diet of Worms

PfRC is not going on sabbatical just yet, but soon H and I are going to take a short tour of the Moselle region and visit the two cities that have been vying for centuries for the title of the oldest in Germany, Roman Trier and Wagnerian Worms.  In the coming days, be sure to visit our companion, Our Little Travel blog, for regular updates and postcards from the edge.

carnivale

Since some time now, I have been rather a humbug when it comes to Fasching celebrations (the German equivalent of Carnival)--not keen on dressing up or partying on a school night.  My sister in the States braved blizzard conditions in the Deep South to make the trek along the coast to New Orleans for Marti Gras.  I hope she's having a blast, and I am sure the drive will be most memorable, if snow in Mississippi does not become common-place in the next years.  Even if Lent, what all this lead-up is about--sage old Carnival queens and krewes should tell a Lenten story like they do for Passover, why is this night different from all other nights?--is all about privation and shunning temptation, it really kicks off vacation planning in earnest, especially after this winter's captivity.   H and I have quietly plotted our escapes, and though I am useless when it comes to long-term planning and the business of logistics, I am overwhelmingly excited about the trips and dates held in reserve that we have on slate.  Those vintage Star Wars travel posters are not reflective of our next destinations (for next time), but are the very stylish and clever work of graphic artist Justin van Genderen.

UR doomed

Just scant hours after the EU bravely and laudably refused to comply with US requests for banking data sharing in the name of prevention of terrorism, the Obama administration made a statement in support of new initiatives to cull cell phone tower pings (and call logs rendered freely by telecoms) and triangulate users' locations, because citizens should have no reasonable expectations of privacy or anonymity of their whereabouts, or more precisely, the whereabouts of their cell phones.  This sounds like some poor, B-movie glomming onto the plot from the last Batman or Echalon Conspiracy.

the more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems that will slip through your fingers

I really have not followed the now disputed presidential election results for the Ukraine and the subsequent havoc and calls for a recount.  I only try to keep up with the politics because opposition Julia Timoschenko reminds me of Princess Leia, and her challenger, the ostensible winner, makes me think she's up against some dark sith lord or power-hungry Grand Moff Tarkin, that she's rallying the Rebel Alliance against the Evil Empire.