Thursday, August 30, 2007

Islands off Dubrovnik


Due to popular demand, pictures as well as observations on culture and cuisine.

Culture: I certainly won't pretend to be an expert, but it was interesting to hear George say, multiple times, It's like Greece in some ways and not in others. Geographically and culturally, Croatia is between Greece and Italy, though of course the language and people are Slavic. (I guess when I think of Slavs, I think of Poles, Russians, the northern Slavs, whereas Croatians, obviously, are southern Slavs.) Whenever there was traditional Croatian music being played, it sounded Greek to George, except for the language.

I don't think I can fairly comment on the people, given that we were in the most touristy place at the height of the season. Service and friendliness were in line with what you'd expect. It seemed to me "post-Communist." The attitude was, I'm doing my job, but I'm not getting paid to smile at you. That said, certainly noone was rude or unpleasant, just very busy.

The food tended more to the Italian - grappa, amazing ice-cream, risottos, pasta, espresso. Mostly, though, there were plenty of Mediterranean staples, like fish, tomatoes, salad and wine.

Below are pics from the day we took a boat to 3 islands off Dubrovnik. I will post more pictures, including Zagreb and Slovenia in the coming days.



Here's a view into a walled garden on an island about 30 minutes by boat from Dubrovnik. George got the picture by climbing up some stairs across the road. Notice the wonderful grape arbor.



Here is the harbor of that same island. This was our view as we had an afternoon espresso.


An artsy shot for you - burnt-down candles in a monastery church on the island of Lapad.


A view of the water and harbor from that same monastery on Lapad. The water was refreshingly chilly given that the air temp was in the 90s.


I couldn't help myself - another artsy shot. The monastery was under renovation and there were stacks of copper pipe lying on the ground under some low palms.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Dubrovnik


Here is the main square in Dubrovnik on a Saturday afternoon.


Much to George's dismay, many of the so-called streets in Dubrovnik resembled nothing so much as extended stairways. Here he is with his coffee in a cafe/stairway.


The beautiful cloisters at a monastery in Dubrovnik, which also housed the 3rd oldest pharmacy open to the public in Europe (which now looks much like a Vienna drawing room.)
Check out the nice capital here with the dogs.


My favorite picture of George and me from this trip, also in the monastery cloister.


The street our rooms were on. Those are a lot of stairs after a long day of sight-seeing.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Vacation!!

And so, I'm off for 10 days to Croatia and Slovenia. I already know that Slovenia is beautiful having visited it in 1994 (backpacking after college,) and I understand that Croatia is magnificent. You can be thinking of me gazing at the blue Adriatic.

I'll let you know....

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Killer Whales

This is spectacular. Here are pictures of a superpod of orcas off the coast of Washington photographed in July.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Edith Piaf

I saw the movie La Vie en Rose last night, a biopic of Edith Piaf. Here's one of my favorite songs by her.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

How to

I like #6.

Top 10 "How to" Searches in the U.S (4 weeks ending 7/21/07)
1. How to tie a tie
2. How to have sex
3. How to kiss
4. How to lose weight
5. How to write a resume
6. How to levitate
7. How to draw
8. How to get pregnant
9. How to make out
10. How to make a video

Friday, August 3, 2007

What does it mean to be Black in America?

Pundits are talking about Barack Obama not being Black. What does it mean to be black? As I think about this and read what other's have to say, it seems in the face of Obama, people are quickly readjusting their definitions. Being African-American is not enough, you have to be descended from West African slaves brought to the US. Are the pundits collectively redefining because Obama breaks the boundaries, including the assumed ones of class and power? For example, here is a quote from an article proclaiming that Obama is not black:
Not descended from West African slaves brought to America, he steps into the benefits of black progress (like Harvard Law School) without having borne any of the burden...
- Deborah Dickerson, Salon.com, Jan 22, 2007

Is Black really a class issue instead of a descent issue? Notice that Deborah Dickerson does not point out the reversal of Jim Crowe laws, which pertains to all African Americans, as evidence of black progress, but refers instead to Harvard Law School, which applies to a miniscule minority of Americans of any color. Although she does not say so explicitly, she's talking about Blackness as a Class issue. Yes, Class, which is something Americans don't like to talk about.

These questions come to me in vivid relief as I think about my brother and how he compares with Barack Obama. For those of you who don't know my family well, my brother, who sees himself as black, was adopted as an infant by my white parents.

Similarities between my brother and Obama:
  • Bi-racial, half African descent, half European
  • Raised by white family, at times overseas
  • Both will be followed by security guards when they walk into a store
  • Both will be pulled over more often than I will
The differences between my brother and Obama:
  • Obama is white collar and has political power, my brother is blue collar and does not have political power
Other than the fact that pundits won't get on TV talking about my brother, on paper, my brother and Obama are alike in background except for their chosen career paths and subsequent rise in the socio-economic structure.

So, give me your thoughts - What is Black? Race? Ethnicity? Family history? Class? Some intersection of these?