Dispatches from Vilnius

2021 has been an odd year to say the least.  My wife and I were looking for a small flat, thinking the prices had been deflated due to the pandemic, only to find that real estate is more expensive than ever.  All the EU money pumped into the economy to help offset the shutdowns of 2020 resulted in a speculative boom, not just for real estate but the building industry as a whole.  We had also hoped to rebuild the garden house for our son and his girlfriend on a budget of 25,000 euros, only to find that wouldn't even cover a new roof.   Yet, we didn't benefit from this economic boom ourselves.  We had a hard time securing clients, finally able to get a couple of residential designs and a small school rehab project in the Fall.  While materials and construction costs soar, architects are apparently a dime a dozen. We were able to get a little bit of a windfall from side projects, so we didn't suffer too badly. It is hard to say which way the economic barometer will turn in 202

I was almost ready to buy an NFL game>pass for the rest of the season before the Seahawks lost to the Rams.  It seems like the NFL is really struggling for European viewers, offering a weekly rate of 99 cents, but it still wasn't worth it with Seattle now out of the playoff hunt.  It's the only reason I still follow American football. As it is, my wife doesn't like me following the gamecasts on ESPN.  She wants my undivided attention in the evening.  Both hands, not one scrolling my cellphone, as we stretch out on the couch with me rubbing her feet as we watch some program on television.  No worries anymore.  What was left of the season was blown to hell when Seattle gave up a 10-point lead to the Bears, assuring their worst season of the Pete Carroll era. I don't know why I let this get to me, but it does.  I spent the next morning on facebook responding to all the news feeds on the game, getting into useless arguments as to what Seattle should do next to improve th

Sometimes when you wait for something so long, it is a bit of a disappointment when you finally see it.  Such is the case with The French Dispatch .    The droll stories are very much in keeping with the spirit of The New Yorker of the 1960s, although told from a Midwestern point of view.  The opening story sets the stage, so to speak, with a beret-clad Owen Wilson riding around the imaginary French city of Ennui on his bicycle, giving us a rather morbid view of the dreary streets and fetid canals.  This was fine by way of intro, but Wes chooses to make all his stories entirely reliant on the eccentric narrators.   You need action to propel the stories, and sadly none comes, even when confronted by a fierce prison artist, as played by the incomparable Bencio del Toro.  There's nothing more than a growl from Moses Rosenthaler, intimating the beast within, before we see a still-life of a fight scene in which he protects his Concrete Masterpiece , mostly for the sake of his muse, the

We were watching A Beautiful Mind the other night, and it was interesting to read afterward that the only way John Nash was able to overcome his schizophrenia, at least in part, was by consciously choosing not to follow politics anymore, and focus on more rational intellectual pursuits.  It was the height of the Cold War era and it seems he needed something to occupy his highly active mind, inventing all sorts of characters in which to battle his Cold War demons.  That's not so easy to do in this day and age, with all the irrational chatter on the airwaves.  You would have to eliminate television and social media all together.  It is virtually impossible to escape otherwise. The worst part is watching rational persons trying to answer irrational questions.  This was true of Kamala Harris submitting herself to Charlmagne tha God , only to be accused afterward of trying to shut down Charlamagne .  The Biden-Harris administration has found itself coming under fire from all sides, as

Milan really is a special place.  As I said we didn't know what to expect and were stunned at every turn, and we took many wrong turns much to my wife's chagrin.  I hadn't realized how extensive the tram system is, so following the tracks doesn't necessarily lead you don't the right road.  It is a virtual spider web with the Duomo at the center. The plan of the historic center hasn't changed much since Medieval times, and you can find remnants of the historic wall throughout the city.  We came across one section on our way to catch the tram to the Fondazione Prada .  Not sure how far back the walls date back to, as there were at least three rings of defense, but they were impressive to see.  It was like walking through portals to the past. Crossing the train tracks to the south, you enter into the old manufacturing district.  Prada took over a former Olivetti factory and made it into their creative design center with a wonderful museum, cinema, theater and other

I have many happy memories of the Milano cookies my mother would occasionally bring home from the grocery store.  She knew I would go through them at one sitting, so it was a rare treat.   It was nice to finally see the real place and delight in all its pastries and confections.   You never know what to expect from a city but I have to say that in Milan all expectations were exceeded.  Such a lovely city, much bigger than I thought, so we only caught a small glimpse.  If we had made more of an effort to figure out the tram and metro lines, we could have taken in more over the four days, but are quite satisfied with what we saw. It always helps to have a generous amount of coffee available at the little apartment we rented on Via del Torchio. The owners provided a DeLonghi capsule coffee machine that was just right for two small cups of coffee when we got back from our excursions, along with little pastries we picked up along the way.  One learns not to overindulge in Milan, as the foo

We haven't gone anywhere in two years, mostly due to COVID.  We had planned on a trip to the Salzburg festival last summer, only to cancel when the pandemic broke out in March.  We were given vouchers good through December 2021 in lieu of the canceled airline tickets and got our money back for the shows.  So, we finally decided to cash in those vouchers and travel to Milan next week.  The trip is still not without anxiety, as there are so many rules and regulations for airline travel and entry to countries, but we seem to have our papers in order.  Won't know until we actually board the plane. Lithuania is discouraging travel to most European countries, including Italy, with the spike in cases throughout the EU, but then Lithuania itself is no better, reporting 2000 new cases per day.  I checked Italy.  While it is reporting 12,000 cases per day, its per capita rate is much lower than Lithuania.  So, we are probably safer there than here.     Milan has long been on our wish lis

It really is hard to figure out what is going on in America these days.  It no longer feels like the land of the free or home of the brave, but rather a country on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  Over what I'm not exactly sure, but I read all the worry of my American friends on facebook.  Oddly enough, it's not my conservative friends posting on Trump, but rather my liberal friends.  They can't let him go.  I suppose it comes from him being able to get off scot-free for the January 6 insurrection.  Many other high crimes and misdemeanors that could be leveled against him too, but it seems the justice department is not overly anxious to go after him.  I suppose they are trying to build a compelling case against him as it is pretty hard to find a courtroom these days where the deck isn't stacked against the prosecution.  Just look at this kid in Kenosha, who literally got away with shooting two persons dead with an unregistered AR-15 assault rifle.  I try not to think

Neither one of us felt very good after our booster shots this past Wednesday, but Daina was hit the hardest.  Fever, chills, body pains, the whole works.  We curled up on the couch and watched the last remaining season of The Office on Netflix, mostly just to get it done with.  Whatever humor we found in the show was in the early going, when Jim was chasing after Pam and vice versa, Michael found himself under the thumb of Jan, and Dwight was trying to establish his authority, albeit he did that throughout.   There were some characters I hated in the past, some of them listed here , but Andy Bernard would have to top my list.  Comedy is about getting under your skin.  We've seen that with  the flack  comedians have gotten recently for hitting a little too close to the bone with their brand of humor.  The problem with Andy is that he is not funny, not in the least.  He grew from an annoying distraction in the office to a mean-spirited bully with no redeeming traits.  I don't no

We've been watching The Office on Netflix, and sad to say we are a lot like Ryan and Kelly stuck back in the annex with little communication with the rest of our office.  I suppose some of that is our own doing as we tend to keep the door closed now, but for months it has felt like we have been frozen out of office functions.  There seemed to be a little bit of an attempt yesterday to bring us back into the fold, but at this point we are wary of such gestures. Much of it stemmed from our lack of ability to nail down clients during the lockdown.  We had multiple leads the director had given us, but for whatever reason couldn't get a client to commit to a project beyond our good friend Julius.  Unfortunately, we don't work for him through the office, as he doesn't like paying any extras and the office puts 15 percent on top of any commission we secure.  We've been doing projects for him for 12 years now through our own personal company.  My wife likes keeping our pla

I have my Wilson #3 Seahawks dark blue road jersey on today.  It seems they always play the Packers on the road and lose.  Let's hope today is different.  Half debating whether to plunk down the 5 euros to watch it on NFL Europe, as it comes on at 8 pm Lithuania time.  The only problem is that my wife hates me watching these games on the couch, looking down at my cellphone as I rub her feet while she watches something else on television.  There was a time I would get all excited about these games but the Seahawks are really struggling this year and it would be a miracle for Wilson to rally this team to the playoffs.  It's just not worth getting my wife upset, given I can catch the highlight reel on Youtube tomorrow morning. Green Bay is going through its drama with Aaron Rodgers.  He is cleared to play today but apparently stubbed his toe and is limping around a bit.  The least of his worries after making such an ass of himself over COVID two weeks ago.  Aaron led everyone to b

Van and Eric have become comrades in arms in this age of coronavirus, lashing out at what they view as an oppressive regime imposing lockdowns, and making them take vaccines against their wills.  They imagine their latest song, Stand and Deliver , will become an anthem to the oppressed, in which they liken their lost freedom of choice to slavery.  This was the last straw for Robert Cray, who refused to open up anymore shows for Eric Clapton. The problem with all this grandstanding is that it will probably help Van and Eric sell their anti-vax albums and live shows.  They are fast becoming the darlings of the MAGA crowd.  Who knows, Donald may even add "Stand and Deliver" to his campaign play lists. All this has left a bitter taste in my mouth, similar to when Neil Young dumped his wife Pegi,  after 30 years of marriage, to run off with Darryl Hannah.  I didn't want to listen to anymore of Neil's music but made an exception for the Buffalo Springfield years.  Same goe