Day 7: Au Revoir to the French Riviera

On our last day in beautiful Nice, Lindsey and I decided to go it alone, and we took a walk back down the mountain (we swore we'd never walk back UP as early as Monday, but down was not too bad), and I want to take a brief departure from anything relevant to mention the picture below, which appears to be one of the ghosts from Pac-Man. I guessed it was Blinky, but I don't know their names for sure.


Anyhow, this was right at the top of the hill before going around the corner to our villa, so when we were walking up (or riding in a cab), ol' Blinky was the sign that we were almost there. I grew quite fond of the little guy, so I figured I'd mention him here.

After getting back down to Vieux-Nice, it was time to jump on a bus toward the Museé Marc Chagall. Not knowing anything of his work, I was excited to see what he had to offer, since both the people of Nice and most of the travel books we had read had many good things to say about him. They were not incorrect. Luckily, non-flash photography was allowed inside, so here's a picture of one of the two main halls:


Directly up my alley, Chagall uses a lot of Biblical imagery in his paintings, and the main thing that impressed me was how much activity is occurring in each of them. For example, here is my favorite, which is entitled "The Creation of Man."


The picture itself is extraordinarily colorful (as most of Chagall's paintings are), which is a huge selling point for me, but surrounding the sun are several mini-paintings that drew my focus. I'm not an art critic, but I know what I like, and I find this painting profoundly moving.

Chagall's museum was incredibly soothing, which is how I identify a good art display. So, after we had enjoyed ourselves thoroughly for an hour or so in the gallery, Lindsey and I hopped on a bus back in the direction of Monaco, to the hilltop village of Éze. The unique part about this ride is that beforehand when we traveled eastward we would ride along the coast, whereas this particular route drove up the mountain and along the cliffs, which provided a spectacular vantage point of Nice, Villefranche and St. Jean Cap Ferrat, all of which I have mentioned previously.

The rest of Lindsey's family had made their way to Éze on Monday when we were visiting the Museé Matisse, and for those of you from Georgia, they described it as the Helen of the French Riviera. Beautiful, but touristy. For those of you that have been to Helen, I felt that comparison went a little far even though the streets were relatively crowded. Aesthetically, though, the town was not unlike those of St. Paul de Vence and Tourrettes-sur-Loup, and here's a picture of the main hotel near the precipice.


Just past this, there is an exotic garden that leads to the top of the city (there's a great overhead shot of it on the Wikipedia link), but it costs 5 Euro to enter, and we didn't really feel like doing that, especially since it was ridiculously crowded. Luckily, there was a nice view from the church cemetery, shown below:


We only spent about 45 minutes in Éze, mostly because we were tired, and the plans for dinner were to head to the classiest hotel in Nice, just because we wanted to have a touch of the overabundant ritz we hadn't sampled the rest of the week.

As it was, then, we got all dolled up and arrived at the Hotel Negresco at 7:30, only to find that we were the first people there. (an exterior picture is followed by an interior one, the latter of which shows the 2-ton chandelier)




Feeling a little uncomfortable, we delayed our reservation until 8 and went to drink in the bar, where a guy was playing American jazz tunes on his electric piano. Loosening up a little bit, we went back to the dining room where we had quite the unique experience.

I must set a disclaimer and say that the food at Chantecler, the hotel restaurant, was phenomenal. However, as we discovered through the four-hour, seven-course meal, it was a little exhausting. Situated at the center table in a room that seated about 40 people, 4 out of our party of 6 ordered the fixed price menu thinking that would be the best bet. It certainly was, as the chef did not disappoint, but we were not prepared for what followed. By the end of the meal, we were all exhausted and delirious (it was close to midnight at this point, and my legs were cramping from sitting down for so long), and we ended up those asshole Americans in the bar, giggling every time they brought out a new set of silverware. There were only five courses listed on the menu, but two EXTRA desserts came out as well. It was a pretty awesome display.

Like I said, we were all happy we went, but it was pretty overwhelming in the moment. Afterward, we came back and passed out in quick order, set to arise at 7 the next morning to catch our flight.

I'm not much of one for goodbyes, and hopefully I'll be back someday, so I'll end as abruptly as I started. I hope y'all enjoyed my travels as much as a vicarious reader can, meaning I hope I conveyed well at least some of the grandeur and beauty of the wonder that is Nice and southern France. Until we go somewhere else, goodbye from The Pasty Quail travel blog.

Friday Headlines

HEADLINES:
Oh Yeah? Well I bet he can't tie his shoes.
If the open sores, rotting teeth and horrid stench aren't enough.
Hot New Technology
Another Place Where the Beef Is Not
Today's Euphemism: Not Petite = Your Underwear Has Enough Metal to Set Off Security Checkpoints
I Counter Your Silver Spoon with this Aluminum Fork.

NEWS QUIZ:
The merit badges earned in the Boy Scouts of America:

(a) are Made in China;
(b) contain unsafe levels of lead;
(c) are lame;
(d) all of the above.

The People of Burma Continue to Suffer

Der Spiegel reports that despite the cessation of street protests in the capital of Burma, the military junta is maintaining its crackdown on dissent throughout the small nation. The article has one of the few first hand accounts of the situation there and is well worth the read.

The international community has finally started talks with the military regime, but there has been little movement on the issue of preserving human rights. China remains a major stumbling block to imposing sanctions or initiating military action; from a Reuters article:

"Western countries are pushing for action by the [UN] Security Council, such as through sanctions, but veto-wielding China has said the situation in Myanmar is an internal affair and it opposes Security Council action."

This is a grave failure by the international community on the level of those in Zimbabwe, the Sudan, and Haiti. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done by the Western world at this time. My thoughts are certainly with the people of Burma, and I can only hope that increasing diplomatic pressure will help bring about a peaceful solution.

News From the World of Video Games

It is being reported that Halo 3 sales hit the $300 million mark in the first week. I wonder if that Halo 3-flavored Mountain Dew is having similar success.

Get the press release on Halo's success from Microsoft here.

In other video game news, Nintendo has announced that it will be unable meet demand for the Wii this Christmas. The President of Nintendo of America says:

"We planned optimistically for the launch, but no one could have foreseen how much more popular Wii would be than any other system in memory."

Whether Nintendo is artificially holding down supply or not, the situation is certainly working in their favor. With less than jaw-dropping graphics and a short list of quality games, the system should not be competing with the XBOX. However, it is the top selling console on the market, and still has the power to create hysteria at Targets and Walmarts around the country.

Read CNN Money's take on the Wii's supply problems here.

Good and Bad News on the Economy

The AJC is claiming that late mortgage payments in Atlanta are higher than they have been in over 70 years. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, says:

"I don't think we've seen delinquency rates this high since the Great Depression."

So, um, maybe I should be collecting cans of beans instead of blogging today, huh?
You can read the whole article here.

Moving on to economic news that isn't depressing, the job market has rebounded by posting a 110,000 net gain in workers. There are signs that problems persist in the private sector, but this month's numbers are a stark improvement over those from August.

Read CNN Money's article on the report here.

Today's Object Lesson: Stay Away from the Interweb

A Virginia teacher was fired after the local public school officials say a video of him on YouTube using his ass to paint pictures. The teacher is now suing for deprivation of his rights to free expression and due process.

"No More Brown People," says Australia

Though African refugees are only 30% of the total annual refugee influx, the Australian government is banning--pardon me, "freezing"--any further immigration on African refugees, including those coming fleeing genocide in Sudan. The official reason is that refugees of Iraq and Burma are more important for the time being and that African refugees aren't so good at the whole "integration into society" aspect of immigration.

Speculated unofficial reasons include: xenophobia and the pending election.

Get the scoop here.

Screw You, Greg.

The Guardian UK has a op-ed piece titled "In Defence of the Man," which defends the great love of my life: the music industry.

Author John Harris's opening quote: "We'll rue the day we destroyed the record companies that helped artists do their best work."

So there.

See you on the "Comments" page.

I Wonder What They Do to Guys Like Him in Prison, Part Deux

A South Beach club promoter was arrested and is facing criminal charges in Dade County for having unprotected sex with a woman, when he knew he was HIV +. Prosecutors suspect that he tried to infect other women and are looking for his other potential sex partners.

The accused is 22 years old.

Friday Art Blast

Sheila Pree Bright is an Atlanta-based photographer. While she is not a portrait photographer, her lens captures the frailty and humanity of her subjects, while often criticizing--at least commenting on--the culture that raised them. (Her favorite subject seems to be Generation Y.) She's been loosely associated with the Atlanta female Southern photographer explosion, that includes artists such as Angela West, Ruth Dusseault, Suellen Parker, Laura Noel, and Sarah Hobbes.

Her work is provocative and insightful.

Her latest series, "Young Americans," is to premiere at the High Museum in May 2008.

Atlanta Housing Authority Screws the Poor? Or Helps?

Over the last few years, the Atlanta Housing Authority has periodically destroyed downtown housing projects to make room for more "mixed-income" apartments\housing communities, but has also provided new public housing for the displaced residents of the demolished projects.

For example, in 2002, the AHA demolished some projects, displacing 5,000 familes. (That's families, not people.) A mere 332 of those families now live in the new mixed-income housing. Creative Loafing speculates on why so few families made the move:

"One of the reasons why so few residents returned was the housing authority's strict terms. The Sellers, for
example, say they were turned down because they'd been late paying their utilities at the house in Decatur.
Families also can be barred from re-entry due to a drug conviction (past or present), unemployment (unless
you're disabled, which the Sellers are) and poor credit history – some of the most common misfortunes that
plague the poor."

Currently up on the chopping block are 12 inner-city projects.
City-wide public housing unit total, before the proposed demoltion: 14,800
City-wide public housing unit total, after the proposed demoltion: 4,800

Yet some displaced residents have found their new housing superior to the old housing. Get the scoop by making the jump.

Hate Crime or Just a Tragedy?

Medford, MA: A 13 year-old was attacked by his fellow middle school students (13, 12, and 12, respectively) who invited him over to a slumber party and then allegedly used a makeshift flamethrower on him, while shouting racial epithets. The victim's parents are accusing the Medford cops of not treating the incident as a hate crime immediately, though the defendants are facing criminal civil rights violations.

Just a brief check-in from Le Cote d'Azur

Bonjour! I'm terribly sorry that the posting once a day thingy didn't work out like I had planned. The internet cafe is a 30 minute trek from our villa, and on top of that, I am unable to use the computers here like I would be able to at home, making it trés dificilé to write any worthwhile posts with good pictures and all.

As a result, I've resigned myself (and all of you) to settling for a massive photo essay when I return to the Quail early next week. I promise an extensive, informative and overall spectacular snapshot of my week that was, which, in a word, has been fantastic. Hope your week has been excellent, and that you haven't missed your daily inundation with useless religion news too much.

Au revoir jusqua lundi!

Day 6 in Southern France: Skipping through the Countryside

It was disappointing that we couldn't stop in Antibes, our first "destination." We were let out of the van to view the massive harbor, which contained some of the most elaborate and expensive yachts I've ever seen. That was nice, but the old part of the city looked more intriguing, and it was a shame to be on such a short time schedule.

Our trip to Cannes told a similar story, as we only had a half-hour to walk around the grounds of the convention center where the famous film festival is held. I actually ended up waiting 20 of those 30 minutes for a sugar and butter crepe — which was well worth it — while Lindsey strolled through the world-class shopping district.

She did get a great shot of the beach, which I mentioned the other day is one of the very few public sand beaches on the French Riviera. Like making snow on Stone Mountain where it is not so common, Cannes puts a giant vacuum into the sea in order to replenish the sand when it washes away.


As we left Cannes, we passed through some parts of the city that looked much more appealing to visit, showing that it's much more than the Myrtle Beach of the Riviera. We left the coast and headed up into the piedmont town of Grasse, where we visited the Fragonard factory, which produces some ridiculous percentage of the world's perfume. Here's a picture of their hand-made soaps on the day they were made:


After spending about an hour on the tour, we headed further up into the mountains to the medieval town of Gourdon. Here we stopped for a quick lunch and some gorgeous views, as is shown below.


Driving down through the valley of the river Loup, we wound around a spectacular gorge carved out by the stream. Looking back up the sides at waterfalls spilling from the mountains was quite a sight as well. Unfortunately, though, there's not much room to stop for photos on the side of the thin, curvy roads.

However, there was time to stop and take a snapshot of our next stop, Tourrettes-sur-Loup, from the road. It's so small it doesn't have a Wikipedia page, unless you can read French, which I cannot very well.


There, we spent another short stop, which was enough time to walk around the "city centre," which contained a church, a parking lot and a couple cafés. The streets were beautiful, though, looking something like this:


From there we drove back in toward the coast, making our last stop in a vibrant artist community called St. Paul de Vence (pictured below). There some great links on the Wikipedia page describing some of its intricacies. Though not very large itself, the town had probably 50 galleries and various shops and restaurants, as well as a very famous modern art museum, the Maeght Foundation. Unfortunately, we did not have time to stop there ourselves, so here's someone else's photo gallery I found online.



Here's a picture that I just happen to really like, of a house that had both a small vineyard and orange trees just below the town center in St. Paul.



It was a long day, and the scenery was everything we hoped it would be, but in the end wished we had taken the tour earlier in the week so that we could have revisited some of these too-brief stops. Coming back to Nice, we stopped for some more excellent pizza, then headed on home to get a good night's sleep before the last day on our French vacation.

Day 5 on Le Cote d'Azur: The Principality of Monaco

Monaco was much different than I had expected. As is shown in the picture below, there's a unique juxtaposition of Old and New here, with the Castle and Government located up on a hill on the west end and the bustling entertainment district to the east. The whole country/principality/city/whatever is very touristy yet spotlessly clean as well. One expectation I did have was correct, but in a strange way: I thought Monaco would look all futuristic, and it did, if we lived in 1920 and were imagining 2050. In effect, the high rises are stuck in the 1970s.


So, as I mentioned, the old castle is situated up on a hill that overlooks the rest of the principality (as is appropriate for a castle to do). The most intriguing part of the walk up these stairs were the defibrillators lining the path, in case of sudden cardiac arrest. Hmmm. Luckily, all of us made it to the top of this wicked climb (though I myself enjoyed it; the view was extraordinary).


Once at the top, we wandered through the touristy area that had been likened to Disney World according to previous visitors to whom we'd spoken. This was true in some way, except there were so many fewer children and offensive colors. Otherwise, it was kind of a zoo.

That didn't take away from the aesthetic value of the architecture, luckily, and one of my favorite examples is this, just to give you an idea:


After eating a quick lunch, we headed on to our purposive destination, the Musée Océanographique de Monaco (whose official site is here, with a much better picture than I could have taken).

Here they have a bunch of neat exhibits, including a variety of aquariums featuring rare sea life, as well as one on Jacques Cousteau, who always pleasantly reminds me of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. In addition, there's a whole section on Prince Albert I's voyage to study wildlife in the Arctic, which was followed one hundred years later in the early 2000s by Prince Albert II.

We had a bunch of pictures from inside, but this one turned out the best. It doesn't show you much of what I just talked about, but it looks really nice.


Leaving the museum, we took a bus down the hill into Monte Carlo, which technically is a different city than Monaco, but it's all really confusing. Refer to the Wikipedia post on Monaco on the previous page for more details. Anyhow, the area surrounding the casino, both residential and resort, is one of the most well-kept spaces on the planet. I don't even think Crayola could come up with a green sharp enough to depict how healthy the grass and trees looked in the garden in front of the casino.

They don't let you take pictures inside the casino, so I can't share that with you, but we did sit outside at a large café to enjoy people and car watching. I saw a Ferrari and several Aston Martins, including the one in front of the casino, pictured below. The funny part about that is this was the best picture we could get. There constantly were people standing in front of it for snapshots, and we couldn't get a clear look.


The other funny thing I noticed is that every time I saw a ridiculous car drive by, inevitably some piece of crap would come after. For example, when I saw the Ferrari, it was followed immediately by something called a "Twingo," which was the homeless man's version of a Ford Fiesta. Speaking of which, I really want a Smart Car. Sure, you can't "do anything useful other than drive it," but you can park it absolutely ANYWHERE.

Finally, as our day ran out in Monaco and it started to rain, we finished up our delicious dessert and Monaco's own beer. I'm not even much of one for dessert, but those people sure know how to make an ice-cream sundae.


I bid you farewell until tomorrow, when we venture out into the countryside.

Okkervil River at the 40 Watt

Last night was the Okkervil River show at the 40 Watt, and Hebb and I went down to check it out. The lead singer, Will Sheff, was wasted (it was the first time I have ever seen a band of that profile have to stop and start a song over); we had the feeling that at any time the band was about 15 seconds away from completely imploding on stage. However, by the second half Will had downed a half gallon of water and they managed to pull it together (Rock and Roll, woooooo!!!). It was a damn good show all the way around, seriously. Here is a video of the first song they played during the encore; strangely enough, its called Okkervil River:

Go Hoops!

Once upon a time, I lived in St. Andrew's, Scotland. While there, I lived with a few Irish caddies from the Old Course who taught me to love Guiness and to hate the English. They also introduced me to a little soccer (or football, if you are inclined) team out of Glasgow known as Celtic FC. The Hoops, as they are known in those parts, have had an impressive run over the past few years; winning the Scottish League championship 5 out of their last 8 chances.

Unfortunately, they have never had much luck in the European Champion's League. That is until yesterday, when they notched a solid 2-1 win over Italian powerhouse, AC Milan. Its still early in the tournament, but its a great win and is proof that the team can play with anybody. Watch the video below to catch the game winning goal in front of a fanatical home crowd. Be sure to watch till the end when a member of that crowd rushes the field and lands a phantom blow to AC Milan's keeper (Dida) who proceeds to take one of the greatest dives of all time:


(Thanks EZ)

Update: The fan who rushed the field has been arrested and banned for life from Celtic matches for his stunt.

A Moment of Whimsy

Occasionally, as one surf the endless refuse pile that is the internet, an image arises that captures so much meaning that to say it is only worth 1,000 words is a discredit to the photographer. In the spirit of these fortuitous discoveries, I present to you this:

For those of you who'd like to see the billboard in person, it is in Clifton Hill, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

Student Sues Over "C"

I would like to make a joke here about how I wish I had thought of this first.

Instead, I'll merely note that with all of the schooling I've been through, I never cared about grades this much.

Iraq has bought $100 million dollars worth of light arms to equip its fledgling military. From whom, you may ask?

None other than our very good friends over at The People's Republic of China. At least if these weapons slip into the hands of the insurgency, like millions upon millions of dollars worth of arms imported from the US already have, we can rely on a little lead poisoning to slow them down.

Today's Age-Inappropriate Sex News

Meet Michelle Tufts, a 30 year old woman who was arrested in Las Cruces, New Mexico for having sex with an 8 year old boy.

As if working an 8-year-old up to tumescence wasn't enough of a medical miracle, a 60-year old Japanese woman has announced that she's pregnant.

EDIT: In Ms. Tufts defense, maybe she was drunk.

Is It About to Start Raining Frogs up in This Piece? 'Cause I'm Scared.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll revealed that 6 in 10 Republicans now think free trade is bad. What does this mean for the Republican presidential hopefuls in the 2008 election? Back-pedal furiously.

Revamping the Monster Applications

Developers of Facebook applications such as Vampires, Zombies, etc. are scrambling to make their applications viable for use on other platforms, such as MySpace and Orkut, Google's unfortunately named and internationally popular social networking site.

30 Rock Premiere Tonight\A Pasty Promotion!

Bringing the hope to single career women everywhere that you too can be awesome, Liz Lemon & co. are back starting tonight. In the spirit of celebrating the 30 Rock premiere, take the "Are You a Liz Lemon?" quiz on EWeekly's Popwatch Blog.

First person to get to ten will win a free lemon, courtesy of the Quail.

Yet Another Use for Duct Tape

Back in my day, teachers had "time out." In Cobb County, Georgia, teachers now have innovative uses for duct tape.

Cuttin' Egos Down to Size

Slate blasts contemporary political candidates for bragging themselves into inanity. Their favorite target is not who you think.

Lethal Injection on Review

Amnesty International just released a report on bungled executions in American prisons. The report refers to a series of executions--from 2000 onward--in which lethal injections have taken longer than customary due to painful and costly mistakes.

And You Thought the American Media Were Bad

An Indian tele-journalist\cameraman nearly succeeded in convincing an entire family to commit suicide to attract government attention to the family's struggles.

What's Happening in the SWATs? Nothing.

And in no big surprise news, the city of Atlanta is shafting the poor while trying to fix the transportation system and improve inner-city life. Expansion plans (aka. "The Beltline") by the Atlanta Regional Commission intially promised but now apparently fails to include the SWATs. The best part? Since these plans have been on the table for the last few years, property taxes in the SWATs have gone up, though none of the proposed benefits--more jobs, better housing, greater access to city resources--are coming in.

Isn't There Like...A Drought?

State planners project that the population of Georgia will double (reaching 18M) in the next 30 years. Ignoring for a second the subsequent demands on the sewer system, utilities, and the nightmares that are I-75, I-85, and I-285, guess how much it will cost to expand the systems and services in place to provide enough water for Georgia citizens? According to Carol Couch, Head of Georgia's EPD, the projected expense is in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

All Hail the Joust

Remember this?
American Gladiators is coming back to NBC with Hulk Hogan as the new host. And I, for one, am excited. I'm not a big Hulk Hogan fan, but the Gladiators kicked ass when I was six. I mean, it featured such champions as this guy.

Talk about Taking One to the Face

Every six weeks or so, I make the five-hour drive to visit my grandparents, who are both in their mid-'70s and whose daily routines include reading three newspapers in the morning, watching "Judge Judy" and whatever college games are on, going fishing, taking foreign language classes at the senior center, and talking smack about local and national politicians. It's like going to Valhalla for the weekend, except Odin and Bragi listen to Aretha Franklin, make biscuits every morning, and sometimes invite over the neighborhood cranky octagenarians to smoke cigars and argue about how steroids changed professional sports.

At least once every visit, however, my grandfather will inevitably ask me what the hell is wrong with kids my age. My usual response is that it's not us, it's that he's gotten older or that we're much better than his generation was because we're smarter, healthier, and more globally conscious or that there's nothing wrong with us at all.


http://view.break.com/324776 - Watch more free videos

But after watching that, I just don't know what's wrong with us, Grandpa. I just don't know.

Thursday Quiz Time

You are Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. You want to build a 670-mile fences along the border between the U.S. and Mexico, but you need to build a little public support and get those pesky environmentalists out of the way. Do you:

a) appeal to the American public's fear of another terrorist attack and explain that you think the border would help keep terrorists out?
b) appeal to the American public's jingoism and failure to understand basic economics and explain that you think the wall would keep cheap workers out?
c) appeal to the American public's ignorance as to who you are and what you do and explain that "illegal migrants really degrade the environment" to get those wacky tree-huggers out of the way?

The correct answer, kids, is (c). Because migrant workers are the problem, and building a 670-mile wall along the Rio Grande--keeping animals from fresh water and turning a beautiful natural landscape into a security nightmare--is the solution.

So Much Music, So Much [New York] Times

Slideshow of the Annual Air-Guitar World Championship in Oulu, Finland last month.

Did you just find out about Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings by reading this very sentence? Ha! We here at the Quail have officially defeated you in the old-fashioned, indie snob game of "I Heard of Them First." But fear not. We here at the Quail are not sore winners and have opted to comfort you in the form of a profile of Jones and the Dap-Kings. Read up on the pioneers of the retrosoul explosion by making the jump. As an additional consolation prize, be sure to tell all your other indie snob friends that you even knew that the Dap-Kings, more recently known as "Amy Winehouse's backing band," were approached by her and Mark Ronson for their support on Winehouse's "Back to Black," NOT the other way around.

Hip hop fans! Complete the following lyric: "We know a place where the nights are hot/It is a house of funk/females and males/both headed for... Moscow? Break-dancing is back, but this time, it's big in the former Soviet bloc, not the blocks of the Bronx and LA. Are you just going to take that, New York? 'Cause I think that the Red Square is trying to give Union Square a run for its money, and New York, you can't just take that. If you don't watch out, London and Paris will be disrespecting you in the streets. And that would just be upsetting.

Freakonomics takes on the music industry. Featuring commentary from industry heavyweights and academics, this article promises to enlighten us all as to how the consumer controls the industry in the future or at least will spark some beef between me and Greg. In any case, stay tuned.

And last but not least, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is running an exhibition called
"Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967." . All rock-art, all the time, "Sympathy for the Devil" promises to examine the link between contemporary art and renowned rock music, featuring the work of such artists such as Jean-Luc Godard, The Velvet Underground, Yoshitomo Nara, Talking Heads, Andy Warhol, Pete Townsend, and everyone else you can imagine. And hey--even the Old Gray Lady is starting to dig it. And in a move of total, shameless nepo-promotion, I'd like to send a shout-out to the hardest working editor in America, Ms. Kamilah Foreman, a valued and most awesome member of the team at the Chicago MCA. Keep up the good work.

WiLX and Son1 at Nuci's Space

The UGA Music Business Program is sponsoring a series of benefits at Nuci's Space for Nuci's Space over the course of this semester. Nuci's Space is a non-profit venue in Athens and a resource center for musicians.

Acts: WiLX and Son 1
Time: 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Venue: Nuci's Space (396 Oconee Street at the corner of Oconee and Williams Street)
Date: Tomorrow, October 4th

It's going to be a great event. For more info about the Music Business Program's series at Nuci's space, click here.

Windsor Knots, "Surf Bum Mystique," and Whatever Andre 3000 Is Doing

In honor of its own 50th anniversary, GQ made a list and slideshow of the 50 most stylish men in the last 50 years. Admittedly, some of their choices are questionable--Bob Dylan? Pete Doherty? Honestly? But Malcolm X, Steve McQueen, Muhammad Ali, Sean Connery, and Andre 3000 made the list, thereby ensuring that I renew my subscription to the mag this fall.

It's a fun list for a slow news day.

Girls Take More Hits to the Head

Female high school soccer players are 68% more likely to receive a concussion than their male counterparts. Yikes.

Yuppies Heart the Poppy

40 times weaker than heroin, but equally as illegal, opium is making a comeback with the American Apparel and Trader Joe's set.

Doesn't Bill Gates Have All the Money in the World?

Turns out that Microsoft isn't going to buy Facebook, everyone's favorite social networking site and the brainchild of 23 year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Apparently, Steve Ballmer (Microsoft's CEO) thinks Facebook and its sister social networking sites are just a fad, despite considering an investment of rumored $500M for a 5% share of Facebook. Analysts project that if Microsoft seriously threw its hat in the ring for a piece of Facebook, Google, Viacom, News Corp, and the rest of the gang would shortly follow suit, but for now, Microsoft is backing off.

It's Turner Prize Time Again? Time to Break out the Soap.

The shortlist of 4 artists up for the Turner Prize, the annual art award sponsored by the Tate Gallery that is given to a young (under 50) artist each December, was announced last week. For a bit about the history of the Turner Prize, check out Reuters or the Financial Times' perspective.

For those of you too lazy to make the jump, the Turner Prize is notorious for generating all kinds of controversy and its attendant contemporary art: from Damien Hirst's pickled cow and shark in formaldehyde (comparatively tame given that "head made of ice covered in Hirst's own blood" work he did a few years back) to Tracey Emin's filthy sheets, condoms included, to The Chapman Brother's bronze sex doll and dildo combo to...well, don't get me started on Chris Ofili and the elephant dung.

The work of this year's round of 4 is short on the animal parts, performance art, and used prophylactics, which may or may not be linked to the fact that this year's prize--for the first time in 23 years--is being held at Tate Liverpool, not Tate London. If you want to take a gander at the work of this year's shortlist nominees (Zarina Bhimji, Nathan Coley, Mike Nelson and Mark Wallinger), click here. All the work looks promising, if not the most sanitary art the Turner Prize Awards have seen in the last decade.

Isn't There Like...A War On?

So why exactly is Eva Longoria doing a parody of the Paris Hilton Sex Tape now? I would have embedded the video, but it's not THAT slow of a news day.

I Wonder What They Do to Guys Like Him in Prison

Remember Lou Pearlman, the tubby Svengali behind such contemporary maestros as LFO, 'Nsync, Take5 and the Backstreet Boys?



(With O-Town)

In addition to allegedly scamming investors out of $315M in a bank fraud scheme, he's also an accused pedophile. Is it an inappropriate time to mention that in June, he was extradited from Indonesia, where he was attempting to evade the bank fraud charges?

Libraries for the Homeless

Quaker Homeless Action, an English non-profit, has started mobile libraries for the homeless, as a step towards rehabilitation and reintroduction into mainstream society. Popular titles include the work of Carl Jung, Thomas Hardy, and Danielle Steel.

The Human LCD

As you might have noticed, its a really slow news day. So in lieu of going out and tracking down anything worthwhile, I present you with South Korean sports fans doing something crazy:



(Thanks EZ)

Public Service Announcement: New South Park Episode Tonight

The 11th season of South Park premiers tonight at 10PM on Comedy Central. On tonight's episode, Cartman gets himself diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome. I have no doubt that hilarity will ensue.

EU Considering Limiting Internet Access

The EU Justice Commissioner, Franco Frattini, is pushing his colleagues to consider making 'misuse of the internet' a punishable offense. Mr. Frattini explains:

"My intention is ... to introduce sanctions against those who disseminate terrorist propaganda or instruct on websites how to make a bomb. This has nothing to do with freedom of expression."

This is yet another entry in the battle between security and protection of rights in the Western world.

Anybody out there have any thoughts on whether governments should be able to restrict the spread of this kind of material or not?

Stone Mountain Wasting 38 Gallons Of Water Per Minute

The AJC is reporting that Stone Mountain and Coca Cola are in the process of building a 400 foot long snow pile at the park's main lawn. From the article:

"As northern Georgia suffers through a monumental drought and the toughest water restrictions ever imposed, Stone Mountain is using up to 38 gallons of water a minute — for 12 to 18 hours a day for the next month — to make snow."

Read the whole article here.

Day 4 in Nice: Finally Branching Out

There's really not too much to say about Villefranche, except that it is a spectacularly beautiful little town, as can be seen below.


Situated on the side of the mountain, we strolled up and down its steps and terraces that make up the residential portion of the town centre, where we eventually ended up eating lunch. Lindsey tried the mussels, for which this particular part of France is famous, and I had a croque monsieur, which is basically a glorified grilled ham & cheese. But, please note, when I say glorified here I really mean it has God's glory shining down upon it, and exceeds anything you can ever imagine coming from a grilled ham & cheese sandwich. (addendum: the croque madame is the same, just with a fried egg on top. Ridiculous.)

In between, we simply wandered and looked in many of the boutique art galleries. These are everywhere in the little villages surrounding Nice, and maybe this is common throughout France; either way, it seems that the French are very supportive of their visual artists. At the bottom of the hill, which you get to by winding through cavernous footpaths that walk directly by people's front doors, we came to the bottom to see the nifty little chapel below. I thought the eyes watching you from the side of the building were brilliantly creepy.


Speaking of churches in Villefranche, I also happened to walk by the town cathedral, from which I heard a pipe organ. Growing up Catholic, I am always a sucker for some organ resonating through a high-ceilinged church. I thought there may be a service going on, so I was timid about entering, but Lindsey's brother-in-law Keith just popped right in, so I decided to follow him, only to discover that the organist was the only person in the church besides myself and Keith. I sat and listened to a song and went on my way, but it was a nice, tranquil moment.

That's about all I've got from Villefranche, which doesn't do justice how amazing it was, but I do what I can. So I'll leave you with another shot of the seaside streetscape and move on.


That afternoon, we went down to the Nice port and hopped on an hourlong boat ride that just goes around the general area of Nice, Villefranche, and the next town over, St. Jean Cap Ferrat.

Unfortunately, not many of the pictures turned out because the other patrons' heads were in the way of a lot of good shots, but please take my word that the coast is possibly even more beautiful from the sea. I've included the shot below in order to try and translate what the scale of the mountains rising from the sea looks like, so hopefully it works somehow.


Then, Tuesday night we actually went out to dinner! I had a duck breast, which was very tasty but unfortunately bland, and Lindsey had a swordfish dish that was phenomenal, and we all loosened up a little bit as we became more comfortable with the scene and the culture. After dinner, Lindsey's parents went back to the villa, while her sister, brother-in-law and the two of us unwound with many, many drinks. I went back to an old friend of mine who I came to know well hanging out with Greg in Brussels, the ol' Belgian beer. It was quite pleasant.

You Never Know about the People Next Door...

Four years ago, Nathan Gasch, an 84 year-old Polish immigrant, moved into the Leisure World retirement community in Mesa, Arizona. Martin Hartmann, an 88 year-old Romanian immigrant, moved into Leisure World and by coincidence, right next door to Mr. Gasch.

Shortly after moving in, Hartmann invited Mr. Gasch over for drinks. Mr. Gasch walks in to find an old photograph of Hartmann on the wall...a young Hartmann...in an SS uniform...at a concentration camp. This might also be an opportune time to mention that Mr. Gasch survived Auschwitz and still has the numbers on his arm to prove it.

Depending on whether you believed the Daily Mail story linked above or this AP article, Hartmann may have been an SS officer at the very same camp where Mr. Gasch was imprisoned and tortured and\or served as a member of the SS Death's Head Guard Battalion at Sachsenhausen (another concentration camp). Either way, Mr. Gasch quietly left his neighbor's home, his mood having...I dunno...suddenly not been so good.

But here's the odd part: Mr. Gasch did not report Hartmann. For four years, Hartmann and Gasch peacefully coexisted, helping each other out with their gardens, chatting in German, and just being good neighbors. Only on August 31 of this year did Hartmann return to Germany to stand trial, having voluntarily reached an agreement with the Department of Justice. Check out the Arizona Republic's profile here.

But What Will They Call the Island?

Biologists in Alaska have decided to rid Rat Island of it's rats. The rats are not native to the island, but arrived about 200 years ago in a shipwreck and have had a disastrous effect on local wildlife on the island, which mostly consists of sea-birds.

No word yet on how they'll get rid of the rodents, and so I leave it up to you, dear reader: How would you get 10,000 rats off a tiny, volcanic island?

Sex and the Supreme Court

Justice Thomas's memoir, "My Grandfather's Son," came out yesterday and is #1 on both the Amazon and Barnes and Noble "Bestsellers" Lists. In case you've been under a rock for the last month or so, feel free to check out Slate's take, or audio, visual, and text from ABC News, and if you're willing to wait two weeks until I climb from under Midterm Mountain and actually take the book out of the box, you can even get a Pasty take on the memoir.

But for those of you who don't plan to read it and are only looking for the section on Anita Hill, read her response first. The NYT published her commentary piece today.

Censorship at Its Best

April '07: General Electric, owner of Universal Pictures, bans smoking in "youth-rated" films.

May '07: Anti-smoking lobby pressures film industry trade group into considering smoking as a factor in determining the rating of a film.

October '07: The NYT follows up with the 6 major studios, many of whom have taken stances similar to that of General Electric.

Does anyone else find it ironic that you can't display smoking in PG-13 films, but you can shoot people? Just sayin'.

High Art, Low Cost--And Hey! It's Edible!

"Toast of the Town," the annual gala for the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, featured a fashion show where the clothes were made almost entirely of food.

Okkervil River At The 40 Watt Wednesday Oct. 3

Austin's Okkervil River will be making an appearance at the 40 Watt tomorrow night. As always, the show will probably start past midnight (apparently, indie kids don't have classes or jobs), but the Quail will be there so that we can provide you with grainy videos of the scene complete with poor-quality audio. On second thought, maybe you should just come out to the show, or watch this instead:

A Report From the World's First Commercial Wave Farm

The Portugese government has constructed the world's first commercial wave farm for the production of electricity. It is said that the facility will be on-line by the end of the year, and will provide enough energy to power 2,000 homes. This might be a case where more energy is required to create the facility then it will ever produce, but it appears that there is excitement about this program and others being constructed around the world. The program should draw the attention of many other countries that are blessed with ample coastline but few resources.

See pictures and a brief summary here.

I Have A New Favorite Animal

Why Didn't Burma's Neighbors Support The Saffron Revolution?

Christopher Hitchens has an article on Slate arguing that the Chinese government is to blame for the atrocities that occured in Burma over the weekend. He writes that most of the world's most brutal regimes are being supported in one way or another by Beijing (see North Korea and the Sudan); while I agree with this statement, I find it hard to be surprised that a government that does not respect the human rights of its own people would not protect the human rights of another country's people.

This brings me to my point: Where is India?

India is the world's largest liberal democracy, and shares a border with Burma. Why did they not step in and help the people of Burma who clearly wanted political change prior to the massacre of thousands of protesting monks? In short, the Indian government was more concerned with security and energy resources flowing from the Burmese regime. This is shameful.

See here for more information.

The Universe Is, Like, Huuuuge, Man Pt. 2

Over at PBS's Nova website, they have an article highlighting the ongoing scientific discussion on the size and scope of our universe. Its long, and very sciency, but its a fascinating read nonetheless.

Obama Urges Elimination Of World Nukes

The New York Times is reporting that Barack Obama wants the entire world to abandon its nuclear arsenals.

First of all, Mr. Obama is living in a dream world if he thinks this is anything more than political rhetoric. Its a really nice idea, but, um, never gonna happen.

Also, maybe I saw too many James Bond movies as a kid, but I can't help thinking that he is squirreling a few nukes away for himself. Once the international community follows through with his plan, he will announce that he is holding Ft. Knox hostage or something like that.

Monday in Nice: Working the System

Our first stop, after the train station of course, was a cute little café where we met a friendly Frenchman who wanted to practice his English as we were trying to practice our French. It was pretty entertaining because we would speak poorly in French, and he would politely correct us as needed, and it even went so far as him asking us for advice on how to cook a fried egg for an ornery British gentleman (apparently that's not common French cuisine).

Afterward, we headed way uptown (the 15-minute bus ride had us thanking our lucky stars we decided not to walk) to the Museé Matisse (pictured below). A painter with a wonderful knack for riveting color, I didn't realize that he was also an accomplished sculptor.



Another interesting note about this picture: this building is not some unique artistic work of any particular design. In fact, there are literally dozens of buildings in Vieux-Nice that look nearly identical. I just found it interesting that odd pastel colors are common in beach communities across the world. . .

Unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures inside the museum, so we did our best to create our own art on the way out. I just thought this looked cool, and we wanted to capture the scale of this massive white wall next to me.



Following the museum, we stopped for a beer in the park, and then headed back down to our own little square, Place Rosetti (pictured following this explanation). We drank a nice bottle of wine here Saturday, had some gelato there Sunday, and then, on Monday, stopped for some exotic delicacies of Nicean cuisine (at the restaurant with the red awning in the left of the picture). Lindsey tried some of the ravioli (which, as I mentioned yesterday, was invented in Nice), while I tried some squid. Though I am a fan of the ol' fried calamari so widely loved here in the States, I was a little unsure of my decision, but it came ground up and arranged in hollowed out vegetables (onions, tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini). Needless to say — at least from my point of view — it was quite tasty, and probably the best food I had the entire time we were there (which is saying a whole lot).



After we had a brief scare that Lindsey wasn't going to get here 11 Euro change back from the 50 she gave the waiter for lunch, (note to everyone: give French people as close to exact change as possible; they really don't like to give money back) we trekked up Castle Hill, about which I told you all yesterday. From the top, there are sweeping views of the entire city, one of which is reproduced here:



Also on top of Castle Hill are three cemeteries, a Protestant, a Catholic and a Jewish, all of which contain some of the most elaborate gravesites I've ever seen. Otherwise, the ruins of the former castle grace the grounds, which, like many of the other parks we stumbled across, were phenomenally well kept; the grass was as green as the water was blue. Maybe that's why Matisse's colors were so sharp; his surrounding environment offered a reality of similar beauty.

As we were still new to the bus system, we made it about halfway up the mountain before we realized we should probably just walk back to the villa. Unfortunately, even though we had walked up twice and down twice already, it was still much longer than we remembered. Luckily, that was the last time we'd make that trip (up, at least).

So we settled in for another evening at home, cooked some dinner and looked out over a gorgeous sunset, feeling more comfortable in the place where we'd spend the next few days. Hmmm. . . the more I talk about it the more I miss it now. Until tomorrow.

Work by a Contemporary Mid-Career Genius

Jessica Craig-Martin, former photographer for Vanity Fair, is a master of the over-exposed body shot but one who always takes care to never show faces.

Lately, her work has centered around benefits, charity functions, and other places where the monied class likes to congregate. She somehow always manages to capture mundane moments, marked with the signifiers of the decadent and the indulgent: the air kiss between women so tanned their skin is nearly leather, $750 designer shoes next to pug wearing a hat, or a guest being served champagne by a waiter wearing a watch that costs more than your rent.

Her work is currently being shown at the Greenberg Van Doren Gallery through October 6.

But in the event that you can't make it to Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York City, the G.V.D. has a 14-photo slideshow online. After the jump, hit Enter > Menu > Exhibitions > View Selected Works.

'Up for Renewal' High-Five!

Turns out that this year may not be the last for "Scrubs." iF Magazine interviews Ben Silverman, the man behind the curtain at NBC.

Stock Footage of Black Men Getting out of Wheelchairs?

This linked video shows a blooper during a live telecast.

"Sports with Pat Murphy," a segment of the local West Palm Beach news, was to have a short piece on injured NFL star Kevin Everett's recovery from a spinal injury. Everett, a 25 year-old tight end for the Buffalo Bills who came up through the University of Miami, suffered a cervical spinal injury last month. Despite initial projections (and being unable to breathe without a respirator), Everett is moving both his hands and will likely regain the ability to stand and walk within the next few weeks. His doctors now believe that he will fully recover, though he will probably never play pro-football again. Not that losing his job is a serious concern to a guy who went from peak physical condition to not being able to breathe without the help of a machine between this time last month and today.

Awesome, right? A touching story of a young man facing tragedy (and some serious physical therapy) but with a happy ending. Viewers expected to see stock footage of Everett and maybe a shot or two of him in recovery.

Instead, they got Wendell Hollingsworth. I can't decide if this is hilarious or upsetting.

Purely Reading for the Articles

So admittedly, I'm on a Wired kick today, but it's so wonderful.

Michael Sullivan, yet another East Coast short film-maker you've never heard of, opted to convert an assignment for an animated robot war movie into a non-stop robot f**k film.

Seriously.

While the video has been stripped from YouTube for terms of use violations, Wired has a multimedia slideshow of Sullivan's work.

From what I can gather, "The Sex Life of Robots" is intended to analyze contemporary sexuality, focusing on the story of a young robot mother showing her robot baby images of robot pornography on the robot Internet. Per Wired, Sullivan claims that the piece is meant to resemble an other-worldly silent robot skin flick, but you can draw your own conclusions. (Mine was that perhaps all that metal would be better used to make an S.U.V.)

Need I add that the photos are neither safe for work nor school nor anywhere that persons not into robot sex may gather?

Malaysia's First Astronaut Goes Up, Courtesy of the Russians

In addition to being a pioneer for Malaysia's space program, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is a devout Muslim who has the rare chance to settle the age-old question: how do you pray to Mecca if you're 100,000 feet above ground?

Wired has the answer for you after the jump.

There's No Accounting for Taste...

The UK's first Spice Girls reunion concert at the O2 arena (capacity of 20K) sold out in 38 seconds.

RIAA v. Somebody's Momma or Virgin v. Thomas

Quick background:
* September 2003: RIAA adopts what is politely described as a "zero-tolerance" policy on file-sharing and files over 20,000 lawsuits against individual users of file-sharing software, including Napster, Kazaa, Audiogalaxy, etc. RIAA tracks users who share files by finding the IP addresses of those who allow others to download files from their computers.
* Spring 2007: RIAA comes after college and university students, filing a near 400 lawsuits for copyright infringement and sending notice to students' home universities. RIAA also sends settlement letters to the universities themselves, offering students the opportunity to settle: without making the suits public and for a significantly lower settlement amount than would likely result from trial. Where the students refuse or do not respond to the settlement letters, the RIAA proceeds with legal action.
* Spring 2007: 15 University of Georgia students are served with suits and settlement letters.

Tomorrow, the nation's first copyright infringement trial by jury will commence in the U.S. District Court in Duluth, Minnesota. Jannie Thomas, a mid-thirties mom from Brainerd, Minnesota, is being sued by the RIAA, including companies such as Virgin, Capitol, SonyBMG, Arista, Interscope, Warner Bros., and Universal Music Group. Thomas is being sued for allegedly downloading 1,702 files from Kazaa back in '05 and faces a requested potential $3.9M in damages + legal fees.

Jury selection begins tomorrow, and the trial itself may begin too, depending on the speed of jury selection.

More Shady, Shady Monopoly Business

Universal Music Group (arguably the most successful of the Big 4) is attempting to acquire V2 Records, one of the last big indie holdouts in the UK. V2 Records UK is the home of At the Drive-In, Bloc Party, Carla Bruni, Grandaddy, Jenny Wilson, Lethal Bizzle, Little Man Tate, Madness, Powderfinger, Robyn, Stereophonics, The Black Keys, Underworld, and Zap Mama.

The Association of Independent Music (AIM) has moved to block the acquisition by petitioning the Office of Fair Trading. AIM is arguing that the estimated $14M buyout will irreparably harm the music industry, given its role in shaping the culture of a nation: not just in the production of a particular type of good or service. Additionally, AIM is arguing that the acquisition makes the industry less competitive as a whole and should be more closely examined by the government.

Check out the Telegraph's take here.

Local Ruffians Jailed; Homeowners Safe to Come Out Now

Athens/Clarke County's Finest broke up a dangerous situation at Memorial Park on Friday afternoon. If it hadn't been for them, those ruffians and degenerates might have continued drinking beer and playing kickball.

Who knows what they would have done next? They might have even packed up and gone home...

This is not a picture of the hooligans described in the article, but rest assured that when such a picture is found, it will be posted also.

Giant Monopoly Acts Shady

According to this article, Microsoft has been updating your computer with your consent or knowledge. Even if you have automatic updates turned off, Microsoft can still get in there and mess with the system.

No-one has claimed any damage to their system as a result of these updates (which affected 9 files associated with Windows Update), but the fact that Microsoft can just barge in and update your system whether you like it or not is a bit disconcerting.

Russia Misses the Boat Again

Technology is supposed to get smaller.

Sony Releases Thinnest Flat Screen Ever

Coming in at a whopping 3mm (.12 in, for those of you that like that stuff), this TV is roughly the thickness of 30 sheets of paper. It can be so thin because it uses no backlight; it is called the OLED (organic light emitting diode) Screen, and is basically a wafer thin layer of organic material wedged between two plates of glass.

Personally, I'm gonna wait until they get TV's down to 2.5mm before I buy one.

The Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis Is Not Over

Citigroup, Inc. is expecting a huge 3rd Quarter earnings drop, maybe as much as 60%; the company expects to report losses of $1.3 billion on the sub-prime loans, and another $600 million in fixed-income credit trading.

Citigroup may very well be the world's largest corporation, with assets totaling $2.2 trillion; they hold 200 million customer accounts in 100 countries. Needless to say, these losses probably won't put Citigroup under, but if these kinds of problems continue to pop up across the financial sector, some of their smaller competitors may be forced to sell out or shut down,

Greetings from Nice!

Bonjour a toutes! If you remember my post from Friday, I'm going to be on the French Riviera for the remainder of this week. Right now, I'm just sitting here in an internet cafe in Nice (which have been many fewer and further between than I expected). To be completely honest, not a terribly large amount has happened so far, but I'll fill you in on what I can.

(editor's note: Please forgive all the Wikipedia links, but for the sake of time and lack of resources, that's about all I have to give right now. The photo essay upon my return will be much more informative and stimulating.)

We're staying in a villa up on Mont Boron, which is situated between Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer, another quaint and gorgeous town along the Cote d'Azur. It's about a 30 minute walk into Nice Vieux (Old Nice), where there's plenty of nice cafes to suit anyone who enjoys sitting out on a square, drinking wine and coffee while people-watching.

The weather here is beautiful (it's been between 65-75 during the day and 55-60 at night), but a little chilly to go swimming. Yet, that's not to say there haven't been plenty of men in speedos and women without tops on the beach.

So what have we done so far? I just finished drinking some Kronenbourg (the Budweiser of France) and eating some fresh squid following Lindsey and my visit to the Matisse museum.

In the last three days (all of which have looked distinctly alike), we've walked probably 20 miles, drank 6 bottles of wine and 10 cups of coffee, and done not very much in between. This morning, though, we grabbed a bunch of tourist guides, and we'll be taking some more day trips the rest of this week.

At night, we've just been chilling at our villa, also drinking wine while cooking dinner (there's a grocery store about 20 paces away), and we found the French version of Scrabble - which, for those of you who know Lindsey and me, is paramount. This is a trip for relaxation, and we've accomplished that with complete ease.

So, au revoir for now, and I'll fill you in when I can about our further travels up and down this beautiful coastline. Until then!

More Sports News

This was a good weekend for those of us here at The Pasty Quail. The Dawgs rolled over Ole Miss here in Athens. Of course, the Gators lost too, which is always a news item as far as we're concerned.

In other sports news, the New York Metropolitans completed their historic collapse Sunday evening, losing a 7 game lead over the final 17 games of the season to miss the playoffs altogether. After a win over the Braves in Atlanta on 9/12, the Mets lost 12 of their final 17, including being swept by the Phillies and losing 5 of 6 games against division basement-dwelling Washington. The Phillies end up with the division title, and the Mets get to sit at home and wonder how you can spend $116,115,819 (third highest payroll in the major leagues) and not even make the playoffs.

Truly, it has been a while since so many of The Pasty Quail's least favorite teams all tasted defeat the same weekend. For all of you Gators and Mets fans out there: Your tears are so yummy and sweet...

Thomas Friedman Announces That 9/11 Is Over

Over at the New York Times Op-Ed page, Thomas Friedman has declared that it is time for Americans to get over 9/11. His argument is based on the fact that travelers from other countries no longer feel safe coming to the US due to the draconian immigration standards, and that this is alienating us from the rest of the world. From his piece:

"Total business arrivals to the United States fell by 10 percent over the 2004-5 period alone, while the number of business visitors to Europe grew by 8 percent in that time. The travel industry’s recent Discover America Partnership study concluded that “the U.S. entry process has created a climate of fear and frustration that is turning away foreign business and leisure travelers and hurting America’s image abroad.” Those who don’t visit us, don’t know us."

New Radiohead Album Due October 10th

Pitchfork is reporting that there will be a new Radiohead album out next week. It will be titled In Rainbows, and it appears that the band's marketing team has been thinking outside the box for this one. Up until now, there has been no mention of even a general release date (thats just 10 days of lead time, in case you are keeping track). Also, purchasers will have the option of paying whatever price they want for the downloadable version of the album. Here is a video of the band performing "All I Need" from the forthcoming album:

University of Florida Fan Lacks Perspective

Final Score: UF 17, Auburn 20.

This loss also ended Urban Meyer's home win streak at 17, and the Gators' overall win streak at 11.

Le Week-end from Nice

We arrived in Nice on Saturday morning, getting to our villa (pictured here) around 11am.



The website from which we booked the place mentioned that Vieux-Nice (literally, Old Nice), the commercial center of the city, was within walking distance. Now, I certainly am the type to walk pretty much everywhere when I'm in a new city, so we strapped on our sandals and headed down the mountain. A half hour later, we got to the port, which is about a 10-minute walk from Vieux-Nice. Thanks, EuropeanVacationRentals.com, or whatever it was. That's walking distance, but it's a stretch.

Hungry, we stopped for lunch, wondering how long it would be before we actually found our destination, and being jetlagged and tired, I decided to try a pizza. I felt like a retarded tourist, that is until I learned that Nice is actually quite famous for its pizzas. Interestingly enough, the town was a part of Italy until 1860 (or actually the province of Savoy, as Italy was not unified at the time, but the people were Italian, anyway). In fact, both ravioli and gnocchi, wonderfully tasty filled pastas, both were created in Nice.

After devouring my delicious pizza (a welcome change from airplane food, though honestly that even wasn't terrible), I had myself an espresso as well and we moved on.

Walking along the rocky beachfront of Vieux-Nice (pictured here),



we stumbled upon a gigantic monument (pictured below) at the foot of what is called Castle Hill, which, appropriately, housed the former castle in Nice. The memorial commemorates the fallen soldiers of World War I. As a side note, the main stretch of Vieux-Nice is now called the Quai des États Unis (Boulevard of the United States), which is in honor of our help in World War II. Apparently, the invasion of southern France followed closely after the invasion at Normandy. Speaking of beachfronts, most of them on the Riviera are rocks; sand beaches are relatively rare, and often private where they do exist. Cannes (the site of the famous film festival), for example, has a sand beach, but they have to go to pretty ridiculous extents to keep it that way (more on that when I get to Cannes).



Anyhow, after a stroll down the Quai des États Unis, we found ourselves immersed in the daily market in Vieux-Nice, which was just closing up for the morning.

Feeling a bit disoriented, Lindsey and I sat down to grab a bottle of wine while her parents trekked back up the mountain to the villa. Afterward, we walked around a bit more, eventually doing the same.

As we made our way back up the mountain, we were happy to find a nice French grocery store open just at the end of our street. Having our own place to stay was key for the entire trip, as we ended up cooking dinner at home (it's nice to have a place you can call home when you're in a completely foreign place) four out of the seven nights. Exhausted from two days of traveling both across the ocean and across the city, we slept for a nice round 11 hours before doing pretty much the same thing on Sunday.

It's always disorienting being in a new place. Astounded and overwhelmed, we wandered wide-eyed for those first couple days, enjoying the ridiculous juxtaposition of the beach rising right into the mountains, and the city somehow being built in between.

As we looked out our window (see below), it was a refreshing feeling to be there, but worn out after two long days, we didn't know what to expect. Hopefully you'll enjoy what followed as the week goes on. Au revoir until tomorrow.