travel
Globe Trekker
04/17/08 Filed in: Rambling
Today Luc and I went to The Getty to check out
the
California Video
exhibition and decided that we would need to go back
when we had more time. AH...the curse of time-based
exhibitions. Here is one of our photos from today's
trip up Mt.Getty.
Tonight I turned on TV to watch one of those travel
shows that I adore and was surprised that Megan, the
host from
Globe Trekker
was not in Istanbul or Hong Kong because she was
right here with me in Los Angeles. She even went up
to
Signal Hill,
for a little So.Cal oil history. Nice job!
As I type this post, a film crew is shooting a cop
chase scene outside of my house and there is a
spotlight erected in my neighbors' yard. Los Angeles
folds in upon itself in amazing ways and it is always
beautifully lit.
Journey into the basin of the Great Salt Lake
02/17/08 Filed in: Rambling
Slideshow
- I took a trip out to Wendover, UT with Matthew
Coolidge from the Center for Land Use
Interpretation and graduate students from the
Curatorial Practice Program
at the California College of Art. We were
talking about 'curating space' while exploring
the wide open basin of the Great Salt Lake and
the hidden military history of this region. We
also made treks to visit famous works of Land
Art; such as Smithson's Spiral Jetty, Holt's
Sun Tunnels and the CLUI's Wendover Complex. It was a
fantastic field trip & I cannot wait to see
the project this curatorial team will execute
out in Wendover next month.
We are huge
02/12/08 Filed in: Rambling
This rig we are hauling down the highway is huge, but
nothing compared to the size of Texas. For two days
it felt like the state was endless, but we finally
pulled through and was welcomed into the West with an
awesome sunset over the mountains of New Mexico.
Endless thanks to Delicia, John & Hayden who
helped us get out of Houston on schedule.
Beijing is no Bangkok
01/24/08 Filed in: Rambling
On the "it's a small world" tour we spend on average 48 hours in each country. This never feels like enough time, until we got to Beijing, where suddenly I could not get out fast enough. We arrived in the PRC around 10PM and were held up by arguing customs officials who seemed to be unwilling to let the 14 of us into the country with our 51 items of luggage and gear. When we finally made it out of the airport and to the hotel, the bus was prohibited from pulling up in front of the hotel, meaning we would need to lug everything across curbs and snowbanks. Another argument broke out between our bus driver and a hotel worker and we finally unloaded the bus in front of the hotel. Then they did not have our rooms ready & seemed to be saying we might need to move to another hotel. Needless to say another argument occurred. Anyways, by the time we got to our rooms and dropped our bags it was midnight. Little did I realize this would be the easy part of our China Experience.
We began the show day by being told that our shuttle would be late because of "problems at the venue". But it turns out that the shuttle bus had just broken down and was replaced. Once we made it to the venue; a smelly convention hall with a rocket outside but no heat inside, I knew our day would be rough. I will not bore you with the details of having only one translator for the entire operation, who was also the promoter, stage manager and caterer. Because the biggest problem proved to be the electrical system in Beijing- which is ungrounded and seems totally unregulated. Over the course of the day we blew three transformers and this even before the start of the show. Actually the show was almost cancelled when the Chinese lighting team blew out all the electricity to our video system minutes before the doors were to open. Despite that awful smell of burning ozone from the blown transformer we scrambled to get video back up and running, while 2,000 people were standing in lines freezing outside the doors. The whole day was totally sketchy but the show happened and was good. But I could not get out of Beijing fast enough the next morning- even with the 5:30AM lobby call. We are now in sunny Australia for the rest of the tour- hallelujah!
Side note: The air pollution levels on an average day in Beijing are nearly five times above the World Health Organization standards for safety. The pollution that results from China's inefficient dependence on coal powered electric is visceral in Beijing.
Arrival in Bangkok
01/19/08 Filed in: Rambling
This was the scene at
the Bangkok Airport as we loaded our gear and
equipment into the cargo trucks. Show tonight and
tomorrow a day off to explore Thailand.
.
.
36 Hours in Singapore
01/16/08 Filed in: Rambling
Before Christmas the New
York Times Travel section had an article
entitled 36
Hours in Singapore and this is our next stop for just
about that length of time. While I doubt we will get
to see much of Singapore tonight after landing, I am
looking forward to 90 degree weather and tomorrow's
outdoor concert.
We had a great 48 hours in Tokyo and even managed to meet up with our friend Steve Nalepa (see past entires on DeKam vs Nalepa in Houston) who was in Tokyo to work on a new album with Matt, one of his DJ collaborators.
Last night in Tokyo (after our concert at the famous Budokan theater) we all went for dinner at the restaurant made famous by the sword fight between Uma Thurman and the Crazy 8s in the movie Kill Bill- it was cool.
We had a great 48 hours in Tokyo and even managed to meet up with our friend Steve Nalepa (see past entires on DeKam vs Nalepa in Houston) who was in Tokyo to work on a new album with Matt, one of his DJ collaborators.
Last night in Tokyo (after our concert at the famous Budokan theater) we all went for dinner at the restaurant made famous by the sword fight between Uma Thurman and the Crazy 8s in the movie Kill Bill- it was cool.
South of the border
12/11/07 Filed in: Rambling
We are in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. I am not sure I have ever been to such a tourist driven economy & it has been a bit overwhelming. Time Share offers, beach cover-ups, boat rides, trips to the jungle, fake tattoos, silver jewelry and anything else you want comes directly to you on the beach, over and over again. To escape this we took the 45 minute water taxi over to the remote village of Yelapa. This special spot has no cars, only got electricity a few years ago and has the best fish tacos that I have ever tasted. But if you need a hand with your luggage you will need to call upon a mule to help- travel light.
In the future, if we were to come back to PV I would book a one night stay in old town at the Hotel Casa Dona Susana, because it is beside the best coffee shop/ bookshop in town Una Pagina En El Sol (A Page in the Sun). After morning coffee it would be time to board the 45 minute Water Taxi to Yelapa, where I would stay at Hotel Lagunita in room 6 or 15. Buenos Suerte!
Radio Silence
11/12/07 Filed in: Rambling
Finished our last show of the EU tour!!!
For the next week we will be in a seaside village on the North Sea with no internet, phones or stores. We will observe a bit of blogger radio silence and enjoy this remote holiday. See you in a few days.
Milan
10/28/07 Filed in: Rambling
Bus driver JS gives us some tips on where we might find food on a Sunday afternoon in Milan & a cut-up video from our afternoon out on the town.
Munich
10/17/07 Filed in: Rambling
Chinesischer Turm Bier Garten in the Englischer Garten
From Munich we go onto:
Mon Oct 22 - Stadthalle - Eriagen, Germany
Tue Oct 23 - Messe B - Stuttgart, Germany
Thurs Oct 25- Land Rover Arena- Bologna, Italy
Fri Oct 26- Palaottomatica- Roma, Italy
Sat Oct 27- Palasport- Andria, Italy
Mon Oct 29- DatchForum- Milano, Italy
Tue Oct 30- Palasport- Padova, Italy
Wed Oct 31- Eulachhalle- Winterthur, SWI
Fri Nov 2- Barcelona, Spain
Sat Nov 3- Madrid, Spain
Sun Nov 4- Bilbao, Spain
Tues Nov 6- Toulouse, France
Wed Nov 7- Nancy, France
Fri Nov 9- Newport Centre- Wales, UK
Sat Nov 10- Civic Hall- Wolverhampton, UK
Sun Nov 11- King George's Hall- Blackburn, UK
Düsseldorf
10/07/07 Filed in: Rambling
The Camp crew, my extended family- came to the Paris
show. It was great to see them & it seems like
life in France suits them. You should check out Bob
Camp's site & blog. He is a great
illustrator & cartoon producer/ director,
who co-created The Ren & Stimpy
Show and was more recently a storyboard
artist on the films Robots &
Ice Age: The Meltdown.
The audience in Paris was amazing & everyone left France recharged, ready for a break in Düsseldorf. Yesterday was our first true "Day Off" since September 22th and after 14 days of 16hour workdays & endless travel - we were ready to relax. The sunny Saturday afternoon was perfect for a bike ride along the Rhine River, followed by an afternoon of window shopping and beer drinking.
The audience in Paris was amazing & everyone left France recharged, ready for a break in Düsseldorf. Yesterday was our first true "Day Off" since September 22th and after 14 days of 16hour workdays & endless travel - we were ready to relax. The sunny Saturday afternoon was perfect for a bike ride along the Rhine River, followed by an afternoon of window shopping and beer drinking.
Antwerp
10/04/07 Filed in: Rambling
Not really... Johnny took the photo in Portland, where it was brilliant blue but here in Antwerp the sky is a dull gray.
We are in the NY Times
09/28/07 Filed in: Rambling
While dining at Le Pigeon in Portland, Oregon we were
photographed (lower right corner) for the NY Times
article In Portland, a Golden Age of
Dining and Drinking
Viking Ferry
09/28/07 Filed in: Rambling
Just arrived in Stockholm after an 11 hour ferry ride from Helsinki- it was beautiful.
Around Jupiter
09/16/07 Filed in: Art
After a day of the Affair at the Jupiter art fair, which included a little lunchtime conversation with blogger and Portland arts writer Chas Bowie, we headed over to Le Pigeon for a farewell meal. There was a photographer from the NYTimes there taking photos for their upcoming food section article on Portland restaurants. (UPDATE: Here is the article from the NY Times on-line)
Summer Vacation- Finally!
09/01/07 Filed in: Rambling
"There is No Place Just Like This Place Anywhere Near This Place
So This Must Be The Place."
We are on a beach vacation in Guilford, CT-- home of 'The Place'. BYOB and pull up a stump to sit upon, because as they say "magic happens when you roast clams on a wood fire". Opened in 1966, this alfresco restaurant cooks everything over a 20-foot-long fireplace. Students who work there start out at the corn station; after a year or two they are moved to lobsters. All other fire-roasted entrees- steak, salmon, chicken, bluefish, and the clams- are cooked at the front of the fireplace by those with the most experience.
Minneapolis
08/09/07
Today was our first true 'day off' since July 17. Minneapolis seems to be recovering from last week's i-35 tragedy and we had a wonderful day exploring some of the cities finer points. Sadly we did not make it to the Walker Art Center, where last summer we had a personal tour from the curator Yasmil. But Jdk and I did re-visit the 1950s time-warp Nye's Polonaise Room with Piano Bar and Polka Lounge. The golden glittering naugihide booths are the wonderful compliment to the beehived hostess and stuffed cabbage perogi plates.
Where does the mail get delivered?
06/11/07 Filed in: Rambling
Today we solved the problem of how to get our mail while traveling.
Earth Class Mail is a service for the 21st Century that picks up my mail from a post office box, scans the outside of the envelope and puts the scan on-line. I then have the choice of clicking: 1) Open envelope and scan contents for me 2) Forward unopened mail to me somewhere along the way 3) Recycle or Shred 4) Archive.
video road trip
05/30/07 Filed in: Rambling
Click the photo to watch The Frugal Traveler's video blog of his US road trip. He posts a new segment posted each Wednesday. The New York Times really got my number with this one: An old volvo on a cross-country road trip- meow!
gallivantin' galveston gal
05/21/07 Filed in: Rambling
Shortly after arriving in Houston, last August, we were at a cocktail party associated with my job. I was talking with a woman about wanting to go check out Galveston, the seaside city on the Gulf of Mexico and only 35 minutes from downtown Houston. She seemed to think the beaches were cleaner these days because "the hotels are no longer giving out those special towels that clean the tar balls off your legs." Gross! After her comment I imagined a nasty Petrol-polluted landscape, and was really surprised at the beautiful beachfront campsite we had this weekend at the Galveston Island State Park, located at the remote western end of the island.
Galveston Island State Park Slideshow
Gallivantin' Galveston Gal comes via The Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry.