Flying Over Greenland

Location: Greenland
Date: Sept 2015
Website: visitgreenland.com

  As we parked our rental car and prepared to depart from Iceland, we noticed a strange sculpture outside Keflavik Airport.  It is called the Jet Nest and has a jet plane wing curled up and breaking out of an egg.  Just like a newly hatched chick entering the world.

  As we waited for our plane to arrive at our gate we noticed a quote from Icelandic singer Bjork was written on the window. It states, "I feel emotional landscapes they puzzle me".

  As our flight flew over the Atlantic we started to notice large white objects in the water below.

  We soon realized that these were giant icebergs floating off the coast of Greenland.

  We had never seen Greenland before and we felt like a newly emerged hatchling flying over this "emotional landscape".

  We were amazed by the never ending mountains and snow laid out before us.  Not very green we were thinking.  Over 80% of Greenland is covered by ice.

  The story of how Greenland got its name starts with Erik The Red exiled from Iceland for murder.  He set out in search of new land and reached what he called Greenland.  It is believed that he did this to attract other people to also settle there.  Only about 57,000 people live in Greenland.

 

  Soon the snow gave way to mostly mountains.  We could see how some of the mountains had been formed by volcanic activity.

  It was not long before our plane left Greenland behind and we were flying over open ocean again.  We had enjoyed the aerial view of this amazing place, but were glad to have viewed it from our window seat instead of the harsh reality below.

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Map of Our World
Jet Nest
Greenland

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Post # 230

Joey Goes Into The Map

Location: London England
Address: Grosvenor Square
Date: Aug 2015
Website: www.marriott.com

  On the television show Friends, the whole gang headed to London, England for Ross and Emily's wedding.  Actually, Rachel and Phoebe stayed back in New York.  Joey is very excited to tour the city, but Chandler not so much.  They are staying at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square.

  When they step out the front door of the hotel Joey pulls out his map.  It is a London pop-up map.  Joey tries to determine where in the city they are.  Finally it comes to him.  He places the map on the ground and declares "I'm gonna have to go into the map."

  Joey finds his bearings and carries the map into the street.  Chandler distracts him and he has to step into the map once again.  The green roofed building above is currently a restaurant called Spaghetti House.

   Joey and Chandler take a double decker bus tour and next they end up at Westminster Abbey.  Chandler does not want to be on camera and Joey declares him "Westminster Crabby" before chasing him towards the entrance.

   Next the pair end up beside the Tower of London where Joey buys a Union Jack souvenir hat.  He buys it from souvenir stand run by billionaire businessman Richard Branson.  It makes one wonder how lucrative the souvenir market is in London.  It also makes one wonder how lucrative it is to make an appearance on a season finale of a top rated television show.  Anyway, the hat is the last straw for Chandler and he and Joey head their separate ways.
  Later, back at the hotel Chandler finds out that while he had a horrible time, Joey had the best time.  He ran into Fergie.  Not the Fergie of Black-Eyed Peas, but the original Fergie.  Sarah Ferguson is the Duchess of York and was previously married to Prince Andrew and she recorded a video greeting on Joeys camcorder.
  We have visited all the places Joey and Chandler visit in this episode.  While we didn't have a pop-up map to help us, we always grab the first map we see at the airport or hotel to help guide us through the city while on vacation.

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Map of Our World
London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square , Westminster Abbey , Tower Of London

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Post # 229

Nuit Blanche 2008 Revisited

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: Liberty Village
Date: Oct 2008
Website: nbto.com

  Nuit Blanche took over the streets of Toronto again this weekend.  During the event it is hard to tell what is art and what is not.  The "Open For Business" sign above could be art or just a clever sign that was discarded in the street.  We thought we would go back and revisit some of the exhibits from ten years ago when the all night arts festival was still in its infancy.  Here are a few highlights of what we experienced between dusk and dawn.

Euphemisms For The Intimate Enemy

This exhibit is made up of 55-gallon drums with letters painted on their bottoms.  It was making some commentary on language that may become clear when the piece of art is explored more closely.

Future Perfect

In a haze of fog some storage containers sit in the dark.  People gather around to see what is going on.

Then suddenly a glow of light emits from one of the containers and more smoke machine fog is released.

Imagine Peace

Yoko Ono started the Imagine Peace project based on her husband John Lennon's Imagine song.

The exhibit includes a tree where guests can tie one of their wishes.  After the event the wishes were all said to be taken to the Imagine Peace tower in Iceland.  Who knows how many will come true?

SMASH! Dropping Stuff

The next project was called SMASH!  The whole purpose was to get some stuff and then drop that stuff and watch it smash.  The pile of smashed stuff was growing as the night crept on.  3...2...1...Drop!

Smash!

Original Soundtrack

This project consisted of TVs all playing the menu screen of a different DVD.  The sound was all mixed together and would evolve and change as the menus loop through the night.  This exibit reminded us of a busy electronics department on a Saturday afternoon.

When we turned away from the television screens we liked the way the light was coming in through this window.  We left the wall of sound behind and ventured outside to see what was causing this glow.

Over Flow

The glow appeared to be coming from this building which for tonight only included a waterfall coming out of an upper floor window.  This seemed like something we wouldn't mind seeing permanently.

Untitled

This next piece was untitled and like most of the things listed here is open to interpretation.  On any given day you may be surprised but what you see walking around the city.  When Nuit Blanche is in town, surprise is always expected.

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Map of Our World
Nuit Blanche Liberty Village
Nuit Blanche Liberty Village

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Post # 228