Shanghai, Okinawa, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore
May & June 2013
Stacy taking a stroll through fake Paris as she is soon to be a mother. Congratulations Stacy and Jay for bringing a
'wenzhouchigan' infant to birth, good luck Jay learning wenzhounese so you can communicate with the little one.
Walker tends to meet me in Asia for his birthday. I was starting to think it was connected with the journeys we were
planning, but now I just realized that he is taking advantage of the 4 man massage he gets for turning a year older.
Walker and I were on a intense filming trip through Eastern Asia. After ten days in Shanghai we flew to Guangzhou
to skate 'Hubba heaven' then trekked over to Shenzhen to film the intro, followed that up with a visa run & film a
ride episode, took off to Taiwan to record some visuals within the formally disputed island and finally navigated our
way to Okinawa, Japan where we were enslaved to try
Taco rice, a specialty which can not be overlooked.
Found this neat looking note in a telephone booth while filming at a spot close to an apartment complex where our
friend & photographer Kenji said a lot of suicides have happened before. I
was expecting a fairy tale or something
amusing
written by a child, but once I had it translated by a Japanese friend and I was quite disturbed on the actual
content which said, '
There are too many people who say that going to hell is the same as losing your nose and
mouth. Going to hell, then, shit, no more mouth and nose. Being tied up to a bar which looks like 2 bars are stacked
like a punishment and oh hoooo...'.
Did someone get a phone call from underneath?
These might just be students dressed as navy recruits, but the military presence of the Americans is quite a
questionable topic considering there are over 35,000 American men and women serving on Japanese soil or sea
paid mainly by Japanese tax payers. Over eighty five percent of the people (Okinawans) would prefer the troops to
leave mainly for criminal, ethical and environmental reasons such as noise pollution. Besides slight security from a
non existing threat (besides the Senkaku islands dispute from last year change of power to Xi Jinping).
For the
American military it is a vital point of interest to stay within the Pacific to eavesdrop on China and Southeast Asia.
I must say the case of the soreness is quite a common feeling in skateboarding, but not often do I find myself in
Japan stuck in a hotel with a talented fellow skateboarder like with Walker Ryan and watch the series
Girls instead
of hitting the streets just because our legs didn't want to obey orders. Even Japanese salt water didn't quite solve
our condition of 'soreziness'. After a couple days of hanging with Kenji, Wataru, Chris
, Ryo & Okinawa crew we had
to part ways. Walker flew back home for a wedding while I flew down towards the equator for some more filming.
Chop sticks & forks are overrated. Dig into some Indian specialities served on banana leaves at Raju's in KL!
Kieron Brodie performing some blunt to fakies on a sundial at the Science Center (Planetarium) in Kuala Lumpur
for his
Ride channel episode we filmed during my one day layover in Malaysia before heading to Singapore.
Underwater World, Singapore
On top the tallest building overlooking Singapore with Milda a fellow eastern European such as myself while working
on a visual piece for
Asiarooms presenting Singapore's modernity, diversity and nobility from all corners & angles.
Illuminating 'trees' by the bay are one of the few places to escape to on this dense island.
Charles got me involved in a short Johnnie Walker commercial involving interviews with Jon T. Benn a notorious
villain in Bruce Lee films. This
man has had romantic affairs with women more than one can imagine, even today.
Charles has a fetish for ghost cities which is not a secret anymore. Empty 5am movie sets to use the golden hour
of light on a cloudy day has been added to the list of new favorite places for Mr. Lanceplaine. Its a please buddy!
Chuniversal Studios.
Bruce Lee quote that I like 'Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water'.
Pre-shoot goofing around with Charlie.
Fifty years ago...