the kids.

main purpose; main ideal- hawng samut mittabhab project
[vientiene. nong duang secondary school]


oh the anticipation and trepidation.
even a blank physical structure confronted one with alien concepts of what it must all be like.


i trust it wasnt a JK-at-first-sight look.


1st day. mental static from the multiple train of thoughts in this picture:
was very much struck by kii (green shirt) the first time i saw him sitting at the first table near the classroom door.


2nd day of lessons. to be able to be unabashedly gay.


arts&craft day (of madness): this was perhaps the point of time when it all seemed to unravel, with the last opportunity for such close interaction with the kids, with the preparation for the opening ceremony the next to come, signalling the end of our formal part in the project, and foreshadowing the beginning of the end of our time together in laos.

apart from this being one of the better composed photos (methinks), i remember this moment as a final rush to cater to a boy who'd been waiting (and sweating) around for the longest time, starting origami patterns only to stop midway around Step#126, trying to look interested in the jewellery making. then having honcheng swoop in with a ginormous sheet of paper and seeing them three engaged in full common concentration; different hands from different lives working in tandem together.

lao.

the note anticipated that 'something very radical is about to happen'.
so begins the backward trawl through the weave of -
/people, peoples, individuals
/confirmations and revelations
/visual impressions
/connecting miscellany.

::

[fatimah restaurant. ventiane] this constant negotiation between the implicit faith and concrete practical, the innocent young and hardened old, the rarified and the common.



[nong duang sec. ventiane] reaching across.


[vang vieng.] quiet presence of nature, and the tangle of communications that goes on beneath it.


[patouxai monument. ventiane] the depths and heights of these individuals.


[peanut market. ventiane] with only what is of the earth and a weighing scale to translate its worth- metaphor of the most basic transactions between people. ?.

:: [ LAOS ]

spotting.

the physical features are six months old at least. but the ideas and thought gleaned off them-
relevent. theres a backlog of years to mull over, even as the minutes tick away. but-
grateful for having caught the sparks, and been irrevocably changed by;


[koeln. river rhein.] each city has a different vibe that reverbrates strongest ground up. perhaps looking upwards to the egalitarian sky blurs all distinction we believe we have. good therapy for the egoistic and depressed.?


[koeln dom]. advice: have passion. have vision. then build like crazy.


[pferde. wo?. while cycling with peishan] desktop material is stuff that reaches inspiration level.


[muenster.]


[an der grillabend. ?] admiration for their family. gratitude and love. and i am the observing shadow to their colourful vital lives.

eternity. spirit. nature. belief. concentrated unabiding warmth.

after butterfield8, remembering other fields;

wearing Berlin.

its a convenient re-arousal of passion; fashion in tv, finally getting another Vogue, having more moolah and time to get/ look at clothes, being able to go beyond the school corridors and workplaces..

that was a diversion.
spent time perusing street fashion blogs, and chanced upon those in new york, paris, helsinki, tokyo and singapore- beyond the colors, the shapes, the different flavors of style, it was mental gratification to feel out the culture of a people through their clothes.

and i love new york, but berlin wins for being Raw.
http://stilinberlin.blogspot.com


those adidas stripes again (think they are). beyond this snapshot of purity (of whatever their little hearts beat about), the composition is rather narrative-like. the man and kid in the background foreshadowing the couple in front.


this is berlin stereotyped, and exemplified.


this is berlin because... no one wears coats of that colour and length in this decade anymore. ? love it.






no one wears those shoes no more.
and do the graffiti influence the people, or the people influence the graffiti?


scruffy. and they look hungry. you dont get that in paris.
lieber lieber lieber the brown on brown neutrals.


saw my first all-pink european lady in muenster and this berliner reminds me of her.


what makes this berlin? i dont know; the adidas shoes? but what a Look being channelled.!




meant to have a sampling of ten, then i saw these. come on, how low-cost and old school grunge can you get with slit jeans and neo-70s hairdo?

what better accessory than an accidental symbol of freedom (a set of pollution- free wheels).

none of them looked like they had oodles of disposable euros to throw on Kleidung. which is part of the raw harshness to their clothes. their look isnt the convenient piece togethered rich- no blaring brands, and its not loud pop exhibitionist (eg. tokyo way). maybe im biased, but it reeks of deutsch industry and individual spirit. wunderbar.