Painting

As a lawyer, I don't spend much time working with my hands, but when I do, I have a blast. This weekend, I finished re-painting our kitchen. Almost certainly, I have never painted anything else in my life, so I was a little worried about how it would turn out.

This was no ordinary paint job either. Our kitchen walls already sported a decent color, but we wanted to give our kitchen more of a Tuscan look. We decided to go with a glaze called "Bellagio Faux", which can be added atop a base layer. Having a nice base already on the walls, we needed only decide on the color of glaze to spread on top.

We chose a bright yellow and a pink to add to our base color, which was a reddish tan color (I'm sure it has a name, but I'm a guy, so I can only approximate using primary colors). The pamphlets on the glaze showed a number of color mixes to choose from, but our choices were mere guesses as to what we wanted, since our base color was not featured. Add to this uncertainty my complete virginity in the painting realm, and this Bellagio adventure was turning into quite a gamble.

In the end, it seemed to turn out quite well. Below are before, after the first coat of yellow, and finished product photos. A job well done if I do say so myself!


This the "before" photo. As you can see, the paint job was just fine. But kind of bland.


















Here you can see how the coat looked after I applied the yellow glaze. This coat alone looked very nice. Had we not added a second layer, I probably would have been quite satisfied. But we added a second, pink layer this weekend.
















The pink layer, as you can see, added a fuller texture to the job. Overall, I am quite pleased with the results. I would have been depressed, but not surprised, if I had completely failed at this task given my everyday occupation. But now that I have succeeded, for better or for worse, my wife and I have brainstormed a few more improvements.

Fingers crossed that the success continues.

Seen At Church Today

At this evening's Mass at St. Patrick's, we hosted a celebrity guest. One thing that everyone in Delaware makes clear, is that Delaware as a state is a lot like a small town: everywhere you go, you'll recognize people you know, and you will be recognized, as well.

Only in Delaware, in a tiny church at 5pm mass could you break bread with your U.S. Senator. Tonight's special guest was star (for better or worse) of the Sam Alito hearings, Senator Joe Biden.

I'm not kidding. Liberal Democrat Joe Biden, who doesn't want to confirm a Catholic, pro-life judge because he's too "extreme" and may overturn Roe v. Wade is himself a Catholic.

At least the priest appeared to custom-tailor his sermon to this political Prodigal Son of ours.

From the Archives - Germany

One of my final stops in Germany was the southern Bavarian ski town called Garmisch-Partenkirchen. G-P lies in a valley at the base of the Bavarian Alps, and Germany's highest point is within viewing distance...except on a day like the day I was there.

When thinking of G-P, think of Vail, Colorado crossed with a Ricola commercial. This is an upscale town in which spotting lederhosen-clad men in tights is not outside the norm.

I love hiking, so I couldn't wait to arrive. The train ride in took us through some beautiful countryside increasingly walled by mountains as we closed in on our final destination.

At the visitor's center near the train station, I grabbed a crude map of the area and decided to set out for the first hiking train I could find (after first making a stop for some bottled water and German chocolate). From the map, I learned that G-P once hosted the Winter Olympics, and that the facilities (ski jump, luge track, etc.) still dot the area.

I eventually walked through town to a trailhead and took off up the mountain you see in the background of the photo. As you call tell, it was a very dreary day. The higher I climbed, the foggier it became. I walked through some of the eeriest, though stunning, scenery you could imagine. I could just picture Hansel and Gretel skipping down the path in these woods. Past precipitous cliffs where the trail hugged tightly against a sheer face. Through dense, fog shrouded woods. Up steep inclines, and through rock strewn crevasses. Up and up I went. I ran into nobody. And honestly, I had no idea where I was going.

As I went higher and higher, the fog thickened accordingly. I came to a fork in the path. I decided to head right because the map showed that direction to be the quickest to the top. Up and up I went. But I had no bearings. The fog was too thick to look off the cliffs and see where I was vis-a-vis the town below. I was running low on water and chocolate.

Then through the fog I came to a narrow path along a sheer face. To the right, fog-shrouded oblivion. To the left a high, rocky cliff. Straight ahead a four foot wide path strewn with boulders. I advanced about 200 yards, stepping over and around large chunks of mountain a the way. Finally, I looked up and noticed in the infinite haze, that the cliff overhanged the path. With no hardhat in my backpack, I decided this would be the best point to turn back.

I didn't want my vacation to end with a rock to the head and only the forest gnomes of Germany knowing what happened to my body.

From the Archives - Germany

Halfway through my tour through Germany, I ended up in Munich, home of Oktoberfest. Unfortunately, I arrived in May, so the world-renowned beer festival still loomed a few months off. But that's not to say you can't get plenty of good German beer during the other 11 months of the year.

Munich is a gem. Berlin is a historical trove. Throughout the city, buildings and monuments still show the scars of WWII's relentless bombing campaign and Allied assault on the city. The architecturally mute Eastern side stands in stunning contrast to the vibrant Western side, a testament to the competing forms of government foisted on the citizens during the Cold War. It's one of the few true metropolitan areas in the country. If you like big cities, Berlin has plenty to offer.

Munich, on the other hand, just seemed like a great place to live and a better place to have a good time. Smaller than Berlin, and with less of a "big city" vibe, this old Bavarian town was equal parts history, equal parts beer hall.

Bavaria is one of the most Catholic areas in the world, and it's biggest city shows it. Church after beautiful church stretch skyward throughout the city, including the oldest Catholic church in Germany.

Munich also earned the dubious honor of political springboard for Adolf Hitler. Hitler began his political career by staging a mass protest in one of the city squares and later turned the Hoffbrau House into a Nazi meeting hall. The Hoffbrau House today is a large beer hall, popular with tourists and must-go Oktoberfest destination. I was told that if you look close enough at the ornate ceiling, you can still make out the swastikas painted beneath today's coating.

The Hapsburg palace also sprawls over massive grounds in central Munich. This palace once housed the ruling family of Bavaria. It resembles the Louvre architecturally, but enormous as it is, pales in size to Paris' famous museum.

How can you tell you're in a fun city? I was told by a tour guide (and this is unverified), that throughout the city, you can find buildings with gold facades pointing eastward to reflect the early morning rays of the sun (or the other way around...can't remember). He also stated that for centuries, Munich residents who have had a little too much dark German beer have used this phenomenon to guide themselves back home. If you know what direction on the compass point you are trying to stumble towards, let the gold be your guide!

The photo above is of the Glockenspeil (which I undoubtedly misspelled). This bell tower contains a rotating mechanical scene commemorating the wedding of one of the royals long past. At regular intervals during the day, the device engages, and serenades the throngs below with a catchy tune and a somewhat cheesy mechanical wedding (think Chuck E. Cheeses).

But let's be honest. The monuments, the old churches, the upscale pedestrian malls, the beautiful architecture...that's not what this town is about. It's about beer. And there is plenty of it. Get yourself a sausage, some kraut and brew. That's Munich. At least to this American tourist.

Beautiful city. Delicious beer. You can't go wrong.

From the Archives - Germany

Today's installment also comes from the city of Berlin. The photo to the left shows the altar inside the Berlinler Dom, a large church along the river on the East German side of the Brandenburg Gate.

From what I remember, during WWII the Berliner Dom suffered a fate similar to the church in my previous post. The church languished in a bombed-out state throughout the Cold War. The communists were too busy shooting innocent people trying to escape East Germany to waste time restoring the church. Besides, religion wasn't exactly encouraged in this Soviet satellite.

After the fall of the Berlin wall, reconstruction of the Dom began. As you can see, the preservationists did a heckuva job. Maybe it's just me, but I'd prefer to live under a system of government that treasures an architectual heritage and values religion, as opposed to one dedicated to soulless "equality" and forced secularism. But maybe that's just me.

The Globe Warms

We had our fourth thunderstorm this month last night. It's not July, it's January. So much for winter. The storm last night was confusing however. There was plenty of lightning and thunder, but it also snowed a little bit. Obviously the added snow was part of a Rovian conspiracy to keep us from noticing that this chill-free winter is another sign of global warming.

From The Archives - Germany

Since time is passing by here in Delaware, and I haven't accomplished much of consequence lately (I'm halfway through repainting the kitchen if that counts), I'm taking the easy way out and posting some photos from the archives this week.

In 2002, just before heading to Chicago for my summer associate term, I spent all of the money I didn't have as a poor law student and spent two weeks traveling around Germany. An old roommate from college living in Munich constituted my only real current connection to country of half my ancestors. It was my first trip overseas. I was traveling alone. And I didn't know a word of German.

I never stayed longer than two days in any town, and took train after train across the country. I also brought my camera. This week, I'll post a few pictures from that trip.

Today's installment hails from Berlin. An old church stands or, more accurately, teeters in the heart of the West side of the city, not too many blocks from Zoo Station. Bombed to near smithereens in World War II, what is left of a once holy place now exists only as a testament to the failure of the human conscience.

On the right side of the photo stands the modern church that replaced the ruins next door. My aesthetic preference for the older school of sacred architecture gives me the sense that the erection of the newer building heaped insult upon the ordnance-induced injury to the former house of worship.

No Jacket Required

Today, this mid-winter's day of January 18, 2006, the high temperature in Wilmington, DE will be 66 degrees.

Bring me my beach towel.

Random Roll

Just received a roll of film back from the developers from various area locations during 2005. A sampling of photos.


Driftwood Bushel Basket. Eastern Shore, MD. February 2005.














Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Sandy Point State Park, MD. March 2005.













Cherry Blossom Festival. Washington, DC. April 2005.












Pennsylvania Militia Memorial. Gettysburgh, PA. October 2005.

Oooo, Oooo That Smell!

Here is an actual email I received at work today:

I heard from Building Management regarding the cause of bad aroma permeating the building. Apparently, the wind caused some of the building's sewer exhaust to be mixed with the fresh air intakes on the roof. This problem is being remedied.

Needless to say, today was an extra painful day to be in the office.

Another Good Reason to Hate Duke

Duke University invited Harry "De-oh" Belafonte to speak at the school in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Duke officials, however, were comfortable and delighted to have Belafonte address the student body. Ben Reese, co-chair of the King Commemoration Committee, gloated that “Harry Belafonte was the unanimous choice of the committee and we look forward to welcoming him to the Duke campus.” Judith Ruderman, Duke’s vice provost for academic and administrative services, said that the University was “very lucky to have gotten [Belafonte].”

In case you live under a rock, Belafonte isn't a fan of the George W. Bush White House. But apparently he's the perfect person to give the keynote speech on a day celebrating Dr. King. Here's some of what Belafonte had to say:

Harry Belafonte, an avowed socialist (who’s a millionaire), didn’t let the Left down. He came out swinging by likening President Bush to al Qaeda. Belafonte asked the Duke audience what the essential difference was in quality “between those who would do the cruel and tragic deed of flying an airplane into a building and killing 3,000 innocent Americans, and those who would lie and lead the nation into a war that has killed hundreds, thousands?” He followed up with “What is the difference between that terror [Bush] and other terrors [al Qaeda]?”

Belafonte continued to disparage the Bush Administration. He chided Bush for his belief in Christianity, saying that it’s terrifying when those in “high places” say that they “are guided by what [God] says.” It must have slipped Belafonte’s mind that King was a Baptist minister who commonly referenced the Bible and used its imagery when preaching about civil rights.

Belafonte also felt compelled to defend the former Soviet Union and any other failed collectivist regime. “How many great movements have been attempted by communist thinkers and socialist thinkers,” he pondered out loud.

That sound you hear is MLK rolling in his grave.

Um...No

”To move towards this would be a fantastic example of good faith - in more ways than one - on the part of the Church."

"This" meaning, changing the mission of a Catholic primary school to Islam because so many of the attendees are Muslim. An act of "good faith" on the part of the Church? Was that supposed to be funny?

Bad Playoffs

A killer weekend in the NFL. First my Redskins bit it in Seattle on the poor play of our ancient QB Mark Brunell. If Brunell threw as many passes to our receivers as he throws to the benches on the sidelines, we'd be alright. Bad result, though not unexpected.

After the Skins debacle on Saturday, my wife's Super Bowl favorite Indianapolis Colts choked their way out of another post-season yesterday afternoon. A Swiss-cheese offensive line doomed Peyton Manning's offense. Manning was constantly under pressure and looked more like Mark Brunell than a future HOFer. A quick 14-0 lead put the Steelers ahead for good, and an unbelievable final minute and half nearly gave the Colts an extra period to save themselves. Mike Vanderjagt's late 46-yard field goal attempt to tie looked like a windblown disaster...except that the game was played indoors at the RCA Dome. Wide right. Season over.

Finally, our secondary dog in the fight, the Chicago Bears, inexplicably fielded QB Rex Grossman, he of one start all season (and eight in his whole career), and lost to a strong Carolina Panthers squad. Why, after going 10-5 with Kyle Orton at QB, the Bears decided to play Grossman (who because of injury has taken more preseason snaps the last two years as the Bears #1 QB) rather than Orton, I'll never understand. Why Joe Gibbs insisted on staying with Mark Brunell the last two weeks, I'll never understand either. But I'm no football coach.

Result: 0-3 on the weekend.

For the remainder of the playoffs, I'll jump on the Steelers bandwagon. I like Big Ben Roethlisberger and Coach Bill Cowher. As they say in the Burgh, Go Stillers!

Good Poll Numbers

My desired next governor of Maryland is currently ahead in the polls.

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Steele ahead of both Democratic contenders. He leads Rep. Benjamin Cardin 45-40 and former Rep. Kweisi Mfume 45-38. Just a few months ago, Steele and Mfume were even in the polls and Cardin was up 49-41.

Lights

Lights. Wilmington, DE. January 14, 2006.

Skinned

Long after I expected, the Redskins' season finally ended today. My offseason wishlist begins with replacing the totally ineffective Mark Brunell at QB. His best days are behind him, and his best passes inevitably land incomplete out of bounds. Godspeed, Mark.

Oh, and Joe Gibbs...thanks!

What Happened to Winter?

A thunderstorm blew through tonight. Yes. A thunderstorm in January. And temps promise to be in the 50's more often than not for the next ten days.

What the heck?!

Canton Blizzard. Baltimore, MD. February 2003.

Our Senator

Embarassing.

Uh.

Puzzling.

Alito Hearings: Dumbest Question

The dumbest question in the Senate hearings regarding the Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination I have heard (outside of almost everything burping out of Ted Kennedy's large head) is the following from Senator Charles Schumer:

SCHUMER: Does the Constitution protect the right to free speech?

ALITO: Certainly it does. That's in the First Amendment.

SCHUMER: So why can't you answer the question of: Does the Constitution protect the right to an abortion the same way without talking about stare decisis, without talking about cases, et cetera?

ALITO: Because answering the question of whether the Constitution provides a right to free speech is simply responding to whether there is language in the First Amendment that says that the freedom of speech and freedom of the press can't be abridged. Asking about the issue of abortion has to do with the interpretation of certain provisions of the Constitution.

SCHUMER: Well, OK. I know you're not going to answer the question…

Freedom of speech? Check the First Amendment.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

You can Google the Constitution. You can search it in Word. You can Lexis/WestLaw search it. Not one of these search methods will return the word "abortion." Manually search it a word at time. I dare you. You won't find it. Schumer went to law school. He should know this. Wasn't he paying attention in class? Did he read his casebooks? It takes an elementary ability to read to figure this one out.

At this point, it isn't really a question of how stupid these senators think the American people are. What is on display is just how stupid and childish the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are.

Marcus Vick Update

Photos have emerged of Marcus Vick's parking altercation. Click here to view.

Duke vs. Maryland

As I post Maryland is losing to Duke 48-24 early in the second half at Cameron Indoor. Maryland is missing two things: a point guard and a big man. Without a ball handler, the Terps are unable to move the ball around with any efficiency. This leads to turnovers against the quick Duke defense. The big man hurts down low on both ends of the court. There is nobody who can contain SheWill on the defensive end, or make plays below the basket on the offensive end.

OBSERVATION: Dick "Dookie V" Vitale actually made a statement I agree with tonight. Apropos to the above, he said Maryland is having a hard time without a pure point guard. Neither Strawberry nor McCray have the skills to dribble or move the ball as top tier ACC guards.

In all other respects, Dookie V remains a blowhard and a shameless Duke/Coach K shill.

Mayor Barry Update

I wrote a few days ago about former DC Mayor Marion Barry's run in with some armed robbers. Barry said he felt betrayed by the robbers because he considers them his kind of people. He then asked that they be released after admitting their crime...without punishment.
To those not familiar with Barry's history, this might seem to be an odd request.

To the initiated, however, it's not so shocking.

Neither is this: our ex-con former mayor who did time back in the 80's for crack possession after being caught on tape smoking crack with a prostitute (while mayor of DC, no less) has once again tested positive for cocaine use.

This development makes his reaction to his armed assailants easier to understand: maybe he's hoping for the same treatment.

Today's Biggest Idiot

There are some stupid people out there. Few are as moronic as Marcus Vick, former starting QB for national championship contender Virginia Tech. After many run ins with the law and suspensions from the football team, Vick, a junior, finally got his chance to start for the Hokies this year. Only a late season collapse dashed the turkeys' title hopes. Vick finished the season with decent stats and an All-ACC selection.

Then he stomped on an opponent's knee in a bowl game...and got ticketed for speeding and driving with a suspended license. VA Tech officials had enough and dismissed him from the team. Shortly thereafter Vick declared for the NFL draft. Vick's brother, if you hadn't guessed it, is Falcons' QB Michael Vick, a bonafide NFL superstar.

Question: what would you do with potential NFL riches awaiting you, a history of bad behavior weighing your draft stock down, and several months remaining before the NFL draft? What I would do is find a respected NFL draft advisor and do whatever he told me to. If that meant joining a monastery until the draft, count me in. Marcus Vick took a different strategy.

First, he tried to keep secret his traffic incident from the school, and failed. Then he cheap shot an opponent in a bowl game, a stomp that could have ended that player's career. Next he got himself dismissed outright from his college team because of the aforementioned...the latest and last straws in a history of bad behavior. He declared for the NFL draft. And promptly...got arrested for brandishing a handgun at a bunch of teenagers in a McDonald's parking lot. I kid you not.

Vick, 21, turned himself in to the Suffolk magistrate's office yesterday after three warrants were issued for his arrest. He is accused of waving a firearm at three teenagers during an altercation in the parking lot of a McDonald's restaurant Sunday night. Suffolk police said the parents of a 17-year-old boy reported that Vick pointed a handgun at their son and two others.

Some NFL team will no doubt take him in the draft because of his talent and pedigree. But the above incident is bush league, if not powder puff. What kind of thin skinned baby needs to brandish a firearm because some kids were taunting him? What kind of lame brain would throw away thousands of dollars in NFL gold to defend his low self esteem in front of arches made of "golden" french fries? Marcus Vick, that's who. A kid with incredible talent, but no intellect. A kid, definitely not a man, who seems intent on throwing it all away.

Is Osama Toast?

Another rumor that he's dead. Is it true? Maybe, maybe not. But one of these days, he's going to bite it. The sooner, the better.

Laugher of the Day

Baltimore is America's Fittest City. No joke, according to Men's Fitness magazine. Pardon me while I bust a gut. This is one more piece of terrible journalism in a year with plenty of examples to choose from.

Among [the criteria]: the amount of public park space, access to health care, air quality, the relatively small number of fast-food restaurants and the leadership of Mayor Martin O’Malley. Boulton says Baltimore has become safer, more prosperous and more conducive to fitness.

Granted, I haven't live in Bmore in three years, but it couldn't have improved that much during that period. I remember how enjoyable it was to run along the lake in Chicago during the summer, then returning to Bmore and being unable to run half as far in the city as I choked on factory fumes and hot air burning off the pavement. I remember defying a co-worker to find a patch of grass by looking out any window in our 35-story downtown building. I remember never going to the parks because of the all the trash, gangs, and rats that infested each. There are no running trails. There are no bike trails (I used to weave through traffic every morning on the way to the gym). Block by block, you're either in a good neighborhood or the ghetto. It's not easy to find a safe running route anywhere in the city.

Granted, they probably based their study on the entire city, limit to limit. There are some nice spots in the Northwest of the city. There are alse many spots that are the definition of "urban wasteland." There are treeless, pavement-only zones. My backyard my last year in the city, and this is typical downtown, was a slab of concrete. If you're living in downtown Bmore, there is no possible way this study is truthful.

On the other hand, this is some all-star reporting:

“I’ve been eating here for 21 years,” Smith said. “I walk around and think, ‘What’s the lesser of the evils?”’

While the city has seen significant reductions in violent crime, large sections remain plagued by poverty and drugs, and residents of less prosperous neighborhoods often have to depend on convenience stores and takeout food for sustenance.

“We don’t eat well at all,” said Tremonteria Morgan, a vegetarian. “We eat a lot of fried foods — fried chicken and soul food. For myself, I have to search high and low for a health food place. We have a lot of obesity here in our city.”

Jabba McFivechins

Not much to do on another lazy Sunday in Delaware.

Stupid Championship Headlines

Ever since Maryland basketball won the National Championship, a friend of mine and I have noticed how bad the headlines are the next day. Our favorite bad Maryland headline was "Terp-rrific!"

Today is no different. Last night QB Vince Young and Texas beat USC to win the football national championship. A sampling of stupid championship headlines:

In-Vince-able! (again here) (and here) (and here) (and here) (and here)
Vince-sanity
Texas title step
Lone star
Forever Young
'Horns of Plenty
Longhorns hooked on a championship
History scrambles past Trojans
It's Forever Young at Rose Bowl
Heart of Texas

Playoffs?! You Want to Talk About Playoffs?!

A year ago, I attended the Redskins vs. Bears game at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Skins won a squeaker by three, but the teams fielded two of the most futile teams I have ever seen. Offense was at a premium as Skins QB Mark Brunell threw pass after pass out of bounds or into the dirt short of his receivers, and the Bears struggled to find anyone on an injury decimated offense who could make a play. You can read my review from last year here.

Fast forward to 2006. This Saturday, the Redskins, winners of five in a row, play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs. Likewise, the Bears are suiting up in January and according to many experts, are actually a legitimate Super Bowl contender! What a difference a year makes.

I thought the Redskins were toast after their last lost. I may have even said something to the effect that Joe Gibbs should hang 'em up. I will never doubt Coach Gibbs again. This is why we hired him. To get to our first playoffs since 1999. Mission accomplished thus far. Now let's see what we can do about adding to that collection of Super Bowl rings.

B*tches Set Me Up!

Repeatedly disgraced and re-elected former DC mayor (and current City Council Member) Marion Barry recently found himself at the business end of a gun as two youths robbed him after helping him unload groceries from his car.

Rather than calling for their prosecution, Barry asks only that they admit it...then be set free to rob again.

Here is Barry in his own words:

"There is a sort of an unwritten code in Washington, among the underworld and the hustlers and these other guys, that I am their friend," Barry said at an afternoon news conference in which he described the robbery in detail.

The highlighted statement above sheds light on how Barry constantly gets re-elected. In a crooked profession, what "underworld" figures and "hustlers" wouldn't want in office a "friend?"

Barry continued:

"I don't advocate what they do. I advocate conditions to change what they do. I was a little hurt that this betrayal did happen."

Barry, advocate of the criminal element, was shocked that the element turned on him. But he's against crime, see? Not siding with criminals, he's just trying to understand what makes them so, and by understanding, changing their behavior. Right.

Read on in the same article, and you will find out why Barry both understands the criminal mind, and should get his own house in order before advocating the capture and release of two violent offenders:

Barry often has spoken out against street crime in a political career that goes back more than three decades. He was first elected mayor in 1978 and was reelected to second and third terms. He was in his third term when the FBI videotaped him smoking crack; he was convicted of one count of misdemeanor drug possession.

He settled in Ward 8 after completing a six-month prison sentence and won the council seat there in 1992, launching a comeback that eventually led to a fourth term as mayor. He recently pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges because he did not pay most of his income taxes after leaving the mayor's office in 1999. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 18.

Different year, same Mayor Barry.

All Is Quiet On New Year's Day

New Year's Day 2006, Annapolis, MD.

Welcome to 2006

Happy New Year!

Last Sunset of 2005. Chesapeake Bay Bridge, December 31, 2005.