Art and Music

KYOTO, Japan- It was the apex of spring in Japan: the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the fierce winter winds had died down to a gentle, welcoming hum. I was on a bus with an acquaintance headed to Kitaoji Dori, a fashionable district in downtown Kyoto. There, I would be formally introduced to [...]

When I walked into Chaya’s Brooklyn apartment for the first time I ran smack into a 10 foot tall face of an old man with a long beard staring me down. The enormous portrait was carved out of wood and was gazing at me with eyes as large as my cranium. All of the details [...]

Afro-Caribbean Music in Antigua Guatemala VideoThis is a video of Afro-Caribbean music in Guatemala. I found this band playing in a restaurant and went in to shoot this one minute video amid waiters trying to stick menus in my face. This restaurant was expensive so I held my ground and shot away watching the band [...]

Tattoos in Chile and Friends“No hay mal que por bien no venga.”There is no bad from which good does not come.-Old Latin American adageI have not been with my Chilean friends since those fateful days I was tramping around South America. In Santiago, goods and amenities are divided into their own towering buildings by their [...]

Anecdotes from the Indian NotebookGave Mira a nose piercingTraditional Indian way just meant dirtyWe found out thoughWent to an old time jeweler and she said she wanted A traditional nose piercing done in the traditional way“You know, where the piercing is put through the acupuncture point”Indian piercing man made a special tripTo jewelry shop to [...]

The Tattoo Apprentice- Wanderjahr JillMira from the Wanderjahr Jill travel blog found herself in the shoes of the tattoo apprentice here in the south of France. My friend from Chile that we are visiting is a well established tattoo artist and, after looking over Mira’s drawings, agreed to teach her a little of the trade. [...]

Drinking in Lisbon- Bairro AltoI walked out of my hotel in Bairro Alto on a Sunday morning and could only wonder about what had happened the night before. There were bars, beer, wine, a funny Russian, funnier Portuguese, a foosball table, Mira being really drunk, and thousands of people in the ancient stone streets just [...]

Graffiti in Portugal: The Other Side of the Wall“I write graffiti because my head and my heart demands me to write. Because I wake up and I go to bed with graffiti in my mind. Because it’s the only thing that makes me forget my problems and my sadness completely. Because it makes me happy.”-Mister [...]

Interview with Portuguese Graffiti Artist- Mr. DheoThis is an interview that I did with the Porto based graffiti artist, Mr. Dheo. It is part of my story on Graffiti in Portugal that I wrote for Cafe Abroad magazine. If you would like more information about graffiti in Portugal or would like to check out some [...]