Photos, Philosophy, Politics & Pool...
The website said the “photographer’s tour” of Antelope Canyon was fully booked, but “sightseeing” tours were still available. No way. No way am I going into one of the most photogenic places on earth in a mob of tourists. For their own safety I show up an hour early, and charmed my way into the “photographers tour.” Okay, maybe it...
The ad said “pool players wanted,” so I answered the ad. The guy lived in West Oakland, not exactly the safest place in the world, but pool is pool, so off I went. And so began my friendship with Bihn. Bihn was the son of Vietnamese boat people, about 30 years old, and very outgoing. Though unemployed, he lived in...
“Warning: Death for drug traffickers under Singapore law.” That’s what it says on the immigration form the flight attendants are handing out. Well shit, I’ve got a bottle of Tylenol in my bag, why didn’t someone tell me before I got on the plane? Singapore is of course famous for its strict law enforcement. Remember that American college kid who...
“Do you Renounce All Violence?” That’s what she asked me. Was she serious? Did she really want to know? Or was it simply moral posturing? I don’t know. But its a commonly held view at Burning Man, which after all is a hippie, artsy festival at its core. Such proclamations are to be expected. I replied, “I renounce the initiation...
Rented a motorcycle to get around Danang, with the full understanding that the “normal” rules of driving do not apply in Vietnam. You know, quaint little Western ideas like “right of way, my lane, or one-way street.” Things regarded as “common sense” in the West, are not only absent here, but dangerous. For example, regard for what is behind is...
I’d locked the keys in my car. Well, it wasn’t my car exactly, it was my father’s. A 1974 Plymouth Satellite. I had just started my first “real job” in downtown Edmonton, and was borrowing the car to commute from the family farm into the city. I couldn’t yet afford a car of my own, nor could I afford to...
There has to be 50 restaurants to choose from in Boracay. Some are packed, other languish. But why? It can’t be only taste, for tourists must choose without knowing. Location makes a difference, but neighboring establishments frequently have very different results. It’s a design problem. Ask the average person why they chose or passed over any given place and they...
Naturally this means I’ve got to take the train again, and at least this time I’ll have a clue how to do it. But down at the “ticket” machine, there are a couple young Chinese tourists who don’t have clue. They think the “ticket” machine, the one with the big “Ticket Machine” sign above it ought to sell them a...
The sun sets in forty minutes, and with Bangkok rush hour already underway, the places I want to photograph – Wat Arun and Sky Bar – are just not possible. A little internet digging shows that the Sofitel SO Hotel has a rooftop bar overlooking Lumpini Park, and its very near a train station. So Softitel SO it is. Down...
Both the doorman and my taxi driver seem especially concerned to which airport terminal I’m going to. I don’t know. My itinerary doesn’t say. How much can it matter? Taxi pulls up to the airport. Driver asks, “Okay?” The meter says 187, I say “okay,” pay the fare and get out. He drives away. The security guard on the curb...
I didn’t plan to get in a fight. I didn’t go looking for trouble either, but somehow trouble seems to find me. Well, that’s not exactly true, maybe I was looking for it just a little bit. Here’s how it happened… The sun was blazing on the third day of my tour of Angkor Wat. Even my driver commented on...
A little while ago, I was invited to participate in a Class Action lawsuit for 13 million dollars. If successful, my share of this loot would only be a small fraction, perhaps a thousand dollars at most. The accused is an internet company I invested in back in the boom days. Like so many of those companies, their expectations fell...
She was in her late twenties, with flowing brown hair and clear pale skin. I met her on my morning commute. The 880 from Oakland to San Jose is one of the worst commutes in the Bay Area. Roughly an hour and a half of stop and start traffic with no rhyme or reason to why it stops, or why...
To rehab my shoulder I’ve been swimming in my Condo’s rooftop pool. First couple days I didn’t really swim. Just sat neck high submerged and moved my arm slowly up and down to see how far I could push it without popping it out again. Yesterday I swam one length, a slow breast stroke, just fast enough to keep my...
When I was about four years old, my parents gave me a toy piano. Up until that moment, I had been able to figure out just about anything, but it soon became quite clear to me that I had no aptitude for music. The piano was put aside – way aside – for crayons, building blocks, and comic books. I...
