Debbie Downer
(Last night, I am sitting at a café reading a book in English)
Random French Guy: English?
Me: American.
Random French Guy: Shouldn’t you be watching this big game today?
Me: Not really my thing.
Random French Guy: It is very strange there in American today.
Me: Yes, it is.
(Tonight, on the phone with A)
Me: Sorry I couldn’t talk earlier. I shopping at Monoprix and oh man, Monoprix is my new Target. I go in there thinking I’m going to spend 20 bucks and somehow I always end up with a 100 euro bill and a bunch of shit I don’t need.
A: This is why there are a lot of people who want to wage Jihad against Western Civilization.
Me: Because of Monoprix?
A: Totally.
Photo courtesy of the luminous M. Starik, who I doubt is having any of this Hipstamatic bullshit.
The Bear-Garden 
That’s an awesome photo. Almost as awesome as the game that you didn’t watch.
oh please – they have their soccer. remember our first day in berlin when EVERY street corner had the Germany-Turkey match? I still taking a taxi from the airport to my apartment, seeing every window with a German flag, and thinking – this is true – “wow, I thought they would’ve toned down the nationalism by now.” Later I realized it was for football.