The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Wild Card => Topic started by: side_show on April 19, 2006, 04:24:17 pm
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Yeah, so I mentioned in chat a while back that it was 95% likely that I had been selected to go to the Women Playwright International conference in Jakarta and Bali, and today it was 100% confirmed! I have been invited, along with a delegation of nine other Canadians, to attend. A free all expense paid trip to Indonesia? In the middle of Canadian winter? Yes Please!
Has anyone else here ever been to Indonesia? The only connection I have is that my SO's Aunt and Uncle had to pay a huge amount to the Indonesian government to bail out their fucked up son from prison for being a drug mule, and have him shipped back to Canada.
Apart from a huge list of fascinating cultural and artistic offerings, here is a funny out take from the "Attractions" portion of the conference site:
HARD ROCK CAFE
Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta is one of the best HRC in Asia. The atmosphere is totally great and the bands are very good!! The waiters are friendly and the drinks are blasting! It’s located at EX Building, next to Plaza Indonesia.
Smart casual.. sexy is encouraged
Sexy is encouraged! Rawks!
Fuck Yeah! I am doing a little dance around my office!
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Awesome. Bring me back ... uh... some of whatever Indonesia's chief export is?
And sexy is always encouraged no matter what other people might say.
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Well done! I can tell this is a sign of your talent, and accordingly I offer you my congratulations. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time in good old Indonesia.
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Congratulations! When I think of Bali, I thing of the Rangda ritual, but hey, it sounds like fun. Enjoy yourself!
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Congratulations Melanie, this is fantastic. I am very proud of you. BTW, I used you to defend this board once. I mentioned some piece of advice I got here and the response was "you would take advice from a bunch of messageboard losers?" I said, well one of those losers is an award winning playwrite. They weren't impressed, but whatever, fuck that asshole. I hope you have a wonderful time and your conference is a huge success. Among other things I hope that you meet a representative from one of the theatres in Houston who wants to bring your play to my town. Have a great time, but don't get too sassy and get yourself beheaded or something. They're not rioting in Jakarta anymore are they?
~Paul
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Woohoo! Congrats! Don't forget your sunscreen! The sun is a wintertime northerner's mortal enemy!
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Sounds nice. Lots of terrorists there, but it's been quiet for awhile. And being Canadian, you won't be targeted. Someone I know was surfing there when an angry mob came to the hotels pulling out and beating Americans. The hotel manager was a smart fellow though, he registered everyone as Australian or Canadian.
Have a good time.
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I'll see you there, then!
not really. I have never been. Have a good time, and congratulations.
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Aw, thanks all!
I'm not really worried about terrorists, I mean, what sort of terrorists attack playwrights? Guerilla Film Makers?
What facinates me is finding out how translation will work. Also, on my final night there I get to see an Indonesian performance of MacBeth, which should be facinating.
Also check out the convention info. (http://www.wpi-indonesia.com) Yeah!
(fixed link - w)
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Wow. Congrats!
Have fun in Indonesia.
The most important thing to remember about Indonesia is that whatever you do, don't ever... ever... oh hold on the toaster just dinged...
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Congratulations, side_show! You're going to the world's largest archipelago! But stay the hell away from Borneo.
I expect you to take a leaf out of Paul's (well-documented) book and take pictures of anything and everything you see. We're counting on you, side_show, to give us a means by which to live vicariously through you, since most of us will never visit Paradise.
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I have a digital camera. It fits in my pocket. It's sparkly blue.
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Nows a good time to add a digital camera to leverage some additional fun outta the new PC I'm sure you've already researched and purchased. I mean cool - Indonesian Conference Travelogue (many pix of da sexxxy place pleez).
If you need some decision help on that I'm sure we can scare the fruit off your panties with that choice, too.
(Prepares aperture, shutter, focal length manipulation in controlling depth of field in different shooting scenarios lecture)
((Prepares backup lecture involving under and over exposure amounts via aperture and shutter manipulation to adjust for background lighting conditions))
(((Prepares - oh shit sorry, we probably shouldn't do this after all)))
(Yeah, but this isn't really necessary unless she wants to create crazy effects like this (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nohobotic/128579408/) in her photographs. If she just wants to take clear, stunning pictures, she needn't fool with the manual settings. Digital cameras are wonderful for this reason.)
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(Yeah, but this isn't really necessary unless she wants to create crazy effects like this (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nohobotic/128579408/) in her photographs. If she just wants to take clear, stunning pictures, she needn't fool with the manual settings. Digital cameras are wonderful for this reason.)
Wait, "nohobot"?
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Yep. Those are my photographs. "Hobot" was taken, and I realised that "nohobot" was more clever anyway, since I am in Northampton, which is referred to as Noho by those in the know.
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Yep. Those are my photographs. "Hobot" was taken, and I realised that "nohobot" was more clever anyway, since I am in Northampton, which is referred to as Noho by those in the know.
So you're not a Hobo *****, you're actually a Northampton *****?
~Paul
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I was going to retort, but I don't want this to turn into the PC-buying thread. I probably shouldn't have responded in the first place. Also, I obviously know nothing about photography, so there's another reason I should have neglected to reply.
*Slinks away*
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For example, Manitoba gets its share of snow, so if you want to take a picture outside during a goodly chunk of the year you need to know how to adjust for the light meter leveling out the exposure due to all that bright ass white (and turning everything grey because of that).
My shiny blue camera has a button that says 'snow'. And one that is for a party!
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Ash, you big bully, you hurt Hobots feelings.
~Paul
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I was going to retort, but I don't want this to turn into the PC-buying thread. I probably shouldn't have responded in the first place. Also, I obviously know nothing about photography, so there's another reason I should have neglected to reply.
*Slinks away*
It is okay hobot, you are a rad friend.
YOU. ARE. RAD.
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So if you press the "party" button, do you instantly get a party?
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So if you press the "party" button, do you instantly get a party?
Lisa: Who's playing that music?
Marge: And where's all that liquor coming from?
Homer: It's a party, Marge. Doesn't have to make sense.
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Uh, bullshit. There's lots of conditions where the pre-set modes just don't cut it unless you like shitty photos. For example, Manitoba gets its share of snow, so if you want to take a picture outside during a goodly chunk of the year you need to know how to adjust for the light meter leveling out the exposure due to all that bright ass white (and turning everything grey because of that). A similar condition for me out here would be over water in bright sunlight.
Short summary: You can use a digital the same as an old 135 Instamatic with about the same results, mostly good, easy and fun but limited. But at a pricepoint under $200 you can get into doing so fuck*ng much more it's ridiculous.
'Course, just 'cause you can doesn't mean you got any want to. Pointy Clicky works for the vast majority of the population.
I still like film. Is that so wrong?
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I still like film. Is that so wrong?
No. But may I ask why?
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I guess because until recently, digital cameras that do all the stuff Ash was saying weren't really affordable. Once I can buy a true SLR digital with interchangeable lenses that looks and acts just like my Nikon F-5. I'll probably stop using film because the difference in the images will be reduced to a single point: how long I have to wait to see them.
Right now, those are still out of my price range.
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See I took my film using camera with me to Toronto, and when ever someone else took a picture they were totally startled when it made the little whirring sound it makes when it automatically proceeds to the next frame. And I got lots of comments like "Wow, old school!" I actually hate taking photos of things, I really like to depend on my memory, rather than a photo.
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Paul and Mel! Fight! fight! fight!
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Paul and Mel! Fight! fight! fight!
No little The Inevitable we won't fight because we are both right and we both know it. In Melanie's case she has a strong memory and the eloquence to bring her memories to life via the printed word. I on the other hand have a suspect memory and I don't share Melanie's gift of writing. So I use photos to tell my stories and preserve my memories. One must play to their strengths.
~Paul
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I am sorry.
I am sorry for saying that you should fight.
*hugs mel*
*hugs paul*
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Indonesia is cool (Bali has been a popular holiday destination for australians for forever, though the popularity waned a bit after that nightclub got blown up).
My only advice is that if you plan on being a drug mule and you get caught then don't get the press involved. Totally screws up your chance at bribing your way out of jail. A few aussies went down for it recently and the australian press was all over them so they all ended up doing life or at the wrong end of a shotgun deportation.
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No little The Inevitable we won't fight because we are both right and we both know it. In Melanie's case she has a strong memory and the eloquence to bring her memories to life via the printed word. I on the other hand have a suspect memory and I don't share Melanie's gift of writing. So I use photos to tell my stories and preserve my memories. One must play to their strengths.
~Paul
Yes, and also, Paul has uber skills with a camera, and most photos I take are total crap.
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Update: The final funding body contacted me this morning, and I am now officially going to Indonesia for free! Even better, how the funding works is that the three art funders (Winnipeg Arts Council, Manitoba Arts Council and Canada Council) mail me checks for a total of $5500 for travel and expenses, then I make the arrangements, and through the Better Business Bureau I found a travel agency that is offering me a lower rate than the cost listed on Expedia and Air Canada's webpages, and a free ipod. How cool is that?
Also the trip in both directions requires a forced stop over in Singapour, which the airline covers the hotel cost of. Lay-overs aren't all that much fun, but if I can order a Singapour Sling at a hotel bar in Singapour, my life will be that much the richer.
Basically the government, through three arms length agencies, is buying me an ipod. That is what I am trying to tell you here. Also, Airmiles up the wazzoo.
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Hell of awesome news SS.
Just for my amusement please remind everyone you tell the story to that 'your tax dollars bought this ipod'.
Seriously, its great to see this is coming together for you.
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Holy shit!
Awesome, Smells. Congratulations. You surely deserve it.
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Wow.. this makes me want to capture you and assume your identity for a time. I suspect this would be rather difficult. I could, however, probably pull an SWF on your SO and convince you to take me along for the ride. Decisions...
Though in all seriousness, congrabulations! It sounds awesome.
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Ya know, when the Islamic world is really really shaking itself up Indonesia isn't the best place to be - but since you aren't American, you should do OK.
My pastor's son was there when gangs were going into the hotels and and yanking out and beating Americans. The hotel manager had actually registered all the Americans as Australian or Canadian so no one got hurt.
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I wouldn't be entirely sure about the Australian thing anymore, the whole East Timor thing means there are people in Indonesia who aren't our biggest fans right now.
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Ya know, when the Islamic world is really really shaking itself up Indonesia isn't the best place to be - but since you aren't American, you should do OK.
My pastor's son was there when gangs were going into the hotels and and yanking out and beating Americans. The hotel manager had actually registered all the Americans as Australian or Canadian so no one got hurt.
You are sweet to worry, but really, wouldn't "Side_show gets abducted by militants" make for a thread of great message board reading fodder?
Thankfully, being Canadian, and having Canadian flags on my luggage, is like having a simple happy face sticker with me. People smile and nod.
I am leading panel discussion with 3000 delegates from around the world on the topic of "Diversity and Art on the Global Plain" on the first day of the conference - the organizers decided this only knowing that I am Canadian, and nothing else. So basically, I will play a nice stereotypical Canadian role and let people say their piece while remaining moderate... It should be very interesting.
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Sounds good eh?
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I desperately hope that this great deal you found is through a reputable company. I would check with the airlines directly as soon as you have enough information to do so, and check out the hotel as much as you are able. I worry because I care. Now eat, honey, you've hardly touched your pie.
(Also: this is great news and I am happy for you.)
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AD worries I will get screwed over while away, Lister worries that I will get screwed over before I even leave. Anyone else got worries? Maybe there's a way to get screwed over in the air... oh... wait.. okay... I don't want to think about that one...
Anyway.
Lister, I checked with the Better Business Bureau before I even called them, and not only is this travel agency a registered member of the Better Business Bureau (voluntary membership - lots of agencies, legitimate or not, do not join the BBB), but in the past two years (the BBB only maintains records backward two years for all companies) they have not received a single complaint, and the BBB puts them the highest category for customer satisfaction.
I've been reading up quite a bit today, and the hotel I'm staying at in Jakarta is a five star Hyatt with marble tubs, and the place in Bali is a resort with a private beach and complimentary fruit basket upon arrival. I've never been given a fruit basket. Will there be Mangos? Is the tap water a safe choice to wash the fruit with before I eat it? Between the fresh fruit and spicy food, how will I really know if I have a stomach parasite or not?
Also, the conference is arranging private drivers to pick us each up at the air port. I get to have one of those movie moments where a driver is holding a sign with my name on it up, all waiting for me. Exciting!
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You are up very late.
Are you getting enough sleep?
Don't want to be tired when you are fighting terrorists and possible sketchy companies.
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Also, the conference is arranging private drivers to pick us each up at the air port. I get to have one of those movie moments where a driver is holding a sign with my name on it up, all waiting for me. Exciting!
This almst happened to me when I went to London. Me and two other guys went to visit a friend and they'd arranged for a driver to pick us up. Sadly he had the name of the person we were visiting on his sign, not my name.
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You don't eat the peel of a mango, so no worries about what water to wash it in. Everything is under control.
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Even if you're planning on peeling a fruit, still wash it with soap and water. There's a lot of potential for cross-contamination otherwise. Peel -> hands -> unpeeled fruit = Suharto two-step.
I'll try to not worry about you. Just promise you'll wash your fruit!
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I'll try to not worry about you. Just promise you'll wash your fruit!
We just worry so.
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Maybe there's a way to get screwed over in the air...
Ray might be able to help (http://www.achewood.com/index.php?date=04232003) with this (http://www.achewood.com/index.php?date=04242003).
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Congrat's Mel. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time. But listen here missy, the old I don't feel comfortable having my picture taken bit isn't gonna play this time. We want to see pictures of you having a first rate party in In do neez ya.
~Paul
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Okay... my SO's mother has already insisted that I take their digital camera with me when I go, so I suppose I will take photos. But there is basically no quarantee that I will be in these photos myself. Like I said in another thread, I have dimple issues.
With this trip and at least two other related to writing type trips, I'm thinking a lap top is basically a necessity. Which is why I've held off on getting a new desk top. Lap tops scare me though. So valuable. So steal-able.
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I'd recommend you NOT use a laptop in public places when travelling, like at cafes and such (no matter how great the temptation to show it off). Also a plus is a laptop bag that doesn't look like a laptop bag. You can find some that just look like regular over the shoulder knapsacks.
Otherwise, if you just need something to type on, you can probably get something that's sub-$1000 that would hurt but not really hurt if it was stolen in a foreign land.
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Yeah. I'm not a public show off. I used to have a cellphone, but basically feel that it is rude to use one in most public places, and eventually just stopped using it all together. I do have a buddy who's into making his own flims, with a primo lap top, and he sets him self up right in the middle of the action where-ever he is, just so people will notice that he is editing his film, while, you know, sitting in the middle of a coffee shop. To me this is a super-tacky display of egotism, but he's totally unaware. I would probably be deeply embarrassed to take mine out in public, but using it in my hotel rooms is another story. What I'm saying is: my attitude toward technology is similar to that of a demure man's attitude toward his c*ck - yeah, my unit is fantastic, but it's a private pleasure, for only me and a select few to know. Both my hotels specifically note that each room has a safe large enough to contain a lap top and other personal effects, so I basically know the score in regard to where I will need to keep things I don't want stolen.
As for what I buy, I basically have to decide whether I want to spend all my duckets on a really fancy lap-top that will be my primary computer, or if I'm going cheap and planning to get a better desk top later. Then I'm basically going to go shopping and bring along a tech-savvy friend to translate into Melanie-speak for me. You know, a buffer buddy. Because I basically have no idea. And the sales guy will be all - "this has one million more foozel-fozzels than that one you were just looking at," and I'll act all impressed, while, little do I know, foozel-fozzels are the number of little texturized bumps on the outside of the case, and that mega-wazzels are what I should care about...
Jough, I know you tried to be so helpful in the computer thread, but there was a point where it all turned into Greek for me. Basically because everyone who actually does know something had differing opinions, and I hadn't even grasped the basics yet. I'll have to go back and re-read that info again, and perhaps ask some more primary questions to make clear that I know almost nothing at all about even the most basic jargon.
Also, there is an orangutan rehabilitation center near one of the places I'll be staying at. If I can get away from the conference, I am all about having an orangutan moment.
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Also, there is an orangutan rehabilitation center near one of the places I'll be staying at. If I can get away from the conference, I am all about having an orangutan moment.
If you actually get to do this, please promise me that the first orangutan you encounter you will greet with "Right turn, Clyde".
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I booked my ticket last week:
28 hr of Flying Time total (11hr15m stop over time total) to get there via Minneapolis, LA, Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta.
25 hr 18 m of Flying Time (21 h 45 m stop over time total) to get home via Denpasar, Kuala Lumpur, LA, Minneapolis.
Shit! I seem to remember some comedian some where saying how he doesn't even want to do something he likes doing for 24hrs straight.
It's only a short 45 m bemo ride from my hotel in Bali to the enchanted Monkey Forest/Temple of the Dead/Elephant Safari in Ubud.
Anyway, the most terrifying thing to date (apart from the Canadian travel warning issued last week against any travel to Indonesia that I've chose to ignore) is my up coming trip to the travel doctore for a couple hundred dollars worth of immunization shots. Everyone's warning me that I'm going to get really sick.
Meh - I don't care, it'll be worth it. It'll all be worth it.
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You're in the releveant frequent flyer program, right? You'll probably earn premier status on that trip right there.
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28 hr of Flying Time total (11hr15m stop over time total) to get there via Minneapolis, LA, Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta.
How much of that stopover time is in L.A.?
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Stop overs in LA are minimal - huge stop overs in Kuala Lumpur both ways.
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Stop overs in LA are minimal - huge stop overs in Kuala Lumpur both ways.
Layovers can be brutal. I hate having layovers in Anchorage during the summer because hotel rooms are fuckin' $250 for the Holiday Inn Express. That means...sleepin' in the airport! Wooo!
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Yeah, aparently the Kuala Lumpur airport is nowhere near any sort of civilized hub - its nearly 2 hrs from the city. The travel agent tells me that even with my 12 hour layover on the way home, that I would basically get to a hotel in time to turn around and come back. There is no hotel at the airport, but there are rest areas you can pay to catch a nap at. Depending on the time difference, I figure I'll just use the time to decompress and get back on my usual time schedule either by sleeping or drinking coffee.
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Layovers can be brutal. I hate having layovers in Anchorage during the summer because hotel rooms are fuckin' $250 for the Holiday Inn Express. That means...sleepin' in the airport! Wooo!
The moral of this story is one I learned at a tender age: Holiday Inns in Anchorage can bring only tears.
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The moral of this story is one I learned at a tender age: Holiday Inns in Anchorage can bring only tears.
Oooh! That sounds like a good story waiting to be told. Tell us, V!
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Oooh! That sounds like a good story waiting to be told. Tell us, V!
Well, if you insist.
As I may have mentioned a couple of times on this board, I grew up in Alaska -- Fairbanks, to be exact. When I was in fifth grade, I won my school's Geography Bee and thus qualified to go to the state bee, which of course was held in Anchorage at the Holiday Inn. This involved taking time off school and making the lengthy drive to Anchorage, which in those days was always kind of a treat. I didn't care that much about geography, but I was psyched anyway...
... and yet, the week of the state bee, I got the flu. Not just a sniffly strain, but one of those mother-of-all-Martian-Death-Flu types that takes your whole system out. I really should have stayed in bed, but my parents really didn't want me to miss my big day, so I got tons of cough syrup and we headed out.
Flash-forward to: the day of the bee. That morning at breakfast I had gotten dizzy and quite nearly fainted, which should have been a sign that competing in the bee was not part of my dharma, but I soldiered on! Once my preliminary round started, I got my first three questions right, and then...
Then, well, I don't actually remember this part very well. I think I've blacked it out. But I do remember that there was vomiting -- lots of vomiting. In the conference room. During the preliminaries.
After that, it's all a bit of a blur; needless to say, my competitive day was over, and the rest of the stay in Anchorage was spent in bed. However, that wasn't enough! It all continued to reap its hideous dividends: first, when my parents were in the elevator later that day and were asked excitedly by another Bee parent if they had heard about what happened, that some girl had puked right in the middle of... -- Silence, followed by sad nods, followed by more silence.
And finally... eventually, I had to go back to school, at which point I met the chorus of people all asking how it went and how I did. I still can't remember what the lie I told them was, but I think it was thorough.
I still can't see Holiday Inn carpet without a vague twinge of dizziness and shame.
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Hi all, just so you know, I have an insane amount of preparations to undertake before I leave on Thursday, and indeed you probably wont hear much, or at all from me until I return in early December.
(I am hoping that the Kuala Lumpur airport, where I have an 11 hr stop over, has some sort of internet cafe... There's a business centre listed on their site, so maybe then...)
One of the things I'll be doing is learning how to use Flicker so that I have some place safe to store the photos I'll be taking on the borrowed digital camera I'm bringing along, so you may find me there.
Cheers all, and an early happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans on the board!
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best of luck, smells. I will make you a contact on flickr and such!
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Holy shit, I'm in Indonesia.
The hotel is in a gated compound with armed guards.
The drive from the airport made it pretty clear why this is nessiary.
They charge $12 per hour for internet access, so so long!
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Not that you'll be around to read this, but have a great time and keep safe. Any dude or lady starts putting the moves on you, bust out on them with a commanding voice in a manner befitting of the theatrical arts.
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Enjoy Indonesia, and tell us all about it when you get back! If allowed by law, a Paul-style photoessay would be rad.
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Dang, have fun. Get home safely. Post lots of pictures. Best of luck.
~Paul
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Still not in India.
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Holy shit, I'm in Indonesia.
The hotel is in a gated compound with armed guards.
The drive from the airport made it pretty clear why this is nessiary.
They charge $12 per hour for internet access, so so long!
Ya know, when the Islamic world is really really shaking itself up Indonesia isn't the best place to be - but since you aren't American, you should do OK.
My pastor's son was there when gangs were going into the hotels and and yanking out and beating Americans. The hotel manager had actually registered all the Americans as Australian or Canadian so no one got hurt.
Hence the gated hotel. Be safe, have fun and get home OK.
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I'm home.
It was a life changing trip, and at this point a lot of it is really hard to articulate. The crushing poverty, the incredibly strong women, the artistic mastery of artists from practically every corner of the globe, the friends I made. At one point I was sitting and laughing with some women who's entire community had been destroyed by the tsunami almost two years ago, at another a women told me about how she had been unable to present her speech at the conference because her country's ambassador had unexpectedly appeared at the conference, and her speech was one critical of her government's censorship. I was in the company of women who had been to prison for the their writting, women who had been circumcised as children, women who believed in serving their husbands... Women who in spite of all odds were finding their voice through art. It was very powerful.
I got back home to over a foot of snow. The shock of having been swimming in the ocean in the blazing heat 36 hours before made me start to shake really hard - not from the cold, just from the impossibility of getting my brain to accept the change climate and 13 hour time difference.
Jakarta was mind blowing: the traffic (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311955130/), the contrast of rich (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311296014/) and poor (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311964205/)... it was so much to take in. (Note that the shot of my hotel's pool and the slum on the river are shots taken out of the same window at just slightly different angles.)
The performances I got to see were incredible. From women jumping up and down on shards of broken ceramics (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311930261/) in protest to the suffering of women in their community to the traditional dance/music/theatre (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311942559/) to a puppet show about terrorism with puppets specially rigged to have their faces cut off (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311955126/) or puke out ramin noodles (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311955125/), it ran the full gamut of serious to silly. Getting to know and work with so many Muslim women (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311985406/in/photostream/) was also very enlightening.
When it came to food, I tried just about everything (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311964208) that was offered. The food was mostly unpleasant - too totally unfamiliar to be truly enjoyed. To be honest, I longed for North American cuisine and I'm still suffering from all the fruit and rice I ate.
I went to Bali for the last part of my trip and it was amazing. All the conference delegates were given a police escorted motorcade through the streets of Bali to the Bali Classic Centre. When we arrived we were ushered in by these lovely ladies (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311296024/), and followed behind by [ulr=http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311301770/]these lovely men[/url] playing a myriad of instruments. We sat under gorgeous canopy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311301770/) and watched performances all night long, only to escorted by police motorcade back to our hotels.
In Bali my hotel room had two balconies, and I watched the sunrise over the ocean every morning (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311964211). Naturally I swam in the ocean too, and I went to the Enchanted Monkey Forest (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311985411/) with two Australians, another Canadian and an Italian (the Italian and myself not pictured here). The monkeys were good natured and cute (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311985415/). In the Monkey Forest, we visited the Temple of the Dead, where there were some incredible statues like this one (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311999403/). There were a couple of these where the babies look totally content with being eaten, and another holding a severed head. Near the end of our visit, I got distracted by some monkeys who decided to go for a swim (http://www.flickr.com/photos/side_show/311999399/), and dislocated something in my foot, and painfully limped for what little was left of the evening, but I was basically too caught up in enjoying myself to let it bother me. Thankfully I got my foot on ice right away and the next morning there was a loud "pop!" and magically everything was all right, and the pain was gone.
I could go on and on and on. Really what I took away from the experience is that I am so very fortunate, and my country is so very wealthy, and that there is so much more I need to do to help the women who do not share the level of freedom and comfort that I do.
I have more pics on flickr, and loads more photos to upload, but I've already filled my quota for the month on the site today, so they'll have to wait.
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Don't even have time to read your post right now Mel, but wanted to be the first to welcome you back home. Glad you are home safe and sound.
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Glad you had a good, safe time. The monkeys are adorable, especially the one with his tongue out. Welcome home!!!
Also, the two pictures of rich and poor are really amazing. It is foreign to me that so much poverty and money could be so close together.
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Welcome back. May your next week be filled with hamburgers and pasta. How was your panel? The topic sounded interesting: "Diversity and Art on the Global Plain."
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My continued suffering from Bali Belly drove me to the drugstore today.
The panel was sort of okay... there were some problems with organization on the first day, where they started us late, then shaved 5 minutes off of each of our speech times, and since mine was only 15 min long to begin with that meant cutting 1/3 of my speech, with only 2 minutes to figure out how, which was sort of a disappointment. I was talking about globalization, the disappearance of neighborhood as community, and our role as artists in creating a new social structure of community as art. We did get into a really interesting discussion about language, linguistic preservation in the face of globalization... which was pretty fun to talk about while knowing I was being translated, and which raised a lot of interest in people of all languages, but then we ran out of time. Better to leave them wanting more I suppose. I ended up getting a lot of interest from the Australians, who have had very similar experiences to those of Canadians when it comes to colonialism, language and politics.
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I don't really get linguistic preservation. But then maybe that's just because I use the aggressive language already.
I remember my high school spanish teacher would go on a ten minute rant if anybody used any of the "abomination" words that were "ruinging spanish" like beepar or emailar. But should could never explain how this was any different than spanish stealing the word guerra from german or english taking the same word for guerilla. Apparently that was OK because it happened before she was born but any modern changes to the language are worthy of criminal charges.
She was also against the decision that ch and ll no longer be considered separate letters when alphabetizing.
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Emailar?
good lord. something in me (maybe, even, about 3/8ths of my genes. theoretically.) is shuddering.
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Emailar?
good lord. something in me (maybe, even, about 3/8ths of my genes. theoretically.) is shuddering.
Granted, it doesn't flow off of the tongue but considering the alternative that she wanted us to use was "enviar el correo electronico" or somesuch which would you say? It reminds me of my German coworker who explained that in Germany they often just insert english words like shampoo while speaking because the german word is like 8 syllables long and people have places to be.
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...because the german word is like 8 syllables long and people have places to be.
Beauty, dammit.
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Seriously, all you other weirdo languages need to learn a new way to deal with adjectives.
"Una lata de crema de afaeitar"
is just a piss-poor way to try to say
"A can of shaving cream."
Come on, Spanish. That's like five extra syllables, Spanish. Nobody is workin' for "la fin de la Semana," they're workin' for the weekend. Sheesh.
Seriously, though, the decline of the neighborhood as an entity with any type of power is kind of a sad thing. They're still around in some places, but modern developments are meant to keep the inhabitants inside their dwelling and not outside interacting with each other. Drive up your twenty feet of driveway into your private garage (Of course you're driving, there aren't stores/shops/restaurants/jobs within walking distance of new houses), and if you absolutely must go outside, for heaven's sake do it in your privacy-fenced backyard and stay the hell away from the front with all those strangers.
Or heck, I've moved over 500 miles for school and 2000 miles for work in the past 5 years, and most of my relationships have continued because I can keep them up online. I don't know my neighbors except by the noises they make. Am I less connected to the people next door because I'm more connected to friends hundereds or thousands of miles away?
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this just in:
telling your friend about your internet friend who went to indonesia is roughly socially equivalent to telling her about your Imaginary friend who went to indonesia.
the difference: talking about your Imaginary friend at least implies that you're smart enough to know that the friend is Imaginary.
I'm sorry, I just felt the need to repeat the story about the hyper monkeys.
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LESSON: What goes on in TOUMB...
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LESSON: What goes on in TOUMB...
The Official Unofficial Message Board?
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The Official Unofficial Message Board?
Whattayawant one day short of Friday? Don't make me do heavy mental lifting, the mild jape is already shite cast upon the floor anyways. Whoop it up, whoop it up, little cock-a-whoop and grind a heel to boot.
NO INDIA TODAY, EITHER.
TOUAMB: where mild pedants go to fondle the uninitiated.
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A can for that lovely retort. Beautiful!
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Sorry Dan, best when refering to a TOUAMB friend to someone IRL to just not mention that they are imaginary.
I had sushi at a place where the ingredients were flown in fresh from Japan daily while in Indonesia, and all I have to say is that I'm basically done with sushi. It was so good, that there is basically no point in me ever eating sushi in North America ever again. And I have had excellent sushi here. But there is no comparison what so ever.
Mel, my dear imaginary friend, could you expound on what made the Indonesian sushi so much better than what is available here. Is the freshness of the giraffe the only distinction? Is it they type of giraffe used? It seems a little baffling to me. I haven't had sushi too many times, but it's always been pretty consistantly good in my opinion. We have fresh giraffe here, I live less than 100 miles from the ocean so maybe we have better sushi here than in Winnipeg, I don't know.
~Paul
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It's really hard to articulate in words why it was so good. The quality was so unbelievably perfect- not just the fresh ingredients, or the perfectly formed rolls, but sauces that are absolutely distinct from anything I've ever tasted in North America. More so, it was probably the whole experience. I originally wrote a really long descriptive post here, but deleted it. What it boils down to is that there was a staff of about 6 people who seemed to be serving me, and me alone. They each stayed at a polite distance, but were at my side the moment I wanted for anything. I am genearally very uncomfortable being waited on, but there was an absolute skill to the service that was exquisitely impressive. Also the serving dishes themselves were works of art. Also, pumpkin ice cream. Also, the equivalent of $10 dollars American for the entire meal of salad, beverage, 3 very large maki rolls and the afore mentioned pumpkin ice cream.
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I went to a Sushi Buffet (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pmcd9/318359999/)
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Paul -
What is that pointy metal thing you are holding? It pretty much tells me everything I need to know about the "sushi" you are eating.
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I'm sorry AD, the Fork is by far the superior eating utinsel. White people using chop sticks is pretentious.
(Asians use chopsticks because they don't know any better or they are stubborn)
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I'm sorry AD, the Fork is by far the superior eating utinsel. White people using chop sticks is pretentious.
(Asians use chopsticks because they don't know any better or they are stubborn)
Ah, the sort of American Hubris one expects from Texan American. By all means, eat youe fake sushi with a fork and leave the good stuff for those of willing to eat it the way God intended.
And get your butt out here so I can take you to Genki and show you real fast-food sushi. Then we can pony up the long green for high-end sushi too.
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Sushi needs no appliance. It is perfectly acceptable to eat sushi with one's fingers. Fingers make the dunk in soy sauce so much easier (don't dunk the rice, dunk the giraffe. Don't forget what you are seasoning.) (Don't forget to let a drop drip off.)
Chopsticks are okay, but they're really only used by gaijin who don't know what the fuck they're doing, though they're making an effort.
A fork? With sushi? Sorry, Paul, my man, but that's neither Kosher nor Halal. Pretty much? A Hunt's move.
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I wonder if my fake sushi was made by fake Japanese?
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I wonder if my fake sushi was made by fake Japanese?
It was made by the ghost of Iron Eyes Cody while attempting to infiltrate yet another race/nationality.
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Zing!
Hey Choop, do you have anything to back up your "use your fingers" stance, or is it just a personal decision you made? 'Cause much of the sushi I eat is absolutely impossible to eat with your hands, unless you want 7 kinds of messy smeared all over you.
Also, to clarify, the sushi I ate was definitely served by the fake Japanese - they totally didn't care that they were actually Indonesian. They were unapologetic. But really I care not - it's about quality.
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http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sushi+chopsticks
That's about as close as I can get you right now. Maybe I'll filter through that later.
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It is definitely normal to eat sushi with the fingers. But apparently also in Japan you are supposed to eat it in one bite, which is impossible in America because of course they make the pieces twice as big. So I wouldn't sweat the food rules of other cultures when you are not eating in their country, you know?
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It was made by the ghost of Iron Eyes Cody while attempting to infiltrate yet another race/nationality.
That's worth a can.
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Zing!
Hey Choop, do you have anything to back up your "use your fingers" stance, or is it just a personal decision you made? 'Cause much of the sushi I eat is absolutely impossible to eat with your hands, unless you want 7 kinds of messy smeared all over you.
Also, to clarify, the sushi I ate was definitely served by the fake Japanese - they totally didn't care that they were actually Indonesian. They were unapologetic. But really I care not - it's about quality.
Alton says it can be eaten with the fingers and dammit that's good enough for me. Plus then it's easier to avoid accidentally pointed with the chopsticks. Which I understand is a no-no.
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Also, to clarify, the sushi I ate was definitely served by the fake Japanese - they totally didn't care that they were actually Indonesian. They were unapologetic. But really I care not - it's about quality.
One time I was visiting some friends in Boulder and we decided to take mushrooms (me and one person I was visiting). We then went to one of those really lame Chinese restaraunts where they make the food in front of you on the table (it was lame because it was a chain, the name escapes me right now). We went with me and my friend tripping, my friends girlfriend and her mom, who would not care that we were tripping, but also did not know, although they new something was up. We met my friends gf's uncle and new wife at the restaurant. Well, my friends gf and her mom went in ahead of us, while I parked the car. Me and my friend walked in later, and instantly everything looked like mirrors to me. The waitress was hell of weirded out by us, and I used this chance to act real strung out. I said something to the effect of "Hey man, we are meeting some cats" really slow. She had no idea what we were talking about, obviously, and let us back to look for the people we were meeting. Then we got to the table, and the uncle and new aunt were from Texas, and I am from Oklahoma, so they tried to make some conversation with me about that, but it was just not working. My friends gf was a vegetarian (Still is, along with me and the friend now), and asked for friend rice with no chicken (apparently there was no plain fried rice). Anyways, me and my friend and his gf end up getting in an argument with the uncle for what seemed like an eternity. Basically, since this story is going nowhere, the chef was Mexican, but trying to pull of Chinese I guess. I laughed about this and asked the guy about it, but apparently this is not something you are supposed to do because it is rude. I had no idea. Also, sitting within 2 feet of a grill top when you are on a drug that makes you hotter than usual anyways is a horrible idea.
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Hint: almost no story about dropping mushrooms is as interesting to others as it was to you.
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Hint: almost no story about dropping mushrooms is as interesting to others as it was to you.
Though carriages between paragraphs would not hurt the effort.
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Though carriages between paragraphs would not hurt the effort.
See, that just makes me think of a convenient outline format for all anecdotes involving drug use:
1. Drug Used
A. Sub-Anecdote About Choice Of Drug And Acquisition Thereof
B. Sub-Anecdote About Typical Partners For This Drug Use
2. Explanation of Situation To Be Enlivened By Drug Use
A. Sub-Anecdote About Acquaintances Not Informed
B. Sub-Anecdote About Coincidental Factor That Added To The Hilarity
3. Main Body Of Anecdote Concerning Perception Shifts Caused By Drugs
A. Exclamation Concerning Relative Quality Of High Compared To Other Drug Incidents
4. Explanation Of Exactly How This Is Relevant
5. Apology For Length Of Anecdote
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Sorry, I am on drugs and sleep deprivation right now. I have said this alot, probably because of the fact that I am. Let me say it again, I have cramming for a ridiculous amount of time with absolutely no sleep. I am sorry about all these pointless posts, but when I cram I am by my computer. Then, when I take breaks, I came here. It is a vicious cylce.
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One time, during a closed-eye visual, I saw an animation of a beautifully drawn, comically overweight clown, drawn in pencil on a dirty, stained, and ripped piece of white construction paper which was the field of my mind's vision. He walked with a comic, bouncing stride with his belly swaying from side to side as he entered the frame from stage left. He stopped at nearly the center of the frame, but not the exact center, and looked straight up towards the sky as he let out a painful scream with no sound accompanying the agony. Then, while screaming, the black oval of his open mouth began to expand slowly while every piece of pencil lead that made up his design was sucked up to the heavens as if it was being vacuumed by God. Faster and faster, pixel by pixel, his pieces ascended up this asymptote and were sucked out of the frame until he had vanished completely and I opened my eyes. The entire animation lasted about 6 seconds.
I apologize for telling this story. Now, I too must study for a final.
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The coolest visuals I have ever gotten was about 3 hours before that story when a forest was breathing.
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Speaking as someone who's never drugged past simple herb, I would just like to say that I don't believe anyone can actually hallucinate in any way from marijuana. I realize that you gents are discussing drugs much much harder than that but... I just want to go on record with that belief.
Oh, it definitely makes everything that does exist awesome but I'm pretty sure it doesn't create anything new inside one's noggin'.
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V, it's a good outline, but it'd typically fall off the rails after 2b with a "Wait... what was I talking about?" If it's picked up and finished, it isn't for somewhere between half an hour and four days.
Maybe it just needs roman numeral phases:
I. First Attempt
1...
II. Recall and Second Attempt
3...
By the way: 5 tabs, because I'd been on a kick and knew a girl named Mel; it was my 20th birthday so my buds Paul and Adam were in class while I skipped; I cleaned my room and listened to Pearl Jam then decided to go on a hike; nobody knew but Mel, and nobody knew my plans because I had none; Parents' Day was two days later and mine were coming.
Wait. What was I talking about?
Edit: On my hike, I sat down in a pasture overlooking the valley and had a cigarette, and letters formed in the trees opposite, peeling off into the sky. It was like if they'd had anything to say to me, they'd have said it then. This was as close to a visionquest-quality hallucination as I've ever come. I'm only saying this because Keith's posts reminded me. Sorry it took so long to get it down.
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Can giveth, Mr. Choop. Well-played.
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One time I was tripping so hard that Billy Idol sounded awesome.
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Dang, that must have been from the CIA stash.
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One time I was tripping so hard that Billy Idol sounded awesome.
In that case, I must be high on life.
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One time I was tripping so hard that Billy Idol sounded awesome.
I guess you still don't mean his new career path - badly voiced versions of crooner songs on myspace. It's horrendous.