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MY BLOG IS TEMPORARILY DOWN! COOL NEW POSTS TO COME! -Sebastian, July 1 Etihad JFK-AUH
As expected, Etihad was spectacular…from the people to the plane to the food to the hospitality. They really know how to make a 12 ˝-hour fly by. Before departure, the purser came through the cabin to greet everyone and ask why they were headed to Abu Dhabi. I mentioned it was my birthday, and around midnight (midnight somewhere), the purser came by my seat to wish me a happy birthday and to hand me a birthday card signed by the cabin and cockpit crew – in their native languages, no less, which included Malay, Arabic, French, Swahili, Filipino, and Romanian…Romanian?? Great food, even if it wasn’t always clear what it was: Great seats, and a fun warning that they might kill you: Posted by Sebastian / June
13, 2009 /
Street art: some random, some commercial
On 18th Street in Chelsea, commercialized graffiti -- it matches the "graffiti" on the windows at next-door Brooklyn Industries shop.
Posted by Sebastian / NYC / June 14, 2009 /
Tehran's Wine-Order Bride With Iran's Florida-style election results top of the news today, I was reminded of a story from Tehran I've been meaning to blog about. Check out this fascinating and humorous account from the New York Times of a family trying to secure booze for a wedding:
Posted by Sebastian / June 13, 2009 /
Manhattan's smallest street The other day I was walking home from Christopher Street Pier and spotted this great sign on the tiny alley that passes for a street one block east of the West Side Highway. Map it The fading and obscured letters read: HISTORICAL NOTE: Weehawken is the smallest street in Manhattan. Help keep the beauty of it. Do not urinate or litter. Funny enough, there was a guy peeing in the street in broad daylight. A interesting place to pee, according to the city landmark preservation commission which explains, "The architecture illustrates the area's long history as a place of dwelling, industry, and commerce, much of it maritime-related, and is a rare surviving example of this once typical development pattern on Manhattan's west side waterfront." There is a neat but long (69 page) report on the Weehawken Street Historic District here. Posted by Sebastian / NYC / June 7, 2009 /
Seen around Manhattan Random shots from this weekend:
Posted by Sebastian / NYC / June 7, 2009 /
Signs of the season There are few things as rejuvenating as a summer weekend in New York. It's hard to imagining living anywhere else on lazy days like these.
Posted by Sebastian / NYC / June 6, 2009 /
Cool destinations Whenever I'm in an airport, I always stop to check out the FIDS -- the flight information displays. Many airports like Istanbul, JFK, Frankfurt, and Vancouver have super cool destinations. You normally associate the exotic locales with big international gateways, but this gem came yesterday in ye olde Fort Lauderdale. Charlotte...Port-au-Prince...Atlanta...Guantánamo...Guantánamo?!
Posted by Sebastian / Florida / Flying / June 3, 2009 /
New York from above There aren't many aerial views better than those you get soon after takeoff from LaGuardia in New York. I took this shot today on JetBlue on my way to Fort Lauderdale, as we headed west, perfectly perpendicular to Manhattan.
Posted by Sebastian / Flying / NYC / June 2, 2009 /
Family time! It was a great weekend here in Maine -- lots of great family time with the 'rents and the nieces and nephews.
Posted by Sebastian / Maine / May 25, 2009 /
Seen around North Haven Random old car shots around town this holiday weekend (North Haveners are obsessed! with old cars):
Posted by Sebastian / Maine / May 25, 2009 /
Swooping into North Haven I've passed through an airport or two in my day, but no transportation hub beats the one in my little town of North Haven. At just 1,000 feet long, this grass strip a dozen miles out to sea is the scariest -- and coolest -- place to land anywhere. Truth be told, even I -- who has taken off and landed here a number of times -- sat there at the end of the strip today, in disbelief that this tiny ribbon of grass can support flight operations.
Posted by Sebastian / Maine / May 25, 2009 /
Happy Memorial Day! North Haven has the neatest Memorial Day celebration. The parade may be tiny and last about two minutes (literally) but then town father David Cooper proceeds to read the names of all veterans since the Revolutionary War and you realize the gravity of the whole affair. It takes forever for David to get through every veteran of every war since 1776 -- including many wars we've never heard of -- but it is a pretty cool ceremony!
If you look closely, you can see Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank in the blue polo shirt and khakis in this shot, roughly at center!
Posted by Sebastian / Maine / May 25, 2009 /
"Outrage"
The film's on-screen "sources," credible names like Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin; Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank; ex-Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe; CNN commentator Hilary Rosen; and ex-HRC head honcho Elizabeth Birch -- plus staffers and ex-lovers of the exposed -- name names. But they certainly don't out simply for the sake of outing. As radio commentator Michelangelo Signorile has so eloquently put it, this film isn't about outing. It's about reporting the truth about people who are gay but who have used their power and privilege to deny rights to gay people. I've never been one to support outing. But there is a limit to personal privacy when your actions -- limiting marriage to straight couples, banning gay adoptions, allowing employment discrimination to persist, and voting against funding for AIDS research and prevention -- are injurious to millions of Americans. "There is a right to privacy, but not a right to hypocrisy," House rainbow-striper Barney Frank succinctly puts it.
The other very shameful theme that rises to the top is the widely-known reality that the GOP excludes its gay members, or those rumored to be gay, from rising to any position of leadership. Gazillion-term Congressman David Dreier, being too "moderate," was cited as one example of this. To be sure, it's their party, and they certainly have a right to run it the way they choose, but to do so at the expense of ordinary Americans is shameful. The mainstream media doesn't have a stellar record, either: "There exists a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy to keep gay and lesbian politicians as closeted as possible," begins the film. The film could have gone on for days naming names. There was no Mark Foley and no Aaron Schock (though, to be fair, the rumored-to-be-gay Illinois congressman just entered office, but he has already voted against expanding hate crimes legislation to include LGBT people). But Outrage is sure to serve an important purpose in bringing anti-gay hypocrisy to the fore, and hopefully a gay politican or two out of the closet. Here's hoping for a sequel. My recommendation: run, don't walk. Posted by Sebastian / Media / Politics / May 9, 2009 /
Summer returns to New York Unbelievable weekend here in New York. 85 degrees in April? I'll take it. Out on the Christopher Street Pier in the West Village, the pier was practically sagging under the weight of all the sunning men. Here's a shot of Jersey City skyline from Hudson River Park (New Jersey actually looks nice from this vantage point).
Posted by Sebastian / New York / April 27, 2009 /
Quotable: Saving the women of Afghanistan The Globe and Mail this weekend had a big spread on the plight of women in Afghanistan, one of the issues constantly cited as justification for the war, and that is back in the news as the country considers legalizing marital rape. The Globe questions the effectiveness of the U.S.-backed democratization push, describing the country -- not unrealistically -- as "a pre-Industrial tribal society where the rule of law is not even a concept, let alone a functioning system." While there's no doubt life under Taliban rule was tough, not everyone is convinced things have gotten better under the Karzai government.
Among the many insightful nuggets the story offers up, I thought this quote -- right or wrong -- was a great one: "How has the war helped women in Afghanistan? It hasn't," Judy Rebick, former head of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, says. Instead, she argues, life is worse for women since the occupation. "Never have women achieved equality by somebody coming in and giving it to them. We can't bomb our way into equality." We can't bomb our way into equality. Something to think about. Posted by Sebastian / Politics / April 20, 2009 /
Nova Scotia in Jamaica Not everyone knows that the Caribbean's largest bank is actually a Canadian bank -- the Bank of Nova Scotia, aka Scotiabank. It was funny juxtaposition to see this photo, from this morning's "hijacking" in Montego Bay, with a plane from a Nova Scotia airline, headed to Halifax, hooked up to a jetway advertising the home province's bank.
Posted by Sebastian / Aviation / Canada / April 20, 2009 /
YVR I've passed through Vancouver International Airport a half a billion times but never really stopped to notice how well "decorated' it is, with cool sculptures, lots of local woods, and calming fountains. That said, the dining options stink, especially if you have a late-night flight. Just about the only thing you can get after 9 p.m. at YVR is an Hermes scarf or a bag of potato chips.
Posted by Sebastian / Aviation / Vancouver / April 20, 2009 /
Vancouver Sun Run: Survived Admittedly, I have made a number of poor choices in my life. Not the least of which was deciding to go through with the running the 25th Vancouver Sun Run after a night enjoying the company of friends on Davie Street. Just kidding -- it wasn't that bad getting up at 8 a.m. after going to bed five hours earlier. I do the Sun Run every year, and it's become my own little tradition. The race is a blast, filled with a crazy energy -- with 55,000 runners, how can it not be? -- and the course traverses some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Although my performance was less than stellar this year (I fell 6 minutes short of my 2008 time), owing to my complete lack of exercise recently, it was still an awesome time. Here are a couple shots, courtesy of The Vancouver Sun. The first shows only a fraction of the runners as the race kicks off at Thurlow and Georgia Streets earlier today. It takes about an hour for everyone to cross the start line (fortunately I was in the front and was let loose within a minute of the race gun going off). The second shows a thinned-out crowd heading down Pacific Street with some great views of English Bay the distance.
Posted by Sebastian / Vancouver / April 19, 2009 /
Real estate round-up Over on North Haven, this Main Street gem, smack down in the center of town, is a mere $395,000. You can't get a studio in Manhattan for that!
Real estate doesn't come cheap over on Mount Desert Island, long the home of Maine's grandest summer homes, but they're a relative bargain compared to some summer towns in other states -- and there are an unbelievable number on the market. Atlantique, a former Astor family place, is on the market for $5.5 million (plus $30,000 a year in taxes). It's also available to rent for a pittance: $50,000 per month this summer. Not a bad price, if you have the right friends to split the cost. You just have to overlook the incredibly questionable decor.
Over on Islesboro, where you can hobnob with residents like Kirstie Alley and John Travolta (not that you would, but you could), the Tiffany Cottage is available for $4.75 million. Like Maine's other island summer colonies, there seems to be a lot up for sale on Islesboro this year. Check out all that frontage!
Onboard Cathay Flew back from Vancouver the other night on Cathay Pacific, the best ride between the YVR and the NYC.
Dinner: Beef massaman curry with steamed rice and Chiang Mai stir-fried vegetables; caesar salad; warm nuts; Vieux Chateau Landon Cru Bourgeois 2005 Medoc. Not bad!
My new "Whistler Weekend" bag from Nood (more on that later) is shown here, plopped down in my AWESOME business class seat. One of these lie-flat suckers, two down duvets, a great meal and a glass (or two) or red wine and it's smooth sleeping all the way across the continent.
Posted by Sebastian / Aviation / Vancouver / March 12, 2009 /
Vancouver overdosing on Starbucks Vancouver is at the cutting edge of many trends, not the least of which is Starbucks proliferation. I've never seen more any place on earth -- and in fact, there may be more Starbucks outlets here, per capita, of any city on the planet. My god, one can even find Starbucks within Starbucks here. There are a couple places in Vancouver where there are dueling Starbucks shops, catty-corner from each, and now there is a block with three Starbucks outlets competing for the city's Lululemon-clad denizens. The block of Robson Street between Denman and Bidwell has the old Starbucks, pictured below; about 20 paces away, on the same side of the street, is a new Starbucks in a new Safeway; across the street a "coming soon" banner adorns latest corner to be conquered by the caffeine.
Posted by Sebastian / Vancouver / March 6, 2009 /
Vancouver Ritz-Carlton dies The economic slump has begun to hit Vancouver's crazed real estate market. The city's flashy new Ritz-Carlton project has been scrapped. While construction was already underway on the $500-million new tower on West Georgia Street, only 62 of the 123 condos (priced at $1.4 million to $28 million) had sold, so developers pulled the plug on the project this week, citing "worldwide economic turmoil."
Posted by Sebastian / Real Estate / Vancouver / February 26, 2009 /
Mile-high dining I was fortunate to be upgraded to business class on my flights to Paris (via Frankfurt) this week on Lufthansa. Here I present you with the many meals I received in-flight! JFK-Frankfurt appetizer: Duet of smoked salmon with mustard dill sauce and apple horseradish. I don't really do fish (and I'm lactose intolerant!), so most of this stayed on my plate. The wine didn't.
JFK-Frankfurt dinner: Swabian Maultaschen with melted onions -- a blob that our flight attendant, Frau Farbissina, sold me on, alleging it's a delicious German specialty. 'Twas not!
JFK-Frankfurt breakfast: Croissant, gouda and monterey jack cheese, turkey breast and ham.
Paris-Frankfurt lunch: I had no idea what was in this meal besides the bread and the cake, which were the only items I ate (besides the red wine). I really love Lufthansa, but they've gone overboard recently introducing German cuisine onboard (last year, I was able to enjoy pad Thai on a JFK-Munich flight). Let's get real people! No one likes German food, except for my dad. Frankfurt - JFK pre-arrival snack (forgot to snap a dinner pic, sorry!): Fried filet of chicken with satay sauce accompanied by egg noodle salad and marinated raw marlin with mango salad.
Posted by Sebastian / Aviation / Europe / February 17, 2009 /
Speed dating in Paris I've had a some funny travel adventures (and many mishaps), but inadvertently taking part in a form of speed dating this weekend in Paris is close to taking the cake for most unbelievable travel tale... Not long after landing from New York the other day, I sauntered into Le Central, a favorite bar in Paris where last year I made friends with the staff. I promptly had a sticker with No 139 slapped onto my sweater. I thought, Qu'est-ce que c'est ca? Fred and Michel, the bartenders, didn't say a word but instead just dropped a special pad of paper in front of me. I figured it out pretty quickly. The paper was printed with a long list of check boxes including:
Fred tending bar, and playing matchmaker:
Posted by Sebastian / Europe / February 17, 2009 /
Seen around Paris Galeries Lafayette, perhaps the most storied of Paris's grands magasins (big department stores).
Hotel de Ville -- Paris City Hall:
A car with boat bumpers in Saint-Germain-des-Prés:
Corner grocery in Le Marais:
La Défense, the soaring high-rise district of Paris, as seen from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.
Posted by Sebastian / Europe / February 17, 2009 /
Signs of the times Dog frustrations, it seems, can be found even here in the small dog capital of the world, where this sign on rue Ste-Croix de la Bretonnerie proclaims: "It's my neighborhood. I pick up after [my crapping dog].": This hilarious sign on the Champs des Mars, where the Eiffel Tower stands, asks people to dispose of their garbage and not pick flowers -- simple enough -- but also requests that people not drink. If you look closely at the drinker's bottle, it has the word "VIN" on it -- French for wine.
Posted by Sebastian / Europe / February 16, 2009 /
The many interpretations of Valentine's Day in Paris There is nothing quite like spending Valentine's Day in the most romantic city on earth with someone you're not sleeping with. But alas, Valentine's in Paris is still fun. Here I present you a few of the sights of St-Valentin à Paris. A fleuriste on the Left Bank, on boulevard des Invalides:
Piping-hot heart-shaped bread steaming the display case at a boulangerie on rue Rivoli in Le Marais:
At Starcooker2 in Le Marais, promoters were giving away 6000 sex toys. Police were on-hand for crowd control! Full story here.
Posted by Sebastian / Europe / February 15, 2009 /
Paris I may endlessly praise the merits of Vancouver, but truth be told, Paris is probably my favorite place on earth. Vancouver wins on setting, but Paris wins on romance. Not only do I get to practice my French here, but I also get to eat my favorite food group -- starch (croissants and baguettes) -- to no end. Twelve years of French lessons have paid off! A highlight of this jaunt to the City of Light was a great lunch today at Georges, the restaurant on top of the wild Centre Pompidou, the French National Museum of Modern Art. Running into a friend from Washington in the galleries afterward (how random) was just as fun...
Posted by Sebastian / Europe / February 16, 2009 /
St. Petersburg
Bogotá-bama I was super bummed to be missing President Obama's inauguration while traveling yesterday, but as it turned out, I didn't miss a beat. You see, I was down in Bogotá and all the airport TVs were tuned to the action in Washington. Nevermind that everything had been dubbed into Spanish...but it was cool nonetheless to watch the Colombian masses transfixed by the ceremony.
Posted by Sebastian / Bogotá / Politics / January 21, 2009 /
Bogotá I am a sucker for a trip to a new city, a new country, or even better, a new continent, so I jumped at the chance to jet down to Bogotá, Colombia's thriving capital city today. My fourth continent! Yay! On approach into El Dorado International:
Cruising over the coast of Jamaica:
Posted by Sebastian / Bogotá / January 20, 2009 /
US Airways 1549 The flawless ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 was truly unbelievable. Like many New Yorkers, I couldn't pass up the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see an Airbus jet bobbing in the (gross) waters of the Hudson River. So a few hours after the crash I joined a geeky group of friends to wander down to Battery Park City. Had that remarkable day not ended so well for the 155 people on board, the temporary resting ground for that A320 surely would have been less of a curiosity.
Posted by Sebastian / Aviation / NYC / January 17, 2009 /
Benoit comes out Like just about everyone who's ever been in his company, I've always had a major crush on Benoit Denizet-Lewis. His new book "American Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life," and his own admissions, first reported in the New York Times, of a fascinating, debilitating sex addiction, have certain circles abuzz. I just picked up the book and can't wait to get started! Posted by Sebastian / Books / January 7, 2009 /
Happy 2009!
Pulpit Harbor, North Haven, Maine | Summer 2008 Throw off the bowlines, ALL THE BEST FOR THE NEW YEAR! Posted by Sebastian / Etceteras / December 31, 2008 /
Songs of the time Like the 175 million other iPod owners around the world, I'm addicted to mine and constantly listening to the latest (or 80s-era) tunes. Of course I won't have ear drums left when I'm 30, but who cares? While one's iTunes library is a very private place, like the contents of one's diary, I always like to go back at the end of the year and reveal my most-played songs. Here they are! Poppy: Posted by Sebastian / Music / Dec. 30, 2008 /
Will winter ruin Vancouver's winter games?! That's the hilarious headline posed by the Canadian Press in today's news: "Thousands of airline passengers stranded. Roads impassable because of snow. Power failures by the dozen. The last two weeks have been a winter weather nightmare for Vancouver, with huge dumps of snow followed by rain, heavy slush and flooding. All over the city, people are griping about the toll storm after storm has taken on their holiday season.But they're asking another question, too: what if it happens during the 2010 Winter Olympics?" Posted by Sebastian / Vancouver / Dec. 29, 2008 /
Dublin It's said that Dublin enchants everyone who visits -- or at least gets them tipsy -- so my friend Chris and I had to check it out! I've long wanted to visit the Emerald Isle, so we shuffled off on Thursday night. In the old days, the great masses packed dingy vessels and endured awful journeys to travel between our shores. These days, not much has changed. But with Aer Lingus the trip is indeed shorter. You're touching down in a mere 5 hours and 25 minutes! We really loved the place; we spent a few lazy days wandering the drab streets, taking in the great weather (50 degrees, I think!), drinking plenty local beer (Guinness, of course) and eating some terrific cuisine (not Irish, thank you very much). Dublin: I'll be back! The not-so-bad meal on Aer Lingus (roasted chicken medallions topped with fresh sauteed mushrooms, accompanied by sugar snap peas, carrots, and roasted potatoes, served with a Marsala sauce):
Crazy-green grass at Trinity College:
Retail institution Brown Thomas on Grafton Street:
A delish pint at the Gravity Bar (with amazing views of Dublin) at the Guinness Storehouse:
Posted by Sebastian / Europe / Dec. 22, 2008 /
The Bahamas I love warm weather, and this weekend checked out the highly touristed New Providence Island in The Bahamas, home of the tiny nation's commercial and government capital, Nassau. Being in Nassau is roughly like being in any American city -- just that it's even more overrun with Americans than your typical U.S. city, kinda like Cancun is. Last Christmas I received a stay at the over-size Atlantis Resort and finally got around to using it. The super-sized resort was a bit like Disney + Vegas on crack. Massive scale, massive crowds, and massive prices. That said, I spent most of my time wandering the streets of Nassau and found a few highlights: Thai Lotus (more than passable food on a quiet back alley), and late nights at Cafe Europa and Flamingo Cigars taking in the tasty local brew, Kalik. The outrageously cool aquarium in the lobby of the Atlantis:
A cool house in downtown Nassau:
Posted by Sebastian / Bahamas / Dec. 15, 2008 /
Santo Domingo This week I was down in Santo Domingo, you know, that Dominican city that tourists don't know much about. Far removed both physically and psychologically from the American-filled beach towns of Puerto Plata and Punta Cana, Santo Domingo is my kind of town. But then again, I'd take a city over a beach any day. Lack of potable water aside, it's a vibrant and beautiful place of heartbreaking contrasts. Bet you didn't know it's the second-biggest city in the Caribbean (although some estimates say it's bigger than Havana). Here are a few snaps from around town: Parque Colón:
Catedral Primada de América - first cathedral in America:
Plazoleta Padre Billini:
La Briciola, a fine restaurant in a really cool setting:
Palacio Consistorial:
Posted by Sebastian / Dominican Republic / Dec. 6, 2008 /
A weekend in Istanbul While most people were celebrating turkey day, I opted to travel to Turkey instead. I just got back from a few days in the city that Wikipedia claims is the world's third largest (city proper, that is) with an unbelievable 11 million people or so (18 million in the metro area). I didn't know what to expect from such a huge metropolis but came away from it having had an incredible time! I'm ready to go back. My friend Brett and I flew Turkish Airlines from JFK on their painless 10 hour nonstop flight...the service in the incredibly PINK cabin was impeccable and the Turkish cuisine the first hints at what I'd experience in Istanbul. A little exciting and a little scary.
Like most European countries, we zipped through customs without so much as a word or a question by the officer. A very spirited stamp in our passport and that was it! We stayed at the Hotel Ibrahim Pasha, a super cute hotel in the Sultanahmet (tres old) section of Istanbul. It was a fabulous location to explore the city's best historic attractions, steps away from the soaring Blue Mosque, the famed Hagia Sophia, the unexpectedly cool Basilica Cistern, and of course the Grand Bazaar, where I spent an entire afternoon haggling for some pretty fabulous Christmas gifts for friends and family. The Bazaar Quarter was a warren of narrow back alleys filled chock-a-block with shops and merchants selling everything under the sun. Everything, it seemed, was for sale in Istanbul. Everything has a price. Jam packed with shoppers and sellers shouting their offers (not good for anyone with a touch of enochlophobia), this was the side of Istanbul one thinks of when picturing the old cities of the Muslim world like Baghdad and Kabul.
On a dreary morning we hopped on a ferry and popped over to the Asian side of Istanbul -- this is, of course, famously the only big city to straddle two continents -- and took in impressive views of the city.
Here you can see the Dolmabahçe Palace, the nerve center of the Ottoman Empire until its collapse in 1923, and the super-modern Levent district behind:
In every direction the minarets of Istanbul's 3,000 mosques could be seen poking through to the heavens. Gorgeous mosques abound!
By the ferry terminal on the city's European side on lazy (and wet) Saturday morning, men and boys lined the shore fishing away the day:
Afterward, we wandered the stalls of the Egyptian Bazaar, also known as the spice market, and took in a feast for the senses. Though it's a tourist trap to an extent, it was also a very colorful place. Take a look at these delights:
On the last day of our trip, we went through no fewer than seven security checks at Ataturk International Airport. It was like a Tel Aviv airport experience! Our eventual departure was well worth the hassles since the takeoff provided the best views of the entire trip. Here in the distance you can see the sprawl of Istanbul and its unrivaled setting. > Istanbul is not all "old," however. I just didn't take a photos of the new parts of town, because I was too busy taking in its amazing restaurants (and local beer). We enjoyed some excellent meals at Cezayir ("new Turkish cuisine") and Asian-fusion Lokal (I was desperate for a taste of the Far East) and happily sat and people watched over locally brewed Efes on the unbelievably crowded Nevizade Sokak. Posted by Sebastian / Europe / Nov. 30, 2008 / PHOTOS |
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I
always like a good adventure to celebrate my birthday, so this year I
decided to go to the Middle East. Truth be told, the decision was driven
less by my interest in the area than in my interest in their airlines.
I’ve been fascinated by
Today I had the distinct pleasure of seeing "
Those among the "named" have been named before, and they're really no surprise: people like airport-loo-toe-tapper Idaho Sen. Larry Craig; chief-of-staff-dater Calif. Rep. David Dreier; frat-boy-lover Louisiana Rep. Jim McCrery; phone-sexer Virginia Rep. Ed Schrock; and in the most egregious and bizarre example, Florida Gov. Charlie "i've-started-dating-a-woman-because-there's-an-election-coming" Crist, whose personal life -- and his record of finding girlfriends just as a campaign or appointment looms -- truly defies any explanation.
