Denver to Taos Random Shuffle

Buttons- Sia (thanks to Kelly)
Endlich Ein Grund Zur Panik- Wir Sind Helden (thanks to Andréa)
L'Amoureuse- Carla Bruni (thanks to MJ)
Amargosa- Otto
No es tan cierto- Juana Molina
Sympathy- Matson Jones (thanks to Jenn)
You're the One- James Pants (thanks to Fred)
Something's Gotta Give- Big Boi & MJB (thanks to Lavert)
Errare Humanum Est- Jorge Ben
Guerreiro- Curumin (thanks to Luiza)
Bittersweet- Big Head Todd (thanks to Silvinha)
Mavovo- Zola
Patins- CSS
Os alquimistas estão chegando- Jorge Ben
Mbdle Mbole Na Yona- Ngoma
Hide & Seek- Imogen Heap

Creationist- Kerli (thanks to Gene)
J'T'emmène Au Vent- Louise Attaque (thanks to MJ)
Get Over It!- Ira Glass (thanks to MJ)
Assim Assimix by DJ You DJ me- Moreno+2
Muito Pouco- Maria Rita
Itsoweezee (Hot)- De La Soul (thanks to Nzingha)
Futuro do País- Planet Hemp (thanks to Sara Towne)
País Tropical/ Spyro Gyro- Jorge Ben
Tribe- Simphiwe Dana
Por isso eu corro demais- Adriana Calcanhotto
Closer to Fine- Indigo Girls
Vambora- Adriana Calcanhotto
Life in Marvelous Times- Mos Def
Adelante- Los Guaraguao (thanks to Jim Finn)

Someday You Will Be Loved- Death Cab For Cutie (thanks to Sara Varon)
Top of the World- Brandy (thanks to Jackie)
Migrate- Mariah Carey (thanks to Jenn)
Supermagic- Mos Def
Hot Thing- Prince (thanks to Eve)
I Thought-Brandy
Down Syndrome- De La Soul
Brother- Jorge Ben
Fire and Rain- James Taylor
Rough Riders- Make Up feat. Mighty Flashlight (thanks to Liz, that bitch)
The Hat- Ingrid Michaelson (thanks to Anneke)
Walt Whitman's Niece- Billy Bragg & Wilco (thanks to Shannon)
Who Is It- Björk
Ich Hab Dich Lieb- Herbert Grönemeyer (thanks to Stefan)
Medicine Girl- The Everybody Fields (thanks to Leah)
I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas
A Postcard to Nina- Jens Lekman (thanks to Anne)

Is it medicine u make me- The Knife (thanks to Giovanna)
Oh Timbaland- Timbaland
Amei Tanto- Ana Martins
Mania de peitão- Seu Jorge
TV a cabo- Otto
Final Hour- Lauryn Hill
Chan Chan- Buena Vista Social Club
Hello Goodbye- Milton Nascimento
Drama Bug- David Sedaris
Eu vou torcer- Fernanda Abreu
Hope There's Someone- Antony & the Johnsons (thanks to Abina)
Comme d'Habitude- Khaled, Faudel, Taha
Vem menina- Curumin
Love Dog- TV on the Radio (thanks to Jenn)
The Mess We're In- PJ Harvey & Thom Yorke (thanks to Red)
Oh My God- Ida Maria (thanks to Whitney)
O ultimo por do sol- Lenine & Marcos Suzano (thanks to Peter)

Narita: My First Hour in Asia

I finally went to Thailand this summer. It was my first time in Asia (not counting Lebanon or Asian Turkey). But there was a stop-over at the Tokyo airport on the way to Bangkok and that was as far as I got in processing my trip to Thailand, an hour at Narita still has me chewing.

These were my first impressions:

The very first thing I saw was actually this display which I assume was about the N1H1 virus and health and safety precautions. It was really pretty more than anything.


Otherwise...


1. They drive on the left side of the road in Japan! Didn't know that.

2. The regular trees look like bonsai trees! Or maybe it's just because we're looking at them from an airplane...



3. Narita seems to be located in the middle of nowhere, kind of like Minneapolis.
4. Japanese people are very sweet and polite.
5. Japan seems to be very down with environmentalism (recycling at least).
6. It's HUMID in Japan (at the airport).



7. Everything is so cute and pretty and expensive!



8. Drinking fountain water and sushi at the airport in Japan taste exactly like drinking fountain water and sushi at the airport in the US!

Otherwise I just tripped out about the toilet and all of its functions and capabilities aiding in discretion.





Deep...

Thailand was delicious. Among other things.

The Redwoods make me think that life is AWESOME!

Mañanitas

I listened to this repeatedly, Zulma's dad singing Las Mañanitas to her. I especially love the vocal embellishments and his parting comment...

Deutsches Essen

(oder, besser gesagt, Das Essen in Deutschland und Umgebung)

Start the day out with a good Frühstuck, my personal favorite....





Afternoon Kaffeetrinken is obligatory...









Abendbrot!


Oder einfach herrliches Abendessen...










This is the only meal I made the whole month in Berlin, for Tesia:





Mannheim Goodness...







And in Würzburg...



Celebration food in Germany is usually awesome. 

Here's a birthday...


Obama's inauguration at the Amerika Haus, featuring German-Caribbean fare...


And Mama Henning's 60th birthday party with Lutoschens devouring some extraordinary Spargelsuppe...



Dutch food has never been my favorite, although one of the best meals I've ever had was an unexpected visit to La Ville in Maastricht. And I do adore hagel sla. I've been hording gaufre for several years, but my first street gaufre was this:


Kinda messy. Kinda embarassing when you're walking around trying to eat it in a dark coat. 

I found this in the street...

And I found this late at night...

I was very tempted by these "Swiss" McDonalds specialties, but I resisted.

Pea soup hit the spot on a cold afternoon.

Belgian food is SO much better than Dutch food, in my experience. I have a hard time making sense of this strange cultural nuance...



But the Czech food I ate on this trip may have taken the cake, albeit lacking in vegetables. Hell, it was Feburary!