02008-09-24 | Photos, Travel
It’s quiet, the silence pierced only by a few bird-calls. Deer are grazing 6 feet from the cottage in the early morning light, ignoring me completely as I am sitting zazen. Windblown shapes of pine trees. Too much wine last night, but feeling better after a shower, a glass of coffee and a few pilates exercises.
Yesterday and today I have been playing a lot of guitar. I am reminded of Rahim’s term for when one has practiced enough and the music flows: when the soul has settled.
02008-09-22 | Travel
Well, not really, but gone for the week. I’ll be angling for photographs.
02008-09-06 | Ottmar, Travel
File under “Wanderjahre”:
Thirty years ago I was on Phuket island in Thailand. On the Trans-Siberian train in April of 1978 I had met a few young fellow travelers, an Englishman on the way to India, a Swede on his way to Thailand. We called ourselves the Semolina Club, because for vegetarians the only food options on the train were semolina gruel, peas and the occassional potatoe, baked, wrapped in newspaper and offered for sale in buckets in railway stations by old ladies. The train would stop for a few minutes and we would jump out and buy potatoes. Yes, I did sell a pair of jeans to a waiter in the train’s restaurant car. And we drank vodka with soldiers on the train.
I arrived in Japan at end of cherry blossom season. In Japan I got around by hitch-hiking, and while hitch-hiking is something the Japanese did not do themselves, they tolerated foreigners doing it and in fact it was very easy to get rides as people wanted to practice their English. Three weeks later I flew to Taipei, where I stayed for a month studying Tai-Chi. In July I traveled to Hongkong, which I loved, and in August to Bangkok, where I ran into the Swede from the Trans-Siberian train, heard about the beautiful Phuket island, and took a bus South. At the time Phuket had one resort hotel (((must be hundreds now!))), but I rented a hut about 100 feet from the beach, for $1.50 per night. I stayed for a month.
Related entries: Rockgarden in Japan, Papaya in India, Traveling in Thailand, Bombay and Goa, Eating on the Train
02008-08-06 | Music, Travel
David Bowie’s Berlin: a musical tour of the city | Travel | guardian.co.uk
Many great cities are celebrated for their art and culture but only a select few come with their own soundtrack. From Kurt Weil to Bertolt Brecht, Lou Reed to Iggy Pop, Nick Cave to the minimal techno DJs currently ruling the roost, our image of Berlin is shaped by the ambitious music created there.
But for a generation of music lovers, the spirit of David Bowie bestrides the landscape of Berlin more than any other musician. At the peak of his career in the mid-to-late seventies, Bowie lived and played in the city, working on three albums with producer Brian Eno.
Continue here
02008-07-05 | Touring, Travel
A New Age for Dirigibles – The New York Times > Slide 1 of 10
A new generation of dirigibles is being considered by governments and private companies as the price of fuel rises and concern for the environment grows. An airship operated by Deutsche Zeppelin- Reederei is shown preparing for a flight.
And:
France’s postal service has considered using dirigibles as an environmentally friendly way to transport parcels between France and Corsica or the Antilles.
02008-06-03 | Guitar, Touring, Travel
I have to tell you that this Accord case in combination with this Colorado Case cover (mine is a little older and does not have the pocket on top) is the best way to travel with a guitar. The guitar fits in (almost) every overhead bin on airplanes and when I do have to gate-check it for a flight on a small prop-plane I am confident that the guitar is as well protected as it can be. Highly recommended!
