lifeasdaddy

Ago restaurant - 377 Greenwich Street

I think that Leo Schofield has sworn to  never again write another published restaurant review.   

This one in The New Yorker rivals Leo at his acerbic best.

Pamplona, the running of the bulls, best ever photoset.

On the Big Picture blog here.

And my favourite from the comments:

That photo of the bull leaping over a pile of people is wild! It's hilarious to see them holding up their digital cameras and phone cameras as THEY ARE ABOUT TO BE CRUSHED. The whole event is fascinatingly ridiculous and yes, grotesque.

Posted by Jabo

I dips me lid to Matthew Harding

Matt went around the world and danced with lots of people in lots of places.  This video is a lot more interesting than you think.

"He realized his bad dancing wasn't actually all that interesting, and that other people were much better at being bad at it. He showed them his inbox, which, as a result of his semi-famousness, was overflowing with emails from all over the planet. He told them he wanted to travel around the world one more time and invite the people who'd written him to come out and dance too."

.

I felt good after I watched it.  You will too.

http://www.vimeo.com/1211060

If your video is jerky, turn off the HD (button on the screen).

Wow. Just wow.

It's Friday afternoon.  Some of you may have had a hard week at work.  This will put a bit of a spring in your step:

Lonely Planet guide book writer admits he made it up.

I thought Lonely Planet guidebooks were over rated.  This could be one reason.

lifeasaddy - The limited edition Peter Brock memorial trailer.

Peter Brock was a famous Australian motor racing driver.  He died just over a year ago, but he is still remembered.

we were out driving today and followed a car towing this trailer.

The sign reads,

"King of the mountain Peter Brock 05

1945 - 2006"

lifeasdaddy - If you are an Australian going to work in the USA you'll want to...

... read what Frank Arrigo had to say about his visa "interview".

Lots of security hoo haa and long queing for a very short interview.

lifeasdaddy - Mount Kosicuszko and Kosciuszko Bridge

Photo blogger Jake put up a photo of the (underside of the) Kosciuszko Bridge   we Australians have Mount Kosciuszko as our tallest mountain

Both are named after Tadeusz Kościuszko   a hero of both the American Revolutionary War, and the Polish uprising against Russia.

Who knows how our mountain was named after this Pole?

lifeasdaddy - Burlesque in Atlanta.

According to Baby Got Books, there is a thriving burlesque scene in Atlanta.  Burlesque is turning up all over the shop, even at book signings. 

Dita Von Teese has a lot to answer for.

lifeasdaddy - My general impressions of Hawaii

As I mentioned we were in Hawaii a few weeks ago.  I was last there in 1989 and this trip I noticed that there were more Americans vacationing there and fewer Australians than 17 years ago.

Australians now have many more moderately priced vacation options particularly in Asia, so I attribute the decline in Australian tourist numbers to increased competition from other destinations.

Increased American tourist numbers?  Hawaii is so much safer for Americans than other destinations.  It has the benefit of the strict US border controls, and the USA is a country at war.

The USA is a country at war, and the war footing is apparent everywhere on Oahu.  For many decades there has been major Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and Coast Guard bases on Oahu due to it's strategic significance.  Most of these bases are located on the main highways (Eisenhower's National System of Interstate and Defense Highways) so even tourists like us cannot help but to notice them.  As with most communities in the United States, the participation in war is no mere academic distant concept.  It is very real in Hawaii.  There can be few places with such a concentrated and diverse operational military presence.  No doubt for security reasons, few of the military personnel wear uniform off base, however the large numbers of physically fit young males with short haircuts in Honolulu has only one source.

Noticeable too are the many vehicles with stickers on them proclaiming "Support our Troops".  Not something I'd noticed on my last visit to California (post September 11)

Ford Island, part of the National Historic Landmark of the greater Pearl Harbor precinct is undergoing development to provide more military housing.    This construction work is visible while riding the bus from the USS Bowfin visitor center to the USS Missouri. A war machine grinds on.

Picking up some free newspapers around Honolulu, I read about increasing (for want of a better description) Hawaiian nationalism.  It's not something which seems to get much mainstream coverage, but it's a movement which has some similarities to those of other indigenous peoples.  From an Hawaiian nationalist website:

"The cause of Hawaii and independence is larger and dearer than the life of any man connected with it. Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station."
  - Lili`uokalani, Hawaii's last Queen

I'm going to write about eating out on Oahu in another blog post.