While it’s been over a month since returning from London and Paris, the memories of our journey are still planted firmly in our minds. London was predictably overcast but full of history and intrigue, while Paris was an unexpected treasure. A beautiful gem of a city, I was surprised to find myself preferring it to London, and see us visiting the City of Lights sooner rather then later…

And while it has taken a bit of time, I have finally culled the nearly 2000 pictures we snapped in Europe down to a barely manageable 400. Of those 400 I have placed over 200 pictures from both London and Paris in my gallery. It may take some time to load, so please be patient and enjoy.

We are crossing the pond this weekend, visiting London and Paris for a much needed break. This is my first trip to Europe and can’t wait to roam the halls of Windsor Castle with the Queen Mum, and scour the Louvre with Danny Brown, hoping he can explain what all the fuss is about.

In our absence I will be bringing down my blog Inside, Looking Out, and redirecting it to a photo travelogue that I will update daily while we are gone. Once we return from our trip order will be restored and Inside, Looking Out will resume, business as usual.

I hope you enjoy the photos. Be sure to check daily, as I will be adding pictures each evening, and sometimes during the day as well.

Cheerio and au revoir.

While I appreciate but don’t necessarily agree with immigration demonstrations occurring through out the country, what concerns me more is that the anti-war movement has failed to similarly mobilize. Despite a government that is arguably the most corrupt in a century, a government that led us into an unjust war, and continues to rape the natural world for the sake of greed and special interest, the complacency of the American people is deafening.

Immigrants (both legal and illegal) and those who support them, show more passion and resolve than anything the anti-war movement has mustered. Where is the outrage? Where the demand for accountability? Led by fringe ideologues, the movement has nary a voice, and its message fails to resonate with people. I don’t know what’s more of a crime, those that occur inside the beltway, or the people’s failure to address them.

I would like to apologize to Randy Quaid on behalf of the gay community. Seems the world-famous actor of such notable and immensely profitable films as “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” and “The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns” feels he was duped into receiving a lower salary for playing the homophobic rancher in the recent hit Brokeback Mountain. He is now suing Focus Features for $10 million. Mr. Quaid claims that the film’s producers lured him in with their fancy talk, and he accepted a nominal fee for the role in what was described as a low-budget film with no commercial potential. Just like 99% of all the gay-themed movies ever made.

Mr. Quaid indicates that his usually salary is in the neighborhood of 7 figures, and after reviewing the rich tapestry of his work on IMBD, it is clear why. Mr. Quaid is an actor of immeasurable talent, and it is clear he was taken in by a business that favors low-budget and low-gross projects over more commercial and profitable fare. Brokeback Mountain’s tremendous commercial success had clearly been planned from the beginning, and it is painfully obvious that their intent was never to share that profit with Mr. Quaid, but instead with the third-rate actors he starred with.

Here’s hoping that residuals from “The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle” will carry him through until the suit is resolved in his favor.

It is with great admiration that I and the gay community give Mr. Quaid the single finger salute.