Sunday, November 28, 2010

Das racist

I've been absent for good reason; I did a mini tour de Korea; I caught buses to all the towns I spent significant time and had friends who I had to see one last time before leaving Korea. At this point, the count is dismally down to something around 5 days. So I hung out in Jinju, having fun, making new friends (one Korean girl; extremely inebriated I might add; took a strong liking to me and ended up trying to kiss and cuddle me into a corner), playing pool ad sleeping in a country-side looking area in a miniature chateau/ school where my friend works, and getting up at 7:30am after a big night out.
Das Racist
Next was Daegu, and another all nighter; shooting Das Racist, a rap trio out of New York, before finally making it back to my friends house. She had forgotten Yo pay her utilities bill for far too long, and actually had the electricity shut off for the ONE night I was there. Luckily I apparently watched enough MacGyver as a kid, and not only had a flashlight, but strung it from the ceiling. I forgot to mention that since she had no hot water either, earlier in the night to get ready for the show, I had washed my hair myself in a hairdressers shop after explaining as best as I could in Korean my predicament. Luckily they thought it was entertaining and hooked it up for free. Booyah for getting to use the good shampoos and conditioners for free! I also blow dried it since it's freezing outside these days. This was a major gamble, as sometimes I can turn out looking like a healthy blend of Frankenstein an a chia pet after using these contraptions, but luckily I got a fun rocker look. Phew.
The next morning I was up early again after only a few hours sleep, to go visit my friends family that I had lived with on and off during the summer. Petted the rabbit, had the final (for now) chit chats with the fams, and then was off again to go do a photoshoot with Das Racist. Good Lord, I hope they turn out good. Film always gives me a heart attack that way. Also got some in a thrift store on the good old un-heart-attack giving digital. It was fun. It's a little tricky bossing around three New York rappers, but they're all really good fun guys. I got a new fav saying from one of them, just dropping in 'that's so sexual' at random times. Fun!
Das Racist #2
Then I boosted to Daejeon where I've got some superb friends I met through skateboarding; even though I dreadfully suck at said activity. So we got drinks, played pool, and just shivered our way around Daejeon, and then my friend that night gave me his 'room'; sleeping on the floor in the living room or his family house, and he shared his sisters room. I love Korea.
Das Racist performing in Seoul at the Rolling Hall, in Hongdae
Then back up to Seoul for shooting Tecla and Das Racist (DR) again .... the venue caught on fire!
No big deal, they caught it quickly since Tecla was singing and pointing at it saying it was on fire pretty fast. The resulting fire extinguisher fumes were overwhelming, but still the show went on. DR came on after, and are frigging hilarious. They dance around, try to tell the crowd to say it was during their set that the stage caught on fire, and they really just have fun and make it a fun time.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Bought glasses, left with a free dinner

I'm in Daegu, and wanted to buy one last pair of glasses in Korea, since they're SO dirt cheap (we're talking $50 for the whole lot and a 20 min wait.), so I got some fun over-sized tortoise shells frames from a shop, and by the end of the process had a new friend in the owner, who ended up taking me out to dinner with her friend and introducing me to other shop owner friends in the area. FUN!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Seoul Critical Mass

Critical Mass - Seoul
 The third Sunday of every month is the coming together of the Critical Mass in the city. It's apparently been going for 5 years, but by the attendance numbers, you would never know it. On the night I partook in said event, there was approximately 24 adults, and one awesome kid on a purple banana seat bicycle who rode in the centre of the pack, as if we were animals protecting our young on the african safari lands.
check out a video of it here

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Follow the Women

I'm beginning to raise funds for the Follow the Women bike ride that I'm participating in April 2011.
Please help promote, donate, or even join this ride, as this is something I am really excited about! 
You can pay with PayPal, using the below, otherwise please contact me, and other arrangements for donations can also be made.


WHAT IS Follow the Women?
Follow the Women is an international non-political grassroots organization campaigning for peace in the Middle East.  Our signature activity is the Pedal for Peace Bike Rides which take place in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Click here for FTW’s USA website (opens in new window).
WHO IS Follow the Women?
We are ordinary women, citizens from over 40 countries.   At each bike ride 200-300 females from more than 25 countries converge on the Middle East to bike for peace.  Men participate as medics, mechanics or media.  A U.S. team has been on every ride.  Up to 20 participants are accepted per country team. Riders are expected to agree to FTW's Aims & Objectives (opens in new window)  
WHERE IS Follow the Women?
The international center of the organization is based in England where Follow the Women is a registered charity.  Each participating country has a local resident coordinator who liaisons with the international center. The USA Team, scattered all over the country, has a virtual headquarters by way of this website.
WHEN IS Follow the Women? 
Pedal for Peace Bike Rides occur about every 18 months.
April 16-23, 2004 
September 15-24, 2005
April 6-20, 2007
May 2-15, 2008
October 8-21, 2009
April 16 to May 1
, 2011
WHY IS Follow the Women? 
Our main objective is to call attention to the fact that it is women and children who suffer most in areas of conflict, particularly Palestinians who live under a brutal military occupation in Gaza and the West Bank or in stifling refugee camps inside and outside Palestine.  Several hundred women riding on bicycles in the Middle East is extremely unusual.  Our head-turning cycling compels the media to report on the event and interview us and this coverage provides us a platform for our peace messages.  We also have various projects, including building playgrounds for Palestinian children in refugee camps. Our mission is summarized in four simple words:
Go. See. Tell. Act.  

Thursday, November 11, 2010

back in korea; korean style


I've been back all of two nights, and last night i didn't sleep. It's 8:22am, and i'm just getting in the door.

These Koreans are hardcore man! The thing is to just stay out so long that the subway starts up again and you can get home. 

It all started when I called my friend, and there happened to be a art installation show on one stop away on the subway, so I just walked over to the abandoned hospital it was being held in, and we got to scope out 5-6 different rooms that had been decked out in different scenarios; from a student who had cheated in school and had to run away (this work space complete with police tape), to an entire room sound-proofed with egg shell cartons and set-up to look like a news room with feeds of a man in white make up and a stuffed monkey discussing ... something. Sorry, my Korean is just not that great yet. They had a great set-up for it all though - they're all art students, and from what I was told, is that it was a srt show not supported by their professor, who they don't seem to agree with for their final exhibitions for their graduate show, so they had their own vision executed here, with live bands, free pizza, and free alcoholic beverages.

From there we boosted to one place, after another, after another, each entailing food and drinking, but some venues having karaoke and giving us a free fruit platter, eating live octopus, or a restaurant with non-stop music videos playing, even though it looked high-end other than that, but met some awesome people, and had an amazing night hanging out with them until the sun rose back in the sky.

I've got to go to bed.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Oh what a night...

Last night was complete mayhem...
To cut the story short, we found out about a party on the island (Lamma Island, off Hong Kong),
And as we approached; guided by flashing construction lights in the pitch black, I whipped out my little video camera to capture our entrance, and 4 seconds later walked into a hole.

Up to my hips I went before I caught myself and scrambled out as fast as I could.
My friend and I raided the first aid kit to patch me up, and then just peaked back home.

I can't believe I fell into a HOLE.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Two countries, two islands

Power Station Beach, Lamma Island

Lately I've been on a slight hiatus; a holiday from the arduous task of my .. erm.. holiday. After brilliantly missing my original flight from South Korea to Hong Kong, I finally made it all work the next day and arrived in one solid piece. I've been staying on another island next to Hong Kong island; Lamma Island; known as one of the 'Outlying Islands' of the Hong Kong area, and a real treat since it is a carless, green tropical paradise only a 30min ferry ride from the central station in Hong Kong, but a complete escape from all the mayhem.

Hong Kong IS organized chaos. It's a hilly, efficient, and eclectic city with all the amenities you could hope for all boiled in a Chinese mixing pot. It's good. Really good. I've been describing it as a world city for all these reasons to all those who ask what my opinion on the place is. Halloween a few days ago was the epitome of organized chaos, with the whole downtown area completely congested by decorated and costumed foot traffic, and the police making the most popular areas a one way for said party-goers to ensure nothing like what happened a few years ago happens again, when some participants were trampled to death by the sheer mass of the surging crowd literally plowing over their bodies.

 Downtown in Macau, known as 'Centro'

I also went to Macau, one of the strangest culture mashes I have ever seen - it's a Portugese colonial area of China (now a S.A.R. like HK), meaning it LOOKS like Europe in so many ways, with brightly coloured, slightly decaying buildings, mosaic tiled streets, and portugese foods at hand, but the people are most definitely Asian. It's as if they were supplanted into an area not their own. I loved it; it's not like anything else I've seen anywhere in the parts of Asia I've trekked through. Not just the culture mash did it either - it's also been set up to be Asias answer to Las Vegas of all things, with gaudy, towering casinos blaring their expectedly bright lights. The handy thing here is that even though they have their own currency; the Macau Patacas; they readily accept the Hong Kong dollar everywhere, which is handily currently right on par with the local currency.
I met some other travelers; two Swedes; and we adventured down south to Coloane Villiage. There r e a l l y wasn't a lot there. We scoped out the beach - a blend of tan and black sand mixing with the brown and black sea water - and then explored a hotel that seemed as if it was from a childrens book or horror movie plot. It was a slightly delapitated old five star hotel, complete with missing characters from it's title clinging to the far of the front entrance, then once you walk in, it is fully staffed and just as fully free of guests. We were convinced to check out the 18hole golf course built into the side of the hill the hotel was built into, the indoor and outdoor pools, and the driving range with the deranged cat skulking around it.

Woman in Macau