My Significant Other…

If you did not already know…I have been consistently running a separate blog concerning my adventures during this sojourn experience.  It includes pictures, movies, music, and more that intend to describe my feelings and such.  I decided to call the blog It Gets So Real Sometimes because it is the lyrics to a Sublime song (one of my favorite Reggae bands), and this trip has been just that.  Enjoy.

POD(Personal On Demand)casting…

Podcasting…what a concept.  Now one can automatically upload audio versions of basically any interest that floats their boat.  It started off predominantly with audio-books, but along with the podcast and audible corporate revolution, options now range from band updates, blog write-ups, newspapers, and much more.  For instance, I can subscribe to updates on my favorite band incubus and every time I connect my I-pod to the computer the podcast will transfer…leaving me connected with all my favored interests without too much effort.

The podcast age began with developments made by Dave Winner and Adam Curry, one contributing the idea of the <enclosure> (to add audio RSS) and the other with the Synch to I-pod method.  Conventions and talks of the podcasts along with Podcast.net blended for an atomic reaction of it’s popularity.  Hence its wide range today.

Considering it is so easy nowadays, I have created my own simply by using a standard computer program and uploading it onto the blog.  The podcast is the short elaboration of an analogy I have created concerning the abroad experience and the shock that comes along with it.  Enjoy… the pool analogy.

For further description of the podcasting ways…watch.

Chapin Herman Photography

Chapin Herman has been making his mark on the photography industry/medium and it is easy to see why, his refreshingly contemporary style blends flawlessly with his crisp perspective of people, products, and places.  I do suggest that anyone in need of photo-assistance consult in him for his talents.

See more at:

www.chapinhermanphotography.com

EYE CANDY: octoland

OCTOLAND

Given all of the EyeCandy pictures that have been posted, I have not come across one that catches my interest more than this.  Perhaps it is because I see a lot of my artistic style in the artist, or simply because the work is as strange as they get.  Either way, it digs at me.  I am jealous that I could not think and manifest something like this first, the surrealism has sincerely inspired me.  I am not necessarily excited to go home considering I have fallen for this city, but I must admit that thoughts of smelly acrylics and the vulnerability of a naked canvas waiting for me at home makes my mouth water.

Here a few more cool ones:

Amsterdammmnnnnn…

Sojourning…I feel like a child playing a Euro GeoSafari , except instead of fondling a plastic globe and answering questions, I can simply jump into it  whenever/wherever I please.  Seems last weekend I chose Amsterdam…of course I took a plane, unfortunately teleportation does not exist…yet.  Somewhat by chance, a lot of good friends chose to go the same weekend, so the crew was plentiful and the vibes were on point.  We were supposed to go about three weeks ago, however the idea of Halloween weekend in Barcelona persuaded a change of flight, therefore the excitement was weeks in the making.  Upon arriving, our half-baked living plans left us somewhat homeless for the first night, so luckily the girls we came with were nice enough to provide the shelter of their hotel (viewing distance from Central Station, the centerpiece of AmsterVillage).  Thank you ladies.  That night (Thursday) we cruised the Red Light District and then some…shocking scene, seriously.  You can hear about it a thousand times, but you will never truly understand the absurdity until it is witnessed first hand…and now I feel it appropriate to assure that I nor my friends indulged passed sight (although I must admit that many were quite attractive, others…not so much).

After awaking we all went our separate ways and saw the city, it’s canals, tilted buildings, the Anne Frank House, coffee shops, and more.  When I say coffee shops I mean places to smoke pot (sorry elders once again, you’ve been warned), and it is arguably the highlight of the city.  The coffee shops were a boatload of fun, all of them had different settings and separate medleys of top of the line pot…all legal…everywhere.  We tested out Abraxas, Grey Area, Barney’s, Greenhouse Effect, Bulldog’s, others, and last but not least…the home-base Resin.  I say this because the coffee shop naturally became our favorite spot to hang out and find the comfort zone…educated staff, great music, and an elaborate bamboo jungle theme with swings hanging for sitting, green fluorescent lights, and padded wall-booths.

We wandered and journeyed more and it came time to make sleep reservations for the remainder of our trip.  Sharukh, whom we had already met up with, had organized a CouchSurfing stay and suggested that we might be able to stay along with him.  Sure enough it worked and we were forced to call the original apartment renter (which we were going to pay 70 Euro a night for) that we had made other accommodations (sorry bud but these days we gotta protect our own financial butts).  We get to the CouchSurfing apartment about 30 minutes outside of the main city, and are welcomed to two of the warmest young women I have ever met…Renetta and Luisa.  They had already cooked fondue and bread to share with us…soon after they introduced us to their roommate Hugo (“like Hugo Boss” is what he said, a jolly fellow from Ireland), one of their other CouchSurfers Nikolas (from Switzerland, works in Nicaragua), then their neighbors J.P. And Frank (whose families immigrated from Sierra Leone, Africa…for some bearings, the area that the movie Blood Daimond is based upon)…showed us our sleeping plans, and then we spent the next few hours simply getting to know each other over wine and candy.  Renetta teaches Dutch to poor immigrant adults and children, she is amid a documentary production concerning what she does.  Luisa was born in Amsterdam…doesn’t work anything but her free-spirit, however she is very smart, speaks 5 languages, and was possibly one of the easiest people to get along with.  More about candy…I had brought a bag of Sour Patch Kids (my favorite candy which I have not been able to find in Europe, so I begged my roommates girlfriend to bring some upon her visit…thanks Annie)…the guys from Sierra Leone (who claimed they are candy lovers just as I) said they had never seen the candy before and would like to try them.  Of course, confident in my taste, I proudly handed the bag over and suggested the red or green be eaten first…they devoured and soon raved about the joyous little color assortment of gummy-kids.

The apartment was run-down but homey, the walls sporadically etched and painted on, the living room messy yet happy.  They described their living situation as inexpensive legal residency in apartments that were soon to be demolished (otherwise known as a Squat).  They then continued to say how the occupancy is predominantly immigrants and/or poor students or travelers. Before sleeping, Renetta handed me some art supplies and allowed me to draw all over their walls, the piece came out quite good…it was a large fish I have grown used to drawing with “liefde” (love in Dutch) written in the teeth, and “thanks” (thanks in English) written along the tail… I later added a fish hook holding up the LA sign, and wrote Amsterdam just below the fish. Frank drew some stuff near as well, it was fun. We slept half-comfortably on the floor and couch, then were awoken in the morning to fresh hot tea from the kind Renetta and Luisa.  We got on with our day, starting at the Van Gogh museum and then trying more coffee shops, seeing more of the city, and “then some”.  When your in this city you feel like you’ve been thrown into a Tim Burton world of the X-rating.  The buildings literally lean in at different angles, which we found out later is because they use the pulley system, and therefore built the structures outwards so that objects wouldn’t hit the side and fall on the way up to the top story.

That night we met up with the girls once more to celebrate Alyssa’s 21st birthday…we settled in a cool bar/club called The Grasshopper.  Her friends began to smother her with drink after drink, we also bought her a bottle of Pear Absolute…therefore she was absolute-ly demolished about 30 minutes after the birthday song was sung.  That night ended quick, but this was okay considering we were drained from the days activities and stoked to come back to a culture-filled house of welcoming human beings.  We hung once more, slept, then awoke to say quick goodbyes to all before spending our last half-day in the village.  We eventually met up with some friends, made our last stops, and got on a train at Central Station…destination, Airport….Barcelona…home.  No embellishing, although Amsterdam is about as dirty and immoral as places get, I found it charming and surreal…and wish I could have spent more time.

There are many more specifics about the trip, however those are more fun (and appropriate) to tell in person.

Before leaving I wrote them all a small letter of appreciation, along with all relevant contacts.  I got a few of theirs as well and have already exchanged a few emails.

I have now stayed on the floor of a Squat—on the other side of the world—with complete strangers from various countries—and loved every second. This is where the true culture lies… at least in my opinion.

Cosas Locas Campeones!

I don’t believe I have mentioned it in the blog yet, however my whole apartment Nick, Mason, Sam, Bryce, and I…along with girlfriends of ours Brittany, Jenna, and Cyndie created a team coined the Cosas Locas (Wild Things) to participate in the CEA soccer league. Games were arranged at 9 or 10 on every Tuesday with a 4 game schedule. We came to play. To put it short: we won our first two, lost the third, beat the team we lost to in the semi-finals, and were then matched against FC BarCEAlona (a staff team of middle aged Spanish men, that were defending back to back to back championships) for the championship match. Little did they know, Cosas Locas were some allstar gangsta Americano futbaleros with a boatload of heart…and maddd skills son. The championship game was as close as they get…one-one, two-two, three-three…until six (Nick had a nasty header I must say). The referee called the one minute mark, and things were looking pretty overtime-ish. With around 35 seconds left, Sam tossed a ball over the defense and I was able to get a foot on it from around 20 yards away from the goal for a top-left last minute victory. The success tasted better than the Freebird’s monster burrito that I haven’t come close to having in the last half a year. The staff team were good sports and congratulated the win…after the handshakes we were brought a sizable trophy…which we later decided will come back to Santa Barbara for the majority of the team to share in Isla Vista. We celebrated at a tap-bar and killed about 15 liters of cold delicious beer…accompanied by some Tapas. Life is good, I am happy…happier then I can remember. Why go home? (PS: the morning after I ate cereal and milk out of the trophy…b-fast of champions. Cocky? No. Proud? Yes.) Good form Cosas…it shall be something to remember for years to come.

Halfpipe as Canvas: IFO RINPA

Similar to earlier videos posted like “1 Week of Arts”, artist association IFO Rinpa uses a whole new type of canvas (skate-ramp) in this time-lapse piece of numerous murals. Check the steeze (genuine).

San Sebastian for a Little Surfcation:

This last weekend we took a trip to San Sebastian, a Spanish surf-city in the Northwest of the country (Atlantic side).  We took an 8-hour overnight bus on Friday and were able to comfortably spend three days there considering Colombus Day shares equal importance here.

During this long weekend we indulged in all the city had to offer:

- Surfing…in the rain at points (doesn’t get all nasty like the Los Angeles coast when it pours, it was actually pleasantly surreal).

- Kind people.

- Great Tapas (Spanish Appetizers) hopping, Paella, Sangria, bar hopping, Gelato.

- Hiking to the highest point of the central mountain which overlooks both sides of the city.

- And simply taking it easy.

To give a more distinct visual.  The mountain we hiked is somewhat like the tip of a Peninsula which splits to coasts of the city…from this tip the two coastlines sprout and cove out creating a kind of three shape.  The older parts of the coves reminded me of the cities contrived in the Pirates of the Carribean films…however there are also very large contemporary buildings built on the sand which mix perfectly to stimulate the eye.  I absolutely loved this place, as did all of my co-travelers (we were feeling good vibes and it wasn’t the pot).  Also, we got hooked up at an awesome hostel called Olga’s which was literally one block from the ocean.  Olga was also a very kind lady.

Hallo-Disco-Ween…

“How much for those over there?”

Owner of the costumer store in Spanish, “Those are for ten year olds.”

“Yeah…..we’ll take four”, we replied hysterically.

The extremely undersized turtle suits were ours…turtle head, shell, and suit all included (some adjustments had to be made).

After, we begged a nearby cloth store for any colorful scraps they may have (which we would later use as eyebands), they were generous and the ninja turtles were finally equipped and ready to “fight crime” on a Saturday night Halloween in Barcelona, Spain.  Donatello, Michaelangelo, Rafael, and Leonardo.  Sharukh, Mason, Nick, and I.

It had already been an eventful week considering Tobin (a good friend for many years) had been visiting, however just as she was ready to return to her sojourn experiences in London, Sharukh arrived for his turn in my city (along with many other UCSB friends staying elsewhere). Sharukh had come from his leisure occupations at the Le Moulin Bregeon Inn of Linieres Bouton, France (a small outskirt a little over 100 miles out of Paris). He describes his experiences thus far, which are not too lengthy yet, as very relaxing and eye opening.  To elaborate on the cliché “eye opening”, his Los Angeles world has been flip-turned upside down into a town where the buildings are French antiques, skyscrapers do not exist, plains are infinite, no one speaks his language, and the population could fit in my high school auditorium.  I wish the expatriate an enjoyable remainder of his experiences, however I am sure it wont be too difficult for an embracing personality such as his.  I will be seeing both Tobin and Sharukh upon arriving to Amsterdam for Cannibus Cup and then some (also meeting us: Joelle, Matt Black, abroad friends, and many more…stoked).

As for the rest of Halloween…we ended up throwing the pre-game (pre-party for you ancients) for the nights festivities, which eventually rounded up to a condensed population of around twenty-something at a certain point (a lot for our smaller living situations).  Most of our abroad friends are hanging on the eviction thread in their apartments for excess noise (damn Americans), however our nest lays between an unoccupied right neighbor and a hearing disabled on the left…therefore our situation caters well to a party environment (which I have no quarrels with). The blend of good vibes and music (Passion Pit, Hot Chip, 2-Pac, Ratatat, Voilent Femmes, UB40, Sublime, and the regular goodness) served as a healthy pre-game and the stupor was well underway. Eventually we hopped in the green-lit taxi’s and headed for Razzmatazz (a four story, four staged, dance party).  After getting in I did notice that a good proportion of people were not dressed for the occasion, I was prepared for this considering Halloween is not as enthusiastically celebrated outside of the US (which should never stop anyone from being festive).  At this point I was pretty hammered and it was extremely difficult to keep track of everyone  in the tornado of a venue, however I remember randomly seeing light-green turtle shells and colorful headbands here and there to find my boys dancing/jumping in the bliss of the hallow-disco-madness.

My favorite part of the night…at around four in the morning both the lights and music turned off and fog began to smother the main stage in front of the sardine-packed crowd.  Everyone calmed and faced the sudden darkness…a low bass line begins…One by one, well costumed/acting zombies stumble onto various parts of the stage…the background screen shows a graveyard scene and you can start to resemble the melody of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” crawl out of the high quality speakers.  Soon after, there were about fifteen zombies on stage in a triangular formation…and sure enough, they began to perform a perfectly choreographed version of the original Thriller dance.  Excuse my French, but it was fucking rad, I most definitely got the chills as I am sure did others…completely unexpected (good stuff Razz).

Afterwards (who knows when, sunrise)…we got lost, but luckily I had found some other friends to go home with…upon arriving home I walk in to see the green turtles mid-giggle about their stories of the night…we continued to share laughs over a nicely bundled Jay.

Its a hard knock life.

Un Viaje de Escuela en El Periodico:

Last week our Journalism class made an exclusive visit the El Periodico headquarters in Barcelona.  Upon arrival, we were introduced to Head of Communications/Press/PR, Montse Baldoma.  Montse began an informal tour throughout the whole factory and thoroughly described the people and processes that blend to create the daily El Periodico, Catalonia’s number one newspaper.  She described how different tables collaborate to perform certain tasks such as photography, formatting, translation, sports, international, and more.  After, Montse took us into the main conference room and handed out a pamphlet for us to follow as she taught the history and potential future of El Periodico, along with statistical and competitor information.

A Cover Example

The pamphlet taught that El Periodico sells a total of 754,000 everyday…not including papers that are shared in bars and such public areas.  El Periodico was also revolutionary in the sense that they were the first to use colors in their papers, and the idea that they encourage being provocative in the writing to spark thought and possible controversy.  They have won numerous awards for their creative yet sometimes simple covers, I was given one that shows Pep (FCB coach) in the same art portrait as the Obama campaign face…I have posted it on my wall.  Thank you Pipo for the very official and interesting field trip, it was much enjoyed.