I have a new computer. I'd like to say that my old computer going on life support was the reason I haven't been posting here, but actually the state of my files and the editing program I use for them were not much affected by the transition. So again, just lazy. Laziness is bad, m'kay?

February 9, 2009 - Both of these lomos are from the southern bank of the recently re-opened Keelung Riverside Bikeway, before they were closed! In fact, I think this was shot before they built a pedestrian/bike ramp from where I'm standing to the catwalk of the bridge shown, allowing people to cross the river here. Bah, the photographic evidence of the shadow in the foreground clearly shows the ramp had already been built by the time I took this shot. Tres convenient. That tower across the river used to be the chimney for waste disposal (trash incineration), and now has a revolving restaurant on top of it. Go fig.

Neither shot was taken from a place that was closed, but to get to these areas from where I live was a pain because of the flower expo. Now that the whole thing is open again, it's a part of my regular 20-25 mile training rides, hopefully building up to extended rides outside of Taipei.

This shot is right about where the bikeway was closed for the flower expo. That's the Grand Hotel across the river. Above are MRT tracks of the Danshui Line, and the red towers aren't supporting a bridge, but what I can only gather is a water pipeline. Again, go fig.

Like the First Time (T-ara)

Flew into Taipei a couple days ago. It was raining when I landed and it's been dreary since, but I don't mind. It's May, so as soon as the sun comes out, it'll get plenty hot plenty quick around here, so I'm not complaining if the clouds are keeping temps just warm.

I really need to change my life around here, I don't want to go back to doing just what I was doing before the trip to the States, and I think shooting more may contribute to that end. Shooting = Getting out of the apartment during daylight hours.

I already bought more color rolls for the Fisheye and I also have my brother's Nikon D80 DSLR to try to shake things up. I think maybe I stagnated with black and white film because of too much coffee and too much stress over whether a shot is worth using a frame of film.

Ironically, the D80 allows a flexibility that I've criticized about DSLRs before, which is it allows mindless shooting of endless frames, and inevitably one of those shots is going to be usable. But that might be what I need now to get over the paralysis and indecisiveness of wondering whether to take a shot or not.

But this is not about black and white, this is lomo, and I still have about 4 rolls of unposted fisheye (only 4 rolls over the whole of 2009-10! bleah.), while I dust off the fisheye 2 and see if I'm seeing anything.

Taipei overview:

December 9, 2008 - Jiankang Street and Nanjing East Road. I still consider this my neighborhood as it's within walking distance, although towards the outer range of my walking distance. 

December 17, 2008 - Freedom Plaza with the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in the distance. The whole plaza used to be dedicated to Chiang Kai-shek, but he's a controversial character and I thought it was appropriate for the government to take some of that back and dedicate the plaza to freedom and democracy. Chiang Kai-shek was a dictator and a ruthless butcher, but without him, Taiwan's current democracy might not exist.

Oh, and that's a group of Tibetan protestors at the foot of the gate, lobbying Taiwan to protect Tibetan refugees who have escaped from mainland Chinese repression. 

Needless to say, this construction is all complete now. The riverside bikeway on the lower left is complete and open, and the bridge on the middle right -- I forget if that's what they were tearing down or putting up. I think maybe they were putting that one up, and where I was standing was the bridge that eventually came down to improve traffic flow over the Keelung River.

Rock U (Kara)

October 21, 2008 - Jinshan, Taiwan. Beautiful northeast coast, around where the nuclear power plant is - maybe right across from the street from it, since I remember I stopped there to get a dose of radiation.

I haven't been riding at all. Kinda makes me feel bad about my bike just sitting there doing nothing. It's a got a mechanical problem I should probably tend to, but I'm also worried about exacerbating a knee pain.


Riding from Jinshan to Keelung before turning right and heading back to Taipei. Late in the day with the sun in the west. Long Sailor Moon pose shadow unavoidable.

I've been totally remiss about posting here because I got sucked into Facebook after I got back from the U.S., but the novelty there has worn off, so I can get back to this. But I need to shoot more, I'm running out of lomos! Bleah!

But with insomnia and struggling to get enough rest, it's hard to get out of the apartment except for work. Oh, and also because if this was anywhere else, we'd be in a heatwave, but this is Taiwan and it's already so hot that it seems ridiculous to call it a heatwave just because of a few added degrees. But 88 degrees in my apartment! That got my air conditioner on.

Anyway, a co-worker said she's getting into lomo and will buy an action-sampler soon, so maybe someone else shooting can get me shooting, too.

Combat Baby (Metric)

October 21, 2008 - Taipei, Taiwan, Shilin District up Mt. Yangming, the highest peak in the greater Taipei area. I forget the altitude, but I think it's up there. The climb is comparable to Bay Area peaks and I think the highest point on the climb tops 3,600 feet. This point is more like around 2,000 feet. The Chinese Cultural University is up here, and they boast that they're the highest university in Taiwan.


After climbing up Yangmingshan or the surrounding mountain ranges, it's possible to take various routes down to Taiwan's northeast coast. On this day, I rode down to Jinshan and made way back to Taipei along the coast to Keelung, and then cutting back inland.

I'm back in Taiwan, back to work. Insomnia is back after 3 weeks of no sleeping problems in the U.S. I had absolutely no jetlag flying to the U.S., and surprisingly, I had no jetlag coming back here! Confounding really. Maybe it's the wonders of insomnia.

My Sony Ericsson phone broke a couple days after I got back. I got a Samsung F258 Musicall cellphone to replace the Sony W395 only because the Samsung has a 3.5mm headphone jack, whereas with the Sony you have to use the supplied Sony adaptor.

I can't tell you how much I hate the Samsung. When is the last time I hated something? I can't get rid of this phone fast enough, I'll probably give it to one of my cousins to give to their kids when they are of cellphone age. I want nothing to do with it, and I'll replace the W395 with another W395. I loved that phone.

I guess I bought the Samsung partly because I'm getting a little too caught up in all things Korean:

Girls Generation - Gee

September 20, 2008 - Keelung riverside bikeway, clean up about a week after a typhoon last year. Being a relatively large river with a wide flood plain, the Keelung River wasn't so impressive during the typhoon, it just filled with lots of water, and the clean up wasn't all too dramatic either. Some large pieces of machinery pushing debris into piles.

The Keelung River flows east to west through Taipei, with one south to north kink. This is where the south to north part kinks back westward, with Neihu District on the right, north of the river. Rivers in cities fascinate me. Whenever I go to a new city, the first thing I want to know about is the rivers and the role they play.

Like when I went to Geneva, I had to see where the Rhone met the L'Arve, and it was a beautiful confluence since the waters of the Rhone were clear and blue, and the L'Arve was brown and muddy. And in Hiroshima, of course, the Genpaku Dome (ground zero for the atomic bomb) was right at a confluence of rivers.


Still along the Keelung River splitting Zhongshan District across the river on the left with Shilin District to the right. Currently, this stretch is unpassable due to construction. Pisses me off. Last year, Taipei was so good at having miles and miles of seamless bikeway, but recently they've closed huge sections for construction. They had to do it all at once? They don't recognize the importance of the bikeways for Taipei's recreational life and promotion of cycling? It's what I've come to expect of Taiwan, but I was hoping for something better.

typhoon pics

September 14, 2008 - Keelung River and Maishuai Bridge #2 during a typhoon. I thought the Keelung River would be interesting during a typhoon, but it's too big. It was impressive, but not exciting like the smaller Jingmei River where I used to live, which turned into a raging torrent. The Keelung River just got really full.


Opposite view looking at Maishuai Bridge #1. I don't remember the name of the typhoon - too far back, one of the disadvantages of not posting closer to when I shot - but I think it was a really slow moving typhoon and I went out shooting when the eye was over Taipei for like 3 hours. The storm picked up again later.


Maishuai Bridge #1 from the other side. I still had to go to work that evening, as a daily newspaper has to come out no matter what. I think the storm had died down by the time we finished, and I probably took a bus home no problem. I think the newspaper was willing to pay for a taxi if it was still raging outside.

Everything has changed since then. I took some time off and worked part-time for a while. Now I'm back at about 80%, working 4 days a week, and that suits me fine. New boss, and changing format. It may get interesting.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. DMV (Primus)
2. Citizen Erased (Muse)
3. Soma (live) (Smashing Pumpkins)
4. Texas Flood (live) (Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble)
5. Counting Out Time (remixed) (Genesis)
6. Static (Sahara Hotnights)
7. Midnight Rambler (The Rolling Stones)
8. Anata ga Koko ni Ite Hoshii (Chitose Hajime)
9. The Seven Sisters (Rainer Maria)
10. In My House (PCS Nitrogen Starlift Steel Orchestra)

May 11, 2008 - La Mer, back porch, just before we started playing. Those are our "peeps" at the table in front. That's the guitarist on the left, bassist on the right, Andy crouching in front. I don't miss the trek going up to Sanzhi to play, even though it was nice getting out of Taipei and basking in the beach culture that surrounds Taiwan all along its coasts. Really chill vibe. I wouldn't mind living out on the coast somewhere in Taiwan.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Symphony No. 2 "Romantic", III. Allegro con brio (Howard Hanson)
2. Lie Detector (Sleeper)
3. Namida ga Kirari (Spitz)
4. Big Spender ("Sweet Charity" - 1986 revival)
5. Marching Bands of Manhattan (Death Cab for Cutie)
6. King of the Kerb (live) (Echobelly)
7. Fascination (David Bowie)
8. Spirits Having Flown (The Bee Gees)
9. Hard As Love (Marillion)
10. Mr. Zebra (live) (Tori Amos)

May 11, 2008 - Sanzhi, Taiwan north coast. With time before playing, we could walk out on the beach and relax. That's Alex and Nikki walking back along the jetty. Or is it a quay? Or a breakwater? Who knows. Alex is the band's singer's girlfriend. He recently found this blog, so now he knows that I'm out to steal his girlfriend. They're also moving next month to a place with extra rooms, so they asked me if I wanted to move in with them. Naturally, that'll make it much easier for me to put my moves on, little does he know.


As they walked back, I continued walking out. It's farther than it looks.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Walk Through the Fire (Peter Gabriel)
2. I'm Looking Through You (The Beatles)
3. Below the Salt (Unwound)
4. Wandering in the Street (Blackhand Nakasi Workers Band)
5. Babe (Styx)
6. Two Is Enough (Seam)
7. Yassassin (David Bowie)
8. The Goldberg Variations, #26 (J.S. Bach)
9. Toki ga Bousou Suru (Shiina Ringo)
10. When I'm Sixty-Four (The Beatles)

May 11, 2008 - Sanzhi, on the north coast of Taiwan. The band used to play up there couple times a month at a restaurant/cafe called La Mer. We played on the back porch, just steps away from the beach. Not bad, eh? It was just far from Taipei and a pain to get to. We stopped playing up there after we got our own place to play in Taipei. And since the person who booked us was . . . well, murdered.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. OSCA (Tokyo Jihen)
2. Ein Deutsches Requiem, V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit (Brahms)
3. Rude Mood (live) (Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble)
4. Deep Wilson (Kristin Hersh)
5. Israel (Siouxsie & the Banshees)
6. We Know Better (Echobelly)
7. Egypt (Kate Bush)
8. Kougousei (Shiina Ringo)
9. The Way Things Go (The Octopus Project)
10. Go Fun Burn Man (live) (Mission of Burma)

May 9, 2008 - Bend in the Keelung River, Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. This is about half a mile from where I live. It's a pretty nice riverside area. We just had a typhoon blow through, and they closed all the floodgates, but the river is quite large and although the river level noticeably rose, there was no sign of damage, like on the Xindian or Jingmei rivers in last year's big typhoon.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Falling Down (Tom Waits)
2. Neon Lights (Sahara Hotnights)
3. Perfect Time (Archers of Loaf)
4. Fool In the Rain (Led Zeppelin)
5. Melody (Sakura)
6. Coming Up (Paul McCartney)
7. Without Fire (764-HERO)
8. Far East Medley (live) (Bela Fleck & the Flecktones)
9. Growing Up (Peter Gabriel)
10. Gut Pageant (Kristin Hersh)

more Edgewater

January 10, 2008 - Probably around the same area as the previous post, but a couple days later, meaning I was probably down there watching movies. I remember "Sweeney Todd" came out about then. I forget what else I saw. I'm looking forward to the new "Batman". My co-worker already saw it to review it for the paper, although I didn't think we did movie reviews in house, we usually pull them from a U.S. wire. He said it was really good, mind-alteringly good. He said I'd really like it. It opens here a day earlier than in the U.S.. Strange.


Garbage can in the Hudson River, with the New York skyline bending with the horizon.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Gypsy (Fleetwood Mac)
2. Two Soldiers (David Byrne - "The Catherine Wheel")
3. Aeroflot (20 Minute Loop)
4. Koufukuron (Shiina Ringo)
5. Sweet Depression (Deadweight)
6. Macavity ("Cats")
7. Letter to a John/Tamburitza Lingua (live) (Ani DiFranco)
8. Bang! Bang! (Le Tigre)
9. Lazy (Suede)
10. I'll Be Back (demo) (The Beatles - Anthology)

Series shots

(1)

January 8, 2008 - Edgewater, NJ. Hudson River at sunset. New York City across the river.

(2)

A little further down the "pier".

(3)

Wake ripples, after a boat sailed past.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. The Difference Between Love and Hell (Sahara Hotnights)
2. Like a Lady (The Sounds)
3. Rock Me Now (Metric)
4. Assassing (live) (Marillion)
5. Hey Bulldog (The Beatles)
6. In the Rapids (live) (Genesis)
7. The Stars are Projectors (Modest Mouse)
8. Cello Suite No. 1, VI - Gigue (J.S. Bach - Yo-Yo Ma)
9. Say Hello to the World (Makihara Noriyuki)
10. Arabian Knights (Siouxsie & the Banshees)

Oh, and all Shiina Ringo muxtape. I think I'll upload a new muxtape every month or so. Wondering how that site will develop.

January 8, 2008 - Edgewater, New Jersey. This must have been a dock on the Hudson River, across from New York City. Now apartments and condos and a multi-plex behind me.

I still don't have internet at home. I'm posting from a bagel shop that under Taipei Main Station that happens to get someone's wireless. Too bad this isn't near where I live. I still have to look for a place near where I live that gets free internet.

I totally love my new place and the neighborhood. I can't believe I had qualms about moving, everything is so much better, even the slightly longer distances to every where. At least there are places to go now. Here's a pic of my new place. It's a photostitch panorama, a nifty feature of my new Canon SD870 (I think, I mostly know it by its Asian model number).

I'm going to Kaohsiung next Friday for a few days. I should have internet down there for those few days. And I might crack any day now and have internet installed.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Who Needs Information? (Roger Waters)
2. Samukhela (Eyuphuro)
3. Goodbye Caroline (Aimee Mann)
4. Guhyasamaja Tantra, Chapter II (Monks of the Gyuto Monastery)
5. Straight (Deadweight)
6. Museum Song ("Barnum")
7. Who the Cap Fit (Bob Marley & the Wailers)
8. 真實 (A-Mei)
9. I Want Your (Hands On Me) (Sinead O'Connor)
10. People (King Crimson)

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 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 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)

石碇

August 29, 2007 - I think this is a little town called Shiding, maybe about 10 miles east from where I live. It's definitely in Shiding township, which is an area larger than a town, but smaller than a county. I also think it may be a juncture and resting point for cyclists along Rte. 106乙. I loved those homes overlooking the stream below, but then the freeway, probably National Rte. 5, in the background.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. The Carpet Crawlers (Genesis)
2. Vroom Vroom (King Crimson)
3. You Were Right (Built to Spill)
4. 1979 (Smashing Pumpkins)
5. Danny's All-Star Joint (Rickie Lee Jones)
6. Mr. P.C. (John Coltrane)
7. Four Sticks (Led Zeppelin)
8. Pale and Precious (Dukes of Stratosphear)
9. Eyes to Me (Version #2) (Dreams Come True)
10. Don't Bring Me Down (David Bowie)

New York in Reds

July 27, 2007 - New York City West Side. Piles and piles of salt, used for melting snow . . . in the middle of the Summer. OK, I have no idea what this is.


Hudson River - I think those are fire department related, used for fighting fires . . . in the middle of a river. OK, I have no idea what those are for.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Candy Everybody Wants (10,000 Maniacs)
2. Tomorrow ("Annie")
3. The Trial (live) (Pink Floyd)
4. Save the People ("Godspell")
5. Please! (Southern All-Stars)
6. Pardon My French (Unwound)
7. Symphony No. 40, I. Molto Allegro (Mozart)
8. Yoky (Fatala - "Passion" Sources)
9. Yamagoe (Katsuya Yokoyama - shakuhachi)
10. Sold! (Enon)

view from my brother's apartment

July 25, 2007 - Fort Lee, New Jersey, the view from my brother's apartment looking north of the view-obstructing building, with the George Washington Bridge in view. . .


...and the view south of the view-obstructing building, looking across the Hudson River to New York City. The apartment is pretty cool. Whenever they drive into New York, they pull out the binoculars to check the traffic situation.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Reckoning (Ani DiFranco)
2. Ellen West (Throwing Muses)
3. Cracked Actor (David Bowie)
4. Symphony No. 2 "Romantic", IV. Allegro Vivace (Rachmaninov)
5. Sora Yori Umi Yori (Puri Puri Samba '91) (Princess Princess)
6. A Pile of Time (Ryuichi Sakamoto)
7. Beeswax (Nirvana)
8. Chloe (Song of the Swamp) (Duke Ellington)
9. Nobody Home (Pink Floyd)
10. The Wedding List (Kate Bush)

Duck


Duck


Goose!

July 24, 2007 - Edgewater, New Jersey. These are the advance frames of a roll I started shooting while visiting family in New Jersey. It was really nice to be on my own bike while I was there. This is along the Hudson River, naturally, with New York City across the river.

Here's a normal shot of the scene with those women sitting down there.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. She's Always a Woman (Billy Joel)
2. Memory ("Cats")
3. Bang a Gong (Blondie)
4. Pictures of Success (Rilo Kiley)
5. The Cinema Show (remixed) (Genesis)
6. Friends (Rebecca)
7. Radar Follows You (Versus)
8. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (The Beatles)
9. Hide In Your Shell (live) (Supertramp)
10. Heaven (live) (Talking Heads)