Upright & Stowed

The Power of More Than One

"Try to remember that you are part of a huge community that produces its most creative and important works through collaboration.  You don't have to do it alone ... and will achieve more by letting others in, listening, giving, staying open."

I wrote these word to myself in 2005 from the Black Rock Desert at the end of Burning Man.  A friend passed out postcards to everyone, had us write messages to ourselves, collected them, and mailed them to our homes about 6 months later.  The idea was to reconnect us to whatever we were feeling at the end of this amazing event.  The picture above is a Burning Man art installation called "Crude Awakening," featuring a set of huge metal sculptures (one praying figure for each continent) in thrall of the mother lode of oil.  The derrick was blown up and set afire on the last night.  See the mind-blowing video here.

The creative collaboration that made this artwork possible is the same idea that Netflix is tapping into in its much praised @4 million contest to improve movie satisfaction predictability by 10%.  Here's a great article on the power teamwork, inspired by the Netflix project.

This week I made my official decision to return to Burning Man at the end of August.  I am beyond excited.  What I most look forward to is – once again – being inspired by the awesome creative power of man, especially when we come together to create as a team.

Aeroflot Un-Bloc'd

In 1997 I went to Russia for the first (and only, so far) time.  It was a fantastic and memorable trip.  The country was in its early stages of post-Communist transformation, and the many stages of visible history were fascinating to behold.  Halfway through, we flew from St. Petersburg to Moscow on former state carrier Aeroflot.  Here I am, just prior to boarding.  The interior of the plane was indeed worthy of a good knuckle-bite, but we made it through the trip safely.  A fun adventure.  Today's New York Times reports that Aeroflot will soon complete its makeover with a 100% US/EU-made fleet.  So long Tupolev.  Sayonnara Ilyushin.  And here's hoping the reprehensible 757 joins you in the junk pile soon.

My Icarus Wish

It is a truism in American politics that garbage floats on the surface a long time before it finally gets sucked to the bottom of the sea.  Happily, we're mostly rid of the political garbage called W.  It's only a matter of time before Cheney finds his deserved place in the history book of haters.

But the sexy narcissist known as Sarah has yet, I fear, to find her true moment in the sun.  If we are lucky, she will run for higher office and burn up as she reaches for that sun, just like Icarus.  I wish, I wish, I wish.  It will be SO fun to watch. 

More likely, she will join the trash heap of television personalities spewing close-mindedness and hate on Fox and other venues, causing far more damage.  Only time will tell.

For now, it's Sayonara to one of America's most embarrassing quitters ever.  Here's hoping karma comes around.

[Thanks to Vivirlatino for the great image.]

I Heart NYC, 32 Years Running

I've been dreaming about my nephew Jeremy's first trip to visit me in NYC since the day he was born.  This weekend that dream came true, and here we are in the heart of Times Square having a great time.

I first visited NYC in 1977 with my high school drama club (shocking news, right?), and it was the most influential week of my life.  At the time, the Big Apple was at its low by financial, crime, infrastructure, and many other measures.  But by its most important measures – creativity, energy, adventure – it was at a frothy peak.  This is a picture I took of my cousin Laurie and friend MaryAnne on that trip.  A lot has changed in New York in those 32 years, but the essential ingredients are all still there, and my love of New York has not diminished one bit.  Here's to you, New York, New York.

"The smaller the dress size....

... the larger the apartment."  That is the money quote in an article in today's NY Times about the greater thinness of Manhattanites.  Probably true, and definitely hilarious.   When I moved to San Francisco in 2000 and began to drive instead of walk, I gained five pounds that I did not shed until I moved back to The Thin Apple.  Sadly, I'm carrying around an extra five now, which today's article made me realize is probably because I now bike everywhere rather than walk.  My mountain bike is faster for getting me from A to B, but I barely break a sweat riding it.

Above is a shot of three friends, taken at my house over gay pride weekend.  I can't imagine why any of them would want to be seen with their shirts off.  But I'm glad they did, so they could reinforce the point that, when it comes to waist size, the Big Apple ain't so big.

Christopher Street

Blog devotee (and dear friend) Scott did not like the Jesus-y black and white photo that marked yesterday's return to blogging.  So here I post an alternate picture of me that is very colorful and energy filled.  Oh, and blurry too.  I hope Scott is happy now.

This shot was taken on Sunday night at my friend Steve's birthday bar crawl in the West Village.  Specifically, it is right in front of classic gay bar/dive Ty's, and across from the Lucille Lortel Theater.  I love this picture because it captures the color and energy of the West Village, my first and favorite neighborhood in NYC.

Recent Absence

I started Upright & Stowed at the beginning on 2006 as a way of encouraging myself to write, to think broadly, to embrace the spirit of travel, and to share my ideas and opinions with friends, family and whoever else who might be interested.  

Some things have changed since 2006.  Most significantly the political landscape has changed.  My frame of mind shifted from Bush-era pondering, plotting, talking, sighing, strategizing, decrying and disbelieving … to Obama-era imagining, hoping, dreaming, agonizing and finally celebrating.  In some ways it was easier for me to write when I was angry and seeking change than in my current state of blessed relief.

Another huge change during my blogging years has been the explosion of social media.   The rise of Facebook has been jaw dropping in both speed and impact.  It has changed the way we engage.  And while my contributions to Facebook are short and  shaped to grab attention, there’s no denying that one brief status update on Facebook is seen by more of my friends than any longer, carefully crafted blog entry.   That instant feedback is pretty satisfying, if you’re trying to connect.

Finally, I have been doing far less travel in the past 6 months than ever before.  Since Upright & Stowed is meant to use travel and globalism as a filter for everything I write here, my stationary state has had an impact on my writing inspiration.  My hope is to be traveling a lot, and soon. 

So there’s the explanation of my summertime writing absence.   I feel change a-stirring … and I expect to ratchet up the writing soon.  Stay tuned.

Note Bene:  That's my new nautical star tattoo, by the way.  Even though I'm not smiling in this shot, I love it.