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Malkmus Sings "Maggie's Farm"

With an assist from John Medeski on organ.

From the "I'm Not There" soundtrack.

Thank You Jacoby Ellsbury!

The Rockies Playoff Run...

...Super Mario Style:

Woohoo!

Go Red Sox! Bob Ryan put it best - 2004 was an exorcism, 2007 was an exclamation point. Never in my life did I ever think I would see the Red Sox lead the AL East for basically the whole season then go on to win the World Series in a sweep. Just amazing stuff. And I don't think they are done either - they might have the best young talent in the majors. What a great time to be a Boston sports fan.

My only regret is that I didn't buy any furniture from Jordan's last Spring.

Widespread Panic

Does anyone else find it weird that Fox is sometimes using a short clip from "Ain't Life Grand" by Widespread Panic when they cut to commercial during the ALCS? It's a pretty good song, but kind of a random choice.

Oh yeah, go Sox!

Only in New Hampshire...

We went to Riverview Farm in Plainfield this morning to pick up some pumpkins. We got some good ones - don't worry, we will have the annual Jack-o-lantern post as soon as they are carved. But Ann overheard a very funny conversation:

Mom (to worker): I want you to know your cat just scratched my daughter!

Worker: Well, your kid shouldn't have touched the cat. We don't call him Mr. Bitey for nothing!

Mom: (walks off in a huff)

Only in New Hampshire.

Award Winning Beer

My Belgian-Style Strong Pale Ale was the overall winner at the annual Lebanon Health Food Store homebrew contest! Granted, there were only 9 other entries, but I still got a $75 gift certificate out of the deal. Anyone reading this who wants a bottle should let me know, I'll put one aside. Although at around 9% alcohol, I'm not drinking them that quickly.

Beer Business

Here is an interesting article (from the always entertaining Lew Bryson) comparing the beer business of today to the wine business of yesterday. It would be really amazing if, when Sadie is legal, the #1 selling type of beer in the US isn't light lager but pale ale, or even something else. Although, I would put money on Anheuser-Busch brewing it, whatever it is - they seem to be catching on to the craft thing in a big way (Michelob makes a great Hefeweizen), and the amount of money they can throw at it would be unbelievable. The only thing stopping them might be the inability to swallow their pride and have Bud no longer be their flagship beer.

Blue Steel

...is what I like to call this look:

This is what happens when people take your picture without telling you as you stare into the sun. It is from our lab retreat on Squam Lake, and was taken by Franck Mennechet, a member of my lab.

More France Pics

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but here are a few more pics I took while in France:

The Institut Pasteur. Louis Pasteur is actually interred in a tomb below this building. The tomb is very elaborate; the entire ceiling is a tile mosaic depicting Pasteur's achievements - studies on the fermentation of beer, the spoilage of wine, the rabies vaccine, an anthrax vaccine. Also in his tomb is his plaster death mask...that's got to be my favorite 19th century tradition.

A sculpture on the grounds depicting the boy that was the first person successfully vaccinated for Rabies.

This is the Tour Montparnasse, which is the tallest building in Paris. (The Eiffel Tower counts as a structure, technically).

It is a little known fact that there is a small branch of the casino in Paris.

Château de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley. This was a summer home for French Royalty. Now it is a tourist trap (but a pretty nice one).

The gardens on the grounds of the Château.

Well, that's it, I'll try to get back to posting on a more regular basis, because I know you are all dying to hear from me.

Je suis désolé...

...or "I'm sorry" that I haven't posted in a while. I've been working a lot and have had a little less time for interesting activities to write about. I did get to go to the Musée Picasso last weekend where I snapped a picture of this sculpture (taking pictures of the paintings was interdit):

It's called "The woman with an orange or the woman with an apple." I guess Pablo couldn't make up his mind. It was an excellent museum, and after the overwhelming vastness of the Louvre, it felt much more manageable. On Sunday I was invited to lunch by a woman in the lab - this turned out to be a 5 course (not including the aperitif) meal that took about 3 hours. We drank quite a lot of wine and discussed politics, child rearing (they have 3 daughters and 1 son, the son being about 6 months older than Sadie) and basically any topic that came to mind. They wanted my opinion on who would be the next president of the US (I told them I had no idea) - and my reassurances that Bush couldn't run again. I was happy to tell them that he can't, and that you even see bumper stickers printed with his last day in office. It was a great time.

Other than that, I have been settling in. My French has not improved, but I can get my daily baguette with no problem which serves as dinner (sandwhich) and breakfast (jam). I even branched out a bit and grabbed a slice of Quiche Lorraine the other night, which was by far the fluffiest, most delicious piece of Quiche I have ever had (apologies to my mom and Ann of course). Here is the view down the street from my front door (and yes, that is the Eiffel Tower in the distance):

I'll try to post a little more often, I'm going to see a Castle tomorrow so I will definitely have some pictures.

Les souris

I got to meet les souris (the mice) today. Any doubt I had that my research could have been done in New Hampshire was erased when I saw the gigantic isolation unit the mice live in to keep them germ-free. The Institut Pasteur is an impressive facility - it's packed into a place much smaller than Dartmouth, but they have every piece of equipment one could want.

After work I went to the Louvre, which is open late on Fridays. Of course I had to continue in my series of bad pictures of famous art, so here is the Venus de Milo:

I was told at the lab that I had to check out the Napoleon III Apartment. I was glad that I did - it was probably the closest I'll ever come to walking through a palace. Here's the dining room:

But overall, I probably spent the most time checking out the Egyptian artifacts. I never knew, but the Louvre puts the British Museum to shame as far as Egyptian stuff goes (with the exception of the Rosetta stone which is probably the coolest archaeological find ever). The had a great display of a mummy taken out of his sarcophagus:

And his organ jars below him:

I don't think I'd ever seen a mummy in such a state, it was really interesting, and I didn't see Brendan Fraser around so I figured I was safe. There was also a cool exhibit of the old Louvre deep in the basement of the new Louvre - it's amazing they built around it the way they did:

On the way home, I got off the metro a couple stops before mine to check out the area around the big station. I saw a place called Cafe Leffe, so I decided to give it a try for dinner. Now this place goes against everything I believe in as a beer lover - it is a chain restaurant owned by the biggest beer conglomerate (InBev) in Europe (and second in the world to A-B). But damn if it wasn't good - the Leffe 9 was pretty tasty (nowhere near as good as a real Triple, of course, but not bad) and the Moules Marnier Frites (mussels with fries) were amazing. The waiter brought a 3 quart pot filled to the brim with mussels with a ton of white wine/onion broth, a huge plate of fries and, of course, bread. There was absolutely no way I could finish it - at 11 euros, it was a great value. I may have to go back.

Aujourd'hui

I think the title means "today" and it's a perfect example why learning Spanish is useless if you want to know French - in Spanish today is "hoy" and pronounced with a silent h. Easy. I don't even know where to begin with "aujourd'hui."



Anyway, today was my first day at work (mostly administrative stuff, if you think beuracracy is bad in the US, come to France), but I didn't have a full day, so I left mid-afternoon to do some sightseeing. I popped over to the Museé d'Orsay, which is only a couple stops on the metro from where I am. For those of you who may not know, this museum has nearly every impressionist painting you have ever seen reproduced (well, not really, but it sure seems like it). It's kind of weird seeing paintings that you have seen pictures of over and over. And then taking your own pictures of them.



Afterward, I grabbed an Affligem blonde at a cafe and watched a guy on a bike get hit by a car. Hard. It even shocked the Parisians. He's still alive, but I think he had a broken leg, probably some ribs too - I didn't stick around to watch him get loaded into the ambulance. It was his fault though (riding in the crosswalk against the light), and of course he wasn't wearing a helmet.

Funniest sight today: You know how when cops in the US are together, invariably one of them grabs a bunch of doughnuts? Well, it's the same in France, except one of the cops brings a bunch of yogurt.

Bonjour!

Well, I successfully made it to Paris. I'm getting settled in and trying to learn French as fast as I can so I don't starve. I was able to get my first dinner all by myself yesterday. Here it is:



The wine in the picture was less than 2 euros, and is as good as anything I have had in the US under $20. The baguette was amazing, still warm when I bought it and maybe the best bread I have ever tasted. The cheese was dirt cheap supermarket cheese, and damn good, but I found a fromagerie today that surely has even better cheese.

Funniest sight so far: when I turned on the TV in my apartment, the first thing that came on was Beverly Hills 90210. In French.

Tomorrow I get to work. Wish me luck!

This American Life

I love This American Life, but this Onion article is hilarious:

In what cultural anthropologists are calling a "colossal achievement" in the study of white-collar professionals, the popular radio show has successfully isolated all 7,442 known characteristics of college graduates who earn between $62,500 and $125,000 per year and feel strongly that something should be done about global warming.

I love Jerry Remy

This video is why I never turn off the TV during a Red Sox game, even if it is a blowout. Because you never know when the Rem Dawg is going to go off on one of his crazy tangents:



While we are on the topic of baseball, this Sportscenter video cracked me up.

[One of these days I'll have to post something that isn't about baseball.]

Red Sox

Even though it looks like a Winter wonderland here in Lebanon, I am officially psyched for the real baseball season (as opposed to my fantasy one). If Matsuzaka is a good as they say, because if so, I think the Sox will win the division. If not, well, what's $100,000,000 among friends?

Check out this new Japanese Nike ad featuring Dice-K. I think it's pretty damn good.

Fantasy Baseball '07

We had our Fantasy Baseball draft Monday night. I had the added pressure of the first pick this year. Although everyone in the world would have done what I did - take Albert Pujols without thinking twice. Here's my starting lineup, which will definitely change as the season goes on:

• 1B: Albert Pujols
• 2B: Dan Uggla
• SS: Michael Young
• 3B: Mark Teahen
• C: Josh Bard
• OF: Magglio Ordonez
• OF: Nick Markakis
• OF: Aubrey Huff
• DH: Gregg Zaun (ugh - DH is so thin this year)
• U: Gary Matthews (hope he isn't arrested for HGH)
• SP: Chris Carpenter
• SP: Ervin Santana
• SP: Derek Lowe
• RP: J.J. Putz
• RP: Octavio Dotel

I'm pretty happy with my team, aside from my relievers and my awful DH. I also have some decent reserves, including Jon Lester and Dustin Pedroia for my token Red Sox.

The biggest surprise of the draft was Daisuke Matsuzaka going in the first round. If you've never played fantasy baseball, it is very rare for any pitcher to go in the first round. Basically only a proven strikeout pitcher who will almost definitely win 20 games will make the cut - like Johan Santana - or I'm sure Clemens back in the day. This is because of they way scoring works - a slugger who plays every day is just worth more to your team. I hope Matsuzaka is great, but it definitely was a big risk.

Ted Leo

Ted Leo has a new song that is probably the best war protest song since Masters of War. Check it out here: Bomb.Repeat.Bomb. Just a great song to crank up and piss off any neoconservatives in earshot.

Looks like I have to add Living with the Living to the long list of new and not-so-new albums I need to buy (Arcade Fire, Grandaddy, Loose Fur, Beck, Sonic Youth). I did pick up Built to Spill's latest and the new Shins recently. The Built to Spill is great, I mean, it isn't anything earth-shattering, but if you like their previous stuff, it is good. The Shins took a few listens to get into, but now I am really digging it. A bit more complicated musically than their earlier stuff (not that it is Amnesiac or anything).

Radiation is dangerous...

In case you didn't know what the old radiation symbol meant, the International Atomic Energy Commission has designed a new one that makes things a bit more explicit:

Manny being Manny

Ah, The Onion:

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC-While watching a live spring-training report from the Boston Red Sox training facility in Fort Myers, FL on SportsCenter Wednesday, outfielder Manny Ramirez reportedly told his family that he "had the weirdest feeling [he] should be somewhere else right now." "I don't know what it is... Am I usually someplace else at this time of year?" Ramirez asked his wife, adding that the people on television looked vaguely familiar and that he felt "the strangest urge" to be in Florida. "Wait, is that guy there on the TV... is that Big Papi? But why would he be in Florida now?" According to Ramirez's wife, her husband then looked at the calendar on the wall, frowned, and continued to watch television while idly popping an old ball into his baseball glove.

Presidents' or President's or Presidents Day

I was reading the New Yorker this week and I came across an amazing article. I turns out that there is no Federal law declaring Monday to be Presidents' day. The law still on the books refers to it as Washington's Birthday. Presidents' day started when some advertiser called it that, and found that sales were better than when they called it Washington's Birthday, maybe because it was easier to say.

This article from the same issue, about the conservative creator of 24 and how the show is causing young recruits in the military to think that torture works great, was a pretty good read too. Although I'm still going to watch 24 since I don't see myself in the position to torture anyone soon. Those of you who love 24 like me but also find it to be ridiculous at times should check out Dave Barry's 24 blog. His live-blogs of the episodes have me laughing out loud.

It is my destiny...

I have wondered for a long time what the name "Mielcarz" means in Polish. A polish guy I worked with said he thought it meant "miller." But it turns out, according to this page, that Mielcarz is an archaic noun meaning "maltster or brewer." I don't care if the page is accurate or not - I love it!

Just in case...

...you needed another reason to root against the Colts: Tony Dungy supports an anti-gay rights organization.

Ouch.

This looks like it hurt.

Good Bye, Lenin!

Last night, Ann and I watched Good Bye, Lenin!. It was an absolutely great movie. The perfect combination of humor and sentiment, along with a setting in probably one of the most interesting times in recent history.

For those of you who haven't seen it, the basic outline of the plot is that a woman in East Germany falls into a coma. She was a devoted patriot/communist, very involved in educating East German children in the ways of socialism. While she is in a coma, the Berlin wall comes down. When she wakes up, her doctor warns her son that any physical of psychological shocks could have dire health consequences. So the son decides to maintain the charade that East German communism is a strong as ever. This provides a great window into what life was like for East Germans during that first rush of capitalism, good and bad.

I vividly remember watching the Berlin wall come down, and the people partying on top of it, but I never really got a sense that this event was affecting individual people. I had a rudimentary understanding of the geopolitical implications (i.e. communism bad; freedom good), but the fact that a whole new world opened up for East Germans (particularly East Berliners) virtually overnight never occurred to me. Good Bye, Lenin! gets my highest recommendation.