Today in my Modern Middle East history class we were discussing the first Gulf War. Prof. Walston made a comment on Bush Sr.'s decision not to proceed to Baghdad because Iraq was such a mess, it wouldn't be possible to get out once the US went in. Walston's comment prompted his own side comment which referenced a skit apparently nobody in the class had seen. So the British professor, one of the biggest sticklers for references and unattached pronouns, pulled up YouTube in the middle of class to show us this.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Slow as a Snail
...but delicious too.
it's taken me a while to get this up, but here's Paris:
it's taken me a while to get this up, but here's Paris:
Friday Nov 16, left my Roman apartment at 8:30 am. Grabbed breakfast. Hopped a Bus to Termini. Grabbed an €11 train to Fiumicino airport. Arrived at the airport 10 minutes to 10 for my 11:15 flight to Paris.
Arrived in Paris sometime before 2p. Takeoff had been slightly delayed. The RER B train that goes from Charles de Gaulle into the city wasn't running at all due to the metro strike. The buses from the airport were still running, however, only at 20% of what they normally do. The buses that ran into the city were €14-17. However, however, the information desk told us to take a different one because it went to the Opera which was "closer" to where we wanted to end up. It was "only" €8 a ticket.
The ticket machine wouldn't accept our credit cards. There were no slots for bills, it only accepted change. (What machine selling nothing cheaper than €8 doesn't accept bills?) Rob didn't have any cash on him. I only had 20's. So i went back inside the airport to try and make change. Each place I went to was only allowed to give €5 in change. ...so after stopping at the currency exchange booth, a cafè, and a book store, plus a €1 coin from Rob, I finally had enough change to purchase two tickets ...tickets we never validated, and tickets nobody ever checked to make sure were validated. So we had our transportation back to the airport paid for as well.
The Opera building the bus brought us to is the opera in Paris. We wanted to be by the Bastille, where there's modern theater. This must be what the guy at information was thinking of. ...but after waiting another half our for the bus to show up and a 40 minute ride into the city, we arrived at the opera at quarter to 4 with a 2 mile walk ahead of us. (...so much for information)
By the time we were settled in our hotel room, it was already dark. We missed a chunk of the day we thought we were going to have. We headed out. Each grabbed something to eat along the way. And walked to the Louvre. Fridays after 6pm the Louvre is free for people 18-25. Saw the Mona Lisa, Statue of Venus, and several other paintings and statues whose names i don't know. Some I recognized. Many I didn't. We covered the museum pretty quickly. Hit two floors in half the museum in an hour and a half. We were about to head over to the other side of the museum that houses all the Egyptian and Mesopotamian stuff. But they were already kicking people out. The museum that supposedly is open until 10pm closes at 8:30, apparently. So i didn't get to see Hammurabi's Code, but at least saw the Louvre for free.
After the Louvre, we proceeded to walk to that big, metal, radio tower they have there - that one that's named after the guy who designed it. ...Gustave somebody... I think they built it for temporary use and forgot to take it down, so we decided to take a look at it.
Afterward, we decided to see if the metros were running at all. To our delight, not only were they running, but one could walk right through the turnstiles without having to pay for a ticket. Operating and free. Best strike I've ever. Just had to be prepared to wait anywhere from 10 to 20+ minutes for one to show up. And also had to be prepared to deal with availability of personal space comparable to public transportation on La Notte Bianca. But our first experience on the Paris metro was pleasant. We waiting no more than 10 minutes, and it was empty enough that we didn't have to stand.
Saturday we caught our free breakfast and headed out to see more of the city. Attempted to catch a subway to the vicinity of Notre Dame. After waiting 20 minutes, and watching many French-speaking folks come down the stairs, wait, and slowly trickle back up the stairs, I wasn't about to waste anymore time waiting for transportation. Even if I had to walk, at least I was seeing the city. Rob, stubborn and not wanting to walk, said lets wait until (specified time that amounted essentially to another 3 minutes). 4 minutes later, I got up to head out. Rob, stubborn, still didn't want to walk. I, stubborn, decided to walk anyway.
Apparently, 2 minutes later, the subway came.
Just kidding. Actually, 2 minutes later Rob decided to head up the stairs and walk as well. Thinking he was going to follow, I stalled as much as i could allow myself to. Constantly looking back, but didn't see him coming. So off to Notre Dame I went. We both knew we were going to Notre Dame, so I figured I'd either meet him there, or call him if I didn't.
I had an enjoyable walk down Rue de la Roquette, around the Bastille, down Boulevard Henri IV, across one fork of the river to Ile Saint-Louis and over to Ile de la Cité where Notre Dame sits. I spent maybe 20 minutes taking in the Notre Dame, snapping photos. Didn't see Rob, so I called him. He had wound up walking "20 minutes" the wrong direction. Found himself at Place de la Nation. Walked back the way he came, attempting to get his bearings and decided to take a cab. I found him at the Notre Dame 10 minutes later. We took in the outside, then inside, then back outside to wait in line to go to the top. The line didn't take very long. 10 minutes maybe. 
But it was chilly enough to make me run across the street to grab a hot chocolàt and a warm, sweet crêpe.
From Notre Dame, we headed to Sainte Chapelle which sits on the same island. Neither Rob nor I had even heard of it before we saw it in one of the pamphlets Rob grabbed at the hotel, but the inside was even more impressive than Notre Dame. I swear my picture doesn't even do it justice. I urge you to do a google image search, find the most amazing picture of it, and that might allow you to just begin to imagine how breathtaking it is.
After catching our breath back, we crossed the Seine once again and headed north so see some 4- or 5-story medieval tower Rob wanted to see. It turned out to be more of a history lesson than anything. Something I wasn't particularly interested in. There's too many Louies in French history for me to really care. The tower amounted to little more than a cool spiral staircase with a room hanging off the side of it at each floor. While I wasn't really interested in what happened at the tower, I did discover my apparent photographic obsession with stairs.
Arrived in Paris sometime before 2p. Takeoff had been slightly delayed. The RER B train that goes from Charles de Gaulle into the city wasn't running at all due to the metro strike. The buses from the airport were still running, however, only at 20% of what they normally do. The buses that ran into the city were €14-17. However, however, the information desk told us to take a different one because it went to the Opera which was "closer" to where we wanted to end up. It was "only" €8 a ticket.
The ticket machine wouldn't accept our credit cards. There were no slots for bills, it only accepted change. (What machine selling nothing cheaper than €8 doesn't accept bills?) Rob didn't have any cash on him. I only had 20's. So i went back inside the airport to try and make change. Each place I went to was only allowed to give €5 in change. ...so after stopping at the currency exchange booth, a cafè, and a book store, plus a €1 coin from Rob, I finally had enough change to purchase two tickets ...tickets we never validated, and tickets nobody ever checked to make sure were validated. So we had our transportation back to the airport paid for as well.
The Opera building the bus brought us to is the opera in Paris. We wanted to be by the Bastille, where there's modern theater. This must be what the guy at information was thinking of. ...but after waiting another half our for the bus to show up and a 40 minute ride into the city, we arrived at the opera at quarter to 4 with a 2 mile walk ahead of us. (...so much for information)
By the time we were settled in our hotel room, it was already dark. We missed a chunk of the day we thought we were going to have. We headed out. Each grabbed something to eat along the way. And walked to the Louvre. Fridays after 6pm the Louvre is free for people 18-25. Saw the Mona Lisa, Statue of Venus, and several other paintings and statues whose names i don't know. Some I recognized. Many I didn't. We covered the museum pretty quickly. Hit two floors in half the museum in an hour and a half. We were about to head over to the other side of the museum that houses all the Egyptian and Mesopotamian stuff. But they were already kicking people out. The museum that supposedly is open until 10pm closes at 8:30, apparently. So i didn't get to see Hammurabi's Code, but at least saw the Louvre for free.
After the Louvre, we proceeded to walk to that big, metal, radio tower they have there - that one that's named after the guy who designed it. ...Gustave somebody... I think they built it for temporary use and forgot to take it down, so we decided to take a look at it.Afterward, we decided to see if the metros were running at all. To our delight, not only were they running, but one could walk right through the turnstiles without having to pay for a ticket. Operating and free. Best strike I've ever. Just had to be prepared to wait anywhere from 10 to 20+ minutes for one to show up. And also had to be prepared to deal with availability of personal space comparable to public transportation on La Notte Bianca. But our first experience on the Paris metro was pleasant. We waiting no more than 10 minutes, and it was empty enough that we didn't have to stand.
Saturday we caught our free breakfast and headed out to see more of the city. Attempted to catch a subway to the vicinity of Notre Dame. After waiting 20 minutes, and watching many French-speaking folks come down the stairs, wait, and slowly trickle back up the stairs, I wasn't about to waste anymore time waiting for transportation. Even if I had to walk, at least I was seeing the city. Rob, stubborn and not wanting to walk, said lets wait until (specified time that amounted essentially to another 3 minutes). 4 minutes later, I got up to head out. Rob, stubborn, still didn't want to walk. I, stubborn, decided to walk anyway.
Apparently, 2 minutes later, the subway came.
Just kidding. Actually, 2 minutes later Rob decided to head up the stairs and walk as well. Thinking he was going to follow, I stalled as much as i could allow myself to. Constantly looking back, but didn't see him coming. So off to Notre Dame I went. We both knew we were going to Notre Dame, so I figured I'd either meet him there, or call him if I didn't.
I had an enjoyable walk down Rue de la Roquette, around the Bastille, down Boulevard Henri IV, across one fork of the river to Ile Saint-Louis and over to Ile de la Cité where Notre Dame sits. I spent maybe 20 minutes taking in the Notre Dame, snapping photos. Didn't see Rob, so I called him. He had wound up walking "20 minutes" the wrong direction. Found himself at Place de la Nation. Walked back the way he came, attempting to get his bearings and decided to take a cab. I found him at the Notre Dame 10 minutes later. We took in the outside, then inside, then back outside to wait in line to go to the top. The line didn't take very long. 10 minutes maybe. 
But it was chilly enough to make me run across the street to grab a hot chocolàt and a warm, sweet crêpe.From Notre Dame, we headed to Sainte Chapelle which sits on the same island. Neither Rob nor I had even heard of it before we saw it in one of the pamphlets Rob grabbed at the hotel, but the inside was even more impressive than Notre Dame. I swear my picture doesn't even do it justice. I urge you to do a google image search, find the most amazing picture of it, and that might allow you to just begin to imagine how breathtaking it is.
After catching our breath back, we crossed the Seine once again and headed north so see some 4- or 5-story medieval tower Rob wanted to see. It turned out to be more of a history lesson than anything. Something I wasn't particularly interested in. There's too many Louies in French history for me to really care. The tower amounted to little more than a cool spiral staircase with a room hanging off the side of it at each floor. While I wasn't really interested in what happened at the tower, I did discover my apparent photographic obsession with stairs.((snail crossing)) ..._@/”
from the tower we hopped on the free subway, made a connection and walked a couple blocks, then up a massive set of stairs to the Sacré-Cœur. Briefly checked out the inside, which is quite impressive for the height and amount of open space. Then we went around the side to pay our €4 to get to the top. (I forgot to mention, all entrance-tickets were anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 off because we are in the fabulous age range between 18 and 25. ...it's so good to be young.) We probably spent an hour up at the top. We took in an amazing view of the city for about half an hour, and then waited another half hour when we realized how close we were to sunset.
After sunset, we found dinner. My first sit-down dinner in Paris. and it was great. expensive, but delicious. Rob and I split a 1/2 liter of wine and a half-dozen escargot. I ate a very thick, juicy steak; green beans; and sliced potatoes (resembling potato chips while still retaining their potato factor). Rob got desert, so I got myself another hot chocolàt (my third of the day. first one was at breakfast. second one, of course, at Notre Dame). My dinner total: €26.
After dinner, we continued down the street to the red light district to get a glimpse of Moulin Rouge. We then hopped a (free) subway to Arc de Triomphe. Snapped our pictures and strolled down Champs-Élysées, doing some window shopping before catching another (free) subway back to our hotel.
After sunset, we found dinner. My first sit-down dinner in Paris. and it was great. expensive, but delicious. Rob and I split a 1/2 liter of wine and a half-dozen escargot. I ate a very thick, juicy steak; green beans; and sliced potatoes (resembling potato chips while still retaining their potato factor). Rob got desert, so I got myself another hot chocolàt (my third of the day. first one was at breakfast. second one, of course, at Notre Dame). My dinner total: €26.
This was just across the street from the restaurant where we ate.
I found it fitting.
I found it fitting.
After dinner, we continued down the street to the red light district to get a glimpse of Moulin Rouge. We then hopped a (free) subway to Arc de Triomphe. Snapped our pictures and strolled down Champs-Élysées, doing some window shopping before catching another (free) subway back to our hotel.Traffic Jam
..._@;" ..._@/"
we started off Sunday with breakfast as usual. We took the free metro all the way across the city to catch a quick glimpse of the Arc de Triomph by day. We also intended to see the tomb of the unknown soldier that sits under the arch, but we forgot entire once we arrived. From the arc, we tried to catch a metro over to the Eiffel Tower for an up-close, daytime viewing of that as well. After waiting nearly 20 minutes for the metro, watching the underground fill up and empty out with people a couple times, we gave up and walked it.
Photo shoot featuring a bunch of metal, and off we went. Now I was on an assignment to track down a little shop called Olivier&Co. It was on Rue Cler near the Eiffel. We made our way a few blocks at a time: over, then up, then over some more, until we finally came upon the street.
Somewhere between "up" and "over some more":
"Why is there a line coming out the door of that bakery?
...And why is it wrapping around the corner?"
"I dunno. Let's go find out."
Rob got a baguette. I got a baguette and a croissant for a pre-lunch snack. it was probably 11am at the time. The baked goods were, well, good like the term suggests they should be. I don't know that they're around-the-corner good. Maybe they were still out-the-door good, but at any rate, I had fresh bread to hold onto and warm my hands for the next half hour. Olivier&Co was closed. I hadn't realized it was Sunday until that point. Sorry Tim&Karen.
Eventually we came upon Les Invalides. Rob and I checked out the giant tomb of some short guy. I think Napoleon could fit in his tomb several times with room to spare. After viewing the tomb, we checked out the war museums, which housed guns and memorabilia from the World Wars. ...well, also from the 18th and 19th centuries as well, but that section of the museum was closed for remodeling. The World Wars were enough to keep us busy for a couple hours as it was. At about 330 we finished the museum and headed over to the Pantheon. ...I was unaware there was a Pantheon in Paris as well. ...In my opinion, the one in Rome is sooo much cooler. But I wouldn't actually know. By the time we got there, entrance to the Pantheon had closed. It stopped at 330. And it closed completely by 415. which was when we showed up. We had walked past Jardin du Luxembourg somewhere just before 400. After turned away from the gates of the Pantheon, we were turned away from the gates of Jardin du Luxembourg. Entrance to that closed at 4.
I watched some French kids play soccer in the street for 5 minutes, and then Rob and I went to try and find the latin quarter. The area supposedly known as the latin quarter seemed more Greek than Latin. Greek restaurants lined one or two of the streets. But we settled on French food again. Dinner this time was even more expensive. The total bill was 77 Euro (darn American keyboards. ...I miss my Euro sign and the fabulous Alt Gr button. [it's practically a second shift key]). My portion was in the thirties. ...32 maybe? I devoured my own half-dozen escargot this time. Followed by a bowl of French onion soup. ...couldn't resist. Rob, again, was determined to enjoy desert, so I splurged this time. A cup of hot chocolat (I miss my easy access to accented vowels too) and an apple cinnamon crepe. The crepe was almost like an apple pie. Though it was more apple sauce than apple pie filling, there were slices of apple here and there, topped off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. ...delicious. And leaving my mouth watering. So once again, I'll have to leave the return trip for later...
Photo shoot featuring a bunch of metal, and off we went. Now I was on an assignment to track down a little shop called Olivier&Co. It was on Rue Cler near the Eiffel. We made our way a few blocks at a time: over, then up, then over some more, until we finally came upon the street.
Somewhere between "up" and "over some more":
"Why is there a line coming out the door of that bakery?
...And why is it wrapping around the corner?"
"I dunno. Let's go find out."
Rob got a baguette. I got a baguette and a croissant for a pre-lunch snack. it was probably 11am at the time. The baked goods were, well, good like the term suggests they should be. I don't know that they're around-the-corner good. Maybe they were still out-the-door good, but at any rate, I had fresh bread to hold onto and warm my hands for the next half hour. Olivier&Co was closed. I hadn't realized it was Sunday until that point. Sorry Tim&Karen.
Eventually we came upon Les Invalides. Rob and I checked out the giant tomb of some short guy. I think Napoleon could fit in his tomb several times with room to spare. After viewing the tomb, we checked out the war museums, which housed guns and memorabilia from the World Wars. ...well, also from the 18th and 19th centuries as well, but that section of the museum was closed for remodeling. The World Wars were enough to keep us busy for a couple hours as it was. At about 330 we finished the museum and headed over to the Pantheon. ...I was unaware there was a Pantheon in Paris as well. ...In my opinion, the one in Rome is sooo much cooler. But I wouldn't actually know. By the time we got there, entrance to the Pantheon had closed. It stopped at 330. And it closed completely by 415. which was when we showed up. We had walked past Jardin du Luxembourg somewhere just before 400. After turned away from the gates of the Pantheon, we were turned away from the gates of Jardin du Luxembourg. Entrance to that closed at 4.
I watched some French kids play soccer in the street for 5 minutes, and then Rob and I went to try and find the latin quarter. The area supposedly known as the latin quarter seemed more Greek than Latin. Greek restaurants lined one or two of the streets. But we settled on French food again. Dinner this time was even more expensive. The total bill was 77 Euro (darn American keyboards. ...I miss my Euro sign and the fabulous Alt Gr button. [it's practically a second shift key]). My portion was in the thirties. ...32 maybe? I devoured my own half-dozen escargot this time. Followed by a bowl of French onion soup. ...couldn't resist. Rob, again, was determined to enjoy desert, so I splurged this time. A cup of hot chocolat (I miss my easy access to accented vowels too) and an apple cinnamon crepe. The crepe was almost like an apple pie. Though it was more apple sauce than apple pie filling, there were slices of apple here and there, topped off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. ...delicious. And leaving my mouth watering. So once again, I'll have to leave the return trip for later...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The Apprentice
I'm back from Paris. What a story. But it'll have to wait. I'm a little short on time.
I walked into my apartment at 2:30p yesterday for the first time since leaving for Paris. Just in time to unload clothes from my backpack and reload it with books and notebooks.
Like I said, I'm short on time. I leave for Munich tonight after class. So the Paris story will have to wait. But there's a picture for a teaser.
All I really wanted blog about is my photography professor. What a busy/exciting time in his life. He became a father for the first time last Friday. In addition, he and another photographer from the agency he's with produced a book for ActionAid. It just hit the shelves. I'll be missing the book signing tonight though. Not enough time.
His agency also sold the same story to MarieClaire magazine (published in the italian Dec '07 issue).
Also, some of the photos were published online by the biggest italian newspaper La Repubblica. See who I'm learning from. His photos can be seen in their online gallery. Lorenzo's are the ones in color. His assignment was education and the environment in which ActionAid operates. His colleague's photos are black and white, on Cambodian prostitution and AIDS patients.
I walked into my apartment at 2:30p yesterday for the first time since leaving for Paris. Just in time to unload clothes from my backpack and reload it with books and notebooks.
Like I said, I'm short on time. I leave for Munich tonight after class. So the Paris story will have to wait. But there's a picture for a teaser.All I really wanted blog about is my photography professor. What a busy/exciting time in his life. He became a father for the first time last Friday. In addition, he and another photographer from the agency he's with produced a book for ActionAid. It just hit the shelves. I'll be missing the book signing tonight though. Not enough time.
His agency also sold the same story to MarieClaire magazine (published in the italian Dec '07 issue).
Also, some of the photos were published online by the biggest italian newspaper La Repubblica. See who I'm learning from. His photos can be seen in their online gallery. Lorenzo's are the ones in color. His assignment was education and the environment in which ActionAid operates. His colleague's photos are black and white, on Cambodian prostitution and AIDS patients.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Travel Time
Just a quick update: AS Roma offered refunds for the tickets to Sunday's called-off match. The game will be rescheduled, but not until mid to late december when we're already gone. So we got our money back.
I'm now off to Paris for the weekend. I return Monday morning in plenty of time to go to my Monday classes (the first of which isn't until 3:30p). I'm in Rome Monday night and here for my Tuesday classes. Late Tuesday night I'm off to Munich for 5 days, coming back Sunday. Skipping my one Wed class and my two Thursday classes.
In the spirit of Paris, I feel like I should tack on 5 extra vowels and perhaps an "S" or "X" to the ends of my words. As far as pronouncing letters, it's almost as if the french have the laziest tongues in the world. ...But then how do you explain a french kiss?
I'm now off to Paris for the weekend. I return Monday morning in plenty of time to go to my Monday classes (the first of which isn't until 3:30p). I'm in Rome Monday night and here for my Tuesday classes. Late Tuesday night I'm off to Munich for 5 days, coming back Sunday. Skipping my one Wed class and my two Thursday classes.
In the spirit of Paris, I feel like I should tack on 5 extra vowels and perhaps an "S" or "X" to the ends of my words. As far as pronouncing letters, it's almost as if the french have the laziest tongues in the world. ...But then how do you explain a french kiss?
Thursday, November 15, 2007
All Thai-ed Up
Last night, a group of 10 of us went out to a Thai restaurant. It was fantastic. Some of the spiciest sauces I've ever had. I had rice and some sort of spicy jumbo shrimp - served with their eyes still looking at me. I hear it's normally difficult to eat them like this. messy to peel or whatever. But they must have been well prepared, because it was quite easy. Other than detaching the meat from the rest of the body, it was not any different than eating normal shrimp back home.
They brought out several appetizers "on the house," along with an apparent all-you-can-drink supply of wine. The 10 of us went through numerous bottles. And then they brought out two big bowls of fruit, then candy. Gwen ordered Malaysian crepes for desert. They tasted almost exactly like a Cinnabon. Definitely to die for. After desert, along with maintaining our supply of wine, they brought out the "serious stuff" as they called it. Shot glasses for everyone, along with our table's own bottles of limoncello, whiskey, and something that unfortunately tasted exactly like ouzo.
The total only came to €17 per person. I don't know how they came to that total or what they actually billed us for and what was actually on the house, but considering my dinner was €12, I figure a €5 "cover charge" is worth the bottles of wine, hard alcohol, desert and appetizers. Great place, great service. And we didn't even have a need to hit the bars after dinner.
They brought out several appetizers "on the house," along with an apparent all-you-can-drink supply of wine. The 10 of us went through numerous bottles. And then they brought out two big bowls of fruit, then candy. Gwen ordered Malaysian crepes for desert. They tasted almost exactly like a Cinnabon. Definitely to die for. After desert, along with maintaining our supply of wine, they brought out the "serious stuff" as they called it. Shot glasses for everyone, along with our table's own bottles of limoncello, whiskey, and something that unfortunately tasted exactly like ouzo.
The total only came to €17 per person. I don't know how they came to that total or what they actually billed us for and what was actually on the house, but considering my dinner was €12, I figure a €5 "cover charge" is worth the bottles of wine, hard alcohol, desert and appetizers. Great place, great service. And we didn't even have a need to hit the bars after dinner.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Go and Get Your Riot Gear
I tried but failed to get my hands on a newspaper today. I stared at one over breakfast at the bar this morning. When I went out to get my film developed, I stopped at several newspaper stands but they all only carried foreign papers like the Süd-Deutsche Zeitung, USA Today, along with French and Spanish papers as well. But none of the Rome newspapers.
After class, I asked the guy at breakfast bar, in italian, where I could buy a paper. He told me to try Stazione Trastevere. But they were all done selling papers. Either they didn't have any left, or they were closed, or both. I didn't really understand the Italian response I got, except that I wasn't going to find a paper.
After class, I asked the guy at breakfast bar, in italian, where I could buy a paper. He told me to try Stazione Trastevere. But they were all done selling papers. Either they didn't have any left, or they were closed, or both. I didn't really understand the Italian response I got, except that I wasn't going to find a paper.
Anyway, pictures from la Republica can be found there. A brutally (google) translated article from Il Messaggero on the victim and incident that sparked the riots can be can be found here. From the same paper, also brutally translated by google, is the article on the actual events of the riots.
Personal note: fortunately I didn't get anywhere near the events. Therefore, no pictures of my own to post.
Personal note: fortunately I didn't get anywhere near the events. Therefore, no pictures of my own to post.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Update
In lieu of the soccer match, we headed out to Abbey Theater (sports bar) to watch the Packer game. The Packers destroyed the Vikings 34-0.
In the meantime, things started getting a little more out of control regarding the soccer match.
In the meantime, things started getting a little more out of control regarding the soccer match.
Change of Plans
A group of 8 of us bought tickets to go to an AS Roma soccer match. I haven't been to one yet, and I'm determined to see a match before I leave Italy. We all bought €25 tickets earlier in the week. ...I'm not going anymore.
Rob ran downstairs to PizzaBoom to grab a beer before we were about to leave. Roberto at PizzaBoom told Rob the match was canceled. Thank You PizzaBoom. That guy is so in the loop that he knew the match was canceled before the breaking knews article surfaced on the internet. We finally confirmed his story 5 minutes after we first started searching.
Rob ran downstairs to PizzaBoom to grab a beer before we were about to leave. Roberto at PizzaBoom told Rob the match was canceled. Thank You PizzaBoom. That guy is so in the loop that he knew the match was canceled before the breaking knews article surfaced on the internet. We finally confirmed his story 5 minutes after we first started searching.
11/11/2007 6:29 PM
BREAKING NEWS: Roma - Cagliari Called Off
Tonight's Serie A game at the Stadio Olimpico between Roma and Cagliari has been called off following the tragic death of a Lazio supporter this morning.
This afternoon's Inter - Lazio clash at San Siro was subsequently postponed as a result, while Atalanta versus Milan was abandoned after just eight minutes following crowd trouble in Bergamo.
There had been rumours that Roma against Lazio would also be called off to avoid the risk of retaliation attacks on the police
and this has now been officially confirmed.
As we speak there is currently a march taking place in Rome's Piazza Euclide. Around 200 Lazio fans are carrying candles to mark the death of Sandri
(Goal.com)
Friday, November 9, 2007
The Silver Lining
This week has just flown by. I remember Monday, first day of classes back from break, thinking on my way to school how it felt like it was mid-week. Yesterday rolls around, and somewhere in the 5 hours I between classes, I realized I only have one class left before my weekend begins. It felt like only moments before that I was on my way to my first class of the week.Got my midterms back this week. I was so confident when I walked out of my Middle East midterm. I thought I got no less than a 95. Prof. said he graded them quite brutally. I wound up with a 92.5 :-)
Italian will probably require a little more effort to remain in the A- range. I'm just clinging to it at the moment. Photography... well, I have no idea if anyone has any grade in there at all so far. But I have a pretty good idea how I'm going to do.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If I were to describe the stage we're at in Rome right now, I'd compare it to midlife crisis, maybe. Now that we're at fallbreak+5, it's started to sink in for everyone that we only have 5 weeks left. We had been in a routine of going out to the same places in Rome, and we were past the initial excitement to explore Rome. Now we're once again filled with enthusiasm to find new bars we haven't been too, and see all the sites we still need to see.
Today, Gwen, JD, and I attempted to find Appia Antica. We made it to Porto San Paolo and walked from there. Turned out to be a bit of a walk, but it was nice. We stopped at the Catacombs of San Callisto. Neat place. We saw a mere fraction of it. I guess it covers 33 acres, and goes 4 levels deep. We only went down to the first two levels, and covered no more than 1/2 an acre.
When we were done, it was late afternoon already. Thanks to the hour fall back a couple weeks ago, it meant we had no more than an hour left of sunlight. But it was a beautiful day, and the best time for great light, as you can see by the picture.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
EuroAdventures
Taking it from the top.
Friday Oct 26: Woke up early to buy tickets at Termini at 8am. Needed to get to Florence because that's where the Greece trip was departing from. If we had enough people from Rome, we would have had a separate departure from here, and it would have saved me €33. (Turns out we actually did have enough people from Rome. EuroAdventures just didn't know that, because a certain 4 people didn't put that information in the comment box like they'd been instructed to.. at least we got a bus direct to Rome on the return). I got back to my apartment around 9am. It was empty, with the exception of Eric. Justin had left for Florence the night before. In the couple hours I was gone, Rob, Craig, and JD left for Barcelona. 10 minutes after i got back, Eric left for Florence with his family.
It was a day full of peacefulness with a rare moment or two of loneliness. The 4 MTVs, VH1, and 3 or 4 Italian music video channels kept me company most of the day. ..Along with USA Today's Thursday 4-star and weekend 5-star sudoku, laundry, and packing. Early bed time.
Saturday Oct 27: Up at 5:45am. At a bus stop by 6:15. Termini by 7 to catch the 7:30 train to Florence. Arrived in Florence around 9:15. Had 45 minutes to kill. Didn't need to be there until 10am. Found an ATM and snagged quick cornetto con la crema and peach juice at a little italian bar across from the train station while the girls pulled an America and enjoyed a magnificent morning meal at McDonalds. Left at 10:30.
3 and a half hours later, we arrived in Ancona; hopped on our overnight "ferry" (never been on a cruise, but that's really what it was). Enjoyed a delicious gyro, a beer, and a few card games. Slept in a reclining seat. Woke up every 2 hours and repositioned, but i didn't care. I was on my way to Greece!
Sunday Oct 28: Woke up at 7:15 to the annoying PA system on the ferry announcing (in at least 5 different languages) that we were pulling into port. I thought we weren't arriving until 8:30 and had my alarm set for 7:30, thanks to the end of daylight savings time, we were an hour early. That meant we got in to Igoumenitsa early enough to catch the 8:30 ferry out to Corfu that we otherwise would have missed (or hadn't been planning on taking to begin with).
A little over an hour later, we were docking at Kavos. Boarded a bus for a short 20 minute ride and we'd finally arrived in Agios Gordis at the infamous Pink Palace after 24+ hours of surprisingly fun and relaxed traveling.
Friday Oct 26: Woke up early to buy tickets at Termini at 8am. Needed to get to Florence because that's where the Greece trip was departing from. If we had enough people from Rome, we would have had a separate departure from here, and it would have saved me €33. (Turns out we actually did have enough people from Rome. EuroAdventures just didn't know that, because a certain 4 people didn't put that information in the comment box like they'd been instructed to.. at least we got a bus direct to Rome on the return). I got back to my apartment around 9am. It was empty, with the exception of Eric. Justin had left for Florence the night before. In the couple hours I was gone, Rob, Craig, and JD left for Barcelona. 10 minutes after i got back, Eric left for Florence with his family.
It was a day full of peacefulness with a rare moment or two of loneliness. The 4 MTVs, VH1, and 3 or 4 Italian music video channels kept me company most of the day. ..Along with USA Today's Thursday 4-star and weekend 5-star sudoku, laundry, and packing. Early bed time.
Saturday Oct 27: Up at 5:45am. At a bus stop by 6:15. Termini by 7 to catch the 7:30 train to Florence. Arrived in Florence around 9:15. Had 45 minutes to kill. Didn't need to be there until 10am. Found an ATM and snagged quick cornetto con la crema and peach juice at a little italian bar across from the train station while the girls pulled an America and enjoyed a magnificent morning meal at McDonalds. Left at 10:30.
3 and a half hours later, we arrived in Ancona; hopped on our overnight "ferry" (never been on a cruise, but that's really what it was). Enjoyed a delicious gyro, a beer, and a few card games. Slept in a reclining seat. Woke up every 2 hours and repositioned, but i didn't care. I was on my way to Greece!
Sunday Oct 28: Woke up at 7:15 to the annoying PA system on the ferry announcing (in at least 5 different languages) that we were pulling into port. I thought we weren't arriving until 8:30 and had my alarm set for 7:30, thanks to the end of daylight savings time, we were an hour early. That meant we got in to Igoumenitsa early enough to catch the 8:30 ferry out to Corfu that we otherwise would have missed (or hadn't been planning on taking to begin with).
A little over an hour later, we were docking at Kavos. Boarded a bus for a short 20 minute ride and we'd finally arrived in Agios Gordis at the infamous Pink Palace after 24+ hours of surprisingly fun and relaxed traveling.
Corfu:
Sunday Oct 28: We were greeted at the Pink Palace with a shot of ouzo for everyone. Most people didn't like it. I didn't think it was bad. I was probably one of few that took it without making a face afterwards.
Got our rooming situation sorted out. Most people already knew what they were doing. I, however, was essentially traveling solo. I knew people on the trip, but for all practical purposes, I was traveling solo. Wound up rooming with a pair of guys I just met for the first time. They're also studying abroad in Rome, but I can't remember every seeing them. Worked out well though.
After getting settled, I spent the next several hours on the beach/hiking with the
girls I knew (or, maybe, thought I knew). Two of them had found a trail at the end of the beach, so I ran back to my room, grabbed my camera, then we went exploring. Not that I had any difficulty on the trail, but I probably wouldn't recommend hiking in flip flops. Only one girl had brought shoes to the beach.
Came back to the Pink Palace mid-afternoon. I was starving. Hadn't had much of a breakfast (just a quick snack between ferries). Had a decent burger and fries. Actually, the burger was good. But the ketchup for the fries was a little different. Can't beat restaurant quality burger for only €3.50 though. Killed time before dinner. Ate with James and Sean and the 3 good-looking girls they knew from school. Decent dinner. Fun night.
Monday Oct 29: All breakfasts were included on the trip (as were dinners, by the way), so I made sure I was up in time to catch that. Eggs 'to order' (not really to order, but they were made fresh. Each day was a different style. Breakfast #1 was scrambled with tomatoes and onion), plenty of toast n jam, and tea, for me.
Also included on our trip was a cruise around the island ..that may or may not have had the adjective "booze" in front of it. Actually, there were a surprising number of Americans that weren't drinking on the cruise, but that was probably smart. Cliff jumping and swimming in a sea cave probably are not best when combined with alcohol. I refrained from any until after both stops. ...in addition to the jumping and swimming, we stopped at a beach only accessible by boat. (the couple hundred foot cliffs along the beach kinda sorta prevent any road access..)
Got our rooming situation sorted out. Most people already knew what they were doing. I, however, was essentially traveling solo. I knew people on the trip, but for all practical purposes, I was traveling solo. Wound up rooming with a pair of guys I just met for the first time. They're also studying abroad in Rome, but I can't remember every seeing them. Worked out well though.
After getting settled, I spent the next several hours on the beach/hiking with the
girls I knew (or, maybe, thought I knew). Two of them had found a trail at the end of the beach, so I ran back to my room, grabbed my camera, then we went exploring. Not that I had any difficulty on the trail, but I probably wouldn't recommend hiking in flip flops. Only one girl had brought shoes to the beach.Came back to the Pink Palace mid-afternoon. I was starving. Hadn't had much of a breakfast (just a quick snack between ferries). Had a decent burger and fries. Actually, the burger was good. But the ketchup for the fries was a little different. Can't beat restaurant quality burger for only €3.50 though. Killed time before dinner. Ate with James and Sean and the 3 good-looking girls they knew from school. Decent dinner. Fun night.
Monday Oct 29: All breakfasts were included on the trip (as were dinners, by the way), so I made sure I was up in time to catch that. Eggs 'to order' (not really to order, but they were made fresh. Each day was a different style. Breakfast #1 was scrambled with tomatoes and onion), plenty of toast n jam, and tea, for me.
Also included on our trip was a cruise around the island ..that may or may not have had the adjective "booze" in front of it. Actually, there were a surprising number of Americans that weren't drinking on the cruise, but that was probably smart. Cliff jumping and swimming in a sea cave probably are not best when combined with alcohol. I refrained from any until after both stops. ...in addition to the jumping and swimming, we stopped at a beach only accessible by boat. (the couple hundred foot cliffs along the beach kinda sorta prevent any road access..)
Got back. Showered. Dinner. Pink Toga Party at the Pink Palace. Dips in the swimming-pool-sized jacuzzi broken up by dips in the sea. Saw people lose their dignity. Questioned whether or not others even brought theirs to Greece. Called it a night.Tuesday Oct 30: Once again, made sure I didn't miss breakfast. Eggs over easy. Ironic considering what I'd witnessed the night before, now that I think about it.
After breakfast, it was time for a 'quad safari' - 6 hours of driving an ATV around the island with a guide. James, Sean, and crew did that the first day, so I was going with the 4 girls. I held off on day 1 because, in the event that weather wouldn't be good enough for a cruise, EuroAdventures was going to pay for a quad safari instead.
The ATVs were awesome. Stopped at a scenic beach. Stopped atop a mountain for lunch, overlooking the entire south half of the island. headed north, up to another mountain where there was a church at the top. Went off-roading a little. Atop a third mountain. A lot more off-roading. Eventually making our way back to the Pink Palace.
Once back, Christoph, our guide, offered to buy all 6 people a shot of ouzo and a drink at the bar. But it turned out I was the only one willing to take the shot of ouzo. The first one must have scared everyone away. After the shot and drink, Christoph offered a second shot of ouzo. Then another. I guess he was going to buy me the shots he would have bought for everyone. 2 drinks, several shots, and an hour later, i headed up the stairs from the bar to my room (my room happened to be right above the bar). I was fine in the bar. Fine on the stairs. Got in my room, decided to shower because I smelled like exhaust. Got in the shower, and all that alcohol hit me like a brick wall. By then, Sean was back in the room. I got dressed, got some fresh air on the balcony, then went to sit on the edge of my bed, waiting for the 8:30 dinner time. It was 7:50.
7:50 - James hurries into the room. "Pack your stuff. We have to leave in 10 minutes." We weren't supposed to leave until 11pm or so. EuroAdventures had the same trip the week before, and the last ferry from Corfu left around 1130, so thats what everyone was expecting. Turns out this week, the last ferry was at 8:30... Surprise! No dinner. They scrambled to get sandwiches for everyone. Sean was nice enough to make sure I didn't forget any of my things (but I had it all already). Grabbed my passport from the front desk. Hopped on the bus. The adventure that was the Pink Palace was over. ...I'm never drinking ouzo again.
After breakfast, it was time for a 'quad safari' - 6 hours of driving an ATV around the island with a guide. James, Sean, and crew did that the first day, so I was going with the 4 girls. I held off on day 1 because, in the event that weather wouldn't be good enough for a cruise, EuroAdventures was going to pay for a quad safari instead.
The ATVs were awesome. Stopped at a scenic beach. Stopped atop a mountain for lunch, overlooking the entire south half of the island. headed north, up to another mountain where there was a church at the top. Went off-roading a little. Atop a third mountain. A lot more off-roading. Eventually making our way back to the Pink Palace.Once back, Christoph, our guide, offered to buy all 6 people a shot of ouzo and a drink at the bar. But it turned out I was the only one willing to take the shot of ouzo. The first one must have scared everyone away. After the shot and drink, Christoph offered a second shot of ouzo. Then another. I guess he was going to buy me the shots he would have bought for everyone. 2 drinks, several shots, and an hour later, i headed up the stairs from the bar to my room (my room happened to be right above the bar). I was fine in the bar. Fine on the stairs. Got in my room, decided to shower because I smelled like exhaust. Got in the shower, and all that alcohol hit me like a brick wall. By then, Sean was back in the room. I got dressed, got some fresh air on the balcony, then went to sit on the edge of my bed, waiting for the 8:30 dinner time. It was 7:50.
7:50 - James hurries into the room. "Pack your stuff. We have to leave in 10 minutes." We weren't supposed to leave until 11pm or so. EuroAdventures had the same trip the week before, and the last ferry from Corfu left around 1130, so thats what everyone was expecting. Turns out this week, the last ferry was at 8:30... Surprise! No dinner. They scrambled to get sandwiches for everyone. Sean was nice enough to make sure I didn't forget any of my things (but I had it all already). Grabbed my passport from the front desk. Hopped on the bus. The adventure that was the Pink Palace was over. ...I'm never drinking ouzo again.
Athens:
I woke up, after our short ride from the Pink Palace to the ferry, to people getting off the bus. I was a bit surprised when I realized the bus was parked on the ferry. I had no idea it was coming with us. In recovery mode, I had one of the girls buy me some bagel chips. Hour later we were docking and boarding the bus again. It'd be an eight hour bus ride to Athens.
Wednesday Oct 31: Pit Stop. I woke up somewhere around 1:45am. We stopped for half an hour at a greek truck/bus stop for 'dinner' ala carte since, well, bagel chips and a sandwich really don't make a great dinner. Back on the bus, I woke myself up several times with head nodding. Even though we were only had half capacity so everyone had two seats each, I couldn't get into a comfortable enough position to keep me asleep through the bumps. Arrival in Greece: 5:30 am.
Naturally, not everyone's room was ready. The other group of 3 guys on the trip were lucky enough to get a room. So the other 3 of us crashed on the floor in their room. On my way passed the desk, i was handed a package. At 5:45am in a transitional recovery/pure exhaustion state, it took me a second to realize why I had a package. My parents managed to track down my hotel and drop off their international phone. Slept for another 4 hours. Then called Home for the first time in two months. Talked to my parents 5,000 miles away from the rooftop bar of my hotel while staring at the Parthenon.
Found out EuroAdventures was giving a walking tour of Athens at 11am. James, Sean and the girls were still sleeping/resting, so i was with the original 4 again. Saw the changing of the guard in front of the Greek parliament. Cut thru a corner of the national
gardens without really seeing it. Stopped at the Olympic stadium for the first modern-day games (1896). Onto the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. Then the Acropolis. From there were were on our own. I explored the Acropolis for a bit with the girls. Got in free with my ISIC (international student ID) card (normally €12). I'd post pictures, but the most impressive views came later.After the Acropolis, we checked out the Plaka shopping area. Back to the Hotel. Free internet and nap time for me. Slept two hours, then got ready for our group dinner. Dinner was at the (supposedly) oldest, most famous restaurant in Athens. ..dont know the name. All 25 of us at a big table. No menu. Naturally, dinner began with a shot of ouzo for everyone. I managed to choke it down. Then they just brought us dish after dish after dish for everyone to share. Two of the bread dips were very tasty. Tzatziki was really good, but liked the eggplant-based dip even more. These were followed by meat-stuffed dolmades (stuffed grapevine leaves). Absolutely delicious. Probably my favorite. Ate 3 of them. Next up was moussaka (similar to lasagna, yet not at all). Also incredible. If not for the dolmades, moussaka would've been my favorite. Not to say that it was all downhill from there. The final 3 dishes were good as well, but moussaka and dolmades - amazing. The next two dishes were essentially the same, just different meat - pork and lamb - cut like it would be served in a gyro, with onion and triangles of pita. Actually, very much like a gyro, but without the tzatziki and tomato. The last main dish was eggplant cooked with garlic, onions, peppers and seasoning. It was ok. Not a big fan though. Desert was yogurt with honey. ...not much of a fan of that either. ..too plain for me. But overall, a phenomenal dinner.
Thursday Nov 1: Wow. First November already? First day of November and I'm enjoying sunny Athenian weather in the upper 70's. Couldn't ask for more.
Grabbed Breakfast. As always, made sure I didn't miss it. Explored Athens with James, Sean, Emily, Lesley, and Vanessa. They hadn't been on the walking tour the day before, so we hit the Olympic Stadium again. Got better pictures this time around anyway (day before was actually overcast. Today was bright blue sky. We strolled through the National Gardens for at least an hour or two before hitting the stadium. Nothing too special, but it's a huge, peaceful park. On our way back from the stadium, we saw 20 policemen in riot gear waiting on the sidewalk (happened to be right by ruins of a roman bath). As we passed them, 3 more police buses pulled up. A couple blocks later, we saw a big rally/protest. Apparently the Greek government wants to raise taxes another 3%, from 19 up to 22%, according to our bus driver.
The gang went back to take a nap. I wasn't tired, so I hopped on the internet, and then went to try and see some temples I hadn't gotten around to seeing yet. I headed out around 4:45. Made it to Hadrian's Library. Found out all the archaeological sites (also free with my ISIC card) close at 5p. I wouldn't be making it to the roman agora/temple of hephaestus. Instead, I decided to climb the highest hill in Athens. Took me probably half an hour to get over to that side of the city and climb it. Broke a sweat, but I was racing the setting sun. ..I won. Made it just in time for sunset over the acropolis. Then I waited another half an hour for the lights to come on.
Went to dinner with the gang at Hard Rock. Satisfied my craving for BBQ ribs. The actually weren't that great. Which probably helped quell my craving even more. Spent the night, after dinner, at a hookah bar, hanging out until 4am. Got back to the hotel at 4:30.
Friday Nov 2: Woke up at 8am after 3.5 hours of sleep. We were leaving Greece at 11am. I still wanted to hit the Roman Agora and temple I hand't been able to make it to. Showered. Grabbed my camera, and hit the streets. Glad I made it there before I left Greece. Temple of Hephaestus is probably the most intact ancient building in all of Athens. This thing dates back to 415 BC and it's still (almost) entirely whole.
Got back to the hotel, grabbed breakfast, packed, and boarded the bus for a 3 hours ride to port. Slept most of the way. Killed an hour and a half at Patras. Boarded our overnight ferry around 5:00.
Of all the situations where I've unexpectedly had to use German, I think breaking up a fight on a ferry from Greece to Italy tops the list. We'd been at the bar/club on one of the upper decks of the cruise. A guy and girl on the trip went down to the sleeping room early (to save money, we only had reclining seats in a giant room, not sleeping cabins). When they went down, they apparently woke up this greek-german asshole, who told them to shut up. All three of them then went to sleep. No problems. ..yet.About 45 minutes later, the rest of the gang called it a night and went downstairs as well. I don't think we were being excessively loud, but we were talking a bit and it was loud enough to wake up the crazy german-greek again. He woke up and looked over to see the few vocal people, who'd just come down, standing around sean and vanessa (who'd actually still been sleeping). The guy became enraged quicker than the incredible hulk, stormed over, passed the people who were actually standing around talking, goes over to sean (who by this point was at least in some semi-conscious state) and cups his mouth so forcefully that it actually looked like he was taking a swing. In the process of his swing, he also grazed vanessa's head. That was ultimately the determining factor betwen sean just wanting to get some crazy guy off his back and wanting to kick his ass.
I have no clue how I realized the guy spoke german. I'm not sure if I heard him say something in german, or if it was just a random word-vomit on my part, assuming english wasnt the guy's native language, and he happened to respond to it. In the scuffle, a younger guy who worked with the crazy german-greek, woke up and bolted over to the scene to help pull his colleague away. James took on the task of calming sean down, which took half an hour and ultimately required vanessa denying the guy ever touched her. In the big mess, I held lesley back and calmed her down. Under the influence, she thought she could actually fight some 40 yr old guy. Then i made my rounds.
Spoke briefly (in german) with the colleague, who was a really nice guy - and said he's worked with the crazy guy for a while and he's always been an asshole. Made my way to find james/sean/vanessa to make sure everything was ok on that front, and finally i tracked down the crazy german-greek who'd disappeared to the bar. I let him know that 1) sean was actually still kinda sleeping when he was attacked, 2) it was likely the people that had just entered the room that had awakened him this time around, and 3) The biggest reason sean was so pissed off was that vanessa had been hit in the process.
This prompted a tiny apology, as he never meant to touch her and would 'never do that,' followed by a story of how he hadn't slept in two days, as if it somehow justified attacking a sleeping person. I persuaded him to sleep in the smaller of the two rooms, right behind the bigger one, because nobody was in there and he wouldn't be disturbed then. Then I continued talking with him (in german) for a full hour to make sure he'd calmed down and to give time for everyone else to calm down and fall asleep so there wouldn't be issues when he finally went back down.
Saturday Nov 3: Morning was a bit awkward, with an exchange of glares between he and Sean when we walked by. We finally docked in Ancona somewhere around 1pm. Then we got a 4 hour bus ride direct back to Rome. I finally got back to my apartment around 5:30. My EuroAdentures experience was done. What a crazy week.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Greek Philosophy
I really feel like I'm wasting my time blogging while I'm in the center of the ancient philosophical world, but i feel the question I'm about to ask merrits my blogging.
It's a shame I feel so far removed from the ethics class I took my first semester in college. I need help deciding what details I should disclose upon return to Rome. I already know if I decide to share a certain story, that I will censor many of the details myself. However, the story begs the question which school of philosophical thought to follow. What I do remember from Phil 105 is that every single ethical theory had its flaws.
Is it better to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people (whereby I share absolutely nothing, as the story really wouldn't benefit anyone, only truthfully taint a persons reputation), or is it better to tell the truth in all situations (meaning I should really share my story, because keeping it quiet allows a person to continue with a false reputation and allowing that to continue could arguably be as dishonest as lying)?
Rephrased: If a tree falls in the forest, but only two people actually realize what happened, does one become responsible to tell others if the second person won't because s/he cut it down?
It's a shame I feel so far removed from the ethics class I took my first semester in college. I need help deciding what details I should disclose upon return to Rome. I already know if I decide to share a certain story, that I will censor many of the details myself. However, the story begs the question which school of philosophical thought to follow. What I do remember from Phil 105 is that every single ethical theory had its flaws.
Is it better to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people (whereby I share absolutely nothing, as the story really wouldn't benefit anyone, only truthfully taint a persons reputation), or is it better to tell the truth in all situations (meaning I should really share my story, because keeping it quiet allows a person to continue with a false reputation and allowing that to continue could arguably be as dishonest as lying)?
Rephrased: If a tree falls in the forest, but only two people actually realize what happened, does one become responsible to tell others if the second person won't because s/he cut it down?
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