Vroom!

I am not a car guy, so I am probably not the best person to report on an autoshow. However, since I roomed with two industrial designers in college, I felt obliged to attend Geneva’s huge spectacle this year (especially having been to Detroit’s while in school). Here then, some stray observations from Geneva's International Motor Show (held from March 6-16th at the city’s expo center, literally a 5 minute walk from my apartment):



• There are lots of people who have more money than I ever will

• Detroit had more impressive showfloors (though that was 5 years ago...)

• Eco-friendly is the way to be! (At least in Europe – almost all major automakers were displaying some form of alternative energy or hybrid vehicle)







• These folks know their audience: tiny cars abound while SUVs, trucks and other American monsters are few and far between.





• Props to Mini and Mercedes for providing free water (it was hot in that giant expo center)

• Haha, yeah right, Toyota:



• However good an idea supergraphics seem, if they completely take away from the beauty of your vehicles, it’s probably best not to plaster them on EVERY SINGLE ONE of your cars at the show (BMW)





• If you’ve ever dreamed of sitting in a stationary car while rotating on a showroom platform, this is the event for you

• Today’s designers must really like HotWheels. I can’t think of any practical use for any of the following features:










{this last one is the much-publicized fully aquatic car}

• Is it ironic that Ford (an American company) centers a lot of their space around soccer (included foosball for the kids)?



• Most spokesmodels wore either stylized labcoats or 60s-style retro-future fashions. Smart is obviously going for the hipster crowd (complete with lapel buttons) and Mini an even more accessible audience (just tees and scarves on their reps):





• This car is ridiculously badass:







• I’m really glad it’s over so I can take the bus again without having to cram in like a sardine.

Band of Horses in Lausanne

On Friday night I joined friends Chris and Sue and their friends Alec and Danielle in Lausanne to check out Band of Horses at Le Romandie (the cool little hole-in-the-wall venue where I saw that National last fall). For the uninitiated, BoH make music ripe with electric guitar soundscapes, southern-fried sensibility and vocals that soar above the din. To be honest, I was on the fence about the group — the Southern rock thing isn’t overpowering but it’s not my genre of choice, and on record I find a lot of the songs blend together (which really makes no sense since I really like the in-many-ways-similar group Rogue Wave).

The live show, then, was make-or-break for me, and I’m pleased to say I was won over. The songs became more distinctive and more energetic than in studio and the musicianship was quite impressive. I’m a Collective Soul fan, so I can appreciate a 3-guitar sonic assault (which is certainly the only thing those two bands have in common).

There were two opening acts (including a solo set by BoH guitarist Tyler Ramsey) which weren’t bad, but definitely fell into the “beard rock” subgenre. It’s right up there with wolf shirts, which incidentally came up in the evening’s conversation. (Aaaaannnnd, I’ve lost all of my parents’ friends if they even made it this far).

Unfortunately we had to book it at around 12:30 to catch the last train back to Geneva, missing the encore. We did, however, get to hear most of the songs we wanted to including “The First Song,” “Great Salt Lake,” “Is There A Ghost,” and their ‘biggest’ song, “The Funeral” which was fantastic in person.

A few pics (featuring a few too many beards):

Friday Night’s Alright for Curling?

Last weekend I joined the YAGs group for an evening of curling — that’s right, the Scottish “sport” the Canadians made famous (at least from my North American perspective). I won’t lie and say that I went for anything other than the novelty, but it did make for quite a fun time.

If you haven’t caught this strange-looking event during the past couple winter Olympics, here’s the basic idea: there are two teams of four that compete against each other in something that’s a bit like bocce ball on ice. Each person wears a pair of special shoes, one slippery and one with traction, to move about on the ice. A “rock” or “stone” is slid out of a starting block and glides down the court, hopefully ending up in the concentric circles designating the scoring area. If it appears the stone will be short, teammates can rapidly scrub the ice in front of it with brooms to ideally give it some more distance. Scoring is based on the team closest to the center of the scoring area.

I had a bit of a rough go at my first couple attempts, but made up for it with a shot that our instructor said was pretty much the perfect curl (bypassed the other team’s guard stone and ended up close to the center). Anyway, enough boring writing. Here are some photos:


The instructor using a magnet board to explain the rules


Ollie, mid-curl


Darryl and I get swept up in the action (photo by Andrea Otte)


Stones


Me in action


The red stone in the foreground was my “perfect” shot.


weekend warrior

US Economy + Swiss Standard of Living = Suck

It’s been a little while since I’ve actually described living in Geneva and Europe in general. These posts have more or less turned into a travelogue, which may be appropriate but isn’t entirely what I set out to do with this journal. Hopefully from time to time over my last 4 months or so here I’ll be able to do some more reflection on day-to-day life. Here’s one example.


{No actual dollars were harmed/defaced in the creation of this “graphic”}

I’ve complained before about how expensive Switzerland (and Geneva in particular is), but things have gotten a whole lot more ridiculous over the last few months. Yes, in the international economy the US Dollar has been hitting some all-time lows – especially versus the Euro and British Pound. When I arrived one dollar bought you 1.25 Swiss Francs. Now one dollar buys 1.02 Swiss Francs.

That’s almost parity, folks.

What this means is that this weekend when I went to McDonald’s (no, I’m not proud of it, but their beef quality standards are much higher here than at home) which is basically the cheapest food option in the city, it cost me about 3 times as much as home. Here’s the receipt as proof:

14.70 CHF = $14.40 US

If I’m not mistaken, this same meal (a Big ’N’ Tasty Extra Value Meal) costs somewhere between 4 to 5 bucks stateside. That is quite a mark-up.

I am reminded of this great SNL skit from a few years back. At the time it was funny and a bit quaint. Now, it’s a much bitterer pill to swallow.

Ski Trip

A couple weekends ago, I finally made it to the slopes this winter for a bit of skiing. The YAGs winter retreat was held at Sam and Michelle’s house in Peillonex, France, this year rather than a random lodge situation like last. We had a really good turnout this time — I think something like 35-40 young adults. Of course, with the transient nature of YAGs and Geneva in general, it was a much different group than last year including a lot of people I hadn’t even met before. However, when I think about last year, it was pretty much the same situation since I had only been to a handful of group events before the retreat. So although I may have had a bit of premature nostalgia for good ol’ 2007, I had a great time nonetheless.

Saturday was the day for skiing which we did in Samoëns at a series of mountains called le Grand Massif. Unlike last year’s half-day whiteout, this time around we had clear skies and sun and a full day on the slopes. Only the last run was a bit rough with some slush accumulating. There were enough skiers this year to break into groups based on experience level, so for once, I didn’t feel like I was holding anyone back (due to my somewhat overly cautious pace). I basically stayed with my friends Chris and Sue (who I was in a bible study with last year but haven’t had a chance to see much of lately) which was a lot of fun. Couldn’t have asked for a nicer time.


Erkki consults the map


Alps


Faux-hero shot


Sue and Chris momentarily breaking from snowboarding




Getting my squint on

Ohioans and Texans: VOTE TODAY!

Even though it’s been awhile since I’ve been home, I’m pretty sure that everyone back there has been inundated with election propaganda over the past few months. The US election has its own special coverage on CNN International which has helped me keep up to date (along with reading the International Herald Tribune, checking various websites and watching Saturday Night Live – okay, that last one is a bit of a joke).

Anyway, in case someone out there reading this has been under a rock, today is the day Ohio! Go vote in the primaries! Vote Obama! Or at least vote for someone... The democratic process only works if we take part in it. A reminder: you are legally allowed to vote if you are in line at your polling location before 7:30pm, even if you can’t get inside by then. If anyone tries to turn you away they are violating your rights.

vote! VOTE! VOTE!

Amsterdam, the Netherlands Part 3: Enkhuizen

Okay, so I suppose the title on this is slightly misleading since Enkhuizen’s actually a town in and of itself and not part of Amsterdam. Regardless, it was part of the same trip, thus it receives the same heading.

On Sunday we decided it might be nice to see something a bit outside the city and on a tip from Kara’s Dutch neighbors we decided on Enkhuizen, a harbor town about an hour’s train ride from Amsterdam. The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to see slightly smaller-scale village. The harbor was pretty cool and reminded me a bit of Mystic Seaport or something of that nature. Surprisingly enough, the town itself actually reminded me a bit of Old Town Pickerington and all the various other restored “historic” villages throughout my region of Ohio (and I’m guessing throughout the US). At any rate, it was a refreshing way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Here are some photos: