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Saturday, January 08, 2005

Thursday, January 06, 2005

I'm back. Air France? Managed to lose my luggage. Both ways. Very special. Oh yes, and they (or somebody they entrusted to hangle my bag) opened it up and swiped my digital camera. And they didn't offer me any tea or coffee. The annoying thing is the woman at the gate at Charles de Gaulle, for god knows what reason, took not just the boarding pass but the copy of my actual ticket with the baggage claim number. So now the Czech airport people think I'm an ass for losing my baggage claim tag. But I swear, she took it.

Also, I lost -- most likely at an Irving gas station diner between Saint John, New Brunswick and the U.S.-Canada border -- a brand new warm winter cap with a brand new button on it that said "Charlie Brown" with a drawing of (you guessed it) Charlie Brown. And I left my comfy jersey and a scarf on the airplane. And Alex lost her phone. Not a great trip in terms of possessions.

Otherwise, great trip. I'll tell you all about, but only after I blog about my trip to Calabria back in August. That's the toe, Calabria.

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My friend's roommate and I were both taken in by one of those online store scam deals which seem to be rampant in the U.S. now, where they offer you really cheap computers and then make up some BS about how they need to get you on the phone to confirm your credit card info, and then when they get you on the phone try to up-sell you on accessories. Big mess, long complicated, surely lots of money lost on needless trans-Atlantic bank transfers as a result.

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Say, it never really occured to me that Canadians, whilst speaking on the TV, use the word "Canadians" pretty much the same way Americans use the word "Americans," i.e. as a synonym for "people" and "everybody." Stands to reason.

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Sitting alone in front of the computer, my jaw dropped ever so slightly: "Mr. Klein specifically cited the criticism that the comedian Jon Stewart leveled at 'Crossfire' when he was a guest on the program during the presidential campaign. Mr. Stewart said that ranting partisan political shows on cable were 'hurting America.'" He also said "stop" and they did. How about that!