the long goodbye.

to borrow from the altman film noir classic in title only -don't be fooled, this post has nothing to do with tijuana or private detectives.

it goes more like this:::

leaving has been a long process for me thus far.

clocking in at just over three weeks in south carolina i have lately been trying to develop lists of things i'd like to do before leaving again. the list is something that i can remember since i was

smaller. i have always felt that making a list is a great security for all occasions::: to get tasks done that need doing before something else occurs, to reassure against possible memory failings, to make desires and ideas known...

therefore, i have been compiling a list of truly stereotypical "americanisms" to do before i leave the south. in asking the boy what i thought were some tried and true american things to him (being of another nationality), he replied with that of course hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries and pizza were. naturally, these were some of the first things i wrote down on my list. realism was really my goal for the fulfillment and creation of this list. until now, i had only been capable of crossing off "apple pie," "watch college baseball game on a tv in a bar that serves bud light on tap and in bottles" and "pizza."

however, today mum strolled into the house while i was in the throes of viewing la dolce vita -yes the powerful, beautiful, and profound fellini masterpiece (ahhhhhh the costumes! sigh for the embellished flower-petal-like collared capes at the aristocrats in the countryside party and nico, period) only to plop down these on the table in front of me...

like a blast from that self-same childhood past where my obsession with lists is rooted, rush's fast food made its way back into my memory. i'm not here to suggest that you should know what rush's is or that i'm overly sentimental about a fast-food restaurant. the chain is a local to my city in south carolina restaurant and the only things i can really have anymore due to the vegetarian diet are the perfectly salted and crispy french fries and the delightfully (still) handmade chocolate milkshakes. behold. but, it used to be a favorite indulgent after-school snack on an occasional friday in mum's old van.

so, i snapped a picture of the midafternoon lunch/snack because in all honesty, how awesome are those graphics? unlike so many other brands, restaurants, and stores rush's has stuck to the same graphics they've used since probably the 1960's and personally, i'm a fan. besides who doesn't love a motto like "fabulous food...fast." essentially i'm honored that mum surprised me with rush's as a way to help me check off two more things "chocolate milkshake" and "french fries" on my most recent of lists.

enjoy!

to check out a beautiful advertisement from the '90s, direct yourself to rush's homepage here.

a week's worth.

exciting and fun times london must be having right now.

as graduate fashion week 2009 is officially underway -day one having zoomed by already. as i

am about to kick off a beach week this week. i thought i would leave some of the only quality images that my tired little searching mind could find online this evening. however, these graduates have some serious exciting garments to peruse. there are definitely some garments and ideas that would be awesome to see built upon in future collections and explorations.

as these are only from a few good sources, i apologize for the lack of breadth:::

this first set that struck me is by iwona pilch from middlesex university in london. i liked this

because it resonates very soundly with my own interests. anthropologically speaking, iwona cites the "second skin" of ritual body modification, most notably scarring, cutting, and tattooing as the force behind her delightful structural and fun pieces. these garments are something i would really love to own/borrow/explore/all of the above.

this black on black leather theme is roxanne pitteway from northampton university's doing. leather seemingly always has an s+m naughty connotation involved, yet pitteway forms the material into hoods and structures in the rear -not a sought after place. these pictures make exoskeletons very desirable in the way that she has executed them here. an exoskeleton hood?the possibilites of mixing and matching with such a nice exciting piece as this is making my mind run away with itself.

this delightful, stark set of three from anna rose underdown couldn't possibly go under my radar. i just wish that there were more and better detailed photos of this set. underdown notes the importance of "women's underwear, youthfulness, sportswear, and luxury" in casting her designs. but, i really love how the structure of a breastplate along with long underwear makes for very appeasing bodywear. yes! vpl on a whole new level. more please.

as for these four photos from katie hildebrand's (kingston university) runway exhibition...there is not much to explain. the styling is amazing. the knits are fantastic -does anyone else want a knit helmet as much as i do? the prints are stunning, interesting, and appealing even to a person who notmally finds it hard to want them in the personal wardrobe. but, truly i love every look for different reasons. from the dress, to the helmets, to the jumpsuit, to the coat, and the leggings everything is spot on in fit, color, and look.

that's all for now before i head off to the grand strand for some much needed sunshine and fresh air. will be reporting from a hammock with a daiquiri in hand next time you read a post.

cheers.

its fresh and hot, fresh and hot.

it seems that music is really i've been into blogging about consistently [or inconsistently considering how long its been...sorry] lately.

perhaps that's because i've been trying to save money and one way of doing that for yours truly is not to shop or browse online for clothing or shoes whatsoever. however, that fact should not take away from the musings and good fun that music has been providing lately.

with an upcoming trip to NYC scheduled,
i think its high time that i shared some thoughts on one of my favorite new listens
that
just so happens to be coming out of New York.

fortunately, i can say that this dj actually happens to be one of my closest friends. in good ol' college days, i really got to know this fellow and have luckily been able to watch and hear him develop and produce music that really projects his interesting and well-educated tastes. as i feel he has great talent but has even more time to grow creatively the praise will end there.

a few weeks ago
he sent me a mix he had been working on and asked me my thoughts. since that time it has been the most played thirty minutes of music (ahead of the new gui boratto album...ahhh) on my hard drive by not only me, but the boy, and other various friend visits.

given that i am clearly really feeling this mix of tunes, i have decided to share the thoughts i expressed to dear friend as well as the mix itself.

one main defining factor to me with dj mixes is that they either tend to consist of brilliantly "curated" but succinct bits of songs and samples that are well mixed and seem a sort of showcase of the dj's overall skills. on the other hand, there are the other types of mixes that lend themselves more towards the live style of djing that -let's be honest- compels attendees/listeners to dance [does that not seem to be my favorite word?] as would be done in the live setting.

with alex's mix i got that entire "showcase"/meant to listen at home vibe because of the amount of different sounds he seemed to shuffle breathlessly through in thirty minutes. trying not to think of dear friend, on my initial listen the thumping "four on the floor" dance-causing beats are what this particular dj is quite good at incorporating. this one sure knows how to mix it up.

as i mean, this mix is all over the board spanning multiple old, beloved and interesting, less listened to tracks. with a bit of gui boratto and kevin saunderson alongside young swede wunderkind petter i enjoyed the span that is contained. it stays on a somewhat safe side as far as song choices goes without getting stale -and is indeed very fun to listen to in any number of nighttime scenarios in which one could possibly be found.

right, signing out now because i've talked your ears off enough. just give yourself a listen here:::

enjoy. this weekend will consist of me attending a gui boratto/ellen allien/thomas mayer show amongst other birthday celebrations...more show blogging, yes.

tune in here:::

http://www.mogulus.com/alexhamadey

delight-full.

oh why is it so tempting to drop everything and move here?

the show last night was in a word...

YES.

a very minimal fix.

though not so much minimal but techno...the make it new @ middlesex lounge this past thursday 9 january was a spectacular treat.

showing up around 10:30 might have been a mistake...

as a friend, the boy, and i walked in to the small but satisfying space, the music was pumping. and the pumping was good. in the mood for dance, local dj, volvox, definitely played to those needs better than your average run of the mill freshwater alga [excuse the silly reference]. i've definitely been around to hear while she's in the booth but this thursday was something special. she really put together a fantastic set for thursday night that made my little group forget about the cold and

dancedancedancedancedancedance

she did a bang up job and has definitely improved to my liking from the past nights i've seen her. the friendies agreed.

however it was berlin dj, marcel dettmann [MDR, Ostgut Ton] that really drew us in [and got us there on a cold night in the first place].

it is a really hard thing to live in boston and have a musical taste that centers on electronic music. there is a very very small scene here whose appetite is rarely fulfilled by touring djs...really ever. however, when we do receive special guest appearances they are interesting and wonderful and all that they need to be. in november, paco osuna and ewan pearson both played at little old phoenix landing for midweek techno nights which were fantastic. this marcel dettmann set was so wonderfully wonderfully wonderful.

techno is really fun to listen to alone or on the train or cleaning your room or hanging out
but
it is even better blaring out of nicer than home speakers
[unless of course you happen to be my friend alex who has delightful monitors for his own musical makings]
^that is the way techno is best heard:::
loud, entrancing, and hard to resist
because. it. makes. you. dance.

at the beginning of his set i was wondering how he was going to follow up the energetic volvox set, but dettmann, resident at the infamous berghain club in berlin, took that energy from the previous set and went with it. the set started off with one attention catching, pumping beat that melded so well in to the next that it was hard to tell if he was even spinning at all. at times he would drop a few easily recognizable samples, but the set was more berlin sounds and feeling than this town has danced to in a while.

thanks. so. much.

ps...if you want a nice hour long taste of marcel dettmann's sound...download the resident advisor podcast from 29 december that he mixed.

Slip Sliding Away.

ticking down the hours
now.

my stomach is getting very queasy or that could just be the enormous list of to-do's that i have yet to

do.

i've been thinking lots about how others prepare themselves for a long/short journeys and have come up with oodles of questions on the matter.

1. is three and a half weeks a journey, excursion, adventure, or trip?
2. how and what does one pack for visiting with family in germany, going to an nighttime electronic music festival in serbia, and roaming around london in one piece of luggage?
3. what music should a corruptly old dinosaur of an ipod contain that i won't get sick of?
4. can one plan for everything in one piece of luggage? should one try to?

...the list really goes on, but alas my stomach is actually just rumbling from food this time. off to get a delicious brie and apple cinnamon crepe one last time before i go!

Sunniesdreams.

‘tis the time of year when the kids get tired of it.

we are SICK of it!

it’s the time when we’ve just recently been able to peel off our metallic legwear and dark denims, kick off our trompsing boots and woolen socks, slide into our cotton blend shifts and short-sleeves, and use our sunglasses to actually protect us from UV rays rather than just because the dull glare of the “sun” peeks out from the hill we happen to be trudging over. yes, there are blooms again, we hear birds again, and we see smiling again.

the winter seems to be gone.

and then…it happens again. the april teasing leads to rainrainrainrainrainrain and more chills. we forget about the spring except for the scents wafting through the humidity and showers, the more delicate clothes we long to be wearing, and the promises of mint juleps, long island iced teas, and sangria we just know we’ll be enjoying on our balconies and porches at weekend dusks…

so to muse on things that are my own brand of this patient desire for the brief Boston spring leading to the delightful summer of the city i would love to share with you a secret that isn’t so surprising:::

i have fallen in love

with these:::

the shapes, oh the shapes. karen walker really had nice thoughts in her head for these sunnies. they are exaggerated, but classic enough that one can wear them as a statement. however, the statement doesn’t necessarily have to be a pronounced one. they can either be worn as the statement or as the back-up coordinate. what joy. as a sidenote, the campaign for this eyewear is quite effectively packaged as well...alas, a poor sucker i am for crisp photos and pretty smiles.though, i’m quite taken with most all of the shapes and i really take special interest in the fluoro green rectangular frames. if only i could actually justify spending money until july 6^th [wink wink, m’dear]. but no, alas…there’s a good reason why i’ll be remaining positively gaga over these without satiation as I dream of the spring and the summer and the delights and activities and people to come…

signing out to discuss a dj set for tomorrow night, to study “the continuing impact of infectious disease,” and to keep trudging til the sun remains a fixed presence in my days… enjoy yours.

international dateline.

noontime position: 28˚ 50.3 minutes N, 169˚ 50.1 minutes E

sunset today : 1725 hours

sunrise tomorrow : 0539 hours

distance made good from honolulu : 1828 nautical miles

distance left to reach yokohama: 1609 nautical miles

average Ship speed: 15.9 knots (about 16.5 mph)

depth of the ocean below me: 5176 m

I will never officially experience or be able to fathom 7 September 2007.

Therefore, the remainder of this post is dedicated to that fated-from-the-very-beginning-of-this-voyage day.

R.I.P.

7 September 2007

i have been needing to write for a few days now…however, i saved this post until this specific time because i really wanted all of you [who are still experiencing the seventh] to feel the full gravity of this situation. a mere thirteen hours ago i was on a westward bound vessel approximately eight hours behind american eastern standard time. however from midnight to 2am this morning the Ship traversed the international dateline… and so did i….

the international dateline was one of the craziest things about the actual voyaging part of this voyage for me (catch any recurring themes here). what exactly would it feel like to completely never know what is is like to experience a day? many times we find ourselves complaining about « wasting a day » or « losing a day completely » because we haven’t gotten done what we wanted to get done or have slept or anything else of the like. but to truly lose a day? the international dateline to me always seemed like a magical place of myth and wonder where the world came together but couldn’t sync up. magical beasts, pirates, mermaids, narwhales, and puffin birds inhabited this area and to cross the line meant you definitely were treading treacherous waters. it turns out that it really is kind of like that...

last nite around 2200 i went outside on the top deck foreward. all the lights on this area of the vessel had been turned off and groups of people were sprawled every which way to take in the stars. Kat, Jade and i rightly plopped ourselves into this swell of people and gazed whilst listening to a professor reel off stories, mapping coordinates, and relative stars of constellations. i heard tales of queens and dragons, hercules and other deadly warriors, and magic arrows and lucky creatures. whether any of this is true does not matter::: a short time later the international dateline finally became a reality for me and it truly was mystical. i had been looking forward to that time for so long. anticipatory for so long, i even shed a tear when the ship technically underwent its passage through the profond and unknown depths of this line. what i learned about this whole situation of which i had meditated for so long?:::

imagination truly can and do shape realities.

in some ways the world actually has been flattened for me and my whole mates on the high seas. we have all experienced (or not experienced) the changes that the world has undergone for so long. we actually know how the ocean feels where the world comes together; and more importantly, we can now look to our next adventures in unknown lands with unknown sights and unknown people.

I feel that is sufficient enough dawdling on one of my favorite ponderances for this post however, on to new things:::

Hawa’ii------

Honolulu was a very low-key experience for me. i intended for it to be this way so that i could get used to the travelling thing and revel in my one day there where i could still use my own currency and not have to do any math whilst purchasing goods [or vaccines in my case].

i woke up around 0620 and immediately leapt from bed to take pictures of the first land i had been close to since embarking five days prior in Ensenada. then i proceeded to realize that hawa’ii is part of the us and I would be able to use my cell phone for one last time before actually truly setting out on my voyage. so i immediately called my two best friends and surprised them. i called pretty much everyone i could think of to call. All. Day. Long. i really do miss all of you very much. around 0700 Kat and i went to the seventh deck to check in with customs [since the last place we had « technically » been was Mexico]. we then went to breakfast and ate outside overlooking the harbor and downtown areas of Honolulu. to this day, that breakfast was one of the most beautiful i have ever experienced. the volcanic mountains loomed in the distant behind the stark and tasteful buildings of the small downtown area of the city. everything was sunny and hot and delicious and tropical. it really could not have been better. then a few hours later (around 0940), we disembarked and walked around a little. at 1000 Kat was catching a van with a bunch of other kids who had independently set up [a Long time before the voyage] a trip to go skydiving on the North Shore of Oahu…so, i walked a bit more then got directions and a map to take a bus down to Waikiki Beach. i had made it!

down in Waikiki, i walked around for a Very long time taking in the sights and scenes. somehow coincidentally we had berthed at Honolulu on the birthday of the last queen of Hawa’ii, Queen Lili’oeukulani [sp?]. there were little cabanas and tents everywhere with families and friends eating together strewn all down the parks along the shores and the beach itself. this made for Very nice walking for me! i finally decided to rent a bicycle [and with the gracious help of my mum and my bestest, alex], i found a place, the guy gave me a discount [« as long as [i] get it in before five! »], and i biked around the island, enjoying the tropical fare. i found a nice Thai/Hawa’iian restaurant at which to eat. afterwards, i went into a little internet café to check out information about registration for next spring semester [its on October 28^th for all of us seniors if you’re wondering kids], etc.

finally, i went to meet Kat at Ala Moana shopping centre for some « sightseeing » and necessities….PS:::that mall is incredible. there was everything imaginable from Sephora to Gap to Prada to Bottega Veneta to Chanel to an Apple Store to LeSportSac. it made for great sightseeing. but to tell the truth…we had gone because we had heard that there was a Wal-Mart close by and there were a few necessities that we needed to get there. thanks to my bestest again for painstakingly locating and somehow –by telephone- directing me on how to reach this [not so close] Wal-Mart. there, i took my prescription for the typhoid oral vaccine because those of us who hadn’t obtained it by this time were Strongly advised to do so while still in Hawa’ii because it was the last chance. so…heeding the onboard physician i finagled a prescription from the medical clinic on deck two before leaving and took it to the girl at the counter who duly filled my prescription [thank you nice girl who is preventing me from getting typhoid for the next five years]. we did a little more poking around and then made our way back to the Ship.

Conclusion::: i’m glad i had the chance to go to Hawa’ii. i never really thought about visiting the islands before so a day was enough of a taste for me. however after having that experience i am definitely tempted to return. the native hawaiians all try to scare the mainlanders about how much they don’t like tourists but i was stopped so many times while i was alone and helped by people who wanted to let me know this and that about the queen’s birthday celebrations and cultural goings-on. it was very nice.

still i trudge on…

I posted the other day about suggestions for Japan, etc. i’m still looking for them. so far my plans are to take the train with Kat and Jade to Tokyo for some fun, merriment and guiding with Andrew Kane [an acquaintance i have from BU who is currently studying in Japan]. from there we will make our way down to Kobe where we must meet the Ship before setting sail to China.

finally, some of the classes are pretty cool as well. i’ll give you just a few topics we’ve discussed along the way so i don’t bore you:::

karaoke

the nuclear weapons era

the american foreign service

those are all just half hour lectures we have had. however at one of the pre-port port meetings a student from Hawa’ii got up and did a traditional Hawaiian dance for everyone after a lecture about pearl harbor and hula.

it’s a pretty good time here still. i’m really enjoying it so much still. i’m signing out now so that i don’t ramble on for even longer. however, before i go…for those of you who know what i’m talking about:::

to commemorate my lost day at sea, i request that you play a certain specific Ladytron song…. you know who you are.

toujours mes amis.

ps...i edited my post from last week...so...you may want to reread it...it will probably make more since as far as retardation goes.

rock 'n roll with me.

initial reactions to this place were hilarious all around…they still are.

1) i am on a SHIP, not a boat…we will constantly be reminded of this.

2) it really moves…and you can feel it::: all. the. time.

3) it is the funniest thing to have no capacity to walk in a straight line –even without the aid of alcohol.

4) it is funnier still to walk down a hallway and see every single person in front of you swaying as if completely inebriated though clearly just trying walk normally and pretend as if they can.

5) putting on eyeliner @ 7:30 am on a moving vessel going 13-15 knots is really, REALLY difficult. [though i am beginning to feel like a pro]

6) showering takes on a whole new meaning when ‘slippery when wet’ actually is a caution that you know you have to take heed of or else.

7) there honestly must be something in the water, because these professors are a little exaggerated.

so basically, the gist of my experiences so far [while crossing the Pacific] are this—life is different on a SHIP and there are so many interesting, unexpected changes that i believe all of us will be catching up for a while.

before beginning the voyage one of the main [and most important] questions i had was:::

<>

well…my question has certainly been answered. time changes have a occurred and COMMUNICATE they have. let me tell you a little ditty:

it all began on a day like today [but much greyer] while sitting in an ‘assembly’ if you will about safety on board. the executive dean of this lovely endeavor was speaking about SHIP matters this and SHIP matters that…and then the lovely dean uttered the most beautiful words the 632 students on board the Explorer had dared imagine::

< take into account the time changes, everyone.>>

yes, ladies and gents, it was these very words that began the saga…much to our delight, it was not actually the nite for the clock retardation [which in fact ended up taking place last nite]. Due to this known fact and the captain’s wise orders, the uncautious dean made an announcement over the ships intercom system to let us know this new tidbit::

< correct time for retarding the clocks for time changes. the clocks will actually not be retarded tonite, but will instead be retarded tomorrow> [shake, stir, repeat]

that’s right! mr. dean was mistook about the clock retardation. imagine….the following day, he again apologized for his early start to forewarn us about retarding our clocks. the day continued as normal with no retardation in sight…and them WHAM!^%$ we turn on our HIGHLY closed circuit television to see the plots, knottage speedage, handwashing directions, and latitudes of our mighty Explorer and what do we see?!

nothing. But a glorious bright yellow screen that simply says ‘Tonight Ship’s Clock Will Be Retarded One Hour’ in bright red[making all Spaniards proud]. ne’er one for missing out on wonderful photo opportunities the roomie and i snapped a few photos of the glorious view in mere seconds….and then proceeded to change the time on our bedside clock. however, it. does. not. end. there.

we were pleasantly surprised today to find that the clocks will have to be even more retarded this very evening and we have the very same yellow-lovely screen [which this morning we thought they had just forgotten to take down from the previous evening].

therein lies the answer to my question of questions. the clocks are retarded and we are given QUITE a bit of notices/forewarnings as to this case through our dean in every lecture letting us know about retardation five to six times a meeting/class. to think…i lose a day when crossing the international date line but…i get so many extra hours of sleep that it just TOTALLY makes it worth it. huzzah.

in other news--- my roommate is awesome, hilarious and fun fact: is from the same town where my dear friend, Alex Hamadey’s, dad resides in California. even more fun fact: they went to the same high school and she had a crazy ninth grade crush on him. she once asked him to go to a dance way back when and he turned her down because he was ‘going out of town that weekend.’ nevertheless, it’s a crazy coincidence that we happen to be rooming together, i think, since she has neither spoken to him nor thought much about him since that fateful shutdown.

yesterday was ‘student life signup day’ and Kat (my roommate) and i decided to make up our own club: ‘neon dance party classics’ -the aim of which is to dress up in the most obnoxious neon/80’s/aerobic/spandex garb and spontaneously have dance parties on the ship. we sort of made it up as a joke/for fun. however, it seems to have been the buzz of the sign-up fair and somehow without recruitment we accrued quite a few people interested in said club…so we’re pretty stoked about that and are in the werks as far as music/planning goes. i also decided to try and start a french conversation group on board but made the signup sheet rather late so we’ll see how well that goes over. and last, but not least, Kat and I wanted to do a joint dessert [because its great!] and music [because its horrible on the ship channel!] review show on the student TV channel:: SeaTV. we’ll see how all of that happens and i’ll keep you up to date on this beautiful piece of electronic communication.

i will leave you by saying that i hope you all enjoyed this first piece of info from aboard the SHIP of semester at sea. i’m enjoying it so far and oh yeah, the food isn’t bad at all and they clean our cabins every day! woohoo! i’m extremely sorry to those of you i couldn’t/didn’t get in touch with before i set sail but I hope you will keep reading and i encourage you to email me or leave your emailz as a post for me to put in my address book. i hope all of you are doing well and taking care. i promise i will get around to sending each one of you e-postcards one way or another, but if you have already gotten one i apologize for some of the repetition in this posting. i’d love comments from all of you to hear how you are, what you want to hear about, or anything else.

toujours.

ps:::did i mention its really tough to put on eyeliner on this moving thing?

---oh and i have yet to get seasick...keep your fingers crossed because there have been many casualties.