We had an amazing trip to South America, but it is so nice to be home again. A few small luxuries I missed while in Peru for 33 days: safe drinking water, reliable hot water, toilet seats, being able to flush toilet paper. Two of my new favorite fruits are granadillas (gelatinous, pulpy passionfruit) and shimbillo (sweet seed pod fruit). I kind of wish I could live in Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town), which has natural thermal baths and serves as the gateway to the famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.

Lima, the capital and largest city, is the hub of travel to anywhere in Peru, so we were there on four separate occasions. We spent the weirdest Christmas ever in the dirty jungle city of Pucallpa (including a breathtaking 360 degrees of fireworks at midnight on Christmas Eve). We spent New Year’s Eve in Lima (including dinner in Barranco in a 1909 train car with stained glass cathedral windows and wood paneling, and dangerous seaside fireworks in Miraflores).

I have almost 3,000 photos to sort through. My girlfriend is already posting her photos to Flickr, but it may take me forever to do the same. Back in Oregon, our cats definitely gained weight while we were in Peru. Even Tanuki looks chubby now. Emotional eating? Or sheer laziness plus unlimited food? Reminds me of this classic A Softer World comic.

Below is an outline of some of the places we visited. I have a journal full of handwritten notes, and there are many stories to tell, but this trip outline is all I can manage at the moment. After a weekend of recovery, I was thrust back into my pre-vacation work life today. The profound culture shock of being back in my own country—and having to return to my desk, in an office with no windows, where I stare at a computer screen for eight hours each day—is deeply troubling.

The Inca Empire: December 4-13

• Lima
• Puno/Lake Titicaca/Uros floating islands/Taquile Island
• Puca Pucará/Raqchi
• Cusco
• Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu
• Sacred Valley (Písac/Urubamba/Ollantaytambo)
• Cusco/Sacsayhuamán
• Lima

The Amazon jungle: December 13-31

• Lima
• Pucallpa
• Yarinacocha Lake/Puerto Callao/La Jungla
• San Francisco de Yarinacocha (Shipibo village)
• Pucallpa
• Lima

The high desert: December 31-January 6

• Lima
• Nasca/Nazca Lines
• Arequipa
• Lima

By the way, 2011 was the 100th anniversary of Machu Picchu’s “discovery.” And it was the first year of the Nazca Lines-inspired Peru’s New Brand. I love Peru’s new logo.

The terrible Auto-Tuned music

As a bonus, here are some dance-pop songs I remember hearing endlessly and unavoidably on Peruvian radio (mainly CPN Radio 90.5 FM Lima) while traveling. We were subjected to these Auto-Tuned sounds during all hours of the day, especially in Pucallpa. Sak Noel produces music even worse than Rebecca Black songs. Some things can’t be unheard. I ended up liking a few of these songs, possibly due to Stockholm Syndrome. This is music to rot your brain. The last video is a Shipibo song from the Amazon jungle. Listen to them all in this YouTube playlist: “Peru loves Auto-Tuned dance-pop music.”

• Michel Teló: Ai Se Eu Te Pego
• Sak Noel: Paso (The Nini Anthem) and Loca People (What The Fuck)
• LMFAO: Party Rock Anthem
• Joey Montana: La Melodia
• Usher (featuring Pitbull): DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love
• Pitbull: Give Me Everything
• Farruko: Pa Romper La Discoteca and Hola Beba
• J. Álvarez: Junto Al Amanecer and Regalame Una Noche
• Plan B: Si No Le Contesto and Es Un Secreto
• Black Eyed Peas: The Time (Dirty Bit)
• Shakira (featuring Pitbull): Rabiosa
• Jennifer Lopez (featuring Pitbull): On The Floor
• Jay-Z (featuring Alicia Keys): New York
• Britney Spears: Till The World Ends
• Katy Perry: Firework and California Gurls
• And we also heard this from some Shipibo friends:
  Los Shipis: Ishtontani Amenwe

Why is Pitbull, a Cuban-American rapper, sneering and barking on almost every track that gets played in Peru? Some things we can never know. If you’re really in love with this kind of music, check out the PERÚ Top 100 for more pop inspiration.

More updates and pixel art

For more regular updates, you may want to follow me on Twitter. Also, check out my recent Peru-themed 8-bit pixel art at Mascot Mashup.

This weekend I returned to Oregon from my cross-country, family-visiting Thanksgiving journey. I had a great time catching up with family and old friends. It was also the first Thanksgiving since my senior year of high school (1996) that I was present for dinner with my mom and siblings. That was nice. I guess I’ll have to wait to break out the “Lazy man’s Thanksgiving dinner for two” until Christmastime this year.

In addition to the many links I have posted via Twitter lately, below are a few more items I’ve liked (or found interesting) since late October.

Alan Moore, art and design

• Alan Moore to write libretto for Gorillaz duo
• The first issue of Alan Moore’s Dodgem Logic zine is out
• Nice: All About Comic Sans – History, Examples and Best Practices
• Norism: Commercialism by Nori Sato
• Cool pencil art: Jennifer Maestre Sculpture
• The World’s Greatest TreeHouse

Creepy animals and science

• Beautiful and Terrifying Creatures From The Edge Of Light (also see: Bloodybelly Comb Jelly)
• BPA is in everything: Tests Find Wide Range of Bisphenol A in Canned Soups, Juice, and More

Bohemian Rhapsody

• The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody
• Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody Played by Old Computer Equipment

More music

• Crazy animated music video: “Mani Malaikat” by Arrington de Dionyso
• Ah, the memories: Epic moment in Music Festival history @ Sasquatch 2009. A couple started having sex on the hill during The Decemberists’ awesome set. This song is “The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid.” This was on Saturday, May 23 at The Gorge Amphitheatre, WA (also see my Sasquatch! 2009 review)
• A nice history: Know Your Meme: Auto-Tune. Worth mentioning: KRS-One’s anti-Auto-Tune anthem “Robot” is quite tasty
  

The Prisoner replica jacket

My friend Warren made a Prisoner jacket for himself for Halloween this year. He took a navy blue blazer and sewed some white piping (white bias) around the edges. Looked pretty good, but it’s still tempting to buy an Official Prisoner Replica Jacket, to be used for all future interviews, weddings and funerals.

Keanu Reeves is immortal

I found this amusing: Keanu Reeves is immortal.

DIY automated sentry gun

I would like to reiterate something I posted to Twitter a few weeks ago: I require a sentry gun to monitor the kitchen counters with a water pistol, accompanied by audio of Cartman yelling, “No Kitty! Bad Kitty!” This article was the inspiration for the idea: “This DIY Automated Sentry Gun Looks Terrifyingly Easy To Build.” That, plus living with housecats.

Web development

I will finish up here with some useful links to JavaScript/AJAX accordion scripts: 10 Javascript Accordion Scripts (various JavaScript libraries) and Rico Accordion Example (Prototype-based).

Here are the bands I saw at Sasquatch! on Saturday, May 23: Blind Pilot, Doves, M. Ward, DeVotchKa, Animal Collective, The Decemberists, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Crystal Castles. I also caught the last couple of songs from the sets by both James Pants and Kings of Leon. I made the tough decision to see Doves over Passion Pit (who played at the same time) on the strength of their amazing 2000 album Lost Souls. The sheer volume of the Animal Collective and Crystal Castles sets made my ears bleed. The Decemberists and Yeah Yeah Yeahs were probably my favorites, though DeVotchKa was great as well. I tweeted periodically throughout the festival. Watch Sasquatch! 2009 videos on YouTube.

I have to say that Shara Worden’s performance with The Decemberists stole the show. It was the highlight of Sasquatch! for me. Here are some clips of Shara Worden with The Decemberists: performing “The Wanting Comes In Waves” on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on 5/14; singing the “The Queen’s Rebuke” on 5/19; performing at a Missoula, MT concert on 5/24 and singing “The Queen’s Rebuke” again. The Decemberists (featuring Shara Worden and Becky Stark) also covered Heart’s “Crazy on You” live on 5/26. You can stream (and download) The Decemberists’ latest album The Hazards of Love at decemberistsshop.com. Here is Shara Worden performing solo (as My Brightest Diamond): “Golden Star” and “Something Of An End.”

After the Sasquatch! Music Festival, we headed to Seattle and walked around the Northwest Folklife Festival at the Seattle Center on Sunday, which was also pretty fun.

More music

This is too bad: “Legal Dispute Results in Music-less Danger Mouse Project.” Or not. The blank CD-R thing is funny, in a way. Also see: “Danger Mouse’s Next Album Will Be A Blank CD-R.” Anyway, you can hear the entire album now at NPR.

Want to help save a music/film/culture magazine? Here you go: The Campaign to Save Paste. Donate and get over 70 rare and exclusive MP3s as a thank you, from The Decemberists, Neko Case, She & Him, Of Montreal and many more.

Somehow I got sucked into the Beatbox Battle Online World Championship on YouTube. There was a competition to win a wild card into the event. Here are the top six entries: Julia Dales, Primitiv, D-9, Lytos, The Beatbox Hitman and Daichi. Julia Dales, a 17-year-old blonde Canadian, won.

Logos, brands and photography

This is an interesting list of how some popular logos have evolved: “Evolution of 30 Popular Logos.” Also see changing PlayStation logos: “The Making Of: PlayStation.” This site is really good: Brand New: Opinions on Corporate and Brand Identity Work.

This article is worth a look: “10 News photos that took retouching too far.”

I really like this Flickr photo set: AT-ATs: not just for xmas.

I just helped launch the Where’s Benny? Photo Contest for Oregon State University Summer Session. You can enter via Flickr and Facebook.

A bit of randomness

This is an amazing video of a Malay Eagle Owl named Kitty. Cute, creepy little Furby guy.

Ever heard of a winged cat? Here you go: “Cat in China grows a pair of wings.” You may also be interested in the world’s smallest cat.

President Obama’s ASU commencement speech a couple of week ago was pretty compelling and inspiring. Watch part 1, part 2 and part 3 at YouTube.

I’ll leave you with this: “GeekDad Parents, Kids and the Stuff We Obsess About
Swine Flu Twitterpocalypse: Acting Out King’s The Stand 140 Characters at a Time.”

I’ll leave you with a Ralph Steadman illustration from the end of Hunter S. Thompson’s oversized hardback The Curse of Lono (pages 178-179).

Aloha and mahalo.

Science & Politics

I stopped by the NASA’s Kennedy Space Center while I was in Florida. In related news, earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban humans on Mars at NASA: How To Beat Congress’s Ban Of Humans On Mars

EPA has developed tools to help individuals (and households) reduce greenhouse gas emissions and take action: EPA Personal Emissions Calculator

Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won: Young chimp beats college students

Cute & Funny

Here are three cute cat videos from YouTube: 1. Crow and Kitten are Friends, 2. Psycho-Cat Christmas, and 3. Japanese Kitten Standing on Two Legs

On December 5 it was apparently the Annual Day of the Ninja. I like this Pirate vs. Ninja comparison graphic. Think ninja.

This is old news now, but I forgot to post it before (and there’s still time before the holidays): Elf Yourself

Oregon & Transportation

More old news: Drafted by the Red Sox in the first round in 2005 out of Oregon State University, Boston rookie Jacoby Ellsbury came home to a hero’s welcome in November after a meteoric six-month rise from Double-A prospect to World Series standout: Red Sox rookie star Jacoby Ellsbury gets hometown hero’s welcome

Even more old news: Oregon State University researchers have discovered which molecules control tissue regeneration in zebrafish — an advance that may one day help scientists learn to regenerate tissues in humans: OSU looks at regeneration

Apparently the weather was really bad in Oregon while I was gone, with high wind and rain. Still, most disasters, such as flooding and windstorms, that Willamette Valley residents will face are not of the catastrophic variety. However, Salem sits near a fault line and seismologists have been warning for years that a catastrophic earthquake could happen here: Oregon gets pummeled by rain, wind. Could the worst be yet to come?

Going to the airport? What are the road conditions like in the Portland Metro area and elsewhere in Oregon: TripCheck

I will soon be heading to western Washington for Christmas: WSDOT Traffic

With airports and highways more congested than ever, new steel-wheel and maglev lines that move millions in Europe and Japan have the potential to resurrect the age of American railroads: Super Trains: Plans to Fix U.S. Rail Could End Road & Sky Gridlock

Music

In case you’ve forgotten, both Radiohead’s In Rainbows discbox (including the bonus disc of eight songs) and NIN’s Year Zero Remixed album have been released for your enjoyment.

On my trip to Florida, for whatever reasons, these were my four most-played albums:

• The Faint “Wet From Birth” (2004)
• Redstart “So Far From Over” (2004)
• Rilo Kiley “Under the Blacklight” (2007)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Is Is” (2007)

I found that I really liked listening to The Faint in the Miami area.

That is all for now!

I had family visiting this past week, so I took some time off work and traveled around with them. We visited the coast a few times and spent some time in Newport. I highly recommend eating at Quimby’s in Newport for lunch, but not necessarily for dinner. Their lunch menu is far superior to their dinner menu (and about half the price). Plus, according to my family of chowder connoisseurs, the clam chowder is the best ever.

And of course we had to pick up a pound or two of saltwater taffy at Aunt Belinda’s Candies on the historic bayfront. Of all the dozens of flavors, I think watermelon might be my favorite. Marionberry is really good too.

(By the way, my family’s flights to and from Oregon stopped in Minneapolis, but they said they weren’t able to see the collapsed interstate bridge in the Mississippi River from the air.)

On Friday I took my family through Silver Falls State Park for a bit of hiking on our way up to OMSI in Portland, where I finally visited the Body Worlds 3 exhibit after thinking about going for the past few weeks.

At OMSI, I was really impressed by the posed displays of “real human bodies,” though about halfway through the exhibit my mom started feeling a bit sickened by the mortality of it all . . . the dehydrated polymer-filled corpses. She was thinking about whom these individuals were that donated their bodies and how/why they might have died. There is a distinct creepiness to the whole thing, perhaps especially in the graphic display of all the skinless sexual organs, knowing that these were/are real people. But it’s definitely a med student’s dream come true, with all of the plastinated muscle and bone structures exposed. I’m glad I experienced it.

I also should mention that part of the Body Worlds exhibition was a big anti-smoking push . . . you know, the lung displays went something like: “This is a normal plastinated lung. This is a blackened plastinated lung with cancerous tumors. Any questions?”

(If you remember the original “This is your brain on drugs” public service announcements, you should check out the Robot Chicken parody at YouTube.)

I think the Body Worlds 3 show is in its final weeks, for those in the Portland area who haven’t seen it yet. You really ought to.

“I see dead people.”