Skip to content

Monthly Archives: February 2009

2/21 – 2/25/09

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

This week as a series of sketchy self-portraits: • Me, in a wretched hovel in SE Minneapolis for the Zeppelin-esque anthems of Knife World and all-out aural assault of Gay Witch Abortion, house-party style. Thanks to the hosts, but man: I’ve seen squatters who do more housekeeping than that. • Me, meandering through the inflated [...]

Filed in Uncategorized | | Comments Off

Ice Capades

Monday, February 16, 2009

The snow’s melting here, revealing last year’s litter in gritty bas relief. The pretty part of the season may have passed, but we were all over it. In the -10° range, you don’t linger long on the icy crust around Lake Superior. Polar explorer #1 Lucas Alm demonstrates the weakness of gravity at these temperatures. [...]

Filed in family, Johanna, Outdoors, Travel | | Comments Off

Satisfaction

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A two-day business trip to Seattle has left me wistful. 10 years ago I moved away feeling only marginally more at home in the city than I had as a college Freshman in 1993. But from the vantage of my posh hotel room (with a view of the Space Needle, for kicks), in the pleasant [...]

Filed in Uncategorized | | Comments Off

GUIZHOU: China’s Grim City

Monday, February 2, 2009

I now resume Part 3 of my China travelogue.  Earlier entries here and here. Despite all I’d read about exploding mega-cities and hyper-speed industrialization, I somehow expected China’s rate of cultural evolution to be slow. But badges of Western consumerism—good hair, tight denim, SUVs, “it” bags—far outnumbered the Mao-jacketed peasants of my naive imagination. Beijing [...]

Filed in Travel | | Comments (2)