Brandon's Blog

A Lighthearted Political Conversation with International Friends

I posted this video on Facebook the other day and it seems to be getting some eager responses. My last night in Brussels last weekend, I found myself listening (and participating, though mostly listening) to a conversation about George Dubya.  Though lighthearted and amiable, people were very eager to share their strong opinions.  If I remember correctly, the conversation went on for a good hour-and-a-half.  The video is my attempt to get the these two very witty individuals, Osama and Fernando, to summarize their thoughts in 60 seconds.  As my Irish friends say, it was good craic.

Bush: Good or Bad? from Brandon Wellcome on Vimeo.

Brussels Trip in Pictures

Arrived back in the States from Brussels last night, unsure if I was more hungry or tired.  (A quick stop at Burgerville for a turkey burger helped me decide.)  Head over to our Flickr gallery for pics.  Also a few pics on Facebook.

Election Day Travel

It was strange enough, flying to Europe from the U.S. on a big election.  Once I began interacting with the Ethiopian psychiatrist on my left and the Danish woman across the aisle from me, it just got downright surreal.

I soon learned that the man next to me was named Germa.  He’d come to the States as a refugee from Ethiopia, via Sudan in 1989, after having worked with the Red Cross in the war-torn, famine-stricken region.  After gaining his American citizenship, he and his American wife, whom he met while working in Sudan, adopted a 7-year old child from Ethiopia two years ago.  Two previous attempts had failed because the children tested positive for HIV.  To my astonishment, he explained that the American Center for Disease Control prohibit HIV positive children from being adopted and brought into the U.S. 

Four Generations

Yesterday, we took Caitlyn to meet her great grandparents who are in their 90's.  It was a special time with extended family.  Given the age of Kristy's grandparents and our current residence in Europe, it may  be the last opportunity for us to spend time with them.  To make things even more exciting, Caitlyn took her first "step" while we were hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.  We can't really say she's "walking" yet, but she'll get there soon.

(Click one of the pictures to see the full gallery.)

Premium Coffee, Seattle Hipsters, & an Enchanting Birthday Dinner

We've had a great weekend in Seattle celebrating my dad's birthday and catching up with some friends in Auburn.  Yesterday, we took my dad deep into Seattle's shopping district for his birthday and, in the end, I was just barely able to drag my wife out, kicking and screaming. =)

Just walking around Seattle on a Saturday proved to be a fresh American cultural experience.  I quickly noticed that about every third person had a cup of coffee in their hands.  And about 75% of the paper cups had the green siren stamp on it.  However, after Kristy and mom dove into the first retail store they found, I immediately took off down the street with Caitlyn and dad to see if we could find a good cup of coffee at a different place other than the green mermaid.  Fortunately for us, the first place we came to was the Monorail Espresso stand, just down Pike Street from the new H&M store (where we'd already lost the ladies.) 

Happy Birthday, Little Miss Caitlyn!

We've had a bit of a rough transition back to the States, but things smoothed out in time for a relaxing birthday for Caitlyn today.  Kristy caught some sort of nasty stomach bug from the plane ride (at least, that's the best explanation we have) and was out for a couple of days after we landed.  Below is a little video that I put together for Caitlyn's first birthday.  (Music by Rogue Wave, Ingrid Michaelson, and Jack Johnson.)

Arriving at ONE from Brandon Wellcome on Vimeo.

Uncle Jason in Town & an Important Frontline Documentary

We've had a good time having my younger brother, Jason around the last few days.  He was in London for work and decided to take some time off here in Dublin afterward.  Here's a little clip of our trek around the Ring of Kerry.  (And as always, you can see pics on our Flickr site.)  The dialogue in this clip makes me laugh.

The other day, Jason alerted my attention to a Frontline documentary on the Bush administration's rather aggressive campaign to start a war with Iraq.  You can watch the entire documentary HERE.  I'd say it's pretty damning stuff, but I'd encourage you to have a look for yourself.  I'm always impressed with the documentaries that Frontline put out.

The bottom line (at least of Part 1 - I haven't gotten to Part 2 just yet) is that long-time buddies, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfield, pushed the president into going to war with a propaganda campaign full of shoddy evidence of Iraq's WMD that had the CIA and the State Department scratching their heads and saying, "Are you nuts?"  Then, before Tenet or Powell had the opportunity to step in and stop it, the power-hungry vice pres and ego-centric Defense Secretary stabbed them in the back.  Unfortunate, given that Powell was the best thing going for the Bush administration, IMHO.  It's a quick summary, but that's the big picture. 

A Perfect Weekend for Crawling Around

It's been a light blogging month.  Loads on my mind that I'm wrestling with.  Great new music being discovered.  Etc, etc.  Just a little less space in life to type it out and throw it into cyberspace. 

For now, here's a little something I threw together this weekend.  Caitlyn's growing and changing like crazy.

Crawling Through a Saturday from Brandon Wellcome on Vimeo.

Chocolate (Temple) Bar & Urban Kings

Today, I took the fam into Dublin city centre, primarily to sit back and watch my wife soak up Dublin's first Temple Bar Chocolate Festival. I'm not sure what we were expecting (life-size chocolate Molly Malone statues and chocolate fountains on every corner maybe?), but we were a bit disappointed by the lack of chocolateness around us as we wandered through Temple Bar. Turns out, the big chocolate "exhibition" isn't on until tomorrow in Meeting House Square. However, Kristy did manage to get into a lecture in the Film Base on the health benefits of chocolate. Did you know that raw cacoa beans are chalk full of anti-oxidants, neurotransmitters (sounds like Star Trek) and other things that are healthy for the brain? Unfortunately, with all of the processing and other ingredients that get thrown in to make chocolate, the health benefits are largely lost.

Off to England and Adventures in Baby Napping

This week has been busy and full of activity (with Serve the City in particular).  Tomorrow afternoon, we board a RyanAir jet with fear and trembling, hoping that our luggage isn't lost (or worse) during the brief trip over to Luton.  RyanAir nightmares aside, we're looking forward to spending some time with friends there in Luton.

With the help of the miraculously easy-to-use iMovie, I managed to throw this little video of Caitlyn together today.  She's beginning to learn how to get around, which makes nap time interesting.  After doing laps around her cot bed (crib) a few times, she's exhausting herself and practically starting her nap in mid-stride.  The first clip in the video is from last month when she fell asleep on her face, leaving harmless welt marks which went away 10 or 15 minutes after she got up.

Adventures in Napping from Brandon Wellcome on Vimeo.