United Statesian

"1/2 Torso - Lento" -- Keep looking at the picture until you see it... Dear Citizens of the World! Being an expat has ups and downs. One up-side is getting to meet interesting people from around the world. One such person, "Hans some" is a hard-working metal artist from Germany who is based in Alicante Spain. His sculpture "1/2 Torso - Lento" has become one of my favourite works of art. It has a subtle genius to it that reminds me of MC Escher, but in 3-D. It really plays tricks with your mind. Fantastic! Since I do not have a permanent home -- one of the downsides of being an expat -- I will keep a digital gallery of my favourite works of art. It is free, takes no space, and travels well. Check out more here: http://hans-some.com / Have any suggestions of other pieces of art that I should add to my collection? - The United Statesian

Pigeons in Tel Aviv go on strike! Dear Citizens of the World! I will have to admit that I do not understand why...but the pigeons in Tel Aviv have decided to go on strike. Any ideas? After taking the picture above, I walked down to the beach and found this guy: Hanging out on Tel Aviv's Beach soft-sand beach He obviously stopped off at the hair-dresser to get the puffy-hair look. Then he decided to spend his "strike" sinking his feet in the super-fine sand. His blood-red, beady little eyes make him look quite scary -- despite the hairdo. Note: The sand on the beach in Tel Aviv is the finest, softest sand I have ever seen. It is actually quite nice. I have only walked by part of the beach...still haven't had time to chill out on the beach yet...one day maybe...when I get a job...then go on strike to join the pigeons in their fight. The United Statesian

Chicken man! Don't know what your selling...but you've got my attention. Dear Citizens of the World! My last post might have given a lopsided view of TA. The city has two very distinct facets that live side by side: the gritty and the shiny. Today I will start with some images of the gritty side. Later some shiny ones for contrast. "Decoration" outside a building...one part of an eclectic mix. Cool graffiti door painting next to a Tattoo parlour. More traditional graffiti near the beach. A home-made graffiti which is done on recycled paper and glued up. Better quality, but less time on the street. This artists has quite a few glued up around town. they are about four feet tall. More photos in future posts... The United Statesian

Postcard that made it from Egypt...despite being in the middle of a revolution... Dear Citizens of the World, E-mails, instant messages, mobile phones and free calls on Skype and other services have made the art of communicating much easier and enjoyable for me. However, traditional letters are still relevant. I argue that they are even more relevant now than they have been in a long time. The art of postcard writing has been almost lost, but thanks to a few thoughtful friends it is staying alive! It used to be a treat to get hand-written letters in the mail, but it was not uncommon. Now, I usually only gets bills and junk-mail -- this is even dwindling because many of my bills come to me by email and advertising is becoming more directed (fewer "blanket" campaigns). Those days that I do find a rare postcard from a friend in a distant land... it is such a treat! This last postcard arrived this week in Madrid after a three-week long journey from Egypt. My friends who wrote the...

Dear Citizens of the world, I have been duped. The tiny marketing machine promoting a photograghy exhibit of Dayanita Singh got me. Since I am always on the lookout for exhibits - in order to improve my style by imitating the masters - I decided to visit this exhibit just down the road from my house. The two main pictures promoting the exhibit were very promising. The girl below appears to be floating in the air - gorgeous. The other picture "I am as I am" captivates, the whites of her eyes dominate the image and make you wonder who she is staring at and why - haunting. However, when I went to the exhibit I was disapointed. The rest of the pictures were not at all like these and of far less intrest to me. You never know what you will find. I will keep you up to date on ones that I like. Until then... Stay healthy, wealthy and wise. The United Statesian

Dear Citizens of the world, The demon dogs have abated and I am slowly regaining my strength. My first week back to the grind was a tough one, but thankfully it was shortened by a holiday on the last Friday of January. Thus, I was free to line up outside the Mapfre Foundation Exhibit Hall in Madrid for a rare treat: The Musée d' Orsay traveling show . Since the famous impressionist museum is being renovated, a small collection of pieces from the likes of Manet, Monet, Renoir, etc are being put on display around the world - first stop Madrid. Cool January Sunrise in Madrid on the Gran Via To top it off, the visit is free! My favourite piece is: " La estación de Saint-Lazare " from Claude Monet. If you are in Madrid, give it a look-see. The United Statesian