Homage to Philip Larkin

This be the verse

They fuck you up, your mom and dad
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-stylen hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can
And don't have any kids yourself.

-Philip Larkin

This be my verse

"They fuck you up, your mum & dad."
Some say that’s too harsh, but it’s true.
They nag and moan more than a tad,
And don’t allow you to be you.

Like, what is life if not for pleasure??
Instead, they’ve chores and school demands
That stifle joy by any measure.
--Because "they love me", fun is banned.

"For my future" its marks I need.
But school is such a waste of time.
The shit in all the books I read
Is out of touch, not worth a dime.

Pluperfect tense of chemistry…
Quadratic roots of Iliad…
They say they want the best for me?!?
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.

-Edward Bagares

Escape to Madagascar

Laos

Greenery

Sunset on the Mekong

Tropical Plant Canopy

Eaten away but still lookin' pretty.

Laos seemed to me to be a serene and deeply spiritual place with customs and traditions quite foreign from my own. From a locally printed guidebook, I found this excerpt on death rituals and funerals thought-provoking:
Funerals in Laos are not the sad, somber affair they tend to be at home. They are in fact, quite the opposite. Instead of mourning with heads bowed and voices low, the Lao send their friends and family off with a celebration that could be mistaken for any other typical celebratory occasion: attendees at the gathering eat, drink and dance.
This is not due to indifference, but a deeply held Buddhist belief that Nirvana awaits all those who have lived a devout existence with kindness as their guiding principle.
The place where the people sit in vigil is called "Heaun di" which means "happy house"! People gather for 7 days to participate in the "ngan" or festivities. Monks chant their prayers enticing the dead to depart the house and run to paradise; there is no need to stay and haunt the house, go to your destiny.

Surviving Job Fair Season

Haven't had a chance to attend the camera club recently as we've been job-hunting. Attended the Bangkok job fair in January and the Boston on in February. Forced to do some sight-seeing while there.

Vibey Khao San Road, Bangkok

The Grand Palace

Bangkok Traffic

Boston through frosted windows.

Caught some sights in my sleep-deprived, 12-hour layover in Munich.

Dec.7, 2009 Submissions - Brazil, South Africa, Canada, Colombia, Egypt

THE HUNT

OLD CAIRO

ANOTHER CENTURY

DESPITE THE POVERTY

SOAKING AWAY THE WEEK

SMITTEN

CELEBRATING SOUTH AFRICA

PRIMORDIAL

Nov.9, 2009 Submissions - U.S.A.

WINTER IN A SUNLESS CANYON

Gold Award

Critique: A bit dark on the right but the sign gets some light in there. The center could have been saturated with colour a little more but that's my personal preference. Overall, pleasing pattern image.

MERCHANTS ROAD, KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE
Gold Award

Critique: Initial impression was that it was a little too busy but the coloured areas pull it in. Graininess suits the image. Little bit of a quibble on the base but overall nice image.

Nov. 2, 2009 Submissions - Namibia

ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

Gold Award

Critique: Initial impression is that it’s a bit overexposed but it seems to work here to convey the heat of the plains, picked up by the drooping heads of the zebras. Also, nice bands of different pastel colours.

SPRINGBOK TEAM
Gold Award

Critique: Panoramic format works well with this image. The front ground is out of focus but the key areas are sharp (the faces and horns of the animals).

Oct. 12, 2009 Submissions - Japan, Canada

AUTUMN FESTIVAL ADRENALINE
Silver Award

Critique: Whites too white, image a bit disjointed.

CASCADES

Gold Award

Oct. 5, 2009 Submissions - Vietnam, Colombia

SAIGON MARKET

Gold Award

CARTAGENA'S GLORY DAYS

Gold Award

Most Innovative Award

Sept. 21, 2009 Submissions - Canada

SELF-PORTRAIT

Gold Award

Most Innovative Award

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CANADA

Gold Award

Discovering ETHIOPIAN Cuisine

Fascinating Amharic Script

Bole Road - one of the main arteries in Addis.

Global Coca-Cola

An exhibit in the National Museum

View from the museum.

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DISCOVERING ETHIOPIAN CUISINE

Although it may not be high on many travellers’ lists, I really enjoyed my short time in Ethiopia. The people were physically striking and generally warm and friendly. The capital, Addis Ababa, was also a fun place to explore for a 3-day layover. My impressions? Well, Addis had a few grandiose pockets such as the president's palace and the 5-star hotels but, relatively speaking, it looked much poorer than many other capitals I've been to. That said, the streets were still very colourful regardless of the level of affluence, whether it was high end variegated marble walls or much cheaper corugated tin partitions painted in bold colours. The “Merkato”, which is purported to be the largest outdoor market in Africa, was also very colourful and was a fun place to shop for out of the ordinary spices, fabrics, metal work and other souvenirs.


The highlight of our stay in Ethiopia was, for me, its unique cuisine. As if to incorporate more of the senses, it is eaten with the hands instead of utensils. And it is a sensory treat: visually engaging bright reds and oranges from the wa’t sauces, aromas that draw you in, and then complex blends of spices that seemed to make every morsel a tiny work of art. I could move to Ethiopia for its cuisine alone.


I was so enchanted by the national dishes that I actually bought an Ethiopian cookbook at the airport. Apart from various recipes, it had chapters on Ethiopian culture that made a fascinating read. Let me end with an excerpt from the book. I’ll preface it with the fact that I have no idea if this accurately reflects/reflected Ethiopian society or if it is the author’s isolated viewpoint. I would also make the comment that social and cultural engagement, much like Ethiopian spices, can be quite complex. Still, the excerpt provides some food for thought….


From “Exotic Ethiopian Cooking”, D.J. Mesfin, 2004.

An Ethiopian man is always the diner; never the cook. The kitchen is off-limits to him. His woman doubles up as cook, servant and waitress. In a childless household, she washes her huband’s feet and brings him a vessel and water pot for him to wash his hand before touching food. Washing hands before a meal is a must. The lady of the house only promotes herself to chef if she can afford domestic help or has a daughter.
A woman worth her salt values her cooking no less than her looks. In fact, she is more partial to her cooking because she is socially judged by it: an unaccomplished woman makes her husband a laughing stock. Her honor, therefore, depends on her standing in society. It is also a matter of honor and duty that she creates her daughter in her own image – a good cook, housewife and mother. That attribute and her virginity make her a prize catch for a suitor. In this catalogue of virtues, good conduct, pleasant character and respectability are plus points. For, as our saying goes, a good wife is her husband’s crown.

SOUTH AFRICA Road Trip

Cedarberg's arid landscape.

Forests and coast along the Garden Route

The Drakensberg Mountains

Cape Agulhas - the southern most point in Africa



Cape Dutch Architecture

Table Mountain

Stellenbosch in SA's Wine Region

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SA Road Trip!

… Road trip out to Cape Town to attend our friends Monica and Neil’s wedding. It’s a 16-hour drive from Johannesburg to Cape Town but we decided to take it slow, not driving more than 3 or 4 hours per day, thus allowing us to take in the varied landscape between Jo’burg and the Cape. To describe the trip in familiar North American terms, it was like cutting through a 3-hour swathe of Qu’appelle Valley Saskatchewan, followed by a bit of Wyoming, leading to drier Arizona, then passing through lusher Vancouver Island, and finally traversing unnerving (but stunning!) mountain passes to arrive at California’s Pacific Coast Highway.


But then, of course, that’s in North American terms, which does an injustice to South Africa’s distinct flavour. In the first rural town we stayed at, for example, we visited a dusty bar where we witnessed Afrikaaner “langarm dans”, a dance style that looked like a cross between Texan line-dancing and European waltzing. When we arrived in our club clothes and dissimilar style of shakin’, we were initially gawked at like some aliens from a far-flung urban galaxy. It didn’t take long, however, before they were chatting with us and we were enveloped in their hospitality. You’d have been hard pressed to find any music from our millennium playing at their club, but I learned that isn’t what’s needed to have a great time.


The next bit of our road trip, the Karoo, reminded me very much of South-Western United States, with its arid landscape and craggy mountain backdrop. But then, periodically, there’d be the incongruous thatched huts or ostrich farms that would serve to remind you that you weren’t in Kansas, or Arizona, or anywhere in the western hemisphere for that matter. This was Africa.


The next leg of our trip was, of course, also Africa but the contrast was so great, you would have thought it was another continent. Approaching a town called Knysna, the dry air moistened and the mountains greened correspondingly. First, small flowering bushes, then taller and lusher until we were towered by dense, yellow-wood stands. We had reached what is very aptly called “the Garden Route”, a quite enjoyable spot to spend a couple of days hiking and exploring.


Continuing past the Garden Route, you eventually hit the end of the earth. I.e., “Cape Agulhas”, the southern-most tip of Africa. The tiny village was how one might romanticize it to be: wind-blown, out-of-the-way, sleepy, with a picturesque lighthouse dominating the landscape. Obviously not the place to find pulsating night-life but there’s something to be said for that slower pace; something to be said for the deep gulps of fresh sea air and the mesmerizing pounding of two oceans…Definitely worth venturing off the beaten path for.


In contrast, once again, our next stop was Cape Town. This city is arguably the gem of South Africa. Apart from its charming Dutch-style architecture, Cape Town has a scenic ocean front at its feet and the arresting “Table Mountain” covering its back. Fantastic scenery, vibrant street life, beautiful people, beautiful food, beautiful time: Thank you, Monica and Neil, for having your wedding there!


Their wedding, as to be expected, was unforgettable. It was held on the lawn of a stately villa, with grand eucalyptus trees rimming the perimeter and Table Mountain overlooking in the background. A group of African singers delivered polyrythmic songs as the radiant bride was escorted down the lawn. Neil looked dashing in airy Nigerian robes. The ceremony itself was peppered with distinctly African traditions that were new to me (bride and groom jumping over a broom, for example), but the universal feeling of warmth was there, as was a universal joy in celebrating the bond between two soul-mates.
I might have even shed one of those universal tears…

RUSSIA & EASTERN EUROPE -- Elvis Has Moved to St.Petersburg

St. Basel's Cathedral

St. Petersburg Facade

Moscow Winter

Onion-domed church, Moscow

Tallin, capital of Estonia

Courtyard in Prague, Czech Republic




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ELVIS HAS MOVED TO ST. PETERSBURG

…What we would consider our honeymoon was spent back in Europe exploring St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, and Tallin, the capital of the Baltic state of Estonia. The two were quite distinct from each other, but both dripped with charm. Tallin’s walled, medieval Old Town was a gem of a place packed with interesting shops and fine restaurants. We’d explore ‘til our feet hurt then go sit at a café or read a book in one of its many parks. Yeah, it was just a nice place to hobble through cobble-stoned squares, and gobble Estonian fare.
St. Petersburg, in comparison to Tallin, had a much more grandiose tone. As you turned different corners, its galleries, cathedrals, canals and palaces seemed to compete for your attention. The Hermitage certainly lived up to its reputation, as did the fountains and gilded statues of Peterhof Palace.

Despite how effusive I am about the various tourist draws of St. Petersburg (a.k.a. "the city formerly known as Leningrad"), one of the most interesting experiences we had was when we stumbled upon a pub that was a kitschy simulacrum of an American saloon. Well, I don’t know if I could really call it a "saloon" because it was such a hodgepodge of rampant Americana. Try to picture dusty, wooden floorboards, a vintage "Happy Days" juke box, Elvis posters, a giant Confederate flag, and south-western cacti (in neon, of course). Yet, despite the what-the-hell-happened-here appearance of the place, the live band was actually amazing and there was an energy that I haven’t seen in a long time. They sang a roster of American hits as eclectic as the decor of the bar; from blues to rock ‘n’ roll to ‘80’s retro, with different American accents to boot. The crowd was worked up and it was surreal to see them swing dance effortlessly, or phonetically mouth the words to "Splish-splash, I was taking a bath…" or "SEX BOMB, you’re my SEX BOMB…". The Russian audience took on American personas in an almost unsettling manner. (Like, hey, is that Yelena "Bobby-Sue" Sukhova kicking up her heels with Alexei "Billy-Bob" Bobovich?) And as if the scene weren’t surreal enough, the band played one set a la alternative grunge. Did we need to see Elvis slam-dancing with Billy-Bobovich? How did this stuff ever get into Russia? I guess it just serves to remind us that we are all citizens of this planet America.