"We now have a baby! Born 2.17am this morning"
~ Franklin
Sunday, July 31, 2011
First Authentic Mexican Experience
After 10 years in the US, I've finally fulfilled one goal, which is to find the real Mexican experience.
Mexicans are everywhere in the country. Mexican food is everywhere in the country. However, it's not everyday where you drive by a Mexican neighborhood, where the majority works for the local agricultural farm lands, and walk into a shack, 11pm at night to order some freshly made quesadilla with barbacoa.
It was a coincidence that we happened to drive by and felt a bit hungry. Strangely, even by the setting where it was dark, with a make shift road sign and poorly lit shack in front of a residential property, we didn't even think before we pulled over. It was like.... the right thing to do.
So what's good food? What is authenticity?
It didn't matter.
We were ordering from a menu (pasted on the broken down food truck) that had no sign of English. We were lucky that the guy taking the order spoke English. We were lucky that we were hungry for everything they can throw at us.
That's made it good and authentic.
Was the meat good? It was well prepared. Was it the best in the world? Probably not, but who cares?
Was the corn tortillas good? Absolutely. It had a strong corn presence in it unlike other Americanized Mexican food.
Was the experience unforgettable? Perhaps I will forget it when I get my butt to the real Mexico. Otherwise, sitting on a fiber glass bench under dim yellow light with Spanish music playing from a made-in-China radio, surrounded by Mexican families who live right across the street while realizing that we are sitting in the front yard of the owner's house..... pretty unforgettable.
This is by no means any different from road side stalls in Taiwan or Penang or any Asian cities. It's just that this will be a treasure to be found any where in the US where everything has been overly commercialized and commoditized. The corn tortilla may not have much value, but experience is not a commodity.
Mexicans are everywhere in the country. Mexican food is everywhere in the country. However, it's not everyday where you drive by a Mexican neighborhood, where the majority works for the local agricultural farm lands, and walk into a shack, 11pm at night to order some freshly made quesadilla with barbacoa.
It was a coincidence that we happened to drive by and felt a bit hungry. Strangely, even by the setting where it was dark, with a make shift road sign and poorly lit shack in front of a residential property, we didn't even think before we pulled over. It was like.... the right thing to do.
So what's good food? What is authenticity?
It didn't matter.
We were ordering from a menu (pasted on the broken down food truck) that had no sign of English. We were lucky that the guy taking the order spoke English. We were lucky that we were hungry for everything they can throw at us.
That's made it good and authentic.
Was the meat good? It was well prepared. Was it the best in the world? Probably not, but who cares?
Was the corn tortillas good? Absolutely. It had a strong corn presence in it unlike other Americanized Mexican food.
Was the experience unforgettable? Perhaps I will forget it when I get my butt to the real Mexico. Otherwise, sitting on a fiber glass bench under dim yellow light with Spanish music playing from a made-in-China radio, surrounded by Mexican families who live right across the street while realizing that we are sitting in the front yard of the owner's house..... pretty unforgettable.
This is by no means any different from road side stalls in Taiwan or Penang or any Asian cities. It's just that this will be a treasure to be found any where in the US where everything has been overly commercialized and commoditized. The corn tortilla may not have much value, but experience is not a commodity.
Photo Entry: Lauderdale by the Sea
Lauderdale by the Sea is probably the lamest name I've heard of a city. It's about 4 miles north of Ft Lauderdale, has a jetty that goes pretty far out into the sea for fishing and hang out spot. It's opened 24 hours, so it was convenient for night shots of the city.
The shot wasn't anything spectacular, but that's just an excuse for this:
"Aint no boring night with a steamy shit!"
The shot wasn't anything spectacular, but that's just an excuse for this:
"Aint no boring night with a steamy shit!"
Photo Entry: Night at the Glades
HOLY CRAP IT WAS A MASSACRE(MOSQUITOES)!!!!!
Through out the night, all I could hear was mosquito. It was almost pitch dark and I cannot imagine what horrific sight it would have been if I had some lights. I was literally in a sea of mosquitoes.
The insect repellent did work but I applied it a little too late. Still, I was lucky that I wasn't sucked dry.
I was there to get some sunset shots, but things didn't go too well. A big storm cloud blocked the sun, which resulted in this photo.
As the night fall, the storm cloud remained in the far distance, but the lightning became very active. Coupled with the stars and the lake reflection, here's a pretty stunning shot.
Stars
30min exposure
First attempt at the milky way.... not enough milk.
Condensed milk!
Through out the night, all I could hear was mosquito. It was almost pitch dark and I cannot imagine what horrific sight it would have been if I had some lights. I was literally in a sea of mosquitoes.
The insect repellent did work but I applied it a little too late. Still, I was lucky that I wasn't sucked dry.
I was there to get some sunset shots, but things didn't go too well. A big storm cloud blocked the sun, which resulted in this photo.
As the night fall, the storm cloud remained in the far distance, but the lightning became very active. Coupled with the stars and the lake reflection, here's a pretty stunning shot.
Stars
30min exposure
First attempt at the milky way.... not enough milk.
Condensed milk!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Photo Entry: Air and Space Museum
Ah HA! This is the long anticipated trip for me. It's been 7 years since the last time I was here, and have been wanting to come back ever since. This is not the Air and Space museum in downtown DC, but an off site facility near Dulles Airport. Basically, it has bigger, more bad ass planes. Planes you don't expect to see else where, all housed in one giant hanger.
So enough said, enjoy the photos!
We were also very lucky that while visiting the Space Shuttle exhibit ( Enterprise), the last ever Space Shuttle launch of the Atlantis happened to be at count down. It was quite special to be there watching it happen.
Behold, this is the B-29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Lastly, a McDonald's mean can cost close to $10 here..... sigh.
There are A LOT MORE photos HERE, seriously, a lot more!!!!
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