19 posts with this tag
19 years ago I moved from West Virginia to Tamano, Japan for a year-long high school exchange program through the Rotary club. It was one of the most impactful, perplexing, and exciting experiences of my life. I wrote a blog called Thousands of Miles from Home about my time spent in the country and also published selected writings into a book.
Chúc mừng năm mới!
No stroll through Montecito, once a haven for bandits and highway robbers, would be complete without a visit to the Music Academy Of The West, an “institution of musical learning.”
The well-to-do John Percival and Mary Jefferson, while vacationing in Spain during the Santa Barbara earthquake of 1925, sent back a shipment of tiles depicting the story of Don Quixote, which Mary used to decorate a small courtyard at the Academy.
Save the San Marcos Foothills
Saving San Marcos Foothills Will Cost $20 Million - The Santa Barbara Independent
I’ve been working my way through a number of Murakami novels that slipped through the cracks in my earlier reading. The latest is South of the Border, West of the Sun which was short, sweet, and satisfyingly strange.
For those headed to Japan, my friend recently penned a travel guide to Murakami novels that includes the real-life locations from every book. It was quite exciting to discover physical locations featured in the fictional tales.
For those without a field in which to plant fruit trees or espalier figs, a bonsai is an intriguing way to bring nature into homes, cities, and places otherwise devoid of nature. Omiya, north of Tokyo, has a bonsai tradition dating back hundreds of years.
For those in the Bay area, Katsura has bonsai supplies and the Bonsai Society has a basics class on April 30.
The Infrastructure Observatory organizes tours of factories and large-scale operations that underpin our society. Recent excursions have included the BlackStone Station power plant in Cambridge, the MTA’s Coney Island Yards, an expansive tank museum in Palo Alto, and a banana factory in Jalgaon, India that produces 3% of the world’s bananas.
If you happen to be anywhere near Malaysia on March 3, the newly founded Singapore chapter will be touring the Senoko Waste-to-Energy Plant. With an inflation-adjusted cost of $700 million, the plant occupies 7.5 hectares and burns 2,400 tonnes trash 24/7 producing 56 megawatts of electricity.
This weekend brought me back to my hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia. It was wonderfully nostalgic to be back and I took note of a couple items I’ve been missing since moving to California:
Nestled within the Canyonlands of Utah, The Maze is one of America’s most dangerous hikes. It’s also one of the most gorgeous hiking spots you can find.
If you’re looking to step outside the confines of a modern, clothed lifestyle, look no further than the restorative springs, grounds, and hiking trails of Harbin Hot Springs. Certainly a fine spot to get in touch with your inner goddess and/or spirit animal.
Be sure to check out the hiking trail to the Tea House!
Rustic, mountainous fun with friends at the fantastic Dunton Hot Springs in Colorado. Best when paired with musical accompaniment from 1974.
For fans of funk and disco the 70’s are a magical and formative era. For a DJ the 70’s are a smorgasbord of groovy rhythms and deep grooves. This weekend, in celebration with my buddy Bill, his fiancé Jen, and a killer cast of friends and family I put together a musical line-up for their 1974-themed party at Dunton Hot Springs in the mountains of Colorado.
A castle a day keeps the doctor away
– Ancient Greek Saying
Rhodes is one of the easternmost Greek islands, located a stones throw off the Turkish coast. Covered with castles, rocky forests, and brilliant ruins, it’s a wonderful place to lose yourself.
You can see more photos on the album.
Los Angeles is a remarkably versatile city. While beautiful bodies fill beaches within a stones throw of stars of the silver screen and the towering Hollywood sign, there is a deeper perhaps more historically significant movement underway. A hope for the future that stretches from the wide, sun-burnt California avenues to the coldest depths of space. Fueled by liquid oxygen and kerosene, the new gold rush is here.
Rounding out my world tour was a stop at one of the most beautiful places I’ve been fortunate enough to visit: New Zealand. I spent most of my time on the relatively rural southern island. Click below for an album of shots from a cruise around Milford Sound.
My wonderful mother
Before departing on the Daisy Yoga retreat, I only knew of Sri Lanka as a country recently gripped by civil war and as the birthplace of female rapper M.I.A. Within hours of landing at Colombo airport and trekking to Kandy I found that the country is amazing, with picturesque views, friendly people, and delicious food. Our group of 14 spent two weeks taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the country before landing in Unawatuna to help repair a Buddhist temple and school hit hard by recent typhoons.
After an absolutely fantastic week in Tokyo I’m headed to ශ්රී ලංකා ප්රජාතාන්ත්රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය – the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Kendall and I will be spending the day in Singapore before reaching our final destination.
For now, I leave you with a shot of the Doge sculpture at Tokyo Shibuya station.
This Thanksgiving was spent with Kendall and my parents on the remote island of Culebra, Puerto Rico. We traded turkey and stuffing for mahi mahi and mafongo. The island was absolutely gorgeous and the snorkeling was world class. Check all the photos on the web album.
On a bit of a whim I have left my tiny island of Alameda for adventures in Sydney, Australia. A few observations:
Australians are extremely fit
While it has been reported that more than 60% of Australians are overweight, I don’t believe they are living in Sydney. Every day I see masses of runners, skateboarders, and bicyclists roaming the remarkably clean streets.
Sydney is clean
