I’m sure many of you didn’t watch Dragon Ball Z but still, always good for some nostalgia. If you hate anime, don’t worry - I’m just starting this week off light before diving into a few more varied topics, this is a fun one.
I’m writing this from Edinburgh, Scotland from the Fringe Festival, yet another massive celebration I stumbled across without knowing it. While I was a little dismayed at first since the city was so crowded, I’ve warmed to it since I’m taking part of the biggest arts festival worldwide. Yes, it’s a little less Scottish, but it’s a big part of the city’s identity. Yesterday I already saw some stand up comedy (terrible, but free) and “Shitfaced Shakespeare” which turned out to be a sort of improv version of Macbeth where one of the actors was drunk and drank throughout the show.
I’m gathering some plans for the next few days in Scotland and they’re looking to be pretty fun. Stay tuned on IG and Twitter for some more live updates.
Now to some interesting stuff..
Don’t forget about NFTs
I’ve been getting blog posts from Zen Ledger ever since I used them for my taxes this year. I don’t always find them helpful and they’re always using CTAs to sign up, but I liked the 5 NFT Use Cases Beyond Art & Games as something to send here to many people who have been skeptical or dismissive of NFTs. There are definitely scams and stupid drawings dominating the market, but I think once all that dies down, the technology will remain to be used, even if under a different name and largely invisible to the end consumer. In fact, that’s probably the best way to get people involved is by not telling them.
Art
Before stumbling across the amazing 2 star Michelin restaurant, Aan de Poel, I was checking out Museum Jan in Amsterdam. One of the artists there who stood out was Saskia Boelsums. She is a Dutch photographer, but she really shouldn’t be considered strictly a photographer as most of the value of her artwork comes with the editing process where she elevates a well taken photo to a surreal blend between reality and imagination. I’m not an art writer so I might sound like I’m full of shit, but I’ll show you what I mean.
Fun fact: This last one is now my phone background
The other artist that stood out to me is Hans Kanters. He reminded me of a dark hybrid of Salvador Dali and Frida Kahlo. I’m sure art history experts will scoff at my assessment, but the dreamy landscapes filled with chaotic characters and action is what makes me connect them. It’s also exactly the kind of art I’d want to be able to create — who wouldn’t though.
Biking/City Mobility
I think what I learned in Amsterdam is that I’ve been missing biking in my life. Don’t expect to see me in a biking costume on a racing bike any time soon, I just mean that I appreciate the lifestyle of not using a car and being able to check out the different city offerings. This isn’t really a feature of Southern California, so when I move back we’ll see how my life adjusts.
Over the last four years I’ve seen a mix of huge and small cities, and mobility is generally the concern vs. the pure size. Another factor is how close the interesting neighborhoods are to each other.
Some interesting comparisons would be Berlin x Buenos Aires x Los Angeles x Madrid x Mexico City which are all sprawling but have very different mobility AND different layouts of neighborhoods you might want to go to.
For example; Berlin and LA have cool neighborhoods spread out all over, whereas Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Madrid have a central area of safer and non-residential areas that are easily accessible but have tons of outskirts that a visitor likely wouldn’t go to. Please enlighten me if this is wrong. I’m no expert in any of these, especially not Berlin where I’ve only spent a week.
Maybe this needs more digging in another day… If you know of any writings/videos about this, send ‘em my way!
Wrapping Up
I think this is getting a bit long, so let’s wrap it up with a little Uniqlo love. I’ve been going in to the store in every major city and just appreciating the current Fall catalog. I’m clearly ready to stop wearing the same 10 things while living out of a backpack.. So much so that I’ve been taking photos of cool outfits on the mannequins. (Ask if you want to see my mood board or whatever it’s called haha)
Cheers!