What's in Yours?

Sometimes it's just curious what can be in someone's cameraphone. I got curious yesterday, and so I decided to post last dozen pictures in my phone or so.



This pictures was taken two weeks ago. It was at our office retreat - at the bank of Kiev sea. Never thought Kiev had a sea?

It's actually a big water reservoir on the Dnieper river - up from Kyiv


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And it also has nice pine forest on the bank:





A nice yacht came to shore. Next week I became the godfather of my friend's daughter. Here's the happy mother, Kateryna, with daughter Ulyana-Oleksandra:



Next picture in my phone was taken somewhere on streets of Kyiv, proving it's essential eclecticism in architecture.



And yesterday, after the hectic working week another friend of mine made to come to "Oktoberfest" tiny model in Kyiv. It was on the Spartak Stadium - a big tent was installed and hundreds of people were drinking and shouting, eating german sausages. Very funny&





Another funny thing to do when you are drunk, is opening an umbrella in metro being behind of the cop, which also goes down the escalator.







By the way, it's one of the deepest metro station in the world.



Train arrives. Technical personnel started shouting that taking pictures is not allowed.



Advertising I was placing in the metro car:



Our metro is packed with advertising. There are even LCD-screens, displaying some news and stupid ads.



Late commuters going home:





Nice Bag:



That was in my phone. What's in yours?

Barcelona urban architecture

I have just returned from an amazingly intense week in Barcelona, full of music rehearsals, long-distance-relationship (LDR) reunions and nostalgic emotions.

But I will not get into that yet. This post is about Barcelona's urban architecture.



Barcelona is a city that is marked by the creations of the famous architect Gaudi but I will not get into that either. This post will focus on the less touristic, urban side of Barcelona. It is, in my opinion, equally attractive.

My comments on the following photos will be minimal, just like my knowledge on architecture.


Blocks of flats. I love how the use of gray color is avoided.


Again, lovely choice of color and interesting texture effect with the use of these tiles.


Massive buildings for corporate use, under construction. 8 hours of our days, in a box. Why?


Back to urban, colorful beauty.


The use of the warm, earthly colors soothes my brain cells.


Interesting colors, shapes, angles.






Back to corporate buildings. I think these must be Gaudi-inspired.


And here is one more glass box, for your viewing pleasure.


Quick conclusion:
Barcelona looks like a very beautiful place to live, with high standards of quality in residence construction. The corporate buildings however, look as scary as in many other parts of the crazy corporate world.

Intro

Hello everyone from your hesitantly blogging US correspondent.

This is my first post to this blog - or any blog for this matter. In case you were wondering, no, I am not a solar-powered garbage-compacting robot from humanity's dystopian future in love with an ipod resembling machine.

I was kindly invited to this blog to provide an American perspective to the international affair foto-aparat is. I will try to do that much in the same way the other contributors have: with random snapshots of my daily routine sprinkled with a highlight here and there. (By the way, hello co-contributors I've never met!)

Speaking of routine nothing more appropriate than Tuesdays. I've been doing pretty much exactly the same thing each and every Tuesday since I arrived here.

Here's a couple of recent ones.

Wake up early-ish, walk out around 8.30am. My place is surrounded by bio labs.





Head to school or in this case work. Between Tuesday 1 and Tuesday 2 contractors completed a project which to my eyes looked like rearranging the bricks covering the square. I am sure there is a good reason.



Around 6pm grab a carnitas quesadilla at Anna's. Price of said item crossed the psychological barrier of $5 between T1 and T2.



Traverse the infinite corridor on the way to the classroom where the bridge club meets.



Occasionally arrive too early. Hang out in the sun and revise convention card - well, at least on particularly nice summer Tuesdays. It's hardly as idyllic most of the time.



Play bridge until 10pm. Head home.

Exciting or what? I am sure you can't wait for the next post.

The Tinsley Towers

Once upon a time, in 1998, I found myself in Sheffield, for 2 days.

One of the most striking memories was the level of industrialization of this gloomy city, which was so loudly reflected on these two concrete cooling towers.


Another view that stroke me was this vast building, opposite of the bus station. Never had I seen a more massive construction for residence.

Ten years after this experience, I had almost forgotten everything about Sheffield, when I read the news about the demolition of the Tinsley Towers.

I felt a bit strange, knowing that something so massive and impressive that I had seen with my own eyes no longer existed. And I think I can understand part of the local people that objected to this decision.

Here is the impressive footage of the demolition:

Wedding!

For some reason I only seem to have a camera when there are traditional things happening in my world. Be that as it may... here's a little glimpse of a Sesotho traditional wedding celebration which I attended this weekend.

The bride and groom. The more modern part of the wedding ceremony had already taken place in Washington DC last year (the groom is from there). This was the African celebration of what can sometimes be a two year long marital process. She is dressed in a Basotho animal skin and he has mixed his outfit into a Seswati outfit with a Basotho blanket.


Guests at the wedding (my best friends). All dressed in what are modernised versions of the traditional Basotho clothes (Seshoeshoe).


The dancers...Their moms should've forced those vegetables on them...they need more flesh on those bones. :)


Mmabs in a Ndebele outfit!!!


Xhosa women.


Mmabs and the bride...