Guatemalan Monkey

Beware of the Fruit Throwing Monkey

 If you see this monkey, he should be treated as armed and dangerous. Not only would he and his friends not pose in blissful solitude for a snapshot – leaving me with this and  few even more blurred and unusable shots mostly of monkey butt (yes, Bevis, I said monkey butt) – but they proceeded to rain down hot green death in the form of little unripe fruits. That might sound overly dramatic, but try getting a shot to the noggin with one of those things. 

 

 

The Porn Nexus of the Universe?

The Center of the Pornographic Universe?

I took this photo in Budapest, Hungary last year. What is interesting, and what you must keep in mind when viewing it, is that the sign on the right side of the shot was rotating 360-degrees. Yes, it was a sign pointing both ways and rotating completely around announcing porn shops. In essence, the sign, perhaps quite correctly, was saying that wherever one goes from that point on the planet, or perhaps in the universe - there will be porn.

This is not the first time that Hungary has been attributed with being the mythical center of the porn universe. It is, after all, a country with no shortage of gorgeous women, but, like many countries, a marked shortage of jobs of the high wage variety. 

However, I had always attributed the designation of “center of the porn universe” to a running gag gone awry, but, seeing this sign, I’ll let you be the judge.  [But before you get too judgemental, note that the sign uses the English spelling of "Sex Shop" and not the Hungarian spelling /language of "Szex Bolt". I don't know what this says about my own culture. In terms of a blood analogy, if Hungary is the universal donor, America must be the universal recipient. (My assumption being that the Brits usually spell the word for store "shoppes", but maybe they are pervs too.)]

The Children of Valladolid

 

Father - Son Duo of Roving Musicians

Little Girl Stuck in Traffic

Both of these photos were taken over the summer in Valladolid, Mexico. The first is a traveling duo of musicians. I don’t know that they were father and son, but assumed they were. The boy played guitar and sang, and the man played the accordian. The kid was quite a crooner for his size. Those having traveled to Mexico will be familiar with the  traveling musician concept. Rather than a band or musician being hired by the restaurant, it is much more common that these free agents work their way down the street working for tips. It is a well-established symbiosis throughout Mexico. This group had a hook with the kid. It would be interesting to determine how much bigger their take was than the typical adult musician or group. I think pretty much everyone in the restaurant this afternoon gave up some cash, whereas I would be surprised if half of people did for other musicians I saw.

The girl’s parents were stuck in traffic, and she was keeping her self amused. If she could play so much as a tamborine, that duo could probably capitalize on her adorableness to double their take.

Tokyo in the Rain

Kabuki-cho on a Rainy Afternoon

There’s nothing so dismal and depressing as Tokyo on a rainy afternoon. There is a tug of war between the neon and bright red and yellow signage that is designed to draw the eye and the elements which make one want to hang one’s head in dejection. The struggle between man and nature, or, for that matter, between man and his nature is made clear.

 

Tokyo on a rainy night is a different matter. At night the interesting people come out, and the eery glow of colored lights on rain slick streets lends a romance to the place. A rainy Tokyo night is the stuff of Blade Runner. It is futuristic, fatalistic, and surreal.  

 

Excuse Me Sir, but Your Pecker is Showing

Is that a bird’s beak, or are you just happy to see me?

Always Wear A Helmet: Motorcycle Safety in the Third World

Motorcycle Safety

If you’ve never been to the developing world, you might be inclined to chastise the dad shown above for reckless endangerment. On the other hand, after spending a little time traveling the world, one might be more likely to give him a “Father of the Year” award. He is, after all, setting a good example by wearing a helmet. (Hell, he might just survive crash over 20 miles an hour – which is more than can be said for his kids.) Second, he is having his children wear helmets. Granted the helmets in question are of symbolic value only (particularly the adult hard hat that could be upgraded to a saucepan), but it could prevent the two  from bumping their heads on their father’s helmet, passing out, and falling into the street. The reason I have this relatively tame photo instead of a more stirring example of parental failure, I kid you not,  is because the dad whose wife was on the back of the motorcycle with her two infants held sloppily in her arms like sacks of flour was just going too damn fast.

Ulan Bator City Center

Town Square Ulan Bator

For a city of only about 1 million, Ulan Bator (alt sp. Ulaanbaatar) seems to be active almost any time day or night. I was there on a brief conference trip of less than three full days in the summer of 2007. As my body never adjusted to the time difference, I had occasion to walk down the main drag though town at odd hours, but was never alone on the sidewalk. There were quite a number of little stores that were open 24 hours a day, which seemed oddly out-of-place and inconsistent with a town this size.

Trabant

Trabant in Budapest

There is a saying that “an ass is a horse designed by a committee.” A Trabant is a car designed under central planning. Yet a few are still around. Many in macked-out versions like the one shown here. Contrary to the myth that they were made out of cardboard, their bodies were really made of a material that included, among  other things,  fibers not unlike those that appear in some paper products. I don’t know if they went fast enough to get in any kind of accident that might cause them to burst into flame, but clearly the bodies were not water soluble.

 

Would the Communist car-makers turn over in their graves to see that a number of their remaining product, like this one, are essentially being used as signage to fuel a feeding frenzy of capitalism?

Pimped-out East German Ride

Vorosmarty Square Christmas Market

Budapest Christmas Market

 This photo was taken on a dreary rainy mid-day on a weekday during the holiday season last year. This is evidenced by the fact that the square is nearly empty. On weekends and evenings this square is packed to the gills with people looking for unique Christmas gifts or to have some fried brats or langos. While there is a lot of repetition among the kiosks, there are some unique gifts, and there is even a blacksmith that makes wrought-iron widget to specs.

Seven Sages Sitting in a Boat

Sculpture near Shrine Entrance

I took this photo at a shrine entrance somewhere in the Roppongi area of Tokyo. As I recall, it was quite near the Metro exit, but, I don’t really remember or know anything about the sculpture itself. However, it does strike me as a set-up for a funny but needlessly complicated joke. i.e. “Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius, and a few others are sitting in a boat, and Buddha says…” Sadly, I am uncertain about the Lao Tzu and Confucius part because all Chinese guys with beards look the same to me. The one exception is the warrior over the Buddha’s right shoulder that I imagine to be General Tso, of  tasty morsel of chicken fame, but I could be wrong there as well. I have induced one other piece of information from the happy look on Buddha’s face contrasted with the serious demeanor of the others, I think Buddha must have just let one rip. I’m also a little creeped out by the guy with the small farm animal.

At any rate, if you actually know the real story behind the statue, or have a good joke – either way – I would love to hear it.