About

I'm an expat Californian who is obsessed with traveling to strange and exotic destinations in the former Communist Bloc. I also like tacos, surfing, and the geopolitics of oil. I currently live in Arlington, Virginia and work in Washington, DC. Read more about me here, check out my photo album, or send me an e-mail.

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    Rewriting the history of the Eastern Front

    Although the Soviet Union reportedly lost over 25 million citizens in World War II, most Americans are unaware of the brutal fighting that occurred between the Soviets and Germans in the heart of the USSR. The NY Times has an interesting article about the opening of the Russian State Archives and some of the [...]

    How fitting…

    You’re The Guns of August!
    by Barbara Tuchman
    Though you’re interested in war, what you really want to know is what causes war. You’re out to expose imperialism, militarism, and nationalism for what they really are. Nevertheless, you’re always living in the past and have a hard time dealing with what’s going on today. You’re also far [...]

    Weekend in Vegas

    This past weekend I was in Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps (or is that New York? Uh, whatever). My family went because we got tickets to Elton John’s concert at Caesar’s Palace. He’s filling in for Celine Dion, who is usually the headliner at Caesar’s. I’m not really sure [...]

    Let’s go Anaheim!

    We’ve got Bartolo Colon and Vladimir Guerrero on the team now. Spring training starts soon…this should be a good season.
    I still miss Scott Spiezio, though.
    Oh, and the Yankees got A-Rod!!!! I can’t stand the Yankees! Stupid George Steinbrenner and all his cash. There he goes again trying to buy another championship [...]

    Out with the 56k modem

    We finally got DSL at my house. I setup a wireless network so now my brother and I no longer have to fight over the internet connection. Ahhhh fast internet is heavenly…it’s like being back at good ol’ GDub, minus all the work.
    Remember, kids:

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    Thank you, General

    So, our time has come…Clark dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination. I am disappointed, of course…I thought that we could have done much better, but Kerry is on a roll. We’ll hear from the pundits about “what went wrong” (skipping Iowa? placing novices in campaign positions they weren’t prepared [...]

    Send me to Boston – Vote Clark!

    It’s official – I’m one of California’s 241 District Level Delegates for Wesley Clark. With any luck I’ll be representing California’s lovely 45th Congressional District at the DNC convention in Boston. So come on California, vote for Wes Clark on March 2nd!

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    Surfing in Moscow

    I found a place to go surfing in Moscow…well, kinda…
    I was reading an article about how Muscovites manage to stay warm during the incredibly cold Russian winter, and it mentioned that families with a few extra rubles to spare can spend a day at Moscow’s indoor water park frolicking in the wave pool and the [...]

    Miracle

    Today I saw the movie “Miracle”, the true story of the US hockey team’s victory over the Soviet team in the 1980 Winter Olympics. It was pretty good, but I am partial to any movie that has a) hockey, and b) the US vs USSR. Would “Mighty Ducks” have been as entertaining if [...]

    Photos, photos, and more photos

    I installed Gallery on my server so now it’s a lot easier to manage my online photo album.
    I finally uploaded all my photos from my summer 2003 trip to Russia, which you can view here.
    I also have a few photos from my trip to New Hampshire. There should be more on the way, though…
    If [...]