Shamash Says...

The Mall of America: Bigger? Better? Best?

  I realize that I’ve entered this place with the eye of a stranger in a strange land. An American expatriate who has lived in a developing nations for over ten years and who is coming from a lands with power outages, lack of medical care and extreme poverty, my perception of this mall is quite different to those who have made a visit to this place part of their summer vacation.

(images by shamash)

Why Do People STILL Go to Museums?

"Art offers something else--depth, involvement, a new way of looking at the world that we live in, a fresh approach to what we take for granted, a chance to experience freedom of the imagination."
-Meredith Monk, composer, singer, director, choreographer

(image by René Magritte via artchive)

I regularly visit online museums all over the world. I take virtual tours of The Louvre.  (click here.)  The Metropolitan Museum of Art (click here) The Art Institute of Chicago. (click here.)

But the computer screen cannot replace the experience of visiting an art gallery or museum. Here’s why.

Coffee and Italian Food in New York

“We’ve made reservations for tonight at Otto’s in The Village,” said Madam Brooklyn. “If you’re into celebrity chefs, it’s owned by Mario Batali." I hadn’t heard of this famous chef known for his brawn, red hair, and habit of wearing shorts and bright orange Crocks in the kitchen. But, she soon filled me in.

The Big Apple Store, Fifth Avenue, NY

We’ve shopped for antiques in Rangoon, silverware in Bangkok, silk in Saigon, but nothing compares to our adventures in the Big Apple.

(photos by shamash)

Feeding the Soul

The garden. After school. A glass of chilled white wine. Free Spirit, fresh in from Hanoi, has just arrived, her guitar slung around her shoulder. Behind me, in my artist's studio, all sorts of pastels, and oil paints, and paint brushes sit waiting for next week's art class. Creativity seems to flourishing these days in this city "Somewhere in Asia."

Skybar: My Favorite Bar on Earth

It’s high. It’s cool. It’s invigorating. It’s how I like my Friday nights in the sexiest city in

Asia

.

(image via)

All the Jazz

I’ve always wanted to sing in a band. After all, it's one of my 43things. Last night, I made it happen.

Chinatown High

Some people like to bar-hop in their free time, but shamash likes to temple-hop. A self-proclaimed "bohemian god-seeker", I’m hooked on the smoke of incense, the buzz of gold-on-red lacquer, and the high I get from watching the dancing street dragons.

-photos by shamash

The Year of the Pig

Try buying a piglet and then finding a red dress to fit.

Try burning paper money and trying NOT to free the caged sparrows.

Here in this country “Somewhere in Asia”, this Chinese New Year was celebrated in grand style:

Dragon-chasing, litchi martinis, Chinese dumplings, and the robe of an emperor.

-----photo by shamash

The Retrosexual Beats the Metrosexual, Hands Down

"Shamash gets all hot under the collar when a retrosexual in his tight Wranglers walks by, even if he is a die-hard Replublican, and even if he likes to handle guns. Compare the hair-geled metrosexual who loves to shop to the retrosexual in scuffed shoes who just opened the door for you, and the retrosexual scores, hands down."

All Hail the Retrosexuals, and the knights in shining armor who protect the damsels in distress.

(image via Geek Culture)