Nouveau Camera

Okay, so now I just realized that no one actually reads my blog.

People just look at the pictures. So why do I bother writing anything?

I'm pretty sure the fact that I just purchased a new digital camera doesn't really help my situation as I have to take more photos to get more familiar with the camera.

So yeah, that's partly the reason why I haven't posted anything in almost a month. After taking 14,000 photographs in the 3 years that I've had my Nikon Coolpix 4500, I think it was giving me distinct indications that it was ready for retirement. The fact that I could no longer change the white balance, and the flash no longer worked, are probably sure signs.

And so I needed a replacement...DESPERATELY. And SOON.

And so I found the Canon PowerShot A620.



Oh it's a sweet camera.

I haven't really had much of an opportunity to take alot of shots. But it should be ready for Saturday before I leave for Berlin.

But of the shots I did take with it so far...

I christened my camera with the first picture being of Moses Kayondo. A really good guy. He drove me back and forth from the store to pick up my crap.



Anne-Marie Garrido. From the Danish Institute of Human Rights. She just happened to be passing by my desk when I was playing with my camera.



And last but not least, Anna Wells. Soon to be Anna Hill. She just got engaged.



See the excitement of the engagement on my face? And notice the weary engagement anxiety on Anna's face??? Hahaha.

Anyway, I'm headed out to Berlin on Saturday. After doing some research, this trip may turn out to being another U2 pilgrimmage. They did so much work and spent so much time in Berlin during the recording and promotion of 'Achtung Baby' that there's a ton of landmarks and notable sites connected to the band.

But I've still got alot of camera testing to do before I leave, I'd prefer not to come back from the trip and discover that all the pictures that I've taken are all blurry. Like this one...



The macro function is super-wicked-sweet. Too bad I didn't adjust the lighting better so this picture could turn out amazing.

In any case, see ya in a week.

An Irish Spring

It's a shame that I no longer can find that soap in Europe.

So Ireland was the most recent adventure. And for those of you who have known me the longest, you know exactly why I traveled out to the land of the shamrock. Sure I was curious to see if I could find Lucky's charms, but the real reason was to embark on an adventure of a lifetime. That's right, you guessed it, a U2 pilgrimmage.

First things first...came in through Belfast...then made my way down to Dublin. The plan was to meet up with Uncle Tom and then spend 2 nights in Dublin, 2 nights in Galway, and 1 night back in Belfast.

In the city of Dublin, we stayed with the Christian Brothers. And our host, Brother Donal Leader was incredible. I don't think anything could've prepared us for such great hospitality and accomodations. It was simply heaven (full pun intended) compared to the past hostels that I've been at.



It had been raining for most of the day, as soon as it cleared up, Tom and I inaugurated our successful arrival to Dublin, with a pint of Guinness at one of Dublin's most famous pubs, Temple Bar.



It was a great pub, too bad I look retarded in that last photo.

Anyway, the next 5 days were amazing. It was simply beautiful weather. Uncommon for Ireland, but hey, we took it with appreciation!



And since I didn't want to drag Tom around the city looking for U2 landmarks, I opted to rise at 6:30am and make my way around to some of the notable fan sites in Dublin.

This first set of pics is of Windmill Lane Studios and of the U2 graffiti wall. It's a shame that the city is destroying these buildings to make room for more commercial and corporate housing. I didn't even really get a good look around the area because all the construction turkeys were just milling around.



This next set is of the Grand Canal Docks where the band had staged some photo-ops for posters, album covers (October), and various other promotional materials. The panoramic shows the studio house (on right) that U2 currently resides at. And the last two pics are of Principle Management (U2's management agency) and of STS studios where they recorded songs and shot video for the Rattle & Hum album and film.



The next set is of the Clarence Hotel, a hotel, restaurant, and former nightclub ('The Kitchen') that the band currently co-owns with another of Ireland's elite clientel.



That pretty much did it for my pilgrimmage for the morning, afterwards Tom and I made our way through St. Stephen's Green, Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, and then up to the Guinness Storehouse for the brewery tour!







I have to say that if you ever go to Dublin, one of the "MUST-SEE" things to do is the Guinness Storehouse Tour. For 9 euro you get a self-guided tour, a souvenir paper weight with a drop of Guinness inside, a sample of fresh Guinness right out of the vat, and a full pint of the "second-freshest" (as the sample you just had before is truly the freshest) Guinness you'll ever taste.

I love this next pic. I've entitled it, "My Goodness".



Oooooooh! TASTY!

Afterwards, it was on to Bono's home out in the southern-Dublin town of Killiney! This was a crazy trip because the first train we took past right by Killiney and went 2 towns further than we wanted. And the craziness didn't end there, but since it's a bit of story, ask me in person and I'll tell you all the nutty details.

Here we are at the big man's house...



And wouldn't you know it, Bono lives directly across the street from the Canadian Embassy!



The next day was equally as busy. 1st stop was Kilmainham Gaol (Jail), arguably Ireland's most famous prison, where many Irish revolutionaries were imprisoned, and was also the prison used in the film, "In the Name of the Father".



I gotta mention this...these next pics are of the miniaturized model of the jail. The weird thing is that they decided to put in small figurines of people. But they're all posed so weird that it looks like there's a drama going on under the glass case.



I'll award someone with cash if they can make out a funny dialogue about them.

Afterwards, we beat it out of there, back to the monastery to grab our bags and make tracks for Galway.

Galway was absolutely fantastic. The hostel was literally 40 feet from the train station, and they even recommended a great pub, called "The Crane", with amazing traditional Irish music.



And the best thing about the band that night was that the band was being led by a Japanese guy!



My guess is that he's the Celtic Yo-Yo Ma!

After a good night's sleep we made our way out to the Aran Islands. One 45 minute bus ride, followed by a 30 minute ferry out to the island, there we were...standing on one gigantic rock. There are stone walls EVERYWHERE. The Aran Islands are quite literally just a couple of gi-normous stones sitting in the ocean. But they are incredibly beautiful as you will see...



And easily the best thing we saw were the cliffs...



They were absolutely breathtaking. One of the most awesome sites I have ever seen. I'd love to say more, but words cannot describe how amazing it is to crawl to the edge of the cliff, and look straight down 600 feet into churning waters crashing against the island.



It was a tearful goodbye to leave Galway, but after another drink at The Crane, we packed, slept, and then left for Belfast. Now Belfast was a complete bust. I won't even care to talk much about it because in all the time I spent there (including my arrival at their airport, and the train ride down to Dublin) I just had a really really craptacular experience.

And because Northern Ireland is still part of the United Kingdom, and they still use the freakin' Great Britain Pound, we had no money to do anything, and we ended up watching "Mission Impossible 3" (which was good, despite Tom Cruise's public bouts of craziness) but not what I had expected to do while traveling.



Anyway, this next segment is of funny things that we just had to take pictures of. Whether you get the jokes or not, it doesn't matter. I'll let you fill in the blanks yourself.



And if you're still terribly confused, invite me out for a drink and I will tell all.

This was an incredible trip. And having Uncle Tom traveling with me just made it even more incredib-ler. And with Tom scheduled to return back home to Missouri, the following day after the trip, I can't think of a better way to have spent time with someone that I am truly proud to call my friend.

To put it simply: Thomas Yonker is like a pint of Guinness. Tall? Dark? Bitter? Okay, those words don't really work. The word I'm trying to use is: Refreshing. No, not in the weird way, but in the way that it is simply refreshing to be able to know someone who is as kind, as patient, as knowledgable, as hilarious and most importantly, as REAL as Tom Yonker.



You are of a rare breed of good men.

And I'll never forget all the great stories, amazing memories, and profound wisdom that you've given me.

Thank you.