Random Georgia (Tbilisi, Georgia)

June 16^th, 2010 - During the South Ossetia War of 2008 the Georgian military was scrambling to call up much needed reserve units. In a move that boggles the mind they announced the names of units being activated and mobilization rendezvous points……ON TELEVISION!!!!!! No need for reconnaissance just turn on the f***ing TV and plan your bombing campaign accordingly. Seriously?

Want to make a statement in Georgia? Go on a hunger strike. In a land where the supra reigns supreme and counting the piles of plates left on a table after an obnoxious celebratory feast is considered a barometer for measuring a family's wealth refusing to eat is like refusing to breathe. Tsotne Gamsakhurdia (a Georgian man arrested for espionage and the son of the former president Zviad Gamsakhurdia) gave it a go. He claimed to eat or drink nothing for 120 days. Sure that is physically impossible but he got his point across….I think. Not really sure what his point was. I can lie about eating? These people are serious about food. And drinking. Burp.

Speaking of alcohol, traditional Georgian wine making practices date back to 6000 BC. They know wine. And they drink a shitload of it.

Georgians appear to be smitten with McDonalds (can you say McSupra?). There are three in Tbilisi and every time I pass one it is packed. And it ain't cheap as a meal for one person could easily set you back $15US. Ronald McDonald kicks ass.

I use 'Georgia' font to type all of my blog posts. Coincidence?

In Georgia some folks consider it dangerous to go outside with wet hair.

I think everyone's last name either ends in -dze or -shvili.

Bread is sacred, so much so it is a significant transgression to throw it away. And if it falls on the ground? You elevate it somewhere (some throw in a kiss for good measure) to sit and.....well.... disintegrate? To be later fed to the animals? Not sure. The point is wasting bread is blasphemous and throwing it in the trash a sacrilege.

I was sitting on a bench on Rustaveli Avenue when I noticed a gentleman on the sidewalk with a hand gun tucked into the back of his dress pants. No uniform. No holster. Quasi-gangsta style.

France purports to support, one hundred percent, the territorial integrity of Georgia and believes that Russia is violating international law with its occupation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. They feel so strongly about it they are selling Russia four Mistral-class vessels (advanced helicopter carriers) for 600 million USD. Give'em hell.

The Obama Administration also claims to support Georgia and lists ending the Russian occupation of Georgian territory as a foreign policy objective. How's that progressing? It isn't in the words of Michael McFaul, the U.S. President's special assistant and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs at the National Security Council. No progress. None. In a speech to Congress on the renewal of a nuclear peace treaty with Russia Obama stated, "the situation in Georgia need no longer be considered an obstacle to proceeding with the proposed Agreement." Why would it? The US is not ignoring Georgia. They're not. Honest. They just didn't really give a shit to begin with. Too harsh? Yeees, but funny. Give'em hell.

If all goes well I will be embarking on a mini-adventure with some folks I met on Couchsurfing.com. They have a car and were enlisting folks to join the fun. I like fun. I told them I would be more than happy to tag along. Georgian road trip. I like it.

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

— Abraham Lincoln