Mostly Harmless

Geneva, Switzerland

After Paris, it was on to Geneva, Switzerland, were we made a very short pit stop.

In addition to my slight Ferrari obsession, I also have one for Rolex. No trip through Switzerland would be complete without a stop at Rolex Headquarters.

After spending about 30 minutes wishing I had one of those babies, Wei Wei directed us to the Jet d’Eau Fountain. The fountain is one of the world's largest water jets, located in Geneva harbor. According to Wikipedia...

Five hundred litres (132 gallons) of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 140 metres (459 feet) by two 500 kW pumps, operating at 2,400 V, consuming over one megawatt of electricity.[3][4][5] The water leaves the nozzle at a speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). When it is in operation, at any given moment there are about 7,000 litres (1849 gallons) of water in the air. Unsuspecting visitors to the fountain—which can be reached via a stone jetty from the left bank of the lake—may be surprised to find themselves drenched after a slight change in wind direction.

You could walk along a concrete pathway into the harbor up to the base of the fountain, but you had to be brave to do so, unless you had an umbrella! The mist got heavier as you approached the base and left anyone who ventured up to it completely drenched. We went close enough to see the largest rainbow I've ever seen made by the fountain's spray.

After that we walked around the harbor for another half an hour, took some pictures, enjoyed the sunshine and sea breeze, and drove on to our next destination.

During the summer of 2010, I went on a road trip with 3 friends around Europe. It was the most incredible trip I've ever been on. We visited a number of different countries and cities in a very short period of time. Each place was unique and interesting. Each of us got along very well with each other and it made the trip a lot of fun. Slowly over the next few months, I'll be noting some of the places we visited. I'll post pictures I took of the places and once in a while stories behind some of the pictures. Please let me know if you have any questions or insights about any of the locations. They were all fun and memorable in their own ways and I wish I could do it again sometime.

3,500 miles.
9 Days.
6 Countries.
4 people.

As you can imagine, we didn't spend much time in any one place. We had to be incredibly efficient with respect to sight seeing. We created lists of things we wanted to see, planned out routes, and moved quickly. A great trip with great friends.

The first stop was Paris, capital of France. In Paris we saw...

Notre Dame Cathedral

Pont Neuf

Arc du Carrousel

Musée d'Orsay

Louvre Museum

Champs de Elysee

Arc de Triomphe

...and of course...

Eiffel Tower

New York Comic Con 2010

This Saturday I attended the New York Comic Convention at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. I don't have a habit of going to Comic Conventions, and I never read comics as a kid (nor do I now), but something really did make me want to go to this one. Maybe it's because I haven't watched Chasing Amy in a while, haven't been back to Tokyo in over a year, haven't played a video game in a while, or seen any anime. I also haven't done much shooting recently and I thought it would be a great venue for taking pictures, which it was. I was excited to go to the convention, but when I got there, it made me feel...well...old. Most of the people there were in their early twenties or younger. And those that were older were there either to chaperon their children who came dressed in costume, or were dressed in costume themselves and had brought there children. The latter obviously more creepy than the former. But there's always a feeling of comfort at these things. All attendees (except for the artists themselves) are there to escape some sort of reality, and aren't afraid to geek out, whether in costume or by asking detailed questions in panels or to artists about their work. The artists are there, well for obvious reasons, but most notably to support their livelihood. My friend Dave put is best when he said the artists there are the greatest celebrities on Earth during the conventions, and when the area clears out, lights shut off, and doors are locked, they can walk the streets with no one ever recognizing them. It's a strikingly close analogy persona of the superheros which they author.

Click the image below for photos from the convention.

Cherry Blossoms

After missing the cherry blossoms while I was in Japan, albeit experiencing the plum blossoms and starting a wave of photography beneath the trees in Ueno Park, I went to go see the ones at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden with Rob and Missa. They were very rich, and very beautiful, even though they only had a few trees on display. Here are some pictures of our trip to the garden.

The High Line (New York)

The High Line is a 1.5 mile elevated walk on the west side of Manhattan along the Hudson River. It's designated as a New York State Park as well. The High Line is different from most state parks, however, in that it's purely urban. Composed of old train tracks, an elevated boardwalk, and a view of the Hudson River, it's a unique place to visit, particularly at sunset. All the years I lived in New York City, I never visited this place until recently. It's a fun place to walk if you're looking to do something on a lazy afternoon in Manhattan. The best time to visit is around sunset to sundown, but of course it's more crowded then. Here are some photos of the High Line at these hours.