tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71251462024-03-13T13:30:50.820-05:00Not All Who Wander Are LostThe transcribed wanderings of one man in a big world.Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.comBlogger412125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-23688590065454834662009-04-27T00:41:00.002-05:002009-04-27T00:46:10.916-05:00Not All Who Wander Ever Post<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So clearly I don't post on this thing anymore. Maybe someday I will again, but for now it exists solely as a record of a few magical years.<br /><br />You can find me on the Internet still, just at other places. Such as:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/timryder">twitter.com/timryder</a><br /><a href="http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=34001645&ref=profile">facebook.com/profile.php?id=34001645&ref=profile</a><br /><br />See you 'round, Internets.<br /></span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-34493272889590492882009-01-23T18:54:00.000-06:002009-01-23T18:56:19.178-06:00Future kids only<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibccxlnZA4ZL-uXz00qFwVMzqX80EOi1Wtzo1HMxmAcO6nd64GmK9kfu6DgWX9y53gab0ZHsII029Nk9Bk836FpA0V3hc9bCf4sJwn3gX8Z2ccwMlgEB-XH_fV5Q5WnQbbwAC/s1600-h/IMG_0025.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibccxlnZA4ZL-uXz00qFwVMzqX80EOi1Wtzo1HMxmAcO6nd64GmK9kfu6DgWX9y53gab0ZHsII029Nk9Bk836FpA0V3hc9bCf4sJwn3gX8Z2ccwMlgEB-XH_fV5Q5WnQbbwAC/s320/IMG_0025.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294657677030143842" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Warning: Reverse Gravity Playground ahead!</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-39522995666711947152009-01-20T16:41:00.001-06:002009-01-20T16:42:59.879-06:00And a happy new year...in jail!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/1537118.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF1939057D9939C83F1065EF34550408CB5BA5A5397277B4DC33E"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 459px; height: 594px;" src="http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/1537118.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF1939057D9939C83F1065EF34550408CB5BA5A5397277B4DC33E" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I'm glad Old Man Potter was able to make it to the inauguration.<br /><br />It's a new day, America! Let's do it!</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-75571067995425641572009-01-07T23:48:00.003-06:002009-01-07T23:51:56.417-06:00Like most bands, they got preachy toward the end<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Experiment: I couldn't decide what music I wanted to listen to today, so I put iTunes on an entire library shuffle. This is pretty rare for me, as I normally consider myself a "whole album" kind of guy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Conclusion: I remember the lyrics to a surprising amount of Goldfinger songs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Further Questioning: Why do I have so many Goldfinger songs on my computer?</span><br /></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-27836610829906877192008-12-31T09:02:00.003-06:002008-12-31T09:04:51.995-06:00On the road again<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Hitting the road again today, this time to Iowa. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">But quickly before I go, I learned yesterday that one of my aunts now has the best address ever.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">She lives on Prince Valiant Dr. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I shared this with Tara, who informed me that one of her old friends now lives on Gobbler's Knob Rd. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Happy New Year, everybody. May your 2009 bring as much joy as those two things brought this apartment.</span><br /></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-73099969724801498482008-12-29T10:16:00.003-06:002008-12-29T10:16:01.338-06:0085 percent of my love<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Still doing things Texas style. Rebecca and I head back to Chicago this afternoon where we'll enjoy a one-day respite before hitting the road again, this time to Iowa to see the other half of her family. It's like we're home, but WE JUST CAN'T STOP TRAVELING.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I did, and now I'd like to talk briefly about Chuck Klosterman.<br /><br />Rebecca's mom remembered that I had put his book <span style="font-style: italic;">Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story </span>on my list for <span style="font-style: italic;">last </span>year but didn't receive it. I then, for whatever reason, completely failed to read it in the entire following year. This made it a lovely surprise come present-opening time.<br /><br />(I also received some very sharp knives that will definitely not make it on the plane. They will be have to be mailed.)<br /><br />Anyway, I've had some time to read quite a bit of it over the last two days. It's Klosterman being Klosterman - incredibly analytical and surprisingly self-absorbed about subjects that normally require neither of those things. Really good if you enjoy him.<br /><br />My only beef with the book, and really the thing that I've thought the most about so far, is the blurb on the back cover. From author Bret Easton Ellis, it reads as follows:<br /><br />"I can't think of a more sheerly likeable writer than Chuck Klosterman and his old-fashioned, all American voice: big-hearted and direct, bright and unironic, optimistic and amiable, self-deprecating and reassuring - what a captivating lack of fuss or pretension."<br /><br />This quote makes me seriously doubt whether Mr. Ellis and I have been reading the same author at all. Of the 13 descriptive terms used in that blurb, I see merit in exactly four.<br /><br />I consider the following to be possible explanations:<br />a) Mr. Ellis made this quote ironically.<br />b) Mr. Klosterman used this quote ironically.<br />c) The publisher liked it.<br /><br />I'm leaning toward option c at this point. Options a and b are unlikely because there is a small kernel of truth in the quote, or at least 4/13s of one. <br /><br />The final option is that everyone is being sincere and it's actually intended to be 85% of an ironic back cover blurb.<br /><br />And really, the entire purpose of writing this was to get to that last sentence because it was so clever of me to think of it. You're welcome, Internet.<br /></span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-44638090346456699662008-12-23T17:32:00.001-06:002008-12-23T17:34:18.894-06:00Deep in the heart<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >I'm down in Texas for a week with Rebecca and part of her family.<br /><br />It got up to 50 degrees today, with promises of 70 in the next couple days. This is a nice break from freezing Chicago where on Sunday it was quite literally colder than the North Pole.<br /><br />This just in: People in Texas are really quite fond of Texas.<br /></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-22613736698312011632008-12-18T15:03:00.003-06:002008-12-18T15:09:09.950-06:00Saga of the lamp, continued<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Those of you who were reading this blog around this time last year might remember the <a href="http://timmytapeworm.blogspot.com/2007/11/saga-of-lamp.html">Saga of the Lamp</a>, wherein some maids broke my cool lamp and, instead of reimbursing me for it, just bought me a new lamp.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />This is an update to the Saga.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />I have broken that lamp.<br /><br />I was wearing some big clunky shoes and standing at my desk, then just took an innocent little step backwards. It was enough to catch the bottom part of my nightstand and send the entire contents crashing to the floor. Needless to say, the frosted glass was not made to withstand such an impact.<br /><br />So we bid farewell to yet another lamp. I have purchased another one from Target and you may notice that it is much less breakable. I intend to stop this curse in its tracks.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQY1WeUr6fjCEO3UtVSWz332Nd7saTnMRulyOQRRhgqNK3I53BOmgcJLzWmQJW7CE0lrjEDPB0phxqm_JDAca_LKod2FVq3ZrtP5n5uEt7y43e4sm95zx2cnvWfe89wDCDgwUm/s1600-h/100_1054.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQY1WeUr6fjCEO3UtVSWz332Nd7saTnMRulyOQRRhgqNK3I53BOmgcJLzWmQJW7CE0lrjEDPB0phxqm_JDAca_LKod2FVq3ZrtP5n5uEt7y43e4sm95zx2cnvWfe89wDCDgwUm/s320/100_1054.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281239842093190146" border="0" /></a>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-65497382206489127242008-12-17T16:56:00.002-06:002008-12-17T17:03:06.307-06:00It's really tracking well<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I'm getting used to some of the changes that have happened around here while I was gone. The new CTA Bus Tracker was just getting off the ground as I was leaving and since I primarily used the El back then, I really had no use for it. Now that my destinations are slightly more varied, I've enjoyed trying it out. <br /><br />Basically, through any computer or "web-enabled mobile device," you enter where you are and which way you're headed and they'll tell you when the next bus will be along. It only works for certain bus lines currently, probably because putting that information up for the 22 Clark bus would involve a branch of hyper-mathematics that hasn't been invented yet.<br /><br />The upside of this is that when it's really cold in Chicago (i.e. now until late April), you can use the Bus Tracker to time your departure to spend as little time in the cold as possible. I tried it the other day as I was headed to the 8 Halsted bus.<br /><br />Initial verdict: It has completely revolutionized the way I barely miss buses. <br /></span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-39699948565842382892008-12-16T14:46:00.003-06:002008-12-16T14:58:58.763-06:00Home again<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">It should come as a surprise to very few that I seriously neglected this blog in the waning days of our contract and the subsequent return home. For anyone who has followed the writings contained herein for any length of time, it is a pattern that should be considered </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">inevitable</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Now that I'm back and settled in, I shall endeavor to be more faithful in writing. This too, is part of the aforementioned pattern.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I fear that my life currently will yield very little in terms of exciting updates. I am unemployed and still trying to figure out where groceries come from. The most exciting thing happening at the moment is the fact that it is snowing quite heavily outside. See? </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: trebuchet ms;">Fascinating</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So if I occasionally dip back into the archives and bring up a photo from our overseas adventures to discuss, you'll have to forgive me for the lack of continuity. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">But to start things off, it's nice to be home. Below is a clip of a band I just discovered. I love that I live in a country where this is a valid aesthetic choice for a musical group. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The fact that they recently opened for Electric Six should surprise no one.</span></span><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dhgjEObtrWE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dhgjEObtrWE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-7881061578265179812008-12-10T21:25:00.000-06:002008-12-10T21:26:48.327-06:00Coming home<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Republished from <a href="http://secondcity.com/?id=touring/ncl/jade/journal">The Jade Journal</a><br /><br />The funny thing about finally going home after four months at sea is how everything is pretty much how you left it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Sure, some things are different. There's a new president-elect. There are two new haircutting places within a block of your apartment. And instead of parking meters on Clark Street, there's some sort of new-fangled electronic parking box. (How long were you gone? Is this what the future looks like?)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">But most things are pretty much the same. Your room looks like you remember and you still hear sirens go by with unsettling frequency. The #9 at Jimmy Johns still tastes great. The guy at the dry cleaners downstairs is still very friendly, despite the fact that you are both uncomfortably unsure of each others' names.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">It's just weird to think that you've had all of these amazing experiences jam-packed into four months while the vast majority of people were going about their normal routines. And you wish you could explain it in some way, any way that makes sense and doesn't take four hours and hundreds of pictures.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">But you can't. And that's okay. Because the only thing that's really changed around here is you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">And I guess that's the point.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(Thanks to my fellow castmates, especially Jessica for starting this blog and encouraging us to write. And to everyone at Second City for this amazing opportunity. And most definitely to Rebecca for not killing me despite four months of too-close quarters and too-violent video games.)</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-64761920577715452562008-11-07T05:34:00.001-06:002008-11-07T05:35:26.460-06:00For example, today is Istanbul Day. That's the most I know.<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Republished from <a href="http://secondcity.com/?id=touring/ncl/jade/journal">The Jade Journal</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The funny thing about renting DVDs from the crew store is that you have absolutely no idea when they’re due back. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Let me explain – on the ship, there is a great crew welfare department that is responsible for, well, crew welfare. The crew welfare people do many things to keep crew members happy, healthy and drunk. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">They organize crew excursions to Cairo and other cool places, which is nice because it’s absolutely essential to have an armed security guard travel with you to Cairo and they’re so expensive to hire for just a few people. Better to have 40 crew members and one guard. You know, spread the cost around.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">They throw parties in the crew bar and give away free beer for just about any reason imaginable. Most frequently, they’re for some country’s Independence Day although these seem to happen with suspicious frequency. In fact, in the three months I’ve been on the ship, I think we’ve celebrated India’s twice.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">And of course, they run the crew store. This is where you can stock up on essentials – toothpaste, deodorant, dried mango slices and strange foreign juices…anything you need to make you feel at home, regardless of what country you’re from. This is also where you can rent DVDs, which brings me back to the problem.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">It’s not that they don’t tell you how long you can keep the DVDs. They do: 3 days for a movie, 7 for a TV series. It’s just that these terms, and really, time itself, hold relatively little meaning in this environment. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Most of the time we have absolutely no idea what day it is. We know we tip our room stewards on Sunday and get paid on Wednesday, but often even those pass us by without fanfare or notice. (Sorry Juana!) The only way we mark time is knowing if we have a show tonight and what port we happen to be in. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So telling me this DVD set of Battlestar Galactica: Season Three is due back next Thursday does me no good. We might as well be using a Mayan calendar and saying it’s due back next Quetzalcoatl, so could you just print me out a reminder card? Thanks.</span><br /><br /></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-60850523315325464712008-10-21T18:06:00.000-05:002008-10-21T18:07:33.237-05:00Public bathing in foreign lands<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Republished from <a href="http://secondcity.com/?id=touring/ncl/jade/journal">The Jade Journal</a><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The funny thing about Turkish baths is how decidedly non-bath-centric they are.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">This is not to imply that they are not cleansing. Indeed, afterwards I felt as though my very soul had been purified. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">But they don’t involve public bathing so much as sweating and steam and burly men with mustaches rubbing you down and anointing you with oil. And yes – let’s address this, as it’s bound to come up eventually – that sounds pretty gay.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">But it’s not. It’s awesome. Which is not to say that gay stuff can’t be awesome but I just don’t have time to get into the transitive property right now.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Here’s what happens – you change out of your clothes and into a little towel thing and head into the main room. This is a large open room with a circular marble slab in the middle and bathing stations around the outside of the circle. The slab is somehow heated to a really high temperature (Possibly magic?). Everything is silent and still. Unless there is a noise, in which case it reverberates around the room for the next five minutes. It is here, as you’re laying on the marble slab and beginning to heavily perspire while the Muslim call to prayer softly echoes outside and you don’t quite know what happens next, that you really start to wonder what your life is right now and how you came to be in it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Then all such thoughts are swept from your mind as the burly men with mustaches arrive and soapsuds come out of nowhere and suddenly you are getting roughly exfoliated by a dude. After you come to terms with this, it is a relatively peaceful experience until they douse you with cold water and demand a tip. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Then, if you sprang for the luxury treatment, you are taken into another room, placed on a massage table, and told to relax while another burly man plays “Find the Knots of Tension and Make Them Explode!” After a lot of this, some scented oils and some stereotypical massage karate chopping, he also demands a tip. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">If you want, you can go hang out on the slab some more and think about your life, but at that point I was tired and really wanted a gyro. So I got one. And it was the most relaxed I’ve ever been while eating a gyro.</span><br /></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-20630816104728646462008-10-21T18:03:00.000-05:002008-10-21T18:04:09.053-05:00It's Rebecca's nightmare!<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rttaDMsclCzhwJOI997aUw"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SP5fm4RyU-I/AAAAAAAAE4Y/R8spK5TJtzE/s400/100_2724.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/MykonosIII161008">Mykonos III 16.10.08</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Check out this huge bird in Mykonos! Ha ha! Awesome!</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-58168808066568713492008-10-21T17:59:00.000-05:002008-10-21T18:00:52.290-05:00International flavour<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tMb5B_gUfD0Ej_UoA6Lp5w"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SPRPmegX0HI/AAAAAAAAE0s/EZ0XCeOhpmQ/s400/100_2673.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/MykonosII101008">Mykonos II 10.10.08</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">One of the interesting things about being overseas is all the fantastically interesting flavors of things we come across. Or should I say flavours. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Chips, mostly. Oregano, paprika, hot dog, ketchup - they really go for flavours beyond the normal stuff we're used to.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Which is why we were so excited to try this banana-flavoured cola that Cody had been telling us about. That excitement dissipated with the first grimace-inducing sip, but we were still delighted by the yellow monkey spokesman.</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-62113681274563909682008-10-21T17:57:00.000-05:002008-10-21T17:59:02.303-05:00Jerry! You infidel!<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nhXK-i0_hZ4TE5-Kjhj8Kg"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SPRLzY6V8II/AAAAAAAAEfU/Ag_kVzGR6RI/s400/100_2481.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/CairoEgypt2627090802">Cairo, Egypt 26&27.09.08</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I don't know why seeing Seinfeld on Cairo TV with Arabic subtitles delighted me so, but it did.</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-817888014716863612008-10-21T17:54:00.001-05:002008-10-21T17:57:34.919-05:00Non-Greek heritage<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/EWY44mjnJoOrsp89wtwMmg"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SPRNUbGuNCI/AAAAAAAAEvQ/3kMfIpx9i5M/s400/100_2628.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/AthensII011008">Athens II 01.10.08</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">We were fortunate enough to enjoy the company of my parents last cruise. Here's my mom and I on Mars Hill (which has at least two other names, thanks to the many cultures who have laid claim to it at one point or another). It's believed to be the rock from which the apostle Paul preached to the Athenians. I think having a picture taken there got her extra credit in Bible study.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">When my dad got off the shuttle from the airport, he looked like death. He was sick before he left and traveling overseas, compounded with crazy jet lag, doesn't make for a quick recovery. He spent the first few days in bed, but recovered enough to watch the first show from the front row. And then the next four from the same spot. With my mom. True to form, they liked everything but liked Rebecca and I doing our synchronized swimming act the best.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">It's nice to have parents who support what you're doing and come to your shows. Hopefully they won't have to come halfway around the world to see the next one.</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-66112713718710795922008-10-05T10:27:00.003-05:002008-10-14T04:20:43.899-05:00It would be impolite not to<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OySotPwnND3UchyJB7mCug"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SNPUZWg0WkI/AAAAAAAAEKQ/vm3t18XSM1c/s400/100_2357.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/IstanbulTurkeyI180908">Istanbul, Turkey I 18.09.08</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">When in Istanbul, it's customary to consume Turkish beer and Turkish hookah.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">My friend Matt Mages said of this picture, "</span></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" class="story_comment_quote" ><span class="story_comment_back_quote">This photo pretty much sums up how I always expected your engagement to look."</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I like that.</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-52211941242771028202008-10-05T10:15:00.002-05:002008-10-14T03:18:07.627-05:00He's really great<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J_lpPvBet5u1fdELGlaK-A"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SPRPVfuDEuI/AAAAAAAAExY/wz4mR8Ny-2Q/s400/100_2647.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/CorfuGreece03100802">Corfu, Greece 03.10.08</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We found this guy sitting on a street in Corfu, Greece. Rebecca pretended to take a picture of me but really just took one of him. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I wish we spoke the same language so he could tell me everything about his life. I'm not sure, but I think I may want to be him when I grow up.</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-14575142405251681222008-10-05T10:10:00.001-05:002008-10-14T03:20:14.785-05:00It makes sense<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pe4zMEyVOEA0epsCM3avww"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SPRNN_VgtNI/AAAAAAAAEuE/4Rq7H-2eMG8/s400/DSCN2022_2.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/JumpinFromJesse02">Jumpin' From Jesse</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Because when you're in front of the pyramids and the sphinx, the first thought that should come to your mind is, "Let's pretend like we're in High School Musical."</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-88131856530435027502008-10-05T10:03:00.002-05:002008-10-05T10:12:06.768-05:00Remarkably accurate<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/eIpNe2rVBT8goggud_TbMQ"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SNPTxLw5phI/AAAAAAAAEDI/k8YTUdnhhZQ/s400/100_2299.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-size: 11px; text-align: right; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/IstanbulTurkeyI180908">Istanbul, Turkey I 18.09.08</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I promised I'd find my rabbit-foretold fortune, so here are both Rebecca's and mine, reprinted verbatim. Straight from the rabbit's mouth.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Rebecca's bunny fortune:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">47. dont think about the person on your mind to much..dont stop to prayer your god..you will have so much money from the lottery..</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">My bunny fortune:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">41. you couldnt get your wishes until now..you found bad things after you made good things..you couldnt find your way..but dont give up..if your heart clean you will make everthing you want to do..you will find your labour's responce.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I find them both pretty encouraging. Thanks, rabbits!</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-29039905430162394562008-09-29T10:51:00.003-05:002008-10-14T03:23:49.481-05:00They also spit sometimes<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-tK5PqU5lXDQHGZ9pWKgyw"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SPRMuUsGMVI/AAAAAAAAErE/laUmwxzL_Sc/s400/100_2596.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/CairoEgypt2627090802">Cairo, Egypt 26&27.09.08</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />The funny thing about riding a camel are the takeoffs and landings. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I take that back. Those are the hardest things.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The funny thing about it is that everyone in the general vicinity REALLY WANTS YOU TO RIDE A CAMEL AND THEIRS IS THE BEST CAMEL AND GREAT DEAL MY FRIEND MY FRIEND YOU WANT CAMEL RIDE MY FRIEND?!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I take that back as well. That is the annoying thing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The funny thing about riding a camel is the camel. They are inherently hilarious creatures. With their long, flexible necks and their expressions that kind of look like they're smiling and kind of look like they're exasperated. And their humps! Come on! They are a creature with humps!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">They truly are ridiculous creatures. I am convinced God created them to give nomads something to laugh about while traversing the desert. Because face it, there isn't much else out there to make the nomads chuckle. And if there's anything I know about long trips across the Sahara, it's that you've got to keep your sense of humor.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">But seriously, the takeoffs and landings are hard. Are there more camel-specific terms I should be using to refer to when the camel stands up with you on its back and then sits down again? If there are, I don't know them. All I know is that camels have four legs and they can only fully extend two at a time from a seated position, so you better lean the heck back if you don't want to take a tumble.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Also, don't let the camel man take you too far away from the pyramids. He may call you his friend, but he can quickly become your friend who needs another ten dollars if you want to make the return trip.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Finally, don't drink the water in Cairo. Yikes.<br /><br /><br />(This is a duplicate of my blog posting over at <a href="http://secondcity.com/?id=touring/ncl/jade/journal">The Jade Journal</a>, a blog from myself and the rest of my castmates on the ship. Check it out!)<br /></span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-90857646288487549362008-09-24T05:02:00.002-05:002008-09-24T05:10:22.566-05:00They just know<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_FFgQKAnyt6BbZIbp04zwQ"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SNPTyCZOfJI/AAAAAAAAEDQ/EdofQr3GjpI/s400/100_2300.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/IstanbulTurkeyI180908">Istanbul, Turkey I 18.09.08</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">In Istanbul, they have fortune-telling rabbits.<br /><br />This is not something I expected to see on my travels but am nonetheless pleasantly surprised.<br /><br />This nice man will charge you 2 lira and then hold a wooden block with several small pieces of paper sticking out of it in front of one of the rabbits. The rabbit then picks up one of the pieces and deposits it in the man's hand. This is your fortune, chosen and foretold by a rabbit.<br /><br />It then says, in very broken English, things like "You should not prayer to your God" and "You will win much money in the lottery." I'll look up my actual one and post it later. But I feel pretty good about what the rabbit foretold.<br /><br />P.S. Hi from a bowling alley in Iraklion on the island of Crete. Again, it doesn't make much sense to me either, but they have free wi-fi, cheap bowling and good milkshakes. Feels a little like home.<br /><br />P.P.S. Coming up next, pyramids!<br /></span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-47493091725431803782008-08-30T16:46:00.001-05:002008-08-30T16:49:24.123-05:00International diplomacy<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/LisboaPortugal200808/photo#5236955137213818178"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SK1m82JJZUI/AAAAAAAABus/JxplRyQbcHM/s400/100_1244.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In Lisbon, they make the best breakfast pastries imaginable. We hop on a train every time we're there and go to a different district just for these puppies. We also eat lunch at the same chicken place every time - Conjardim. They make the best chicken in the world. We also enjoy their Vino Verde - green wine. Not really green, it's a really light, sweet and refreshing white wine that is relatively inexpensive.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Lisbon, you are winning.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Rebecca and I taught a workshop today called Klass Klowns - Improv for Kids. Actually, they don't spell those words with K's, but they should. We had about 8 kids turn out for the workshop.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Half spoke no English. This presented a problem.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Fortunately, it turns out that Zip Zap Zop and Pass the Clap are universal. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Thank goodness for silly improv warmups. We should teach them to our ambassadors.</span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125146.post-23642460032787860632008-08-30T16:40:00.002-05:002008-08-30T16:47:35.748-05:00A mystery no longer<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/Stonehenge82008/photo#5238397885356970178"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SLKHH1zcEMI/AAAAAAAAB7E/PVev_xaBncg/s400/100_1035.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So I solved Stonehenge. Turns out, it wasn't that hard. The way I see it, about 4000 years ago, some tribesmen were like, "You know what will be really big in the future? Tourism. Let's put up some rocks for people to puzzle over."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Case closed.<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/timothyryder/Stonehenge82008/photo#5238398083449424562"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/timothyryder/SLKHTXwXCrI/AAAAAAAAB8s/k09NqZQtdgU/s400/100_1048.jpg" /></a><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One of the best attractions at the amusement park that is Stonehenge was this guy, an actual druid named, no joke, Arthur Pendragon. Apparently he's mad about some promises the English government made about taking the fence around Stonehenge down. They haven't done it, so he's out there every day in protest. Hence the tan and leathery skin.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I taped Nick interviewing him because he hoped he'd be crazy and hilarious. Sadly, he was quite normal and well-spoken. Just really passionate about this issue, I guess. The funniest thing about him was watching him use his cell phone.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Or as the Brits call it, his mobile. I guess it's okay for druids to use them now?<br /></span></span>Timmy Tapewormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06380964417405159740noreply@blogger.com1