Dean Hannas

Terrance Ignatius Tipple the Tiki Time Traveller

2011-12-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

Available now from Blurb.com in printed and e-book formats. The perfect gift!

Terrance Ignatius Tipple the Tiki Time Traveller | Make Your Own Book

Dreddin’ Armageddon? Relax. Wine. Dine. Recline!

Take a trippy trip with the ultimate surfer foodie Terrance Ignatius Tipple as he careens his time-traveling dimension altering Montauk chair through wormholes crawling with tasty treats, festive libations, and line-up free waves. During his odyssey Terrance and his Lucky Lady Lucy stumble upon clues to the great 2012 prophecy. Will they decode its secrets? Will he acquire the goodies he needs for his Luau? Will they sneak it all through customs? Maybe. They’re heading into an unusual land full of danger and tasty treats. Wanna join us?

Within your hot little hands lies gastronomical salvation. Here is the world’s first psychedelic graphic novel and cookbook that combines gourmet cocktail and food recipes with answers to the 2012 enigma. Also inside are handsome photographs suitable for framing but some may not be appropriate for young fearful children.

The book contains eleven drink and twenty-one unique and tasty food recipes.

Rosel Heim

2011-11-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

I recently photographed some products for a high quality skincare line from Germany called Rosel Heim.

StockFood

2011-11-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

Here are some more photos for my StockFood library. A rather eclectic dinner, a mint julep, monte cristo sandwich, and vegan brownies.

The Great Canadian

2011-08-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have just started writing some articles for an online magazine called The Great Canadian.

Here are my two articles

Please leave comments here or below the article. Thanks!

StockFood

2011-07-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Some of my stock images are now available online at StockFood.com. Here's my own Photographer's page.

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Veggies!

2011-07-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Manuscript Complete!

2011-05-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

Coconut Shrimp

Whew! I just finished off the last of the photos so now my Tiki book manuscript is now complete! Twenty original food recipes, eleven original drink recipies with over thirty photos, dozens of illustrations and a 35,000 word story. It's making me tired typing that sentence. I just have to finish off a Blurb sample book and then it's time to approach publishers!

Again, my book is entitled, "Terrance Ignatius Tipple: The Tiki Time Traveller - Book 1 - 2012 The Pre-Apocalyptic Luau." Say that five times fast. It only took about a year and a half, a whole pile of money and lots of sweat and Bourbon. I thought I'd make a book because I thought it would be easier than making another film. Ha! Good thing I'm slightly delusional. Or very.

I better get this proposal off soon before the world ends and it's too late! Time for a well deserved Mai Tai.

La Stella

2011-05-10T13:12:00.001-07:00

La Stella is a premium winery in Osoyoos that uses musical motifs to name their wines. The style of their wines and the design of their winery is heavily influenced by the Italian La Dolce Vita. They wanted me to photograph their wines with musical instruments and my Italian DNA really enjoyed the whole process of creating that spirit.

Therapy Vineyards

2011-05-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for clever branding. How can you resist a glass of Pink Freud? How about a Freudian Sip? Or their Alter Ego? They produce excellent wines at a fair price from some of the oldest vines in the Naramata region and sell out quick.

Lake Okanagan Resort Kelowna

2011-05-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Watermark Beach Resort - Osoyoos

2011-05-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

There's always room for meatloaf! One of the signature dishes at the fancy wine bar in the Watermark Beach Resort in Osyoos is their meatloaf. They've tried taking it off of the menu a few times but the locals have rebelled. After photographing it I got to eat it and I admit I downed the whole thing, will a nice glass of BC red of course.

Okanagan Winery Trip April 2011

2011-05-10T12:49:00.001-07:00

It is the coldest spring in a hundred years in British Columbia. For those of you that are here, I'm sure you're well aware of it! In the third week of April I was in the Okanagan for a week attempting to drum up some photography business. I met some great people, had some excellent meetings and took lots of shots of course. Although it was mostly cloudy the whole time and the vines just looked like dried up sticks, I still managed to get a couple of good shots.

Tasty Tiki Treats

2011-04-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Almost done ... Click on the image to make it larger.

About La Brasserie

2011-04-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I applied to About.com to become a Vancouver/British Columbia travel writing guide. I had to write a 500 word essay on Vancouver as part of my application. Cross your fingers for me please! Here's the piece I wrote.

La Brasserie

Quality compliments quantity as you dive into one of the most memorable gourmet burgers you’ll ever find. The Brasserie burger is topped with aged white cheddar, smoked bacon, and an obscene amount of their addictive crispy fried onions and the fresh bun is enhanced with truffled aioli. As you taste the savory burger made from freshly ground steak, your eyes will roll back in carnivore heaven. But there is more. The burger is served with a side of hand cut frites. These are true Belgian style double-fried French fries complete with their peel. Even big eaters will find it a challenge to polish off the meal but a glass of one of their German, French, or English beers on tap with help you to successfully accomplish your mission.

La Brasserie (1091 Davie Street (604) 568-6499 Open Mon-Sat 5pm-12am; Sun 12pm-12am) is an intimate Franco-German inspired European bistro located in the heart of Vancouver’s West End, a five-minute walk to trendy Yaletown or the downtown core. Sit at a table or sit at the bar; The fairly priced five-star food is served in an approachable and cozy room adorned with dark wood and stained glass Tiffany lamps. The menu features gastronomical classics such as French onion soup, bouillabaisse, rotisserie prime rib, duck confit, and lobster thermidor. Adventurous eaters can try rotisserie rabbit, whole stuffed quail, steak tartare, homemade bratwurst, or their signature suckling pig.

They are open for brunch from 11am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday but the bad news is that they are no longer open for lunch during the week. So what’s a foodie to do when you have a mid-week craving for their yummy shoestring fried onions?

Easy. You visit their new gourmet food cart centrally located at Granville and Georgia at the entrance to the City Center Canada Line Skytrain station. The cart has only been here since early April and the choice is easy as there is only one item on the menu, the Brass Chicken sandwich. For $6.25 you get beer-brined rotisserie chicken in gravy served on a buttermilk bun loaded with their desired crispy onions. Add a drink and it is only $7.15 plus tax, a steal in Vancouver for a gourmet lunch. There are a few benches close by which makes for an excellent people watching spot as you enjoy your meal before a round of downtown shopping.

La Brasserie is at the forefront of two exciting new food trends in Vancouver, the gourmet street food cart and the quest for the perfect artisan sandwich. The Brasserie burger is one of the city’s best-kept local secrets and you will be hard pressed to find a better chicken sandwich but it’s fun to try!

Hockey Night in Naramata

2011-04-25T16:12:00.001-07:00

I just got back from a week of touring in the Okanagan wine country region. It was a real success. I have potentially five new clients and made some new friends. The vines are still not blooming yet as it's the coldest spring in a hundred years so it's hard to make lush green pretty pictures when they are a bunch of gnarled sticks! I'm hoping to head back this summer and definitely in the fall during harvest time. Everyone tells me to come back sometime between late September and before Halloween.

I brought back eight bottles of wine. Five I got for free because I am going to photograph them for a few clients. I can't wait to see the rolling hills and winding roads of Naramata when it's exploding with grapes.

Designer Tea

2011-04-04T13:53:00.000-07:00

Designer Tea from Dean Hannas on Vimeo.

Japanese Matcha green tea and Genmaicha "popcorn" tea are explored along with Chinese Lapsang Souchong, Pu Ehr, and Silver Dragon loose teas. Original music by Kurt Hannas.

Tasty Tiki Treats

2011-03-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

Terrance Ignatius Tipple’s Tasty Tiki Treats is a tiny tidbit of a larger manuscript entitled Terrance Ignatius Tipple the Tiki Time Traveller - Book 1 - Apocalypse 2012:The Hyper-Dimensional Luau.

I'm creating the Blurb book Tasty Tiki Treats as part of my submission package to book publishers for this project. The Blurb book is a highly condensed version of the completed manuscript and will provide book publishers with a greater understanding of what the project can be. I have already paid a professional book editor to edit the condensed manuscript.

Terrance Ignatius Tipple the Tiki Time Traveller - Book 1 - Apocalypse 2012:The Hyper-Dimensional Luau is the world’s first Tiki food and cocktail cookbook combined with a lavishly illustrated novella. Imagine a Tiki version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but infused with eleven original cocktail recipes, twenty-one new food recipes, and numerous hand-drawn illustrations that reside within the graphic design of a 1950’s cooking magazine. The insides are also stuffed with dozens of handsome photographs suitable for framing although some are not suitable for young fearful children.

At present the writing of the sixteen-chapter 35,000-word manuscript is complete. One more day of Tiki food photography next week and the entire project will be ready for editing, graphic design and layout!

Dreamland Redux

2011-03-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

No I have not skipped off to Bali again! I wanted to share my experience of driving a moped for the first time in the madness of south east Asia and the adventure of finding a surfing spot. The writing is new but for some the pictures will be familiar. Please, enjoy the ride.

Dreamland

I had a horrible sleep, one of the worst in ages. I thought I was supposed to be here relaxing on a holiday? I just have to make it through this day and I will be fine I told myself. After fueling up by the outdoor pool with my daily dose of banana pancakes, a fresh pineapple smoothie and some divine and earthy coffee it was now or never. I was off to Dreamland.

There must be a mistake with the price as it was far too cheap including the insurance but I had to remind myself that prices in Bali are a just a tad different than in Vancouver. A few days earlier my bank account took a dent of four million rupes to buy my first surfboard. $350 Canadian got me an elegant eight-foot longboard that looks brand new. In the rentals office, the studious woman is all business and hands me a helmut. That’s it? I feel embarrassed that I need a woman to show me how to use a scooter. Guys are supposed to know about everything cars and motorcycles, right? Not me. She gave me a quick tour of the bike and dismissed me. This was not like the last scooter I drove when I was fourteen; a little put-put job that you could run faster than, this was basically a motorcycle. It had a clutch with manual gears and went at a good clip. The bike came with a surfboard rack so about four feet of my board trailed behind it causing me to imagine fatalistic Marks Brother’s scenarios; Not very safe but pretty standard for South East Asia. It required fuel but I was at a loss where to find it so the shopkeeper’s husband, the owner, sensing my apprehension generously offered to show me where it was. He had his scooter and I just had to follow him to the gas station. No biggie. Yeah, right! I have an eight-foot longboard strapped to the side of my scooter, it has manual gears, the narrow streets are swarming with people and vehicles and they drive on the left. Plus I will have to read my hand scrawled directions while in traffic. Not an easy task if you have had the misfortune of trying to read my handwriting. I am already sweating and it is not from the warmth of the tropical morning.

Once on the bike I slowly release the clutch while giving it some gas. A little bit too much gas as I lurch forward almost running over some toes in flip flops and careen to avoid one of those mini bus van things that you only see in these parts. And we’re off! I follow along with a thousand percent concentration and we soon arrive at the utilitarian gas bar. I get off of the bike. It drops and crashes to the pavement and the owner rushes over with concern. He is going to be pissed and make me pay some huge fee to fix it I reason. “Is your board okay?” he asks with genuine concern. Confused I check. It is. Thanks for asking. He helps me up with the bike, I pay for the fuel and thank him. With a warm smile and a pat on my shoulder he is off leaving me alone to face my destiny.

I am aware of what is just ahead of me. It is the thing that has been keeping me up all night. It is the dreaded left-hand drive traffic circle. I had a good look at my nemesis a few days ago from the back of a scooter as a Bali beach boy took me on a tour of Indonesian furniture stores but that’s another story. In Asia lanes are mere guidelines as the traffic flows like fish funneling up a stream. It is very crowded but like birds in flight they somehow manage to avoid collision. This circle is a four lane wide sprawling beast with five tentacles that flow in a perpetual state like blood cells through and artery in one of those grainy medical films. It is time to slay this dragon. Just do it. My memory of the event is hazy but I do remember that it was not such a big deal after all. My fearsome tiger was just a fat house-cat after all. What a relief!

I have some sketchy notes from a surfing guidebook about how to find Dreamland, a spot that is on the top of my surfing to-do list. Most of the surfing spots in Bali are only accessible by scooter. I came here to surf so I have no choice. Local road maps are only of so much use as many of the turns are unmarked and signage is random at best. Whizzing by I noticed that the palm trees, sun, and the tropical air are countered with harsh diesel fumes, scattered garbage, and Stalinesque strip malls next to open-air road-side shops.

With Kuta behind me I make a few turns and the landscape changes from urban to rual. Soon I am maneuvering through a narrow Wizard of Oz tropical meadow. I reach the weathered wooden arrow hand-painted with the words Dreamland and take a self-portrait while on the lookout for Munchkins. The path cuts through a farmer’s field and leads to a breathtaking cliff with Dreamland below. Beautiful. I park the bike and stand on the edge. Long gentle waves roll a the beach that is dotted with a few rattan shacks where surfers can spend the night for seven dollars. You might splurge with a couple of simple meals and a few Bintang beers costing you fifteen dollars all in. The waves are too sleepy for surfing and I wonder what it must be like here when it is really going off? After chilling out for a bit and taking some pictures I decide to check out another spot. I get on my bike and try to start it and it will not. Great. I am all by myself at the top of a cliff in the middle of nowhere without a cel phone and I know squat about most things mechanical. The moment I give up the bike starts. I roll my eyes and silently pray for it not to stall. I thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing? It is one thing to challenge yourself but seriously, where do you draw the line at adventure and being mildly suicidal?

I have my back to her as I put my helmet on preparing for liftoff. I am tempted with the desire for one final glance. I rationalize that this is not unwise. I convince myself that it will not break my heart as I know that I will see her again soon. Over my shoulder I sneak my last look at her. The simple clarity of her beauty is mesmerizing to me and my eyes are magnets that find it hard to pull away from her.

Like a black-and-white movie starlet from a by-gone era, hard-core surfers do not think much about her these days. New discoveries outshine Dreamland with better sessions being had nearby. Her name is not as deceiving as Surfer’s Paradise in Australia, which fails to hold her promise. For an avid surfer, a pretty face and an alluring name is not enough, she has to deliver quality waves.

The golden rule states that the first surfer that claims her gets to name her. Her location is whispered as surfers love their secret spots and jealously guard her from others.

Back at the open-air restaurant next to my hotel on Poppies Lane II, I sit at the bar sipping my well-earned Bintang and I begin to imagine the experience the Namer had upon her discovery and conquest. Some say she is over-rated and the mystery is gone. But those who give her a chance will be rewarded with her graceful charms for Dreamland is still a classic beauty to behold.

Deep in the Heart

2011-02-25T14:23:00.000-08:00

I just entered WorldNomads.com's travel writing scholarship for 2011. The winner get's an assignment in Istanbul, Turkey!

Read it and comment here:
Deep in the Heart by Dean Hannas - WorldNomad's Travel writing scholarship 2011

Hook, Line, and Sinker

2011-02-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

Hook, Line, and Sinker - IMDB Trailer

A short film that I shot a few years ago is beginning to see the light of day in the film festival circuit. I'm quite proud of my cinematography on this project. Hook,Line, and Sinker stars Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under, Law and Order) and was written and directed by Trevor Lawrence Young who also co-stars.

The IMDB tag-line reads, "a successful lawyer crosses paths with a friendly gas station attendant, leading to deadly consequences."

Trevor flew up from LA to shoot the film here. In pre-production we both decided on a gritty stylized look for the exteriors. British Columbia is very green so in order to get a rusty look for the exteriors I used a light red filter on the camera. Once this colour is corrected out it makes the greens a lot darker and adds a roughness to the skin tones which was appropriate. I pushed the film (over developed it) to add more grain and contrast. I desaturated it a bit in post to get the final look.

The fact that you can't see Jeremy's eyes is intentional. It makes him more threatening. It's a departure to photograph a major actor this way as the old rule of cinematography says to always get some extra light in the eyes so they pop or sparkle. Breaking this rule felt right for this situation. They did that in The Godfather and that one turned out pretty good.

For the interiors, I used a cleaner high-contrast look with swashed of colour. This was long before CSI Miami. Maybe they copied me? Hmmmmmm.

I still haven't seen the entire film in its completed form! Please watch the trailer and post your comments below.

Hook, Line, and Sinker - IMDB Trailer

Makes me Thirsty Contest

2011-02-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

Would you like a free drink?

Last week I wrote, directed, and shot a short commercial to display my abilities in shooting table-top food and beverage. I also shot stills. John Lee, a professional composer www.wailingwallofsound.com, whose work has appeared in numerous commercials and episodic tv shows created an original piece of music for me. The spot was cut by award-winning feature film editors Scott Winlaw and Stephen Green. The spot is below this post.

In order to celebrate I'm having a little contest entitled, "Makes me Thirsty" as this is the common reaction I am getting from the spot. If you can guess how many beers I used (not consumed) during the production of this commercial and the stills that I shot, there's a $5 Starbucks card with your name all over it.

Makes me Thirsty Contest Rules:

1- Please submit your guess below by commenting on this post. Click on the green "comments" link to do so.
2- Only one submission per person. Try not to cheat.
3- Employees and management of Dean Hannas Boutique Photography are not eligible. I guess that's me?
4- Contest deadline is Feb 18, 2011.
5- Molly Chow of the Langara SE Program is ineligible. Sorry Molly, you've seen my expense report. Next time.
6- You (the "Contestee") agree to indemnify Dean Hannas Boutique Photography (the "Contestor") from any wrong doing what so ever related to this contest or any other contest in perpetuity. The Contestee agrees to have a good time and enjoy the prize awarded from said Contestor.
7- Minors are unfortunately ineligible. You'll just have to wait to get older like the rest of us.
8- In the event of a tie, I'll figure something out. It won't be like the lottery where you have to divy it up five ways. You can't buy anything for a buck these days at Starbucks. Maybe a shot of vanilla syrup without any coffee? That's about it.
9- This isn't like playing horseshoes or throwing hand grenades. Close is not good enough. You have to have the exact number.

No beers were harmed during the making of this production.

Pilsner Urquell 2011 - Spec Commercial

2011-02-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

Pilsner Urquell 2011 from Dean Hannas on Vimeo.

Quaker Harvest Crunch

2011-02-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

I'm currently enrolled in a continuing studies course at Langara College entitled, "All about Publishing." Our first assignment was to write a rant. I have just submitted it to the Westender for publication. Cross your fingers for me and keep your eyes peeled for it.

RANT

Quaker Harvest Crunch
by Dean Hannas

I know its been said a million times before but I’ll say it again. What’s up with our horrible and Nepolionic liquour laws in this province? The only body these arcane laws serve is the Provincial Government. World class my ass. The greatest place on earth? Give me a break Michael J Fox from your happy feely marketing bullshit. We should also thank you Big Brother for playing Daddy with your sin tax grabs but that’s another rant altogether. You make me embarrassed to say that I’m a local.

Kudos to our city council though for having the balls to try something new this year with their European themed Christmas Market. But, you branded numbered wristbands on us like Nazi prisoners to impose your three-drink minimum. What are you worried about? A bunch of drunken frat boys getting out of their minds on Glog? The prices are so high that you’d need a line of credit just to get your drink on anyways. Any European visitor would laugh in shock at our Puritanical ways.

Freedom! Drinkers of the Province, unite! Chained by cruel taxes and orthodox laws, its time for the fundamentalist regime to crumble. Let your voices be heard! We deserve to be part of the civilized world. It’s time for the Quaker’s to pack up their caravans and leave town.

Happy New Year

2011-01-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of updating my portfolio and website to better reflect my new direction. I felt I needed a good shot of someone drinking wine so I called up Izabela. It's nice to have ridiculously good looking friends. Sorry fellas but she's off to Brazil to get married. Also, this was the first time that I used my new lighting package. I've been slowly acquiring it over the past month or so and I am very pleased with the results. Coming soon are some wine photos.

New Business Cards

2010-11-22T22:50:00.000-08:00

I love it! My new cards will be in my hot little hands soon. Here is a sneak preview. They were designed by Rebecca Kovacs and Gavin Rodrigues of We Love Coloring with my two cents thrown in. I highly recommend them. Good peeps that do great work. They have some nice tunes on their blog too.

Dean Hannas Boutique Photography - Coming Soon!

2010-11-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

I haven’t added anything to my blog in awhile because I’ve been eyeballs deep in the Langara Self-Employment Program. It’s been fantastic! Great instructors. Great course. I'm taking about three months of classes in order to develop a business plan and then in the new year I’m off and running. I’m starting a new business in the new year called Dean Hannas Boutique Photography. It’s a commercial photography business that specializes in celebrating the experience of using artisian or gourmet businesses. "Celebrating your vision" is what I'm printing on the business cards. I’m going to focus on the BC wine industry for starters. The idea is to combine food and beverage photography, architectural photography, and portrait photography into a unified whole. Each business is unique so the visual approach to each business will be different.

I know you're saying, enough of the sales pitch already Deano. But the service part is even more important to me. In the past six years I’ve been lucky enough to photograph over 500 hotels around the world. One of the things that I’ve enjoyed the most from Kuwait to Beijing is leaving clients with a smile.

I’ve decided to dump my previous business name Arcana Images that I’ve had for more than fifteen years and start fresh. I’m in the process of “re-branding” so my new website should be up shortly in the new year. Stay tuned.

Below is a sneak peak of some of the images I’m contemplating in using on my new site.

Enjoy!

2010-11-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

Cedar Plank Salmon Dinner

2010-10-02T22:06:00.001-07:00

Scotch

2010-09-19T13:32:00.001-07:00

Dave's Macaroni and Cheese Fondue

2010-09-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

Baked Alaska

2010-09-12T23:15:00.000-07:00

Modern Tiramisu

2010-09-12T23:13:00.000-07:00

Blackened Chicken

2010-09-09T22:31:00.001-07:00

Blackened chicken with rice and peas, grilled corn and endives.

3.5 hours to make this photo. 3.5mins to eat it.

A fresh batch of cocktails

2010-09-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

Kava Lava

The Mahalo

The Skeleton (Redux)

Bojo

2010-08-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Hampton Fizzle

2010-08-21T21:30:00.001-07:00

The Howzer

2010-08-21T21:28:00.001-07:00

Mango Magik

2010-08-09T22:41:00.001-07:00

The Skeleton

2010-08-09T22:39:00.000-07:00

Photo in the Vancouver Sun

2010-08-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hi, I've got a photo in the Vancouver Sun today. They got the photo credit wrong though.

The Twizzler

2010-08-04T19:21:00.001-07:00

Canadian Winter Olympic Pavilion Vancouver 2010 - Online

2010-07-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Here's the Panorama photo I did. It's now on the Government of Canada website.

That Sounds Pleasant

2010-05-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

I received an invitation to go on an overnight hike north of Pemberton. The hike is called Cerise Creek and it’s a two-hour trek. There’s a log cabin at the top so there’s no need to pack a tent. That sounds pleasant. I’ve been wanting to go camping. If I had only known what I was getting myself into. It’s a good thing I didn’t know!

I rented some snowshoes and a few other goodies and the next morning we were off. Marek told me that his friend Andrzej was ill so he could not join us. Andrzej has been on the hike before. For directions we had a piece of paper with some obscure directions. Marek is one of the photographers from where I work. He just had his sixtieth birthday party or was it his sixth? He is more like a teenager. With his spiky white hair and his warm demeanor he could easily pass as the bass player from the Scorpions.

Probably because we were talking, we missed the Highway 99 turnoff near Pemberton. After regaining our bearings and heading in the right direction we decided to pull over by a creek for a quick bite to eat. I lost my snappy sunglasses in the rushing river. Was this an omen? A sign of things to come? Luckily after about five minutes of scanning my eagle eyes caught them.

We finally began our hike after 2pm. We suited up with our large packs and descended into the ravine. We easily crossed the river bridge and began our ascent in the slushy snow. It was quite steep. I was already huffing and puffing while Marek was comfortably blazing ahead as if he was on a stroll along the seawall. This was my first, “why am I doing this moment?” one of several to follow. The trail was not clearly marked but Marek was following the faint day-old trails left in the snow or possibly he was doing this by radar or sense of smell. I hoped that he knew where he was going because I sure didn’t.

The initial ascent opened up into a meadow-like logging road. Now this is more like it. We followed this for a while and the trail led back into trees. The trail was even fainter but the snow was hard and crunchy so it was easier to climb. We took turns trying to decipher the cryptic hiking directions but they didn’t make much sense so we just followed the faint footprints. For some reason this reminded me of a movie that I saw when I was a kid. A group of explorers are using a map and are following someone else’s tracks in the search for gold and glory. The footprints in the sand lead to an empty treasure chest and a couple of unlucky skeletons covered in cobwebs.

The wooded area gradually became more wide open and steeper. We stopped for a short lunch and sat on our packs and added a layer of clothing. We’ve got to be close now I figured incorrectly. There was no strong sign of a trail so we followed the creek upwards being careful not to get too close to the edge as the spring snow we were walking on could give way at any time. The sunny weather was perfect and the temperature was cool and refreshing. I was feeling pretty good but the pack was starting to feel heavier, my legs were getting a bit stiffer but I managed to forge ahead at my own pace. We saw something in the distance. It was a large flat object with lots of snow on it. Is that the hut? We get closer. No. It’s just a large boulder. Rats.

We continued upwards and the tree line was beginning to end. It opened up into a large white plateau which curled slightly to our right. There were no trail markers. We were hiking for two hours without complaint. We hiked up a bit farther. We reached a crossroads. “Which way should we go Dean?” asks Marek. Good gravy, how should I know? “Well. If we go to the left it is not as steep, we could follow the stream and the cabin could be there. Or, we go to the right.”

It can’t be to the right. Look how steep that is! Look at the tracks going up there. The person who went up there must be crazy. I can’t think straight. I’m tired.

Marek comments, “most of the tracks lead to the right.” He’s right. Damn. It’s like looking up a ski run without being able to see the top. Marek has just broken his Korean made snowshoes so he’s decided to go on without them. The deep snow has been in the sun all day so with each step he makes he sinks down a foot. For me it’s another why am I doing this moment but I don’t complain as I signed up for this, plus complaining will just sap my energy like being around a bitter office worker or a member of Metallica.

We began the steep part of the ascent. After huffing and puffing for a while I looked up and felt dejected. It doesn’t even look like we’ve moved anywhere. Now I’m getting scared. We don’t even know if we are heading in the right direction or not. It’s getting late in the afternoon. I know that I don’t have that much energy left. I know that there is nobody who can help us. We are on our own. I decide not to look up and just keep forging ahead. After a dreamy and foggy eternity I take a chance and look up again. I can see the top now, I’ve made it at least half way. This perks me up a little bit and I long for a Scotch at the top. I brought along my flask that I bought in Scotland from the McCallan distillery that I toured with my Dad. I had filled it with some fine twelve-year old Highland Park whisky, one of my all time favourites, but all of this snow around me had me thinking other things. Maybe I should of brought some Tequila with me and used some snow to make me a nice lime Margarita? I have been taking mini breaks along the way up but I still cannot catch my breath as we are at almost nine thousand feet. My vision is basic. I’m not picking up on the finer details. I guess I could make my sleeping bag into some sort of tent? Are Marek and I going to have to cuddle up at night in order to keep warm? Keep moving. At my darkest moment, I call up to Marek, “Hey Marek. Can you take a picture of me?” He turns around and says that he has packed his camera away. Not a good omen. I keep moving on. Marek has reached the top of the hill and disappears. I soon reach it too only to discover another hill. Will it ever end? Hiking is fun.

I enjoy the flat hilltop that only lasts a few feet and then begins to ascend a small hill. I’m out of water too but Marek said not to worry as we can always melt snow. I’m trying to decide on how much further up I can go based on my energy level which was fastly approaching zero. Marek has reached the top of the hill and shouts, “We’re home.”

It didn’t quite register. I get to the top of the hill and then see the tip of the A-frame cabin in the distance. As we approach the log hut if feels better then arriving at any Park Hyatt. I’m glad that there was no Starbuck’s sign on it either. In a few years it will be a Pizza Hut instead of Keith’s Hut. Let’s hope not.

Luckily for us Keith’s Hut is empty. It can be quite busy in the summer months and we happily decompress inside. There is a wood stove, a long table with chairs, a basic kitchen area and a sparse sleeping area up the wooden ladder. Home. I heated up a can of Campbell’s Chunky Beef Soup® and the warm vapors caressing my face was as fine as any Asian massage.

Marek heated up baggies of curious Polish leftovers and we ate with silent gratitude. Through the window we could see the tops of Mount Joffre, Mount Matier and Vantage Peak. “Hey Marek. There’s people skiing down!” We take a break from our simple meals and head outside. A skier and snowboarder glide down easily. Those guys are nuts! They must have hiked up all day to get there. The peaks create a bowl, if you hit the wrong spot you’ll funnel down in an avalanche. If you going to go for it, you can’t stop and you can’t fall or it’s game over.

After dinner we traded whisky and travel war stories in front of the fire and spoke of our Polish ancestry. The sun took forever to go down and the crystal clear sky gradually turned from a deep azure to an inky black filled with stars. Bedtime for Bonzo.

We crawled into our sleeping bags and bundled up for the night only to be interrupted by the pitter patter of little feet. Mice! We had left all of our food out on the counter. Marek went down, collected it all and hung the food bags from a hook. They didn’t touch my food but managed to have a few nibbles of Marek’s. “Must be Polish mice” I remarked. It was surprisingly hard to fall asleep. I had about three Ginseng teas so maybe that was the ticket.

The next day after breakfast we left our humble abode. I was quite pleased that the whole trek would be downhill. Marek went off on his own, straight up, to get a better view of the peak. That sounded like work to me. I sat in the sun and watched him climb.

Part of me wanted to go but I had pushed myself so hard yesterday that I didn’t want to risk it. The hike down should be easy but you never know. As it turns out I was right.

The hike down was fun and manageable until the last part. The trail was not well marked and we reached a point were the snow was patchy. We knew we were heading in the right direction and the highway was not very far off but just when I thought the worst was over with we began the most brutal part of the journey. We started bushwhacking our own trail. The snow at this altitude was very soft and we kept sinking through it and layers of twisted branches. Branches kept grabbing at my pack and throwing off my balance and you cannot step backwards with snowshoes on or you’ll trip. Exhausted like actors in a war movie boot camp we reached the riverbank. We could not find a bridge. Marek decided to borrow my ski poles and cross. Damn that looks cold! The water was in the middle of his thighs and the current was quite strong. I took a picture of him and then began to cross carefully.

The water was cold but not as bad as I thought it would be. It thought my legs would go numb and that I would not be able to continue. I did not want to fall as I had my camera in my pack and it would be difficult to get up, not to mention the joys of hypothermia. Reaching the other side felt like a grand victory but my troubles were not over yet. There was not pathway. I had to crawl along on my belly on top of the snow covered tree trunks in order to make progress. Soon I could progress on my hands and knees. I could not walk as there was no solid footing. I crawled over one last fallen tree and now I could walk properly. My boots were sloshing with their soggy contents, the cool water was pleasing actually. We easily reached the highway but could not find the car. Which way do we go now? We went to the left and around the bend our luck changed. Marek’s vehicle! Our adventure had come to an end. It was a great feeling of accomplishment and we were quite pleased with ourselves. We took a few photos and changed in the gravel road-side pull-off and made our way home.

Marek described the hike as being harder than usual and he has hiked in the Himalayas and narrowly escaped grizzly bear territory in Alaska. When I read a description of our hike on a hiking website it made me quite angry and made me wish that I could purchase firearms.

Cerise Creek is a relatively short hike through pristine forest … Elevation gain is only 305m. The trail takes you to the beautiful Keith Flavelle Hut, a memorial cabin near the headwaters of Cerise Creek. "Keith's Hut" … adds a welcoming rest spot, especially in colder weather.

Does this mountaineering Nazi write condo ads? He makes it sound like you’re about to walk around Stanley Park. Maybe he scales K-2 while sleepwalking but most mortals would find our hike very demanding. On the drive home I learned that Marek knows how to build snow caves so he was not worried about finding the cabin. I wish I had known that on the way up!

My apartment elevator is not working. I live on the top floor. I had to hike up six floors (seven actually) to reach my cozy home. I tried to get Kurt to try on the pack. He could barely lift it but thought it wasn’t too bad once he got it on.

I ravenously ate my home-cooked pasta meal and reflected on the joys of running water, a comfortable bed, a warm home, and a fridge full of food.

I had only been away only one night.

View Larger Map

(photos by Dean and Marek)

B-Monster @ Tom Lee Music

2010-04-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

Writing

2010-04-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Canadian Winter Olympic Pavilion Vancouver 2010

2010-04-15T21:25:00.001-07:00

2010-04-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Samsung Winter Olympic Pavilion Vancouver 2010

2010-04-15T21:19:00.001-07:00

2010-04-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

Pirate Punch

2010-04-01T21:05:00.001-07:00

For Sale

2010-03-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

I recently photographed my friends Olaf and Michelle's house for archival and real estate purposes. Click on a photo to make it larger.

2010-03-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

The Bloody Finger

2010-03-19T13:46:00.001-07:00

Here's a photo for my upcoming book project. It's a cocktail I invented called the Bloody Finger.

1oz Remy Martin Brandy
1oz Alize Red Passion Liquour
1oz Black Cherry Cranberry Juice

Fill a double old fashioned glass with large ice cubes. Add fluids. Stir with a bloody finger*. Serve and enjoy.

*optional

(PS That's the last freebe you get. You'll have to buy the book next time! ha ha)

Cheers

F#%$ me Over

2010-03-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

Cougar Juice

2010-03-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

Mai Tai

2010-03-19T13:36:00.001-07:00

Random Whistler Olympic Photos

2010-02-25T22:43:00.001-08:00

Whistler Olympics Men's Giant Slalom

2010-02-25T22:28:00.000-08:00

At the last minute my cousins had an extra ticket to the Men's Giant Slalom so I got to see it live! The Swiss won the gold and went nuts.

Vancouver Winter

2010-02-02T23:06:00.001-08:00

Recipe for Disaster

2010-01-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

Pizza Planet

2010-01-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

Pizza Planet and Fettucini Afraido are two recent photo shoot for an upcoming self-published book project that I am currently writing. The photos were shot using various formats including digital, 35mm black-and-white, 35mm colour negative and medium format reversal film.

Fettucini Afraido

2010-01-05T19:24:00.001-08:00

2010-01-05T19:22:00.001-08:00

Dini Linguini

2009-12-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

Raising the Bar: My Tiki Bar

2009-11-22T16:04:00.001-08:00

4783

2009-11-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

I drove 4783 km through the Pacific Northwest for work, that's about fifty hours of driving in thirteen days! Plus I worked five of those days so it was more like fifty hours of driving in eight days! In November too.

Be careful. The singer has potty mouth in this song ...

Medford Oregon

2009-11-07T16:08:00.001-08:00

Seaside Oregon

2009-11-05T17:19:00.001-08:00

I'm enjoying the moody fall weather here at a little town called Seaside on the Oregon coast. Angry clouds and sand blasting winds with the damp musky air give reason to the numerous drive through espresso shacks in a coastline that looks oddly Scottish.

I'm not sure what's going on today? I'm gonna circle November five on the calendar. Pretty much every bit of technology I have used today has crapped out at one point or another, oh shit, there goes the power again ... Almost lost all my work again ... Maybe there's some sort of freaky solar electromagnetic disturbance going on? But that would not explain why my toilet won't work. It also won't explain why the little mechanical focus switch on my camera stopped working. Besides these things, my camera flash stopped working, my iPod stopped working, the AC in one of the rooms I was shooting was fixed at eighty seven degrees and would not change. My electronic room key would not open my door. There was a complete power failure in my hotel and the restaurant next door and my trusty work laptop would not start-up. When it did start up it quickly crashed three times after being on for about ten minutes.

Maybe my hotel is on an ancient Indian burial ground? What to do. Time for dinner I guess. Maybe shark tacos again at Taco Shark? Or maybe some Snowshoes, taco meat and melted cheddar on potatoe skins, at Bigfoots Steakhouse?

Decisions, decisions.

2009-10-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Dubai

2009-10-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Dubai. Do buy. I flew home from Dubai with $75 worth of spices from Iran. At least that’s where I was told they were from. Who knows? Maybe there’s a Costco behind the Old Spice Souk? I don’t think so. The smell of the fresh ground cinnamon was enough to convince me otherwise. In the market the shopkeepers are salesmen who let you sample most of their fine wares; Fresh red peppercorns, soft and sweet; Whole dried figs that look unedible but are truly wonderful; The saffron is handled with care like fine jewelry.

Now I have all of the ground and unground spices that I need in order to make the ultimate curry and some memorable desserts. I stocked up on cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, saffron, dried red, green white and black peppercorns, tea, chocolate, nutmeg, turmeric, whole dried vanilla beans, coriander, and cayenne. I'm probably forgetting a few.

Speaking of cayenne, there’s no shortage of exotic race cars in these parts. On the road I’ve seen many Lamborghinis, Porches, Ferraris, Audis, BMWs and Mercedes.

Besides visiting the Old Souk I went skiing at the world’s largest shopping mall, The Mall of the Emirates. It was about $70 for two hours. They provide everything except a hat and gloves but I was too cheap to buy them so I went commando. I remember being on the chairlift and saying to myself, “This if F@#%ing crazy!” It was great to get a few turns in but after less than two hours I had had enough. I’ve never gone skiing in October so that was cool.

Since I was on the Middle East leg of my Trader Vic’s World Tour I went and investigated the one in the spectacular Jumeirah Madinat Hotel. Twice. The posh hotel has its own canal where the restaurant tables spill out onto the winding sidewalks. The moody Arabian themed hotel resembles an old souk with its labyrinth maze of shops and restaurants.

Trader Vic’s is a Polynesian themed Tiki restaurant that has been serving gourmet food and drinks since 1935. It’s owner is the inventor of the famous drink, the Mai Tai. It is only here that you can have a real one in its unadulterated form. I always sit at the bar and as usual I got along well with the bartender. He even gave me the exact recipe for two of their drinks, Trader Vic’s Navy Grog and a gin based drink called the Pogo Stick! This is quite the accomplishment as their bartending guide has long since been out of print and free copies cannot be found on the internet. Many of the recipes are still shrouded in secrecy. After a Mai Tai, a Tiki Puka Puka, and a Samoan fog cutter I was happy to exit without being a zombie. During my flight out of London I stocked up on rum so that I can try out my new stolen recipes with a bottle of 8 year old dark Bacardi and a potent 56% Navy rum. They don't call it grog for nothing.

Other stops in Dubai included the fun 360 degree club at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. It’s a circular open-air bar that is reached by a half-mile walkway that curves out onto the water. At the top of the hotel is another open-air bar where I had a drink called a Mosquito. It’s like the rum and mint based mojito but is made with Scotch and a touch of peach to go with the mint. Heavenly. It cost 70 Dirhams plus a 10 Dirham tip which comes to ... caluclating ... $20! Well, it sure was good.

A more impressive roof-top bar is at The One and only Royal Mirage in Jumeirah. Yes, that’s the real name of the hotel. This and the Jumeirah Madinat are two of the most impressive hotels I have ever seen in terms of interior design and architecture.

Dubai for me felt like a mix between LA and Vegas but with a touch of the tropics. It is more spread out than I expected. The Burj Al Arab, Dubai’s landmark and according to their marketing, the world’s only seven star hotel, was impressive but I thought it would be taller. You cannot just walk in there. If you are not a guest at the hotel you have to book in advance to eat in one of their restaurants.

I wanted to go to Hydropolis. It is (again) the world’s largest underwater hotel. The lobby and guest rooms are below sea level but like most major construction projects here has come to a halt when the value of oil crashed. I think Dubai’s national bird might be changed to the construction crane as they have 25% of the world’s supply here. Most are currently hibernating.

The Burj Dubai is still under construction and is rumoured to be (again) the world’s tallest building at 165 floors! I still don’t know what Burj means. One of the reasons I went to the roof-top bars was to get a view of the man-made islands that comprise The World, the Palm Jumeirah, and the Palm Deira but they are actually not visible from there. It is better to look at them using satellite view at Google Maps.

Another interesting aspect of the United Arab Emirates is that only about 30% of the people there are locals. The rest are foreigners that mostly work in the service, engineering, and banking industries. Most locals have high-paid government jobs where they easily earn as much as $10,000 per month! One my cab drivers joked that they don’t change tires here, they change cars. He did not laugh as he said this so I’m not sure if he was joking or not. They hand out a lot of radar camera speeding tickets here but if you’re a local then you'll probably have a friend who knows somebody in the transportation department so you can easily get them deleted.

I found the women wearing the traditional black dress with only their eyes veiled to be kind of scary. I thought there were Ninjas at my resort. It was funny to see one of them showing their ID to the person behind the check-in counter at the airport. “Yeah, it’s me. Can’t you tell?”

My trip was grueling and demanding. From day one it was like the photographic equivalent of the Amazing Race but I feel fortunate to have seen so many different areas of the Emirates and with so much variety and to have two days off being dazed off in Dubai was a special way to close it.

2009-10-20T13:01:00.001-07:00

Sunset Camel Ride through the Desert of Al Ain, UAE

2009-10-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

Trader Vic's - Al Ain, UAE

2009-10-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Kuwait City and Old Souq

2009-10-09T05:08:00.000-07:00

2009-10-09T05:06:00.000-07:00

Arabian Ruminations

2009-10-04T11:58:00.001-07:00

Arabian Ruminations

1) They have IKEA here. They sell all the same crap except for Swedish Meatballs.
2) Turkey bacon and beef bacon cannot replace real bacon.
3) Drinking in Kuwait is illegal. Mocktails are king. Coffee is a sport.
4) Top secret. Salalah in Oman has some of the best undiscovered scuba diving in the world.
5) If you are a local you are above the law.
6) Speeding is expected.
7) The other night I celebrated Oktoberfest in a Muslim country while listening to a live band playing Pink Floyd and ABBA.
8) Camel tastes pretty good actually.
9) Arabic coffee isn’t my cup of tea. Looks like tea too.
10) I keep thinking that the women wearing the black traditional dress are Ninjas.
11) It is funny when these women show somebody their ID. Yeah, it's me. Can't you tell?

Salalah, Oman

2009-09-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

After about a month of solid work and a stressful travel day I finally had a day off. My Hilton hotel in Salalah is kind of in the middle of nowhere on a beach in Oman. For a country that is mostly coastline, oddly, the hotel beach has a view of an industrial shipping port.

I started my day off with a booked tour of Eastern Salalah with it’s varied landscape, animals, and frankincense. My local guide took me to the Taqah castle and then to a place called Khor Rori which is the remains of an ancient and wealthy fort on a cliff-top facing the sea. Here frankincense, horses, and other commodities were exported four hundred years before the time of Christ.

Frankincense is basically hardened tree sap. When you cut the tree a milky white substance seeps out. If you come back a few weeks later there will be a large hardened and clear chunk of it. You can only do this to a tree about three times a year or you’ll kill it. Back in the day Frankincense was so expensive it was on par with gold! When it burns it has that Catholic Sunday mass smell. I hope I don’t get arrested when I arrive home. I bought a bag to bring back in a local market and it looks like crack. You are supposed to put a piece of frankincense on top of a hot coal and then it will burn, giving off that terrific smell. I got to touch and smell the sap from the tree and it was wonderful. There are different grades of frankincense. I bought some medicinal grade. My guide told me to put it in a bottle of water and then drink it first thing in the morning and it is supposed to cleanse the body of impurities.

At Khor Rori there was some ancient writing carved into one of the rocks and a I ran my finger over it. Somebody chisel those symbols about 2500 years ago and they have not been able to decipher the words.

We also went on a winding drive up through the mountains where I chased goats and a camel with my camera and explored a stream and a cave. We stopped along another stream near a massive Indian date tree where there were some local lads just chilling under the it on a blanket. My guide asked if we could join and they invited us to sit down. They offered me some food that they had cooked. On a large silver platter they passed me some rice mixed with a few vegetables. Somebody opened a can of tuna and put it on top. I was sipping my 7-UP and eating rice only with my hand, I ate a piece of meat that was mixed with the rice. “Is this lamb?” I asked. No, you’re eating camel. Wow! I tasted a lot like lamb and a bit like goat. I was lucky to have this little snack with the local boys who lived up in the mountains. It was a random event and because it was just my guide and I, that is what made it possible.

Back at the hotel I saw the Formula One race live from Singapore and had something to eat. Afterwards I went outside at dusk. I had a view of the Indian Ocean, coconut palm trees, the beach and the moon. I had strawberry flavoured Sheesha, also know as hubbly bubbly or Hookah in other countries (yes I was smoking!) with a glass of Australian red.

Not a bad day off. Not at all.

If I had a bit more rest I’m sure that my sense of humour and my writing would improve!

2009-09-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

2009-09-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Random Abu Dhabi

2009-09-24T09:11:00.001-07:00

2009-09-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

Emirates Palace

2009-09-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

Next door to the Hilton Abu Dhabi is the massive Emirates Palace. Inside the gold leaf interior are numerous restaurants, lounges and various art works on display. Outside are Lamborghinis. In the middle of the Palace is a cozy caviar and champagne bar. Iranian Beluga caviar will set you back $1000 for fifty grams. The Russian Sevruga is a steal at $435. You can wash this down with a bottle of Champagne that will cost you about $650. If you have a lot of guests there is a three litre bottle that goes for $3100! And of course, all prices are subject to a ten percent service charge and a six percent tourism fee.

Fujairah to Abu Dhabi

2009-09-24T08:10:00.000-07:00

Trader Vic's Abu Dhabi

2009-09-22T09:25:00.001-07:00

The Trader Vic's World Tour continues ...

Brauhaus Abi Dhabi

2009-09-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

Fun with beer.

Guilty Feet

2009-09-15T09:07:00.001-07:00

Guilty Feet

Ramadan is a holy month of fasting and prayer for Muslims and I’m in the thick of it. From sunrise to sunset they fast without food, water, and smoking. Not to mention nookie. Most of the restaurants are closed during this time and the buildings that are serving food are covered to avoid temptation or offense. Even drinking water in public is considered a grave offence and if you were to walk down the street with a chicken shawarma in your hand you could be arrested. You could also be arrested for dancing in public during this time. It reminds me of that awful George Michael song that they kept on playing the muzak version of in my last hotel, “I’m never gonna dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm”.

Once sunset hits it’s Iftar time. Muslims break their fast with a dinner at sundown so it’s best not to be on the roads as you may be run over by a local with low blood sugar on their race home to eat.

I know this is going to sound rude but every time I see an Arab in their white robe and traditional dress I think that they are wearing a Halloween costume. They all wear sandals. I am in a posh fashion area and they don’t sell designer Italian shoes, rather, designer leather sandals!

It is a very serious offense to be drunk in public at anytime and it is illegal for locals to drink! If you are a local and you want to drink you have to have a valid liquour permit. You cannot even be in possession of alcohol. I wonder what kind of test you have to pass in order to get that license? How do you study for that?

There I go again. I’ve just offended somebody for sure. Plus it’s during Ramadan and before Iftar. Way to go Deano. I might as well smoke a Sheesha on the corner and see what happens.

In this bland sobriety I managed to find myself a proper pint last night. Upon a recommendation I located the clandestine entrance of a pub in a hotel’s alleyway . Upon entrance I was transported to the UK. Foreigners were drinking and smoking in relaxed hedonistic abandon. I felt like I had slipped through a wormhole. It was my second drink in almost two weeks. Guinness is goodness.

Ramada to Ramadan

2009-09-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

One day you're in a broken down Ramada Inn in Texas. The next day you're in a beach resort during Ramadhan in the United Arab Emerites.

The heat here is serious. I change my shirt at least three times a day. It is 36 degrees celcius plus humidity here in Fujairah, UAE. Even at night.

I arrived late in the evening to the Dubai airport a few nights ago. Vinay, the driver from the hotel, and I stopped for a chicken shawarma en route, the first of many. Stops that is. We stopped for spicy tea. We stopped to look at carpets. We even stopped for a donkey. It was strolling along the highway divider, oblivious to the danger.

I went for a swim in the Indian Ocean. It was the warmest water I've swam in. It was like a warm bath, it's possible that the water was warmer than the air.

I've tried arabic coffee, turkish coffee, shisha, and Emereti food that is similar to Lebanese food, that is, like a combination of Greek food but with Indian spices.

2009-09-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Missin' the home Cookin'

2009-09-10T12:08:00.001-07:00

Free sodas all night

2009-09-05T13:18:00.001-07:00

Free sodas all night

Driving through Houston isn’t very relaxing even at the best of times but when I arrived late at night to the hotel I was supposed to photograph the next day I laughed to myself in my white sheet metal box, that is, my Kia rental car.

About four years ago I had photographed this hotel when it was a Ramada. It has recently changed ownership to a Travelodge. When I walked into the lobby I was absolutely certain that I had shot it before. I’ve never photographed the same hotel twice. If there is one thing I have learned about budget hotels in the United States it is this, never pay money to stay in a Ramanda. They are all dumps. The hotel was a dump last time and believe it or not it was even worse now. I was told that the new owner has five million dollars to renovate but he has not done a thing. The least he could do is clean the place. I’m not sure how this place could pass a basic inspection? The hotel hallways were not vacuumed and smelled like a wet dog. The elevator smelled like garam masala and my room smelled like the inside of a musky damp tent that has not been used in several years. It’s a good thing I brought along some incense to make things more bearable. I would have checked out and stayed someplace else but I had taken two flights and a bit of a drive to get here. All I wanted to do was sleep.

The sixth floor was mostly closed and had pieces of the ceiling lieing in the hallways. The pool which is “under renovations” had a toxic green hue about it. I made sure I stayed clear of it while photographing it. It’s not the kind of thing you want to fall into if you have any open sores, not that I have any open sores mind you. At least not any that I’m aware of.

After an honest days work my hotel contact asked me if I would like a soda. Everyday people in America are trying to feed me Coke. I asked if she had any bottle water. She looked at me and said, “That’s why you’re so thin.” That’s a first. I’ve never weighed this much before but in the States I am considered fit. We went up to the third floor to the vending machine and swung open the door of the machine. “Somebody has broken into all of the machines. Free soda’s all night if you like.” She passed me a bottled water and a couple low-calorie sports drinks. Thanks. It’s too bad that all four of the hotel’s ice machines don’t work.

Speaking of free stuff in the land of plenty, I was at a BF Chang’s restaurant yesterday (almost all restaurants in the United States are part of a chain) and I was offered a free beer; An American Bud light. No, but thank-you. I already have a glass of water. I'm gonna stick to my cold and frosty Shiner Bock. Tasty.

Checking out Lady Lex on the Beach

2009-08-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

After surfing in Texas (yes Texas!) I went on a tour of the USS Lexington in Corpus Christie. It’s a world war II aircraft carrier that is, for some odd reason, parked right on the beach. How relaxing. And, if you’re a lucky lady you can even get married on the ship. You and your sweetie could take a stroll and check out the POW exhibit. How romantic. I’m not sure why anyone would want to get married aboard a vessel that is named the Blue Ghost?

It is about the size of a cruise ship and walking through part of it reminded me of that but these boys didn’t have the beauties aboard like I did. I’m sure their food was better though. Walking along the exterior flight deck it was hard to imagine these tiny planes being shot like rubber bands off of the deck. Landing a plane on here would be a lot rougher than the padded 747’s I’m used to.

I am always amazed by how Americans celebrate their wars and get such a kick out of them. It bothers me the way they make the place seem like Disneyland or some cheesy Hollywood action movie. I had reservations about paying the twelve bucks to get in because I don’t want to support this sort of thing but exploring the place for me was kind of like peering at a car crash through your fingers; You don’t want to look but you just have to.

All of the time, education, talent, money, recourses and training that have gone into this massive death machine seems like such a waste. So what if the Japanese won the war? I’m sure the food would be a lot better in the United States right now. I don’t know, maybe it is necessary. Hitler was pretty badass.

Hmmm ... I think I'll head to Blackbeard's on the beach and contemplate this over a frozen lime margarita without salt and some Pirate's stew.

2009-08-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Shiner the Special Cosmos

2009-08-03T20:42:00.001-07:00

There’s one place in Texas that I have always wanted to go and I finally got the chance. Shiner. Shiner? What the hell’s in Shiner? Shiner is somewhere between Houston and San Antonio and, in my opinion, has the best micro-brewery in the United States. Shiner Bock is by far my favourite American beer, actually it’s the only American beer that I truly enjoy. It was founded by German and Czech immigrants so it tastes similar to the beers that I love from Germany and Scotland. The brewmaster’s name was Kosmos Spoetzl. Like pretzel. His name sounds like an evil genius character from an Austin Powers movie or the daily dinner special at a Bavarian restaurant. It was Saturday and the brewery was closed for tours but I still got four ice-cold free samples. Yummy.

A Moment brought to you by Mastercard (tm)

2009-07-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

$75 ticket.
$10 for parking.
$10 for crappy pizza and water.
3.5 hr drive each way.
3 hours standing on a cement floor and being sprayed with beer and various random fluids while dodging angry mosh-pitting males.
Cost of seeing Tool play live?
Priceless.

Houston Space Center

2009-07-25T14:58:00.001-07:00

Revenge of the Starkiller

2009-07-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Houston Space Center was a little bit disapointing. It was expensive and my trolly tour of Mission Control was canelled due to extreme weather. The rest of the center is more of a day-care than anything else but it did have an exhibit called, "The Cinema of George Lucas". On display was the first hand-written draft of Star Wars along with one of the first drafts of the screenplay. I read the pages and the notes. They are quite different than the final version and it was amazing to see that. The names of the films were different too, "Adventures of the Star Killer" and "Revenge of the Jedi". I am surprised that they still used chalk slates in the 1980's!

Also on display was the lunar lander and the actual space-suits that they used while on the moon. Unless of course you believed they faked it all. I think they really did land there but that some of the photos and film footage are fake. The radiation levels in space are unbelievable. Film is very fragile. I just don't see how it could survive in that environment. Anyways ...

I touched a moon rock. It felt like a black piece of granite bathroom tile.

Deep in the Heart

2009-07-20T21:35:00.001-07:00

Deep in the Heart

You are here
some sediment is normal
welcome to Texas
avoid poking eyes
no moleste
fresh to go
get up and joe
light will go on
freedom is here
sanitized for your protection
Jesus Christ is Lord
not a swear word
rock me sexy Jesus
these are things that I have read
deep in the heart

San Antonio Urban Landscape

2009-07-11T18:08:00.001-07:00

Deep in the Heart

2009-07-11T18:05:00.001-07:00

San Antonio, Texas.

Asian Invasion 2009

2009-06-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Here's my VRX work schedule for Asia in 2009.

April 7 to June 28, 2009

Vancouver

Seoul, Korea
Namhae, Korea
Gyeongju, Korea

Beijing, China
Hefei, China
Wuhan, China
Shanghai, China
Chongquing, China
Sanya, China

Hanoi, Vietnam
Mu Ne, Vietnam (holiday)
Nah Trang, Vietnam (holiday)
Haoni, Vietnam

Vancouver