It’s not easy to be an American Jewish expat in Austria and if, like me, the gods that determine your fate put you in a small town, an additional layer of complication descends on your life abroad. Understanding Austrian politics is difficult if you happen to share color, religion, or basic values with your neighbors, but if you don’t, Austria becomes even more frustrating and inscrutable. I was reminded of this last night while reading of the death of Austria’s popular – and populist – Joerg Haider, a politician known for his remarks that sounded like Nazi sympathy, his willful stance against minority communities, and his good looks, among other things. Haider was drunk and going too fast on one of those windy alpine roads and now, he is no more.
Fall in Fall City
[Added to Photo Friday on Delicious Baby]
Fish Wednesday, Scampi Style
Last weekend we were talking with a Hawaiian friend from Honolulu who revealed to use this shocking fact: He had never visited the shrimp trucks on the road to Oahu’s north shore. “How could this BE?!” we cried, while remembering the sound advice of “Peel, Suck, and Eat” as provided by that big yellow truck, …
Gear I Love: More Merino from Joneswares
When companies ask me if I’ll write up their travel/outdoors clothing, I pretty much put it through the same drill. I never write about the stuff at first blush because while it might be pretty out of the box, it’s got to hold up to my patented test cycle before I come to any conclusions. …
Your Stuff and How It Got Here
When you ride your bike from downtown to West Seattle, you share the road with train tracks and loaded semi trucks. There’s a fishing pier where you can watch the tugboats tie up and the freight shops coming and going. If you’re unlucky, you can end up on the wrong side of a train and …
Salmon Days in Issaquah
It was gray and a bit blowy, but plenty of people filled the streets in Issaquah for the annual Salmon Days festival. Our uke club was invited to play for the second year in a row, six enthusiastic players (you see five on the stage, one of our guys had to run off) played a …