A BRIEF GUIDE TO MONTREAL, CANADA

January 26, 2017 in Canada, Elsewhere

Above, the Habitat 67 apartment buildings: designed by an Israeli/Canadian architecht to "integrate the benefits of suburban homes, namely gardens, fresh air, privacy and multi-levelled environments with the economics and density of a modern urban apartment building."

... and from the inside. Where Celine Dion was married. RIP Rene.

WHERE TO STAY: In The Mile End neighborhood. It's like Williamsburg, Brooklyn before the Whole Foods moved in.

WHAT HOTEL TO BOOK: What, are you made of money? It's not 1994, get an AirBnb. Stay here.

WHERE TO EAT: Enjoy a balanced diet of poutine (Basquise is supposed to have the best but the line will be out the door, so go to Patiti Patata Friterie De Luxe) and almond croissants (from Farine, an Italian style cafe/absolute slice of heaven). Or, go wild and go raw at Crudessence with the Macao smoothie.

WHERE TO SHOP: Leisurely browse through books and $8 pens at Drawn and Quarterly.

HOW TO GET AROUND: Bring a bike. We stuffed 2 in the back of my Toyota Corolla. Or since it's a very bike friendly city, just rent one.

RANDOM THING TO DO: Stick around for the organ concert at the Notre Dame Basilica. Experience "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" with a 7000 pipe organ. It's really something else.

MONTREAL, CANADA

January 22, 2017 in Canada, Elsewhere, Favorite

If a Parisian lady and a dirty Canadian hipster had a baby, it would be Montreal.

We spent a weekend there in September, bicycling around each day fueled by poutine and almond croissants.

More soon.

SUMMER IN BOSTON: PART 5

December 06, 2016 in USA

This city has a certain vibe which although not my exact ideal, has a weird to charm to it.

Bostonians aren't warm and friendly immediately -- but if you do chip away at our frozen (from years of shoveling out our cars in January) social exterior, you'll probably end up meeting all of our friends from high school and getting invited to the family Cape house for 4th of July. All of our bars may look exactly the same (dark wood, vaguely Irish) but I truly appreciate that there's a Dunkin Donuts on almost every corner that's frequented by people in every tax bracket.

P.S. The Simpsons actually did an episode this summer where they went on a "hate-cation" to Boston and it's wonderfully spot on. "It's like heaven for people who don't believe in heaven!"

PORTLAND, MAINE

December 04, 2016 in USA

Kris getting a few shots for his Paka Appparel website.

I drove up to Portland, Maine to visit my friend Kris from my time in Naples.

We had a bonfire, jumped off a bridge, learned about his first year of college (!!!) and his newest venture: Paka Apparel, got poutine and milkshakes at Duck Fat, had an early morning at the beach, met his cute brothers and enjoyed brunch to the sounds of his parents playing blue grass music (the whole family plays string instruments and they jam together). It was a great trip.

If you're a fellow New Englander that needs to keep warm this winter, I recommend checking out Kris's clothing brand Paka and specifically, The Costa sweater (you may recognize a few of the models -- ha!).

AROUND THE INTERNET #3

November 25, 2016 in USA

It's winter coat weather here in Boston, so I'm officially wistfully thinking of summer days -- like this one from camping in Newport in August.

A PRELUDE: You never feel more patriotic than once you've actually left your country, so traveling the last 2 years has definitely boosted my sense of America pride.

I think the American work ethic (while perhaps relentless and unbalanced) is something to admire -- it's nearly impossible to get anything done past 3 PM on a Friday in New Zealand.

I stand by our portion sizes.

And I really like that we're a big, giant, ever-evolving mix of people. I like that the USA is very different from Italy, for instance, where everyone kind of looked the same. And I know, because they all looked LIKE ME: big brown eyes, big noses and curly hair -- these Italian chicks were copping my look LEFT AND RIGHT.

With that (freshly amplified) pride, being back in the USA for this election season has been a bit confusing and soul-crushing. So in that spirit:

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried" - Winston Churchill, 1947

"It's like Humpty Dumpty fell and broke, then a giant lawn mower ran over it, acid was thrown on the pieces -- and a bunch of racist idiots ran off with an arm and a leg" -John Weaver, longtime Republican consultant on the state of the GOP

Brilliantly edited, completely terrifying video on The Authorization for Use of Military Force which our next President will continue to have.

What Obama told his daughters after Trump won the election.

...and in other news:

Women Having a Terrible Time Parties in Western Art History.

Words for Emotions You Didn't Know You Had -- I was relieved to see I'm not the only weirdo who experiences "L'appel du vide".

Tricky and Brilliant: 10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Vacation Time

A photography project that makes you notice (the usually cramped + crowded) New York buildings as the incredible feats of architecture (that they are): Misplaced New York.

A stunning collection at NYFW and a smart kickstarter worth supporting.

I was reading a post about Pipilotti Rist's (a video and multimedia artist) new exhibit at The New Museum in NYC and of course, fell down an internet rabbit hole to one of her other works Ever Is Over All... which, reminded me an awful lot of Beyonce's "Hold Up" music video... and then the internet confirmed that Beyonce's video is indeed paying homage to Rist:

"The exuberant display of female power - the juxtaposition between Rist's cheerful demeanor and violent actions - is both charming and cryptic. It seems obvious that Rist is commenting on the false expectations of feminine delicacy, but the deeper significance isn't so easy to divine. All this makes it a perfect point of reference for Beyonce, whose work frequently charts the intersection between female power and sexuality."

That's all. Thanks again for reading my particular contribution to the liberal echo chamber and I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, filled with hearty American portion sizes.

SUMMER IN BOSTON: PART 4

November 07, 2016 in USA

Bits of summer (from my phone).

Basil making sure his Jesse gets out the door okay.

SUMMER IN BOSTON: PART 3

November 05, 2016 in USA

Jesse (my new friend and roommate) and Scott, prepping a lobster dinner. — Jesse (my new friend and roommate) and Scott, prepping a lobster dinner.

This summer in Jamaica Plain included many day trips out, dinners in and a surprising amount of new dog friends for someone who doesn't own a dog.

SUMMER IN BOSTON: PART 2

November 04, 2016 in USA

In May, we scored a great sublet in Jamaica Plain (it's now my fourth apartment in that neighborhood) and settled in for a summer in the city.

Commonwealth Cold Brew at the JP Farmers Market.

Scott appreciating American portion sizes.

Wanting to re-create the magic that was biking around Newcastle, Perth and Singapore, we bought bikes and declared ourselves a two-man bike gang, cruising around everywhere: commuting to a co-working space downtown, to farmers markets in the North End, through Chinatown, Castle Island in South Boston, over the Charles River to Cambridge and yoga in Brookline.

P.S. I bought my sky blue Linus bike at Superb Bicycle on Beacon Street and now it's now become one of the top 3 items I wholeheartedly recommend to people (...the other 2 being a Spotify account and an electric toothbrush -- all 3 will elevate your quality of life enormously). If you want a bike that's super comfortable, easy to ride -- and (let's be real here) hella cute -- I deeply recommend a Linus.

SUMMER IN BOSTON: PART 1

November 02, 2016 in USA

Landing in Boston. I was overjoyed to see the Pru from the plane, but was simultaneously crying from watching the end of the movie "Me, Earl and Dying Girl" so it was a real rollercoaster of emotions.

Arriving home in Boston, Scott and I hunkered down at my Grandmother's beach house in Wareham. It was April, so it was more rainy than beachy, so there wasn't much to do. We hit up the arcade and other local hot spots (like Target) but spent most of our time scouring Craig's List for apartments and furniture in an attempt to piece together a solid home for the summer, and perhaps beyond.

After being away for an extended period of time, being home has a way of smacking you in the face with the realities of life.

That was especially true this summer, but having Scott around as part of my team made everything a little easier. He has a way of making even the boring domestic stuff weirdly fun: treating Craig's List like a treasure hunt, never failing to be delighted by ordering "a slice" (you can't order slices of pizza in NZ, only whole pies) and getting excited about grocery shopping ("I discovered this awesome place today. It's called 'Whole Foods'. We HAVE to go there").

AUSTIN, TEXAS

October 16, 2016 in USA

On my way back to Boston, I visited Austin for my friend Jordan's wedding.

Jordan and Maggie (her Maid of Honor) singing Karaoke at the spot Jordan and Timmer first met.

Jordan + Timmer got married in a sweetly romantic ceremony at Springdale Farm, in the pouring rain. Jordan and I met at Freshman Orientation and it was wild to see her walk down the aisle 12 years later, with a husband so perfect for her it was as if 19 year old Jordan conjured him into being.

RETURNING TO THE USA VIA LOS ANGELES

October 11, 2016 in USA

After 8 months away, I returned to the States with a layover in Los Angeles. It was apparent how thrilled I was to be back in the USA (despite the fact that the American state of affairs appears to be an absolute shit storm from afar) when I audibly squealed spotting Obama's portrait hanging above the escalators at LAX.

American accents were music to my ears as we power walked through the airports to grab our luggage, rent a car and make the most of our 9 hours in sunny LA.

Filtered coffee/pure joy/airplane hair. I think I look a bit like The Weeknd here.

We got breakfast at the must-always-visit Sloopy's, walked off 14 hours of flying on the boardwalk, got caught in signature LA traffic and hiked up a canyon for a view of the LA skyline.

It was warm welcome (almost) home.