After the Wall came down, and then the USSR, spontaneous markets sprung up in and around the cities of the East, allowing average people to be traders, vendors and entrepreneurs, selling what they chose, free and unhindered, from a kiosk, a tent and table, or the hood of a Lada. Arizona Market, outside Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a true Wild West version in its earlier days, complete with log cabins, stolen cars, and transactions of the sort that would put the residents of Deadwood to shame.
Another is Gariunai outside Vilnius, Lithuania. When I was going out there in the spring of 1994, it was an anarchic, Mad Max type of bazaar, with thousands of sellers, but as you'd wander, you'd notice that most every tent, table, and kiosk was selling the same goods from the same traders' bags: the same Snickers bars, the same Polish soda pop, the same Turkish toiletries, the same Chinese clothes with obscure logos ("Resinous of Wood," "LIVE'S," "LEWI'S" (and the same spools of Chinese labels, ready to be sewn in, reading "MADE IN ITALY"). After rows and rows of the same stuff for sale, and usually at the same prices, it was refreshing to come upon one stall, off to the side, that sold dog bowls, cat dishes, dog leashes, and cat toys. And nothing else. That's the one I remember.
Which is a completely meandering and needlessly allegorical way of saying, there are as many political blogs as stars in the sky, and dozens of blawgs that are thoughtful, kicky, and smart. Kerry pictures aside, I hope this blawg will serve a cozy little niche, and serve it in an occasionally entertaining way, without venturing too far into political commentary or legal scholarship. I wasn't much of a law student, and I'm not much of a pundit. On the other hand, if it's public defender angst and foibles you're looking for, I'm your man.
