What becomes of the seemingly ephemeral creations we leave behind? Especially in the analog-days?
Consider these in the context of missing cassette tapes made by a now departed poet/activist/scholar Foster and guitar-ing Mikael, who recorded spontaneous youthful riffs in parent’s basement in Utah. In this postcard, Mikael Lewis sings “Wildflower (for Foster)” written by Dave in a clinic in Nepal, then adds some more verses, spiels and a poem called “Occasionally Free” – with lightning, rainstorm and crickets chiming along.
Note: Also available in audio-only via all normal podcast channels and elsewhere in this library.
Often, I find signs interesting, amusing or occasionally useful or just aesthetically curious or intriguing. Here are some, i have others. These are from Sri Lanka.
a pre-haircut pose in a Jamaican shop – Jamaica might have the best all-around barbers of any country. PS photo taken with analog Lomo sardine can camera
While i started enjoying haircuts when i found a barber shop which also offered libations, good tunes, pinball and the like, since “the illness” I made a list of things I can do which involves sitting down, but gets me out of the house, and leaves me with a feeling of satisfaction. These include: making scrapbooks, seeing matinée movies, sitting in parks under a tree, getting my beard professionally trimmed (rather than chopping at it myself) plus trim up the haircut,… as well as pedicures documented elsewhere.
While rambling, i like to seek out the hole-in-the-wall, no fuss, traditional barbers and enjoy a leisurely visit. Its hit or miss sometimes but ya know, hair grows back right?
Sometimes, not always, i grab a snap with the barber or the shop or me before and after… sometimes i don’t so you won’t see those. Oh sometimes i recall names and/or locations, this is not meant to be comprehensive, just amusing and vaguely documentary.
This assortment features barbers in international locations (meaning not Canada and USA), moreorless (pending).
Another action shot at another barber in Jamaicagetting a “gentleman’s mullet” tuned up in La Paz, Mexicoa fun experience in Phitsanulok Thailand in a wildly “decorated” barber shop which included straight-razor trim
Once upon a time… humans moved away from bartering things and services on an ad hoc basis and came up with a default transaction medium which became known as money. First coins (well, maybe something before, likely made of clay) denominated by an arbitrary, yet commonly agreed-upon, value – often made of metals which were deemed to be rare/shiny/valuable.
Then after (perhaps admitting the arcane value of metals and needing something handier to tote around) eventually created paper bank notes – first with value attached to aforementioned shiny metals, then again arbitrarily assigned a transactional value by central banks and governments.
To me, this is neither here nor there, i really don’t have an opinion about the “importance” of money. Indeed, if you value such “wealth” so much, go forth and acquire in exchange for your time, talents or conniving – or simply create your own currency, print it and rally folks to desire it as a means of exchange. This is commonly done in form of community notes, “virtual” currencies (often managed by Blockchain tech), or even various commercial operations making notes, coupons or points systems.
Thai baht (20) with coins (various)
My point in sharing this is: Very often, these banknotes – both contemporary or deprecated – are lovely specimens of design art and printing technology (granted the reason is usually to thwart counterfeit versions polluting the general population’s trust in the monetary system). I very much enjoy the loveliness of printing “things on substrates” – the values to me are non-important (aside when i need to purchase eggs and bacon) but rather the artistic-ness and the totems decided by a society to represent their culture/country (often historical figures of various repute, significant events, important buildings or cultural motifs) are a source of endless curiosity. Additionally, the stories the bills imbue, often soaked quite literally into the fibres, as well as the journey the note took to your hand or pocket and/or the travel one undertook to acquire… are what sparks my interest.
As such, i gather these notes, photograph for the historical record and my own amusement and, evidently, to share with you.
Thai baht (50) and USA dollar (1) and coins (various) – as shown with key (room 204) and Do Not Disturb sign (used) – as photographed by Lomo
This is Volume Two of several in an on-going series, this round featuring notes in situ as it were in Sri Lanka, Thailand as well as a variety of banknotes in common use in USA, European Union and Indonesia.
Another scrapjournal for the archive, this one containing the usual assortment of paper-y bit collected in Sri Lanka where i received Ayruvedic panchakarma treatment and rambled around a wee bit staying at faded-glory “grand” hotels, rustic tea shops rife with horse race punters, and jungles of monkeys. Left under strained confusing circumstances but that’s neither here nor there.
Nevertheless, a few sample pages to provide evidence of above annotations for your amusement.
Postcards: Stick No Bills, cinemaPostcards: Stick No Bills, cinema
As often mentioned, i love postcards – both the writing / sending and the buying / collecting. When i find excellent postcards, i am indeed tempted to keep em stashed in a dossier or shoebox for my own amusement, however such action does not allow the humble postcard to fulfil its apparent destiny. As such, as per usual routine, i gather the finest cards, write sentiments (albeit in semi-legible scrawl) upon the back, squeeze in an address, flourish with inky stamps, complete with requisite postal stamps and send send on their way via the magical wormhole of postboxes. However, before sending on their journey, i take snapshots of the front / arty side for art and documentation purposes (sometimes the backs too for personal audit and memory).
This batch comes via a stay in Galle, Sri Lanka where, in the historical Fort Galle (previously Portuguese, Dutch and British), i bought basically everything Stick No Bills had on offer – postcard-wise that is, they also sell posters which aren’t handy for traveling though i have a mighty stack in a storage locker faraway.
Each card rung up with unique UPC barcode resulting in a receipt approx a metre/yard long with 92 entries. I mentioned this dedications to them and they offered me a poster t say “thanks” but alas i split before taking them up on the kindness.
Most notable about Stick No Bills is:
Respect for artists – the art is carefully curated, artists are compensating appropriately and the artwork is reproduced accurately
Quality of materials – delicious tactile cardstock with fine silkscreened ink which feels wonderful under pen and finger
Eclectic variety – as evidenced in my collection shared over 7 volumes, the assortments includes vintage Air Ceylon and hotel art, cinema art, various folklife, landmarks, maps and transportation themed pieces. (They also offered a line featuring funny/weird/unironic english t-shirts worn by local folks which i didn’t collect as i recall.)
Anyhow, mine are shared here for historical record (and modified with my personal stamps to prevent unauthorized reproductions) and your support/purchases is/are encouraged/recommended either by mailorder or even better, stopping into their lovely shop in Fort Galle, Sri Lanka.Tell em Uncle Weed sent ya (they won’t know what you mean but i’ll be amused).
