interior long exposures

March 10, 2007 - Taida Main Library. I'm easily distracted from studying. And if there's nothing to distract me, it's easy for me to find something to distract me.


March 14, 2007 - MRT Station, probably Gongguan or Jingmei, with the same technique as above - long exposure while holding the 2 as steady as possible. I kneeled for this one and braced the 2 against my leg.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Outside the Wall (Pink Floyd)
2. Bro John (Victor Wooten)
3. Mug Push (Bootsy Collins)
4. Rumba Mama (Weather Report)
5. 給我感覺 (A-Mei)
6. Hammer to Fall (Queen)
7. Mi Amigo (Skip Holiday)
8. Sweet Talkin' Woman (Electric Light Orchestra)
9. Bride of Raindogs (Tom Waits)
10. B Side Wins Again (Public Enemy)

Taipei Lantern Festival, part 2

March 2, 2007 - Drat! I didn't mean so long to pass between posting Lantern Festival lomos, but I went down to Kaohsiung to visit relatives and the wireless was kaput. Anyway, Year of the Pig, pig-themed lanterns, big deal. In the background there is the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall, which ironically houses a huge statue of Taiwan's #1 Superstar Dictator, responsible for 40 years of martial law (even though 12 of those years were after his death) and tens of thousands of extra-judicial killings.


Military guard walking down the steps to, you know, protect the piggie lanterns.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. We Go Together ("Grease")
2. Grizabella, the Glamour Cat (T.S. Eliot - "Cats")
3. Body and Soul (Coleman Hawkins & His Orchestra)
4. The Howler (King Crimson)
5. In the Evening (Led Zeppelin)
6. Rip Her to Shreds (Blondie)
7. Circle (Sarah McLachlan)
8. (New Wave) Polly (Nirvana)
9. Portrait (He Knew) (Kansas)
10. Gambare Amuse (Yuko Hara)

Taipei Lantern Festival, part 1

March 2, 2007 - Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall grounds. Taiwan has a Democracy Memorial Hall in memory of Taiwan's democracy. Not sure what form of government is in place now, but it ain't democracy. More like. . . Clownocracy.

I think it's noble to change the name of the hall, but it's not worth it to fight and squabble about it. That means there's not enough consensus about it. Furthermore, how can you have a Democracy Memorial Hall which houses a huge statue of a dictator - Chiang Kai-Shek? That's the main reason I was unimpressed by the name change, which was from Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. They have to get rid of that damn statue, an affront to democracy and human rights principles.


On a lighter note, Lantern Festival celebrating the Year of the Pig. Pigocracy. That's the actual memorial hall in the background.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Straight, No Chaser (Thelonius Monk)
2. Fullhouse (Kate Bush)
3. Tokiga Bousou Suru (Shiina Ringo)
4. Baby Blue Sedan (Modest Mouse)
5. Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, I. Allegro (J.S. Bach)
6. Mr. Soul (Neil Young)
7. Security of the First World (Public Enemy)
8. 2nd of Feb (Engine Down)
9. Capturing Moods (Rilo Kiley)
10. Failure (Alfie Remake) (Kings of Convenience)

film advance frame

March 2, 2007 - Film advance frame on a new roll. I guess I was having a burrito at a roadside place that tries to pass for Mexican. I'm hoping this roll will have some better photography than the previous roll. I wasn't thrilled at the previous roll. Of course, I've seen the new roll already, so I know if it's better or not, but this is the illusion of blog. Eh, it's about the same. At this moment, I have another roll in the shop getting developed.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Land's End (Siouxsie & the Banshees)
2. Counting Out Time (live) (Genesis)
3. Violet (Hole)
4. Murmullo (Ibrahim Ferrer - "Buena Vista Social Club")
5. Sometime in June (Julie Plug)
6. Flying High Again (Ozzy Osbourne)
7. You're Gonna Get Yours (Public Enemy)
8. The Little Things You Do Together ("Company" - Sondheim)
9. 12-bar Original (The Beatles - Anthology)
10. Impossible ("A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" - Sondheim)

finishing up a ride

February 23, 2007 - Hsindian, Taiwan. Riding back from the Wulai border seemed so much shorter than going there, but I guess that is usually the case. Going seems longer than the returning. As I approached the area where rural Hsindian transitions into urban Hsindian, traffic clogged the roads with people returning from New Years family visits, I presume, although this lomo fails to capture the traffic.


Bah! Blurry lomo of Hsindian. Don't know why since I doubt this was an extended exposure. This lomo fails to capture urban Hsindian, which in honesty appears no different from urban Taipei, or any other urban area in Taiwan. Not sure what those buildings are way up on that mountain in the back, but I know somewhere up there are dorms often used by Japanese students who come to study here. It's a matter of online marketing. When I was looking for housing, I never came across anything about them, but in Japanese web searches they apparently turn up readily.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Punch & Judy (Marillion)
2. Wulu Sky (David Darling & the Wulu Bunun)
3. A Soapbox Opera (live) (Supertramp)
4. Poets Problem (Blondie)
5. (Don't Fear) The Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult)
6. Jerusalem (Sinead O'Connor)
7. Talula (Tornado Mix) (Tori Amos)
8. Hot Hot Hot!!! (The Cure)
9. Cry For Everything Bad That's Ever Happened (Le Tigre)
10. Mr. Walker (Renie) (Wes Montgomery)

South of Hsindian

February 23, 2007 - Having returned to Taipei from Kaohsiung, with 3 weeks of New Years break, and a day of decent weather, I headed south of Hsindian on my bike, which I keep telling myself can't handle long rides. And this wasn't long. If I had my regular road bike, this would probably still be in the first quarter of a ride, but I made it as far as the Wulai border. Wulai is the town south of Hsindian (I think) and is slightly famous for hot springs. Hm, I wonder how a soak would be in the middle of a ride! Not sure what happened to this exposure.


Scenery south of Hsindian. In my mind, it's partly what I consider the "real" Taiwan. Taipei, as I've mentioned, doesn't feel like Taiwan to me. It feels like Taipei occupied by mainland Chinese. Taipei is, in many ways, dominated by mainland culture. For better or worse is not for me to say. I think this is all still the Hsindian River.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Tsumiki Asobi (Shiina Ringo)
2. #41 (Dave Matthews Band)
3. Spiral (John Coltrane)
4. Candyland (Kristin Hersh)
5. You Shook Me (live) (Led Zeppelin)
6. Reject All-American (Bikini Kill)
7. Back in N.Y.C. (live) (Genesis)
8. Always More Often (Rainer Maria)
9. Rudie Can't Fail (The Clash)
10. I Can't Get You Off Of My Mind (The The)

Jingmei River, Taipei, Taiwan: nightshot

February 22, 2007 - Jingmei River, Taipei, Taiwan. This is one perspective of my neighborhood. It was probably raining then. My apartment is behind one of the buildings on the right-hand side, in Hsindian. On the left is the riverside bikeway in Taipei that I take to go to language classes everyday. The bridge over there is the Jingmei Bridge and I cross it everyday, if not to go to class, to go to the Jingmei night market which is right there-ish. I'm standing on the bridge that takes you from Roosevelt Road in Taipei to Beishin Road in Hsindian.

As for that big bright building in the center, it's pretty fancy and is right on the river. Today I went by it to try to figure out what it is, and it looks like luxury apartments.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Shooting Star (Versus)
2. Home (Roger Waters)
3. Swing Pool (Blonde Redhead)
4. Raspberry Beret (Prince)
5. Always, Always You ("Carnival")
6. Peanuts (The Police)
7. Liquid Diamonds (Tori Amos)
8. Hanadairo (Chitose Hajime)
9. Doe (The Breeders)
10. Stare At the Sun (Deadweight)

travel day

February 20, 2007 - Kaohsiung, Taiwan. So after several days of family flurry, I decided to head back to Taipei. Before I left, my uncle rushed me out to eat and I found myself forcing something down my throat that I would never volunteer to without the pressure of not offending a wonderful uncle's kindness and consideration. He is a bit nutty, though, and he does try my patience from time to time, albeit less than every one else in the family!


And there she is. Taiwan's High Speed Rail, a lovely orange color scheme that meets my approval, as orange is my favorite color. From Kaohsiung to Taipei, it takes a little over two hours, compared to 4-5 hours by train and 4-7 hours by bus (the overnight bus can make the trip in about 4 and half hours since there's no traffic). The flight is 50 minutes, to give an idea how small the island is. The flight ascends to cruising altitude and almost immediately begins its descent. The High Speed Rail, likewise, never reaches prolonged high speeds, as once high speeds are reached, it's time to slow down for the next station!

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Early to Bed (Morphine)
2. I'm No Heroine (live) (Ani DiFranco)
3. The Girl from Ipanema/Manha de Carnaval (Laurindo Almeida - ultralounge)
4. Tin Foil Star (Versus)
5. Medetai Medetai (Island Version) (Rinken Band)
6. 3 Inch Horses, 2 Faced Monsters (Modest Mouse)
7. Hair ("Hair")
8. Boris the Spider (The Who)
9. Working for Vacation (Cibo Matto)
10. Four Sticks (Led Zeppelin)

HSR first look

February 19, 2007 - Local train from Kaohsiung Main Station to New Zuoying Station. You just gotta love a country where you can still lean out a train door and shoot a lomo. But truth to tell, being able to do this won't last long in Taiwan. This would be unthinkable in Taipei, I think. And even in Kaohsiung, it's not allowed, and if a worker saw me hanging out the door, he would've told me to stay in the train. But the fact remains that I was able to do this, and no one came by and told me to stay in the train. And since I love trains, it was quite a rush to do this and get this shot.


After buying my HSR ticket for the next day, I had to wait for a train to go back to Kaohsiung Main Station. From the platform, the HSR trains were visible. Sweet!

iTunes soundtrack:
1. In the Air Tonight (Phil Collins)
2. Candyman (Siouxsie & the Banshees)
3. Look Over There (reprise) ("La Cage Aux Folles")
4. Vanishing Girl (The Dukes of Stratosphear)
5. Beestung (Kristin Hersh)
6. Wonderland (XTC)
7. Always Crashing in the Same Car (David Bowie)
8. Shave (Enon)
9. Slippery People (live) (Talking Heads)
10. Atrocity Exhibition (Joy Division)

HSR ticket, part 1

February 19, 2007 - Kaohsiung, Taiwan. That, of course, is the most noticeable building in the Kaohsiung "skyline". We were driving to another New Years family gathering, but it was a family unrelated to me. It was my uncle's first wife's family. She died in 1993. So the family is also my cousin Audrey's mother's side, and we used to be closer, so they got used to me accompanying them, even though I'm related on her father's side. But since Audrey and I aren't that close anymore, it was just uncomfortable, and I eventually just walked out without anyone noticing.


When I left, I decided I wanted to go by myself to buy a High Speed Rail (HSR) ticket for my return trip to Taipei the next day. The Kaohsiung terminus of the HSR line is actually at New Zuoying Station, a train station away from Kaohsiung Main Station. And the local trains don't run regularly or often, so it's not really all that convenient to get to if you don't have a car.

I took a bus to Kaohsiung Main Station, bought a local train ticket (about 50 cents U.S.), waited for the train, took the train to New Zuoying Station (see lomo above), waited on line for 45 minutes (New Years travellers) to buy my HSR ticket, bought a local train ticket back to Kaohsiung Main Station, waited for the train, and then took a bus back to my uncle's apartment.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Bullpen (The Pugs)
2. I'll Be Gone (Tom Waits)
3. Kanawha (Seam)
4. Moon Over Cuba (Duke Ellington)
5. Standin' In the Rain (Electric Light Orchestra)
6. My Second Life (The Guo Brothers & Shung Tian)
7. Kayleigh (Marillion)
8. Ein Deutsches Requiem, III. Herr, Lehre Doch Mich (Brahms)
9. I've Got My Mind Set On You (George Harrison)
10. Shigatsu no Ame (Dreams Come True)

Alan, Pie, & Gracie

February 18, 2007 - Kaohsiung, Taiwan. More of cousins' kids at New Years. Alan and Pie. I wonder how rare it is that cousins in my family are close enough so that their children play together. In my slice of generation, I only know cousins, but I have no idea who my parents' cousins are, or if they exist, much less their children.


And more of the original rain baby, Gracie.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Bang a Gong (Blondie)
2. Nuages (Django Reinhardt)
3. Kimi Dake ni Yume o Mo Ichido (Southern All-Stars)
4. Wait For Me (live) (Hall & Oates)
5. Amazing Grace (Ani DiFranco)
6. After the Ordeal (Genesis)
7. Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)
8. Kimi wa Mieru (Anzen Chitai)
9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Queen)
10. 42 (Sodaneva - Japanese underground)