Dosa at Angan, Lazimpat, Kathmandu
Coming to Kathmandu always means getting quite a few paper masala dosa over the course of our stay. We go to Angan in Lazimpat which is about a 5 minute walk from the Hotel Tibet. (Crossing the street is the most difficult part in getting there.) In the middle of that rice flour crispy pancake is an amazing mixture of potato and spices. I really think Cris could eat these every day, and at times I think she has. That is Darrell Earnest on her left. Darrell does the early grade math portion of the World Education/Unicef project on which Cris does the reading component. (I hope to write a post soon about the work they are doing here; it is really amazing.)
Just outside the door of Angan is this telephone switching box. I think this is one of the most perfect logos that I have ever seen.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #10)
I have delivered all of the American Demographics photos to Hope and Feathers for framing. I get back from Nepal on the 1st and the show will be hung on the 2nd. The opening is Thursday the 4th.
I had heard that a house was to be moved in Ithaca and went down to hang out and watch the action. These two guys seemed to be enjoying themselves. You can just make out the corner of the house that is attached to this cool Peterbuilt. Robby Aceto did a great job on the colors.
Hope to see you on the 4th.
Nepal 2018
We tried something different this year on our trip to Kathmandu. Instead of going through Dubai we opted to fly Qatar Airways through Doha. It was a nice long flight and the Doha airport is wild. Here is the giant teddy bear with a lamp on its head. Quite bizarre.
The flight to Kathmandu from Doha was 4 1/2 hours and I was getting a bit tired and bored.
It is always great to get off the plane and be in Nepal. You can deplane from the front and back just like in Long Beach!
They have renovated our usual room at the Hotel Tibet. Brilliant sunset last night from our window. / We have today to goof around before Cris starts her World Education work tomorrow. Cheers and thanks for following.
Willard / Meadville Trip / Conneaut Lake Park
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After living in D.C. for the past 5 years, our son Peter has moved home for a bit to take some classes and do GRE prep. It is nice to have him around. Soon after he returned to Massachusetts we planned a quick trip to Meadville and Pittsburgh to catch a Pirates game.
The Willard employee reunion dish-to-pass event was happening on the Saturday that we drove out, so he and I stopped to say hi to old friends. We had time afterwards to go to the cemetery which is always a very moving experience.
The sign at the Jewish part of the cemetery is looking a bit run down and could use some help.
The little stone marker is still there.
Here is one of the numbered graves in that part of the cemetery. It makes me so sad that #43 has no name. The state of New York could remedy this if they cared enough to publish the names of the patients who are buried here.
Before Peter and I continued on to Meadville, we stopped by the Romulus Historical Society building to see the recent exhibit updates. It was nice to see Craig Williams and Debbie Nichols who had been a nursing student and then a nurse at Willard.
Here is Debbie sitting next to her actual uniform. It is a great little museum and well worth a visit.
I’ve been stopping at the Angola Rest Area on the New York Thruway for as long as I can remember. It is so nice to walk over the highway to get to the main building.
The first stop was a visit to Eddie’s Footlongs on the lake road outside of Meadville. I had 2 with the works.
Next stop Hank’s Frozen Custard. I had 2 here as well. Chocolate.
On Sunday morning we got word that the Pirate’s game was cancelled due to rain, so we checked out of the motel and drove to Allegheny College to see the tree we planted in honor of my Dad.
My sister Karen chose a lovely Winter King, and it is thriving.
It was a rainy Sunday morning and after breakfast at the Meadville Market House Grill, we drove out for a last Hank’s and then around Conneaut Lake. The amusement park was not surprisingly deserted, but it was strange that country music was playing through the loudspeakers.
There was no one there to yell at us to stay off the rides, so we wandered and took some pictures.
Ugh, clowns.
On the left above is the Blue Streak roller coaster. I was never keen on riding it, but once Judy Jacoby who was my girlfriend for a short time convinced me to go on it. It was fine.
It is difficult to know for sure, but I think the park is still open. But it was a bit eerie to walk around with the music blaring and nobody else there.
The coaster car is pretty classic.
A Century Flyer made in Dayton, Ohio.
Here’s the entry into the first tunnel.
The master controls. ↑
Peter and I actually rode the Devil’s Den many years ago. The “Infamous Gum Wall!! is just that. People started sticking chewing gum on the wall when the ride slowed down and it became….well infamous.
Cristine and I are off to Nepal on Friday. I hope to post regularly from Kathmandu.
Cheers everyone and thanks for following.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #9)
Here is another of the Soviet Union photos. I was in Leningrad in March of 1982 and the Neva River was still mostly frozen. From what I could tell, these women came to the river every day for a dip. I really like how the school children are standing around watching. Another amazing hand coloring job by Robbie Aceto.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #8)
I never did know if the selective hand coloring on this image was Mike Rider’s suggestion or that Robby Aceto was pinched for time when he did the work. I do know that when he was doing these for American Demographics he was also very active as a touring musician. He has worked a lot with guitarist David Torn and quite a bit with David Sylvian. When I saw Robby recently he talked about doing a gig in New York City and then coming back to his hotel room to work on photos for the magazine. It is always possible that he just ran out of time before this issue went to press. I look at this and imagine the sky being blue and the grass green, but the more I look at it, the more I like the fact that only the banners are colored.
The exhibit opens up in about a month. I am really looking forward to it.
Willard Suitcases / Charles F. / Update
I’ve been busy with the Hope and Feathers exhibit and quite busy with my freelance work, but the suitcases project is never far from my mind.
I am working on an interesting collaboration on Charles’ cases and hope to have some exciting news soon.
He had an interesting collection of ties.
There are quite a few Penny postcards in the collection as well as some interesting hand- written notes. You can see the New York State Museum’s catalogue number (in pencil) on the upper right side of the white paper.
Thank you all for following this project. I will be devoting a ton of time to the suitcases later this month as I continue to develop ideas for getting the photos out to a wide audience. And Peter Carroll, Deb Hoard, and I are beginning to work hard on a preliminary short film which we can send to funders for the larger documentary that we plan to produce.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #7)
Another Robby Aceto hand coloring gem. So subtle. I took this on a walk around residential neighborhoods of Santa Clarita, CA and had no idea what was going on with this house (I’d never seen anything like this in the East). Some kind of art project, maybe? It turns out it was much more prosaic than that. Fumigation!
Things are moving ahead with the Hope and Feathers exhibit. Postcards are printed and I would be happy to mail one to anyone who wants to send me a postal address. Leave a comment and I will email back and get your details.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #6)
I was in the Soviet Union in 1982 for a few weeks. It was an interesting trip. I’m pretty sure this was taken at The Hermitage in Leningrad (I’ll know for sure when I get to this trip in my contact sheets). I remember being shocked at how the art was presented. Big windows with non UV coated glass and flourescent lighting.
My friend Ren is reflected in the glass on the right. The two women in the center are Americans and I’m pretty sure to woman on the right was our Soviet minder.
The press release for the Hope and Feathers exhibit went out yesterday. It is so exciting for me to see these photos after so many years in an archival box in my studio. Thanks again to Robby Aceto for the beautiful hand coloring.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #5)
I started going to presidential inaugurations back in the 1970s. I think the last one I did was Clinton’s second. I am going through my contact sheets to identify the specific dates of each photo for the Hope and Feathers / American Demographics show, so I can’t yet say what year this was taken. I should have all the dates by the time the exhibit goes up. I especially like Robby Aceto’s hand coloring of this shot. Really nice.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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