As it turns out, the details of my work and life--in that order--here in Sofia now force me to leave.
For Greece.
For the weekend.
I know, I know. It's like torture, but I'll do my part for the company.

I'll be posting pics of Theso...ThessoMcNally...Teslamadaddy...Thesamoquaddy.
Thes-sa-lo-ni-ki!

I like the pharmacy situation here, in the fact that you can't sneeze without hitting your head on one.
Anything you're looking for, shampoo, gum, contact lens cleaner, razor blades, oh, and medicine, you'll find there.
The meds are great, and you get an excellent series of verbal instructions from the pharmacist on medicine dosage.
Anyway, one nearby my house (there are five within a five minute walk) sells deodorant, Gilette, to be specific. Mine had run out--as I'm sure you were curious about such things--and the cold shower situation here made this a critical purchase, ranking up there with beer and...beer, which is sadly not sold at pharmacies.
So I asked for some Wild Rain gel from the incurably sweet pharmacist, who took it, rang it up, then opened the top, peeled off the 'safety foil,' then proceeded to tell me how to operate the deodorant. This was not just how to twist the cogwheel contraption to force the gel out of the top, but where I should place it, and the best time to implement deodorant (in the morning, after you shower).
I was absolutely stunned. So I said, "Thank you." Then left.
Now that's service.
I think.

So yesterday was Nyama Den. This is our slang for the First Day of Suffering--the beginning of the end of hot water in our Sofia neighborhood for an indeterminate time (like a week or two).
However, I've purchased an Typhoon Class Water Heater--remembering Nyama Dni from last year--so no cold shower week for me! It's kinda like cheating, I guess, but these are unkind weeks, especially since it hasn't warmed up as much as last year this time.

Well, this month tops last month as far as visits go. Unreal. Probably thanks to Danica (who brought me a gift after the wrap: a bottle of Jamesons; what a gal!).

I also got ranked at Blogstreet as--get ready--2246th amongst a field of 143662! I'm gunning for Roger now. It might be a tough fight, since he had as many visits in one months as I did through the last 11 and is immensely popular and has a cool hat, but I think I'll pull it off.

On a bright note, let me note that I am ranked higher than Angie (she comes in at a dishonorable 4882).

On a surreal note, I also made the Top 500 "Most Influential," topping the ACLU at 494th, although that's technically not a blog.

Both my accountants used to play softball in Blagoevgrad when they were younger. They had a small baseball league as well, if I recall--probably due to the proximity to the American University there.
I noted that there was an article in the Sofia Echo a couple weeks ago about some Americans who were starting a Little League for kids here in Bulgaria, called B.A.L.L.
Exerpt:

"Currently BALL is only one step away from becoming registered as an official Bulgarian club but he does not expect any kind of "official" funding. "We are not looking for that," Roussin said. "We are looking to be non-profit and self sufficient raising money through sponsors."
The biggest benefit from registering BALL as an official club is that it would give the Sofia, Blagoevgrad and Dupnitsa [three cities in Bulgaria--jkrank] chapters of the Little League the opportunity to send teams to the European regional championships in Poland and the Little League World Series."

So I got offered a job as a third-base coach yesterday.

More on that later.

So yeah, Pythons vs. Boa actually did pretty darn well, the 'exit polls' were good, although the midget dominatrix didn't 'play' as well as we were hoping. Still, you can't have everything. People are rejoicing in New York and L.A. and Sofia. Nobody called for my head.

And another one of the films that we did back in '02 premiered on RTL--called Post Impact (kinda a Day Before The Day After Tomorrow genre flick)--got a 20 share I hear during Primetime, beating everything else the Germans had to offer in that time slot.
Post-Impact: you know, meteors, ice ages, Dean Cain, crazy post-apocalyptic Berliners.
I wasn't actually--how you say--"featured" in that movie. But I'm glad they were were able to put something together without my oozing charisma flailing about in front of the camera. Yeah.

Apparently, Pythons vs. Boa debuted on the SciFi channel, but I wasn't paying attention.

So far we have confirmation that:
1. David Hewlitt and Jaime Bergman can act (I thought so too).
2. Jkrank, however, can't act.
3. I'm not fat.

Awaiting Angie's review when it re-airs.

UPDATE: Apparently, more and more people started tuning in as time went on. And we got a congrats email from SciFi. It did well.

I've been browsing today, instead of getting my fill of sunshine and fresh air.

Just wanted to mention this blog:

Farm Accident Digest

Had me bustin' up all morning. 20th of this month's entries are especially good.

But, fresh air beckons, so I'm outta here.

I hear one of the families--or maybe many--who had lost son(s) during the 9/11 attacks were heckling Guiliani, blaming their sons' death on his 'incompetence' and 'lies.'

Funny, I thought they died because they either:
1. Went into that burning hell without thought to themselves.
2. Went back into that burning hell without thought to themselves.

They besmirch their sons' own heroism and honor by making Guiliani the cause. And they know better.

Cold comfort, but those who gave their lives are immortalized in my heart--and countless millions of Americans--for their courage. Forgive me: what men would give to be remembered like that!

Guiliani remarked: "I knew that that would happen...I attribute it to the stress and the trauma that they're going through."
At least someone in that chamber had some class.

'...has this report.'

Violin music cued. Slow fade into black and white. Archive footage. A mass of children, rail thin and sickly, all looking plaintively at the camera from behind a fence.

Jews.

Another shot, panning, of Jewish adults behind fence. German guards.

This takes four seconds, approximately. Violin fades into background.

'I was just following orders,' the reporter leads (very well) as if it were the final line in a monologue, not the beginning.

Shot of nameless death camp.

[approximate line of reporter, as I was in shock at this point] 'The Nazi prison guards used this same defense for why they systematically killed their innocent Jewish prisoners.'

Pics of the wrists of a girl, clothing pulled back, showing the number inked into her skin. Possibly one other shot of suffering.

[approx] 'Of course, this is no comparison between the abuses in Iraq with the NAZI treatment [sic] of the Jews. However, the excuses are the same.'

Quicker cuts. Film of Nazi's [marching?]. Banners fluttering in grayscale. [Adolf Hitler?]

Reporter mentions something about the international trials of the NAZI death camp guards, with archive of those proceedings.

CUT TO:

Jungle. [Snare Drums?]

'Flash forward 30 years. Vietnam. Mai-Lai. Colonel William Powell is accused of...'

Television switches off. Remote put back in holder. Continue with elliptical trainer. Best workout I've ever had, at a suprisingly high kph.

Ah...fortunately, they weren't comparing some of the worst atrocities in history with the Abu Gharib affair...after all, he said he wasn't.

Fortunately.

Well, just finished watching the 3-part finale, Starcrossed, of the Justice League on the Cartoon Network, which is huge if you're a certified geek.

Apparently, it hasn't even aired in the US. A shame, because the 2nd part and the 3rd part are as good as the 1st part. And the first part was great.

One word: bittersweet. Frankly, I was a bit surprised it was a cartoon at all.

Hey, it's Americana, and I like it.

Well, the name of the movie is a problem, so I told Steven Furst that my intrepid readers had a few offerings--some of them pretty good--and he asked that they be sent over.

So:
Melanie
Jonathan
Val
Angie
Sam
Eddie
(not you, Mojo, that title's taken)
thanks for the input!
When I discover the result of this totally unofficial contest, I'll see if I can sort out a small prize. I have something in mind.
And yes, we're desperate.