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By Lauren Girardin
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Sun, November 22, 2009 |
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 Playing with my twitching food We skip willy-nilly through the time-space continuum over on Matador Network, who just published my new travel story about eating live animals in South Korea. Here's a taste:
My chopsticks finally aim towards the last untried morsels, a substance that can be generously described as resembling chunks of slug. Its glossy, soft flesh is a mottled mix of khaki green, deep brown, mustard yellow, and blue-gray, combined to make a surface both artful and repulsive.
If I saw this beast in my kitchen at home, I’d wonder how it had oozed its way inside from the backyard. But, I’m determined to try anything once, especially if it’s already on the table in front of me. With a deep breath and a deeper sigh, I pick up one of the smaller chunks—
And it moves.
Thanks to the dozen complete strangers that have commented on the post. The comments are worth reading too. I'd love to read your comment on Matador.
>> Read the rest of the story on MatadorAbroad.com
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By Lauren Girardin
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Thurs, January 22, 2009 |
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I've heard from a few people who were disturbed by one of my photos from the War Remnants Museum in the Saigon, Vietnam slide show.
It shows a photograph of a woman reflected in a plastic case that contains actual human fetuses. Both the woman and the fetuses suffer from severe deformities caused by Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant that the American military sprayed willy nilly all over Vietnam during the war. The War Remnants Museum (and that display) was a fiercely blunt reminder of the lasting affects of the deplorable war inflicted on the Vietnamese people and their environment. The photo is not very specific – reflections, angles, and composition bring some abstract, consolatory distance from the subject.
> Click here to see the photo
(Faithful email and RSS readers, visit www.ephemerratic.com to read on, get travel tips, and check out photos)
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By Lauren Girardin
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Mon, July 28, 2008 |
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 Toshiba compared to Eee PC | Photo by Lauren Girardin There's a scene in the movie Prefontaine where Bill Bowerman, the coach of the eponymous running superstar, explains the logic behind his design for a new sneaker that is as light as is possible from 1970s' materials and technology. The coach, who later went on to co-found Nike, explains that if you shave off a fraction of an ounce from sneakers, over a long-distance run each step you take is that same fraction of an ounce lighter. Since you take thousands of steps during the race, you'll carry hundreds of fewer pounds. You'll tire slower. You'll run faster. You'll win the race. So, if I can trade my five pound laptop for one half the weight, even knowing I'll leave it behind in the hotel every so often, over the course of a year of traveling how many fewer pounds will I have hauled? Lots and lots. While I was shopping for our ultra-light laptop, I really wanted a MSI Wind, but shipping was delayed, week after week. Instead I bought us the next best thing: a tiny ASUS Eee PC. I can easily lift the laptop between my thumb and forefinger. Even the power cord's adapter unit is tiny. My brother Brian installed a bunch of software. I've stripped Windows XP to bare bones so the Eee PC runs as fast as its little-engine-that-could-style processor allows. Now all Todd and I have to do is get used to typing on a 8" wide keyboard along with small delays when opening, closing and saving. It's a worthwhile trade off for a laptop that weighs little more than a San Francisco super burrito.
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By Todd Berman
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Thurs, July 30, 2009 |
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I knew that I would find inspiration for artwork in the temples of Angkor, and I was not disappointed. Fantastic jungle trees twist around intricately carved ancient temples, slowly crushing them. Lauren and I spent three days biking around the archaeological park, and then I went back for one more day just to draw.
 A Tangle of Trees in Ta Prohm, Cambodia - $65, mixed media on paper, 8" x 10"(Email and RSS readers, visit www.ephemerratic.com to check out all the art for sale)
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