Travel Blog
So I couldn’t figure out how to get that backup to work, but luckily I’d been crossposting just about everything from this blog to LJ and was able to manually copy and paste most of my posts back in. I skipped some that were just links to galleries without text; I figure it would be better to do some writing about the photos and then put something like them back up later. In the meantime, I’m thinking to use this […]
Well, some bit of malware just ate my site. I’m extremely annoyed – as if I wasn’t in the middle of moving to a new city and trying to get the apartment ready and all that! I do have a backup file from two weeks ago when I last upgraded wordpress, and I may even be able to figure out how to use it. But, not tonight. Anyway, if you’re here for my photos, please view the gallery here. Be […]
Went down to the Belarussian consulate to get our transit visas started today, but the line was too long and they said they wouldn’t get through what was there now before closing for their 2 hour lunch break… Now I have to go back again tomorrow but even earlier. Ugh. I hate mornings. Today was just… long. I felt like I was running in circles pointlessly. Did a shoot with a girl who’s sort of a student (we’re trading modeling […]
We’re doing it. Yesterday we went out and got tickets to Berlin for April 30th. We leave on the 9:15 pm train and arrive in Berlin 24 hours later. So, yeah, we’d decided to leave later in the summer. Getting questioned by the FSB, the main Russian intelligence agency, for 2 hours with no translator or recourse or anyone knowing where I was… well, it rather muted any lingering desire to stay in Russia. It was a very cultural experience, […]
Been having a stressful week… got stopped by the FSB (the Federal Security Bureau, loosely translated, and successor to the KGB) and questioned for 2 hours yesterday because I stopped to take a photo of a cute dog and it turned out I was right next to some “secret office”. Bother. It was scary, but they were pretty professional overall and it was just some elderly former KGB guy who kept me from leaving within 10 minutes of getting pulled […]
Found this at http://www.lokis-laughter.com/ The River One day, three men were hiking and unexpectedly came upon a large, raging, violent river. They needed to get to the other side, but had no idea of how to do so. The first man prayed to Woden, saying, “Please Woden, give me the strength to cross this river.” Poof! Woden gave him big arms and strong legs, and he was able to swim across the river in about two hours, after almost drowning […]
Having at least a basic proficiency in some foreign languages is essential to traveling well and understanding the places you visit or live in. Though traditionally taught in a classroom setting, the modern traveler has some very interesting new resources for solo study of a foreign language, including two new web sites demonstrating some very innovative teaching methods.
I just got pulled as an editor’s pick on Blogged.com! This is pretty much the first site review I’ve gotten so I’m very pleased.
Happy Women’s Day! Awesomest holiday ever. Tony gave me a bottle of the incredibly high quality, $120-a-bottle absinthe we’ve been ogling for two years at Azbuka Vkusa, and I finally got out to a public banya (steam baths) with my excellent girlfriend Marina. Good but strange experience. Got beaten with oak twigs in what’s got to be a pagan-remnant-ritual/ massage while in the sauna. Jumped in a tub of ice water afterward. Drank lots of tea and ate very good […]
I’m working to get a bit more traffic coming to this site by submitting it to various blog directories. I’ve now got listings on Technorati and BlogCatalog.