MOMENTS IN ASIA

Moments In Asia - iPhone 5s 120fps from Markus Kontiainen on Vimeo.

Markus Kontiainen traveled through 11 cities throughout Asia. Here is what came of that.

TAKING A TRIP

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I had plans, I honestly did, to have posts queued up while I was gone, but I realize now that this is not going to happen. I'm leaving the country to a remote region in Southeast Asia. It's always been a dream of mine, to travel alone. Somewhere difficult. I've always traveled with friends previously, and that's a crutch. This solo trek is something that just needs to be done.  

One of the most difficult parts has been informing people. I'm using a smaller travel agency, and things might still go south. Until I'm physically trekking on foreign soil, I probably won't believe the whole thing is real. So usually, I prefer to do something, and talk about it afterwards. Just checked the weather report for the region, and there's nothing but thunder storms where I'm headed. I'm writing this post partly as an impulse, and hoping for the best.

What have you done recently outside of your comfort zone? 

I'll be back in two weeks. 

SWITZERLAND PART 1: LUCERNE

Lucerne: Chapel Bridge

For the sake of sanity and brevity, I'm going to divide this post into discrete, digestible parts. Here we have Part 1: Lucerne, or Luzern, as the city is also otherwise known.

If you have ever found yourself in the middle of a dream, in an idyllic town that borders a lake, the water crystal clear, swans dotting the waterfront, charming sloped and steepled rooftops...you were probably in Lucerne. One dead giveaway is the iconic Chapel Bridge, above, which I have caught at a bad angle under bad lighting, so you miss the flow of red flowers that run down its flank. As soon as you emerge from the train station, you can traverse this iconic structure and settle into any of a number of quaint restaurants that line the water. There, you can sip, eat, and otherwise take full advantage of Swiss hospitality.

It rained almost the entire time. The moment the rain stopped, I took pictures, but every picture looks as if it were taken on a different day.

What there is to do:

Lucerne is clearly a city meant for the wanderer at heart. However, if you don't want to lounge, or wander elegant streets, or savor rich food, there is also the Sammlung Rosengart Museum, which houses a staggering private collection of modern art, mainly by Picasso.  I would include pictures, but they were not allowed, and you'll just have to take my word for it. Just keep in mind, however, Lucerne sleeps early. All shops close by 6:30pm, and the museum closes around 5:30, so if there is a store you want to visit, get there early, it won't always be there.  

Alternately, you can take a tour of the lake by boat. While I was there, there were two options: 1 hour, or 3 hours. My ideal time: 2 hours. Nothing's perfect. However, if you remain in the city awhile, and you should, you may decide to stay in one of the charming hotels right by the water, where I saw people fishing, rowing, and enjoying life.

To and From:

My home base was Zurich. Lucerne is a one hour train ride away. Trains generally come every half an hour, because the Swiss don't just make excellent timepieces, they use them as well. 

I don't often include too many pictures, but I wanted to convey a sense of the place. That feeling you get from a city, that visceral immediate impression it makes on your memory through your eyes. It's the impression that stays with you, like an aftertaste, but in a good way.

FUN LINKS

Flowers at sunset

I don't have the wherewithal to manage complete sentences. I've been reading fiction. 700 pages of it, all moving continually in a blur, and I'm finally toward the end. Life has never been better. In light of my current distraction, here's a few interesting bits while I get my act together. 

10 Small Things You Can Do Everyday To Get Smarter

Here are ten things. I will maybe try one or two of them, because to try do everything is to make yourself miserable. Ten options is a nice number to choose from. You can think of it as choosing your own adventure.

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules On Writing

Here's a man who likes to write straight and clean. I believe in doing the same. You do not allow your reader to look up from the page. You do not punish your reader by making them take out the dictionary. You reward your reader, you bedevil, you enrapture, you capture, and you enslave. 

Book Publishing, Not Fact-Checking

Way back when I used to write papers, I had to include citations. The most reliable citations, the ones we were encouraged to use, were to books, while the least reliable were to wikipedia, or some sketchy website on the seventh google search page that may potentially also have been a link to a virus. There is an implied integrity in a book, it implies that someone, somewhere, took the time to thoroughly edit and fact check every tiny piece of minutia before it would ever be allowed the privilege of publication. Well, that assumption is wrong. We are all screwed. Books are like people. They can lie.

This Outfit, because I'm a fashion sheep at heart.

The Science of Depression

This is a video. You might want to relocate yourself to a more appropriate location for this. It's often thought that the creative mind is prone to bouts of depression. When you are creative, you move about on the fringes of the known (where the act of creation can take place, yes?) and as a result, I believe, are uniquely vulnerable. Hence, depression. That is my theory.

Inside the Strange and Seedy World Where Hackers Trade Celebrity Nudes

I have an empathy problem. Whenever I think about what it must be like to have naked pictures of yourself circling the web, I want to vomit blood. I hope people join together in a silent protest that involves not looking and not discussing, so that interest can die. I'd rather reflect the light onto the perpetrators instead.  

HAPPY LABOR DAY

China Garden, Zurich

In the true spirit of Labor Day, I am working, albeit at a "relaxed" pace. In my stead, is a reflection in water. If I were not working, a one day holiday would be ideal time for self reflection, which is both a rich world indulgence and absolutely necessary. 

There is usually so little time available in the set routine of the week, that you may find yourself subconsciously biding your time for a holiday, an extra day that isn't long enough to plan an full fledged vacation, but short enough that you suddenly have time to take a breath and take look around. Take stock of where you are. Make changes. 

I've been thinking about my own summer so far, and I can say without sarcasm that I'm pretty well satisfied with it. I've spent a lot of time outdoors, lost track of what's happening on TV, and I've somehow managed that small miracle of forging new friendships, which I've heard is nearly impossible to do as an adult. 

I hope when you take a look at where you are, you feel a sweet indulgent swell of pride. 

THE UNIFORM

Pinterest

One of the ways to save time, I've heard, is to have a go to uniform. That is, an outfit you wear every day, without having to think too hard or too long. You save your creativity for other endeavors, assuming your creative energy is finite. 

So I've been thinking, if I had a uniform, it might look a little bit like the above: black, beautifully cut, not too studied, a touch casual, a touch sleek. And of course I would have to exercise like the devil to maintain that streamlined physique, so that I wouldn't look ridiculous. What would your uniform look like?

45 WAYS TO AVOID USING THE WORD "VERY"

Via Writer's Write

TRAVEL POST PREVIEW

In an ideal world, incidentally one in which I do not live, this would be the first part of a series, where I have somehow managed to write a travel post in the shape of a story, one that refreshes the memory of those who have already been, and inspires those who have not. 

Unfortunately, editing and jetlag and the ordinary flotsam of life (Buying groceries! Taking out the garbage!) have taken over, and instead of a post, I have managed to edit this one picture from Lucerne, in Switzerland. It's a beautiful city, set alongside a resplendent river littered with swans. 

I will figure this out. There is more to come. 

KITCHEN DIY: BRASS PIPE RACKS

Pinterest

If I tried to do this myself with my limited skills, it would probably involved double sided tape. But it's a novel idea. It's interesting, like creating a geometric maze in your home. Practically speaking, this may involve payment rather than DIY. But there is probably someone out there in the universe thinking: I wonder if Lowes carries that type of pipe...

FUN LINKS

Travel

Packing Essentials for Fall and Spring and What Not to Pack: Summer Abroad

I love these. Just love them.

Current Events

Justices' Rulings Advance Gays; Women Less So

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is slowly becoming a personal favorite. She always has incisive commentary, that cuts right to the bone, and this particular bone may belong to her colleague Justice Kennedy, aka "Mr. Swing Vote." What is interesting here, is the argument that Kennedy's decisions reflect an underlying paternalistic attitude toward women, but not gay men, that may be the ultimate deciding factor. It's convincingly argued.    

Happiness

The 75-Year Study that Found the Secrets to a Fulfilling Life

This is from 2013, but who knows? It might still be applicable one year later. Harvard researchers followed 268 male Harvard undergraduates, class of 1938-1940 (hardly a representative sample, but I digress) for 75 years, collecting data at regular intervals. The conclusions he drew were put into a book. A quick summary is linked.

Art

Figaro French by Grace Lee

This French print. It's French and it's art.

Facts

You Actually Use All of Your Brain, Not 10% 

There are two movies I can pull off the top of my head that are based on this lie - that if you were able to access your brain's full 100% capacity, you would be a telekinetic genius as well as incredibly athletic and emotionally well adjusted, etc. I know this is a lie, but so far have no reference to back this up. Here is a solid article dispelling that myth.  

Mind

4 Ways to Retrain Your Brain to Handle Information Overload

I like how this is short and to the point. Four things only, and you might find yourself less aggravated. It's a win/win.