Ghost of LL

Georgia looks like ass.

So that is to say that as things currently stand, there are the votes to convict?

If Russia were a society of free people, this would cause popular sentiment to swing against continuing the war. But since Russia is a society of slaves, . . . .

How in the literal fuck? I mean, seriously--he must be one charming motherfucker.

I've come around to really liking the 11:00 kick. I just remember being absolutely exhausted after a 2:30 kick and unable to do anything that evening. But with an 11:00 kick, you can run that day-drinking marathon a lot easier. I still would like to see a 7:00 PM kick one day. I just think that'd be a blast. I mean, we might all die. But it'd still be fun.

I don't think they're really worried about getting the goat off.

Would there possibly be any other type of power struggle in Chechnya?

Mrs.LL is a UCF alumna, and now I have to go find some citronaut gear for her for Christmas. Because that is awesome. Before now, I didn't know that I needed an anthropomorphic orange in a space helmet in my life. But it turns out that I totally needed an anthropomorphic orange in a space helmet in my life.

On the difference between Kyoto and Tokyo, I guess it comes down to size. Tokyo is the largest city in the world, and it feels like that when you're there. There are a ton of people, a ton of places to eat, a ton of places to shop, and a ton of things to see. But beyond that, it's also a city of contrasts. You can be in an ancient temple one minute and feel like you're in the future the next. You can wander around the Imperial Palace grounds, parts of which are nearly deserted, and then go down the street and be in Tokyo Station, which will be packed. Kyoto is much smaller. The buildings are capped at (I think) ten stories. There are a thousand temples and shrines, allowing more time for quiet and reflective sightseeing. And as you walk along through the Gion, it's just a very pretty city. On the bento box, I don't have any real suggestions. At the station, there are a bunch of different shops that will be selling snacks. You can just peer around and see what strikes your fancy. Even if you're running late, there's always a little shop on the platform that is going to have a decent selection of bento boxes and beers. That's honestly the bit about Japan that takes the least planning or thought.

Wait, what? What Anastasis carnage did I miss?

I find your familiarity with these drugs to be . . . unsurprising.

Yes/No/Kinda-sorta. There are three main close-in neighborhoods where I think most tourists stay: Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Roppongi. Those are sated going counterclockwise from due west of the Imperial Palace/Tokyo Station. As I said previously, I think for kids I might do Shibuya due to the proximity to a few major parks (e.g., Yoyogi Park and the Shinjuku Gardens). We stayed over at the Conrad in Shiodome, which is pretty close to the Tsukiji Outer Market (which I highly recommend for breakfast or an early lunch), the Ginza (for Mrs.LL's shopping), and an easy walk to Shimbashi, which was a great neighborhood for evening eating/drinking and a big center for transit. But that's not exactly any of what you're there for. But I hear you on the AirBNB's. We did that a lot when our kids were young. I'll just observe, though, that Japanese apartments are typically very small, and may not give you the type of accommodation you're accustomed to in the United States. What about two connecting hotel rooms for you/wife and MIL, with the kids in with MIL while you two are out? So I really preferred Tokyo; Mrs.LL greatly preferred Kyoto. So it really is a matter of taste. We skipped Osaka, and I have been under the distinct impression that that was the way to go. Kyoto was something that was really unique, as it is the former capital and the only city that wasn't bombed during the war. But I really wish we had found enough time to go down to Hiroshima and explore Miyojima.

. . . and me!

We played Tulsa? I have absolutely no memory of that.

Clausewitz would disagree with that. According to Clausewitz, one wins a war by destroying the enemy's army. The occupation of dirt is meaningless so long as the enemy's army remains as a force in being. Now, perhaps we can argue that point in the modern setting, with logistics requirements that are quite different from the Napoleonic age, which require the control over dirt to maintain the army in the field. But I think the fundamental point remains: the goal here is not merely the recapture of territory, but also the destruction of the Russian Army as an operational force.

Mrs.LL got roofied in a bar before the game. And for purposes of clarity--not by me. So I was put in a dilemma: take her back to the hotel and attend to her health, or go to the game? Do you know what I did? Of course you do. I hauled her half-conscious ass into the Horseshoe and watched us beat Ohio State's ass. She regained full consciousness around halfway through the second quarter. It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. She was just suddenly fine (albeit perhaps a little groggy), as though nothing had happened. But she had no memory of the preceding 2-3 hours. To this day, she has no idea how she got into that stadium. Yeah--us, too. A cop grabbed us as we were walking away from the stadium on Lane Avenue and kept us next to him for about five minutes until he had gathered enough Texas fans for him to decide that it was safe for us to walk together.

That's something I've always enjoyed about ESPN's presentation of college football. They always do a very good job of micing up the bands. And since that is a large part of what makes the college atmosphere different from the NFL, I've always appreciated that. By comparison, Fox seems to actively avoid mixing the bands into the sound on its broadcasts. I don't know if Colorado and Nebraska have gotten rid of their bands, but you might be forgiven for thinking so based on the Fox broadcast.

So I have a couple nights in New York next June with a bunch of Marriott points to spend. Should I do the Ritz Carlton on Central Park South, the Ritz Carlton NoMad (28th & Broadway), or the St. Regis (55th & Fifth), or something else entirely (e.g., the Edition). On the docket is the Natural History Museum (we got screwed out of that on the last trip and the boy really wants to go), probably a Broadway show for the girls and a Yankee game for me and the boy.

Are we thinking the attack on Sevastopol is the first appearance of ATACMS? Or is this a Neptune strike? Either way, if the fleet at Sevastopol is vulnerable to ballistic-missile attack, then what's the point of having that base? And if that base has to be abandoned, doesn't much of the strategic reason for occupying Crimea evaporate?

Oh, good—one less thing to worry about in a nice September evening.

Holy shit—they killed a Kilo. Oh, and by the way—that’s a boat with a nuclear reactor that’s burning.

That isn't the student section. The student section only extends to about the 35-yard line. This is at least a full section over from the student section. Between witnesses and video and voice recognition, the University could figure out who this was if it wanted to. But you're right--they don't really want to. They'll just stick by their semi-apology and quietly be happy that there isn't an audible N-bomb dropped.

In the English Premier League, the club would identify the fans involved and ban them from the stadium. It's not that hard. You can figure out where those seats are pretty easily. I mean--there are yardlines right there on the field. The seats are around the 45-yard line on the east side. If it's a season ticket holder, ban them. If it's someone to whom a season ticket holder sold his seats, you get the receipts and ban that person. It's not hard. I mean, if West Ham can do it, I imagine a major American university can figure it out. That they don't indicates that they're not nearly so disgusted as they protest.

Goddamnit--I want video!

Hmmm, . . . As far as the kids go, we did Tokyo Disneyland, which was fun. It's easily accessible by subway, which is really nice. But I guess my over-arching societal observation is that Japan has a somewhat weird cultural affinity for nostalgia and things that look like they're geared for children. Everything has a furry mascot; anime is ubiquitous. But it's also a country with a shockingly low birthrate. So while everything looks like it's kid-friendly, nothing actually is. The basic blocking-and-tackling of children--kid menus, changing tables in public bathrooms, even low urinals--are completely absent in Japan. Incidentally, how are you getting there? I'm not sure I'd be game for a 12-hour flight with kids that young. As to your location question, that's really tough for me because we stayed fairly close-in. Perhaps my only observation is that even a "suburban" area in Tokyo would feel very urban to an American. I don't think the "surburban" environment you're describing would put the city within reasonable access for a tourist. And if you're looking for parks and places of the sort to let kids run around, paradoxically most of your biggest parks are close in near Shibuya. I don't know that they have a lot of Western-style playgrounds, but they definitely provide an area for kids to run around and explore.