As an intermission to the Turkish trip posts, I present this fine thing. And just think it could be yours!
Friday, August 16, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
A Turkish Odyssey - Day 4
3/18/13:
Day 4 will take us from Çanakkale to Pergamum, home to a Roman health center and a giant hillside theater. The theater and top of the old city are unfortunately closed because the tour buses were causing damage to the ruins. It was all the same because we were taken through a Roman health center. Sick persons were not allowed in and those persons who were shown in were treated to more an ancient world spa than a hospital. A marble slab heated from below was used as a table on which a person would lay. A masseur would then come and "make massage with hot oil" while a physician whispered "you will be well." We are increasingly left with only 15-20 minutes to explore sites on our own. This has started to feel akin to a cruise. A land cruise...watch out for land sharks.
The group tends to lag. Chief among the lagers Wolf Lady and Red Coat. There speed, the result of age, might not be so bad were it not for their propensity to speak loudly among themselves when they do catch up and Levent is speaking. Pergamum aside, we are on the bus. Arriving in Kuşadası around 5:15 for dinner. Hotel KoruMar puts on an elaborate spread. Why have 1 dessert when 50 are presented? Best food and hotel thus far...apart from a leaky toilet and not being able to recall the room number (I visited the room next door, uninvited or intended). We question the punctuality of AAAS and feel dejected that I am likely not a finalist. I try to take heart in the trip to Ephesus in the morning, but it is hollow succor and my shoulder blade has developed a knot that hurts when I breath. Sleep comes slowly and restlessly.
The group tends to lag. Chief among the lagers Wolf Lady and Red Coat. There speed, the result of age, might not be so bad were it not for their propensity to speak loudly among themselves when they do catch up and Levent is speaking. Pergamum aside, we are on the bus. Arriving in Kuşadası around 5:15 for dinner. Hotel KoruMar puts on an elaborate spread. Why have 1 dessert when 50 are presented? Best food and hotel thus far...apart from a leaky toilet and not being able to recall the room number (I visited the room next door, uninvited or intended). We question the punctuality of AAAS and feel dejected that I am likely not a finalist. I try to take heart in the trip to Ephesus in the morning, but it is hollow succor and my shoulder blade has developed a knot that hurts when I breath. Sleep comes slowly and restlessly.
A Turkish Odyssey - Day 3
3/17/13:
Day 3 comes at 5am as an Imam cracks the mic and gets to the serious business of intoning. We are to eat, pack, deposit bags outside the door and depart at 8am. Somehow time on the first leg of the bus journey flies by. Levent's anecdotes about Turkey help, but also lull one to sleep. We lunch at a fish market style restaurant next to the ferry dock. The ferry takes us from European Turkey to Asian Turkey. Once in Asia, we visit Troy, which is mostly a non-site. A few walls and a reconstructed house dot the sight. I am again at a loss with just how old these ruins are. From Troy I to Troy XI a thousand years? 500 hundred? Cartoon lengths of time either way.
The age of the place makes it seem fake to craft stories about these places. Archaeologists somehow manage to do it, and Levent is most knowledgeable. Homer most likely stretched the truth in his tale of the place. Levent is suspected of doing this. While in Troy, he spoke of and gestured to what was called an oracle center. Informative signage tells of a religious center. Is that the same? Who really knows, but he could tell us anything and we would take it for truth.
Day 3 comes at 5am as an Imam cracks the mic and gets to the serious business of intoning. We are to eat, pack, deposit bags outside the door and depart at 8am. Somehow time on the first leg of the bus journey flies by. Levent's anecdotes about Turkey help, but also lull one to sleep. We lunch at a fish market style restaurant next to the ferry dock. The ferry takes us from European Turkey to Asian Turkey. Once in Asia, we visit Troy, which is mostly a non-site. A few walls and a reconstructed house dot the sight. I am again at a loss with just how old these ruins are. From Troy I to Troy XI a thousand years? 500 hundred? Cartoon lengths of time either way.
The age of the place makes it seem fake to craft stories about these places. Archaeologists somehow manage to do it, and Levent is most knowledgeable. Homer most likely stretched the truth in his tale of the place. Levent is suspected of doing this. While in Troy, he spoke of and gestured to what was called an oracle center. Informative signage tells of a religious center. Is that the same? Who really knows, but he could tell us anything and we would take it for truth.
We stay at Hotel Akol in Çanakkale. The Ç is a CH sound. "CH-NAH-K-LAY, this is a hard word to say." Lovely views of the Sea of Marmara from our balcony and of the Trojan horse from the movie Troy. A 2 million dollar investment by the city. Money well spent? The Turks prepare for the 18th of March celebration, which commemorates the victory at Gallipoli in WWI. Turkish pride on display. At dinner we eat with some polite mid-westerners from near Chicago and some pushy folks from Cumberland, but both are nice enough. We are the only 2 people to notice teenage Turks launching mini hot-air balloons that drift off. Candlelight eventually lost to the distant night far above the water.
A Turkish Odyssey - Day 2
3/16/13 (Recorded on 3/17):
Day 2 dawns, dark, cold, wet. So much water. Everywhere puddles eat my shoes. Chicken nuggets for breakfast...why not? Here at Hotel Mosaic I think of Hotel Zlaty Andel on that small Czech square. I find myself thinking often of the Czech's here. Same vibe, but the Czech's are a kinder gentler people. Perhaps years of communist rule mellows a country out. Dissertation topic perhaps?
Much to do this day, and buckets of rain with 40ºF temps won't stop our group from standing out and doing them. More hippodrome and more rain. Removing our shoes we enter the Blue Mosque. Over 26,000 blue and red tiles cover the walls and ceiling. For a first visit to a mosque, this is a fairly magnificent specimen.
Being in the mosque without shoes makes me aware that my shoes have already sprung multiple leaks, which will only get worse throughout the day. However, must move forward. Snap a few pictures, and gather outside for a walk to Hagia Sofia. Build in five years, over 500 years ago, it is massive. 37,000 workers were needed to do it. ~160 ft to the top of the dome. Mosaics lost to time mix with Islamic symbols as Rome lost to the Turks and East met West when the Turks captured the city in 1453. Odd to see Jesus and Mary above a Muslim alter, but the respect paid to the mosaics seems unreal in this modern age. Granted they did whitewash many mosaics, but they did not utterly destroy them and left a few intact without the wash. Shoes mostly dry we walk to a lunch spot...not dry anymore. Ditching the lunch group and we are off to Topkapi Palace.
Home of the Ottoman Sultans for generations and generations. Throwing in with the Germans in the late 1800s eventually doomed them, not a conquering army. The harem was an extra fee, but that drives many away leaving it mostly empty. It must have been a crazy place, seen by a select few. Concubines and wives, sons and heirs, the Sultan and his mother lording over it all. This arrangement in power so long, and power = wealth...serious wealth. Bowls of emeralds and rubies, 100lb solid gold candlesticks. Rooms and rooms of space for such opulence. So many tiles, that 30 photos were snapped of them alone. The weapons room was particularly neat, but the treasury ranks above it (harem being tops). I do my best Rick Steeves impersonation reading from his guide book as we go. Two overpriced "apple" teas broke up the day in an effort to warm the heavy coatless and rest our legs. Rick Steeves and Levent both recommend the Pudding Shop, we there we go.
The Pudding Shop so named by hippies who could not recall its real name, serves good food and great tea. Apple tea has fast become a favorite. Skipping dinner, sleep quickly comes to the sound of rain pattering on the window.
Day 2 dawns, dark, cold, wet. So much water. Everywhere puddles eat my shoes. Chicken nuggets for breakfast...why not? Here at Hotel Mosaic I think of Hotel Zlaty Andel on that small Czech square. I find myself thinking often of the Czech's here. Same vibe, but the Czech's are a kinder gentler people. Perhaps years of communist rule mellows a country out. Dissertation topic perhaps?
Much to do this day, and buckets of rain with 40ºF temps won't stop our group from standing out and doing them. More hippodrome and more rain. Removing our shoes we enter the Blue Mosque. Over 26,000 blue and red tiles cover the walls and ceiling. For a first visit to a mosque, this is a fairly magnificent specimen.
Being in the mosque without shoes makes me aware that my shoes have already sprung multiple leaks, which will only get worse throughout the day. However, must move forward. Snap a few pictures, and gather outside for a walk to Hagia Sofia. Build in five years, over 500 years ago, it is massive. 37,000 workers were needed to do it. ~160 ft to the top of the dome. Mosaics lost to time mix with Islamic symbols as Rome lost to the Turks and East met West when the Turks captured the city in 1453. Odd to see Jesus and Mary above a Muslim alter, but the respect paid to the mosaics seems unreal in this modern age. Granted they did whitewash many mosaics, but they did not utterly destroy them and left a few intact without the wash. Shoes mostly dry we walk to a lunch spot...not dry anymore. Ditching the lunch group and we are off to Topkapi Palace.
Home of the Ottoman Sultans for generations and generations. Throwing in with the Germans in the late 1800s eventually doomed them, not a conquering army. The harem was an extra fee, but that drives many away leaving it mostly empty. It must have been a crazy place, seen by a select few. Concubines and wives, sons and heirs, the Sultan and his mother lording over it all. This arrangement in power so long, and power = wealth...serious wealth. Bowls of emeralds and rubies, 100lb solid gold candlesticks. Rooms and rooms of space for such opulence. So many tiles, that 30 photos were snapped of them alone. The weapons room was particularly neat, but the treasury ranks above it (harem being tops). I do my best Rick Steeves impersonation reading from his guide book as we go. Two overpriced "apple" teas broke up the day in an effort to warm the heavy coatless and rest our legs. Rick Steeves and Levent both recommend the Pudding Shop, we there we go.
The Pudding Shop so named by hippies who could not recall its real name, serves good food and great tea. Apple tea has fast become a favorite. Skipping dinner, sleep quickly comes to the sound of rain pattering on the window.
A Turkish Odyssey - Travel and Day 1
What follows is a direct transcription of my travel journal.
3/16/13 (Recounting 3/14 & 3/15):
In the worlds smallest plane, I fail to stand. We are told to expect turbulance. A fifty min. flight. So fast we never climb over 12,000 feet. Eternities move faster than the final approach. Lurch, jolt, bum. A thesaurus is needed to describe the movement of the plane once we dipped into the marshmallow clouds. Never has joy to thump onto the tarmac been so sweet.
Brief layover complete, round 2. 9h35m from fabulous Newark, NJ to the unknown. Istanbula, so the flight attendant calls it in "bad Turkish, phonetically read" a Turkish passenger is overheard to say. Grand movie selection, but an ill fated trivia game renders our screens incapacitated until we ascend above 10,000 feet. Now safe to use your electronics, thank goodness. Skyfall was worth the wait, screaming infants should have waited a few more months to make the trip, but when travel calls one must go. Cries on cue every 30-45min. If it were my child, 50 shades of red I would turn at keeping an entire section of the plane up. Woody Allen missed the mark in some disconnected sorrowful tale about Rome. Crying infant again, sleep never really comes. Still have to figure out how to sleep on a plane w/o getting that nasty dry throat patch. Give up and watch Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow for the fourth time. Solid, but I am not sure where else you can go with that series Mr. Depp.
Final approach, Mr. Toads Wild Ride Part 2, a foreign city in a foreign land. This place is massive. It must have a gravitational pull. 18million people are here for some reason, and it is not to speak "A polite sounding language." It is to stand in front of a shop drinking apple tea from tiny clear glass cups, delivered on silver platters by men and boys hailing from unknown places. It is to pack on trams, in cars, on sidewalks, and restaurants. The city of Istanbulcreaks strains under the weight of its human gravity. It bursts at the seams. Our word, oft repeated as we stumbled jet-lagged and dazed through the throng of humanity and clutter of traffic, was overwhelming.
We made the most of our time. From the airport, which is like an airport anywhere, to the evening meeting and dinner 2 naps were taken and sights were seen. Anymore might have sunk me for the rest of the trip. We are picked up by a company rep at the airport and taken to Hotel mosaic. A bewildering hour walk brings us, 20tl later, to the damp smelling dark cistern. Water was delivered to a space the size of 2 football fields from at least 30km away. The Romans built this, no idea how. Boggles the mind. I keep thinking of the weight of the earth and city above, of earthquakes and crumbling stone, but this place has stood the test of time. Hippodrome, 2 obelisks later (1 Egyptian, 1 Roman), and 1 bronze stick celebrating Roman victory of Persia. My mind fails to think on such scales of time.
Trek back, Grand Bazzar. Bizarre Bazzar. Oppressive heat. Eyes fall on us, pitches, pleas, "hello American...where are you from?" Combined lack of food, sleep, and the heat...I feel dizzy and want to run away from this place never to return. Thankfully we make it back, nap most welcome, and drift to sleep with the haunting intoning of the Koran bellowed from a minaret somewhere in the sprawling city beyond the tightly shut window.
We get oriented, discovering that yes we are the youngest on the trip, apart from a college sophomore from Amherst on the trip with his older Aunt. Levent is our guide "for next 10 days." Don't drink the tepid water or eat the street food because you don't want the "diarrhea problems." Dinner is most welcome but it is all I can do to not fall asleep in my overcooked dry pot roast. Sleep comes and my clock is reset, jet-lag over...made it.
3/16/13 (Recounting 3/14 & 3/15):
In the worlds smallest plane, I fail to stand. We are told to expect turbulance. A fifty min. flight. So fast we never climb over 12,000 feet. Eternities move faster than the final approach. Lurch, jolt, bum. A thesaurus is needed to describe the movement of the plane once we dipped into the marshmallow clouds. Never has joy to thump onto the tarmac been so sweet.
Brief layover complete, round 2. 9h35m from fabulous Newark, NJ to the unknown. Istanbula, so the flight attendant calls it in "bad Turkish, phonetically read" a Turkish passenger is overheard to say. Grand movie selection, but an ill fated trivia game renders our screens incapacitated until we ascend above 10,000 feet. Now safe to use your electronics, thank goodness. Skyfall was worth the wait, screaming infants should have waited a few more months to make the trip, but when travel calls one must go. Cries on cue every 30-45min. If it were my child, 50 shades of red I would turn at keeping an entire section of the plane up. Woody Allen missed the mark in some disconnected sorrowful tale about Rome. Crying infant again, sleep never really comes. Still have to figure out how to sleep on a plane w/o getting that nasty dry throat patch. Give up and watch Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow for the fourth time. Solid, but I am not sure where else you can go with that series Mr. Depp.
Final approach, Mr. Toads Wild Ride Part 2, a foreign city in a foreign land. This place is massive. It must have a gravitational pull. 18million people are here for some reason, and it is not to speak "A polite sounding language." It is to stand in front of a shop drinking apple tea from tiny clear glass cups, delivered on silver platters by men and boys hailing from unknown places. It is to pack on trams, in cars, on sidewalks, and restaurants. The city of Istanbul
We made the most of our time. From the airport, which is like an airport anywhere, to the evening meeting and dinner 2 naps were taken and sights were seen. Anymore might have sunk me for the rest of the trip. We are picked up by a company rep at the airport and taken to Hotel mosaic. A bewildering hour walk brings us, 20tl later, to the damp smelling dark cistern. Water was delivered to a space the size of 2 football fields from at least 30km away. The Romans built this, no idea how. Boggles the mind. I keep thinking of the weight of the earth and city above, of earthquakes and crumbling stone, but this place has stood the test of time. Hippodrome, 2 obelisks later (1 Egyptian, 1 Roman), and 1 bronze stick celebrating Roman victory of Persia. My mind fails to think on such scales of time.
We get oriented, discovering that yes we are the youngest on the trip, apart from a college sophomore from Amherst on the trip with his older Aunt. Levent is our guide "for next 10 days." Don't drink the tepid water or eat the street food because you don't want the "diarrhea problems." Dinner is most welcome but it is all I can do to not fall asleep in my overcooked dry pot roast. Sleep comes and my clock is reset, jet-lag over...made it.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Silkscreen Attempt: Take 1
It has been quite a lull since the last posting, but all things in time.
I saw one of Andy Warhol's silkscreened flowers at the Hirshhorn today.
It looked a little something like this:
It looked a little something like this:
I decided to see if I could try my hand at silkscreen. I have always been facinated by the process, but lack the key things required to make a screened print (enlarger, screens, ink...you know all that important stuff). However, I do have my hand-dandy computer in front of me...so I figured lets give it a shot!
This is the before picture:
(click the image to enlarge)
And here is that same image with my first attempt at digital silkscreen:
(click the image to enlarge)
As you can see, I still have a ways to go before I match the same style as what Andy did with his silkscreens, but I feel like I am on the right track. Also, I think that my color palette needs a bit of work...but hey I am colorblind after all.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Marching of the Ants
I’ve watched the daily march of the ants
From nest to honey pot
Tasks before them
Trudging onward
Jostling each other for position as they move along well-worn trails
Circadian rhythms feel imperfect when compared to the daily motion of these ants
Their lives bottled up, lived, and consumed in symmetrically rigid steel mounds
Each carving out a space
Each carving out a function
Thirsting for a saccharine sweet reward
But the honey earned tastes bitter in the mouths of the discontent
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