Zaha Hadid

The colors in Central Park aren't quite at their peak, but there are a few fiery standouts.



An unusual standout these days in the park is the Chanel mobile exhibit designed by Zaha Hadid. She designs far out, fluid buildings, and not many of them are actually realized beyond scale models and drawings. This makes for great exhibits, such as the Gugg a few years ago, but it makes one hungry for the real thing. Below are some examples of her work:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/01/23/arts/20080123_HADID_SLIDESHOW_index.html

The art was very self-important, what was more interesting to me than the actual art was the way it was presented. Guests were given an MP3 player upon entry, and the timing set by the staff made it so that each visitor was staggered by 30 seconds throughout the exhibit. Zaha Hadid has a smoky, languid voice that lulled one into liking everything.

And of course, the best part was the actual building, and that was the only area where we were allowed to take pictures, so voila:

Dancing Water

Last night I was invited to a performance at the Chen Dance Center.

The evening started with interactive exhibits, including one with my favorite new instrument, the Chinese Singing Fountain bowl. Check out BenCSTJQ from Youtube’s demonstration of how it works, at around the 32 second mark you can see the water dancing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WByIUBMNrI

The Dance Center runs this particular Tea House performance asking the audience to imagine that they are living in the days before internet, texting, and “reliable” newspapers, and that the Tea House is THE place to get the scoop. To encourage this atmosphere, there were lots of refreshments, including in between the seats.



The most arresting dance was one where the artists had their hands shoved deep in their pockets, which seemed to impede their movements. i.e. they could not get the proper momentum to jump without their arms, and rising from the floor involved uncomfortable fits and twists. During the performance I kept wishing for them that they would only just lift their hands from their pockets so that they could perform better. But when they finally lifted their arms out of their hiding places, they were horrified by the sight of their spread-fingered hands and they ran off stage. Be careful of what you wish for, or what others wish for you?

Major Discoveries for the 3rd Week of October

Major Discoveries for the 3rd week of October

1) The sunroof is no longer my enemy now that I have short hair. No stray strands flying into my eyes and mouth.

2) I'm fine at cooking, haven't forgotten much. But I still haven't learned how to plan my cooking- stuff’s already going in the freezer and I’m only a week out with the cooking plan.

3) I cannot surf stuff over 5 or 6 feet. My board will remind me of this if I try and venture into water that big by clobbering me on my chin. (She could have just told me instead of hitting me.)

4) The rainy season in Bali is more than just a 15-minute afternoon shower, but I've heard there are ways of moving around the island to avoid the rain, and that the waves'll be less jammed because of it.

5) I work best with peer pressure- a la teenagers. Best to find other people cranking out stuff on their computers to compel me to do the same.

Is this a minor point or a showstopper?

This morning I started reading my Dad's hand me down 2003 Edition of the Let's Go© Travel Guide to Southeast Asia. Just trying to get tidbits here and there and familiar with the names of things.

Is it a bad sign that on the 1st page it says "...in Bali, the rains last from November to May"? What kind of rains are we talking here? 15 minute afternoon showers, or the Forrest Gump-like depiction of the rainy season?

Re-harnessing cooking is tougher than harnessing waves

The cooking adventure, it turns out, is not all about just re-learning how to cook. It's about re-learning how to cook in a galley kitchen where ingredients/leftovers need to fit in a tiny dorm fridge.

My brother can size up a car trunk, and somehow fit impossible amounts of gear inside on the 1st try, clown-car style. Perhaps I'll be able to call up some of our shared genetic material to do the same with my fridge one day?

Long Beach was crisp and sunny (not crispy sunny, but autumn crisp and sunny), choppy, and full of new people in the water. Including me...

A new start

My group was eliminated today, the casualty of people popping open less soda. You can imagine that this has thrown me for a loop because I really liked my (somewhat new) department and (new & old) colleagues, but I'm lucky in that the axing looks like it will open a couple of doors/windows/minds.

Here I'll document figuring out how to live out my daydream: an awe-inspiring trip to Asia.

In fact, this is going to be the place where I write about future awe-inspiring trips of all sizes. Tomorrow I'll go surfing on Long Beach (a 40 min trip away), and I'll go to the grocery store (5 min away). Which is braver- harnessing big waves or re-harnessing my ability to cook after a 5 year hiatus?