Webmonkey Wanted - Upgrading MT?

I'm hoping to get back into blogging (yeah, again. . . heh.) For Christmas this year, the Duchess and I are going to upgrade our Moveable Type and get some decent spam protection going. Neither of us is much with the programming, though. We're hoping to hire someone to fix things up for us.

Any tech savvy types out there interested in a quick job? Email me at wodehousian @ gmail.com if so. . . Thanks!

Where I've been. . .

I really have no idea if I'm 'back', but I had a weird urge to blog tonight. . . It's been awhile.

To summarize the past year, I'll just say that life is very, very good. If I could design a life for myself from scratch, it would look like this.

This summer I'll finish up the course work for my MA in American History, and complete my thesis in the fall. So far, all the planets are aligning for me to get into a top-notch doctoral program. This is even more of a necessity in history than in other fields -- history is an incredibly Darwinian field, with a scary doctorate:job ratio.

My subcategory is transnational immigration history, with a focus on Ukrainian and Russian immigrants during WWII. I'll write more on it later, but it's a tremendous, complicated story that hasn't really been told before.

When not studying, I'm homeschooling my boys these days. On the plate this year are early American history, math, earth science, language arts (Veritas Press), French, storytime, Bible and catechism, and typing. Homeschooling is one of those rare things in life that has turned out as great as I'd hoped. . . And I love the freedom of it. A woodcut from the Reformation during Bible time led to a three-hour, non-stop talk that ranged from the causes of the Wars of Religion through the space program. Kids are fun.

Anyway, no idea if I'm back. But I'm here for now. The real question, after all these months, is if anyone else is.

Checking in. . .

Hi all. . .

Just finishing up an incredible semester of Grad School. I -love- my classes. Another few days and I'll have time to lay out some of the research I've been doing.

Miss y'all. :)

Back in One Week!

Don't send out a search party, I'm still here. The past couple of weeks have just held more than their normal share of zaniness. Adding extra zane were the holidays, a visitor from Ukraine, the founding of a small business, and lots of mad prepping for the start of grad school. From my reading assignments, my Uni seems to have about the same proportion of 'former' Communists as the bus drivers in Kiev. I need to be prepared. . . Class starts in 12 hours. :-)

Anyway, thanks for bearing with me, as you apparently are if you're reading this. Another week, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well. And I'll stop typing rambling, schizophrenic sentences like these.

Love always,
Disco

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

"Made Bishop of Agagni by Pope Formosus, you became Pope yourself in 896 by putting your immediate predecessor, Boniface VI, to death. Your reign lasted all of fourteen months. However, you firmly assured your place in history by putting the rotting corpse of the aforementioned Formosus on trial in the splendidly named Synod Horrenda. Naturally, Formosus was clad in full papal vestments. Having dug up the stinking remains once already, you proceeded to have them found guilty, reburied, re-exhumed, relieved of the three fingers of the right hand used in consecrations and finally thrown into the Tiber. All ordinations performed by the luckless Formosus were annulled. After this delightful display of gratitude, you were promptly strangled, paving the way for an increasingly short-lived series of successors and the reinstatement, dereinstatement and rereinstatement of Formosus' Papal deeds."

Should this worry me?

Blogging Slowdown

Things are a bit more hectic in my "life" these days, so I'm cutting back to posting every other day rather than daily-daily. So if you see a few less posts up, this isn't another prelude to hiatus. I'm not sure Le Sabot would survive another near-death experience. :)

Nothing inspiring. . .

I don't have anything worthwhile to say today. Rather than waste your time with filler, I'll just say check back manana for lots of bloggy goodness. In the meantime, here are two really solid sites I recommend:

The Politics of CP and Gates of Vienna. Both are doing real, meaningful blogging and are worthy of a look.

Open Source Intel

Muslim Teachers College

Government Investigation of Jamaat ul-Fuqra

Jamaat ul-Fuqra in Virginia Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Jihad and the Dope Trade

Our Man in Islamabad

Pleasant Valley Sunday

After life in Kiev, the past few months of suburban life have been a bit weird. It's been hard not to approach things with a bit of self-conscious irony.

Today we set out to have the Ultimate Suburban Sunday. So. We went to church and worshiped. Then we came home and went to the park. I taught the boys the rudiments of baseball and then the Duchess and I played tennis. The in-laws came by for a visit. Then I washed and waxed the minivan. To top it all off, I ate a leftover turkey sandwich and took an afternoon nap.

The whole thing was so normal it felt surreal.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I'm thankful to God for:

- the Duchess

- my yellow-haired monkeys

- to be back in the Land of the Free (if only for a couple of years),

- for those fighting to protect our country and bring freedom to the people of Iraq. Let's remember them in prayer.

Le Sabot News Bits

1. Keep Disco in Grad School -- Click an ad.

I'm not one for tip jars; it doesn't seem right to hit readers up for donations. But we do have ads here. If you like the place, please click an ad each day when you stop by. It adds up. :-)

2. I'm looking for contributing writers for Religion of Peace?

I'm finding the job of keeping two blogs going to be too much. I'm looking for about 4-5 supporters of the war interested in contributing. They would be free to write original posts, cross-post stuff from their own blog, or simply paste up news items relevant to the War on Terror. Hard-edged is fine, but it's important to keep the tone of the place steady -- so no shrill or angry writers need apply.

It could be a good opportunity for you to express your opinions and garner some attention for your own blog, as well. Please only email if you're truly interested. Email: discoshaman -at- gmail.com If you can, send along a few links to warblogging you've done before.

3. Not feeling the link-love?

My blogroll is awfully out of date. If you've been nice enough to link us and we haven't reciprocated, email us. It might be that we think you're a bad person or writer. But it's more likely just an oversight. . . You'll never know 'til you ask!

Bob's Your Uncle

I was reading an English history book the other day, and found out where the expression 'Bob's your uncle' comes from. It's all about nepotism.

Lord Salisbury appointed his own nephew, 'Pretty Fanny' Balfour, to be Chief Sec'y for Ireland. My understanding is that Balfour was something of a Harriet Miers. So if you have Bob for an uncle, 'it's as easy as that' to get something done.

Excuse the Mess.

I'm trying for something tricksy with the main template -- adding buttons for collapsible menus for my blogroll categories. So far, it's a bit of a dog's breakfast. As Gloria Steinem might say, I use code like a feminist uses a bicycle.

I should have the buttons properly sized and everything in a year or two. Well, a leap-year, anyway. Thanks for your patience. :-)

New to Le Sabot?

We've had a ton of new readers visit Le Sabot in the past few days. If you're one of them, be sure to also check out our new War on Terror blog -- Religion of Peace?

Some posts you might take a peek at:

Open Questions for Anti-War Readers

Another question for the anti-war crowd...

Answers about white phosphorus

Get some freaking perspective

Please note: Iraq is not Vietnam

Dilbert on Intelligent Design

I still think science is a crashing bore, but our friend Samantha assures us that some of you like it. So. Scott Adams, of Dilbert fame, has actually written an even-handed set of posts on ID.

"To me, the most fascinating aspect of the debate over Darwinism versus Intelligent Design is that neither side understands the other side’s argument. Better yet, no one seems to understand their own side’s argument. But that doesn’t stop anyone from having a passionate opinion."

Intelligent Design, Part I

Intelligent Design, Part II

Intelligent Design, Who Is Credible?

And we learned about it all from Samantha's Husband. She's probably just pretending to like this science stuff out of loyalty to him.

New Handbook for Bloggers in Authoritarian Countries

A number of my readers are in authoritarian countries, so I wanted to bring this new resource to your attention. Reporters sans frontières has put out a free handbook to Create your own blog, remain anonymous and get round censorship !

You can download the 'Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents' here.

I had a hand in starting up an Iranian dissident blog a couple of years past. This is a resource my friend could definitely have used.

Thanks to Ingrid Jones and her cool cat Ophelia for the link.

Comments are Back!

Jared from TruePravda just set things aright. He's a beautiful genius, and everyone should read his site daily.

About 30 seconds later, my first soma spam arrived. Oh, happy day!

Also, please note that my email has changed -- it's now discoshaman at gmail.com

Remembering our Vets

Before joining the regular Army, I served as an infantryman with the 53rd Infantry Brigade, ARNG. To my buddies from the 53rd currently in Afghanistan and to their families -- our prayers and gratitude go out to you. You're giving up a lot in pursuit of a noble cause. Thank you.

Solidarity with our British friends

To the British readers of Le Sabot, I just wanted to join with a lot of other American bloggers in expressing sympathy for your losses on 7/7. And also my admiration for the way Londoners responded to the attacks. Our family is praying for those injured, and that the terrorists responsible will be quickly brought to justice.

The Jackson verdict. . .

Has about the same effect on me that the latest Mike Tyson fight did. I'm just glad they're over. . .

This trial, and Tyson's defeat take two of the biggest circus freaks in the American spectacle and puts them outside the tent. They're done. So while Jackson gets to walk free, like OJ, his career should be similarly finished. Even if all of us aren't convinced by the State's work in this case, it's become pretty clear that Michael Jackson isn't eccentric, he's a sicko.

Thank God it's over. Our country is locked in a life-or-death struggle against militant Islam, dirty bombs and nuclear proliferation. The end of the trial allows us to focus on less frivolous things -- like Paris Hilton, for instance.

And we're back!

I've had to turn off my MT Blacklist for now, it was blocking -everything-. But now you all can comment, which is a good thing. I'm looking forward to seeing familiar faces around here again.

Comments Hiccough -- Help?

This bites. I finally get off hiatus, and my comments section decides to spontaneously ban comments. Does anyone have a clue why my MT would start doing this? Email me at Discoshaman -at- gmail.com

Thanks!

Begrudgingly on Hiatus

This particular term of service in Ukraine is drawing to an end. As such, we're crazy busy transitioning ministry work over to Ukrainian friends, saying a temporary good-bye to our beloved city, and preparing for re-entry to the States. I'll be doing some graduate work in the States, and then we'll be heading back across the Pond again. Like I said, this is a mad time, so I've decided to step back from blogging for about five weeks.

My plan is to drop you all an email when Le Sabot is back in business. If you're interested, please send me an email with the title "Blog Notification" to discoshaman@saintly.com

I look forward to coming here every day. I'm definitely going to miss you all during this brief sabbatical.

Your pal,
Disco

Friday Cat Blogging

As The Cranberries might say -- everybody else is doing it, so why can't we?

Randomness

If truth-in-labeling laws had any teeth to them, Tae-Bo would be marketed as Pseu-Do.

Discoshaman joins the ranks of victimhood

I have a disease! Since summer I've been wrestling with horrible depression. Excepting the adrenaline shot of the Revolution, it's been a fight to get out of bed most mornings. But it looks like a big part of the problem is hypothyroidism. Apparently, my thyroid just isn't making things happen.

So the doc has put me on some pills. Positive effects are said to be increased energy and weight loss. This could be great. I'd gotten in the habit of sleeping almost nightly. As for weight loss, I can finally lose this last 162 pounds and fulfill my latent Gnostic dreams of transcending the physical.

magic beans

Sublime things need no justification. The Victoria Falls, Mucha's stained glass, and the 1968 Chevelle Super Sport need serve no purpose -- it is enough that they exist. Coffee belongs to this category.

Nevertheless, it was nice to read today's news that it's a prophylactic against liver cancer. This on top of protecting against Parkinsons. Thanks to coffee, not only am I peppier than thou, but my liver is more durable too.

Check back tomorrow. . .

Today was really a full one, no time/energy/residual cleverness left for blogging tonight. Check back tomorrow for a double helping of bloggy goodness.

For those waiting for a response on the art or politics threads, thanks for your patience. I'll get with you soon!

Your pal,
Disco

New to Blogging?

One of the most frustrating things about the first days of blogging is the whole laboring-in-obscurity thing. We here at Le Sabot do our humble best to welcome new bloggers into the Darwinian world of blogging. While not exactly an Instalanche, our "Welcome to the Blogosphere" section does at least ensure that my wife will read your scribblings.

So if you're just getting started, drop me an email at discoshaman@saintly.com. I tend to favor blogs with a conservative or Christian slant, but I'll choose a clever liberal over an obtuse Republican any day.

You can also look into the New Christian Blog Showcase.

Back tomorrow. . .

A big apology to anyone stopping by for a Ukraine update. "Real Life" was crazy today. Check back this evening for a full run-down of the last few days in Ukrainian politics. . . :-)

Sport Trivia

I was just leafing through an old British kid's book -- The Story of Sport. A little known fact: Mary Queen of Scots is the earliest known female golfer.

From what I remember, she was fond of the sport, but said it was "nothing to lose your head over." That last part might be apocryphal.

A Useless Word

Milquetoast: sissy: a timid man or boy considered childish or unassertive

Completely useless. The only sort of person who would actually USE a word like milquetoast to question another guy's manliness would be. . . a milquetoast. You wonder how words like this ever catch on.

Update on Tennyson

Wow, I must have sounded completely callous. By "Kid patrol" I meant "homeschooling the other three kids", not "taking care of Tennyson." He definitely rates over State of the Union coverage. :-)

I did just have the realization that I won't be blogging tonight, because I'll be trading places with the Duchess. The hospital doesn't have toilet paper, IVs or food, so it probably also lacks DSL internet service.

Tennyson really wants to come home, he hates all the injections. The Duchess made a deal with him that he earns 2 hours of video game time for every shot, redeemable when he gets home.

Anyway, you guys are great. Thanks for praying! Priority today is to hopefully transfer him to Borys Clinic where they have food, IVs and toilet paper. See you in 24 hours.

Check back tomorrow. . .

I'm sorry for not getting out a Ukraine Update tonight. I saved it for last and now I really need to get to bed -- I'm on kid patrol tomorrow.

Check back tomorrow for a Ukraine update, thoughts on the State of the Union, a parenting post, a follow-up post on inter-racial dialogue in America, and a Christian perspective on Human Rights. Plus whatever other madness occurs to me in the interim.

Thanks for remembering Tennyson in your prayers!

Your pal,
Disco

Sublimity.

Just tried vanilla ice cream sprinkled with fresh espresso grounds. Am now feverishly calculating the hours 'til the grocery store opens again.

Faith and Works: Hospice Volunteering

Death, like everything in America, has been radically individualized by urbanization, technology, and our penchant for migration. Parents live far from children, or simply outlive them. Modernity has robbed many of us of the comforts of family and home when it comes time to die.

That's why the move toward hospices is one of the most hopeful things I've seen in a long time. I was able to volunteer in an AIDS hospice in the States, and it was a wonderful example of community in action -- totally privately funded, and manned by members of the local community.

The program served anyone whose prognosis gave them less than six months to live. The hospice enabled them to live as fully as they could and to die with a hand to hold.

Christians are called to minister to the sick and to bind up the broken hearted. Hospices are a great place to put this call into action.

To find opportunities to serve, check out this extensive list of Hospice Links.

Ed Rooney moves next door

Ed Rooney, the principal from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, is now my mom and dad's next door neighbor. Given that much of my worldview was formed by way too many viewings of Ferris one summer, this would normally be a very cool thing. The fact that he's now a criminal takes the fun out of it (and the value of any potential autographs. . .)

On a happier note, check out this list of Ferris sound files!

10 Christian Blogs -- the new "It" group blog?

I hope so, since I'm on the masthead. . .
Adrian Warnock has gathered some great Christian bloggers onto one site. The goal is to serve the entire Christian blogosphere by linking out to them from a combined single high impact page.

The list includes such worthies as Evangelical Outpost, In the Agora and La Shawn Barber.

Pop over to Ten Christian Blogs: A Decablog and check it out. . .

Partisanship, the Orange Revolution, and me

During the Revolution, I took a hiatus from writing on anything partisan. I didn't want to damage the Left-Right unity on the issue. More importantly, my personal political beliefs had no place in something that belonged not to me, but to the Ukrainian people.

With Yushchenko's victory, I've transitioned back to covering foreign affairs and American politics from a conservative perspective. I try to do it with charity, humor and originality. I hate shrillness or cant from any political persuasion. My hope is that our liberal friends will stick around and keep providing alternative perspectives here.

Most importantly, I want to make it clear that I'm going to keep my Ukraine news free of any partisanship. If you see ANY sort of conservative bias creep into my commentary, please call me on it.

two of my favorite things. . .

Cappuccino at the Coffee Haus. Generic name/Good coffee. And they get points for presentation.

This is a great Stalinist wedding cake of a building down on Kreshatik Street. Formerly it housed Party bigwigs. It even still has a Communist star on top.

Everytime I see it I get that happy, Yeah, we kicked your Commie butt glow inside.

Vote TulipGirl in 2005!

TulipGirl is in the running over at Best of Blogs for "Best Homeschooling/Education Blog." If you get a sec, you might pop over and show your support.

She's currently in third place, but we suspect massive falsifikatsiya. I'm looking into a Soros Foundation or National Democratic Institute grant to finance a "Tulip Revolution" if we lose the election. . .

America: What have I missed?

The last time I was Stateside was about a month after 9/11. There were flags everywhere, and Afroman's Because I Got High was cool. I think I remember Survivor being ubiquitous.

What are the big changes these past years? The answer can be anything -- politics, chain stores, music, slang, whatever. I catch glimpses of things, for example someone said Hummers are actually a suburban mom car now. Other than William Hung, what have I missed?

bloggy stuff -- polls and blogrolls

Tulipgirl is in the running for "Best Educational/Homeschooling Blog." Voting just opened today. Rules allow one vote a day. Pop over and show your support if you get a sec.

Also, I'm updating my blogroll over the next couple of days -- my VT circle of friends has grown a bit during the Revolution. If you've permalinked me and haven't yet felt reciprocal love, drop a comment on this thread and let me know. Thanks! :-)

Gilmore Girls -- a guilty pleasure

I grew up without a TV most of my life, and have rarely owned one since I moved out. Not a religious thing, I just like the snob appeal of saying I hate television. My wife's parents were hippies, so they often didn't have a set either.

A friend insisted we borrow Gilmore Girls, Season 1 on DVD a few months ago. I mocked, then borrowed. It's the first series I've liked since Twin Peaks went off the air. Yes, I'm aware that this is probably wrong on multiple levels -- that's why it's called a guilty pleasure.

They manage to stuff like six times more dialogue than normal into an episode, along with Marcel Proust references. There's melodrama, without falling into bathos; irony, without cut-rate cynicism. I love that the characters are all a bit crazy, without waving their "Hi I'm a quirky character" tags in your face, and that the writer draws them with a sympathetic eye.

Maybe the show jumps the shark in later years, I don't know. But the first season was too good for television.

a couple of my favorite things

This week we're going with an Asian theme. Our first bit of narcissistic self-disclosure is my hookah pipes. I'd wanted one ever since the Zab Zum Zum in San Francisco.

The blue one is from an Iranian friend, and is called something that sounds like "hubba-bubba." The gold pipe is a shisha we picked up in Cairo. I'm eventually going to do up a corner table with cushions, the pipes and a chess set.

These guys are the Buddhist statues at the Hao Long, the local Vietnamese restaurant. I dig them. Our church currently meets there for worship, and I can't help thinking it's beneficial for these two to hear the Gospel. Sadly, so far they've remained pretty unresponsive. . .

Sarasota -- my kind of town

Someone asked in comments about where I came from in the States. I grew up in what I still think is the coolest town in Florida -- Sarasota.

Here are some things I love about it: it has half the active circuses in North America HQed there, and even a circus performer retirement center.

Along with this it has beach bums, New York Jewish retirees, a guy called the "Pelican Man" who helps wounded birds, a Major League baseball team which spring trains there, any type of New Age cultist you can imagine, Pee Wee Herman, Castro-hating Cubans, the Mote Marine science center, the Burns Court art film movie house, the world's 2nd largest French film festival, black churches on 27th Street where the preaching is something of a chant a sermon and a blues song, a gigantic annual Medieval Faire at the Ringling mansion, great opera and ballet, the Asolo Theatre, Vampyre LARPists, and little Italian-American men with hairy backs playing bocce at the beach.

Go inland a few miles and you have gator farms, people with airboats, tiny 50's hotels with diving girls on the signs, and people who boar hunt on the weekend.

America is fun. I miss it sometimes. :-)

Check back manana. . .

One of those days. Pray.

New Feature

Since narcissistic self-expression is half the fun of blogging, we're going to start a new weekly feature: Two of My Favorite Things

From left to right:

My Berkof Systematic Theology -- still the standard for any rock-ribbed Calvinist.

My manbag -- obligatory for the young and slavishly stylish Kievite.

Not feelin' the link-love?

If you've added Le Sabot to your blogroll, but haven't seen any reciprocity, it means one of two things:

1. You're a heretic
Or
2. Technorati is being flaky or I overlooked the link.

Feel free to email me at discoshaman-at-saintly-dot-com and find out which one applies to you. On the subject of blogrolls, I've made some overdue additions. Check 'em:

Dead Men's Voices -- a sharp, smart addition to the Calvinist blogosphere.

Clarity and Resolve -- one-stop shopping for Middle East politics and Iraqi War updates.

In the Agora -- Josh Claybourne and Co's new group-blogging project.

What Attitude Problem? -- politics with attitude. Mostly a wry one.

Does anyone else find the Greek protests that Alexander the Great was straight about as convincing as Tom Cruise's?

Peace, Love and Mammal

The Duchess and I were just fretting that I've been so snarky in recent posts. So to make amends with you all, I'm doing a sarcasm-free, good-vibeful post. . .

That's right, baby, here's a fur seal for ya. Feel the love.

Life's a Funny Thing. . .

* In 2000, George Bush was elected by elderly Jewish Buchanan supporters. In 2004, Bush's margin of victory in Ohio came thanks to the extra 4% he garnered of the black vote.

* I've been listening to the Ramones all night. During 'I Wanna Be Sedated' I had a horrible realization -- it sounds like Oldies music! Kill me now. Oh yeah, oh-oh-oh yeah.

* Partisan catharsis! Head over to Slap the Candidate and let John Kerry know what you REALLY feel. Hat tip to Whilin' Away the Hours.

Update- Thankfully, the Pistols' songs are aging well (better than Sid did, certainly.) 'Pretty Vacant' is on, and it still kicks. I feel better.

Man of the Hour, Man with the Power. . .

I don't know how to start thanking Sciolist from The Rough Woodsman for all the work he's been doing behind the scenes here at Le Sabot. Not only has he despammed the place and upgraded us to MT 3.121, but he's de-uglied the layout, too.

The Woodsmen have been the most resolute online friends imaginable. Thanks, guys. And again, HUGE thanks to Sciolist.

Ukrainian Witch Doctors

One surprising thing about Ukraine is the prevalence of the New Age movement – kiosks sell metaphysical books at metro stations, and huckster doctors with ‘special powers’ abound. Even weirder, this popularity predates the end of Communism. Suppressing organized religion only created a gaping hole for credulity to fill.

Between the New Age stuff, and a decaying medical system, a cult of health has sprung up. Just as Americans can’t resist buying something with “Diet” on the label, Ukrainians go crazy for anything with the prefix “Bio-.” They consume enough strange herbs and concoctions to rival a Berkeley, CA midwife. Here’s the omnipresent Doctor Seleznev. He has over 40 teas, for everything from libido to psoriasis. Dig the glasses.

God is good. . .

This summer was the best of our lives, with project after project to keep us busy. But by autumn Alexandra and I were both starting to get frazzled. So it was a real blessing that our vacation and our visa renewals came up one after another. I've now achieved a sort of overcooked Zen noodle level of relaxation.

Here's me, Alexandra and the yellow-haired monkeys at the pyramids:

It was amazing -- snorkeling in the Red Sea, visting the City of the Dead and Cairo. . . The boys were able to see the treasures of King Tut and ride a camel. Pretty much an ideal homeschooling vacation.

And this is the Charles Bridge and St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. St. Vitus features the world's most beautiful stained glass -- an Art Nouveau window done by Alphonse Mucha himself. The Duchess and I spent 5 days in the Czech Republic for visa renewal -- the first time we've been away from the kids in 8 years. (Unless you count a night in Hashbury in San Fran.)

Prague is the only city I've seen that gives Paris a run for its money. I wanted to like Budapest better, but I have to give the prize to Prague. A great, and inexpensive alternative to Western Europe (and no Euro exchange rates!)

Off to Egypt. . .

First, thanks so much to everyone for welcoming me back. It's been great to get back into the swing of blogging, and I'll be popping over to see everyone soon. But first. . .

The family is off to the Red Sea for a couple of weeks of vacation. That's right -- the ultimate homeschooling adventure -- coral reefs, the City of the Dead, Cairo, and pyramids and sphinxes.

Truthfully, though, it sounds a lot more far-out than it is. Egypt is actually the vacation spot of choice for Ukrainians. To put it in perspective -- plane tickets and a two week vacation at a nice place in Egypt, along with excursions, costs less than plane tickets to England. . . So don't just default to Cancun next year. Hop over to Sharm el-Sheikh and hang with the New Russians!