Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The CW and The Feed
I've got a new post up on (CRIT), the SVA MFAD blog. It's all about The CW network and the lengths it will go to to sell us shit. You can read it here. Toodles.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Design for 3-Dimensions or: How I Learned to Stop Building Models and Embrace the Poo Bot
The MFA Design program at SVA is in a constant state of flux. They tweak the courseload with each incoming group of students to such a varying degree that we have classes our second year counterparts didn't, some mandatory courses they had the option of taking and classes that we all have in common but which are now twice as long as they've been in the past.
One such class, Design for 3-Dimensions, which is now mandatory, is an attempt to get us out from behind the computer and building things with our hands. I had pretty high hopes for this course after an amazing first meeting where we discussed, among other things, sustainability and planned obsolescence in product design. Then we got our first assignment: build a pooper scooper. Pooper scooper projects are the "Hello World" equivalent of the industrial design world, but I was initially game. However, the project went on for a month and my patience wore a little thin. While I was ultimately satisfied with my claw, dubbed "The Power Glove," and was able to use it to successfully pick up a stranger's dog shit near Gramercy Park, I was encouraged to push it further for the final prototype.
But I'd hit a wall. I had little interest in thinking about the practical designs of a pooper scooper, a device that all urban dog owners had told me would never surpass the plastic bag and hand in terms of convenience and efficiency. So I jumped ship. I ran as fast as I could away from the practical world of pooper scoopers and into the loving arms of an ideological sea change. I decided for the last week that I would propose an idea that, if successful, would result in a cultural touchstone, a wealth of merchandising oppurtunities and a generation of kids who would think that picking up dog shit was "totally cool."
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...POOTOMATON, THE UNSTOPPABLE POO-COLLECTING KILLBOT!
Pootomaton uses the latest advances in cybernetics and fecal fusion to convert a pile of dog shit into money. Pootomaton simply places said dogpile into the poop chute in his front panel and in minutes, the shit is converted via the fecal conversion reactor into a dollar bill. EVERYONE WINS!
BritishSteve, my cubicle mate, kindly agreed to play Pootomaton for the day so the exoskeleton was custom-fitted to his fleshy core.
I tailor a panel of sentient pooluminum (cardboard) while BritishSteve stares into the dark, haunting core of his left claw, which just happens to be one of his failed (but fucking awesome) prototypes.
BritishSteve tries on the cowl. We insisted that all people refer to the headpiece as a "cowl". Not a "helmet," not "the head," but a "cowl." People gave us strange looks but we weren't dissuaded. Inside us, beat the hearts of comic nerds.
The morning of, post spray paint enhancements on the sidewalk in front of the school. A security guard gave me a ration of shit about painting it after I'd finished and was sitting waiting for the bot to dry. I told her that I didn't care if I could do it or not, it was already done. Fuck you rules, ART KNOWS NO BOUNDS!
Pootomaton and his own comic make their grand entrance in the classroom.
Pootomaton collects poop. He prints money. And, if prompted, he pops and locks.
At our teacher's request, we stormed the office of Steve Heller, the chair of the MFA program to show off the costume.
Steve's words: "Well, you get an 'A'!"
A boy and his robot.
The comic next to my classmate Kimiyo's shit sculptures. I'm developing a bunch of ancillary products to flesh out the POOBOT-cum-SUPERHERO idea, so I'll post those later. Art school is, like, so wicked.
One such class, Design for 3-Dimensions, which is now mandatory, is an attempt to get us out from behind the computer and building things with our hands. I had pretty high hopes for this course after an amazing first meeting where we discussed, among other things, sustainability and planned obsolescence in product design. Then we got our first assignment: build a pooper scooper. Pooper scooper projects are the "Hello World" equivalent of the industrial design world, but I was initially game. However, the project went on for a month and my patience wore a little thin. While I was ultimately satisfied with my claw, dubbed "The Power Glove," and was able to use it to successfully pick up a stranger's dog shit near Gramercy Park, I was encouraged to push it further for the final prototype.
But I'd hit a wall. I had little interest in thinking about the practical designs of a pooper scooper, a device that all urban dog owners had told me would never surpass the plastic bag and hand in terms of convenience and efficiency. So I jumped ship. I ran as fast as I could away from the practical world of pooper scoopers and into the loving arms of an ideological sea change. I decided for the last week that I would propose an idea that, if successful, would result in a cultural touchstone, a wealth of merchandising oppurtunities and a generation of kids who would think that picking up dog shit was "totally cool."
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...POOTOMATON, THE UNSTOPPABLE POO-COLLECTING KILLBOT!
Pootomaton uses the latest advances in cybernetics and fecal fusion to convert a pile of dog shit into money. Pootomaton simply places said dogpile into the poop chute in his front panel and in minutes, the shit is converted via the fecal conversion reactor into a dollar bill. EVERYONE WINS!
BritishSteve, my cubicle mate, kindly agreed to play Pootomaton for the day so the exoskeleton was custom-fitted to his fleshy core.
I tailor a panel of sentient pooluminum (cardboard) while BritishSteve stares into the dark, haunting core of his left claw, which just happens to be one of his failed (but fucking awesome) prototypes.
BritishSteve tries on the cowl. We insisted that all people refer to the headpiece as a "cowl". Not a "helmet," not "the head," but a "cowl." People gave us strange looks but we weren't dissuaded. Inside us, beat the hearts of comic nerds.
The morning of, post spray paint enhancements on the sidewalk in front of the school. A security guard gave me a ration of shit about painting it after I'd finished and was sitting waiting for the bot to dry. I told her that I didn't care if I could do it or not, it was already done. Fuck you rules, ART KNOWS NO BOUNDS!
Pootomaton and his own comic make their grand entrance in the classroom.
Pootomaton collects poop. He prints money. And, if prompted, he pops and locks.
At our teacher's request, we stormed the office of Steve Heller, the chair of the MFA program to show off the costume.
Steve's words: "Well, you get an 'A'!"
A boy and his robot.
The comic next to my classmate Kimiyo's shit sculptures. I'm developing a bunch of ancillary products to flesh out the POOBOT-cum-SUPERHERO idea, so I'll post those later. Art school is, like, so wicked.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Another (CRIT) Post
I have another post up on the MFAD blog, this one about Dunny Series 4. You can read it here. I'm scheduled to post again next week, so I'll let you know when it's up.
Type Video
For our "Just Type" class, we have an ongoing project that is due at the end of the semester. Were constructing music videos that are black and white and only use type. If you want a background, you gotta build it outta type. You want characters? Type people. You get the idea. I'm animating "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" by Of Montreal. My storyboarding consists of a withdrawn, drug-addled capital "A" taking a magic pill that transforms him into his drug-fueled alter ego. It's full blown psychedelia, baby. After presenting the idea and storyboards in class, I'm fairly confident that many of my contemporaries mistook me for a fan of hardcore hallucinogens. It must've been the bit about the "A" vomiting up a puddle of letters which then sprout insect legs to form a line of lyrics from the song. Below are some storyboards and a very rough screen test. I'll nix the commentary and leave the interpretation to you as this project has a couple of months before it's worth watching.
Click here to peep the screen test. Three seconds of animated motion graphics have never been more exciting!
Click here to peep the screen test. Three seconds of animated motion graphics have never been more exciting!
Just Type
One of the first semester classes were taking is meant to be a sort of primer/crash course in typography. From the curriculum description of the class:
Over the past few weeks we've been working on a free-form exercise meant to loosen us up and get us comfortable working with type, letter by letter. Be it modern, woodprint or novelty, the idea is to construct textcentric posters that push our own personal comfort zones into unexpected places. We contacted designers whom we admire and asked them to supply a pithy bit of advice for design students to act as the basis of our posters. The advice was then used for the type compositions. Black and white. Just type.
Wood Type
The alphabets used were based on old woodprinting alphabets. The characters are evocative of old concert or carnival posters with all of the nicks and scrapes of age still intact. Quote: "Simple is beautiful." -Bubi Au Yeung, Illustrator and Toy Designer
This quote was a difficult one to begin with b'c we were being pushed to do a lot of crazy, messy stuff. Typically, too many fonts is a bad thing. But this exercise, in part, is about ignoring that instinct. I was afraid too much visual chaos would contradict the advice given in the quote and not really play as a composition. I decided to start by just obscuring some of the word "beautiful" and keeping things simple.
Over-scaled letterforms provided a canvas for the straight forward construction of the quote in this piece. I sort of like it. I think my professor sort of didn't. Oh well.
I am in love with this poster. It was a great excuse to use all of these cool old woodtype dingbats and call outs. The idea behind this is pretty obvious: there's a lot going on around the simplicity of the white space and text at the center. This one is my favorite for the wood type, no doubt.
Novelty
Novelty faces are super gimmicky and really only good for one purpose. Imagine an alphabet where all the letters are capped by snowy ice or letters that look like a lasso. Pretty much useless, I suppose, but novelty type is kind of trashy cool. Quote: "Don't worship The New for its novelty or The Old for its nostalgia." -Jason Kottke, Blogger and Design fan
Starting out, I had some trouble working with the novelty type b'c they are pretty hard on the eyes. I decided to play it safe on the first poster and just use novelty for "The New" and "The Old," softening the edges with the charm of more woodtype.
It's Type Jesus. Drawing inspiration from the word "worship" in the quote and simultaneously spurned on by this wicked thorny novelty alphabet, I decided to make a crown of thorns with the quote and use the letters in "New" and "Old" to construct a face. My friends and I think Type Jesus is hilarious and that the poster is, of course, fucking hideous. My professor on the other hand liked it and thought the conceit quite clever. Hmmm.
Here is the quote constructed from most of the typefaces provided to us in a folder labeled "Use with caution!" I threw caution to the wind and used a different face for each word in the quote. The text is meant to be worshiping the bits at the top, but that is hard to convey with letters and words. She "loved" this one. Wicked.
Modern
Modern faces are clean, stream-lined and go hand-in-hand with Art Deco styling. Quote: "Designers have to learn that we can't blame our clients for bad work." -Adrian Shaughnessy, Designer and Author
These were rushed and, as such, I can't say I'm quite happy with them yet. The exercise is meant to be non-cerebral. You're supposed to construct these posters in a rush without worrying the details to death. Still, since this round isn't due yet, I'll likely do a few more passes/designs before Friday's class.
Nothing says "deco" like the Chrysler building. Need those words to looks more skyscraper-y though.
JUST TYPE is an exploration of contemporary and classic typefaces that students will apply to ten short projects over the course of the semester. Every week, each student will be given a font to research and work with on a specific project. In some cases, we'll work in class with printouts and glue sticks. Seriously. At the end, a type catalogue of the fonts used will be compiled, and the class projects shown as examples of the faces in action. There will be no images,color or devices used--JUST TYPE.The description is a bit out of date but it goes to the heart of what we are doing. Much of graphic design (and the disciplines that grow out of it: motion graphics, print, web, etc.) are built on a foundation of clear and concise type. Words communicate ideas and to be a good designer you have to be "fluent in type," which is a fancy way of saying you understand the laws and foundations of type construction. That's what this class is all about.
Over the past few weeks we've been working on a free-form exercise meant to loosen us up and get us comfortable working with type, letter by letter. Be it modern, woodprint or novelty, the idea is to construct textcentric posters that push our own personal comfort zones into unexpected places. We contacted designers whom we admire and asked them to supply a pithy bit of advice for design students to act as the basis of our posters. The advice was then used for the type compositions. Black and white. Just type.
Wood Type
The alphabets used were based on old woodprinting alphabets. The characters are evocative of old concert or carnival posters with all of the nicks and scrapes of age still intact. Quote: "Simple is beautiful." -Bubi Au Yeung, Illustrator and Toy Designer
This quote was a difficult one to begin with b'c we were being pushed to do a lot of crazy, messy stuff. Typically, too many fonts is a bad thing. But this exercise, in part, is about ignoring that instinct. I was afraid too much visual chaos would contradict the advice given in the quote and not really play as a composition. I decided to start by just obscuring some of the word "beautiful" and keeping things simple.
Over-scaled letterforms provided a canvas for the straight forward construction of the quote in this piece. I sort of like it. I think my professor sort of didn't. Oh well.
I am in love with this poster. It was a great excuse to use all of these cool old woodtype dingbats and call outs. The idea behind this is pretty obvious: there's a lot going on around the simplicity of the white space and text at the center. This one is my favorite for the wood type, no doubt.
Novelty
Novelty faces are super gimmicky and really only good for one purpose. Imagine an alphabet where all the letters are capped by snowy ice or letters that look like a lasso. Pretty much useless, I suppose, but novelty type is kind of trashy cool. Quote: "Don't worship The New for its novelty or The Old for its nostalgia." -Jason Kottke, Blogger and Design fan
Starting out, I had some trouble working with the novelty type b'c they are pretty hard on the eyes. I decided to play it safe on the first poster and just use novelty for "The New" and "The Old," softening the edges with the charm of more woodtype.
It's Type Jesus. Drawing inspiration from the word "worship" in the quote and simultaneously spurned on by this wicked thorny novelty alphabet, I decided to make a crown of thorns with the quote and use the letters in "New" and "Old" to construct a face. My friends and I think Type Jesus is hilarious and that the poster is, of course, fucking hideous. My professor on the other hand liked it and thought the conceit quite clever. Hmmm.
Here is the quote constructed from most of the typefaces provided to us in a folder labeled "Use with caution!" I threw caution to the wind and used a different face for each word in the quote. The text is meant to be worshiping the bits at the top, but that is hard to convey with letters and words. She "loved" this one. Wicked.
Modern
Modern faces are clean, stream-lined and go hand-in-hand with Art Deco styling. Quote: "Designers have to learn that we can't blame our clients for bad work." -Adrian Shaughnessy, Designer and Author
These were rushed and, as such, I can't say I'm quite happy with them yet. The exercise is meant to be non-cerebral. You're supposed to construct these posters in a rush without worrying the details to death. Still, since this round isn't due yet, I'll likely do a few more passes/designs before Friday's class.
Nothing says "deco" like the Chrysler building. Need those words to looks more skyscraper-y though.
Proof of Life
My Dad sent me a letter the other day because my website was down, which cut off e-mail access. And I wasn't answering my phone, nor was I listening to messages. He sent a letter. The kind you, like, post with stamps and stuff.
I get it. The site is back online. I'm alive. I'll start posting work from my classes. OK?
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Babynapping
I don't want a kid. Not for the moment at least. Just not practical. But there were these two babies at Starbucks this morning and their pure, distilled, fat-cheeked cuteness had me fit to be tied. It was all I could not to take the wee youngest and raise it as my own.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Eat It Up, Fatties
Last week, in Milton Glaser's class, we were asked to design a poster that would act as a deterrant to a particular action or habit. If you hate smokers, make an anti-smoking poster. If you hate people spitting on the sidewalk, make an anti-spitting poster. You get the idea. Claire and I decided that I should tackle our number one pet peeve: child fatties. Every day I see some little obese tubbo knocking back a coke or being fed a Big Grab bag of chips by their indifferent parents. THE FATTIES MUST STOP.
We scoured the Internet for pictures of fat kids, but in the end all of my ideas seemed to cruel and not exactly effective persuasive statements to convince fatties to put down the M&M's and back away slowly. My cube mates at the studio didn't seem to think my original slogan was all that funny: "Hey fatties, maybe it's time for some diet and exercise." In the end, I abandoned childhood obesity and joined the big tent fight of diabetes and obesity in general. My idea required a 15" x 20" illustration board and about $25 of high fructose corn shit. The pictures below are a brief documentation of the construction process, the final poster and an extra goof thrown in for good measure.
We scoured the Internet for pictures of fat kids, but in the end all of my ideas seemed to cruel and not exactly effective persuasive statements to convince fatties to put down the M&M's and back away slowly. My cube mates at the studio didn't seem to think my original slogan was all that funny: "Hey fatties, maybe it's time for some diet and exercise." In the end, I abandoned childhood obesity and joined the big tent fight of diabetes and obesity in general. My idea required a 15" x 20" illustration board and about $25 of high fructose corn shit. The pictures below are a brief documentation of the construction process, the final poster and an extra goof thrown in for good measure.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Two-Timing
The MFA Designer as Author program has a blog and I'm going to start posting the occasional design thought/rant over there. You can read my first post, if you please. I'll continue to mention my posts, so no need to subscribe if you're not design-inclined.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Studio Engaged
Hello folks. I'm alive, well, married, moved and I've started school. Things have been a bit mental of late. I've started a part-time schedule at work (which I've yet to make good on, making it more of a no-time schedule these past two days) and begun classes at SVA. Hopefully over the next week, things at school will subside (at the moment I'm just sitting here, staring at the finished project that is due in an hour and wondering if I forgot to prepare an additional piece of work) and Claire and I will finish settling in at home. Once that happens, I plan to post regularly about my scholarly adventures, design projects and drop the occasional podcast or comic strip. 'Member those? Me neither.
Below, I've included a few samples of my first assignment. Two weeks ago, we were asked to prepare a 15" x 20" board that was biographical (sort-of) and shed some light on our individual visual style and language. The project is for Milton Glaser's class, so everyone has been wringing their hands and second-guessing their work. But hopefully all will unfold without much anguish. Enjoy!
Below, I've included a few samples of my first assignment. Two weeks ago, we were asked to prepare a 15" x 20" board that was biographical (sort-of) and shed some light on our individual visual style and language. The project is for Milton Glaser's class, so everyone has been wringing their hands and second-guessing their work. But hopefully all will unfold without much anguish. Enjoy!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Few Things
We're married.
We're back in NY.
Working is still boring.
We found an apartment.
I need to buy a computer.
School starts in three weeks.
Pictures of relevant topics are pending.
We're back in NY.
Working is still boring.
We found an apartment.
I need to buy a computer.
School starts in three weeks.
Pictures of relevant topics are pending.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Gone Wedding
I saw Cunty and Dumb-Dumb coming out of the Subway entrance near the Atlantic Center in Brooklyn. I haven't seen them in three years, but it seems appropriate somehow that they would reappear at this juncture in my life. A reminder of the past before a new future begins.
They still suck though.
I'll leave you with a quote from my sister Sharis when we were discussing shopping trips in preparation for the wedding: "We have some hose, now all we need are Spanx." Out of context awesomeness!
They still suck though.
I'll leave you with a quote from my sister Sharis when we were discussing shopping trips in preparation for the wedding: "We have some hose, now all we need are Spanx." Out of context awesomeness!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Rotation: July 15 to July 22
Wild Mountain Nation by Blitzen Trapper | Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon | Fur and Gold by Bat for Lashes | Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters by The Twilight Sad | Zeitgeist by Smashing Pumpkins | And the Glass-handed Kites by MEW | Attack Decay Sustain Release by Simian Mobile Disco | The Trinity by Sean Paul | Bring It Back by Mates of State
Keys, Wallet, Phone...AND WHITE HOT RAGE!
Today is my last day of work as full-time Steven before I run off, get married, enroll in a graduate program and return as part-time Steven. Some people saw fit to give me cards and gifts. Others decided to clean out the fridge ahead of schedule and threw my lunch in the garbage. I got your number, fridge nazi. And while it may seem like I'm sitting contentedly at my computer, perusing the "Items We Carry" pool on flickr, I'm actually quietly seething while brainstorming secure places to dispose of your dismembered body.
Working world? You won't be missed.
Working world? You won't be missed.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Listen: Podcast, no24
I got this one just in under the three month deadline. Silly derelict Steven. Enjoy:
“That’s Not My Name” by The Ting TingsAs usual, the podcast is available through RSS or iTunes. Here are the appropriate links:
“Rag & Bone” by The White Stripes
“The Underdog” by Spoon
“Pace or the Patience” by Love of Diagrams
“Music Is My Hot Hot Sex” by CSS
“Sealings” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
“60 Revolutions” by Gogol Bordello
“The Heinrich Maneuver” by Interpol
“Forever Indebted” by Shout Out Out Out Out
“A Message to You Rudy” by The Specials
“Jealous Guy” by Art Brut
“Body Baby” by Pharoahe Monch
“Leyendecker” by Battles
“Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways
“Down Boy” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
* Subscribe to the enhanced podcast. (rss)That's it for episode 23. Here is a list of tracks played to date! Please tell your friends. Please tell me what you think. Please post a link on your blogs. Please use the hotline: (206) 202-3142. Please tune in for a new episode next weekend.
* Subscribe to the mp3 podcast. (rss)
* Click here to visit the "Pleasing To Your Ears" page in the iTunes Music Store, where you can pick and choose from available episodes.
* no24 :: Promises, Some of Them Empty (mp3)
* no24 :: Promises, Some of Them Empty (enhanced)
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Linkology: 07.10.07
Hey sons and daughters of hungry posts! It's time to drink deep from the trough of new and old links:
* I LIKE TOWTLES!
* Site's 70s-era designs for BEST stores
* A few thousand sci-fi magazine covers
* Select 7-11 stores have been converted to Kwik-E-Marts as a promotional tool for the upcoming Simpsons movie
* Conan talks Simpsons
* The Ninth Floor, a photojournalists depiction of the reality of drugs in NYC (NSFW)
* Owen Wilson's TOTALLY REAL frontside noseblunt (as directed by Spike Jonze)
* Guys and Dolls, a doc about men and their real dolls (NSFW, but still so, so awesome)
* Jason Lee never met a paycheck he didn't like
* MoCCA compares 25 comic artist's childhood scribble to their current work
* The White Stripes are playing spontaneous, secret, super-intimate shows in Canada
* New Seven Wonders of the World
* Toypography block letters spell words in English and Japanese
* 30,000 matchheads go boom
* Sagmeister in Belgrade
* Stasi smell museum
Friday, July 06, 2007
Stewart's Kenya Journals
As I mentioned earlier in the week, my parents are in Nairobi for two weeks. My Mother is spending the first week attending an international conference for women, sponsored by the YWCA, which means my Dad is left to his own devices. He sends a journal entry to my sisters and I each day. What follows are excerpts from Stewart's Kenya Journals:
Kenya Journal #1
Dear Kids,
Chaos Rules! I guess we should have expected it when the guy said he'd check our bags all the way to Nairobi. We arrived, but the bags didn't (or just haven't yet-- I hope). We flew United to Chicago and only made the plane because the Virgin Atlantic ticket agent walked us to the head of the security line. At London Heathrow, we found the stories were true. We had Two Hours and Twenty Minutes to make the connection and I had to jump the line to get a boarding pass before the plane left (and then they held the plane). This was the day they discovered the two potential car-bombs in London.
One of the things I did was to check the rate we're paying here. The normal rate is $300 a night, but we're paying $140. When I checked the rate, I found that it includes a breakfast in the resturant. We'd been afraid to venture to the resturant because of the way we look (I bought a comb and toothpaste today). It's all in asking the right questions.
I took a trip back to the air port to do a second look for the bags and had a long talk with "Big John" who was driving the cab. Nice guy. The road to the airport, on one side, runs along the edge of one of the national parks (yes think wild animals), but it's pretty far out. Traffic is suicidal here. Literacy is only a recent requirement for driving busses.
Today as your mom and I walked to the Mall, I saw Big John and said hello and shook hands with him. Your mom gave me a strange look and I told her "I know people here," which made the look get even stranger until she figured it out.
All for now, more later as the adventure develops.
-Dad
Kenya Journal #2
Hey kids,
It's 3:00 a.m. local. We're eight hours ahead of you (that's two more than London), so It's 7:43 P.M. there in San Antonio. We haven't been able to completely adjust our circadian clocks yet, so we're still waking up at odd hours. I know I'll be sleepy again in about half an hour, so I thought I'd supplement Journal #1 instead of stare at the walls.
One of the plesent things about our room is the choir. We're right across from the University and every afternoon there is a choir that practices in a courtyard across the street on the University grounds. We know this since we are on the 15th floor and have a great view. The first day they were standing in a circle and swaying while they sang. Today it sounded like church music - hymns. The trafic is heavy on University Avenue and we have the windows closed, but still the music gets in. Ever since the first day, they are sitting down when they sing. They sound great and the volume must be awsome down on the ground floor.
Yesterday I was more restless than today. I woke up just before dawn. I could tell it was near dawn from the volume of traffic going down University Avenue. Just as the busses used to announce the dawn in Oaxaca, the cars announce it here. Regardless, I'll swear I heard the Muzzin's call to prayer. There is a large Muslim population here, so it's possible. It would be broadcast from a loudspeaker from the minerette of the local mosque.
On my air port trip with Big John, I came back to the cab at sundown and there were three cabbies on their knees, heads pressed to a piece of cardboard praying in the parking lot. That's the first time I've seen Muslims in prayer. We didn't even see it in Turkey, but of course they're pretty secular.
The weather here is great. We're at 1700 meters, maybe 6,000 feet. The weather is coolish at night and not sweltering during the day. We're just below the equator, so it is winter here. It rains, or tries to rain every afternoon, but we're not in the real rainy season yet. I think that when the real rains come late in July and over the next two months, the water holes will fill up out in the parks and the game will start to migrate. We're supposedly in the Gnu migration season, but we're really earl and might not see to much movement.
Our suite is littered with drying clothes. Alma washed last night and thinks here socks won't dry by the morning (althought the underwear might), so she thinks she'll attend the conference in the socks I bought yesterday (she forgot to buy any). She told me this just as I was about to wash my own travel socks. I think I'll have to buy another pair tomorrow, or maybe a pair for her.
Well the hour is late (or early -- 4:00 a.m.), and the cycadian rhythms are getting to me.
All for now,
dad
Kenya Journal #1
Dear Kids,
Chaos Rules! I guess we should have expected it when the guy said he'd check our bags all the way to Nairobi. We arrived, but the bags didn't (or just haven't yet-- I hope). We flew United to Chicago and only made the plane because the Virgin Atlantic ticket agent walked us to the head of the security line. At London Heathrow, we found the stories were true. We had Two Hours and Twenty Minutes to make the connection and I had to jump the line to get a boarding pass before the plane left (and then they held the plane). This was the day they discovered the two potential car-bombs in London.
One of the things I did was to check the rate we're paying here. The normal rate is $300 a night, but we're paying $140. When I checked the rate, I found that it includes a breakfast in the resturant. We'd been afraid to venture to the resturant because of the way we look (I bought a comb and toothpaste today). It's all in asking the right questions.
I took a trip back to the air port to do a second look for the bags and had a long talk with "Big John" who was driving the cab. Nice guy. The road to the airport, on one side, runs along the edge of one of the national parks (yes think wild animals), but it's pretty far out. Traffic is suicidal here. Literacy is only a recent requirement for driving busses.
Today as your mom and I walked to the Mall, I saw Big John and said hello and shook hands with him. Your mom gave me a strange look and I told her "I know people here," which made the look get even stranger until she figured it out.
All for now, more later as the adventure develops.
-Dad
Kenya Journal #2
Hey kids,
It's 3:00 a.m. local. We're eight hours ahead of you (that's two more than London), so It's 7:43 P.M. there in San Antonio. We haven't been able to completely adjust our circadian clocks yet, so we're still waking up at odd hours. I know I'll be sleepy again in about half an hour, so I thought I'd supplement Journal #1 instead of stare at the walls.
One of the plesent things about our room is the choir. We're right across from the University and every afternoon there is a choir that practices in a courtyard across the street on the University grounds. We know this since we are on the 15th floor and have a great view. The first day they were standing in a circle and swaying while they sang. Today it sounded like church music - hymns. The trafic is heavy on University Avenue and we have the windows closed, but still the music gets in. Ever since the first day, they are sitting down when they sing. They sound great and the volume must be awsome down on the ground floor.
Yesterday I was more restless than today. I woke up just before dawn. I could tell it was near dawn from the volume of traffic going down University Avenue. Just as the busses used to announce the dawn in Oaxaca, the cars announce it here. Regardless, I'll swear I heard the Muzzin's call to prayer. There is a large Muslim population here, so it's possible. It would be broadcast from a loudspeaker from the minerette of the local mosque.
On my air port trip with Big John, I came back to the cab at sundown and there were three cabbies on their knees, heads pressed to a piece of cardboard praying in the parking lot. That's the first time I've seen Muslims in prayer. We didn't even see it in Turkey, but of course they're pretty secular.
The weather here is great. We're at 1700 meters, maybe 6,000 feet. The weather is coolish at night and not sweltering during the day. We're just below the equator, so it is winter here. It rains, or tries to rain every afternoon, but we're not in the real rainy season yet. I think that when the real rains come late in July and over the next two months, the water holes will fill up out in the parks and the game will start to migrate. We're supposedly in the Gnu migration season, but we're really earl and might not see to much movement.
Our suite is littered with drying clothes. Alma washed last night and thinks here socks won't dry by the morning (althought the underwear might), so she thinks she'll attend the conference in the socks I bought yesterday (she forgot to buy any). She told me this just as I was about to wash my own travel socks. I think I'll have to buy another pair tomorrow, or maybe a pair for her.
Well the hour is late (or early -- 4:00 a.m.), and the cycadian rhythms are getting to me.
All for now,
dad
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Things That Go Boom in the Night
Some friends of mine that live in Long Island City had a 4th soirée last night, so I whipped up some Sex in a Pan and stopped by. Their building is a stone's throw from the East River where the barges for one iteration of the Macy's extravaganza were poised to light up the sky. I've seen countless fireworks shows over the years, but none can compare to the visceral experience of being that close. You could feel the big ones thumping in your chest.
Amidst all the sparkle and flash, my friend Carlos, who has lived in NY for ages, said, "Well, this sure beats the last time I stood on a roof watching something explode." HA!
Amidst all the sparkle and flash, my friend Carlos, who has lived in NY for ages, said, "Well, this sure beats the last time I stood on a roof watching something explode." HA!
Monday, July 02, 2007
Kin(ya)
My parents are in Nairobi. Shavonne received this message via my Mom's newly enabled Blackberry with int'l coverage:
Arrived safe, minus bags. Tell other kids. E-mail tough. --DadJealousy, thy name is Steve.
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