While in London and on the hunt for Banksy stencils, I picked up his recent book "wall and piece". This would be a good place to start if your interested in Banksy's art.
Check out www.banksy.co.uk to learn more about Banksy.
Cheers,
JF
Monday, July 17, 2006
Afterthoughts: Banksy
I took the opportunity to hunt down some of Banksy's pieces and managed to find 4 of his stencils around the Hoxton area. Pictures of these four and shots of other impressive graffiti from London can soon be found on the flickr site www.flickr.com/photos/2funkd . The interesting thing about Banksy's art is that each piece tends to speak to me personally but in a unique way every time. This reaction to Banksy's art is very common to those who live in the area, and I know many people who say they felt the same way. It's part of what makes his art so intriguing and sought after.
While in London and on the hunt for Banksy stencils, I picked up his recent book "wall and piece". This would be a good place to start if your interested in Banksy's art.
Check out www.banksy.co.uk to learn more about Banksy.
Cheers,
JF
While in London and on the hunt for Banksy stencils, I picked up his recent book "wall and piece". This would be a good place to start if your interested in Banksy's art.
Check out www.banksy.co.uk to learn more about Banksy.
Cheers,
JF
Afterthoughts: London
Earl's court district is my new home away from home away from home.
Nestled between a main street, tube station, expo centre and vast residential area is a small narrow haven for the backpacker.
A dozen or so cheap hotels line the charming road and ours, the Rasool court hotel, looks particularily ordinary.
I for one loved it though, probably due to the fact that - unlike my sister - I was put on the second highest floor and was therefore spared the morale-crushing view of a short, probably peed-on wall and garbage ridden floor, as well as the complimentary sounds and smells of the dated (and possibly disfunctional) sewage system that plagues the basement floor (the temporary home of my travelling companions besides my dad).
In the morning was the "continental breakfast". Nothing to complain about here. In any case, the main reason I like so called "backpacker style" accomodation (we were not, by the way, travelling lightly, me bringing my guitar and all) is that it motivates you to get out early, something I made it a point to do.
As for the rest of London, it is a city second to none. Absolutely impressive in so many ways. Firstly, though central London is currently going through a phase of "cleaning up the streets", a controvertial concept that includes everything from aggressively erasing graffiti to flooding literally every street in Central London with CCTV cameras, the creative spirit of London is stronger than ever.
Certain individuals such as the notorious U.K. stencil artist Banksy, are taking the fight to the street with provocative, political stencil art that stand out from the crowd.
More on Banksy and more still coming soon,
JF
Nestled between a main street, tube station, expo centre and vast residential area is a small narrow haven for the backpacker.
A dozen or so cheap hotels line the charming road and ours, the Rasool court hotel, looks particularily ordinary.
I for one loved it though, probably due to the fact that - unlike my sister - I was put on the second highest floor and was therefore spared the morale-crushing view of a short, probably peed-on wall and garbage ridden floor, as well as the complimentary sounds and smells of the dated (and possibly disfunctional) sewage system that plagues the basement floor (the temporary home of my travelling companions besides my dad).
In the morning was the "continental breakfast". Nothing to complain about here. In any case, the main reason I like so called "backpacker style" accomodation (we were not, by the way, travelling lightly, me bringing my guitar and all) is that it motivates you to get out early, something I made it a point to do.
As for the rest of London, it is a city second to none. Absolutely impressive in so many ways. Firstly, though central London is currently going through a phase of "cleaning up the streets", a controvertial concept that includes everything from aggressively erasing graffiti to flooding literally every street in Central London with CCTV cameras, the creative spirit of London is stronger than ever.
Certain individuals such as the notorious U.K. stencil artist Banksy, are taking the fight to the street with provocative, political stencil art that stand out from the crowd.
More on Banksy and more still coming soon,
JF
Thursday, July 13, 2006
July 13th - Aboard the Flying Scottsman
Well, almost anyway.
Today I board the flying Scottsman. And I will stay that way for a total of some 6 and a half hours armed with nothing but a book of blank paper and a pencil.
It's a great time to be traveling 'cuz coincidentally many of my friends are doing the same, so I'm not missing out on much back home. One of my friends, the notorious 'half-asian-balled-guy' who's name I wont bother putting here, is currently in the land of the rising Yen, and could find nothing better to email me back with than this:
''Hi everybody,
Its me from Japan typing on a shitty japanese keyboard. So far Ive been jet lagged 14 hours... and slept. Right now its 9:19 AM. I have many plans including going to Disneyland, Joypolis (supposed to be JoyPalace major japanese typo) and eating noodles and dumplings in the boiling humidity.
I found a cool ad that is in the phillipines I must share.
"ITS SUMMER TIME!
BRING YOUR CHILDREN TO THE GARMA SPECIALTY CLINIC FOR CIRCUMSISION. CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALL AGES WELCOME. PAINLESS. BLOODLESS. GERMAN CUT."
So if you have nothing better to do but get your penis circumsised THIS IS FOR YOU!''
I laughed and cried.
Also, last night I was informed by one of my good, Europe-bound friends that he supposedly left me a letter in a ''pomegranate tree'' in the Jewish museum of Berlin.
Until next time,
JF
Today I board the flying Scottsman. And I will stay that way for a total of some 6 and a half hours armed with nothing but a book of blank paper and a pencil.
It's a great time to be traveling 'cuz coincidentally many of my friends are doing the same, so I'm not missing out on much back home. One of my friends, the notorious 'half-asian-balled-guy' who's name I wont bother putting here, is currently in the land of the rising Yen, and could find nothing better to email me back with than this:
''Hi everybody,
Its me from Japan typing on a shitty japanese keyboard. So far Ive been jet lagged 14 hours... and slept. Right now its 9:19 AM. I have many plans including going to Disneyland, Joypolis (supposed to be JoyPalace major japanese typo) and eating noodles and dumplings in the boiling humidity.
I found a cool ad that is in the phillipines I must share.
"ITS SUMMER TIME!
BRING YOUR CHILDREN TO THE GARMA SPECIALTY CLINIC FOR CIRCUMSISION. CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALL AGES WELCOME. PAINLESS. BLOODLESS. GERMAN CUT."
So if you have nothing better to do but get your penis circumsised THIS IS FOR YOU!''
I laughed and cried.
Also, last night I was informed by one of my good, Europe-bound friends that he supposedly left me a letter in a ''pomegranate tree'' in the Jewish museum of Berlin.
Until next time,
JF
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Greetings from Europe
Hello all,
Welcome to my new blog,
For now I will be using this as a travel journal, so for whoever it may concern the following posts are going to basically be dealing with my ramblings about various places that I am currently travelling to in Europe. I started this blog for the sole reason that it was a hell of a lot easier than writing in a journal, and alot less antisocial seeing as the only time I can get access to a computer is in the hotel when I'm not out doing stuff. That being said, I hope you enjoy my posts, and if not, I hope I do or else this really will be a bloody waste of time now wont it?
One thing you shote note, however (and by note, I mean remember - Put that pen down you bloody twat)
is that when I mark titles with a date followed by a "-" followed by the actual title, and the date in the title does not match the date at the bottom of the post, don't make anything of it. I publish most of these posts a little while after they actually happen so I have time to think about it before I write, instead of just writing down incoherent notes only comprehensable to myself and a few other people with too much time on their hands. Anyway, enough of the P.A. I have a plane to catch =)
Cheers,
JF
Welcome to my new blog,
For now I will be using this as a travel journal, so for whoever it may concern the following posts are going to basically be dealing with my ramblings about various places that I am currently travelling to in Europe. I started this blog for the sole reason that it was a hell of a lot easier than writing in a journal, and alot less antisocial seeing as the only time I can get access to a computer is in the hotel when I'm not out doing stuff. That being said, I hope you enjoy my posts, and if not, I hope I do or else this really will be a bloody waste of time now wont it?
One thing you shote note, however (and by note, I mean remember - Put that pen down you bloody twat)
is that when I mark titles with a date followed by a "-" followed by the actual title, and the date in the title does not match the date at the bottom of the post, don't make anything of it. I publish most of these posts a little while after they actually happen so I have time to think about it before I write, instead of just writing down incoherent notes only comprehensable to myself and a few other people with too much time on their hands. Anyway, enough of the P.A. I have a plane to catch =)
Cheers,
JF
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