December 2011
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The merge of traditional Mexican folk images with modern street art make Pilsen a contemporary gallery. On a nondescript doorway off of 18th street, I witnessed a work of an iconic image in a new form, the Guadalupe de Pilsen. She was veiled, standing in an illuminating light, with palms together and a smile, blessing me and all who passed-
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sailing on a sea of possibility, over a mass of chance open to infinite alternatives. a scenario, where introductions and conclusions are uncertain, subject to the currents and thrashing of the waves, exertions of agency are futile. and so, enjoy the drift, set your sails to catch the winds of life and let it wash you up on a shore of a new novel world.
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someone give me a deadline
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sometimes, when I hear a song, and it’s the right song at the right time, everything else slips away, leaving nothing but bliss and the echo inside my mind, reverberating audio waves of happiness and everything is alright-
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Highs & Lows - The Shining Path →
History lives in Richmond. As the South succeeded and Jefferson Davis assumed the Presidency of the Confederacy, Richmond was a capitol. The gem of the South. An oasis of elites. Yet the South was doomed from the outset, both militarily and righteously. And with it, so was Richmond’s status. The city has seen its economic and cultural power sap to Atlanta and Charlotte. Indeed, anything...
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Washington DC is a hype. You can feel power pulsating throughout the city, radiating collectively from graying men in identical suits. The capitol makes a convincing seat of the empire. Successions of monumental, neoclassical buildings upon noble lawns suggest to me that I am small in contrast to the history of the country and its institutions. I am humbled but inspired.
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In the hills of West Virginia, just as the Appalachian Mountains grow bolder, exists is a spiritual community named New Virndaban. This is the land of Krshna Consciousness, of simple living and high thinking, where devotees live in pure service to Krshna and the celebrated manifestation in human form of Phraphubada. The hundred acres is sacred land, being held but the Natives, then the Buddhists,...
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The entrance to Pittsburgh was majestic. A long tunnel through a massive mountain opens up into a dramatic panorama of a great river on which the skyline of the Iron City rests. The downtown, quite vertical and legitimate, rises from atop a peninsula much like Manhattan. Handsome, classical buildings coexist with glass and steel towers but the styles are largely separated- I was struck by both...
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Unlike previous mornings, the sun was present and visible in the sky when I awoke. What had been a gloomy, drab overcast cleared into an empty ocean dominated by a single fireball-
The Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center was a modest and humble building. I walked in and was immediately greeted by a gentleman in a dusty suit with a sizeable belly. Behind him was sturdy young man...
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In contrast to the dim lights of Detroit, Columbus shone bright with optimism. The seat of Ohio state power coupled with concentrated urban planning project Columbus as attractive and comfortable. The handsome Ohio State Capitol building is surrounded by historic buildings including the Columbus Dispatch along with more modern but uninspiring skyscrapers. To the north on High St. is the cultural...
I had to reorganize the entire trip! I would have to leave Canada for last, in the spring, after I had attempted to summon the necessary legal documents in Chicago. I had planned to drive until Montreal, then turn south through Boston, New York and Philadelphia, but these would have to wait as well. I would have to reorient toward the southeast, with Washington DC as the easternmost point on this...
I was obviously disappointed in the decision. I was going to Canada to see friends I had meet in Canada on three previous trips to Toronto and Montreal. I would have to return to Chicago to begin a challenging process of obtaining certain records, which can yield uncertain results. I wont be cleared to enter Canada until the summer of 2013, a decade from my arrest for skateboarding at the age of...
I was the only person subject to special inspection throughout the hour or soon I was at the border- I watched the other cars pull out of the border area with ease. A hotel and casino were visible across the street- A female Canadian Immigration agent was looking intently at the computer screen. She has had dark hair and pale skin, which I am confident would be cold to the touch- After disappear...
Two new Canadian Immigration agents meet me there and we go through the same interview again. They open the van- I have nothing to hide except my bowl so I am calm and cooperative. “Why the bike?” I like to bike. “And why the bed? In emergencies I sleep there. One Canadian Immigration agent finds the protest sign I have with me that says, “JAIL CORPORATE CROOKS”. “Are you here to PROTEST?!” No...
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I knew I would have difficulty crossing into Canada via private vehicle. If one is flying into Canada, or even crossing with a bus, the process usually goes smoothly. I know am subject to searches in these situations but I was not prepared for the following…
I left Detroit, via the Tunnel that goes beneath the river to Windsor- I arrive at the Canadian Immigration agents booth in an optimistic...
There are two narratives regarding Detroit. The overarching theme suggests that the Motor City is a decrepit ghost town, populated by noble yet abandoned buildings dressed in graffiti. A city that has lost its soul. Jack White, a Detroit native since departed, shrieked in his premier album:
“The big three killed my baby/ no money in my hands again/
my stick shift hands are swollen/ yeah yeah...
Café du Marquis is inspired by the medieval. I suggests a spot where the hundreds of years ago in France, the petit-bourgeoisie would meet to discuss trade, and in the evening, a rougher crowd would enter and drink merrily to hide their sorrows-