Pretty cool map feature showing what percentage of the world you have visited (I'm at 7%).
create your own visited countries map
Jul 30, 2006
Visited Countries Map
Pretty cool map feature showing what percentage of the world you have visited (I'm at 7%).
create your own visited countries map
Jul 12, 2006
Montenegro - Day 3
OK, so I admit. I'm just making up stuff now. I have no idea if it was day 3 or day 7 when the things I will describe to you happened. I know that after a night of meeting the new folk and general comraderie, we all started bonding. The American Women didn't arrive till a little later. So, for the first night it was just us. We stayed up on the hilltop in the Villa.
The next day, Rushit, Shawn and I took a trip to the beach (well, they went to the beach. As for me, "I don't like the sand, I don't like the water.") I spent time wandering the steets of Ulcinj. Ulcinj is a small town of about 20,000 peolpe or so. It is on the coast near the border of Albania and is thus populated with about 90% Albanians of which most are Muslim. The other residents are Orthodox Christian. Now, expecting to be in Serbia/Montenegro, I had practiced Serbian words like 'hvala' and 'pivo'. I didn't realize that Albanian would have come in more handy. While the local Albanian population spoke Serbian, it would have just been more polite had I at least learnd the basics of their language.
Luckily, since Shawn and I were Rushit's roommates and we took a liking to each other, we spent alot of time together. Rushit would translate for us since, being from Kosovo, Albanian was his first language. The waiters at the Villa and pretty much everyone in town were Albanian, so it certainly helped to have Rushit around.
Random photo of the city...
Up in the Villa there were a number of restaurants which served primarily fresh seafood of the day. Here is a photo of the catch before being prepared for that evening's dinner.
I guess it was that evening that Vahida divvied up the art supplies. This came as a bit of a shock to Colleen and myself, as we were both from educational backgrounds that did away with disciplinary boundaries. I more recently have been doing photography and video and was not expecting to paint. I knew painting was certainly going to take place, but I didn't think it was the sole practice of the residency. And, as it turned out, it wasn't going to be the sole practice of the residency. But, more on that later.
The next day, Rushit, Shawn and I took a trip to the beach (well, they went to the beach. As for me, "I don't like the sand, I don't like the water.") I spent time wandering the steets of Ulcinj. Ulcinj is a small town of about 20,000 peolpe or so. It is on the coast near the border of Albania and is thus populated with about 90% Albanians of which most are Muslim. The other residents are Orthodox Christian. Now, expecting to be in Serbia/Montenegro, I had practiced Serbian words like 'hvala' and 'pivo'. I didn't realize that Albanian would have come in more handy. While the local Albanian population spoke Serbian, it would have just been more polite had I at least learnd the basics of their language.
Luckily, since Shawn and I were Rushit's roommates and we took a liking to each other, we spent alot of time together. Rushit would translate for us since, being from Kosovo, Albanian was his first language. The waiters at the Villa and pretty much everyone in town were Albanian, so it certainly helped to have Rushit around.
Random photo of the city...
Up in the Villa there were a number of restaurants which served primarily fresh seafood of the day. Here is a photo of the catch before being prepared for that evening's dinner.
I guess it was that evening that Vahida divvied up the art supplies. This came as a bit of a shock to Colleen and myself, as we were both from educational backgrounds that did away with disciplinary boundaries. I more recently have been doing photography and video and was not expecting to paint. I knew painting was certainly going to take place, but I didn't think it was the sole practice of the residency. And, as it turned out, it wasn't going to be the sole practice of the residency. But, more on that later.
Jul 10, 2006
New Drawings
I did these drawings today. They work as a suite of five images arranged in this order...
Details of each image follow. Each image is 9.25 by 8 inches. The first, third and fifth drawings are collages using newspaper images with Scotch tape and black Sharpie and Dry Erase Marker. Image two and three are drawings using various pens, markers and highlighters. Click on any image to get a closer look.
An image of a soldier with a baseball on a baseball filed.
A drawing made using highlighters and a Sharpie.
An image of Mexican politicans in front of a political poster.
An drawing of a dry eraser marker with shadow.
An image of a woman crying in the arms of a Salvation Army volunteer in London after the 7/7 attacks.
Details of each image follow. Each image is 9.25 by 8 inches. The first, third and fifth drawings are collages using newspaper images with Scotch tape and black Sharpie and Dry Erase Marker. Image two and three are drawings using various pens, markers and highlighters. Click on any image to get a closer look.
An image of a soldier with a baseball on a baseball filed.
A drawing made using highlighters and a Sharpie.
An image of Mexican politicans in front of a political poster.
An drawing of a dry eraser marker with shadow.
An image of a woman crying in the arms of a Salvation Army volunteer in London after the 7/7 attacks.
Cy-Fair High School Reunion Mix
"586" by New Order
"Cars" by Gary Numan
"CCCan't You See" by Vicious Pink
"Desperate But Not Serious" by Adam Ant
"Don't Tell Me" by Blancmange
"Fade To Grey (Extended)" by Visage
"Forever Young (New Single Mix)" by Alphaville
"Get The Balance Right (Razormaid Mix)" by Depeche Mode
"Heartbeat (Class X Mix)" by Psychedelic Furs
"Here We Go" by Ministry
"Hungry Like The Wolf (Razormaid Mix)" by Duran Duran
"I Love a Man in Uniform (12" A Side)" by Gang of Four
"I Love You Too Much (Original Version)" by The Human League
"Imagination" by Belious Some
"Promised You A Miracle" by The Simple Minds
"Promises, Promises" by Naked Eyes
"Sailing On The Seven Seas" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)
"Smalltown Boy (Full 12" Version)" by Bronski Beat
"Tainted Love/ Where Did Our Love Go (Extended)" by Soft Cell
"Tears Are Not Enough (12" Version)" by ABC
"Tour de France (Original 1983)" by Kraftwerk
"Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood
"Whammy Kiss" by The B52's
"Wishing (I Had a Photograph)" by A Flock of Seagulls
Jul 9, 2006
Montenego - Day 2
I arrive in Ulcinj totally exhausted. But, equally, I feel exhilirated. I am supposed to go to the Old Town but Vahida doesn't answer her cell phone. No problem. I find a guy selling cigarettes by the beach who speaks enough English to help me find Ismet, the 'mayor' of Old Town. Five minutes later, he is walking me up the stairs to the Old Town where he takes me directly to Vahida's house. Fellow Americans Colleen and Shawn have arrived, as well (we were all on the same train, but we didn't know it), and we meet for the first time. I also meet Rushit from Kosovo, Ana from Serebia and Ioan from Romania. More on all these later, but first, images of the Old Town.
Vahida tells us that we are going to Ada Bojana (at least, I think that's where we went first). On the way to the van that will drive us there, we pass the jail where Cervantes was imprisoned. By then I have meet Marko and Tamara, a married couple from Serbia (who I will later stay with on my trip home), as well. In the photo below are Marko and Rushit with Shawn, Tamara and Ioan looking into the prison.
We pass the Orthodox cemetery on the way to the van.
When we get to Ada Bojana, I learn we are to clean the boat. Well, technically, Marko, Tamara, Ana, and Vahida begin cleaning and tell us to hang out. But, watching them go at it for half an hour, we all decide to pitch in. This is the closest to the 'slavery' that I got 'sold into' (everyone kidded me about that happening). We will end up using the boat later during the residency.
Wild cat eating a fish head.
On the way back to Ulcinj, we stop at Copa Cabana in Ada Bojana, a huge beach that goes as far as the eye can see.
Vahida tells us that we are going to Ada Bojana (at least, I think that's where we went first). On the way to the van that will drive us there, we pass the jail where Cervantes was imprisoned. By then I have meet Marko and Tamara, a married couple from Serbia (who I will later stay with on my trip home), as well. In the photo below are Marko and Rushit with Shawn, Tamara and Ioan looking into the prison.
We pass the Orthodox cemetery on the way to the van.
When we get to Ada Bojana, I learn we are to clean the boat. Well, technically, Marko, Tamara, Ana, and Vahida begin cleaning and tell us to hang out. But, watching them go at it for half an hour, we all decide to pitch in. This is the closest to the 'slavery' that I got 'sold into' (everyone kidded me about that happening). We will end up using the boat later during the residency.
Wild cat eating a fish head.
On the way back to Ulcinj, we stop at Copa Cabana in Ada Bojana, a huge beach that goes as far as the eye can see.
Jul 8, 2006
Serbia & Montenegro - Day 1 & 2
A recent LA Times article describes the journey via train from Belgrade to Bar, the coastal town in Montenegro. It was from Bar that I would take a cab to my final destination of Ulcinj. Before I boarded the train in Belgrade at 10PM, I purchased a plastic 2-liter bottle of Pivo to be my companion on the start of the trip.
These two new friends told me I could share their cabin on the train. The guy on the left spoke adequate English, but his friend...not so much. We were quickly joined by two young brothers and thus began the train ride.
On a stop along the way, the two brothers met up with a friend of theirs and his girlfriend. It was obvious that I was not to get much sleep in this cabin. There was a bar on the train that the two younger guys frequented, but for the first leg of the trip, I shared my beer with the group.
Most of the people I met in Serbia & Montenegro (including the Bosnians, Croats and Kosovars) were still quite nationalistic. They were not aggressive or disdainful toward each other in any way. But you could sense that some unresolved issues were always near the surface. The people I met seemed eager to let these disputes play out in a democratic way and were never pleased with the military conflicts to which Milosevic had made them a part.
I ventured down to the bar and had some Rubin Vinjak at 100 dinar a miniature bottle (cheap). It is a cognac-type liquor that is produced in a town about 100 miles south of Belgrade. What was interesting was that not only were the passengers enjoying a cocktail, but so was the train conductor...
The bathroom....
After a quick trip to the bathroom, which was as described in the LA Times article, my two new friends decided to find another cabin -- away from the teen-agers.
It wasn't until early in the morning that my English-speaking friend woke me up, The train was coming to a near stand-still, so I asked if we were arriving. His answer came as a shock. We were approaching the ravine where in January the train to Bar had lost use of its brakes and careened over the edge of the mountainside. I wasn't aware of the accident, but read about it at the BBC once I got to a computer.
These two new friends told me I could share their cabin on the train. The guy on the left spoke adequate English, but his friend...not so much. We were quickly joined by two young brothers and thus began the train ride.
On a stop along the way, the two brothers met up with a friend of theirs and his girlfriend. It was obvious that I was not to get much sleep in this cabin. There was a bar on the train that the two younger guys frequented, but for the first leg of the trip, I shared my beer with the group.
Most of the people I met in Serbia & Montenegro (including the Bosnians, Croats and Kosovars) were still quite nationalistic. They were not aggressive or disdainful toward each other in any way. But you could sense that some unresolved issues were always near the surface. The people I met seemed eager to let these disputes play out in a democratic way and were never pleased with the military conflicts to which Milosevic had made them a part.
I ventured down to the bar and had some Rubin Vinjak at 100 dinar a miniature bottle (cheap). It is a cognac-type liquor that is produced in a town about 100 miles south of Belgrade. What was interesting was that not only were the passengers enjoying a cocktail, but so was the train conductor...
The bathroom....
After a quick trip to the bathroom, which was as described in the LA Times article, my two new friends decided to find another cabin -- away from the teen-agers.
It wasn't until early in the morning that my English-speaking friend woke me up, The train was coming to a near stand-still, so I asked if we were arriving. His answer came as a shock. We were approaching the ravine where in January the train to Bar had lost use of its brakes and careened over the edge of the mountainside. I wasn't aware of the accident, but read about it at the BBC once I got to a computer.
Jul 7, 2006
Serbia - Day 1
The trip to Serbia & Montenegro began with a flight from Los Angeles to New York. A short layover and plane change in New York and then on to London. London to Milan, and then Milan to Belgrade.
Below is a photo just for Anna. The Captain announced that we were flying over the Swiss Alps. This is as close as I got to Basel this year. Maybe next year.
As we flew into Belgrade, I was intrigued by the architecture of the city. This image of New Belgrade is of the Communist-era brutalist architecure that was popular through the 60's. Tito led Yugoslavia from the 40's until his death in 1980. During this time, he built the city of New Belgrade across the river Sava. In a move away from Soviet formalist and narrative architecture, the predominant style of New Belgrade was more Western modernist and avant-garde.
After I landed, I took a cab ride around the city. The driver (though ripping me off) was very friendly and informative. He took me by many interesting spots, including the ruins of the Army Headquarters bombed by NATO in 1999. There is a very interesting article regarding the architecture of Belgrade and this building at the following link: nato as architectural critic by Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss. A short quote:
I didn't spend much time in Belgrade the first day, but when I came back through, I spent 2 days with my new friends Tamara and Marko. Pictures of that visit later...
Below is a photo just for Anna. The Captain announced that we were flying over the Swiss Alps. This is as close as I got to Basel this year. Maybe next year.
As we flew into Belgrade, I was intrigued by the architecture of the city. This image of New Belgrade is of the Communist-era brutalist architecure that was popular through the 60's. Tito led Yugoslavia from the 40's until his death in 1980. During this time, he built the city of New Belgrade across the river Sava. In a move away from Soviet formalist and narrative architecture, the predominant style of New Belgrade was more Western modernist and avant-garde.
After I landed, I took a cab ride around the city. The driver (though ripping me off) was very friendly and informative. He took me by many interesting spots, including the ruins of the Army Headquarters bombed by NATO in 1999. There is a very interesting article regarding the architecture of Belgrade and this building at the following link: nato as architectural critic by Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss. A short quote:
(W)hat can be the strategic value of a highly visible large building in the center of the city, especially after being emptied of its personnel and equipment? Physically, its strategic value is zero. The only possible strategic justification for the destruction of this building was its symbolic disappearance from the skyline.
I didn't spend much time in Belgrade the first day, but when I came back through, I spent 2 days with my new friends Tamara and Marko. Pictures of that visit later...
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