Self Portraits
Last night the company who I am now employed by gave me and the Israeli guy 100 baht each (A$3.30) to catch a taxi back to Kao Sahn road, so we decided to take a bus instead (6 baht each) and keep the extra cash. With that sudden, and entirely unexpected financial windfall I bought myself a new t-shirt, which is totally ace, and says FAHRFRÜMFALLEN - SCS Cheerleaders, and has these little stick figures doing some special cheerleading move... oh, here you go, a picture, taken an hour ago:
I actually spent a while last night before I went to the marching practice taking self portraits in the mirror in my skinny railroad car of a room. Here is one, I like the shadows made by the hooks on the wall, mostly:
In addition to large quantities of John Updike, I have been reading large quantities of William T Vollmann, a 'Reader' (or 'Best-Of' if you will) of whom I just bought, and who is, hands down, the most inspiring and influential person to read while you are travelling. Just picking up the book and flicking to any page makes me want to head, immediately, to somewhere violent and dangerous and spend a month with a translator and my ipod microphone, interviewing militia men and terrorists, whores and pimps, beggars and madmen. I don't know where yet, but I think this will now be my main purpose for going to Cambodia (because I felt I needed one beyond visiting Angkor Wat and renewing my Thai visa), to write some sort of article, to start taking this journalism thing semi-seriously and to try to dig some sort of investigative hole, somewhere, anywhere.
Please, understand: Vollmann is a crucially important and overwhelmingly incredible author. You must give him a try. AND, woah, it seems as though he is finally, perhaps, getting some of the recognition he totally deserves- he has just this week been awarded the 2005 National Book Award for fiction for his new book, Europe Central. Holy Smokes!
I like your self-portraits. I have always been fascinated by the idea of self-portraits, as I think there are so many different layers behind them. I have spent many hours looking at self-portrait paintings at the National Gallery of Canada down the street from my place.
ReplyDeleteyeh chris how handsome are you with the cheerleaders on yo back?
ReplyDeletei finally figured out how to link peoples blogs! its all very exciting.
christian? christopher? chris.
ReplyDeletere: your post a few posts down ending with "hugely, gigantically, fascinating," in reference to thailand's rampant sex tourism:
have you read pico iyer's 'video night in kathmandu'? there's an essay-of-sorts therein that probes this quandary beleaguering your cute little beach-fringed hut. and i think it is very good, illuminating, unearthing. and yet as good as it is, it doesn't demystify a thing.
it is so true that 'romance' in thailand is one of the most curious and unsolvable things encounterable, a most explosive example of the effects of the east and west's collusion. i could roam those neverending bars for eternity, never losing interest, looking and thinking and never coming to a definitive conclusion, closer and closer to craziness.
pico iyer agrees, as do you, so now go rummage through the cobwebbiest corner of your nearest bookstore for this book i speak of, trust me, because it will totally enrich your thai experience.
peace fella.