西門町

October 31, 2007 - Dunkin' Donuts arrived in Taiwan this year. This is a shiny clean one in Ximending. This is a long exposure, but there really was no one else there. It wasn't even that early, maybe around 11.


Ximending. Actually I think Ximending is behind me, but that building feels like Ximending. This is main intersection of Ximending, so I think all four corners can still be considered Ximending. I wonder how many more times I can type Ximending in this post.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Power (Princess Princess)
2. Isn't It A Pity (Version One) (George Harrison)
3. Dark Disco 1 (The Sugarcubes)
4. The Tennis Song ("City of Angels")
5. You Haven't Done Nothin' (Stevie Wonder)
6. Red Eyes (Throwing Muses)
7. UFO TOFU (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones)
8. Clubland (Elvis Costello & the Attractions)
9. Sympathy Crime (The Black Heart Procession)
10. Barstool (Deadweight)

LOMO 報告

October 18, 2007 - Taida Language Center classroom. So every day in class someone gave a report in Mandarin on any topic of his or her choice. We took turns. One day I gave a report on lomography, like its history and aesthetics, and I also showed samples, and I also brought in my fisheyes. I even showed them what it looked like to have their picture taken with the fisheye!

None of these people bear mentioning, I didn't get along with any of them particularly. That's not a dis, I'm sure they're all good people. It's just fact, they'd say the same thing I shouldn't wonder.


Sample of multiple exposure mode. While giving the report, I just snapped away on the same frame. I think it confounded them a bit, like "what the hell is he doing?". I get that a lot. From the lights, it looks like 7 shots, and still not enough light collected.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Pass the 40 (Black Sheep)
2. I'm Free (The Who)
3. I Am the Walrus (The Beatles - Anthology)
4. Sen no Yoru to Sen no Hiru (Chitose Hajime)
5. The Tea Party ("Dear World")
6. Bobby and Jackie and Jack ("Merrily We Roll Along" - Sondheim)
7. Hachimitsu (Spitz)
8. Kwaimanumu Bukumaisi Kulegasi 靜靜地你來 (檳榔兄弟 - Taiwanese aboriginal)
9. Roxanne (The Police)
10. Dust In the Wind/Acoustic Guitar solo (live) (Kansas)

Typhoon Krosa Aftermath - fin

October 7, 2007 - Basketball courts covered in mud, and the debris on the basket indicates that water reached that high.


The railing along the ramp leading out of the bikeways gives the clearest indication of how high the water reached because the cut-off was very clear.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Charity's Soliloquy ("Sweet Charity")
2. Who Told You (The Fontaine Toups)
3. Good Day Sunshine (The Beatles)
4. Hallelujah Time (The Wailers)
5. Company Calls Epilogue (Alternate) (Death Cab For Cutie)
6. Tonight (Supergrass)
7. Fat (Archers of Loaf)
8. Come Into (Enon)
9. The Choice Is Yours (Black Sheep)
10. Cuscutlan! (Frente!)

Typhoon Krosa Aftermath - comparisons III

October 7, 2007 - Basketball courts all covered in mud.


July 15, 2007 - Lomo strap reprise.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Crazy Beat (Blur)
2. Feel Like Making Love (Takeshi Yamaguchi)
3. Kokoro (Tokyo Jihen)
4. Ground On Down (Ben Harper)
5. So What? ("Cabaret")
6. The Girl From Ipanema/Manha De Carnaval (Laurindo Almeida - ultralounge)
7. Walk On (U2)
8. Skin & Bone (The Kinks)
9. Kare Wa Tomodachi (Dreams Come True)
10. Helikopter (The Stars Are Cars)

Typhoon Krosa Aftermath - comparisons II

October 7, 2007 - I guess there's not a whole lot of difference between these two lomos. This lomo doesn't show areas that were completely covered with mud and sand, although the difference in color suggests it. But somehow "suggestion" of destruction is not the same as the actual destruction.


July 15, 2007 - And an encore performance by the Fisheye 2 camera strap!

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Rock 'N' Roll Is King (Electric Light Orchestra)
2. Hillbillies From Outer Space (The Vaughan Brothers)
3. Fallahi (Hossam Ramzi)
4. Not A Pretty Girl (Ani DiFranco)
5. Off He Goes (live) (Pearl Jam)
6. Birthday Cake (Cibo Matto)
7. Amazing Journey (The Who)
8. Akita Sugagki (Kohachiro Miyata - shakuhachi)
9. Susan (Aimee Mann)
10. Beware of Darkness (George Harrison)

Typhoon Krosa Aftermath - comparisons I

October 7, 2007 - it just looks sadder, otherwise not that different!


July 15, 2007 - From the commute lomo essay.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Tracy's Flaw (Skunk Anansie)
2. I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You (Tom Waits)
3. Atrocity Exhibition (Joy Division)
4. That's How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart (Aimee Mann)
5. Sunspots (Modest Mouse)
6. Tomorrow Belongs To Me (reprise) ("Cabaret")
7. Relax (The Who)
8. Working For The Man (PJ Harvey)
9. A Chance (Victor Wooten)
10. Father, Son (Peter Gabriel)

Typhoon Krosa Aftermath: upstream downstream

October 7, 2007 - Muzha District, Taipei, Taiwan. Again, this was underwater, with the fencing around this drainage canal covered with debris it caught. The actual bike path over there was completely unpassable. Where I am still required some climbing over debris, but was passable. However, that bike ramp, visible on the upper right hand side of this lomo was completely blocked with debris at the base, so I had to carry my heavy clunker of a bike up the adjacent stairways to leave the riverside area.


After exploring upstream, I returned to my neighborhood and decided to explore downstream. I found that I missed out in exploring more during the typhoon. I would have found some incredible sights, such as just about all of the riverside parks completely submerged, evidenced here along the bikeway, covered with sediment. It was like riding on a beach.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. 1000 Oceans (Tori Amos)
2. Company Calls Epilogue (Death Cab for Cutie)
3. Sophisticated B (Public Enemy)
4. I Shall Scream ("Oliver!")
5. Come As You Are (Nirvana)
6. Affirmation (George Benson)
7. Bunch (Seam)
8. Shadows On the Barley (Marillion)
9. Ginga E No Fune (Dreams Come True)
10. Voices (Cheap Trick)

Typhoon Krosa Aftermath III

October 7, 2007 - The first of many fish I encountered left on the riverside parks after the water receded. Sad. What a way to go.


Approaching the Muzha District proper on the bikeways. This area was completely blocked and required climbing over debris to pass, unmindful of the scavengers, Taiwan's version of Jawa, who were picking out plastic bottles for recycling out of the debris. That's good. Better than the plastics making their way downstream and out into the ocean where it would eventually end up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The path was blocked further down. I remember having to climb over to the right with my bike, ending up in the basketball court, and then slipping in the mud.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Live at Bourbon House, Side A (Gyoza Daioh)
2. I Will (The Beatles)
3. Bells (Shannon Wright)
4. Leave It Open (Kate Bush)
5. Fortune Teller (live) (The Who)
6. I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Kings of Convenience - Royksopp Remix)
7. Thru the Eyes of Ruby (Smashing Pumpkins)
8. We Work the Black Seam (live) (Sting)
9. New Second Line (Dejan Olympia Brass Band)
10. Communications Breakdown (Led Zeppelin)

Typhoon Krosa Aftermath II

October 7, 2007 - Jingmei River, upstream more than a kilometer from my apartment. All of this was under water, as evidenced by the debris. The water level seen is still pretty high, but during the typhoon, you can see by the bank on the other side how much higher the water was. In this lomo, I'm standing under the bridge in the lomo below . . .


Stairs leading down to the river. All of the railings that were perpendicular to the river's current were ripped out or bent, like these, by the force of the water.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Dog Days (50 Foot Wave)
2. Gimme the Car (Violent Femmes)
3. Mint Car (The Cure)
4. Fun World (Mission of Burma)
5. A Quick One (While He's Away) (live) (The Who)
6. Dear John (Aimee Mann)
7. Taxman (The Beatles - Anthology)
8. Defenestration (National Joy Band)
9. Where Am I Going? ("Sweet Charity")
10. Speed of Life (David Bowie)

Typhoon Krosa IV/Aftermath I

October 6, 2007 - Another version of the lomo from yesterday. In the few minutes between that lomo and this, the water crept across the bike path. I was impressed that the water came up this far, and thought that was it, but little did I know that upstream and downstream from here, the entire riverside parks were under up to 10 feet of water. If I had known, I would have ventured further down. Because I'm dumb like that.

Although it was exhilarating being out in a typhoon, lomo doesn't convey the typhoon force gusts that made shooting very difficult, or at least annoying. Even under this bridge there was hardly a dry spot, and it was impossible keeping water of the lens. I carried my cameras in ziplock bags, but as soon as I took them out, they started getting wet.


October 7, 2007 - Of course the day after the typhoon, I went out shooting. I guess a tree falling on a motor scooter doesn't exactly convey "utter devastation", but it probably sucked for the motor scooter owner. I went out on bike, basically dressed the same way as during the typhoon, but the raining had pretty much stopped.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. One Drop (Bob Marley & the Wailers)
2. Married ("Cabaret")
3. Strange Attraction (The Cure)
4. Cowboy Dan (Modest Mouse)
5. Perfect Circle (R.E.M.)
6. Humdrum (live) (Peter Gabriel)
7. The Mole from the Ministry (Dukes of Stratosphear)
8. Silver Rocket (Sonic Youth)
9. Wait (Sarah McLachlan)
10. Hey! TAX (The Bubble Gum Brothers)

Typhoon Krosa III

October 6, 2007 - Jingmei, Taipei, Taiwan. There's no choice to open or close shop during a typhoon when corporate control is involved. McDonald's? Open. My bias against the scourge of corporations would call it corporate greed, but, well, it's another place to eat when so many other places are closed.


This lomo is taken under the bridge in this shot from the commute lomo essay. Here I am standing on the far right of that lomo. So you can see that the Jingmei River breached its bank and how far up the water level came to reach the bike path.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Bullhorn Moon (Tara Jane O'Neil)
2. Ing Ing (Javanese Street Musicians)
3. Stomping Grounds (live) (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones)
4. Apeman (live) (The Kinks)
5. Long As I'm Here With You ("Thoroughly Modern Millie")
6. South Carolina (Archers of Loaf)
7. No Quarter (live) (Led Zeppelin)
8. Artists Only (live) (Talking Heads)
9. Nathan Jones (The Supremes - Motown)
10. Black & White (Sarah McLachlan)

Typhoon Krosa II

October 6, 2007 - Jingmei Night Market. Not everything was closed down. Garbage was still being collected. Actually there was a lot of cleaning out of stores going on with the abundance of water!


As abandoned as a night market gets. There actually were a few restaurants open. People still have to eat, and the few that open get a monopoly on customers.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Incubus (Marillion)
2. Sci-Fi Wasabi (Cibo Matto)
3. How Do You Sleep? (John Lennon)
4. 911 Is A Joke (Public Enemy)
5. Noogie (Versus)
6. Reason Flew (100 Watt Smile)
7. Melody for Mahakala (Monks of the Gyuto Monastery)
8. Bassically Taps (Stanley Clarke)
9. She's My Love ("Carnival")
10. The Wheel and the Maypole (XTC)

Typhoon Krosa I

October 6, 2007 - Jingmei River, under the Beixin Road Bridge during Typhoon Krosa. You just have to trust me that the water level is usually much lower. Within a half hour, the place I was standing was under water, as was most of the low-lying green across the river. I like going for walks during typhoons. I just dress like I'm going swimming and head out, leaving the umbrella at home.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Hustle Rose (Metric)
2. Life During Wartime (Talking Heads - "Stop Making Sense")
3. Home Sweet Home (Peter Gabriel)
4. Why Don't We Do It In The Road? (The Beatles - Anthology)
5. Jigsaw (Marillion)
6. Mary Queen of Arkansas (Bruce Springsteen)
7. Look Out for My Love (live unplugged) (Neil Young)
8. Ex-Spectator (Fugazi)
9. Some Days Are Better Than Others (U2)
10. Yo-Yo (The Kinks)

September 28, 2007 - Xindian, Taiwan. From the roof of my building. There's a rainbow in this lomo on what looks like a perfectly sunny day. That was a weird weather week preceding Typhoon Krosa hitting Taiwan. My guess is that high level winds from the storm blew moisture far and wide, and it fell like rain in places where there were no rain clouds, also creating clear day rainbows.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Perfect (The The)
2. The Fletcher Memorial Home (Pink Floyd)
3. Dhadkne Saansein Jawane ("Beta" - Bollywood)
4. 17 (Smashing Pumpkins)
5. 情熱 (安全地帶)
6. Don't Believe The Hype (Public Enemy)
7. Stairway to Heaven (live) (Led Zeppelin)
8. Was It A Lie? (Sleater-Kinney)
9. Hazy (Dakota Floyd)
10. The Invitation (The Black Heart Procession)

from above. . .

September 27, 2007 - Taipei 101, outdoor observation deck, 390.6 meters up (1281.5 feet), looking northeast-ish in the direction where the river system drains into the Taiwan Straits. Yangming Mountain is towards the right, Guanyin Mountain is in the distance left of center.


Looking north towards the Neihu distict. Yangming Mountain now on the left.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Standing In For Joe (XTC)
2. You, You Darling (Duke Ellington)
3. The Show Must Go On (Pink Floyd)
4. Tevye's Dream ("Fiddler on the Roof")
5. Hoshi no Love Letter (The Boom)
6. Everyday is Like Sunday (10,000 Maniacs)
7. Flying Saucer Dudes (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones)
8. Every Breath You Take (The Police)
9. Ruby Tuesday (The Rolling Stones)
10. Noise (The Kinks)

from below . . .

September 27, 2007 - Taipei 101 dwarfs the Statue of Liberty. This shopping building is called New York New York, so I guess it's part of the theme, although there is absolutely nothing else referencing New York. Arguably Starbucks and McDonalds, but those aren't particular to New York. And there's a Mister Donuts - that deserving to be maligned doughnut chain from Japan. What do the Japanese know about doughnuts? What do the Japanese know about getting fat?!


Frame 0, maybe still considered advance frame.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Roxanne (live) (The Police)
2. Gone Hollywood (Supertramp)
3. Flute Concerto in D Major (Vivaldi)
4. Cry Baby Cry (The Beatles)
5. Nostalgia (Archers of Loaf)
6. Home is Anywhere You Hang Your Head (Elvis Costello & the Attractions)
7. Start Together (Sleater-Kinney)
8. State of Mind (Fish)
9. Riddle of the Chamberlin (Helium)
10. Sayonara - Ten no Kaze (Natsukawa Rimi)

advancing frames

x frame - September 27, 2007 - Taipei 101


00 frame

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Clouds (Cibo Matto)
2. Take It On the Chin ("Me and My Girl")
3. Willful Suspension of Disbelief (Modest Mouse)
4. Loaded Painted Red (764-HERO)
5. Guide Vocal (Genesis)
6. Coming Up (Paul McCartney)
7. Cross-Eyed Mary (Jethro Tull)
8. White Russians (demo) (Marillion)
9. Every Day I Write the Book (Elvis Costello & the Attractions)
10. Ignorance (Deadweight)