Lara Croft: Tomb Sweeper, pt. 1

April 5, 2007 - Kaohsiung, Taiwan - My grandparents' gravesite. It's not in a cemetery, this is their own plot of land because my grandfather was some kind of big shot. He was the founder and president of a bus company sometime after the war, and I fathom that is where, partly to my horror, sympathies towards the KMT in parts of my family originate.

The KMT government (which became a political party after democratization) was headed by the part-time butcher, part-time dictator Chiang Kai-Shek, and I imagine it was very difficult for native Taiwanese to mount such a large business enterprise without connections to the KMT.

I'm not sure if there were any reprisals by Taiwanese, I've never heard of any, as Kaohsiung and much of southern Taiwan was fiercely anti-KMT, but I get the sense that my grandfather was well-liked and well-respected. I've met him, and he seemed like the kind of person you can like and respect.


Rainbaby Gracie! One of my cousins's daughter. I was already referring to her as the Original Rainbaby, but not-so-funny I had just read that week that one early indicator of future autism is that when you call their name, they don't respond, they don't even look. And Gracie is totally like that. I mentioned it to her nanny (indistinguishable at the far right of this fisheye), and she tried it out and, right on cue, no response.

So Faye told Gracie that when she called her name, she had to respond, "Wei!", and they practiced a few times, but the last I heard, Gracie's gone back to not responding. It makes sense. Once a baby can recognize their name, if they hear it called, it's an almost automatic, conditioned response to turn and look. Two years old is too young to be copping attitude!

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Cities In Dust (extended) (Siouxsie & the Banshees)
2. Journey from Mariabronn (Kansas)
3. Sarafurimun (Shoukichi Kina & Champloose)
4. Everything is Fair (A Tribe Called Quest)
5. Ellen West (Throwing Muses)
6. Los Tres Deliquentes (Delinquent Habits)
7. A Map Is Not The Territory (edit) (Echobelly)
8. Symphony No. 4, III. Allegro Vivace (Beethoven)
9. Another One Bits the Dust (Queen)
10. 1985 (Archers of Loaf)

from railway to bikeway

April 5, 2007 - In case you didn't believe me that they turned the railway into bike paths, here's a lomo similiar to the one posted below with bicyclists included. It's all so clear now, eh?


The bike path is so much more pleasant than a railroad. The railroad bridge that used to cross the Love River was the last crossing at the mouth of the river. Enjoyment of outdoor surroundings was the last thing on peoples' minds when Kaohsiung was developing. But of course without that, we wouldn't have this, literally and figuratively.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Just Another Nervous Wreck (Supertramp)
2. Shoot Him (The Sugarcubes)
3. Invisible Touch (live Wembley Stadium) (Genesis)
4. You Get What You Give (New Radicals)
5. Drive Myself Distracted (Echobelly)
6. Down By the Water (PJ Harvey)
7. Is It Luck? (Primus)
8. Wrong Number (The Cure)
9. It's Hard To Be a Saint in the City (Bruce Springsteen)
10. Power to the People (Public Enemy)

Avatar

April 5, 2007 - Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 真愛碼頭 (True Love Wharf - I'm thinking of a t-shirt with a googly-eyed Klingon in love on it, yuck). This is part of Kaohsiung's waterfront urban renewal project. It's at the mouth of the Ai River. I'm not sure it is anything yet, if you know what I mean. Urban renewal, public park-age, recreational space . . . but, what is this here? It's a big open concrete space with a Singaporean ship docked next to it, and a clique of socially awkward palm trees.


This is a little better. This area used to serve the Port of Kaohsiung, which is still Taiwan's main shipping port (I think Keelung in the north of Taiwan is still smaller). So this area used to be totally industrialized, but when activity shifted away from this specific area, it fell into disuse and became dilapidated urban ruins. Part of the urban renewal made bike paths out of the old railway. There are still signs of the old railroad as you ride along the path.


April 7, 2007 - Ferry from 新光碼頭 to 真愛碼頭. It's a very short ferry ride, and even though it goes from one wharf to another, I'm not sure it's coming from somewhere to go somewhere in either direction, if you know what I mean. It shortened my walk home, but I'm the only one nuts enough to walk that sort of distance in Kaohsiung. Too hot!

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Silica (Kristin Hersh)
2. Red Light (U2)
3. Teenage Wildlife (David Bowie)
4. High On Sunday 51 (Aimee Mann)
5. Mr. Me (They Might Be Giants)
6. Slipstream (Jethro Tull)
7. I Me Mine (The Beatles - McCartneyed)
8. Tabako ga Suitai (Sekiri)
9. Mali (Charlie Hunter Quintet)
10. War at 33 1/3 (Public Enemy)

High Speed Rail

April 4, 2007 - Ah, I erred in my previous post. I didn't take the regular train to Kaohsiung at 4 and a half hours, but took the High Speed Rail at 2 hours and 10 minutes. That's because, it being the Lara Croft Tomb Sweeper holiday, all the seats on the regular train were sold out.

This is from inside an HSR train at Taipei Main Station about to leave, shooting an HSR train several platforms away.


OK, not such a clever idea to shoot a long exposure out an HSR window travelling at like 280 km/h. Just not a whole lot going on in this lomo! You can see the reflection of the 2's lens off the window in this and the previous lomo.


Even less clever to shoot two long exposures out a moving HSR window. I wonder what I was thinking. But note that mound that moves from the left side of the frame to the right side in a matter of seconds. Not that I have proof that these long exposures are just seconds apart. The time lapse between these two shots might be several minutes, and Taiwan's HSR might really be unimpressively slow. You just have to trust me.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Chumming the Ocean (Archers of Loaf)
2. Old Brown Shoe (The Beatles - Anthology)
3. Hookworm (20 Minute Loop)
4. Jesus Came From Outta Space (Supergrass)
5. Black With N.V. (No Vision) (Black Sheep)
6. Don't Talk (10,000 Maniacs)
7. Black Star (Radiohead)
8. Downer (Nirvana)
9. In Search of Peter Pan (Kate Bush)
10. Tristessa (Smashing Pumpkins)

urban

March 26, 2007 - Someone left their motorscooter right in the middle of the sidewalk, Heping East Road. 一個人留了他的摩托車在人行道當中, 和平東路. This is outside the rehearsal studios where you can rent rooms by the hour to practice.


April 4, 2007 - Jingmei, Taipei, Taiwan. Walking home from the bus stop on the Roosevelt Road bridge, which crosses the Jingmei River. Actually I think it's called the Beishing Road bridge, which is what Roosevelt Road becomes in Hsindian.

I take the bus when it rains. On this day, I remember, I was going to Kaohsiung for the Lara Croft Tomb Sweeper holiday. So after class, I went home, finished packing, walked to the MRT station (about 5 minutes), took the MRT to Taipei Main Station (about 20-25 minutes), and hopped on the train to Kaohsiung (about 4 and a half hours), where it wasn't raining.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Counting Out Time (remixed) (Genesis)
2. Fly By Night (Rush)
3. Mirror Mirror (Versus)
4. Twisted (Everyday Hurts) (Skunk Anansie)
5. Picture Book (live) (The Kinks)
6. La Cage Aux Folles ("La Cage Aux Folles")
7. Crepescule With Nellie (Thelonius Monk)
8. Listening to Astrud (Julie Plug)
9. Farewell and Goodnight (Smashing Pumpkins)
10. Symphony No. 5, I. Allegro Con Brio (Beethoven)

Taipei 101 - interior exterior

March 28, 2007 - So in the previous post, there's a boxy, little structure at the base of the 101 building. This is the inside of it, looking up. Duh. Not so little.


Walkway leading from Taipei 101 to the Vieshow Theaters area and more shopping, if you're into that.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Soma (Smashing Pumpkins)
2. Taka ga Koi ya Ai (Dreams Come True)
3. Kiss Them For Me (Siouxsie and the Banshees)
4. Jet Airliner (The Steve Miller Band)
5. Little Babies (Sleater-Kinney)
6. Easy To Be Hard ("Hair")
7. A Campfire Song (10,000 Maniacs)
8. Blow Wind Blow (Tom Waits)
9. Barcelona ("Company" - Sondheim)
10. You'll Follow Me Down (Skunk Anansie)

bikes!

March 24, 2007 - Tour de Taiwan, Stage 7 Criterium. This was the last stage of the Tour de Taiwan which started in Kaohsiung. Not quite the Tour de France (which is next month), but we take what we can get. Unlike the other stages, the Criterium is a short circular course, maybe less than 2 km, that the riders do over and over again, going round and round in circles until they get dizzy and fall over.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Everybody's Gonna Be Happy (The Kinks)
2. Winter Rose/Love Awake (Wings)
3. Minimum Wage (They Might Be Giants)
4. When I Look At The World (U2)
5. Jumpin' Punkins' (Duke Ellington)
6. The Rover (Led Zeppelin)
7. Fire Myself (Mary Timony)
8. To Sheila (Smashing Pumpkins)
9. Helden (David Bowie)
10. The Rum Tum Tugger (T.S. Eliot - "Cats")

Taipei City Hall

March 24, 2007 - Taipei City Hall. Architecturally yuck. What was who thinking when he or she designed this eyesore? Obviously they were looking forward to the day of reuniting with Communist China and fitting in, but now Beijing architecture is more bold and modern than this architectural equivalent of human rights violations.

OK, maybe it's not that bad, but it sure ain't good.

That short building at the far right of this lomo is the Eslite Bookstore building, where I bought the Fisheye 2. Taipei 101 is behind me to the left.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. The Earth Died Screaming (Tom Waits)
2. Mother Stands for Comfort (Kate Bush)
3. Symphony No. 3, III. Scherzo (Allegro Vivace) (Beethoven)
4. Drum Duet (Genesis - Phil Collins and Chester Thompson)
5. Mita Me ga Taiji (Rankin' Taxi)
6. Hot Honey Rag ("Chicago")
7. I Can't Quit You Babe (live) (Led Zeppelin)
8. Where Have All the Good Times Gone (The Kinks)
9. Garbage ("Dear World")
10. Northern Lad (Tori Amos)

黑眼圈

March 23, 2007 - When I hear Chinese people say they can't stand filmmaker Tsai Ming-Liang, I . . . have nothing to say. I kind of understand them, he does tend to try the common audience's patience. Like this lomo I took in the theater of his latest release, translated "I Don't Want To Sleep Alone" (which is not a translation of the actual title). This is a long exposure. You can see two subtitled lines and Tsai Ming-Liang films are dialogue sparse, and there are two main characters sitting at a table and they barely move for the duration of the exposure. That's a Tsai Ming-Liang film.

He's not a director that pops up prominently on my radar. In fact, after seeing this film and looking him up, I was surprised to find that I had seen two of his previous films at film festivals in San Francisco. The first film I saw of his was "The Hole", which was totally weird but I quite liked. I think that was the film that made me proclaim that Taiwanese directors are "masters of the long shot", and along with Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang, I think that's hard to refute.

The other film I've seen is "What Time Is It There?" and I didn't quite understand that film (you mean you understand any of his films?!).

I really liked "I Don't Want To Sleep Alone". I don't think I'd be way off in describing his films as meditations. You have to go into his films with a calm and quiet mind. An open mind also helps. And sometimes a strong cup of coffee.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Cello Suite No. 6, III. Courante (J.S. Bach)
2. The Employment Pages (Death Cab for Cutie)
3. Don't Walk Away (Electric Light Orchestra)
4. Haru No Katami (Hajime Chitose)
5. Dear Prudence (Siouxsie & the Banshees)
6. No Parachutes (Throwing Muses)
7. Seize (Skip Holiday)
8. Is She Really Going Out With Him? (Joe Jackson)
9. Day Dream (Smashing Pumpkins)
10. Hoshi no Love Letter (The Boom)

looking down on people

March 14, 2007 - Roosevelt Road, across the street from the Taiwan University campus, but I'm not sure if those buildings are university buildings. There's like an elementary school or something somewhere around there, go fig. Actually, those buildings don't look like an elementary school either. Anyway, there's the entrance to the Gongguan MRT station across the street.


March 21, 2007 - From the rooftop deck of my apartment at like 5:30 in the morning. Since I had 8:00 classes last semester, I woke up extra early to fit in 45 minutes of sitting meditation. Then I got the nutty idea of doing walking meditation on the rooftop deck which gave me some nice sunrise experiences. Actually, there's nothing nutty about that, what am I talking about?

That semester ended last week. My next semester starts on Monday and I specifically requested a 3:30 P.M. class, and I got it! Unlike the zombies working the registration office at Shida, the Taida people I think might actually even like me! Haha, I know they like me, they might actually even love me! Yea!

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Neal and Jack and Me (King Crimson)
2. Dive (Nirvana)
3. Art of Dying (George Harrison)
4. Velvet Waltz (Built to Spill)
5. Moonage Daydream (David Bowie)
6. She Caught the Katy (The Blues Brothers)
7. Playboy Mommy (Tori Amos)
8. Hole In My Life (The Police)
9. Tony's Theme (The Pixies)
10. Back In N.Y.C. (Genesis)

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)

New Years family gathering

February 18, 2007 - Kaohsiung, Taiwan. New Years family gathering. Well, one of them. It was pretty constant, and then freaked me out, and then I left and returned to Taipei sooner than planned because I couldn't deal. I just felt like a total outsider.

Here are three of my cousins on my mother's side. The two on the left are brothers. The one in the middle not only lives in Taipei, but apparently lives right next to my old school, which means he lives right down the street from my old apartment. Why no one put me in touch with him for the past year is a mystery to me, one which I'm wary of and a little bitter about, considering how hard the adjustment has been, so I'm staying out of touch with him. There must have been a reason. And quite frankly, out of all the cousins on my mother's side, most of whom I do know, I was surprised that when I saw him, I didn't even recognize him.

He gave me his contact information, though. I put it in my wallet, so if I get hit by a bus or something, he'll be the one they call, haha!


Little, cute Gracie. She has the cutest, squeaky little voice.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Crew (A Tribe Called Quest)
2. Confessions (Violent Femmes)
3. I'm Only Happy When It Rains (Garbage)
4. Testify (Parliament-Funkadelic)
5. 最愛的人傷我最深 (Ai Mei)
6. That's All You Wanted (Throwing Muses)
7. You've Got To Pick a Pocket Or Two ("Oliver!")
8. Darling Baby (The Elgins - Motown)
9. Turn Back, O Man ("Godspell")
10. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer ("Cats")

Kaohsiung night shots

February 18, 2007 - More of the multiple exposure mode on the 2. Here I can distinctly see I took 5 consecutive shots of the same basic scene. Again, five is not enough. I'll try 10.


Long exposure with the 2. I don't know what this plaza is, not far from my uncle's building. I think it's always been here, although maybe prettied up after the dictatorial rule of the KMT ended in the late 80s. I don't even know what it's called.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Jason and the Argonauts (XTC)
2. Yinnin' & Yangin' (Victor Wooten)
3. Velvet (Nokko)
4. I Believe (R.E.M.)
5. Another Brick in the Wall, part I (Pink Floyd)
6. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Sly & the Family Stone)
7. Planetary (Rainer Maria)
8. Timebomb (Public Enemy)
9. I've Had Enough (The Who)
10. Hello Earth (Kate Bush)

Night Shooting

February 18, 2007 - Kaohsiung, Taiwan. New Years night market down the street from my uncle's building.


A Fisheye 2 experiment - low light, using the multiple exposure feature where you can reset the shutter without advancing the frame. I don't know how many exposures are on this frame, but not enough. That makes sense. With the shutter speed at 1/100, you have to take quite a lot of frames to add enough light to make a low light shot come out. I don't think there are more than 5 or 6 exposures on this frame. Definitely not enough.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Beyond Belief (Elvis Costello & the Attractions)
2. Ramble On (Led Zeppelin)
3. Fuckin' Up (live) (Pearl Jam)
4. Someday, Lasting, Serenade ("Haibane Renmei")
5. Moonlight Story (Princess Princess)
6. Sambita (Kinky)
7. Noise (The Kinks)
8. Bootzilla (Bootsy Collins)
9. Koku-Reibo (Judo Notomi)
10. Could I Leave You? ("Follies" - Sondheim)

The Tao is going up

February 18, 2007 - New Years day lomostroll, I came across this busy Taoist temple. I'm not sure what made this one so special that it was so crowded and contributing more than its share towards localized global warming. I mean it's yellow and shiny, but is that all it takes? I forget the name of this road, but it's not far from the Love River, down the canal near the Carrefour.


Interior. Blurry new years praying.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Mantra of Kwan Shi Yin (Fo Guang Shan Choir)
2. Crowded Room (XTC)
3. Dames ("42nd Street")
4. Megablast (Public Enemy)
5. The Fool on the Hill (demo) (The Beatles - Anthology)
6. One World (Not Three)/Love is the Seventh Wave (live) (Sting)
7. Pride and Joy (live) (Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble)
8. Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadnes (Smashing Pumpkins)
9. If I Had a Fine White Horse ("Secret Garden")
10. In the Rapids (Genesis)

New Years rooftop

February 17, 2007 - Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Shooting west at the sunset from the rooftop of my uncle's building. It's actually technically mostly my mother's building, since after my grandparents died, she got most of the title by contributing the most money to make sure the family kept it. That's just my guess why. Anyway, it's not like it's mostly her building and she's letting my uncle stay there. It's his home, and if my mother had to contribute money to keep it that way, well, that's how she treats family.

The sun out there is setting over the sea, by the way. That's part of Kaohsiung Harbor in that direction, and the newly refurbished Fisherman's Wharf.


Same rooftop, same time, I just held the shutter open a little longer time to get more light. Also this is facing away from the sunset, so more light is falling here. During New Years, this street outside my uncle's building and the surrounding alleyways turn into a raging nightmarket for 3 or 4 days. That's what all those booths are. The center section has had to have been left clear for the past few years because it is right over where they're building a Kaohsiung MRT subway station (whoa! somebody check that grammar, is it correct?), so construction stuff has been there.

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Dying (XTC)
2. I of the Mourning (Smashing Pumpkins)
3. Sanya (Kohachiro Miyata)
4. Training Horses on the Mongolian Grassland (Guo Brothers and Shung Tian)
5. Teeth Like God's Shoeshine (Modest Mouse)
6. Satellite (Aimee Mann)
7. The Punk and the Godfather (The Who)
8. Crepescule with Nellie (Thelonius Monk)
9. A German Requiem, V. Ihr Habt Nun Traurigkeit (Brahms)
10. Symphony No. 2, I. Adagio molto-Allegro con brie (Beethoven)

Kaohsiung fotostroll

Bah! Well, it had to happen eventually. Blogger upgraded group blogs so now I can't upload photos using the old blogger template. So now pictures don't fit to screen anymore, and now there's a capacity limit for photos. Who knows what that will mean once capacity is reached. On the bright side, I can finally remove that annoying group blog from my dashboard!


February 17, 2007 - Kaohsiung photostroll. Weather down there was markedly better than in Taipei in that it wasn't raining all the time, but truth to tell, it isn't all sunny and blue sky, either. I did manage to get a sunny, blue sky day, though. But as nice as that might sound, it also meant hot! Generally, Kaohsiung winter months are hazy, but at least not constant drear and rain like in Taipei.


This is a more northern area of Kaohsiung than I'm familiar with. There seems to be a lot of urban renewal going on, this lomo notwithstanding. My cousin who grew up in Kaohsiung disagrees that Kaohsiung is developing, but he never has anything good to say about Kaohsiung and currently lives in Shanghai, China. So where as most Taiwanese are politically blue or green, he might be considered red!

iTunes soundtrack:
1. Sad Dress (Belly)
2. Natural (Nokko)
3. Pride and Joy (Marvin Gaye)
4. Huffer (The Breeders)
5. Bring On the Night/When the World Is Running Down (live) (Sting)
6. Oh Yoko! (John Lennon)
7. He's Gone (Suede)
8. Perfect (The The)
9. Lizzie Sage (Throwing Muses)
10. The Look of Love (Billy May and His Orchestra)