Dawn over Paris

Looking north from my hotel in Montparnasse. Notre Dame is somewhere there at the edge. Her lights are off right now.
Looking north from my hotel in Montparnasse. Notre Dame is somewhere there at the edge. Her lights are off right now.
What a great view. But I didn't expect it to be so dark still, before 8. But I gotta go.
What a great view. But I didn’t expect it to be so dark still, before 8. But I gotta go.



Big city, big traffic

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Traffic monitor

This one is at my hotel, the second I’ve seen today. It flashes red so you can see traffic issues at a glance. Makes me reconsider moving here. And, hey, the Northeast of the US is no different.

Traffic in Helsinki is a car in front of you. Sheesh.

Toto, we’re not in Helsinki anymore

Busy Parisian street
Busy Parisian street
Crepe Central
Crepe Central




I’ve been in Finland so long that I’ve forgotten what big cities are like. I spent most of my life in Rio de Janeiro, New York, and Boston. But the last many years I’ve been a suburbanite, most recently in Espoo, outside of Helsinki. It’s always exciting to go into town. But, my last trips have been to Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, and now Paris. Boy, have I become a country boy…

Local yokels in the Fiskars area

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Look at the motley crew. I think the green party could use some branding. Or is this their branding?
How different from standard politics based on looks.
Now that I think about it, one of the early parts of Farenheit 451 was the lady watching political candidtes on the TV (big screen, mind you). There was the handsome favorite and the shabby opposition guy. Hmmm, did Michael Moore find a more apropriate label than he thought? Isn’t much of the currentUS election about Cold Kerry vs. Good Ol’ Boy Dubya?

Voting!

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Thu 14.10.2004 14.46 Image(154)

Exercising my right to vote for the President of the United States of America. I mailed off my absentee ballot.
Hurrah for me and my wife – exiles who can still make a difference by exercising our birthright!
Go Kerry!