Howdy ✌️
I built this humble website to exhibit my art.
You'll mostly find photography, fiction, essays, and movie/music reviews.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy your stay!
Good Jazz™
Mystery Facts
I
I played as an extra in the 2011 movie Moneyball. My big acting break came during the Hatteberg's homerun scene.🎬 ⚾II
In 2018 the Spanish province of Barcelona erupted into a constitutional crises. The Catalan region sought independence from the Government of Spain, fed by a grand desire for self determination. Now, did I know any this before I bought my ticket? Nah, but that's what life is all about, visca Catalunya!The ancient Iberian city pulsed with contagious gravitas and defiance. The fervor of rebellion seethed, but the heart and soul remained unscathed. Long vacant castles stood alongside archaic cathedrals, stonework revealing a conflicted past of Umayyad conquest and renewal. At nightfall, the enchanting folklore music and dance of Andalusian Flamenco cascaded into the streets -- hypnotic, carnal, a theatre of movement and rhythm.
Those with an eye for architecture and design are truly spoiled for choice. Look no further than the titan of Modernisme (also known as Catalan modernism and Catalan art nouveau): Antoni Gaudí.
Gaudí's passion for architecture, nature, and Catholicism synthesized into every detail of his creations. Natural forms took center stage, calibrated to produce a body of work that remains unequal in execution and bravado. Go, see for yourself, glimpse the Sagrada Família, Park Güell, and Casa Milà. Dripping with neo-Gothic and Oriental technique, they are incredible sights to behold!💃 🇪🇸 🏰
III
Putting your shopping cart back is the ultimate test of empathy and kindness.Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these humans from the swift return of their appointed carts.
🛒💨
IV
Thailand, a paradise of sunlight and smiles, a place I called home once upon a time. Its people and grandeur beckon me still. It the was the first time leaving my home country.There was a TODO list I made up, but most nights I just picked a direction and started walking. Many evenings were spent in smoky Muy Thai tournaments, losing money and sobriety. Exotic cuisine and drink fit for a Khan can be had in abundance. Dimly lit bazaars were packed with eager buyers, holding fistfuls of Thai Bhat. Foggy incense swirled and mixed with petrol, spiced perfumes, and sweet meats grilling from the street markets. Smiles were everywhere.
Interlude: I met and fell in love with a beautiful Australian goddess. Our paths crossed on the island of Phuket, under brooding storm and gale winds. We swam the Andaman sea by day and sampled seedy Ping Pong Shows by night. Our chemistry flourished, each of us pouring bits of who we were into the other. “It was like a movie” lol, but I swear it was! We departed with heavy hearts, both rejuvenated from the euphoric thrill of foreign romance. As with most devotions of the heart, our tryst ended as soon as it began. Life continued, I had to keep moving.
I journeyed North, 435 miles by train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Heard tell there was a delicious coconut-based curry dish called Khao Soi there. November also happens to be the month Chiang Mai hosts an ancient lantern tradition, started by the Lanna Kingdom almost 700 years ago -- the Yipeng Lantern Festival. Thousands of lanterns mounted the twilight dark, blinking their mighty flames, seeking good fortune in the cosmos.
My inner Indiana Jones spirit had me spelunking through the city of Lopburi, exploring 10th century Khmer ruins overrun by battalionS of mischievous monkeys. Once the great summer capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, now a secluded relic of a forgotten civilization.
A profound experience occured at what many consider the most revered temple in all of Thailand: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.
Upon ascending the 309-step staircase flanked by bejeweled nagas (or mystical serpents), you are greeted by a revered golden chedi.
Inside the chedi holds the shoulder bone of The Buddha himself, enshrined for over 6 centuries.
Legend has it that the mystical relic was strapped to a white elephant by the King of Lanna. The elephant climbed to the top of Doi Suthep mountain, trumpeted three times, and then passed away.
It is there the King ordered the mystical relic to be enshrined, and there it remains still. Being in such close proximity gave me supernatural chills; surreal cosmic vibrations 9.3 miles above sea level. The sky was so blue from way up there, casting a tropical mirage above Chiang Mai's skyline, azure brilliance made manifest.
ขอบคุณมาก Thailand!🇹🇭 🌴 🍜 🥊 🐒
Photography etc.
