Taken with Fujifilm X100

If not for this fucking garment bag this would be the best I’ve done at packing ever.

One rolling backpack, laptop consolidated into an iPad, and camera rig consolidated into a digital rangefinder. My liquids baggie is in a snap pocket on the front. Every that would be in my pockets otherwise are stuffed into my coat. Don’t have to take off five finger shoes through security. On theotherside inseconds.
Except thisdamn garment bag doesn’t fit into my ensemble. It’s bulky, uneven, and difficult to carry. I’m on my way back from a job interview, and my mother in law insisted I take it to protect my suit from “my folding.” Which seems like sound advice if you’ve never seen what they do to garment bags on these flights.

“I’ll find some place to fit that,” the flight attendant says. The little Asian woman then heaves on my nice suit with her surprising might. I think she took one of those plungers baristas use to compact espresso at some point.

Truffle fries and lavender soda.

But enough about the garment bag. I love talking about tech far more thanbitching (the exception is bitching about tech). The iPad is great; I’m not carrying any papers with me this trip. I wrote this in it, but what I want to talk about is the rangefinder. The Fujifilm x100 to be exact. I wish it was with me andnotin my wife’s purse right now so I could take a picture ofthis sunset from my window seat.

But it’s where it belongs rightnow. We got it from Borrowlenses.com for this week. Rachel is wanting to get into being my second shoot and wants a camera of her own. The X100 can fit in her purse all the time and packs quite a punch of something it’s size.

Pharaoh Voldemort

So bad news first. It’s a terrible primary camera and has a steep price tag for a secondary. The fixed 24 mm lense alone is a dealbreaker. It’s not a beginner’s camera either. I started to realize this with the frequency she kept handing me the camera to take the shot.

If you understand the dials it’s pretty easy to use. Just Keep it in a coat pocket, draw it, set, and click. Indoors, low light, candids, and some distance landscapes this glass is a viking. Otherwise it’s frustrating as hell. Granted the times I regretted not having my 70-300 mm glass I could count on one hand. The weight is just right.

Strap doesn’t kill my neck and Icouldshootsteady at a 1/6 shutter speed (that really slow by the way). I really wanted to love this camera. A HUD comes up in the view finder. This camera makes you feel like Iron Man when you shoot. It’s really hard to hate a camera that makes you feel like Tony Fucking Stark. HOWEVER, it’s just way too much money for me right now for it’s few great pros, but tech gets cheaper by the year.

Meerkats

Now this iPad. I need to figure out how to keep one of these.

I was up in NYC for the Doctor Who session of Dr. Sketchy’s. They put on a great show, and there’s a lot I could learn from Headquarters.In fact Someone’s Mrs. Reynold’s ended up on the list of Best Amy Pond cosplayers.

It was a magical time like carrying a Tardis through the East Village, and a hectic time as every time I’ve tried to get in and out of NYC. But most of these stories I’ll keep to myself for now.

Since they’ve got their own photos up, I felt it was a good time to put up my own pictures.

Also if your in the market for a great Doctor Who mix tape, John Leavitt provides.

Matador would probably think so.

Last week I took a trip over to Cincinnati. I went to check out Dr. Sketchy’s. The often Burlesque themed Life Drawing class started in NYC. The Cincinnati branch is the closest to around here.

(I’m trying to bring a branch to Charleston, WV, but that’s for another time.)

I note I’m getting lazier with my travel arrangements. Last year when I went to New York, I meticulously searched for a an apartment to sublease for the duration of my trip. But Portland? I didn’t like the non-committal reviews on the local hostels, and the apartments seemed a little shady.

And you know what? I liked the hotel. It was a local chain, but I didn’t have to fight any hipsters for towels or spaghetti. A friggin’ duck tour didn’t come by my window every hour and piss their pants over a Starbucks that really isn’t even really the first one. (It’s a liar’s Starbucks.) The risk of tripping over Aussies and Kiwis in their ironic Flight of the Conchords shirts getting all makey-outey dropped sharply.

So DC. Didn’t even look at anything else. Even committed the sin of getting drinks and snacks from the hotel’s bar. Very pleasant time. Probably the trip with least screw ups on my part ever. You know hostels often end up costing as much as small hotels with all their other little fees, right?

Same in Cincinnati. Actually, paid for the breakfast buffet and coffee there. Scandalous.

I must be losing my indie travel edge is I’m taking the easy way out for the same cost. Then again I never did bother going over the river into Ohio. Also I found a clock that tells the story of the Pied Piper in a children’s playground. Not through the internet, but ACTUALLY TALKING TO SOMEONE. And the originally purpose of the trip was to check out a burlesque themed figure drawing class.

Hamelin Square in Mainstrasse Village

So maybe there’s hope for me afterall.

And this picture is the culprit:

By the way, I’ll be at the Art Emporium this Thursday for Art Walk (July 15th from 5 to 8pm). So check that out. I’ve put together a Gowalla map so you can play along with Art Walk! Also my friends at Apartment 2B will be showing Escribitionist at the Empty Glass (July 18th from 10 pm to 2 am).

A reminder: I have an Imagekind store up and running now. Also, if you’ve finished The Spaces in Between please leave a review on Amazon. If they’re good then maybe my knee will mend itself. If the review’s bad then it will probably go on the back of the next book.

The crew mills around in front of the Guggs.

First of all I didn’t even know that show was still on. It would seem that I have nothing but apathy for ABC. I have no idea what is actually on that channel. Even Scrubs starring my beloved Zach Braff is apparently still on that channel. New episodes and everything, but I still haven’t bothered to try watching it. I thought that show was done when they took it off ABC.

(Please don’t put Conan on ABC. I want to actually watch him once he’s no longer legally prohibited from television.)

This is now the second time that the Entertainment industry has snubbed me. First Warner Bros. never paid me for We Are Marshall, but they certainly reported that income to the IRS. (Granted this was $75 bucks, not enough to buy Mcconaughey a bag of pot.)

Maybe, I’m getting ahead of myself. We never actually made it to the Guggenheim on our first trip to New York. So this time we made sure to go there. The architecture is a big deal, but I have no idea what is inside it. I still don’t. Well, except for the Ugly Betty cast and crew. I can only assume they are still there.

While walking down the street I noticed a car parked with a tiny sign in the window, “Ugly Betty Crew”. So I thought “huh, I guess someone that lives in this neighborhood works on the show.” Three more cars, and I begin to be suspicious.

There is an array of lights at the entrance. We walk in and mind you no one stops us. In fact if we never tried to purchase tickets, we might have gotten after all. It was no longer the lobby of the Guggenheim, but the set of Ugly Betty. If I hadn’t broken the illusion by asking someone about it, I probably could have remained in their world forever. An Extra walking around and looking at the pictures forever in celluloid limbo.

Once again not paid.

However, the Union crew glared at us until we sulked across the street into Central Park. A car was parked there in the park. Right beside the no parking sign. The crew of Ugly Betty cannot be bound by the mere courts of Men!

So instead I went and took pictures of Belvedere Castle. Probably had more fun doing that too. It would have closed by the time I got out of the Guggs.

Surveying my kingdom. A bird sanctuary and frozen over hockey field.

And while, this is probably a much better story than “I went to a museum and saw a tissue box.” I still feel bitter, because once again I’ve written something and found out it came from TV.

Recently, I headed to New York, and I needed a place to stay cheap and fast. I didn’t want to fool with a hostel again. Not, so much because I’m against staying in hostels. Good night of sleep and room to iron was important for the job interview. There aren’t many flat surfaces in a hostel that New Zealanders aren’t having sex on at any given moment.

So I did what I always do and shook the Internet until something fell out. On a tip from the Matador Network (a good one not something on saving money by staying in a chicken coop or harnessing the power of New Zealand hostel orgies to smite whalers), I found out about a site where I can find apartments to stay in.

It was near Times Square and was conveniently close to the interview. I knew from the site that the owner was going to be out of town that week. I scaled the elevator shaft with my grapple and tried the lock against my picks.

Inside I was greeted by an enthusiastic young man who was playing the piano and handed me a set of keys. In my dsylexia I had read the website as AirBNE dot com not AIRBNB dot com as in Bed and Breakfast. I was not in fact buying information on houses to break into, but renting the room for three days. A much easier arrangement.

I mentioned this to a friend, and it was this point she fixated on about my whole trip. (That and whether or not I used the Ninja bathroom. I wasn’t aware that was a thing, but it is.) It struck some kind of OCD nerve. So I thought maybe some of her concerns about AirBNB are shared by others. So I’ll address some of them here:

Do you have to hang out with the people?

No, you don’t. We talked to our host one night over a box of Magnolia’s cupcakes, but that was pretty much it. He took another lodger on a tour of the garment district though.

Did you get to use the rest of the apartment?

Yeah, all the common rooms including the kitchen. Now, mind you our bed room was private. On AirBNB there are four categories: couch, shared room, private, and even whole homes. Hell, while going through the top 40 properties one of the whole home was a castle. A fekkin’ castle.

Isn’t this basically Couch Surfer?

Except I can actually get a whole room. It’s review based like Ebay or Couch Surfer, and AirBNB handles all the cash. However, the addresses are public on AirBNB so you know, murderers tend to not list their address. (Not that Couch Surfer is filled with murderers). Also the public address lets you know the area your staying in before hand.

You can get a $20 dollar discount on a rental the first time you list a property on AirBNB. You can play this card only once per listing, but also like CoachSurfer you reserve the right to accept or reject any reservations.There is a motivation on either side to participate.

And how wast it?

I’ve tried it once now and got to rent a nice room in a trendy apartment in Times Square for the quarter of the price of a hotel there. It was surprising quiet and pretty large. The host was genial and fun. There was a problem with the facet in the shower, but that’s pretty standard issue in apartments.

I had a good experience, but really I’m sure it varies from place to place. So give it a try yourself.

I’m not the kind of guy to stick out like a sore thumb when travelling. I always get the same travel advice from relative when they know I’m leaving. Buy a money belt. Put your important papers in a bag hanging around your neck. Get Traveller’s Cheques.

Really? Does anyone really use cash anymore, much less Traveller’s Cheques? I’ve always felt that if I was a pick pocket, I’d definitely nail tourists. It seems to me that the easiest way to spot one is if they had any of the above.

I’m the kind of traveller that blends in. Other tourists ask ME for directions, and usually around my second day I can give them. My nose isn’t buried in a guidebook. It’s buried in my cell phone like everyone else.

I use a Sprint Instinct so nothing I use aside from the GPS navigation is exclusive to the phone. All the apps I use are available to a phone with a mobile Internet and text plan.

Text Message Google – Phone Numbers and Addresses

Send a text message to 466453 (Or GOOGLE on your numeric keypad) to receive a reply back from Google. Commands with the best results are ones like “Used Books – Near Columbus, Oh” or “Showtimes 25304″. The former will get you a list of phone numbers and addresses for used book stores in Columbus, and the later will get you the movie showtimes and theaters in Charleston, WV.

Sprint Instinct GPS Navigation - current location and map

This is the only one exclusive to my phone, but many phones have a similar offering. Since this was designed for driving its atrocious at giving directions. However, it’s very handy as a map or for getting my current address. Also great for searching for the Jack in the Box nearest you.

Google Maps (m.google.com) – Get to where you’re going.

Once, you’ve got the address or know where you’re going plug it in to Google Maps and get directions. With the newer updates Google Maps can get you transit information straight to your phone. Also great for looking up businesses and phone numbers. Most phones I’ve tried this with are savy enough to have a link to dial the number.

Yelp.com (m.yelp.com) - Gotta eat.

Yelp is a wonderful site for user reviews of businesses in an area. It’s a great place for restaurant reviews, but don’t limit yourself just to these. You can find spas, groceries, night clubs, etc. I should have checked here about Seattle cabs on my last trip. With the mobile site you can get all of this straight from your cell phone browser. Yelp is larger than its site let’s on. You can find reviews on obscure locations like Charleston, WV – you just have to dig deep.

Tripit (m.tripit.com) - Store Your Trip Information

Create an account and you can send trip confirmations to plans@tripit.com. Tripit will translate the reservations and create an itinerary. It currently accepts e-mails from all major websites like Priceline.com or Opentable.com. Unfortunately, no support for Hostels.com e-mail confirmations. You can still add events and plans manually. There is even a social aspect that allows you to share your trip plans with others. I use this for storin restaurants, tours, and musuems I want to visit with addresses, phone numbers, and hours of operation. Update: As of this writing the mobile site does not format correctly on the latest Instinct browser. It may still work on other mobile phones.

Posterous (posterous.com) - The new postcard.

Posterous is a service that autoposts content. For example, I snap a picture of the Space Needle; email it to Posterous; and then it updates to Twitter, Facebook, Livejournal, and Flickr.  C’mon, it’s not like postcards were really that personal to begin with. E-mail your first post to post@posterous.com to create your account.

Twitter (m.twitter.com) - Just, because you’re away doesn’t mean you can’t hear your friends ramble in under 140 characters. While at PAX I made sure to turn on Device Updates on all the key players. I’ve already put together a good guide for using Twitter as a search engine.

Google and Youtube (m.google.com and m.youtube.com) – Learn Something

You can learn a lot of skills from Youtube. Like how to pick locks and other great travel skills. I used this to figure out how to open a bottle of Ramune I got from an Asian supermarket. And to plague my wife with keyboard cat when she makes a mistake.

If you were turned back from this year’s Lewisburg Chocolate Festivals like a pitiful refugee let me tell you how to roll your own chocolate festival right here in Charleston. All of these stores fell right into the hollow portion of my heart in the shape of my Lewisburg Chocolate Festival itinerary.

Hollis’s (Capital Market and Bridge Road Shops) – Truffles. A little pricey. About a buck a pop. They do give samples though (at least at the Bridge Road location). Also delicious, dessert wines.
The Wine and Cheese Shop (Capital Market) – You can also find the delicious, dessert wines here. My favorite is Moscate di Asti.
Peanut Shoppe (Downtown) – Just watch Candy Takers. Look at all those tasty, tasty candies.
Ellen’s Ice Cream (Downtown) – Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato FTW. Only takes cash and checks – something I find luddite.
Kid’s Country Toys (Bridge Road Shops) – My favorite toy store. Manages to not come off as desperate.
Taylor Books (Downtown) – The cafe has a variety of baked goods. Like their tiramisu. Eat it.
Capital Roasters (Downtown and Capital Market) – Italian cream soda. They come with flavored syrups the same kind like in the coffees.
Pho Vinh Long (South Charleston) – As an added bonus West Virginia’s only Vietnamese restaurant now carries bubble tea. Bubble tea is tea mixed with tapioca pearls and fruit flavors. They look like a slushie. With gummy candies on the bottom. Let me repeat: CANDY ON THE BOTTOM. You want to go to there.

Places in Lewisburg aren’t named, but you know who you are.

No chocolate for you! One year! (photo by: ulteriorepicure)

I re-experience a slice of my childhood last weekend at the Lewisburg Chocolate festival.

I remember going to Lewisburg when I was a kid. (It wasn’t really that long ago). I remember riding on long, winding roads for hours on end. Vomting. The bartering of vintage pornography. All to look at a park, old hotel, and a neat cemetary.

This came as a surprise to me. I had gone to the Chocolate festival last year. It was wonderful, all of my preconceived notions of Lewisburg were shattered. This was an art town. When did this happen? Was Lewisburg always this way and I was just too rattle by car sickness to notice this?

Either way I had been pimping the festival to friends and family all year. I only got to attend for a few hours last year. I was going to make a day of it this year.

“I’m sorry,” said the lady behind the table. A sign hung from the front reading A-L. “We’re out of tickets. Only pre-orders are left. We should out thirty minutes ago.”

They were out of chocolate. By noon they were out of chocolate. No, that’s not right because there was plenty in the shops. All of their candy was reserved. What the hell kind of festival sells pre-orders on their food? I drove four hours for this.

“Well, there are other events,” she added. “You could eat chocolate in the mousse eating contest.”

“Do you have a copy of the schedule?”

“We’re out of those, too. But you can pick up a copy from one of the tasting locations.”

But the map of tasting locations is in the schedule. All of the events the super, helpful lady mentioned were long over by the time I had gotten to Lewisburg. This festival lasted a lot longer last year. It was done at noon this year.

I attempted to barter for chocolate, but to no avail without the scrip being sold by the town. I was told that later the stores were accepting a dollar per sample. That was closer to five when they were trying to get rid of the stuff. The free market prevailed, but far too late to help me.

Despite the very poor planning for this event I am the one that feels like the asshole. I’ve been promoting this even to people all year. I’m sure I’ve gotten at least twenty people to go there. When you teach someone you are karmically responsible for how they use that knowledge. That’s about twenty days I’ve ruined. 

So I offically rescind my recomendation for the chocolate festival.