LOCKE, California – Not far from Sacramento, there’s a California National Historic Landmark. A window into Central Valley history emerges – and it is not difficult to imagine the countryside having stayed as it was on this day – cattle by the side of the road, grazing to the backdrop of clear, blue skies – …
Author Archives: ac916
Postcard from Cologne
Cologne, Germany – When one thinks of Cologne, one pictures the cathedral that greets travellers at the doorstep of the Bahn. This mother of all cathedrals, wherein, towering over the tourists who stand out front, gawking at its sheer grandeur. That it was constructed by a human is almost unimaginable. Its range is as tall …
Postcard from Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, U.S.A.- Our collective memory of a Los Angeles we have never been to exists only in the backlot of Universal and in raw footage of clips from the 70’s. In that age of television, neon signs and permed hair abound. The skyline is still much the same these days, but on a given …
Postcard from Busan
BUSAN, South Korea – Springtime means that wisteria vines fill with an overwhelming scent. The street lines with a lavender that colors the mind. I imagine that walking through this town square in bloom mirrors the valley in Busan, thousands of miles away. Tammy’s journey takes form through the oceanside town of Busan. The city …
Postcard from Loch Ness
LOCH NESS, Scotland – The closest I have been to the Highlands is in Los Angeles, where the Highlands comprises of yellowed hills and a cement gateway between segments of a city known for sprawling on top of one another. On one side is a long, long street full of cracked sidewalks leading one’s senses …
Postcard from San Simeon
SAN SIMEON, U.S.A. – South of the lighthouse sits a monument where Chinese fishermen used to gather seaweed and abalone. There, the wind gullies have grass flopping over centuries perhaps. Point Piedras Blancas alludes to the Mexicans that used to extend into the region. These days, cars flash by; on weekends, there is a line …
Postcard from Kyoto
KYOTO, JAPAN- The geishas stream past in the afternoon sun. One or two, clopping down the stone walkway. Kamo River runs through the heart of town, and since it is a nice day out, the people stroll along the bridge and underneath. Maybe I’m imagining it, but everyone seems to be in a forward mood …
Postcard from Singapore
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – Winter is apparently not too late for monsoon season. The clouds in Singapore seemed omnipresent. Light intruded incandescently, throughout the malls that seemed to dot the isle. When one goes to the Tropics in the winter, be warned of monsoon-like conditions. Even in the face of modernity, storms are undeterred. The furies …
Postcard from Giverny
GIVERNY, France – The watercolors blend together like a taut line flush with the world. The fiery light of day bounces off of the river Epte. Nobody tells you of the bamboos that line the path, but I am telling you now. The people crowd towards the insides, the yellow house, the beating heart. The …
Postcard from Brent
BRENT, England – The neighborhood as dusk sets is quiet. In the daytime, young people sprawl across the region, hanging about. There is a sense of newness in this particular neighborhood that has ceased to exist elsewhere in London. The neighborhood of Brent is a microcosm of northwest London. Few out-of-towners really visit this part …
