Monthly Archives: August 2007

A calm city, not dominated by the car but by the bicycle, full of beautiful buildings of all ages, blended to an harmonious whole but with edges.

Our reporter in Moscow has finally started blogging—check out his site —

Leaving Limbo –  http://jolies-couleurs.livejournal.com/ 

The ‘free city’ of Christiana being one where in 1971 a group of hippies, squatters and political activists invaded a redundant military base in Copenhagen and began an experiment in communal living that persists to this day. A colourful place, full of diverse folk, many happily high on hashish, openly for sale, ‘behind the trees’. Here runs a parallel world to that of contained, content Denmark, with its own ramshackle but working economy and its own social mores. It is in a lovely spot, nestled against an open waterway, and people have built lovely, and eccentric, timber framed houses by the water’s edge.

In case you need a refresher on lowbagging, Elba Kramer has another key piece upon on the title site:

Lowbagging on a ruined and glorious planet is never far from sadness but always hopes for transcendance. The urge to spend a little less, drive a little less, hurt a little less, work a little less for The Man and paddle more, where shall we put such tiny earnest treasures amidst the flinty vertiginous surfaces of Babylon?  How to pass them on to our lovely boys?

http://lowbagger.org/kramer.html

Hi
well we made our quickest trip ever home. Two nights there. Flew in through
Pitsbgh this time, very pleasant airport, drive down through WV, no traffic etc.
Mom and Dad going as strong as last year—though Dad’s legs are getting
wobblier & I’m hoping he doesn’t take a bad fall. He’ll use his cane when he’s
not feeling too cranky. Out to dinner once at Rocky Gap, Friday night. It
felt like it was bursting at the seams, as busy as ever. Dad says they have
a new food service in charge there and he thinks the meals are better. We
couldn’t see that much difference, buffet. Had little time to drive around town
but it all looked ok, much the same. We chopped a day off the trip at the outset
because the weekend before we went over to Saranac Lake for a wedding, two
nights there, and damned if it wasn’t really cold—40s at night. Second
Scottish themed wedding of the summer, this one more complete with
more kilts, real bagpipe and piper, the haggis being marched in and then
consumed (didn’t try any—looked like it might have tasted like a bland
“sausage”) and a Scotsman giving first a dramatic recitation of Robert
Burns’ Address (or Hymn) to the Haggis. By the time we got back home
we both had raging colds, though, so we slept in and pushed our flights
back. Flew JetBlue for the first time. Greatest advance in Coach flight
since the invention of the hermetically sealed foil of six peanuts. Leg
room. Neat small plane–two on either side of long aisle and genuinely more
room—seat, legs, thighs. Not quite as good as any first class but closer
than in thirty years. Little tv sets for each seat—not as great as it seems,
but the illusion is there and helps for a while. And budget fares too.
Give Southwest a good run for their money. I’d like to see all things Texas go down!
Appalled however at how much smoking there seems to be in Ptsbgh–
bars and restaurants in the airport. Part of their macho heritage?

Your theory earlier about religions and conspiracy theories and theorists seems in
line enough. The hunger for meaning and identity is so great that brainless
plots appeal more than taking history one thing at a time and resigning oneself
to no understanding in your own life time, if ever. I do marvel at what
keeps Dad going & mother—reduced “quality of life” issues for sure
and yet I guess we cling to life if there’s no great reason not to—like
severe pain etc. Figure I better start giving my hand a try at writing a
novel to get ready to fill the time somehow once the end comes.

we watched the movie Venus with Peter O’Toole and a hot young babe.
Death and sex, age and beauty. What I call anymore the SBP—
standard British product—stagey, “character” characters and acting,
witty every so often but not as often as you’d hoped, “charming”
usually, a lot of bitterness too, some maudlin touches for the
American sales, lots of brit schtick and ultimately disappointing.

Danish movie—After the Wedding—much different thing. Death also, but
more powerful and haunting and some thought into what the drama
tries to work out. Not without flaws but a fresher attempt.

start of classes in a week. never feel “ready.” Dreams about this and that
dealing with teaching.