the motorway:

On New Year's Eve we drove to South Wales to see Tintern Abbey and Chepstow Castle. There's a Wordsworth poem with Tintern Abbey in the title, but if you read it you'll see that nowhere in the poem does he actually mention the abbey itself. Regardless, it's a beautiful place, and as we were approaching the clouds broke and a rainbow shone down directly on the ruins:

Walking around the ruins of the abbey put me in a pensive mood, (here lost in contemplation):

While Dave and Chris were merely gobsmacked:

Next post: microdancing and armchair raving!!

A Very Whitby Christmas

2006-01-13T02:23:00.001-05:00

Rode up to Whitby (via Cambridge) on Christmas with Dr. Finn, a friend of Llew's who I met in Okinawa. Whitby is in north Yorkshire on the east coast of England, facing the north sea.

On Christmas day we had turkey, Christmas crackers and loads of dynamic action from Llew on the piano.

Llew and Futaba slaving over the Christmas meal:

For Boxing Day, we went round Llew's aunt and uncle's place where is extended family had gathered for more great food, conversation, beer:

On the 27th we took a walk up to the abbey and along the dramatic seacliffs from Whitby to another little town further south called Robin Hood's Bay.

Whitby Abbey and graveyard:

View of Whitby from above:

Llew and Fu on the sea cliff, with the Abbey in the background:

A Dream Can Mean Anything

2006-01-11T00:46:00.000-05:00

I also made the obligatory trip down to the Embankment to get some shots of Big Ben and Parliament, fighting the hordes of Chinese tourists all the while.

Finally went to the Tate Modern as well: it's impressively housed in an old power station on the southern shore of the Thames, almost directly across the river from the City and St. Paul's Cathedral. As in the old Tate, the curators keep a big installation in the main hall, this one by Turner Prize winner Rachel Whiteread:

These boxes represent a box she found in her grandmother's attic, and painting them white is supposed to evoke a sense of mystery as to their contents. The whiteness and the kids running around in between them made me think of a penguin ice factory. My first impression was "nice gimmick", as I think that with such a huge space it's hard not to make something that's visually impressive. Looking back at my photos, and the scale of the piles of boxes next to the patrons in the museum, I wouldn't be surprised if this image isn't lodged deep in my subconscious somewhere.

It was also somewhat ironic that the museum, or NatWest, had installed an ice slide for the kiddies right outside the main entrance of the gallery:

Finally, here's a shot of St. Paul's and the new pedestrian bridge that connects the City to the Tate Modern: old London meets new London?

Holiday Wrapup Part 1

2006-01-09T00:25:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, or anyone, I'm back safe and sound in Velingrad. Had a really wonderful time in England - special thanks go out to Llew, Caroline and Dave and their significant others Fu, Mike and Chris, for the hospitality and light entertainment.

When I first arrived in London I had a couple of days to reacquaint myself with the city - here are some of my old haunts:

This is my former place of business:

My former street, York Terrace East:

And my former doorway, number 17.

My street was very posh, my apartment somewhat less so.

On wednesday, internet gods willing, more sightseeing pics! I know you can't wait!

Весели Празници!!!

2005-12-19T00:34:00.000-05:00

(Veceli Praznitsi or happy holidays)

So I had a little party on Friday night and got out the old camera to document the merrymaking:

The director of my school is the one waving his hands in the air like he just doesn't care.

Here are two American volunteers from the neighboring town of Rakitovo, Brandy and Apryl, who also attended the festivities.

Velingrad was buried in snow again over the weekend, and I trekked around town with my camera yesterday in order to document for you guys how crazy deep the snow gets here:

So I'm leaving for London Wednesday morning and I'm still debating whether I should bring my laptop (I probably won't) - so it will doubtful whether there will be any new updates until after the holidays. I hope everyone has a joyous holiday season, and I'll see you in 2006.

Of Note

2005-12-16T01:13:00.000-05:00

Great piece by former Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi and author Paul Theroux.

Spiders Are Filling Out Tax Returns

2005-12-16T00:21:00.000-05:00

The days are winding down before Christmas and the kids are getting antsy. Which is shorthand for saying that they have ants in their pants. After they have taken their class exams, we have what I hope are fun activities.
Here's my incorrigible 10 Б class:

We played Jeopardy yesterday, which they enjoyed, especially since I let them buy candy from me with the money they earned. I copied a bunch of fake $100 bills which is useful for any number of classroom activities.

Money changing hands:

Doing my part to promote the spread of global capitalism . . .

Praise the Grammar Police

2005-12-14T00:16:00.000-05:00

In my previous post I mentioned my friends from Hisar, Kate, Rymen and Asen:

Rymen the dentist is on the far right, Asen the Russian teacher is in the middle, and Kate the American is obviously on the left. They are at the table (?? ??????) which is where we spend 90 percent of our time when we hang out.

Also, here is an old (from April) photo of my host family in Hisar. Ivan (host brother) actually looks pretty angelic in this picture.

This will be another short post as I need to write the final exam for my 11th graders. One week from today I'll be in London!

I Wanna Wander Through the Night

2005-12-12T00:22:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend in Plovdiv and Hisar, visiting host parents, hanging out with Kate, Asen, Rymen. Had a little trouble getting the bus back to Velingrad on Saturday so spent an extra night in Hisar. Do not trust bus schedules on the internet!!!

Anyways, yesterday I had a couple of hours to kill in Plovdiv so I walked around the park near the center of town. There are a lot of interesting statue/monument things in the park but my favorite was this one:

And the inscription:

Apparantly Plovdiv is the sister cities with Okayama-shi in Japan. Don't ask me the meaning of the dog and monkey.

So I'm still learning the ins and outs of this blogging thing. Bear with me. Time for class!

Let's Forget How to Dance

2005-12-08T02:22:00.000-05:00

So this is another attempt at keeping a regular blog of my adventures in far eastern Europe. I still don't have internet access in my apartment but am able to connect my laptop at school. Occasionally, however, the internet is prohibitively slow, so bear with me! I'm dealing with technology that is 5-10 years behind what we have in America!!!

I'm going to send my blog address around and am expecting mainly family and friends (if anyone) to visit. Feel free to use the comments and let me know how you're doing, whether you think my writing sucks or I'm an idiot, or to generally abuse me. I like it. It keeps my ego in check.

This picture was from a couple of weeks ago when Velingrad was indundated with сняг (Bulgarian for snow) which has since all melted off. It has been unseasonably warm this week (temperatures in the 50's?)