Monstrous Media!

The last three weeks were spent deep within the heart of Kampuchea, formerly known as the Angkor Empire, currently known as Cambodia. I was fortunate enough to be invited for a visit by one of the finest people on earth, Alexandra E. Robbins, currently director of a supplementary school for underprivileged Khmer youth called Aziza’s Place, located in Phnom Penh.

Ali was gracious enough to take immense amounts of time off from her demanding job to show me around and ween me slowly into to the mayhem that Southeast Asia can appear to be. Above is Sambo, a resident elephant that lives at the foot of Wat Phnom, a small hilltop pagoda located in central Phnom Penh. Elephants are a rarity outside of the tourist heavy areas where onlookers can often hand-feed the animals bananas or go for a quick ride by paying a nominal fee. We met Sambo within the first few days of my visit.

After not too long Ali let go of my bicycle seat and set me loose in a few of Phnom Penh’s street markets. Often these markets will occupy entire city blocks and can be smelled a few blocks away as well. The selling of all things imaginable takes place here. From raw meats to pirated software to secondhand clothing to motorcycle parts, you can find just about anything you need in these markets if you can handle the heat and the stench. This woman was poised to slice while attending to her fly-ridden beef cuts in her business hammock.

One afternoon we took off on or bicycles to cross the Mekong river by ferry to see what we could find on the side opposite the city. It’s amazing how quickly Cambodia becomes rural when you venture a few kilometers away. We were met by dirt roads and bamboo huts, awkward stares and the unabated shouts of “hello!” from local children prodding us white folks to see if they could get a reactionary “hello” in response. A few random turns down skinny roads and we stumbled on some beautiful pagodas riddled with curious monks. Above is a naga and a dry-brushed lion/dragon capping the banister of one of these pagodas.

Being involved with a super cool NGO means you have lots of super cool NGO buddies; as is the case with Ali. Both Ali and I were invited to join her friend who works for Engineers Without Borders on a business trip out to the countryside. Engineers Without Borders works with a Khmer community that has built a floating village along the banks of a large lake in central Cambodia. The houses are designed to shift locations as the lake swells and recedes during the wet and dry seasons, but the houses themelves can often be shotty and unstable. The inhabitants use the lake as their livelihood; fishing and bathing in the lake as well as pooping and peeing in it. Engineers Without Borders has begun to implement latrines to help rectify this last fact and we went along to talk to the new latrine owners to gauge overall effectiveness in the first stages of this project.

Since the village is entirely floating the only way to get around is one boats like the one pictured here. We were ferried around to about five households to interrogate the residents. The response to the new way of going number 1 and number 2 was overwhelmingly positive. While this may be true, the unfortunate fact is that the actual use of the toilets isn’t the problem, it’s trying to explain to the community why they actually need to stop shitting in the lake that feeds them that is the true obstacle. The girls in the background here were attending a floating school and laughing at my beard as we passed.

To satisfy my lust for coastline, Ali took me southwards to get in some beach time. After spending one night in the coastal town of Kep we hopped on a little ferry to the Southeast Asian paradise called Rabbit Island. Here we laid suspended in hammocks dining on fresh seafood and coconut milkshakes for the better portion of a day. It broke my heart to leave this postcard behind but we had some temples to see.

After a 11 hour bumpy bus ride north we arrived in Siem Reap, a lovely green touristy town and portal to the ancient temples of the Angkor city complex. We took 3 days to explore the entire complex by bike. This allowed us to take full advantage of the Cambodia approach to the conservation of relics, which is that there is none. You have free reign to do as you wish in these epically beautiful ancient temples, which for me meant pretending to be Indiana Jones hanging out with Laura Croft in the Shrine of the Golden Monkey. This is one of the four gateways that leads into Angkor Thom being guarded by an obese monkey.

Getting lost in these mazes was truly unique. I mean, you could go anywhere, climb on anything and just freak out. Although this is generally a densely touristed area we did well at avoiding the crowds and sticking to some of the less frequented temples which often held secrets like this amazing doorway being swallowed by the root system of this tree. This whole experience was something else, like some real Legends of the Hidden Temple shit.

After a week of pure travel we had to book it back to Phnom Penh so Ali could get some things done and I could decompress. My last touristy visit was to Toul Sleng, the notorious torture prison operated by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970′s. This haunting building is situated right in the center of Phnom Penh still surrounded by shops and residences as well as a tangled net of barbed wire. The interactivity at Toul Sleng is very Cambodian, similar to Angkor City, very hands on. You are free to walk in and out of the torture cells, handle the shackles and torture instruments and gaze into the eyes of the mutilated victims sparsely pictured throughout the halls. Cambodia’s history is fucked. If you don’t know anything about it, look into it. It’ll blow your mind.

On a lighter note here’s a hilarious example of a failed translation effort. To put it in context this sign is advertising a “Dr. Fish” massage which essentially entails putting your feet in a tank of flesh eating fish who nibble the dead skin off of your extremities. The sign claims that the Dr. Fish massage is better than a “people massage”… and only 8 metres away!

Obviously, this post relfects just a small fraction of my trip. Cambodia blew my mind. From seeing situations so destitute and poverty so extreme that my brain couldn’t have even conjured up the reality I was witnessing to being deeply immersed in a culture so radically different to anything I’m used to I think I can confidently say that I’ve received a healthy dose of the brainfuck I was after. My whistle is wet and I will be back.

Oh, and I scored some really awesome Khmer psyche rock from the late 60′s.. check it out.

Ros Sereysothea – Brokenhearted

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Pan Ron – Why Follow Me

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Oi! Dear indie movie hungry awesomeness lovers, check it out: My friend’s friend’s friend has been working on this delightfully sloppy sillyfest thriller for the last god knows when and is now making festival circuits with it. As awesomeness has it, it’ll be screening at the Portland Underground Film Festival on June 13th. It only cost a puny six bucks and the director will be there. You can tell him Baylen Forcier made you go if you’re unsatisfied for some ungodly reason… I mean, watch the teaser. Times and tickets here.

View Victory Lap in a larger map

Here I go.

This week I’ve had the pleasure of spending a healthy amount of time with one of Wellington’s secret magical art jewels. Nicola Van Weersel, a local creative maven, is bursting at the seems with the kind of art stuff that every cultured city desires and only the finest humans possess. Ever since she acknowledged the disturbing absence of carelessness in her world Van Weersel has been on a one-woman quest to revive the inner child in all of us.

This crusade began nearly two years ago when she began making stuffed toys in a recurring patterned theme. Since, her rats have become increasingly larger and exponentially more psychedelic. She uses a range of materials, dyes, and accessories to make each toy unique in its own right.

Along with her sewing machine Nicola also dons a frequent brush. Her paintings are like epic scenes of creation acted out by single-celled microorganisms and looked at through a saturation filter. They tell stories of a non-descript and incomprehensible nature. Much like her toys, her paintings leave much to the imagination, again begging out the inner children within us.

Have a look at more of Van Weersel’s work on her Myspace or her CarbonMade

Dude. Why the fuck isn’t Jeffrey Jerusalem world famous yet? It can’t be just me who sees that his shit is untouchable… I’m not just blowing smoke here guys. Jeff’s first release, Grimace, was a glitchcore disco hybrid that made your average I’m-too-cool-to-dance bro go out and buy a tambourine with LEDs all over it and shake it like he was trying to ward off electronic demons. In short, it ruled. Now he’s returned to us with a whole host of freshy bangers, most of which, however, will seem familiar to some of you. The tracks that appear on Jerusalem’s second release, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, are all remixes of Portland artist’s tracks. Jeff has dug in to the soul of each one of these Portland gems and extracted the electronic nervous system within. Each track varies incredible from one to the next. His mix of Penguin Prison’s A Funny Thing is a soulful disco ballad as seen trough the eyes of Daft Punk. Jeff takes on All God’s Children Can Dance by Portland dirty dance thieves, Guidance Counselor and transforms it into the glitchiest most awesome freak out fest since The Mockery off of ‘Grimace’. If you like the over-produced chopped and served glitch as much as I do you’ll also love his cut of Atole’s Strike Zone. Check ‘em out below.

So yeah, go see Jeff play at your earliest convenience (most likely when he gets back from touring Europe alongside LCD Soundsystem playing percussion for supporting act, YACHT) cause next time his solo show might be sold out. Holler.

Buy this record from LaserCave please.

Jeffrey Jerusalem – All God’s Children Can Dance (Guidance Counselor)

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Jeffrey Jerusalem – Strike Zone (Atole)

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Things have been heating up on the homefront recently and I sure as hell can feel the heat from here (‘here’ being New Zealand the ‘homefront’ being Portland, OR). See, Portland’s beloved culture perpetuators, Tender Loving Empire, is about to grow up. They’ve recently gotten ahold of a new space into which they plan to move their headquarters. The new space, I’m told, is far larger and allows for much more physical growth as well as productive growth. There will be a new gallery space, a place for live performances, all the goodies of the old NW shop, and more smiles than you can fit in a school bus. Actually, the changes are insurmountable and will surely aid the inevitable world domination for which TLE has plans.

This is a shot of the new storefront located right in Portland’s sweet spot, 412 SW 10th Avenue, super close to Powell’s and all that downtowny goodness. I love the design on this poster.

The above video features all the artists who’re contributing to the murals that will appear on the interior of the new space. There is so much talent gushing out of this video and onto the walls… can’t wait til it’s done.

And lastly here’s a flyer I just made showcase the 3rd annual TLE birthday party. This show, in the past, has consistently been one of the best shows of the each year since it’s inception. For those of you around, be sure to check it out and celebrate how far this tiny operation has come.

Keep an eye out for TLE in the coming years, dudes. We’re gonna be huge.

In New Zealand, apple picking season begins in late February. Amongst the employed are locals, seasoned veterans, and transient travelers. I fall into the latter category. It is truly the ideal job for a peripatetic soul such as myself; temporary work, not too laborious, lucrative, and in many respects, fun.

This is how my day usually looks.

This is how I will look when I’m 46.

My day starts just before sunrise. This was an early morning rainbow I woke up to a few days ago. I have been staying in a shed that is owned by my orchard, Tyrella Orchards.

Now, the shed situation may sound grim, but it’s actually quite nice. It’s a converted storage shed fit with couches, a full kitchen, showers and the lot. It’s a bit breezy do to the lack of any sort of insulation but I’m far from complaining. Usually I take the van to the pick site but if I’m up to it I’ll ride my bike depending on the distance. The orchard owns about 6 – 7 pick sites, or “blocks”.

There is an art to picking apples as there is for most things. At first I sucked really hard at it but I’ve gotten much better and faster. One must be careful not to bruise or damage the apple. It is also of high importance that the apple be in good color. Often times only half the fruit on the trees will be properly ripened.

The work is contractually based and pickers are paid by bin. A bin is a huge wooden container (seen in the above animation) that contains generally about 2500 apples, or 400 kilograms worth. On a good day I’ll pick 6 bins. My best day was 8 bins. So, on average, it’s safe to say I’m picking roughly 1300 apples daily. The season lasts about 9 weeks. Do the math. In the end I’ll have picked about 1,000,000 apples, no lie.

Ongoing giant apple contest.

My orchard ships most of it’s fruit to the UK but also has a contract with trendy US grocer, Trader Joe’s. We sell them dehydrated apple slices for use in their name brand product of a similar variety. So go out and buy summadem chips and chances are I will have graced the same molecular space as said snack.

I will hold this job for the next few weeks until the pickin’ ain’t good no more. All in all it’s good work. I’m outside all day listening to music with no one bothering me. Often I’ll chuck on some sciencey podcasts to keep the ol’ wheels greased but other than that it’s daydreaming central. I moslty love it because It’d the exact opposite of the service industry; I’m working only for myself. I start when it’s most convenient, take much lunch when I want for as long as I want, and go home when I’m tired… the way all jobs should be in my opinion. I’m saving up for a multitude of plane tickets that will take me the rest of the way around the world in the coming months.

Feel free to pose any apple-related questions. I’m quite well versed now.

Much love,

Andrew

Some of this news is a bit out-dated but i intend on keeping my readers as enthralled with my adventures as possible. No details will be overlooked, no stories untold, and no photos hidden from sight. That’s right, this travelog has it all.

I’ve whipped up a new highlight video that covers the last 3 months. Have a look and let me know if you’d like any clarification on the whereabouts of each clip.

After completing the first South Island jaunt I quickly embarked on another circumnavigation this time accompanied by my darling mother. She and I traveled together for a week and a half in an attempt to see as many key features as possible. My mother learned quickly that, unlike Miami, you can not see New Zealand in a week. We stayed in what seemed like the finest 5 star accommodations but made sure not to leave a few nights to camp in the van.

Our first stop was the astonishing Lake Tekapo. Garnishing turquoise blue waters this lake village is said to be one of the best places in the world to see the night sky. It’s central island location and lack of light pollution combined with a big hole in the ozone layer allows for a crystal window to the heavens. I was immediately drawn here because my research found that they have built an observatory here designed to take advantage of the conditions.

The tour of the observatory atop Mt John was awesome. With a multitude of high powered telescoped trained on various celestial bodies visitors can see nebulae, planets, close-ups of the surface of the moon and many other things not visible to the naked eye. Using the deep space telescope I was able to see the polar ice caps of Mars and Saturn’s rings. The above shot was a 60 second exposure that was taken using a tripod-esque device that rotates mounted cameras in conjunction with the movement of the stars eliminating star trails that one might get with a stationary camera. Cool stuff.

We then high-tailed it to the ever-popular Milford Sound for a day time cruise. We were blessed with terrible weather in the form of torrential rain and horrendous winds. Being a fjord, Milford is like a wind tunnel allowing the storm-force gales to rip through its gully creating truly unique apocalyptic conditions. On this greyest of days I chose to shoot in black and white seeing as how there was very little color to capture anyhow.

At one of the wettest places on earth the cliff faces become so swollen that new waterfalls form before your eyes. They push over trees as they crowd the walls of the fjord in a chaotic attempt to find the best route down to the sea. Never before have I seen such disorganized waterfalls. There are a few clips of this activity in the video above.

We rounded up our excursion in Kaikoura with a dolphin swimming tour. Here, a company takes paying visitors out to a giant school of Dusky dolphins, 400 strong, and chucks them in the water for a little play time. The dolphins generally take a great interest in the intruders and give you quite a bit of attention. This was one of the most majestic experiences of my life. Unfortunately I couldn’t photograph the interaction between the dolphins and I, but was still able to get some nice shots from the boat.

This is my happy, wet mother. She was a trooper. She endured the rain and cold with out so much as a complaint for a toilet and upon leaving I think it’s safe to say, as she might, that she was a happy camper.

After my Mom’s abrupt departure I immediately shot north to hunt for work. There I was able meet up with my good friend Lennart to practice some tunes for busking. We played on the street for the first time this last weekend and earned 8 bucks! Next weekend will be better, I’m confident.

We’ve been camping on and off and seeing some of the finest sunsets to date. This is Lennart’s van, Bertie. I was able to find work picking apples but I will detail all that in another post a little further down the road.

And here’s what I’ve been listening to:

Daft Punk – Digital Love

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Cool how it works..