Eye Witness

Idle Bus Thoughts
SBP Editor
Monday, August 11, 2008
A collection of thoughts that floated through my mind as I rode the cheapie Chinatown-style bus to Boston recently:

"You have your ticket?" the agent standing by the curb asked me. "OK, just wait and I'll ask the driver what he wants to do, it's up to him. Just take care of the driver, OK?"
Another Celeb Encounter
SBP Editor
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Add former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer to the list of semi-famous people I've stood next to... I just ran into him getting a drink at a popular rooftop night spot here in NYC an hour ago. And this time I talked! Besides our first name, we also share Vermont as a home state in common.

I asked him why he bailed on the 2nd term, whether it was related to any bad omens he felt coming on. He said it was just burn out, plain and simple. He was personable and friendly, and as he returned to his friends he told me it was nice to know there's another Ari in Vermont.
Artists and Office Rats
SBP Editor
Friday, May 23, 2008

In Sarasota, Florida there are a lot of resident artists, and one thing they do is built beautiful ornate sand castles out of that extraordinary fine white powder they have on the beaches of Siesta Key. The castles are washed away each night by the sea, but that doesn't seem to bother the artists.

Amritsar
SBP Editor
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
A beautiful experience at the golden temple in Amritsar, way up north where it's actually kinda chilly now. The town itself is run-down and poor it seemed to me. Most of the cabs are bicycle-powered and dirt cheap. For 10 rupees (about 25 cents) a stick-thin guy pedalled me for about 20 minutes, leaning with all his weight with every cycle, getting off and pushing to get a running start after each stop.
Pune Lifestyles
SBP Editor
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Pune has a great cafe called the German Bakery. It's long picnic benches under a tent with Christmas lights inside, and every time you sit down you meet someone new. It's close to the Osho compound, so lots of Osho-ites, clearly identifiable by their scarlet red robes (which are mandatory inside the compound), but plenty of locals there too.
Full Swing India
SBP Editor
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Oh man, work is through, and I'm in India full-swing now! Now the adventure begins... I love it!

Mumbai
Good Vs Evil On South Street
SBP Editor
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
So I'm walking along the water at South Street Seaport, near Wall Street, at lunch today when I hear some overamplified easy-listening-type music booming everywhere... and singers, of the calibre you might find on a cruise ship, screeching over the din. Then I see a stage with an enormous banner across the top: "America... 400 years." Underneath it, in case you're not sure whether to groan or rejoice, is written: "A celebration."
David Blaine, Modern Messiah?
SBP Editor
Monday, May 8, 2006
Today David Blaine finished his week in the fish bowl and proceeded to attempt the world record for holding his breath underwater on live TV in front of New York's premiere opera house. It's great to see Lincoln Center continuing its longstanding tradition of supporting the fine arts.
Bye-bye, Bharat
SBP Editor
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Back in NYC... have to admit NYC is a pretty cool place too. And it did feel sort of nice to step into my apartment again. And play the piano. And I'm about to have nachos at Burrittoville, which I do look forward to. It's a great feeling knowing that Mumbai and NYC are only 20 hours apart, I suddenly understand that whole "global village" thing people started saying in the 90's.
Goa: A Druggy Hippy Scene
SBP Editor
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Goa is a drugged-out Israeli hippy scene. So many Israelis here that many of the signs are in Hebrew, and all the eateries offer Israeli dishes. Then there are Brits with dreadlocks and tatoos, and then the locals who are either squeeky clean with a picture of Jesus on the wall and a cross tatooed at the base of their thumb, or kinda shady. I had tea with a kinda shady who spent the better part of an hour trying to talk me into carrying diamonds into the US for his family business. He was eerily wise and philosophical about life, which made him interesting but also a bit spooky to talk to.
Indian Vehicles
SBP Editor
Friday, March 10, 2006
Two weeks down, with a handful of days to go. This isn't fair! I feel like my trip has only just started. When I planned the trip, a lot of people were surprised that I was going for so long, the concensus was that 2 weeks would be adequate. Even I started to wonder if I'd be bored or lonely. Wow, what a difference between the U.S. concept of time and how the rest of the world sees it! I got a glimpse when the first few people I met used phrases like "such a short time" and "compressed visit" when I told them I was staying for 3 weeks. The average visit seems to be around 6 months.
Beautiful India
SBP Editor
Monday, March 6, 2006
Monday night, I've been here one week now, really sad to think my trip is 1/3 over already. So many characters you meet travelling... like Marijn from Holland. He's been backpacking through India for 9 months now studying the tabla. He already has a master's degree in it, was top of his class with full scholarship, but he wants to get even better. Prior to this he stayed in the most remote village in Africa, accessible only by boat, and when he arrived the natives were terrified because they hadn't seen a white person in 25 years.
Bollywood
SBP Editor
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Life is good so far. Man, this place is just teeming with it. Every square inch has a whole ecosystem surviving in it. Photos just don't begin to capture the wealth of life everywhere you look. The problem with pictures is that they normally have a subject, some central point of interest around which the picture is framed. But there is no focus here, like an Indian tapestry with an ornate design that continues indefinitely, and you just have to arbitrarily cut the fabric somewhere.
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