A Week in the Warmth

As Red Fraggle pointed out, I was on vacation last week, avoiding some of the very low temperatures of the northeast while in the sun of the Dominican Republic. A few things to point out:

1. I will not burden you with details of my stay at the resort. While I'm sure you want to hear about Isaac, Jr.'s first swimming adventure (he loved it) or my three rounds of golf, I won't burden you with the details. I will point out that Chelsea Clinton and George H.W. Bush were both staying at the resort we were at although, you will be shocked to learn, they were not there together. (Alas, I saw neither although Bush was spotted playing a lot of golf.)

2. Mrs. Barteneder and I decided to spend our final two days on the island in the city of Santo Domingo. While most tourists who come to the D.R. stay at their resort, I am quite glad that we added some culture to our trip. Santo Domingo is the oldest European settled city in the Western Hemisphere which meant that we saw a lot of firsts--the oldest university, the oldest street, the oldest cathedral, etc. Our hotel--a Sofitel--was fantastic. It was in a restored 16th century building but our room was uber-modern and it was extremely reasonably priced. We had a guide show us around the city, and I had arranged for a tour of the Presidential Palace. It is amusing to be in the Cabinet Room with just Mrs. Bartender and a tour guide even if it is the Dominican Cabinet Room. Santo Domingo is not Havana (even though it often plays Havana in the movies including in the greatest film of them all, Godfather II), and two days is enough to see the city (and it could be done in 1 day). We were glad to have done it.

3. Finally, we had access to American television while in the D.R., and all I can say is that the spectacles that are (were) Anna Nicole and Britney are truly pathetic. As for the former, she seems to have gotten her final wish--to truly be the center of a media storm. The "hearing" last week was a farce and made numerous absurd court hearings that I have been involved with look like justice at the highest of levels. And to listen to the bloviators (yes, Nancy Grace, I mean you) opine on this stupidity makes one wish they (either the viewer or the bloviators, you pick) were on meth.

As for Britney, not much can be said other than who ever thought that KFed would appear to the stable one? As Bill Simmons stated, she has entered the Tyson zone, where you could hear anything about her ("Britney was arrested for murder," "Britney had a sex change," "Britney is pregnant with Mike Tyson's or OJ Simpson's baby"), and you would believe it. Sad but predictable.